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?”

Sunday was a Good Day...

Yes...

Live your life.  As if your Life depended on it. Because, of course, it does.

Sunday (yesterday), was a good day. Long, leisurely morning. Reading, listening to music. Worked on our narration project, playing God don't you know?!

Blue skies & sunshine. A long bike ride. A "sit-down" at our sun-spot. A lazy, pointless, but agreeable conversation. Then a trip to one of our favorite Asian restaurants. Fabulous & delicious meal.

Then back home and watched John Huston's first movie "The Maltese Falcon." (1941). Gorgeous b&w film. Every scene vivid & essential. Bogart as Sam Spade. 

Bogart is the the Devil himself in that black suit, vest, glittering watch-chain, shiny black buttons like burning coal. A hard-boiled character, edgy, brittle, hilarious. He's looking at the cold, hard reality of humanity. It's a wild carnival of needing, wanting, grasping.

 So many great characters and lines. Not one wasted scene. 

Then off to bed, reading Caleb Carr's "The Legend of Broken,"  (2013). I am about 200 pages in and it's clicking. A wild-ass fantasy, based on "reality." A lost civilization. The perfect novel for our times. So many resonances with the madness in USA today. It is feeding into my newly-honed misanthropy.

Anyway, a good day indeed. Feeding the head, the body, the soul.

Cold, Clear-Eyed...

Yes. My cold, clear-eyed evaluation of my species?

Not that smart. Needy. Greedy. Self-absorbed. Not up to the task. 

Of course, I'm included in this evaluation.  This critique is also a self-critique.

I suppose we all should be graded on a curve? Some of us get an "incomplete," and "needs to try harder."

We've certainly made a mess of things in pursuit of the stupidest things imaginable. 

Best way forward? With humility, grace, and a lightness of touch. It's Life and Life only. Try to do the best one can, knowing that it will be well short of the mark. 

Oh well. Damn the torpedoes.

Unbearable & Absurd...

Yes. Thinking about Milan Kundera's great & famous book and title: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being."

Sure. There is a lightness and unreality about our very real existence. It's an odd thing, no doubt. And sort of unbearable if you really think about it.

 And then there is "absurdism,"  - the philosophical idea that "the universe is irrational and meaningless." Yikes. That concept holds the blunt edge of truth, like a shining sword over our heads, no doubt. 

Absurdity is often our experience of being Human.

Hang around for awhile on the planet, and may find yourself thinking that "Life is what you make of it." It is up to us to find a purpose and meaning. And we are such limited vehicles, bound by our senses five, with a brain that that we think is amazing, but of course, is quite limited. 

From that odd organ, consciousness arises or descends upon us. A strange, gnarly, wonderous, and confounding gift. A blessing & a curse. We are stuck with being conscious of our limited, fallible nature. Stuck in a life bounded by death, loss, suffering. And we wonder "why?"

It's kind of a lonely train of thought, being stuck in a being, that is maybe not quite up to the task of understanding pretty much anything, and, you know, struggling with the task of facing up to the reality of things. 

Some folks turn to religion or cults, or mad obsessions, whatever, and then, try to find meaning & purpose in those mad-mind excursions. 

Humans invent Gods, and powerful commanding forces beyond our human realm. Which is all well and good, there are powerful forces in the Universe beyond the Human realm. Just take a quick look at Physics, for instance, but, you know, day to day, we are just left to our own devices. The unbearable lightness & absurdity of being Human.

Ha. You know, the joke really is on us. It's super-funny, and not funny at all. 

Antidote to the Madness...

All this social/cultural/political dissonance in the air. "It's all shitty vibes, man." 

That's 2025 so far. And the forecast is decidedly "even shittier." 

We certainly have the perfect President and adminstration for this era. We have chosen wisely. Chaos Agents. Corruption, dislocation, ignorance, blind, inhumane, cruel, Nazi, Fascist. All alive in the realm at the moment. My mood-ring predicts bad trips for everyone. Fuck.

Lately, I turn away from the things of this world. I have been listening to instrumental music. Sinking into a land of vibration. A turning away from words too, trying to evade thought, and sinking into pure sound. It is helpful. A healing ritual. I put my headphones on and immerse myself in a universe of alternate vibes.

