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Discussion
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Philosophy 101
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I warned you all...
| Philosophy 101 |
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I warned you all... |
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Edward Grim Senior Member
since 2005-12-18
Posts 1154Greenville, South Carolina 
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None of you can say that I didn't warn you. Here it is: My whole life I have lived in Florida, almost 18 years. Recently I have moved to South Carolina, I wasn't happy about it. After a few months being here, I found myself in Home Depot buying tacks when I totally forgot where I was. Now I don't mean a case of dementia. I forgot that I was in SC. I felt like I was back in FL. A week ago I was in Tennessee at a private film festival and I found myself in a coffee shop thinking: "This place feels exactly like Florida." So all this got me thinking... Maybe everywhere I go from now until I die, will be Florida to me, in feeling and in mentality. And if I can mentally feel that one place is synonymous with all places, then that one place must not exist. Yes, you can probably say that this is borderline Existentialism but let's think about it. One thing cannot be all things while still retaining its oneness in self; it would be contradictory and a conundrum. So in my mind, perhaps Florida is more of a state of mind rather than an actual place, which frighteningly enough leads me to believe that I am not anywhere except in myself. This ordeal reminds me of Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "La Nausée" in which a researcher becomes conscious of the fact that inanimate objects and situations remain absolutely indifferent to his existence. This poses a problem for myself, for I would like to reside in a place other than my mind, for it is a dark place with exceptionally poor lighting and a damp atmosphere. The mere statement that: "Every place is Florida" automatically suggests that "There is no place except Florida." So basically my philosophy that I am reluctant to think, express and even write is that, "There is no world, there is only Florida and it doesn’t exist outside my mind." This seems like a very selfish and self-centered theory. I have many problems, and one of them being that I am obsessed with diagnosing my numerous problems. If I were to state a diagnosis, I would say that this delusion is wrought by separation anxiety but who knows. I'm just rambling on. Any thoughts? [Insert quote of wisdom here] |
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| © Copyright 2006 Edward Grant - All Rights Reserved | |||
Stephanos
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618Statesboro, GA, USA |
There is such a thing as thinking too much. Trust me I've been there. Why not just rest with the understanding that certain places / people have commonalities as well as differences? And you're just noting those common similarities in order to comfort yourself, as being "away from home". You can therefore appreciate these similarities, as well as grow to appreciate the differences. Everyone needs a home-base from which to venture out. Yes it is emotional, but the emotions are rooted in objective reality. Ask an Eskimo if everywhere is Florida, and see what he says. LOL. I think your sanity should lie in balancing the differences and similarities. Focusing on the "likeness" without noting variances, might make you want to trash objectivity, but there's no real need to. Even if "Florida" were everywhere, it doesn't mean that it's only in your head. Maybe there's a bit of "home" everywhere too. Maybe common themes were intended in this universe. I don't see why that thought would necessarily lead to a loss of objectivity, or isolation, or existential "nausea". One trend that's always bugged me about bonafide philosophy, is the perrenial doubt of a world outside of perception. I guess that's one reason why I think Christian Theology is more intuitive here ... For while it doubts many things, it doesn't doubt all things. Stephen. |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
What you're experiencing is the great homogenization of our culture. We all get the same television channels, the same franchises (McDonalds, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Starbucks, Office Depot, Waldenbooks, Sears, Pennys, Target, Fridays, Appleby's, Taco Bell, ...ad nauseum), have access to the same vehicles, same clothes, same furniture, same architecture -- and in SC -- you even have the same trees. So, it's not so much that everywhere is Florida -- it's that everywhere in the USA is the USA -- from traffic laws to tattoo parlors -- it's all pretty much the same. I was probably about your age though -- when I took a cross country air trip -- and realized -- without my 'stuff' -- I'm just me -- and I decided then -- that my stuff wasn't me -- and I better be something without my stuff. Same thing goes for your geography -- with only subtle differences in climate -- everywhere (in the US) is pretty much the same -- so if you aren't happy where you are -- you better find a way to get happy with yourself. Cause -- no matter where you go -- there you are. |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
addendum there remain certain places in America that have retained an otherworldliness to them, New Orleans (pre storm -- and probably even moreso now) Parts of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco -- basically any place that has large concentrations of ethnic immigrant heritage -- but even that is melting into the pot. Heck -- I can even go to Wal Mart and buy Crawfish tails up here... |
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Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
Everywhere is the same place: the universe. You are just calling it "Florida" instead  |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
I have nothing to add here--in fact, I'd like tips. I can't find another place like New Orleans, and it is breaking both my heart and my bank account... |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
But, if Florida was a state of mind, it would have to be a collective state of mind-what about the state laws? The word 'state' does not suggest oneness of self to me, it suggests oneness of collective action, or inaction. Weirdly, I moved to Barcelona, and I have a hill outside my living room terrace that has exactly the same sillouette as the hill of my home town in Scotland-with a spikey bit on the top, and everything. Now, you might say I chose to live here because it reminds me of home, but I didn't see this apartment before I moved in, although I knew Barcelona well. Whether I had noticed the hill before, from another angle, I can't remember...it's not a tourist landmark, but it is a local landmark. I don't think this conversation needs to just be about the effects of Globalisation, there's a philosophy here that suggests that we make our experiences up within our life dreams-but I think that's just selfish (and disrespectful to those with no choices)-there's got to be 'others', with seperate conciousnessess that have nothing to do with us-until we notice them-then, depending on our compatibility, will become a part of our life dreams. Anyway, you seem to be talking about man-made things-a tack shop and coffee house reminding you-and the hill that reminds me is used like hills all over the world-with arials on it. I would say everywhere, humans exist similarly, usually, in similar places. If you were to have these thoughts in the rainforests of Brasil, then it might be stranger. ps; Stephanos, I find it humourous that you insist on using words like 'nausea' beside existentialism. [This message has been edited by kif kif (08-17-2006 03:50 AM).] |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Nodding. Or a rice field in Crowley.  (we edited simultaneously. Y'think we're fated? ) |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
Yeah Serenity! There's nowt stranger than folk, yet great minds think alike? (har har) |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
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Stephanos
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618Statesboro, GA, USA |
kif kif: quote: Hey, I was only following Edward's (and Jean Paul's) lead: "This ordeal reminds me of Jean-Paul Sartre's novel 'La Nausée'" It really is an apt description of existential "angst" don't you agree? Pain is too dramatic, too romantic, for the boredom and listlessness that Sartre describes. Anyway, as brilliant as Sartre was as an artist, I don't recommend his books ... since they offer no spiritual "phenergan" for the nausea he prescribes. And such books are not only descriptive, but transmissive of the illness IMHO. Stephen. I was curious about your screenname ... What exactly is a "kif" and why is it repeated? Something said twice, I figure I need to know why it was said the first time.  |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
I confess. I am curious too. "kif kif"? Do tell.... it's off topic, but what the hell? |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
Start with the basics Karen... What are the attributes that make New Orleans New Orleans to you? Which are the ones you're most interested in keeping? Which ones would you like to leave behind? |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Don't know where that came from, but okay... I am not even sure if there is enough of New Orleans left for me to pick the pieces of my past out of it. The parts of New Orleans that define Karen? oh my....first we need a soundtrack. "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MG's. That's how walking those bricks always made me feel... A nod there, and a wave there, and a little dance escort across the street by a stray barker, and Karen was home. And oh that was just the quarter... Mid City? Take the streetcar down Canal and you could see the brothels that were sooooooooo scandalous, gingerbread houses, and old-fashioned gartered stocking legs in the window... I miss that alot. *ahem* (Remind me to tell you about Jo Ann.) But I've some friends there now, they run the Fair Grinds, and smile...alright, they are hippies, but I think you'd like them. We could stop for some Curry Chicken (I'd take the Shrimp in Peanut Sauce--we'd go halvsies) at this little spit in the hole Thai place I know--the waitresses are beautiful and all of them drag... And then the Monteleone Piano Bar, Janice...she's gone now though. She was the classic piano bar player, and could do anything, and oh yeah, the Monteleone Piano Bar did that tacky revolving bar thing, but somehow, the way they did it, it was okay...until y'stepped back too far. Lucky for me, there was The San Frisco 49'ers there. *really nice night, btw*And moan...a streetcar trip up to Tip's then. Y'just took her on down the St. Charles and all the way down too...got off where the river turned, and stepped inside of Tips's and kissed the bald head of the bust of Professor Longhair. (If you don't do that, yer cursed.) Like we weren't cursed from the beginning. I can keep going Reb....just not away from here. Tell me how to leave this place? 'Cause I don't know. It's my home. |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
