The Greedy Heart is a Prodigious Thing, Indeed...

"Enshittification, also known as crapification and platform decay, is a pattern in which online products and services decline in quality. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders."

Who could have guessed? Turns out Spotify is a prime example of enshittification, just an elaborate rigged game. A money-making machine built to line the pockets of it's executives, board members & shareholders. It's a dominating, wildly-successful, obnoxiously-ubiquitous app that resides on everyone's smartphone. It's also a scam and a total hustle. I mean, fuck, knock me down with a feather, of course.

Did you know that, as Liz Pelly writes there are "ghost artists", fake artists churning out tracks for Spotify, completely b.s. creations used to just to goose the company's profits? Cutting out legitimate musicians. Ha. Not surprising. It is always amazing how the Tricky Monkeys will hustle and scheme to squeeze every last drop of juice from every last buck. We are amazing and so fucking predictable.

So yeah, what might have started as a nice idea has turned into an elaborate hustle. Music and musicians be damned. What does the future portend? Probably, let's just cut to the chase, have AI create the tracks, and then maybe have the AI create fake listeners to listen to them endlessly 24/7?  Maybe they can just eliminate the Human element completely?

Turns out we are all just hustling each other with this internet thing. Fake shit gobbling up all of our time and attention. What's a Pilgrim to do? Dust off that turn-table and go back to analog. Or fire up that Sony Walkman and spin those silver discs. That is more real world. Wake up Bunky, there is a world beyond the veil, beyond the world wide web. Maybe put that fucking smartphone down? I know, a radical idea, right?! 

Open the window. Go outside. Smell the roses. Take it to the streets. We have created this alternate reality and it's just an enormous Hall of Mirrors, we use it to hustle and lie to ourselves, a load of mumbo-jumbo and madness. Fuck it.

BTW - I was alerted to this subject by a musician I know very well. We make music together, totally on the fringes of the "music biz."

Here is an excerpt from a conversation via email:  "We were recently talking to another record label (chasing rabbits down rabbit holes) and for them it's all about the Spotify algorithm, they talked about it like it's some unholy god. They wanted to analyze our tracks with some kind of app that somehow predicts how the algorithm would respond. Very creepy way to think about music. It makes sense that the insiders at Spotify would rig the game to benefit themselves. The greedy heart is a prodigious thing, indeed. Yikes. What a world."

The MAGA Creeps are Flailing...

One creepy billionaire donated $250 million dollars to help elect another creepy billionaire, and now, what do we get? Chaos, dysfunction, bad blood, bad governing, idiocy on steroids. Fuck. Who could have seen it coming? Oh, yeah, pretty much any slightly-conscious citizen, you know, anyone with a brain.

The other creepy billionaire hasn't even been sworn in yet, and already the MAGA creeps are flailing. Seems we are heading towards the disaster phase of USA, you know the "fuck around and find out" period of our history. 

Living in the USA. It promises to be a wild ride. Not necessarily a fun one. Although, I am beginning to think there will be a very entertaining side to this unfolding, unholy, spectacle: watching the MAGAs, & the amped up billionaires, make total hash of everything. Sure they are rich and powerful, but it seems they are also toxic, clueless, incompetant clowns. 

Sure, we will all suffer the consequences, but there might be some dead-bounce laughter amidst the tears. It will be obvious who owns this clusterfuck.

Sure, it's a meager silver lining. Being proven right, as the ship of state teeters over the edge is cold comfort. But, who knows, maybe this will all shake out, maybe it's a necessary cleanse? Pushed to the breaking point, and then cooler, smarter heads wake up, the worm turns and we get back to actually trying run a real goverment with folks who know what they are doing? Hope dies last.

The Billionaires are Getting Surly...

“You don’t know anybody as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don’t.” - Fran Lebowitz  Ha. Thank you, Fran...

Ok... another "know your history post,' (see previous post). 

The incredibly wealthy amongst us, the billionaires in our midst, seem to be seriously drunk on their money and power. They are now out in force, and they are at war with Goverment of, and by, the People. Suddenly the little people, the common ones, the working stiffs, you know, basically the rest of us, those who actually do the day to day work that keeps the economy humming along, are under attack. Seems those super-weatlhy folks aren't content unless they can Lord over the rest of us. Think: Hubris, Arrogance, Belligerance. These are not nice folks, they are not as smart as they think they are either.  Many of them are actually drug-infused and brain addled. Certainly, most of them seem to be saddled with egos of mammoth proportions. Not healthy people. They are part of the new shameless, empowered asshole class. Maybe we are in the "fuck around & find out"phase of the story. Even the super-wealthy & super-powerful can push things too far. They have conveniently forgotten that it actually takes a village to make a billionaire. When the villagers finally wake up, things could get very interesting. 

