From d6857fe5f435b83dd1b5d28297590fd218fb54a3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: UTSO SARKAR <62977856+officiallyutso@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2025 13:40:54 +0530 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] chore(typography): replace hyphens with em dashes (#211) * chore(typography): replace hyphens with em dashes Co-authored-by: Rajdeep Aher * Update 2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md --------- Co-authored-by: Rajdeep Aher Co-authored-by: Rajdeep Aher <79948256+RajdeepAher@users.noreply.github.com> --- _posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md | 10 +++++----- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md b/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md index a8e664f..f12887d 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md +++ b/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md @@ -22,13 +22,13 @@ Today, we must discuss something of dire importance. Not taxes, not the inevitab This is about why, before the world descends into fiery oblivion, slow bureaucratic decay and credit card debt, you need at least *three pairs of shoes*. As the great inventor, Steve Jobs might have said if he'd focused more on footwear and less on Macs: -*"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower - and nothing innovates your survival chances like proper arch support."* +*"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower — and nothing innovates your survival chances like proper arch support."* ## The Duality of Shoes: Survival and Swagger Since the dawn of time, humanity has been obsessed with two things: not dying, and looking good while not dying. Shoes, my friend, are the ultimate expression of that duality. -Nietzsche almost said, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how—especially if the 'how' involves waterproof boots." +Nietzsche almost said: *"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how—especially if the 'how' involves waterproof boots."* Not only do they protect you from rogue Lego bricks (toddler-engineered pain traps), but they’re also a message to your better-off friends: _"Hey, I’ve got my life together too. Look at these laces. Look at this arch support on my crisp Nike Air Force 1s. I am a functioning adult (early 20s btw)."_ @@ -95,10 +95,10 @@ _Act 2_ Imelda Marcos, who famously (and controversially) owned 1,060 pairs of shoes, understood this. They were never about feet. They were about fear. Fear of scarcity, fear of being outshone, fear that somewhere, someone had a pair you didn’t. -Coco Chanel nailed the blend of need and narcissism: "The best things in life are free. The second best are very, very expensive." +Coco Chanel nailed the blend of need and narcissism: _"The best things in life are free. The second best are very, very expensive."_ Love, friendship, sunsets-these are priceless. But survival instinct? Free. Surviving in style? That’s a Visa transaction. -Chanel forgot to mention the corollary: "The third-best things are on sale, the fourth-best are in landfills, and the fifth-best will strangle you with their laces during the riot." +Chanel forgot to mention the corollary: _"The third-best things are on sale, the fourth-best are in landfills, and the fifth-best will strangle you with their laces during the riot."_ It's funny how irrational our consumer logic becomes under pressure. It's funny, absurd and sad just like capitalism, which, like bad footwear, narrows your choices until "dignity" means choosing which blisters to ignore. @@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ So now, take my advice, and before next Tuesday, do yourself a favor and buy thr When you will be watching the last Twitter server blink out, you'll understand what Plato really meant when he said _"Our need will be the real creator"_ and your need, dear reader, is three damn pairs of shoes. -Because in the end, as the Buddha nearly said while shopping at Adidas: _"Pain is inevitable - blisters are optional." Choose wisely._ +Because in the end, as the Buddha nearly said while shopping at Adidas: _"Pain is inevitable — blisters are optional." Choose wisely._ If you remain enough of a lunatic to argue that the world won’t end, well then you’ve got yourself a wonderful wardrobe and a lifetime to spend flaunting your newly bought shoes on dates that will never end happily. From 2df44449478078f1fa97fa5515b7aba92053ea81 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Rajdeep Aher <79948256+RajdeepAher@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2025 13:49:59 +0530 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] fix: minor grammatical errors --- _posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md | 12 ++++++++---- 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md b/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md index f12887d..773edef 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md +++ b/_posts/2025-08-01-3pairs-of-shoes.md @@ -38,13 +38,16 @@ Because as Sun Tzu might observe if he'd written _The Art of War_ as a Shein Mar Now, let’s simulate doomsday scenarios: -**Scenario 1**: You’re sprinting from a pack of feral dogs. Your only shoes? Crocs (war mode activated). +**Scenario 1**: You’re sprinting from a pack of feral dogs. Your only shoes? Crocs (war mode activated). + **Verdict:** Dead. **Scenario 2**: Trekking across a radioactive wasteland. Your only shoes? Stilettos. + **Verdict:** Dead (but fabulously). **Scenario 3**: Trying to impress the last surviving human. Your only shoes? Toe shoes. + **Verdict**: Emotionally deceased. You see the pattern. One pair is a liability. Two’s a compromise. But three? Three pairs is _wisdom._ @@ -59,7 +62,8 @@ Shoes carry the energy of where you’ve been and where you’re headed. So, you ## Capitalism’s Eulogy, As told by its ghosts -_Act 1_ +_**Act 1**_ + Here’s what the silent witnesses of civilization have to say about the Three-Shoe Principle: _**1. A Sentient, Deeply Traumatized Shoe Rack**_ @@ -90,8 +94,8 @@ The library book knows the truth: survival manuals go unread until the fire is a **Capitalism sells the dream of preparedness, but stocks only enough for those who can outrun the rush.** - -_Act 2_ +--- +_**Act 2**_ Imelda Marcos, who famously (and controversially) owned 1,060 pairs of shoes, understood this. They were never about feet. They were about fear. Fear of scarcity, fear of being outshone, fear that somewhere, someone had a pair you didn’t.