#120622 Canned goods, time inequality and being human
This one's a rollercoaster of thought but I needed it out of my brain
I’ve been thinking a lot about time and impermanence lately; the initial interest in these vast subjects coming from an unlikely source: the crack and soft hiss heard while opening a prebiotic soda proxy can (what a time to be alive!). My improbable muse accompanied me while I strolled through the East Village to meet a friend. I kept thinking about how chic it is to walk with an opened canned drink. Stay with me here. In comparison to the coffee cup with its lid and sleeve, the can is a complete, singular object meant to be used once and ideally recycled easily thereafter. Its purpose is truly for a moment in time from crack to crush. The medium conveys a certain relaxed coolness and ease that no coffee cup, disposable or reusable, can project. Coffee cups are ubiquitous on the streets of NYC and really all major US cities where we’ve been sold the idea that busyness and productivity equal worthiness and coffee keeps our little bodies a-movin’ and nervous systems a-groovin’. Walking with an open can, however, says “I’m treating my taste buds to one of the greatest human inventions - carbonation - and I have nothing but time”. You can’t hurriedly dodge pedestrians with an open can, sprint to your next meeting, or even hop on the train with one (you could technically do all of these things, but I would advise against it).
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