Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History is the single greatest piece of writing in the western canon. The Tao Te Ching by mysterious quasi-figure Lao Tzu is the single greatest in the eastern canon.
When considered together, I’m quite sure they come to something. But it will take me a few more years to figure out just what.
— § —
Some days you drink all day.
Some days you send hundreds of text messages.
Some days the hours never quite get off the ground, and you go from “wake up” to “wait for it to end” without anything in between.
Some days you hear Johnny Rotten over and over in your head, asking “Do you ever feel like you’ve been cheated?”
— § —
I don’t remember what I did on the way to Los Angeles, on the way to Vancouver, on the way to Chicago, on the way to New York, on the way to Austin, or on the way to anywhere else I’ve ever been.
That’s too bad, because I often feel as though these are the most important moments in life. And I’m fairly sure I felt that way while I was “on the way” in each case.
And in each case, I’m sure I thought I would never forget.
— § —
Playlist for the day:
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Alice in Chains
Led Zeppelin
KMFDM
Gorillaz
XTC
— § –
Sitting in Broadway Deli in Salt Lake City, drinking coffee and wondering.
Sitting in a bus station in Texas, drinking coffee and wondering.
Sitting in a Barnes and Noble in Goleta, drinking coffee and wondering.
Sitting in a Village dump in NYC, drinking coffee and wondering.
Wondering, wondering, wondering.
Stop fucking wondering.
— § —
I’m old.
— § —
What’s genuine and what’s manipulation?
From yourself or anyone?
I don’t mean this to be a research question.
These are stupid terms, ideological to their cores.
If only no one anywhere thought the world was essentially a power play, it wouldn’t have to be a power play for anyone.
Since a few people, here and there, are sure it is, it is a power play for everyone.
Live or die.
Hammer or anvil.
Have or have not.
To be or not to be.
— § —
Regret is the substance that pervades the universe, a fundamental physical quantity from which all others come to exist.
Superstring theory, combinatorics, evolutionary psychology, bioinformatics, blah, blah. All just understudies for regret.
— § —
Background vocals.
Supporting singers.
Hollywood stories.
Unauthorized biography.
Sensationalism.
Trash.
— § —
Once on Ellwood Beach there was a small beach house made of driftwood, scrap, and palm leaves, and in its center, apart from the sand and crab shells, was a partially rotted tree stump into which a chess board had been burned.
A guy that ought to have been working kept going there and looking for some kind of truth. In the end, he found nothing, took it as a sign, and quit his job and headed for the edge of the world.
He never made it there; instead, he found himself trapped in a two-bit hotel in the middle of nowhere, running out of money, drinking to excess, and phoning nobody in particular to tell his story. Nobody cared.
Years later, he died alone.
— § —
The hardware stores sell several kinds of wax log, designed for cheap, extended fireplace burning.
For $14.00 one can purchase a box of six two-hour logs. Two-hour logs are better than natural wood, but two hours is still brief.
For $18.00 one can purchase a box of six four-hour logs. Four hours is much better; it’s long enough to do almost anything requiring a fire, and in relation to their converse quantities the price difference ($4.00) is much smaller than the time difference (twice the time).
The four-hour logs, however, burn much less brightly than the two-hour logs, and provide much less warmth.
— § —
The atheist that waits for the Messiah is a fool.
He is, however, a typical fool, with many comrades.