A book I received for Christmas was “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” by Mark Oliver Everett. The author is the lead singer/director/instrumentalist/brains behind the band “Eels” and wrote this autobiography about his life so far.
Everett, or E as his stage name, lived a harsh life. His parents had a rough, aloof way of parenting, E often referred to it as ‘a sink or swim’ sort of teaching. Mr. Everett was a physics engineer genius, awkward and unsocial, while Mrs. Everett was an eccentric free spirit, ignoring simple social standards, none of the Everett children were properly taken care of. E had a wild drug addict sister, seven years his senior, who greatly influenced his life more than any of his parents.
E spent his adolescent unhappy and lonely. He spent his money on a cheap drum set, during E’s darker moods referred to as his only friend. His sister suffered many conditions, constantly battling depression and drug addictions. E dedicates a whole chapter to his sixth grade girlfriend. Their relationship was intense, full of mature emotions and sexual tasks. E fell madly in love with this unnamed girl, or at least as much love as a young teenager could be in. Though, one day, she broke up with him randomly, for the new boy in class.
Overall I was quite impressed with Everett’s writing. It’s rough, choppy and honest, just like his story. I fell in love with this band a long time ago, and E’s book gave me numerous insights into their sadly clever songs.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
this page changed my LIFE
My favorite day SO FAR of my glorious adventures with Benrik, THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE, would be day 25. “Things you will never do before you die: tick the boxes to come to terms with the fact that you will never…” then it goes on to list a few hundred tasks (feel like batman, marry a prince/princess, ride off into the sunset, run with wolves, climb Everest…) and gives you space to check off the tasks that you will never do in your life. At first this day made me laugh, like all the others, but then I really thought about it. I would never complete this list before I die.
I particularly like this day because of the humility and euphoria it taught me. No one really thinks about the opportunities they will miss in life, they’re too busy concentrating on how much they can get done. Really, one shouldn’t focus themselves on thing in life. You’ll miss everything else in life, if you live only thinking about that one thing. The list opened my eyes to that. As I read through it I thought “well, what have I been doing for the past fifteen years, I’ve only done about ten things on this list of three hundred or so,” and that epiphany led me to just throw out my old rules and really just dig in and live life. Thank you, Benrik. You really did change my life this time.
I particularly like this day because of the humility and euphoria it taught me. No one really thinks about the opportunities they will miss in life, they’re too busy concentrating on how much they can get done. Really, one shouldn’t focus themselves on thing in life. You’ll miss everything else in life, if you live only thinking about that one thing. The list opened my eyes to that. As I read through it I thought “well, what have I been doing for the past fifteen years, I’ve only done about ten things on this list of three hundred or so,” and that epiphany led me to just throw out my old rules and really just dig in and live life. Thank you, Benrik. You really did change my life this time.
this blog MIGHT change your life
Last year, when I went to Washington DC with my government class, I picked up a book titled “This Book Will Change Your Life,” because I thought it would be a good philosophy book. Later on inspecting it in the airplane, I discovered that this book by “Benrik” (a European comedy duo, Benjamin and Henrik, who combine their names for publication) was not a philosophy book, at least not in the typical sense. Instead, it’s a day by day guide to a more exciting life. Each page is an instruction on how to live your life in an atypical way.
As Benrik describes the book, on the back book cover “Is the Year ahead looking much the same as the last? Another 365-day grind of meetings, dinner, dates and not-to-forget-birthdays? If so, try this book. Part instruction manual, part therapy, part religious cult, part sheer anarchy, THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE will help you poke a stick in the spokes of your routine and make every day of the next year the first day of your new life.” I quite enjoy this book, the fondness growing with each page turn and each daily instruction (by the way, mine today was “Reconnect with your aquatic origins by spending all of today underwater”). In its weird twisted way, this book has changed my life. Benrik inspired me to live life how I wanted to, ignoring silly social standards, and prop up your feet on unspoken public rules. Be who you want to be, you only live once and other cliques.
As Benrik describes the book, on the back book cover “Is the Year ahead looking much the same as the last? Another 365-day grind of meetings, dinner, dates and not-to-forget-birthdays? If so, try this book. Part instruction manual, part therapy, part religious cult, part sheer anarchy, THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE will help you poke a stick in the spokes of your routine and make every day of the next year the first day of your new life.” I quite enjoy this book, the fondness growing with each page turn and each daily instruction (by the way, mine today was “Reconnect with your aquatic origins by spending all of today underwater”). In its weird twisted way, this book has changed my life. Benrik inspired me to live life how I wanted to, ignoring silly social standards, and prop up your feet on unspoken public rules. Be who you want to be, you only live once and other cliques.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)