kif-knowledge interchange format. Kif-a kind of (high quality) hashish. I was listening to Afrodizz "kif kif" at the time of name-calling. No reason. To my humour-that's why it's funny...following Sartre's 'lead' on existentialism. Plus, you always say something detrimental about existentialism Stephen, even if it is witty...admit it! Some might say "healthy in uncertainty". Quite different from "sickness of angst." Serenity-I love Booker T & The MG's! Also, The Dixie Cups; "Iko Iko". These parts of New Orleans will never die-for that's your culture, like parables, that will be passed on throughout generations, and throughout the World. *I can see where Mr.Grim is coming from, I think, but it's not just individual responsibility to keep these cultural aspects alive-the culture itself has a life that benefits from our personal protection, yet isn't dependent on it. Some things are bigger than the area that produces it-like literature, music, once it's out there, belongs to everyone. New Orleans will not be forgotten, even by those that have never been there, like me, because New Orleans is alive in culture. That means to me, that it's physical structure will be rebuilt, over and over, if only to maintain the visual symbol of this unending culture...*you can't leave, Serenity, because it is you! |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
kif? Not even kidding--I was engaged for 28 years, and it was announced, nod, at The Treasure Chest Casino, on the Lakefront, as The Original Dixie Cups sang "Going To the Chapel". gulp we finally went through with it. My son was best man, my daughter maid of honor and we have been married four years. Unless we're countin' wrong. "My life is a fricking movie," typed Dr. Evil.  grins |
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XOx Uriah xOX Senior Member
since 2006-02-11
Posts 1403Virginia |
"One thing cannot be all things while still retaining its oneness in self" The words of Ramana Maharshi come to mind... I AM that which is living this body. I AM that which is living your body. I AM evertything outside of me and everything inside. Simutaneously, I can be all of that and still be this one thing that I AM |
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Stephanos
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618Statesboro, GA, USA |
kif kif: quote: Kif, hasn't that been the evaluation of most of the existentialist philosophers? I'm only reiterating. Sartre is no sideshow, but probably has defined much of the entire movement. Remember that Existentialism is a reaction against Enlightenment optimism and rationalism. Does that mean that I see no value in Existentialism? Not at all. But I must admit I prefer the Kirkegaardian flavor which still admits a source of hope for equilibrium in God, while still deflating "Enlightenment" assumptions. I've always felt that the Existentialists have it half right ... in describing the problem, at least. I honestly feel that someone who claims to be a "positive" or "well adjusted" existentialist hasn't truly grappled with existentialism on it's own terms. So if it sounds like I'm bashing. I'm certainly not. Stephen. |
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Skyfyre Senior Member
since 1999-08-15
Posts 1906Sitting in Michael's Lap |
Move to the west coast, anywhere north of Los Angeles. You won't ever think you're in Florida, and in fact you'll be disappointed to ever come back to this mosquito- and humidity-ridden cesspool. |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
Are not all religious movements a reaction against something? I understand existentialism as a personal wonder-depending on your character. Reader response-just like faith in an all seeing, all caring God. That's the thing about existentialism on it's own terms-being subjective, there is always room for ajustment. I wouldn't label myself as anything, though. I prefer even more room for manouver. |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
quote: How does that follow? Doesn't your whole premise depend on the assumption that there are two places and that they feel the same? |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
or isn't it more likely that you can take the boy out of Florida but you can't take Florida out of the boy.... same goes for a girl and New Orleans... |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Try me. |
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Stephanos
since 2000-07-31
Posts 3618Statesboro, GA, USA |
Florida is overrated. Good for the occasional vake. Try one state north, where the "good ol boys" live, such as muh-self. Peaches rule, oranges drool (literally). Stephen. |
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Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
"Florida is overrated." The United States is overrated! |
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Edward Grim Senior Member
since 2005-12-18
Posts 1154Greenville, South Carolina |
