marked

Readers of the twenty-first chapter must decide for themselves whether it enhances the book they presumably know or is really a discardable limb. I meant the book to end in this way, but my aesthetic judgement may have been faulty. Writers are rarely their own best critics. "Quod scripsi scripsi" said Pontius Pilate when he made Jesus Christ the King of the Jews. "What I have written I have written." We can destroy what we have written but we cannot unwrite it. I leave what I wrote with what Dr. Johnson called frigid indifference to the judgement of that .00000001 of the American population which cares about such things. Eat this sweetish segment or spit it out. You are free.

--Anthony Burgess, from the introduction to the 1986 edition of A Clockwork Orange

Respondit Pilatus quod scripsi scripsi.

--John 19:22

quod scripsi scripsi. i went out today and done got tattooed. it was one of the single coolest experiences of my life to date. the level of constant, mild pain triggers all sorts of chemical responses, floods the brain with endorphins and adds natural, chemical joy to the already surreal experience of permanently marking your body.

for reasons that are too boring and personal to list here, i decided to get a thin, black ring around my forearm (about 2.5 inches beneath the elbow) and have "quod scripsi scripsi" written on the inside of my arm, above the line, with the text facing me. i'm pretty psyched about it.

i've also been thinking a lot about the act of marking oneself and the reasons that people do so. i think it can be a pretty powerful exercise with the right kind of perspective. that's a rant for another time.

point is: newly marked, was a kick-ass experience, happy with the results.

word.

new name

"this is nothing like it was in my room
in my best clothes
trying to think of you
this is nothing like it was in my room
in my best clothes

the english are waiting
and i don't know what to do
in my best clothes
this is when i need you

the english are waiting
and i don't know what to do
in my best clothes

i wish that i believed in fate
i wish i didn't sleep so late
i used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders

i'm the new blue blood, i'm the great white hope
i'm the new blue blood

i won't fuck this over, i'm mr. november
i'm mr. november, i won't fuck this over"



don't over appreciate any of those lyrics, as i've never been carried in the arms of cheerleaders, and i am (certainly) not the great white hope. i just like the mr. november tag, and agree with the "i won't fuck this over" sentiment.

another track from the national that just happens to resonate.

--mr. november

regents

the english regents exam was completed on wednesday of last week...



we finished grading the last of the four essays this morning.



tomorrow, rather than going to fuck off at a museum and waste the afternoon, i've volunteered to finish collating these exams.



first, i am still having trouble with the home cooking that is tied into grading these things.



second, i am amazed at how inefficient we have been in that task.



not the home cooking, as that happens all on its own. rather, that a group of ostensibly intelligent people can't get this mess done in a more direct, focused and orderly fashion.



maybe i just ought not drink and think about it.



in vino veritas.

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the national

i have attempted to pimp this record out to any number of people, but here i go again.



listen to alligator by the national.



it is appropriately big and intimate in every way.



by way of evidence, some lyrics from the track "baby, we'll be fine"



baby, come over, i need entertaining

i had a stilted, pretending day

lay me down and say something pretty

lay me back down where i want to stay

just say something perfect, something i can steal

say, look at me

baby, we'll be fine



this record is incredible, and just a quoted lyric does no justice. give it a go, you will not be disappointed.

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the good fight

i've given up on this thing being anything but a hole for me to toss my ramblings down. some may pertain to teaching, others (read: equal or greater in number) will be focused on whatever i find interesting at the time.



in the spirit of "whatever," here is a link to the first single from the new modest mouse record.



i'm pretty split on what i think of the thing.



this is a band i have loved for a long while, and i am still taking issue with the pop aspects of what they are doing as of late. might just be me, but i liked the angrier mouse.



judge for yourselves.

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laziness

i've fallen off considerably in my posting to this thing in the last week and change. things have been moving at a weird pace, but i will be back.

be certain, or be warned, whatever your feelings on the matter are, i will be posting more frequently...just been shaking the rust off after break and getting my water fowl in a row, as it were. the return of aimless rants and inane comments is imminent.

word.