Cheat Code for Better Living...

Folk #1: Yes. So these fools are even destroying our military (see previous post). Appoint drunks, criminals, bad reality TV hosts to important jobs, and well, you will reap what you sow. 

This all got me thinking about  "logistics."  You can think of your own life as a campaign, an operation, a long-running adventure. You need stuff. Best to seek out & purchase top-quality, well-made things. You must pay attention to the details. That is what separates the idiots & dolts from the smart cookies.

All the little details can make your life a heaven or hell. It really comes down to logistics. Simple things can be everything: a bar of soap, well-made boots, a flashlight, a hot shower, loose-fitting pants, a sharp knife, toothbrush/toothpaste, shampoo & conditioner (is it a good hair day?), leather belt, woolen socks, underwear, toilet paper, coffeemaker, coffee-bean grinder, a razor, a good book (learn from others what it means to be human), shaving cream, an excellent pair of headphones, leather jacket, a pair of Levis, t-shirts, a barn jacket, a comb or hairbrush, nutritious food, a jar of peanut butter, coffee mug, Samsung Smart TV (entertaining ourselves is important too), sunglasses, sunscreen, electrolytes, a toaster, Ezekial Bread, some kind of music box: home stereo, turntable, Sony Walkman (always be spinning vinyl & CDs), a bicycle, comfy bed (not too hard, not too soft), fluffy pillow, sleep mask, a reading light, reading glasses (no longer 20/20 vision), iPhone, Chromebook, a vintage guitar, assortment of guitar picks, phosphor bronze guitar strings, capo, guitar tuner, tool box filled with tools, bicycle pump, gaffer's tape, bug repellant, band-aids, Arnica gel, Bio-freeze gel, various braces (knee, ankle, wrist), baby aspirin, iron skillet, wooden spoon.

I mean, hell, this list can go on & on. The more you pay attention, the more you see. A life of things, makes a good thing of one's life...

Cowards. Afraid of Reality...

Folk #1: The signs of America's Decadence & Decline are not subtle. Dementia-Laden, Bulbously-Criminal, Greedily-Corrupt, totally-incompetant President? Yes. That's a fucking hot clue right there. Over-stuffed, prodigiously-fortified, outrageously-expensive Military Machine, unable to provide decent food, toothpaste, tooth-brushes, toilet paper, hot-showers to long-deployed service members on a ship in the Persian Gulf?  Logistics are too woke for these idiots. Ha. Ridiculous. Astonishingly, gob-smackingly mind-numbingly goofy. Hollow, hair-gelled, in-over-their-heads, leaders willing to bald-faced-lie in the cold light of Truth?  Cowards. Whiners. Babies. Afraid of Reality. Every last one of them are the creepiest of creeps & cretins. Hmmm, yes. Pretty much on the nose: Decadence & Decline.  Did everyone get fucking amnesia? What the fuck happened to this country? This is our lovely USA today, riddled with the worst people possible.

Daffy Nutzo-Land...

Folk #1: I have been working under the idea that we all have entered a totally unhinged era. Collectively we have all gone through the looking glass. We are now in Totally Daffy Nutzo-Land. What drove us all insane? Maybe it was the Covid? Maybe it's the phones & social media? Maybe it's the giving up on the Future? Maybe it's the effects of Climate Catastrophe?  Maybe it's that the day to day weather is too hot, too extreme? Maybe too many of us are now on the Planet, and we can all see & hear just how inadequate, flawed, and arbitrary, we all really are? We all seem so afraid, and full of rage & dread? The $ have gone to our heads? We are all looking to cash out, and we are all just crashing out? We have lost the thread of the plot? What to believe? Seems so many of us are just casting about, reaching for straws, totally kooky, crazy, stupid; constantly fabulating crazy-ass alternate worlds? How is it possible that the USA could hand the job of President to a liar, a fool, a criminal, a racist, a sexual predator, a pedophile protector, a brain-mushed idiot? How could a political party stand by and support that man? Total fucking bonkers. Am I painting with too broad a brush? Notice every sentence I write ends with a ? Sure, I mean, I bet there are a few folks just like me, watching the unfolding spectacle, and thinking "This is not the way!" Seems we are the outliers. Out of step with the times. I don't have any secret knowledge, but I am constitutionally not built to follow the herd. I am sure that I am crazy in my own particular way, but, I lean on humility, I gravitate to clarity, I sit back, take a breath, and am totally astounded & gobsmacked, by the actions, thoughts, dreams & aspirations of my fellow human beings. WTF?!

Career-Defining Incident...

 

Folk #1: Yes. This decoy plane story, you know the President hiding in a catering cart, is just so pitch-perfect. Let's say it's "carreer-defining" for this overblown coward, creep, liar, blow-hard, fake-strong-man, & decidedly not so great person. Sometimes it's just one incident, one scene, one snapshot, that captures the whole strange saga. The one indelible thing that sums up a man. THIS IS IT! And it is so freaking hilarious...

History via "Dog-Brained Aristocrats..."

  

Folk #1: You realize, pretty much every day, that reality is a hard teacher. It's complicated, contradictory, weird, strange, baffling, disconcerting, disappointing, darkly-funny. Often you try to match up the pictures in your head with the world around you, and they just don't fucking match up. Then, there are days, when the pictures in your head sync up perfectly. You are then rewarded with the thought: "I'm not totally fucking crazy." Still you have be careful of falling for "confirmation bias," you don't want just stoke your own prejudices, beliefs, values, decisions. You have to be open to facts, evidence, and the wisdom & insights of other voices. You must be willing to change your mind, change your ways. You must adjust, evolve, morph, adapt. You must learn from your mistakes, and dear Lord, you will make mistakes. A change of consciousness can happen in an instant. Change your Mind, change your Life. Humility, Clarity, Clear-thinking, Clear-seeing, these tools, are doorways, passageways, they can be so enlightening & liberating...

Real & Fake, Oh Yeah, Hilarous too...

 This headline is REAL...

This photo is FAKE, but also, TRULY, FREAKING, HILARIOUS...

Eternal Sleuthing...

Folk #1: A Universe of signs & wonders. Trying my best to crack the code. Thinking there is some formula, some equation, some simple sentence, where it all adds up. Maybe a fool's quest? And still, I find myself always on the search, dedicated to an ever morphing & evolving, eternal sleuthing. It's a very funny, strange, odd, way to occupy one's time. Filling one's head with details, facts, scenes, secrets, potions, rituals, & incantations, reading the cards, casting the spells, wondering, always wondering & imagining...

From Hate to Love in One Day...

Folk #1: You can't tell from yesterday's post, but I woke up with the thought: "I hate everything." Let's just say it was an accumulation of factors. Sort of overwhelmed my normally sunny nature. And then, I flashed on the realization that this is a mode that is actually quite familiar to me. 

I do think much of my late childhood, early teen years, and well into my 20's & 30's that "hatred of things," sat easily on my shoulders, and was useful to me. It was just a general hate. Not happy with my lot in life. Edgy, gnarly, quick to be a smart-ass. It gave me purpose. Not the best place to meet the day, but it was there. I used it in my day to day, and I used it in my creative pursuits: writing short stories, poems, plays, and learning & playing guitar. I liked the dark & edgy shit. Yes. As Johnny Rotten once wrote: "Anger is an Energy." You can use hate & anger in useful, non-destructive ways. But of course, it's a double-edged sword too.

Funny. I, by & large, left that behind after lots of work on myself. I became a long-distance runner, I gave up drinking alcohol, I changed my diet, became a vegetarian, I learned meditation, and did "psychic-spiritual work." I had a lots of great relationships with interesting & creative people. I had a few major revelations including a deep insight & understanding of the interconnected nature of all living things. Ha. I lived for inspiration & transformation.

Anyway, yesterday that "hate everything mode," was a way of touching bottom. A starting over. It actually wasn't a bad way to start the day. You can't get any lower than that, the only way forward is "up." Simple things like a good cup of coffee, Neil Young singing & playing on the stereo, a good meal, communing with my best friend, a long, lazy afternoon sitting by a shimmering, gorgeous pool, playing a borrowed Martin guitar, singing all the random cover songs I know. Laughing about all the stupid shit that currently intrudes on our lives.

No sting in the hate. It just sort of evaporated in the air. I found all the things, small & large, that I love. The journey of a day. One day in the life. It was renewing, refreshing, relaxing. We conjured up some new dreams, and a few kooky ideas. Engaged. Diverted. Entertained.

Taking the Initiative...

