Build a Wall Around the Idiot in Chief?!

Can we build a wall around the Idiot in Chief? Please? When Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate his approval rating was at 22%. Come on America, the reckoning is coming! Let's get those disapproval numbers up, and those approval ratings down, we can do it!

A Worrying Problem!

You know, it's probably best to only worry about the things you can control. But, of course, it turns out, you really can't control anything. So maybe best not to worry about anything. Not easy to do, and not worrying sort of feels like an abdication of responsibility. So then, maybe instead, we all should worry about everything. Every. Last. Thing. That sounds exhausting. And probably impossible. There isn't enough worry in us to encompass the entire universe of things to worry about. So we worry along as best we can. And we worry that our worrying capability just doesn't quite measure up. Oh well. What's the worry?

MLK, Jeff & Brian

MLK Jr. ---

"Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but that same Christ arose and split history into A.D. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. Yes, 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' There is something in the universe which justifies William Cullen Bryant in saying, “Truth crushed to earth will rise again.”

Yes, one can hope. As Jeff Tweedy of Wilco puts it: "Where would we be without wishful thinking?"

Can we expect the Moral Universe to validate Dr. King's words? Sometimes it seems like we are just little cogs in a big wheel. That wheel keeps on turning. What was up is down, what was last is first. It just depends on the spin of the wheel. Time and Place.

Justice, Truth, Love. "Wouldn't it be nice?" - Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys

"Thoughts of a Madman: Russian Agent, or Useful Idiot?!"

Is the world crazy, or is it me? Both? Have I fallen into some weird, conspiracy-minded madness? Has the Idiot in Chief driven me mad? Am I chasing shadows, inventing enemies, and bad actors who are working behind the scenes causing all the problems in the world?

What the hell is happening? What has happened to the country and all of the people in it? Are we all totally off the rails? Is all this in my head? Is everything actually fine? Is all of this chaos, madness, uncertainty some sort of delusion or hallucination?

Not sure. I have my doubts about the world, and myself too. Ok. Maybe I am crazy. But I was so happy to find this article, these words in print from Garrett Graff author of a biography of Robert Mueller III and a columnist in Wired Magazine...

"Trump Must Be A Russian Agent, the Alternative is Too Awful." - G. Graff

I may be mad, but it's good to see that someone else, someone seemingly more together, more sane, less distracted, than I am, who seems to be on the same thought-train, the thought-train that is driving me freaking nuts (emphasis added).

"THE PATTERN OF his pro-Putin, pro-Russia, anti-FBI, anti-intelligence community actions are so one-sided, and the lies and obfuscation surrounding every single Russian meeting and conversation are so consistent, that if this president isn’t actually hiding a massive conspiracy, it means the alternative is worse: America elected a chief executive so oblivious to geopolitics, so self-centered and personally insecure, so naturally predisposed to undermine democratic institutions and coddle authoritarians, and so terrible a manager and leader, that he cluelessly surrounded himself with crooks, grifters, and agents of foreign powers, compromising the national security of the US government and undermining 75 years of critical foreign alliances, just to satiate his own ego.

In short, we’ve reached a point in the Mueller probe where there are only two scenarios left: Either the president is compromised by the Russian government and has been working covertly to cooperate with Vladimir Putin after Russia helped win him the 2016 election—or Trump will go down in history as the world’s most famous “useful idiot,” as communists used to call those who could be co-opted to the cause without realizing it."

Hold Your Horses!

Hold your horses, maybe it's too soon, a bit premature, to think of Cormier and Leopold as the new Woodward and Bernstein, and Buzzfeed as the new Washington Post (see previous post). I do not want to be a purveyor of fake news. Reports are confusing. And not really sure what's going on. I will leave up yesterday's post, just because, it reflects the confusing nature of our reality. It seemed well-sourced, But it appears that there is some dispute to the facts...

The real Washington Post reports that the Special Counsel denies details of the BuzzFeed report.

“BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the special counsel’s office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate,” said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller.

