To be or naught to be
In 1962, Kurt Vonnegut published a short story for sci-fi mag ‘World’s of If’. 2BR02B, pronounced ‘To be R naught to be’, is a dark story about the celebration of life and death. Population control has been instituted to curb the outbreak of the human race. Births are rare and when someone is born, another must leave.
If you don’t like my kisses, honey,
Here’s what I will do:
I’ll go see a girl in purple,
Kiss this sad world toodle-oo.
If you don’t want my lovin’,
Why should I take up all this space?
I’ll get off this old planet,
Let some sweet baby have my place.
It’s free to read on Project Gutenberg or you may listen to the audio at the Time Traveler Show. Listening to the audiocast, I couldn’t help thinking that there should be a Reading Rainbow-esque video to accompany it.
Yesterday, I went window shopping for new clothes. One of my favorite stores has always been Banana Republic. The clothes are contemporary, casual, and earthy; You never see any bright “in your face” trends. Unfortunately, it seems as if they’ve got more expensive. I noticed that there were no signs which conveniently display the prices. It might have been that there just weren’t any sales, but perhaps they’re also adopting an “If you have to ask, you cant afford it” system. I circled the store, and left without a second thought.
Heartbroken, I proceeded to the bargain stores, like Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx. What I hate about these stores is that it’s so difficult and time consuming to find good looking clothes. You spend at least an hour in the stores rummaging through the endless racks. Then, when you find a decent item, you have the disappointment of finding out that it’s not in your size or right fit. These stores are the perfect havens for tacky XXL men, not myself.
My next stop was H&M. I’ve never purchased anything from here, but when I’m clothes shopping I always find myself stopping in. If you don’t know, H&M is like an IKEA for clothing. The majority of clothes are fashioned in Eastern Europe and reasonably cheap. I skimmed through their selection and was mildly impressed. I tried on some pants and shirts and was even more pleased. I have a couple more store’s I want to check out, but I’ll more than likely be purchasing the entire Spring line-up.
While I going from store to store, I began to contemplate my ‘look.’ I’ll be teaching, and perhaps I should dress the part of a professor. At SIUE, I had French literature class, who was also taught by a French man. He was always dressed sharp, as opposed to the nutty engineering professors. My vision includes a tie for everyday, a blazer with leather elbow patches, and a tobacco pipe. I should also use words like “indeed” and “indubitably” around the kids.
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