Saturday, June 14
Advice from Kevin Smith: Be a little delusional
Transcript
The below is a true verbatim transcript taken directly from the video. It captures the conversation exactly as it happened.
The first to stand
I stand before you on Big Think as the first to stand. Kids, all my energy is delivered this way. So I asked the good folks. I was like, "Can I stand?" "Yeah?" And here we are. So let's go on the journey together on our feet.
A reasonable amount of unreasonability
I feel, in order to get to where you're going, requires a reasonable amount of unreasonability. Not like, "Hey, man. I'm going to jump off a building and fly without the aid of a jetpack." That's unreasonable unreasonability. Reasonable amount is just like, "You know, why not me?"
The Kevin Smith cinematic universe
Hey, kids. My name's Kevin Smith. Started in 1994 with a little motion picture named "Clerks," and that's how people came to know me was as a writer director. "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Jersey Girl," "Cop Out," "Red State," "Tusk." The list goes on, kids. I've got sixteen movies. I'm heading toward my seventeenth. So mostly, my career, I've been a filmmaker, but somewhere along the line, I decided to just become myself, for a living, professionally. So my real title is professional Kevin Smith.
Everybody, mostly everybody, except people who are born rich, everybody has had a sh**ty job, and that's what "Clerks" is about, having a job you hate so much that you do anything else at the job to forget about the fact that you're there to work.
"This guy is going through all the eggs. Look. This has been going on for twenty minutes now."
At the end of the day, there's always going to be some job you don't want that you can take. I'd rather die trying to do something I love doing and hope it works out than just kind of commit to that right away. So I always had a piece of me that felt like the risk's worth taking. Why not try to make your dreams come true?
Kevin’s origin story
I dreamt about movies. I'd seen a motion picture called "Slacker" written and directed by Richard Linklater, and he was a filmmaker working in Austin, Texas. I did not realize that Austin, Texas, where "Slacker" was made, was the capital of Texas. All I heard was this kid made a movie in Texas, in Nowheresville, Texas, and it worked out? Well, maybe I can make a movie in Nowheresville, New Jersey. I said, "What's the story I could tell? I have access to this convenience store. I work in it all the time. I've never seen a movie made in a convenience store before. Maybe that could be my thing."
I dreamt about movies. I'd seen a motion picture called "Slacker" written and directed by Richard Linklater, and he was a filmmaker working in Austin, Texas. I did not realize that Austin, Texas, where "Slacker" was made, was the capital of Texas. All I heard was this kid made a movie in Texas, in Nowheresville, Texas, and it worked out? Well, maybe I can make a movie in Nowheresville, New Jersey. I said, "What's the story I could tell? I have access to this convenience store. I work in it all the time. I've never seen a movie made in a convenience store before. Maybe that could be my thing."
A $27,575 mistake?
After I made the flick, right, I make "Clerks," and I make it on credit cards, twenty-seven thousand five hundred and seventy-five bucks, and I was steamrolling toward this one event, not Sundance. It is called the IFFM, the Independent Feature Film Marketplace. The idea of the marketplace is you fill it with as many potential buyers or press as possible to see the movie. It's not a film festival. It's a marketplace, about sales. We go, and the only people in the audience at the Angelika Film Center are me and the cast and crew. So ten of us, and we all worked on the movie.
And the first ten minutes of watching my movie on the big screen, this was the thought process. My god. Why did I do this? Why is everyone, look so terrible? This movie looks like it was shot through a glass of milk. Why won't they stop cursing? What was I thinking? I had a kind of breakdown, in the moment, in the theater.
After I made the flick, right, I make "Clerks," and I make it on credit cards, twenty-seven thousand five hundred and seventy-five bucks, and I was steamrolling toward this one event, not Sundance. It is called the IFFM, the Independent Feature Film Marketplace. The idea of the marketplace is you fill it with as many potential buyers or press as possible to see the movie. It's not a film festival. It's a marketplace, about sales. We go, and the only people in the audience at the Angelika Film Center are me and the cast and crew. So ten of us, and we all worked on the movie.
And the first ten minutes of watching my movie on the big screen, this was the thought process. My god. Why did I do this? Why is everyone, look so terrible? This movie looks like it was shot through a glass of milk. Why won't they stop cursing? What was I thinking? I had a kind of breakdown, in the moment, in the theater.
A cognitive reframe
About fifteen minutes into the movie, I cognitively reframed it. And I was like, you know what? Two and a half years ago, you were sitting in this movie theater watching Richard Linklater's "Slacker," and you had no vision of being a filmmaker. And here you are two and a half years later, and you're watching your own movie in this theater. And, yeah, it didn't fill up the way you hoped, but you did it.
So this costs money that you don't have. So this is what you're going to do. You're going to go get another job. And if you have to, you're going to get a third job. You'll get another job, another job if you have to, so you pay off this credit card debt. And then when you pay off that debt, you're going to do this one more time before you leave this world because did you know who you were for the first time in your life when you were standing on that set? You knew exactly who you were supposed to be. Your whole life prior to that has been a mystery. And then bam, just like that, everything became crystal clear. Don't sell out on this just because it didn't work the way you wanted it to. Remember that feeling of finally knowing who you are, and get back to that feeling one day. It may cost time, and it may cost money, but get back to that. That was the most gratifying thing you've ever felt in this lifetime.
