How much?

So on our way back from the Ryan Adams show we saw many signs indicating "Adult Stores". These were on pretty empty stretches of the interstate between places where normal people stop. I assume(carefully) that they're strategically placed for lonely truckers that need a little break in their drives. My jewish friend asked "Do you think sex is/can be transactional?"

I think that sex is transactional. And can be. However, I think I answered a different question than he asked. He was referring to a more here's-your-haircut-here's-your-money-transaction. So you pay a prostitute and she takes your money, giving you some sort of sexual favor in return. It's an agreed upon price and action/service, everyone walks away satisfied, right? I don't think so.

It seems that we've lowered the sex standard instead of elevating it. It's just entertainment.

While I agree that it is very entertaining, a fantastic pastime, I'm afraid that it should mean more than that. I think it's transactional in the way that a good conversation or a good book is. Both persons/entities gain the pleasure of enjoying the other and being enjoyed.

Perhaps if a sex worker actually goes into the job wanting to have sex and give sexual pleasure to people who long for it then s/he can walk away from the day a little wealthier and a little more fulfilled in life. But I feel that this is rarely the case. And the patrons probably don't get the same sort of fulfillment. That's why they continue to return and perhaps form a nasty spiral into addiction and more and more questionable behaviors.

We should treat sex as a beautiful part of life. We should allow the intimacy of being *gasp* naked with another person to enhance our aesthetic natures. Don't think of it as sustenance. Think of it as a luxury. Bread is necessary for survival. Good bread is beautiful and fulfilling. We do have an urge within us to mate. But we rarely have propagation sex. It's usually for pleasure. Which is fine. But let's rise above that evolutionary drive, the Freudian desire. We can continue to evolve and look at sex from a higher consciousness, while being aware of our most basic instincts and not allowing them to be the drving forces within us. Knowledge and education now become important. Instead of telling us not to have sex and making us sign some stupid fucking promise, they should have told us why we feel like having sex, how to be careful, and when it's most appropriate. There may not be so many "backseat babies" this way. Let's make it okay to have sex. But make it okay to be okay with it. No one forcing or begging or chasing or paying.

Blackout

So you know how certain smells, tastes, words, or sounds can take you back to places that you remember for so many reasons other than those sensory stimuli but still you find yourself transported just by that simple thing? It happened to me tonight. On the way home from my GG date Muse came on the iPod shuffle songs mode. The song Blackout from their Absolution album. An album I have memorized because it was all I listened to on my Walkman for about a week of travelling through Spain. I walked the entire length and breadth of Valencia listening to Muse and taking in the smells, sights, and breezes of such a sweet Mediterranean city. Ah, Valencia. Take me back.

MY KNEEEEEZ HURT!!!

So today we went to the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshorn Museum, Museum of American History, Natural History Museum, and American Art Museum. I wish I was brilliant enough with my words to give these places the praise they deserve. Seriously, I've been to museum's all over the world, okay? These are great. Especially, of course, the natural history one. The dinosaurs are awesome. And the mammals. And the orchids. Wow. I did take a few pictures but I'm not going to post them today. The weather was nice. A little cool but nice.

Can I just rant a bit about people being so overly controlling that no one has fun? Listen, I realize that if a group consists of easy-goers then it's possible that nothing will get done. But if it's three easy-goers and a stick-up-the-ass, things are bound to get nasty. Easy-goers are can be real chill when things are cool, but the real ones will get riled up pretty quickly when their easy-going attitude is being trampled upon. Don't you think that's how it should go? We're fine for almost most of the time. I guess it's just that we choose our battles and it seems to be that the battles we choose are really about particulars but rather principles.

Oh yes, now you may jump in and say "Wait, you're easy going? I thought you were a self diagnosed obsessive-compulsive." That's true. I won't argue. Here's the deal. I'm working on it. I have been for a long time. I really works me on the inside like you wouldn't believe, but I seriously try to let lots of things go. I just bite my tongue. But I sometimes find myself at odds with something that's so out of line that I have say something. I think perhaps the problem is that all the tension built up from having held my tongue for so long comes out all at once. Whoops! I'm actively trying. At least I have self-awareness.

Next!

Our Nation's Capitol

Arrived in DC this afternoon and basically just drove around. Ate at a quaint little place called Bourbon. I had the turkey club.

