standing in the way of control

"Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of resistance" -- Steven Pressfield

Twitter. The most vapid, self-absorbed form of social media in existence. As BPB said, it's the endless swirl of the social media toilet. Does anyone really even give a shit about whatever it is you have to say? Yes, everyone has a voice and America the great and beautiful, land of the free encourages everyone to let theirs be heard. But here's the real question: does everyone else need to hear your thoughts? A voice does not necessarily entitle you to an opinion.

Twitter provides everyone who signs up with the opportunity to become the star of their own show. It's a personal news feed -- all you, all the time. Could anything be more self-righteous? (maybe a blog...oh...wait) Constant ego stimulation. Me me me me me me.

The personal spotlight that Twitter affords individuals can be intoxicating at times. "Look at how many followers I have! They all want to know what I'm doing & thinking & saying at all times! Look at all of my @replies!"

No. No one gives a shit. It's a digital facade, technological tricks, smoke & mirrors.

In my personal use, I've come to view Twitter as nothing more than a leech on the leg of creativity, slowly & quietly draining away one's lifeblood. You wade through the murky, knee-deep water of those you follow, sifting for various tidbits that will only hold your interest for a mere moment. You never even feel the leech take grip of you. It feeds off of your one-liners, ideas & thoughts, draining the blood out of them. Before you know it, they are reduced to colorless, lifeless shells of what used to be productivity & inspiration. The "ah-ha!" moment reduced to a pipedream.

For me, the time has come to emerge from the swamp. I am all too conscious of the leech sucking everything out of me. And I intend to throw salt on the bloodthirsty bastard.

For the time being, I'm done with Twitter. More than anything, it has been the writer's equivalent of crack for me: instantly gratifying, incredibly short-lasting (140 characters or less isn't exactly what I'm looking for at this point in my writing) and an altogether terrible habit. Let's just hope that it's not as hard to quit.

So that's that. It's not you, it's me. Hopefully, I'll see you on the productive side of the street.

Edit: I'm back on Twitter. It is harder to quit than crack.

carine roitfeld

okay i lied...looks like i do have time to post after all. just saw a mini-documentary on carine roitfeld, the vogue paris editor in chief. cnn followed her around during the paris & new york fashion weeks as a part of their 'revealed' series. it's an interesting piece on an amazing woman...definitely worth a look.

patience is a virtue

just got back to school. since spring break's over (for me at least) i figure i'd warm up your mind with some word problems, bobby billions style. ready? let's go:

1) 60 degree weather + first day of classes - one class because it got cancelled + chuck bast being in town = billions not getting back to the ELife (mentally) until to.....morrow. or wednesday.

2) new metric + new phoenix + lots of time in the car = spring/summer '09 is shaping up to be epic music-wise.

3) getting lots of emails + deadlines + work piling up = library for the night.

4) all of my bags on the floor + a bed to make - motivation + leaving for the library in a minute = that's not getting done for a while.

5) st. patrick's day tomorrow + jenner & bast coming up for the occasion = trouble.

BONUS/FREEBIE!

6) my new decanter = awesome

good job. i'm proud of you. if you didn't pick up on one of the common themes from the problems...march is shaping up to be as busy as february was. here's the twist: i'm going to try out positive thinking for a while & see where that gets me. it also means there's a good chance i'll be slacking on the posts but i'll make it up to all ten of you soon. time to dive in headfirst.

i might regret this

there's a good chance i might take this down before it can see the light of day...literally. the following is a series of thoughts that occured to me on my way down to chicago last weekend. thank god for the memopad function on my phone. anyway, it's all fun & games for the most part here but i thought i'd switch it up every once in a while. we'll see whether or not this will happen again. without further adieu, my thoughts:

the car's speed is set at 79 miles per hour. i'm sitting shotgun at a standstill. michigan to chicago. a mini-midwest roadtrip i've been on too many times to remember.

i've been around for two decades -- too little to know anything but too long to be surprised by much. i read somewhere that david foster wallace also had an early midlife crisis at age 20, which doesn't exactly bode well for me now does it? both in this world & this car, i'm just a passenger along for the ride. how many times have we heard the cliched "don't let life pass you by" slogan? however, in these messy times, what am i supposed to do? what am i going to do? the only thing i know: observe. think. write. reflect.

is it possible to be equally discouraged & inspired by the state of the world? can the glass be both half full & empty at the same time? all my life i've been discouraged by the endless hoops to jump through, the bullshit bureaucracy, walls taller than jericho. but today, i feel up to the challenges. maybe it's the fact that it's march 6th & 61 degrees in the midwest. maybe it's the blue sky. maybe i'm just tired of being tired.

the old way of doing things is over. the dinosaurs are dead. the world is broken and i want to pick up the pieces.

