The Idiot Hair-ball Tour

Yes, this is hilarious.  The Idiot Hair-ball continues his grand, out of country trip, and now he's praising Israel's single-payer, death- paneled,  socialized medicine model!


Idiot Hair-ball accidentally tells the truth!  But of course, what's good for Israel isn't good for us... what a fricking dweeb!

Global Warming - Humans are the Primary Cause

Yes, there is a chart and science to back up the claim...  


And as Kevin Drum puts it: 


"skeptics are skeptics because they don't like the idea of global warming, not because there's truly any evidence that it doesn't exist. It's politically inconvenient, economically inconvenient, and personally inconvenient, so they don't want to hear about it."

Nine Times!

"Nine times fall down, Nine times pick


yourself up.’" - The Dali Lama

Hot. Looks like the future!

I run a little hot.  My body temperature is always a little elevated.  I'm fire.  So when the heat dome parked above us, it demonstrated to me, just how hot a hot-head can be...


I heard about the great Greenland ice melt... Pretty freaky.  And maybe another sign of the fiery things to come.  The weather, nature, the planet have their own agenda.  And not sure it includes us...


Hot.  Looks like the future!

The Idiot is Revealed!

Sometimes finding "good" news stories is difficult.  So much trouble in the world.  But I guess this is a heart-warming story.  American multi-millionaire travels overseas and reveals himself to be a total charmless idiot.  He is described behind the scenes as "worse than Sarah Palin," and a "total car crash."


You ask, why is that "heart-warming?"  Well, I suppose the upside take is that even a total charmless idiot can make a lot of money in America.  Of course, the downside is some people actually want this idiot to be our next President.  Which illustrates that even good stories can come with dark clouds.


But I'm going with the upside at the moment. The idiot is revealed!  Sweet! 

No to Olympics!

If you are into the Olympics.  That's cool.  My strategy for taking in all the drama and spectacle is pretty simple: avoidance.  I will not be tuning in.  Not for one moment.  Of course, news from the Olympics will still drift into my consciousness, but I will not be intrigued, or excited, or disappointed if one country wins more medals than another.  This all seems like a perfect example of a manufactured, faux, event.  I mean, it's real for the ones running, jumping, etc.  But they don't need my eyes fixed upon them for validation. And I just choose not to care... what else you got?

Killer French Cheese!

Our country is, and our politics are, seriously, seriously whacked out...

Trust!

Trust. A civil society is built on a foundation of trust. And trust, for good reason is in short supply. Can't trust your coach, your priest, your banker, your politician. The paranoid streak runs deep, but that paranoia is well-earned. Sometimes you can't trust your own eyes, or mind. Freaky world we live in. Trust me!

Who Knows?

And you speculate, has it always been like this, and if so, maybe we just didn't notice?  Or are things more wildly out of control like never before in the history of man?


And since we can't put ourselves in other times and places and know what they knew then, we are just left to speculate... and such speculation really sets you on the road to nowhere!


** UPDATE: I think I'm in the "more wildly out of control like never before" camp.  For a couple reasons: 1. There are more of us on the planet, which just amps up the craziness, and 2. We are stressing the planet like never before, we've entered the Human Beings VS. the Planet phase of our history...

Don't Forget About Love

You realize you live in an insane society. For instance: you ask why don't we have an assault weapons ban?  We are a society that wears the mask of sanity, that pretends to be rational, but it's only a mask.  And the mask slips, often.  And the dark heart of madness radiates out.  We are all implicated by the madness. We are awash in irrational feelings, and strange and disturbing thoughts and actions.  Comes with being born into this strange and disturbing universe. We can manage the madness, we can channel it into creative projects, we can learn to discipline ourselves.  But we must be vigilant, we must not be complacent, and we must "lean to the light." Don't forget about LOVE! Still we have met the enemy and the enemy is us.  Pogo was right...