From an empty theater to Sundance
Mercifully, somebody said, "You should take this movie to Sundance." And we submitted it. It got picked up for Sundance, one of sixteen movies of four hundred that were submitted. Miramax bought it. Suddenly, I went from being a guy who worked in a convenience store and made a movie to having a career in film. I got to pay off that debt. I didn't have to worry about that. That was thirty-one years ago.
My parents, when I was heading toward film, they were like, "What's your backup?" You know, because parents care and they feel like the field that I was heading toward was one that success was never going to be guaranteed, and in the case of their idiot son, probably wasn't even going to happen. But having a reasonable amount of unreasonability allowed me to be like, well, I understand reasonably speaking that a lot of people don't bet on themselves and make a movie even though they've never made one before. But I got a reasonable amount of unreasonability here.
And so I pursued a career of extended adolescence because I'll be honest with you kids, one day you die screaming like my father did. You might as well go for it. You might as well do the thing that you dream about doing for heaven's sake.
About fifteen minutes into the movie, I cognitively reframed it. And I was like, you know what? Two and a half years ago, you were sitting in this movie theater watching Richard Linklater's "Slacker," and you had no vision of being a filmmaker. And here you are two and a half years later, and you're watching your own movie in this theater. And, yeah, it didn't fill up the way you hoped, but you did it.
So this costs money that you don't have. So this is what you're going to do. You're going to go get another job. And if you have to, you're going to get a third job. You'll get another job, another job if you have to, so you pay off this credit card debt. And then when you pay off that debt, you're going to do this one more time before you leave this world because did you know who you were for the first time in your life when you were standing on that set? You knew exactly who you were supposed to be. Your whole life prior to that has been a mystery. And then bam, just like that, everything became crystal clear. Don't sell out on this just because it didn't work the way you wanted it to. Remember that feeling of finally knowing who you are, and get back to that feeling one day. It may cost time, and it may cost money, but get back to that. That was the most gratifying thing you've ever felt in this lifetime.
From an empty theater to Sundance
Mercifully, somebody said, "You should take this movie to Sundance." And we submitted it. It got picked up for Sundance, one of sixteen movies of four hundred that were submitted. Miramax bought it. Suddenly, I went from being a guy who worked in a convenience store and made a movie to having a career in film. I got to pay off that debt. I didn't have to worry about that. That was thirty-one years ago.
My parents, when I was heading toward film, they were like, "What's your backup?" You know, because parents care and they feel like the field that I was heading toward was one that success was never going to be guaranteed, and in the case of their idiot son, probably wasn't even going to happen. But having a reasonable amount of unreasonability allowed me to be like, well, I understand reasonably speaking that a lot of people don't bet on themselves and make a movie even though they've never made one before. But I got a reasonable amount of unreasonability here.
And so I pursued a career of extended adolescence because I'll be honest with you kids, one day you die screaming like my father did. You might as well go for it. You might as well do the thing that you dream about doing for heaven's sake.
Headlines
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| Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images |
Military parade and protests planned for today. It’s likely to be a busy day on America’s streets. More than 6,000 troops are scheduled to march on parade through Washington today to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary, which also coincides with President Trump’s birthday. About 200,000 people are expected to attend, and the event is expected to cost up to $45 million—but there’s a chance thunderstorms could dampen the festivities. Meanwhile, activists who object to the president’s policies are planning to hold “No Kings” protests across the US at the same time. Tensions are running high amid demonstrations against federal immigration raids in LA that President Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to stop this week.
Consumers aren’t so worried about tariffs any more. American consumers have decided to look on the bright side this month. The University of Michigan released its high-profile preliminary index of consumer sentiment for June, and the data showed the first increase in shoppers’ attitudes since December. “Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director said, though she noted consumers are still wary about the economy and potential inflation.
You can now buy shares in the world’s largest meatpacker. Brazil’s JBS debuted on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing yesterday after delisting its stock from Brazil’s São Paulo Stock Exchange, where it had traded since 2007. The meat packing company, which opened at a price that valued the company at ~$30 billion, has been looking to access the US market since 2009, but it faced delays and regulatory hurdles—in part because of accusations of corruption and bribery in Brazil.—AR
At A Glance
Bookkeeping
> $1,000: The amount a Deloitte US employee can spend on Lego sets annually.
> $14.71: The (rising) median price of an omelet.
> $150,000: The selling price for a human-sized Labubu doll.
Browse
> The dirty science behind the smell of rain.
> Top chefs are cooking with lab-grown salmon.
> Enormous shoe gives insight into ancient Roman cobblery.
> A Bali resort that doubles as a firefly conservatory.
> Fisherman off Canada’s coast finds a rare black iceberg.
> Why cake decorators are the second-highest paid job at Walmart.
