nude highway driving

I wasted some time watching U.S. TV “news” programs, occasionally flipping between them and a “WWE Smackdown!” special. Honestly, I can’t decide which is more ludicrous to watch. I roll my eyes at professional wrestling because so many Americans think it’s real. I vomit when I watch TV “news” because so many Americans think it’s real news.

Not that print news is always very far ahead. The L.A. Times has a big-ass article on the whole Plame scandal, going over the whole mess in depth. I was led to it by a summary in Editor & Publisher, which rightfully points out a disturbing revelation in the story: Time magazine didn’t go public about writer Matt Cooper’s conversations with Karl Rove until after the 2004 election. Editors there were worried about such an “explosive story” during an election year.

Because, you know, the job of the media is to sit on news if it might change the way people think about a presidential candidate.

Anyway, it’s time to run away for a while and forget about the news, forget about blowhard fuckwads, and try to forget about my own stress and anxiety. It begins with a little Seoul-searching next weekend via a first-time journey to South Korea to visit my friend Tim. I think my therapy will consist of beer, spicy food, baby drool and … beer. Unless I totally flip out and run across the border to work for my favorite news agency (so I can come up with stuff like this), all should be well.

Because sometimes, when you’re burned out, you just gotta say fuck it. Or, even better, Phuket (I know, I know). That’s right — it’s going to take two countries to unfry my brain. I have no plans other than a plane ticket to Bangkok, but you would do good to bet on me heading south once I enter Thailand, searching for a beach that has “please become a vegetable in the sun for a week” written all over it. Perhaps something like Phi Phi. I can actually almost relax when I think about it.

Despite being in Japan more than a year, I haven’t traveled anywhere in Asia (including most of Japan). I also haven’t taken a real vacation for myself. It’s definitely time for some catch-up. I can’t leave work for a year (unfortunately), but I think slowly, if I’m patient, I can become half as cool as this guy. I hope the trips are the start of things to come … maybe things like this and, maybe someday, even this.

Hell, the way things are going in our world, I just might go in this direction.