What does it all mean? It may be that the "gist" of the story is correct, but some of the details about the evidence are not... we just don't know... maybe these BuzzFeed guys are a bit over their skis, but then again, once in awhile Woodward and Bernstein appeared to be well ahead of their story too, and in the end, their scoops and sources were proven to be journalistic gold. I surmise, we will find out the truth, about BuzzFeed, about the reporters, about their sources and about the Idiot in Chief and his henchmen, all the fabulously gory details, in due time. Stay tuned!

The Liar Lied to the Other Liar and they agreed to Lie to Everyone Else...

Turns out Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier reporters for Buzz Feed News may be the Woodward and Bernstein of our era. You know, "the Idiot in Chief Era." That would make Buzz Feed the new Washington Post. These two reporters have really owned the Moscow Tower Project story.

They have a new major scoop (President Trump Directed His Attorney to Lie To Congress About the Moscow Tower Project), Posted on January 17, 2019, at 10:11 p.m. ET...

Remember that date and time. I am no law enforcement expert, or constitutional scholar, but I do know "suborning perjury" is a major no-no. Children of America, pay attention! Shocking, right? No, not really, it's not surprising, that the liar lied to the other liar and they agreed to lie to everyone else. Still it's starting to get a bit "Nixonian" for our Idiot in Chief.

According to Buzz Feed:

Mueller has the details -- "The special counsel’s office learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Org and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents."

Everything is Fragile!

We live in the material world. Sometimes we think that material is solid. Really, everything is in flux, everything is fluid, everything can fall apart, morph, change, in an instant. Even solids aren't really solid. Everything is fragile. Probably best to keep that in mind. Always. Everything is fragile, and can fall apart at any moment. It's a weird way to think. But probably helps when things really do blow apart on us.

Get Your Head Together!

Oh well. 

Sometimes it pays to tune out the world. Tune out the madness, the noise, the toil & trouble, the hurly-burly. Tend to your garden. Get your head together. Gather your strength and resources. Take a break. Times like these, I like to sink into the music of Sigur Ros. Symphonic, chamber pop/rock. I mean, since music really is my life, I always need a soundtrack, no matter what I am doing. If I need deep, profound, exhilarating, and meditative music, nothing better, soothing, stimulating, engulfing, enrapturing than the sounds from that Icelandic band. So, yes, I sink in deep, then, of course, I get myself ready to face another day.

Garbage In, Garbage Out...

He mainly (only?) eats fast food...

Maybe that explains it all? As they say, you are what you eat. Sometimes a photo truly is priceless. Honest Abe looming above a very unhealthy human, standing in front of a table of lots of really shitty food... words are inadequate... I mean, why does this make me think of Kubrick's "The Shining?"

One of the Greatest Mistakes in the History of Fatal Mistakes!

Carl Berstein, Political Analyst, Journalistic Hero: “This is about the most serious counterintelligence people we have in the US government saying, ‘Oh my god, the President’s words and actions lead us to conclude that somehow he has become a witting, unwitting or half-witting pawn...to Vladimir Putin.'”

Sympathy for this President? Sympathy for the devil? Nope.

No sympathy for this particular devil. It's not because he's colossally ignorant. It's not because he's a bloated, hollow husk of a human being and a shitty salesman to boot. It's not because he's an epic blowhard, a pathological liar, a clueless, tasteless, no-nothing. It's not because he's a coward and a phony, a wanna be strongman hiding behind his gaudy facade of Dictator kitsch, sticking his stupid name on everything. It's not his lifetime of corruption, money-laundering, his mobbed-up real estate empire. It's not because he inherited his wealth from his daddy.

All of that could probably be overlooked. I mean who cares?

No, there's no sympathy for this particular devil because of his stone-cold racism, his white supremacy, his race-baiting, his deep in-grained misogyny. His casual and constant degradation of other human beings: women, African Americans, Mexicans, brown and black people around the world. And of course his degradation of our Laws, our Constitution, our Norms, our Democratic system.

