Lines Dissecting

Some things I’ve done so far:

·        listened to “The Zephyr Song” in a car with 3 Italians that barely spoke any English

·        arrived (very) late to my first class

·    got a free orange from a friendly fruit stand lady

·    said "I'll meet you at the Coliseum"

Some things I haven’t done so far:

·         slept for more than 6 hours in a night

·         paid to use public transportation – apparently this is the norm

·         washed my clothes (Italians don’t use dryers, this makes me nervous)

·         memorized my roommates names

“this new convection has left no wondering why

i can't concern myself with ordinary tripe.

like what's this morning's paper got to say

and which brand of coffee to make”

-James Mercer 

Gastromancy

"Don't try."

-Bukowski's epitaph

We can never really know what it felt like to be alive a couple hundred years ago; we can only make inferences based on available artifacts, like texts and photographs.  In the future, people will have a much better understanding of what it is like to live in this time period.  

Our society spends increasingly enormous amounts of time inputting information online.  This data creates a sketch of our thought processes and thus, who we are.  Think about the last few things you typed into Google, or your most recent tweet.  The internet is collecting unbelievable amounts of information, all the time.  

I’m not sure exactly how future humans will be impacted by the accessibility of historical data, but it will certainly allow them to become more in tune with the human culture as it evolves.

Guess what the colors represent (answer below)

“Can I ask you a question?” means “I’m going to ask you an uncomfortable question.”

I have trouble cutting my fingernails because they fly everywhere, instead of falling straight into the trash can.  There should be some kind of mechanism that solves this problem.

What "beg the question" actually means

I don’t know anything.  Or, more precisely, I don’t know whether or not I know anything, or can know anything.  I am enslaved by my ignorance, I think.   

RFD:  Lauryn Hill and Zach Braff went to the same high school.  Apparently everyone really liked Lauryn, but Zach was kind of a jerk.  And Lauryn went to Zach’s Bar Mitzvah.

The starving African children don’t give a shit whether or not you finish your vegetables.

Tattoos?  I can barely commit to a haircut.  

The Better Business Bureau is bullshit

Z e n t i p:  Spend the first and last 5 minutes of every day meditating.

The more I learn, the more wonderful things become

The graphic above shows which side of the road countries drive on.  Red is right, blue is left.  What did you think it was?

Sonic Smoke Rings

“There seems to be no alternative to accepting some sort of incomprehensible quality to existence.  Take your pick.  We all fluctuate delicately between a subjective and objective view of the world, and this quandary is central to human nature.”

-Douglas Hofstadter

Open Your Mind

When I’m actively listening to music, I tend to start bobbing my head and dancing to myself; I let the song move me.  Unfortunately, the more I dance, the more difficult it becomes to focus on the music.  Enjoying music is a struggle between focus and dance.  Reminds me of life…

A typeface is not a font.

One man’s brainwashing is another man’s education.

My Plan

1. Find out the full name of a stranger
2. Make a shirt with his name on it
3. Sit down across from him in a public place
4. Act nonchalant and avoid eye contact

Prices should be listed post-tax.  I don’t care how much money the store receives, I just care about how much I have to pay.

Stephen Hawking's Kids Book

Is it legal to not have a name?

RFD:  The title of this post comes from a Pitchfork article.

As a kid, I was shocked to learn that the computer processor – not the monitor – was the brains of the machine.  I only had experience dealing with the big bright display screen, and had given little thought to the dull box tucked under the desk.  This is similar to learning that although the eyes take in light, it is mostly the brain that is responsible for interpreting it into meaningful images.

The heath bar is the most underrated candy bar.

No Fat Jokes