The drive across Tennessee and Virginia wasn't bad except we got caught in NASCAR traffic just outside of Knoxville this morning. There's a track in Bristol and apparently a big race today. Who couldn't have planned for hellacious traffic on a Sunday morning. ah well.

I'm very in love with this city already. It's hard to explain though. The layout is just cool. The cuz and I walked back from my mom's hotel tonight. We passed right in front of the capitol building:

For some reason that's the best I can do for now. Sorry. I'll figure out how to put them up better later but I'm headed bed for now. I'm pooped from riding in the car and this cold isn't helping any.

Road Trip

Okay I'm sitting here waiting on the rest of the crew to come pick me up. I've set the thermostat, wait, have I? Hold on...Okay got it. Everything's unplugged except the computer and radio. They're always the last things to go. I've got underware, pjs, pants, shirts, toothpaste, laptop, charger, cellphone, charger, iPod, charger, smokes, lighters, books, paper, shoes, socks, toothbrush, deodorant, face wash, razors, q-tips, jackets, umbrella, scarves, cologne(justincases), money(?), yoga mat, map, etc. I'm hoping to get some good reading and thinking done on the way to Knoxville and if they've got wi-fi, I'll post tonight. Otherwise, what have I to say? Nothing, I guess. I'm still anxious about leaving. I get this whole "What-am-I-forgetting?" freak out every time, but I'm a list maker and boyscout so I always have more than I'll ever need. I just can't help it. A little obsessive-compulsive, I am. Just a little.

Oh, Wednesday my jewish friend and I drove to Memphis to see Ryan Adams and had some really great talking on the way there and. I'll mention some of that throughout the week too. Thoughts about music, sex, relationships between humans, and more.

They should be here by now. Shit, I hate waiting.

Pacifism

I'm in an online religious studies class this semester and today we were asked a discussion question today. This was the question:

The Dalai Lama's beliefs and actions earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. He consistently teaches non-violence. Do you think non-violence or ahimsa is possible and more than just an admirable view? How can religion play a role in bringing about non-violence and peace?

Here's how I responded:

The Buddha was once asked if he had ever been provoked to such anger that he wanted to hit another man. He answered, "Yes, but then I realized that he and I are the same and by hitting him I would be injuring myself."

When one chooses to be nonviolent it has a disarming effect on his/her opponent. That is, the opponent is not used to fighting someone who refuses to fight back and even though the opponent may vanquish the pacifist, it is a hollow victory indeed. While nonviolence certainly is more than an admirable view, these days it rarely seems to be honored to the point that we choose it. It seems that we mostly give it lip service by saying something like "Oh, yes, we'd like to have peace but we have to defend ourselves." Well, I'm not sure that's true pacifism. Certainly not the kind that Gandhi espoused.

I think religion can play a role in supporting and encouraging nonviolence and peace by promising a reward for those who adhere to it in this life with a reward in an afterlife. However, I think that nonviolence, martyrdom, and self-sacrifice often get confused by religious people to the point that they feel dying "fighting" is an option. Until nonviolence is truly embraced and coexistence is accepted, real peace will remain impossible.


Whaddya think?

Deep Thoughts

Since a lot of the purpose of this blog is about keeping the truth from blinding, here's a little tidbit we were discussing today: Don't be in a hurry to be right. Many times we're confronted with a new idea or concept or even just a fact about our world that we didn't know yet and we feel pressed to have an immediate and profound reaction to it. Perhaps by the individual who shared with us or maybe by the group that surrounds us as we learn. But there's no hurry. As a matter of fact we should not feel pressed to form an opinion so quickly at all. How could we be intellectually honest with ourselves by trying to think deeply within a thirty minute period? Think deeply?, you ask. Yes, think deeply. About everything. Critically, of course, but that is merely applying scientific methods and questions to the idea. Deeply would be to try to apply to your life and see if such a concept has ever or will ever be relevant to your life. If it has not or will not, perhaps it's not a good one. Or maybe you just don't know about all of your future yet. Or you haven't thought about all of your past. To discard or dismiss an idea quickly is also bad form. These things must sit, allowed to seep into our consciousnesses then they will bubble to the surface when you least expect it, shining forth a light into what was once a dark corner of our knowledge. This post isn't meant to be a deep thought but rather instructions on how to have them. Just one road. There are many.

News: I'll be heading for DC next week for spring break with my mom and three exchange students. We're driving so I'll have plenty of time to read, write and think(oxford comma omitted). There will be pictures too. YAY!