No sympathy because he fucked with all of us, probably initially as a misguided, ridiculous brand-building exercise. And kicked into gear by his deep hatred for the first African American President in American History.

No, no sympathy for this wreck of a human being. He isn't an evil genius. He's an idiot who blundered into a hilariously bad situation that went seriously off the rails. Running for President?  Accepting the nomination? Accidentally winning?

Stupidity in Spades.

All the time he was fucking with us, he was also playing patty cakes with a murderous strongman from a hostile foreign country. That was playing with fire. That was a fatal fucking mistake. One of the greatest mistakes in the history of fatal mistakes. Now, he's in a vise. Caught between the Law Man and the murderous, Oil-Can, Autocratic, wanna-be Dictator. And it's all gonna come out. The betrayal of his country for $. Such a cheap, tawdry, treasonous-flavored treat. What a completely odious and toxic fool. Let it come down!

The Obvious Questions.

Yes, the damning stories keep coming. Maybe the most damning yet, in a long list of the damned... the questions basically answer themselves... there are no good, rational, or innocent explanations. Why would the President hide and destroy records of his conversations with Putin? What exactly did they talk about? What is he hiding from his W.H aides, his lawyers & the American People? Inquiring Minds want to know!

Additional Leading Questions:

"So when exactly did you become a Russian Dupe & Asset?"

How does it feel to sell out your country for $?

Do you consider yourself a chump or a traitor?

What the fuck were you thinking?

Did you really think you were gonna get away with it?

Are you sleeping well?

Do you like wearing orange jumpsuits?

Make America Great Again? Come on, really?

Let me make things clear, he knows, that they know, that he knows, that they know, what he did, and it was a very, very bad thing... let it come down...

Painfully, Blindingly, Ridiculously Obvious for a Long Time Now.

NYTimes reports: 

F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia

Right. This has been painfully, blindingly, ridiculously obvious for a long time now. I mean, no shite Sherlock. The 45th President of the United States has been working for Russia, either willingly or unwillingly since before he took office.

It's been an "open secret." Almost seems too crazy, too improbable, too brazen, too ridiculous, but there it is... wonder what happens now?

This man sold his country out. He betrayed good old USA. Once it dawns on everyone what really happened, well, betraying your country... we aren't all going to take kindly to that are we? That isn't gonna sit well... I say let the Law & Justice come down. With extreme prejudice!

Know Your History, Know Yourself.

Leaders. Right? If you are to choose a leader, be sure to choose wisely (see previous post). Leaders can lead us over a cliff. Or into a wall, or into an oven, or an unmarked grave. Just brush up on your history. It's amazing how gullible people are, how willing they are to commit atrocities, just to show they are good followers, just to please the leader. Folks in the mode of following are quick to give up any sense of morality, any sense of humanity, or individuality. There is something about us human beings, maybe we are essentially herd animals, or hierarchical creatures? Why are we so willing to give it up to a leader? Some of seem to want a Big Daddy. Big Monkey Man. A Strongman. It's a flaw. A problem. Know your history. Know yourself.

A Leader, With No Followers!

"Don’t follow leaders Watch the parkin’ meters..." - Bob Dylan

Yes. I have incorporated that line into my own personal code for most of my life. I don't really want to be a follower. I am not looking for a leader to follow. I pay the meter when I have to, I don't try to draw any attention from the "powers that be."

I prefer to be my own leader, a leader with with no followers, ok, maybe a leader with one follower. Me. It's a lonely road, but I'm okay with being alone.

"If my thought-dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guilotine..." - Bob Dylan

I am interested in the idea of leaders. I think of folks who lead by example. Usually they have suffered at the hands of some injustice, or indignity, and have carried on with grace and courage, or maybe they have always just been gifted with grace and courage and have no problem standing alone. There are very few folks who could qualify. I think of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, Thomas Merton, Ho Chi Minh, Dali Lama.

