I am a total townie. Having lived in London all my life, I of course think that it's the best place on earth (no offense folks, home is where the heart is). However for some reason I have a small place in my heart for America, San Francisco specifically. I've only been to the U.S three times and never to the west cost but the more I see of San Francisco the clearer it becomes that it is my promised land. I mean firstly why wouldn't anyone want to live in San Franciso? Skiing and surfing (love them both) within an hour of each other, great weather (I love fog), and very very nice people. But then I like all Americans! I suppose more than anything else it's because I'm a bit of a hippy. I don't really care about money and all I really want is M.A.C.T.O; music, art, company, tea, offspring. Already got four out of five, I'll leave you to guess which. Anyway come to think of it I've just touched upon one thing that does define me a fair bit.
I said I was a bit of a hippy, well sort of. I feel the term might be a little misleading. It makes me seem like a tree hugging, yogurt weaving nut-job, although I do love a good muller corner with or without a nice willow (my favorite) over my bonce. No I'm just philosophical. When I have a break from making electronic music on my computer or skateboarding, my reading revolves around texts that like to ponder what plagues and pleasures the human race. A large portion of what I like has a Buddhist connotation to it, the rest consists of basic philosophy; the meaning of life, ethics and all that malarkey. Just a note on the Buddhism, I'm by nowhere near able to call myself a Buddhist (yet) but I none the less do what I can to live its various pointers. I meditate twice a day and do my best not to get pissed off amongst other things. Oh and then there are the films....
It seems that all my favorite films have existentialist overtones. I'm no expert on existentialism. Yes I love a little Matrix after dark, Fight Club in the afternoon and Into the Wild any time of day. In fact I must give a special mention to that last film because it's probably one of the most inspirational things I've ever seen. As soon as I've left Leeds I'm going to play at being a hobo; a little hitchhiking here, couch surfing there all across America. If you haven't seen it then I strongly recommend it.
I think that's about it really. Not much else to say. Err... My dream bird is Charlotte from Lost in Translation.
Into the Wild reminds me of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who in 1778 wrote ‘Reveries of the Solitary Walker’. This is the opening: 'So now I am alone in the world, with no brother, neighbour or friend, nor any company left me but my own.’ Rousseau is a thinker that has influenced many of the ways we think about nature. He was writing at a time when people had started to mainly live in cities and for the first time ‘nature’ could be something to think about as an idea rather than something to survive. He had a revival in the 60s because of the rise of the counter culture movement. His influence is still current, if you read Richard Sennett’s ‘the Craftsman’ the life of virtue is seen as adhering to our simple ‘uncorrupted’ nature. Robert Persig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance being a precursor of this, his idea of ‘quality’ being very similar to Sennett’s craftsmanship.
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