A Little Healthy Pessimism Might Be in Order...

Another sign that things are not going well in your home country...

Your partner is spending lots of time going thru the tedious paperwork clarifying that she was born to a citizen of Canada, and that she too qualifies as a Citizen of that fine Country. Since I am married to this budding Candadian, this would be my ticket out too.

Escape plan? Yes, maybe so, the Fascism is getting a bit much...

Also, we now get word that one of our long-time friends, and her whole immediate family (father, sisters, niece) are all applying for Polish Citizenship. Life-long Americans looking for a safe harbor. Yikes. I mean, I wonder why?

I am an eternal optimist, but, you know, maybe there is place for pessimism too? I came across this Billy Wilder quote which sort of brought me up short:

The director Billy Wilder in 1945: "The optimists died in the gas chambers, the pessimists have pools in Beverly Hills."

So, yeah, weird, back in the day, folks were fleeing facsist, Nazi-Germany for the safe harbor of the USA. Now? Fleeing from a newly-robust facsist USA to freer & friendlier countries around the globe? Fuck. Wild.

Where Does the Energy Go?

Folk #1: Long day yesterday. Woke up this morning & already a bit burned out. Where does the energy go? My thoughts this morning: "We are all burning up, and getting stupider too." Pretty sure we can chalk it up to man-made climate catastrophe. We all must get up speed on the UV Index. Sure seems like the rays of the sun are getting more intense. We all also seem to be at odds with reality. Seems reality isn't all it's cracked up to be, or all that fun. So we have spun off into all of these diversions, excursions and deep denials. Living in these kooky counter-factual, virtual concoctions. Bad fascimiles of reality. A terrible way to expend our time on the planet. What ever happened to "Be here, now?" You know, even if it's hot, we must be present. Gravitate to the shade, hydrate, think cool thoughts. Keep calm, carry on. Don't forget sun-block.

The Confounding Unsayable...

Some folks probably turn to the Bible, or the Koran. Dip their toes into some inspiring or humbling line or verse. Me? Hell no. I turn to my r&r. Early morning, sun just breaking across the lake, sipping my coffee, watering the outside plants & flowers, dipping into Neil Young's album "Rust Never Sleeps."  (1979). So, I find myself spraying water into the air, vibing off  the line: "Welfare Mothers make better lovers..." and all seems right with the world.

It could have have just as easily been Tom Petty's "Wildflowers." (1994), "No one knows what it's like to be me..."  or the Stone's "Exile on Main Street,"  (1972), "I just wanna see his face..." or Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," (1965) "Tell me, great hero, but please, make it brief, Is there a hole for me to get sick in?" or the Who's "Who's Next" (1971), "I once heard a note, pure & easy..."

Whatever. You know, the r&r canon & gospel. 

My partner & I finished off the 4th season of "The Bear" last night. Oh, man. What to say? Love the series. What is it about? Grief, depression, suicide, family, yelling, business, machismo, success & failure, deep anger, loss, loneliness, death, Chicago, great food, great music, gorgeous film-making, friends, enemies, the great unsaid, and the deeply confounding unsayable.

Seems like the most important things in Life happen to be invisible, and hard to pin down. Funny.

We had a long, rambling, heartfelt conversation afterwards. It opened up some new avenues, deep pools and silent places in our beings. I suppose that's the power of great art. 

New Blue Sun, the Best Medicine...

Music. Yes. Truly Spiritual and Psychological Medicine. Listening to it, playing it, being totally obsessed with it. Always having it spinning on the box, or always having a guitar nearby, or having a band of musicians (or two bands), ready to meet, rehearse and play. My partner and I are a songwriting team. I also have another close friend with whom I write songs. It's kind of amazing. Even to me.

I have all my favorite singers & bands at my fingertips. I have my little CD player and my very fine GRADO headphones. Wherever I go, there is usually a big stereo system in the family room to keep busy.

Lately, the last 5 or 6 months, my partner and I have obsessed over Andre 3000's "New Blue Sun."  (2023). It's Andre's "flute album." We each have our own personal copy of the 2 CD album. We both refer to it as "medicine." We play it when we meditate, or when we just want to set a chill atmosphere, or right before we go to sleep. Truly magnificent.

It's all very floaty, like a beautiful, cooling breeze, or swaying trees, or a bird silently flying low over a green field. You know, listening to good music is good for you. An easy formulation and recommendation. And yes, this is just the finest. Highly recommended.

Singing Your Truth...

So happy no sun yesterday, just big black clouds, and a sprinkling of rain. My friend and I were so exhausted, we didn't meet up, only whispered to each other over the phone. Late in the day, with a blazing headache, I worked on a song; armed with a borrowed mahagony Martin guitar, and one nagging line that has been with me for awhile.

I had just finished watching Bono's Stories of Surrender (2025). Yes. It's a bit much. But I found it incredibly beautiful and compelling. Bono totally exposes himself, it's over the top, melodramatic, extravagant, bombastic. Bono is certainly full of himself. He is also a compelling evangelist for music. No doubt. The film opened me up. It brought me to tears. That man, now ruminative, weathered, melancholy, and vulnerable, in the midst of his blazing self-assurance, and prodigious, full-stop, confidence, can really sing his truth. 

So, yeah, exhausted, headache and all, I was inspired to tackle my own little song. I discovered a new riff or two, and blasted thru my nagging line and a few stray chords. Sitting on the couch, improvising & spitting new lyrics into the wind. I flipped on my iPhone and recorded all that noise & rumble. This morning, listening to the recording, I think: "Not bad... it's something..."

A Concentration Camp in a Town Near You! That's America Now!

Well...

Signs and clues that things are not going well in the country in which you live: 

The powers that be have authorized a force to kidnap Human Beings, disappear them off the streets of America, and ship them out to rot in prisons in lands far away. No charges, no hearings, no apologies, or explanations.

The powers that be have also conjured up & secured massive amounts of dollars to construct concentration camps across the land. They envision shiny new cages & camps to imprison Human Beings in every state of the Union. 

The powers that be have declared the best way to amass dollars for these new intiatives? Kick folks off of their healthcare and take food assistance away from poor children.

The powers that be have also declared that the Filthy Rich shall get tax breaks forever. They call this Making America Great Again.

It's the new Golden Age of America! Welcome to the Terror Dome, suckers!

Celebrating/Not Celebrating...

How did we celebrate the 4th of July 2025?

First my partner and I played a little parlor game, we tried to decide what's the worst crime in the bill this zombified Republican Congress, and this criminal President just passed? 

1. Taking Healtcare from our fellow Americans? 

2. Stealing food from poor, needy children? 

3. Killing off Green Energy prjoects? 

4. Giving tax breaks to the filthy rich? 

5. Funding ICE to make that abominable force the shiny new Police State in USA? 

6. Building concentration camps in every state of the Union? 

7. Disappearing Human Beings off the streets of America and putting them in cages like animals?

Hard to pick the worst offence. We decided they were all dastardly evil crimes against humanity, against our intelligence, good cheer and well-being too. Fuck. Welcome to our New American Dystopia.

A day off. So, yeah, we turned away from all that shite, ordered up some takeout: vegetarian ravioli & lasagna, and spun Steely Dan records on the box, while we lazed around on lounge chairs under big canopy umbrellas, next to a large pool, and a garden of earthly delights (not our place, a caretaking gig). 

We are not wealthy, but we work for some very nice, benevolent, progressive, fully-woke & wealthy folks.

My partner remarked, "Steely Dan always makes me happy." Yes. Indeed, nothing like blasting "Countdown to Ecstasy"  (1973) at maximum volume on a magnificent stereo system. "Show-biz kids don't give a fuck about anybody else..."

We talked of other things; movies, books, philosophy, ways of keeping our heads, trying our best to be happy, in the face of the shite & madness. We ignored the hoopla of the lakefront 4th of July celebrations.  The teeming masses were burning meat on grills, playing volleyball, gathering for the evening fireworks display.

Did any one of them give a fuck about the trashing of our Constitutional order? The strangling of our little Democratic experiment?  What & why exactly are we celebrating today? Who knows? Fun & frolic seemed to be the theme. Denial is a powerful tool.

Lots of "sound & fury, signifying nothing." 

Anyway, we adopted a defiant attitude, we decided that we will refuse to be defeated. Dreaming of better days. You know, Hope, it dies last. Fuck the evil-doers. Damn the Torpedoes. America is a story. The story is still unfolding. The future is unwritten. 

Something in the Air...

