**eastward movement is included

20061127

... and the genetically superior will inherit the earth.


thursday night, i came to the conclusion that i am now more sheltered than i have ever been in my entire life. it was during the middle of a show at the doug fir. i had a $5 terminator stout in my hand. i was surrounded by kids wearing converse and messenger bags, filthy black hair and terribly bloated egos. i was at a concert. i took a cab there. i paid for that cab and that concert with the money i earned from my apprenticeship with a large architectural firm. i gave the cabbie a large tip. 99% of my communication takes place with individuals who possess a college degree. i shop at whole foods and trader joes. i live in an apartment in a urban area with a seemingly low crime rate.

it just seems funny that my life {our lives?} has seemed to veer down this path of 'cleanliness.' suddenly this reality revealed itself; i could easily construct a lifestyle completely devoid of any undesirable distinction or feature. i could move to the suburbs. i could drive everywhere. i could wear khakis and dream of trips to hawaii.


in a way, this makes me feel terrible, and what's worse is this principle of predictability/safety that this whole routine is fueled by. it's like someone should have just looked at my parents, my friends, my education and the general environment of my youth and say "yea, i know where you're headed."

i'm stopping there, seeing as i just punched a ticket to that boring and repetitive discussion of existentialism and fate or whatever; far from my original intent. {i've forgotten what it was, anyhow.} such a topic is best contemplated elsewhere; you know, far from the sanctuary of the blogosphere.



switching gears :

the other morning {at work, of course} i was thinking about the sites i frequent when i'm gathering 'news' on the internet and the frequency of my attendance. typically, the amount of free time i allow myself to 'browse' on the internet is kept to a minimum, given the professional nature of my, eh ... profession. so i have to be brief and efficient when i'm poking around.

suddenly, i asked myelf a question; is it possible to obtain an adequate amount of news and information that would allow me to maintain/strike up normal and civilized conversation on a day-to-day basis with my co-workers/friends/baristas if i were to avoid the standard news sources? {cnn, nytimes, drudgereport, etc.} what if i simply avoided the path to nobility and stuck to my grab-bag of electronic junk food - friends' blogs, myspace comment boards, sports columns {bill simmons and the rest of page 2} or otherwise non-direct-news electronic entertainment?

i guess i'm simply exploring the possibility {in my mind, at this point} of forming a somewhat surreptitious relationship with reality. is it ridiculous to seek out the truth by way of notoriously shallow and unreliable online nothingness? is it possible to know what's going on in the world simply by waking up to npr, reading outlandish album reviews on pitchfork, grazing through the sports sction of the star and laughing at konnor ervin's blog? all signs point to yes.



looking through my itunes list this morning, i thought it would be interesting to pick out random albums and try to associate someone* i knew with it. the results:

bob dylan - charles bush.
bjork - abby clarkson.
my morning jacket - andrew zender.
wilco - andrew zender.
the walkmen - kyle knecht.
spoon - kyle knecht.
the faint - tanner pikop.
tool - sean hughes.
moe. - adam crowley.
ben kweller - jill funston.
blur - andrew handsborogh.
fugazi - evan weir.
joanna newsom - jessica mitchell.
wolf parade - josh orona.
the sunset rubdown - sam loring.
neko case - aaron schump.
regina spektor - trishawna quincy.
the knife - nathan reidy.
david bowie - aaron ross.
the national - sara dasta.
built to spill - david ducker.
sublime - patrick glynn.
beastie boys - tony vontz.
van morrison - sheila dunn.
pearl jam - logan keech.
sade - camilla keech**
the rolling stones - john keech.

obviously, i could easily associate a person with nearly everything i own***, but i don't think anyone wants to scroll through that manifesto. it would be funny to construct a tree of associations; what a convoluted mess that wold be.

until i make the effort, i'm going to return to my coffee and joe posnanski columns.

jason whitlock.

*i didn't know i knew this many people.
**clearly, this is a lie. i don't own any sade.
***most of this music i have not paid for.

1 comment:

Nicole said...

we own and have read the fountainhead. but thanks for your generosity, friend. [it was a sarcastic blog. get it?]

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New York, New York, United States
I take myself too seriously most of the time and I am trying to do that less. I remind some people of Woody Allen. I occationally indulge in the weekend camping trip. I adamantly support the Kansas City Royals baseball club. My identity is wrapped up in a few simple things, most of which are continuously displayed on this here blog.

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