I am watching "Serendipity" starring the every so lovely John Cusack and the equally lovely Kate Backinsale. This whole post is a spoiler so don't read it unless you have already seen the movie.
It is a small romantic comedy. It starts simply. A chance encounter: boy meets girl. There is a spark and then the complications set in. She has a boyfriend. He has a girlfriend. So despite the obvious attraction and the clear connection nothing can come of it. But a series of coincidences on that day keep bringing them back together. Should they give love a chance?
She believes in fate, in destiny. She believes that the universe leaves you clues that if followed will lead you to a happier life. She throw the decision to chance. She writes her number in a book that she sells to a used book store. He writes his number on a 5 dollar bill and buys something. And then they try a second time. Each takes a different elevator and randomly pushes a button. If they end up on the same floor, it was meant to be now. They push the same button. She doesn't wait long enough and he is delayed. so they part.
Years pass and they each get engaged to other people. But cannot shake the memory or the feeling that maybe they are making a mistake.
Here the film transitions into a Sleepless in Seattle thing. Where the movie is not a love story but more a story about two people who are longing for love. True love. They each decide to try to seek each other out. We are tortured by their close calls, their near misses. Every obstacle and misunderstanding that keeps them apart wrings us harder for knowing how close they really were.
This goes on and on until. Each of them decides to break their engagement. This is the key. They let go of what they have and admit that there is more that they want. They believe that they will never find each other, still they decide to settle for no less than their hearts desire. They take that chance. And with this act of courage, of leaping into the great unknown, this is when at last - chance brings them together.
It's a romance. Romance is all about destiny, about finding the one person in the whole world. In fiction nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. Everyone who shows up in the story has the opportunity to bend the story in one or another direction.
Reality, life is something else entirely.
So the question is: Do you believe in fate? In Destiny?
An idiosyncratic and non sequitorial examination of the contents of one head.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
egg sitting
For some reason JS feels that this story needs telling.
My guy, SE, is a man of many pets. Among them are two endangered tortoises: a male named Lewis and a female named Sinclair. His clothes cover the floor of his loft and his closet has been converted into a tortoise home covered in grass cuttings and heated by lamps.
He has had them for about 10 years and has raised them from when they were tiny. Ever since he got them, he has been waiting to breed them. He's all about the being fruitful and multiplying.
10 years is about how long it takes for them to reach maturity.
Of late while in bed we would hear bumping and clacking - strange scuffling noises from the closet. And upon sliding back the door we would find Lewis humping a very unreceptive Sinclair. She sat in her shell and ignored him as he propped himself up on her and did his thing. I could not imagine how penetration would occur. SE had to diagram out the geometry for me. Apparently when receptive, she would move her tail and raise her legs enabling contact.
*naughty*
I got used to the idea that she just wasn't that into him.
*insert comment about the fickleness of tortoise females*
*and the need for the sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye*
*and comments about why we were in bed listening to tortoise love*
There was one night where SE was pretty sure that he had caught them in the act. It was hard to say, though considering that they were in the corner.
*and comment about voyeurism*
Still there was no reason to assume that anything would come of it. They are so young. These things can take time. Despite what your health teacher will say, it doesn't always happen on the first try.
But.
A few days ago SE looked in the closet saw an EGG! Apparently with the proper persistance and wooing Sinclair had seen fit to put out.
Off we went to get an incubator and put little Egg in a temperature controlled environment. This incubator is a big styrofoam box with a few plastic windows and a very imprecise thermal regulator. Set the temperature to 84-88 degrees and wait. Well, more like set the "temperature" and watch the readings on three thermometers fluctuate between 80 and 92 degrees. (none of them giving the same reading)
SE, elated about the new arrival, checked the incubator every few hours to see if the egg was okay. He was leaving for the holiday and started planning to take his animals with him. Including the Egg.
SE started to wonder if there was a second egg. Tortoises commonly lay clutches of them. He weighed Sinclair and found that she had not lost all of her egg weight. Perhaps there was a second egg. He took her to the vet. X-rays showed that indeed there was a second egg. The vet gave him a dose of oxytocin to give her to induce labor and we spent his last night in town spying on poor Sinclair as she paced back and forth around the closet, moving more than I had seen her do in the previous month and a half of knowing her.
Then some time into the pacing SE called me up to the loft to witness the laying. She had already started by the time I got there. I didn't want to disturb her but now I kind of wish that I had been able to see her face. What I saw was the back end emergence of a really big white egg. push-push-pause, push-push-pause, again and again until finally it was out. And she walked away. She came back to bury it but Scott had other plans for second little Egg. Into the incubator with it's sibling.
So the next morning SE was all set to take Sinclair, Lewis, two eggs in incubator and his cat on the long drive home. (I have killed my share of fish and plants when friends leave town. I am not a person to be trusted with delicate precious creatures.) I helped him load up, kissed him good bye, and thought that was that.
Until I stopped by his place to pick some things up. And there on the kitchen was the incubator and the clutch (little Egg and second little Egg looking a bit peaked). In a panic I called him. He thought that the vibration of his car might adversely affect their development, kill them even, and thought it best to leave them.
And now I am egg sitting. I come over a few times a day and visit them. I bought a fourth thermometer to put in the incubator and the general consensus is that one of them is way off and some kind of an average must be taken of the temperature readings of the rest. Despite my best efforts the temperature fluctates between 87.3 and 90.5 degrees. According to the websites I've looked at gender is determined by the temperature of incubation. Which makes me wonder what if they will come out with gender identity issues.
I hover and worry. I read and wonder what kinds of songs one sings to eggs that incubate. After the first couple of weeks the egg calcifies and they are a little less vulnerable. Maybe I will knit them each a little cozy to wear. Or maybe I should write them endangered baby tortoise incubation lullabies.
There is a chance that the eggs are not fertilized. This can only be determined a couple of weeks from now. If they are not I will chase SE down the street giggling hysterically.
As it is when I told JS about all this she started giggling hysterically.
My guy, SE, is a man of many pets. Among them are two endangered tortoises: a male named Lewis and a female named Sinclair. His clothes cover the floor of his loft and his closet has been converted into a tortoise home covered in grass cuttings and heated by lamps.
He has had them for about 10 years and has raised them from when they were tiny. Ever since he got them, he has been waiting to breed them. He's all about the being fruitful and multiplying.
10 years is about how long it takes for them to reach maturity.
Of late while in bed we would hear bumping and clacking - strange scuffling noises from the closet. And upon sliding back the door we would find Lewis humping a very unreceptive Sinclair. She sat in her shell and ignored him as he propped himself up on her and did his thing. I could not imagine how penetration would occur. SE had to diagram out the geometry for me. Apparently when receptive, she would move her tail and raise her legs enabling contact.
*naughty*
I got used to the idea that she just wasn't that into him.
*insert comment about the fickleness of tortoise females*
*and the need for the sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye*
*and comments about why we were in bed listening to tortoise love*
There was one night where SE was pretty sure that he had caught them in the act. It was hard to say, though considering that they were in the corner.
*and comment about voyeurism*
Still there was no reason to assume that anything would come of it. They are so young. These things can take time. Despite what your health teacher will say, it doesn't always happen on the first try.
But.
A few days ago SE looked in the closet saw an EGG! Apparently with the proper persistance and wooing Sinclair had seen fit to put out.
Off we went to get an incubator and put little Egg in a temperature controlled environment. This incubator is a big styrofoam box with a few plastic windows and a very imprecise thermal regulator. Set the temperature to 84-88 degrees and wait. Well, more like set the "temperature" and watch the readings on three thermometers fluctuate between 80 and 92 degrees. (none of them giving the same reading)
SE, elated about the new arrival, checked the incubator every few hours to see if the egg was okay. He was leaving for the holiday and started planning to take his animals with him. Including the Egg.
SE started to wonder if there was a second egg. Tortoises commonly lay clutches of them. He weighed Sinclair and found that she had not lost all of her egg weight. Perhaps there was a second egg. He took her to the vet. X-rays showed that indeed there was a second egg. The vet gave him a dose of oxytocin to give her to induce labor and we spent his last night in town spying on poor Sinclair as she paced back and forth around the closet, moving more than I had seen her do in the previous month and a half of knowing her.
Then some time into the pacing SE called me up to the loft to witness the laying. She had already started by the time I got there. I didn't want to disturb her but now I kind of wish that I had been able to see her face. What I saw was the back end emergence of a really big white egg. push-push-pause, push-push-pause, again and again until finally it was out. And she walked away. She came back to bury it but Scott had other plans for second little Egg. Into the incubator with it's sibling.
So the next morning SE was all set to take Sinclair, Lewis, two eggs in incubator and his cat on the long drive home. (I have killed my share of fish and plants when friends leave town. I am not a person to be trusted with delicate precious creatures.) I helped him load up, kissed him good bye, and thought that was that.
Until I stopped by his place to pick some things up. And there on the kitchen was the incubator and the clutch (little Egg and second little Egg looking a bit peaked). In a panic I called him. He thought that the vibration of his car might adversely affect their development, kill them even, and thought it best to leave them.
And now I am egg sitting. I come over a few times a day and visit them. I bought a fourth thermometer to put in the incubator and the general consensus is that one of them is way off and some kind of an average must be taken of the temperature readings of the rest. Despite my best efforts the temperature fluctates between 87.3 and 90.5 degrees. According to the websites I've looked at gender is determined by the temperature of incubation. Which makes me wonder what if they will come out with gender identity issues.
