Haircut

There is nothing quite as invigorating as getting a fresh haircut. It is a wonderful feeling. Provided the barber does a good job, it also gives the recipient quite a boost of confidence.
A barber shop, even if one has never been there before, can be such a calm and comforting place. It's hard to believe there could be so much hair in the world that needs cutting, but the demand is there. The barber shop is warm, it has comfortable chairs, and it just feels good to have somebody touching your head for such a long period of time. If my hair grew back as fast as it got cut away, I doubt I would ever get up.

The gentle massage of the electric clippers against one's scalp, the hypnotic hum of the rotating blades, the intoxicating aroma of shaving cream and Barbicide; all these things seem to soothe one to sleep when sitting there in complete silence. The barber takes complete care of you. He knows exactly how much to take off, knows exactly how to get the right cut, clean and sharp. He trims away and sculpts like an artist. He traces the curves of your skull with precision, and then asks you if it looks ok.

For men this monthly ritual of the haircut is something that has been passed down traditionally, and it is not something you can get anywhere else really except the barbershop. At the barbershop, people know you, people know your barber, your barber knows you, and you know your barber. And if he does a good job, you keep coming back.

I feel sorry that women can't necessarily relate to this routine, although, when they take their trips to the beauty salon or spa, they take their treatment to the next level. They go all out once in a while, which is something most men don't do. Longer hair is a pain to maintain, especially to keep it looking good, but it is worth it, in my opinion. But there is nothing quite like getting your hair cut with an electric clippers once or more a month, it just feels good. Everybody, including women, should get their hair buzzed down at least once in their life. It's invigorating. And there is nothing like running your hand across someone's soft, pillowy, fuzzy, and clean head afterwards. It's enlightening.

Crime & Reward

Those two things do not normally go together, but in my life experience, especially recently, I have had the unique opportunity to experience one as a consequence of the other.

My family was here this past week (end) and one of our activities was to go see a movie. For the second time in as many weeks, I paid the full admission price, a ghastly $11.75 for a single adult ticket, watched one movie, then sneaked in illegally to a second movie for free. The amazing thing, in both cases, the second movie greatly outranked the first in quality. While the first movie left me somewhat satisfied, the second movie left me with a great thrill of accomplishment. It could be a matter of economics, in that the amount I sacrificed for one movie is indirectly related to the amount of fun I could have in seeing a movie, and since I didn't pay anything for the second movie, it allowed me to be free of pleasure restrictions, thus letting me enjoy the movie to new heights.

It could be also a matter of philosophy, in that since I didn't pay for the second movie, I was, in effect, "sticking it to the man", and so I was able to enjoy the movie that much more.
It could just be that the second movie was better than the first movie in both cases, which is the most likely, and what I think I truly believe.

In any case, I took a risk, committed a small offense, and was rewarded to a much greater degree than what the crime entailed. It's not the first time this has happened, though, and quite honestly, I'm surprised by how often I've been able to get away with something and have the end result work out in my benefit.

Any person who has been to my apartment can tell you about the collection of road signs I have on display. Though each one has taken some effort to "borrow" from certain state governments, they have actually been more of a hassle to move, but the collection is well worth having, as I receive nothing but compliments on it (especially the coffee table), and it gives the apartment a great deal of character. I can honestly say that the rewards I have received from added benefit of having the road signs on display in my home have greatly outweighed the risk of felony I may have been prone to.

And if dumpster-diving is a crime, then find me guilty! Several things in my apartment have been gifts from other people's hand-me-downs and quite a few have been snatched right from the street, including the latest additions of a very handsome mirror (the second which I retrieved from the trash) and a musical staff blackboard.

I'm quite proud of the discoveries I have been able to make when casually looking through others' discarded things, and though the behaviors I have adopted over the years may classify me by some as a kleptomaniac, I feel that the risk involved has led to even greater reward. Though there is a chance that taking such a risk could land you flat on your face or in jail, there is also a chance, if you are slick or lucky, that you could wind up with something really cool!

My Generation

Perhaps I am biased, but I really feel like the people in my generation are special. It is strange to say, but the people around my age who I have met and conversed with in my days seem to have some pretty good heads on their shoulders, generally speaking.

It is a bold statement to say that one generation could possibly better represent the population of human society than a different generation, but Tom Brokaw did it, so why can't I.

My generation is only twentysomething years old. Some of us have just barely started our careers. Some of us are still having trouble figuring out what our careers are going to entail. Some of us still live in the houses of the generation before us. One thing that can be said about the generation that I belong to is that we were born in a very particular time, a unique time, a time that somewhat seems to lend itself to our being here.