"How does that follow? Doesn't your whole premise depend on the assumption that there are two places and that they feel the same?" Brad, I'm not saying that in my mind florida is two places, I'm suggesting that it's all places. And anything that is said to be all places just doesn't make sense and is impossible (unless you want to call it world). I am not saying florida is all places. I've just been thinking that I don't live anwhere except in my mind. It's a fun thought to think, eh? Another thing, I'm not totally serious about this. It was just a passing thought I had and I thought it interesting enough to post it. I love how everybody actually discusses things in this forum; it makes me want to post more of my thoughts. Thanks [Insert quote of wisdom here] |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
LR, I disagree with you. Yes, pretty much every city, town, and village in America has the same franchises. But culturally, it is so varied... not only from region to region, but from city to city. I live in Toledo, which is basically a blue-collar union city. The attitude here is one of practicality, without a whole lot of tolerance for the idealism I happen to be known for... y'know, try to understand the terrorists before blowing them up, people are essentially good, etc. A perfect example of our culture here would be an experience I once had... I had shaved my head, and I was at the grocery store, and a woman approached me. She said, "I bet a lot of people stare at you here, but if you went to a big city like Chicago, nobody would give you a second glance." And she was right, at least about Toledoans' reactions (I never got to test out the big-city factor). Racially, there are definitely divisions, but I wouldn't say I know of many places where a black person or Mexican person just couldn't go... Now, take a trip 45 minutes west to Fayette, and boy, do I ahve a story for you. I was camping with some friends, and my friend and her boyfriend needed condoms. Her boyfriend happens to be Mexican, and while she stayed and helped set up camp, he and I went on a shopping trip into town. Not only were a white girl and Mexican guy given the nastiest of glares, but we were told that condoms were not sold "around here," that we'd have to drive to another town for them... LOL. But drive 45 minutes north to Ann Arbor, and it's pretty much a liberal paradise... I happen to enjoy all the independently owned shops and ethnic restaurants, as well as walking through the U of M campus... every now and then, the liberal protestors get on my nerves, and even moreso on my signifacantly more conservative boyfriend's nerves... But I guess my point is that even in the midwest, known for its conservativism, and even among the homogeneous Wal-Mart's, Burger Kings, and BP's, there are significant cultural differences just from town to town, some probably accounted for by the size of the town... and some because of the racial demographics... but everywhere is not the same. I have not travelled from region to region except on vacation, which is to say, I've never been away from the midwest long enough to immerse myself in another region's culture, but people I know who have have shared stories that indicate to me that different regions of the U.S. have very different cultures. So while there are some things in common pretty much everywhere that might jog a memory of someplace else, I don't agree that everywhere in America is the same. As far as Florida being a state of mind... I ahve songs, tastes, smels that trigger memories... and maybe since all of your memories are in Florida, that's why you are reminded so strongly of it. Just a thought. |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
Sure Amy, What you're illustrating is that EVEN in the Midwest -- Urban areas are Urban and Rural areas are Rural... And you'll find that from Tennessee, to Indiana, to Ohio, to North Carolina to Florida to California... ad nauseum... the whole 'red state'/'blue state' cultural divide is really more a divide between rural and urban life -- the more Rural a State is the Redder it's going to be and of course the opposite is true -- which is why states with huge urban populations like Mass, NY, Caili, Ill, all tend blue where Kansas and Texas go red... Until you've traveled enough that when you wake up in the morning you aren't sure where you are -- you won't know what I'm talking about though first hand. The secondhand stories you get from people who talk about how different things are usually involve people moving from an urban center in one state to a more rural/agrarian setting in another -- but even within just a few miles if you went from downtown Memphis, Tennessee to a rural town like Brownsville -- you would see the same difference. The accents change -- and in the South there is the REAL cultural divide. SWEET TEA!!! |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Personally, I think you're both right. I agree with Amy in that I see a real cultural difference just between me and my nearest neighbor (never mind my Amish neighbors). People are different, though these clearly aren't merely geographical differences and, indeed, I think geography affects people in this country far less than other issues, like education and economic level. BTW, Reb, Amy's example of Ann Arbor is a good one, I think, because the differences she perceives are not simply attributable to Urban versus Rural. As a college town (and that's subtly different than simply having a college like Lansing does), it is a very different place than nearby Detroit or Lansing. I see that very clearly on a different scale living at one vertex of a small triangle formed with Kalamazoo, home of Western Michigan University, and Battle Creek, where they