Decidedly Grim...

Folk #1: I went to bed early, read a great novel, Hamnet, (2020), totally crashed out, then slept like a baby. I knew that the crazy guy was going to go on TV to say crazy things about the war in Iran but I just didn't give a fuck. Up early this morning, catching up now, I suppose we are now clearly in late-stages of rage, madness, dementia & delusions of granduer. What happens when a great nation is firmly in the grip of an aging, disintegrating, addled madman? Yikes. That is the burning question this a.m. And as a follow-up: How bad can all this get? Hmmm. Making hash and crashing the economy, sinking our reputation across the globe, destroying alliances, getting folks killed for no good reason. Sheesh. The prognosis is decidedly grim...

Cherish the Good...

If you dip your toe in the pool of ignorance & madness every day, what does that do to your mind? Does it  irreparably damage one's psyche? Does it permanentely cloud once's consciousness? Can one "break one's own brain?" 

Not idle questions. Actually quite important & of the moment. Absolutely on-target in our present circumstances. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." 

You think to yourself: "Surrounded by the stupid, the cruel, the insane can't be good for me." Yes, seems obvious that spending time with stunted, twisted and deeply unwell humans can be detrmental to one's well-being. Seems easy to sink into the black-mire of madness.

How to protect yourself? A cool detachment helps."In it, not of it."  Remind yourself of what is actually  important: truth, reality, gravity, kindess, intelligence, empathy, compassion, music, poetry, laughter, love, forgiveness, responsibility, humility, grace.

Be sure to plunge into doing the things you love to do, and do them as often as you can. Know that there are other humans, just like you, seeking a better way & better day.

A working thru. A certain discipline. A determined strength of mind. There is beauty & wonder to be found around every corner, but it's important to watch your every step, pay attention, and cherish the good.

The Weirdness is Penetrating Even the Most Indifferent, Pre-occupied Minds...

Folk #1: Okay. Over here in my own personal orbit, seems the bubble has been breached. We have reached some kind of tipping point. A guitar-tech I know, a late-thirty-something guy, that I have known for many years, one who has usually treated me with a casual indifference, who always seemed to look down on my beat-up guitars, who barely gave me the time of day, suddenly opened up. We chatted on the street, yesterday, in the doorway of the guitar shop where he works. I asked him, "How's it going?" Usually I would get a shrug, and a grunt, in return, but, this time, words gushed from his lips like a raging river. "What's happening? How did things get so weird? The government, the world, the markets? Weird." I could see this guy was totally reeling. His world, like mine, was in total free-fall. This is not someone who ever appeared to care about anything, never talked politics, never offered anything, a person seemingly lost, firmly situated in his own private concerns, in his own little box. A new consciousness has suddenly sprung up from his worried mind. I take this as a good sign. The weirdness has penetrated even the most unconcerned, over-preoccupied folks. Turns out he went to the NO KINGS protest over the weekend too. Surprising. And, yes. Most excellent. The first step in the healing process: Knowing you have a problem. It is not just us cultural canaries in a coalmine, even the seemingly least politically conscious folks amongst us, are now woke up. That is good. Yes, indeed.

Hard Truths, Hard Realities...

Folk #1: I suppose we are at the point where we derive some pleasure watching the lying liars come up against cold hard reality. Even those MAGA mouth-breathers must be starting to wonder if they are being lied to? Hmmm. Who knows? Maybe not. Those folks are lost souls.  They will be the last to know. They are desperate to believe and harbor all the obvious, malevolent lies. They will cling to their rage, fear, hatred, racism, & cruelty as if their lives are built upon, & are completely dependant upon, never giving up their brain-rotted beliefs. The rest us see the lies evaporating just as quickly as they are hurled into the atmosphere. Our Toxic Prez and his boot-licking minions just keep spewing malevolent nonsense. They are unleashed, unbound, untethered from any semblance of Truth, or the real. It's wild to watch the media & the Republican party pretend that these folks aren't deeply-flawed, unwell, sick & twisted; bad actors addicted to amplifying lies at a prodigious rate. There are some hard limits, hard realities that they are bumping up against. It might get uglier, probably will, but then, that is where Hope will float above the carnage. The lies are already being destroyed in the light of day, & that destruction will lead to a heavy-duty crash, pretty much everywhere, all at once. Am I predicting some kind of grand collapse? Yes. Slowly at first, then all at once. Luckily most of us are not having it, we are tuning out the lies, and the liars. Sure, we are all in for a bout of suffering, reality is a hard, unforgiving mother, and all of us are culpable, and implicated, but most of us are still standing on solid ground. We will be the ones ready & willing to pick up pieces, do the clean-up, move on with a greater focus & purpose. It won't be easy, but it will be necessary.

