in honor of the toll - collection
TRANSCRIPT
In Honor Of The TollParts 1, 2, 3
Jan BakIn Honor Of The Toll
LIFE + BUSINESS
3
11
19
28
34
39
46
54
58
66
73
Inflation
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Flyover Country
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Meritocracy
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Recession
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Best Price
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Salary
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Sup Y’all
What People Think It Means
What It Means To Me
Views From The U.S.
BAK
EducationEconomy Employment
The U.S. market is pretty, pretty huge
0
5
10
15
$20 Trill
United States
$17.4
China
$10.4
Japan
$4.8
$3.8
France
$2.9 $2.8
Germany United
Kingdom
GDP - $Trillions
Economy Views From The U.S.
BAK
Lots of good schools in the U.S. too
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
United States
46
United
Kingdom
106
Australia
5 5
Germany
Japan
Number of
Times Higher Ed
100 Universities -
Reputation Rankings
Education Views From The U.S.
BAK
You’ve probably heard of a few
# University Country
1 Harvard University United States
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States
3 Stanford University United States
4 University of Cambridge United Kingdom
5 University of Oxford United Kingdom
6 University of California, Berkeley United States
7 Princeton University United States
8 Yale University United States
9 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States
10 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States
11 The University of Tokyo Japan
12 Columbia University United States
13 Imperial College London United Kingdom
14 University of Chicago United States
15 University of Michigan United States
16 ETH Zürich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich Switzerland
17 Cornell University United States
18 Johns Hopkins University United States
19 Kyoto University Japan
20 University of Toronto Canada
Education Views From The U.S.
BAK
The companies are a big deal
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
United States
32
China
15
Germany
10
France
8
Japan
7Number of Global
Fortune 100 Companies
- Headquarters
Employment Views From The U.S.
BAK
It all ‘works’ quite well…get it?
0
20
40
60
80
United States
63
Europe
31
Asia
3
Number of LinkedIn
World's 100 Most
InDemand Employers
Employment Views From The U.S.
BAK
Special Thanks
Every Day
Views From The U.S.
BAK
People keep telling me that I should buy Bitcoins or even understand what the hell that is. Seems completely criminal if you ask me. I’m allfor trying new technology and being “on the forefront” of things but it really doesn’t appear any different from how the
U.S. monetary system creates “new money” electronically, just instead of reputable citizens doing it, it is some backwards weirdos.
If I can convince myself that Bitcoins are something more than just nerds doing nerd things then maybe I’ll give that whole concept some more thought.
Until then, I’ll stick to accumulating wealth using means that won’t get me in trouble with FBI agents.
Better a Rolex on the wrist, then cuffs around the fist.
COFFEE BREAK CONTEMPLATION #1
LU
KE S
KYW
ALK
ER
LU
KE S
KYW
ALK
ER
a + b + c = sin2𝜃+cos 2𝜃 - 1
† + $ + = 100%
-273.15= -459.67
lim𝑝→01/𝑝= ∞
1 00 1
1 00 1
1 00 1
𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑥
2 x 1.00794 + 1 x 15.9994 | 1,8,1
24,901 = 2𝜋𝐸 ≈ 24,860
1988500.0E24 333K M⊕
1.99 x 1020 = 𝐺∗𝑀⊕∗(0.07342 x 1024kg)
384,400,0002
1𝑛𝑌
≝≝ ≝≝≝ ≝
≝
+=
B = 𝑑𝐵 ≥ 30006/30/1908
21.4000° N, 89.5167° W … 65,000,000 a
382102369508366000000 mi < 13,800,000,000 ly ǁ -14 pc, 14 pc ǁ = 93 5,881,294,545,900,000 au
Ω
0 ≠ 1L
AV
W
dBmvar
VA
FH
S
C
Ah
kWh
eV
Ωm
S/m
N/C
VmT
G
WbHz
s
m
m2ppm
(x,y,z,ict)
(M,g)
diag(1, -1, -1, -1)
p mv∆𝑈 𝑄 𝜕𝑄 𝑇
S ki2 -1
0≤𝑗≤𝑚0<𝑦<𝑓
𝐻 𝑗, 𝑦1506 =
−𝑏± 𝑏2−4𝑎𝑘
2𝑎 1 2 3
6 3 ∎⊾∥
⊾
yields 5 ‽
⋐
5 4 12 4 00 1 8
0 11 99 4
𝐽 ⋯ 7.5⋮ ⋱ ⋮8.5 ⋯ 9.5
0 7 525 38 31 111 10
±98
5
𝑒−𝑖𝜔𝑡
𝜋
20
5
104/30/1990
3/6/1992
9/4/19939/17/1996
5/27/1998
0/1 0-10⋮
15-18-9-15-14
Λ 𝒲 Β Τ ∔ 7
2
log46 𝐹𝑀𝑅1
𝜑
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
𝑥 ⊕ 𝑦
:::
10♠ J♣ Q♥ K♦Aֆ
♯
: ҉
P*
M*1
1
0
≫ ≫12 12
12 ≫ 12≫
12 ≫ 12≫
12≫12≫
12 ≫ 12≫
12 ≫ 12 ≫ ≫≫
STARBUCKS IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY
BLACK FUEL
Reinvention of the coffee shop atmosphere
Revitalization of the city street
Real development of the18-24 age group
BLACK FUEL
CULTURE
Beverage spend*($4.30 per customer)
Proliferation of channel development ($1.5 billion)
Coffeehouse food offerings**($3.75 per ‘food-included’ sale)
COMMERCECOMMERCE
BLACK FUEL
*company-operated stores **U.S. stores, food included in 1/3 of transactions
Store design & accessibility (21,000+ appealing retail outlets)
Elite endorsement Digital payment leadership(15% of transactions on mobile*)
CURRENCYCURRENCY
BLACK FUEL
*paradigm primarily in U.S.
COFFEE BREAK CONTEMPLATION #2
What is Shen Yun exactly? I get asked if I want a pamphlet every time I’m in a mall or something of that nature.
With all these bright lights, huge signs, and supremely confident solicitors competing for my attention, I sometimes feel wrong when I actively avoid interacting with people who want to sell me something.
It’s okay though, once my friend from New York told me that if you don’t learn to sidestep those kinds of situations, then you’ll never get to where you are going on time.
Or even worse, you might have to listen to some dude rap to you.
JAN STANISLAW BAK
Jan Stanislaw Bak
Hint: Sarcasm
According to German superstition, not looking a person into the eyes when you toast brings
7 years of bad sex
According to Polish culture, not taking a nap during a party
is bad luck for the night
According to American tradition, not treating a Chicagoan with
respect leads to a lifetimeof bad karma
I HEARD YOU MAKE MONEY.....I GET MINE LIKE THIS
I’mOut
For Presidents To Represent Me
DR
Dreams Of Freedom
Dreams Of Freedom
Dreams Of Freedom
Dreams Of Freedom
Dreams Of Freedom
Dreams Of Freedom
DR
Dreams Of Freedom
3 Things You Need To Know
About A Few Of ‘The States’
J Stanislaw Bak
State By State
SUNSHINE
RELAXATION
ENTERTAINMENT
State By State
CHICAGO
FLATNESS
YELLOW
MACHINES
State By State
NYC
UPSTATE NEW YORK
NIAGRA
FALLS
State By State
LEBRON JAMES
OHIO STATE
INDUSTRIALIZATION
State By State
HISTORY
AMISH
PITTSBURGH
& PHILADELPHIA
State By State
OIL IMPERIALISM
GEORGE BUSH
FOOTBALL &
BASKETBALL
State By State
LIBERAL BUSINESS
GREEN COUNTRY
COFFEE
State By State
GasAn Abstraction
$2.17
€
£
¥
A
GasAn Abstraction
$1,000,012.83 B
GasAn Abstraction
C
GasAn Abstraction
JAN STANISLAW BAKOld
News
I want to says that’s a newspaper
but why would anyone waste paper
when you can go online and save
trees?
