Ramblings of an Idle Insomniac has been brought to you today by the letter H

The letter H. Assigned to me by Miz B. Her treatment of this meme was seamless. I originally intended to do something like that as well but I used up all of my thought on the matter trying to find 10 H words that I liked. Most of them just don't mesh well with me

You here know me as one who loves humor. I hope that you know me as one who creates it. I believe it to be an essential part of life and have nothing but ire for those who seek to quash it or belittle it. I resent that it's not considered important in terms of literature--The work that many consider the greatest epic of the English language is devoid of it-- I can't imagine life without it. I also can't imagine why there would need to be a defined philosophy known as humanism. Shouldn't we all be humanists? And I don't mean necessarily in the context of secular humanism. I'm talking about human values, human needs, human interests, human dignity... Freedom. And yet mainstream culture seems to be fractured into groups of people who don't give a shit and others who seek to eviscerate that sensibility under the guise of religious fundamentalism or nationalism or capitalism or whatever other bullshit curtain they choose to pull their levers from behind. Hedonism: Not necessarily a bad thing. Seriously. I mean sure if that's all you're into then it's not much a way to live, but you can certainly go for a swim without drowning.

So yeah. I'm more than just a bit of a hippie. I've always resented people who use it in the pejorative. The slobbish caricature aside, it's about freedom. Freedom of mind and body and spirit. Who would knock that? I'm also a hipster, but not in the stereotypical sense. I love indie-rock, prog-rock, and alternative comics (my sidebar is filled with the latter; some of which are about hipsters). I love Bohemian free-market coffeehouses with all sorts of esoteric drinks on the menu... so long as they've got their shit together where the drip brew is concerned. Sometimes I order one astride of the other. I'm sick of being labelled as pretentious because of my taste. I think that there's a lot of Hubris involved with applying that label. As if anyone can call themselves an authority on what's "real." Can't stand for self-appointed authorites who do the written and verbal equivalent of wanking off in front of the mirror for all to see. Keep the door closed, assholes!

There's also a hell of a lot of hubris involved in labeling anyone else a heretic. I liberally apply the title to myself of course. There may be no group whose entire philosophy I subscribe to. Therefore, I am a heretic in the eyes of most people who use the word. And I'm proud of it. There are plenty of noteworthy heretics who contributed great things to humanity. One such example is Gallileo, who was sentanced to house arrest for life for teaching heliocentrism, a word which I now associate with an inclination towards what one observes, and a refusal to accept as fact a notion merely because that is the approved model.

Whenever I travel outside of New England and tell people that I'm from Boston, I am invariably asked to say the word hardcore. In truth I do like the word quite a lot, and it does in fact describe me in many aspects. I'm a harcore theater geek, for one. I'm not a hardcore music fan in the literal sense of the "hardcore" genre (though I do like post-hardcore), but I am a fan of loud music. Play some System of a Down or Tool or Dillinger Escape Plan and I'll be all over it.

As a thespian, I'm expected to engage in histrionics, though that may not often be made apparent in this space. I love putting on another voice, other mannerisms. Acting in a way that normally would draw suspicion to me, or in some cases doing thing that I otherwise wouldn't be caught dead doing. It's liberating, it is it is.

So yeah. That took me long enough. My thinking is that if you're reading this than you've probably seen this meme before, but if not, feel free to request a letter from me.

Later.