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Heartbased Homestead's avatar

I want to believe that Russian mafia guy isn't AI. Found him a while back and pretty sure it's just really good AI.

Does give good advice tho.

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Ibrahim Khan's avatar

Thank you 💕💎💕

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Tom White's avatar

In the same spirit, sharing a lovely video from an under-the-radar, seemingly new channel I’ve been enjoying recently: The Brutal Truth About Writing (And Why We Still Love It) https://youtu.be/geXJHSAXoNw?si=XahVgLvLv8dMrXqk

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Treekllr's avatar

Oh awesome! More shit to watch on youtube! Whew, i thought i was going to run out, you know?

And its all really *good* shit, too, which is important bc i wouldnt want to trade my life away watching *dumb* shit.

Ahh, i kid the yt junkies.. im all for self destructive behavior with addictive products that make me feel good(lights cigarette). Why, just the other day i was at the skating rink with my nephew and he was trying to show me some new trick hes learning and im all like dude, im trying to watch skating videos. Look, see? These guys are really good(this may be an apocryphal story, idk. I *do* know i cant remember the names of the songs or artists i *was* watching, maybe at the skating rink). Can you believe he didnt want to watch them? Kids these days are getting weird. Alot of them want to *do* shit instead of watching it being done. Im like, cant you see how much better this is? Its like a video game except i dont have to push any buttons(except to skip commercials:/)!

Ive heard some people say our culture is turning to shit, but i dont see it. Maybe those naysayers are watching the wrong videos

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Maddie Hazelgrove's avatar

Re: "Russian Mafia Advice"... Quote/Unquote

This object, and other media objects of this brand, "Grim Hustle," are the products of a PR campaign for membership in a regional fraternity/society. No judgement on the virtues of the society, and I have no further analysis on the ownership/backing of it, than the history described at this link.

https://www.threads.com/@czepta.gold/post/CvzWxPTrHnc?hl=en

While the stoic and strategic advice offered by the presentations may have legitimate appeal and a timely return to classical values of honor, self-defense, etc., (I think some of them are excellent on their face and in their content), it seems unlikely that the superficial provenance attributed to "Russian Mafia" is anything more than an artificial premise meant to mystify the power or association of the society itself. Like Little Orphan Annie's Secret Decoder Ring before it, it is an advertisement. Society webpage here:

https://ringofgrim.com/

Personally, I rather like the philosophical and pragmatic premise of this brand, and many of the lessons in the yt clips are inherently good. But, functionally, I find the notion of joining centrally managed clubs to present inherent risks. [Same goes for any closed lifestyle brand vertical, such as GAIA.com, for instance, which silos content and removes it from the general, freely accessible library, thus disappearing it for any who don't seek it, and those who don't wish to associate their credit history with said subscription.]

I wish such ethos and reading club lists, and such IRL society meetups could occur in a decentralized, spontaneous, non-networked manner, free of brand, and upper-ring managment. But that's me. Maybe Grim Hustle can be of great personal/private utility for others seeking community and association. It appears most likely unrelated to actual Russian mafia; That said, who knows? Maybe it is.

Alternatively or commensurately, maybe tracing back to its hidden origins, perhaps one would find Vladslav Surkov at the source. This is nought but my own imaginative conjecture, as what better way to win hearts and minds than by appealing to universal truths, thus abandoned by contemporary American Culture. After all: Russian Boogieman will Boogie. Maybe their boogie is better than any to be found on our shores. That said: beware ALL middlemen for they tend to be middling and meddling, regardless of their claims to loyalty, principle, and to you.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/hidden-author-putinism-russia-vladislav-surkov/382489/

Other captivating reference to Surkov can be found in Adam Curtis' 2016 film "Hypernormalization." Must see if you have not come across it before.

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Treekllr's avatar

Heres a review i stumbled across. I have no idea who the author is, this is just the first thing google came up with(after the videos ofc). But my perusal of the ring of grim site at least meshes with the review. It definitely feels like a money getting thing

https://www.heiditoivonen.com/literature/2025/07/what-is-the-grim-hustle/

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Rod Brown's avatar

I liked all of these, but especially the rock climbing video. It reminded me of my climbing partner, whose photo was featured in the Patagonia catalog showing him climbing in Joshua Tree when he was 83 years old.

Illusion Dweller: The Climbing Life of Stimson Bullitt (Legend and Lore) https://a.co/d/9gG97X8

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Erdemten's avatar

I'm glad Castelnuovo-Tedesco is finally getting the wider recognition I think he deserves. His guitar music is certainly his most permanent accomplishment (his 1st Guitar Concerto is considered one of the four great guitar concertos of the 20th century), but he also was the first composer to set all of Shakespeare's songs in his plays. (He also wrote some excellent music drawing on his Jewish heritage, including his Sacred Service; he was forced to leave Italy in 1938 when the Fascists were finally prevailed upon by the Nazis to institute anti-Jewish legislation.) I'm especially fond of his chamber music, much of it with guitar, like this delightful work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRT-G-vrBcw

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neener's avatar

So much to unpack here! Thank you for sending me (us) in so many different directions!

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Memory Medieval's avatar

The Cultural Tudor's movie was good. Reminded me of James Burke's Connections show.

You may like this, an in depth look into how ai and all this stuff is affecting streaming services (if you haven't seen) https://youtu.be/plleJ0Zv0Ww?si=mdcEAQQ6-Mu44UgB

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Alexander Scott McGrath's avatar

I've seen two of these (and enjoyed them) so I'll be happy to look at the others.

Even a starving artist needs a bit of fun once in a while.

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Sterno58's avatar

Thank you for bringing the Open Reel Ensemble into my life. It seems like such a bleak world right now, but this literally reminded me that artistry and creativity will save us all. I want to tour with this group like a Deadhead...

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Scott Stroud's avatar

My guess is it's Rick Rubin's prominently displayed bare feed that are keeping people from tuning in.

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𝓙𝓪𝓼𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓦𝓸𝓵𝓯𝓮's avatar

All 7 tips from the anti bullying video work! I've used all of them. I think the most important one is to not show emotion. He who angers you, controls you. Oh, I would also be the first one to help someone, if I was able to, even if they had been shitty to me. It drove the bullies crazy🤣

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