The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.
Wednesday July 29, 2015
We enter the void for today's Quote/Picture/Video.
Okay...
And you have been forever, and will be forever, and all the worrisome smashings of your foot on innocent cupboard doors it was only the Void pretending to be a man pretending not to know the Void.
-Jack Kerouac
Some faux-losophy from a guy who I want to like but really don't. I should read more of his stuff before I judge him, but this quote makes him seem like a hack trying to sound mystical or deep. Like a less mystical Kahlil Gibran. There are some interesting philosophical ideas here (have we been forever? will we be forever?) but lines about “worrisome smashings of your foot on innocent cupboard doors” scream of trying too hard.
My simple analysis:
Have we been forever? No. We aren't God for crying out loud.
Will we be forever? Yes, so begin working towards it as soon as possible.
Are we a void? No, we are who we are. Our individualism is important. Eternal. This is the biggest problem I have with Eastern philosophy.
Shaq > Kerouac
When I have a void in my life I often fill it with this picture of Shaq with a tiny lemur. It never lets me down.
Lay down all thought
Lay down all thought
When Kerouac tries to get philosophical it comes off as trying to hard, partially because what he says is so convoluted, and partially because he really beats you over the head with it. John Lennon knew he wasn't a philosopher, so when he gets all Tibetan Book of the Dead in “Tomorrow Never Knows” it feels more like a songwriting exercise than a genuine attempt at philosophy. It lacks the pretense that Kerouac drowns in.
Fittingly trippy video for this one. Supposedly it was put together by Beatles assistant Neil Aspinall in 1967 for an unfinished third Beatles movie.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
Fittingly trippy video for this one. Supposedly it was put together by Beatles assistant Neil Aspinall in 1967 for an unfinished third Beatles movie.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
RSS Feed