Sure. Not happy about America's turn to Fascism, and anti-democratic idiocy (see previous post, and all the latest news). Maybe it's something in the air? The Evil-doers (I know, it sounds a bit overwrought, but it really isn't.), seem to be on the ascendent, and the good, hard-working folks are on the "outs."

Summer is here. It seems that it is hot everywhere. Lately we have been intimately aware of the UV Index. Intensity of the Sun, turned up high. 

My partner and I have had a long-standing theory that as the planet heats up, humans are getting goofier, crazier, meaner, & yes, lot's stupider. That would explain a lot of things. It would also include us; we do feel under pressure & under threat, for sure. Trying our best to keep our heads and hearts clear.

How to carry on? Just carry on. No special secret sauce. Things seems to be going in a retrograde, super-bad direction in so many fundamental ways. We can only take care & "lean to the light." Jump into our creative pursuits. Chase rabbits down rabbit holes. Turn to each other. Look for the love and the humor that can bubble up in the most unlikely moments. 

We get lost in making music. Working on new songs and old songs too. Little things to engage us. A bit of a turning away from the heat, madness, and supremely bad juju. Survival techniques. Damn the torpedoes.

Blood on Our Hands...

Yes. I think the existential, bone-crushing question during this current Trump era will be "What did you do when ICE disappeared, detained, & tortured innocent people here in America?" 

Blood on our hands. All of our hands.

I know lots of folks are just stupidly, blindly, blissfully, tuned out, maybe they have no idea what's going on. Their ignorance is not an excuse. It's a crime. You must pay attention. These "Crimes against humanity," committed in our names, are crimes against us all. We are all implicated. We must all do our best to right these wrongs.

Truth & Consequences. Truth & Reconciliation. These acts of Evil shall not stand. That's just me. I still believe in American Democracy, in Truth, Honesty, Justice, Human Rights. We are better than what is going down, and will continue to go down, in the near term.  

It is all exceedingly, excruciatingly bad. These are horrible people doing horrible things to other people. The worst of the worst. We must take a stand against this administration, and all of their crimes. We must stand with, & support those in opposition. 

The Unbound Evil Phase...

What is Evil? 

"Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others."

So...

The Republicans passing a budget bill that takes food from poor children, kicks 17 million, or so, folks off their healthcare, to try to justify extending tax cuts for the big corporations and the supremely wealthy, would be a textbook example of pure, unmitigated evil, for sure. Correct?

Yep. No doubt. 

And the glad-handing, gleeful, chorlting Nazis talking to the press, getting pictures of themselves in front of cages built for folks they plan to disappear off the streets of America? Yes. That's disgusting and supremely evil too.

The disheveled & disgusting Fat Man who envisions detention centers to be built in every state in America. Evil Embodied. 

Detention Center > Gulag > Concentration Camp > Death Camp = EVIL...

You wonder what phase have we entered here, now in America? The Unbound Evil Phase.

Raised by "Lady-Wolves."

I think of my childhood as a bit "raised by nuns." Very similiar to being "raised by wolves." These particular "wolves" were women, dressed in black & white habits, with gold wedding bands on their ring fingers (married to God don't you know). They were kind of scary, harsh, maybe bitter that they were stuck in classrooms with 30 or so children every day of the school year. 

What were these lady-wolves trying to teach us? Mainly fear of God. God was an old, bearded man, sitting on a throne; a scary, harsh, bitter God that would be judging all of us somewhere down the line.  For me, for some reason, the lesson just never took. Maybe because at home, in my own world, I was a happy little gangster, with my own gang, my little brother & my two sisters. 

Sure, I was left with a bit of guilt & shame for being a gnarly, snot-nosed kid, but that deep, in-bred fear just never did materialize. The story just seemed so improbable. I am the same today. The fear-mongers and their fear-mongering just doesn't work on me. I think those folks are just too full of shite. I can't take them seriously. It might be a flaw in my character.

This new era of hate, racism, division, unthinking idiocy just rolls off my back. I don't get it at all. It doesn't resonate. Maybe I can thank those "lady-wolves," maybe they unintentionally innoculated me to the ways of manufactured fear and idiocy?

The lessons I learned on the playground, at lunch, and after school, were the ones that really did sink in, and are still with me to this day: "The Big Ones will always stomp on the Little Ones." And, well, "There but for the Grace of God, go I."

Invaluable information. 

Kind of gave me a code for better understanding and better living in the real world. And when the Big Ones beat up on the little powerless Ones, I immediately side with those being beaten down. 

Ha. Now that I think of it, that seemed to be the gist of the whole weird Jesus story too. Jesus was a nice, helpful guy, who looked out for the poor & downtrodden. His whole schtick just didn't sit well with the powers that be. That simple Jesus story has been twisted into a goddamned pretzel by the crazy-ass Christian Nationalists. Seems they have forgotton that whole Love, Forgiveness and taking care of your Brothers & Sisters idea, and replaced it with a stone-cold, racism & Hate. Fuck those fuckers.

Anyway. Amen Brothers & Sisters! And an early morning tip of the hat to the Lady-Wolves...

Rooting for the Real...

"My political opponents," that would be the Republican Party, want to impose their god-awful-ness on all of us. Yikes. You wonder to yourself: "Why do they hate the America that exists today?" One thing that seems to bind them, hatred of the other. Anyone not a White Christian Nationalist Repbulican is on the outs with these folks. Everything I celebrate about America, our diversity, our inclusiveness, our multi-cultural cornucopia, our thriving urban centers, are considered foreign and unwanted by them. I keep thinking this political movement can't happen, can't last, it must implode, disintegrate, fall apart into a million ugly pieces. The reality of America is too strong, too diverse. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. Maybe I am wrong. Not sure. Every day I watch these sick fuckers trying to dismantle this beautiful experiment of a Rainbow Democracy and I shake my head. Who knows, maybe it is my optimism, my hopefulness that blinds me. I hope not. I do my best to see and think clearly. I do  believe that reality has a way of having it's say. It's time for reality to make a come-back.

Your Instrument...

Think of your body as your instrument. It allows you to play all the notes in a life. You didn't get to pick your instrument. It was handed down to you. Generations. It comes with it's own quirks, limitations, faults, and capabilities too. You must contend with it. It's up to you. You can use it, abuse it, baby it, put it in dicey, dangerous and tricky situations. Seems we all often take our instrument for granted. And think we know it. But, really, living is a process, and our instrument is always morphing, changing, evolving, devolving. And we have these major currents running thru us. There are the emotional strings & keys. And there are the rational/logical strings & keys. Sometimes they play off each other, or against each other. Sometimes you are aligned, or in deep unalignment. You have to be diligent. Listen to your instrument. Stay in-tune, with yourself, others and the world around you. It's your vehicle to approach some kind of truth, reality, transcendence, intelligence, wisdom. Or, you know, not.

A Singular Journey...

Folk #1: Well. Seems you are on your own to try to make your life as meaningful and fulfilling as possible. It's just up to you. No one is gonna do the heavy lifting for you. You are on your own. You are on a singular journey of one. Of course, you need to surround yourself, and fill your life with people you can relate to, and spend time with. You need to find things you love to do and do them as often as you can. There is no saviour coming. God ain't looking out for you. Heaven & Hell are here right now. There is a play of Light & Shadow. Good & Evil. Every day is an existential crisis. It is all up to you, but don't get full of yourself. Humility, Grace, Kindness, Love, Happiness, Joy, Creativity, Music, Poetry, Drama, Intelligence & Heart. These are your tools & inclinations. Plunge into healthy obsessions. It's not that hard. Fuck it. Damn the torpedoes. Much of Life is disappointing, disillusioning. No one promised you a rose garden. Oh well. Fuck it. Plant a garden yourself. Water it. Care for it. Do it. Carry on.

Snake Eating it's Own Lying Tail...

Folk #1: That desperatly fat, flailing & failing guy is ranting & raving on TV and social media again. I know, not really new, or surprising. Maybe there is some kind of formula, or calculation? Too much bullshit fabricated by one human being starts to calcify, to no longer stick, to bounce back, and diminish the source? Or, you know, the endless stream of lying finally twists around? The snake turns on itself; wildly, ravenously, devouring it's own lying tail? We have definitely reached the point where EVERYONE knows that guy is lying. Although, of course, there is a small, committed, fanatical group that enjoys hearing the lies. Fat-boy's lies are entertaining to their ears & hate-filled hearts & heads. The rest of us just assume everything that idiot spouts is just a damned lie, and the truth is to be found somehwere in "opposite-land." And, thankfully, we can just point to the obvious, ridiculous lies, and then just tune him out.  Which of course drives him insane. He amps up the lying machine even higher, the lies come harder and faster. There has to be an end-point. Can one malicious fat guy choke out on his own vicious, stupid lies to the wild cheers of the teeming masses? One can only hope...