Listening to great music from Kamasi Washington, Mono, Mogwai, & The Color of Cyan. There is everything to be found in these artists and their music. Otherwordly, and at the same time firmly reflecting our world too. There's thunder & lightening. Silence & whispers. Beauty and mayhem. Harmony, melody, furious rhythm. 

Captivating. Enthralling. Everything. Highly Recommended. The antidote to the madness. No doubt.

Playing God...

Funny. Yesterday afternoon my co-conspirator and I played "God." A multi-part God, both male & female. We read lines of a script into a handheld recorder, and an iPhone. We were cast as God/Goddess by a woman putting on a dance performance in May.

Our narration will be broadcast in a theater while a troupe of dancers run thru the choreography. It was a nice little diversion for a couple hours, our voices bouncing off each other. Everything else kind of fell away. That's a good sign when you sink into a creative project. 

Not exactly type-casting. There were some nice lines, a bit of Rumi-style poetry, and some beautiful lines of description of our crazy-making Universe. We did our best. First time thru it was sort of a straight, cold reading of lines. 

Then we tried to amp up the "acting" a bit. We got a bit hammy.  We were drawing on all those years of putting on a show. So, it all got a bit funnier. And fun. We laughed at the results. Mis-cast? Maybe. Hopefully a little post-production work will make it all more palatable. Thinking a bit of deepening, a little reverb and echo will help.  

Then we will send the recording off to the Director. Wonder how that will go over? God only knows.

I Turned to Heavy Medicine...

How to change up the chemistry?  

I was feeling a bit down, lost & lethargic. 

The outrageous shit-show emanating from D.C. is unrelenting. The constant stream of lies is totally depleting. 

Plus, my days have been filled with to-ing & fro-ing. Lots of schlepping.

What's a Humble Pilgrim to do?

I turned to a chocolate bar. Yes. One very large, delicious Milk Chocolate, Hazelnut, confection. I ate the whole damn thing. It was totally satisfying & great.  I mean, I felt a bit guilty, but, you know, it was so good.

I am usually quite disciplined. Eating healthy. But like Oscar Wilde, "I can resist everything, except temptation..."

I also kicked back, put on my Grado headphones & listened to Wilco's two CD live set: "Kicking Television: Live in Chicago."  2005

What an exhilarating & inspiring ride. You want to "understand" this band? Listen to this fabulous live set. Wilco at it's finest. Playing a wide range of material. Thrilling.

Anyway. Heavy medicine. You may scoff & ask: Chocolate & Music? Really? That works?

I must answer, yes, indeed, it works. Feeling renewed & refreshed this morning. Now, I wonder to myself, what new fuckery is in store today? Feeling re-charged, fortified, ready to face the day.

Standing Up to A Sputtering, Flailing, Stomping Bully...

I am always on the lookout and hunt for smart people, and good writing. 

Some how, some way I came across "Empty City - A Law & Polity Blog" - Commentary on law and policy from D A Green on Substack.  Empty City often goes into the weeds on issues, but it does in such a fluid, clear-headed and easy to read manner, you just feel smarter as you go. 

This latest post on how the Trump Adminstration's "Shock & Awe" in especially litigation & economics, has turned out to be "Shockingly Aweful," is brilliant.

I love the idea, that there is no great strategy when it comes to Trump & Co. No, it is all bullying & intimidating. Demonising and Monstering. 

Once you realize that, Trump & Co. are diminished. They really are flailing, stomping around, trying to scare people. But like all bullies, they are puffed up with bullshit, bluffing, over-amped language, hollow arguments, straw-man enemies.  Push past the hate and idiocy and there is nothing left. Hollow, empty, bodies filled with bile, unhappiness and crud.

They can be defeated with some smarts, with some strategy, with some intelligent, diligent pushback. 

That's where we are at the moment. Pushing back on the idiotic Demonisng and Monstering. Sure, it takes a bit of courage to stand up to bullies. But, really, it is essential for all of us to do so. We need be brave, and willing to call out and defeat this B.S.

The Pope Has Passed Away.

Oh. My. I wrote about him in the previous post...

The Pope has passed away. Rumors that VP J.D. Vance killed him are most likely false.  But, you know, close promitiy and maximum toxicity emanating from that creep means anything is possible.

