On Life and Love

Whatever is making or breaking my day.

  • On Life and Love

    Me, a counterculturist?

    While in Charlotte this past weekend, I revealed to the Gang that I don’t really watch television. I mean, there are four shows I watch irregularly (Doctor Who, Lost, The 4400, and The Pretender), but I don’t watch them with commercials. I don’t know what movies are out unless I hear via blog or word-of-mouth, and I’m not really interested in knowing. I don’t see the latest commercials. I’ve never watched an episode of CSI. I don’t even really know what televisions shows are out and popular, aside from… well, CSI. It was impressive how many times someone said, “Have you seen the latest [some product] commercial?” or asked if…

  • On Life and Love

    To an amazing woman: Jenny Zartman

    I’ve been musing for several days what to write about the death of Jenny Zartman. There are the details: that she died in a car accident heading down to Wilmington to be with her cousin early August 5, 2006. There’s the emotional impact: her parents’ immense grief; Michael’s heartrending sadness and infinite helpfulness and patience; my mother’s sad calls to my father, half a country away; Becca’s broken voice over the phone; my own unending shock and sadness and my eleven-hour drive to Charlotte to be with those I love and who love Jenny in their time of grief. I have not stopped thinking of her and Michael during the…

  • On Life and Love

    Midnight linkage

    The Escapist – Kill Your Darlings » Whoop-ass. The Escapist – You Got Your Race in My Video Game » Wake up gamers: race is here. The Escapist News Room : E3 is Over » Oh, no! newnumber6: Planescape Thoughts » This is the most amazing set of thoughts on Planescape – Torment I’ve read yet. Drinks with Tony – Chuck Palahniuk interview – Cherry Bleeds » I’m in a Palahniuk mood.

  • On Life and Love

    On podcasts

    Ah, podcasts. These things have saved my sanity throughout the summer. Some of these are worthy of linkage and sharing. Not all–luckily, since I listen to entirely too many–but some. First, the [tag]Performance Poetry[/tag] podcast I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Amazing stuff. Another favorite of mine is Next Big Hit. The announcer kills me and the music played probably won’t be the next big hit. That doesn’t make it bad, though, really. It tends to be pop [tag]music[/tag] (and there’s plenty of that new rock stuff I can’t stand), but has recently increased the number of R & B and rap artists played. A fun trick is to…

  • On Life and Love

    Racism: how much of a bitch should I be?

    I’m never sure how vicious to be when I encounter racism and have the ability to put a stop to it. For instance, last night, during a game at my apartment, Tookie suggested someone break a bottle and use it as a weapon. The excited response from Gimpy Phil was, “Nigger knife!” Um, what? This shit ain’t happening in my damn house. The moment passed just quickly enough that I wasn’t sure I should go back and harp on it. I was on edge for the rest of the evening, though, ready to jump in and tell some folks to take that shit elsewhere if they said anything else like…