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Viva Book Review

Well we are back home. No stream tonight. It will have to wait for the 4th of July!

It was a wild four days. Feels like an eternity. For good and for frustrating. People say you can never spend too much time with family.

I am testing that theory! lol

We just listened to Fahrenheit 182. The life story of Mark Hoppus, lead singer for Blink 182. A 7-hour audible book. And we did 8 hours of driving. The last 30 minutes of the drive was listening to Blink's newest album with deeper appreciation.

The book was awesome. I would say a solid 8.5 on 10, only because from a literary perspective, it wan't Shakespeare. But it was never supposed to be.

As a Blink 182 fanboy, it was fascinating just to know the story of Mark. Childhood. Siblings. Parents. Divorce. Trauma. It was written in the way I would have conducted the interview/conversation.

You got to learn the origins of name. It was Blink before a lawsuit for copyright violation, so they added the "182" just because. So it became blink-182 (lower case b).

The stories of the origins - young punks, the punk rock scene, what van tours looked like. The rise to fame, the break-ups, back together again. It was awesome.

That said, from a literary perspective, or a deeper human perspective, it did have a beautiful theme. The leitmotif of Hoppus' trauma from divorce of his parents to the "divorce" or the band. Being stuck in the middle of warring parties and the need to be a peacemaker. How that trauma created the defensive mechanism that kind of drove his career.

The part of his cancer treatment was particularly poignant. You can be the most famous, richest celebrity on earth, and when you get sick, none of that matters. Except inasmuch as it allows you to get the best treatment at the best facilities.

Mark's OCD / phobias / inner voice / catastrophizing was definitely something I could relate to. But I think it's something most people could relate to.

It was really cool getting to know the backstories of the songs, albums. It definitely gives things a new meaning, however superficial the subject matter is.

It was an awesome story. Not many people get marries and stay married. Even Tom and Travis (the other two members got divorced), but Mark managed to stay happily married.

It makes me a little sad in a way. Listening to the book and listening to the most recent album after, looking at Marion, I realize what a part of our lives and memories Blink has been.

Makes me wonder what I am doing with my life. What impact I want to have on others and whether or not I can/will have a lasting impact in a meaningful way in the lives of others.

And whether or not it is a pursuit of vanity to even aspire to that.

Need to be the best father and husband first and foremost and hope I am doing that.

But will continue aspiring the the vanity pursuit of having a broader impact on the world around me, starting with the inner-most circle.

Deep thoughts.

See you all tomorrow.

Godspeed and God bless.

And happy 4th of July in advance!

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It was by accident. And it was hilarious.

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September 21, 2025
We made it.

In line since about 5:30.

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It’s very powerful.

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September 21, 2025
Looks like we’re getting in

This is the security past the parking lot crowd. Massive massive crowd.

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February 17, 2024
Appearance on Richard Syrette

I did a quick hit on Richard Syrette yesterday. Gotta keep Canadians apprised of the U.S. madness.

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The Barnes Brief, Podcast Format: Monday, July 17, 2023

Closing Argument: Birthright citizenship is deeply American, and wholly Constitutional.

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Declaration of Independence

Audio podcast style.

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LIVE w/ Baris

The life & legacy of Charlie Kirk, the needs for honest data on political violence, the backstory for the MAGA-MAHA coalition & more.

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On my way back home to Florida

Arizona is beautiful. I love the desert, but prefer Tucson to Phoenix.

Though I prefer the Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Park to both.

But I love Florida and the Everglades.

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September 21, 2025
Update re: show tonight

Charlie Kirk memorial still going. Tonight’s show will be later tonight or tomorrow.

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The Barnes Brief: Daily Edition, Tuesday, September 16, 2025

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Art of the Day 

The quiet observation in the early morning hours as the community awakes from the night’s slumber and with some just returning home from a long evening, the thoughtful observer in this American realist portrait where we see the world through the eyes of the observer, turning the observer into both observer and observed, conduit and source, connection to the inner world of our own in observing the outer world with her. 

B. Wisdom of the Day

“Under all conditions, well-organized violence seems to the near-sighted revolutionary the shortest distance between two points.” Leon Trotsky. 

C. Cultural Recommendation

Trans used to be known by its medical name: Gender Dysphoria. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44136345-childhood-gender-dysphoria?D. Appearances

  • SkyNews.
  • SkyNews 2.

 

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The Barnes Brief: Weekend Edition, Friday, September 12, 2025

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Art of the Day

The brilliance of Banksy, the greatest public muralist alive, the pseudonym of the ubiquitous artist whose overnight artworks shape public conversation, sagely satirizing Britain’s judicially-sponsored censorship on the walls of the courthouse itself, whose state coverup only makes the point of the art that much more persuasive. 

B. Wisdom of the Day

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” Gandhi. 

C. Cultural Recommendation

The respectable members of the Klan, whose political permission slip from the powers-that-be animated the sick, violent fantasies of it’s psychotic members. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216152554-behind-the-mask-of-chivalry?

*Note: A reminder — links are NOT endorsements of the ideas contained therein. The Library is big, and it mostly consists of ideas I do not personally share.  

 

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The Barnes Brief: Daily, Thursday, September 11, 2025

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Art of the Day

The famed painting of the painter who painted me before his time (or so the joke goes about his portrait of a patron saint of the arts that looks like a biographical portrait) depicting the horrors of politicized violence he witnessed first hand in the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War. 

B. Wisdom of the Day

“I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories, and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened.” George Orwell, Spanish Civil War. 

C. Cultural Recommendation

Two brilliant books by Orwell, one capturing the insanity of the Spanish Civil War and its welcoming of politicized violence, as well as the nature of life for the impoverished in early industrial London & Paris. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7802296-homage-to-catalonia-down-and-out-in-paris-and-london?

 

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