I had a headache all day yesterday. Coffee withdrawal. I was tempted to drink a half a cup of coffee to get rid of the headache but instead I persevered. Normally half a week after I stop drinking alcohol I get a few days of elation and energy. Not this time. Stopping the coffee has counter-acted any benefit I might have hoped to have gained. If there are any toxins getting released then they are getting released from the nerdy fat cells in my body rather than the cool psychedelic ones.
I was just listening to a vaguely liberal news radio program about the "dark side of the internet" and the ways in which law enforcement agencies are using sites like Facebook and Twitter to perform their legal evils and secret invasions. But the people speaking on the radio discussed how people who had once been for freedom of speech are beginning to turn against that position based on some of the "extreme deviance" found on the internet, both legal and otherwise. It's a funny thing, that they are against censorship mostly because they believe their ideas have value, but when confronted with the genuine weirdness of others they shrink from the task, and their position quickly recedes.
Their stance was oddly based on the extreme anonymity of the internet. Meaning: it might be okay to be a little bit weird, as long as we all know who you are. If you cross the line of "a little bit weird" then we definitely want to know who you are. It will be interesting to see how America deals with this in the coming years. They've done such a good job with all of the other liberties guaranteed protection under the Constitution, like the 4th amendment.
"What, me worry?"
My buddy over at selavy is mad at me. In an email he has said: "You're an asshole, by the way. I don't think I said anything bad about you. I don't know how anyone can stand you. You'd better be glad that I'm a fuck up and can't afford to hold a grudge."
I'm not at all sure what he's talking about. He's an artist so I have more tolerance for him than I would for others. He has done some amazing photography and you should check out today's post. It is beautiful and I will one day try to get a print of this one from him, along with a few others.
I'm sure that this latest outburst is just a lingering menstrual seizure. Still, through the apoplectic confusion he produces things of genuine beauty, so my tolerance for him goes on. He is currently working on a new abbreviated form of Gonzophobia.
No, I kid. He is one of the few friends I have left, so I had better be careful. I had hoped he would teach me how to use my camera before he slips further into the fog of age. I figure we've got another 6 months or so, or at least until MLK Day 2012...
I learned a few things from entering into arguments with people about MLK Day...
-One: there is no way to win an argument with MLK, race, racism, or America as any one of the subjects in that argument.
-Two: the tendency to lapse into self-righteousness in the face of perceived injustice, or worse, is an ineffectual position from which to conduct a discussion about anything.
-Three: my friends are a bunch of fucking racists.
Ok, nothing else much to report here today. I will be glad when my detox period is over. It has not produced anything of value yet. I was in a bad mood all day yesterday. I'm hoping that will all turn around for me today.... once I am through the caffeine wall.
