July 19, 2006

• Internet Island Topic Post #15: "Who are you?"

  Internet Island Topic Post #15.00 

  
  

  WHO AM I  ????????????

  
  

   

  
  

  "He's a poet, he's a picker--
  He's a prophet, he's a pusher--
  He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned--
  He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,
  Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home."

  
  

  
  

   "The Pilgrim Chapter 33":  Kris Kristoferson

  
  

  "Who the fu*k are you?"

  
  

  
  

   "Who are You": The Who

  
  

  "Mike Nyiri Takes Over"

  
  

  
  

   Headline from an article in the student newspaper for Rosemead High in 1970 announcing the editorship of the paper for the coming year.

  
  

  "I can swim through the rising waters of inconsequence,
  Taking wrong turns and learning from these mistakes
  When I arrive at the eventual destination, this will be
  inconsequential
  it will have been the journey
  that matters, enhanced with experience,
  And it will be remembered, as history should."

  
  

  
  

   "Poet, Philosopher, Fool" : Michael F. Nyiri

  
  

   

  
  

  "I yam what I yam"

  
  

  
  

   Popeye

  
  

  
  

  ---

  
  

   

  
  

  You are what you do.
  I enjoy excelling at whatever I do. Whether I'm rushing to get a quote out before a deadline at work, a skill at which I'm particularly good, or composing a poem, creating a video, or designing a page for my website. Whether I'm chairing a meeting, rousing enthusiasm for a project, choosing from a menu at a restaurant. Whether I'm hanging a screen door, painting a landscape in the computer or painting a house. Whether this or that, I've got to do my best, be my best, and succeed with honors. Then I can sit back and marvel at the results of my labors. I am not a jack of all trades, but a master of anything that's tossed my way. I excelled at school subjects. To get a B+, as I did in Physical Education, was anathema to me. I am defined by the things I can accomplish. In fact, I'm somewhat ashamed I can't do more, live more, and be more. There were some times back in the 80s when I got a bit drunk or whacked out of my mind on some drug (let Mikey try it first. See. Mikey LIKES it.) that I , like Kristofferson's Pilgrim, became a problem when stoned. But for the most part, what I do is of a postive nature.

  
  

  
  You are what you eat.
  I'm getting fat. My ex girlfriend Pat used to call me her "fat man". It's only a beer belly. But it defines my appetite, which is voracious. I can eat healthy. I proved that when I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, and perscribed Lipitor. Since I abhor the practice of taking pills regularly, owing to my parents' chock full medicine cabinet when I was growing up, I started exercising and eating foods that were low in cholesterol. Gone went french fries and biscuits and gravy. Scrambled eggs. Fried chicken. It worked too. I didn't need to take the Lipitor. I only eat one meal a day, and I know, especially at my age, that I should actually eat three smaller meals instead of splurging on a four course feast every day. But I love that one meal. It's usually the high point of my day.
  And I'm sorry. (Well, no not really.) I do enjoy my beer. These past few weeks have been incredibly hot, and I've been knocking them down like iced teas. I know that I should in fact be drinking iced teas, but as I always have said, I like beer. (It makes me a jolly good fellow)

  
  

   

  
  

  You are what you wear.
  Bolo ties and cowboy hats. Snakeskin boots and collar studs. Lots of turquoise and really big silver belt buckles. I've worn western wear since 1st grade with no irony. I remember when the "Urban Cowboy" trend spread, however, I didn't want to wear what was in "vouge". Back in the 80s, I was the 'button man', hanging out at the music clubs on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with my late best friend Tom. My cowboy hat was festooned with buttons, poker chips, cards, and a little license plate on the back that read: Mike. I wore a red velvet coat festooned with even more buttons. I looked a bit like a clown, and I was easy to spot. Friends never lost me in a crowd.
  I like to stand out.
  In about 1968, when I was in high school, a relatively conservative establishment of learning in Rosemead, California, one of my pairs of pants ripped down the seam of the leg. Instead of throwing them out, I had my mom, who loved to sew and made a lot of my sister's clothes, sew a triangular shaped floral pattern in the outside of the two legs to make the pants into bellbottoms. By my senior year, I was characterized in the yearbook by my "eye popping outfits".
  Now I'm a bit older, with that paunch, which I cover real well with snap shirts. I don't particularly want to stand out anymore. I'm a bit more laid back. I finally threw all my old bellbottoms (and my extensive collection of "disco clothes" from the late 70s, including 5 inch platform boots) away in 1990.
  At work in the 70s and 80s, though, as a manager for "big box" retail chains like FedMart and Target, I wore white shirts, slacks, and a tie. (And that little red vest) I still have a lot of ties. I don't think I've seen too many people wear ties lately.
  And hats.
  I have a cap or a hat for any occasion. Now I use them to cover my bald pate in the sun so I don't burn but I've always had a hat on my head most of the time when I'm outside.

  
  

  
  You are what you experience.
  I've been around.
  I'm getting up there in years and I'm still a "bachelor" with no children, so I remained a child as long as I could, and I have travelled as much as I can, and played as much as I dare. I haven't been "all over", but I have been as far away as Nantucket, Florida and Toronto. I don't watch much "television", but I've always collected movies and television shows on tape or disc, (as soon as they invented home video, that is.) I call myself a 'student of popular culture" and besides studying English Literature in college, I studied theater arts, film history, philosophy, and sociology. I'm still "studying" thanks to the internet, which allows a smart searcher to just about find out anything about anything. (There's also a lot of "hearsay" and bullheaded irresponsible opinon on the net)
  Throughout my life, I have been defined by my surroundings and by my tastes in culture and society.

  
  

   

  
  

  You are what you think. Are you what others think?
  I would be lying horribly if I said I don't care what others think. In the long run, I probably don't, but it is well known among my cronies that I love a "pat on the back" for all those great things I'm able to accomplish back up there in my initial paragraph. I can see all sides of any question. I can moderate and usually find the "common sense" in all things. I think I'm a nice guy, farily intelligent, with a grasp of the fundamentals of life and the hereafter, which I embrace (without morbidity it is hoped) My friends sometimes think I'm a bit of an insufferable asshole who they wished would shut up. On one thing we all agree. I like to talk. A lot.
  Hopefully some of the things I say are of value. In the end, everything is relative, and we are who we are irregardless of what we or anybody else thinks.
  

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  The hat I am wearing is my "button hat", a bit dusty and worse for wear, but still servicable. I just got it down from it's place on top of one of my bookcases. There used to be more poker chips and some cards in the hatband. The photo immediately above comes from a 1986 VHS video and shows the button hat and coat.

  
  

   

  • 10:35 pm
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