Never Mind the Bullocks...

I usually expect there to be political points to be made about any event in the world. And for the most part, I accept it as inevitable. I won't always agree and I can take opinions with a grain of salt.

However, this guy really takes it to a breathtaking extreme...

For some reason, the Virginia Tech incident really hit me harder than other "national tragedies" do. I think that it upset me so much because I see college as a place that allows for more freedom than one experiences in typical American life. It's less time regulated than high school and carries less responsibilities than the working world. It's supposed to be a safe place to learn and experience the some of the best years of your life. I couldn't imagine what those students went through.

Scatter Brain

I have been looking for a hobby that will take my interest and focus my attention to one goal. This isn't really making any headway. So far, the hobby front runner seems to be "social drinking." Just to underscore how scattered my thinking is, I will give you a few of the ideas and activities that I got this week.

- Here's one that I thought about this week. I don't think living in an apartment is conducive to brewing my own beer. Also, when the kit comes in the mail, judging by its appearance and my neighborhood, it could be misconstrued as a mail-order meth lab.

-I like the idea of having my own radio station. The fact that I would be broadcasting to my block at the most actually makes it even more appealing. I'm not sure that I have enough content. However, it's pirate radio. I could just hook an iPod to the transmitter and play my music library on shuffle.

-Apparently The Aquabats are taking song title suggestions from fans. I plan on submitting a few each day. I encourage everyone to do the same. Just email them here.

-I've been reading Sedaris, but I probably won't make it to his reading on Friday. That's a little disappointing.

On Vonnegut's passing: I heard it on NPR the next morning. It was the type of news I just stopped whatever I was doing and held my breath. I think most of all, it is the finality of it. There will never be new Kurt Vonnegut material.

Much of his work focused on living life and the meaning we assign to it. So every tribute to him that I read had a different quote that "encapsulated" his work. This is ridiculous, of course. His work cannot be summed up in one quote. If you want to know his thoughts, read Slaughterhouse Five or Mother Night.

Quotes are satisfying, however. Here's one that I enjoyed:

The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person
dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is
very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and
future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at
all the different moments just that way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky
Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are, and
they can look at any moment that interests them. It is just an illusion we have
here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on a string, and
that once a moment is gone it is gone forever.

-- Slaughterhouse Five

Tweakin'...

Offhandedly, I told my friend Gary that I probably average one CD purchase a week. Looking back, I suppose it is the first time I admitted I have a problem. Aside from the needless financial burden, I suppose it means I have the attention span of a hummingbird. All that being said, I didn't buy any music this week. (Note: I buy ALL of my music, unless a track or two is provided by the artist. You should, too.)

I am having a slight withdrawal. There is no new album to play repeatedly until it gets old. There is no comparing a band's latest effort with previous work. None of that. The same music library as last week. I'm getting a little anxious. Foot tapping. Forearm scratching. I may need to go out an get the new Ted Leo and I am just a moderate fan. I am taking suggestions on my next purchase. The winner will win my praise. The losers will be ridiculed mercilessly.

I am also taking summer vacation suggestions.

Stupid Lisa, Science Queen...

On one of my night time walks to counteract my day of sloth, I did something different. I walked counterclockwise around the block. After a couple hundred yards of vertigo, I settled myself. While it is the same geographic path, it's interesting how different things are.

The most interesting thing was in a run down apartment building (not too dissimilar from my own.) Clockwise, the most notable thing about the building was I once saw a opposum (or posum; It was too fast for me to check) run onto it's porch then disappear somewhere. Perhaps, the marsupial sublets an apartment.

Counterclockwise, the building contained some sort of religious ceremony in one of the apartments. Through a window I saw a man in white with a red symbol on his back. It was most likely a cross. Now, I am not some sort of weird peeping tom. It was plain to see from the sidewalk. That being said, my walks usually consist of three laps around the block. Therefore, I had two more chances to see what was going on. The next lap revealed a boy standing looking into a book. I also saw a podium in the corner. It was one of those podiums you only see in school or places of worship. So it may be a school, but I am sticking with a place of worship. The lights were off on my third lap. Why I am suprised to see such a thing in Springfield, I don't know. But it is such an unassuming building. There's no sign inviting people to worship. It must be a private area. I would have never known any of this existed if I went clockwise.

The moon was huge tonight, the way it is only when it is on a brisk, thoughtful night. It mixed well with Jolie Holland's "Sascha."