For starters, my generation has lived through the development of major breakthroughs in technology. While we were born in the analog age during the 70s and 80s, we have grown into the digital age of the 90s and the new millennium. We were around when people were still using tapes and records, and therefore we have the knowledge and appreciation for those tools, while we have developed right along with disks and the compression of information into tiny computer files. Unlike the generations that follow us, we know what it was like before everyone had the internet. We remember, even though distantly, the hum of a dial-up modem and the frustration of having but one phone line for the use of "important phone calls" as well as talking to friends in an online chat room.

Nowadays, even things like CDs and land line telephones are becoming obsolete. But my generation was there when it all changed, and that gives us a unique perspective on how the past becomes the future. Some of us have taken full advantage of it. We've turned technology into gold. We've changed the entire landscape on how information gets to people. We've changed what it takes to become famous. We've become pioneers in the upcoming digital age.

More so than just the advances in technology we've been witness to, we have been witness to some important events in the course of human history. We were born into the cold war, even though it probably did not affect us at all. We saw the Berlin wall come down, even though we probably did not know what it meant. But we grew up during the 90s, when things were more or less stable in the U.S., at least. Then, when September 11th happened, we watched with wide eyes and complete understanding of what was taking place. Unlike the generation before us, we did not have our careers in place; we did not have to take a time-out from our progress in order to access the damage and possible consequences. Unlike the generation after us, we were not confused children watching with dismay unsure of what the older people were talking about. My generation was right there, at our spongiest point in development, soaking it all in. We went right along with our emotions, our fears, and our instructions. Some of us went to war. Some of us stayed behind and talked about those who went. Some of us are still trying to figure out what is going on.

The people in my generation have traveled the world. We have seen different cultures. We have visited. We have studied. A lot of us have graduated college. We have learned. We have decided what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. We have stood on the shoulders of the generations before us and we've seen what the world can offer and we've seen the destruction it can befall. My generation rests in the outstretched hands of the generation before ours anticipating our destiny, preparing, in one way or another, for the opportunities and the trials we will face.

I feel that my generation was born and formed straddling the fence that divides the old way of life and what is going to be the new way of life. If you look at the way things are changing in today's world, you can see that it is not just a few things. The way people talk, the way people drive cars, the way people watch TV and listen to music is all different than the way it was before I was born. The way energy is harnessed, the way companies are run, the way people are educated is changing. Some things may be subtle and may not be noticeable on a smaller scale, but if you go back and look at the big picture, I think you'll be able to see what I see. The entire dynamic of the way the world works is changing, and not to a small degree. One might say that the world is simply progressing the way it always has, but I see it to an even greater extreme.

I feel that my generation is in some way responsible for this changing of the world. I think that we are in a unique place having the knowledge and experience and the observation of the successes and mistakes of the previous generations. At the same time, we were born into the time and place that has let us connect with each other so vividly, whether by way of fast long-distance communication or by the affordability of commercial travel, and, in turn, the commercialization of the greater world.

We have reaped the benefits of our grandmothers and grandfathers being fruitful and industrious and creative, working together at times of need, and being brutally competitive at the same time. Their successes and failures were passed down to our fathers and mothers, and we have been privileged the opportunities to take advantage of their successes and failures, giving us the unique spot in human history to take responsibility for what is about to happen. Even though we may not know what that entails, I believe we are better prepared than any generation to come before us. For example, my generation was not the first generation to see movies. We weren't the first generation to make movies. But we have both seen and made movies. To give us context on the old days, we've seen movies from the old days, but we've also seen movies about the old days. We've seen modern interpretations of the old days and we've seen modern interpretations of the movies that were made in the old days. We have a unique perspective on the past that has both viewed and reviewed, something that generations before ours could not brag about.

My generation has made periods of time seem smaller. Remember the 90s? Oh, yeah, it was last year. Thank you, VH1, for reminding me. But we can also relate to things from the beginning of last century just like we can relate to things from the beginning of this century. We've watched some of the same TV shows, read the same books, and listened to some of the same music as our parents and grandparents. Therefore, we've been influenced not only by the things that were around in our generation, but by the things that were around in their generations, too! What is unique about our generation, as opposed to those of our parents and grandparents, is that they didn't have the freedom to be able to look back at their own unique history until they were much older, until they were having children already. But for us, their history is our foundation. It is our springboard to jump from. The bar is set pretty high. But they lived through the Three Stooges, Red Skelton, silent movies, the Great Depression, World War II, The Beatles, Woodstock, and the 80s, so we didn't have to! We've been influenced by everything important that's come before us, along with the things that are unique to our generation alone.