Celebrating Mamdani...

Oh. Yeah. I wanted to celebrate some good news: Zohran Mamdani won the NY Primary for Mayor and is the favorite to win in November. Yes. A young Muslim/American, a Socialist & Progressive Democrat from the AOC and Bernie Sanders wing of the party beat the candidate the Democratic establishment  were backing: a failed, disgraced ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo. It was a magnificent surprise. Even over here in our sleepy Midwestern town we were rooting for Mamdani. Seemed like a long-shot. Sometimes the remarkable good thing happens. Should New York have a young, dynamic, socially-idealistic, Democratic Mayor? Of course.

The celebration is for Democracy too. Funny. You think it's all going down the shitter. America on the ropes, and the long slide into oblivion, and then, a surprise. That is the beauty of Democracy. It can turn on a dime. People Power. Just common folks, can step up and make it happen. It helps to have a charismatic personality to ignite the folks. This time the igniting wasn't based on hate or division, but a coming together for a common good. Yes. That is a great reason & occasion to celebrate.

The Blizzard of Lies Will Always Melt...

Sure. Yes (see previous post).The lies of a desperate and flailing, wanna be strongman, get more wild, & over the top as reality starts poking back. And reality always has it's say. Building anything on a foundation of lies is sketchy, and a fool's paradise. The blizzard of lies starts to melt in the face of facts. Those of us who believe in truth, can see the hard glimmers & shards of a spiky reality, suddenly popping up everywhere, all at once. Sure the liars may have their power, their guns, their Bibles, their hate, but the opposition is armed with a healthy relationship to facts, truth, science, rationality, logic, math, gravity. We have the clarity of questioning & discerning minds. We observe & learn from Nature, and the real world. Those are great teachers. Always inspires those great qualities: Wonder & Humility.

Hall of Lies...

The problem with this current administration. These people lie. You know, always, always lie, about the little, easily disproved things, and the big, easily disproved things, about, you know, fucking anything & everything; and when they get caught red-handed in their lies, they just double, triple and quadruple down with a barrage of more over-the-top, gob-smackingly, audacious lies. Where does that leave us? First blush, assume the opposite of whatever the adminstration is saying. We live in "opposite-land." Then we are grasping, gaping, searching, trying to drill down to the nub of things. Seeking the facts, trying to swim to a certain clarity & truth. We are stuck in a Hall of Lies. Sure, it's a strategy to wear us down. To defeat us, to make us want to tune out, to throw our hands up in surrender. But, fuck, that is the way to a certain ignorance & madness. We must work towards clear, verifiable facts. We are all essentially like scientists or private eyes; think of yourself as a Marlowe or Spade, in a  Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammet novel. Testing, verifying, doing our best to see clearly. Making decsions based on cold, hard facts.  Essential work for being a real Human Being.

Our Nation Turns it's Lonely Eyes to the Cowards in Power...

Yes. Well. Sometimes you turn to the court jesters amongst us for the best insights. I think especially of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce. They don't make them like that anymore. What of the Onion?  Sometimes the only way to find any sense is thru nonsense. Makes sense right?! As AOC puts it (see previous post), "The President's disastrous decision is a grave violation of the Constitution and the War Powers act." A Congress with a spine, a drop of integrity, a hint of conscience, and a moral compass would vote to Impeach and Remove this Tyrant in a heartbeat. Cowardice is a many-splendored thing, and a terrible waste of a Democracy.

Wrong in So Many Ways...

Many of us could see that electing Trump was a major catastrophe for America & the World. Wrong in so many ways. We could see that this lawless conman and his boot-licking lackeys could lead us all to a horribly wrong-headed, idiotic, heartless, criminal future. Well. Just how wrong can it go? Thinking epically, prodigiously, un-imaginably wrong. We are now deeply in the fuck around & find out phase of our existence. Yikes. Below is a pitch-perfect response to the latest outrage & stupidity. AOC is one our favorite Democratic Representatives, an essential voice in the middle of the chaos...

A Small Victory...

A small victory over here. We played a show last night, billed as a Summer Solstice Celebration, at a little, well-lit, totally cool & elegant wine shop, nestled in a very urban landscape. It was a warm summer evening. We played our set inside, gorgeous chandelier above us, gaping, unlit fireplace behind us, a room full of cool people in front of us. We were testing out our new, very tiny mixer board with two small speakers, you know, anything to make the schlepp a bit easier, and it sounded really good in that little room. It was just a trio, guitar, double-bass & percussion, 2 voices. 

Seems we connected with the audience, which is always gratifying & surprising. We are on our own very stony path, a creative journey; quirky, gnarly, very much homemade. We are always amazed that people can connect with these very personal, "vision songs." 

My bandmate triggered an episode of vertigo in the middle of our song, "Murmurations." She nearly spun out, but hung in there,  she truly is a creative dynamo, fearless and determined. We finished the set, smiles and cheers all around. Pretty sure we made some new fans. A couple guitar players in the audience came up to  talk tone. That's always a good sign. My beat up guitar was sounding very "present." All those little experiments with strings, pre-amps, speakers, seems to have paid off. The three of us definitely "got there." It was nice how the instruments all claimed their space, and stood out. We are always intent on losing ourselves in the moments of performance, it worked last night, even with the spinning couldn't deny us.

The Heavier Lift...

Ha. Feeling a bit philosophical this morning. This usually happens when I have "lost the thread." Events seem to be careening out of control, and I just don't know how to process it all. So, in my head, there is a strategic retreat into the realms of philosophy, I fall back on a ruminative posture. Figures like Sartre, Wittgenstein, Hume, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates pop up. It's all a bit of a confusing churn. And, then, of course, the thorny field of psychology is also "tangled up in blue," in my head too. I find myself in a hall of mirrors. Who am I? What am I doing? What's it all about? Where is all of this going? WTF?!  I remind myself that if you look closely enough, it always feels like things are carreening out of control, because, there really is no control. And who I am is always morphing, evolving, revolving, devolving. Everything is a moving target. Sure there is gravity & physics, but beyond that, so little to hold on to. I think of that David Byrne/Talking Heads line: "Stop making sense." You know, this morning, that seems easy. It is a piece of cake to get beyond the rational & logical, and into the poetic, intuitive. But, what about making sense? Of the world, and myself? That seems to be a heavier lift.

A Knotty Problem...

Getting your head around things. You know, reaching for some kind of hard-earned wisdom. No grand statements or theories. Suspicious of wide-ranging conspiracy theories. Resisting the simple answers, they often seem like fairy tales, off-target and more concealing, than revealing. Or what they reveal is an ability to obscure and evade cold hard truths. Sure, we like to tell ourselves stories that we can understand, about the world & the people in it; but of course, we will never really understand the world or the people in it.  People. They are always the problem, they are sometimes, rarely, the solution. Although, ultimately there are no solutions. Just problems being worked over & worked through, across generations. People are confusing, contradictory, arbitrary, shallow, self-dealing. Yep. The Tricky Monkeys who think they are smarter than they really are. There is often pain, suffering & chaos in our  human world. Most of it self-generated. Some of it is beyond human, there is Nature, Biology, to contend with too. It's a knotty problem. Living. You will never solve it. You just get to do it, be it, experience it.

Rewarding Bad Behavior: Strategy for Failure...

Rewarding bad behavior. It's become a thing. It's all too much. Feed the Out of Control Monkeys too much money & attention, and well, shit goes wrong; badly, weirdly, prodigiously, immensely, horribly wrong. That is where we are at the moment; in our culture, our politics, our social media landscape. Swamped with Bling & Bad Behavior.

Have we breached some kind of limit of Bad Shite?! The realm of no shame, no morals, no common sense? 

Not sure. And then, what comes after the reckoning? You know, there is always a reckoning. I mean, who the fuck knows?! Yikes, the scoundrels, the cheats, the liars, the fuck-ups truly reign supreme. We are well and truly fucked. It's sort of funny in a not so funny way. Are there any clear-headed, mindful, honorable, respectful folks to be found? Are they hiding? I imagine there is a vast underground of folks, calm, clear, composed; the level-headed resistance to the stupid debauch. Keeping their shoulders to the wheel. Doing their best to do the good work. Not because it pays, no cold hard cash, just because, it's good to be good. Ha. That's the new, radical stance, & credo, right there.