I mean, there are plenty of folks who we never hear of that show these qualities. The common decent folk. I know they are out there somewhere. I look for wisdom and courage where I can. Mostly, human beings are pretty much a disappointment. So many of us come up short. I mean, hell, it's okay, it's only life, it's a struggle! But we should struggle. Fight our worst instincts, and listen to our better angels. That's an idea!

It's Not Often You Get to Express the Zeitgeist of Our Times!

Yes, my band and I are big fans of the author, poet and professor, Liam Heneghan and his extraordinary book, Beasts at Bedtime... brilliant, mind-expanding, essential reading. I wrote about my impressions of his book in this post. We were delighted when Liam agreed to listen to our new album "The Alternate Boot: Vols 1&2" and to share his impressions and insights...

https://whitewolfsonicprincess.com/new-music/

whitewolfsonicprincess: The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2: An Album that Expresses the Zeitgeist of our Times

There is a tension—anxious and beautiful—at the heart of “The Alternate Boot Vols. 1&2” (The 2-CD version of the album available 01.08.19 on Bandcamp!), whitewolfsonicprincess’ new album that is hard, at first, to put your finger on.

On the one hand, the lyrics of several of the songs manifest our apprehensive times. For example, “There’s a sadness in the world/there’s a madness in the world/is no bottom to the well/is no answer you can tell” are the opening lines of Sadness In The World (Hayden/Moeller). Thematically, the roster of songs in this double album runs the gamut from pure fun (Surfer Boy From Illinois), spiritual reflection (So Clear), and love, desire, and reminisces are scattered throughout like jewels on a pathway, but it’s the somber tones that line the route.

Other examples: “The fear is big, my beauty fast and fading…” (I Close My Eyes), “Tell me about that Morning Dove/How the Darkness Bleeds into the Light” (in Your Shining Eyes, a shimmering standout track). Vol. 2 closes on this somber tone with Carla Hayden singing “Sometimes the light turns into shadows/Even angels can’t hide the face of fear” (Hand Of Grace). Undoubtedly, sober reflection and an acknowledgment of our fearful times are part of the role of artists in vertiginous times. Thus, the sensibility of this album is poetic and responsible.

For all of that, one rarely attends to art as an act of duty. So why despite the ostensible glumness of theme is this album so listenenable… (and I have had it on repeat for several days now)? After these repeated listens, I suspect that what “The Alternate Boot Vols. 1&2” has achieved is to put its lyrical and honest arc of truth-telling into fruitful at times tense conversation with music that is so driving, surging, muscular and vivacious that these songs become magnetic and unforgettable.

The Alternate Boot performs the small miracle of both calling out our times while raising us up. It is hard to come away from this music without feeling emboldened and up to the task of both resisting, and just as importantly, of living gracefully. The album is at its surging best on the previously mentioned Your Shining Eyes, as well as Dance a Wave, So Clear, the psychedelically tinged Hand in Hand, and the swelling and heaving Brown Eyes.

I have been a fan of whitewolfsonicprincess since I first saw them perform an intimate gig in Evanston, IL a decade or so ago. But this new offering is undeniably special. The album will have all the elements that fans expect from this band: it is lyrically interesting rock-and-roll, but this is something delicious and not to be missed. – Liam Heneghan

Liam Heneghan – Author of “Beasts at Bedtime,” Professor of Environmental Science and Studies at De Paul University. He is a Dubliner, an occasional poet, and a father of two grown children.

"The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2" is Here!

Hello Universe...

whitewolfsonicprincess' new album, "The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2" releases today on all digital music platforms including: Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, etc. But we really, really encourage you to consider buying the 2-CD version of the album via Bandcamp - cool packaging, an 8 page booklet with lyrics and production notes, AND high-quality digital downloads and unlimited streaming included for $15.00. It's a fantastic deal! If you prefer living in the material world of bricks and mortar, be sure to visit Vintage Vinyl in Evanston our CD is in stock now!