Great, Shiny Beast

We have built this great, shiny beast with our minds, our hands, our bodies.  It's a loud, dominating force.  And it's dying.  We are inside it, a small part of the greater whole.  Like a tiny cell of a large organ.  The beast carries us along, even as it consumes us.  We are sheltered by it and overwhelmed by it. We can't step out of it, although, we can imagine being outside the beast, we imagine living on different terms, but it's only imagination.  Imagining doesn't make it so. We are embedded deep inside the body of the beast. We can't actually live outside the beast. We come and go, and the beast goes on.  We are bounded by our own bodies, the beast is bounded by all of us added together. The beast is organic, but it's other-worldly too. Alien.  Pre-historic.  Post-historic.  Never-ending, even as it slowly, violently dies.  It's going through it's death throes now.  The process is unrelenting, over-powering and goes on for a very, very long time.

Insanity of Doing Nothing!

Elizabeth Kolbert writing about the recent heat wave and climate change... we are "insane" if we just ignore the issue.  There are things we can do, we can make major, fundamental changes, all of us... we can tax carbon, we can invest in clean energy, promote sustainable lifestyles... we can be vegetarians, or cut back on meat consumption, we can drive less or not at all... instead we dither and ignore and deny... and argue about stupid shit...weird, and irresponsible... and yes, insane...

"There’s no discussion of what could be done to avert the worst effects of climate change, even as the insanity of doing nothing becomes increasingly obvious." - E. K.

Colin Stetson!

I heard this amazing saxophone player Colin Stetson on "Q" with Jian Ghomeshi.  You hear him and you think there's some studio trickery, or electronic "looping" or something.  But it's just one man, one saxophone and an array of microphones.  Notice the man doesn't pause for a breath, he breathes through his nose and keeps the sound fluid.  Amazing. I mean, never saw or heard anything like it, unbelievable. What a big, awe-inspiring sound.  Talk about thinking and playing "outside the box." Wow.

Grossly Out of Whack!

Income disparity.  Paul Krugman is on the case.

The 1% have left us far behind. It's a rigged game! The 1% like it like that, and will do all they can to keep it that way, and they have a candidate who wants to keep the game going, but it does not make for a fair, equitable and prosperous America!  Something is grossly out of whack!  That trickle down crap was always a bright, shining, lie! To the barricades!

Above the Stars

Karen O. took this photo of whitewolfsonicprincess playing at the Bucktown Tree & Garden walk last weekend.  It was a grand setting and a transcendent show.  I love how we are playing above the stars...

Stark Choice, No Doubt!

Every election is a choice.  Sometimes the choices are stark and sometimes not.  I think in this case, stark is a good word.  The guy who has the job of President at the moment is grappling with lots and lots of issues, and not everything has gone to my liking, but I think he's done a good job.  Probably the best President I can remember in my lifetime.  I cannot even contemplate a Romney Presidency.


It's good to feel good about being against the other guy.  And I feel really, really good about being against this guy...

And I do love this Obama ad reminding us of how Romney made his cash...

 

On the Main Stage!

whitewolfsonicprincess played the first annual Bucktown Tree and Garden Fest last night.  It was a transcendent experience.  We performed up on a real deal outdoor stage.  Excellent sound, great equipment: full drum-kit, lights, monitors, cool amps, all you need to do a first class show.


And our band was tight and in fine form.  I almost spontaneously combusted during one song; it was hot under the lights and the sweat started to pour off my body, which made me just get into even more.   I broke a string and kicked the cable loose on my guitar in the middle of our cover of "Nothing," which added to the drama of the song.


The band has really, really gelled.  The sound was big last night.  We filled the night.  The main stage experience felt just right.

Outdoor Festival!

Summertime in the big city. So happy that our band, whitewolfsonicprincess will be playing on the main stage at an outdoor festival tonight! Rock!

What Are They Saying...?

One last thought on Roger Waters. (For more see last two posts.)  I like that he has an "axe to grind."  Both a selfish reason for saying and doing something, and also having a very strong opinion.  And his work holds together as an all-encompassing, and completely cohesive world-view.  All those Waters' led records have something to say.  I like that he has the vision and the dedication to create "concept" records.  They are big, and sometimes clunky.  Grand, operatic, but well-thought out, and meticulously recorded.


