There is something
that exists out there,
beyond our human brains.
It reaches out.
It calls to us.
We yearn for it.
That connection
That makes us sane.
It has no need for a name.
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
I tend to avoid blogging based on writing prompts. That’s much more suited to my daily journal. However, the prompt today is something I broke down a month or two ago on social media sites BlueSky and Orb.
My 2 favorite movies:
Both movies I’ve seen a minimum of 25 times. The Big Lebowski, roughly once a year since its theatrical release.
Butch and Sundance is one of very few westerns that adheres to none of the genre’s ugly themes. There’s no racism. There’s very little actual killing. It’s based on the true story of these 2 banditos, and with both the lead actors in the prime of their careers. If you’re not in the know, Butch Cassidy is played by Paul Newman. The Sundance Kid is played by Robert Redford. Easily both men are among the greatest actors of their generation. Essentially, Butch and Sundance is a ‘buddy movie.’ These are much more commonly comedies, and there are indeed humorous bits here, but also very high quality drama and action.
When I was a kid, there was this channel that played it all the time. At no point in my life have I been able to walk away from the film. If it’s on a TV, I sit down, and stay until the end. It’s just quality film, in every way.
The Big Lebowski. I was a Coen Brothers fan well before Jeff Bridges became the Dude. The Hudsucker Proxy(which, also features Paul Newman) is another of my favorite films. So, I saw The Big Lebowski in theaters in 1998. And I’ve watched it at least once a year, every year since. I was at the first fan gathering at a Louisville, KY bowling alley in 2002. It was a blast. A few years later Dudeism was officially founded. A religion based on the behavior and ideals The Dude personifies and lives by in the film. (See this site.)
The Big Lebowski is essentially a ‘buddy comedy.’ (Shocked?). Jeff Bridges actually brought most of the Dude’s wardrobe from his own home closet. Also starring John Goodman and Steve Buscemi. The rest of the cast list is also star-studded. Lots of big names in bit parts. Goodman puts on the performance of a lifetime. Easily his best film. And he routinely tells people it’s his favorite of movies he’s played in.
The Dude, is mistaken for a wealthy man(who is also named Lebowski), and terrorized early in the film. Worst of all, they ruined his rug. It really tied the room together. And through a series of events in which he has very little agency, the Dude truly just wants to be. He goes with the flow, but only because he doesn’t have much choice. This is the attitude that Dudeism’s core. It’s essentially a modernization of Taoism, minus the metaphysical. Go with the flow. Be cool. Take it easy. No matter what life throws at you. The Dude abides.
I’m not going to spoil either movie, because if you e not seen them, now is the time.
Yours, and no one else’s,
Jack Lhasa
I don’t take feedback, unless I ask for it specifically. I often ask for it. If you’ve got something to say about my work, hold that thought until I post again looking for feedback. Simple comments are always welcome, as long as we are not talking about my process or what I decide to publish.
That said, please leave comments and/or feedback in the comments. No feedback is acknowledged over social media.
I publish what I want to publish. I don’t go with fads or popularity contests. I don’t expect things I publish to be seen or read. I publish them because I like them, and I think it’s worth public exposure. I don’t want to hear what you think I should publish.
I will, quite often, ask for feedback. In such situations, I generally specify exactly what I’m looking for opinions on. Some things are simply complete. If something is complete, no amount of pretentious commentary will make me go back and edit it. If you find an actual issue with something like my grammar, I will thank you for bringing my attention to it, and I will fix it.
This post is very concise; to the point, as it were. That’s because it’s a simple issue that shouldn’t be hard to grasp.
I’m asking one thing from my readers, friends, and fans. That was it.
Thank you,
Jack Lhasa
(This post will appear, with slight alterations for readability, on a static page with information on copyrights, FAQ, and the like.)
Worldbuilding is among my favorite activities as a writer. I really enjoy the art of cobbling together a believable setting.
A ConWorld is the result of worldbuilding. This term is a bit dated. Its use is rather rare now. ‘ConWorld’ is short for Constructed World.
Personally, most of my worldbuilding begins with a short piece of fiction. I get the idea in my head, I write it out, and if it’s something I find really compelling, or something I can see myself continuing beyond the one story, that’s when I start to set up my new ConWorld.
Important Elements in Worldbuilding:
That’s just to name a few of the elements involved. I’ll be posting thoughts and tips for writers who are interested in creating their own ConWorlds on a fairly regular basis.
This is an area of English composition in which I have considerable experience and knowledge.
All contents are copyright Jack Lhasa, 1996-2025, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
First published in digital format in 2025.
Part of the Exoteric Project, copyright 2022-2025
Jlhasa.eth
0xAc640fD428E40D82027f221E8Bd9caF6D6A12df5
Part 1 in a series: Intro
Last weekend I discovered a brand new startup blog service, PenX. I really enjoyed its unique feature set, and sleek themes from the get. If you are used to the massive theme selection of some web2 blog platforms, the choices here may seem limited at first. I ran into a few problems with some of the more complicated aspects of it, and reached out to the Discord server.
The next day I had a reply from the projects lead developer. He’s a great guy, and took a lot of his own time to walk me through some of the problems I was experiencing.
This is when I learned that the team was very small, and that PenX was in a still very early phase of development. Due to our conversations, 0xZio made several adjustments over the next few days, reconciling all the issues I’d encountered thus far.
0xZio.eth is the lead developer at PenX. There is a Farcaster channel for PenX, in which I’ll be aiding in the moderation. There isn’t much there at the moment, but that will change fast.
Now, because of the extremely early stage in the PenX lifespan, I recommend creating a new wallet to interact with it. Or perhaps you have several sitting around for exactly this reason(As I do).
You’ll need a wallet that is compatible with the Base L2 chain. With this wallet, you’ll sign for most actions, even if they involve no monetary exchange.
PenX has 2 features built in that you cannot find in any other blog suite. The first of which is a fully customizable, set any price you like, establish as many tiers as you like, membership system. Lots of blogs have membership systems. I’ve never seen anything give the user this much control and freedom over how memberships work.
The second, which ties in with the other features is a CreatorFi Launchpad. Here, any PenX user can mint their own token in base, and allocate it as they see fit. Again, there is a high degree of freedom here, unlike any launchpad I’ve ever used.
These features will cost you a fractional amount of ETH on Base to cover the standard, super cheap gas and such of Base.
Another feature you’ll notice quickly is PenX’s proprietary token, which any blog owner may claim daily. The $PEN token currently has no equatable value, but as more users discover this incredible package, I expect that to change.
All content can be token-gated as the author sees fit. And every post can be set to collectible, in the manner you’re probably used to seeing on Paragraph and Mirror. This feature is the final setting before posting publicly, so you are always aware of a posts collectibility. Posts can also be gated until they are minted, which is a unique twist on what we’ve seen from the other Web3 major platforms.
Any post can be commented on. All posts have a Tip button so your readers can reward you without minting. There’s also a fully detailed collaboration system.
Currently content can be set to several formats, including, Journal entries, Blog posts, static pages, an image gallery, and databases.
Each blog also comes with a personal subdomain option, mine is https://exoteric.penx.io/, for example.
I’ve only begun to really dig into the real robustness of this new platform. It’s also available for self-hosting with a one-click deploy.
That’s where I’ll end this post, however, as it’s already far longer than I intended.
Jack Lhasa
A Shaman with an addiction for fresh startups.
Https://exoteric.live
Https://exoteric.penx.io/
Be on the lookout for more posts about PenX from me, as I intend to do a deeper piece on the features I’ve only briefly described here.
