I read the Klosterman book “Killing Yourself to Live” in a day and took a few thoughts away from it. I’ll reference some parts and than I’ll give my own thoughts. I think this post will be interesting because most people will never read a book, but some people will feel forced to read this entry because they are bored. The book is about Klosterman taking a road trip to famous musicians places of death. There is also a lot of discussion about Chuck’s love life which I don’t find as amusing but still fun to read.

I’ve had a theory that life on earth is purgatory, because life on earth seems to have all the purgatorial qualities that were once described to me by nuns… Sometimes I think that the amount of time you live on earth is just an inverse reflection of how good you were in a previous existence; for example, infants who die from SIDS were actually great people when they were alive “for real, so they get to go to heaven after a mere 5 weeks in purgatory.
Purgatory is a state or place in which the souls of those who have died in a state of grace are believed to undergo a limited amount of suffering to expiate their venial sins and become purified of the remaining effects of mortal sin. His theory is saying we are all dead and are lucky to “die” to get out of purgatory. It doesn’t really make any sense though because if you take care of your body you are prolonging your life, thus being healthy is actually bad for you and vice versa. I just thought it was interesting.

What Nixon loved was that Kissinger always knew what to do without being told; this struck me as one of the most insightful definitions of true intelligence I’d ever heard. I really like this as well. I know a lot of people who are “smart” but they need to be told how to be smart. Engineers have the stereotype of being smart people but they have no common sense. You need to tell them what to do or else they aren’t effective. They are smart at what they know, but it’s not true intelligence. Smart people figure things out for themselves and do it themselves. Relying on others isn’t really smart, it’s just leeching.

Lucy Chance once told me an anecdote about schizophrenia. There is a particular hypothetical question physicians ask patients they suspect to be suffering from this particular ailment: ‘A man and a woman are married for 10 years. The husband suddenly dies. At the funeral, the widow meets another man and deeply enjoys his conversation. They talk for two hours, and it’s exciting and reassuring. The following week, this same woman murders her own sister. Why do you think she committed this act of violence?’ Now, if you ask a normal person this question, they’ll usually theorize that the widow was talking to her sister’s husband, and that she committed murder out of desperation and loneliness. However, schizophrenics (supposedly) provide a specific (and very disturbing) answer to this query with remarkable consistency; they inevitably say, ‘Well, she obviously wanted to have another funeral, because that same guy will probably show up again.’ I thought this was funny because it says “a normal person will usually theorize…” and after I read the first half, I couldn’t think of any possible reason.

“Don’t you understand that when people say a party is starting a 9:00, they actually mean the guests are supposed to come at 10? That’s just common sense.” I will never buy that logic. In America, parties that are supposed to start at 9pm actually start at 10 pm. However, rock concerts that are supposed to start at 9:00 pm actually start at 9:45. Movies that are scheduled for 9pm don’t begin until 9:09. Sporting events set for 9:00 pm begin at 9:05. However, television shows that are set for 9pm do start at 9pm, unless they’re being broadcast on TBS. (written in 2003) I thought this was pretty funny because it’s true. I don’t really get it either. I’m just a punctual person and his description is exactly what happens and it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Just comical.

“People never show you what they’re truly like until you see them go ape-shit.” This was a hilarious passage he was having with a guy who purposely pissed his future wife off just to see her go nuts. I really haven’t seen too many people go completely ape shit but when someone is getting way too mad about something, it does show a different side to their personality. I can’t even think back to the last time I went truly ape-shit. I wasn’t very happy when I asked for a sesame seed bagel and got a plain, but that probably didn’t count.

If you buy this book because of this post, comment and let me know. I expect 0 comments.