Showing posts with label The Care Package Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Care Package Project. Show all posts

Friday, April 16, 2010

FPR's Care Package

FPR just sent himself a care package as part of the Care Package Project.

I would send myself, 15 years old in 1983, the following:

Book: The Moon and Sixpence, because it will inspire me to start painting at a much younger age.

Album (on vinyl or cassette tape): The Velvet Underground and Nico, because it is simply the greatest rock and roll album ever made.

Movie: Dr. Strangelove, because it will turn me on to the work of Stanley Kubrick and perhaps inspire me to go into filmmaking.

I would find a VHS copy of Strangelove, if one exists, obviously, because DVD players, like CD players, will not exist.

The note I will send to myself:

"Fuck politics, pick up the paintbrush. You will be happier in the long run."

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Introducting the Care Package Project

The Care Package Project

Here is the deal…

You need to send a care package back through time to your fifteen year old self. Why fifteen? Because it is the first time when you are not quite a kid, but not quite an adult and it is an awful transition point for a lot of people. You would like to be able to help fifteen year old you, right?

In the care package, you have to put in a book, a CD and a DVD, and a brief note explaining why you are sending it back to younger you.

Here is the caveat: Because the way time travel works, only one copy of any object can exist in the past, meaning that if someone else chooses to send something back first, you can not send that back, but you can ask your former you to track down the other former person and ask to borrow the piece of media.

Without further ado:
Dear 15 Year Old Me,

Here are some gifts from the future. I cannot tell you about the future as that would violate the rules, but I can send you some things. I will give you a piece of advice though; the word Google will dominate your future.

It being 1989, let me tell you, stay away from acid washed jeans…just…yeah.

The Book: Sophie’s World
You, son, need a good mystery novel in your life, and at this point, you need a good primer in philosophy (you don’t need to know why now) and it will help you understand some of the choices that you will make going forward, as well as become one of your favorite books, and you will meet some amazing women who love this book as well. Yes, they are amazing, but they may or may not be sane.

The CD: Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
In the future, you will be quoted as saying that you want to live your life like an indie rock love song (you will figure out what indie rock is in about five years, don’t worry). One of the songs on this album is the reason for that quote. All the things you are looking for from music are on this album and…more importantly, girls will like it.

The DVD: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
You are going to make a lot of interesting choices regarding women. Frak that…you already have, and you will continue to do so. The point of this movie is that we need to own our choices, and I am not asking you to feel guilt about your future choices, because, I know you well enough to know that you don’t already feel much guilt (outwardly, you will still be dealing with the voices at 3 AM in the future) but understand that the choices that you make frame your future in a way that may be painful but is also amazing. Plus, it stars the white guy from “In Living Color”.

Anyway, 15 year old me, enjoy yourself, watch The Simpsons, and don’t stop running when you move to New York…trust me.

Love you, past me and you have an interesting future ahead of you,

Future Me.