so…

only a man can fully appreciate this post.

I have never had a problem peeing in public on an open camp fire.

have you ever seen the movie, They Call Me Trinity? I think it was one of my Dad’s favorite films. it’s a genuine Italian “spaghetti western”, that starred an impossibly handsome and gifted comedic Terrence Hill as our favored protagonist, “Trinity”. the lesser known sequel was My Name Is Nobody. that also starred Henry Fonda, (my favorite Fonda movie remains, Mr. Roberts: “now hear this… now hear this…”) which is in so many ways astonishing, yet something of a testimony to the sheer genius of the series. Dad absolutely loved westerns, and military yarns. and, he was a terrific belly laugher. the room always lit-up for me when he laughed.

I don’t think Dad stopped laughing from the opening credits to the very end. and, the retelling of numerous Trinity scenes made cocktail parties at our house(s) worth looking forward to.

in any event, there was a scene in a public latrine where Trinity faces-off with a hapless fellow, face-to-face over urinals. that seen left a lasting impression on me for countless reasons.

this past weekend I had my Emma Jo and our hearty-and-ferocious U13 Shockers Nation soccer team at a Select tournament in Duluth preparing for the State Cup May 11th and 12th. we were warming-up for a match and I had something of a run-in with the other teams head coach. he wanted us to change our jerseys and there really was no point. he was just trying to get into our heads. the simple fact is, he was being a DICK.

about ten minutes before the match I found myself heading towards the public restroom only steps behind him. he approached a urinal first and paused. I strode right up to the urinal next to him, looked right at him and instantly unleashed a manful and thundering effort, staring at him for a delightful thirty seconds. the entire time he could produce nothing. as I prepared to make my triumphant and testosterone enhanced departure, I slapped him heartily on the shoulder (whoopsee) and offered a well-meant, “good luck coach”.

I know all of this is mean-spirited. but, he was a DICK.

after all that he probably thinks I’m a dick.

we are ready! wish us luck at State Cup!

peace be to my Brothers and sisters.

brian patrick cork

I ask people, and daily: “what do you want to do?”

In part, mind you because you’ll never change your life until you change your choices.

The context is my role as a cultural architect or coach, in one form or another. Having Arrived on this planet in the same year as La Dolce Vida, Spartacus, Elmer Gantry and The Magnificent Seven, my days are spent contemplating the world and its inhabitants – usually from a philosophical interest that lies in formal logic and formal approaches to philosophy; foundational questions in the philosophy of mathematics; and, the philosophy of mind and perception.

Living an authentic life, if you will, with logic and the classics, as a lens.

But, the objective is to make them, not necessarily that collective, “they”, start thinking – deeper than might be typical, for most people.

NOTE: I decidedly don’t maintain an interest in Taoist thought.

However, most conversations will evolve towards: “what we want”. And, what we should do.

Many times this is contrary to instincts. That is fascinating, to me, anyway.

Along the way, I think I’ve decided, for now, that before you can sort out what you want, you might first, need to figure out what you don’t want.

Can making such decisions be akin to eating a banana?

For example, what I don’t want is to ever, be described, relative to my own work, as: “Ballardian”.

That’s not a race out of Star Trek, mind you. It’s a reference to an actual person – and, one of reasonable merit, I should add.

The literary distinctiveness of J. G. Ballard’s work has given rise to the adjective “Ballardian,” defined by the Collins English Dictionary as: “resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in J. G. Ballard’s novels and stories, especially dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments.”

Let’s keep moving, shall we.

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork