Futuristic Words

I’m still in Las Vegas, at least physically. This city is not meant for ordinary people but is instead designed for some other species, one uncursed with livers. It took about seventeen minutes before my sobriety became a fuzzy memory, a fact I came to regret with the full force of my being all weekend, as my drinking lapse soon became a behavioral leitmotif. If you’ve never attempted to give a compelling speech to a room full of grown-ups while fighting off the effects of a three day bender, I strongly recommend you take my advice and forego the alcohol. As I swam through my hangovers, plural, I took solace in the fact I was surrounded by similarly afflicted scoundrels.

The last hour of the last day of the conference proper I was sitting with my fellow instructors when Savoy’s words of acknowledgement and acclaim pierced the blear of my semi-traumatized, sleepless state. I am sure pictures from that moments immediately preceding the announcement will show me for the husk of a man I was at the time. I cannot express enough gratitude to the students who declared me the favorite instructor in Las Vegas this weekend. For me, the entire weekend was a learning experience. Through narrowed eyes under a furrowed brow I watched my colleagues and felt my jaw dropping lower and lower with every feat of romantic or sexual derring do. Were it  not for the distinct danger to my internal organs, I might wish the Super Conference could go on forever. Were it so I would probably understand human beings as if I had the mind of the Creator in the moments immediately before I succumbed to my toxic blood alcohol level. I love this company. I love working in a job where I get to change people’s lives as a matter of course. Thanks again to the students and instructors who made this weekend a legend before the sun came up on Monday.

In case I didn’t make the case in my last update, you should attend the Love Systems Super Conference this weekend in Las Vegas. All our instructors will be out there with a few additions, e.g. Brad P, and it’s going to be heaps upon layers crammed into tunnels made entirely of fun. And vagina.

Lose time:

- Tons of sampling from Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2, clever implementation of a video game styled HUD, and the only good use of first person perspective I’ve seen so far in live action. One question remains unanswered, though: what’s in the box?

- I’m reading Niall Ferguson’s Ascent of Money. It’s a dramatic departure from the fantasy series I’ve been reading since July, George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. Dr. Ferguson is smart and a very good writer, but reading Ascent of Money makes me feel like I tested well and should be in the slow class. That said, the farther in the book I read, the more prescient Dr. Ferguson appears. Perhaps he can get a fourth PhD in Cassandraism. After that will be, in this order, A Whole New Mind, Why Women Should Rule the World, Little White Lies, Deep Dark Secrets: The Truth About Why Women Lie, The Artist’s Way, and then back to fiction with A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and House of Leaves. I’m sad because except for the first one, NONE of those books are available for my Kindle.

- Get a Kindle. Girls (and guys and homeless people) will start conversations with you to talk about it. As with any situational opener, it then falls on you the Romantic Philosopher (RS)* to continue the conversation. I could go on and on about this amazing device. If you’re scrunching your face and muttering something about how much you miss the feel of books, I would point to the weight of the device and its note-taking abilities and its nearly infinite battery life. And then I would kick you in the shins and call you a Luddite.

- This is a video of a goat that screams like a person. (Thanks, Shanna)

-  I read Gretchen Rubin’s blog every day, and I am never more than a few inches from her 12 commandments of happiness. They are the first thing I scrawl in any notebook. Her book is coming out soon, but the blog is filled with thoughtful ideas about individual, familial, and societal happiness.

- Tuesday, 6 October 2009. With the exception of an errant shot of tequila at the Atlanta boot camp, a shot of tequila shoved in my hand by an excited Marine last weekend, and a glass of red wine foisted on me by a girl this recent Sunday, this is day 39 of a Future without Alcohol.

*—On this new term. I hate the terminology of the SUISC, and I love how my company has strived to bridge the gap between the Mystery-led herd of blind children to the rest of the mortal population. I eschew terminology like “PUA” or “player” or “pimp” because they wreak of a disingenuousness based on the faux excellence they imply. When I first taught at a boot camp, a student asked me how long it took me to become a “PUA”, and although I probably should have restrained myself, I looked at him like he was crazy. I have had success with women, and I have had failure. I can repeat my successes consistently, and I can talk meaningfully about the times I achieved or fell short of my goals. Any wisdom regarding my relationships with women I have attained by grasping it from the crucible of failure/awkwardness/embarrassment with bare hands. When I fight approach anxiety or have to use my knowledge to explain away a rejection, I carry the same frame of mind I did when I first discovered the SUISC. In those moments, I am no guru, just another student of human nature with a lofty heart.

I can’t repeat enough how amazing our crew at Love Systems is. I just sifted through their various blogs, and I feel like I attended a seminar myself. Thanks so much for the knowledge, guys:

Braddock’s Blog – I remember when Braddock was a ridiculously promising approach coach. He is now a fucking powerhouse font of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. One of the things I am most excited about for the Love Systems Super Conference is the opportunity to run game with him, listen to his seminar, and otherwise learn at his feet. You probably know that if you are here. If you don’t, here’s LS Instructor Braddock on the Tyra Banks show:

Braddock is one of the funniest people I’ve met, up to and including my peers in New York’s stand-up comedy scene. His blog reflects that, but every now and then he drops knowledge that sends me reeling. To wit:

Why Do I Want a Girlfriend and Want to Bang Every Girl That Moves – Why indeed? As Braddock points out, this is not new data if you’ve read The Red Queen or Sperm Wars, but the section he quotes is a testament to Braddock’s ability to isolate useful information and apply it to his pedagogy.

