The Anti-Bubble Bubble - Think About It!

Nate Silver has a super-wonky post about the nation's confidence in America and confidence in Obama.   Not as clear-cut as you might think.  But what we think seems to have a big effect on what we think!


I'd chalk it all up to the Anti-Bubble Bubble!


First we were in the Bubble Bubble Years.  We were in a bubble where everything just inflated! Our houses inflated, our incomes inflated, our hopes and dreams inflated.  We all got big and bubbly and full of hot air.  And we assured ourselves that this was the new normal and it would never end.


And then, for various reasons the bubble popped.  It all just got too bubbly.  And then everything suddenly de-flated.  Our houses, our incomes, our hope and dreams: all suddenly flat and life-less as a pancake.  And now we think that this is the new normal and it will never end.  The Anti-Bubble Bubble!


And Obama and the Bubble or Obama and the Anti-Bubble are kind of in a fatal embrace...  

In an alternate universe he'd be in jail!

This pro-torture bureaucrat is out hawking a book.  Shouldn't he be on trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity?

Crisis of Capitalism!

Yes, it is a crisis of Capitalism itself!  That rings true!  And all the talk, and all the proposed solutions, seem so paltry, so contrary to reason, so wrong-headed.  And there is a war of rhetoric and a war of unreason.  And finally you just want to tune it all out!


But tuning it out then leaves it to the loud-mouths, the no-nothings, the do-nothings.  They thrive on the cynicism.  


Capitalism is eating itself.  It's eating the planet, eating up the resources and the people.  It has become this ravenous dysfunctional beast.


It serves itself, not us.  We are on our own!

Gloriously Sad and Mournful!

So I'm working on Neil Young songs for our special show in September. It is pure pleasure. Something about his music and sensibility just resonate with me. Some people think he's sad or mournful. For me, even the sad, mournful songs, or no, maybe especially the sad, mournful ones just always give me an adrenaline kick. Maybe something to do with my obsession with death?!

I picked a bunch of tunes to do without thinking too hard, they are just some of the favorites that immediately popped into my head. Upon reflection, I'm thinking there is a theme. Here are my picks with my capsule descriptions:

1. Needle and the Damage Done - a short acoustic ditty about heroin addiction and early death.

2. Tonight's the Night - a haunting D minor tune about heroin addiction and early death.

3. Powderfinger - a haunting, mytho-poetic novella in song-form about violent death on the river.

4. Down By the River - a lament, and an extended jam about violent death on the river.

5. Fucking Up - a raucous rocker about fucking up!

6. Cowgirl in the Sand - a glorious anthem about (I think!) a relationship gone south.

That's the mini-set. Should be a raucous night of good fun! Gloriously sad and mournful too!

This Life-Time it's Hair!

The Lovely Carla has convinced me that I have come back this life-time to work out my "hair issues." This life-time it's all about hair for me.

Maybe I was bald in another life. Or, maybe I was beheaded. Or maybe I had curly hair, but badly wanted straight hair. Maybe.

My hair has a mind of it's own. And I'm always in battle with it. It doesn't matter: long, short, or medium length. It is unmanageable! And it always sort of looks silly. Like it doesn't really belong on my head.

I guess I should just be grateful that I have hair. Although, ever since Michael Jordan it seems like a shiny bald head is pretty cool.

Still I have my hair, and I must live with it. It's my mission this time around.

A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who comes back to this realm to help other beings find Nirvana. That seems a little ambitious, I am trying to get my hair to behave!

Grand Consciousness Changer!

Seems we are always rooting for the UNDERDOG! Must somehow be imprinted into our neural networks. Or... something ...

So we were in the kitchen on a Sunday evening talking about the state of the Universe, the state of Humanity, and the all twisted knots with which we have tied ourselves up.

There is a pervasive bleakness that sort of envelops us like a big, black, cloud during any conversation about our wacky modern (Or is it post-modern?) situation.

When all is said and done, there doesn't seem to be any elegant way out of the muck. Finally we are left to root for some kind of GRAND CONSCIOUSNESS CHANGER, some kind of new period of enlightenment, something we can't even imagine, that will descend upon humanity, and then suddenly everything will change, humanity will improbably and finally see the light!

Seems sort of unlikely, but that is where our hope hides out... we root for the unlikely, the unseen, the unknown; we root for the UNDERDOG view to over-take us and to transform humanity and it's view of the world.

We Rocked, We Soared, We Played to the Trees!

Our band, Whitewolfsonicprincess (one word!) played a unique show last night. A church picnic on the lakefront! We were accompanied by a raging Lake Michigan. The wind off the lake must of have been whipping at about 20 miles an hour or so.

So anyway, it was sort of like playing in a wind tunnel. We were in a little grove, and we played to the trees! I must say our band was superb! We have gotten tighter and tighter, which means we are looser and looser too. Strange, but true.

We sang and played with total confidence, and a little abandon too. Our little P.A. did an admirable job against the elements. We were happy all around.

I tried out these new guitar strings on my big old acoustic guitar and I am just so pleased with them. They are called Elixirs! They are coated with a thin film of Gore-Tex. Weird. They feel smooth, silky, and supposedly they last longer than normal strings.

I play so hard, when I get into it, I bring lots of passion to my playing and I hit the strings with major force and velocity, think Pete Townsend; and I do have a propensity to break strings. So far the Elixirs have been great. No problems last night! We rocked, we soared, we braved the elements. And weren't intimidated in the least by the Church People!

