words, words, words
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If I begin to detail myself here, will you understand?
P. I am me
Q. I don't always know exactly who that is
R. I am Quaker
S. I like words and playing with them
T. I like genmaicha tea
U. I like the word napkin more than most others
V. I spend time walking my neighborhood
W. I cook rice often
X. I sleep well most every night
Y. I eat large amounts of fruit and vegetables
Z. I munch, sleep, write, create, cook, bike, watch, walk, listen, hope, learn, drink, live, breathe, touch, know, question, taste, copy, read, stare, carry, talk, dance, finger, try.
raisin@gmail.com
albums:
Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
Erasure: I Say, I Say, I Say
Depeche Mode: Black Celebration
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On?
David Bowie: Hunky Dory
George Michael: Listen without Prejudice
George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
songs:
Wild is the Wind: Nina Simone
Come Undone: Duran Duran
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: Rachmaninov
My Funny Valentine: Chet Baker
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate: The Flaming Lips
This Must Be the Place: The Talking Heads
Hyperballad: Bjork
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Thursday, February 06, 2003
I read a horrible statistic that most americans dont' realize the difference between Al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein and think that most of the hijackers on September Eleventh were Iraqi, and not Saudi. I would like to blame television for monopolizing the people's attention away from the truth, but then, television didn't reach out and grab them, did it? No, they willingly turned it on, ignored what else was happening, and focused on the pretty dramas. I still cannot believe when I hear my office mates discuss television shows as if they were real life. They know the characters' backgrounds, histories, wishes, and failings; they anticipate future events with them; and they hanker over any big events.
I suppose, however, when I read a book, I get quite entertwined into the story, hope for the characters I like to succeed, and feel sorrow when they don't. Maybe that's why I feel a bit cheated by a fast-acting plot. I feel the author has thrown in a quick event to see how the characters react instead of being able to develop them through their daily lives, the monotony that we all face. Sure it's not as exciting to read about someone walking down the road thinking random thoughts like my underwear are too tight, that's a nice color of blue on the window there, i wonder how much milk costs at the store, or what would my mother say if i told her i wouldn't spend any more holidays with her - maybe i should just not come by and avoid actually telling her. And yet, that's real life, isn't it? Don't we spend much of our time thinking in inanities?
I'm afraid that too much television caters to the big events, the drama that rarely actually occurs in life. It obstructs paying attention to the world. Or even worse, it allows people to willingly forget their world. In some cases, we all need to forget the world. But if we forget for too long, other people take control. How many of us grew up doing little besides watching television? I guess this is what I was trying to say when I mentioned the Thompson article on Monday. Our freedoms are out there, lying around. When we forget to pay attention to them and use them, other people pick them up, take advantage of the situation. Powerful people, using their propaganda, can convince those of us not paying much attention that two people are the same person, that Hussein and bin Laden are acting together. When we ignore our freedoms, other people take them from us easily, and we don't notice.
I have no right to rail against watching television. What I blame is people who continually avoid facing the real world. Whether they use television, gardening, or even their jobs to ignore the world, they are still abusing the freedoms they have.
10:13 AM
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