I Bet this Story Gets Worse...

"Legal sports betting revenue in the US has gone from $430 million in 2018 to $11.04 billion last year, i.e., more than a 25-fold increase in five years. Note that revenue means total bets minus total payouts, so that $11.04 billion is the net loss to legal sports gamblers in America last year."

This is subject dear to my heart. I used to love to bet on the ponies. I spent many an afternoon at horse-racing tracks around the city chasing after that big score. You do not want to be a gambling, risk-taking type human being, armed with a shiny little smartphone that connects your bank account directly to an online gamibling site. I mean, fuck, isn't that a fucking obviously super-bad idea? Yikes. This little monkey knows you do not want to feed that jittery big-score seeking monkey.

Of course, the online gambling industry is happier than pigs in shit. And the goverments, local and federal, are probably happy taking their cut too. This runaway money-train is gonna be hard to stop. But what of the poor schlubs gambling their fortunes, or hard-earned pennies away? 

Those hyped-up schlubs can now bet on every play of every game on every game day.  You know, just one click away.  Many of them will be just trying to get even, digging themselves in deeper and deeper with every crazy-ass bet.

Turns out online gambling, on pretty much everything, is draining the bank accounts of folks all acorss the land. Who could have seen this coming? Ha. Maybe just about everyone? And, don't forget, as the money pot grows larger and larger, we get closer to that inevitable sports-betting-scandal? You know someone throwing a game, dropping a ball, making a an obviously bad call to cover a bet, and score the big bucks. Does anyone remember the 1919 Black-Sox Scandal? Know your history people!

No Idea...

Well... yeah... there's the "hidey-hole" (see previous post), and then the rabbit hole. Lately, it seems, I find myself going down rabbit holes. I guess, I am just chasing after mythical, unseen rabbits. Maybe catching just a glimmer of a cotton tail? Why do I want to chase a rabbit down a rabbit hole? I really have no idea...

A Hidey-Hole...

Yes. Super-important to have a designated "hidey-hole." A safe space away from other people and the forever-on-rushing hurly-burly of events. As they say, history, is just "one damn thing after another."

A place of silence & retreat is required. A place of practiced stillness, and renewal.

In my secret hidey-hole I have a bookshelf stocked with great books and records. I have my little Sony Walkman, and a pair of excellent Grado headphones. My acoustic guitar is always at hand. I have a little digital recorder for new song ideas, stray riffs and chords.

No man is an island, but everyone needs an island to claim as their own; a place where one can nurture and fortify their mind and spirit. Absolutely essential...

Empowering...

Empowering the Asshole; that is the inevitable consequence to be derived from the results of the November 2024 Presidential election. I suppose it will be "interesting," to see how it all turns out? What is that famous Chinese curse? "May you live in interesting times."

Just how fucking interesting, will be an interesting experience. Think of it all as a long-form experiment in self-sabotage, a curse, a test, a willfully-conjured up clusterfuck, an idiotic, ritualistic, hurling of ourselves into the black void of fucked-up-ness. How much damage can one over-stuffed, over-amped, and devastatingly ignorant, classless, corrupt & destructive man do? I suppose we will all find out. Like they say: "Fuck around and find out." Yikes. We are now heading into the full-speed ahead finding out part.

Philosophy in Action...

 Yes... well... being philosophical: "If you are philosophical in your reaction to something that is not satisfactory, you accept it calmly and without anger, understanding that failure and disappointment are a part of life."

Yikes. 

I suppose it's all a matter of degrees. How to be be calm and clear, not angry about "something not satisfactory." Is it a good idea? A healthy way to live?

Seems like a test and a challenge and contrary to our audacious pop culture credo of having everything all the time. Accepting failure and disappointment; is it just being an intelligent person, or an abdication, a giving up, a giving in? 

There is a Universe of "not satisfactory," shite out there. It is the ocean we swim in, the air we breathe. We endure the slings & arrows of outrageous fortune, and keep on going. That's philosophy in action.

We Turn to Art...

Ah... well...

This is all so familiar to my partner and I. Disappointed in the Human Game, in the turn of events, in the long, ragged, jagged journey of our species. Humans are very tricky and complicated. And it gets weird & ugly at times.

What is our fall back? Our go-to mode? Art. 

We both sink into music, books, film, poetry. We create. We are always conjuring up new dreams, fantastical ideas, crazy-ass adventures in our heads. Always working on new songs. Writing new lyrics. Recording demos with our little digital recorder.  Sinking into, and living in, a swirling creative pool. 