R&R Distortion Master!

One of my favorite things to do in the world is put on a Neil Young CD and play along in the kitchen. My neighbors probably don't love it, I like to crank my little tube amp, turn up my overdrive pedal and jam away.

And now that we are planning a Neil Young night in September, I have extra motivation to play Neil Young songs. I'm a big fan of Tonight's the Night, On the Beach, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, Rust Never Sleeps, Ragged Glory, etc.

Last night on the radio two rock critics "dissected" Neil's great Rust Never Sleeps. Usually I don't agree with those two guys. And even when I agree with them, they just seem so damn annoying. Still, I did enjoy their discussion of Neil's great album.

Neil's music is so powerful, so emotional, so mythological. I'm so in awe of the man and his music. And I have always loved his great guitar sound. Neil is both the sensitive singer-songwriter, and the combustible rock and roll distortion master. Love that beautiful dichotomy!

Watch!

Maybe some days you just don't ask any questions.

And you don't venture any answers either!

You just hunker down and watch!

How Convenient!

We emerged out the the elements of the Universe.

We then invented God and Religion to explain things to ourselves.

We then pretended we didn't remember, or we intentionally forgot, that we invented God and Religion.

How convenient!

The Mystic Trinity

How to deal with the post-event blues? Throw yourself head-long into another event! We are working on another night of music dedicated to one of our favorite inspirers. The idea is simple. Pick a musical artist that has a great catalog of songs, and then invite a bunch of solo acts and bands to pick songs to play.

First we did a John Lennon night, then it was Bob Dylan. This time around we have settled on Neil Young. And really for me that is some kind of Mystic Trinity.

I propose it goes like this: Dylan is the Father, (he truly is an Old Testament Character) Lennon is the Son, (the Chosen One, the One who Died for Our Sins) and Neil is the Holy Ghost (he works in mysterious ways combining a shaky, haunting voice with glorious over-driven r&r.)!

The Flip-Side

It is inevitable. You have moments of transcendence, but then they dissolve. You can't hold on to them, can't prolong them. You realize you live for those moments. But they are fleeting.

That reality used to really send me into a tail-spin. Now, less so. The hollowness that follows is just part of the process. The flip-side that always comes along for the ride.

Not the Thing Itself!

One of the things I love about "theater" is that it can't be contained or "commodified!" I guess I mean, you can't reduce it to a video or a picture. Videos and pictures of a theatrical performance are notoriously flat, static and bad.

We've made some videos of our theater work, and frankly they seem dead. So in order to fully appreciate the work, you have to be there; in that room at that moment. It's a multi-dimensional phenomenon, sort of like life.

The other thing about our theatrical work in particular: we are always trying to resist explanations, labels and simple meanings. I guess this reflects our sort of grand "philosophy" or world view. The belief that life is ultimately mysterious.

So our work is sort of schizoid, abstract, puzzling, because that is how we perceive the world we live in. And the work and our perceptions of the world are also fleeting and evanescent. So you perform a piece, it is a focal point of energy for a short time, and then it dissolves, disappears. And any record of it is only partial and paltry, and "not the thing itself!"

Pure Joy!

We performed at the Abbie Fest last night. A packed house. It seemed like the audience was with us. They pretty much tracked with us, and if they didn't track with us, well, they just went along for the ride. Can't really ask for more.

It wasn't a perfect performance, we had a few glitches, but we didn't panic, kind of held it together, and carried it through. I do think you can rehearse a show to death, (which in this case we didn't, if anything we were a little under-rehearsed) and still when you get up on stage in front of a real live audience, it's a new thing. We were riding the energy of the room, which was a big rollicking beast.

I do love the Abbie Fest. It's a true celebration of theater, art, creativity. And it's overstuffed with people and talent, and energy. And it's a mad, crazy ride! Pure joy!

One Shot. Signifying Something.

Last night watching theater at the Abbie Fest, I couldn't help but think I was losing the grand narrative thread. I mean to life, not theater. Was there ever really a grand narrative thread? I don't know.

Anyway, it made for a sort of unsettling evening. Lots of sound and fury. Signifying something, but not sure what.

Which is not a bad preamble for our show tonight, a new piece, a little blast of madness, sort of characteristic of our work over the last few years. It feels like we have found a form, a sort of Waring Blender of elements, all whirring around together, adding up to something.

We perform at the Fest once. One time. One shot. I think that's appropriate too.

Talking to People in the Heartland

The last few days I've talked to some folks that I usually don't talk to. A couple Midwestern Moms. They are bummed out. Worried about their much less valuable houses, worried about their constantly vanishing 401Ks, worried about their just going to college kids, worried about a dim future.

I know Moms are worriers, but these particular Moms have typically been happy, dynamic, funny and friendly. I detected a little bit of panic in their voices at how things are rolling out. I think when a country loses the Midwestern Moms, it is in big time trouble. You sort of need people to believe that the future will be a better place. Not a yawning black hole of death!

And then that little Dude with the beard keeps hammering on how we haven't learned a damn thing from history or economics. When there is panic in the air, people cling to their prejudices - and this goes for politicians and economists too.

Lots of stupidity, lots of denialism, lots of blinkered thinking. I think that's how a country goes off the cliff... look out below!

Strangled by The Bow-Tie!

This Bow-Tie post by John Robb is revelatory. We kind of intuited that the Global Financial Network was a rigged game, but didn't know if it was just another manifestation of our normal state of paranoia!

