“Come inside my love and join me / I’m your worst nightmare…”
Creature of the night, or at least not daylight.
“…Tonight I’ll spread my wings…”
12/6/10
Black Swan is a glimpse into a world where everything is strictly black and white: the rigidity of dance, the institution of a performance troupe, the brusque NYC, the stark white and black color schemes. There is no comprehension of emotion, no place for red in this world collapsing into itself with the realization of monochromatism.
But there is a meta pleasure, in viewing a committed vision into a narrow, tragic (indeed, tragically narrow) world. Like the realization that which color is irrelevant in a world where the revelant fact is the realizing the schismatic nature of the world, the film is simultaneously a part of and a culmination of the prior elements in Aronofsky’s canon.
But there is a meta pleasure, in viewing a committed vision into a narrow, tragic (indeed, tragically narrow) world. Like the realization that which color is irrelevant in a world where the revelant fact is the realizing the schismatic nature of the world, the film is simultaneously a part of and a culmination of the prior elements in Aronofsky’s canon.
12/5/10
12/3/10
11/30/10
Watched HP7.1, which, like every other HP film, diverges in feeling from its predecessors; but unlike the predecessors, that feeling is at most secondarily from technical reasons. Certainly the doubled length, the lengthy interval since reading the once-read source, or the filmmakers’ accumulation of experience contribute to the effect. But the setting is different: this is a quest into the real world, not against the backdrop of education. The characters are different: these aren’t shepherded schoolchildren, but mentorless new adults. The theme is different: this isn’t yet another progression step on the path to maturity, but with a defined endpoint visible.
11/29/10
11/28/10
11/27/10
“The kisses of the sun were sweet / I didn’t blink / I let it in my eyes…”
Looking back and forward, and seeing familiar forgotten faces, who are recognizing, remembering, stating firmly and warmly: You are one of us. This is where you belong. Stay.
“…And now the night is gone / Still it goes on and on / So deep inside of me…”
Such familiar faces, with names that on the edge of recollection; such familiar names that have drifted away from the face; such familiar stories that are shared among such divergence. Everybody has a bright future ahead. Everybody speaks, everybody listens, everybody understands each other.
“…And everybody’s singing…”
For one night, everybody was the most popular kid in high school. For one night, Past and Present are balanced in joy.
“…La la la la la…”
Looking back and forward, and seeing familiar forgotten faces, who are recognizing, remembering, stating firmly and warmly: You are one of us. This is where you belong. Stay.
“…And now the night is gone / Still it goes on and on / So deep inside of me…”
Such familiar faces, with names that on the edge of recollection; such familiar names that have drifted away from the face; such familiar stories that are shared among such divergence. Everybody has a bright future ahead. Everybody speaks, everybody listens, everybody understands each other.
“…And everybody’s singing…”
For one night, everybody was the most popular kid in high school. For one night, Past and Present are balanced in joy.
“…La la la la la…”
11/26/10
“You'll remember me when the west wind moves…”
Misheard “I never make promises lightly” as “I never make promises I can’t keep”. Both convey the same idea, but there are underlying linguistic differences. For “can’t” is a definite binary, unlike the spectrum of capability implied by “lightly”, with a Venn diagram of promises that could be kept and promised that were. But the actual lyric is especially disappointing in the context of the following “And there have been some that I’ve broken”. For “can’t keep” modifies promise, but “lightly” modifies make. Thus what is expected to be a contrast, with an impersonal statement instead of the active subject, is instead a parallel.
“…Many years have passed since those summer days…”
I hear a different tune, and I look upon the same path.
“…When we walked in fields of gold…”
Misheard “I never make promises lightly” as “I never make promises I can’t keep”. Both convey the same idea, but there are underlying linguistic differences. For “can’t” is a definite binary, unlike the spectrum of capability implied by “lightly”, with a Venn diagram of promises that could be kept and promised that were. But the actual lyric is especially disappointing in the context of the following “And there have been some that I’ve broken”. For “can’t keep” modifies promise, but “lightly” modifies make. Thus what is expected to be a contrast, with an impersonal statement instead of the active subject, is instead a parallel.
“…Many years have passed since those summer days…”
I hear a different tune, and I look upon the same path.
“…When we walked in fields of gold…”
11/25/10
The worst Thanksgiving travel horrors are those which are self-imposed.
The best Thanksgiving travel graces are those which are gratefully given.
“If they had brought my luggage, but didn’t deliver it onto dry land- it would have been enough.”
“And if I had been picked up at the airport, but hadn’t gone to Nando’s- it would have been enough.”
The best Thanksgiving travel graces are those which are gratefully given.
“If they had brought my luggage, but didn’t deliver it onto dry land- it would have been enough.”
“And if I had been picked up at the airport, but hadn’t gone to Nando’s- it would have been enough.”
