I didn't want to use this blog as a ranting tool.
Please forgive just this once.
[rant/]
The songs of an age give voice to the collective. John Lennon's "Imagine" was popular not just because hippies happened to like the 3 or so chords it's comprised of, but because the attitude resonated. Peace, love and happiness almost became real goals for people.
Fast-forward 40 years to the so-called 'Generation-X'. Our John Lennon was Curt Cobain, famous for hymns like, "rape me", album titles like "nevermind", and courageous acts like blowing his brains out with a shotgun. Would it be a stretch to say that this generation was, at best, in some way wounded? Is it a coincidence that in 1999, the inventors of Prozac were inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame? Is it a coincidence that self-mutilation has become fashionable? No. We're the future, and we're doomed.
You balk? Well, America is borrowing from China.
China.
America's most recent financial collapse happens at a time when any TV show or movie with zombies or vampires promises to rank among the top. Real-life zombies like Anna Nicole Smith and the auspicious 'people' showcased on Jerry Springer also capture our imaginations. This human-wreckage called "the American way" isn't just the fringe, either. The middle-class are eating themselves into early graves, divorcing each other at an alarming rate, and yawning under the banner of "excess luxury" while trading their liberties for the illusion of security.
We're born free into a universe we cannot understand, and live for a very short time. Is this how we want to conduct ourselves?
[end rant/]
I'm a, currently having a bit of reverse culture shock. In Korea, the country is moving forward, and in Canada (the 51st state of America, culture-wise), the situation is reversed in many ways. Hence the angst and exasperation.
Which I tried this weekend to fix with booze.
Friday, shortly after arriving in the shwa, KG took me out to a pub for "a drink" and a "quiet night". I wasn't much surprised when, $150 later, we were cut off, but I was surprised that he took issue with some of my life decisions. He hashed things out, cleared the air, and I think we're better friends for it. I know I respect him madly for having the balls to confront me for living a life he couldn't agree with or understand. I've made mistakes, and whereas everybody around me seems willing to ignore them, he seems willing to acknowledge them and accept me, flaws included.
Saturday, another bff and old-flame, both from high school, appear and along with KG, so we dig into the fridge-booze (malt liquor), then bar-booze (jagger shots), and then arrive at a house party. We later drag one of our friends home after he passed out and barfed on a dog. It was exactly like high school except that now we're over 30 and 'should' know better. KG, who is always way ahead of me in terms of life-style and lingo, says "aww man we were so crunked". From context, I assume that means drunk. Yes?
Please forgive just this once.
[rant/]
The songs of an age give voice to the collective. John Lennon's "Imagine" was popular not just because hippies happened to like the 3 or so chords it's comprised of, but because the attitude resonated. Peace, love and happiness almost became real goals for people.
Fast-forward 40 years to the so-called 'Generation-X'. Our John Lennon was Curt Cobain, famous for hymns like, "rape me", album titles like "nevermind", and courageous acts like blowing his brains out with a shotgun. Would it be a stretch to say that this generation was, at best, in some way wounded? Is it a coincidence that in 1999, the inventors of Prozac were inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame? Is it a coincidence that self-mutilation has become fashionable? No. We're the future, and we're doomed.
You balk? Well, America is borrowing from China.
China.
America's most recent financial collapse happens at a time when any TV show or movie with zombies or vampires promises to rank among the top. Real-life zombies like Anna Nicole Smith and the auspicious 'people' showcased on Jerry Springer also capture our imaginations. This human-wreckage called "the American way" isn't just the fringe, either. The middle-class are eating themselves into early graves, divorcing each other at an alarming rate, and yawning under the banner of "excess luxury" while trading their liberties for the illusion of security.
We're born free into a universe we cannot understand, and live for a very short time. Is this how we want to conduct ourselves?
[end rant/]
I'm a, currently having a bit of reverse culture shock. In Korea, the country is moving forward, and in Canada (the 51st state of America, culture-wise), the situation is reversed in many ways. Hence the angst and exasperation.
Which I tried this weekend to fix with booze.
Friday, shortly after arriving in the shwa, KG took me out to a pub for "a drink" and a "quiet night". I wasn't much surprised when, $150 later, we were cut off, but I was surprised that he took issue with some of my life decisions. He hashed things out, cleared the air, and I think we're better friends for it. I know I respect him madly for having the balls to confront me for living a life he couldn't agree with or understand. I've made mistakes, and whereas everybody around me seems willing to ignore them, he seems willing to acknowledge them and accept me, flaws included.
Saturday, another bff and old-flame, both from high school, appear and along with KG, so we dig into the fridge-booze (malt liquor), then bar-booze (jagger shots), and then arrive at a house party. We later drag one of our friends home after he passed out and barfed on a dog. It was exactly like high school except that now we're over 30 and 'should' know better. KG, who is always way ahead of me in terms of life-style and lingo, says "aww man we were so crunked". From context, I assume that means drunk. Yes?
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