Folk #1: It's sounds heady, maybe self-absorbed, & a bit improbable, but I find that most of my life has been about "forging my own path." Left to my own devices. I am suspicious of my own idea of "making things happen," but it is true, waiting around for someone else to take me by the hand, lead me to the riverside, just never worked out. Looking back, all the key steps forward came pretty much from my own intiative. This initiative most often came out of an existential crisis, an act of bleak desperation, stultifying boredom, & even, sometimes, great inspiration, excitement & enthusiasm. All of this has been bounded by pretty hard limits. A small foot-print, a circumscribed reach. Maybe most of these limits have been self-imposed? I just don't know. Limit of imagination, limit of intelligence, limit of "talent," limit of organization, limit of finances, limit of understanding the ways of the world.  I have had no great plan. Improvising moment to moment. "If I don't do it, it won't get done." I think this is true of the great & small events in my life. Still, I wonder if really, it's all been a misunderstanding on my own part? Is having "agency" an illusion? And how have I limited myself? How many doors were open, and I just didn't walk through? What were the decisive decisions that sent me down this long, winding, crooked path? Not knowing what I am doing, and still doing it anyway has been rewarding: writing, acting, directing, playing guitar, song-writing, performing with two bands, living creatively and with total commitment, but it has  also been damning: bad decisions, wrong turns, dead-ends, crushing failures. And, still, just fucking carrying on. You know, fuck it, & damn the torpedoes. Maybe not the best code for living a full life. But, it has been my method by choice, or maybe by default?

The Pen MIghtier than the Sword...

 

Folk #1: I have always been a fan of good political cartoons. Cut to the chase. Get to the nub of the situation. Depict simple truths with very few words. What's happening right now?! This is from Bill Bramhall.  Exquisite.

Yes. This low-state is real...

Folk #1: Some days the pricks & kicks, the slings & arrows, come fast & furious. One must be nimble & quick. If one avoids the fatal blow, there is time for reflection, recalibration, & renewal. You assess the damage, attend to the wounds, try to piece together a coherent narrative of what went wrong, and why you have been laid low. You vow to live in the real, so there is no way around it. This low-state is as real as stone, but not a final judgement. All of this can be fuel for your next adventure, your next steps forward. You gather up your energy & wits & venture out once again. No one knows what's next. The not knowing is probably helpful & necessary.

The Very Stupid People are Doing Very Stupid Things...

Folk #1: I don't mind trying to sum up life as it displays itself to me in the moment. I realize any take is partial, probably a bit arbitrary, & certainly kind of reductive. Will my particular take stand up over time? Who knows?! Maybe sometimes there is a certain intelligence baked into the simple?

Fuck. What is going on around here with my fellow Human Beings? 

The Very Stupid People are doing Very Stupid Things. 

Turns out even the People you thought were not Stupid, are in actuality, Quite, Very Stupid. AND, these Very Stupid People are immensely happy, I mean, like fucking over-joyed to Show & Tell the World just how Very Stupid they truly are! They fucking advertise it, and expect you to adore them for being so Very Stupid, and to emulate & follow them down the Rabbit Hole of Being Stupid too!

What is the best response to this Grand Stupidity? Just don't be fucking Stupid...

Losing the War Against Reality...

Folk #1: Ha. Ha. Ha. The Mad-Would-Be-King is at War with Reality. It really is hilarious. I mean, it's hilarious, except there are some real, dire consequences for the rest us. So, you know, it's a special kind of hilarious that also hurts & cuts deep. Funny stuff that is deadly too. Potent. People will die. People will be harassed & arrested, people will be bombarded with lies & idiocy. People will rise up and cry "Uncle!"

So, yeah, a war on reality, near & far.

"Over there," the War in Iran, is not going well for the USA. Not surprising in the least. The stupidest, least capable folks imaginable led us into a certain losing proposition. What does the Would-Be-Mad-King do when he loses a War? Lie. Rant. Pound the table. Demand that everyone see that he actually won. Shite. That is maddening for everyone involved. Not a little thing. Dead people. Lots of them. For no good reason. All those dead soldiers and civilians can't be lied away.

"Over here," the reflecting pool fiasco just keeps spinning out. Our Would-Be-Mad-King is sure there are "reflecting pool vandals" that must be punished. It's all a fucking mirage. The contactor fucked up. It was botch job from the first. A no-bid contract given to another fraud. What is fraud x fraud? More fraud. What happens when the world responds: "There were no reflecting pool vandals, you idiot?" The Would-Be Mad-King lies, rants, pounds the table once again. He demands we all see & hear what he wants us to see & hear. Fuck that. No deal. The raving loser doesn't get a win. The Would-Be-Mad-King can never own up to his own fuckups or failures. Fuckup & Failure? The ocean he swims in.

This War with Reality? For sure, I'm betting on Reality. 

Powering Through...

Folk #1: Powering through on discipline, common sense, gumption, perseversance and an ornery, gnarly commitment to the real...

Imaginary Figures in a Diseased Mind...

Folk #1: This morning there are many, too many to count, fucked up stories competing for our attention. Which one to write about? Maybe not the most important one, but probably one of the funniest ones.  

Charges against Olympian Canoist David Hearn, the "reflecting pool vandal," have been dropped. Who could have predicted this outcome?  Hmmm, well, any sane, rational human being! 

Turns out our President has shadowy, ghostly figures dancing around in his head. He conjures up all kinds of imaginary enemies: Antifa, Communists, Sandwich Guy, Reflecting Pool Vandals; you know,  all those folks eating the cats & the dogs."  

It is funny; all the ways a diseased mind can devolve.

Bozo > Asshole...

Folk #1: Does anyone else remember the Firesign Theatre: an American surreal comedy troupe? Super-funny and mind-expanding. I would listen to them do their thing on the local FM radio station that would frequently spin their records late at night. The station had no corporate-directed format, except DJ's playing cool records all the time. One of my favorite records, and titles was/is: "I Think We are All Bozos on this Bus." Although, that actually seems quaint now. A simpler era. I would amend & update it to "I Think We are All Assholes on this Bus." In the USA, and around the world, there has been a distinct turn to ass-hole-ish-ness in all it's many splendored-forms. This trend is ascendent both near & far. It sort of pisses me off. Which I guess feeds my own private ass-hole-ish-ness too. Super-gnarly, recalcitrant, edgy. It's a conundrum. This is the era where we are fed a daily diet of high-grade Bullshit. Reminds me of that famous Mad Magazine line: "Eat Shit, 50 Million Flies Can't Be Wrong." Our current President and his administration of cowards blatantly lie to the American people, and to the world, every fucking day. It's getting so you are suspicious of everything & everyone. Trust what you are hearing from these goons?! Hell no.  Maybe that's how they want it? Gives them license to rob us all blind, while they unleash a fire-hose of shite upon us. This time, this place: USA = Bozo > Asshole. Definitely not progress...

The Daughter has the Father's Number...

  

Folk #1: That creepy, nerdy, racist, fascist-adjacent, ketamine-infused, White South-African, Apartheid-loving, stooge, Billionaire, or is he still a Trillionaire (?), (so much of his wealth is inflated by the over-valuation of Tesla and SpaceX), is now the face of the over-amped, super-corrupt, Epstein-Class, Tech-Bro Oligarchy.  Musk has 14 children from 4 different women. Family values don't you know?!

Anyway, his first child is "Vivian Jenna Wilson (born April 17, 2004) an American-Canadian social media personality and model.[2] She is the eldest daughter of Elon Musk and his first wife, Justine Musk (née Wilson). In 2020, Wilson came out as a transgender woman, began treatment for gender dysphoria, and became estranged from Elon Musk, changing her legal name two years later."

Vivian seems to have her father's number for sure. I think she, like many of us, have embraced the "woke mind virus," you know, it's a good thing, seeing clearly, sticking to truth, facts, reality, leaning to the light, being progressive and supportive of human beings in their many-splendored glory. One can only hope that Musk inspires a renewed movement to address income inequality. 

As AOC reminds us: "Every Billionaire is a policy failure..."

Addictions Good & Bad...