Hazarding a Guess...

Folk #1: I am going to hazard a guess. I woke up early this a.m. with a deep unease. I can't really call it a premonition, it's too vague, even to me, just a deep, dark, feeling of existential dread for all of us. This fool & idiot in the White House is going to do something really stupid & bad. No, I know, no big surprise, this fool & idiot always does stupid & bad things, we are getting numb to the stupid & bad, but I am just guessing that soon, this fool & idiot is going to stumble into doing something so stupid, so bad, it implicates, and has consequences, for all of us. Every last one of us. You know, blindly hurtling to some very stupid and bad catastrophe. Yikes. It's a bit of doomer idea this morning. Whatever it is, I'm not predicting the actual thing, whatever it is, it's not gonna be fun or entertaining. Those of us who somehow survive, and get thru it all, and God only knows who exactly that will be, will be left with one cursed thought: We are well and truly fucked. Hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good Lord. Yikes. Damn the torpedoes.

The America They Hate, The America We Love...

Funny. 

The Trump/MAGA movement can be summed up with one very elemental word: HATE. It is HATE that binds them. HATE that drives them. HATE that makes them all cowards, bullies, and assholes.

They actually HATE America. You know, the America we actually happen to live in. America is a land built by, and inhabited by, immigrants from all races, creeds, colors & countries. It is a vast multi-cultural & wildly diverse stew of Humanity.

If you happen to be one of those immune to the HATE, this all looks like madness, stupidity, fascism, white-Christian-nationalist madness. So inhumane & Un-American.

This weekend (see previous post), we reaquianted ourselves with the America we love. Folks from all walks of life meeting in the public square declaring our LOVE for America, Democracy, the Rule of Law, the Constitution, the melting-pot of a thriving, beautiful Human Civilization.

It is a much better place to choose to live in. Yes. We choose the classic American Dream, and reject the American Nightmare the HATERS want to sell us. Their HATE is built on a web of lies. It's a dead-end. A falsity, a nullity.

The Dreamers Unite...

Hey, over here in our sleepy little town, Evanston, IL, the No Kings Protest yesterday was magnificent. Great turnout for the 10a.m. - 12p.m. event. We've been to three Indivisible protests at this same town square this year, and, no doubt, this one was the biggest, most vibrant, enthusiastic, creative (so many great signs), and inspiring. Lots of old, young, middle agers. Lots of families too. It is amazing how quickly this adminstration has fired up the opposition. A good sign for a vibrant, lively, diverse, America. I hazard a guess: Democracy is not doomed, not defeated. Too many of us actually do care, and do still cling to an open-hearted, American Dream.  We are all the Dreamers.

Just Showing Up...

Yes. We are going to the NO KINGS protest in our sleepy little town later this morning. It seems to us to be an essential duty as human beings, and as citizens of the country, and the world. We want to stand up, and be counted. We are part of the opposition to this current adminstration. So, yes, a renewed commitment to activism & protest.  It's a little thing, a small gesture & stance, but, the least we can do. The country has taken a dark turn, and we ARE AGAINST IT. Peaceful protest. My partner is making a sign. We will chant & sing and, you know, just show up. Damn the torpedoes.

Dystopia is Here...

I suppose it should not be a surprise that electing a "stone-cold liar" (hat-tip to California Governor Gavin Newsom), a criminal, and a chaos agent as U.S. President, has manifested into a full-fledged regime of crime, and the total cruel and stupid fucking chaos we see unfolding now. We are barely 6 months into the thing and the seams of reality seem to be pulling apart. 

We all should apologise to each other, and to the world, for unleashing that shit-storm upon the planet. Of course that liar & conman should have been impeached after the January 6th insurrection, and disqualified from ever holding office again. Total fail there, for sure.

OK. Maybe there are no seams to reality, no stitches either, instead, there is endless flow & flux; reality is an ocean, a cloud, an atmosphere. Everything is always revolving, evolving, devolving. We are in it, and of it. For sure, we are in the deep unraveling phase of our world. Yikes. Dystopia is here.

"No Kings Protest" tomorrow. Fuck that guy in the White House and everyone who works for that fuck. He truly is a plague, a scourge, a crime against humanity. We all deserve so much better.

The American People Say, "No Kings..."

What are those little dots all across the map of the USA? Sites of the upcoming "NO KINGS" protests on Saturday, June 14. How many citizens will come out to show their support for America, the Rule of Law, and the Constitution? Who knows?!

I will venture a guess that the number of folks protesting the current lawless turn, will dwarf Trump's stupid, pointless, costly, ridiculous military parade in Washington D.C. We shall see.

Poked the Sleeping Bear?

Maybe ICE and their Gestapo tactics, and the Trump administration's over the top authoritarian, ham-handed efforts to fan the flames by deploying the National Guard and Marines into American Cities has poked a sleeping bear?

It's true, we all have been sleeping at the wheel, taking our Democracy and our Bill of Rights for granted. Suddenly protests are springing up across the land. It's a good thing to see. Folks who care about the country, their communities, their fellow human beings, & rising up to oppose mass deportations of folks who have been living and working here for years.

We love this country. We oppose this regime with all of our hearts, heads and spirits aligned. Stand up and be counted. This is our American Dream.

Easy to Choose Sides. Power to the People.

 This. Exactly. 

"Trump knows exactly what he’s doing when he falsely applies the term “insurrectionist.” Senate Republicans letting him off the hook for 1/6 was a massive blow to the constitutional order."

We have major problem on our hands and it isn't the protestors. It is the wanna-be strong-man wielding his authoritarian power. 

From David Huerta, President of the Service Employees International Union California, injured & arrested last Friday by ICE:

"What happened to me is not about me. This is about something much bigger. This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that’s happening. Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice. And we all have to stand on the right side of justice.”

USA: A Country Built By Immigrants...

Unsurprisingly, the President and the folks in his administration are lying about L.A. & California. They are trying hard to stoke and fan the flames. A terrible way to run a country. ICE kidnapping, detaining, and deporting folks who work at Home Depot? Do we all see the idiocy and inhumanity?

The USA is a country built by immigrants, now demonizing immigrants? That won't fly. Abolish ICE now.

Our country is a grand immigrant experiment. The most vibrant, successful, multi-cultural country on the planet. Most of the undocumented immigrants in L.A. in California, across the land, are hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying folks. Many have been here for decades; generations, families, grandparents, young kids.

This deportation scheme is wrong-headed, inhumane, counter-productive, un-American. There are no "illegal" Humans here. There are undocumented folks. If they live and work here, pay their taxes, contribute to society, they should be given a sure & easy way to citizenship. And welcomed with open arms.

This has been a festering problem. It does need to be addressed. But, of course, this adminstration just wants to use it to increase the hate, to divide the country. And they lie, and lie, and lie. It is a consistent theme

Abolish ICE Now...

ICE raiding a Home Depot in L.A. County looking for undocumented folks? Kicking off a confrontation with protestors? WTF?! Do you see the problem here? Common folks working in the USA. Folks doing a job, paying taxes, trying to live the American Dream. This whole nightmare deportation thing is so counter-productive, so inhumane, so mis-guided. A nation inhabited and built by immigrants, now demonizing immigrants? Insane. Stupid. Evil. Dumb. Ugly. Abolish ICE NOW! We must fix our immigration system. No doubt. Anyone living here, working, doing their best to live the American Dream, should be given a simple path to Citizenship. We should welcome these folks with open arms. They help make America great, now.

I Lean into the Silence...

This morning I turn to the blank page. Start to fill it with these words. What do I want to say? Actually, I am stunned into silence. Words fail. Musical vibrations rule. The things of the world around me seem ungraspable. I am listening to music with no words, the sun is rising over the lake, my little furry friend is playing with a toy duck. There is a dance of beauty & light, there is an order and a chaos all around me. So, yes, a word-less silence, not really silence, but words and thoughts float away, it seems like the only appropriate response to the moment. How to convey my most profound thoughts? Do I have any profound thoughts? Who needs profound thoughts? What's profound anyway? Here is my quite meager attempt at a response:

...

...

...

The Fallout/The Battle...

Did you hear the news? Two montrous, despicable characters have had a falling out, and are now battling on social media. Think: Skeletor Vs. Godzilla. Couldn't happen to a better pair of reptilian-like scoundrels. Who am I rooting for? Neither, of course. Two narcissistic-assholes with egos of massive proportions; they truly deserve each other. Let them destroy each other. That would be a beautiful thing. Let them reap what they sow, and get their just deserts. The planet will be a much better place without either of them on it, or, in it.