Millennial…what is this?
OldNews
No idea.
OldNews
Millennial…what is this?
OldNews
Millennial…what is this?
Looks like some sort of holographic
Frisbee.
Obviously! That’s an old fashioned
computer! I used to use that in
school!
OldNews
Millennial…what is this?
The coupon collection of some
really old people.
OldNews
Millennial…what is this?
I haven’t seen too many of those
since I graduated college. I go
online to ask for student loan
payment deferments.
OldNews
Millennial…what is this?
COFFEE BREAK CONTEMPLATION #3
I remember when a Black Card was like the epitome of luxury and success. Now there’s a few mail offers for some type of Black Card each month.
Not that I need another credit card, but it sure is difficult to not continuously be sucked into using more and more.
It’s good that they got rid of some of those really bad terms they used to have, everything from ‘universal default’to all that other crazy shit. Funny how today we think “OMG that’s so ridiculously unfair I can’t believe it actually used to happen”
yet pre-financial crisis days such things were considered completely normal….and the cycle of business and life keeps turning.
I’ve been asked ‘what’s the point’ of business and life many times.
And my response is “Yeah”
The
Toll
00
5
80
88
94
Time
An Estimation Of History
Time
8000 BC 1800 AD 2015 AD
5 MILLION1 BILLION
7.3 BILLION
TOTAL HUMAN BIRTHS – 108 BILLION PEOPLE
A
Time
30,000 BC 1950 AD 2015 AD
35 YEARS47 YEARS
71 YEARS
TOTAL HUMAN DEATHS – 100.7 BILLION PEOPLE
B
Time
1 AD 1700 AD 2015 AD
$445 $615
$13,400
TOTAL GOLD MINED – 170 MILLION KILOGRAMS
C
Time
Numbers don’t lie, still they hide the truth
Learn to look deep inside
Free your mind
Time
Hope
“I ain’t even know the strength you had to have to march”
Letter to The King
1 – Enough Said2 – In A Chicago Second
3 – When In Hell4 – No Extra Points
5 – Paid In Folk6 – Never Scared
7 – Mass Jurisdiction8 – Networking
9 – Mental Relaxation10 – The Toll, Part 211 – When In Heaven
HE ISN’T SURE WHAT TO DO AND I SAY
“WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?”
HE SAYS “AIDS”
I PLAY IT OFF COOL KNOWING DEEP DOWN MY LIFE AS I
KNOW IT HAS COME TO AN END, AND SHE SLOWLY
PROCEEDS TO SAY…
“I MISSED MY PERIOD”
I WAS IN GERMANY, TO BE SPECIFIC, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT BECOMES
FACEBOOK OFFICIAL (TO ME) THAT I‘M CURRENTLY IN PARIS ON MY
HONEYMOON WITH A FEMALE, WHICH REALLY TOOK ME BY SURPRISE,
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I ASKED MYSELF “HOW CAN I BE IN 2 PLACES AT THE
SAME TIME?”, AND NO ANSWER CAME TO ME. DAMN.
MY FRIEND WAS LIKE “I KNEW YOU TWO HAD SOMETHING GOING ON!
SO WHEN’S THE WEDDING”
Some people like to say Out of the Frying Pan, Into The Fire
I like to say Escaped From Hell, Trapped In Purgatory
The Evolution Of Football
I figured out why the Mayans calculated the date of the end of the world
All of a sudden football doesn’t seem so violent
They had this thing called the
Mayan Ballgame that they cut
your head off if you played like a
little turd
The Native Americans played with spears
In 5th grade Social Studies class I did this project on the Native Americans and my baller teacher reacted very strongly to it, which means you can put faith
in the things I say
You’re telling me that the violence embedded in our modern American culture does not stem from the
violent ways of the original Americans?!