11/24/10
“Speaking words of wisdom…”
"Take care" is unoptimistic, assuming a dreary miersable world which requires its occupants to focus lest they never see each other again, their planes not arriving properly unless they doublecheck the destination with a flight attendant. The care is wariness, not meticulousness. And yet, this also assumes a world in which occupants are in complete control over their outcomes: with enough care, anything is achievable.
Whereas "[god] be [with you, [wherever you may go]]": that has a freedom, and the opposite of determination. "[see you] later": clingy, certainly, but acknowledging a bond, by which some day the interaction will be resumed. Unlike "take care", which enjoins us with our own responsibility, these conclusions are passive, with a defined or undefined higher power in control of what will happen.
For I like being, not the overachievement of being. I do not listen to make; I hear be. Lack of control does not bother me; for there is a difference between external and internal control, and what I do not is being unable to control internals, and having to control externals. "Take care" is not my world.
“…Let it be…”
"Take care" is unoptimistic, assuming a dreary miersable world which requires its occupants to focus lest they never see each other again, their planes not arriving properly unless they doublecheck the destination with a flight attendant. The care is wariness, not meticulousness. And yet, this also assumes a world in which occupants are in complete control over their outcomes: with enough care, anything is achievable.
Whereas "[god] be [with you, [wherever you may go]]": that has a freedom, and the opposite of determination. "[see you] later": clingy, certainly, but acknowledging a bond, by which some day the interaction will be resumed. Unlike "take care", which enjoins us with our own responsibility, these conclusions are passive, with a defined or undefined higher power in control of what will happen.
For I like being, not the overachievement of being. I do not listen to make; I hear be. Lack of control does not bother me; for there is a difference between external and internal control, and what I do not is being unable to control internals, and having to control externals. "Take care" is not my world.
“…Let it be…”
11/22/10
11/21/10
“What are you doing? What- what- what are you doing?”
Neither the sassy nor the gay are what’s necessary for averting tragedy.
Neither the sassy nor the gay are what’s necessary for averting tragedy.
11/20/10
11/19/10
Midnight bacon is an amazing thing; but now for 2 reasons.
“Ok, I followed the instructions, but now my bacon is trapped within the microwave. Am I supposed to remove it? If so, how? Please help.”
“My only criticism is that it's too bad its a late night recipe only, my children have to be in bed early so they won't be ever able to try it. :( Please post one for early morning bacon. Thanks!”
“This recipe looks great! Could you please add the instructions on how to switch the oven on and off.”
“You didn't specify which brand of paper towel”
“Do you have any recipes for cereal? The kind in a box? I really like cereal, but it seems tricky- milk first? cereal? big spoon? little spoon?”
“Sounds yummy, but I'm a vegetarian. Do you have a way to make this without meat?”
“I've just realized I let the bacon overlap a bit on the center of the plate and my microwave has already been going for 2 1/2 minutes”
“Ok, I followed the instructions, but now my bacon is trapped within the microwave. Am I supposed to remove it? If so, how? Please help.”
“My only criticism is that it's too bad its a late night recipe only, my children have to be in bed early so they won't be ever able to try it. :( Please post one for early morning bacon. Thanks!”
“This recipe looks great! Could you please add the instructions on how to switch the oven on and off.”
“You didn't specify which brand of paper towel”
“Do you have any recipes for cereal? The kind in a box? I really like cereal, but it seems tricky- milk first? cereal? big spoon? little spoon?”
“Sounds yummy, but I'm a vegetarian. Do you have a way to make this without meat?”
“I've just realized I let the bacon overlap a bit on the center of the plate and my microwave has already been going for 2 1/2 minutes”
11/17/10
"You can follow logic or contest it all..."
Accomplish or experience is a dichotomy.
"...The element of progress that you mentioned's gone / And deevolved to something you were headed toward..."
Pyroclasty or spontaneity is a concern.
"...I don't want to regret what I did..."
Not now or special.
"...Like a cast shadow..."
11/15/10
“Too Much Memory” retells Antigone, but it is, as introduced, a metanarrative: a retelling of a translation. And so on the show’s final night, with the troubles of the previous night avenged, with the Bush administration deposed, with combat troops withdrawn, the play feels superfluous. The actors sit watching action as much as the audience they face; the chorus inserts herself among the audience and actors as necessary. The actual plot no longer seems necessary to the mirrored reactions.
11/13/10
<turns arounds, takes a quick look> Oh, All My Children.
“Busted.”
No, I don't watch it, I just know that it's not One Life to Live or General Hospital.
“Digging yourself deeper.”
As the world turns.
Sometimes I can’t stand how slowly the earth turns.
Hold on to the slowness. We will need it soon enough.
True, I suppose. But if it were so held now, then we wouldn’t need to save it for later.
The thing is, we always and only have now.
“Busted.”
No, I don't watch it, I just know that it's not One Life to Live or General Hospital.