Probably the best Pope in my lifetime. Maybe the best ever? Who knows?! Let the Vatican intrigue unfold. I think it's weird and snaky process, electing a new Pope. Often times the Catholic church has resembled a corrupt Mafia-like organization with murder, Pedophile Priests, and abuse of children, and coverups. A long, crooked, ugly history. Also the Vatican was notoriously friendly to Fascists and other malcontents. So, we were lucky to have a Pope who modeled himself on Saint Francis of Assisi. As Saints go Saint Francis A was a good egg. He took a vow of poverty. Froliced with the tiny creatures of the land; he was an Italian poet, mystic, preacher & beggar. Ha. That's the kind of guy you want to "Saint," even if the whole "Saint" thing is sort of ridiculous. So, anyway, just another turn of the worm. What's gonna happen now in the land of the Popes? Who knows, although the grand theme lately seems to be maximum chaos. Yikes.

Thoughts on Easter 2025...

I have my own special relationship with Catholicism. I was raised by Nuns. It was weird. I never quite bought into the whole thing. I no longer practice this religion, but, no doubt, much of the creed is embedded in my being.

Jesus seemed like a nice enough dude. He got a raw deal. I like how he preached Love & Forgiveness. He hung out with poor people, working folks, immigrants, whores, the sick and the lame.

I think of Jesus as a Jewish Rebel. An outsider, an underdog, a shit-stitter. He may have had a bit of a Messiah Complex and that led to his undoing.

When I see anyone "down and out," on the street, I think: "There but for the Grace of God, go I."  That's a good code for living. 

What's my idea of God? I have no idea. I think of a nebulous cloud or vibration of Good. Is there a Heaven or Hell? Yes. Probably right here, right now.

Anyway, it's Easter 2025. What does it mean? Not a lot. Just another day. One of those Holy Days that really have no resonance for me.  

We did hear that the Pope shunned Vice President J.D. Vance, one of the more contemptible people in the Trump administration, and that made us smile.  This current Pope is a good egg. No doubt. Maybe the best Pope we have ever had?

Snatching people, disappearing them off the street and shipping them to prisons in a foreign land, to rot in jail forever? I don't think the Pope is down with that shite.

This Pope has always focused on caring for the poor & the downtrodden. Amen brother. Anyway, we are always on the hunt for the "good news,"  you know, good news like this...

Ha, ha, ha... Happy Easter...

Difficult Times...

Ha...

Where are we at? "A political and social crisis" in the USA. Yikes. We walk the streets and all seems solid and real, but then, society seems to be teetering on the brink of catastrophe. It's what is in people's heads that is decisive. Crisis time.

Some of us saw it coming. We were deeply concerned. And then it happened. The Fascists of America, the Authoritarians, won the election. It was hard to believe, difficult to get our heads around.

How could America go so badly wrong? 

Still living with that question. And oddly it is all so much worse than we realized it would be. We knew it would be bad, but it is bad beyond our wildest imaginings.

Seems these creeps and cretins want to destroy everything. Chaos Agents intent on dark, devious, deadly and stupid things. 

So, yeah, walking the streets. Trying to keep in touch with the real. And all the bad shite seems like a dark cloud over everything. Difficult times, no doubt.

Free Kilmar Abrego Garcia Now!

The formula is simple: Due Process for one. Due Process for All. Basic Human Rights. The Trump adminstration disappeared Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a husband, a father of three, from the streets of Maryland and shipped him off to a prison in El Salvador. No hearing. No evidence presented. No Due Process.

If this stands, everyone in America is at risk of being swept up and shipped off to the new Gulag at the whim of really, really bad people.

A terrible crime has been committed by this adminstration. And when they were called out, how have they responded? Trump, Vance, Bondi, Rubio, Homan, Noemi, Miller, Leavitt? With lies. Obvious, ridiculous, audacious, easily-disproved lies. They just continue to lie about the man, the case, the courts, the Judges, and the law. Then they go on TV, Fox News, of course, Disinfo Central, and pound the table, and lie bolder and harder.

So far, the Courts have held the line. Amen! 

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0, in favor of returning this man back to the USA for a fair hearing. The presiding Judge in the case, and the District Court Judges have all weighed in and demanded that Kilmar be returned.

Let's hear from a Judge appointed by Ronald Reagan back in the misty past: 

Conservative Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote the order. Notably, it began with a compliment to Judge Xinis. “[W]e shall not micromanage the efforts of a fine district judge attempting to implement the Supreme Court’s recent decision,” he wrote.

