She looked over his shoulder For vines and olive trees, Marble well-governed cities And ships upon untamed seas, But there on the shining metal His hands had put instead An artificial wilderness And a sky like lead.
A plain without a feature, bare and brown, No blade of grass, no sign of neighborhood, Nothing to eat and nowhere to sit down, Yet, congregated on its blankness, stood An unintelligible multitude, A million eyes, a million boots in line, Without expression, waiting for a sign.
Namely, caffeine. Last week, I undertook an experiment. It seemed to me that caffeine was becoming more of a habit (usually in the form of soda or tea) but that it was having an overall negative effect on me. You all know what I'm talking about. I get my fix, feel great for a while, then round about 11am I start feeling like my head is full of silly putty. So I take another hit, feel fine for a couple hours, and then spend my afternoon trying to pretend that I understand the words coming out of other peoples' mouths. The alternative was just to up the ante, but I'm worried about this:
The results are in, and I highly recommend it. Seriously, my life it better without that shit. Now I only drink caffeine after 6 pm (still a useful keep-me-up for the evening, and somehow I don't get the brain-death like I do during the day). Also useful as a laxative, of course.
I've been following this story closely. The twists and turns are mind boggling. At first, we all suspected that he was just taking a lot of drugs. Ackam's Razor, right? These guys think so. Also, the rocking back and forth in public is never a good thing. This explanation fits our desire for celebrities to humiliate themselves quite well. Then, last week, Mr. Phoenix appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman (I wish there was a way to type it like the announcer says it, but it just looks stupid). Three words for you. O. M. G. If you haven't seen it, enjoy (if you can stand it):
This performance was so absurd that I became convinced the whole thing was just a hoax. Could Joaquin Phoenix be fucking with us? These insightful analysts think so(for your own good, I recommend skipping to about 3:55, otherwise you will loose about 5712 brain cells per second).
But here's where it really get complicated. Last week, in the space of one youtube interview, everything go crazy.
At first, he seems like he's just fucked up. In the middle of a television interview, the man says (well actually mumbles) "I can't remember what I was saying, what was I saying?" I say that sometimes, but as most of my friends will tell you, I'm kind of bad at life. If a previously normal person says something like this, you can't help but think drugs. And the rocking back and forth in public doesn't help. But then it twists and turns. The man busts out a short lesson in rap history, saying various non-stupid things about guys like Ice Cube, and then says pretty lucid shit about his upcoming album (apparently he wanted it to be a valentine's day present to himself. Or maybe to me). So I'm thinking, ok, maybe this is legit. The latter sentiment is only emboldened by this:
A bit fuzzy to tell for sure, but maybe just maybe he's good. Or at least doesn't suck. At a minimum, the beat sounds cool.
I dunno. I'm more excited for this new joint to drop than I have been since I got my first tape (New Kids on the Block, if you must know) back in 86. But I'm open to other theories. Is he legit? Is this a documentary in progress? Or drugs?
On a related note, I'm currently trying to figure out the difference between hip-hop and rap. I mean, I know that one's a "culture" and the other's not, but I'm just talking about the music. There's music that's one and there's music that's the other. It's been proposed that it's like porn, you just know it when you see/hear it. But I'm unsatisfied. So if you think you're smart, tell me what makes hip-hop hip-hop, and not rap (and visa versa).
I haven't used this blog much to promote any agendas, but this just struck me too much. Ken Starr is an asshole and these people are so real. The whole issue of marriage rights is often in such abstract terms, but in the end the tide turns on things like this. These are real people with real families. Enough said.
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