It is great to see that someone actually studied the network and presents the evidence. How scientific and real world of them!

So while the politicians dither, and kick the shins of the poor people of the world, we find that the real problem is a "cancer" at the heart of the global system!

"It is in effect, the world's first super-organism. 147 trans-national companies that the global core that is owned by itself (3/4 of the ownership of firm's in this organism are owned by firms in the organism). This organism is beyond governments. If it is self serving (and this shouldn't be too hard to assume), it is the equivalent of a biological cancer that has metastasized." - J. Robb

Don't Worry It Won't Go to My Head!

So we were in the middle of another intense mixing session at the recording studio. Tweaking one of our tracks. As I've noted before, the more you listen, the more you hear. It's uncanny!

I have come to love the process, it's sort of like wandering around in a sonic hall of mirrors. There is an alchemy, a chemistry of sound. Very cool.

And we were talking about one of my guitar tracks. And then the Recording Engineer (a virtuoso guitarist in his own right) said the following:

"I love the sound of your guitar... it has a liquid, Hendrixy feel..."

All I can say is "Wow!"

Branding the Band!

We had some guests for a couple days. "Gradual students" doing a road-trip across the country. They are "couch surfing" their way across the land. They started in New York and will end up in Seattle.

Turns out the guy is a musician who is majoring in business administration with the goal of starting his own music publishing company. He was a fount of knowledge about music, and "branding" a band.

We were interested because we are in the midst a major step forward from our self-recorded efforts; a professionally engineered, recorded, mixed and mastered set of WhiteWolfSonicPrincess music. According to our guest, we need to tell people who we are in a couple nifty sentences. This has been a problem for us, our band's sound is pretty expansive and we're probably too close to it.

We played him a few cuts from our "work in progress." He described our sound this way: Uncle Tupelo/meets Cowboy Junkies/meets Gillian Welch meets Woodstock Nation where The Jefferson Airplane/the Grateful Dead/and Santana sit in for jam session.

Other people have told us they heard influences like The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue and Tori Amos ?!?!

When we told him our band name WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, his eyes just sort of glazed over. This happens all the time. I think it's because it's just too many syllables. Six syllables! What were we thinking?!

Think of all those two and three syllable bands: The Who, The Kinks, The Beatles, Wilco, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Santana... the only outlier I can think of at the moment is The Red Hot Chili Peppers (7 syllables probably takes the cake!).

So we have a name problem. But on the other hand, the upside, if you Google WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, or White Wolf Sonic Princess, we are the only thing that comes up!

And just why did we pick that name? Sounded good at the time. A Male/Female, Yin/Yang kind of amalgam. It is one thing. One thing! Can we get people to remember it!? Once our disc is finished we want lots of people to hear it. And to remember it. Will it happen? I guess we will find out...

Pictures on the Wind

We rehearsed ourselves into a solid state of bleary-eyed-ness, and made significant progress on our little performance piece yesterday. Seems some folks are actually looking forward to seeing what we do at Abbie Fest this year.

It's always surprising to find that people do remember us, and remember some of our previous efforts. We have sort of found a form - we mix music, monologues, short scenes and poetry and keep it all moving quickly.

The last three or four pieces seem to me like excerpts from the same long-form work. It might be cool to put them all together at some point. We are making something, but it's funny, we get up on stage, do our thing and then melt back into the audience.

It's kind of like writing pictures on the wind...

"All of this shouldn't be here."

We visited the Mary Archie Theater last night to do a "tech run" of our show. We stepped through our piece and worked out the lights and sound. It was thrilling to be back on the Mary Archie stage. It is a great little space. The definitive black box theater. A place of good work and magic...

Afterwards we had a impromptu chat with the founder and proprietor of the theater. The man is a Wild Dog for sure... he said something that is still resonating with me this morning...

"We shouldn't even be here. All of this shouldn't be here..."

For some reason, I took this as a profound statement about our existential existence! And unaccountably, it was an exhilarating insight!

Coutdown to Abbie Fest

The countdown to the 23rd Abbie Hoffman Died for Your Sins Fest is now 6 days. The Fest this year runs August 19, 20 & 21, pretty much non-stop from Friday evening to the wee hours of Sunday night.

It has become a tradition for us. And we are not big on traditions. We wrote a piece called "You Must Believe" especially for the fest. This has kind of become our modus operandi! We used to do scenes from "works in progress" but lately we've not been doing lots of work, or making lots of progress. So we've risen to the challenge of writing in the moment for the moment.

Yes, and of course, the world is in turmoil: wars, famine, politicians dithering, people dying, people pissed off, markets up and down, whatever. And if you are in the "creative arts" ultimately all that "toil and trouble" is just so much mulch, fertilizer, and raw material for the "good work," whether it's a theater piece, a song, a poem, whatever...

People ask me, "where do you get your ideas?" I guess the best answer is "open your eyes!"

Our new piece is definitely a "zeitgeist-catcher." What do/must we believe in, in a world where believing in anything looks like a mug's game? At least I think that's what our piece is about.

Other people have described our work as "off-kilter," "abstract," "rock and roll theater." That's pretty good!

New Experiment?

It seems last century pretty much discredited the whole communist experiment.

It seems like in this century we are witnessing the discrediting of whole capitalist experiment.

Maybe it's time for a new experiment?

The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall!

Maybe we forget that everything "man-made" fails. And of course, everything "nature-made" fails too. Failure is built into the fabric of existence.

