Killing the cat.

Find You.

http://xkcd.com/104/

It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
Voltaire

Clear the Mechanism

I watched a movie once about a baseball player who, when confronted with the distractions of fans/opposing players/life itself, was able to mutter "clear the mechanism", and essentially dissolve the world.  By dissolve i mean that all his distractions were silenced, and he was left with nothing but an intense focus on the task at hand.

I've always had an interesting feeling when leaving a place that has allowed me to escape and clear my own "mechanism" for awhile.  No matter what mental state i'm in when enter such a place, it's nice to just live in another reality for awhile.  Whether it be art, or a movie, or a concert, it's always kind of a shock to remember... this is not real life.  There is no Narnia in my closet, prince charming doesn't exist, and Kevin Costner is not a baseball player.  Still, it's nice to get lost in the "magic".

Maybe that's why i'm so enamored with science. To me, science is magic... magic that is out there for anyone to discover.  It has much the same effect that art does, in that it allows you to escape, but the escape is in a totally different direction.  When one leaves the lab after uncovering something new, they're not accosted by reality, because what they've uncovered IS reality.  They haven't spent the last 2 hours cheering on the underdog, only to leave the stadium and realize that, win or lose, the underdog has no effect on them.  They've spent their time investigating a thought that is useful, no matter what the result. 

I am a lover of the escape.  When life isn't going the way i want it, it's nice to be able to get lost in a world that is more controlled than your own.  It's nice to be able to control all the variables, and to monitor the results.  It's nice to be able to "clear the mechanism".

"...one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."               ~Albert Einstein

Musica

I am CONSTANTLY amazed at the impact music has on my life. 


It's always funny when you get the question... "So, what kind of music are you into?" My answer is always a very truthful... "EVERYTHING". From the complexity of classical music, to the brilliance of a great lyricist, to the motivation of a catchy beat, I really do love it all. 


"Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the heart of women." 
                                                                                                                           ~ Beethoven