The Mind Is Its Own Place

"The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."
Satan attempting to make the best of a situation in John Milton's Paradise Lost

I'd like to register a degree of pleasure concerning the conversations I've personally witnessed as well as the ones I envision taking place as a direct result of the Rob Bell's new book, marketing campaign, and iPhone/iPad app (none of these easily extricated from one another). I spent about two seconds wondering if the text is well-served by having a hard copy at all, but quickly concluded that there has to be one if it's to go really viral. We like carrying these things around. Strangers in airports or coffeeshops might ask us a question or something.
I bring Tom Waits and Modest Mouse into the conversation (not that they weren't already there) with my own appreciative reading here.

"It'll be there forever, you just won't be able to see it."

This is Todd Greene doing his thing at the airport. As I read/see/hear him, Todd is to Nashville what William Blake was to London. The image is the latest of those woefully infrequent moments a media outlet covers his doings. It, The Tennessean, does so here.
Attendees of our blog will recall the music he broadcasts via the Bulb moniker and the images he provides all manner of cool programming at Vanderbilt. The occasion for mentioning it all again is the fact that he's opening the vault on Saturday (that would be tomorrow) in a "Here's what I do. Would you like to purchase something?" free for all. It's 226 3rd Avenue North, Nashville. Also known as Won's Basement. "Stuff you didn't even know you didn't want," Todd asserts as he opens up his endlesly self-effacing, internal monologue. It's noon to six pm. E-mail me if you need another detail.
Oh. And the Robot Lifeguard prints (what few remain) are now available on Etsy. Right here.
That is all.
Actually it isn't. Spoiler alert for those who haven't yet reached the conclusion of The Wire. I wanted to transcribe the words Steve Earle's Justin carries around in his pocket. He shares them with Bubbles with a few minutes remaining. It's Kafka. And it's beautiful: "You can hold back from the suffering of the world. You have free permission to do so, and it is in accordance with your nature. But perhaps the holding back is the one suffering you could have avoided."
Peace out.