1. I recently finished a book called, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer. If you're not familiar with this particular author, you might be familiar with the movie, "Everything Is Illuminated", which was originally a novel by Mr. Foer, himself. Anyway. I'm not gonna give a review of the book because I'm not in the mood for prying my brain to find big, fancy adjectives. But I do want to insert a small excerpt of the book in case any of you (whoever "you" might be; and I appreciate you being you and for reading my blog too) find yourself interested in taking a few days to read it.
The quote I am about to share isn't particularly the most pivotal or profound moment in the book; actually it's not really a moment at all; rather, it's a brief thought and tangent coming from the book's primary protagonist, Oskar Schell. I believe this little tangent attests to Mr. Foer's ingenuous ability to capture and stage the sacredness and beauty of life, and more importantly, life lived (subtle review). Now, I could have probably found better moments in the book to share, but this is the first one I came across, and personally, I hate searching aimlessly for good quotes. So anyway. Here it is.
"I invented a book that listed every word in every language. It wouldn't be a very useful book, but you could hold it and know that everything you could possibly say was in your hands."
I don't know why this quote impacted me so greatly, but it did. I suppose that if I were to actually hold that book in my arms, and against my chest, I would feel so close to humanity; I would feel as if though I held a great key that could unlock everything, and not just language barriers, but everything. I don't know why I think that.
2. I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what makes a man, "a man". But perhaps more on that later.
3. I got seasick today while out on a boat, fishing. Well, I actually didn't do any fishing; the sudden and violent urge to puke beat me to it, and then, I was a goner. 4 hours of watery hell. This saddens me. I love the idea of a marine lifestyle, but I guess the idea doesn't like me. Why? I feel like my soul is drawn to the ocean. I feel like deep down inside I am meant to be a sailor.
4. I also feel that deep down inside I am meant to be a blues singer.
5. I wish I was a painter too.
6. I decided I am going to write down small goals in my journal that will make my life more fulfilling. Goal number 1: Listen to the different heartbeats of 20 strangers, and know that they are alive. Maybe 20 is too many. But I want to listen to the heartbeats of a variety of people and ages. I think it would be somewhat life-altering to listen closely to the heartbeat of a newborn child and then the heartbeat of a very old man soon after, and note the differences.
7. I am sad the Olympics are over. I don't want to wait another four years for the summer olympics. I am pretty much set, however, on being in London for the next one. You'll see, I'll be there. I mean, I won't be competing or anything like that; but I'll be there.
8. I have decided, for the time being, that I am going to replace my habit of saying, "dude", with, "mate".
2 comments:
haha nice post. I'm sad the olympics are over as well...shoot. You can listen to my heartbeat anytime. Where were you this sunday?
i like this post, john.
you write beautifully.
see you soon!!!
boba??
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