We seem always be in the mind of discovery. Always on the search and lookout. Turning to other artists for inspiration. We surround ourselves, bury ourselves deeply other worlds & minds, in the creative soup of life. So, yes, I suppose dark times can lead to creative breakthroughs. We truly do need to create to live. No joke. Almost as essential as the air we breathe, the water and food we take into our bodies.

We truly live it. It is not some grand ego trip. It's a humble way forward. Leaning into the poetry and rythmn of life. Our feet on the ground, our heads in the clouds. The real work, the soul work, the spirit work. "All that glitters is not gold..." Yes. Indeed. Damn the torpedoes...

Humbled & Resigned...

Ah... we are a bit humbled and resigned around here. The news everyday lately is bad, the worst amongst us are being nominated  by the large toxic clown, and they are targeted to do important jobs in the new administration. And the wealthy amongst us reveal themselves to be corrupt, doofusses with no idea how government or even a civil society works.

Every day my friend and I say to each other: "It's gonna be bad."

Still, we carry on. We do our thing, hope for the best. Someone said, "Expect the unexpected," Another replied, "Unexpect the expected." I say be prepared to improvise. Change is the ocean we swim in.

Remember there were probably fabulous parties during the Dark Ages. People lived and died, and the whole cycle kept repeating. Seems we have get philosophical in our thinking. Sure things are gonna be bad, I mean for some unfathomable reason lots of our fellow Americans turned to the dark side. Maybe as Paul Campos wrote a couple days ago: "Huge swaths of the populace are ignorant morons rather than literal Nazis. So that’s the good news . . . " 

Of course, on the other hand, lots of morons in our midst can also be fatal to a healthy and prosperous country. Either way, Democracy, our little experiment in representative governing here in America, is pointed full speed ahead to an fairly certain period of suffering and dark, moronic times. Yikes.

Still, we can choose to seek the goodness and the light in the moments of a day. Find the little gems in the MAGA pile of shite. Hope for a better day and a better way.  I mean, at least, that is what keeps us going. We need a reason to be positive. Sure, it's gonna be bad, but we will not lose our heads, we refuse to be defeated. We believe this will blow over in time. It's the only healthy way to forward. Damn the torpedoes...

"The Secret of the Prima Materia..."

This morning I ponder the Ouroborus. Maybe the thought was initiated by that little dog that I lived with for few days? Every morning she did a little circular dance, chasing her own tail in the living room,  the morning sunshine streaming thru the window. It was little act of self-awareness, futility, and absurdity too.

A snake eating it's own tail. Symbol of the eternal cycle of life, life, death, rebirth.

Let's check in with Carl Jung on the subject: "The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feedback' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself, and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he, therefore, constitutes the secret of the prima materia which ... unquestionably stems from man's unconscious."

As Dylan put it: "He not busy being born, is busy dying."

Shame on the Humans...

OK. Forget the Blue/Red divide for a moment. It's real, but we've talked that shite to death. This morning I am thinking of something else: dark times are here, maybe for a long while. The Assholes amongst us are ascendent. The Billionaires are armed with $, and bad ideas, which they want to impose upon the rest of us. They have decided that Government of, and by, the People, you know Democracy, is a threat to their wealth (Every billionaire is a policy failure, don't you know?! & It takes a village to raise a billionaire!). Those rich fucks have decided that the problem with the USA can be traced to the Social Programs  we have that address the needs of the populace. You know juicy and life-giving programs like Social Security, Medicare, & Veterans' Benefits.Talk about the unmitigated arrogance of wealthy Assholes. Yikes. What's a Humble Pilgrim to do? First shake your head in shame. Shame on the Humans for elevating the Assholes amongst us. Those folks should be shunned, and of course, taxed at a suitable rate. Not a one of them accumulated their wealth alone. The villagers helped make every fortune, no doubt. And then, well maybe People need to wake up!? The rich folks, I mean, the filthy rich, don't give a fiddler's fuck for the rest of us. Ok, there may be a few good-hearted, benevolent ones, but, fuck, don't count on the goodness of a billionaire. For the majority, we are just in the way. You know we are the folks who flee and cower when they start wielding their power. For them it's about $, and how to keep it, and make more. It's a soulless, asshole-ish way to live. Death-dealing, ignorant, selfish, greedy and small-minded. We can do better Humans!

Speakers in the Room...

Staying at a place with one those fabulous old analog stereo systems.  Real wood, real steel, real cables, solidly built, built to last, substantial, powerful. A large amplifier with big & little speakers wired throughout the house. Speakers in the living room, TV room & kitchen. I am spinning those little silver discs, CDs that I brought with me for the stay-over. 

The last few days I have been listening to D'Angelo's "Black Messiah." One those great gems of a recording. I hear it as avant-garde soul. Slinky, sexy, slippery, big on groove. Fabulous bass & drums, gorgeous vocals. So invigorating. 

