7/26/2006 09:14:00 AM|W|P|amy|W|P|This post is dedicated to Marcus, his 6th ticket in 6 months, and the hope that we can talk some sense into him before it's too late. If he gives Red's monologue in court, I will pay for his ticket: Rehabilitated? Well now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means...I know what you think it means. To me, it's just a made-up word, a politician's word so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?...There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. And not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then. A young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him. Tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone. This old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. 'Rehabilitated?' That's just a made-up word. So you go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time.|W|P|115391991830207769|W|P|Rehabilitated|W|P|orangewalk@gmail.com7/25/2006 01:27:00 PM|W|P|amy|W|P|TO OUR LEADERS OF TOMORROW: The right and left side of the brain are divided by blood. The left side of the brain is for calculation. It comes alive for Mr. Crack and it feeds Mr. Crack. The right side of the brain is for ideational. When the right die of the brain goes dead, you will see a person looking down to the ground looking for a rock. http://www.mrcrack.net/ ************************************** Mr. Crack now parks his van in front of our building. His van looks like a comedic surveillance van, complete with a speaker and American flags. Mr. Crack wants you to buy his book. Otherwise you are supporting terrrorism. I might prefer to support terrorism by buying nothing than supporting Mr. Crack's drug habit by buying his anti-crack book.|W|P|115384889765434021|W|P|CRACK IS THE MASTER|W|P|orangewalk@gmail.com7/21/2006 02:11:00 PM|W|P|amy|W|P|This week I have sought to understand the facelift of poverty. The "wants v needs, luxury v necessity" argument is ubiquitous, and I am not yet armed to fight against Adam Smith and his linen shirt. But I've definitely witnessed a shift in my generation+ as a consumer. The fastfood restaurants my family couldn't afford to patronize growing up are now a staple of the lower class. The thrift stores we frequented out of necessity I now frequent for different reasons, while friends who can't afford to are only buying name brands. Consumerism is the new poverty, and the peace of simple wants seems to be afforded only to the rich. Today I was introduced to Judith Levine's "year without shopping" in a recent Bankrate interview. It definitely caught my attention, but I'm disappointed in how liquid she chose to make the "line between necessity and desire." I guess I was expecting an Amy Dacyczyn-esque approach to bare-minimum living (how many ways can you recycle aluminum foil?). Instead, Ms. Levine eschews Q-tips but includes paid admission to museums in her list of "essentials." Based on her interview and not the book I haven't read, I think she did a very poor job of what she was trying to do ("not buying it"). She allowed herself to be isolated by the contexts of familiar and societal rituals, and worse, she then advocates public policy to overcome the effects of consumer behavior. I'm more interested, though, in her "liquid line" of necessity. Does convincing ourselves that it would be "shameful" to live without our wants turn those wants into needs? Increasingly promoted is the concept of "meaningful living," where luxuries are not "more," but are simply better-quality necessities. Gluttony is mass-produced and sold for pennies to those who prefer to pursue "wants." I'm trying to re-align my values to "want" only for "needs," to do without, to ignore the allure of modern hedonism. Is it fair to be frustrated with the X-Box replacing a work shirt as the possession it would be too shameful to NOT possess?|W|P|115351311031812502|W|P|Consumerism is the New Poverty|W|P|orangewalk@gmail.com7/20/2006 10:04:00 AM|W|P|amy|W|P|

This morning i'm fascinated by the Fish n' Flush. Becca Shim points out:

i guess it's convenient for when you fish die...the toilet's right there.

So many reasons that this is a good idea. So many reasons that it isn't. But I don't think I've ever been inspired by a toilet before. Or challenged. It satisfies my definition of art. Way to go, AquaOne!|W|P|115340487171963978|W|P|a nautical wonderland|W|P|orangewalk@gmail.com