We build systems and think these systems have a life of their own, but they don't. They are our tools. They are the tools we build things with, but the tools and the things we build crumble and fail too.

And the bigger, more complex the systems we build, the bigger and more complex the failures we unleash upon ourselves.

Boat-Loads of Free Money!

Give the people, the little common ones, boat-loads of FREE MONEY! I agree with Atrios. That was always the simplest, easiest and most direct way of "fixing" the financial crisis.

Maybe it sounds stupid. And people will tell you that it just can't be done. Smacks of socialism or something, but of course we ended up printing up boat-loads of money and then shoveled it to the Banksters, and then they basically hoarded it for themselves.

And the people continue to spiral down. And now all this talk of "austerity," and "budget cuts" is really a way of punishing "the people" for the sins of the wealthy elites. And, of course, as Paul Krugman points out, austerity in the face of this kind of economic down-turn is the worst kind of medicine.

"I’m still trying to make sense of this global intellectual failure. But the results are not in question: we are making a total mess of a solvable problem, with consequences that will haunt us for decades to come." - Paul Krugman

You might think the people in charge are just idiots, everything they are doing is actually making the problem worse, not better, but I think they are also greedy, unhappy folks who don't want to admit they don't know what they are doing, and they want to make us all suffer. Just because they can...

Coffee Round-Table

At the neighborhood coffee round-table, everyone noted the "panic" of the markets. One of the coffee-talkers announced that the panic was "irrational." When I suggested that the market is "irrational" when it goes up too, silence descended.

When I further suggested that the market has been "disconnected" from reality for a long time, someone else decided to change the subject, as if to suggest such a thing was beyond the pale.*

The conversation then turned to Mary Tyler Moore. Was she a "feminist role model," or just a "meek, submissive schlub?" It seems the knock against her was that on her show, she always called Mr. Grant, Mr. Grant.

That phrase "disconnected from reality" stuck with me for the rest of the day...

*BTW - This all folds in nicely with my theory that human beings are essentially "irrational" and that we pretend, or put on the mask of rationality when it's convenient. So it's not surprising that markets are irrational too, since the market is made up of many irrational actors. The problem with politics and economics is that we assume that people will act rationally when it comes to voting, or spending money; but I think it's clear that this is a false assumption!

Theater Magic

Well just how does theatrical magic begin? A script. A boom box. A small empty space with a cheap linoleum floor. Two people stumbling through lines and songs. Lots of hope and good intentions. And a determination not to suck.

D2 is Materializing Before Our Eyes!

John Robb is another one of those "go-to" guys. He always has a forward-thinking view of the world. He is a strategic thinker. He's been talking about the failure of the nation-state for a long time now.

And also the over-complexity of the global market. I think his basic point is that the global market is too complex for us to regulate and make work to "our" benefit. It's just too big, with too many conflicting and contradictory forces. He's been predicting a a major failure and re-ordering of the landscape for awhile now. His predictions seem to be materializing.

Robb is not just a doom-sayer. He is an advocate for a new order based on resilient communities. He's calling the 2nd Global Depression D2... Catchy!

Long Live Krugman!

Sure he's kind of wonky. He is a professor and he's got beard. Probably wears those suit-coats with patches on the elbows, but if you don't read Paul Krugman, then you are missing out on the only guy on the planet who seems to know what he's talking about.

He's a liberal, which is out of fashion, and he's a Keynesian, which is also I guess out of fashion, especially with the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago school of Economics. Turns out being out of fashion means you have the finger on the pulse of what's happening in the economy and in the political corridors of power...

Long live Krugman! And what is his secret? Clear seeing, clear thinking!

Our Essential Dupe-hood!

You watch our "democracy" at work and wince. It's hard not to be cynical. You still have hope. You still vote. You still stay engaged. You feel that if you don't vote and aren't engaged you are just a Dupe. But then again, you vote and stay engaged and feel like a Dupe too. Maybe that's why it all seems so pathetic. We have all achieved a complete and certain Dupe-hood...

Or as Matt Taibbi puts it (speaking of our hired representatives):

"But to a bunch of hired stooges put in office to lend an air of democratic legitimacy to what has essentially become a bureaucratic-oligarchic state, what good does such advice do? Would it have made sense to send the Supreme Soviet under Andropov or Brezhnyev a list of policy ideas for enhancing the civil liberties of Soviet citizens?"

You mention the Soviets and it all seems so clear. Here in the American Aquarium it is all so murky. But "bureaucratic-oligarchic state" rings so true...

And then the market tanks, and you know you probably shouldn't root for it to crash, still you kind of think it might be a good thing. Maybe the Wall Streeters need to feel our pain. Maybe then the stooges wake up?!

You vow not to hold your breath on that one...

American Exceptionalism

I don't want to down-talk America. But I was thinking about this concept of American Exceptionalism...

Some folks have put us up as an example of the shining city on the hill. But it is conveniently forgotten that our nation was founded on genocide (once we cleared the land of "Native" Americans and bison, we raped and pillaged the land!) and slavery.

I guess that is kind of exceptional. But maybe not in the way some people use the term.

Internal Monologue No Voices Required...

Now we can get back to normal...

Normal? What are you talking about? There is no normal.

Well now we can get back to the way things "used to be..."

There is no "used to be." That's a figment of your imagination.

Well now...

Get used to this... there's nowhere to go back to, there is no normal. Never has been. We are in uncharted waters. Always have been. All you can do is keep swimming and try not to drown in the stupidity.

