I’ve never seen an alien which I find extremely frustrating. I don’t even know if I believe in aliens but I want to see one more than anything. This is because than at least I would know. I hate being uncertain more than anything, but that is something that’s been plaguing my life as of late. This comes with moving on to new things, but it still has left me floating in self doubt and reflection on more than one occasion. This is why I would be so jazzed to see an alien because I think it would be a great reminder of the scale of life. And who doesn’t love a good reminder of how small we are? And I think it’s important to not look at this with a nihilistic lens; Everyday life and success are still tremendously important things, but just because they’re important to you doesn’t mean they are important to Flexnar from planet Scoron, defender of the realm. Why would he care about your problems? He literally has a whole realm to defend. Just let Flexnar do his thing and you can do you’re thing. That being said, I look forward to a day where I don’t really care if I see an alien because I’ll have my own realm to defend. Until then I’ll keep watching the skies and overthinking things, two of my favorite pastimes.
Ballers
I love great basketball. That's why I love Sabrina Ionescu. That's why I loved this last UO Women's Basketball team. Because it was great basketball. But one of the main things I love about Basketball is when it means more than that. The impact that players can have on kids growing up as positive role models, people to look up to with strong work ethic and determination. That's something that I think is so unique and special about women's sports, that these women can showcase how to excel at a highly competitive level and be an example for an entire half of the population. But it begs the question, why can’t they be an example to the entire population? Scrolling through comments about female athletes when they get posted on twitter or instagram still blows me away with just how inconsiderate and ignorant people can be. I thought jokes about women making sandwiches were an embarrassing relic of a bygone era, but there they are receiving thousands of likes and popping up with almost every other comment. The statement “Don’t feed the trolls” definitely applies here, but it should be noted the the problem extends beyond blatantly misogynistic attempts at humor. The lack of attention and support for these teams and these athletes is palpable. I’m also guilty. I have watched several hundred NBA games over the last 5 years, but only a handful on WNBA games, if that. Part of it stems from lack of accessibility and exposure, but a lot of it also stems from inherent bias. At the same time, it doesn’t take becoming a WNBA superfan to be a supporter of women in the sport, all it takes is noticing ballers when they ball. And Sabrina Ionescu is a baller.
Playlists
I like making playlists more than I like listening to them. I like playlists more than albums. I think I like playlists because they are a representation of yourself for through the things you enjoy. It’s maybe the best way to learn something about someone else without them saying it. I know I missed the golden age of playlists, the mixtape era. I didn’t miss it by much, but by the time I wanted to burn CDs, the ipod was gaining popularity and everything was at the touch of your fingertips. The mixtape/playlist came back when spotify became prominent, with personalized playlists at the forefront of their business model. While these playlists can be helpful for finding new music, I don’t find myself using these automated playlists much if at all. It lacks that personal touch that I enjoy about the format. I want to know what songs are important to that person. Maybe I’m narcissistic when I say I like making them more than I like listening to them, but I think that's true about everyone. Music is special in how it can connect to your reality, and can reflect a feeling about a person or place or something else in your life.
One summer I saved up 3000 dollars working at a summer camp and blew most of it in about three weeks during a trip to Europe. While there I went to Israel, Italy, Denmark, and a few other places but I don’t want to brag anymore. I went with two friends with whom I had been planning the trip for the last several months, and had also known for the last 18 years. I learned a lot during that trip. I learned how to travel by myself, I learned how to communicate when english Isn’t an option. I also learned that I was a big fan of the late Amy Winehouse. I downloaded her album “Frank” on a whim, and fell in love on that first eight hour flight to my layover in Brussels. For the next three weeks that was most of what I listened to, with a few other artists thrown in for variety. I know that the feeling of freedom and wonder I felt while exploring these new places played a role in how much I loved that album. Whenever I revisit it, I think about those experiences and how much that time in my life means to me. In that sense, I feel like music can be the bookmark on a chapter of your life. Like Andy from The Office said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them”. Sometimes you don’t realize how important and unique an experience was until you look back on it, and at the same time life moves so fast that it’s also hard to look back. Music makes you look back because of that subconscious association to a specific time and place. It’s like music therapy for people with Alzheimer's, the music can create connections to the past that can’t be made through any other means.
I wonder a lot about what a song means to someone else, or if other people make these connections like I do. I think they do.
MLK
Two days ago was Martin Luther King Jr. day, which always strikes me as an interesting holiday. We have three days on the US calendar which honor individual people, one for Washington's birthday, one for Columbus day (which should and will change its name soon in my opinion) and Martin Luther King Jr. day. That speaks to just how important and influential Dr. King was too a movement that completely changed the landscape of America. At the same time, the declaration of the holiday wasn’t something that everyone agreed with. To this day, Mississippi and Alabama still celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday alongside Martin Luther King Jr. day, two polar opposites in terms of what they represent sharing remembrance. This doesn’t seem right. In fact, it seems like a slap in the face to what the day should represent. It’s hard to consider how to celebrate MLK’s life when most of his ideals are being thrown to the wayside by a large section of the population. It feels to me like a dominant group saying “Ok, we let you have this one, leave it alone”.
I think at this point we have forgotten why it is important. Many states before they officially adopted the holiday argued that the holiday should be named after the civil rights movement as a whole, and not just one individual person. Utah did not adopt the official name of MLK day until 2000, when it was changed from Human Rights day. I think this line of thinking ignores the totality of the civil rights movement, and why it took one man who was killed in the name of what he believed to make change happen. That’s not to say he was the first, and in no way was he the last, but he is a representation of fighting for what you believe despite the overwhelming pressure of those who just want you to shut the fuck up. It would have been easier to call it Civil Rights day, and I wouldn’t have a problem with a holiday being named after the movement as a whole, but I think adding the name of one of the champions of the cause adds an extra layer of meaning. It cements his name among the apparent founder of our country and the first president of the nation we call the United States, which is elite company in terms of importance. It shows that this man was killed in his own country for what he believed, but now we recognize that he was right and what he believes is what we should believe. For a lot of people this isn’t true, but it should be. By recognizing that one individual, we can put a face to the name of civil rights, and personify that struggle that continues in America today.