Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the writer's block. I've spent this weekend writing and while it's slow going, at least it's going ... somewhere.

I don't normally write about articles I find other places, that's why I link to my del.icio.us account over there on the right. If you're interested in what I'm reading you can follow the articles I find interesting. But this article is just too cool to miss.

The Washington Post convinced world famous classical music genius Joshua Bell to perform in L'Enfant Plaza (a stop on the DC metro system) as a street performer. The idea was too see if people would stop and listen to him or if they would ignore him. But don't trust my crappy summery, go read the article.

I'd like to think that should this happen in a subway station that I'm standing in, I would stop and take the time to listen. I don't know a lot about classical music, but I flatter myself into thinking I'd recognize the talent when I heard it.

Unfortunately, I know for a fact that I wouldn't. I'm one of those people who spends much of their time plugged into their iPod. I know it's anti-social but every time I unplug from the damn thing, I regret it.

Take, for example, the last time I flew into LA. It was really early and I ended up being the only person on the shuttle. The guy driving was a short stocky fellow with a Mid Western accent and a leather cap and leather jacket. For the first ten minutes of the drive everything went swimmingly. A cab driver on a cell phone tried to merge directly into us and my driver, feeling that he'd been slighted, pulled along side of the cab and proceeded to cut him off hard enough that I heard the cabs tires squeal as he locked his breaks. That was awesome.

Even more awesome was when we finally got into Westwood.

Him: You go to UCLA?
Me: Yep.
Him:There's a long of Asians there.
Me: Uhh, Yeah.
Him: If I was your age I'd be banging all that Asian pussy.
Me: Oh.
Him: Yeah, I love those Asians, especially when they shave.
Me: (Please god kill me, please god kill me) When they shave...?
Him: Yeah, I love shaving that cooch. Girls are into it too. I've got a buddy who works as a waxer. Does a lot of strippers. When he's down there, sometimes he gets to finger them. Sometimes they bang him.
Me: (Please tell me this isn't happening) Uhh, I guess it's good work if you can get it?
Him: Fucking right it is.

So while I might miss some of the beauty in the world, guerrilla performances by world class violinists, I also miss some of the ugliness in the world. I don't know if it's a fair trade, but it's one that I'm willing to make for now. Anyway, enjoy the article.

Posted by Ben Corman at 1:05 AM

Print Friendly · Digg it · del.icio.us · StumbleUpon · Netscape

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.festeringass.com/mt/mt-tb.fcgi/1721

Comment Policy:

Anonymous comments are allowed. All anonymous comments and comments from those not registered with TypeKey are moderated. They WILL NOT appear until they are read and approved by a moderator.

It is strongly encouraged that you sign up and login with a TypeKey account. Once you do that, your comments will be immediately posted.

Comments

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Please type the phrase 'bencorman' in the box below (required):