starting over, blog-wise

well i've decided to create a new blog. not that my livejournal didn't pan out well, but a new set of entries might help stir up, oh i don't know, activity in one form or another. so here it is, brand spankin' new, and this is the first post.

the last book i read was the day of the locust by nathanael west; that was three years ago ***gasp***. it was good, though sadly i don't remember much about it. i tried reading matt's copy of the brothers karamazov but only got through about 300 pages before being sidetracked by god knows what.. probably a season of seinfeld, or a mars volta album. by the way, matt, i owe you a copy of that book, seeing as i still have yours. my favorite books are books i read in high school and early on in college. i'm a slow reader; sometimes i mouth the words. so while i like reading, i rarely do it, and that probably has a hand in it. the fact is reading proficiency (big word considering my vocabulary, um, sucks) improves by reading more often, and i've decided to do just that.

i always bring a book or two or three whenever i travel, and usually open them but rarely read more than a page or two. it's pathetic, i know. right now i'm in china, which i'll write about another time, and the books i've brought with me are dienstags bei morrie (tuesdays with morrie in german) by mitch albom -- as well as a couple german grammar/vocab/phrase books in an attempt to keep up my german speaking capabilities -- 101 countries: discovering the world through fast travel by p.j. parmar, dubliners by james joyce, and the simpsons and philosophy: the d'oh! of homer by about twenty different philosophers each writing a chapter.

i've decided to read both dubliners and the simpsons and philosophy while out here in china and vietnam. so far dubliners is good, though i haven't really gotten into the meat of it. what meat? it's a collection of short stories... but anyway, i like it so far. i read parts of the simpsons book a few years ago. i took an ethics class when i was a sophomore, and this was the required book to purchase. it was actually a super cool class, and i wish i had been awake during it more often. 8am classes are never the right fit for someone who doesn't go to sleep before midnight, and doesn't drink coffee. but the book is solid, so i've decided to read it from cover to cover this time, instead of skipping a chapter here and a chapter there. the first chapter deals with homer's character in regards to aristotle's moral evaluations. i'm only a few pages into it so far, so for now, i'll leave you with a quote from a very wise person. by the way, i'll be gone until the beginning of november, and by then i hope to have finished both these books. if you have a suggestion for my next attempt at mindful self-nourishment, please don't hesitate to give your two cents.

i can't live the button-down life like you. i want it all! the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles! sure, i might offend a few of the blue-noses with my cocky stride and musky odors---oh, i'll never be the darling of the so-called "city fathers" who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about "what's to be done with this homer simpson?"
~ homer simpson