Then Wilkinson turned his focus on the Trump administration. “It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter,” he wrote. “But in this case, it is not hard at all. The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.”

“The government asserts that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist and a member of MS-13. Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, he is still entitled to due process.” The court noted that if the government is so sure of its position, then it should be confident in presenting its facts to a court of law.

Echoing the liberal justices on the Supreme Court, Wilkinson wrote: “If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?” He noted the reports that the administration is talking about doing just that.

“And what assurance shall there be that the Executive will not train its broad discretionary powers upon its political enemies? The threat, even if not the actuality, would always be present,” he wrote, “and the Executive’s obligation to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’ would lose its meaning.”

What happens next?! Kilmar must be returned!

The Surface of Things...

"Skating away, on the thin ice of a new day." - Ian Anderson

What if it's really all about the surface of the things of the world? You know, just spit-balling here.

We talk about "the depths" of experience. Delving deep into a subject, or experience. Running down rabbits down rabbit holes. Plumbing & exploring the depths of a thought, a mind, a personality.

Maybe there is something to be said for skating, surfing, gliding, hovering over and around the things of the world? To reverse Cassius Clay Jr.'s words of poetry. "To sting like a butterfly and float like a bee."

To dance with the things of the world. Watch that tree swaying in the breeze, the leaves rattling & shaking. Fluid, giving. At play with the wind & the sunbeams.

If you live the life of perceptions thru your senses five you will  be flooded with all the sights, sounds, feelings, and intuitions that you can handle. 

Living a life of pure experience. Not shallow, but expansive. Exploring the surface fully. Sure you can embrace, hold onto things, but not for long. Open. Alive. Aware. Awake. Living lightly on the surface. 

Hmmm. I don't know. Maybe?

Remember? The Nazis Were the Bad Guys?

Yes. Well. Watched "Casablanca," (released January 1943), last evening. I wanted to watch it to remind my partner & I that the Nazis were the bad guys, and people all across the world stood up to them. 

Sure. It's an old classic film. So great. Truly iconic. Does it live up to it's reputation? Yes. It does. It's wild to realize that it was released while World War II was raging, people were dying, and, well, folks didn't really know how it would all turn out.

Would the Nazis conquer all of Europe? Great Britain? Russia? Would the Nazis one day march into New York City?

Funny. Nowadays, it seems folks here in America have forgotten that the Nazis were the bad guys. And the current President and his cabinet of deplorables are very Nazi-like. They are enthusiastic purveyors of Hitler's "The Big Lie."   Happy to kidnap and send folks off to concentration camps. And they didn't have to conquer America, the Republican party actually embraced these wanna be Nazis.  WTF? Yikes.

So, yeah, it was an enjoyable evening; gorgeous b&w filming, no CGI, Bogart & Bergman, Henreid, Greenstreet & Lorre, Claude Rains, Dooley Wilson. All the great characters. Indelible.

At the end of the film, so satisfying, what are we left with? People, just people, common folks, standing up for what's right, in opposition, resisting the lies & the hate, doing the right thing in face of difficult times. Rising up, choosing to be selfless for a bigger truth & cause. People can change the world for the better.  Truly. Yes. A good reminder for our present dire circumstances here in good, old USA.

The Lying, the Laughter, the Lawlessness = Profoundly Evil

I don't use these words often, or lightly, but this is Profoundly Evil.

From Heather Cox Richardson this a.m.

Crimes against Humanity. To kidnap an innocent man, to ship him off to a foreign Gulag without due process, is a disgrace and a crime. There is a Court in the Hague that hears these kinds of cases. Of course, this current President should be immediately impeached, and then hauled into court himself to face up to his lawless, Unconstitutional actions. Others in that room too should stand before a judge and be held account for their actions.

Will this happen any time soon? Probably not. The Republicans in the Senate and House are sitting on their hands, letting this, and many other atrocities roll out. So un-American. So inhumane. So wrong.

We expect, and deserve, so much better from our country and our "leaders." All of us. If this kind of atrocity can happen to one innocent Human Being, we are all under dire threat too. Today the Judge gets to weigh in on the case once again. There is a Democracy & a Constitution hanging in the balance on her next moves.