We want to share the first review of our new album. It comes from an extraordinary Writer, & Poet, Liam Heneghan, Professor of Environmental Science & Author of the beautiful & amazing book  "Beasts at Bedtime."  It is so gratifying and humbling to read his words. He writes with deep knowledge, and pure poetic insight:

"... Music that is so driving, surging, muscular and vivacious that these songs become magnetic and unforgettable." - Liam Heneghan

Fire up your stereo systems, put your headphones on "The Alternate Boot" is here!

Also check out Pat Mcdonald's interview & profile of the band over at HollywoodChicago.com 

"To travel with whitewolfsonicprincess in “The Alternate Boot” is to float in a dream and destiny of magical thinking, ethereal musicality and images of promise… and we all arrive together." - Patrick McDonald

It's A "No-Brainer!

David Leonhardt of the NYTimes spends a bit more time and effort, and devotes more words to the "Impeach the Motherfucker" idea, than I. What a capital idea!

Everyone with a handful of working brain cells can see that this man is not qualified to be President. He should be in jail. No doubt. How many ways is this dude corrupt? You will run out of fingers when you try to count.

From Leonhardt:

"Consider the following descriptions of Trump: “terribly unfit;” “erratic;” “reckless;” “impetuous;” “unstable;” “a pathological liar;” “dangerous to a democracy;” a concern to “anyone who cares about our nation.” Every one of these descriptions comes from a Republican member of Congress or of Trump’s own administration.

They know. They know he is unfit for office. They do not need to be persuaded of the truth. They need to be persuaded to act on it."

Let's Make America Equitable Again!

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is creating quite the exciting storm, the new house member from New York is a darling of the left. I am energized by her energy!

She is floating the idea of setting the top marginal tax rate at 70%. This seems so necessary. It is refreshing that someone is pushing this idea. She would use the revenue stream to drastically curb America's carbon dioxide emissions.

This is just common sense. The wealthy, a small portion of the ultra-rich, should pay their fair share to help keep America strong, and to address our greatest existential crisis. It's not a ridiculous idea. It is not crazy or onerous. Don't let those rich folks confuse you with jibber-jabber.

Remember the ultra-rich benefit greatly from living in America. They would not be ultra-rich if it wasn't for the rest of us. Our schools, our roads, our police departments, our fire brigades, our well-financed military, our consumers, our workers. Our blood, sweat & tears.

In earlier times the ultra-rich were taxed at a much higher rate: "Under Eisenhower, the top earners paid a 91 percent marginal rate, falling to Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed 70 percent under Kennedy and Johnson..."

Yeah. Eisenhower. Not exactly a socialist icon. Come on America, wake up! It is past due time that the ultra-rich ponied up. Let's make America equitable again!

Yep. Of Course.

"We are going to impeach the motherfucker..." Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

Hah. Maybe it's a bit impolite, but I think Rashida is just saying out loud what most of us Democrats hope and expect. Of course, let's have Mueller finish his work, let's see the list of indictments, the list of co-conspirators, the catalog of unconstitutional acts. Let's see all of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" detailed in stark black and white print. It is so obvious that is where this is all headed. It's been clear for a long time that we have a Russian-backed Stooge in the White House. Let's get the truth out into the light of day... AND THEN... let's impeach the motherfucker!

P.S. Of course, not to be remiss, as Rashida points out, we already have a list of particulars now, even before Mueller lowers the boom, that make a great case for impeachment RIGHT NOW!

No Walls.

Walls. Let me just say this about walls: I am against them. Everything I love about this country is intimately related to the idea that we don't have walls. We don't try to keep people out. Instead, we are that unique country that welcomes people from all over the world to come to our shores, to try to make a life here. Just check out the best places: New York, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Austin. They are all thriving, seething, over-stuffed melting pots. That's the great American experiment. And it's beautiful, wonderful, something to celebrate.

Sometimes You Just Do the Day.