Folk #1: There was no internet service over here at the big house yesterday, so I wasn't able to write a post. I usually don't want to miss writing in this particular space. I mean, I am usually a bit obessive about writing in the morning. I have an addictive personality. I find the trick is to channel my addictions to either healthy or harmless pursuits. So, yeah, deeply addicted to drinking a pot of coffee in the morning (it seems to work for me), addicted to music, (my love & passion), addicted to reading, (essential to being human), right now, addicted to avocados (they taste amazing and supposedly good for you). The Next Big Thing. Oh yeah, I am also addicted to always finding The Next Big Thing. It's embedded in my being. I am also addicted to writing & blogging (I can't imagine not writing). But yesterday I just had to let it go. I ended up sitting in a comfy chair, looking out the big bay window, watching the sun rise over the lake, sipping coffee, just staring off into the great distance. If I had anything to say, anything to write, or to think, I just let it all drift away. I couldn't surf the internet for the latest on the relentless shit-show, which actually was nice; a brief reprieve. Too much shit-show makes the baby go blind. Anyway, the internet  is back on this morning. So I type. It feels good. You know, you have to be the monkey, & to feed the monkey. So happy I never smoked cigarettes, I gave up drinking alcohol a long time ago, and gambling, which I used to love to do with a great passion, betting on the ponies, is now just a distant, strangely-unreal memory. I can't imagine how gamblers today are going to survive, they can now bet on pretty much anything via their little smart-phones, which is conveniently directly connected to their bank accounts. Holy Mother of God! Bankruptcy looms for a generation of lost, frantic gamblers just trying to get even. That is a fucking losing proposition. No doubt. Not good for the health or wealth of the monkey...

Environmental Dystopia...

Folk #1: The world is on fire. Figuratively, literally. Sure Climate Catastrophe. Helped along by the Climate Change Deniers. The same folks who go out their way to deny Truth & Reality.

We had a taste of environmental dystopia yesterday. A small, short micro-burst blew threw town destroying trees, knocking out power. Expect more of this kind of violent weather. It is the new normal. Over here at the compound, the mansion on the lake, everything failed. That's how it goes sometimes. You ask yourself: "What can wrong?!" The answer: "Everything!"

The power out, the backup generator refused to fire up. The sump-pumps dead. Water flooding the basement. I spent lots of time in the dark playing an acoustic guitar. Yes, I played music while the storm raged and the water rose. Then, lighting candles, walking around with a little, surprisingly, powerful flashlight. I have got to buy one of my own trusty little flashlights. One tiny needlepoint flashlight can light up a whole room. It's gratifying to find something that actually worked. Who knew?!

My smartphone ran down quickly. No internet.  Cut-off. Suddenly alone, stranded, transported back to the 1980's, before personal computers, smartphones, crazy-ass social media. It's wild how we all take so much for granted. I sort of felt like I was the designated caretaker on the Titanic. I was on-duty. Guarding the citadel. The ship was surely going down. All I could do was watch it slowly sink. WTF?!

Late last night, a repairman, lurking in the dark, jump-started the generator, it was small, easily fixed fuckup, and then, magically, all the power in the place came back on. Funny. It's like it never happened. At least, if you don't go down in the basement, or go out in the streets. Trees & branches strewn around some crazy-ass party that got totally out of control.

The last message from my partner late last night: "Don't do anything Stupid." Ha. Tell that to everyone on this fucking teetering, careening, quickly, definitively, frying, planet...

Many Minds...

Folk #1: Wandering? Yes. Good. Rambling thru the streets & paths of our little town, on a Summer day, delightful. Chatting up folks. Promoting our upcoming r&r show. The sun glinting, white puffy clouds passing, humanity in all it's many splendored glory out & about, just living.

A Wandering Mind? Not so good. Distinctly different from aimless & enjoyable Day-Dreaming. For some reason, when my mind wanders, it goes to the dark places, the moody valleys, lands on the fuckups, the missed opportunities, the slammed doors, the broken dreams.

Better to focus on one thing after another. Occupied Mind. Focused Mind. Engaged Mind. Busy Mind. Directed & Disciplined Mind. Yes.

Chip on My Shoulder...

Folk #1: I can't explain it. I believe I was born with a "chip on my shoulder."  Not sure how, why, or when that happened. A quirk of birth? Do you believe in Past Lives? I am deeply unsure. Although, I kind of like the idea. It is appealing to think we are engaged in a long series of repeating lives, working through our shit, having to come back over and over, because some shit just takes multiple lifetimes to fix. So, anyway, I have spent much my Life attending to that chip. Tuning out the "needing, wanting, grasping" radio station, and spending many, many hours trying to perfect a state of Peace & Calm: meditating, concentrated deep breathing, chilling out, trying to sand off the sharp edges of my Spirit & Being. You know ZEN & Be Here Now. I take that chip off of my shoulder and put it away in a dark corner. Funny, it can easily be placed right back on my shoulder in an instant. Some days, I wake up with that chip, edgy as fuck. Or, sometimes it's a comment, or a situation, or just a certain look from a certain person and wham, that chip is right there pointy, cutting, sharp as a razor. And, of course, the crazy-ass nature of our out of control, totally unhinged shitshow of our current time makes having a chip on my shoulder seem like the right and natural state. What's happening in the world right now? I am against it! So, I have used that chip, that edgy-ness, to drive myself, to prod others, and to try to "make things happen." Which may be an illusion. Does anyone really make anything happen? Or does shit just happen? And then, well, I face the music, attend to the details, and make hash of my own little reality. Lately, I have been  starting my days, which sometimes start at an ungodly hour in the morning, when it's still pitch-black out, listening to Lou Reed's song Junior Dad. He recorded it with Metallica. The lyrics are dark, sad, violent, recounting a difficult relationship with his (the character's),  father. It was one of the last things Lou recorded. There is a beautiful extended droning instrumental at the end. 19 mintues of turmoil, sadness, anger & bliss. I don't know, this song speaks to me right now unlike anything else. "The greatest disappointment..."  I can't deny that chip is sitting there, asking to be fed. It's there, has always been there. I am working on it, doing what I can make it work for me, and not against me. It's at least one life-long process...

Diseases of the MInd...

Folk #1: Over here, peace & calm. But, silly me, I check in with the national scene. It's a nasty habit, taking the temperature of the world.

What do I find? 

Ethnic Cleansing, Murder in the Streets, Racial Profiling, Measles on the loose, Parasites in Lettuce, Explosive Diarrhea, Concentration Camps in USA, Fascists in the White House, Stupidity on Steroids, Rich Fucks using Government as a Feeding Trough, Criminals & Rapists: the Epstein Class empowered, a River of Lies, a New Forever War, the AI Scam, our Idiot President yucking it up with the White House Reporters. Fuck. One wonders if Idiocy, Corruption, Fascism, Racism, Stupidity, Greed, Lying, & Evil are contagious? Diseases of the Mind.

Radically Sincere...

Folk #1: Lately, my most radical stance in these trying times? Being sincere. You know, believing that being sincere is important, a good quality to aspire to, & being it. Taking a hard stand and sticking with it. Through thick & thin. Being honest, genuine, pure? Seems so otherworldly. Old-fashioned. Out of step. Everything today seems like a moving target. Also, of course, being a Human Being means there are no absolutes. Absolutely honest, genuine, pure? Seems impossible in the Human realm. All one can do is try one's best in the moment to moment. And if Nature teaches us anything, nothing is truly pure. Still, best to Lean to the Light. Clinging to anything, holding fast, seems recalcitrant, gnarly, contrary. I recently found myself "standing on principle," and it was a bit embarrassing. Every hill is made of shifting sand. Calling attention to myself. I admitted that I had a "code of conduct," you know, for instance: "I don''t hang with Nazis or Assholes," and sticking with it. I was met with a thundering silence. Maybe I dated myself to another time, and another place? Oh, well. It's where I'm at. Fuck it. Damn the torpedoes.

The Days of Reckoning Looming on the Horizon...

Folk #1: These Nazis, or maybe better to call them the Neo-Nazis are not good at governing. If there is one lesson learned from the 20th Century, it would be: Fuck these Nazis. Brutalzing human beings, caging them, deporting them, murdering them, dividing them & humiliating them across racial lines, is just retro, anti-human trash, and Crimes Against Humanity.

These Nazis are liars too. They lie about every damn thing. Their ideology is built on lies, and everything flows like toxic waste from that point forward. You cannot believe one word dribbling from their mouths.

What to do? We are all soiled and diminshed by these Nazi Creeps.

We need to do a little bit of housekeeping. Those who have committed crimes should be arrested and sent to face the music at the International Criminal Court, and made to answer, and take responsibility, for their actions. 

This all needs to happen once we vote, & sweep these Nazis out of our Government.

We need Justice for Humanity. There is a long list of Folks who have violated the law, common sense, & decency. The Days of Reckoning loom over the horizon. So be it.

Turns Out Some Things Can Be Un-Fucked. But Not Everything...

Folk #1: On Monday, this week, I wrote this post: World Gone Wrong. Basically a post about "fuck-ups," near and far. Seems the Universe is so large & diverse, there are forces at work that foster and encourage fuckups. Chaos & Entropy are hard & busy teachers.

