Monday, 08 October 2001 | Red, white, and blue

I don't have cable, but tonight I ate out and sat directly in front of a TV tuned to CNN. It's incredible, the amount of information that is squeezed into such a small space, one screen with a hundred little partitions, divided into neat red, white, and blue rectangles. The space at the bottom of the screen seems to be reserved for scrolling text, text that generally sums up the situation, if you can focus on it long enough to comprehend what it's telling you. The rest of the screen competes for your attention, screaming look at me! look at me!, flashing and morphing into weather reports and sports scores, historical facts, quotes without speakers, retaliation approval statistics, and, somewhere on the screen, a prominent "America Fights Back" logo. The largest portion of the screen devotes itself to blurry Afghanistan footage—dark sky and green lights reminiscent of early '80s video games—interlaced with crisp shots of aircraft carriers and sturdy missiles that have "NYPD" scratched on them. I found all of it ridiculously overwhelming; in fact, I can't process any of it—September 11th, my country's foreign policy, yesterday's attack, potential terrorist revenge, biological warfare, the perversion of the American flag, cheap slogans, and an onslaught of filtered news.

Still, that's not everything. Yesterday I learned how to make my own spring rolls and today I learned how to grease the suspension on my car. I also borrowed Martin's macro lens and took close-up pictures while he held a light bulb beside my head, I learned a new skill at work, corresponded with friends, and I listened (really listened) to some good music.