Things That Never Bore Me (More Ripping Off Andrew For Blogging Material Edition)
Andrew's list is here
1. Pink Floyd. Specifically, Dark Side of the Moon. The band is on my mind now due to the death of Richard Wright, an original member and pianist. I must have listened to Dark Side of the Moon 300 times, yet each time I get something new out of it. The last lyric of the album is justifiably famous: "Everything under the sun is in tune/and the sun is eclipsed by the moon", yet if you listen carefully, you can hear a man's voice saying something equally poignant: "There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact it's all dark,"
2. Peanut butter
3. Baseball games. Like snowflakes, no two baseball games are alike. And as in all great games, the most important things happen when nothing appears to be happening at all.
4. Chinese characters. It still amazes me that a whole writing system can be depicted in a handful of brush strokes twisted, bent, and arranged in orderly shapes. Truly a remarkable, beautiful written language.
5. Newspapers. You could probably learn as much from reading a 50 cent newspaper than from obtaining a 50,000 dollar university education.
6. Seinfeld episodes.
7. 20th century Chinese history. Century after century of dynasties suddenly screech to a halt. Then: revolution, warlordism, foreign occupation, world war, civil war, revolution (again), purges, famine, revolution (a third time), massacre, and finally some semblance of stability.
8. Tasteless jokes.
9. Avocados (stolen from Andrew, but this is a Californian's right)
10. Trains. These can be maddening, long, stuffy, smoky (particularly in China), and aggravating but never boring and often uplifting.
11. Useless trivia competitions
12. This American Life (on NPR)
13. Christopher Hitchens's columns and essays. I seldom agree with him on politics anymore, but damn. He can write.
14. Big, long, boisterous dinners.
15. Mom's grilled cheese sandwiches.
September 21st, 2008 - 11:58
Gee Matt, I think Mom’s grilled cheese sandwiches could have rated higher! I make them for my kids now when they need some comfort food (except for Abraham who is like me until I was 13 and doesn’t like cheese!)
Love ya! Inga