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:

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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...