“Digging yourself deeper.”
As the world turns.
Sometimes I can’t stand how slowly the earth turns.
Hold on to the slowness. We will need it soon enough.
True, I suppose. But if it were so held now, then we wouldn’t need to save it for later.
The thing is, we always and only have now.
11/11/10
Imadork but I’m totally taking a 3:14 pie break. (pumpkin)
Totally just made a pie, in the oven presently!
I love how our stomachs are theta-wavy too. (what kind?)
Pumpkin. (what else?)
I nearly got the pecan before I realized, why would I do that.
The first layer of my she is pecan. He it’s good maybe bed it to our .k
haha I understood that.
Good, because t9 did not.
Sometimes I bake scones. I've less time but less stress. Life is good.
Totally just made a pie, in the oven presently!
I love how our stomachs are theta-wavy too. (what kind?)
Pumpkin. (what else?)
I nearly got the pecan before I realized, why would I do that.
The first layer of my she is pecan. He it’s good maybe bed it to our .k
haha I understood that.
Good, because t9 did not.
Sometimes I bake scones. I've less time but less stress. Life is good.
11/10/10
11/9/10
“Your dreams never follow the chronology of history…”
Seeking complements and compliments, traversing into surreality, a world of zeitgeist where one would live if it weren’t already home, and by arriving, it becomes foreign to the eye. For ideal is never actual: we know ourselves too little and the rest of the world too well. All that is requested is one night to sleep in your bed; you needn’t to be there. Easy in third person; impossible otherwise.
“…You people are singing to me…”
Would you date yourself?
“…And your song says what it says…”
Would you be your own wingman?
Seeking complements and compliments, traversing into surreality, a world of zeitgeist where one would live if it weren’t already home, and by arriving, it becomes foreign to the eye. For ideal is never actual: we know ourselves too little and the rest of the world too well. All that is requested is one night to sleep in your bed; you needn’t to be there. Easy in third person; impossible otherwise.
“…You people are singing to me…”
Would you date yourself?
“…And your song says what it says…”
Would you be your own wingman?
11/6/10
11/5/10
11/4/10
11/2/10
Have you eaten dinner yet?
No, but…
Okay, from your apartment, turn right on N. Broadway Ave. Then go to Aldine…
I’m not at my apartment. I’m at a sketch writing session.
Okay, well, when you’re done, you need to go there, because there’s an amazing pizza I just ate called Homemade Pizza Co., and they have locations in Chicago.
Yeah, they’re a chain, I walk by that place all the time, and there’s another a block away from here, that I was literally at for the first time less than an hour ago.
How was it?
I don’t know. See, I had just come from work and I was looking for a quick slice of pizza before sketch writing, so I was like, hm, let’s try Homemade Pizza, and I bought a small without realizing until after purchasing that their gimmick was that it was uncooked, and I couldn’t walk into someone’s home and ask, hey can, I borrow you oven to make a pizza to not share with you. I have too much food shame.
Well, hold on to and eat it later.
They only had transparent bags, and I didn’t have anything to put it in. But I realized how cold it was outside. So I geocached it a block away, and didn’t tell anyone, intending to retrieve it when I leave- but then you call with street instructions to get Homemade Pizza Co. pizza.
Unspeakably awesome.
No, but…
Okay, from your apartment, turn right on N. Broadway Ave. Then go to Aldine…
I’m not at my apartment. I’m at a sketch writing session.
Okay, well, when you’re done, you need to go there, because there’s an amazing pizza I just ate called Homemade Pizza Co., and they have locations in Chicago.
Yeah, they’re a chain, I walk by that place all the time, and there’s another a block away from here, that I was literally at for the first time less than an hour ago.
How was it?
I don’t know. See, I had just come from work and I was looking for a quick slice of pizza before sketch writing, so I was like, hm, let’s try Homemade Pizza, and I bought a small without realizing until after purchasing that their gimmick was that it was uncooked, and I couldn’t walk into someone’s home and ask, hey can, I borrow you oven to make a pizza to not share with you. I have too much food shame.
Well, hold on to and eat it later.
They only had transparent bags, and I didn’t have anything to put it in. But I realized how cold it was outside. So I geocached it a block away, and didn’t tell anyone, intending to retrieve it when I leave- but then you call with street instructions to get Homemade Pizza Co. pizza.
Unspeakably awesome.
11/1/10
“I’m gonna party like a rock star tonight…”
Clothes make the man, overwhelmed in the unnoticed details of quirk and character, across page after page of play. There’s a wizard who knows you, there’s a scroll with the answer, but they are missing. Who all these people are, what they are doing here: none of that matters, so singular the focus as possessions are strewn in location after location, down every alley, within every room, past closed doors, amid every chaos, while that one face seen everywhere and nowhere is sought.
“…Go on / Playing my guitar / Shining like a star…”
If we would but find ourselves, we would recognize where we are.
