The Dann Chronicles: November 🍂

Deep sea alien bases, a much-needed stress ball, neat tax avoidence schemes, Onion's big win, and not-so-boring passport photos.

November 2024

Hey all,

Doomsday cults have existed for centuries, captivating followers by promising the end of the world is moments away.

Something in the human brain connects with this promise. Deep down, it does feel like we're on the precipice of something, doesn't it? It’s as if, when a compelling doomsday story comes along, it grabs hold of the brain and doesn’t let go.

The promise of the 'end of the world' was once a tactic reserved for occasional cults but is now used everywhere. Anyone with an agenda (good or bad) has learned this "doomsday trick" as a way to capture attention. Every story is framed as apocalyptic: each new armed conflict, the possibility of nuclear war, an upcoming artificial intelligence revolution, worsening storms, democracy's imminent collapse, declining birth rates, immigration, political correctness, the list goes on.

Everything is an existential threat—the end of life as we know it.

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Personally, I've been trying to take a step back, mentally. Not because I don't resonate with the doomsday prediction(s) tailor-made for my brain, but because it's not helping anyone to hold the weight of the world in there at all times.

In case you, too, need to hear this: it's okay to step back and to breathe.

Phew. Okay. Now that we're feeling better, let's pretend the first story here isn't about real life aliens.

-Dann

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👽 Sea-Raised

Aliens are back in the public consciousness thanks to a new House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing this month (full video via CSPAN). Complete "disclosure" is apparently still tied up in endless government bureaucracy, but we got some new compelling details direct from highly-credible government sources:

• The government has hundreds of high resolution images/video of UAPs (née UFOs), just waiting to be declassified for public consumption

• Not only that, the government has alien bodies in its possession

• There are several different "races" of alien, some of which apparently look very much like humans(...)

• Some travel inter-dimensionally, but a large number just pop out of our oceans

• Our government is in possession of alien spacecraft(s), and we assume many other governments are, too. There's a secret arms race to reverse-engineer the technology before our enemies can

Part of me is extremely frustrated with this topic. The carrot of "disclosure" has been dangled in front of the public for decades...and that's still what's happening here. Just show us the damn proof and let us know what you know.

Still, another part of me understands the bureaucracy that might cause the delays we're seeing, if this is all real. Maybe this won't be just another debunked doomsday prophecy, and we'll actually get some reality-shattering revelations.

Either way, it's a welcome distraction. So, thanks, I guess?

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🌀 Sensory Overload

In the spring of 2017, as fidget spinners invaded every nook and cranny of our society, toy manufactures realized that sensory toys had officially become mainstream.

The category existed previously, but was mostly targeted towards those with developmental disabilities, specifically ADHD and autism. It seems like most humans find comfort in self-stimulatory behavior to some degree.

These days, the market is flooded with fidget toys: spinners, cubes, poppers, clickers, and more.

As the category grew, there's been one company that's been releasing increasingly innovative stress balls, culminating in perhaps my favorite tactile toy of all time: the NeeDoh Nice Cube.

You have to squish it to fully appreciate it. It's soft when you squeeze it slowly and hard when you squeeze fast. It's stretchy and always conforms back to its original shape.

It's pretty much the platonic ideal of a stress ball.

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💸 I bought, I borrowed, I died

With wealth inequality in the United States near historic all-time highs, it's disheartening to hear that the richest among us pay the least in taxes. But to really appreciate the inequity, it's important to understand the methods that rich people use to avoid taxes.

These "loopholes" have largely been obfuscated from the general public, which is why I really appreciated this two-part episode "Why's it so hard to tax billionaires?" from PJ Vogt's Search Engine podcast. It does a great job of explaining the history of a fairly boring topic (taxes) in a way that's actually compelling.

The crux of the tax-avoidance scheme is a method called "Buy, Borrow, Die," explained in detail here on Reddit. Once an individual hits a net worth of ~$300M, it's possible to opt out of the tax system thusly:

• Avoid any cash income (ie a CEO taking an annual salary of $1.00)

• Borrow money from banks, using assets as collateral, at insanely low interest rates (<1%) available only to high net worth individuals

• Use this money for living, shopping, purchasing additional assets

• Never pay interest, because it's all just deducted from the individual's estate upon death

• Take advantage of the "step-up in basis" when wealth is transferred to heirs to never pay taxes on huge asset valuation gains

Since no assets are ever sold, there's literally nothing to ever tax. All income comes in the form as "loans," which are not taxed at all, and interest can actually be used to reduce the overall taxable income.

It's the ultimate loophole and I find it absolutely infuriating. Both because the loophole exists, and also because no one seems to care.

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🧅 Funniest joke of all time

The Onion, partnering with the families of Sandy Hook victims, has won the bankruptcy auction (NYT gift article) to acquire Alex Jones' Infowars.

Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, explained why he thought thought it would be the funniest joke of all time:

Infowars is a clearing house for lies and nonsense in a bad way. Like, the garbage they've put out over the last two decades has really hurt a lot of people. They've targeted the families of Sandy Hook victims. That's what lead to the defamation case that allowed for this to be up for auction. [The Onion does] lies and garbage in a different way. We have a lot more fun with it than they do. We're really excited to take it over and, you know, create a new better path for this website.

A bankruptcy judge has momentarily halted the deal, citing concerns about transparency in the bidding process. But hopefully it's just temporary hold before The Onion claims its prized pig.

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👤 Passport Transport

Passport photos, by law, are boring. They're heavily regulated with highly specific rules and guidelines about framing, background, size, and facial expression. There's little room for artistic expression. Or at least, one might think.

Max Siedentopf's photography series, aptly named "Passport Photos," pushes the boundaries of creativity while sticking strictly to the rules.

It's delightful.

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End note

If you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.

I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.

Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.

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Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Dann