Also listened to saxophonist, Kamazi Washington's "Heaven & Earth." Epic. Overstuffed. Grand. Ambitious. The life of the mind, the mind of a life. Powerful, beautiful, trippy, sounds like a soundtrack to an epic fanstasy film. Full orchestra, full choir, and a fabulous band of jazz musicians. Everything can be found in this 2 disc set. It keeps morphing and changing. Anything seems possible. Makes you smile, and wonder too. 

Also three Tragically Hip records: "Road Apples," "Day for Night,  & "Trouble at the Henhouse." This band is one of my latest "discoveries." Amazing catalog of music. Great band, 5 guys, friends since childhood, from a small town in Canada. They became Canada's most beloved. Great story. Fabulous r&r band. There are no flaws here. Unique singer, fabulous lyrics, kick-ass band. Love the two guitars and their on-going interplay. So good.

And Shabaka Hutchings. His record "Perceive it's Beauty, Acknowledge it's Grace", is astonishing, beautiful. My favorite recording of the moment. Flute, clarinet, spoken word, grooves. It just hits home, but with a light, graceful touch. Inspiring. Enriching. Healing. This is music at it's absolute best.

The Birth of Pop Culture = Beatles '64...

We watched "The Beatles 64," yesterday. Amazing, exciting. Surprising. It features newly unearthed, never before seen footage of the Beatles when they visited the USA, played the Ed Sullivan Show, Carnegie Hall, and chilled out in Harlem with Ronnie Spector and the Ronnettes. Who knew!?

Gil-Scott Heron famously told us: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," but he didn't mention that Albert and David Maysles were most likely filming it while it was happening. The brothers had cameras rolling for many significant events of that decade, including Monterey Pop and Gimmee Shelter.

A case can be made the 60's didn't really start until that fateful night on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles played their music for 70 million Americans, many of them screaming and crying in joy and ecstasy. The nation was still reeling and mourning the murder of JFK. This little group of mop-tops captivated and electrified the youth of the world, and yes, changed the world as it changed them too.  

Turns out the 60's, and the optimism and good vibes of that decade, seemed to die right around the time (1970), the Beatles broke up. The Rolling Stones at Altamont, and the Manson family murder spree also kind of put the nail in the coffin of that hippie credo: What's so funny about Peace, Love & Understanding, indeed?!

Hindsight is revealing & deceiving, nothing is all that neat and simple. But it's clear that you can't understand the 1960's if you don't include the improbably brilliant journey of the Beatles. It is all still sort of astonishing even now. Right time, right place, magic happens. They were one of the few bands that just got better, more creative, and genre-busting with each recording.  Their explorations with fashion, drugs, mysticism, meditation, avant garde art, and world music, became our explorations too. The Beatles became the example, the myth, and the template for everyone else who ever tried to  follow or emulate them.

The craziness of Beatlemania is still pretty unfathomable, unexplainable. As John Lennon says, they experienced it as a sort of ride in the eye of a hurricane. We get an insider's glimpse of those four lads birthing Pop Culture into being; a magnificent, thrilling, tsunami & joy-ride of new energy.

To see it all now? Another world. Did all really happen? Was it just a dream? A blast of enthusiasm, innocence, good vibes, humor & fun. As Paul said: it was all "A bit of a laugh." Of course, it was much more than that, but that was close to the heart of the beginning.

Crisis this Morning...

Maybe not the most important story this morning, at least, I am guessing, not important to you, but to me, yes, indeed, a story of "crisis." I am on the road, staying at a plush, old world mansion-like abode. Drinking my morning coffee in the dark, listening to the BBC on the radio. Seems all hell is breaking loose in many parts of the globe. I suppose you might say, just a typical morning. I finish my morning pot of coffee, and turn to making tomorrow's brew. Grinding new beans, suddenly, or you know, in the moment, mid-grind, my little, trusty coffee-bean grinder "gave up the ghost." It just up and died. One last grind, French Roast, and then kaput. This morning's coffee is fine. But what about tomorrow?! Immediately, trouble in SunnyJimmy Land.  How long have I owned that grinder? Decades? It's all sort of misty & hazy. My life, I mean. The years fly by, the beans get ground up, the coffee gets brewed, and then I  imbibe it all with a theatrical flourish. My life. An essential ritual. Energy is Eternal Delight. So, well, of course, the crisis can be easily remedied. Just dig in my pocket and pull out some cold, hard cash. There are a few places in town where I can secure a new grinder. I make a mental note to trek out into the cold later today. Buying new shit. It's a thing, a necessity. Doing my part to keep our economy humming, and my energy flowing. Yes, indeed, "coffee is truly the will to live."

Pop Culture References...