NO KINGS - Yes Obvious Shite!

Folk #1: It was a sunny, blue sky day over here yesterday for the NO KINGS rally & protest. Good turnout on a very, very cold day. Cold wind off the lake. Still, the people came out. They are not happy with what's going down right now in the USA and the World. The folks are restless. So many great signs, it's was a very kind & generous crowd & vibe. Smiles all around. Everyone just wanted to be there and show each other that lots of us know we all believe that our Country has taken a very wrong-turn, indeed. What were we  protesting?  Pretty much everything. The list goes on & on. I thought the sign above was perfect encapsulation. "The Quicker Fucker Upper..."  And Fuck that Guy & all his idiot MAGA followers and the Republican Party too. Terrible people all...

Not Having It! It's a Movement...

Folk #1: Another way of describing the vibe of the moment, here, and yes, around the globe: NOT HAVING IT! You know, those fucking people trying to shove their lies down everyone else's throat?  Guess what?! IT IS NOT WORKING!  Most of us are standing up and saying, "Nope." We are a recalcitrant, gnarly, ornery, lot.  We are a movement, and we don't even know it. We are too burly, spiky, and completely disagreeable to even realize that we are powerful & in the majority. We see, we hear, we count the torrent of lies floating over & around us, and we reject each & everyone of them, wholeheartedly. The lying liars flail away, expecting their lies to cloud our minds, to win the day, and to turn us into easily manipulated Clue-less Zombies. It was looking a bit dark & bleak there, for awhile, we all gulped and thought: "Maybe the liars will win?!"  But that moment of doubt has vanished. Surprisingly, we often look & act like the clueless Zombies the liars want us to be, but the flicker of Light, the bold arrow of Reality, a certain animal intelligence & survival instinct, crashes into our collective consciousness. We may not know what we want, but we certainly know what we don't want! The "powers that be," in America are so wrong-headed & broken. Trump and his MAGA zombies think that their lies will stick, as long as they keep pounding the table & repeating their lies loudly, forcefully, desperately. They seem to think that everyone is as deeply-corrupt, stupid, and emotionally-crippled as they are; you know,  a world of incompetent, corrupt, evil, idiots.  Turns out that is a grave miscalculation. Most of the us can see thru the transparent B.S. We aren't buying it.

The Human Project...

Folk #1:  Two statements, not backed up by proof or data, just my own very personal 'lived experience."

Everything is connected.

Everything counts.

You may not see the connections, but they are there. You may not think every tiny act accrues & accumulates, but, yes...

It may all seem a bit spooky, mysterious, unsupportable, unexplainable. Assume you know nothing, it's a good start, and from there, you inevitably find yourself going to "I wonder what's gonna happen next?"

It's actually a quite great way to navigate the Universe. You realize you don't always need to know, you can't know the unknowable, and that's okay, you just need to live,  truly, madly, deeply & fully; heart, head, spirit aligned. Plunge in. Open-hearted, open-minded. Not always easy, but that's the human project.

Reaching Our Limits...

Folk #1: Think of our present nasty predicament here in the USA as being in the "Bartelby the Scrivner" phase. The "I would prefer not to," era. Think of the awesome Power of saying "no..." You know I am advocating for a life-affirming, super-positive utilization of "no." A liberating "No, and, oh yeah, fuck you, & the horse you rode in on." Delivered with ultimate gusto, and the most empathy, & compassion one can muster up.

Another forever war? No. 

Fascism in America? No.

Idolize the bully? No. 

Bow down to the Stupid Ones? No.

Just go along, get a long? No. 

Beat up on the poor? No. 

Beat up on Immigrants? No. 

Brutalize our fellow humans in the streets, and the newly constructed conccentration camps? No.

Use AI? No. 

Eat a Shit Sandwich and Say it Tastes Good? No.