Teddy Roosevelt told his son it was better to die playing
football than to be a punk
[sn]itch
They commemorated the teddy bear after such a man
’98 was the year
Rex Grossman?
A German in Germany got really excited when the
conversation turned to the ’07 Super Bowl (somehow), but when I mentioned Rex
Grossman, he got confused.
I remember late nights playing Madden in Ann Arbor
Randy Moss in real life was the only player to play like a
Madden character
Michael Vick in the game was ridiculous
The Richard Sherman effect
Yet another football player gets shot outside a strip/night club
And they say rappers are the scum of society, pfff!
Still though – None of that matters for the final gameday experience
Paid In FolkJAN BAK
LATE 90 SOMETHING, EARLY 2000s
BACK IN THE DAY, YOU NEEDED TO BRING $5 TO HAVE A PARTY
The party was at McDonald's on Irving Park & Central;
4 friends, chillin, each person only taking away from the
table no more than they brought to it
Things That Happened Once
1
Someone stole my Charizard, but we went to the perpetrator’s house and got it back within 10 minutes
The homies in school thought a Nelly CD would impress the girls, until the girls laughed in their face when they tried to rap
Lending people my football meant I’d never see it again, which is why I never lost my football
Things That Happened More Than Once
>1
A fool never learned that celebrating and encouraging mediocrity was not the road to success, which means that poverty is not an
economic disease, but rather a disease of the mind
In Other Words….
>11LESS IS MORE
ONE TIME!
Let’s Roll
The People Of Alabama don’t need a school to teach them that – They already got it
Starbucks fell on Alabama: State gets its own mug, at last
Using the logic of one silly man who shall remain nameless, that
means Alabama is half as pretentious as Michigan
Mass JurisdictionJan Bak
There are some things in this world that you just can’t Shake Off
Example: Child Support Payments
Source:
$113 Billion in unpaid child support in the United States
(as of Thanksgiving 2015)
Example: The Affordable Care Act
Source:
Queue the
Hillary Clinton Antagonizers
(she masterminded the thing)
Maybe you could shake those things if you were Taylor Swift
In other news, these things are no joke
Sophisticated Gold Diggers
With all the admiration given to athletes
and entertainers in our society, perhaps
we should start giving that same respect
to hard working femme fatales?
Chicago Cubs Loyalists
How many rich people in the legal,
medical, and insurance professions can
say they made the same social impact as
Sammy Sosa?
Long Live Forever Bulls, Cubs, & Every Beast!
BOLThe Advisory Group
a) Food is the natural icebreaker
b) On most working days in the corporate world, the only fun moments come during lunch
c) When people start eyeing your pizza because they are not full from their salad, you have job leverage
d) Those late night dinners with a big group in a nice restaurant are the only chance to see your boss wearing a less intense mask
a) Joking about the craftiness of mechanics is a classic bonding moment
b) Presence of numerous cars reflects that everyone is doing fine for themselves
c) The Seinfeld episode where George Costanza goes crazy at the car dealership is the funniest because it is the most realistic
a) Travel location creates easy conversation starter
b) Multitudes of people makes it rude to not people watch, but be courteous and considerate
c) An opportunity to look at gold diggers and sugar daddies without being judged
d) I enjoy conversations about hotel rankings and consultant points because it puts me right to sleep after a long week
a) Intellectual atmosphere inspires sophisticated discussions
b) Cream and sugar station connects strangers
c) Even if you are stuck in Peoria, there is a nice coffee shop nearby where they will gladly take your hard-earned money
a) High profile geographic terrain makes communication unavoidable
b) Drivers and pedestrians must look out for each other, making status differences irrelevant
c) Ever thought someone was patient until you saw them spaz when a driver violates their right-of-way?
d) Ever been skeptical about a client’s trustworthiness and have it confirmed by the fact that they blow stop signs like it ain’t nothing?
a) My best friend from the country came to the city once and he was disappointed with the lack of promiscuously dressed ladies
b) Alcohol, money and passion mix together into unlimited combinations
c) This Italian guy walked into the spot I was chillin’ and tried to call me out for being Polish, I was like “Unfortunately”…unfortunately for the people who can only drink a little bit
I need to
find a new
job…
These dorks
are hurting
my bonus.I love my
coworkers!
