Author Archives: T.Z. Barry

Social Anxiety and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

5 Replies

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

SA-AttackClones

In honor of Star Wars Day 2017, let’s continue the saga of the Force versus the Dark Side. We found a new hope in Episode IV, the Empire struck back in Episode V, the Jedi returned in Episode VI, and a Phantom Menace rose in Episode I. Now we visit episode two of the prequel trilogy, Attack of the Clones. It is admittedly not a great film, although it does contain one of my favorite action scenes in the entire Star Wars series: the flying car chase through the Coruscant cityscape at night. It also contains some wise insights into the Force (mindfulness) and the Dark Side (social anxiety).

Continue reading →

Mindfulness in the Age of the Internet

Leave a reply

mindfulness-internet

Two of my favorite people on the internet collided this week when Leo Babauta of Zen Habits went on the Rich Roll Podcast. As expected, it was a great episode, full of insight and wisdom, but there was one thing they said that I wanted to expand upon. At one point, Rich asked Leo why he thought mindfulness is becoming more popular and mainstream lately, but neither had a clear answer.

I think the main reason is the internet. Continue reading →

Fake News and the Future of History

3 Replies

fake-news1

How do we know whether something we didn’t witness ourselves actually happened?

In the past, all knowledge and records were passed on orally, then later through books. Meaning facts could have been easily manipulated and fabricated as the storyteller saw fit. Therefore no history pre-photographs/audio/video can be taken at face value as empirically true unless there is archeological evidence or scientific proof. Otherwise, there is no way of knowing whether any account of history happened the way we were told.  Continue reading →

Social Anxiety in Movies: Napoleon Dynamite

1 Reply

SA-NapoleonDynamite

Napoleon Dynamite is the type of movie you either love or hate. Except in my case, I both love and hate it. At first, I wasn’t sure why. I enjoy quirky independent comedies, and Napoleon Dynamite features socially awkward characters (like me), so it should have been right up my alley. But I didn’t love the film wholeheartedly like so many other fans. There were certainly parts of the movie I found funny, but other parts rubbed me the wrong way. After re-watching the movie recently and thinking about it further, I realized part of the reason I “hate” Napoleon Dynamite might be the way it portrays social anxiety. Continue reading →

I am Invisible: A Short Story

3 Replies

DALL-E2d

I am Invisible is a surreal slipstream short story about a young man who wakes up one day to discover he is invisible.  Inspired by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the story touches on themes of social anxiety, alienation, and depression. I am Invisible is currently available on Amazon. Read below for a preview of the story.

Continue reading →

Can Robots Create Art?

6 Replies

DALL·E 2022-11-08 21.06.01 - a robot painting a picture of a robot in the style of Van Gogh

I was thinking about the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and how robots and automation will take over most if not all human jobs. But what about mine? The fiction writer. Or any other kind of artist: painter, musician, actor, etc… Will robots replace humans in creating art? Continue reading →