“…Make you scream my name / Rock the stage / Ain’t no shame in my game…”
I am Waldo.
“…I wanna be a rock star tonight…”
Here I am.
Clothes make the man, overwhelmed in the unnoticed details of quirk and character, across page after page of play. There’s a wizard who knows you, there’s a scroll with the answer, but they are missing. Who all these people are, what they are doing here: none of that matters, so singular the focus as possessions are strewn in location after location, down every alley, within every room, past closed doors, amid every chaos, while that one face seen everywhere and nowhere is sought.
“…Go on / Playing my guitar / Shining like a star…”
If we would but find ourselves, we would recognize where we are.
“…Make you scream my name / Rock the stage / Ain’t no shame in my game…”
I am Waldo.
“…I wanna be a rock star tonight…”
Here I am.
10/31/10
“A Brief History of Helen of Troy” is a retelling of the Trojan War from the point of view of a Hermione figure. Figures representing Zeus, Clytemnestra, Odysseus, Menelaus, and Paris all amalgamate across the delusions of the forgotten daughter, having been mythologically abandoned with an epic to hear that she cannot participate in. But the play’s strength is beyond the script. The props accumulate across the stage, reminders of the evoked pain. The sets and technicals are starkly professional. The actors’ deliveries are as haunted as the audience’s winces.
10/30/10
“The Lady’s Not For Burning” has a comedic and complicated script, featuring a steadily flow of water symbolism and the role-reversal of a woman who maintains her innocence and a man who desires conviction. But appreciating the nuances suffered from (aside from 2 or 3 actors’ notable performances) the acting seeming uneven and probably directorially uninspired. Going into the play with diminished expectations may have helped enjoyment.
10/28/10
10/27/10
“I have some news for you that’s going to make you very happy or very annoyed.”
Okay, I choose very happy.
See how things go.
It’s not a lens: it’s cardboard with a hole in it. It’s a reverse blindspot.
Our parents kept us and ourselves apart for so long, we lost touch with each other and went to different schools.
Okay, I choose very happy.
See how things go.
It’s not a lens: it’s cardboard with a hole in it. It’s a reverse blindspot.
Our parents kept us and ourselves apart for so long, we lost touch with each other and went to different schools.
10/25/10
10/23/10
Red primarily satirizes age, and in particular the institution of retirement, although other political and romantic institutions also get taken to extremes. But the plot itself is just as ludicrous. Indeed, the tone becomes a radically different if the narrative were told in reversed chronology: if the characters are first shown organizing an assassination, then acting to gain intelligence, and enduring the original attacks that bands them together. However, the presentation of such wacky premises nevertheless holds an underlying maturity, making the movie amusingly enjoyable.
10/22/10
“Me and my brother were talking to each other…”
Anything significant is already part of my fiber. Anything insignificant I couldn’t commit to permanence. Like someone who keeps forgetting what they don’t like until it’s reexperienced, why would I ever get a tattoo?
“…Welcome to my life, tattoo / We've a long time together, me and you…”
Anything significant is already part of my fiber. Anything insignificant I couldn’t commit to permanence. Like someone who keeps forgetting what they don’t like until it’s reexperienced, why would I ever get a tattoo?
“…Welcome to my life, tattoo / We've a long time together, me and you…”
10/21/10
“How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe” has some very clever ideas about the intersection of time-travel and fiction; and more generally of the intersection of time and expression. Unfortunately, the novel’s writing itself feels rough, perhaps intentionally, although perhaps necessary for these themes, as the protagonist narrator reacts to a fictional world that they realize is fictional. For better or worse, the choppiness of the conceit distracts from the overall narrative; but this narrative presented, twice-removed from reality, almost seems allegorical to actual experiences of the audience, living in a reality without time-travel and which lacks meta-narrative awareness.
10/20/10
10/18/10
“The Flat Earth Society is somewhere far away / With their candlesticks and compasses…”
I like to walk. I like the freedom of motion unlimited save by my own capabilities: I can walk anywhere I can. But when walking in one direction I find a different sensation. In my return journeys I feel a heaviness in my step, an uneasiness in my limbs, a fear: a fear that I will forget to stop, that I will let myself forget to stop, that I will not be able to stop my benumbed legs from continuing their motions, that I will be carried past my destination, that I will keep walking, that I will continue inexorably into the past or the shoreline.
There’s a feeling I dread when I walk to the east, and my spirit is crying.
“…With grave determination / And no destination…”
I like to walk. I like the freedom of motion unlimited save by my own capabilities: I can walk anywhere I can. But when walking in one direction I find a different sensation. In my return journeys I feel a heaviness in my step, an uneasiness in my limbs, a fear: a fear that I will forget to stop, that I will let myself forget to stop, that I will not be able to stop my benumbed legs from continuing their motions, that I will be carried past my destination, that I will keep walking, that I will continue inexorably into the past or the shoreline.