Yikes. When we  heard the news that a United Healthcare President, an executive in a major health insurance conglomerate was gunned down on the streets in New York City, our first thoughts: "Mr. Robot."  & "V for Vendetta."

Then we heard that the bullet casings were inscribed with these words: "Delay, Deny, Defend."  Later we found out that there was book titled "Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It"

When we hear about record profits, ($6.6 billion dollar profit for the 3rd quarter of 2024), for this particular insurance company, we are smart enough to know that they make their money by denying benefits to sick and often dying patients. Not a very admirable way to make a living. It's wild how sometimes pop culture informs the wider world.

Can't help wondering: Is the gunman just a canary in a coalmine? You know, "every billionaire is a policy failure" & "it takes a village to make a billionaire." Maybe the downtrodden villagers, those denied, those deceased, those who are currently suffering, are getting restless? Vast & rampant income Inequality is a disease...

Yes... Coffee & Music...

A very dear friend, who knows me well, sent me this drawing, and well, yes, my life too revolves around coffee, music, sunglasses, dogs, and the desire to be cool. Of course, you can't aspire to be cool, and you don't get to decide if you are cool or not, that is left to the four winds. But, yes, how to manage a life? For me, the two key poles: coffee and music. The trajectory: morning coffee = everything is possible, late afternoon music session  (listening to it and/or playing it) = harmony, melody, rythmn, vibes. "There once was a note, pure & easy..." - P. Townsend. Joe Cool Snoopy...

Good News from South Korea...

Good news this morning. The people of South Korea successfully came out in the streets to peacefully resist an attempted coup initiated by their President. The brilliant Heather Cox Richardson writes about it here. Seems their President has backed down, Democracy wins.

Sure it is a long way from USA, but such a refreshing, exicing, heartwarming event. Maybe it is instuctive? The people who value Democracy standing up for their right to a free and fair society, for their constitutional order, good government, and human rights. It's a beautiful thing.

Sometimes the "good guys & girls" win. My partner and I are big fans of South Korea. We love their people, their know-how, their innovations, their products, some of our essential devices include Samsung Smart TV & a Google Chromebook. Also one of our favortie series on Netlfix was the astonishing and beautiful "Alchemy of Souls." Hat-tip to the shamaness, poet & rock & roller Patti Smith for alerting us to that amazing show; magical, graceful, funny, astonishing. Also we loved "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," smart, funny, quirky, fabulously entertaining. South Korea comes across as a beautiful jewel of a land.

Anyway, good news is good news. 

We have been on the alert for the good things in life. Picking and choosing from the best around us. Staying nourished and informed by informed sources. On the lookout for Quality in thought, in writing, in art, in technology, in all aspects of good living. You know, leaning to the Light. Seeking life-giving, soul-enriching people and things.. It's all part of taking care of ourselves, healing, staying connected to one another, and seeking out the best that culture has to offer. Aware, alive, awake. Always.

The Void of Madness...

A stray sentence that I came across this morning that rings true, and totally resonates with me...

"His religion kind of creeps me out..."

Yes. Is it fair to say that most (all?), religions are based on essential, fundamental misunderstandings, and willful falsehoods?  Think of swallowing and embodying the lies as the first deadly step into the void of madness. One digests the false creed, and goes forth into the darkness. Living the lie. A turn away from what is true. It opens up a can of worms, decaying worms of the mind; corrupting, misleading, dangerous, leading to all kinds of mayhem, mischief, tragedy, blood, revenge, oppression, chaos, ignorance & injustice. 

How Do I Sleep at Night?!

Ah well. How do I sleep at night?!

What helps me...

I still believe in Gravity. And Karma. I believe in Justice & the Rule of Law. I believe in a Better Day. I believe that those we think of as "Evil-doers," are imprisoned & tortured by being themselves. That is their worst punishment, they have be them.

I believe in hard work, good cheer. I believe in Good Government & Democracy. I believe the Universe is an amazing, wondrous, & mysterious place. I believe we are all here to observe, to witness, and to discover our very own meanings and purposes.

I believe in the Creative Journey. I believe that Life is a Long-Form Improvisation. I believe it's important to Grow, to Change, to Evolve, to always be Learning. I believe in Grace, Hope, and an Inner Light.

And of course in the face of the constant turmoil, toil & trouble, and chaotic hurly-burly, I believe one must be clear-headed, alive, aware & awake. And of course, always, Damn the Torpedoes...

Bleak, Stupid & Unnecessay...