January in the Midwest - darkness to darkness. Daylight hours are short. You wake up in darkness, there are brief periods of light, or periods of illuminated gloom, and then darkness descends before dinner time. It's hard not to reflect the weather. It's hard not to absorb the darkness. If you are a sensitive type, and who isn't, you can't help resembling the day. It must be like that the world over, right?

Why do we choose to live in a place like this? Probably born here, and then you just don't travel too far from the places of your ancestors, or you meet someone who has ties here too. And then there's random circumstance, you didn't get that one job on the coast, and you got one closer to home, and you made the decision, after the decision was made for you, that this is your home. There's a point where you think you belong here. Even though the sense of belonging is thinner than an invisible string.

So no good explanation. You are here.

And you reflect the days. And maybe they reflect you. What is outside is inside too. And the other way around too. Dark days. Sunny Days. Whatever. There is a darkness in you too. An illuminated gloom too. Waiting, expecting sunnier days. Longer days. Warmer days. But dealing with the day at hand. That's the trick. Sometimes you just do the day.

Burning Question...

"Once upon a time, in a land far away..."

You wonder how the story ends...

Did Love, Brotherhood, Poetry, Art, Beauty, the Connectedness of All Things, a Universal Mind, an Ethic of Responsibility, Empathy & Compassion, Human Beings working together towards a Better Day and A Brighter Future, where Heart, Intelligence & Grace were traits valued above all others, rule the day?

Or...

Did those death-seeking, money-grubbing, greedy, sleazy, small-minded, power-hungry, racists & Fascists  who excel at dividing the people into warring tribes, take over the show world-wide, and continue to burn the whole freaking planet to a crisp?

Inquiring Minds want to know.

I'm Bad with Numbers.

First morning of 2019.

I'm not big on numbers. Actually, I'm bad with numbers. I'm so happy calculators were invented. Math is not my thing. I really, really stumbled in school when we got to Algebra and Geometry. Seemed like another language where I just could not find my footing. Also, of course, I am the kind of human being who really doesn't want to do what I don't want to do. I have always had problems applying myself to things I don't want to apply myself to.

The flip-side to that, I really love to do what I love to do. And early on in my life I did find things I loved to do: kicking around alone in the world, in my head, reading books, playing guitar, writing things down on paper. I love the world of words, images, ideas. I love the world of music, the songs, the melodies, the harmonies, the great music, the great bands, the great artists, those human beings who have done the good work.

My life continues to unspool. Still running out that string. Not sure how long it goes. Still trying to figure things out. It seems like an ever-continuing saga: who am I, why am I here, what's going on, what have I done, what will I do? Is there some higher purpose or meaning that I'm missing? Is it like Algebra or Geometry? Some other language I should know that would help me navigate this strange and forbidding world?

It's welcoming too, right? Sometimes you just want to embrace the day. Breathe in the air, hold the sun and moon in your arms. 2019. Another year. A number. I'm bad with numbers. But life, I'm trying to get the hang of it. It keeps changing, morphing, growing, unspooling before me. That's the thing, right?! Happy New Year!

Low Battery!

If you are the Caretaker...

If you are the Caretaker you take care of the manor house. The family who lives here blew out of town in a last-minute rush. It was almost like an Alien Spaceship evacuation. Food still on the table. Shoes and clothes strewn about. One day the family up and vanished and the Caretaker comes to fill the void. It's strange living in one of these massive dark manor homes on the edge of the lake. So big. So many empty rooms. Plush, comfortable, palatial. Can't imagine how people live here.

It's me and the dog. Yesterday, we had guests. An alarm went off in the kitchen (who even knew there was an alarm, I mean, I've been Caretaker for years, never set an alarm, never knew there was one to set), a quiet little beeping. Of course, the dog and I were in a totally different part of the house, didn't hear a thing. We were watching football on TV, about the most perfect time-waster invented. We heard voices coming from the kitchen.