Voracious Consumers!

As a diversion from the madness, we got into watching The Walking Dead a series that runs on AMC. We are watching it on DVD (no commercials) and are 4 episodes into it. It's kind of gory. Lots of blood, shooting and chasing. But it does seem pretty well-made and intelligent. To me it seems like some grand allegory.

I mean, there's these VORACIOUS CONSUMERS who are over-running the country. They are just plain hungry all the time. They are bloody, mindless, super-consumers. Remind you of anyone? I mean, did Putin just call the U.S. a parasite?!?

And then there's a small group of "survivors" who by luck and pluck are trying to make a new life. These are sort of an example of John Robb's proposed "resilient community." I guess these are the good common folks who are just trying to make it.

Suddenly all the things of advanced civilization have fallen by the wayside and these folks have to summon their courage and any skills they may happen to have, and use them to the best of their abilities (maybe that in itself is some kind of self-empowerment fantasy?!).

I'm reading it all as some collective dream or nightmare that our culture is having right now. Maybe by imagining the worst that could happen we deflate it, or forestall it, or maybe it's some kind collective premonition of what's coming.

It is sort of entertaining to watch people carry on in the face of the horror. Maybe that's a fantasy we all need to get our heads around!

An Instructive Suckiness!

What's really going on? The Empire is crumbling. Why? As John Robb tells it...

"... we now have the equivalent of centralized planning in global marketplaces. A few thousand extremely wealthy people making decisions on the allocation of our collective wealth. The result was inevitable: gross misallocation across all facets of the private economy."

And what about that deal our "leaders" have negotiated to solve a crisis of their own monumental stupidity?

As Kevin Drums tells it... "It sucks!" Which shouldn't be surprising.

And shouldn't lead you to despair. No, my positive spin for the morning is that of course the deal sucks, but don't worry it's an instructive suckiness! Our leaders are over-matched. They reflect the conflicted and unrealistic hopes and dreams of the citizenry.

The nation state is a failed state. The game is over. We will need to abandon our failed institutions and start over from a healthier grassroots-led movement based on love and happiness - not capital! Not bad news. Good news!

Mint 2 Carlins - Crisis Solved!

So in yesterday's post we solved the debt ceiling crisis by minting two one trillion dollar platinum coins, emblazoned with the image of that great stand-up guy George Carlin (maybe it should be a medium distance shot with George smiling and giving us the finger?!?! ).

What a brilliant fucking idea!

I propose Obama gets a big piggy bank which he displays prominently on his White House desk, and he deposits those two coins in it, and starts writing checks to all the little grandmas waiting for their social security, and all the other poor working stiffs, and needy souls who still count on somebody sometime doing the right fucking thing!

I love this idea for lots of reasons! 1. End of crisis! 2. Maybe then all those assholes in Washington will just SHUT UP! 3. It shows us all the shared hallucination we call MONEY!

I mean it all really is a shared delusion that all that grubby paper and credit really exists. We all play the game, people stake their lives on it, but really it is just a game. We (the government) can always print up more money! It has value only if we think and pretend it has value. Wake up people! Let's play! Let's make up new rules that work for all of us!

Maybe if we all saw the money game as a game, as a farce, we could re-make our lives around things of real value... like those invisible things - love, spirit, joy, the simple crazy pleasures of life! New motto: Fuck the Money!

Monkey Out Your Butt!

Okay we have entered the land of absurdity. And that's fine with me. Life has always seemed a little absurd, and you just know all those serious people doing serious stuff is just a serious charade.

Unfortunately in the land of absurdity, people still die, and bad shit happens everyday. And that's absurd too.

So anyway, I like this Trillion Dollar Coin Idea! It's kind of like pulling a monkey out of your butt. Which would definitely be absurd, but amazing too. Might even get you on TV!

And just who would be on the Trillion Dollar Coin?! George Carlin of course!

Panic in the Air

Panic in the streets. Panic in the air. Maybe it will be a slow burn panic. It has already engulfed some fine people, the early birders, but maybe it will slowly permeate anyone who actually pays attention.

And maybe the panic will play out as comedy, not tragedy. Or maybe it will be a rollicking comedy with deep tragic consequences. Funny but not so funny.

It is sort of gratifying to see some of "our leaders" expose themselves as the craven idiots they are, but it doesn't bode well for the well-being of the nation. What happens when we realize we are completely on our own?

Panic in the streets is not good for thinking, planning, dreaming...

Coffee Talk!

sunnyjimmy: I already drank a pot of coffee this morning.

Barista: All by yourself?

sunnyjimmy: Yes.

Barista: If I drink that much coffee I get jittery and paranoid.

sunnyjimmy: Paranoia! That's my aquarium!

"Let's just sniff each other's butts and fix things!"

I do think Krugman is right!

Again!

We have a political dog-fight where one dog is all about compromise and "getting along," ("Let's just sniff each other's butts and fix things!") while the other dog is biting and scratching and howling like a banshee.

And the press, and a vast percentage of the pundits on the sidelines decide that both dogs are to blame. This is silly and wrong and insane too. And they are contributing to the destruction of the Country!

And then on a personal note, I realize that I have a lot more invested (emotionally and intellectually) in MY OBAMA, than he does in me... This is not a good dynamic! My health and well-being aren't even on his radar screen or on his political agenda.

I mean, he keeps quoting Ronald (expletive deleted) Reagan. I mean, I used to think it was a clever rhetorical ploy, but now I'm beginning to think Reagan is actually Obama's role model. YIKES!

