Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A Wave of Impetuous Youth

 There is something to be said about youtube.com.  Yes, there is a lot of crap on it but you don't need to watch the crap. On the other hand, it is an almost endless source of amusement and entertainment if you are so inclined.  Who would ever put together Jimmy Buffett, "Hill Street Blues" and David Foster Wallace in one shift?  But you can!  And you should!

In my past youthful days, I attended many Jimmy Buffett concerts.  Sometimes a great amount of wine was consumed.  Sometimes I was forced to put my hands over my head in the shape of fins, to the left, fins to the right.... and I always had a great time. His concerts are all about having fun and laughing and consuming some kind of alcohol.  So watching videos of his concerts online brings back some of those days.  Not the youth, that's pretty much gone, but at least the smiles return.  I can easily blame that on a sleeper wave of past impetuous youth.

And David Foster Wallace: if you haven't watched it, you should definitely take the time and check out his address to Kenyon College in 2005.  "This is Water."  Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI
It's about 20 minutes long and you should try and watch it all in one sitting.  See if it doesn't change your perspective about so many things, every day things, how you think, how you wait, how much patience you have, why you think what you do.  It's great and profound and simple, all at the same time. 

Jimmy, Hill Street and David Foster Wallace.  All have meaning and yet the meaning is in the eyes of the viewer. The meaning is always in the eyes of the viewer, no matter what it is. The power to make meaning of anything is always ours.

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