Notes from a Friend's Town

1. If I owe you, bill me. 3. I've this habit of "reading" people when we meet first. It's as presumptuous as it sounds, on both readings. I've had my assumptions independently verified on several occasions. There remains the strong possibility that I'm guessing very well, very often. 2. For the first time in my adult life, not being able to experience an object of my desires is bothering me. Such that my natural rhythms are off and in routine there exists no solace. 4. Communication technology and it's ability to make the notion of being unavailable obsolete is beginning to take it's toll on my resolve. I have 4 email addresses, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and a blog yet none of them resonate with my ethos on communication. None of them afford me the awkward silences that occur when the conversation between people exchanging spent air and long stares reaches an unexpected lull. The moment when you have to jog your memory, not your browser to keep...

1. If the person you're planning to marry comes up in conversation and your speech about them reflects an understanding of them as a role player and not as an active partner in the future that's being discussed, there is a problem. You've reduced the marriage to an objective to be completed, which strips it of it's significance. 2. It's written on my face and you can read it from my psalms. 3. There is something to be learned from a (wo)man who lives a life devoid of significant connection to material goods. It provides an immense degree of freedom & will alter the relationship you have with your living space. It's a bit much for me at this juncture but I do respect those are able to procure the most from such a lifestyle. 4. In listening to what isn't being said, I've been able to better understand what is being said and this deciphering act keeps me from saying much at all which reads to the masses as though I have little to say, if anything, a...

* balloonboyd.tumblr.com is my Tumblr page. Give a gander and hit follow, it'll make my day. 1. I've the urge to place a hole in a proverbial ant hill just to see the ants scramble to repair the destruction. It would be my fortune to kick an empty mound wide open. 2. I grilled ribs for July 4th, prepped them the night before with a rub and everything. When I decided it was time to eat, I had no desire to eat any of it. I hope I'm not losing my affinity for animal protein, its one of the only primitive connections to manhood that remain once you dismiss all things patriarchal (I'm still working on that) . 3. There remains nothing more annoying that unfinished business, especially when it is of a personal matter and readily resolvable. No sense in attempting to bring proper closure to the matter, an ending is an ending regardless of its lack of finesse. 4. I was brought to a place of accepting the obvious this morning. I took on too many projects with my ego convin...

1. My ever evolving understanding of masculinity in the American context, as that is where I am based and where I make my observations, has a recurring awareness of restraints and adherence to limits. The continuing designation between the civilized and the savage is refined when the former exercises restraint where the latter does not. Restraint. 2. Summer fail : Neighborhood bar in New Orleans with a booze sponsored event & a broken AC. Definitely won't tell anyone how to run their business but that's not the way to have customers return. 3. Last week, my pride took a hit. I'm well aware of the absence of respect modernity has fostered amongst us. This decline in interpersonal interactions has in part been aided by the expansion of interpersonal communication systems. You can imagine my disgust when an engagement I arranged was essential canceled within 2hrs of the agreed time. I was only made aware of the cancellation because I need to switch venues at the last...

1. It's far less than wise to be rude to the person who sets your barber's appointment book. It has the potential to leave you looking less than presentable for much longer that necessary. 2. I have come to a conflicted sense of political and social awareness recently. The world over is filled with reports of revolts, uprising, revolution suppressions, etc yet my recurring primary concern remains how do I provide food for myself. At the risk of being apathetic, I'm most concerned with the food on my plate. 3. Her presence induces my smile and that is sufficient. 4. Rest in peace, Hawaiian Sophie. You served me well over the years, a man couldn't ask more from a bow tie. 5. The American Librarian Association is in town this week. I know some wild librarian nerd orgy ish will happen during this conference. Why you ask, because there's only so much sexual tension you can exhaust while administrating a house of knowledge. 6. Comedians that entertain without ...

My tax dollars hard at work as the orange glow guides mosquitoes across legs, round thighs over kneecaps and sandal straps while my hands are forced to settle on nice hips and sweet lips. My eyes stalking ears as they spy on a neck shrouded in new growth. Breaths shorter than quick glances cool the night air, while sighs exchanged relay pieces of sincerity in the moment. Patience. We ignore numbers, double digit directives that provide boundaries. Sweet nothings murmured while the neighbor completes his old fashioned journey home. The shuffling of his smooth soled shoes tapping against light poles and garbage cans. No compass to consult he verifies his destination guessing at the shape of his front door while scouring his pocket for keys under the orange glow of the street light, his tax dollars hard at work.

1. The Devil knows more from being old than from being the Devil - Mexican Proverb. 2. I think I'm becoming a bit of a film snob because nothing that's available at the big box movie houses captures my attention. This is mildly disappointing because I spent many summers as a kid in the movie theatre. Not some old world building filled with charm, closer to an old suburb special with so so carpet and a cold AC. Those were good times though. 3. I was only thinking of a book and you mentioned a whole publishing house. I like that. 4. It's such a waste of potential when I encounter a young mind hell bend on dramatic social change that refuses to engage the text of well known theorists. You will not come to an understanding significant enough to carry you through the dirty work of existing in opposition to a larger system if you fail to study critically.  You're constant need to voice an opinion makes it known that you have much still to learn. 5. I could use a ...