--------

annnnnnd that's it. like i said, i wrote the thing in a blackberry memo. obviously, it's not pulitzer winning material but if i don't start putting out my real writing soon, i never will. this is just a start.

it's your lucky day

Tips to Staying Recession-Proof with Bobby Billions

even though it's been a full two days since i posted the last tip and you're like, totally ready for this whole ew gross 'recession' thing to be over, it's not. times are still tough. shit's still rough.

a lot of people have been asking me questions lately about how i still manage to look like the quintessential definition of style & beauty while maintaining the musk of old, filthy money in these hard times. my only response is that it's not easy being bobby billions & this recession isn't doing anything to help. however, with a little bit of persistence, sticktoitiveness and good old-fashioned chain-snatching, you too can be just like p.bob...which brings me to my second Tip to Staying Recession-Proof:

2) chainsnatch

this is my good friend cliff skighwalker

as you can tell by the picture, he is indeed a champion. in fact, he's so much of a champion, i recently decided to snatch his chef piece chain. figured a guy with that much swagger wouldn't even miss it. turns out he does. but here's the beauty of chain snatching: once you get a chain, the ball is in your court (or should i just say the chain is on your neck?) i'm now in the position to ransom cliff's chain back to him...for a billion dollars. bobby billions wouldn't accept any less. and if he doesn't feel like forking over the billion dollars, i can continue to 'turn my swag on,' as soulja boy would say & wear the chain whenever i feel like it. it's obviously a win-win situation for you, the chainsnatcher. for the chainsnatched, not so much. but who cares about them? you're balllllllliiiiinnnnnnn' like jim jones used to. and that's as good as it gets. more tips coming soon.

your move, skighwalker.

almost done

just pulled a full day at the library. beyond exhausted right now. two exams tomorrow & driving home as soon as i turn in the second test. finally getting away from the ELife for a while. shout outs to everything that kept me going today:

copious amounts of water

mainlined some coffee

uniball v5s are the truuuuth

xr

drake's 'so far gone' mixtape

here's a quick shit list of people/things i encountered today:

- the guy sitting at the computer across from me who found it necessary to pound out every single letter on his keyboard while typing. give me a fucking break, guy. i can feel the communal table space shaking.

- slow walkers

- the professor who decided to conduct his class in the middle of the quiet wing. are. you. kidding. me.

it feels like i've been skullfucked after today. yayyyyyy :) that's all i've got for now...this guy's calling my name:

yeah yeah i know it's only red but i'm trying to save money. speaking of which...watch out for the next bobby billions recession tip. coming soon. as in later tonight soon.

Tips to Staying Recession-Proof with Bobby Billions

times are tough...duh. i don't feel like going through the laundry list of our problems because you should already know we're in a recession. just cause there's recess in the word doesn't mean it's a playground.

anyway, your boy bobby billions aka bobby bailout is a man of the people & wants to see you through these hard times. i've decided to give out some helpful hints to all 9 of you who read this. just cause it's a recession doesn't mean you can't be regal, babyyyy. here's the first tip:

1) get your coupon

clip em, save em, stack em, use em. you gotta love the discount/freebie. mcdonald's hooked me up with a 'free small hot or medium iced mccafe coffee of your choice' coupon. sorry starbucks, looks like i won't be dropping billllz at your establishment tomorrow. bobby billions stacking loot & saving you bills at the same time.

ballinnnnnnnnnnnnnn'

stay tuned for more 'staying recession-proof with bobby billions' coming soon.

skighwalker//posner

cliff got a chance to interview mike posner about his mixtape 'A Matter of Time' which drops TODAY, March 1st. i've been listening to a lot of it on repeat for the past few days now & can say that i'm definitely a fan of it. i told cliff last night that the mixtape sounds like space-pop. as in, you'd play this in a spaceship. rockets! bobby black hole gets down with it. (sidenote: i'm officially claiming 'space-pop' as mine, so you heard it here firrrrrst). check out the interview to get a sense of the concept, then go download the mixtape here.