Alas, it seems my blog is finally getting some attention. I'd love to think it's all thanks to my wit and charm, but interestingly, something even better may be at play here. I think Americans are FINALLY beginning to understand that korporate Murka does not in fact have their best interests at heart. It's beyond tragic that it took a whiplash of a recession that tossed them and their families out into the street and onto food stamps for them to finally get it. But perhaps waiting until the situation is ridiculously dire is more a human trait than a purely Murkan one.
Myself? I don't really consider myself a real citizen of this inscrutable country. I was born here, yes, but hardly stayed long enough to become a korporate drone. My family whisked me off to the fertile fields of Italia when I was all of 12 years old. And what did I learn there? I learned that it's ok to be human. Really! It's alright! It's perfectly fine to have friends old and young, to have an impossibly long meal while chatting with said amici and to have something in your life besides the j.o.b., not to mention my now incredibly refined palate and knowledge of fine wines. Ha! ;) At any rate, that's what living is to me. I want to be gloriously human and spectacularly flawed, like an included gemstone. I want to do more than sit in a stale old office, cowering under and answering to 'The Man.'
Though I have little in common with Murkans, aside from my fellow San Franciscans who also enjoy the gastronomical delights, I do want them to find a lasting happiness with a touch of the authentic. Otherwise, why bother living at all? To them, I highly recommend Henry Miller's 'The Air-Conditioned Nightmare.' In it, they will discover what was and still is wrong with this country. In fact, I have a theory that his books were banned in his time not due to the erotic content (which was sometimes considerable) but because he dared criticize the home of the brave. I don't see it that way at all. I think if you're at all patriotic, you will be willing to figure out what is undesirable in your beloved homeland if you truly do care for it and its people. Henry was one such deeply patriotic and respectful individual. Listen to him! What he has to say is still very much relevant. Forgo a trip to the mall, and read that book! Or just about any book, for that matter...
And as for me again, I may just use my Canadian citizenship at some point, because I still find Murka a tad too korporate for my delicate palate to tolerate. Hmm... it tastes a bit acrid, like... printer toner! I hear my fellow Canucks also know how to live it up. They are the loft party, folks! Perhaps some day, America will be the groovy basement party. Somehow I doubt it, as CEO worship is still very much a pandemic here. I remain stuck for the moment, as I still owe Uncle Sam a ridiculous sum in taxes from my toxic permatemp stint at Crapple. My family is also here and I just can't abandon them to a hostile korporate continent. Un giorno, amici miei, un giorno...
Some music for the soul...
I also highly recommend Henry Miller's essay 'The Staff of Life,' if you think I may be on to something where his criticisms of the US are concerned. Find it here.
"Earning a living has nothing to do with living."
- Henry Miller
Myself? I don't really consider myself a real citizen of this inscrutable country. I was born here, yes, but hardly stayed long enough to become a korporate drone. My family whisked me off to the fertile fields of Italia when I was all of 12 years old. And what did I learn there? I learned that it's ok to be human. Really! It's alright! It's perfectly fine to have friends old and young, to have an impossibly long meal while chatting with said amici and to have something in your life besides the j.o.b., not to mention my now incredibly refined palate and knowledge of fine wines. Ha! ;) At any rate, that's what living is to me. I want to be gloriously human and spectacularly flawed, like an included gemstone. I want to do more than sit in a stale old office, cowering under and answering to 'The Man.'
Though I have little in common with Murkans, aside from my fellow San Franciscans who also enjoy the gastronomical delights, I do want them to find a lasting happiness with a touch of the authentic. Otherwise, why bother living at all? To them, I highly recommend Henry Miller's 'The Air-Conditioned Nightmare.' In it, they will discover what was and still is wrong with this country. In fact, I have a theory that his books were banned in his time not due to the erotic content (which was sometimes considerable) but because he dared criticize the home of the brave. I don't see it that way at all. I think if you're at all patriotic, you will be willing to figure out what is undesirable in your beloved homeland if you truly do care for it and its people. Henry was one such deeply patriotic and respectful individual. Listen to him! What he has to say is still very much relevant. Forgo a trip to the mall, and read that book! Or just about any book, for that matter...
And as for me again, I may just use my Canadian citizenship at some point, because I still find Murka a tad too korporate for my delicate palate to tolerate. Hmm... it tastes a bit acrid, like... printer toner! I hear my fellow Canucks also know how to live it up. They are the loft party, folks! Perhaps some day, America will be the groovy basement party. Somehow I doubt it, as CEO worship is still very much a pandemic here. I remain stuck for the moment, as I still owe Uncle Sam a ridiculous sum in taxes from my toxic permatemp stint at Crapple. My family is also here and I just can't abandon them to a hostile korporate continent. Un giorno, amici miei, un giorno...
Some music for the soul...
I also highly recommend Henry Miller's essay 'The Staff of Life,' if you think I may be on to something where his criticisms of the US are concerned. Find it here.
"Earning a living has nothing to do with living."
- Henry Miller