Shutterstock Plug
BOL Advisory Group
That guy’s soft.
Look in his face.
F**k that!
I’m about leading
America into the
future, not falling
back into 19th
Century thinking Thanks, Hollywood…
Despite the progress of science and technology,
how much has life in Chicago truly changed since 1906?
Yuppie Voice: Um, there’s a lot more Whole Foods
Hipster Voice: It’s pretentious
Exactly.
Thank God my parents came to the U.S.
Living In 3DBOL Advisory Group
For all the talk about political agendas, it really just boils
down to one thing
The U.S. Home Ownership Rate
63.8%
F**k If I Care About The
Agenda Of A Bureaucratic Institution
I Got To Make Sure I’m Not A
Statistic
I Was Riding Down I-294 When ISaw Two Billboards Next To Each Other:
The First Was For A College Program, The Second Was For A Strip Club
Clearly one needs the “incredible earning power of a college diploma”
to afford the “most elite of sophisticated gentleman’s clubs”
Living In The United States Today, That’s The Way The Game Goes
The Easy Way To Attain Affection Is To Take
The Road Often Traveled By
It’s The Truth
Chill, Lady –I Only Look
Dumb
Cut That Bull Off The Speakers And
Put On Some Southern Rap!
This music is terrible
Let It Be Known
Big Man, What Now?BOL ADVISORY GROUP
Excuse Me, Stop Making Excuses
Boys Want A Million…Can’t Even Handle A Thousand
Only Strong Men Can
Handle Their Liquor
Spoiled Adults Call Me Crazy, But Their Marriages Is Proof They Think Just Like Me
She’s So Hot
She’s So Hot
…She’s So Hot
She’s An Angel
She’s Special
I Love The Woman! She
Has No Flaws In My Eyes
Drake Used To Be Good – Now Though, I Don’t See How Kids Can Want To Be Like Him
I’m On One Hotline Bling
If You Are Paying More Than 30% In Taxes
YOU’RE NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY
Picture Here
Globalization 3.0It was just one of
those days I felt like listening to E-40
Canada comes through
There’s some Great Ones
One of the few to not
jump on the Drake
bandwagon
Photo probably taken in Virginia, plastic and paper probably made somewhere
in Asia
Only took a year and a half to get this technology
Somehow the caterpillar-butterfly
thing has a lot of cultural staying power
Best Buy, please don’t go the way
of Circuit City
Do you respect wood?
Additional Overcharge
JAN BAK
I would have never taken that check if I knew I was dealing with a predatory lender – Damn
Peru, IL
Okemos, MI
Troy, WI
Durant, IA
Prosperity, SC
I ain’t with that exploited employee business –Still a cold world but at least now it’s hella paid
The Person Who Did All The Work
61%
The Lazy Investor
21%
The Guy Who Showed Up Once
10%
The Guy Who Didn't Do Sh*t
8%
HOW THE DOUGH IS SPLIT
American Productive Muscle
That’s What’s Up
Catch me on the beach working on my Polish Farmer’s Tan
That’s my own way of carrying
on tradition
Respect This GrindBak
Jan
When law enforcement
comes…You’re gonnafind out who
your friends are
“Know these beats is more than music, whenever I talk to it”JAY Z at 26
The Rap Spectrum
Sounds Best…On A Plane Leaving
Germany
Sounds Best…In Anytown, USA
Sounds Best…Flying Down The
Interstate
MINTSJan Bak
DON’T PLAY WITH ME
Play With Words
The United States Mint at Philadelphia
Mints
The United States Mint at Denver
Mints
Mints
Behind every great man is a great woman
Getting shaded under a money tree
Wine &
DineBOL Advisory Group
It’s not what you think, she’s putting
her money into MY pocket!
