CTP (S4E164) The French Fry Theory Of Happiness

CTP (S4E164) The French Fry Theory Of Happiness
We wrestle with a simple question that hits harder than it sounds: is life mostly mediocre days with a few good ones mixed in. We land on a practical way to live with that truth by stacking small moments that make the day better for us and for the people around us. 
• opening format note about a video exclusive becoming a regular audio release 
• May Day in Moscow and how optics shift when leaders feel exposed 
• quick thoughts on the movie “Mike” and why a message can matter even if motives are mixed 
• the “mediocre days” idea from the Life and Living series and the Kennedy “stares at the ceiling” line 
• why “meh” days are normal and why accepting them reduces pressure 
• the French fry analogy for small habits that add up over time 
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new 
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP  
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout 
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBITCHUTE 
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear  
https://tinyurl.com/JLenardDetroitGear  
AI images/videos/audio CTP uses: https://tinyurl.com/GalaxyMagicaAI    
https://tinyurl.com/BookPromotionViaFiverr  
- other services: https://fiverr.com/jlenarddetroit  

A Short Story: A Lasting Legacy? book Trailer

Transcript

Welcome And A Quick Format Note

SPEAKER_02 0:08

Hello, welcome to another episode of Institutionalist Podcast. I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard. That's L-E-N-A-R-D. It looks French. It's not, it's Leonard without an O. Thank you for tuning in. As Graham Norton used to say on his show. Let's get on with the show. This is a cheat segment. I am recording this as a lead-in to a standard Saturday show that is going to now air through the audio platform 25 Plus of Christitutional's podcast. What was formerly a CTP video exclusive that I feel needs to go out as a regular show. So bear that in mind when recorded it was a video exclusive to date. It could be from a month ago. It could be from a couple months ago. Bear that in mind when you hear things regarding time frames. It may be from a while ago. Particular references may be a little dated. And this segment of cheat, right? I'm recording it. I'll be using it with several video exclusives from Saturday episodes. Without further ado, let's get on with the show. Okay, this is gonna be a bit of an odd show, and yeah, I know how many times have I said that. And the title

May Day Moscow And War Optics

SPEAKER_02 2:03

of this video exclusive recording today is Friday, May the 1st, 2026. Welcome to Commie Day. At May Day. Same thing. I am calling this mediocre days. But first, I want to touch on a couple other things. May Day. Reports out of Moscow. May Day celebrations muted. Not a whole bunch of missiles and tanks and personal personnel carriers and troops wandering through the streets of Moscow today. Why? Because Putin is worried. He can't have, he needs to put on a big display to show, hey, I'm winning this war in Ukraine, but at the same time, I can't put on this big display because uh Ukraine could do another deep within Russian drone attack and attack his troops live. They're on May Day. So he's gotta scale that back, which is a loss for him. So anyway, so but it's rather funny. Yeah, the great display of force, and I'm gonna rebuild the Soviet Empire even beyond just expansion into Ukraine, belied by a scale back May Day. But could you imagine? You can make excuses why I scaled it back, as opposed to not scaling it back and having it all blown up by the Ukrainians. Uh bigger propaganda wash than just the scaled back version. And the other thing I was gonna throw in first, I did see the movie Mike a while ago. I'm gonna do a

A Surprising Take On “Mike”

SPEAKER_02 4:17

full review with Rick Walker on Maverick News coming soon. So I don't want to say much about that other than I give it a B, and I've done a 180 from where I was before the movie. I thought, oh, you know, exploitation, writers, coattails, make some money off of Michael Jackson now that he's gone. And that may be true. It may indeed be purely exploitive. I don't know the motivations and reasonings, but now I'm to the point where I don't care. And condemn not lest she be condemned more to Matthew 7 than the first seven words. That's between them and God. God will judge them for whatever. But as for me, it may be exploitative. I don't care at this point in that. I say it's an important film. I just posted on it earlier again today on social media. Yeah, yeah, some negative aspects in his life. But if we could focus on in the post, I attach his human nature song. And that to me is the most important part of the takeaway of the movie and why it is needed. So I don't care the reasoning, the fact that it's out can be helpful, and trying to focus on the parts of Michael's life where he wanted to bring joy and make the world a better place. We need more of that thought now. So I'm just gonna leave it at that. It can be a positive movie for a time when it could be needed now. But mediocre days.com

Are Most Days Just Mediocre

SPEAKER_02 6:29

slash Life and Living series. The fifth book will drop in May of 2026, coming soon. But I want to leap back to the third book in the series, my The Book of Kennedy Project Carpe Diem. One of the points and themes in there, and I have a Suno song, tinyurl.com slash JLD on Suno, Kennedy Stares at the Ceiling. There's actually four versions of the song. I think the most popular is the unplugged acoustic version. Kennedy stares at the ceiling. Is life just a collection of mediocre days with some good ones thrown in? In the book it says it, in the song it says it, and the reality is, oh I I I screwed up the start. I was gonna say, today's a meh day for me. And you know what? A mad day in M-E-H right meh, like the emoji movie. Those are okay. The reality is yes, for most people, most days are mediocre days. And we hope for better, we live for those really up good days, but the issue is what do we do on these mediocre days? What are we doing to try to make them a little better for ourselves and others? And the point is, in all the life and living series of books, little things matter and add up smiles and whatnot. What are we doing to make our day a little and someone else's day a little brighter as we all go through these mediocre days? A analogy. Came up with this in the car, the genesis of this whole episode. A French fry

