Haussmanian tune-up

Paris is beautiful. More so than any other place my eyes have seen. The buildings, done in a Haussmanian style, intricately connect with no space in between. The grassed over backyards are long gone once the airplane takes off over the Atlantic. Gone are the swing sets, swimming pools, rose bushes, and cans of rotting waste. Instead are rows of apartments, with not a patch of nature in sight. Nature is secured. If access you desire, find a park. You won't find any greenery here. In fact, you won't find much warmth here, metaphorical or physical.

Thinking time is ample. Beautiful streets, outdoor cafes warmed by heatlamps, and seats by the seine for miles--no, kilometers, afford the thinker the much needed time necessary to finally feel alone. Distanced from how I am accustomed to passing my time, I obviously do things differently here. I talk to new people, I eat different food, and instead of listening to raging music over my Bose speakers I've more recently allowed blues to undress me through a pair of headphones.

Hungry Flytraps and Like-Minded Folks

In 2009, summer begins on June 21st. Fortunately, I am just in time to begin my first summer read. Over the last nine months my thirst for non-academia related texts has reached a pinnacle. I have been overwhelmed with my assigned reading and my pleasure reading is long overdue. In order to get back into the swing, I have decided to do a rereading of an old favorite. That book is Garth Nix's novel Sabriel. This book has been in my collection for years and I unabashedly admit that it may be one of my favorite series. If anything else, it will serve as a warm up for my summer reads.

With summer in mind, I'm trying to decide how to live my summer. I originally planned to hunker down for battle by working full-time and studying for a standardized test. I'm beginning to recognize that while these tasks will take a significant amount of my time, they are not how I hope to recall my 21st summer. For that reason I am living by the motto: Life's too short to not do what you want. I am going to take advantage of opportunities that arise, get excited and get out. And I sincerely hope that you do the same.

Here's to summer.

The Genius of Lil' Wayne

As much as I would love to say that someone like Lil' Wayne is merely a producer of the auditory junk food plaguing music's good name, I admittedly cannot deny that he is a talented individual. Or at least whoever writes his songs is at the top of their game. Yes (ft. Pharrell) by Lil' Wayne, which you can listen to here is upon careful listening full of extremely witty puns. The task of exegisizing rap may not be as respected as considering Melville or Marx, but it's integral in proving my point.

Let's examine the following lyrics:


"Yes I make money I'm a paper machine
And you can catch me in the newest not the latest machine
Now weezy why you drive so fast? because I’m chasin’ the dream
And when I catch that motherfucker ima rape it and leave"


Aside from rhyming "machine" with "machine"-which in any traditional sense is a huge literary offense-there's a lot to unpack from this rhyme. The first pun comes from his admission that Lil' Wayne drives the newest, not the latest machine. In the traditional sense of referring to one's wealth, it's important to have the latest Mercedes Benz, iPhone, etc. However, if something is "the latest" that is to imply that it's already old and something new is already just around the bend.

In reference to the speed at which Lil' Wayne drives his expensive automobiles, he states that he drives so fast because he's chasing the dream. Which dream is Lil' Wayne chasing? My assumption would be that he is chasing the American Dream, the same dream presented by countless demagogues and even in great 20th century American literature, namely The Great Gatsby. To liken the speed of his chase of the American dream to the speed at which he drives his expensive (most likely European) vehicle is incredibly witty! Lil' Wayne is condoning speeding and breaking countless state speed limits, but to put an American ideology into actual use--to convince his listeners that if you only try and move faster that they'll be able to achieve that dream--well, it's amazing.

One more quote to consider:

"Type of nigga go and get his hood cross his abdominal
you could check my watch I been rich a long time ago"

I have kept the rhyme intact, but it's only the second half that I will be considering. In short, this line acts similarly to the previously lyrics I have analyzed. The idea that a watch, a unit through which one can measure the twenty-four hours of a calendar day (sometimes coupled with a back-light and date feature) can be employed to track when someone gains their wealth is an interesting notion. However, in this instance Lil' Wayne probably has an outrageously priced Rolex (notes the above photo), which he can use to check the time. If we follow through with this assumption, the time he acquired the Rolex likely corroborates with when he began to make his stacks, which in turn you tell us how long Lil' Wayne has been rich.

Wow...

Things I hate

In this day and age with so many things begging for our opinion, it is impossible to love everything. In fact, if you say you love everything you will inevitably be lying. It's impossible to love everything.

Today I will focus on the foods that I hate. Oddly enough, all of them are white and of a similar consistency.

Things I Hate

1. Mayonnaise
2. Cottage Cheese
   
3. Sour Cream
4. Whipped Cream

Why I Hate
All of these foods (if you can honestly refer to them as such) are disgusting. They have a negligible amount of flavor, and what they lack in flavor they more than make up for in repulsive texture. Think about what's inside of that bloated pimple or that slug brimming with its gooey slime. Now multiply your level of disgust times five and you'll be able to comprehend the degree to which these vile substances make my stomach churn.

If it's white, it's not going in my mouth. And yes, that is what she said.