Horror Films...

Thinking of horror films. I think current events have led me back to horror. 

I am no expert. I have seen a few horror films over the years. I recently plunged back into a few of my favorites. They reclaimed their titles of being "great." I notice they are from a certain time and place. Formative of my own personal mythology. 

The best horror is the horror that is closest to us. These films hit the bullseye. What's funny is that all of these films are quite successful as horror films, and at the same time, they are absolutely hilarious. The hilarity comes out of the deep unease of the horror. Finally, you just have to laugh.

These films are about the calamity and catastrophe of being a human being.

Brian De Palma's "Carrie."  (1976).  Based on a Stephen King novel. The horror of puberty, the horror of high school in America, the horror of teenage boys & girls, the horror of organized religion, the horror of oppressive adults.

Stanely Kubrick's "The Shining."  (1980). Based on a Stephen King novel. The horror of being a child, captive to two very limited, and conflicted human beings, also know as the parents. The horror of alcoholism, and the horror of the snaky, creepy ways the human mind can go off the rails. The horror of seeing, & being seen, clearly.

David Cronenberg's "The Fly."  (1986). Based on a George Langelaan short story. The horror of the human body. The horror of aging, morphing, evolving. The horror of having no control over how your body changes over time. The horror of becoming. 

Really, these three films kind of sum up the complete horrorshow of being a human being.

Let me throw one last film into the mix.

John Huston's "Wise Blood." (1979). Based on a Flannery O'Connor novel. Some call this a "black comedy," but it's also a horror film. The horror of faith & religion, the horror of of Jesus, sin, guilt, & judgement, the horror of the American South, the horror of racism, and human ignorance, the horror of Christianity writ large, the horror of puritanism, the horror of human small-minded-ness, the horror of rural communities, the horror of small-town America, the horror of slavery, sexism, & misogyny. 

All these films are creepy, disturbing & fun; super-funny and so fucking great. Great film-making & story-telling. All are reminders of the horror that engulfs us. We live within the contours of a landscape of horror. Good luck dealing with that my friends.

A Lame Game...

Yes. The nub of it. Some of these people, you know, the real fucking assholes strutting about wielding their might, may own lots of things, flaunting their gaudy wealth, but inside they are surely hollow. They are full of bitterness & cruelty; they delight in bullying weaker humans, all in a mad desire to feed their enormous, ridiculous, over-stuffed egos. Pretty disgusting. Insatiable. They must consume & destroy everything good and beautiful in the world to feed the monstrous void eating them up from the inside out. The funny thing. You do not want to be these people. Their fate, their sentence, their hell, their prison is to be them. All that wealth & power is just a lame fucking game.

Greeting...

A subtle shift. I greet the day with: "What do you have for me now?"

No existential dread (where did it go?). Few expectations. More of a come what may attitude. Figure on surprises, challenges, fuck-ups, distractions, side-tracks, hills & gullies. The question: how will I deal with it all? Lately, calmly, carefully, with a smile on my kisser. I am all about channeling amusement & bemusement. Not so much seizing the day, or being seized by the day; just a concentrated focus and attention on the details of the day. It seems to be working. Surprise. Looking to be, to flow, to fly, to take in the moment to moment, every moment, and damn the torpedoes...

Making it to Sunday...

Yes. Well. You survive a down-turn, make it through a rough-patch, and you think: "I'm a survivor." The will to live is strong. Ha. At least until it isn't. A fabulous Sunday of goofing off. Meditating, listening to albums from Andre 3000 and The National, hanging with our little flock of birds. Biking to another one of our favorite restaurants for a late lunch, came back, did a bit of iMac trouble-shooting (it's a mystery), put another new set of strings on one of my acoustic guitars and then watched Wim Wenders "Wings of Desire." (1987). One of our favorite films. Angels in Berlin. Peter Falk too. So beautiful, poetic, gorgeous  (no CGI!). Yes, it's heady, intelligent, soul-ful, life-affirming. Fine art. I ended the evening reading another great Caleb Carr book, this one a memoir of his cross-species love affair: "My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me" (2024). Amazing. Extraordinary. I am totally captived by Caleb Carr's writing; it is always layered, clear, and full of insight & depth. He opens your eyes and head to the world. I love the way Caleb Carr sees, and then decribes the world and everything in it so vividly. He was an extraordinary perceiver, his senses five totally alight. This is the fourth book of his I have tackled, every one of them has been fabulous, head-opening, and clarifying. So, so good. Anyway, Sunday was a good day. I survived!

Change. Flow. Being.

Hey. You know. We live in this Universe where everything happens. The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the strange, the wonderous, the tragic & unconscionable too. It seems like some grand experiment. Everything seems to be in motion. Everything seems tentative and temporary. We too are tentative & temporary. We are in flow & flux, no matter what. There is no holding on, no clinging to. Seems we are here to experience. Every element seems essential, even the things that don't seem essential. Contradiction and paradox, that is life. Ha. That is the crux of some kind of hard-earned wisdom. But any wisdom is fleeting too. We grasp at straws: chance, luck, fate, chaos, entropy. Change. Flow. Being. That is what we have, that is what we are...

Brain-Addled Rich Guy...

What would you do if you were the richest man in the world?

I certainly wouldn't be wrecking government for the common folk. I wouldn't be destroying agencies and organizations that are working to feed poor children around the globe. That would be fucking evil. I wouldn't be using technology to spy on Americans, or to kick them off Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

I'd probably buy a new guitar, actually a really old Martin, and maybe a new pair of boots. And then, find some worthy causes to help make the world a better place for all.  Ha. Maybe that's why I'm not the richest man in the world. 

Funny. The screenshot above is from the NY Times. Seems Mr. Swasticar, one of the richest men on the planet, has been playing that "this is your brain on drugs," thing. No wonder his cars suck, his rockets are exploding, and he and his team were just wrecking our government. Waste, Fraud, Abuse. It's all in his head...

I mean, sure, sex, drugs, r&r. But everything within limits, my friends. That's way to do it. Contrary to William Blake, the road of excess does not always lead to the palace of wisdom. Sometimes you're just out of your freaking, tweaking, mind. Brain-fried.

Don't Play the Fool...

There was a "magic bar" in Chicago once. Doubt that is still there.  I have no clue where it was, it's just a dim memory in a hazy part of my life. A hard Chicago street. A classic tavern. The bartenders did magic tricks with cards. This was a time when my friends and I actually thought sitting in a dark bar, sipping a strong drink, and being "fooled" by a bartender slinging drinks and performing card tricks was fun. The line that was displayed on a plaque behind the bar read: "It's fun to be fooled."

Ha. Maybe so. Although, you know, the dirty little secret you learn along the way: "Fun isn't what it's cracked up to be."

These many years later, I am now in a more clear-headed phase of my existence, the whole fun to be fooled idea seems pointless and maybe a sign of something sinister. Looking around the scene now, it's hard to argue with idea that Human Beings actually want to be fooled, and really, like being lied to. They prefer playing the fool, as opposed to being clear-headed, in touch with reality, with a capacity to accept truth, even cold-hard truths. 

Just take a look at our Politics, Wall Street, Pop Culture, etc. Fools fooling each other for $ & amusement. It's a game, but then, of course, some people really suffer, get scammed, & beaten down. It can be an ugly thing.

Better to be clear-eyed, clear-headed, able to spot the lies, in touch with reality, gravity and truth. It's maybe a bit more difficult. You have to accept limits, you have to be disciplined, you have to acknowledge that you are often wrong, and if you want to be a person of quality, always learning. 

Sure. Embrace curiosity, wonder, astonishment. But don't willingly play the fucking fool...

Happy to be at the Table...

We dined at a Peruvian restaurant last night with a group of quite interesting characters. A famous actress (sorry, won't reveal her identity), a fabulous Peruvian classical guitarist, two shop owners, an architect, & a wealthy woman of distinction. It was quite the collection of distinguished human beings. My partner and I were introduced as leaders of an indie r&r band. The biggest things that set us apart from this little group? We are vegetarians and well, we don't drink alcoholic beverages. Funny. We don't think of those as radical things, but, you know, we often find ourselves out of sync on the food and drink front. Also, rarely do we eat after 7:00 p.m. on a Wednesday night, or any night, really. There was an amazing two member Peruvian band playing instrumental music. A guitarist and a woodwind player, playing various odd-looking pipes and horns. So good. Lively & beautiful. Big plates of seafood, lamb and beef were brought to the table. My partner and I shared a vegetarian plate. It was quite tasty. What did we talk about? Everything under the sun, except Politics and all the ways things seems be devolving. It was fun, lively, interesting. A multi-cultural group of souls. Alive in the moment. There were tales of other cities, Paris, Rio De Janiero, Lima, Las Vegas. These were cultured and intelligent citizens of the world; soul-full, full of love, heart and beauty;  funny, quirky & cool. We were happy to be at the table.