So I root for this guy, I wave my Flag of Hope, I get emotionally wrapped up in him "winning the day," when the actual solution, the plan that he's proposing is a load of shite too!

Sensible Middle Mirage!

I'm a political junkie. I'd like to kick the habit. It's an annoying, frustrating, boring and a pretty much useless addiction. I blame Richard Nixon and Hunter S. Thompson. They fired my imagination long ago and the embers have faded over the years but have never died...

So I actually tuned in the radio to Obama's broken ceiling speech last night. And listened incredulously to Boehner's speech too. There is so much hot air devoted to such a ridiculous, arbitrary and absurd topic.

I am beginning to really feel sorry for my Obama. He is appealing to the sensible middle of the nation, but the sensible middle is just a chimera, a mirage. So pity for Obama. Which is not a good thing. He has been reduced to begging the American public to start acting like grown ups and to demand that their representatives start acting like grown ups too. Sort of a pathetic, Don Quixote-like stance.

And Boehner is at war. He is at war with Obama, flinging lies and ridiculous lines of attack. His stance is shameless and ridiculous. And he has leverage. What a revolting development...

The mind reels. What next? Can this possibly end well? Will the Republic live? How will Obama rise up above the muck? Stay tuned. But only if you have the same sad addiction...

Death Trip

Yeah, the death trip. It's strange how some really amazing, talented people take it and ride it to an early destruction. Death is kind of baked into our cake. It's a key ingredient to the whole thing.

I too have had my years of "seeking oblivion." Sometimes oblivion seems like the only answer. But it isn't, it's not an answer at all. Just a smothering of the questions. A life-killer.

I am partial to art and artists and creatives of all kinds who incorporate darkness into their vision. Our existence is framed by light and darkness. In fact, all of my favorite artists are grappling with death and how it shapes our lives.

Love and Death are the key themes of a well-lived life... but some of us ride that Train of Death with total abandon, thinking we are somehow indestructible, or maybe just not caring one way or another. Some of us grab for the most convenient cheap-thrill, poisons, and then it turns out the poison over-rules everything else.

And inevitably Death comes... sometimes maybe a little too soon...

Loved Her Voice!

Great voice. Tortured soul. Poor girl. Death trip. Back to black...

The Working Stiffs!

If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching Obama's press conference last night... better to see it for yourself, not filtered through the MSM...

I think he's finally really pissed off with the Republicans and not worried about showing it.

GOOD!

Paul Krugman detects a backbone! My favorite part is towards the end, when Obama says someone has to stand up for the "working stiffs!"

Yes, indeed!

Our Simple Chimp-ness

Friday morning... I surf the news, check out the doings of the world... I conclude we are just a crazy species, and there are now so many of us, we are making each other crazier and crazier. Something about close quarters and our monkey heritage, and all of our advanced and engaging but pretty much useless toys with which we amuse ourselves. We are just simple chimps at heart with these big brains, and we think the bigness of our brains is an advantage, but it's actually like a double-edged sword - it's both an advantage and a disadvantage...

The Dome of Heat!

We are battling a Dome of Heat here in the Midwest. I mean, hell it's summer, it's hot all over, but here in the heartland we are engulfed in a blast furnace of heat, and it seems toastier, way toastier than usual.

I don't know what's going on. It's just the freaking weather after all. But I have a vague recollection that Al Gore and those cute little penguins have something to do with it. They have lots of explaining to do!

Events conspired for me to be out in the mid-day sun yesterday, right in the middle of the heat blasting pinnacle of the day. It seems Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Sunny Jimmy are just mad enough to tangle with the Dome!

I survived it intact, but the Heat Dome is relentless. Today will be another scorcher! Be cool!

Kick of the Crazy!

Of course in a classic jujitsu move, instead of railing against the lunacy of the era we live in, we could revel in it.

And ride the wave.

Maybe the way to beat the lunacy is to be a greater lunatic! Sensible is sensible, it has it's place, but nothing like the kick of the crazy!

The Disappointing Species!

The problem with putting people on pedestals is that they don't belong there. Either they end up falling off, or you ending up pushing them off.

The list of people I "admire" continues to dwindle. It's getting to be a very small list.

Homo Sapiens - "(Humans (known taxonomically as Homo sapiens, Latin for "wise man" or "knowing man")" never fail to disappoint.

Overall a pretty disappointing species. Check out the wikipedia entry and you realize we are the species that really thinks highly of itself. This despite all the evidence that points to our stupidity, arrogance, selfishness, self-delusion, small-mindedness, etc.

Wise Man, Knowing Man?!? You must be (expletive deleted) kidding!

Three Easy Steps to the Great Crumble...

I guess the world teaches us that we should always be suspect of simple explanations. We are complex characters swimming in a complex web of complexity...

But I like Kevin Drum's simple formula for our present circumstances in America's Crumbling Paradise...

"I know this is too simplistic to be taken seriously, but here's my version of what happened over the past few decades:

1. The economy grew just fine, but rich people got most of the money.
2. They couldn't spend it all, and investment opportunities were limited, so they ended up loaning it out to the middle class in increasingly baroque ways.
3. That worked fine until it didn't."

Wealthy Love the Wealthy

Maybe America's woes come down to one simple thing: the political, social and corporate classes who have the biggest megaphone and get the most attention are made up of wealthy people. And the wealthy only think the wealthy are worthy of respect.

