Personal Space

There are two kinds of personal space. The first is the comfort zone that you have around your body. If someone steps into that zone without invitation, they’ve invaded your personal space.

The second, and much more interesting kind, is the uncomfortable zone that you keep inside your own head…

There’s a few bits of conversational shorthand that my friends and I use a lot. If we say we “broke” somebody, it means that whatever we were discussing caused a momentary mental breakdown in the listener. One of our friends was very easy to “break”… All you had to do was say something like “Zagnut-butter and Jellyfish Sandwich” and you’d be treated to a quick chorus of “Eww. EWWW. EWWW!!” accompanied by a shivery dance and her hands flapping near her ears as if she were trying to bat away the words she’d just heard.

She moved away last year… I wonder why…

Anyway, another bit of shorthand has to do with the second kind of personal space. If an idea is too bizarre or out-of-left-field then it came from your “Space”. So if, for example, Roger had come up with the Zagnut-butter and Jellyfish Sandwich we’d say it had come from “Roger Space.”

Fairly simple, right?

Some of the most interesting and creative ideas arrive from Space. The trouble is, some people don’t appreciate them… My friend Kevin decided to have commemerative kazoos at each of the place settings at his wedding reception. A brilliant idea from Kevin Space! They were a lot of fun, especially when they cranked up the karaoke machine and I was able to put on a Shatneresque rendition of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” with a kazoo backup band…

I can’t imagine why some people thought that was strange.

Anyway, there was a point to all of this. A few entries ago I mentioned the Aussie surfing film “Beach Blanket Dingo.” Before you rush off to IMDB, I’m pretty sure the film doesn’t exist. My Fiancee and I have been tracking down beach party music for a work function of hers, and the title floated out of Matt Space and hit me in the back of the head. I picture a soundtrack featuring a cross between Rolf Harris and the Beach Boys. Imagine surfing tunes scored for Theriman, Didgeridoo and Wobble Board. It’d be a hit!