Popped Culture – Page 3 – Strip Clubs are Sad Discos

Old Age and New Land Development

I’ve gotten older. The evidence wasn’t just the tiny inferno atop my cake this year. I realized I was older for different reasons. The first instance was during a conversation with my niece and nephew. On the bus, on the way to do some shopping, I kept telling them about what store or building used-to be there. They, of course, had no input or interest in local architecture and business trends through the decades; however, that fact did not dissuade my fascination. So, until I noticed my behavior, I was gleefully carrying on this one-sided conversation. Lightbulb…OLD!

Second instance, was almost a badge of honor before I realized it was an indicator of my aging: a behavior I’ve labelled Food Triage. In my late 20’s or early 30’s, I discovered the importance of seeking out all of the near-expiring food and creating some sort makeshift, CHOPPED-esque meal. There was a strange sense of satisfaction when creating some sort of loose chicken, old vegetable and rando-cheese burrito. It tasted mediocre at best, but I felt like a field surgeon making due with his supplies in order to patch-up an injured soldier. Apparently, that tingle of satisfaction was just the gentle vibration of time passing. Lightbulb…OLD!

Finally, and maybe the most damning evidence, is my newly found interest in the potential warmth of jackets and coats. I’m ALWAYS hot. And yet, I now find myself entrenched in the outerwear department asking myself and others, “how warm is this rancher jacket… really? Would a real Sherpa sign-off on this lining?” Also, at some point, I’ve become able to expertly rub my fingers against the inside of any outerwear and instinctually sense how it will stand up to cold weather (apparently, one of my new older person super powers). Moreover, I’m now not only concerned about my warmth, but also the warmth of others. An interest that has led my normally anti-social self to ask strangers about their coats. Lightbulb…I am OLD!

Gesellschaft

German words are frightening. They jam as much consonants together as they possibly can. And usually the most jagged ones. It’s like getting on the 6-train during rush hour, nothing but elbows, knees and those pointy edges at the base of every book bag and purse. Nevertheless, German words are very specific. Whenever they cram all those letters together, they usually come up with an interesting word.

Gesellschaft is a group made up of different interests, norms and concerns all gathered in one area. Usually, the gesellschaft has an overarching goal, but it’s loosely defined. You can find a good example of a gesellschaft in an office environment. Everyone in the office is pressed together from different walks of life and then laden with slightly different tasks for some vague goal set by a faceless company or agency. Due to those conditions, it’s easy to understand how most offices devolve into laboratories for petty behavior and/or studies in social Darwinism.

Don’t get me wrong; I do not blame gesellschaft. It’s not his fault; the word basically can be broken down to mean society. I blame society. Societies are tough nuts to crack. For instance, the sum of all those differences in an office building multiplied by a thousand could equal America. And America is pretty complicated right? Some many people from so many different places and so many different understandings. It wouldn’t take much to cause that kind of large-scale gesellschaft to aimlessly stumble into division. Conversely, I can think of only one thing that could make it blossom into a collective and agile force for progress, overcoming the differences we have. My answer would be a sense of purpose, not just individually by way of personal achievement, but in the pleasure one gets from contribution. Maybe one day America will stop feeling like this giant office building crammed to capacity with individuals but without an actual common point of focus. Maybe one day all the different threads of humanity that America contains will weave into a particularly strong tapestry made possible by a galvanizing and shared purpose.

Shades of Severity

Dr. Jekyll said: “…I led a life of such severity as I had never before attained to, and enjoyed the compensations of an approving conscience.” Robert Louis Stevenson – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

What is the value of an “approving conscience”? At what point does the freedom of mind and action become a hindrance to the soul? Moreover, when does the soul become the restraint to the freedom of mind and action? Dr. Jekyll struggled with these questions in the novel, but we all find that understanding difficult. As severity – in relation to the use of self-discipline – can often instruct us subjectively, one can decide that the moral position is determined best when an external power or holy power is in control; however, what if that authority seems to have abandoned you. If we woke up tomorrow and authority – both religiously and politically – were gone, would we regret the discipline and restraint of action that we showed during our lives or would we be stalwart in the standards of morality we accepted.