All the news is bad. No doubt. Especially on the home front in USA. So, I parcel out my time indulging in the news in tiny doses. I dip my toe in the pool, stir it around a little bit, get a decent sample of the worst of the worst shite, and then gracefully exit,  dry my toe, & turn to other things. It's the only way to keep somewhat sane, and the only way to minimize the effects of the poisoning. Sure a body can handle a tiny dose of the poison, just to know what's out there, but then the rest of the day is pointed towards health & balance. There is only so much toxic doom & gloom one humble Pilgrim can tolerate. I am amazed how quickly & easily recent events have basically spun out into visions of total dystopia. It was not my scenario at all. All signs point to a deep decline in the prospects for our Democracy & Good Government. Those ideas now seem under assault from all corners. WTF? That is still my go-to mode: WTF? My fellow Americans are truly baffling to me. I wonder if they have just given up? This decided turn to the Toxic Clown and his disgusting minions seems like the worst self-sabotage imaginable. What happens next? Who knows? It all looks very bleak, very stupid, very unneccsary. 

Entering the Corrupt & Stupid Era...

Went to a gathering of folks. Lots of food and chatter. No one talked about the debacle of a few weeks ago. Not one soul ventured into that ugly terrain. It is now the subject we don't talk about. Too dark, too painful, too disturbing. And, of course, we are all exhausted by the trials and tribulations of the Toxic Clown.

We live in concentric circles of blue, in a decidedly, proudly blue state. We hope & believe that our state, our Governor, will stand tall for the America we want to continue to live in. We all still hold that torn & tattered, wispy little dream of an inclusive and loving America the Beautiful.

We now feel so out of step with the bigger picture. The focus is closer to home. How to keep our heads, how to help our friends, how to still be positive and hopeful knowing that that an unbound Master of Bad Shite will be conducting things in Washington D.C.?

My take: America is Broken. We are now entering the Corrupt & Stupid era of America. Can we survive 4 years of corruption and stupidity on steroids? Can we really keep our heads in the midst of a trash TV adminstration? Who knows?! 

I kept these thoughts to myself, no sense bringing the party to a halt. No sense being the existential downer. We ate good food, we laughed, we talked about everything else under the sun. Sure, it was like a collective whistling past the graveyard thing. Dancing and partying like in E.A. Poe's Masque of the Red Death.

Everyone in that room was smarter, more caring, more admirable than the folks who appear to be populating the coming shit-show. Fuck.  I mean, you know, what a world?!

A Day of Indulging...

Back to basics. A day off. A day of thanks. Happy to be able to eat a hearty & healthy meal; all vegetarian, no turkeys harmed in the making our meal. 

Aware, alive, awake.

A day of no worries. Hanging with my love. Telling stories. After our meal I decided to read out-loud to my companion; a few of my favorite passages from a fabulous novel, Liam Heneghan's astonishing & totally captivating Through Pleated Light." 

Also listening to fabulous music. Lately it's been thrilling to dive into the discography of Tragically Hip. They are the Beatles, or U2, or REM of Canada. What a great discovery. 

It's good to get out of my own hall of mirrors, and submerge into other folks imaginative Universes. That's the beauty of fine literature, and great music. Totally diverting, renewing, refreshing, & enriching. 

So yes, it was a day of feeding the body, the head, the spirit. Imagination & healing.

The Merry-Go-Round...

The thing is...

Life goes on. Bad shite goes down, good shite goes down, doesn't matter. The world keeps on turning. Life rolls on no matter what. As George Harrison once sang: "And life flows on within you and without you..."

You can like it or not. Ride with it or not. It's a bit humbling, being a Human Being. Once you get on the merry-go-round, there's no getting off, until, well, finally you fall off. And well, that's a life, right there, in a nutshell.

My Upside?!

Since that thing that happened, I have been struggling to come up with an upside. I feel so of out of tune with the moment, at least the political moment, and maybe also dare I say,  I am on the wrong side of history? If indeed the USA is making a dark turn to an authoritarian-type dystopia, I am experiencing major dissonance with the prevailing symphony, and I am quietly brushing up on my stance & attitude of alienation & dissent. I am up for a life of resist, obstruct, & resist some more in my own little corner of the world. I can do alienation & gnarliness with the best of them.

Here's my upside: all the grifters, con-men (& women), looters & pillagers of the public coffers, corrupters & crooks, incompetants, right-wing numbskulls, wanna-be-nazis, souped-up christian-nationlists, the evil-doers, the oppressors, the suppressors, the forces of a retrograde debauchery, lawless power grabbers, will be in one place, one administration. They will be very public, hopefully under the microscope, that is if the rest of us just bear witness. We must keep engaged, alive, aware, awake & always vigilent. We will see & catalog all of their dastardly bad acts of destruction, division & chaos. We will keep count, a running total, of the lies, the crimes, the bad deeds.

