O O Ø O O O O
Sabbatical
When writing above the tagline “we rant so you don’t have to,” it’s easy to forget the real reason Kjell and I hammer out these missives.
We certainly don’t do it—given the breadth and depth of our audience—to effect change. We write for its cathartic value, to air some ideas, and to occasionally tweak those in positions of so-called power. (People in these positions need constant tweaking.)
The rant-based nature of Pint Day leads itself toward negativity, which, read over time, picks up an atmosphere of desperation.
The government will always be too big. People will contine to do stupid, annoying things. The Ross ice shelf will slip off Antarctica.
Despite this, it’s important to remind ourselves that this isn’t a weekly exercise in codified despair. As originally conceived, Pint Day is a venue to share conversation with friends and loved ones over that eternal symbol of hospitality, a well-poured pint.
Work, beer, fraternize, write, live. The grievances of the world do not fall on our shoulders. Though we enjoy proposing simple solutions to complex problems, we can’t allow ourselves to obsess about them.
Assembling a purgative rant every two (and then three, and now two again) weeks has the potential to become corrosive. To that end, we are taking the rants on sabbatical.
For the next seven weeks, I will be publishing a series entitled A Week of Great Days. It is a reminder of how great life can be, when we pay proper attention to the details that make it special.
In no particular order:
- Red Sonja, 1996, Moravsky Krumlov, Czech
- Thesis Defense, 2005, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Home, 2006, Calgary, Alberta
- Pacific Coast Highway, 1995, Oregon
- Road Trip, 2001, Las Vegas
- Buccanan Evening, 1994, Calgary, Alberta
- One Perfect Lunch, 2004, Parma, Italia
Do something today to remind yourself that this can be a pretty great planet if you let it.
Evan Spence
January 23, 2007
OOØOOOODCCC