All I Want For Christmas

I do want my two front teeth but I'll be losing four wise ones. But no, all I want for Christmas is, for the trip to be safe, but mainly just really fun; for my weekend of teeth-removal-recovery to be filled with box-sets, T-3’s and jello; to have reunions with friends over coffee, but preferably wine; to skate around the rink with the ladies and the boy; to watch the fire log on TV on Christmas morning and Home Alone with my bro on Christmas afternoon. I want a full memory card of pictures and videos. I want to run into everyone at buck’s…even though really I'll pretend to hate that.

December 1st is upon us.

Twain-ed

"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen..."

True? "Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it"

Or False? "Fiction is obligied to stick to possibilities. Truth isnt"

Unknown...

The Truth

"The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain." Ursula K. Le Guin.

This quote is from The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, a short story I had to read for class last semester. Probably the best short story I've ever encountered, Le Guin discusses the indiscernible parallels between utopian and dystopian societies. Something that is not as far from our current political discussions as it initially appears.

The quote is so close to the truth for me. There is a real appreciation for that which hurts. That which plays on our tragic realities. That which incites thought provoking melancholy. And I’m over it. Optimism may yield unrealistic results, but it’s much sweeter then peering through our present looking glass. I only wish that I had been introduced to this quote when I was in high school. The hours spent dissecting lyrics and the days spent capitalizing on what ifs could have been so much more productive.

Tech No Logic

The advancement of technology has become a re-occurring conversation as of late. And the idea of eventually being too old to "get it" has come up numerously. The thought of technologies evolution in our grandparent’s lives and even the evolution in our parent’s lives is ridiculous. My mom was quick to point out her move from the black and white to the colour TV, the toaster oven to the microwave, the gymnasium sized computer to the macbook. It's a tad overwhelming to think of.

A day before I came back to Toronto, I spent the afternoon with my 86-year-old Grandpa. He wanted me to add some contacts into his e-mail address book and then, teach him how to send one. I carefully went through each step and made sure to write it down for reference. After I had left, I attempted to remember the first time I learned to e-mail someone. But I couldn’t. My Grandpa is an intelligent man. But the concept of the internet is still relatively foreign to him. The idea that our futuristic selves may (will) be in-able to comprehend a technology so prevalent within our society leaves a lot to the imagination. If we have Iphone’s and Crackberry’s now, what will our cell phones look like when were 40?

On my plane ride back to Toronto, a man beside me had a lot of opinions to offer. If he could predict the future our cell phones would merely be chips implanted beneath our scalp. Using our thoughts to decide whether or not we wanted to answer. Using our thoughts instead of our mouth to even talk. He amusingly acted out a fake convo with his wife, pretending his brain was magically doing all the work. As she rolled her eyes at the spectacle beside her, she quipped,” relying on the thought process would effectively end every male’s ability to carry a conversation." Her words, not mine.

So This Is The New Year

Good-bye presidential elections. Good-bye Mr. President! Good-bye pregnant man*, Paul Newman, Playgirl and pit-bull Palin. So long high gas prices and disheartening headlines. So long harrowing temperatures and hipsters. So long Heath Ledger.

While 2008 soared high for probably one month too many, the falls felt internationally permeated through the fourth quarter and I’m looking forward to the change. It’s a new year, a clean slate and a reinvention for many. I’m a bit weary of resolutions. There tendency to disappoint or more appropriately disappear has always been my most reliable promise.

But this year looks different. The list is much shorter, though not necessarily sweeter. Filled with valuable realities as opposed too un-achievable fantasies. And if maintained could make for the most rewarding, if not productive, year yet.**

Happy 2009!

*He's at it again, stay tuned for the second baby later this year.
** Yes, I’m acutely aware of my breif twenty years here on earth...thanks.