Contents
Foreword xi
- People’s Protective Bubbles Are Okay 3
- How to Make Friends in a New City 4
- The Uniqlo Game 6
- Going to the Gym 7
- How to Be Good at Playing Charades 9
- Don’t Pretend There Is No Leader 12
- The Chairs Are Where the People Go 15
- How to Teach Charades 17
- Miscommunication Is Nice 20
- The Gibberish Game 21
- The Residents’ Association 23
- There Are Some Games I Won’t Play with My
Friends 36
- Social Music 37
- Manners 39
- How to Improvise, and How Not to Not Improvise 42
- The Crazy Parts 46
- Charging for My Classes 48
- What Is a Game? 50
- Spam 51
- Margaux 55
- Charades Homework 56
- Harvard and Class 59
- The Rocks Game 66
- Some Video on the Internet 68
- People Who Take My Classes 70
- Shut Up and Listen 71
- Is Monogamy a Trick? 72
- The Conducting Game 75
- Sitting on the Same Side of the Table 78
- Seeing My Friends Drunk for the First Time 81
- A Decision Is a Thing You Make 84
- All the Games Are Meant to Solve Problems, but Problems
Are Unpleasant 89
- Home Maladies 90
- Keeping Away People Who Would Be Disappointed 92
- The Happiness Class 93
- 36. The Converge / Diverge Game 98
- Going to Parties 101
- Kensington Market 103
- Keeping People Quiet 108
- Feeling Like a Fraud 110
- Negotiation 111
- Fighting Games 113
- What Experimental Music Is For 118
- These Projects Don’t Make Money 119
- Seeing Your Parents Once a Week 122
- Asking a Good Question 123
- A Mind Is Not a Terrible Thing to Measure 125
- Doing One Thing Doesn’t Mean You’re Against Something
Else 128
- Get Louder or Quit 129
- Why Robert McKee Is Wrong About Casablanca 130
- Conferences Should Be an Exhilarating Experience 132
- Improvised Behavior 139
- Storytelling Is Not the Same Thing as Conversation 140
- Introducing People in the Classes 141
- Making the City More Fun for You and Your Privileged
Friends Isn’t a Super-Noble Political Goal 143
- Seeing John Zorn Play Cobra 145
- Impostor Syndrome 148
- Nimbyism 149
- Conducting from the Center of a Circle 151
- Why Noise Music? 153
- Absenteeism 154
- Failure and Games 155
- Why a Computer Only Lasts Three Years 156
- What Are These Classes For? 157
- Who Are Your Friends? 159
- Neighborhoods Change 160
- Atheism and Ritual 162
- Social Capital 164
- Sitting Down and Listening as a Role 165
- Everyone’s Favorite Thing and Unfavorite Thing Are
Different 167
- Finding an Ending 168
- Wearing a Suit All the Time Is a Good Way to Quit
Smoking 169
Acknowledgments 175
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