Pleasure Notes

If you were drained of all political fervor in 2008, and you are currently living under a rock, you may not know of Rod Blagojevich. Since most of you do, however, I won’t bother providing his bio here. You may wonder, in fact, why the hell I would even utter his name given his ubiquitous presence on so many other platforms. I only mention him because he is further proof that I am surrounded by liars. And I kind of like it.

Let me explain…

By American Cacher

I am a writer and a rabid observer of human nature. Our foibles, and our attempts to disguise and deny those foibles – by lying – absolutely fascinate me. Lies are rampant in the 21^st century. They are evidence of a hopeless pursuit of perfection and power. Perhaps they are unavoidable. After all, have you ever met anyone who can claim they’ve never told a lie – without lying to make the claim?

Photo by Julius Lim

Watching Mr. Blagojevich compare himself to Gandhi, and attest to caring only for the little people of Illinois, has me shaking my head in wonder and cackling in glee – not because I believe one iota of what comes out of his mouth but rather because the design of his lies is utterly Baroque.

By MasksofVenice.co.uk

On the rare occasion I can force my eyes to lower from the behemoth mass of hair he carries around like a weapon, so I can closely examine his face, two things strike me:

1. I now know the struggle men have in shifting their eyes onto my face, though the effort is in the other direction.
2. Television is better than our public school system at teaching the important things.

Wed. 9pm on FOX

In particular, Lie To Me is a must-see for anyone who values a well-rounded education. For those who have thrown out their televisions in protest over the imminent switch to digital and thereby missed the ad campaign, Lie To Me is a new show on Fox, starring Tim Roth. The premise is, shockingly, that everyone lies and lucky folks like Tim Roth’s character, Dr. Lightman (Light Man – get it?), can tell when the lies are being told. I actually think the show is pretty clever, and Tim Roth is yummy in that slexy kind of way. But the priceless aspect of the show is the weekly lesson it gives in how to uncover a deception. Watch, and you will learn much.

A Dreamworks Film

However, will viewers implement the lessons learned? Do people really want to know when someone is lying? Really? Isn’t there a teensy part of you that secretly hopes the FBI’s got it wrong and Blagojevich is simply a misunderstood dude in need of a stylist? Or that your husband really is stuck at the office instead of stickin’ it somewhere else? Or that the pretty girl truly loves the idea of seeing The Uninvited on your first date?

Novel Cover Art

Heidi Julavits’ latest novel, The Uses of Enchantment, addresses the question of whether lies harm us or save us in an entirely charming manner. The young, female protagonist takes a single action, with far-reaching consequences. The story explores the emotional murk created both by deception and by truth, the damage caused by lying to others and the even greater damage caused by lying to ourselves, and the difficulty we all have in distinguishing whether or not someone’s pants are on fire.

By Huuh/ deviantart.com

Lies makes life interesting. Uncovering lies makes life dangerous. And learning to love someone despite his or her lies makes life worth living. What lie are you telling today?

Engrossing novels, long walks along pine needle-cushioned paths, friendly philosophical debates while caught in doorways – these things bring me pleasure. Widgets, RSS feeds, CSS sheets, HTML, and all other computer-based acronyms – these things make me want to pull my hair out, one deep-rooted follicle at a time. I adopt each new technological advance only after it is tried, true, and passé. As an example, I acquired a digital camera only after the hard-working folks at CVS gave me a blank stare when asked where the Kodak envelopes were in which I could drop my film for developing. It is with deep shock, therefore, that I find myself embracing the blogosphere, tweet world, and “social media” prior to the creation of whatever comes after the web.

Luddite laptop created by Big Time Attic

How did this happen? Ignorance, I tell you. I had no idea that my spontaneous decision mere weeks ago to documenting things that bring me pleasure would thrust me so deeply into the alternate universe of technology. I have spent the waning days of 2008 learning more about FeedBurner, favicons, and FTPs than I ever thought I’d need to know. Ever. The journey has tested me, perhaps made me stronger, and certainly made it easier to subscribe to my blog. And it is not over. As I reflect on what 2009 may bring, I know I have much to learn, and not just about web 2.0. I couldn’t be more excited!

Magic Pill

I’ve always been a magic pill kind of person. I just want to flip a switch or press a button and have what I want, EXACTLY what I want, appear in working fashion before me. Patience is a virtue I misplaced in the process of exiting the womb – except I was delivered by C-section, but you get the picture.

Recently, however, I’ve found myself noticing signposts leading away from the magic pill approach to life. I’m not saying that I plan on diving into any wombs to retrieve an errant virtue. Or anything else, for that matter. I am saying that my intention in the coming months is to rewrite my story, the one about who I am and what I can and cannot do in this amazing life. Perhaps I am not such a Luddite after all. And if that is the case, what else may or may not be true about myself?

So here’s to discarding expectations, and joyfully embracing the unknown in 2009. Let’s be pleasurably surprised by what we reveal of ourselves and what we let ourselves achieve. Happy New Year!