does anyone know the etymology of the phrase "new and improved"? if you think about it, you'll see that it contradicts itself, for how can something claim to have been improved if it is new?

today marks a tremendous holiday

after almost a month of waiting, i finally received it:

a friend confirmation from one william r. bauer.

now we can be facebook besties! yay!

it's almost like being on a ship on rough seas. i'm rocking back and forth. when i get to one side, i think i know how to stop it. but, before i can see it through, i get shoved over to the other side, and when i'm there, i don't want to end it. it's more that i'm apathetic towards... well, mostly everything.

today, i was jolted to the former of those sides. i need a few months, maybe a year, but i know i can end the rocking.

how to vanish

first, you need to be deemed unnecessary. if no one cares about you, no one will bother to concern themselves with your affairs.

second, you need to be forgotten. when you're forgotten, people can't even acknowledge your presence. at this point, the illusion is complete.

third, you need to disappear. that one's fairly obvious, so i won't explain it. as i said in step two, the illusion completes once you're forgotten. however, the mark of a true magician is that the trick be completed fully. otherwise, you might slip and give the trick away.

filosofee

one week: two coelho books.

it's like getting drunk on philosophy. it's amazing.