I hover and worry. I read and wonder what kinds of songs one sings to eggs that incubate. After the first couple of weeks the egg calcifies and they are a little less vulnerable. Maybe I will knit them each a little cozy to wear. Or maybe I should write them endangered baby tortoise incubation lullabies.
There is a chance that the eggs are not fertilized. This can only be determined a couple of weeks from now. If they are not I will chase SE down the street giggling hysterically.
As it is when I told JS about all this she started giggling hysterically.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
EC
I went to a rally yesterday for Emergency Contraception. There is an effort in the state of Illinois to make Emergency Contraception aka The Morning After Pill aka Plan B available over the counter. With EC the sooner you take it, the more effective it is. It is most effective in the first 2 days but is effective for up to 5 days after sex. It isn't harmful and it won't work if you are already pregnant. There was a recommendation made to the FDA to make EC available over the counter which was approved and then stopped by everyone's favorite President W.
Making EC available over the counter would give women access to contraception at night and on the weekends. Times when it is very difficult to get a hold of a doctor to write you a prescription.
A further impediment to access is that many pharmacies that do not stock and refuse to order EC for their customers. Perhaps they feel that such a thing would be too controversial. Walmart will sell you guns but they won't sell you EC. In our town, Meijer also does not stock or order EC, Target as well. And so we can add another to our list of reasons that the Walmartification of the world is a bad thing. This company rolls into town and puts many many local businesses out of business. And as the only game in town Walmart gets to dictate what you can and cannot buy and in a sense how you can live your life.
Making EC available over the counter would give women access to contraception at night and on the weekends. Times when it is very difficult to get a hold of a doctor to write you a prescription.
A further impediment to access is that many pharmacies that do not stock and refuse to order EC for their customers. Perhaps they feel that such a thing would be too controversial. Walmart will sell you guns but they won't sell you EC. In our town, Meijer also does not stock or order EC, Target as well. And so we can add another to our list of reasons that the Walmartification of the world is a bad thing. This company rolls into town and puts many many local businesses out of business. And as the only game in town Walmart gets to dictate what you can and cannot buy and in a sense how you can live your life.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Busted
I saw a documentary film today called "BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters." It has changed my perception of the police. I always thought that they were here to serve and protect. This is true. My experience with the police has thankfully minimal and hopefully that will continue to be the case.
But you hear stories and they can't all be lies. And you never know what situations fate will offer up. Most folks have this idea that if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide. I have always thought that too. But you must accept that when you interact with the police, they are not on your side. And often if you are looking for something (like evidence of wrong doing) it's very possible to convince yourself that you have found it. Hopefully, they are on the side of whatever they perceive justice to be. But you don't know. They maybe be corrupt, they may be abusing their power.
In some situations, they are not there to help you. They are looking for a reason to arrest you. That is what they are paid to do. So, you need to know your rights. If you give up your rights you cannot get them back. You are the only person that can protect them.
Things that I learned:
Be polite, be respectful but do not waive your rights.
Never run from the police. If you run you must be guilty. Running in some places if you run, they will shoot you.
Do not lie to them.
Be aware that they can lie to you. Do not believe them.
They will tell you that if you are honest, if you cooperate they will go easy on you. Don't believe them. You are helping them find reasons to arrest/convict you.
They will tell you that a signed confession will mean that you are released. It also means that they will put out a warrant for your arrest and use your confession as evidence to prosecute you. Ask to see a lawyer.
Do not invite them into your house. When you get out of the car close the door. Lock the door. Open doors and an invitation inside make it easier for them to persuade/coerce you into waiving your rights and letting them search your house or car.
Make it clear that you do not consent to search. They must have a warrant to search your house, to search your car to search your bag to search your person. If they have a warrant you can't stop a search. If they ask for your permission/consent it means that they don't have the authority unless you waive your rights and you give them permission.
It is very common for police to stop you and then look for lots of other reasons to detain you. Don't give them other reasons to hassle you. Do not confess to anything. Do not volunteer information.
Ask them if they are detaining you and why.
Ask them why they have pulled you over, do not admit to anything.
After they write you a citation or a ticket they have no further reason to detain you, you are technically free to go.
If they try to keep you longer, ask them if you are free to go.
If they do not charge you with anything and they do not have a reason to detain you, they can't keep you.
Ask them if you are free to go.
Respond to their question with a question.
Get their name and their badge number.
If the police trample over your rights file a complaint of misconduct.
If they threaten to call the dogs, let them call the dogs.
Do research, the law and your rights will vary from state to state, vary by town, by county.
But you hear stories and they can't all be lies. And you never know what situations fate will offer up. Most folks have this idea that if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide. I have always thought that too. But you must accept that when you interact with the police, they are not on your side. And often if you are looking for something (like evidence of wrong doing) it's very possible to convince yourself that you have found it. Hopefully, they are on the side of whatever they perceive justice to be. But you don't know. They maybe be corrupt, they may be abusing their power.
In some situations, they are not there to help you. They are looking for a reason to arrest you. That is what they are paid to do. So, you need to know your rights. If you give up your rights you cannot get them back. You are the only person that can protect them.
Things that I learned:
Be polite, be respectful but do not waive your rights.
Never run from the police. If you run you must be guilty. Running in some places if you run, they will shoot you.
Do not lie to them.
Be aware that they can lie to you. Do not believe them.
They will tell you that if you are honest, if you cooperate they will go easy on you. Don't believe them. You are helping them find reasons to arrest/convict you.
They will tell you that a signed confession will mean that you are released. It also means that they will put out a warrant for your arrest and use your confession as evidence to prosecute you. Ask to see a lawyer.
Do not invite them into your house. When you get out of the car close the door. Lock the door. Open doors and an invitation inside make it easier for them to persuade/coerce you into waiving your rights and letting them search your house or car.
Make it clear that you do not consent to search. They must have a warrant to search your house, to search your car to search your bag to search your person. If they have a warrant you can't stop a search. If they ask for your permission/consent it means that they don't have the authority unless you waive your rights and you give them permission.
It is very common for police to stop you and then look for lots of other reasons to detain you. Don't give them other reasons to hassle you. Do not confess to anything. Do not volunteer information.
Ask them if they are detaining you and why.
Ask them why they have pulled you over, do not admit to anything.
After they write you a citation or a ticket they have no further reason to detain you, you are technically free to go.
If they try to keep you longer, ask them if you are free to go.
If they do not charge you with anything and they do not have a reason to detain you, they can't keep you.
Ask them if you are free to go.
Respond to their question with a question.
Get their name and their badge number.
If the police trample over your rights file a complaint of misconduct.
If they threaten to call the dogs, let them call the dogs.
Do research, the law and your rights will vary from state to state, vary by town, by county.
the question
It was a simple question: What will you do if Dubya gets reelected? When a Republican comes within 20 feet of me I will scream "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" I will screech like a stuck pig.
Friday, October 22, 2004
a little rebellion now and then
This post is sparked by DB's "Express yourself on November 2nd, 2004" compilation.
"I love my country so much, man, like an exasperating friend." -Mike Doughty
Love is so much more than hugs and encouragement, if you love someone you call them out on their shit - as RB might say.
"And I keep on fighting for the things I want, though I know that when you're dead you can't. But I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave" -Jimmy Cliff: A one man Reggae Declaration of Independence.
Y'know - When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a people to flip the government the bird and break away as an independent entity, first they should explain why they are doing so. We and everyone on this planet accepts as truth that all of us are created equal and have certain unalienable rights, to name just a few: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - Duh. Government is created by us to enable us to exercise these rights. We consent to be goverened only so long as we are able to live, be free, and pursue what make us happy. When government can no longer do this for us, we have the right to change it or abolish it and create a new government more likely to bring happiness and safety. And while we don't do this for bullshit reasons but only under the most dire of cirumstances, when such circumstances are found it is our right and duty to overthrow the government and set up a new one. (Insert the long list of the ways the Brits have done us wrong.) We have expressed our horrible situation to the King and asked for assistance and for change but the governement has turn a deaf ear. We tried to no avail. So we're declaring ourselves free of our rulers. We declare ourselves independent states with all the powers and rights that are conferred on a state. And to this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. (I'm paraphrasing here, of course.)
"The harder they come, the harder they'll fall. One and all." -Jimmy Cliff
"I hold it that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms are in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people, which have produced them ... It is medicine necessary to the sound health of government." - Thomas Jefferson
When someone tells you that it's wrong to dissent, that it's wrong to protest or criticize the government remind them from whence our nation came.
"I love my country so much, man, like an exasperating friend." -Mike Doughty
Love is so much more than hugs and encouragement, if you love someone you call them out on their shit - as RB might say.
"And I keep on fighting for the things I want, though I know that when you're dead you can't. But I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave" -Jimmy Cliff: A one man Reggae Declaration of Independence.
Y'know - When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a people to flip the government the bird and break away as an independent entity, first they should explain why they are doing so. We and everyone on this planet accepts as truth that all of us are created equal and have certain unalienable rights, to name just a few: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - Duh. Government is created by us to enable us to exercise these rights. We consent to be goverened only so long as we are able to live, be free, and pursue what make us happy. When government can no longer do this for us, we have the right to change it or abolish it and create a new government more likely to bring happiness and safety. And while we don't do this for bullshit reasons but only under the most dire of cirumstances, when such circumstances are found it is our right and duty to overthrow the government and set up a new one. (Insert the long list of the ways the Brits have done us wrong.) We have expressed our horrible situation to the King and asked for assistance and for change but the governement has turn a deaf ear. We tried to no avail. So we're declaring ourselves free of our rulers. We declare ourselves independent states with all the powers and rights that are conferred on a state. And to this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. (I'm paraphrasing here, of course.)