His interview with Mr. M., Part 2 – God. He just nails some points here. I’ll just say I was humbled when I read this.

Bonsai on Why You Want to Learn to Pick Up a Stripper to Improve Your Game – When I was working with Mystery in the early days, I fell victim to the social pressure that dating strippers was cool. They are ridiculously hot and usually, if they’re not sexually blocked because of whatever issues prompted them to jump on the pole, they’re like demigods in bed. The magic stops there. I had three especially drama-filled stripper situations, and I am a bit skittish about getting back on that horse. That said, Bonsai’s article is a wonderful read because whatever else you say about strippers, picking a beautiful stripper up at the strip club is harder than picking up any other girl anywhere.

Keychain – Keychain and I have spent a pretty serious chunk of hours together during the two bootcmaps we’ve worked, and I cannot wait to see him again at the Super Conference. I would teach every boot camp with him if he wasn’t a damned European because our styles are so very, very different. I am Jolt Cola, and he is red wine. He asked me to comment on his recent post, and I thought it was going to about game. He knows me too well. This post is him being righteous and lovely about people in the SUISC who mangle the English language. Funny as that is, I think this is one of the best primers on approaching during the daytime you’ll ever see.

Vercetti’s Assumption Game – We teach about sexually reframing what a girl says, and we talk about sexual or positive misinterpretation, but Vercetti provides some absolutely perfect examples and gives an incredibly thoughtful explanation of the hows and whys. I utterly love hanging out, working with, and teaching next to Vercetti. His blog is jammed to the neck with great information, and as I read it I can see the echoes of what he is writing in his manner in person. He is a wonder at translating his experiences to actionable teaching.

5.0 “I run out of things to say to girls” – This is one of the top three problems guys deal with on boot camps.* I see it every single week. 5.0 here breaks down clearly and usefully how to tackle an issue that nearly every guy who starts to learn this stuff will eventually encounter. I don’t know too many guys learning this stuff who couldn’t stand to read this entry, um, fifty times.

Tenmagnet on Getting a Woman to Leave in the Morning – Christ, Ten, where was this article four years ago when I started understanding how to talk to girls? I had to learn the hard way. Braddock and Sinn have a special memory of Future’s least tactful ways to usher a girl from an apartment. This is much better, and you have less risk of your building being burned down than some of the more bold approaches I’ve taken.

Also, Tenmagnet analyzes a letter for Mystery authorship – This might only be funny if you know Mystery, but I was laughing out loud. It’s always fun to tease the Dungeon Master.

Big Business on Closing at Their Place – BB used to live in one of Manhattan’s armpits, a little smegma deposit called Astoria. If he didn’t want to have his wang hitchhike away, he had to figure out how to manage logistics such that he ended up with the girl at her own place. My current abode is somewhat uninviting, so I have this shit bookmarked. Also, BB is a human laugh riot.

Soul on Insta-Dates – I’ll confess I’ve advocated Insta-Dates during daytime approaches, but I can’t disagree with Soul here. I still say try for the insta-date, but he’s right that it won’t necessarily go anywhere. My schedule in New York demands that I do a bunch of daytime approaches. I’m an expert, but I still have to cede to Soul. I learn every fucking time the guy opens his mouth on the subject.

Starlight on The Playboy Mansion – This damned dirty son of a bitch pulled a Playboy cage dancer out of the Playboy mansion and came to seminar the next day with bruises on his chest. This while Future lost his phone with, say, seventy incredible numbers on it. Yes, some of them found me through Facebook, so it’s not the end of the world, but the entire experience was enough for me to eschew alcohol for the foreseeable future. (I have a great write-up pending, but I fear I won’t be able to do the experience justice.) Starlight is just a stand-up guy** who radiates positivity, well-being, and success. Read the linked post if you want some inkling on how to handle a truly beautiful woman in a socially charged situation.

Savoy – He wrote Magic Bullets. If you’re here, you probably read his blog. I never, ever stop learning from him. Nothing more need be said.

There you have it. Incredible, dynamic, interesting, intelligent men flooding your brain with powerful information on how to handle one of life’s core issues. The best part is yet to come: every single one of these guys will be at the Love Systems Super Conference 8 October through 13 October:

The Super Conference is probably the highlight of the year for most of us LS instructors. We rarely get a chance to BS and socialize and game and learn and teach together. I’m getting excited just typing this, and you should have already clicked away.

Peace be with you.

*—It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the biggest of the three are, but they are: failure to approach, failure to speak, and failure to escalate. Ironically, these three major issues correspond to taking the first steps on the Love Systems Triad Model (pdf link). Savoy’s a fucking genius.

**—Literally. He’s one of our tallest instructors, the cunt, and if I wasn’t such a huge fan, I’d love to see him get his knees removed. Don’t worry, Savoy, Helicase, and Braddock, I’ll call you cunts in some other post.