The TACO PREZ...

Wall Street Clocks in...

Funny. The $ people. Not so happy with the Toxic Stain Prez and his wacky tarriff shite.  

TACO. 

Wall Street Mocks Trump with 4 letter code to call bets against him.  What does TACO stand for? 

Trump Always Chickens Out.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Day On/Day Off...

I was "working" yesterday, eventhough it was a holiday. Mainly, "working," for me is just being me, only in a mobile fashion. Walking around the neighborhood, with some furry friends, talking to them, to myself, to imaginary folks, and "real" folks I meet on the path.  Thinking & talking is a big part of my life, "being me." 

I still found plenty of time to goof-off, which is always an essential part of my existence. I played my guitar, working on a new song, and, really, finally it seems to be coming together. It's an interesting, organic process, playing parts over and over again, making little discoveries, incorporating them into the composition, moving things around, until it feels, and sounds, solid.

I also watched one of my favorite movies, "Two-lane Black Top," (1971) by Monte Hellman. I first saw it as a young kid with my Dad. So, you know, it really resonates with me. It's so existential. In the moment. Famous musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson play the leads. Plus the great Warren Oates is just astonishingly good. Funny. One of the all-time great endings. Maybe the greatest. I won't reveal it, don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it.

The neighborhood was alive with families & BBQ's, even though there was a cold breeze coming hard off the lake. The folks just wanted to party & picnic, nothing was going to deter them. Think of the Human Rainbow. Families of every creed & color eating talking, biking, hiking, playing volleyball, throwing frisbees, tossing footballs, etc.

Life. It just goes on. 

I had a long chat on the phone with my partner. She was in New York City for a wedding. She told that me that yes, New York is still amazing. One of the greatest cities ever. Teeming with life. Bigger, bolder, more diverse & inclusive than just about anywhere else in the Universe. She visited some of our favorite places on the planet, MOMA & Central Park. Sure. Tourist kind of things. She assured me that New York was thriving, fabulous, overwhelming. Truly a jewel, and the crowning megalopolis in our teeming Democratic Experiment.

Makes me happy and optimistic. No matter what the Toxic Stain wants to do to our American Dream, I think we are just too big, too diverse, too open, too woke, too fucking intelligent & energetic, to be defeated. Damn the torpedoes...

Stand Up for Something

 

Ok. Yes. Unfortunately, it seems we are getting numb to the madness, the idiocies, the cruelty, the lying, the denial of Truth & Reality. Still, if you want to get to the fundamental essence of this American Experiment, get to the nub of the thing, you land on the idea of No Kings. Supposedly, the Toxic Stain is going to have a military parade the same day. Wouldn't it be absolutely fabulous if millions & millions of us tuned that ridiculous display out and gathered in protests across the land to celebrate Democracy, the Constitution, the Rule of Law, Truth, Justice & the American Way ( a very Woke, totally DEI utopia). You know, that would be totally, fucking, Super, Man...

Being Onto Something...

Being onto something...

Sure. The world is burning. The planet seems to be spinning faster. Catastrophe is always one catastrophe away. But yesterday, for me, it was about being onto something. The day, and time in the day, seemed to be expansive. I had plenty of time for everything: meditating, listening to music, walking, bike riding, to-ing & fro-ing, doing chores, spending time with my furry friend, and my trio of feathered friends. Taking care of bizness, plus, goofing off. I put new strings on my guitar, and continued to work on a new song. And made little break-thru on that front. I do think this song will find wings to fly. And then I met a friend and collaborator at our rehearsal studio. We ran thru old songs we've written together over that last decade or so. We are getting ready to record them in the near future with my garage/punk band. Excavating songs that have sat on the shelf for awhile. I dialed in the new gadget I recently purchased, a tiny, big as a loaf of bread mixer/mult-track recorder. An amazing little gizmo. Hooked up to our powered speakers the sound was beautiful, exquisite, excellent. And between songs, my buddy & I talked about everything under the sun, the moon, the stars. Especially, and deeply about life, love & loss. We both have recently lost people close to us. How to deal with the finality, the deep loss, the guilt, the emptiness? My pithy, but hard-earned recommendation: Being onto something. And yes, at least yesterday, that idea & action worked like a charm.

I Turn to the Inspirers...

I turn to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Tom Waits, Morphine...

Inspirers all. 

When things look bleak I reach for music. Spin discs all day long. 

And in the evening hours I read books, lately my reading hours have included three novels from Caleb Carr (The Alienist, The Angel of Darkness & The Legend of Broken), and right now I am devouring  Marc Ribot's astonishing book: Unstrung Rants and Stories of a Noise Guitarist.

I also watched a few of my favorite films, from Martin Scorcese (Taxi Driver, Good Fellas), Jim Jarmuch (Coffee & Cigarettes, Stranger in Paradise, Paterson, Down by Law), and Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider). Older films that make up my own personal mythology. These movies are embedded deep in my consciousness.

What do all these filmmakers, musical artists and writers have in common? Fiery intellegence, amazing creativity, spiky, hard, brilliant, open-armed & open-headed. Uncompromising. I notice everyone of these folks are Americans. American born & bred originals. They are part my own real America. It's a much better place to live in.

I also have been working on a new song. It started easy, pure inspiration, and then, it kind of drifted, not quite there, not quite finished. So, I have played it in various modes. The lyrics are finished but the musical accompaniment has morphed. A work in progress.

I purchased a new gadget. A little mixer and multi-track recorder. Kind of a going back to basics mode. I love getting lost in a creative project, it is a mission and a journey. Keeps my head clear. Essential work. A good way to fill my days. Music. Words. A humanity of heart and resistance. An antidote to the  absolute shit unfolding in Washington D.C. My vision of America is so much better than this toxic nightmare they are trying to impose on us. Fuck them. Damn the torpedoes.

Just the Facts...

Kakistocracy - "government by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous people."

Yes. That is the perfect word for the current Republican Administration. It's the the trifecta of bad: worst, least qualified, most unscrupulous.

If you are paying attention, and I realize many of you are not, and yes, I get it, it's sort understandable, paying attention requires a bit of discipline, or bloody-minded-ness, and it's also fucking painful. To watch your fellow human beings acting so recklessly, so cruelly, so corruptly, so fucking ignorantly is corrosive and debilitating.

What to say?! Yikes. Fuck. The Republican Party is a scourge, a blight, a plague, a black-hole of racism, cruelty, idiocy, fear & greed. That political party holds all the levers of power at the moment, and they are destroying our country. 

I am not over-stating the case. Just the facts. Everything we hold dear about America is under attack. It's an amazing display, an abomination. So bad, it's fucking ridiculous.

The New Hell...

Folk #1: You know. It feels like a test. I always hated tests. Of course, the test don't care. I just don't think I'm wired for all this New American Nazi/Fascist/Authoritarian shite. It does not sit well with me. I don't know how to digest it. I mean, I can go as dark as you want. I have read lots of novels of dystopia. Still, I feel like a little yellow canary in a deep dark coal-mine. Any little fume and I'm lit. You know I'm the alarm, the warning bell, that tolls when things start getting deadly and ugly. Ugliness and cruelty are the themes of the day. All of this new anti-woke, anti-humane b.s. is so contrary to my vision of the USA. Of course, we have always been a divided country, and there has always been injustice, and inequality, hate & racism. But the level of ignorance, corruption & lies has multiplied beyond comprehension & swamped over us all. Seems we are a broken nation, collapsing, teetering, devolving into a pure, cruel, senseless, idiotic, chaos. Who to blame? All of us. We have all failed. No doubt. We have royally fucked ourselves over. Of course, I never voted for this shite. Most of the folks I know didn't either. We are the opposition, the resistance, the folks who say: "We are against it." It's, of course, not enough. The atrocities roll out every damn day. And the lies, the outrageous, confounding river of lies just flows, and flows, and flows. It is a certain vision of Hell. No doubt.

Faith...

Folk #1: A dream. Should I tell you?

Folk #2: Sure

Folk #1: You won't get bored?

Folk #2: Well, maybe.

Folk #1: I lost my Faith. It was an App on my iPhone.

Folk #2: Ha.