"The harder they come, the harder they'll fall. One and all." -Jimmy Cliff
"I hold it that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms are in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people, which have produced them ... It is medicine necessary to the sound health of government." - Thomas Jefferson
When someone tells you that it's wrong to dissent, that it's wrong to protest or criticize the government remind them from whence our nation came.
small pleasures
I made a flyer on my laptop, printed it out on my printer and took it to Kinko's and made a stack of flyers and handbills. (Did you know that the copy machine can take your 8.5x11 sheet and reduce it to fit 4x's to a page and become instant handbills??!!! Brilliant. With this knowledge you do not have to go ghetto-lo-tech with the scissors and tape and the wasted bits of paper which is fun but time consuming with a final product lacking the precision of Xerox automation.)
It does give me pause to consider how technology has enabled a unskilled amateur with no graphical or artistic talent like me to make a flyer. It does give me pause to think about how much dead plant matter and electricity I used. All those beautiful trees that are now my less-beautiful flyers. The dark lining to a silver cloud I guess. Setting these uncomfortable thoughts aside for the moment, I LOVE having a laptop and a printer. It is ridiculous how pleased I am. I had no idea that it could be this simple to become this happy. To be fair the acquisition of the proper drawing program made all the difference. If I had known that the key to happiness was so small I would have gotten a laptop and printer years ago.
It does give me pause to consider how technology has enabled a unskilled amateur with no graphical or artistic talent like me to make a flyer. It does give me pause to think about how much dead plant matter and electricity I used. All those beautiful trees that are now my less-beautiful flyers. The dark lining to a silver cloud I guess. Setting these uncomfortable thoughts aside for the moment, I LOVE having a laptop and a printer. It is ridiculous how pleased I am. I had no idea that it could be this simple to become this happy. To be fair the acquisition of the proper drawing program made all the difference. If I had known that the key to happiness was so small I would have gotten a laptop and printer years ago.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Vote, Dammit!
Citizens vote. Patriots vote.
You don't like Kerry, you don't like Bush. Fine. Vote Reform Party, vote Libertarian party, vote Green, vote Constitution party. Vote for Madonna, vote for Gallagher, vote for me!
What would happen if Kerry won the election but only got 15% of the vote? What would that say? Look out Kerry, Madonna's gaining on your ass!
Throw away your vote on public record, not uncounted.
Vote your disgust for the two party system. That's fine, that's cool. Just vote.
You don't like Kerry, you don't like Bush. Fine. Vote Reform Party, vote Libertarian party, vote Green, vote Constitution party. Vote for Madonna, vote for Gallagher, vote for me!
What would happen if Kerry won the election but only got 15% of the vote? What would that say? Look out Kerry, Madonna's gaining on your ass!
Throw away your vote on public record, not uncounted.
Vote your disgust for the two party system. That's fine, that's cool. Just vote.
the consolidation of capital
This weekend I went to the Dollar General Store, Big Lots, and Deals. There a section of town that is becoming the ultimate econo-mini-mall. This is all in a strip mall that was left for dead. A store like Lowe's wouldn't come anywhere near here. It's the Sav-a-lots, Aldi's business model. The retail area is depressed and rent is cheap. Regular businesses leave it for dead. But the thing is, poor people need the things that everyone needs - soap, birthday cards, underwear and cleaning products. And if you can provide something that people need and do it with low overhead, there's money to be made. Walmart in its way proves the same point. There is money to be made among those who don't have a lot of money.
So here the thing,there is capital, the potential for building wealth ... it is just very dilute. If poor communities could figure out a way, some kind of mechanism by which they could keep and concentrate wealth in the neighborhood. Material changes could be made. Mountains could be moved.
In our economically driven times, a community bank could be the vital component to revitalizing lost areas. A community bank could be the economic liberator of a neighborhood. I used to dismiss the Grameen Bank as merely undercutting the local money lender. But perhaps that is the model that best fits the world in which we now live. Charity and Government assistance have been seen as problematic, as ineffective. But perhaps material and monetary investment in our poorest citizens if done to encourage growth, not exploit is useful model in our market driven times.
Where would you rather have the money go, to building more jails or to enabling people to buy houses and start businesses.
So here the thing,there is capital, the potential for building wealth ... it is just very dilute. If poor communities could figure out a way, some kind of mechanism by which they could keep and concentrate wealth in the neighborhood. Material changes could be made. Mountains could be moved.
In our economically driven times, a community bank could be the vital component to revitalizing lost areas. A community bank could be the economic liberator of a neighborhood. I used to dismiss the Grameen Bank as merely undercutting the local money lender. But perhaps that is the model that best fits the world in which we now live. Charity and Government assistance have been seen as problematic, as ineffective. But perhaps material and monetary investment in our poorest citizens if done to encourage growth, not exploit is useful model in our market driven times.
Where would you rather have the money go, to building more jails or to enabling people to buy houses and start businesses.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
when I grow up I want to be in business
Human decency demands that I be a compassionate person, whereas business only demands that I be a profitable one.
Paul Krugman wrote an interesting piece about John Kerry's health plan for the Houston Chronicle. You can read it yourself here:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/2671864
But what struck me about it was the following statement he makes:
"Catastrophic health expenses, which can easily drive a family into bankruptcy, fall into the same category [of random misfortune like earthquakes]. Yet private insurers try hard, and often successfully, to avoid covering such expenses. (That’s not a moral condemnation; they are, after all, in business.)"
Medicine, civil law, criminal justice are professions that profit from the misfortune of others. In these professions, profit is justified by the help provided to people who are suffering. Insurance profits from balancing our fear of misfortune with the probability of actual misfortune and promises to help us in the event that we have need.
When members of such professions increase their profits with no commensurate increase (or an actual decrease) in the aid that they provide to those in need, they are deserving of all moral condemnation that the righteous can muster.
Paul Krugman wrote an interesting piece about John Kerry's health plan for the Houston Chronicle. You can read it yourself here:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/2671864
But what struck me about it was the following statement he makes:
"Catastrophic health expenses, which can easily drive a family into bankruptcy, fall into the same category [of random misfortune like earthquakes]. Yet private insurers try hard, and often successfully, to avoid covering such expenses. (That’s not a moral condemnation; they are, after all, in business.)"
Medicine, civil law, criminal justice are professions that profit from the misfortune of others. In these professions, profit is justified by the help provided to people who are suffering. Insurance profits from balancing our fear of misfortune with the probability of actual misfortune and promises to help us in the event that we have need.
When members of such professions increase their profits with no commensurate increase (or an actual decrease) in the aid that they provide to those in need, they are deserving of all moral condemnation that the righteous can muster.
Monday, July 19, 2004
back to the floor
I have a penchant for PSB reality TV shows. Colonial House and Frontier House were fabulous.
Seeing contemporary people experience cultural history first hand is wholly engrossing.
Randomly surfing around I noticed a TV show called "Back To the Floor." The premise behind this show is to send higher ups of different companies back to the floor. A general manager from Burger King is sent to work the register and make Whoppers. The president of a cruise ship company is sent to work cleaning cabins and serving drinks.
Based on the episode summaries it seems like this is an interesting lark for the executives involved.
It is not a realistic experience of what it would be like to go "back to the floor."
The CEOs should not be allowed to end their work day early because their feet hurt from standing all day. They should not receive help from other employees that goes beyond what a new employee would receive. They should receive a paycheck for the work they do and they should receive an employer evaluation from their performance. I did not know that cruise ship personel make $1.50 a day with gratuities making up the rest of their wage and am curious to know how much that CEO would have made.
Still, it is funny to see company presidents wear the silly uniforms and exhibit incompetence at the required tasks.
The experience appears to give them insights into factors that affect the efficiency of day to day operations but it doesn't change the way they intend to run their businesses. No one is going to increase employee wages or hire more people to deal with problems of being understaffed. I imagine that CEOs are under tremendous pressure to increase productivity and reduce costs. None of them will reduce their salaries to improve worker's wages and none of them will use a part of these profits to increase the wages of workers.
At the end of a week they go back to their real jobs and breathe a sigh of relief. Very Bread and Circuses
Seeing contemporary people experience cultural history first hand is wholly engrossing.
Randomly surfing around I noticed a TV show called "Back To the Floor." The premise behind this show is to send higher ups of different companies back to the floor. A general manager from Burger King is sent to work the register and make Whoppers. The president of a cruise ship company is sent to work cleaning cabins and serving drinks.
Based on the episode summaries it seems like this is an interesting lark for the executives involved.
It is not a realistic experience of what it would be like to go "back to the floor."
The CEOs should not be allowed to end their work day early because their feet hurt from standing all day. They should not receive help from other employees that goes beyond what a new employee would receive. They should receive a paycheck for the work they do and they should receive an employer evaluation from their performance. I did not know that cruise ship personel make $1.50 a day with gratuities making up the rest of their wage and am curious to know how much that CEO would have made.
Still, it is funny to see company presidents wear the silly uniforms and exhibit incompetence at the required tasks.
The experience appears to give them insights into factors that affect the efficiency of day to day operations but it doesn't change the way they intend to run their businesses. No one is going to increase employee wages or hire more people to deal with problems of being understaffed. I imagine that CEOs are under tremendous pressure to increase productivity and reduce costs. None of them will reduce their salaries to improve worker's wages and none of them will use a part of these profits to increase the wages of workers.
