The life and mind of Ari Einbinder
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V for Vendetta.
Hope everyone had a Vivacious Guy Fawkes Day.
This site is awesome. Does a great job capturing the moment. Thanks to Jer for sharing it.
Here’s #755
Thin, flimsy plastic sheets propped up on wobbly rods shudder in the wind as the sleet shoots sideways and you shiver and shake in the dark and lonely bus shelter.
Wrapped in thin gloves and a thick, wet scarf, you stand patiently as your book-filled backpack silently jabs your spine and strains your shoulders. Fingers freezing, knees shaking, you wince and hug yourself as you keep looking way up the street, wishing, hoping, praying that you’ll please please see the bus heading right for you.
Folks, we’ve all been there and it’s not a pretty scene.
But hey, that’s what makes it so great when you hit one of those magic moments where you arrive at the bus stop just as the bus peels out from around the corner.
Pupils dilate, eyebrows rise, and a clown-faced smile curls onto your face as you realize you just hit the Public Transportation Jackpo
t.
Yes, in those perfect scenes you’re suddenly a Bus Fleet Fatcat, swimming in tickets and tokens, commanding your private army of Sugar Rollers around town to pick you up and drop you off as you see fit. Baby, if you’re feeling this buzz, then there’s no reason you can’t get right into it, too — whistling with both pinkies just before it stops or clapping your hands beside your ear twice as if you’re hailing it for real.
And how perfect is it when this dream scene ends with the bus stopping right in front of you, the door swinging open, and the bright, round-faced driver flashing you a big toothy smile and a tip of the cap as you walk in the door.
AWESOME!
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Went with a good friend of mine from the science museum to hang out at Long Beach. Got there pretty late. Ok, very late. But it was good times. Liked this photo I took, but wish my subjects were more patient, *ahem* ;P
Leaving the beach we saw this cute couple having a romantic dinner on the sand with flowers and a guitar, the works. As my friend and I passed by, the guy yelled out, “hey, we’re engaged!” As in, he just asked her to marry him. Wow/cool/awww. Don’t ask how, but we ended up hanging with them for a bit, sharing the crazy excitement of the moment. Nice people and a great way to end the night.
I love when life’s so poetic.
But you have to earn it.
Here’s what I mean: Getting to Long Beach was no simple feat. Firstly, it was late by the time we met and we already missed sunset which was what I had wanted to watch. Secondly, when I printed directions from online and looked at them after picking up my friend, I saw that it successfully printed everything except the directions to Long Beach (!). And I’ve never driven there, nor has my friend. Now, most people, normal people, would have decided to simply fall back into a run of the mill routine, grab a slice of pizza, watch a movie, whatever. But screw it, I want to get to the beach before winter kicks in. So we drove. And arrived. (Actually, without any problems at all, which was amazing.) That’s how I earned that night’s awesomeness.
And looking back, so many nights of awesomeness were earned the same way. Adventure is usually not handed over by the drive-thru. You gotta work for it - jumping headfirst into murky waters, knowing that trouble lies ahead, and all the while with a smile and air of joyful indifference. Then, if you pay attention for the moment - and the moment is holy (thank you, Rachel) - the gods of adventure, of life, of Suchness will smile back.
Halloween Night. Hanging out with some friends after a venue in Williamsburg, we broke into McCarren~ Park and took some cool photos. Then we skiddadled when we thought some police folk were going to give us trouble. They didn’t. But that didn’t prevent me from injuring myself trying to escape back over the fence.
I love the smell of adventure in the morning.
Things have been kinda slow. Still haven’t found a decent job. Guess I got spoiled with all the luck I had in Europe, but am now seeing firsthand what all my friends have been griping about the past year. On the bright side, I’m getting some long neglected chores down. Today I took care of some badly needed updating for my site (www.RealCleverName.com). Not much to look at, but believe me, made a big difference. Also cleaning my room. That doesn’t sound like it’s a big deal, but consider that I’ve lived on my own the past 8 years or so, have metamorphosed through several lives during that time, and have now found all those lives and associated stuffs packed into every nook and cranny of my childhood bedroom, a room which even then I complained was too small. So, much of my cleaning is simply throwing out stuff. Like mementos. I have a rant about that, but not now.
