three a.m.

So usually we’re shitting icicles about this time of year, but I’ve been going out without a coat the past few days, even at night.  It’s been very nice, walking around and looking at the stars and not hurrying to get somewhere warm, but somewhere in the back of my mind, or maybe in the front, I’m thinking global warming, melting ice sheets, mass extinctions, Manhattan underwater.  Not too cheery, I know.  Another hottest year on record. 

Here’s a question: If you knew the apocalypse was going to be tomorrow, what would you do tonight?  Rent a movie, get some Thai food, call up every girl I know and tell her I’m in love with her, that would be pretty fun.    Maybe go get a massage somewhere.  No, not one of those massages — a real massage, shoulders, feet, hands, head.

I’ve been thinking — am I cut out for a PhD?  Do I have what it takes to stay in academia?  I’m not sure.  I think I’d do okay in business, if I didn’t get bored and quit, which I would.  Is the world really anyone’s oyster?  What does that even mean?

Here’s some good stuff I’m currently into:

Book: White Teeth, Zadie Smith.  British novel, if you’re into that kind of thing.  I didn’t think I’d like it, but so far I do.  I think Courtney told me to read this book about two years ago.  See, I do get around to doing things people recommend. 

Music: Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News.  I know, I know, they sold out.  But really, it’s pretty awesome.  I particularly like Ocean Breathes Salty, Black Cadillacs, The Good Times Are Killing Me.

Movie: Seven Beauties. Lina Wertmuller, 1975.  One of the best films I’ve seen.  Say, top 20. But then I love Italian movies.  I thought of all of you when I was watching.  Particularly Luke and Joel.  It’s about a small-time crook who ends up in a concentration camp. 

I’ve noticed a lot of pics on other peoples profiles lately, so I thought I’d post some,
but all my Christmas pictures are either people sleeping or the
standard shot of train tracks receding into the distance.  So here’s
the train tracks by my house.  This is what Arkansas looks like in
December, sometimes.  And here’s what happens to signs out off the
street.  And does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

So it’s been a rough day.  I had my cable turned off, which is no big deal since I only watch about two hours of TV a month outside of football season, but I did feel a tinge of sadness when I saw the staticky channel.  I thought, I could be watching The Daily Show if I had cable.  Or I could see what was playing on the Speed Channel, which plays a lot of racing and motorcycle movies.  Luke and I watched "Then Came Bronson", about a free-spirited motorcycle dude who picks up a haughty, good-looking gal from San Francisco, and then he says things to her like, "You don’t work, you don’t eat."   It’s pretty classic in the set-up, except they don’t even do it in the end.  Turns out it was the two-hour pilot episode for a one season TV show, which is maybe why Luke and i had never heard of it.  So that’s what I’m missing out on.

Also, I packed up my xbox tonight, put it to rest until the thesis is finished.  Yeah, that hurt.  I’m afraid for future generations, the future of literacy, b/c if I had had an Xbox when I was younger, I don’t think I would have ever picked up a book.  It’s a pretty obvious choice for a nine-year-old, right?   I know, I know, they’ll be more media literate or whatever.  That’s not going to help me get paid, though.