At the end of a week they go back to their real jobs and breathe a sigh of relief. Very Bread and Circuses
Monday, June 21, 2004
Ray Charles
As I am now, as a child I was a night owl. I stayed up too late every chance I got. When I did, Ray Charles sang to me at the end of the broadcast day on the local NBC affiliate.
I cannot believe that he is gone. So I refer to him in the present tense.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful" it is not an anthem, it is more than that - he sings our song. A blind man sings to us of spacious skies and amber waves of grain. And the sky opens up wider and the purple mountains rise up higher. In these words and his voice - from sea to shining sea, we are of one nation, of one people.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful", he sings our hearts and our hopes. When he sings, we are the brightest and best and most beautiful vision of ourselves.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful" I know who I am - an American and I am proud. He expresses for me what I cannot express for myself.
And now who will sing to us our vision, our goodness and strength, our decency and courage?
I cannot imagine him gone.
So in these troubled times, for this nation - sing on, Mr. Charles, sing on.
I cannot believe that he is gone. So I refer to him in the present tense.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful" it is not an anthem, it is more than that - he sings our song. A blind man sings to us of spacious skies and amber waves of grain. And the sky opens up wider and the purple mountains rise up higher. In these words and his voice - from sea to shining sea, we are of one nation, of one people.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful", he sings our hearts and our hopes. When he sings, we are the brightest and best and most beautiful vision of ourselves.
When Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful" I know who I am - an American and I am proud. He expresses for me what I cannot express for myself.
And now who will sing to us our vision, our goodness and strength, our decency and courage?
I cannot imagine him gone.
So in these troubled times, for this nation - sing on, Mr. Charles, sing on.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
the way it's done
Pick up an instrument. Write songs. Rehearse, a lot. Play in the basement, Play for family, Play parties, Play locally. Borrow a 4-track. Make a recording.
Start booking shows. Get a list of clubs and promoters to contact. Send out the CD with photo/bio bullshit. Call people. Email people. Call again, email again, wheedle. Confirm, double check, reconfirm, call again. Get a series of shows set up.
Load everything into a van: instruments, band members, CD's, t-shirts, stickers, buttons, friends, dogs, mascots. Drive. Don't get lost. Hopefully the van is in good condition, the show has not been cancelled, the sound is good, people come to the show, they enjoy the music, someone buys a CD or a t-shirt (now there's gas money to get to the next location), someone offers a floor to sleep on and breakfast. Best case scenario.
In any event, you can sleep in the van. Load up and move on to the next show.
A band will tour and probably play 45 minutes at a particular location, spend the same amount of time loading their stuff in and out of the club, setting up and tearing down. 45 minutes of music and countless hours of travel, hustle, and hassle. Some of them develop a following, some of them are discovered, some of them hit it big and become super wealthy.
To the rest ... thank you. thank you for rocking!
Start booking shows. Get a list of clubs and promoters to contact. Send out the CD with photo/bio bullshit. Call people. Email people. Call again, email again, wheedle. Confirm, double check, reconfirm, call again. Get a series of shows set up.
Load everything into a van: instruments, band members, CD's, t-shirts, stickers, buttons, friends, dogs, mascots. Drive. Don't get lost. Hopefully the van is in good condition, the show has not been cancelled, the sound is good, people come to the show, they enjoy the music, someone buys a CD or a t-shirt (now there's gas money to get to the next location), someone offers a floor to sleep on and breakfast. Best case scenario.
In any event, you can sleep in the van. Load up and move on to the next show.
A band will tour and probably play 45 minutes at a particular location, spend the same amount of time loading their stuff in and out of the club, setting up and tearing down. 45 minutes of music and countless hours of travel, hustle, and hassle. Some of them develop a following, some of them are discovered, some of them hit it big and become super wealthy.
To the rest ... thank you. thank you for rocking!
Thursday, May 27, 2004
More cowbell please....
Spin magazine has another ultimate list issue. Their fifteen greatest cowbell songs of all time had me sitting on the floor at the airport, laughing my ass off. I am sorely tempted to copy it out for you right here, the smartass comments are priceless. That would be wrong. Well, maybe they'll let me give you the list and one smart ass comment.
"1. Mississippi Queen - Mountain: The cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to the cowbell what Dostoevsky is the the Russian novel.
2. Funk #49 - the James Gang
3. Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
4. Photograph - Def Leppard
5. House of Jealous Lovers - the Rapture
6. Honky Tonk Woman - the Rolling Stones
7. Saturday Night - Schoolly D
8. Electioneering - Radiohead
9. Silence Kit - Pavement
10. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey - the Beatles
11. Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
12. Evil Woman - Electric Light Orchestra
13. Celling Dr. Love - Kiss
14. Low Rider - War
15. Private World - the New York Dolls" - Spin
This could be a sleep-deprived-you-had-to-be-there kind of thing. Nonetheless I encourage you to go read your neighbor's May 2004 issue of Spin and give this list a test run.
"1. Mississippi Queen - Mountain: The cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to the cowbell what Dostoevsky is the the Russian novel.
2. Funk #49 - the James Gang
3. Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
4. Photograph - Def Leppard
5. House of Jealous Lovers - the Rapture
6. Honky Tonk Woman - the Rolling Stones
7. Saturday Night - Schoolly D
8. Electioneering - Radiohead
9. Silence Kit - Pavement
10. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey - the Beatles
11. Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
12. Evil Woman - Electric Light Orchestra
13. Celling Dr. Love - Kiss
14. Low Rider - War
15. Private World - the New York Dolls" - Spin
This could be a sleep-deprived-you-had-to-be-there kind of thing. Nonetheless I encourage you to go read your neighbor's May 2004 issue of Spin and give this list a test run.
DC comics = evil
When I was a youth, my mother would drag me to the mall and sometimes I could convince her to let me hang out at the bookstore while she shopped. It was there that I found a comic book called Elfquest. I discovered it in full color condensed graphic novel form. The drawings were beautiful. The characters were vibrant and the story had adventure, friendship, humor, magic, love and conflict. It was excellent. Periodically I check up on the series. In later editions the coloring was not so great. The old edition had very warm tones while the later color editions were decidedly more blue. then the books got smaller and they were in black and white. The stories and characters continued to be compelling.
And today at Pages For All Ages I see that DC has picked up the title, released it in black and white and shrunk the book down to the size of a postage stamp! You can barely make out the pictures, they are very muddy looking. How can you expect new readers to fall in love with this story if you don't present it in a format where the art can be properly appreciated? DC has done some very good things comic-wise. This is not one of them. I am so disappointed.
And today at Pages For All Ages I see that DC has picked up the title, released it in black and white and shrunk the book down to the size of a postage stamp! You can barely make out the pictures, they are very muddy looking. How can you expect new readers to fall in love with this story if you don't present it in a format where the art can be properly appreciated? DC has done some very good things comic-wise. This is not one of them. I am so disappointed.
Friday, May 07, 2004
Project Vote Smart
Every birthday I joke with people that when I turn 35, I will run for President because I can. Most folks roll their eyes at me but according to www.vote-smart.org I'm not the only one with big plans. There's a long list of presidential candidates for 2004 and one potential candidate. You'll have to guess that one for yourself. For those of us who grumble about the two-party system behold:
Party Name (# of Candidates)
American (1)
American Independence (1)
American Tradition (1)
Constitution (2)
DC Statehood Green Party (1)
Democrats (59)
E-Democratic Party (1)
Fair Representation (1)
Green Party (8)
Health (1)
Human Being (1)
Independent (31) Is there an Independent Party?
Independent, Democrat (1)
Libertarian (6)
Menorah-Thor (1)
Mike's Party (1) (Yes, the Candidate's name is Mike.)
National Barking Spider Resurgence Party (1) (His name is Mike as well)
Native American Party (1)
No Party Affiliation (8)
Party X Independent (1)
Prohibition (2)
Reform Party (2)
Republican (26) (Didn't get the memo from GW.)
Socialist (1)
The Anti-Hypocrisy Party (1)
Turtle Political Party (1)
United Christian (1)
United Fascist Union (1)
United States Justice Party Americale (1)
United Vertans Rights (1)
Unknown (6)
Vertans Industrial (1)
write in (9)
There you have it, according to Project Vote Smart we are not a 2 party system. There are 29 political parties that have candidates running for president, and several (46) individuals that are running apparently outside of party lines.
The web site is pretty cool. You can look up who represents you on the federal and state level and learn about them. Voting record, Finance stuff, interest group ratings and such.
www.vote-smart.org
Party Name (# of Candidates)
American (1)
American Independence (1)
American Tradition (1)
Constitution (2)
DC Statehood Green Party (1)
Democrats (59)
E-Democratic Party (1)
Fair Representation (1)
Green Party (8)
Health (1)
Human Being (1)
Independent (31) Is there an Independent Party?
Independent, Democrat (1)
Libertarian (6)
Menorah-Thor (1)
Mike's Party (1) (Yes, the Candidate's name is Mike.)
National Barking Spider Resurgence Party (1) (His name is Mike as well)
Native American Party (1)
No Party Affiliation (8)
Party X Independent (1)
Prohibition (2)
Reform Party (2)
Republican (26) (Didn't get the memo from GW.)
