Concrete Has No Sympathy

I'm living life post-Europe these days and it has been awhile since I've felt motivated enough to take the time to write. This feels entertaining right now, so hopefully I can get back to some sort of regular posting schedule.

Anyway, it is nearly the 20th anniversary of a little outfit you probably have never heard of-- Operation Ivy. It all started in mid-May, 1987 (yes, '87, that isn't a typo) and ended in 1989. In that short time-frame, they created music that I absolutely love and that has inspired a lot of the bands I've been listening to since 7th grade. Rancid, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake... there are tons more, but I'm lazyish.

Why do I mention all of this? Because after an on-again, off-again relationship with eBay and various online forums, I finally tracked down an affordable copy of a compilation cd that is made up of Op Ivy covers. In particular, the band My superhero bid a damn good good and now I've been listening to the track "Big City" constantly.

Big City lyrics

Concrete and chaos rise up

Spiderweb across the land

Like a giant rash

Forests lie down below

Foundations of buildings in a bed of ash

Some people here got it real good

'Cause the glass towers bring prosperity

Other people starve in the street

Because concrete knows no sympathy

Big city- it's a wishing well

Big city- it's a living hell

This town its fucking insane

How one will starve and another will gain

Like a giant, mechanical brain

And the people are cells and the streets are veins

It thinks only of itself

A thousand limbs crawling as it expands and grows

And still the concrete sits there

Sits there

Stark grey and cold

And I think I wanna be a brick layer

So I can put another brick in the wall

It's sanitary, rational, happy and sane

Growing like a flower to surround us all

It is just one huge badass of a song and really makes me think about things like social injustice, the destruction of the environment and the general sense of apathy one can nearly physically feel as people compalin about traffic, gas prices and re-runs on television.

I named it, as well- Conditioned Ineptness. It almost seems like the current society trains us to feel like we can only do so much and that, even then, it will never be enough to change anything. Do you honestly feel that you can make a difference, being one person of over 6 fucking billion people in the world? Recycling an extra 2-3 items a day, driving a single car 50 less miles a week maybe?

When one looks at it logically and objectively, the answer almost scream back a resounding "NO!" and it is sickly depressing, like getting punched in the gut. I love life and the Earth and nature, but it seems to me that we've become trained and have this idea ingrained within us that nothing WE do as individuals will make a difference.

I want to change that.

Look around, all we really have is each other. Quitting is easy. I want to be able to say that I tried to improve the world, for better or worse. If I can say that and fully believe it, then I have succeeded and no matter what the outcome, that will never be able to be ripped from me. The one thing that the decision-makers, oppressors and nay-sayers (yeah, I totally went there) have not and cannot account for is the power of example and the way good can spread from one individual to another.

If I were to go stand liek a street corner prophet and hold a sign high above my head that says "Why Are We In Iraq?" or something else that is politically or socially charged, it might only get noticed by one person. However, that person may pass along the statement or idea to a few other people and so on.

It is like that Chinese fable involving an emperor and a peasant. The king owed said peasant for a deed he did and had to choose between giving the peasant several large bags of rice OR to give the peasant one grain of rice on the first square of a chessboard and to double to amount for each square thereafter. The emperor immediately choose the chessboard route and ended up giving the wise peasant a hell of a lot more rice than he otherwise would have had to (1 doubles to 2, etc. 63 times).

Now, I a may be slightly off but you're still asking yourself, "What the hell does rice and emperors and wily peasants have to do with changing the state of the world in which we live?"

SIMPLE! I am just 1 person, yes, but it wouldn't be very hard for me to find 2 people and educate or otherwise involve them with the issues of today. Likewise, if each of them can find 2 people apiece, we're on a roll. It is like a chain-letter or e-mail of goodness and decency. Make it happen.

Other News

I am moving to Bloomington or some other such place soon, as I am re-entering school yet again. I'm excited and it will be nice to be a bit closer to my good friends who so dilligently read my blog. I probably lost a few due to my lack of hustle in pumping out posts, but as Matt Prom recently said (right before he head-butted my Scotch & water to the ground anf my pants), "Quality is way better than quantity... and I think Jesus would have been able to pull off a sombrero, no problem."

