Leftovers and Giveaways
These blog entries are writing exercises and a way for me to get mostly useless opinions out of my head. However, not every thought or realization sparks an entire essay. I’ll write in my file a sentence or two, maybe just a few words, and see if I come back to it later. Lots of times, the words sit there for months and nothing happens. Today I am cleaning out my blog file, like a garage full of clothes to give away or cardboard to take to the recycling center. These are unrelated thoughts that I am letting go. I guess they just speak for themselves.
Every few years, people decry that the world is about to end because it’s easier than doing anything about it.
*
Pop culture IS our culture. The two are the same.
*
The ‘Refusal of the Call’ is a classic part of the hero’s journey. The protagonist is asked to join a quest or fulfill his destiny and he always turns away first. I find this as outdated as elephants at the circus or cursive writing. I never use this part of classic story structure because I never buy it. Refusing the call means you are hesitant or afraid to risk the status quo. Life, real life, is so monumentally boring that any call to action, any chance with an actual adventure, would be met with HELL YEAH, LET’S GO!
*
Most people would rather be respected than pitied. But to someone with a giant chasm inside that can only be filled with constant attention, there is little difference.
*
I loved when my kids were little and they hung on my every word. Then I heard them repeat them back to me and I thought: “Shit! They were hanging on my every word?!?”
*
Americans are ready to enter another war without taking care of the veterans of the previous one.
*
I’m not dumb. I just like to be amazed by things.
*
I’ve stopped wondering why most people avoid sincerity in our collective art and media. I just acknowledge that I often prefer it to irony, camp, or satire.
*
I can’t think of a bigger waste of time than chasing around what other people think is cool. Cool, hip, being in the conversation…they are all darts thrown blindly at the world around us. Cool also negates long-term commitments. I like to fall in love with stuff.
*
Most of the time, I do not trust my instincts. They are garbage. My instincts would have me in a ball in a dark corner avoiding everything until I turned to dust. I only succeed when I overcome my instincts.
*
One of my favorite things I’ve told my daughter is that you do not have to take what the world gives you. You don’t have to accept any bullshit you do not want or take anyone’s ire or sadness or mania. But most people do, so be aware.