Syntax1
I'm one of those people who will always be taken by the space between ideas. Often enough I realize the idea long after I've been seduced by the syntax that made it. This makes for some interesting situations; many times I’ve really liked something or someone without making out their point or meaning2.
Maybe it’s in the same category of a person who cares more about how a game is played rather than the particulars of winning and losing. It’s nice when all the components come together but I’d rather see a game deftly lost than a brusque, dispassionate victory.
A few nights ago I was watching a film with friends when this came out; we were watching Baraka – a wordless portrayal of spirituality and humanity when M asked abruptly what it was about and whether there would ever be “any talking”. It was one of those moments of fathomable alienation. I work differently so often in South Dakota I have to explain myself to maintain sanity.
I like things to unfold. I like the composition. I like surprise.
Some of my best moments come from picking up a CD without knowing much of the artist and experiencing the music directly: without research, prejudice or preparation. 
A high school kid can kick a ball into a goal but between the kick and the goal is syntax. When Ronaldo outran three Turkish defenders and booted the ball into the goal in the last World Cup, his syntax defied me. The game was about that moment, not the box score.
A single line can make an entire book for me, even more so than the conclusion for which the entire book isn’t worth the revisiting. A dialogue, a guitar riff, a clever sample: it’s always the syntax for me.
This explains why I hang onto and reread books. It’s why I watch films more than once. It’s why I record television fiendishly. It’s not the conclusion that I’m committed to, it’s what’s between.
1The definition from which I operate: the pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
2Think Cocteau Twins
10:30:29 PM 
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