Radical Transparency

Not sure the founders had @shitmydadsays in mind when they invented Twitter. They could have, though. It's that obviously a hit, that perfect a fit.

It's a 28 year old son living with his 73 year old father and writing down "the shit that he says."

A taste...

"The dog don't like you planting stuff there. It's his backyard. If you're the only one who shits in something, you own it. Remember that."

I'm dropping this here to let it brew for a little while...

Having spiritual and philosophical concepts is all good, but if you don't apply it to advanced physics and mathematics and technology, you still have a problem. You still have pollution. You still have all sorts of problem - water raising, you know - that you may be able to solve if you apply the higher concepts.

Nassim Haramein* is the speaker, and Crossing the Event Horizon is the speech.

My uncle Kim, the pirate, told me to watch it, told me it'd blow my mind, told me Nassim reminded him of me.

I think I'm flattered. And skeptical of my lack of skepticism for dudes with statement-making pony tails. And totally fascinated by that quote.

*From that Wikipedia page (one that seems to be the home of a little controversy): "Any attempt to delete this information is a blatant attempt to prevent a wealth of knowledge - that is peer-reviewed - from reaching the masses."

Thought about Kip today.  I often think about Kip.



And I often misquote that scene.  My Kip voice always says:

You're just jealous because I've been chatting online with hot babes all afternoon

Which is almost the right line.  Not quite.  But close.  Not sure if I'm going to stick with my version or adjust for accuracy.  Not easy to stray from a sentence you've grown to love.

I talked to one of the purest literary minds I know tonight, and some turn in our conversation reminded him of his favorite Henry Miller quote:

Art teaches nothing but the significance of life itself.

But, according to the internets, that's not quite the quote.  What Henry Miller actually wrote was this:

Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life.

And that, the real quote, in my opinion, lacks the rhythm of its misremembered cousin.

Not sure what that means.  But I've certainly experienced it before.  And I like it.  I'm glad we do it.  I'm excited for the next time I get to see it in action.

I quote below from an American nerd athlete artist.  He's relieved at the American electorate's ability to choose the intellectual candidate.  But his comment intends to celebrate neither American nor Chinese culture.

We live in a country where the nerd gets beaten up in middle school.  In China, the nerd is the bully.

I did not know this about China when I lived there.  I never saw it happen, never heard stories about it until today.  But it does make sense.  Good grades earn big teacher love and, with it, positions of authority in classrooms.  And there doesn't exist a school-connected athletic infrastructure to balance the power.  Validation comes first for the successfully academic minds and significantly later, if at all, for anyone else.

Anyone have any experience with this?  I'd love to know more.

Stopped in New York City tonight to see an old China friend I hadn't seen in probably a year.

He's a writer. Or, better, he's an adventurer that takes very good notes about what people are thinking.

He talks to everyone. Tries to tease out their stories. Or, when the tease doesn't work, tries surgically removing the stories with blunt, rusty mining tools. Not sure patience is his virtue. Not sure that's a vice, however. Certainly makes for good stories.

We went to a diner on one of Times Square's less flattering edges.

I went upstairs to find the bathroom.

Found a cop first. He had to pee too, apparently.

There was no one else up there. Just un-air-conditioned half darkness.

He commented on the heat.

I acknowledged and asked him if it'd been hot in the city the past few days.

He said no not too bad. It's never that bad for him. He's a night shift kind of guy.

I asked what he thought of the nocturnal lifestyle.

He replied, and I quote:

I live like a vampire. It's nice though. No traffic.

Just as he said the word vampire, an approximately15 year old kid came out of the bathroom, clearly confused and maybe terrified.

I smiled as he walked back into the artificial downstairs cool.

It's possible I wouldn't have talked to that cop if Jon's inquisitive presence hadn't inspired me.

It's also possible that conversations with strangers about the weather are an all around good idea. They certainly are popular. And there must be a reason for that.

Text from Tuna last night:

I just had a weird Simon and garfunkl/ china moment. Eating dinner. Expensive fusion restaurant. There was a certain Chinese veggie on my plate, and in my head I hear S&G sing "hello bok choy my old friend." swear to god.

Wow.

I think posterous might be a good place to collect quotes like this. For posterity's sake. I mean it would truly seriously be tragic if I didn't someday remind Tuna of this moment he so kindly shared.

Collective memory. Excellent.