Word of the day: dehisce (di-HIS) verb intr. 1. To burst open, as the pod of a plant. 2. To gape. Why is this the word of the day? Well it is because it is and because I think it sounds cool. It makes me imagine spelunking in the depths of an cavern unseen by human eyes, the pregnant pods of alien plants dehiscing about me.
Song Fragment of the day: "You could taste Heaven perfectly" I just love the way Tori Amos sings this one line. The song somehow reminds me of "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley, except infinitely slicker, much more in line with show me, don't tell me. Ah, to have a convertible again.
Snowboarding rocks! Now that I've pissed off all the skiers in the world my life is complete. Acutally, Saturday was my first time snowboarding and I gotta say, snow is cool. I went up to Tahoe with a the officers of TBP Alpha. It's been years since I showed my face at a retreat and I really started feeling those years. Most of these kids were taking their SATs when I was looking for my second job. Oh well, at least I didn't stick out like a sore thumb -- at least I don't think I did.
Sunday. Raiders lost. Do I care? Well, despite my apathy toward football ... OF COURSE I FUCKING CARE! But that about all I have to say about that. At least Cal won the big game. That means that it was good year in football.
Monday. TBP website is up. Check out the Officers section for my twisted idea of creativity.
Ok, time for a paradigm shift. My friend sent me this recently:I wonder, at what point did I stop caring? When do I start again? I remember the misguided convictions of a teenager; I thought that I'd left my hometown to change the world (Didn't we all?) I remember the passion of young man, thirsting for knowledge; I thought I had it figured out when I figured out I knew nothing. I remember the excitement of a new job; I thought I was mature because I had responsibility. But along the way, the convictions, the passion, the excitement, became confined to a cage that I had built for myself to keep out the ever changing world outside, to avoid conflict.
But that is only one side of the story. I know that belief in oneself is the power to change the world. I figured out that even though the more you learn the less you know, one should continue to thirst for knowledge, this pursuit of a romantic ideal. I seek new horizons because that is my responsibility and one I will take seriously. I will challenge the undeniable nature of this world, and in failing, succeed. There is time to redeem all the wasted hours of yesterday.
Today a District Judge threw out a class action suit against McDonald's alleging that the company was responsible for children's obesity. Kudos to the legal system, these frivolous suits should be dismissed with the greatest alacrity. Hasn't McDonald's suffered enough injustice? Recall an old lady with coffee burns, who is now worth millions because she was obtuse. Where is natural selection when you need it? This is as silly as thinking that Phillip Morris is responsible for lung cancer.
But wait, isn't Phillip Morris responsible for lung cancer as well as a host of other lethal conditions? Not entirely. I'll tell you what they are responsible for. They are responsible for lying to the American people. And for that we have received some measure of justice. Is it sufficient? Perhaps not.
You disagree? Of course, you do. They are providing a substance that in unhealthy. Well, so is McDonalds. So are the auto manufacturers, the oil companies, the power companies. Practically everything we do produces hazardous byproducts; where do we draw the line? Who do we blame?
The point is this, we as consumers are all too willing to ask for indemnification for our own acts. We have power over our own lives, our fates. We should own up to free will and take responsibility for our actions. Of course these mega-corporations have a part in this too, but as long as people keep buying Big Mac and cigarettes, we only need to look in the mirror to see who is lying to us.
I've been having problems with the formatting of my website as of late. Apparently, commas are very important. Perhaps I should have paid more attention when they were covering punctuation in school. It has been suggested that perhaps the site is haunted. Curious thought that. Where do the ghosts of past websites go? Do they linger here among the active sites; transform them so as to communicate their former glory? All this fragmented bits of code, lost in the ether.
Are we much different then? What are we if not complex strings of code, motivated by the desire to replicate ourselves? In this age where images, sounds, ideas, thoughts can be broken down into strings of zeros and ones, what is sacred? And then I ask again, are we so much different than a complex bit of code? Well, perhaps you don't see it. Probably better that way. Anyway, much thanks to Brian Lee for helping exorcise my internet demons.
Drove down to see Vienna Teng at Borders today. She was simply awesome. I can only describe her sound as being similar to Tori Amos -- no offense to either artist -- but judge for yourself, she's going to be on Letterman on Monday (or was it that the show was being taped Monday? It wasn't very clear.) For those who might be wondering why I chose to begin my journal with this brief fragment of my, as has oft-been said (exaggerated), busy life; exposure to great artistry has always been a great inspiration to me, motivation to begin these long belated projects of mine.