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illusionofjoy) wrote2006-08-14 11:00 pm
I may never fly again
From time to time I throw the idea around in my head that I might want to travel somewhere. Perhaps I'd like to visit some friends I haven't seen in a while or just get the hell out of Pittsburgh. Of course, what I really want to do is play live again - preferably in somewhere that isn't Pittsburgh (but the adopted hometown would do too, for that purpose - I'm not too picky). Really, though I just want to travel. I miss it.
There are a plethora of things that prevent me from hopping a Greyhound or a plane towards adventures in distant and exotic lands. Money, of course, is a big one; if I blow a wad on a ticket to a different time zone, I'm not going to be releasing a new album this year nor would I be able to upgrade the RAM on my computer. Also, it has become clear to me that I need to buy a new keyboard. My faithful Yamaha is over a decade old and I doubt the poor dear will survive the process of recording another album. It's time to relegate the instrument to light occasional work and buy a new, less worn-out model.
The biggest thing that would keep me off a plane at this juncture is TSA. It's not that I've been blacklisted as a "person of interest" (to my knowledge), but I do think that these new security measures, already off the deep end, have plunged into even more ludicrous waters.
You may recall that last week, a terrorist plot to blow up planes using liquid explosives was foiled by UK authorities. "Great," I thought, "they caught the bastards before they could do any harm. This is how it should work." Then the inevitable backlash of overcompensation began: in the United States, damn near every bottle that could hold liquid was banned, along with other toiletries such as makeup and toothpaste. "These new security measure are for your own good - for the safety of the public" was the implied message.
Umm, excuse me for being a simpleton and all, but doesn't the fact that these terrorists were thwarted before these security measures were put into place mean that the existing system works and that adding on to it now is unnecessary? Terrorists are a nasty bunch, but they aren't stupid. By confiscating every bottle of liquid that may cross the terminal threshold onto the plane, one isn't weeding out other terrorists (aside from, perhaps, lame ass copycats). The people bent on reeking havoc on the Western world are likely already devising creative new ways to make us "infidels" pay for our alleged sins. Liquid explosives didn't work for them, so they're going to change the game plan.
So, here I am, the average American thinking to myself that flying is just no longer worth the hassle of jumping TSA hurdles to get onto the plane. The last time I flew post-9/11 was a few years back to a family reunion in the tepid state of Texas. In Pittsburgh, I went through the whole rigmarole of taking off my belt and footwear and in Houston, I did the same but was also selected for a "random" screening. Now, if I want to take a flight, I can't even take a tube of toothpaste on the plane with me because I might be using it to conceal explosives. I'm guessing that airport gift shops are going to begin making a killing on overprice toiletries.
Don't get me wrong - I approve of maintaining a sense of security at major travel hubs, but I can't help but think that there has to be a better way to do it than inducing huge public paranoia and treating everyone like a potential criminal. Honestly, at this juncture in my life, I'm less worried about being killed by terrorists than what horrible things the republicans want to do with my civil liberties.
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Most of my songs could be re-worked for solo piano without much trouble. I also could opt to slice and dice myself a pre-recorded rhythm section, should that be the better option. I'd probably decide on a song by song basis. Some of the new stuff sounds better stripped of the production than others do. "Oblivion" would sound particularly sad without all of the layers which were piled on top of it.