I think the best of his stuff was when he collaborated with David Gilmour, one of the best, most distinctive guitar players to ever pick up the instrument.  Gilmour lent his great guitar playing, and sometimes his voice to some of Waters best songs.  The work stands.  A great body of work with depth and meaning.  I marvel at Roger Waters ambition.  He made lots of money early on in the Floyd career, but nothing dampened his creative spark.  Whatever drives that man, it has resulted in some very stirring, intelligent music.


And more and more that vision seems prophetic to me.  Yes, we have all been betrayed at every turn, by every institution, we can't trust those who wield power, they will only abuse it.  We need to keep our eyes open and rage against the machine!

That About Covers It!

And we do live in a Roger Waters-ian and Philip K. Dick-ian world.  We are "science fiction" vehicles of "cognition and estrangement."


And you could restrict your listening to "The Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here," "Animals," "The Wall" and "The Final Cut," and you could restrict your reading to "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch," "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," "A Scanner Darkly," "The Valis Trilogy," and "The Man in the High Castle" and you would know everything you need to know about the late 20th century and the early 21st century on this little whirling ball of confusion.


And basically what would you know? You can't trust authority of any kind, you can't trust power, success, money, drugs, celebrity, government, corporation, family, church. You can't even trust your own eyes, your own mind. You can't trust logic, or reason either. You can't even trust your own definition of "human." That about covers it.


This is work of grand vision and prophecy!

Heads Would Roll!

Syd Barrett is loved, revered and considered to be a very influential figure for a generation of singer-songwriters.  Roger Waters the bass player in Syd's old band, not so much.  But over the years, you must marvel at Waters career, there's no doubt Pink Floyd made some fantastic albums with Waters at the helm, and his post-Floyd work is also ambitious and interesting.


Waters is supposedly a complete control freak, and very difficult when it comes to the creative process.  It might not be a lot of fun being in a band with him.  But no doubt he is a driven artist with a strong mind and vision.  There is a deep rage that fuels Water's work.  Rage that he lost his father to a war, rage against the state, and the state of the world. Fear and loathing (of self, of others) is upfront and prominent in the mind of Mr. Waters. Much of his work is bitterly anti-authoritarian,  sarcastic, cutting and prophetic. He has created a slew of grand concept albums perfect for our dystopian times


"The Wall" is an over the top spectacle.  A very personal diatribe blown up to stadium-sized proportions.  It's more opera than rock.  It's sort of dazzling, amazing and repellant too.  Waters is one of those radical socialists, on the one hand his heart seems to be in the right place, and on the other, you are glad he's not a politician, or someone running a country.  He puts on the guise of a strutting strongman, and it's convincing.  One thinks, if he was in charge,  the swift blade of justice would be wielded, and for sure, heads would roll!

Cool Hand

"Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand." 

"Life During War-time" - D. Byrne

Yes, and countries go to war.  And people go to war. And then again, people are wars too.  Sometimes you are on the battlefield.  And sometimes you are the battlefield.


Warring emotions, warring desires, warring thoughts... and your cells are warring too.  And when we say, "sometimes" we mean, "all the time!"


I guess it could be "War During Life-Time!"

Hope is like air...

Yes, we had a significant conversation last night about "hope."  We need it.  It is essential to our psychic armory.  Can't see how you can move forward without it.  Sometimes it's a thin reed.  It takes all kinds of hits, pricks and kicks.  It can be dashed.  But there is a well, is it limitless well?  I'm not sure, maybe it can run out, dry up, break into a million tiny pieces.  And maybe it's not so reasonable to carry hope.  And maybe it's not so smart either.  But hope is like air.  Better to have it than not.  We do need it for life.

The Ticket!

"Total commitment."  Yes, that' the ticket.  And if you have a ticket you can open the door and enter!

The Source

Yes, the first step is envisioning, thinking and saying, "It can be done."  Everything flows from that source, that starting point.  It's simple. And true.