The wealthy only take seriously the concerns of the wealthy. Everyone else is basically on the sidelines looking for help, or imagining that one day they too will be wealthy. So even lots of folks on the sidelines are obsessed with the concerns of the wealthy.

Maybe the poor and disenfranchised Schlubs think that if they think like the wealthy ones, they too will magically become wealthy too?!

Krugman has been hammering this home in his own way....

"it’s more a matter of the wealthy gravitating toward views of economic policy that make immediate sense in terms of their own interests, and politicians believing that only these views count as Serious because they’re the views of wealthy people."

Land of Lunacy

Great drama? A bunch of dudes in suits sitting around a table arguing about a budget? Talking about raising "the debt ceiling" a totally abstract, fictional construction?

Might as well be arguing about how many angels dance on the head of a pin.

Every time one of Obama's opponents opens their imbecile mouths, I suddenly thank my lucky stars that we elected a decent, and intelligent human being to the Presidency. Unfortunately, he is President of the Land of Lunacy. And all of his opponents are Pin-heads, Greed-heads, and Assholes!

I wonder if they are gonna continue to wreck the country? I mean totally wreck it? I wonder... And how does the last sensible man in the land keep himself from being slimed by the process?

Stay tuned...

Overly Dramatic Language!

It's been an eventful week for me. And I have gotten a bad case of speaking overly dramatic sentences...

First I had a violent allergic reaction. Or as I usually think of it, "I've been slimed!"

You can be slimed by beasts and by humans. The human-type sliming is usually worse.

And then I suffered blunt trauma to my frontal cortex. Or as I usually think of it, "I bumped my freaking head!"

Yes, I saw stars and got a little wobbly, and I have a lump on my head. But you know what?! I can remember my name and all my fingers and toes are in fine working order.

So I soldier on like a blessed beast of the field!

Benevolence vs. Malevolence

Sometimes I do think there is a raging class war going on in America. And it is only the millionaires amongst us who fight it out.

Which means the poor and middle class have to rely on the benevolent millionaires* to battle with the malevolent millionaires to protect their interests.

So it's a proxy battle. And sometimes it's all just shadow boxing. Because really, the millionaires have much more in common with each other than with the rest of us.

All those dollars really do add up to a striking difference. And in order to make life livable for the poor and working classes, the leisure class has to step up to the plate and sacrifice some of their gold.

It comes down to benevolence vs malevolence.

* And just why would a millionaire choose to be benevolent? Could be self-interest, if self-interest is defined broadly - it's better to live in a society that treats all it's citizens well, with dignity and justice for all - less crime, less social turmoil... plus maybe it feels good to do good?!

Mixing Session #... Who Knows?! - The Not the Worst Thing Session

Yeah, I've sort of lost count. Still mixing songs at the big time studio. We do one session a week. It's kind of like the Slow Boat to China Method. We will get there...eventually.

Anyway, yesterday, this exchange came in the middle of mixing, it will stay with me for awhile...

Studio Engineer: We can bring up the background vocals.

Sunny Jimmy: Okay!

Studio Engineer: Which means your voice will be louder in the mix... which... isn't... the... worst... thing...

Murdoch's Vast Criminal Enterprise!

Wow, it seems that Rupert Murdoch is quite the diversified owner. Not only does he run a vast media empire, but he also runs a vast criminal enterprise! Turns out they are the same thing!

Sweet!

And if finally he is reaping what he has sowed, and the chickens are finally coming home to roost, well, that's almost Shakespearean (Richard III?)! And there is something gratifying in seeing the mighty, the arrogant, the privileged, "the above the law ones" exposed and (hopefully!) brought low.

Some of these people amongst us are just absolutely shameless. Here's hoping their day of reckoning comes down like a ton of bricks!

Competing Rooting Interests

On the one hand, I'm rooting for Obama to get all those knuckle-heads in a room and work out some kind of sensible deal that helps move the country forward in a constructive way. Like maybe we could usher in a new era of enlightenment and happiness?!

Maybe?!

On the other hand, I'm rooting for all these Bozos to get in a room and tear each other to pieces. They all look like pin-headed, greedy assholes, and maybe their stupidity should be unleashed and let them just crash the whole damn thing. Maybe it really can't be fixed, maybe it needs to be totally crashed, and then we pick up the pieces and start over?!

So, I'm torn...

As the Country Cratered

I do think as the months roll out, and as Obama tries to get re-elected, this big, looming unanswered question will hang over him and the country...

Why didn't Obama go after and try to clean up the Wall Street mess?

Was it ideology? Was it money? Did he really think that the Wall Street moguls who wrecked the economy and raped the American Dream should just get fatter and wealthier as the rest of the country cratered?

The Boat is Sinking!

Yes, Kevin Drum gets it right. We are ruled by charlatans and cowards!

Status and Levelers

Our whole social world is an elaborate status game. Everything we do, everything we buy, the way we display ourselves to others, are all status signifiers.

This status game is an elaborate way to try to differentiate ourselves, to prove that we are unique and unlike anyone else; it's a game that helps us pretend that we are desirable and we will live forever. We are desperately intent on showing others that we are unique, and unlike anyone else. And in some ways we are unique and unlike anyone else.

But in some essential ways we are also alike, the same, no different. We are all just human beings who will live and die. And there are those experiences which make this very clear. Death is one of them. It's probably the ultimate leveler. Illness is another. Families too, our DNA heritage, and our relationships with mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers can also be "leveling."

