Around here, I’m different just like everyone else. It’s a cashmere sweater in July – comfortable but not what I need. Everyone’s pretty much the same no matter where you go. The big question is what I’m doing. Productivity measured in time or money doesn’t make any sense. The amount of words is a gauge for how much time I’ve put in but it doesn’t reflect any kind of worth. The only thing I have to go on is my gut. That’s what got me into this mess. Continue reading
Got an email notice from Zillow about an apartment I was looking at in North Fremont last December. It’s available soon. I know enough about the city now to know I would have done fine there. Not as well as I’m doing here but that’s why I made the extra effort. Continue reading Zillow
I can’t find my copy of Light on the Yoga Sutras. Of all the books I’ve written notes in, this is possibly the most irreplaceable.
This is very distressing so if you see this book with my handwriting in it, contact me immediately.
On a related note. If anyone wants to get me a late Easter present I have my eye on this copy of the Sutras.
I adjust my hips on the 2-person vinyl bench seat. The driver’s profile sways as the bus trundles down the south end of I-5. Another 17 minutes until home. The setting sun paints the horizon with pinks and oranges, catching the contour of every wisp of cloud in the sky. The white ice caps of the mountains stand out like neon punctuation as telephone poles measure out the frames of my existence. I understand why people rubberneck a car accident. It’s probably the most interesting thing they’ll see that week.
The bus is nearly empty after rush hour traffic. The trip south is short one unless you are trying to get past downtown. Then it feels like forever. Stopping and starting at all the familiar stops. Bar. Lobby. Noodle shop. Starbucks. Bar. ATM. Cafe. Smoke shop. Noodle shop. Bar. I wonder how some places continue to exist. I don’t see people enter or exit. The doors could be painted on brick walls for all I can tell. I wonder if I’ll ever get off the bus and find out for myself. Even the thought smacks of effort. Continue reading Nothing Better
In Memphis, local metal and punk bands are booked hand-in-hand. It’s the only way the scene can survive down there. The amalgamation of all loud music into the same niche exposed me to more metal than I’d choose and the raw energy is enthralling. I feel like showmanship counts more than usual when metalheads take the stage. The music demands a presence that other genres don’t have, except maybe pop stars. In Seattle, local bands have room to breathe into their genre of choice and full-on scenes of people to perform for. I’m not convinced this freedom makes for better music. Continue reading Metal Show
A new source of pride in our economy is what you can do with an internet jukebox. The game is getting your best value. That means finding the right mix of music that represents how broad your taste is while remaining obscure enough to keep the plebeians from recognizing the chorus and singing along. Prices are on the rise, so only real music lovers play this game. Others use a defensive response to tune it out. Tuning out annoying sounds is a prime survival skill in the city. I’m doing it right now to write this – except I’m not because I paid for the jukebox and Freddie Mercury is encouraging me to go on with the show. Continue reading Slice of Life
The Memphis Zoo is run by the Memphis Zoological Society. Established in the early 1900s, they are a private, for-profit association that started with humble concrete cages. In 1986, the Zoo came up with a plan to expand. Since then, the amount of party space the zoo provides has increased exponentially while adding a dozen or so major exhibits. One HUGE problem – they don’t have enough parking to accommodate this long-term master plan. I love the Memphis Zoo and have spent years there as a patron and volunteer. I saw this picture of the new zoo parking solution in Overton Park and it makes me sick.
The Greensward is the only truly open, grassy area available to the public in Overton Park. The old forest trails are more valuable than anything in that area. That doesn’t mean we should sacrifice the iconic grassy lea at the center of Overton Park. Everything else is golf course, art stuff and the Levitt Shell. The east side of the park has the pavilion but losing the greensward and Rainbow Lake limits options for enjoying the park in general. The amount of space left for team sports, recreation and relaxation is a fraction of what we had a couple years ago. Let them keep parking there now and that’s where they’ll build the parking garage in the future.
The Zoo gets paid for every car that passes through their gates. Currently, $5 per car. They should at least raise the price of parking to $20 a car and see how many people choose to walk less than a mile from the free street parking just outside the park grounds. What about the brand new garage in Overton Square? Make the the garage free and charge for the shuttle to the zoo. It would boost the Square economy and account for the overflow parking. Or see if Rhodes wants to go halfsies on a North Side Parking Project? I’m sure they need more parking too and Snowden school hardly uses that big patch of grass they call a field.
I’ve had a daily obligation to yoga for about 7 days now. From 2pm until 7pm I am in yoga class. Only about an hour of that is actually doing yoga. The rest is getting myself clean, dressed and transported to the studio in time for the 4:30 class and then there’s another hour on the bus after class to get back downtown. It’s a big daily time commitment for a hobby. Something only the privileged can really manage easily. So ironically, if I had a job by now, I’d never be able to enjoy this yoga intensive. That’s my silver lining to unemployment. Continue reading Wearing Down
I was encouraged to go take pictures at the Bernie Sanders rally because I might get “the shot”. One I can sell.
I asked, “to whom”?”
You know, newspapers. The media. All it takes is one. Just that perfect shot that … does what? Humiliates someone? Idealizes someone else? Grabs attention?
I wish that could motivate me. The idea that there’s a picture I can take that would be worth something to someone else. I just don’t have that connection wired in right now. Besides, I’m pretty certain I’d need to promote my pictures in some way to get the attention of anyone’s monetary resources. It’s just not in me. If I got the chance to profit off of a random picture I’d happen to get credit for I wouldn’t see it as “selling out” my art. It’d be more like selling a jar of tears as snake oil.
I try to keep my parasitic profiting to a minimum unless it involves the upper middle class. Kinda like a holistic Robin Hood.