make a whole lot of cereal. It's less than a forty mile drive from Kellogg's and Post to WMU and Pfizer, centerpiece of a burgeoning bio-tech revolution, but it's almost like crossing a cultural divide. On the other hand, in spite of that, I also have to agree with Reb. Spend any significant time in a truly different culture, as you might find in a small, impoverished Mexican village just across the border, and the differences in American communities seem to almost vanish. We are much more alike than we are unalike, accents, street language, and priorities notwithstanding. It sort of makes you wonder, I think. If we could spend a year on a civilized planet circling Tau Ceti, living perhaps with sentient bugs in their ammonia hive, maybe we could all start to see Mexican immigrants and Islamic fundamentalists as humans not really all that different from any other human. We, too, I think, are much more alike than unalike. Unfortunately, one of the traits we seem to share with them and all other humans is a tendency to focus on the differences instead of the similarities. |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
Yeah, I think Ann Arbor is a great example of the college town too -- but, that's also going to be portable from one college town to another -- say, Hattiesburg with USM... even moreso in really small college towns like the one I grew up in... and the college experience itself so portable that a movie like Animal House finds an audience that easily identifies with it... but this isn't really all that recent a thing either -- we can't really blame it all on television (we have to throw the automobile and other rapid transportation in there) Last Picture Show, American Grafitti, American Pie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- all great examples of Americana. Wanna bet Sing Sing isn't that much different from Alcatraz too? |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
I like what you're saying about spending a year on another planet to 'discover' that all humans are alike, Ron, but I don't think we have to go that far. Every big city in the world throws that one up. In Britain just now, there's a big hoo-ha about Polish immigrants being racist. As most of the immigrants are from rural areas, they have never seen a black person, far less a black doctor, dentist, chef, et al. When arriving in London, for example, they're culturally lost, as there's as many black people as white. I don't think it's difference, per se, it's just ignorance. Over time, the immigrants will come to see difference in colour as nothing more than that. I've never been to America, but culturally, I don't think there's much difference between New York and London, San Francisco and Barcelona. Why? Because most of the people who make up these big cities are all mostly migrants-whether they've migrated from the countryside within the country, or whether they've migrated from another country...all have gathered in the city for similar reasons. My ambition is to go to Japan. I think it would feel different there, for although Japan has imported and exported their youth culture (there's no better music scene anywhere in the world than Tokyo), traditionally, they're culturally unique from the west, and that's exciting! Keeping in mind that, no matter what the differences in culture, everyone in the world feels happiness, sadness, hunger, pain, and everyone in the world fullfils needs similarly-even every city in the world, no matter how different, has been constructed for the same reasons...to maintain the infrastructure of the country's economy. |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Edward, I know where you are coming from I have the same problem as I lived in the same area for ages, and now moved and compare every single little thing to my former mountain home, even though I realize it is the same right where I am, and that is what is making me think of my old home.  Hope that made sense? In otherwords, the same feeling, in a different place, conjures up a similar feeling.You'll enjoy this conversation in part between Karen (Serenity and me.) I was online trying to buy a ticket and book a hotel to go to New Orleans and stir up the caldron with Serenity, as it was a year since Katrina and I wanted to surprise her. Here is Serenity's approach to promote tourism in New Orleans folks. She shouts into the phone, "Not now!" You can't come NOW...It's hot, sticky, muggy, and the rain just knocked down the 3rd floor of a bank downtown into the second floor. They are spraying for West Nile and I told the kids if it's hot, sticky, raining, and a plane flys by, please run home.  Now that sounded positive yes? Followed by ...her saying, "Maybe November's best? We don't have winter like ya'll, but you may like it better when it's not 100 degrees? Unless of course you want to come down in hurricane season and cook with us all in 100 degrees?" I said, "Hell no! I think I'll pass for now." I asked her, "Can you hire drivers there Karen for the day to take us around?" She says, "Ya, we all need money down here, I bet you can even hire my brother-in-law!" So if that doesn't answer that is and always will be home for her, I don't know whatever would. You couldn't pay me enough to be in 100 degrees in any type of weather, but 60-70 something works for me. I love the states and the people down there period, and she has promised to freeze the shrimps to be consumed at a later date. |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