She better wine and dine me before she thinks she
can take me home
No, I don’t want to cook a complicated breakfast the next morning
with eggs, waffles and
stuff like that
I want to grab an
orange and hit the
road. Eating fancy food
is what Starbucks
breakfast is for!
Seriously, you booked our anniversary dinner at a bourgeois
restaurant??
I’d rather eat KFC and
then watch Netflix for a
whole weekend
My father is rolling over in
his bed thinking about all
the money I spent on gym
fees and personal trainers
to look good for you, girl?!
Where he’s from if you try too
hard to look good for the
basement party, they’ll make
fun of you until your self-
esteem is gone
I went out for a date in Ann
Arbor one time, and when I told her I don’t like
sushi, she almost broke up
with me right there
Now I actually like
sushi, but I don’t
like her. Go figure
We’re gonna have to tighten our belts from now on, honey
I could have got us a dinner
for two, a movie, a bottle of wine, and prophylactics all for under
$19.95…
Can’t believe I let you
talk me into going to
that fancy place and
letting you spend $20 on
the appetizers alone!
Shhh! I’m checking my bank account.
Don’t tell him I make more money than him
The following is a scorecard with no ‘correct’ answer, rather it’s a tool to discuss
and compare answers with your friends, family, and general acquaintances
OMG it’s like so good
Put on some Drake
Tidal sucks
Who is Rihanna?
A
B
C
D
Whoa!
What about run-flat tires…
Stop asking me stupid questions
This test is a complete waste of time
A
B
C
D
That’s lame
The 2016 presidential race deserves criticism
Beijing now has more billionaires than New York City
You mean people from other countries have emotions?
A
B
C
D
An open mind is a terrible thing to waste
Get off my property, liberal
All I do is watch football and yell at my spouse
If I write you a little check, will you shut the hell up?
A
B
C
D
Say that one more time, please?
No
I’m my own boss, I work for NO ONE!
I’m calling the cops
A
B
C
D
I’m in search of true wealth
I bust my ass at my job for 25 years, and my kids like Chief Keef more than they like me
We used to have all that money, remember how I even helped you?!
A
B
C
D
I make $75,000 a year, but I live like I’m a millionaire
Even the scientific method does not have a satisfying response to the intrigue of ‘social mobility’
Results
Before After
Fantasies Realities Cash & Assets
Social Mobility is no more a tangible
concept than The American Dream or
American Exceptionalism, yet it nonetheless
has a powerful pull on our hearts and minds
Many of us at one time or another are guilty
of espousing strong rhetoric about ‘changing
the world’, ‘helping people’ or ‘making an
impact’, when in actuality our goals can often
be boiled down to either stacking up enough
money to buy a house in a ‘better
neighborhood’ or accumulating enough
social status in order to join ‘the cool kids’
that we long aspired to join
Example: I love U-M, but I’m going to
a school in Chicago for my MBA
Perhaps conservative folks despise hip-hop
culture so much because deep down the
motto of ‘get money, f*** b*****s’ holds up a
mirror that reveals the truth about their own
simple yet hidden ambitions
Kendrick Lamar (who is a media
darling and just won 5 Grammys) is
admired for being a smart rapper with
a new sound, and he opens his latest
album with the thought-provoking line:
“When I get signed, homie,
I’mma act a fool”
Get yourself together and gather some
assets
Develop strong relationships with people
from all walks of life
Stay healthy, stay motivated, stay determined…
forget about silly parties and cheap
entertainment
Accumulate the ends of your success and use that to build the next phase of your
life, whether that is a new marriage to a loving partner or a new marriage to a
different game