MY CURATED MIND

These people are, in fact, actually evil and completely lacking in any sort of empathy for their fellow humans.

This is not an exaggeration. 

Literally laughing at young children. Being tear-gassed.

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“I understand things visually, by finding them in paint. I don’t know if my dyslexia causes me to be this way, but I have a feeling it does.” — Rachel Deane, painter.

We know lots of facts about dyslexia: It’s the most common reading disorder. It changes the way millions of people read and process information.

But we know much less about how it feels to people who have it. How it shapes your self-image, your confidence and how people see and react to you.

And so I reached out to some really creative people — artists who have dyslexia — to talk about this.

One of the most fascinating things I heard is that dyslexia plays a big role in their creative process. Some said their struggle with written words informs their art. And the struggle to express ideas they can’t in writing makes their art unique.

I asked six of these artists to show me through their work what dyslexia is like. Here’s what they came up with.

1. Gudrun Hasle, fine artist

Copenhagen, Denmark

Insta: @gudrunhasle

Gudrun Hasle, “Untitled” (1-5), yarn embroideries on stout, 8.3″ X 11.7″;  2016.

What do you want people to know about dyslexia?

First of all, that dyslexia is a real thing, and secondly, that you can be a very intelligent person despite your handicap. 

2. Nick Fagan, fine artist

Columbus, Ohio

Instagram: @nick.fagan

Nick Fagan, “COME COME,” steel and wood sculpture, 64”x54”x6”; 2016.

For me, language has always been somewhat of a struggle. Specifically, the inability/difficulty to express self through writing has been a particular struggle. In my work I try to see these flaws as a new way of showing language by breaking it down into the physical lines to demonstrate how words are actually made. - Fagan

3. Leslie Chavez, photographer

Austin, Texas

Instagram: @lesliechavez7

Leslie Chavez, “Fit In,” digital photograph, 2016.

Every day I am stressed, dispirited, and fed up because I never feel satisfied with my work – whether it’s academic, my campus jobs, or an artistic project. In the back of my mind, I have a voice telling me, “You’re not enough, you can’t fit in with the others.” That’s where these emotions rise up and overwhelm me. I work twice as hard as other students to understand what they were able to pick up quickly. My professors are flexible with my learning disability, but once I’m done with school, I won’t have that help. I have to blend in with everyone else and pretend my learning disability won’t affect my job. These feelings will always be there with me. -Chavez

4. Ash Casper, designer and illustrator

New York, New York

Instagram: @ashjcasper

Ash Casper, “Oriented,“ acrylic paint and encaustic wax, 8"x8”; 2016.

What do you wish others knew about dyslexia?

My struggle with dyslexia doesn’t define me, and I have never felt defined by it. It was just something that I dealt with and overcame to get where I am today. Art was the answer for me. 

Many other people deal with dyslexia on a daily basis, but they don’t let it define them. Dyslexia isn’t some disability that makes you a struggling student for the rest of your life, it is simply a hurdle that some people must jump in order to succeed. 

5. Rachel Deane, painter

Providence, Rhode Island

Instagram: @rachelkdeane​

Rachel Deane, "In Search for a Weapon I Found My Bonnard Book,“ oil on canvas, 40” x 54"; 2016.

I think that my relationship to my dyslexia manifests itself indirectly in my work. My paintings represent the way I see and process the world, the way I learn information. I learn visually and through narratives rather than by memorization or other standard education practices. 

I saw a large retrospective exhibition of (the artist Pierre) Bonnard at the Musée d'Orsay a couple of years ago and was blown away by his use of color and texture. I could not walk away from the exhibition without purchasing the large, heavy catalogue. My Bonnard book protects me visually and emotionally. I think this example shows the way I think, the way I process. I understand things visually, by finding them in paint. I don’t know if my dyslexia causes me to be this way, but I have a feeling it does. 

- Deane

6. Mel Jarvis, illustrator

Detroit, Michigan

Instagram: @mjarvis_draws

Mel Jarvis, “Dyslexic Piggy,” ink and digital coloring, 2016.

Dyslexics have to find new and creative ways to do things, we are adaptive. When most directions in life can be challenging to understand, you learn how to do get around needing them. We are great tinkers and thinkers!

The anti-Semitic history of the phrase “America first”

Like “Make America Great Again,” the call to put “America first” may seem relatively harmless on the surface. 

But a closer look at the origins of the phrase reveals a dark history.

According to Williams College professor Susan Dunn’s CNN op-ed from April, the term got its start with the “America First Committee,” an organization founded in 1940 at Yale University by student R. Douglas Stuart Jr., future President Gerald Ford and future Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart.

The trio urged Congress against participating in World War II, “even if England is on the verge of defeat.” They wanted instead for the United States to appease Adolf Hitler.

The organization soon replicated itself across the country, garnering millions of members, according to Dunn. 

And as its message spread, it soon became tied up in anti-Semitism.

“It had to remove from its executive committee not only the notoriously anti-Semitic Henry Ford but also Avery Brundage, the former chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee who had prevented two Jewish runners from the American track team in Berlin in 1936 from running in the finals of the 4x100 relay,” Dunn wrote. 

If you like comics, it’s easy to go on a binge session. A few years ago I had a subscription to Marvel Unlimited and I thought: “What was Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Daredevil like?” I was three hours late to a party that night. Whoops.

Paper comics have gotten ridiculously expensive, and it’s hard to find them outside specialty stores. Anyone who has been into the medium for a while has half their bedroom filled boxes of the floppy pamphlets. Digital theoretically presented an opportunity to keep up with the storylines more conveniently, though this hasn’t worked out spectacularly in practice.

What about a sort of Netflix for digital comics? There are a few options for readers that want to pay a fixed price to borrow from an online library. Comparing them is not straightforward and what’s on offer keeps changing.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

It is not your job to tell us what police say happened.

Workplaces are (slowly) becoming more equal. Yet many have policies that all but ensure that households will stay stuck in the past.

So yeah, my book MODERN ROMANCE drops June 16th. But if you preorder if NOW at book.azizansari.com, you get a bunch of goodies:

- You get to download and read the first introduction chapter NOW.

- An MP3 of from the audiobook featuring me reading a chapter – perfect for curling up by a fire and having me read to you.

-  A few Drake dubsmash videos that I shot myself just for people who pre-order.

- In NYC? – We’re doing a small book event the first week of June. You’ll be entered into the lottery to get 2 tickets if you fill out your info in the form. This event is really small, and we had to do a lottery to avoid issues with scalpers, huge lines, etc.

- Not in NYC? – If you preorder the book and fill out the form, we’ll send you the details for a Livestream of one of the book tour events we’re doing in June and July.  

Ok is that enough “bonus shit” to get you to buy the book? Alright, go grab it at any bookseller, a list of which can be found at: book.azizansari.com.

No? Ok ding dong - here’s some advance praise to convince you the book is great:

“Always-hilarious Aziz Ansari proves you can be smart and funny at the same time. Not only did I laugh my ass off, I really learned stuff. Where was this book when I was 22 years old? ” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestselling Freakonomics

“Laughing is my second least-favorite thing in the world after thinking. This book was torture.” - Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals

“ Modern Romance is just like Aziz Ansari himself—charming, thoughtful, reasonable, and able to distill the madness of the world into something both sane and wildly funny.” - Dave Eggers,