EXCERPT FROM 'This is the Beat Generation' BY JOHN CLENNON HOLMES

Any attempt to label an entire generation is unrewarding, and yet the generation which went through the last war [WWII], or at least could get a drink easily once it was over, seems to possess a uniform, general quality which demands an adjective ... The origins of the word 'beat' are obscure, but the meaning is only too clear to most Americans. More than mere weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and, ultimately, of soul; a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness. In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself. A man is beat whenever he goes for broke and wagers the sum of his resources on a single number; and the young generation has done that continually from early youth.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

why bother?

Just feeling a little blue, I suppose.  But there is nothing to do but to keep on living, keep on trying to be a better person.  That's why I dragged my ass to the gym, even though I didn't really want to go.

I'm reading a really cool graphic novel right now called "Joyride", a compilation of the "John Constantine:  Hellblazer" series.



And maybe that is the reason to bother - because once in a while there is something brilliant like this...
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