Sweet Things.

Precious Metals

Precious Metal

I want to know what Kerry plans to do in Iraq.

That's it.

Fuck You; Me First II

$14

PayPal money.


See also: "Fuck You, Me First I"

Fuck You; Me First - I

"Fuck you; me first."

When it became apparent that some folks succeed by means of ruthlessness, I apprenticed myself to a few colleagues.

Joe Pants instructed me to meditate on the phrase "Fuck you; me first," and to return only when I'd achieved clarity. It took me a month but I got it.

Problem is, ruthless clarity slips away like Jell-o in the hand.

Then Joey told me to fire Vince & Stevie - my first mentors - since in his estimation they didn't know the first thing about ruthlessness.

The "BUY THIS ART" botton at the bottom of this page PayPals me $14 "for a Joy Well Done."

I am an artist.

And a philosopher.

And a composer.

And a singer.

And a sound mixer.

And a poet.

And a choreographer.

And a good woman.

Send $14 damnit.

I don't need the money, I need the support.

Rosewater & Glycerin

Bought an inexpensive bottle of rosewater & glycerin at the local pharmacy because I liked the sound of it.

First experimented dabbing it on my face after a sea salt / water mask but undiluted, it brought far too much moisture to the face.

Recently dumped a spash in my bathwater and couldn't be happier with the results.

Those little bumps on my body are gone after two baths.

The water smells incredible.

Touchably soft.

Mmmmm.

Heirarchic v. Co-operative: Why US Should Declare WWIII for World Domination

War is based upon the masculine Hierarchical Imperative. The need to know one's place is the core of patrialinealness.

Left to their own devices, men create opportunity to satisfy their need to know their relative place in the world. From time to time, a fellow decides to take a step up. That's war.

In the largest picture, we could see current conflicts as the process of forming of a world government.

Let's ask the question now, before it's too late: Who will rule the world and by what principals? Old or new testament? Capitalism or something else? Hierarchy or Co-operation?

My vote is something new, based upon what history teaches us.

Let us convene a world congress charged with developing a new document based upon the U.S. and all Constitutions. The proceedings would sure make good TV.

Terrorism has won, for in the simple act of fighting it, we degrade freedom in every arena.

In the meantime, abandon Israel until it conforms to U.N. mandates, and get U.S. Military out of Saudi Arabia. Use the billions we would have spent on the war to develop alternative energy solutions, pronto.

Give extent oil companies incentives - bribe the greedy fucks - breaks - to develop and market new technologies to consumers. The ones in power wish only to retain their power and increase their wealth. Give them what they want.

QUESTION: What's with the newscasters laughing between stories? I miss Walter Cronkite so much.

Once almost pinched Cronkite's ass, but that's another story.

The New Family

A relatively new human institution, marriage developed in response to legal questions of inheritance. But questions of inheritance are more of a problem for patrilineal cultures. Assurance of heirs was recently solved in our patrilineal culture with the advent of DNA testing. That event could make patralinealness unnecessary.

ASIDE: Why are DNA tests so expensive?

The mid-20th Century states' loosening of divorce laws changed a lot for the good and a lot for the bad. Plenty of people needed to be able to get out of abusive marriages but as with many laws, the long-term effect was to alter the texture of the fabric of marriage: marriage has become soft.

It was once possible for a single wage earner to support a family group. That is no longer true, to the benefit of employers who have had the advantage of thirty years of an additional female work force at 75% of what men expect to be paid. Which is not to mention, a new, monied demographic.

Double income families have left generations of kids unsupervised except by mercenaries: media, government and caretakers. We pay the price for that exodus from the home now. Mercenaries make for unreliable soldiers, journalists, representatives and mothers; they do, however, make great confessors.

When the baby-boomers came of age, many of us abandoned restrictive cultural confines of small town / family expectation, and sought life and work as far away from our roots as possible.

Now it's time to re-embrace / re-write the idea of family by lending more power to the creation of extended family.

Fuck saving marriage; save the idea of family, and as a direct consequence, marriage will be saved. Baby and bathwater together.

Save your family? Live more simply. Need less. Work less. Pay more. Know the people to whom you give your cash. If you don't know the owner of the business personally, don't shop there. Wherever you live, create an extended family along with a community.

The more folks able to create a stable, long-term committed family group the better, regardless of gender composition.

Think not in terms of a job, but how you will make a living.

I'm tired of the idea of 'job' and think it - like marriage - an attitude of social convenience.

We don't need 'jobs' in this country - we need dignity that Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Lowes - can never hope to provide.

Yeah. I'm an idealist.

Argh.

Argh.

You're An Idiot - But You Knew That

There are plenty of reasons to treat the news media with disdain, but one thing really gets my ire up: being treated like an idiot. Their techniques for manipulating us are transparent and so far beneath what we deserve that it hurts.