The dog goes into a barking fit. I get up and head to the sound of voices. Two young cops in full regalia - bulky, bullet-proof vests, billy-clubs on the side, holstered revolvers, body-cams, comms devices, fully loaded officers of the law, full metal jackets, are standing in the kitchen, a little beeping in the corner, the dog getting loud and unruly.

I must say I was "dis-oriented," didn't really understand what was going on. How did two cops get in here? I can't really convey how strange and surreal it was for me to be confronted by two cops in the kitchen. I did flash on all those little videos we've all seen of cops and citizens accidentally working themselves into violent tragedies, misunderstandings, miscalculations, mistakes, bullets and bodies. A little chill went down my spine. "Hi. What's going on?"

The cops were young, wary, suspicious, but courteous at the same time. I suppose I am not the typical "home invader" profile. Luckily, we were all the same "color," if you know what I mean.

One of the cops - "We responded to the alarm." Me - "What alarm?" Cop (suspicious) - "You don't hear an alarm?" The beeping is now louder. Me - "Oh, yeah." I walk over to the alarm next to the door. Cop - "You know how to turn it off?" Me - "I think so." I press the off button. End of beeping.

I explain to the cops that I'm the Caretaker. They take my name and number and wish me a good day. Then they are gone. They vanish so quickly, I wonder if they were really there to begin with. Did that really happen? Surreal. What happened? What's the answer? Low battery!

Incarnation It's a Big Job!

Incarnation: "the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form," right, that's the gig. As the Guru said, "Be Here Now." Not as easy as it sounds. There's the past, the future, there's denial, and ignorance. All the little games we play. How to be us, totally us, in our skins, in our spirit, in the moment, every moment, every breath, knowing that any breath can be our last. And that's part of the incarnation too. Who we are now, this moment, who will be when we won't be. It's a big job.

A Light from the Shadows Shall Spring!

Dreaming of Goblets of Gold...

That seems so unlike me, but it's true, last night I was dreaming of goblets of gold. I woke up confused. If you were to ask, "what motivates you?" Gold would be a bit lower down on the list for me. Really. Truly. Which may be one of my major flaws this time around in my human suit, especially since I am just another tiny cog in this massive, ever-raging, always-on, devouring-everything, capitalistic perpetual motion machine.

$. That's everything for some of us. So, anyway, this morning I go to the great Google and ask, "what does dreaming of goblets of gold mean?" This comes up first: 

"A dream of gold coin indicates that you need to work harder to achieve a royal and rich lifestyle. Take it as a sign that your efforts will surely get you unexpected gains and make you earn more than normal. Finding gold in a dream means that the dreamer will accomplish great things and attain the goals which he has set for himself."

"Work harder to achieve a royal and rich lifestyle." Find my inner Gollum, ok got it. This puts me in the mind of J.R. Tolkien...

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, 

a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

Some days it's heroic just to "go on."

Yesterday was one of those "Samuel Beckett" kind of days: “You must go on. I can't go on. I'll go on.” Yes. Some days it's heroic just to "go on." A slow, steady, constant rain. Basically the worst kind of weather for someone who must be out in the weather. I was out most of the day. Wet, cold, hot, sweaty,  crunchy, grouchy, slowly trudging along in the mud, the muck, the shit.

I would have sworn at the gods, but I think they high-tailed it to sunnier climes. Why bother?

So, I carried on. I mean, I don't deserve a medal or anything. I just did all the things I had to do. I just did them. Not really heroic at all, pretty mundane. Nothing great. Nothing extraordinary. Just survived. And then, afterwards, I kind of collapsed into a little ball, a fetal position, sprawled out on the living room oriental carpet and listened to a random mix of records: Jeff Tweedy's "Warm," Modest Mouse's "The Moon & Antartica" & "The Lonesome Crowded West," Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell's "Hawk," & "Ballad of the Broken Sea," and Uncle Tupelo's "No Depression." Pretty nice mix there.

I recharged a bit in my little sonic bathtub. Noisy, mellow, cool, tragic, funny, beautiful, thrilling. It was good. I made it. Great. What's next?