Turns out my near to hand fuckups, have been royally un-fucked up. 

A twisted-into-a-pretzel bike chain? 

No worries. Sure, I had to walk that bike across town to the bike shop, a long, winding journey thru the busy streets, but the bike technician put my bicycle on the rack, and in about 3 mins, worked out the kinks and reset the chain. "No charge!"  The bike tech is a serious pro. He doesn't give you any "warm & fuzzies," he just does the work, gives you a little nod of recognition, and gets busy, onto the next thing. It does "take a village." And it helps to frequent local businesses. These folks stand behind their work & their bikes. Gratifying. 

Also, the short-run vinyl vendor who ran an order of 20 vinyl records was deeply apologetic about sending flawed, defective records to us. He assured us that he will re-cut 16 new records to replace the ones that came out poorly, and ship them out next week. Again, refreshing to find someone who stands behind their product & company, and takes responsibility when things go wrong. We were worried we'd have to go to war to find some kind of solution. Nope. Again, the magic words: "No charge." Satisfying.

And, well, the winds shifted, and the smoke in our little town cleared. A gorgeous day yesterday. Lower temps, cleaner air. Felt like "Endless Summer," was back on in full glory. Of course, we are captive to the direction of the wind. Those fires in Canada are raging. But, a reprieve for now. Encouraging.

What about Climate Catastrophe? Oh, well, that fuck up is still on in full force. The Tricky Monkeys aren't even dealing with it. I mean, expect it to get worse, with all kinds of unfortunate consequences across the board. Yikes.

And what about the War? 

Total fuck up. An Expanding fuck up. Clearly our prodiously stupid President and his cowardly boot-lickers are greatly over-matched. Figure that the fuck ups will continue, and continue to replicate & multiply. There is a limit to un-fucking things up, and you need competent, honest folks with smarts & integrity, willing to roll their sleeves up and to do the work, & to make adjustments, recalibrate, renew. This administration is incapable of taking any responsiblity whatsoever. They can never, admit mistakes, they think they can just bullshit & bluff their way past reality. They just constantly lie, shout & rant.  Disheartening. 

So, yeah, a completely mixed bag. Things will often fuck up. The question is, how does one deal with it? In my own little circle things seem on the upswing, in the bigger picture? Fuck no.

Embracing the Arbitrary Nature of Existence...

Folk #1: Funny. A very good sleep last night. No dreams that I can remember. Just a deep submersion into silence, quiet, darkness. Very refreshing.

What am thinking about as I type this morning? I am thinking about the arbitrary nature of our existence. Random. Incidental. Accidental. Shaky. Winding. Circular. Evolving. Devolving. 

Doors, open & closed. 

All the experiences that make a mark on our consciousness. The trauma & drama of having, and being being aware of, having a body.

We construct a narrative arc. We piece together the all of the signs & wonders. We perceive and decide. 

We tell the stories. We dream the dreams.  We crash & burn on the shoals of reality. We modify and draw conclusions. And then we often tear those conclusions up and try on some others. We modify our appearance, our clothes, our attitudes, our opinions. We try to draw a few lines in the sand to stand upon. They slowly vanish under assault from the waves & the breeze & the arbitrary vicissitudes of a well-earned life.

World Gone Wrong...

Folk #1: Things going wrong near & far. You ask yourself, somewhat beseechingly: "What Can Go Wrong now?" Well, pretty much everything. Words like Entropy & Chaos leap into your mind. You know, things like randomness, disorder, failure & fuck-up-ness rear their ugly heads. Seems these phenomena are just in-built in the Universe. As Neil Young once sang: "Rust Never Sleeps." 

Yes, locally, things have been falling apart in my little circle. I keep bringing my main means of transportation, my trusty bicycle, into the bike shop for repair; flat tire, twisted into a pretzel-like chain, gear shifter stuck. How did any of these things happen? I have no idea. A series of little freak occurances. Tiny fuck-ups that led to major fails. 

Also, we ordered up from a boutique custom vinyl shop, a limited vinyl run of one of our albums. The vendor sent us 20 copies. We discovered to our dismay that 16 of them were defective with all kinds of issues. Only 4 copies played without issues. WTF?! Something went drastically wrong with that production run. Yikes.

Then step back, move out a little farther, and the wind currents blowing a certain way, means that ugly toxic smoke from out of control Canadian fires engulfs our little town with unhealthy, toxic, noxious, air. Hiding indoors, wearing mask outdoors, another kind of fuck-up-ness alive in our corner of the world.

Then step even a little farther afield, extreme temperatures from the stupid humans throwing too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat, fucking with our goldilocks evironment. Yes. Major fuck-up. Chaos baby, in it's many splendored forms.

Finally we hear that the USA is now again cranking up the War with Iran. Fuck. "What could possibly go wrong?" Oh yeah. Fuck. Everything. Especially because the USA, and it's delusional, seriously-unhinged, & super-uninformed electorate, royally fucked up by electing an incompetent, corrupt, greedy, brainless, quite-disgusting, fucking idiot. Does he know what he's doing? Fuck no.

Let's zoom back in time & check in with the great William Shakespeare, from his play Julius Casear: “Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war…”

Days of uncertainty, chaos, entropy. World Gone Wrong.

Failure, Success, Madness...

"She knows there's no success like failure / And that failure's no success at all," 

Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" on the album Bringing It All Back Home. 

Folk #1: Yes. A quiet Sunday morning. Thinking about living under a government that is at war with it's own people, and how that same government is desperately, frantically, nonsensically, pleading, threatening, assaulting & punishing folks every damn day, and at the same time, they are demanding that things are great, even though we can see the country is locked in a robust, ever-expanding shit-show, & that despite the evidence of our own eyes & ears, we should all get in line & vote for them once again. Because... well... Fucking... Madness...

I am also thinking about Success & Failure. It is a certain private obsession built into the fabric of my being. I mean, it's embedded in me, not by choice. A sort of cross to bear. I suppose, I would amend Dylan's line like so: "There really is no success, only infinite degrees of failure." 

Not as poetic or musical. But, my experience tells me it is essentially "true." The trick is to navigate through the murky cloud of failure, and deal with it as best one can. 

Revenge of the Stupids Tour...

Folk #1: Think of Trump and his cowardly boot-lickers as the Revenge of the Stupids Tour. Every day it seems we are assualted with more & more stupid shit. It's exhausting. Attacks on our intelligence, on our public health, on our legal system, on logic, truth, and clear-thinking. Most of us know all of this shite is so wrong, and it grinds on one's good cheer. These folks have no idea how to run a government, they are dismantling & looting government while feeding the Epstein Class of Trillionaires & Billionaires. The Stupids are afraid of the American Voters. They are super-afraid of accountability & reality. Think of the extreme temps, the blazing out of control fires, as reality making a nasty comeback. Yes. Climate Catastrophe is Woke. The Trumpers can lie & rant, flail & fail all they want, they can deny & try to con their way out of the plain truth staring them in their fat, blow-hard, faces, but it's all to no avail. I think we finally, mercifully, are reaching the Limits of the Stupid. The Con, the grift, the deep in the bone corruption can only go so far. Sure, lots of folks have been riding the Money Train, but that too is loaded with Bad-Faith, Stupidity & Corruption. Much of our economy now is built on the foundation of Fraud & Theft. What next? The Age of Accountability. It's gonna get really spicy & dicey around here. Lots of hard work ahead. Many of these folks in the current adminstration will finally have to face the music. Let Justice & Accountability prevail. Thinking the Revenge of Reality Tour. The Counter-Revolution in the Head. Welcome to Woke-Ville fuckers...

We Have Cooked Our Own Goose...

Folk #1: Man-made Climate Catastrophe Part II (see previous post). Sure, Climate Change is real, we done did it to ourselves via our industrial ways, burning fossil fuels, factory farming of livestock, & the planet is suffering under extreme heat, too much carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, the heat gets trapped, and everything burns. The Humans have been very poor caretakers of the Planet. Extreme heat leads to super-dry conditions on the surface of the land. Below is NASA's map of fires that are raging out of control in Canada and the USA. The world is burning. And we are the arsonists. Yesterday, because of the direction that the air was blowing, it was so smokey in Chicagoland, the air so unhealthy, folks were directed to stay inside, or, if they asolutely had to go out, to wear protective masks. Lake Michigan was shrouded in a thick, gray, smokey haze. You could smell and taste ashes in the air. My partner and I cancelled most of our outdoor activities. Yikes. The new normal is definitely not fucking normal. We Human Beings have cooked our own fucking goose! WTF were we thinking?!

Man-Made Climate Catastrophe...

