sotto voce

i just discovered that i've got laryngitis when i leaned out the window to graciously thank super-douche for being excessively horn happy (two ten-second honks) and all that came out was a hoarse growl.

swak.

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i didn't feel too bad for having gotten five hours' sleep this morning, but being vertical sucked. while horizontal, my throat was alright, but the second i stood up the pain slammed back :(

i made a quick dash to the clinic, wearing the same clothes as yesterday in lieu of pajamas, then returned to oblivion. second wake-up involved learning about the CHAT format (and its weaknesses), and then i left for a meeting which, in my state at the time, didn't really feel like such a hot idea.

lunch was nice, actually, although my boss was correct in his assertion that the hamburger was overdone. our constant chatter was peppered with work and play, and i was taken by surprise when mmf talked openly about some of our shenanigans in front of my boss. i guess i don't need to be too much on my guard, then :)

i nearly took the stab of a bicycle stand in my foot on my way to the bus - terrifying. i rocked up at the office for fifty fairly productive minutes of work, then headed off to the doctor to discuss my tennis elbow, my neck and back pains, and my lactose intolerance. she laughed at me, explaining that it's only logical that i'm falling apart because i've passed thirty.

pah! the nerve. :P

i picked up more lactose-based pills on my way home (i sense a conspiracy with the dairy companies, lactose is a really popular med wrapper) and discovered that i'm eligible for cheap sports physiotherapy... it would've been nice to know this earlier.

i finally got it right! the supermarket express queue was the slow line. i came home, chilled a bit, then "got to work". i was somewhat effective in work related stuff, very effective in non-work-related stuff, and i really should finish my paper before getting to bed.

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cuz posted a great link, and this other item from the same site must be posted here because it amused me greatly: an open letter regarding an accidental brazilian wax - not necessarily safe for the sensitive reader

when t. s. eliot hits the interwebs - exquisite.

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and the evening ends with a debate between myself and scrapper; my side's been developed fairly sharply over the course of the last academic year :)

me: ‎[preacher voice] as there is no such thing as a truly original idea, it's kinda silly calling something a rip-off just because it's been done...

scrapper: let's say you're right. every idea comes from another idea.
ignoring the obvious contradiction, you could still say that one can either take an idea and add something new to it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbpwlqp5Qw
or one can just take something that she likes and copy it precisely.
don't you think there's a difference?

me: try to imagine something nobody's ever imagined before. and nothing you've ever read or heard or seen has influenced. there's no contradiction - we are discourse machines: we pick up ideas, mix them up with our own, and express modifications / upgrades / improvements / twists - that's as original as one can get.

and there's nothing wrong with it. as wilde said: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

precision copying sucks in the art world, but the attempt to do so is the basis of all art: to capture an idea or sense in paint / words / sounds... it's called mimesis. see pygmalion.
precision copying in the extreme sports world, however, is the holy grail. go figure.

scrapper: "go figure"?
challenge accepted.

actually, that's kind of beautiful (wilde).

...the contradiction is, obviously, what was the first idea, and was it also imitated?
i don't want to tire you with logic, so i'll just say i prefer a subtle rip-off to an obvious one.

me: most of what wilde said was beautiful. and contradictory, because that's the nature of the human. if everything seems to work, something's broken and a breaking point will be reached if the tragic balance of internal conflict is not returned. the hindu religion is the only one that gets it...

the first idea is the first input processed by your senses. all of your truly original ideas are the ones that most people have at some stage or another, but timing and environment gives everything the appearance of being new and fresh. and this is why everyone feels alone sometimes, all six billion of us.

and why everyone believes that there are things inside of them that NOBODY else can get. we're all individuals, and we're all the same.

pitiful humans!

i await the results of your efforts with great interest. good night :)