There’s a feeling I dread when I walk to the east, and my spirit is crying.
“…With grave determination / And no destination…”
10/17/10
10/16/10
“But couldn't good be good enough / ‘Cause nothing ever doesn't change, but nothing changes much…”
A good day is one where the number of cool people met is greater than the number of jobs rejected from.
It’s been a good week.
“…White knuckles / Oh maybe it's not so bad / Just let it all come down now…”
A good day is one where the number of cool people met is greater than the number of jobs rejected from.
It’s been a good week.
“…White knuckles / Oh maybe it's not so bad / Just let it all come down now…”
10/15/10
“It was always burning / Since the world's been turning…
Write a cover letter.
White-out a badly designed PDF.
Get rejected.
Get a different rejection for the same position.
Go downtown.
Go back uptown.
Change clothes.
Go downtown again.
Lash out by e-mail.
Drop off application with HR.
Text out a desperation plea for the night.
Drill some shelves.
Wash dishes.
Get invited to BCCBS’s Halloween party.
Lose track of time.
Check out orange netbooks.
Impulse buy a DVD I’ve never seen before.
Find my watch in my pocket.
Try out a new trivia night.
Share a table in a crowded bar.
Get the current events and politics wrong, but the sports right.
Meet a friend’s fiancee’s friend’s roommate’s girlfriend.
Meet her grade-schoolmates.
Meet their roommate, and their seminary-schoolmates.
Meet the 21 year old one of them has been talking to.
Get slightly nauseated at an unexpected reuniting.
Vow to never repatronize an obnoxious overcharging bartender’s establishment.
Barhop to a karaoke bar where there’s a waiter named Jesus.
Pick out Piano Man to be my first.
Abandon any plans to sing following the sounds of drama.
Meet a 42 year old recruited to comfort.
See pictures of his children.
Take a quesadilla slice instead of a shot.
Be swung into dance when Piano Man is requested by the birthday boy.
Give a hug to someone left hanging.
Walk home.
Try to write it all down.
Post a snarky reply to an employment advice column.
Drop asleep.
Wake up into a phone interview.
Fill out a survey for $5.
Psycho.
Be indecisive.
Snack on cherry tomatoes.
See free improv.
Plot reunions.
Put in an appearance for second place trivia.
Fall asleep.
Wake up.
Get rejected.
Get rejected.
Get rejected.
Meet a friend.
Meet her girlfriend.
Meet their 2 roommates.
Meet their 3 cats.
Watch Futurama movie.
Play Katamari.
Eat pie.
What else do I have to say?
“…We didn't start the fire…”
Write a cover letter.
White-out a badly designed PDF.
Get rejected.
Get a different rejection for the same position.
Go downtown.
Go back uptown.
Change clothes.
Go downtown again.
Lash out by e-mail.
Drop off application with HR.
Text out a desperation plea for the night.
Drill some shelves.
Wash dishes.
Get invited to BCCBS’s Halloween party.
Lose track of time.
Check out orange netbooks.
Impulse buy a DVD I’ve never seen before.
Find my watch in my pocket.
Try out a new trivia night.
Share a table in a crowded bar.
Get the current events and politics wrong, but the sports right.
Meet a friend’s fiancee’s friend’s roommate’s girlfriend.
Meet her grade-schoolmates.
Meet their roommate, and their seminary-schoolmates.
Meet the 21 year old one of them has been talking to.
Get slightly nauseated at an unexpected reuniting.
Vow to never repatronize an obnoxious overcharging bartender’s establishment.
Barhop to a karaoke bar where there’s a waiter named Jesus.
Pick out Piano Man to be my first.
Abandon any plans to sing following the sounds of drama.
Meet a 42 year old recruited to comfort.
See pictures of his children.
Take a quesadilla slice instead of a shot.
Be swung into dance when Piano Man is requested by the birthday boy.
Give a hug to someone left hanging.
Walk home.
Try to write it all down.
Post a snarky reply to an employment advice column.
Drop asleep.
Wake up into a phone interview.
Fill out a survey for $5.
Psycho.
Be indecisive.
Snack on cherry tomatoes.
See free improv.
Plot reunions.
Put in an appearance for second place trivia.
Fall asleep.
Wake up.
Get rejected.
Get rejected.
Get rejected.
Meet a friend.
Meet her girlfriend.
Meet their 2 roommates.
Meet their 3 cats.
Watch Futurama movie.
Play Katamari.
Eat pie.
What else do I have to say?
“…We didn't start the fire…”
10/14/10
Psycho is odd to see in the context of Mad Men: 50 years later, the same decade is seen portrayed, with the same details but different techniques. The modern recreations of Mad Men seem natural, while the non-anachronistically authentic movie feels jerky and artificial. Yet such a schism is appropriate, given not only the psychology of the antagonist, but also the narrative itself, which abruptly shifts itself halfway through.
