Monday, July 31, 2017

Three Ways to Be Naked

1.
When I was six years old
I was so afraid of skeletons
that I wished I didn’t have one.
Living with death as the foundation of your body
is like
Sharing a fleshy home
with your mortality as a roommate.
Ten years later, I was a goth kid
wearing the skeletons in my closet.

Sometimes bones are too bare to bear.
I tell women,
“If some guy annoys you by asking for nudes,
tell him,
‘I’ve got something better. These are next level nudes.’
And then send him your X-Rays.”

2.
I think stripping is the opposite of therapy.
Instead of laying out your insecurities as laundry to be ironed,
Dancers disrobe to put on
an invincible, cybernetic self
with a glitter aura,
Slick with Teflon-coated sweat.

In therapy, you pay someone else
to watch you undress.
Calling an analyst a “shrink”
is saying we’re diminished by therapy
When it’s more like dancing under a microscope.

3.
People look at others
with the eyes of a hungry surgeon
and see themselves
through Photoshopped funhouse mirrors.

Instagramming our meals is just a next-level selfie.
A selfie is, “Look at my face.”
A food picture is, “…and look what goes into my face!”
We consume ourselves and each other
Jumping bones
Finding bones to pick
Picking bones clean.
We make fun of selfies, but
Every great work of art throughout history
has essentially been a selfie,
Creators calling out, “I am here!”
Graffiti tagging the walls of time.

It turns out
The emperor has never had clothes.
But he’s always had a damn good Snapchat filter.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Why does night feel supernatural?

The world feels supernatural at night, because nighttime opens up more possibilities for imagination. I think this is for three reasons.

You might be thinking less about work or daily practicalities. There’s more time for introspection. Even if you’re not tired, you’re also slipping more into a dreamlike state which allows for abstraction.

Another reason is that shadowy spaces naturally spark our imagination. Sometimes it’s in a fearful way, but fears can be creative.

Also, it’s because we can see the stars. This always feels like magic. Preexisting formations make us want to create; outer space absorbed into inner space. The galaxy reminds us of the seemingly endless expanse we can begin, bit by bit, to fill with ideas.