To the Order of Night

Slaughterhouse 90201 is one of my favorite new blogs, which is saying something, since I am loathe to add blogs to my daily perusal list. I've been trying to pick up books again, and these finely paired quotes and shows help me on my way. There's an unmatched greatness to being able to say exactly what you want to say in a novel, succinct and readable way. Even though I watch way more (trash) TV these days, I still don't recognize most of these shows. It's worth it to keep scrolling and 'next-ing' until I find one I understand and appreciate. Then I end up googling the book and then probably adding it to my Goodreads to-read list.

Another blog I fell upon today is this one. Dunno who the dude is, just a young guy with brainy and somewhat cynical posts. This post of his berating work-eschewers resonated with me because of his last remark. "Let's be frank: life is defined by how much you do, how often you took the difficult road and were rewarded for it. It is not, and will never be, improved by how much you avoid and scheme and congratulate." Doing isn't the issue for me, it's deciding what to do that leaves me stumped.

Been watching a lot of dance lately. On MTV's America's Best Dance Crew, the Olympics Ice Dancing, at the AFED art auction, and this local video:


Which is odd for me, as I've never been into that type of performance. I'm don't listen to hip-hop/R&B/rap, and nor do I particularly enjoy the times that I hear it on the radio at the store or in a friend's car. Their music videos have always struck me as oversexed and overly glamorous. Plus, the whole cultural hipness factor bothers me; telling the world that you are so cool seems so directly stupid. Subtlety and humility go a long way. Anyways, it may be that my criticisms stem from a personal lack of coordination and knowledge of how to express myself through body movement. The golden years for that were at the end of college and pre-B; my gang and I would go out multiple times a week to whatever bar off Red River was the current place to be and dance all night long. Not that I was any good, but the free-flowing alcohol and crowds of sweaty bodies that gave me a buffer of anonymity loosened me up. My girl friends were much better dancers, as they probably practiced moves in front of floor-length mirrors growing up. I did no such thing, as the sight of my body and of it trying to move scared the heck out of me. It still does, which makes me marvel all the more at people who move gracefully and skillfully (ballet, figure skating, modern dance), or explosively and in sync (street dance, hip-hop, jazz). I see that it takes so much talent and a certain spark, when I look past my feelings about its cultural or artistic connotations.

Another RyanHoliday post of note, entitled "Imaginary Audience," relevant to social media. I have this tenuous, uncomfortable relationship with Twitter, and I haven't quite decided how I feel about using it yet. NOTE: I like to post things that are personally fun and challenging to think about. I don't agree with all of this guy's views (i.e. other posts), and I don't have an opinion about everything he says. Silence doesn't necessarily imply assent. Sorry for any confusion.