i am disappointed in our culture. corporations are winning.

everything is commodified, even laughter—something you do to show you're having a better time than the person at the table next to you, who promptly orders champagne to prove that he's having a better time than you, so you promptly order cognac, and then you go home broke and alone and weep, and so does he, and the makers of cognac and sellers of hugo boss suits laugh all the way to the bank...

except when they get to the bank they stop laughing, because for the upper crust, laughter is a commodity that is lowly valued, control is desired. anything but is a sign of poor breeding. so everyone stands in line at the bank, and no one speaks, except the one black lady who may be a bit nuts, and she's talking away to anyone who will look her way, and you love her, not because of who she is, but because of what she isn't. she is defined by what she is not, and is more beautiful because she is not aware of the conventions, or does not care to know.

but then, you don't engage in any type of dialogue with her... you look away when she comes by, trying to avoid looking, hating yourself for not screaming out the words to your favorite song, or swearing at the top of your lungs.

this is how to drown yourself on land.

soon, you'll come to expect the maybe-crazy black lady in line at the bank.

shortly thereafter, you'll come to hate her.

day after day, taunting you with her freedoms. she mocks your inability to scream at the top of your lungs. she pops the bubble you wear around yourself.

so now you have two choices.

1. continue to stand in line at the bank for your money, or
2. find a new bank!


a bank is a metaphor
a line is a metaphor
a black woman is a metaphor
screaming is a metaphor
a suit is a metaphor
you are a metaphor


the "!" at the end of 'bank' was intended to be funny, a bail out from the doom and gloom scenario, as if to say "ha ha! wasn't this fun! phew! we made it out with a chuckle!". it may just work. think of how different the end would have been had i just written 'find a new bank'. fairly dreary.

perhaps the "!" denotes an insult, a scream at the reader. that works too. i had intended humour as the bail out, but a scream sends the note back in to itself, looking for irony.

that's all for today.

my only tidbit of news is about how i was reading about this big timber/wood company in quebec that supplies this type of prefab board for housing in the US, and how the company prospects are looking really good because this years hurricane season in the US is supposed to be even better/worse than last year! yippee! death and destruction = money.

this was similar to a report i edited about a cancer research company that was really excited about the increase in breast cancer patients, ie - the increase in its target market! yes!

a perfectly logical man builds a perfectly logical system. the problem is, logic isn't perfect, nor is being logical an ideal. logic is a tool by which person A can manipulate person B by using person B's own line of thinking. no coercion necessary. no violence, no aggression. you will eventually convince yourself! (this "!" is intended as a poor attempt at being facetious).