Folk #1: Yes. Incredibly hot in the Heartland. My partner and I have navigated thru the streets and paths under a blazing Sun the last week or so. Even a few hours outside is a challenge, and pretty damn exhausting. I must say, yes, we Tricky Monkeys have totally fucked oureselves Climate-Wise. Burning fossil fuels and throwing massive amounts of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere have really done a number on our "Goldilocks" climate on Earth. We are seeing ungodly temps all across the planet, and more frequent & violent storms. Madness for sure. How can a Species be so unthinking, uncaring, self-sabotaging? I guess it's Greed, Hubris, Arrogance, Stupidity, Blind Fucked-up-ness. Yes. Book it: Man-Made Climate Catastrophe. Some of us are hoping for a Miracle Cure, a Silver Bullet, but we are fast approaching an irreversible Cascade of Failure on all fronts.Yikes. Those Environmentalists, Poets, sensitive Singer-Songwriters & Hippies were so right way back in the 1960's & 1970's. We doubled down on the Madness. The Future is looking Hot, Super-Fucking-Hot. We were born into Paradise, and turned it into a Blazing, Smoking parking lot. Fuck. Stupid Tricky Monkeys.

Lessons in Summer 2026...

Folk #1: 10 Lessons in the Summer of 2026...

1. Never, ever, rough-house with an English Bulldog.

2. Toast is good; a food-group all it's own.

3. Electrolytes will save your ass.

4. Cooking food became a common practice in the Human Clan for a reason.

5. Listen to the Crazy People to know what's up in crazy-land, & at same time tune them the fuck out.

6. Pay attention to every last detail in your own little orbit.

7. Live lightly & in the moment.

8. Silence truly is golden.

9. Find a buddy, and live & die by the buddy system.

10. "Be humble, it's the Universe, Jake..."

Crimes Against Us All...

Folk #1: ICE is murdering Human Beings in the streets of America. The latest murders happened in Maine & Texas. ICE agents shoot folks down and then lie about it. Often they lie even when the video reveals their crimes & their lies. So obviously wrong & evil. This, of course, is terribly intolerable, horrible; dastardly evil crimes against us all. Think: State Terrorism. We are all under assault. If we are silent, we are complicit. We are all implicated in these crimes. Abolishing ICE is an essential first step. These armed, masked thugs acting with lawless impunity must be charged and tried in the courts. This kind of senseless, inhumane violence coming from a Government Agency is beyond the pale. Any & all politicians who support, and voted to fund this violent agency need to be voted out, shamed, shunned & kicked to the curb. Yes. This violence in our streets is happening in America 2026. Appalling. Heart-breaking. We must stand against this horror-show. Organize. Protest. Vote. Demand accountability. What an abomination & a terrible stain on our beloved country. No time for tears. We demand Justice. NOW!

An Expanding Day...

Folk #1: The expanding days. Yesterday was a long day. It just seemed to expand moment to moment. My partner I were attending to multiple duties. Lots of to-ing & fro-ing. On the go pretty much all day. It was exhilarating & exhausting. We definitely fully experienced the day. The beaches were alive with activity, the paths & walkways busy with humans doing their human things. We just threw ourselves into all of our tasks, chores & responsibilities. We didn't have time to think. It was a day of doing. A working day. Finally, when I had moment, all I could do was sit in silence. Too tired to think. Clarity. Just a bold clarity descended upon me like a halo or aura. What did we accomplish? Not so much. There was the beat, the churn, the pulse of Life. We floated, we flowed, we trudged, we persevered, we stuck to the tasks at hand, put our shoulders to the wheel. We did every thing we had to do. It was a long, long day.

Doing Good, Being Good...

Folk #1: No tears shed for the untimely death of the evil-doers, those who spent their time on the planet making life a misery & chore for other folks; those nasty folks who punched down, and brutalised the poor, the weak, the hungry, the vulnerable, the needy. When one of these folks pass, the first thought: What a terrible human being & a terrible legacy. Sorry to say, there are some folks who are irredeemable. If they are on their way now to meet their maker, well, let's hope they are held to account for their crimes against humanity. Accountability in Big Sky! Some of us really do think we should all go out of our way to make the world a better place; kinder, gentler, more giving, willing to lend a helping hand to our fellow human beings. I think of musical inspirations: Nick Lowe's "What's so Funny about Peace, Love & Understanding," and Jerry Garcia's & Robert Hunter's "Wake up to find you are the eyes of the World."  It's not that complicated, but it does seem to be against the larger trend. Maybe the question on everyone's lips should be: "What can I do to make this a better, friendlier, place?" Doing good, being good just because. Sounds naive, sappy, too hippy-dippy? So be it. Ha, I mean,  Fuck It. It's ok to lean to the Light, to take a stand, to shun & condemn the evil-doers, and to stand with, & root for, the good-doers...

Monster for a Day...

Folk #1: I am staying at a lakefront mansion with a couple little furry creatures. It is one of my gigs. There is a superb sound-system here, and an excellent coffee-maker, so I am well-fortified for a nice stay-over. Yesterday, I had a super-busy schedule, lots of to-ing & fro-ing. I was lucky to have a decent night's sleep the night before, so I was feeling totally up to the task. There was a Monster Energy Drink in the fridge, someone else's beverage, something I would never normally drink. I drank it down with gusto. OMG. It was total rocket fuel. I kind of felt like Superman. Pretty sure I could crash through a wall. Now, I am not endorsing this energy drink, it's loaded with caffeine, and I get enough of that with my coffee addiction. I have sneaking suspicion it's not actually a healthy beverage. I told my partner I drank it, and she said: "I forbid you from drinking that ever again." Funny. She is the only person I ever really listen to. Ha! Oh well. All I can say, I flew through the day, sailed through all my appointments, did everything I was supposed to do, & I felt no pain. Early evening I was pretty spent. It was a good day. Still, I know, one needs to pick & choose one's poisons wisely. "Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing..." But Monster for a day, yes, sure that did the trick...

Ping-Pong Ball & Yo-Yo...

Folk #1: Yes. Over here in my little corner of the Universe I am aware of the famous line: "As Above, So Below."  You know, what's happening in the Macrocosm, is also happening in the Microcosm. From the Emerald Tablet: "That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above."

Connected.  To everything. Mysterious & cool. That has been my guiding principle for a long time. A number of years back I had one of those profound epiphanies, walking on a beach, feeling deeply, irrevocably bound and tied to everything in the Universe. It was just a flash, a blast of insight, and an overwhelming feeling, a real, & profound experience of connection. A lightening strike of Wisdom.  Ever since, I know deep-down that I have that in my kit-bag. Not alone. Connected. It's meaningful, one of my deepest, & strongest insights & beliefs.

Nothing has ever shaken that from my grip, a profound knowledge in my being. So what's happening in my little corner? Let's call it the Ping-Pong Ball, or Yo-Yo journey of Life. Up, down, all around. I try to steady myself, but I am on a crazy hayride, or out of control, carreening roller-coaster. Everything is in motion. Flux. Flex. Colliding. Crashing. What is up is down, what is down is up.

Can't help but think I am just reflecting, mirroring, greater forces from above. Like Lou Reed's great song: "I'll Be Your Mirror." It's wild. The trick is to try to stay calm, cool, collected. Watch the grand unfolding  drama on the big stage, and in the quiet corridors backstage too. It's all lightening & thunder, hurly-burly.  Bring on Da Noise, and Da Funk.  Fuck. It's glorious as hell, you know, the Universe, being in it, & of it, right?

Days...

Folk #1: "The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills." - Charles Bukowski. The key lesson I learned from Bukowski? Write. Endure. No matter what. Stick to it. 

All that drinking & fighting? Forget about it.  

Always be working on the next project. Life is too short. The days are running away. Over here we are making routines, and breaking routines. Trying on new things. Open to change. Keeping busy in the creative realm. Writing songs, rehearsing, performing. 

At the same time gravitating to the essentials: Truth, Beauty, Responsibility, Accountability; being a Human Being with Integrity, Grit, Determination. 

All of this sounds a bit old-fashioned, out of step, against the trend. Oh well. No worries on that count. Happy to be different. Realizing we are all on our very own singular journey. We each get to choose our road, our path, and how we will deal with the hurly-burly, & the slings & arrows.

Damn the Torpedoes. The days fly by.

Better? Nope.

Folk #1: This morning I think to myself: "Maybe things are getting better?" Ha. Silly me. Probably not. Looks like things are getting weirder, stranger, stupider, goofier. Think: more corrupt, more unhinged, more chaotic. Cloudier, foggier, more uncertain. There is evolution & devolution. It's a challenge to all of us folks leaning to the Light. If you are a positive, hopeful, optimistic type, you are definitely frantically swimming against a raging current of bad  & thoroughly stupid shite.