I’ve also had time to work on some articles I’m writing, one about evolution, one about science education, one about religion. Hoping to start writing stories again soon. And also have been going through my 18,000+ photos from Europe. Yes, you read correctly, and yes, I was also blown away by the number. I’m hoping to do a photo exhibition in the coming months, so that’s cool.
Random Thoughts:
I found my lavalamp, and it makes me happy.
I like xkcd.
How/when did I start eating olives?
All the science and art of the past year have really changed my outlooks. Kinda creepy.
Aldous Huxley is awesome and I need to read more.
I don’t know what this means, but I like it.
Time capsules? Take your time? lol idk
“I don’t know what this means, but I like it.”
Art.
I like art that just makes you think, whether in a particular direction or on your own. I like art that’s atypical and often art which isn’t trying so hard, the kind of art that simply hits one in a moment, like life and its colors.
Been back a week and still recovering from the trauma of this trip. Woke up at 3 a.m. in a panic that I’d lost my wallet (a constant terror I nursed abroad) and woke up at 5 a.m. and every half hour afterward with palpitations over having just missed my flight. That’s kinda messed up.
…For one of the most hilariously distasteful faux pas I’ve ever seen. I could not stop laughing at your tyrannical and unstoppable ego and at how much you’ve pissed off the entire country, including , apparently, the President himself. Bravo!
Besides, though it sucked for her at the time, this was probably one of the best things that could have happened to Ms Swift. She’s gotten ridiculous exposure from this fiasco… so perhaps not such a fiasco after all. Ok, Imma watch that south-park episode with Kanye again. (yeah, now it’s starting to feel like I’m back in the US.)
I don’t like favorites. Seems sorta childish, which is what I tell people when they ask, “hey, what’s your favorite…?”
That said, Brave New World might be the exception, at least for books. I don’t know, something about it speaks to my soul. The book isn’t funny, or particularly well written, but it’s like finding someone who decided to explain myself to me in a parable. How can I be anything but fascinated by it?
I’m gonna read it again. Now.
p.s. I also don’t like talking about my “favorites”, probably because they speak to me and of me so much. Telling people about them is like advertising the location of my personal Dorian Gray portrait.
(crap, did it again.)
Am I really back? It still hasn’t sunk in yet.
Also, in Paris I stayed by this guy named Remi. Nice guy. He had a cool cat named Alias. I woke up one morning to find Alias looking sad and lonely, sitting with his head slumped on a soft chair. I went over and pet him to cheer him up. Afterwards he looked at me and began to lick himself clean. I was slightly insulted.
life’s been way too crazy the past few months to even begin documenting it. Which I suppose is a good thing.
Now, to contradict myself, I’ll begin to document it. just a bit, to give you an idea of the craziness of late and an update:
So, basically, I’m in France now, in Chelles, a suburb of Paris. I was supposed to be in NY now after flying from London. Unfortunately, the UK border patrol wouldn’t let me pass b/c they didn’t believe I was actually going to London to catch a flight. So, they dumped me in Calais. I found a place to stay in Lille with a strange but incredibly friendly French family. Quite luckily, that weekend was also the famous Braderie festival in Lille in which the entire town is turned into a giant flea market. It was incredibly fun and at night the streets are packed with people of all ages partying French-style (think cheap wine, baguettes, and people showing off their newly acquired oddities.)
Well, after Lille I went to Paris, where I am now. I spent one crazy day hiking for 15 hours all over Paris. Really cool. Next morning I missed my flight back to NY. Not so cool. (The bus had the wrong direction written on it, and basically took me far, far away from the airport with not enough time to catch it even if I had taken a 100 euro cab ride… which I nearly did.) So now I have a flight for Monday, which means I have a weekend in Paris. Hmm…
As for what I’ll do when I get back to NY… well, I’m not sure. There are a few options and I have some big plans, along with some embarrassingly menial and boring plans. We’ll see what happens.
God works in mysterious ways.