10/12/10
10/11/10
So tell me about yourself.
3 days ago I told my friend that that’s not the worst question you can get at a job interview. I stand corrected.
Things not to do when applying for a job
Restate what’s in your cover letter, only worse.
Not have an alibi for the night in question.
“Did you live in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi on August 28, 2005?”
3 days ago I told my friend that that’s not the worst question you can get at a job interview. I stand corrected.
Things not to do when applying for a job
Restate what’s in your cover letter, only worse.
Not have an alibi for the night in question.
“Did you live in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi on August 28, 2005?”
10/9/10
“You don't know just how to start me up…”
I had a flashback to listening through on winamp with you to music and remembering how awesome a person you are and wanting to thank you for helping all the best parts of me be.
“…I don't ever want the beat to stop…”
I like the thing in the background that sounds like a fantastical jackpot game in the Putt-Putt game room.
Oh, similes we wish we could take home with us and put on our refrigerators. With magnets.
“…I'm not a robot but I feel like one…”
Have you ever had the problem where you’re not sure whether the Thai place you were going to go try out for dinner exists in reality or just your dreams? And after all that, the food is pretty ordinary. I was hoping for a little more surreal.
“…Wake me up or I will keep my head…”
“Every day, every night, is saved by something. That’s why I love it here. Either someone lets me down, and the city picks me up, or the city lets me down and someone picks me up.”
“…up, up, up, up, up, up…”
I had a flashback to listening through on winamp with you to music and remembering how awesome a person you are and wanting to thank you for helping all the best parts of me be.
“…I don't ever want the beat to stop…”
I like the thing in the background that sounds like a fantastical jackpot game in the Putt-Putt game room.
Oh, similes we wish we could take home with us and put on our refrigerators. With magnets.
“…I'm not a robot but I feel like one…”
Have you ever had the problem where you’re not sure whether the Thai place you were going to go try out for dinner exists in reality or just your dreams? And after all that, the food is pretty ordinary. I was hoping for a little more surreal.
“…Wake me up or I will keep my head…”
“Every day, every night, is saved by something. That’s why I love it here. Either someone lets me down, and the city picks me up, or the city lets me down and someone picks me up.”
“…up, up, up, up, up, up…”
10/7/10
I may not know what to write, but at least I know to who: Someone who I don’t know, who won’t know me. Someone who won’t understand how they have let themself forget what they read, who will understand that a story can be saved for another day. Someone who goes with the flow. It’s what we do.
“Snails see the benefits / The beauty in every inch…”
“Snails see the benefits / The beauty in every inch…”
10/6/10
Read “Accidental Billionaires” to compare. Mezrich is certainly no Sorkin, yet somehow the former’s non-brilliant prose doesn’t so weaken what seems to be the story’s strongest theme. For facebook seems not to be a story of a woman jilting a man; rather of adolescents given power to define themselves and their world. Facebook was born among an institution of chauvinistic houses who choose which males will be honored by having nameless females fawn over their elite influence; of venture capital angels who choose which endeavors shall be blessed; at a college that matters because it matters because it mattered. So the movie’s added conceit, of disputed legal accounts, misses the Homeric action, diluting a swift-footed race to establish one’s own identity with a tensionless struggle to define someone else’s. Certainly, there are echoes of the latter theme in, say, online privacy; but that is generally independent of the tragic flaws of Zuckerberg et al. His flaw in the book seems to be the need to control identity, and given the actual evolution of facebook that feels appropriate; so I don’t see why the movie, while mostly keeping the same narrative, instead choose his flaw to be an inability to deal with rejection.
10/5/10
Social Network is the story of a tragically flawed hero, the opposite of Good Will Hunting for the subsequent antithetical decade. Action matters more than thought; failings are insignificant next to successes. Education is a background for experience; a million users and a billion dollars are simply numbers. The film is more impressive as a biography than a history, for while there is certainly symbolism in the development of technology, there is just as much symbolism in doors. Facebook itself may as well be a MacGuffin, for the purpose of the narrative- it matters mostly to show how oblivious the characters are in realizing how the world they are building does and doesn’t match the world they live in.
10/4/10
“Hail to those who have come…”
Posters used to get hung when I realized I’m staying at a place. Now, it’s the realization that I can’t leave.
“…In the sunlight that surrounds you…”
When did the limit of fanciful thinking go from having a time machine to rewriting legislative code?
“…Pretend all the good things are for me, too…”
The day the world lost the environmental debate was the day it became an economic question.
“…And the weather changes not halfway between your house and mine…”
Posters used to get hung when I realized I’m staying at a place. Now, it’s the realization that I can’t leave.
“…In the sunlight that surrounds you…”
When did the limit of fanciful thinking go from having a time machine to rewriting legislative code?