Caught...

Folk #1: Sure. I am caught. Like a bug (call me Kafka). In a spider's web. Suspended between the world I'd like to live in, and the one I do live in. Whiplashed between Hope & Reality. Every day I have to make the choice to not be overcome, overwhelmed, blinded by either one. Holding both concepts, ideas & visions in my mind at all times. Totally present, alive, aware, awake, while simultaneously being entangled in the silky tendrils of the spidery web. Sure. I am a prisoner, and a Free Being. Free to serve & to live life to the fullest. I reside in the web, and can envision a world without webs. Clear-eyed. Present. Lost & found in the moment to moment.

Lied to & Conned, Every Damn Day...

Folk #1: Ha. I think I get it. Early morning. Still dark out. Sipping my coffee. Distilling down the reality confronting me. I am not a perfect person by any means. No one is perfect. Human Beings are all works in progress. We all have flaws, quirks, contradictions, failures, it just comes with "the living." Living a life is a process of discovery, discovering the ways of the world, and our own very particular human qualities. But, it is clear, clear as a bell, that we all are being lied to, and conned, daily by terrible people who hold the levers of power. Terrible people in charge. Terrible people much more flawed than I, more flawed than many of us. We see the good & the evil and the evil seems to be in the ascendant. Now, really, in some ways no one is really in charge, but on the other hand, all of these folks in positions of power in Government, Law, Financial Markets, Business, Pop Culture, etc. seem to revel in their lies & corruption. They do it for profit, success, and luxury. It's an ugly business. A rigged game. And it seems to be working for them. So, I am left in this weird state, knowing that I'm just a humble human being, trying to do my best, feeling like my commitment to Truth, Reality, Honesty, and a Better Way, somehow holds me back. "Who am I to think I am any better?" But, I do. I see the lies, the con, the terrible people who seem to be thriving and I am disgusted. I turn away. I think "I am in it, but not of it." It is certain path, a certain sense of integrity, & also a cross to bear. Maybe like a mission? Living by a certain code, holding my self to account, and well, damn the consequences, damn the torpedoes. Still, in the back of mind, I wonder, would I be happier if I were living the lie and the con too? What if I just let it all in? "Go along, get along." Nope. Ain't gonna happen. Not in my nature. One consistent theme in my life, recalcitrant, gnarly, uncooperative, argumentative. I am not a joiner. I am ok being different. I am decidedly not going along with the herd. That's just me. Ha. Something seems to have gone terribly wrong in the human realm. Maybe it has always been so? The battle between the Light & Dark?  I wonder, will the tide actually turn? Can a new Enlightenment emerge? Can the more honest & competent folks ever get the upper hand? Hmmm... maybe... a reckoning, a renewal, a cleanse? Hard to know. But, really, not so hard to imagine...

Reaching for the Words...

Folk #1: Let's write down the words. How to describe Trump's shit-show for America's July 4th 2026 celebration? Vile. Stupid. Ridiculous. Silly. Nutty. Ugly. Weird. Un-American. Gnarly. Humiliating. A clusterfuck. A joke. A pointless display. Sure, this President will be remembered long after he is gone. But the memory will be a sick vapor, a horrific nightmare, an odiferous cloud of stupid. A person will need to manufacture a long litany of descriptive words all circling around the idea of a living, rotting corpse, surrounded by the overpowering stench of Vile & Disgusting Human Hubris, Arrogance & Failure. We will all marvel at how we survived it all. 

All His Shadowy Enemies Dancing in His Empty Cavity of a Head...

Folk #1: Good Lord. Last night our porcine, super-corrupt, rotting from the inside President, hauled his ballooning carcass to South Dakota, and gave a speech railing against the Communists. Sheesh. Add them to the growing list of all the shadowy enemies dancing around in his yawning cavity of a head: Antifa, Woke Algae, Sandwich Guy,  Trans folks, Garden-Variety Woke-Folks, Reflecting Pool Vandals, Common Hard-Working Americans, Barack Obama, any Democrat, our favorite Marxists - Groucho, Chico, Harpo, & of course Karl, all Blue Staters, The Pope, Common Sense, Immigrants, Gravity, The Poor, Windmills, Bruce Springsteen, Solar Panels, Hilary Clinton, Bad Bunny, Truth, Integrity, Taylor Swift, Honesty, Anyone Willing to stand up & call out his idiocy, and all the aimless, scrambled ramblings of a Mad, Wanna-Be Dictator & King. 

Nice way to celebrate the American dream with visions of American Nightmare. Ha. WTF! Of course, we stand with those in opposition to this corrupt & corrupting Bigot & Idiot. To say this man is out of tune & out of time, is a grand understatement. A bumbling, quacking, super-dangerous, Lame Duck wasting our precious time. Yikes! Happy 4th of July. Something tells me, "this too shall pass."

Snakes on the Loose...

 

Folk #1: Yes. Of course. A snake eating it's own tail. A perfect symbol for our present, lawless, totally unhinged era. Actually the "Orobourus is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol." 

But I am repurposing, reframing it this morning: a snake eating it's own tail, an act of self-immolation, a symbol of self-consumption, feeding off our own entrails; unbridled, unhinged, deeply corrupt & corrupting. A vicious loop of blatant consumerism. 

Hell, it's my blog, I get to pick my definitions, symbols & meanings. 

The latest news tells us that our rotund, porcine, rotting from the inside, super-corrupt  & corrupting President is blatantly profitting off of his office.  Trump & his family have made billions on Crypto since his election in 2024, which is frankly balls-out corruption beyond belief, bribery on steroids. Of course, he should be impeached, prosecuted, and imprisoned, I mean, if we had any intergrity, grit, and fair-dealing here in the USA. Might have to wait for the Mid-term Blue Wave to sweep in a new Congress. It's totally disgusting, but not really surprising that the porcine one is feasting on us all. Will anyone do anything about this? Who knows? Seems we are all too busy chomping on our own tails, betting on our phones, riding the AI bubble, cashing in our chips. Fuck that shite.

The Positive Tools of Negativity...

Folk #1: I used to be a "Yes," Person. You know, living under the banner, idea & code, that every "Yes," would open a door, lead to a new experience, & a positive way forward. Embracing that Long-Form Improvisation idea of "Yes... and..." It keeps the scene going, & can lead to unexpected detours & hilarity.  One solid "No," and the whole thing comes crashing to a halt. I must say lately, I have become a a very positive "No," person. It seems sort of radical and out of synch with the bigger cultural, global, trend, and kind of contrary to my usually quite "positive nature."  Is it just me? Out of sorts?! The whole world seems to be deleriously unhinged; every day seems to take us farther down the rabbit-hole of lunacy, we all seem to be getting a little madder, strangely-bizarre, crazier, & deeply-unmoored from reality. It has pushed me in the other direction. Clinging to reality, gravity, levity, and swimming towards some kind of solid Truth. Feet on the ground, "touching grass," spinning vinyl, staying off my phone as much as possible, being much more discerning about my every day choices. Committing to living in the analog world. Maybe I'm doing more determined goofing off? Playing my guitar, sitting on benches on the lakefront, staring at the lake, chatting with all the folks passing by on the path. More disciplined meditating, and finding myself in long rambling conversations with my partner. I resort to all my happy tools of negativity, reaching for those powerful words, you know, all those easily conjured magic spells & incantations: "No,"  "Nope," "Not gonna do it," "I prefer not to," "No fucking way," or even, "Fuck no," & "Fuck that," and yes, for sure, "Fuck these lame-ass, corrupt people..."

The Golden Calf President & His Racist-Creep Bootlickers...

Folk #1: "racial grievance + scapegoating immigrants."Right. Not the America we Love over here. As we see it, America is a land of immigrants who have come here from all over the world. We welcome the immigrants. They are our Brothers & Sisters, Fathers & Mothers. Except for the Native Americans, the First Nation's peoples all of our ancestors were immigrants. They helped build this country and make it the wildly diverse, and thriving place we know and Love. We still think of America as the Land of Hope & Promise. And being "Born in the USA," is a happy circumstance, a privilege, a burden, a responsibility & an opportunity. The America Dream is under attack from the Golden Calf President, and his nihilistic, racist-creep bootlickers. They want to fundamentally change the character of our country. This attempt to sort through the human population and declare certain people are not welcome is a dastardly terrible moment & movement. Fuck these people. I still have Hope for a better day & a better way, but that Hope is under relentless attack every damn day. Who will these creeps oppress, assault, imprison, deport, demean, today? All of us are under assault. It's pretty pathetic, and terrible. I suppose the upside is that we see so very clearly what we are up against.