Socialist (1)
The Anti-Hypocrisy Party (1)
Turtle Political Party (1)
United Christian (1)
United Fascist Union (1)
United States Justice Party Americale (1)
United Vertans Rights (1)
Unknown (6)
Vertans Industrial (1)
write in (9)
There you have it, according to Project Vote Smart we are not a 2 party system. There are 29 political parties that have candidates running for president, and several (46) individuals that are running apparently outside of party lines.
The web site is pretty cool. You can look up who represents you on the federal and state level and learn about them. Voting record, Finance stuff, interest group ratings and such.
www.vote-smart.org
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Benefits and the lack of benefits
AR is throwing a benefit show for her sister who has been diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. Her sister has big medical bills to contend with and hopefully this will help. The bands donate their performances and get more exposure, the bar gets customers, the crowd gets to see a cool show and give a little money to help someone they may or may not know who is in need. When it works, it works out well.
I used to see lots flyers for benefits for the well-known causes: Habitat for Humanity, Animal Shelters, benefits against AIDS. Over this past year I have started seeing more flyers for benefits for individuals, often for people who can't pay their medical expenses. It is nice to know that these people have friends who want to help them. It is sad to think that they are in such a vulnerable position. It is a moment to be grateful for having a job with benefits and wonder what happens to people who don't have jobs, benefits, family, or friends to raise money on their behalf.
I guess this is what conservatives want instead of taxation and government agencies. If locals think something is important they can come together and raise resources for it. It would become clear what the priorities of a community are. If you can't attract volunteers and you can't raise money, your cause must not be so urgent.
Still some important things require resources beyond what individuals in a community can offer. I think it would take lots and lots of rock shows to raise money for a library or a school or a bridge.
And it seems wrong to have a woman's life hang in the balance of whether or not people come to a rock show.
I used to see lots flyers for benefits for the well-known causes: Habitat for Humanity, Animal Shelters, benefits against AIDS. Over this past year I have started seeing more flyers for benefits for individuals, often for people who can't pay their medical expenses. It is nice to know that these people have friends who want to help them. It is sad to think that they are in such a vulnerable position. It is a moment to be grateful for having a job with benefits and wonder what happens to people who don't have jobs, benefits, family, or friends to raise money on their behalf.
I guess this is what conservatives want instead of taxation and government agencies. If locals think something is important they can come together and raise resources for it. It would become clear what the priorities of a community are. If you can't attract volunteers and you can't raise money, your cause must not be so urgent.
Still some important things require resources beyond what individuals in a community can offer. I think it would take lots and lots of rock shows to raise money for a library or a school or a bridge.
And it seems wrong to have a woman's life hang in the balance of whether or not people come to a rock show.
The Uses of Post-it's
I was walking by a parked compact car today and noticed that it had bright blue post-it's stuck all over it. One said "Hello, my name is Kim-Chi-Cha." And then next said "Zoom Zoom!"
Had me a good laugh.
Had me a good laugh.
Monday, May 03, 2004
short term stress reliever
I got freaked out and overwhelmed today.
To break that mode, I tried shouting and throwing things. (Yes, I am three.) It made things worse. I got more worked up.
So I started walking down residential streets enumerating aloud the things that I hate: getting parking tickets, bureacracy, cilantro, people who don't wait their turn at 4-way stops .... Never lingering just enumerating with each step.
After a while I ran out of personal hatreds and I started listing things that my friends hate. From there it went to things I have heard strangers say that they hate and things I could envision being hateful. I walked through hate, dislike, annoyance, irritation, distastefullness, arbitrary personal preferences and kept walking until I reached ridiculous. I started to laugh.
I'm sure it is healthier to meditate, but who can sit still for that long?
To break that mode, I tried shouting and throwing things. (Yes, I am three.) It made things worse. I got more worked up.
So I started walking down residential streets enumerating aloud the things that I hate: getting parking tickets, bureacracy, cilantro, people who don't wait their turn at 4-way stops .... Never lingering just enumerating with each step.
After a while I ran out of personal hatreds and I started listing things that my friends hate. From there it went to things I have heard strangers say that they hate and things I could envision being hateful. I walked through hate, dislike, annoyance, irritation, distastefullness, arbitrary personal preferences and kept walking until I reached ridiculous. I started to laugh.
I'm sure it is healthier to meditate, but who can sit still for that long?
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Reading Lolita in Tehran
"I don't know why people who are better off always think that those less fortunate than themselves don't want to have the good things - that they don't want to listen to good music, eat good food or read Henry James." Razieh in Reading Lolita in Tehran
I read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi this past week. This book is more than beautiful. This book is food. This book is bread. It will feed you.
Azar Nafisi is an Iranian woman, a teacher, and a scholar of Western literature. Her book begins with the class she taught out of her home after being expelled from the University of Tehran, the class to which the book title refers. A class of seven women who met every Thursday to read and discuss the relation between fiction and reality. Her reality is a world in which reading The Great Gatsby is controversial and Henry James stirs people to anger. A world in which people roam the streets punishing the suggestion of impropriety. A world in which keeping your soul together is a daily struggle against cruelty.
From here it expands into a kaleidoscope of memories of reading, of teaching, of revolution, of living in an Islamic republic, of living through war, of living under the veil, of oppression, of fear, of courage, of a magician.
She believes that the soul survives evil and is restored "through love and imagination."
Reading Henry James is not superfluous to life. Reading Henry James is at the core of what makes life worth living, reading Henry James is part of how we retain our empathy, our compassion, our humanity.
Her writing is visual and splashed with color in a way that I would like to emulate. My world is far too reductive and I am an unrepentant list-er.
I cannot do this book justice. I can only recommend that you pick it up. This book is food. It is bread. It will feed you.
I read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi this past week. This book is more than beautiful. This book is food. This book is bread. It will feed you.
Azar Nafisi is an Iranian woman, a teacher, and a scholar of Western literature. Her book begins with the class she taught out of her home after being expelled from the University of Tehran, the class to which the book title refers. A class of seven women who met every Thursday to read and discuss the relation between fiction and reality. Her reality is a world in which reading The Great Gatsby is controversial and Henry James stirs people to anger. A world in which people roam the streets punishing the suggestion of impropriety. A world in which keeping your soul together is a daily struggle against cruelty.
From here it expands into a kaleidoscope of memories of reading, of teaching, of revolution, of living in an Islamic republic, of living through war, of living under the veil, of oppression, of fear, of courage, of a magician.
She believes that the soul survives evil and is restored "through love and imagination."
Reading Henry James is not superfluous to life. Reading Henry James is at the core of what makes life worth living, reading Henry James is part of how we retain our empathy, our compassion, our humanity.
Her writing is visual and splashed with color in a way that I would like to emulate. My world is far too reductive and I am an unrepentant list-er.
I cannot do this book justice. I can only recommend that you pick it up. This book is food. It is bread. It will feed you.
Cerberus Staffs the Show
The Dead Like Dallas show had to get moved to a new location this past Thursday. Z agreed to have it in his basement and I worked the door. Which means I stood at the back door, stamped hands, and collected money from punks and people who like melodic hardcore. I passed them through the door and closed it behind them. They walked through a long narrow hallway down the stairs into a tiny basement filled with unholy noise, red lights, and a teeming, sweating, thrashing mass of people.
Later I couldn't shake the feeling that I was Cerberus that night.
"Cerberus - Cerberos - Kerberos
Three Headed Hound of Hades
The three-headed, serpent-tailed dog Cerberus [...]
Cerberus was a fierce, pitiless, flesh-eating watchdog, stationed by the River Styx, from which post he would keep the living from entering the land of the dead. Even the gods feared Cerberus...."
from http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_cerberus.htm
Later I couldn't shake the feeling that I was Cerberus that night.
"Cerberus - Cerberos - Kerberos
Three Headed Hound of Hades
The three-headed, serpent-tailed dog Cerberus [...]
Cerberus was a fierce, pitiless, flesh-eating watchdog, stationed by the River Styx, from which post he would keep the living from entering the land of the dead. Even the gods feared Cerberus...."
from http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_cerberus.htm
Friday, April 23, 2004
Getting old
It drives me crazy to see 22 year-olds go on about how they are getting old. To my mind, if you don't sigh a lot, you don't grunt when you sit down, and you don't grunt when you get up
... You are not old.
I am wrong to cast the stone. I moan about getting old. I am trying to quit. If I am bitching about being old now and I live long enough to need walker and a hearing aid, I will have wasted a lot of my life force bitching about the inevitable.
I am at the point where
- I have visible grey hair
- the smile lines don't go away when I'm done with the happy face
- a stiff night of drinking causes immense pain for much of the next day
- the kid who bags my groceries calls me "Ma'am."
- recovering from an all-nighter takes two days of good sleep
- excessively greasy foods makes me queasy
- I am at least as passionate about buying bed linens as the latest "It" band's CD ... if not more
- I refrain from chatting up 20 year old boys with wallet chains
- I go places and the music is too loud
Time passes and we change. We grow. We age. We die. This is how it is.
There is a day to day generational contrast to my existence. I live in a college town. I walk down the street and am surrounded by beautiful youth, people who are at a minimum ten years younger than me. Sometimes I wonder what I have done with that time, what I have gained, and if I have learned anything worthwhile.
Still, I would not go back. I have clear memories of the mess I was. Times has freed me from things that used to plague me, freed me to become a different kind of mess.
... You are not old.
I am wrong to cast the stone. I moan about getting old. I am trying to quit. If I am bitching about being old now and I live long enough to need walker and a hearing aid, I will have wasted a lot of my life force bitching about the inevitable.