“…Pretend all the good things are for me, too…”
The day the world lost the environmental debate was the day it became an economic question.
“…And the weather changes not halfway between your house and mine…”
10/2/10
9/30/10
9/29/10
9/28/10
9/27/10
9/26/10
“Where have all the flowers gone…”
Bach flowers: the gift that keeps on being something that should be given.
“…When will they ever learn…”
Bach flowers: the gift that keeps on being something that should be given.
“…When will they ever learn…”
9/25/10
9/24/10
9/23/10
9/21/10
If your life isn’t in balance, how can you expect it to be in balance with someone else?
There are good things and there are bad things in life.
Do you ever not qualify things, though? Like I'm wondering if you ever experience something and don't assign it a value judgment. I mean, I do this too. So I'm just sort of musing.
heh I assigned no value judgment to your asking that question.
There are things in life that just are.
Don’t compare your insides to somebody else’s outsides.
There are worse things in life than eating cake.
I’m over cupcakes. It’s the cream cheese frosting.
Who besides Mom does that?
There are good things and there are bad things in life.
Do you ever not qualify things, though? Like I'm wondering if you ever experience something and don't assign it a value judgment. I mean, I do this too. So I'm just sort of musing.
heh I assigned no value judgment to your asking that question.
There are things in life that just are.
Don’t compare your insides to somebody else’s outsides.
There are worse things in life than eating cake.
I’m over cupcakes. It’s the cream cheese frosting.
Who besides Mom does that?
9/20/10
The Two Ambiguous Fashionistas;
She’s Usually So Quiet On Flights; and her parents;
My Bag Is Staying Right Above Me;
This Is My First Time On A Plane But I’m Making Up For All Those Times I Never Got To Press The Page Attendant Button; and her husband, El Capitain Hook;
Officer I Swear I’m Not An Undercover Air Marshall;
Mr. & Mrs. Dermatologist Newlywed;
Guy In An Orange Shirt.
I sometimes get terrified that my plane will crash when I look around at what characters my fellow survivors would be.
She’s Usually So Quiet On Flights; and her parents;
My Bag Is Staying Right Above Me;
This Is My First Time On A Plane But I’m Making Up For All Those Times I Never Got To Press The Page Attendant Button; and her husband, El Capitain Hook;
Officer I Swear I’m Not An Undercover Air Marshall;
Mr. & Mrs. Dermatologist Newlywed;
Guy In An Orange Shirt.
I sometimes get terrified that my plane will crash when I look around at what characters my fellow survivors would be.
9/19/10
9/18/10
I’m hoping to see A[]’s show tomorrow- any interest?
“Yes, but I have to say tentatively since I’ll be up at my parents’ house for Rosh Hashanah.”
np I’m being quite the bad Jew this year.
“I’m mostly interested in the free food as opposed to the theological and spiritual implications.”
As I said, bad Jew: I’m going home for Yom Kippur.
Famine has its feast.
Poor ducks, having to eat all our sins.
I think they’re okay with it. They’re probably just happy to have a holiday in which they get fed instead of eaten.
“Yes, but I have to say tentatively since I’ll be up at my parents’ house for Rosh Hashanah.”
np I’m being quite the bad Jew this year.
“I’m mostly interested in the free food as opposed to the theological and spiritual implications.”
As I said, bad Jew: I’m going home for Yom Kippur.
Famine has its feast.
Poor ducks, having to eat all our sins.
I think they’re okay with it. They’re probably just happy to have a holiday in which they get fed instead of eaten.
9/17/10
“They made up their minds, and they started packing…”
The tragedy of our time is that our satirist has become our voice of reason. Where is the Jefferson, the Adams, the Washington to our Franklin? Four and seven scores ago he died, and now we have his answer: no, we cannot keep a republic. We know the problems with our society, yet we choose to be part of them. We hear the problems with our society, yet the best we can do is merely hear them; and most of the time we don’t even do that much. Restore sanity? Our insanity is all that we have left; our ability to laugh at our absurdity is our only salvation.
“…Where were they going, without ever knowing the way…”
The tragedy of our time is that our satirist has become our voice of reason. Where is the Jefferson, the Adams, the Washington to our Franklin? Four and seven scores ago he died, and now we have his answer: no, we cannot keep a republic. We know the problems with our society, yet we choose to be part of them. We hear the problems with our society, yet the best we can do is merely hear them; and most of the time we don’t even do that much. Restore sanity? Our insanity is all that we have left; our ability to laugh at our absurdity is our only salvation.
“…Where were they going, without ever knowing the way…”
9/16/10
9/15/10
9/14/10
“I am expert at throwing up. Comes from the acid reflux.”
It's a skill.
“It *is*.”
I drink too too much orange juice to have developed acid reflux and throwing up skills.
“Also, comes from the bad periods.”
Again, not inconsistent with my explanation.
“hehe Also, when you throw up on a weekly basis, it's hard not to get good at it.”