Hippocrates Was One Smart Greek!

Food is medicine....

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates

Hippocrates seemed like a smart guy. He was "ahead of his time when, around the year 400 B.C, he advised people to prevent and treat diseases first and foremost by eating a nutrient-dense diet."

I do think our bodies (and minds, connected, don't you know?), are sick from so much junk food. And then we take medication to compensate for our bad diets. We fill our bodies with junk, then take pharmaceuticals to combat the effects of the junk, then our bodies react to the pharmaceuticals, compounding and multiplying our problems.  It's a conundrum of unhealthiness. We are entrapped in a cycle of sickness.

We should all be much smarter, eat much smarter, eat to be healthy, and be wary and skeptical of those all those pill-pushing doctors who always have the latest in snake-oil pharmecuticals! Come on people, let's get it together!

"Nutrient deficiencies and toxicity from a poor diet are linked to nearly all modern health conditions. John Hopkins University reports that some 80 percent of cancer patients are believed to be malnourished, and that treatments used to battle cancer (like chemotherapy) only increase the body’s need for nutrients and very high-quality foods even more. (1) You probably already know that diabetes and heart disease (currently the No. 1 killer in the U.S. and most industrialized nations) are also illnesses that are highly influenced by one’s diet — and the same can be said for allergies, autoimmune disorders like arthritis, thyroid disorders and many more."

If You are Jeff...

If you are Jeff Tweedy, you get to make a recording at your own studio, The Loft in Chicago, you get to play your 1930's era Martin 0-18 on every track of the recording, you get to make a really warm, beautiful, intimate solo album entitled, "Warm." You get to write all the songs, lyrics and music, you get to play almost all of the instruments on the album, with a few notable contributions, primarily from your son Spencer and Wilco's great Glen Kotche, both on drums. You get to reveal another side of your magnificent song-writing abilities, you get to reflect on a life well-lived. You get to face mortality in the lines of a song. And you get the great writer George Saunders to write your liner notes. And it turns out that Saunders liner notes are their own  little bit of masterpiece. Not a bad present to find under the Christmas tree yesterday morning.

We played the record over and over, all day yesterday, helped make Christmas day 2018 pretty damn special. Here's a bit of text from George Saunders' liner notes:

"Jeff is, to my mind, a warrior for kindness, who has made tenderness an acceptable rock-and-roll virtue. By “tenderness” I don’t mean that New Age thing, where someone drives a spike through your head and you place hands palm to palm and do a cheesy deep bow while thanking them for the new coat rack. No: Tweedy-tenderness is sophisticated and badass and funny. It proceeds from strength and good humor and does not preclude being angry or tough or peeved. It is based on the premise that you are as real as he is and as deserving of attention, and that the world is worthy of our full and fearless interest, just as it is."

No One Saw It Coming...

"Plunging us into chaos." Right. Isn't that our Little Baby Man President's brand? "Stocks on track for worst December since the Great Depression." Hah! Who would of ever thought that a lying, know-nothing, racist, white nationalist, super-divisive, intellectually lazy, business-wise incompetent, politically inept, socially sleazy, morally corrupt, legally-exposed, hostile-foreign power compromised President would be bad for business? Merry Christmas 2018!

No Dogma!

Dogma. I do my best to avoid dogma. Don't you? I think it's best to experience the world, to see the world first-hand, to be active in it, and to make inferences based on your eyes, on the evidence of your senses. To see clearly. Clear-seeing. I mean, it's okay to listen to the Wise Ones. But we must choose the Wise Ones carefully. Are there Wise Ones?

So many voices. Chattering. The Tower of Babbling Voices. It can be overwhelming. Sometimes best to tune them out. Find that calm center. Still the inner monologue. Even our own chatter can send us off on a wild goose chase. Others lie to us. We lie to ourselves. We must try to get to the essential things: Clarity, Purpose, Meaning, Intention.

Simple living. Try to live simply in a complex world. Aye, there's the rub.