Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Inventions by Matt

Over the course of life, somewhere along this crazy journey, people find society and innovators across the expanse of time before us that have made provisions for an easier life.

Roads, laws, grocery stores, etc.

I don't know if its the booze, the drinking, the whiskey, or general stupidity on my part, but several things pop up in my life as completely obvious needs in society and, as it were, no one has invented them yet.

Take for instance the other day, I was leaving for Wednesday night drink and draw (at a time when it wasn't regularly hosted at 2171) and I had sketchbooks, pencils, pens, drinks, etc. Now, the not that the ten feet of walking required to get to my car was really excruciating, but I was like "JESUS CHRIST why can't I just make one trip!? There should be some device that makes it possible for me to carry many things of varying shapes at once, some sort of bundle of cloth or -- oh....."

Yes, that day, I invented "the bag"

What about my next brilliant idea, you ask? Ok. Here it goes.

I was SICK. I was MISERABLE. I had tons of work to do the next day, and I had this icky grossness about me but no real motivation to go to Pri-Med. I think to myself, "you know, it would be great if there was some middle ground here. Why do I have to sit around and feel shit-tastic OR go to Pri-Med?? Why, society, have you let me down?? Why can't I just go to the store, by some sort of "mid-range mild version of what they give me at Pri-Med" and be done with this vile feeling that is not really sickness?"

World, meet invention #2: NYQUIL. (or, in general, over the counter medication.)

I'm an idiot, I've drown myself into an alien existence, I see this world as though I were a creature from another place, like a goddam martian.

Third and final invention for this post, just this week. For ages, I've been plagued with awful sleep. I've had trouble getting to work on time, total fatigue all the time. I've had sirens and blasts of sound and light from hell to shock me out of bed, many times to little or no avail. I'm almost certain there will be a blogpost from Neal concerning that very thing shortly. It's a very 'chilling' tale (for those of you that know the story, that's the corniest shit I could have said, right?).

ANYWAY, I shouted to the heavens, the fates, society and government at large - yet again - for not TAKING CARE OF ME! "Why, WHY, can I not have just TWO more hours of sleep a night?? I could wake up, go to get some food, enjoy the day a bit before work! I'm a morning person, world!! Wh-whhwhyhwyhwhyyyyyyyyyy *vomit* " (This rant happens while I'm crying and intoxicated, I guess.)

So.....yeah. My crowning achievement: BEDTIMES. I've gone to sleep somewhere before 11 everynight this week, sometimes drunk, even....and I've woken up before my alarm every day. I have actual seratonin pumping through my brain, I feel like laughing for no reason, I'm so deprived of this precious commodity you "sleeping people" have. I went to BREAKFAST this morning, drank coffee, listened to Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (thanks Neal). I even just sat still and had idle thoughts. Before noon.

No discredit to my wonderful mother, but you'd swear I grew up feral, or raised by wolves and set upon this earth with a raw piece of meat hanging from my jowls and a loin cloth made from the scalps of my prey, only to learn that there is a such thing as 'civilization' waiting for me over the horizon of some vast desert in which I've been scraping around for decades.

In closing, this quote Jonathan shared with me earlier, while enigmatic and stupid, is also quite poignant.

"... as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."
- Colin Powell, before the Iraq War
(unfortunately, true)

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Collin Powell is a genius. He is my hero.

Shane N. said...

What is "unfortunately, true" about Colin's statement? I think it is a very honest assessment, and I hope the editorial tag was in regards to the what we are not aware we aren't aware of...hehhehe...and not against Colin...

Unknown said...

'Unfortunately true' was not in the least bit geared toward Colin Powell, but rather the fact that HE said it. The fact that such an enigmatic statement was made to the world at large as an explanation for a drastic political decision. It's a ridiculous thing to say to laypersons.

The kind of explanation lawyers appreciate, Shane. No wonder you're all about it. It only took you thirty seconds less to figure it out than it did the rest of the world. I'm sure some journalist somewhere is still trying to figure out what the hell he said.

Unknown said...

Maybe he should be the next Riddler in the new Batman.

Shane N. said...

We know thing. We know we know things. We dont knwo things. We know we don't know thing. We also don't know that we don't know things.

Yeah, that came across simple, didn't it.

What better way would you have said it? Or are you against the fact that it was said?

Ambiguity can be seen as something artists appreciate as well. "Why yes, I can see that..."

Everyone's a whore for money somehow...don't attack the lawyers just because of the verbal end arounds...

Unknown said...

I think that Powells comment made more sense than some lawyers language.

Unknown said...

I would never be so high and mighty as to insult a choice of profession, even if the nature of it is a little tiresome for a small-mind like my own. No, I couldn't have said it better. I would have said "look! up there! what IS that????" and ran of stage after everyone turned around.

Unknown said...

I understand that the understandings of individuals are all well known to be misunderstood, and the unknowns well known to be falsely understood.

Unknown said...

Look what you fucking did, Shane, you broke Jonathan. sigh

Unknown said...

I am not broke as I once new I was unbroke, but understood this as an unknown, thusly I knew it to be a known and understood it as fact.

Unknown said...

alright, that's it. no more comments from me, I can't properly deal with this sober. This post degenerated into a white-noise slur of Jonathan and Shane's brains, and for that, wider-internet world, I apologize.

As for you, Shane, just...dammit.

Jonathan, if you're still in there and coherent, don't die. At least not until tonight after you bring liquor.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was Rumsfeld that talked about "the unknowns".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq5mQLArjmo&feature=related

Well it really doesn't matter. I am just impressed you invented a bag!