2001-03-23 - 3:38

Borrow someone's heart for just an hour

I had to pop over to the mall today to pick up my plane ticket (what with my flight being tomorrow). Inevitably, I popped into HMV and walked out with some more tunage. The new Sepultura seems quite solid, although I've only given it one listen.

What really hooked me was The (International) Noise Conspiracy and their release Survival Sickness. In lieu of lyrics, the liner notes contain an essay for each track, providing "a more full spectrum of the ideas behind the song." Very interesting stuff, although the presentation would have benefited from some proofreading. Maybe editors are part of the neo-liberal bourgeoisie?

Oh, did I mention that the band is Marxist? Their home page quotes Phil Ochs that "the perfect rock outfit would be a combination of Elvis and Che Guevara." I can't say that I'm Communist . . . any system founded on the assumption that people are equal, I find sketchy. However, I do like the anti-consumerism stance found in the essays.

I'm definitely down with the idea that it's stupid to kill yourself to live, slaving at a job you don't like, in pursuit of material goods and excess that you've been told to want. That message ties really well with some ideas that Rollins was examining on his current tour. If you stoically shoulder the load and try to just survive an existence that you don't enjoy, with no control and no challenge, life is long.

I still think that I should push Liam on my idea for a pact: in five years (we pick some date), we both quit whatever we're doing and hit the jungle. Okay, so that's not so likely. But I'm definitely keen on mixing it up, seeing new places, and avoiding complacency. Remind me of this mood when I'm feeling less ambitious, okay?

Speaking of the jungle, Aaron, Loralei, Nick, and I caught the Imax movie Amazon tonight in Hull. Very cool. That was actually the first Imax movie that I've seen, even though Halifax got its own theatre a few years ago.

After that, we hit the casino. When I first got into going to the casino (early 1999), it became somewhat of a habit. Partly in response to that fact, I haven't been to one since November 1999. To clarify, I was actually up money lifetime, so that wasn't the issue; I just thought that I should chill.

Anyway, tonight I was back at the blackjack and I had one of my two best nights ever. Even after covering some losses made elsewhere and tipping the dealer rather well, I still paid for this upcoming trip to San Francisco. Sweet!

Oh yeah, the trip . . . what can I say? I'm psyched. I think that we're doing the Alcatraz tour Saturday; I plan to meet Mandeep on Sunday; and Monday, Nick Cave is gonna rock it to the Maxwell House. Life is good.

(My next entry probably won't come until Tuesday, by the way; but you can bet that I'll be having fun.)

J.