So fraudspam is a service to induce vomiting and thereby provide a transferable skill.
“Maybe you should learn to knit?”
Maybe I should learn to sue fraudspammers?
Whatever comes up.
Has a rooftop. References available upon request.
It's a skill.
“It *is*.”
I drink too too much orange juice to have developed acid reflux and throwing up skills.
“Also, comes from the bad periods.”
Again, not inconsistent with my explanation.
“hehe Also, when you throw up on a weekly basis, it's hard not to get good at it.”
So fraudspam is a service to induce vomiting and thereby provide a transferable skill.
“Maybe you should learn to knit?”
Maybe I should learn to sue fraudspammers?
Whatever comes up.
Has a rooftop. References available upon request.
9/13/10
“Sometimes I just feel like…”
The secret ingredient is barbeque sauce; and an enthusiastic co-planner, great friends, great weather, amazing evaporation, an art festival on the way to grocery shop, a phone call at the right time, a simple way up, and ice cubes.
“…I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage…”
(Kraft barbeque sauce.)
“…Back to this 8 Mile Road…”
The secret ingredient is barbeque sauce; and an enthusiastic co-planner, great friends, great weather, amazing evaporation, an art festival on the way to grocery shop, a phone call at the right time, a simple way up, and ice cubes.
“…I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage…”
(Kraft barbeque sauce.)
“…Back to this 8 Mile Road…”
9/12/10
9/10/10
“When? Where? Who? What? Why?”
I think I can answer 4 of those.
The nearest restaurant defines the residence. As much as I’d like to be across the street from Wilde, I think will have to remain behind Chipotle. From which it is saddening to look back, with the last food eaten leaving STL being a gyro from the Gyro House used as a landmark for so many years, at what is no longer gone to.
Where is always the hardest.
I think I can answer 4 of those.
The nearest restaurant defines the residence. As much as I’d like to be across the street from Wilde, I think will have to remain behind Chipotle. From which it is saddening to look back, with the last food eaten leaving STL being a gyro from the Gyro House used as a landmark for so many years, at what is no longer gone to.
Where is always the hardest.
9/8/10
9/5/10
9/4/10
9/3/10
9/2/10
9/1/10
8/31/10
8/30/10
8/29/10
Possible explanations for a dog-walker going up and down the same short stretch of street over and over during a relatively brief span of time:
1) Repeatedly forgetting items necessary for dog walking.
2) Heroically attempting to have a found lost puppy sniff out its apartment.
3) Methodically testing the point at which bystanders will methodically test a pedestrian’s balance.
1) Repeatedly forgetting items necessary for dog walking.
2) Heroically attempting to have a found lost puppy sniff out its apartment.
3) Methodically testing the point at which bystanders will methodically test a pedestrian’s balance.
8/28/10
“I've been for a walk on a winter's day…”
School is supposed to be a place of learning; instead, the primary focus becomes about structured work. Ideas are quantified as credits and page lengths, to occur on a rigid schedule of hours, days, and semesters. Knowledge is secondary to demonstrable accomplishment.
“…Stopped into a church I passed along the way…”
A teacher is who is there for you; for it is your experience.
“…The preacher likes the cold / He knows I'm going to stay…”
Puff on, bubble-blowing missionaries: your attending flock awaits.
“…All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey…”
School is supposed to be a place of learning; instead, the primary focus becomes about structured work. Ideas are quantified as credits and page lengths, to occur on a rigid schedule of hours, days, and semesters. Knowledge is secondary to demonstrable accomplishment.
“…Stopped into a church I passed along the way…”
A teacher is who is there for you; for it is your experience.
“…The preacher likes the cold / He knows I'm going to stay…”
Puff on, bubble-blowing missionaries: your attending flock awaits.
“…All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey…”
8/26/10
8/24/10
8/19/10
“I count to three and grin / You smile and let me in…”
benchmark
“…We're talented and bright / We're lonely and uptight / We've found some lovely ways to disappoint…”
+ watershed
“…But the airport's always almost empty this time of the year / So let's go play on a baggage carousel…”
= watermark
“…Set our watches forward like we're just arriving here / From a past we left in a place we knew too well…”
benchmark
“…We're talented and bright / We're lonely and uptight / We've found some lovely ways to disappoint…”
+ watershed
“…But the airport's always almost empty this time of the year / So let's go play on a baggage carousel…”
= watermark
“…Set our watches forward like we're just arriving here / From a past we left in a place we knew too well…”
8/17/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World glimpses the clung past, be it the already-decade-removed setting, the repeatedly-not-over-exes plot, or the quest-for-maturity theme. The jokes are frequent, but nevertheless not the less funny for it, stopping just short of overdone, with humor that is both common and yet almost unerringly clever. There is no way to not feel old while watching it, in both senses: the dread of realization and the bliss of nostalgia.
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