I don't think all college towns or all college experiences are alike, either. In Ann Arbor, people get jazzed up about poetry readings, Mchael Moore, and indie-rock, in addition to the obligatory parties. And about 20 minutes away in Ypsi, where EMU is, the parties are pretty much the end-all be-all of college life. (Come on, I know a girl who went there for mixology.) Then there are other two college towns I've spent a notable amount of time in, Kent and Bowling Green, which seem to meet somewhere in between the two extremes of liberal activism and party-hardy. But then again, you could be like me and go to a small private Catholic college, where my best school chum and I got our kicks watching reactions to us holding hands in the hallways and sneaking liquor into graduation. Ron, I do see what you mean about seeing how, on the larger scale, diversities fade away, but that's true of anything. You can go from "all people are individuals" to "the people in (insert town, school, field of study or career here) are all the same" to "all (men, women, rich poeple, poor people, black people, etc.) are the same" to "all people are the same..." It's just a matter of perspective. Hop on the expressway and pass through town after town after town... yes, all the "Food and Lodging next exit" signs will have the same Holday Inn, Motel 8, McDonald's, and Denny's signs... But they have McDonald's in like, every country on earth... are all countries the same because of that? I am, in part, playing devil's advocate because I did a project in school dealing with this exact point... that American cultural icons are not only engulfing amaerica, but other countries as well. But, here's something to think about... I can't remember where off the top of my head, and my webpage project has since been demolished by GeoCities, but there are some places where McDonald's serves veggie-burgers. So even all McDonalds are not the same... goes to show you the power of supply and demand, huh? |
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kif kif Member
since 2006-06-01
Posts 439BCN |
Is MacDonalds classed as an American Cultural icon? Yikes. Here in Barcelona, MacDonalds gets 'bombed' (graffitied) all the time, with slogans like "Tourist-You Are The Terrorist." A bit harsh, considering that tourism makes up most of the economy now, yet it's tourism that demands places like Macdonalds. I can't help but grimace when I see visiting people going in there to buy coffee and ice-cream, something that's a bit of an art-form in Europe. ps; Macdonalds sell patatas bravas here-but they're horrible compared to the little cafe's that do them as tapas, although, tapas doesn't even come from here, it comes from The Basque Country-but at least the 'recipe' hasn't been delivered by a plane. |
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xrayzerase Junior Member
since 2007-02-07
Posts 10usa |
ha! great stuff! didn't read the other replies yet--but-this post is the sort of "thinking" that is -well-put it this way-it made perfect sense-and non-sense to me. i was in a private psych hospital from ages 16-20. it was good bad-whatever. but it is the time and space of it that always seem to overlap any post-hopsital days--if i am here or there-somehow-the space and time of the hospital time simultaneously exists. in my mind? who knows? i am being silly here--but-in all seriousness-it is what drives my work (art). the hospital became my "language"-not "word-language"-but all things. communication/thought/sense/so on. anyway-good post. kind of like mathmatics: a number is of itself--but is never just itself. like-nothingness and infinity are they the same? opposites? at what point? and so-when in florida again someday-maybe your mind wont even recognize it (sorry-in a goofball modd today-and this was a cool post)~andrea |
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trutodaraiders Senior Member
since 2006-12-02
Posts 820CA |
Hey i love strolling up to Canada. Beautiful Country! America is over-rated, but i cant think of to many others places in this world where I'd rather live. Aimerait aller en France quelque jour. Aimer faire du ski en haut Dans le B.C |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
When I was in Vietnam I knew I wasn't in Indiana; those who did died. Maybe you need to travel somewhere that doesn't have a McDonalds. |
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Edward Grim Senior Member
since 2005-12-18
Posts 1154Greenville, South Carolina |
"Maybe you need to travel somewhere that doesn't have a McDonalds." Couldn't agree more. I want to move to Iceland where I can be alone, no one understands me anyway so I might as well live in paradise. Head Cheese & Chicken Feet |
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jbouder Member Elite
since 1999-09-18
Posts 2534Whole Sort Of Genl Mish Mash |
Edward: I've lived in New York, North Dakota, Southern California, and North Carolina and, having been born and raised in South Central Pennsylvania, I can honestly say that none of these other places can produce a decent cheese steak or pizza (and I'm not talking about the awful "Chicago-style" pizza either). This is enough for me to say that all places are not Pennsylvania. And while I'm thinking about food, nobody makes a monster style double cheeseburger and fries like In-and-Out Burger in So. California. Seriously, I do agree with you that the advent of large retailers and franchising tends to familiarize unfamiliar places. I also agree with Amy that there are very real differences in the communities I've lived. I doubt such differences will fade very quickly. Jim |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
