Archive of May 2003
Casually discarded clothing
It’s one of the weirder features of urban life: from time to time one will spot discarded clothing in the oddest places. (Actually, for all I know this happens just as regularly in suburban or small town and rural settings as well. I’ve only done enough wandering to spot the stray clothing items while living in cities.) I’ve run into this sort of thing in both Chicago before and now in Seattle. It’s pretty surreal. Case in point: this morning on my way to work I spotted a pair of men’s underwear (black, in trendy “boxer brief” style, size XXXL) draped over the median of Interstate 90, just at the entrance to the Mount Baker tunnel. The other day, there was a pair of blue jeans, and what looked to be a woman’s athletic shoes and pair of socks, all wadded up in the alley in back of my building.
It’s hard to come across these discoveries without imagining some sort of oddly-timed, al fresco nudity taking place. Now, while I support my friends and neighbors in their impromptu efforts to get pantsless, the really weird part is - how did they get home, without any pants on? Something doesn’t add up.
16:08 | 0 CommentsMetastatic ironing
Kieran Healy posted a pretty good joke today:
Jean Baudrillard (Apologetic): I’m sorry I’m so late for dinner, dear, I got stuck at the office. Have I missed everything?
Mrs Baudrillard (Annoyed): Welcome to the dessert of the meal.
Kieran put this under the title “Second Lowest Form of Wit”. Now, I always thought puns were the very lowest form of wit, but some Googling for “lowest form of wit” reveals that the idea that sarcasm is the low-wittage champion seems to be gaining currency. Of course, Baudrillard himself relies on a good deal of both punning and sarcasm in his work. I suspect there may be more to Mr. Healy’s post than meets the eye.
16:08 | 0 CommentsMe, I liked The Matrix Reloaded. Daragh Sankey did not. Although he hasn’t convinced me not to like it, I like Daragh’s reasons better than mine.
17:08 | 0 Comments