I am at the point where
- I have visible grey hair
- the smile lines don't go away when I'm done with the happy face
- a stiff night of drinking causes immense pain for much of the next day
- the kid who bags my groceries calls me "Ma'am."
- recovering from an all-nighter takes two days of good sleep
- excessively greasy foods makes me queasy
- I am at least as passionate about buying bed linens as the latest "It" band's CD ... if not more
- I refrain from chatting up 20 year old boys with wallet chains
- I go places and the music is too loud
Time passes and we change. We grow. We age. We die. This is how it is.
There is a day to day generational contrast to my existence. I live in a college town. I walk down the street and am surrounded by beautiful youth, people who are at a minimum ten years younger than me. Sometimes I wonder what I have done with that time, what I have gained, and if I have learned anything worthwhile.
Still, I would not go back. I have clear memories of the mess I was. Times has freed me from things that used to plague me, freed me to become a different kind of mess.
Friday, April 16, 2004
The question of conflict
When I was in the 7th grade on a day when we were't diagramming sentences my english teacher said something about themes in fiction. She said that every story has a conflict to be resolved.
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Machine
Man vs. Self
Conflict is at the heart of a story. It motivates the characters and drives the story from point A to point B.
Conflicts in my life are banal
Girl vs. Alarm clock
Girl vs. Cat
Girl vs. Clutter
Girl vs. Parking meter
Girl vs. Apathy
Girl vs. Writer's block
Girl vs. Microsoft product
Girl vs. Twinkie
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Machine
Man vs. Self
Conflict is at the heart of a story. It motivates the characters and drives the story from point A to point B.
Conflicts in my life are banal
Girl vs. Alarm clock
Girl vs. Cat
Girl vs. Clutter
Girl vs. Parking meter
Girl vs. Apathy
Girl vs. Writer's block
Girl vs. Microsoft product
Girl vs. Twinkie
I have reached an age where I meet people my age that are divorced.
I breathe a sigh of relief that I've never been divorced.
But this is not a virtue, I am not married.
It is something of which I know nothing.
"Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together" - Paul Simon
What brings a person entwine her life with that of another?
I am in awe of such fearlessness.
I breathe a sigh of relief that I've never been divorced.
But this is not a virtue, I am not married.
It is something of which I know nothing.
"Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together" - Paul Simon
What brings a person entwine her life with that of another?
I am in awe of such fearlessness.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
webcomics and windex
I wake up in the afternoon and tell myself "Today I will not read any webcomics."
And then a few hours later I am wondering:
What's happening to Ariel at www.queenofwands.net ?
Has Aubrey beaten anyone else up at www.somethingpositive.net?
Is there a new journal comic entry at www.keaner.net/journal.html?
And there I am reading webcomics. Following links to other webcomics. *guilt*
Of course I have to take time and read the whole archive... *more guilt*
The first journal comic I encountered was the journal comic by Drew Weing www.drewweing.com/journalcomic. I was blown away. Wow. It was funny and touching and real. In his hands the ordinary moments of a life became unspeakably beautiful. It made me feel less alone in the world.
I have this idea - that everyone else's life is like a windex commercial - "Put on a Windex Shine" - that everyone else in the world goes to sleep at a decent hour, flosses regularly, gets plenty of fiber, and sends their Christmas cards out the day after Thanksgiving - that remembering to get the recyling bin to the curb on the right day and eating square meals are a prerequisite to a virtuous life. Sometimes I think it is the secret to happiness. If I did the daily stuff I'm supposed to, my life would be a windex commercial and I would be virtuous and happy.
I tried it once. I cleaned my room, I flossed, ate semi-balanced meals, mailed in my warranty forms, and read the fine print on official documents that came in the mail. It sucked. It was nothing like an windex commercial. It's what grown ups do though. Right? Whether it's fun of not.
And then a few hours later I am wondering:
What's happening to Ariel at www.queenofwands.net ?
Has Aubrey beaten anyone else up at www.somethingpositive.net?
Is there a new journal comic entry at www.keaner.net/journal.html?
And there I am reading webcomics. Following links to other webcomics. *guilt*
Of course I have to take time and read the whole archive... *more guilt*
The first journal comic I encountered was the journal comic by Drew Weing www.drewweing.com/journalcomic. I was blown away. Wow. It was funny and touching and real. In his hands the ordinary moments of a life became unspeakably beautiful. It made me feel less alone in the world.
I have this idea - that everyone else's life is like a windex commercial - "Put on a Windex Shine" - that everyone else in the world goes to sleep at a decent hour, flosses regularly, gets plenty of fiber, and sends their Christmas cards out the day after Thanksgiving - that remembering to get the recyling bin to the curb on the right day and eating square meals are a prerequisite to a virtuous life. Sometimes I think it is the secret to happiness. If I did the daily stuff I'm supposed to, my life would be a windex commercial and I would be virtuous and happy.
I tried it once. I cleaned my room, I flossed, ate semi-balanced meals, mailed in my warranty forms, and read the fine print on official documents that came in the mail. It sucked. It was nothing like an windex commercial. It's what grown ups do though. Right? Whether it's fun of not.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
The N word
This weekend I encountered the word nigger twice. I have not heard a person say that in conversation (except in the media) in years. It is an ugly hateful word. It is much on my mind right now. I cannot bring myself to type it again. So ironically I am writing about it while tap dancing around the word itself.
J insists that N is a word that was first used to refer to Irish immigrants in this country and that the term was used in reference to black people later. It seems unlikely. In the dictionary the primary definition refers to black people or dark skinned people. There is a dictionary entry where N is "Used as a disparaging term for a member of any socially, economically, or politically deprived group of people." Which at one time the Irish in the U.S. were. Still, I'm pretty sure that it's been decades since the last time an Irish American was called a N.
But for the most part N refers to black people.
Chuck D had a rant in which he insists that N is not a term of love. It is a word whose meaning and history is tied to slavery and hatred. A few hip-hop albums are not going to change that so quickly. He thinks it will never be a word of love.
His whole rant on this got me thinking about the scene in "Pulp Fiction" in which Ving Rhames character asks Bruce Willis' character "Are you my N-----?" It is a scene in which a white man is expected to tell his black boss that he is. It is not a term used by equals. In this scene the colors of the roles are reversed. And it is still a word of subjugation. Like the concept of being someone's bitch as opposed to being a bitch.
As a child when I heard white kids refer to a black person as a N, I got angry and confronted them about it. They would always insist that they were not referring to all black people. There were nice black people who they liked and there were others that behaved like N's and should be referred to in such a matter. Interestingly, Chuck D used the word cracker to refer to a particular white person in the same way. He said that here were some white people who behaved in a certain way and that was best described as being a cracker.
This is a race trap. Cracker and N are two words that are deeply steeped in racial identification and a racist history. If a person is ignorant, or rude, or despicable, or racist, or insulting these are decisions that he/she has made as an individual about what to think, what to say, and how to act. If a person is rude what matters more the color or the behavior?
Skin color you cannot change. Behavior and point of view you can. This is the hope of humanity.
J insists that N is a word that was first used to refer to Irish immigrants in this country and that the term was used in reference to black people later. It seems unlikely. In the dictionary the primary definition refers to black people or dark skinned people. There is a dictionary entry where N is "Used as a disparaging term for a member of any socially, economically, or politically deprived group of people." Which at one time the Irish in the U.S. were. Still, I'm pretty sure that it's been decades since the last time an Irish American was called a N.
But for the most part N refers to black people.
Chuck D had a rant in which he insists that N is not a term of love. It is a word whose meaning and history is tied to slavery and hatred. A few hip-hop albums are not going to change that so quickly. He thinks it will never be a word of love.
His whole rant on this got me thinking about the scene in "Pulp Fiction" in which Ving Rhames character asks Bruce Willis' character "Are you my N-----?" It is a scene in which a white man is expected to tell his black boss that he is. It is not a term used by equals. In this scene the colors of the roles are reversed. And it is still a word of subjugation. Like the concept of being someone's bitch as opposed to being a bitch.
As a child when I heard white kids refer to a black person as a N, I got angry and confronted them about it. They would always insist that they were not referring to all black people. There were nice black people who they liked and there were others that behaved like N's and should be referred to in such a matter. Interestingly, Chuck D used the word cracker to refer to a particular white person in the same way. He said that here were some white people who behaved in a certain way and that was best described as being a cracker.
This is a race trap. Cracker and N are two words that are deeply steeped in racial identification and a racist history. If a person is ignorant, or rude, or despicable, or racist, or insulting these are decisions that he/she has made as an individual about what to think, what to say, and how to act. If a person is rude what matters more the color or the behavior?
Skin color you cannot change. Behavior and point of view you can. This is the hope of humanity.
Friday, April 09, 2004
Chuck D is member of Public Enemy
If you get the chance to hear him speak,
Take it.
If you are looking for someone to give a talk,
Invite him.
Take it.
If you are looking for someone to give a talk,
Invite him.
I love Charlie Rose
If I could have anyone's job I would want to do the Charlie Rose show. And do it exactly the way he does it.
Wynton Marsalis said on Charlie Rose Tuesday:
"The Sound is the foundation. The sound is your identity. Before the sound is the breath and the breath is like the thought and the sound is like the word. So when you purify the breath you purify the sound - for wind players 'cause we breathe. *inhales* *exhales* Sometimes I'll be teachin' class and I can tell that a kid - before they even play I just hear the breath
*shakes head smiling* *waves hand*
oh no no no the breath is not right. You purify the breath. You purify the thought and to get deeper in the sound and you can get more nuances and colors and shadings in the sound."
