Philip Fibiger

I just now discovered Giving Good Weight, a wonderful essay by John McPhee that originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1978. McPhee is my favorite non-fiction writer, with an uncanny ability to write beautifully about nearly anything. His intense and varied curiosity shows through in his writing, with topics ranging from experimental aircraft to ecology and of course including his monumental, Pulitzer Prize winning treatise (written originally as 3 books over more than a decade) on the the geology of North America. Giving Good Weight is a perfect snapshot of a couple hours in New York City, and of the gentle collision of cultures that occured.

Yum. Right now it is just a dream, but some day it will be mine! I wish dealers gave test rides, but it’s just the bike I rode out in the desert, a few generations evolved. That bike was a blast, and I imagine this will be even more impressive.

I went to see The Get Up Kids with Leonard this evening. It was a brutally loud show. I’ve been to some loud concerts, but this one might take the cake. Before I managed to adjust to the volume (somewhat), my skull felt like it was being pushed in by the music.

I realize that the ringing in my ears means that i’ve sustained some (hopefully very small) amount of permanant hearing damage, I still find the state oddly comforting. I remember going to see Orbit at The Haunt in Ithaca with Emily my sophomore year just before the Thanksgiving break. That show was loud as well, and I came home to an absolutely silent dorm suite and room (all my roommates had left for the break). The ringing was astonishing in that noiseless environment. I put the single I had purchased (for the 2nd album for A&M that they never released) into my cd changer and let the crunchy guitars mix with the noise in my head. It was wonderful.

That said, I think next time I’ll bring earplugs.

if i was an artist, I think i’d want my slogan to be:

“ROCK ON WITH YOUR SMOCK ON”