A New Green Ethos

And what would be the guiding principle of the new radical, militant, environmental movement be (see previous post)?  The environment rules.  The ecosystem is our friend, and our mother.  Clean air, clean water, and major reductions in all forms of man-made pollution are essential, and have to begin now.  Climate Change is happening now at an accelerating rate, and we need to do all we can to reduce our contributions to the problem.


People who tell us that  the economy and jobs are in opposition to a healthy environment are wrong.  Those who say it's jobs vs. the environment are posing a false choice.  We can mobilize people to clean up the environment.  We can encourage a truly green economy, based on energy efficiency and working in harmony with the network of ecosystems that engendered us.


We need a change of consciousness.  We need to wake up.  We need a paradigm shift.  I believe it can happen.  We have to change our ways.  Life requires a re-think, a new green ethos. It seems so logical, so obvious, if we kill all the little ecosystems, if we destroy the plants and trees, and all the little critters who have evolved out of nature, then we too are destined for the scrap heap of history.


Unfortunately, the fate of nature on the planet is in our billions and billions of grubby hands.  We are not powerless.  So far our power lies in our careless, unthinking and greedy ways.  We need to truly go green! 

Radical, Militant, Environmental Movement!

Some kind of radical, militant, environmental movement is probably our only hope to keep the planet habitable.  You wonder if it's possible to galvanize people to the cause.  We are really good at being fruitful and multiplying, but our success as a species is to the detriment to the lovely blue planet we inhabit.


The latest heat wave, seems to be just another little reminder of how we have fundamentally altered our ecosystem.  Billions of us running around with no regard to the life of the plants and animals, with no regard to the the air and water we breathe, points to a bleak future of environmental shocks beyond our understanding, and beyond our abilities to come up with a quick fix.


We need to fundamentally change the way we live on this planet.  Look to nature.  Nature is telling us something is gravely, gravely wrong.  And we can't entertain ourselves, or buy ourselves out of this mess.  We need a new environmental ethos to guide us.  We need to realize that it's not all "about us." We are a piece of the puzzle, but all the other pieces are important too. We need a major re-think. And we need to change our ways.  On a grand scale.

Depravities...

We stumbled upon Sandow Birk's "The Depravities of War," at the Cultural Center in Chicago.  It totally bowled us over.


It is brilliant, dark, disturbing.  The story of our times rendered in old world-style wood-cuts.  A must-see exhibition for sure...

Mad Rambling Monologue... Chance!

It was this article by Louis Menand about James Joyce that set my mind a'reeling on chance (see previous post)...


“Chance furnishes me with what I need,” he told a Swiss friend when he was writing “Finnegans Wake.” “I’m like a man who stumbles; my foot strikes something, I look down, and there is exactly what I’m in need of." - J. J.


And you can go back to the Big Bang, and that's where our grand game of chance began.  And the trillions and trillions of galaxies and everything in them are the result.  Makes you want to toke a one-hitter and just go off on some mad rambling monologue.


I mean it's not a new idea, but sometimes things just hit you with a force that they never did before.  


Everything we do is a game of chance.  Every moment is a game of choices.  You have to pick your games wisely.   Although, the choices that are available to us, and what we pick to play, is also enfolded in this grand, cascading, edifice of chance.


It is so in-built in us, we hardly notice.  And we make up other reasons, motivations for our choices.  And we invent characters that we imagine are looking over our shoulder guiding our hand, but it is chance that abides.

Ruled by Luck

Let's say that life is pretty much ruled by chance.  If things are going bad, well, you've run up against a streak of bad luck.  If things are going good, you've run up against a streak of good luck.


You can apply this to your existence; right from the moment that that little egg met up with that little sperm.  Happy accidents and bad accidents.  That's all you have. 


And you can have good intentions, and big plans, and lots of hopes and dreams, and then, well, you roll the dice on all that, and hope for luck to shine down on you.  


It's as plausible as any other explanation for our lives.  Kind of humbling... and maybe you're lucky to know it as a guiding principle.  You roll the dice and hope.