1) TEASERS - make teasers stop

Teasers contain most the information of the story. We hear the story four or five times in one broadcast hour. Suppose beyond keeping us tuned, taking up air time with teasers saves money in that actually gathering news costs dearly. It's insulting. Aren't you insulted?

2) WORDS - get a vocabulary

Since the Catholic Church scandal broke, we've heard the word 'abuse' more or less continually in the news. The story changed to that of Abu Graib but the word continued. It's a good one. Since 9/11, 'terror' and its variants are pervasive. Thankfully, 'anthrax' didn't last that long, but in its heyday, one could hear it 30 times an hour. I counted.
It was actually 'anthrax' that first caught my ear and caused me to focus on what words were being repeated and how often.

What worries me, is the steady diet of fear, ruthlessness, perversion and humiliation some Americans are on. If hearing about it on the news isn't enough, reality TV takes over where the news leaves off. If you must listen to the news, pay attention to the kinds of words that are repeated and make sure those words enter your brain with a grain of salt.

3) ATTITUDE

Even the weather is presented in near-incendiary terminology.

The biggest news story I know is that we live in a culture of fear. Why don't I hear much about that on the news? What is it? Whence does it come? What can we do about it? See No. 7 below.

4) WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT?

First we ask what we require from the news. We need to know about changes in the law. We need to know the weather. We need to know about criminals operating in our neighborhoods. We need to know what the government and corporations are up to. The Martha Stewart trial was sexy but not so important as to merit as much news coverage as it got.

The voting records of our politicians are important. Where are their records and resumes posted for everyone to see?

5) RUBBERNECKING

It is human nature to rubberneck; we are fascinated with the horrific. But that interest originates in our more base nature. My suggestion to us as a culture is to rise above the lowest common denominator. So long as we succumb to our most base nature we remain in the grip of those who will capitalize on it to keep us glued to the news and commercials.

Crime shows abound. I interviewed a seasoned cop - now director of homeland security for an important part of the country - about the abundance of crime/cop shows, and asked him to say what he imagined the cultural significance of cop shows was. He said that the net result was a population desensitized.

We have been desensitized. As one who has spent much of my life in that state I can tell you it is a dangerously inhuman way in which to live.

Listen to the next news you hear and feel every story on a human level. You will run from the room screaming and weeping.

6) TRUTH

Research has shown that the human mind is such that hearing a thing enough times, the mind presumes it to be true. Of course, this principle can operate unconsciously, and that is why marketers constantly remind us that their product is 'No. 1' or 'the best'. Without consciousness and diligence, repetition equals truth.

Be careful out there.

7) TURN OFF THE TELEVISION

Instead of passively watching TV, talk to your loved ones, play games and sing in your houses at night. TV's got us hypnotized and as our brains turn to mush we shudder in fear.

Fuck that.

ID-EA Tag

The more time I spend away from New York the less attractive the idea of returning there to live and work seems.

Know for sure that there's no way I will be there around the time of the convention and I've invited a couple friends to get the hell out with me. We'll be way in the country, away from it all. Just in case.

When I learned that the industrial building in which I'd lived for the last decade had been sold and would be demolished toward another apartment building I thought that moving across the rivers from Brooklyn to New Jersey would quell enough of the underlying angst that accompanied continuing news of the "when not if" of deadly attacks on New York to make it possible to continue to live in the area. Thought that living west of the center of the target would make me feel more at ease. Without at least two bridges and/or tunnels between me and the mainland I could reunite with family - even walking - within a week. It helped somewhat to know that the building into which I'd moved had at one time been a civil defense shelter with its five-foot thick poured concrete roof, twelve-inch walls and multiple sub-basements, but then realized how deep the anxiety was to have found relief in that knowledge.

The world has grown so complex that I can no longer get my mind around it. Too many things I believed to be true have been watered down or evaporated. By many accounts one cannot trust anyone or anything.

This depth of cynicism ultimately produces stasis, and when atoms stop moving that is death.

When you can't believe anything, you are unable to form opinions that are foundations for action.

We can no longer be affectionate with one another in the workplace. We can't conscionably exchange body fluid. Befriending strangers is dangerous for any number of reasons. Parents can't take their eyes off their children for a minute for fear of what might happen - either at the hands of a wacko stranger, a family member, teacher, priest, or fear of government prosecution for negligence. Another generation of kids is growing up feeling comfortable being observed and inspected 24/7. Probable cause, habeas corpus are out the window.

Where comfort?

Where freedom?

If oil-makers hold us hostage then find alternative energy. Quickly.

If the need for things holds us hostage to work, then need fewer things.

If fear holds us hostage to the television, get rid of fear.

Say it, "I am not afraid."

The only thing we can control is our attitude.