"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, going where I list, my own master total and absolute, Listening to others, considering well what they say, Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating, Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me."
Walt Whitman (1819-92)
"When I look back now over my life and call to mind what I might have had simply for taking and did not take, my heart is like to break."
Akhenaton (d. c.1354 BC)
And now, the current weather, from some random person we pulled off the street:
Friday, January 09, 2004
Riding the Edge of the Razor Blade
nor-mal Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin normalis, from norma
Date: circa 1696
1 a : according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle b : conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern
2 : unbearingly boring
It's been far too long since I was able to ride the tiger.
I remember times when I was younger, driving along with the wind whipping through my hair, feeling a sense of freedom that can only happen when life ahead of you is filled with promise. The kind of promise you only feel when you are young, before you know better.
I would experience each day like a present waiting to be opened, like a party full of surprises, and enjoy each and every one of them. At least most of the time.
But now, the days drag incessantly into one another. Tomorrow is just like yesterday which is just like today which is giving birth to its twin tomorrow.
I want to guffaw.
I want to make other people guffaw with me.
I want to stand on the edge of the wave and confidently take the ride down the tube, flying as fast as the water and air will let me.
I want to face the hurricane and revel in its fury.
I want to dance the wild dance of the stars and the moon and the comets.
I want to feel thrill.
I want to thrill.
I refuse to be vanilla anymore.
Plumpick: Don't you understand, the whole town will blow up in three minutes!
Columbine: Yes--they will be wonderful, those three minutes.
"The King of Hearts"
Gender Discrimination To call attention to its new line, the Young Designers Emporium of South Africa has a new poster ad campaign in its shop windows. The “Brand Spanking New Fashions” posters feature models in their underwear sporting red marks on their thighs to imply they’ve been spanked with a paddle. The Law Society of South Africa has expressed outrage over the posters, which go “against the grain of eradicating the trivialization and humiliation of the female body,” says Society spokeswoman Nonto Umlaw. “We show a man and woman being spanked,” points out YDE Creative Director Sam Coleman. “It is quite surprising that no one said anything about the man.” (Pietermaritzburg Witness) ...Well no: obviously he deserved it. Available in This is True: Book Collection Vol. 11