Standing in line, riding a bus, going to court, or visiting any government office is a good leveler too. Being in an elevator for an extended time can be a leveler.

In some ways, we have all been created equal. But then again, we spend much of our lives pretending this is not so.

Figuring

I always thought I was going to "figure it out." I've got boxes and shelves full of books. I have spent much of my little life-time reading, looking to crack the code.

I've thought, and ruminated and meditated. I've filled my head and cleared my mind. I've worried and fretted, and then again, I've forgotten, denied and just rocked out.

There have been good times and bad times. I've got a few scars. I've accumulated lots of big and little disappointments. Like everyone else, I've lost people close to me. And like everyone else I've witnessed acts of madness, cruelty, kindness and beauty.

I have sometimes told myself it was all leading to something. Maybe there would be some accounting, or some kind of summing up, or there would be a lightening-bolt of clarity.

I'm not done trying to figure things. But it now seems a lot less essential. If there is a code, it's not really important for me to crack. Not sure if it's even crack-able.

I mean, I'm still totally fascinated and curious about what makes the world the world and what makes a human a human. But I'm a lot more comfortable with the idea that it is not all suddenly gonna "make sense." I'm not going to figure anything out. I mean I will figure out some things for myself, but there are big things that are not going to be "figured" by me.

I will live a life. And learn some things and forget some things. And that's really about it. And that's good and true and OK.

Stream of Consciousness Madness!

Working on a performance piece for the Abbie Hoffman Died for Your Sins fest in August. We've performed something like 15 consecutive years. It is always an inspiring kick.

My first take on a script was conjured in an early morning, caffeine-fueled session. 15 pages of Jack Kerouac-like stream of consciousness madness. At first I was convinced we should go with it as is, no editing. But then a read-through confirmed that this was not a good idea.

So it was back to the drawing board. Heavy editing and a new take. It's all starting to shape up. Just in the nick of time too! Now we have to memorize lines and somehow bring the text to life.

Always a challenge.

Belated Goodbye Dear Friend

It seems everyday there's a lesson. It's really the same lesson, over and over. And it's one that we learn to tune out.

But then sometimes, you can't tune it out. It hits you smack in the kisser. I had one of those this weekend.

And the lesson is: we live on the knife's edge. We live in a very delicate balance. And we can easily tumble off into the great unknown at any time.

I lost a good friend, a great soul, and he disappeared without really much of a trace. And there was no chance to say goodbye. He drifted into my life, and then drifted out. Like a cloud, a shadow.

I will remember his smile and dry sense of humor. I will remember our good times together and our battles in the trenches. We had some strange Don Quixote-like connection, locked in battle with looming windmills. Fighting for hopeless cases and lost causes.

And then at a key moment he slipped away and I found out well after the fact. No resolution. Just a quiet exit. And then silence.

Head Music!

And another thing on my recent Radiohead obsession - (Maybe I'm the last to know?), it all depends on how you listen to their work.

The big eye-opener (or in this case) head-opener for me has been: HEADPHONES!

I don't mean those sorry little pathetic iPod ear buds. That's a perfectly lousy way to hear music. Makes everything small, cheap and tinny.

I mean those big whomping studio-quality headphones. Get a set of those babies, put them on then try Kid A, or Amensiac, or Hail to the Thief, or for sure In Rainbows. The big, layered, complex sound of Radiohead will totally engulf you.

It is a sublime, supremely enthralling experience...

No kidding!

Radiohead the Best of Something!

My latest musical obsession: Radiohead's "In Rainbows." Finally got to it. I mean, I know I'm late to the party, but my obsessions work on their own time-clock.

I always forget how great this band is, and how baffling too. I mean, they work in a totally different sonic territory than any other band out there.

They are a hard to figure band. I mean, how they make their songs, and how inventive they are, and how their music seems un-graspable. Their songs do not remind me of anyone else's songs. I can't name one of their songs, can't hum a melody, can't sing a chorus. Their album seems like one long sonic landscape. It's not music that I would or could make.

Thom Yorke is a really great vocalist in a non-great way. He's unlike anyone else I can think of. This band is the best of something. Not sure what. Maybe they are just amazing, great, creative, musicians, artists, making something no one else even envisions doing. I mean, they really push the sonic envelope. And they mix all kinds of crazy-ass sounds and somehow pull it off seamlessly. Amazing, thrilling stuff.

Breath-taking. Head-scratching too. And did I mention they make me smile?

Kitchen Is Not Carnegie Hall!

The bank foreclosed on the building and kicked out all the tenants last year. So we had to move out of our cool performance space. Haven't found a new space yet. Looking for a sweet deal, or really a very generous and Enlightened Patron. One can wish, right?

So the last year our band has been meeting in our kitchen for rehearsals. This is not as crazy or stupid as it sounds. We can actually fit our band in the space, and the acoustics are pretty sweet. We have a p.a. set up for vocals, a bass amp, a guitar amp, and our drummer brings his hand drum.

We actually had some guests last night to hear our session. It was all quite nice. Not exactly Carnegie Hall but, hell, it works. And there's a refrigerator for cold drinks and our toaster is handy just in case anyone wants toast.

"Lights Out!"

Storms blew in last night and knocked out our power for a few hours. Literally in the dark. Suddenly off the grid, unconnected to the outside world.

It was sort of strange, and freeing too. Sat in the dark and watched the clouds rolling in, the lightening strikes, with heavy thunder rocking the windows.

Mother Nature calling "lights out!" Sometimes she gets to pull rank.