Once Woke, It is Impossible to Be Un-Woke...

Folk #1: It's odd. Being totally Woke, and realizing there are people, movements, political parties, Supreme Courts, who want to crush us. I find it impossible to be Un-Woke. Once you do awake, there really is no turning back. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. I watch the neo-Nazis, the White Supremacists, the Christian Nationalists, the MAGA hordes and just shake my head. WTF?!  My day to day is an affirmation of Woke-ness. Living in a Progressive Blue Bubble town, just North of Chicago, one the great cities in the world, a thriving megalopolis with an abundance of energy, diversity, and a melting pot of multi-culturalism; it is a total eye-opener, a demonstration and bold experiment in a multi-ethnic, culturally-rich, Democracy, and a lesson in getting along with my fellow Human Beings. It is a magnificent place to live. These retrograde forces seem so contrary and out of touch, and yes, frankly, Evil, so dissonant and at war with Reality, and Humanity. Yes. Being totally Woke. Alive, Aware, Awake. Really, I can't imagine any other way to live, truly, madly, deeply...

Hustle & Flow...

 

Folk #1: Yes. Matt Groening's Life in Hell. Perfect pitch. Bullseye. Constant ebb & flow of existence. Makes me think of that great quote: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  I do think one thing I inherited from my Father, this failure/success idea, a particular cross to bear. It's a dichotomy & a crossroad. We just happen to live in the middle of it.

Radical Qualities...

Folk #1: Just simple competence, integrity, honesty & realism. Yikes. Those are radical qualities in this befuddling muddle of an era. We all seem to be unmoored from the real. It is a time that tests one's sanity, clarity and judgement. Lots of worry, anxiety and uncertainty floating around in the Heartland. You can walk around town and find beautiful folks from all races, creeds & colors willing to open their heads & hearts. Folks that know that the shit going down is soul-killing, inhumane and a complete dead-end. We are being lied to every day & we know better. When all this terrible racist trash, corruption and idiocy recedes, we are going to have to roll our sleeves up and get to work.

To Be Crazy, or Not to be Crazy?

Folk #1: You watch everyone else gladly, enthusiastically go over the cliff. You wonder what is so appealing? You start to think maybe it's cool, it's necessary, it's the new thing? Maybe you are missing out? Hmmm... you know... maybe it'll be fun? If everyone around you chooses to go crazy, maybe going crazy is the way forward? You take a deep breath, you count to ten, you take another sip of coffee, you stare wistfully and meaningfully, into the dark abyss. Moments tick by. Finally your verdict, you go with Bartelby the Scrivener's "I prefer not to." And,  maybe the more delightfully empathic: "Nope, fuck that shit."

We are those People...

Folk #1: Another beautiful day in the Heartland yesterday. We spent most of the day navigating thru the streets of our neighborhood on our bikes, putting up posters and handing out postcards for our r&r show in July. Funny. You know, we don't have "people" to do that kind of thing, we are those people! We live in the DIY space, where nothing gets done, unless we roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. It's a way of life, a code for living. Sometimes, it feels like we are just spinning our wheels, and maybe we are, but there really is no alternative. We must do the things we must do. That's the only way we can imagine getting things done. It was all actually quite fun. There is a certain pleasure in walking the sidewalks, conversing with folks, imagining a great show with a full house. You know, living the dream...

Temporary...

Folk #1: We live in the flux and the flow. We learn that nothing, including us, lasts. This is both joy, and pain, liberating & defeating. The only way forward is complete, total, unworried, stoic acceptance. A certain surrender to the temporary nature of all things. Sure. There are moments of enlightenment, epiphany, transformation, but these moments are fleeting, & they easily & quickly evaporate right before our eyes.

Open Head-Space...

Folk #1: Yesterday afternoon we rode our bikes over to our "sun-spot." A little oasis off the lakefront path. It was a totally gorgeous day. All of our problems seemed as tiny as the city buildings way off in the distance, a tiny Emerald City, looking like a child's toys on the far horizon. I suppose it's all about perspective, how you frame things for yourself, & for your friends, getting distance & an open head-space.  That's where you can find clarity & clear-headed-ness. It was magnificent, healing, and fun in a low-impact kind of way.

Stay Tuned for More Idiocy...

Folk #1: One has to wonder: "Have we finally hit bottom on the idiocy of this Idiot President?!" You may think it's a loaded question, or maybe it is an impossible question, with an unknowable answer. We are swimming in a vast sea of idiocy, how will we ever know if he, & we, have sunk to the absolute lowest level? How will we know if there is a bottom and an end to this idiot & his madness? I think his new war on Algae, and imaginary vandals is a signal event. Really. Yes. So, so stupid. So, so idiotic. So representative of one man's steep cognitive decline. You can't fake this kind of stupid. Funny as hell too. Yes. All our thoughts and prayers are with the Algae. This fascist creep is just flopping around like a dying fish out of water. Yikes. Finally, I suppose there is an answer: "No, there is no bottom to this Idiot's Idiocy!"  I mean, stay tuned, our timeline probably can & will, get much, much stupider, & idiotic. No limits, no bottom, pure, deep in the bone, stupid.

The Saga...

Folk #1: Don't underestimate a Human Being's desire to push around & beat down other Human Beings. Seems like it's  a tendency buried deep in our genetic architecture & psyches. The Bully Complex. Also, it is clear that the voracious desire to accumulate money & power, and then to use this money & power as weapons against those less monied & powerful, is upfront and central to our present circumstances. The In-group always beats up on the Out-groups. Big vs Little. Rich vs Poor. Powerful vs the Powerless. The Haves vs. the Have Nots. What to do? Try to navigate around these powerful, monied forces. First: see clearly & diagnose the problem. Second: Organize, Unite, Be fucking Woke to the Max. Human Rights, Human Equality for all. Sure, Tax the Rich, feed the Poor, take care of each other. Better Angels, and all that. But, for sure, realize this is an ongoing saga & battle. The forces of Enlightement vs. the forces of Darkness. The war is never won, it's always morphing, evolving, in various stages of The Latest Chapter: Humans being Human.

Signs of Catastrophic Failure...

Folk #1: Signs that you are fighting a losing battle: 

When the algae  just turns against you.

When they start taking your name off of buildings.

When plague & pestilence descend upon the land.

When the Screw-worm feasts on cattle.

When a small country brings a big country to it's knees with drones & mines. 

When the Ayatollahs suddenly own the Strait of Hormuz.

When the President dicovers there is a "b" in the word "dumb."

When even the farmers in Iowa start wondering "WTF?!"

When the only people supporting your idiocies are in on the grift.

When everyone in your administration is stabbing someone else in the back.

When your rage, hate, whim & fury are totally useless and funny.

When you are the lamest of lame ducks, flailing & failing, and everyone is laughing at you.

When Truth, Reality, Common Sense, Science & Math are at war with you and your administration.

When you are barely more popular than Ebola virus and testicular cancer.

Rocking in the Free World with Algae!

Folk #1: Of course, when it comes to the cage match between the bullying, flailing & flailing President vs Algae definitely put us on Team Algae! Ha. You might think this is a trivial issue, (although 14 million bucks ain't chump change), but, oh man, the symbolism is just perfectly, gorgeously-rendered karma. "Rust Never Sleeps, Sucker!"  To watch as the Pretend Strongman rages against Algae, well, you couldn't find a better metaphor for this totally fucked up time. Trump is claiming that vandals, Antifa, Democracy-loving sabateurs & shady, dark, left-wing forces are conspiring against him, aiding and abetting the Algae. Ha. It's Nature, baby! Nature is a hard Mother. Time & Nature is turning Trump's brain to mush. Shit Happens! Rock on Team Algae, the Nation's Lonely Eyes turn to you!

Help Each Other...

Folk #1: On the road yesterday. A journey to the West to take care of some very sad business. It was quiet in the car, no small talk, just feeling-very-sad vibes. We were on our way to do something that had to be done.  Being responsible Human Beings means sometimes doing the hard things without complaint. Stiff upper lips and all that. Although, must say, copious tears were shed. Neither of us were looking forward to the coming event, Life & Death for one of our little flock; a beautiful, resiliant, tough little bird dangling at the end of her rope. She had lived a life of steep challenge every step of the way. The difficult decision had finally been made, the last day for our little friend. She had been living with an icreasing number of life-threatening maladies and it was getting quite dire for all of us. Riding down a shady street, big, beautiful leafy green trees looming over us. A gorgeous blue sky winking overhead.  Just one of those days. Memorable. I casually turned to look out the car window, and there on the lawn, in front a of friendly, rickety-looking home, a stark, black, wooden sign, decidedly homemade, with words written out in luminous, glowing white:

Help 

Each Other

Yes. Sometimes it is all quite simple. Heartbreaking too...