OT: Oh My Gawd....In and Out Burgers.....curses on you for reminding me of one more thing I've lost since moving from Yuma, AZ to this sinkhole in Texas. I thought I knew Heaven at a Fudrucker's in Houston (yes, that's the name of the restaurant) with their 1LB burger and monster steak fries, but that was only a sublevel of the Divine, which I discovered in Yuma at an In and Out. Rack that up to one of those odd things we actually agree upon.  And yeah, Yuma is a stone's throw from Mexico and spittin distance to Cali. So I blame both for dehydration and my wrist problem. I'd sue if'n I was legislative. Howsoever, back on topic, places we remember will never be current places, even if in the same exact place. For instance, I was raised on a prison farm in Coastal Texas, and the only real constant has been Oyster Creek and this massive and old oak (15' diam) surrounded by pecans with an old prisoner graveyard by the side. I could never find such a place, even if they had all the prime factors, for they would not be the originals I knew and loved in my own way. Then it becomes simple Displacement, yet another malady tangent to add to the assorted mileu. |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
quote: When I returned to Michigan almost ten years ago, I drove through one of the neighborhoods where I was raised during the mid-Fifties. It was where I got my first two-wheel bicycle, and I remember my Herculean struggle to learn how to ride it. While in my yard, I could balance or I could pedal, but I just couldn't get both going at the same time. In desperation (and very much counter to parental instructions), I took the bike out of the yard, to the paved street and the monster hill upon which we lived. I balanced the bike enough to get it going and gravity did the rest. It was my first taste of real speed, the wind bringing tears to my eyes while my teeth were gritted tightly in near terror. Long minutes later, when I finally reached the bottom of that gargantuan hill, I was pedaling like a master and never again had any trouble riding a bike. It was a bit surprising, some forty years later, to discover that hill was maybe a quarter mile of -- at best -- a five percent grade. We wouldn't even call it a hill, today, just a mild incline. p.s. In-N-Out burgers are good. White Castle is better. |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
But Ron- did that mild incline still evoke the feeling of your childhood, or was it just like any other incline? Ali, I can difinitely agree with you about childhood haunts, but I don't think it's necessarily because of the place itself being particularly special in an objective sense, but more about the place being special to you. There are places from my childhood that will always make me feel a certain way, and that no other location could replace- but it's an issue of reminiscence. I know this probably sounds like I'm contradicting what I said earlier... but I don't think I am. The park near my childhood home will always hold a certain place in my heart, and no other city park can evoke that. Same for the house I was raised in. My old street in pretty much literally memory lane- anybody's is. My street wasn't anything special, it was basically a neighborhood imitation of a suburn (cookie cutter houses and all) or rather, maybe it was at one time a suburb but the city grew around it? To other people, it's just another street that falls in line with Toledo's working class culture... just like the street I live on now is to me. Certainly, some neighborhoods have a certain culture (the hippies of the Old West End, our Old Polish Village, the yuppies of Sylvania...) within the city, just as the city has its own culture, just as the midwest has its own culture, etc. etc. etc. So I guess what I'm saying is that cities and communities have certain cultural qualities, added to by the poeple who live there. Wow. That was much more concise and clear, huh? BTW- I was watching the Big Lebowski the other day... I didn't realize there was actually an In-&-Out Burger. Huh. If I'm ever in Cali I'll have to check it out. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
P'raps that's one thing I omitted: after a span of time, absence, other mitigating factors, or all the above, even what we knew as youngus ain't what is in the Now, and it's a definite derth when that occurs. For yes, I saw that prison farm when i was in my mid 20's, some 10 years after moving from that place where I had lived 11 years, and it wasn't the same. The oak, creek, cedars and cemetary were there, but something had changed...the air, climate, mood was gone, never to be recovered. And such is the way of things it seems, so we are left with fragile memory so long as it lasts, and if fortuned, other souls to plant the seed of our rememberances for future growth and retellings. [This message has been edited by Alicat (02-15-2007 06:44 PM).] |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
"I want to move to Iceland where I can be alone, no one understands me anyway so I might as well live in paradise." "Sir I exist Said the man To the universe That does not however Replied the universe Create in me A sense of obligation" Stephen Crane I'm also reminded of David Ignatow who said he had reached a point where he could look at a mountain as a mountain and not as comment on his life John |
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