A trip to the grocery store yesterday afternoon. It was grim, sad, a bit creepy. My friend and I soldiered on, masked, gloved, gathering necessary supplies. You could feel the "fear" in the air. Nearly everyone on the street and in the store were masked and gloved too. Plastic shields were erected at the cashier stations. Most of the visual cues, medical masks, surgical gloves evoked concern, fear, folks seeking protection from an invisible menace.
The streets were pretty quiet. Not a lot of folks out and about.
I kept thinking of that great Larry McMurtry title, his first novel, "All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers." So appropriate for the day.
I also flashed on Hunter S. Thompson's title, "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas," but this one could be updated: "Fear & Loathing in Chicago, Detroit, Teheran, Mumbai, Tokyo, L.A. New York, etc." I mean fear and loathing in any city big or small where folks congregate.
Also I flash on Jean Paul Sartre and his great insight in "Nausea," - "Hell is Other People." Unfortunately, that seems apt for our present circumstances. The menace underlies every conversation, every embrace, every human encounter. Family, Friends and Foes are all now equally risky.
Also I flash on Jean Paul Sartre and his great insight in "Nausea," - "Hell is Other People." Unfortunately, that seems apt for our present circumstances. The menace underlies every conversation, every embrace, every human encounter. Family, Friends and Foes are all now equally risky.
I just ordered up some new books to read, Albert Camus' "The Plague," (never read it), and "The Stranger." I have read "The Stranger," long ago in my young, rebellious teenage years, a time when when I was mad at the world, and rebelling against pretty much everything in it. Youth. It's a funny thing. I think revisiting Camus is in order. We are all Existentialists now.
We made it home. The bleakness and fear kind of hung over us like a black cloud. It's gonna be a slog. We need to find some projects and distractions to keep our heads in the game. I have a feeling this is gonna be a long game...
The a.m. soundtrack - Portishead's "Dummy." (1994). Stunning. Sultry. Super-cool. Chill. Sexy. Trippy. From the first notes you know you are hearing something new, something unique. A knockout record. Still sounds totally fresh this morning. Another record that brings pure joy. Perfectly realized music. Incorporates sampling, scratching, loops, but relies on gorgeous lead vocals from Beth Gibbons. A tremendous debut record. Unmatched.
The a.m. soundtrack - Portishead's "Dummy." (1994). Stunning. Sultry. Super-cool. Chill. Sexy. Trippy. From the first notes you know you are hearing something new, something unique. A knockout record. Still sounds totally fresh this morning. Another record that brings pure joy. Perfectly realized music. Incorporates sampling, scratching, loops, but relies on gorgeous lead vocals from Beth Gibbons. A tremendous debut record. Unmatched.