The French Fry Analogy Explained

SPEAKER_02 8:57

and another French fry and another french fry. Like not very filling, but you get enough of them, you've got a good side, you've got a nice part of the meal, you've got something you in can enjoy. Um, I forgot what else I came up. I was gonna say, oh, you can savor the flavor of that as part of the meal, right? As an analogy, you might not think it much, but yeah, unintended there. I'm kind of tongue-in-cheek and being a little silly with my language here, but that's a very important, serious point. The little things adding up a few fries as part of an overall meal makes the meal, and you can savor the flavor out, you know, one or two, again, you're not gonna be fulfilled, but get enough of them in, it can make for less of a mediocre day, and that's true of smiles and jokes and laughs and whatnot, little things to make the mediocre days better for yourself as well as others, so not the best of analogies, a big comedy, but a very serious point. So, yes, the reality is is life a set of mediocre days for most yes, that is true, and that's not uh that's not I don't know what word I want. It's not I don't know what word I want to hear, but it's it's not not entirely bad. I don't want to say it's not an absence of what your life should be all the time or could be all the time, and again, we hope for more, and it's great when you can have a succession of a bunch of good days, like if when from work you can afford a week's vacation and you go away and for five days you're running, you know, I'm sightseeing this day, I'm doing this the next day, I'm lounging by the pool that day, and but yes, sorry, unfortunate reality is life is generally a set of meeky mediocre days, and that's just the reality we have to live with. What can we do on those mundane, mediocre days? Because most of our days are mundane and me mediocre does not mean the sum total of your life is mundane and mediocre. Is is kind of the point I was trying to get to here. So let me grab the book again for the behind the scenes video exclusive. The Book of Kennedy Project Carpe Diem, tinyurl.com slash life and living series, or Kennedy Scares at the ceiling, the four versions, tinyurl.com slash JLD on Suno. So today's kind of meth for me. And you know what? I'm okay with that. That's the point learn

Accepting Meh Days Without Shame

SPEAKER_02 12:56

to be okay with that. Understand and accept that life and living, that's reality, as opposed to some delusional TV series trying to say, oh, your life could be exciting every minute of every day. That's not realistic for the majority of the eight billion people on this planet. So that's it. I just felt it important, and I came up with that lame, silly fry analogy. I really wanted to be able to work in with you. Thank you all. Take care. God bless.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Love you all. Elevate your music with our production services for indie artists. We also create engaging book trailers. Reach out for a quote.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Life isn't a straight line.

Sponsor Message And Spoken Word Segment

SPEAKER_01 13:50

It twists, it soars, it drops without warning. But it's in those heart-pounding moments, the climbs and the falls, that we discover who we truly are.

SPEAKER_04 15:45

Empty glass on the table. Silence screams in my head.

SPEAKER_05 16:02

Every word I wish unsaid. I professed how my heart swelled at your touch. Still putting you through hell. My world went dark. No sun, no bright, just endless wrong, no end inside my anger, burn my foolish pride. Nowhere for me to hide the kiss, just wheel lips, go through my face, points, rest undying love till dust, but alas, I was never worthy of your trust. Now these nightmares won't let me be. I was blind I could not see Bullit Bulls Bite Bowler Costa Yupla Costa I can replace.

SPEAKER_03 18:59

The story is over. But yet again.

SPEAKER_05 19:06

I have to live on. Keep your legacy alive, my love, my friend. Falling down my face. I need all my feet. Lost in the slowly step stunties. You're gonna try stunning.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Only one last other.

SPEAKER_05 21:02

All these Tuesdays bleeding together, but she pink on the back of her plant. She said, Thought there'd be thunder. She's done when my moment began. But the mail still comes and the dishes still dry And the clock just ticks where it's dead. Are we just date? Where the feeling in the middle and never slightly almost lost the whole world. The jokes to fall flat, the night's coming back, just to sit on the edge of the sky Oh we just need to taste a few time All the cracks and everything We're that quiet holy black rocks of every brother What in the box to take? What's the story?

SPEAKER_02 24:40

Like and subscribe to Christitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes. We need your help. Thank you for having tuned into another Christitutionalist podcast show. I really appreciate

Like Subscribe And Final Blessing

SPEAKER_02 24:59

that you stop by. Again, please like, share, subscribe. We need you to help spread the constitutionalist movement. Thank you again. Take care. God bless. Love you all.