Michael P Gibson

Elon Musk on the life cycle of civilizations: “You do tend to see the same patterns… civilizations go through a life cycle like an organism Just like a human: zygote, fetus, baby, toddler, teenager… eventually it gets old and dies The civilizations go through a life cycle No civilization will last forever” The only question is how long we can delay the inevitable

One of the greatest books ever written

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Here’s a story for you. We started filming without owning the title and had to do alternates. Taft Broadcasting owned the title Ghostbusters as part of their half-hour sitcom starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (F-Troop) and a gorilla chasing ghosts. I had never heard of it. They didn’t have proton packs or Bill Murray. Columbia paid $500,000 to buy the name, but they really should have paid Dean Martin, from whom I first heard the term. In the film Scared Stiff (1953), he and Jerry Lewis (check out his acrobatic stair descent) are in an old haunted castle, and Lizabeth Scott asks Dean: “Who are you guys?” And Dean answers: “You’ve heard of Trustbusters and Gangbusters, we’re Ghostbusters!” For my research writing the first movie, I watched every single ‘ghost’ comedy ever made. Bowery Boys, Hope and Crosby, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis all did such films. Happy Halloween 2026.

Ten million people have watched a comedian accidentally destroy the entire TED talk industry. He filmed the talk once at TEDxNewYork in 2014 and openly admitted he had nothing to say. Speaking coaches charge $5,000 to teach the exact tricks he used in 6 minutes to say nothing at all. His name is Will Stephen. He is a comedian from Late Night with Seth Meyers who was invited to give a real TED talk and used it to prove the format is a costume anyone can wear. Every TED speaker opens with a question, tells a personal story, cites a scientist, and shows a chart. Stephen did all four in six minutes with zero content. His entire formula fits on a napkin. Gesture with both hands. Ask the audience a question anyone can answer. Tell a mildly embarrassing story so they say aww. Point to a stranger on a slide and call them important. Flash a chart of random numbers. Wear glasses with no lenses. The audience will think you are brilliant. That last trick alone has probably cost the public speaking coaching industry a hundred million dollars in sessions clients should have skipped. "If you watched me on YouTube with the sound off, you would think I was a genius." That is Will Stephen on the TED stage, three minutes into the talk he was paid to give. He wasn't lying. Executives pay $15,000 for a keynote coach and still open with a joke the room never laughs at. Founders rehearse their pitch for weeks and still sound like Stephen at minute four, saying "wagga wah, gabba gabba" with authority. The talk is free on YouTube. The method is written across every TED speaker's playbook for ten years. Stephen still writes for Seth Meyers. Almost none of the ten million viewers have stopped nodding at empty slides since. The formula is free. The willingness to actually say something before your next keynote, pitch, or townhall is the entire edge.

As a father who just chose not to send my older son to public school, here's what's happening: 1. NYC public schools are full of woke, mentally ill people. The teachers, the students, the counselors, everyone is wacked out. If you're just a normal parent that wants a normal school with a normal focus on education, good behavior, friendship, manners, etc. you are shit out of luck. 2. While there are some good elementary schools, most middle schools are atrocious, and result in some of the biggest drops in education outcomes. Even if you send your kid to a good elementary public school, you're 100% going to move in time for middle school. And if you make it to high school, your only hope are the specialized schools, but mamdani the islamist is intent on destroying them, which would completely fuck your kids. 3. The average kid in an average NYC public school is stupid as hell. 70% do not read proficiently for their grade level. They can't do math. They have a ton of behavioral issues and are bad influences on your kid. As a normal father of a normal family I'm paying an absurd amount of taxes and for what? My hard earned money is being wasted on the comically evil teachers union, paying adult day care fraudsters, and subsidizing the "73% of public school students in poverty." This is just a scam. Those kids are not in poverty. Their parents work under the table, don't report anything to not pay taxes, and get ridiculous government subsidies. Everyone is running a scam and families like mine are paying for it. It's no wonder so many of my peers left and despite living in NYC for coming on 30 years, I probably will too at some point.