Folk #1: I accidentally deleted it. It freaked me out.

Folk #2: What did you do?

Folk #1: Frantically searched the App store. No luck.

Folk #2: Yikes.

Folk #1: I felt adrift. Empty. No Faith. Faith-less.

Folk #2: Ah... well, what's Faith anyway?

Folk #1: I looked it up: "Complete trust & confidence in someone or something."

Folk #2: Yeah, well, I can see that, no Faith, no trust, no confidence. 

Folk: #1: Yeah. Right?!

Folk: #2: What did you do?

Folk #1: I got up early made the coffee.

Folk #2: Faith. It's in the cup.

Folk #1: Exactly. Ha!

The Grind...

Folk #1: The fucking grind.

Folk #2: Hmmm...?

Folk #1: I'm not talking coffee. It's the constant lying. It's fucking wearing me out. You know, the injustice. The unlawful bullshit, the daily outrages, and then the lying. They lie about every last fucking thing. 

Folk #2: It's hard to take.

Folk #1: Yep. Soul-killing. Corrosive. Disheartening. Disabling.

Folk #2: Exhausting.

Folk #1: You hate to see the Evil-doers just lording around, lying their asses off.

Folk #2: A good way to kill a beautiful country.

Folk #1: My only hope, reality rears it's head, and the whole thing crashes.

Folk #2: Yikes.

Folk #1: Yes. It's true, cheering on some kind of Apocalypse Now. To live in a cruel & unjust country is just so ugly.

Folk #2: The Horror. The Horror.

Folk #1: Like Dylan, I'm just "praying the pieces don't fall on me..."  Yikes. The goal now? To outlive these motherfuckers.

Folk #2: Living well, our best revenge?! Ha!

The Republicans, Cruel, Sadistic Zombies...

Paul Krugman, as usual, is on point: Attack of the Sadistic Zombies. Who are the Sadistic Zombies? The Republicans, and their dead-wrong, zombie ideas.

Can it possibly be true, that the Republicans are going to pass a budget that takes healthcare from the poor and gives tax breaks to the rich? Really?! In this age of stark income inequality? Yikes. Sadistic Zombies, no doubt. And the cruelty is the point.

Don't worry, read it and weep. Krugman has the facts, the charts and the truth on his side. Best lines of the piece are right here:

"But in that case, why the cruelty toward less-fortunate Americans? Well, as I see it the cruelty, as opposed to the dollars saved, is actually the point. Inflicting harm on the vulnerable isn’t something they do with regret, it’s something they do with a sense of satisfaction."

Governed by cruel, sadistic, zombies & bullies. Welcome to Terror-Dome USA.

A Passing Fancy...

Folk #1: Down in the dumps?

Folk #2: Ah... just zoning out on the impermanence of all things.

Folk #1: That's a bit heady.

Folk #2: Events, big & small, conspired to send me down a rabbit hole.

Folk #1: Life. It's tricky.

Folk #2: Of course, even the zoning out is a temporary condition.

Folk #1: "This too shall pass."

Folk #2:  Living; it's a passing fancy.

Futile, Useless, Stupid...

Some days you really are Sisyphus. You happily roll that rock up a hill, and you watch as it immediately rolls back down. You can judge the day and say, "That was futile." Or maybe "That was useless." Or maybe, "That was stupid." You count the many ways it was futile, useless & stupid. Still, it was a day in your life, and those days are limited and sort of precious. At least you did the work. You put your shoulder to the task. Sure, maybe it was all pointless & pretty damn unfulfilling, but it was your day, your time. So, you own it. You embrace it. As famous smart guy & philosophical smarty pants, Albert Camus wrote: "One must imagine Sisyphus happy." You may also conclude that happiness isn't really what it's cracked up to be. "Fun" also is sort of a dud, a fail, maybe a dead letter? What is one left with? Words of defiance: Fuck it. Onward. Damn the torpedoes.

The Folks Try to Figure it Out...

Folk #1: Why is everything so stupid?

Folk #2: That's an easy one.

Folk #1: Hmmm... do explain...

Folk #2: It's the hate, the racism, the disinformation, the greed. Shuts down the higher functioning of our human brains.

Folk #1: We have higher functioning?

Folk #2: Well, a few in the Human Herd do. They are still around, but they are swamped by the stupidity, the bad blood, the fire-hose of B.S.

Folk #1: It's amazing we can get thru a day.

Folk #2: True Dat...

Folks Talk Politics...

Folk #1: The Qataris are bribing our President with a $400 million jet.

Folk #2: Wut?!

Folk #1: Those Arab Kings are fluffing the U.S. Wanna-Be King.

Folk #2: You're joking?

Folk #1: Nope.

Folk #2: That can't be legal, or constitutional?

Folk #1: Nope.

Folk #2: What's gonna happen?

Folk #1: The Republicans in Congress are going to distract us by cutting taxes for Billionaires and taking food and healthcare away from the Common Folks.

Folk #2: Jesus. That's pretty evil.

Folk #1: Yep.

Folk #2: Is he dead yet?!

Folk #1: Nope. But maybe one Happy Meal from a Coma?

Folk #2: Hope springs Eternal.

Economy of Speech...

Funny. The two Folks in Folksville have started a movement. Their morning mantra, and simple question: "Is he dead yet?!" Has been floated out into the neighborhood, and has now prospered, multiplied & bounced back to them like a boomerang.

The Folks could be riding their bikes down the avenue heading to their next appointment, and a Folk standing on the street corner sees them & shouts with a knowing grin: "Is he dead yet?!"  

Or out on the path, a passing Folk repeats the question and walks on with a smile pasted on their satisfied face. Oh my. It's all happening. 

The quesiton cuts to the bone. It saves brain cells. It bypasses all those tortured conversations about all the shite that is going down.

Maybe the Folks have tapped into a vast Collective Unconscious? The power of positive questioning.  Funny Dat.

The State of Things at the Moment...

Mariachi Music Wafting Over the Grasses & Stones...

"I hear Mariachi music in the cemetery..."

Sounds like a stray line from a forgotten Warren Zevon song. We spent part of Mother's Day 2025 at the cemetery communing with the beloved dead. We weren't alone. It was a celebration. Folks came out in force with lawn chairs, blankets, coolers. Families, primarily Mexican-Americans; the young, the old, the working middle-aged too. 

My partner and I we were there. Paying our respects to loved ones, long passed on. Silently meditating. Sitting under our favorite tree. It was a gorgeous, blue-sky day. All was greenery & light. There was a joyous vibe in the air. Yes. A Mariachi band entertained us all. Horns, guitars, violins, drums. They were decked out in black & gold suits, with hats & boots.

The music was sublime. The male voices singing songs that sounded like history. We didn't know what the songs were about, but the vibe was joy, beauty, & soul. It was surprising. Stunning. A total celebration. The Living & the Dead together. Families. Generations. A long line of human beings in touch with, and honoring, their Ancestors.

It was extraordinary. Beautiful. Set the vibe for the rest of the day. Yes. Magnificent. Real & surreal too. Reminded us of the real America that we love; inclusive, joyous, generous, diverse. So much better than the current soul-less, cruel, mind-numbing, bullshit, Nazi-version.

Folk Convo...

Folk #1: Things are bad.

Folk #2: Horrible.

Folk #1: Gonna get worse.

Folk #2:  Yes. 

Folk #1: It is what it is.

Folk #2: It ain't what it used to be.

Folk #2: If I could forget half of what I remember, I'd be happier.

Folk #1: If I could remember half of all I forgot, I'd be smarter.

Yo-Yo-Ville..

The Folks clock in on Yo-Yo-ville...

Folk #1: You are like a god-damned Yo-Yo.

Folk #2: Yes. Day-glo, Glow in the Dark, a complete Yo-Yo. 

Folk #1: Funny.

Folk #2: Running on a little string, up down & around the world.

Folk #1: Ha.

Folk #2: Yes. It's true. Can't help it. I think I was just drawn that way.

A New Woke Pope. Amen, Brothers & Sisters...

The Folks in Folkville are so happy. A new, woke Pope.

The Folks are quite a distance physically, philosophically, & psychologically from Pope-Land, they no longer "practice" Catholicism, still, that old creed is infused in their bones, (sin, judgement, guilt, love, forgiveness, suffering), and they know the Pope is still a quite influential force in the world.

A new Pope. A Woke Pope. A "Marxist" (retrograde forces accuse anyone caring for the poor as Marxist, quite hilarious). An anti-MAGA Pope. An anti-Trump Pope. An anti-J.D. Vance Pope. The crazy-ass-right-wingers are all in furious tizzy.