It's true for singers too. You think the note - hear it inside your head. Take a breath and you let the note out with the air. In that act you shape the sound in our case with the word.
He talked about jazz the meaning and the mission and the culture of jazz. And strangely, I realized while listening to him helped me to realize the value and meaning of a scientific education.
Wynton Marsalis said on Charlie Rose Tuesday:
"The Sound is the foundation. The sound is your identity. Before the sound is the breath and the breath is like the thought and the sound is like the word. So when you purify the breath you purify the sound - for wind players 'cause we breathe. *inhales* *exhales* Sometimes I'll be teachin' class and I can tell that a kid - before they even play I just hear the breath
*shakes head smiling* *waves hand*
oh no no no the breath is not right. You purify the breath. You purify the thought and to get deeper in the sound and you can get more nuances and colors and shadings in the sound."
It's true for singers too. You think the note - hear it inside your head. Take a breath and you let the note out with the air. In that act you shape the sound in our case with the word.
He talked about jazz the meaning and the mission and the culture of jazz. And strangely, I realized while listening to him helped me to realize the value and meaning of a scientific education.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Chuck D is a member of Public Enemy, not Run DMC
Five hours of sleep two nights in a row - not good.
Damn insomnia.
Can't think, can't speak, can't function, can't sleep.
I am all brainstem.
Damn insomnia.
Can't think, can't speak, can't function, can't sleep.
I am all brainstem.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
categorical imperatives
Writing about music I can't find good comparisions or categories for the tunes because I am
radio-grown and don't have that hipster background. Can't tell hardcore from punk from crustcore from thrash. How do we communicate without a common language? Labels and more labels.
radio-grown and don't have that hipster background. Can't tell hardcore from punk from crustcore from thrash. How do we communicate without a common language? Labels and more labels.
The Postal Service
"I am thinking it's a sign
that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images
and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned."
-The Postal Service
It's a new wave/synthpop revival. That damn Ben Gibbard. I bought the album "Give Up" and it's entirely charming. It has a guileless, ingenuous quality. The bouyancy of Jimmy Tamborello's programming keeps things moving and expansive which without undercutting the sensitive guy lyrical content.
I grew up in the 80's. I am a sucker for this crap.
Check out Menthol. They do up the new wave revival dammy fine, kid!
that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images
and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned."
-The Postal Service
It's a new wave/synthpop revival. That damn Ben Gibbard. I bought the album "Give Up" and it's entirely charming. It has a guileless, ingenuous quality. The bouyancy of Jimmy Tamborello's programming keeps things moving and expansive which without undercutting the sensitive guy lyrical content.
I grew up in the 80's. I am a sucker for this crap.
Check out Menthol. They do up the new wave revival dammy fine, kid!
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Jobs jobs jobs
It's hard to know who to believe.
The economy is recovering. The nation has increased productivity. Job growth is slow.
How can we say that the economy is doing better when people are out of work and more and more people are declaring bankruptcy? Maybe our indicators are wrong.
There are jobs in India, jobs in China, jobs in Mexico, jobs in Iraq, jobs in Northern Ireland, jobs in Pakistan.
If you don't have a job you can get welfare benefits but for only a couple of years because you are supposed to be working.
There are undocumented people in this country illegally who have jobs. They are going to get to be here legally now. Maybe they will get benefits and be treated decently, get taxed like the rest of us. They come from places so poor or so oppressive that whatever they get, however they are treated, this is an great opportunity.
People hate their jobs but don't complain because they can't afford to lose them.
80% of all businesses in this country have fewer than 5 employees. Micro businesses employ more people than the big corporations. But the tax breaks and the legal breaks seems to go to the big corporations.
People do contract work and work part-time and don't have pension, retirement, savings, or health insurance.
You have to have insurance for you car in most states yet you maybe unable to insure your health the lack of which will probably make your life much harder.
hmm.
That might actually be a toss up.
Many people who declare bankruptcy do so because they or a loved one gets sick and the medical bills are too high and maybe their insurance doesn't cover enough of it, or they don't have insurance at all.
People get all excited about free trade. I have been promised cheap manufactured goods. I can buy a DVD player for $70 and ugly shoes on sale for $8.
It may bring opportunity to these other countries. I hope it does. Although it might be another fiasco where poor people suffer. Like Shell in Nigeria.
But the thing that no economist can seem to tell me is:
What are people who have lost their jobs supposed to do? What jobs exist for them?
People say vague things about how Biotechnology and Nanotechnology are going to turn this country around. Biotech jobs are already leaving this country or being automated. And frankly, those jobs were pretty specialized to begin with.
Economists insist that free trade must be allowed to continue and that things will work out somehow. They believe in the ingenuity of the American people. Vague blah blah bullshit.
This is all hearsay.
I think we need a dream, a big impossible research initiative like going to the moon. It doesn't have to be science but if it's science the discoveries might lead to new manufacturing applications and new industries.
People often say that we should not as a government spend money on crazy research discovery projects because there are people who are starving and suffering in this country. It's a nice sentiment but the truth is if we cared about suffering people, social workers would be paid more than any other human in this country. If we really cared about nurturing and investing in humanity, day care providers, teachers, and social workers would drive cadillacs and live in lavish homes. Lawyers and professional basketball players would live barely above the poverty line.
We need projects that capture the national imagination, that inspire people to strive for something great. Something beyond our everyday existence. And the money to back it up.
The economy is recovering. The nation has increased productivity. Job growth is slow.
How can we say that the economy is doing better when people are out of work and more and more people are declaring bankruptcy? Maybe our indicators are wrong.
There are jobs in India, jobs in China, jobs in Mexico, jobs in Iraq, jobs in Northern Ireland, jobs in Pakistan.
If you don't have a job you can get welfare benefits but for only a couple of years because you are supposed to be working.
There are undocumented people in this country illegally who have jobs. They are going to get to be here legally now. Maybe they will get benefits and be treated decently, get taxed like the rest of us. They come from places so poor or so oppressive that whatever they get, however they are treated, this is an great opportunity.
People hate their jobs but don't complain because they can't afford to lose them.
80% of all businesses in this country have fewer than 5 employees. Micro businesses employ more people than the big corporations. But the tax breaks and the legal breaks seems to go to the big corporations.
People do contract work and work part-time and don't have pension, retirement, savings, or health insurance.
You have to have insurance for you car in most states yet you maybe unable to insure your health the lack of which will probably make your life much harder.
hmm.
That might actually be a toss up.
Many people who declare bankruptcy do so because they or a loved one gets sick and the medical bills are too high and maybe their insurance doesn't cover enough of it, or they don't have insurance at all.
People get all excited about free trade. I have been promised cheap manufactured goods. I can buy a DVD player for $70 and ugly shoes on sale for $8.
It may bring opportunity to these other countries. I hope it does. Although it might be another fiasco where poor people suffer. Like Shell in Nigeria.
But the thing that no economist can seem to tell me is:
What are people who have lost their jobs supposed to do? What jobs exist for them?
People say vague things about how Biotechnology and Nanotechnology are going to turn this country around. Biotech jobs are already leaving this country or being automated. And frankly, those jobs were pretty specialized to begin with.
Economists insist that free trade must be allowed to continue and that things will work out somehow. They believe in the ingenuity of the American people. Vague blah blah bullshit.
This is all hearsay.
I think we need a dream, a big impossible research initiative like going to the moon. It doesn't have to be science but if it's science the discoveries might lead to new manufacturing applications and new industries.
People often say that we should not as a government spend money on crazy research discovery projects because there are people who are starving and suffering in this country. It's a nice sentiment but the truth is if we cared about suffering people, social workers would be paid more than any other human in this country. If we really cared about nurturing and investing in humanity, day care providers, teachers, and social workers would drive cadillacs and live in lavish homes. Lawyers and professional basketball players would live barely above the poverty line.
We need projects that capture the national imagination, that inspire people to strive for something great. Something beyond our everyday existence. And the money to back it up.
rocking out christian
I bought the Legally Blonde soundtrack (I was craving ear candy.) and was digging on a track called "One Girl Revolution" by superchic[k], they are a christian rock band.
Popular culture pulled a fast one on me. Used to be that everything in christian rock sounded different than regular radio fare, more wholesome, more ballad and showtune-y. Nowdays if you're scanning through radio stations and you hear a song for the very first time and you find yourself groovin on it, check the dial. You're probably bopping to the christian rock. *HAH*
Popular culture pulled a fast one on me. Used to be that everything in christian rock sounded different than regular radio fare, more wholesome, more ballad and showtune-y. Nowdays if you're scanning through radio stations and you hear a song for the very first time and you find yourself groovin on it, check the dial. You're probably bopping to the christian rock. *HAH*
Monday, April 05, 2004
Ghosts of Rwanda
Frontline did a program about the Genocide in Rwanda in 1994. In 100 days 800,000 people died. They were hacked to pieces with machetes and left to die in the streets. Men, women and children, civilians. The World, the UN, the US, did nothing. I did nothing. You did nothing.
Captain Mbaye Diagne did something. He was an unarmed UN military observer from Senegal who ignored orders to not intervene and smuggled many many people to safety.
The hero is not the one who kills. The hero is not the one who wins.
The hero is the one who will sacrifice for another human being.
The hero is the one who will risk dying to save another person.
Senegal should take great pride in the courage of their son.
Captain Mbaye Diagne did something. He was an unarmed UN military observer from Senegal who ignored orders to not intervene and smuggled many many people to safety.