As per usual, let's just assume, for the sake of argument, that we can cling to a certain, totally under stress per usual; if history is to be our guide, someone else, the next adminstration, the next President & their Cabinet, will be a good government, Democractic-type adminstraiton, that will come in, try to clean up, put the shattered pieces back together, get back to the business of the public good, dedicate themselves to honesty, integrity, good government, the rule of law, justice, etc. I mean, hell, one can only hope.

And it has been a trend. Just check the history books. Of course, nothing can be taken for granted. We may have taken a deadly turn. As Joe Strummer once said: "The Future is Unwritten." That could be a good, or a bad thing. Who knows?!

The midterms are two years away. Next Presidential election is in 2028. Seems like a very, very long, probably very rocky and disheartening interval of time. It may seem like a lifetime, an eternity, but really, lately, time does seem to fly by. Wonder if we will all be around to see it?! I do hope so, I'd like to get back in-tune with a better day & a better way. Fuck. I mean, shite & damn the torpedoes.

Prescient & Relevant. Yikes.

This morning, I came across this paragraph written in 1984 from Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale. It seems quite precient, relevant and unfortunately, totally of the moment here in the USA...

"Would I be able to persuade readers that the United States of America had suffered a coup that had transformed an erstwhile liberal democracy into a literal-minded theocratic dictatorship? In the the book (The Handmade's Tale), the Constitution and Congress are no longer: The Republic of Gilead is built on the foundation of the seventeenth-century Puritan roots that have always lain beneath the modern-day America we thought we knew."

Yes. Well. This has a resonant ring of plausibility. Yikes...

Re-prioritizing...

Getting over a cold. It's a process. Slow. Step by step. Once you go down for the count, there is the slow revival. Every day, slightly better. You come to really value easy breathing and good feeling. There is a recalibration, and a re-think. What's important? What to do? How best to expend the little energy that is available to you? Then the worm turns slightly and every day it is about "Getting stronger." Like Rocky. Ha. 

This morning I am in my Bartelby the Scrivener mode: "I prefer not to." There is much to turn away from, to not listen to, to not worry about, to not engage with, and to not waste my attention upon. I think of healing, cleaning up, re-prioritizing. Getting back to basics: good food, restful sleep, excellent music, books, coffee. Taking care. Feeding the head, the heart, the spirit. Yes. Alive.

The Double-Edged Nature...

Awhile back I was singing the praises of community. A gathering of the tribes. That good feeling of being in a room with other folks. It definitely has it's upside. I think of Dean Martin singing: "People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world." Sappy song, but, maybe it's true?

A few days after that gathering I came down with a nasty cold. No, not covid, (I tested to be sure) but I was knocked down a peg or two with a doozy of a cold. All the classic symptoms: chills, congestion, cough, depleted energy. Obviously someone in that little room had been a secret carrier.

It is amazing what a little germ can do. I was brought low for about a week, living with a river of phlegm.

A reminder: people are contagious. Right? They can pass all kinds of things onto you: vibes (good & bad), enthusiasm, depression, fabulous & terrible ideas, love & hate.  So, yeah, the downside, I think of Jean Paul Satre's: "Hell is other people." Yes, maybe it's true? 

It's funny. I was also sickened by the results of the election, and then my body & psyche joined forces on a downward journey. In-tune with sickness: body, head, & spirit.

There is a duality to the reality of being a Human Being. We embody the double-edged nature of our existence together. BTW - I recovered from my cold, and feel totally liberated this morning. Renewed. Sometimes after getting sick, it seems, I suddenly feel better than ever. More alive, aware, awake. What a rollercoaster: Life.

A New & Improved Human?! Nope...

My favorite writer, post-election has been Paul Campos at the blog Lawyers, Guns & Money (hat tip: Warren Zevon).  Paul (& Warren too), are just my kind of people. Smart, witty, articulate; writers with heart & intellect, inquiring, fiery, creative minds. 

Over here in our little secret garden, my partner and I have been wracking our souls & minds trying to make sense of recent events. We have been spinning in a whirlpool of conflicting emotions, and furious confusion. Our conception of the USA, the World, hell, the Universe itself, has been shattered.  Our post-election days have been a process of picking up the scattered pieces, trying to mock up a new vision, a new narrative, a new story we can tell ourselves & live with.

It has been difficult. 

Yesterday's conversation seemed to hover over the idea: How to make a Better Voter, or even more fundamentally, a Better Human Being? Talk about a fraught, dicey, complicated, contradictory, and impossible subject.

Look at the History of Humans. It's a battle of Religions, Philosophies, Mythologies, Governments, Languages, Ethics, Morals, Sciences, Biology. Much of the pain, heartache, misery, oppression, tragedy, genocide, atrocity, and catastrophic ugliness has been generated by groups of Humans trying to impose their vision, their way of life, upon other groups of Humans. With always fucked up results. 

