Watchmen We Love You All

The opening paragraph that I wrote for yesterday's entry could be applied to today's entry as well, because both mornings were almost identical.

Last night I got some serious computer time in and it felt good. Various topics that I did a search on included Alanis Morrissette and Joseph Conrad. Not surprisingly there is more information on Alanis than Joseph on the web.

I also managed to watch some MTV last night. Every time I watch MTV I am amazed at how little the format of the channel changes over the years. The videos are new, but I only need to watch a countdown program once a week to see what I am missing.

I guess that I could expand upon what I see during my daily commute, because all of my previous references to the commute have been about what I do while I am driving and not what I see around me as I drive. Geographically speaking the commute itself takes me through some of the less desirable parts of the city. Everyday I drive by housing projects with trash and debris blowing around them. Nail salons and check cashing places are also frequent sites along the route. Visually speaking there is very little to look at and even the ride itself is unpleasant due to the poorly maintained roads.

Maybe all of this urban decay should make me feel guilty when I complain about my station in life, but it doesn't. True, I have never lived under any real hard conditions, but I have no way of knowing how much of what I see was a result of chance or if they brought it upon themselves. For example, Tracy would complain about how she never had a break in life, but I saw her ruin things over and over. People would help her all of the time, but she would never change. I truly believe from watching her and other people like her that self destruction is much easier than self improvement. What really annoyed me was that no matter how poor Tracy might have been, she always seemed to have money for some beer and cigarettes.

Even if I am still working here at the end of the year, I will not be broke. I will still be able to pay my bills. I will have food, shelter and transportation. There are people who would envy me and I am not talking about people from other countries either. All of what I have said is true and I am grateful for what I have in life, but that does not mean that I am content.

I guess in my best Bono voice I could croon that I still haven't found what I'm looking for and there are times I wonder if it really matters anymore. So many people just do the same thing day in and day out and call it living, but I call it being a plant. Plants are alive by scientific definition, but do they truly experience life. I doubt it.

I do remember reading a very thought provoking issue of the Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore. The storyline dealt with the Swamp Thing visiting a planet where all of the plant life was sentient. Since the Swamp Thing creates his body from plant life, he was committing mass murder wherever he went. His only option was to animate a dead plant person.

This may or may not be an original idea, but at the time I really felt for the Swamp Thing. Yes, I hear murmurs of adolescent angst of not being able to relate to anyone, but I think a much better choice for angst would be the Silver Surfer. He leaves his planet to become a herald for the world devouring Galactus and then when he rebels he is exiled from his planet. I had better stop here, because I can hear the nerd alert just screaming in the background.

If anyone is wondering, I am not a vegetarian, but I believe that Alan Moore might be.

Ah, maybe I should just shut up, because philosophy has never been my strong point. In the only philosophy class that I ever took in college, I received a "D" for a grade. Maybe all of my knowledge is trivial and I should be singing choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep just like Edie Brickell did about ten years ago. Or I could sing Big Mac and fries to go like Pop Will Eat Itself did.

Maybe tomorrow I will write an entry using nothing but song lyrics.