Wherein I channel Orwell's harsh pessimistic realism

There are always stepping stones in life.

Our jobs as power mad members of the human race is to pound over those stones, crush them into a fine powder so that we need not have to worry about gaining the attributes necessary to once again climb the same stone. Life has a tendency of placing the same obstacles in a person’s way. It probably has something to do with people living their lives in patterns which are familiar to them.

So out of necessity we are destroyers at our most efficient. Our thirst for greater heights compels us to shape and change the world around us to accommodate our preferences. We need not destroy of course, we can build. However, building is just the destruction and manipulation of other objects so as to efficiently circumvent an obstacle. However, getting rid of the obstacle all together works much better. We are engines of destruction.

We are chained to polite society. This forces a compromise between our instincts and the instincts of others. So we can not always go around grinding our opposition into dust, as that opposition might benefit the aid of another whose continued well being will benefit you. Crazy as it is, everything ends up being cyclical somehow. Of course we can’t break the chains keeping us held to society. If we did that, we would lose almost all semblance of a comfortable life. No, we must play the game and find ways to make the bonds looser.

This all means that we are always in a state were we deny ourselves. Compromise is part self denial. There’s nothing noble about getting half of what you want so someone else can benefit. It’s survival. In an ideal world we would be able to get absolutely everything we wanted with zero negative repercussions. Gluttony is only a sin because it doesn’t serve the unity of man. Gluttony should be a way of life.

Society is a stepping stone. However, it’s not a stone that can be destroyed. It’s a stone we can sit on, perched, enjoying a nice view. It’s a stone we can build a ladder up to, then stairs, maybe an escalator. The problem with society is that its benefits far outweigh its negatives. The negative aspects of society can become too much for many to deal with. Instead of thriving, they succumb to pressures and cease benefiting anyone. Except maybe those people who take their spots in life. Society is the master. It’s a collective conscious with no real head and no real destination. It seeks only to sustain itself.

Society will destroy so as to make it stronger. It’s almost super human.

The perplexing #2

I'm having a hard time understanding the value of the number two. I've come to believe that it does have importance, since so many things revolve around it, but I'm not yet sure of what that importance really is.

Duality is very prominent. Couples are very prominent. I think I've narrowed the number two down to these two things: duality and couples.

Duality is seen often in theory, philosophy, and morals. Out of these things the easiest to discuss is Good and Evil. God has his Satan and for some reason there isn't any room for a third being to exist. There doesn't seem to be any conceptual being that I can think of that only has one side to the argument. More fun, I can't think of any arguments that have three or more sides. I can't decide if the world really is so simple that everything comes down to two real choices.

Couples are extremely interesting. There seems to be a either a need or desire (I can't decide which) for people and animals to meet in exclusive pairs. Again, for whatever reason, two seems to be the right number, not three or four, unless you're a danged polygamist. One certainly isn't the right number, and for the most part, three or more isn't anything but an exception. Hell, I don't know of any other animal that likes to have more than one partner. I'm fairly certain that people are just horny.

I still don't understand the number two, but I'm still fairly certain that it's a thing.

Primordial Sludge and Guns from God

- man is a part of nature

- the tools man employs are also a part of nature

Evolution has been an awesome and powerful force that has moved the history of this planet Earth. The power of evolution (whether or not you want to believe it’s a thing that happens or a guiding hand) has taken some electrified sludge (I love this theory) all the way to the glory that is Jeff, pinnacle of all men. I suppose I should have said sludge to human awareness or something, but I like to perpetuate my stereotype. Evidently I also like tangents. It’s true, I do. Narrative flow is bullshit.

We can all agree that man is a part of nature. He (eat it feminists, I’m going to use a sexualized pronoun) has, some eyes, risen above nature. Shock, I would contest that. I think man has taken nature, his knowledge of it, and used that knowledge to best suit his needs. That’s fantastic. It really is. It ensures that he becomes the top of THE food chain; every food chain. Man can kill anything, domesticate anything, and grow anything. When killing, domesticating, and growing isn’t enough, Man can use his brain and splice and dice nature to give him polyester. He can make other things than polyester, probably more useful things, but polyester is awesome, so we’ll go with that. Man can do these wonderful things because of highly advanced sticks. Wait, back up a second, I didn’t explain that. Man can do these wonderful things because of the tools he has developed. He started (yea, I totally looked this up, it’s factual history) with a stick, and processed the hell out of that stick until he came up with computers and nuclear bombs.

Now some people are trying to say that man has started polluting the environment, causing all kinds of wacky weather (w)mishaps. This is true, I think, though some people say it’s not so much. The Japanese have sided with me; funny looking people from Texas are the opposition. I feel like I’m in good hands, hands that understand the subtle nuances of a wiimote. These awesome people who are being represented by the fine folks at Nintendo Japan believe that this pollution is wrong, harmful, and against nature.