Think of those missionaries with a Sword in one hand, Bible in the other. Ha. Lately folks want to beat down other folks with hefty old books like the Bible or the Koran. That is some old time shite. What of "On the Road?!" Or "Moby Dick?" or "Slaughter House Five" or "Catch 22"? Ha!

Yikes. The best answer we came up with yesterday to the question how to make a smarter, better Humans was: Fuck, Who Knows?! I mean we are not so delusional, or maybe not as delusional as some other folks; we are smart enough, my partner and I, to know that our idea of smarter & better doesn't mean more Humans that look, think and act like us. That is arrogant hubris.

We are pretty fucked up and condictory ourselves, and our history & the formative experience in our lives, within our very quirky families, and our faculties, capabilities, and biological imperatives are uniquely our own.

But kicking this question around, basically comes down to how can our species get better at decsion-making, evaluating information, separating truth from bullshit, acting more compassionately towards each other, and living more truthfully & ethically. Of course the question is assuming other people want the same thing for the species. Which may be a fundamental fallacy right there. Ha. I'm just defining our own private tribe, right there.  We are also the tribe that thinks: live and let live & to each his and her own. As Sly Stone told it: "Different strokes, for different folks." A nice, happy, little blue-bubble utopia right there.

An ongoing Human problem: Humans imposing their ideas, their ways of life on other Humans with violence and oppression.

This morning I came across Paul Campos latest post about how most Americans have no clue about America and their fellow citizens. Funny. We truly are a stupid, complicated, ridiculous species. We think we are so damn smart, and we prove every damn day that we really, really aren't. 

Best way forward? Start with: I know nothing. The kicker line to Paul's post: "The re-election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States is truly a mystery that will never be solved."

Ain't it the truth, brother. 

The Way of Losing...

Yes. I fall back on all the old cliches: Keep on Keeping On, Hang in There, Keep A Going, When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Get Going, Be Here Now. 

We often fail, fall down, lose a battle, your team loses, your dreams crash & burn, you take a licking, but, you know, you gotta keep on ticking. 

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes happens all the time. What do we learn from losing? The Universe works in mysterious ways. The Universe is bigger than you. The Universe doesn't give flying fig for your feelings.

You are gonna lose. Often. 

On the one hand, you have to get used to it. And other hand, you can't let it defeat you. Sure, sometimes you get totally pummeled, beaten down, you will be hammered into the ground, but, still, for sure, you will get back up. It's just the way of the world. You can tell yourself, losing, and how you handle it, is the way to build character, and that's a good thing, character. Ha. That's a good one.

If you stay in the game, there will be wins. No doubt. It's what keeps you going. As long as you are living, there will always be the sea of possibilities. You know, there's Joe Strummer's idea: The Future is Unwritten. Ok. You are down, defeated, feel like shit, but, come on, look up, there is a big blue sky up there, there is a glimmer of light beckoning to you, it's a new day, fuck, Lady Luck might be riding with you today, a winning streak may be just around the corner. Who knows? I mean, hell, anything is possible, right?!

Let's Stop Gaslighting Ourselves...

Ok. Maybe this from Paul Campos is the best thing I have read post-election? 

"I don’t have a specific plan of action for our purported leaders. I do have the following observation: If you are saying that Donald Trump won a free and fair election, you are lying to yourself."

It gets to the nub of the issue for me. I suppose I have been noodling it around in my head, danced around it, talked it through with my partner; we have been spending many days, fretting, consoling each other, "telling stories to ourselves," trying decide upon a satisfying narrative of what happened, and why are we so alienated from the results.

But, of course, yes, indeed, we have been gaslighting ourselves, the reality: "It wasn't a free & fair election." 

"Donald Trump’s re-election wasn’t free and fair in a whole bunch of ways, including the fact that it was enabled by enormous amounts of mind-poisoning propaganda, foreign and domestic, but here I want to emphasize the most important such way, which is that a correct interpretation of the pre-existing legal rules, specifically those found in the US Constitution, would disqualify him from holding the office to which he was just re-elected.

Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government by staying in the presidency after he lost an election. That is the very definition of committing insurrection against the lawful government of the United States. The 14th amendment was adopted specifically to bar people like Donald Trump — insurrectionists — from holding federal office.

This little detail has seemingly gone down the national memory hole, so eager are we all to tell ourselves stories in order to live."

WTF! Right?! 

Let's stop with gaslighting ourselves. This man should have been disqualified from running for office long ago. All our institutions have failed. The Supreme Court, the Republican Party, the Congress, the Justice Department, much of the Press, and many of our fellow citizens. They have all betrayed the spirit and the letter of the rule of law, and failed in their duty to the Constitution and to the USA.

Shame on them. Does anyone still believe in shame? And shame on us too.