Sunday, October 31, 2010

Isolation was somebody else's bad idea

10.30

From Off the Map

"This is what it means to be an adventurer in our day: to give up creature comforts of the mind, to realize the possibilities of imagination. Because everything around us says no you cannot do this, you cannot live without that, nothing is useful unless it's in service to money, to gain, to stability. The adventurer gives in to tides of chaos, trusts the world to support her - and in doing so turns her back on the fear and obedience she has been taught. She rejects the indoctrination of impossibility."

Wow

10.29

Have you seen this before?  Yes, he's holding his breath for the entire time.


If you've already seen that, this next part goes out to you.  Pretty appropriate for the season...

I don't want anything to do with that

10.28

The quote that I send you today is from a song by a French band called La Rue Kétanou. If you're at all into hippie French music with accordion accompaniment, look them up. They're pretty amazing.

The quote is as follows:

Il y en a qui travaille comme des fous 
pour se payer des clous 
à clouer sur leur feuille de vie 
mais la mort est sans bagages. 
Moi de tout cela je ne veux rien, les poches vides et le coeur plein d'amour.


(Somewhat loose) Translation:

There are those among us who work like crazy
to have the money to buy nails
to nail down the leaf that is their life
but death doesn't let you bring baggage.
I don't want anything to do with that, (I want) empty pockets and a heart full of love.

Beng, Beng, Beng, on the door baby...

10.27

Chuck Beng was sent to Fresno, California from the little town of Sega, Pahang in Malaysia at the relatively young age of 15 by his parents in 1991 to get a “good” education like his sister and to be with his 26 year old sister, Jenni, who was a successful anesthesiologist. Chuck didn’t get this at the time, but 11 years later, he kind of gets it. Jenni Beng married a Nebraskan metalworker in 1982 on a mission trip to the states 16 months prior. Though her parents hated him for his greasy goatee, Jenni thought it was kind of cute and loved his guts, as she said. Six months later after moving to Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 82, Jenni caught John in bed with some broad she remembered hearing about from his Thursday night cooking classes. She’ll always remember the smell of the artichokes in the air from that casserole they made together that night she came home from her night shift at Macy’s that she got out of early because she had Leo from menswear cover for her at women’s casual. Leo was “Mr. Sucker” as she said. Not because he was gullible (which he admittedly was), but because he was sweet like a sucker. It was a cultural disconnect that never corrected itself, as Leo was too sweet to say anything. So Jenni left Andy’s sorry greasy ass. He never deserved her anyway. She was genuinely heartbroken. The smell of cooked artichokes now makes her want vomit. Jenni Beng got into California State University, Fresno for pre-med. John, another co-worker at Macy’s was from Fresno and always talked about how there was no better place in the world. Jenny didn’t agree, but she was partial to Sega. She ended up get a B.S. in Chemistry in 2 years and moved on to get her M.D. 4 years later right there at CSU Fresno. Jenni welcomed Chuck with open arms.

Forging ahead

10.26

Friends, predictable as it may be, I have to share something Guster-related today. For this, I do not apologize. Most of you probably know the song "The Captain," so I decide to share it with a twist. The Captain is one of my favorite songs of all time, I find it musically awesome and inspirational. It's kind of kick ass. In any event, here is a little background on the evolution of "The Captain," it's a short episode of a series Guster created when they recorded their second-to-last album, Ganging up on the Sun. 


Are you in or out?

10.25


This article is about the Miami Heat and the relationship between the players.  I'm a huge basketball fan, and I know I'm the only one* in paragraph who would consider themselves a bball fan but it is still an inspirational article. After all the craziness of this summer I was planning on blindly rooting against this team all season. 

However, this article speaks of the sacrifice everyone made to make this Super team happen, it talks about the respect between players and the family that is forming on the team.  To me, it all speaks to something that is rarely, if ever, seen in sports beyond a collegiate level. 


*editor's note, other people in paragraph club proclaimed themselves as bball fans, for the record

Give Peace & Summer a Chance

10.24

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." 
             -Albert Camus

And finally, this song (and video) really made my week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWb65PI_eE