The Era of the Sharp Blade...

Folk #1: Reality. It is a hard teacher. We seem to be living in the world of Bubbles. Bubbles of Ignorance. Bubbles of  Unconscionable Wealth. Bubbles of Great Inequality. Bubbles of Lies. Bubbles of Corruption. Bubbles of Disinformation. Bubbles of Cruelty. Bubbles of Racism. Bubbles of White Supremacy. Bubbles of Silliness. Bubbles of Irresponsiblity. 

The Bubbles seems to emerge & rule with no worries about Common Sense, Truth or Gravity. Folks start thinking it will be Bubbles Forever. Then one day The Sharp Blade of Reality rears it's gnarly, ugly, but very Enlightened Head. The Sharp Blade starts doing it's pointy, nasty work, popping Bubbles left & right. We have come to the Era of The Sharp Blade. 

The Conman is exposed as a Fraud & a Loser. Declaring a Win, when Everyone can see it is a humilating Loss. We all knew, in our Heart of Hearts how this would all begin to end. Humiliation & Failure. Over & Over, & Over. It is refreshing when Folks start speaking Truth to Power. A big Bubble popped! Expect many more to come...

I mean. Ha. Ha. Ha. Even a Republican Senator can smell the stink of failure & defeat from a mile away...

Stoic, Skeptic, Zen Warrior...

Folk #1: "You are a Good Man, Charlie Brown."  Thinking good thoughts for a better future. Over here I am doing my best to be a stoic, a sunny-fried skeptic, and a totally dispassionate, Zen Warrior. I have been recalibrating & refocusing my daily meditation practice: visualizing death in a million ways. Oh, no, not what you are thinking. Ok. Yes. Maybe it is what you are thinking; it's understandable, it's the question on everyone's lips in my little progressive, blue-bubble town, but that is not the only thing I'm thinking. I have been conjuring up scenes of my own death in a thousand, quite dramatic ways. Falling off a mountain, attacked by a murder of crows, drowned in a raging river, arrows in the back, torn apart by a pack wolves, struck down in an epic Captain Blood-type sword fight, trampled underfoot by a herd of wild-ass buffalo. Funny. It's all quite liberating. A deep cleanse. I have found a certain icy-calm center, deep in the murky depths of my own being. Think classic Ego Death. The craziness of the moment to moment seems like silly, pointless, easily-dismissed & ignored white noise, super-easy to overlook & to tune out. This over-amped, ridiculous, comedic-tragedy channeled through our deeply corrupt, toxic clown? Vapor. Mist. Fog. 

Simple Formula...

 Folk #1: America in 2026: Decadance, Rot & Weakness. Thank You President Trump & GOP!  What is the Trump brand?! It has always been the same - Failing & Flailing!

Fallen Off the Mark...

Folk #1: Early thoughts this a.m. Maybe we are well & truly doomed? UFC fight on the White House Lawn? So epically stupid, disgraceful. Hard to be  totally outraged though, my outrage meter is broken, it's all too mind-numbingly idiotic to get twisted over. Fuck that shit. And what brought on this sordid spectacle? Laziness. Stupidity. Racism. Selfishness. The constant need to lie to others & to ourselves. Catering to the crazy idiots amongst us. Seems everyone is out to make an easy buck. Folks are willing to sell their souls and fuck over their fellow Human Beings for a chance at the silver cup, the golden goblet, the big score. It's is easy see the betrayal, the disgusting display of needing, wanting, grasping that is trumping all that is right & good. Yikes. I feel like a character from another story, another time, another place completely.  I never considered myself a moral paragon. But I recoil in horror at the state of the state. What the fuck happened?! How did we all go so wrong? I know there are others like me, folks who still value truth, grace, intelligence, kindness, love, honor, discipline, hard work, courage, a fiery commitment to a better world. I saw video of folks celebrating the New York Knicks finals win in New York City, and I am reminded of the beauty of a multicultural, radically, racially diverse community of souls living side by side in harmony. Still living the promise of a melting pot America. So yeah, my sense of doom is bounded by my sense of possibility, resiliance, imagination & creativity. Fuck it. We can reclaim the dream. I still believe. But it helps to also see clearly just how far we have fallen off the mark. And yes, we have really, really fallen...

Move on from the Clown...

 

Folk #1: Back to politics. And the wretched state of the nation. It is funny. The more this man wants the world to fall at his feet in abject adoration, & fear, the more he is seen for who & what he is; a Toxic Clown, embodying corruption, cruelty, bullying, lawlessness, gutter racism, incompetence, & prodigious idiocy. Finally, you just can't take this guy seriously. He is a damaged, unwell, Clown. He is not as svelte as the cartoon above depicts him. He actually is quite bulbous, over-stuffed and hideous in appearance. A super-ugly, Toxic Clown & not funny, not powerful, not awe-inspiring, instead, pathetic & deeply repulsive. Much of the time we can tune him out. But he is a plague, a cloud of toxicity hovering over the USA and the World. Yikes. All the worst qualities of a human being are alive in this man's aura. You do not want to be this guy. You do not want to listen to this guy. Every word he utters is most often a bald-faced, easily disproved lie, and listening to him speak actually makes one stupider, one word at a time. We can do so much better. We have to move on from this Clown. This is no time for Clowns. We human beings need to get to work. The good work. A better nation, a better Union, listen to our better Angels...

Chasing Soundwaves...

Folk #1: We are working on a long-gestating musical project. I play guitar and write songs for a very loud, anarchic, garage-rock band. The lead singer, my bandmate & musical collaborator, is also a fabulous lyricist. His lyrics are always edgy, funny, insightful.  I come up with chords & riffs to complement and propel these lyrics into the atmosphere. The bands consists of the two us, plus another guitar player, a bass player & a drummer. Excellent, full-on, rocking musicians all. The five of us, have melded over time into quite the powerful unit. We finally, after many, many years of playing small clubs and bars are recording an album. We have ten original songs that we laid down in incredibly well designed & appointed recording studio. We are in the process of mixing now. You would think it all be quite straight-forward, but, funny, this process is always a bit of a battling windmills, Quixotic-quest; a certain endlessly-expanding, deeply disorienting, rabbit hole. Chasing soundwaves. There is a little bit of science, and a little bit of art in the doing. Trying to nail down something that can't be nailed down. Soundwaves are complex & interesting. You'd think it would be easy & logical, putting all elements in their right place, but turns out, there is no "right place," instead, the process is sort of mysterious & spooky. We all have various devices & systems to listen to mixes, and there is no consistency across stereo systems, or headphones. There are dramatic differences. Each device has it's own unique tuning which emphasizes different elements. All of our choices, preferences, and judgements alter the end result. Everyone in our band has listened to various stages of mixes, and we all hear different things. It's another case of the more you pay attention, the more you focus on something, the more close-listening one does, the more it all gets murky, hazy, uncertain & fungible. Finally, you just have to make solid choices, drawing a line in the sand, throwing down a marker. Emphasisng one element can crowd other elements. Certain instruments & soundwaves emerge & some disappear. So strange. There is a lesson there. No doubt. Finally, you just have to decide, to make the call. Deciding on one bold choice after another, out of ever-expanding, uncounted number of choices. Ultimately, you have to say, damn the torpedoes, this is it! Finishing the project is just a matter of  determination & will. The road taken, and all the many roads not taken. You know what you have, and you know what you have left behind. It ain't easy, but it's very much the life we live. It's all in the mix.

Cheering on the Collapse...

Folk #1: Yes. This is the era of Dumb & Dumber. Billionaires becoming Trillionaires, and all the little folks applaud, burn with envy, pile their cash into the pockets of the super-wealthy, and dream of becoming super-wealthy too. Seems everyone wants in the easy way: The Grift, The Con, The Ponzi Scheme. It's ugly, soul-killing, yes, & very fucking dumb. It takes a village to care for, pamper, and support a Billionaire. There are no self-made wealthy people. Not in this Universe. What happens when all this market madness, wealth feeding off wealth, crashes & burns? Of course, the little folks will get hammered, the Billionaires & Trillionaires will probably be bailed out somehow. I mean, fuck, let's hope not. Maybe, a New Dawn, a New Era, AOC's "Every Billionaire is policy Failure," is a market crash away? Is it poor form, in bad taste, to cheer on Collapse? Maybe, but, Fuck These People.