Imagine if we were only defined by the things we grew up with. For my generation, it might be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Where's Waldo, D.A.R.E., and the Pizza Hut Book It! program. For the generations before us, it might be hula hoops, hopscotch, cowboys and indians, and radio programs. Thankfully, we all grow up. Each generation grows up into different things. Fortunately for my generation, we didn't have to grow up into the Holocaust or Vietnam. We didn't witness the birth of the airplane or the tattoo parlor. Lucky for us, though, the people who did are still around. We still have them to help us with what we do grow up and stand witness to. We have the "greatest" generation at our backs, and with that said, we can be what we have to be, for better or for worse.

Aside from all this, my generation sticks together better because we know that the only way we can all be successful is if we come to solutions that benefit us all. We've learned that time and time again.
My generation was always promised the pizza party. But the pizza party could only take form if everybody participated. Everyone had to do their part. Everyone had to be paying attention, and everyone had to play their role at their given time. I've only been to a few of these kinds of pizza parties (not the kind that my grandma throws just because it's Tuesday; I've been to lots of those), but I know that the big pizza party is still ahead. My generation is well within the jurisdiction to change the world, and it solely has the greatest opportunity to do so. I really feel that my generation is going to save the world.

South Park is Right

So many times I have watched the television cartoon show of South Park. I have watched since its premiere season. It was made famous by its four primary characters, fourth-graders, who episodically get into life-altering circumstances, all the while being crude, obnoxious, lewd, and profane. I almost forgot to mention that while they were doing all those things, they were also portraying satire in a manner that is absolutely hilarious!

I took a break from South Park in my young adulthood, missing quite a bit of essential character development and needless celebrity bashing, I'm sure, but I was able to jump back on board in my collegiate years, when I was finally able to get and appreciate the humor. I have been watching avidly for the past few seasons, now, and I can truly say that South Park is one of the best shows on TV today, and it has been for awhile.

The creators of the South Park television show have used their outlet of animation through the minds of Midwestern elementary students on cable television to the max of its potential, pushing the envelope as far as it can go, creating a show that covers everything; making fun of anybody they choose, satirizing topics both political and pop cultural, with plot lines revolving around the most objectionable material they can find, and using their means to get whatever they possibly can to be put in front of an international audience. The language is carefully crafted, but colorful. The characters move every emotion in the viewer: love, hate, pity, sorrow, tenderness, and mockery. The setting is something A LOT of people can relate to. The humor is something not a lot of people can appreciate, and that is the only place the show suffers, in my opinion. If everybody who watched it had a tolerance for offensive material as vast as the people who create the show week in and week out, it might have a bigger audience yet, though, even with its poignant way of expressing opinion, South Park has found immense success and its niche in the comedy marketplace.

In the past five seasons, in which I have become a loyal supporter and fan of the show, I have been both turned away and invited to watch as much as I can take. No doubt, I have watched some of the most offensive and grotesque things I've ever witnessed. Some movies aren't even as bad as South Park is, yet, I have also watched how keen and accurate the show can be with its humor, especially when dealing with current events. Some episodes of South Park make me cringe. Others, though, make me smile and laugh to my heart's content.

In each episode, South Park sends a message out to the people who watch it. Whether the message is what the writers intended has to do with the viewers' interpretations. But, especially when episodes tackle a hot controversial topic, political or otherwise newsworthy, the South Park creators are relentless at going for the throat. They so brilliantly make fun of the things they need to make fun of, but then at the end of the episode, they bring it all together and say what they really meant to say the whole time, if only subtly.

It is so hard to tell which direction the creators of South Park lean politically, as they express opinions that cater to both the left and the right. If they are anything, they are certainly unafraid to express an opinion, which I am fine with. Even though, the show sometimes leaves me disgusted and offended to my core, more often than not, I agree with what the show has to say. The offensive material may be offset by the fact that I am rolling on the floor laughing, but even so, I fight myself in agreement with the general message of what South Park has to say.

Nothing in this world is perfect, and as always, one cannot listen to everything someone has to say. There might be something, though, in the wisdom of these fourth-graders that shouldn't be ignored. We should listen to them just as we would listen to our parents or teachers. Everybody is entitled to an opinion. And everybody's opinion is equivalent to everyone else's. But that, in itself, is an opinion, so I don't know who you should listen to.