Listen
> Calamari or pig rectum? The secret market of artificial calamari.
> Veterinarians are fetching the fountain of youth for dogs.
Watch
> These four famous forgeries (almost) fooled experts.
> Scientists made radioactive flies to protect us from flesh-eating parasites.
> The questionable history of graham crackers.
> How technology has made us antisocial—and what to do about it.
Long Read
> Father’s Day read—The scars and lessons we pass to our children.
> Want to keep top talent? Try these four candid questions.
> Why the em dash is a sign of a seasoned writer, not ChatGPT.
Most Clicked This Week: States with the worst road rage.
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Mistrial declared in Harvey Weinstein's retrial after jury foreman refuses to rejoin deliberations on final rape charge; Weinstein was previously found guilty on one charge and acquitted on another (More)
> Ananda Lewis, TV personality known for hosting "Total Request Live," dies of breast cancer at age 52 (More) | Chris Robinson, actor best known for longtime role on "General Hospital," dies at age 86 (More)
> The 2025 Men's College World Series kicks off today; see preview of all eight teams competing for NCAA baseball national title (More) | FIFA Club World Cup begins tomorrow night; see new format and predictions for the 32-team tournament (More)
Science & Technology
> Google launches Weather Lab, partnering with the National Hurricane Center to apply its AI models to cyclone predictions (More) | Hurricanes explained (More)
> Missing link in tyrannosaur evolution potentially found in Mongolian museum; 86-million-year-old "Dragon Prince" fossils are believed to be the closest ancestor to Tyrannosaurus rex (More)
> Ornithologists determine why most songbirds begin singing during the dawn hours; territorial species use vocalizations to alert others to their locations (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.2%) as US dollar slides to a three-year low (More) | Boeing shares fall close to 5% following Air India crash (More)
> GameStop shares slide nearly 24% a day after it announced plans for a $1.75B convertible notes offering to potentially fund its bitcoin purchase; also said it will turn toward the trading card market (More) | What are convertible notes? (More)
> Chime Financial debuts on Nasdaq, closing 38% above its IPO price of $27 per share and valuing the digital bank around $12B (More) | Initial public offerings, explained (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Authorities forcibly remove and handcuff Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a Los Angeles conference room after he interrupts Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during press briefing (More) | Watch video of the arrest (More)
> President Donald Trump blocks California's first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 (More) | CIA releases 54 documents on Robert F. Kennedy assassination; includes details on RFK serving as voluntary informant to the CIA following a trip to the Soviet Union (More) | Former Rep. Billy Long (R, MO-7) confirmed as IRS commissioner (More)
> Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces capture Libya-Egypt-Sudan border region, allegedly with the help of forces loyal to eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Chicken
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The chicken as we know it, Gallus gallus domesticus, is the result of domestication from the red junglefowl. While the exact timeline is debated, the domestication process likely began around 10,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest domestic chickens in Southeast Asia were present well before 6000 BC, with their appearance in China and India later.
Southeast Asia generally refers to the eleven countries: Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The region is typically divided into Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia.
Here today, I am eating my lunch of Chicken tenders and basmati rice... and I start wondering when did the first chicken come about? How many years have people like me been eating chicken?
TEN THOUSAND YEARS...
A lot of damn chicken has been eaten over that many years, I bet.
I am sure that chicken eating has been associated with a lower class of people like farmers, who you think of as having chickens and pigs around. Best some of the finest and most exclusive and expensive dinners are made using chicken breasts.
Those who are looking to eat healthy and eating more white meat like chicken and turkey instead of red meat.
Personally, I like the taste of chicken almost every way it is prepared, and prefer it over steak, hamburger, and pork.
However, I am not too fond of having the necks cut off chicken, but that also hold true for how cows are slaughtered. Of course, they are both just dumb animals.
China Uncovers “Limitless” Energy Reserves Capable of Powering the Country for 60,000 Years
China may be on the brink of an energy revolution thanks to a newly revealed abundance of thorium, a radioactive metal that could fuel the nation for tens of thousands of years. The heart of this discovery lies in the Bayan Obo mining complex in Inner Mongolia, where a recent national survey uncovered reserves that may vastly exceed earlier estimates, offering a potential solution to the world’s growing energy demands.
A Radioactive Element With Unique Potential
Thorium is a silver-colored element found naturally in the earth’s crust, often as a byproduct of rare earth mining. Unlike uranium, which powers most of the world’s nuclear reactors, thorium cannot directly sustain a nuclear reaction because it is not fissile. However, thorium is classified as “fertile,” meaning it can be transformed into uranium-233, a fissile material, through neutron bombardment inside a molten-salt reactor (MSR).
A Radioactive Element With Unique Potential
Thorium is a silver-colored element found naturally in the earth’s crust, often as a byproduct of rare earth mining. Unlike uranium, which powers most of the world’s nuclear reactors, thorium cannot directly sustain a nuclear reaction because it is not fissile. However, thorium is classified as “fertile,” meaning it can be transformed into uranium-233, a fissile material, through neutron bombardment inside a molten-salt reactor (MSR).
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