Thinking Hurts, So Don’t Do It

"I'm not like them, but I can pretend.
The sun is gone, but I have a light.
The day is done. I'm having fun.
I think I'm dumb or maybe just happy." Dumb - Nirvana


The pursuit of knowledge may be the biggest sham, or just the only way we can pass the time these days.

KNOWING

How much do we need to know? Does it really get you anywhere?

We will never KNOW where we came from or what happens when we die, so I never ponder such ridiculousness.

In the biblical sense, the apple was knowledge, so one bite for brains brought shame and deportation according to that book. I'm not a fan, but wonder sometimes if we'd be happier being stupid. You know, the whole "ignorance is bliss" thing?

I think I would've been happier NOT knowing some of the things I became aware of, and I think NOT knowing may also have prevented me from doing some less than noble things.

There is such a broad spectrum of knowledge, it's nearly impossible to absorb it all and count yourself brilliant in every way; I've never met anyone that was all encompassing in this area, anyways.

I don't hang with tards, but I don't expect that any of my besties are Rhodes scholars either. I'm certainly not of that sensibility, but I think street smarts and just overall life experience count for something. I used to be a bit of a snob about brains, as I do find them so very attractive, but have loosened my snippy grip in the area that concludes who is in this category in the last few years.

Clearly, I could never sleep with someone that can't spell "the" (oh yeah, I once hung out with someone who got a love poem with "the" misspelled repeatedly in it from a real sweetheart - he got the boot, but at least he was consistent), but then if I'm really drunk, I'm not about to sit someone down for some aptitude testing now am I?

The last time I was really attracted to someone though, we had a brief discussion about Sylvia Plath's PMS on a dance floor as foreplay. Does this make me an elitist?

"I'm stupid, you're smarter
I'm stupid, thinking there's a way
this could turn out right" I'm Stupid - Prime STH

I've yet to meet a nuclear physicist on a dance floor, or anywhere else for that matter. Are really smart people any fun? Or is it all "binary" with them? (Yeah Paul, that's for you. Call me you fuckhead!)

You don't have to be grey matter enhanced to be creative, but the creative types that I hang with are. Possibly not all book smart, but most of them are emotionally savvy, way more than I could ever be.

Maybe I can learn. Maybe that area of knowledge is more important than pronouncing "nuclear" correctly (mispronouncing it makes me cringe, but won't stop you from being president of the U.S., obviously).

Maybe knowing too much of one area throws the other off balance.

Maybe what we perceive as dumb IS actually happy? Does just having the ability to pose that question prevent one from it?


Currently listening :
Stupid Girl
By Garbage
Release date: 1999-01-12

Cherchez Pour L’Emo (Finding Emo) July 24, 2008

I started to write this blog on Bastille Day, but I got hungry and forgot about it. Most Americans could give a shit about Bastille Day (July 14), and I only think of it as a day to engorge oneself in French cuisine.

In NYC there is usually a small outdoor thing going on for Bastille Day. All the Francophiles head down to flex their linguistic muscles, and dolts like me make an appearance just long enough to buy my crepes and run.

Banana crepes with chocolate sauce could only be more awesome if spread across an emaciated, young, rocker boy's hairless chest, but even without the human platter, they rock the 'buds like nothing else.

I have a French surname, as well as French ancestors (duh). I speak, read, and write a decent amount of French, and my favorite food is also FRENCH. I've not been to France, but I've visited French speaking Canada (where my favorite "Scot" in the world lives. I know 6 different Scot/Scotts), and I cringe like a Republican at the threat of Universal Healthcare when I hear the language mispronounced. So yeah, that and the permanently snippy look on my face often gives away this segment of my heritage (we look pissy, but are very warm and friendly, apparently too much so).

I adore French directors (did my thesis on Truffaut for film class), and their products. "Amelie", "The Bride Wore Black", "Un Coeur en Hiver", "Belle De Jour", and "Delicatessen" (brilliantly insane) to name a few.

I thought of these things when I first abandoned this blog, but then weird French stuff kept appearing on my scope, if you will.

One thing was a dream that I was in Provence, where I've never been, and I've never even spoke of. In the dream, I was sporting a gigantic soft taco (not like that) that I had folded in half twice, under my left arm like a portfolio. (I really don't care to know if that means anything - REALLY!)

The following day when I checked my email, there was a Myspace friend request from a band called "Five June" from France. Guess what area? Provence! Freaked my ass out. I kind of dig 'em too; they have that Patti Smith-gets-even-dirtier vibe about them, so I accepted.

France isn't really known for its hot music scene. I mean, in the dance world HELLz yeah - "Daft Punk", "Yelle", "Les Rita Mitsouko", but to my recollection, there's never been a French "Beatles" type of group.

Lots of non-English speaking bands have the quirky thing ("Cibo Matto"), or the dance thing (again "Cibo Matto") but do these countries ever produce bands like "Coldplay," "U2", or "Radiohead"? Meaningful pop music, for lack of better terms.

Does Germany have bands like "Snow Patrol?" Does Italy have its own version of "Death Cab for Cutie"? Or do these countries only generate bands that dress in angry pig costumes, and robot dance to endless computer loops?

Are power chords and piccolo snares not as satisfying as accordions and tubas? Are there any Emo bands in India or China? Are these countries just satisfied with "spectator" status? What is it about the English world that facilitates the above mentioned bands, but is not inherent in the Ukraine?

"Five June" has a garage band sound, so at least that's a step in a different direction from what I have assumed of France. But you know what happens when you assume (oh did I really just type something that lame? Yep).

One band that I really like that sings in English is "Prime STH", who hail from Sweden, which also gave us "PB&J" ("Peter, Bjorn, & John"). Indie rock, but not BIG time pop bands.

If anyone knows of any more, by all means, send them along.

I'm all ears (if only, but then I couldn't type).


Currently listening :
Underneath the Surface
By Prime STH
Release date: 2001-07-10