time has fallen back to its proper schedule, the days are shorter than my memory, and the fireworks are over. now it's the dull period - the colors are muted, the branches are mostly exposed, and every morning brings with it the threat of the First Snow, the one that doesn't really leave the ground until late march.
i hate winters in boston about as much as i love summers in boston. it's this kind of communal pain, along with being a red sox fan / dealing with red sox fans, driving in this city, being a student / hating students, etc that makes the whole city feel like a dysfunctional familiar home. it's what makes me think i could start a 'yankees suck' chant in almost any crowded space, and it's what makes things like this so damn funny. and now that i'm entering, what, my 6th boston winter, it's what makes me a person from fucking boston.
the point is, of course, that these are trivial things. weather? sports teams? really, we're not that different, you (person from wherever else) and i. i'm sure if we went through things that made any other city unique on earth, we'd find that at their core there is little mystique and there is more in common than you'd expect.
except for paris, man. that place is fucked up weird.
i'm tired and its monday, hence the strange rant. check out this.
update:
just so you guys understand the scope i'm really talking about here
geoff: lots of fundamental differences across cities
ie everyone married at 23
just bigger cultural things
niv: there's this parasite
that grows out of the dung of cows
and snails come in and eat it
geoff: ok...
niv: and the snail leaves slime behind it
with the parasite in the slime
geoff: i really hope youre high
or maybe i am
niv: and then ants eat the slime
geoff: what is going on
god
niv: and the parasite in the slime
CONTROLS THE ANTS NERVOUS SYSTEMS
and makes them sit on blades of grass for half the day
until a cow eats them and the grass
geoff: god
niv: and then the parasite goes through the cows digestive system
and the cycle continues
geoff: how is this related to cities?
niv: that
is a different existence
i can't relate to that
geoff: ok
niv: i can relate to people though
the fireworks are over
2319-october30-2006
re: every man is an island?
if perception is 9/10 of reality then theoretically a person could grow up with the exact same set of experiences as you and you would still be completely unable to relate to them. they would be the parasite in the slime, as it were....a telling example you chose.
likewise, a person with a completely different set of experiences, given similar powers of perception, could possibly be much easier to connect with.
the bottom line is that in a world where few lead and most follow, the only way people can distinguish themsevles from the masses of other followers they willingly herd themselves in with, is to build these imaginary walls. you and new yorkers agree on how much winters in the northeast suck, but come springtime you and the red sox fan next to you join hands to yell at yankees fans. two days later, though, you cut the same guy off in traffic and he shoots you in the face. in a world where everyone is afraid to think for themselves, this manufactured individuality is all we have.
just
like
this
painfully obvious
devils advocate
comment