London Tube Gems (Winter)

short intro to this series can be found in the "Autumn" post

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On the Tube, there is a guy finishing up a calculus assignment. He has a laptop balanced on his left thigh, and a tablet on his right thigh. He is writing up the equations with a digital pen on his tablet. He concludes with x=50. The assignment website suggests he is from Kings College London. Next to him, there is a girl snacking from a packet of nuts with a fork. I think back to the Tube being like the entrails of the city, and how to understand physiology, you can't just skid on the surface, the skin-deep streets, but you have to navigate into its bowels.

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On the Tube, there was a man with a HP computer editing a picture on Paint. Yes, on the original Paint app. It is a drawing of a woman upholding her hands and cradling a flame, reminiscent of Olympic imagery. I initially think the picture is quite granular and unremarkable, but given that it was made in Paint, it becomes a lot more impressive.

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On the Tube, we are all Ulysses. Only Ulysses put bees’ wax in his ears to block the deceitful songs of the sirens, while we use Airpods to absorb the deceitful chants of our modern life.

A clap of the case, head tilt to the left, to the right, and we are allured back to our own parallel life. We stand upward in our vessel. It is no longer a sailship but the overheated carriage of a subway train. We stand deaf to the stories of others. We listen to the melodies of our own information streams, and bob our heads to the beats we have already heard a hundred times before. Our ears echo our own reality.

We are not idle. No, we are on a mission, we must fill the vacant time, we must soar towards the future, towards agency, we chase it with two sticks of white hard plastic. We must block off the silence of idleness and wasted time. And the magic tool that transforms wasted time to another time-package of productivity, we have bought from a highstreet flagship store. It fits in our pocket. We brandish it out and fill up any awkward silence, blocking off it off with mindless rhythms or a audiobooks about entrepreneurship.

AirPods signal a new communication system. Wireless, and infinite in possibilities. But AirPods have other functions. More than two shiny white objects, they signal apathy. Noise-canceling makes life a little more tolerable. Do not dwell too long with your ears open and vulnerable to the hubbub of daily life. Bravest of heroes, cover your ears from the distorted truth it lays bare for you. It is a song of deceit and sorrow.

But your peace has a price tag. Return to work.

Odysseus, bravest of heroes,

Draw near to us, on our green island,

Odysseus, we’ll teach you wisdom,

We’ll give you love, sweeter than honey.

The songs we sing, soothe away sorrow,

And in our arms, you will be happy.

Odysseus, bravest of heroes,

The songs we sing, will bring you peace.

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The Tube arrives, figures flood in. Shoulders brush. Tires screech. It is the evening. Outside, it is raining. Water drips from coats and umbrellas.

In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble (Yünmen Kenyan)

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if eyelids were the vaulted arc of a church ceiling, how would they echo the tears that rise up to them?

there is a girl crying on the train. she apologises to her friends, shrugs it off, smiles, smoothens her curls to regain composure. her friends seem to say, don't apologise, they are all touched by the vulnerability that just sung through her eyes. when is the last time you allowed yourself cry?

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