Also, I need to credit Jackie for helping me devise my next (patent pending!) get-rich-or-die-tryin' scheme- alcoholic candy! Jolly Ranchers, in association with Bacardi Inc. and Yours Truly, are devising a capsule that combines the great tasting flavors of jolly Ranchers Brand hard candies and the smooth, liquid gold of Bacardi rums and spirits into a perfect drink! Just add water. Also, alcoholic hard candies that one would just suck on are also in the R&D Department.

Wouldn't that be awesome? And it is so totally NOT marketing geared toards children... just like cigarettes and Pokemon aren't, right? Yes.

Beer For Breakfast, Heart Attacks For Snacks

NOTE: I wrote this maybe a week ago but couldn't get it to post, so now I'm just getting settled in down in Budapest after a night train from Prague.

Heylo out there in the land of digital entertainment/ time-burning!

I am having a great time in Germany so far. After arriving and getting caught up on sleep (though not before drinking a LOT of beer in man-sized glasses and eating a pretzel larger than my entire melon), I felt ready to take on the sights and sounds, tastes and temptations of Munich. A massive city of several million, Munich is considered the capital of Bavaria and doesn't slack off in earning the title.

Beer, meat bread and cheese-- these are the typical components of any true Bavarian meal. Oh, and mustard. They have frickin' amazing mustard varieties. At any rate, I just enjoyed what is known as a "Bavaria breakfast" and Eric's place in Bamberg, appoximaely two hours north of Munich via train. I had a nice weissbier, some Nurnberger sausages and bread as well as a pretzel and poached egg. Sweet and hot mustards were served, as well, which really complimented the prezel accordingly.

Ok, so I saw castles, Munich's Olympic park, old churches, etc. I realize that many of you (well, 2 out of the 3 who read my blog that I know of) probably want to hear some crazy stories, so I'll indulge you.

Trip Lowlights

~Nearly missing my connecting flight in Amsterdam. I was forced to run like Carl Lewis on acid and green tea across those moving walkways, weaving in and out of human traffic as I desperately sought gate B-22. I made it, though my pants kept sliding down and I was the sweatiest guy to ever fly on a KLM "City Hopper" flight, hands down. The mayonaisse and salmon sandwich I was served almost made up for it though...

~My hostel was arranged in just the perfect way that it was extremely hard for me to sleep. I was in a full 22 person room that had an exit light, which happened to shine on my face when I was trying to rest, that was on 24/7. People were jerks and accumulated lots of points in tha category. One girl decided to call each of her parents separately beginning at 5AM. She was loud and didn't try to whisper, though I did glean that her sister only made the waiting list at the University of Washington and was very dissapointed. Apparently, she chokes big time when the chips are down and did poorly on her SAT/ACT.

Trip Highlights

~Delicious beer. In fact, I made it to a Benedctine monastery called Andech's where they brew very otent draughts. I ordered a meal of cabbage and haxe'n, which was essentially a huge drumstick-like object that was fried pork. I got two havles, which turned out to be over 1Kg of meat. It was insanely huge, really. One could injure someone by lobbing the meat stick at them from a distance. Half of it was too big to even be crammed inside of a liter-sized beer mug (don't ask how I know that, I just do).

~Street Performer X. After hitting up Hofbrau Haus for the 2nd time on our first day, we happened across a street performer who was signing and such. He asked for money and when I said I had none (which was actually 100% true), he became semi-angry and started calling me a cheap American or something. The funny thing is, Eric was trying to give the guy money and he refused it. Then, Eric started calling him a "fake and a phony" and the guy got really angry. We left shortly thereafter.

Now, as I sit in Bamberg, I am getting things organized to get from here to Prague and from Prague to Budapest before swinging back to Muenchen. I think a night in Dresden is in the card, as well.

I absolutely hate typing on lappers, so I am going to go. Keep on rocking in the free world, cool cats. Prost!

~Matt H.