Filed under: worldview
augusten burroughs’ life is so surcharged with meaning, it makes me imagine a life so full, it burst like an overripe nectarine.
these are stories told on a wall, more like graffitti than a mural: utterly shameless, painstakingly compulsive and downright hysterical. but like his other book containing memories from his sober intervals, his humor is dry. as in dry wit. the kind that makes me think of an angst-ridden house, m.d.
so i get to thinking how so many uncommon things could happen to just one person. who gets to be taken in by his mother’s crackpot shrink then later in life happens to hire the housekeeper from the underworld (among many other fantastic incidents)? maybe god hurled all these vibrant experiences towards augusten burroughs because he knew burroughs would make them look hilarious in several bestselling books (one of which was even adapted into a movie).
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so what does magical thinking mean anyway?
if i may put it over-simply, it is the belief in the interconnectedness of all things and forces. to use psychological jargon, we might say it is causal reasoning, though it does not rely on science. this may involve the universal belief in superstition, karma and amulets, as well as the personal belief in lucky charms/odd practices significant only to their particular bearers (like american idol 6’s gina glocksen’s small plush lizard(?) or that korean dude’s barefoot audition and performance).
burroughs recounts the correlation between thinking and happening. that is, you can make something actually happen by willing hard enough for it to happen. around this theme revolves one of his most barefaced stories: he “magically thought” of death coming to his overbearing ex-boss. and she did die in a freak accident.
which makes me go back to some of the audaciously unkind things i have conjured in my head through these years, all of which have happened one way or another. the most remarkable of them having only occurred last year when this pompous, fraudulent sales manager put out libelous stories about me in an effort to ruin my career. i refused to retaliate, but i thought hard enough for him to suddenly get a heart attack. which he did.
and those spoiled brats, sheltered devils would rather complain to high heavens about the flood and heavy traffic in their gleaming suv’s as they watch insipid videos in their built-in dvd players/play mindless games on their psp/listen to their ubiquitous ipods, their flaring tempers thawing the frigid atmosphere, their rumps warming the cold seats, a complete contradiction from the wet, chilly, mottled scenes passing by their reinforced windshields.
and quentin tarantino, world-famous writer-director, one of the best-respected persons in america, a-list hollywood celebrity would rather (in his barong tagalog) step out of the limousine, take a pedicab across the flood, and wade through the street-water in his sandals on his way to meet the president in malacanang. then he would get out of his rain-drenched dress slacks to change into jogging pants (still in his barong tagalog), kick off his soggy sandals (because they’re not allowed in the palace) and wear ill-fitting leather shoes instead.
and he says, “it was a lot of fun. it’s the way it is, i guess. it was wild… no worries. i’ve done more serious things than that.”
read all about it: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/08/15/898256-tarantino-takes-pedicab-in-manila-floods
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=82904
complainers, you ought to be ashamed.
Filed under: lifestyle
…here’s one that doesn’t look ridiculous, but pricey enough to make all the dead anchorites turn in their graves.
the most expensive bag in the world: the chanel “diamond forever” handbag retails at $261,000.00
now let’s see, if i had Php12,000,000.00, would i buy this rare handbag (of which only 13 are in existence the world over), or would i buy a fully furnished loft in a prime location and an SUV? hmmmm….
decisions, decisions… retail decisions…
the louis vuitton tribute patchwork bag retails at $45,000.00
the nicolas ghesquiere for balenciaga retails at $4175.00
would you buy these items even if you had the money? looks like the price you pay for status goes beyond the tag. you also pay with sheer mettle.
what i think? no one, but no one, can get away with toting and wearing these oddities. not even if you were the queen of sheba.
Filed under: thinking
when bored, go deep in thought. when deep in thought, rediscover.
i have rediscovered my love for magical realism (the genre (in whatever art form: literature or visual art) where magical elements appear in realistic settings). for a long time, all this appetite for things enchanting and dreamy and exquisite has been suppressed by matters superficial and non-essential (you know, like work).
this is michael parkes’ gargoyles
it shows a child discovering magic for the first time.
anyway, getting up yesterday was more unique than most days this past two years. although it still was a sorry wakefulness with vague memories of unfamiliar dreams, the willingness to get up was stronger, though not remarkably, than usual. this a feat because i am given to ardent reluctance when it comes to peeling myself away from smooth blankets and downy pillows. really though, it’s not the bed but the actual sleep itself which i am very sad to leave behind. could this be a form of escapism?
today brought in the same kind of waking. a quick flurry of the sheets, with bleary eyes and semi-sleepwalk stupor, i found my way into the shower within seconds. only the shot of cold tap made me realize that i was truly awake.
i figure this is because i am again reading the kind of literature that i am purposefully inclined towards (i have committed the business and OD books for termites to feast on). that is, i have found (or re-found, if there’s such a word) another form of escape aside from sleep.
my life again is going to be a story of vicarious pleasures. should i be worried about my perception of reality soon? but at least this beats the hell out of sleeping all the time.