I disagree with that notion. Man is a part of nature, of this I’m sure, remember the electrified sludge. Man’s tools are also a part of nature. The term manmade is a bit silly I think. Sure, man (or men) had to physically put the tools together (or build robots to do that), but it still comes from the home planet. What man does is convert things that are naturally beneficial to him, into products that end up hurting his odds at surviving in the long run. Which is what environmentalists really object to; they don’t want the end of the species.

That’s understandable. Preservation tends to be a strong instinct throughout the animal kingdom. However, to say that pollution is unnatural is wrong. It’s perfectly natural. Everything manmade is natural. Let’s not politicize this stuff here. Ya’ll don’t want to make the world better; you want to make the world better for YOU. That was an attack statement. See, I changed tense for a second, and am continuing to do so, and you felt savaged! Didn’t you? Yea you did! What are you going to do about? Nothing? Coward.

Pollution and Global Warming are a lot like Ice Ages and giant meteorites flying out of the sky and killing all of the velociraptors. It’s all natural, and it’s all a matter of perspective.

Thinking...

I can't decide whether or not I like one part of a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. It's been bothering me. There's this part where the solo kicks in, and Keidis is singing something. But I really like the guitar part that's underneath the solo, and I kind of resent the solo for putting the guitar part underneath it, even though the solo is really good as well.

I can't decide where I stand on nature versus nurture versus choice. I also have yet to fully understand all the implications of the word choice. It seems to be a pretty heavy word. Choice seems to me to have taken on a possibly undo godhead to humankind, or at least us crazy Amerikiners.

I can't decide whether or not I respect the new Against Me! album. It's quite good, but it's a departure from their older stuff. While there's nothing wrong with that per se, much of their lyrics are about selling out, and while there's nothing wrong with selling out, I don't think you should be against it if you do it. Just seems strange. However, the album rocks, it just sounds like Against Me! made an album for my good friend Ben Evarts.

I'm not indecisive about much else right now. Which is good. I like having formed my thoughts on topics. Not that it matters much to a lot of people, since my opinion is generally contrary to other peoples, but it matters to me.

An Open Letter to Michael Bay

Dear Michael Bay,

I’m not really a huge fan of your films, having seen little other than Bad Boys (which was awesome), but I plead you to listen to me. Your talents are needed.

You see, it seems as though many in Hollywood these days have no idea how to make an action sequence. This is a shame, since most films require an action sequence of some type, even if that sequence is nuanced and subtle.

Now, I know you don’t do subtle, but you do action very well. You’ve got a real knack for blowing shit up. It’s impressive. I think others can benefit from you.

Take a look at the Heroes finale. That action sequence at the end was horrid. I know you could do better. I know you would do better. Don’t you kind of want to?

Hire yourself out to these people, these fine people who know how to write plots and dialogue, but don’t understand how to blow anything up, and show them the way. You could do so much more with your ability than you do right now. You could be a driving force to enhance Hollywood and take it places people might not imagine. Places people might be afraid to imagine.

Sir, I respect you, and I believe in your potential as a force of greater good within the film industry.

Jeff

An open letter to Stephen King

Dear Mr. King,

Blaze is a very good book. I’ve only read the introduction by yourself, and the first chapter of the book, but I think I can safely say, it’s a good book. You’ve aged very well sir, and your last few books have been phenomenal. Though I will admit I have yet to read Lisey’s Story. I own it; I’ve just been putting it off. I apologize.

However I have one gripe with you, though it might not be a real gripe. I can’t be sure.

Richard Bachman is very talented. It’s a shame he’s dead. The only story of his that I didn’t love was Road Work. Rage and The Long Walk count among my favorite stories ever of all time. I’d even dare to say his Regulators was better than your Desperation.

I wish you, the fans, the people who discovered Bachman’s books were paying your finances, critics, and people who can read everywhere had done more for Mr. Bachman. Or maybe less. Again, I can’t be entirely sure.

Thank you for finding this new book though. That first chapter was a hell of treat. Seriously, it was very, very good. I’d be reading more right now, but I have to be leaving, and for some reason I thought it was of dire import to write this letter to you, which you might never see, which no one might ever see, because it’s sitting on the internet.

Sincerely,

Jeff

PS: Yes, I do understand how very Misery this whole letter is, but I assure, were I to kidnap you I wouldn’t be able to keep you alive and in seclusion. I live in a very small apartment in the city, and I have absolutely no nursing skills.

Outrage!

I know what VOIP is, but I doubt many people do. I know kids who can't rock their iPods. Not that Apple has made the easiest interface in the world, but it's still fairly intuitive. iTunes is another thing entirely, something which I don't want to get into unless I can gesture and curse.