The hero is not the one who kills. The hero is not the one who wins.
The hero is the one who will sacrifice for another human being.
The hero is the one who will risk dying to save another person.
Senegal should take great pride in the courage of their son.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
for my own protection
I went to Best Buy Friday looking for the Distiller's album "Coral Fang." I had a hard time finding it because I was looking for the white black and red cover art with the hanging body with guts spilling out. Instead there were racks and racks of a different CD cover. It had cute animals on it giraffes and beavers and whatnot. Apparently the original artwork was not deemed appropriate for retailers like Best Buy and they changed it. I should have left it there, kicked over a display sign, and walked out of the store but the immediate lure of having the CD in my greedy hands was too much for me.
I feel dirty supporting the Disney-ification of the universe.
I feel dirty supporting the Disney-ification of the universe.
Friday, April 02, 2004
I saw Paul Kotheimer play at Aroma this evening. He's a very talented singer songwriter, funny, smart, literate, political, poetic, whimsical, and always very listenable. www.handmaderecords.com
It's hard to describe music that you've never heard. I just found this link. *pat self on back*
http://www.unknownhypertext.com/kotheimer.htm
Go listen. And then consider buying a CD or inviting him to come and play a show for you and your friends. If you do maybe he won't sell his guitar to make rent, and he will write more songs making for a more beautiful and heartfelt world.
It's hard to describe music that you've never heard. I just found this link. *pat self on back*
http://www.unknownhypertext.com/kotheimer.htm
Go listen. And then consider buying a CD or inviting him to come and play a show for you and your friends. If you do maybe he won't sell his guitar to make rent, and he will write more songs making for a more beautiful and heartfelt world.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Left-wing rant
Conservatives always say that the problem with the country today is that people don't take responsibility for their own actions. Welfare, abortion, crime, unemployment, debt, etc... These people are doing what they want and looking to the government to bail them out when things go south.
They do not say that corporations take responsibility for their actions. A corporation is an entity that holds accountablity in place of individuals that make decisions in a company or other organization. Why aren't conservatives calling for corporations to pay their taxes, or clean up the environment, or pay their union and non-union employees decently?
Why aren't conservatives calling for corporations to deal fairly with people here and in third world countries? If a company is going to turn huge profits by taking manufacturing and programming jobs overseas, shouldn't they give those countries more than subsistence salaries and money to corrupt government officials and military leaders? Shouldn't they help build roads and town halls and schools as well?
As conditions improve and the local population demands higher salaries these corporations often leave and take jobs and machines and means of productions back out with them to places where people starve and work for nothing. Those factories used to get "nationalized" and stayed where they were built. Now with NAFTA and the WTO, I'll bet that doesn't happen.
We have this idea that the sole responsibility of a corporation is to make money for it's investors and we allow them to justify any action they take with the idea that if they don't turn a maximal profit they will not survive.
I say these are evils of the world today but stories you hear these days from places like China are much like stories you would hear in the days of Carnagie and Pullman, stories of the industrial revolution. Only it is now on a global scale.
In those days people would turn to the ideology and mythology of Marxism to fight industrial exploitation. Perhaps today countries will couch this conflict in terms of nationalism and a culture war. Much like Islamic people in the Middle East, saying "we don't want to be middle class democratic Americans drinking your diet coke and shopping at the GAP, we want to be what we are and live by our own traditions."
Capitalism is the dominant ideology and culture. It is the ideology with the most money, and guns. If you don't play the game, the game will play you.
I think I have had too much caffeine today.
They do not say that corporations take responsibility for their actions. A corporation is an entity that holds accountablity in place of individuals that make decisions in a company or other organization. Why aren't conservatives calling for corporations to pay their taxes, or clean up the environment, or pay their union and non-union employees decently?
Why aren't conservatives calling for corporations to deal fairly with people here and in third world countries? If a company is going to turn huge profits by taking manufacturing and programming jobs overseas, shouldn't they give those countries more than subsistence salaries and money to corrupt government officials and military leaders? Shouldn't they help build roads and town halls and schools as well?
As conditions improve and the local population demands higher salaries these corporations often leave and take jobs and machines and means of productions back out with them to places where people starve and work for nothing. Those factories used to get "nationalized" and stayed where they were built. Now with NAFTA and the WTO, I'll bet that doesn't happen.
We have this idea that the sole responsibility of a corporation is to make money for it's investors and we allow them to justify any action they take with the idea that if they don't turn a maximal profit they will not survive.
I say these are evils of the world today but stories you hear these days from places like China are much like stories you would hear in the days of Carnagie and Pullman, stories of the industrial revolution. Only it is now on a global scale.
In those days people would turn to the ideology and mythology of Marxism to fight industrial exploitation. Perhaps today countries will couch this conflict in terms of nationalism and a culture war. Much like Islamic people in the Middle East, saying "we don't want to be middle class democratic Americans drinking your diet coke and shopping at the GAP, we want to be what we are and live by our own traditions."
Capitalism is the dominant ideology and culture. It is the ideology with the most money, and guns. If you don't play the game, the game will play you.
I think I have had too much caffeine today.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
I am here because RB thinks it will help me focus my life more clearly. At my wits end I take the advice that is given.
According to the terms of service I have agreed to not be unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tarotious (tortious? torturous?), defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. You know, you agreed to do the same.
In the whole I am not and I wasn't really considering being any of those things. But having promised to be good, I look over the fence and wonder... if a man takes his pants off in public and nobody cares, is that an act of obscenity?
And while I have promised to not be obscene, the agreement did not bar me from profanity.
According to the terms of service I have agreed to not be unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tarotious (tortious? torturous?), defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. You know, you agreed to do the same.
In the whole I am not and I wasn't really considering being any of those things. But having promised to be good, I look over the fence and wonder... if a man takes his pants off in public and nobody cares, is that an act of obscenity?
And while I have promised to not be obscene, the agreement did not bar me from profanity.
Rock History
I finished reading
"Our Band Could Be Your Life: scenes fom the american indie underground 1981-1991" by Michael Azerrad.
He tells the story of 13 bands from that time period: Black Flag, the Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Husker Du, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, the Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr, Fugazi, Mudhoney, Beat Happening, and the indie labels that loved them.
It's a truly remarkable account of life as a band and the alternative culture and tribal scenes of the time. To live for what you love can be hard.
The guys in these bands are my age or maybe ten years my senior. We grew up in the same time. I was baking brownies to raise money for the nuclear freeze and to help the Sandanistas and these guys were creating a cultural riot. It is embarassing that during those years I was a big Billy Joel fan and my ear was glued to the radio. Although I'm sure that even now my musical taste is too pedestrian to embrace many of these bands. Though it rots out my brain, I adore ear candy.
Today in my 30's the DIY concept has finally trickeled out far enough into the mainstream to infect me. I want to write a zine, I want to book bands in my basement, I want to start a label, I want to be in a band that's groundbreaking and confrontational. Unfortunately I also like to know where my next meal is coming from. I like to know where I'm going to sleep at night. And I like to shower regularly. I'm too old and rigid for that life. Still, it is my day-dream.
I barrel towards middle age and notice all of things I could have done when I was young but was too self-absorbed and unhappy to notice.
Contrary to popular belief, greater satisfaction comes out of a challenge than out of comfort.
Turn off the TV, get off your ass, build something.
Words I need to heed.
"Our Band Could Be Your Life: scenes fom the american indie underground 1981-1991" by Michael Azerrad.
He tells the story of 13 bands from that time period: Black Flag, the Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Husker Du, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, the Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr, Fugazi, Mudhoney, Beat Happening, and the indie labels that loved them.
It's a truly remarkable account of life as a band and the alternative culture and tribal scenes of the time. To live for what you love can be hard.
The guys in these bands are my age or maybe ten years my senior. We grew up in the same time. I was baking brownies to raise money for the nuclear freeze and to help the Sandanistas and these guys were creating a cultural riot. It is embarassing that during those years I was a big Billy Joel fan and my ear was glued to the radio. Although I'm sure that even now my musical taste is too pedestrian to embrace many of these bands. Though it rots out my brain, I adore ear candy.
Today in my 30's the DIY concept has finally trickeled out far enough into the mainstream to infect me. I want to write a zine, I want to book bands in my basement, I want to start a label, I want to be in a band that's groundbreaking and confrontational. Unfortunately I also like to know where my next meal is coming from. I like to know where I'm going to sleep at night. And I like to shower regularly. I'm too old and rigid for that life. Still, it is my day-dream.
I barrel towards middle age and notice all of things I could have done when I was young but was too self-absorbed and unhappy to notice.
Contrary to popular belief, greater satisfaction comes out of a challenge than out of comfort.
Turn off the TV, get off your ass, build something.
Words I need to heed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2004
(42)
-
►
April
(20)
- Reading Lolita in Tehran
- Cerberus Staffs the Show
- Getting old
- Grad School: 1% inspiration 49% perspiration 50...
- The question of conflict
- I have reached an age where I meet people my age t...
- webcomics and windex
- The N word
- Chuck D is member of Public Enemy
- I love Charlie Rose
- Chuck D is a member of Public Enemy, not Run DMC
- christian rock - the lamb in wolf's clothing *sno...
- categorical imperatives
- The Postal Service
- Jobs jobs jobs
- rocking out christian
- Ghosts of Rwanda
- for my own protection
- I saw Paul Kotheimer play at Aroma this evening. ...
- Left-wing rant
-
►
April
(20)