A pro-refugee Pope. A pro-compassion Pope, a pro-empathy Pope.  A pro-immigrent & human rights Pope. Amen, brothers & sisters.

Born in Chicago too. That is quite something. Supposedly a Chicago White Sox fan, not a Chicago Cubs fan. That is Good News too. Pope Leo XIV child of the City of Big Shoulders & proudly Woke, baby!

"The new Pope Leo XIV greeted the world today in Italian and Spanish as he thanked Pope Francis and the other cardinals, and called for the church to “be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone…, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love…, especially to those who are suffering.”

A Reason to Believe...

Yes. Back to the Folks in another time and place.

Folk #1: "Is it going to be a happy ending?"

tick... tick... tick...

Folk #2: "Well... hmmm... I... don't... ah... I mean... well... sure... why not?" 

Folk #1: "You think so?"

Folks #2: "Ah... sure... Yes. We have to believe we're gonna make it. Live a good life, be happy."

Folk #1: "We have to outlive those corrupt motherfuckers."

Folk #2: "Yes. That's a good way of putting it. We surely do. Let's go with that..."

It is Really This Simple...

 

Cut thru the B.S. It really is this simple. We all  (every human being), have the right to "due process," under our Constitution.

The Constitution states only one command twice. The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." The Fourteenth Amendment , ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states. 

Clear as a bell. Any arguments against are total B.S.

Folk Rituals...

In a time and a land far away, two folks live in a small village. They have known each other many, many years. They speak mainly with silent looks, and gestures, and sometimes, a few choice words. The words are often a sort of code. Long trains of thought are distilled to their basic essence. Their new daily ritual, upon awaking, is always a halting, meaningful, and somewhat hopeful question: "Is he dead yet?"

No, it's Both Dark & Light...

"The World is a Dark place."

That stray line floated into my consciousness last night as I slept. Funny. This morning, sipping my coffee, typing into this Chromebook, I wonder: "Where did that come from?"

Did it bubble up from my subconscious mind? Or did it float into my head from some external source? Who knows? Maybe chalk it up to the mysteries of a life.

I actually believe that the line is inadequate, too simplistic, & one-dimensional. I believe that the world is both a Dark & a Light place. The world is the Dance of Darkness & Light. We are fixed in the middle, jumping between the shadows and the light-beams.

We must acknowledge & take in the darkness: as Paul Simon sings - "Hello Darkness my old friend..." But I think we must also do our best to lean to, and to thrive, in the Light.

That's the little game.

As if it's the Most Important Thing in the World...

Fields of Futility. That is the bane of my existence. The nagging thought that is always lurking on the periphery of my consciousness, that everything I do is crucified on a grand cross & spectrum of futility. From the totally pointless, fruitless, witless; to the mildy "not important" or impactful.

How to deal with it? Just ignore it, and plow forward. Best answer to that sense of futileness? Fuck it.

For instance, yesterday, after a fabulous lunch at one of favorite restaurants, my co-conspirator and I gathered our instruments, a boudhran and a borrowed Martin guitar, set up our little digital recorder, splayed out on an Oriental rug in a grand hallway of a magnificent mansion, and worked on two new songs.

We applied ourselves to the task at hand as if it was the most important thing in the world. You know we were fully alive, in the center of the Universe, doing the great and essential work. Of course, we did also know that what we were doing wasn't really all the important or earth-shaking. It's just a trick of the mind, don't you know?!

But if felt great. Everything else, all the shite of the world around us, fell away. We got lost in the moments of singing & playing. It was a blast, and quite satisfying. Two songs are fighting to emerge. It's always a cool process. Sort of amazing. Sometimes you wonder where and how these little creative bubbles emerge. They seem to descend upon us from the skies.

It was a great way to spend the late afternoon. Healing, soul-enriching. Damn the torpedoes.

Three Chords and the Approximation of Personal Truth...

Some days you really do feel like Shakespeare's King Lear, you find yourself shouting, raging & spitting into the wind.  Some days, Fate, or the Fates seem like your enemy. You are out-manned, out-gunned, on the "outs" with the finer things in life. 

What to do?!

I turn to my guitar, or maybe, a borrowed guitar, tune it up, and flail away. It's a bit of therapy, and a creative journey. I find that riffs and songs can just pop up in a flash. If you wait for inspiration, you can wait forever. Funny. The shouting, the raging, the spitting can be channeled.

It has often been in my lowest of low moments where a song emerges. I have learned that it is the pain I am experiencing, maybe the pain of the world, that often acts as a spur to my creative self. Yesterday I bashed away on a chord progression, and scratched out some words on paper. I turned the little digital recorder on, and gave it a whirl. Listening back, I think I hear a song demanding to come into being.

It's a process. A mission. A small thing. A way of dealing with the alienation I am feeling. Yes. Feeling totally dislocated from the shite raining down on us here in USA. Three chords (ok, actually, in this particular instance,  a cool riff & 4 chords),  and the approximation of personal truth. That's how it's done. Getting along, going along, without losing my freaking mind, keeping my head in the game. Damn the torpedoes. 

Lady Liberty in a Chokehold...

 

This was definitely the best "sign" at the May 1 rally in our sleepy little town. Actually an amazing masterwork, probably should  be hung up over at the Art Institute of Chicago. Pretty sure that is the artist clinging to the side. Don't know his name. He wheeled that piece down the sidewalk and the crowds parted to welcome him into the circle of protesters.

Lady Liberty under assault, in a chokehold, hanging onto her life by a thread. Yes. "Stop Comarde Traitor Trump" that was the grand theme of the rally. A smaller crowd this time, May Day came on a Thursday, so you know, most of the working folks missed out. We did our usual manual labor earlier in the day, and rode our bikes over to the plaza.

There were chants, songs, speeches. The natives are definintely restless. Everyone seemed to be tracking with the latest outrages leaking out of Washington D.C. We all want it to stop, but, right now, all we can do is shout & clap, and express our extremely-deep displeasure with the way this shite is going down. Fuck.

Against it, Whole-heartedly...

The Trump Agenda?! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Strongly against. In opposition. In resistance. Unhappy. Discontented. Pissed off. Gnarly. Outraged. Recalcitrant. Protesting. Marching. Making signs. Speaking up. Dreaming up a new way & a new day.

We can do so much better, and we must...

Best to Worst...

Saving Brain Cells This Morning...

Economy of thought. I don't want to burn up brain cells this a.m. I turn to Lawyers, Guns & Money: "100 Days of Disaster."  That sums it up just about perfectly.

Living on the Titanic after the iceberg. Or, you know, maybe living thru the Poseidon Adventure? 100 days into the new great fuck-up era, conducted by the always flailing, always lying, and super-corrupting: Toxic Fascist Clown.

Yikes. It can only get worse, and probably will. Hang on tight everyone, this thing ship of state is going down. Fuck.

Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker - Democratic Truth-Teller...

We are lucky to live in Illinois. It's a solid blue state smack dab in the middle of the country. We are also lucky to have J. B. Pritzker as our Governor. He is a great public servant. Sure, he is one of the super-wealhty, but he has dedicated his time to serving the people of Illinois. 

We listened to him speak, giving daily updates, during the Covid pandemic. He was a voice of cool, calm  reason and warm assurance. He is smart, competant, a fabulous speaker, his head and heart are in the right place. An old-school Democrat, but a tough cookie, a fighter willing to take on the Fascists in our midst.

He gave speech in New Hampshire and it was a great one, totally on target. Fiery, brilliant, necessary. Heather Cox Richardson has a good summary here.

A few highlights:

He listed the positions on which he wants Democrats to stand firm, beginning: “It’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law.” This is not about immigration, he said, but about the Constitution. “Standing for the idea that the government doesn’t have the right to kidnap you without due process is arguably the MOST EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN SLOGAN IN HISTORY,” he said. “Today, it’s an immigrant with a tattoo. Tomorrow, it’s a citizen whose Facebook post annoys Trump.”

“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box, and then punish them at the ballot box. They must feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our democracy intact—because we have no alternative but to do just that—that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.”

“Cowardice can be contagious,” Pritzker said, “But so too can courage…. Just as the hope that we hold onto in the darkness, shines with its own...special light.

“Tonight, I’m telling you what I’m willing to do...is fight—for our democracy, for our liberty, for the opportunity for all our people to live lives that are meaningful and free. And I see around me tonight a roomful of people who are ready to do the same.”

“So I have one question for all of you,” Pritzker said. “Are you ready for the fight?”