Turn a blind eye to the corruption? No.

Pretending to like what everyone else likes? No.

Giving up on Justice? No.

Giving up on Democracy? No.

Become totally cynical and callous? No.

Giving up on decency & compassion? No.

Stop giving a Fuck? No.

Giving up Hope? No.

Giving up anything without a fight? No.

We are free to say no. It is freeing, and liberating. There is a better way & a better day.  Can we will it to be so? Who knows? Worth trying. No doubt. Damn the Torpedoes...

Fanfare for the Common Folks...

 

Folk #1: If Democracy is to be saved, it will be saved by the common ones. Seems fascism is out of fashion. Cruelty is not really cool. Blaring, over-amped stupidity is not popular. Murder & mayhem in the streets, concentrations camps, and foreign wars are definitely on the "outs" with most of us Americans. We all focus on those crazy folks still clinging to the sinking MAGA boat, but what about the rest of us? We greatly out-number those dolts. 

At some point "Trump," & "MAGA," will be about as popular as "Covid," or "pestilence," or "sexually transmitted diseases," or "tooth decay." And, well, that kind of super-unpopularity has consequences. 

More special elections overnight. The district that contains Mar A Lago in Florida went to a Democratic Candidate. More flips to the Democrats. This year, so far, something like 30-0 flips (!) for the good guys. It is the voters, you and me, we are the ones who can take this country back, set it right. One vote at a time. Nothing fancy or easy about it. Standing up to be counted. That's how you do it.

A good thing about our little Democratic experiment, we can change direction. Maybe not on a dime, but slowly, slowly, and then, suddenly, very quickly. It doesn't happen instantly, but it can happen. One day you wake up and MAGA is a distant creepy memory. Trump is a life-less hulk, and a lame fucking duck. And we have all moved the fuck on. A new day is upon us. Yes. Indeed. I can see that vision & future, oh so clearly. 

A Zen Ju-Jitsu Maneuver

Folk #1: "Stiff upper lip." Maybe that British pose & idea is a little over-rated or out-dated, and of course, it can be "over-done," and detrimental, but as you watch your fellow humans freaking out at every little news story, you think, a bit of discipline, gumption, and counter-intuitive narrating is in order. "Woke," seems to point to sensitivity, empathy, compassion, intelligence, & gentleness, but we can also be gnarly, recalcitrant, burly,  spikey, often playing "devil's advocate." Trying on personas day to day. You know, Vince Lombardi's "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Being tough without being tough. A permeable hardness. Tough of Spirit, and, soft of touch. Sort of a Zen Ju-Jitsu maneuver.  Look all the star-crossed little sheep running like a crazy, doomy mob, watch them all gladly leap off the cliff together. You really feel for those mis-guided, hairy sheep. You aspire to be the Shepard, not the sheep. You stand still, take it all in, let it percolate inside. "In it, not of it." Sometimes, just like the cheese, you must stand alone.

Anything Can Happen...

 

Folk #1: Ha, ha, ha...

Is it funny to see that the President of the USA has no freaking clue about what he is doing or saying? Isn't it wild to realize, he, and we, have no idea what is percolating in his mushy sponge of a brain, and no idea what words will actually dribble out of his mouth next? Yes. It is funny & wild, & a bit scary too. Lives hang in the balance; with one poorly constructed sentence he can put folks around the world in grave danger, global financial meltdown could be around the corner, a certain Apocalypse Now could unfold at any moment. Or... maybe... not.  

I must say, being out and about over the weekend, meeting & talking with my fellow Americans, none of this madness, idiocy, and uncertainty is going over very well. This President is deeply unpopular around these parts. I suppose that is a good thing. Maybe just maybe he is destroying the Republican Party from the inside out? It is rotten to the core. Time to sweep that shit out, no doubt. Just hope he doesn't destroy everything else in his path too. Think: Godzilla with Early Stage Dementia. Anything can happen!

A Vibe in the Ocean of Vibes...

Folk #1: Yesterday, I spent late afternoon in packed little Chicago bar singing "my truth," It is quite the thing. Write songs, take them out into the world and sing them with all your heart & soul. I'm not saying I am a fabulous singer or anything, but "my voice," is truly mine, it's authentically mine, it took my a long time to truly find it, and there is something about letting it fly into the atmophere backed by a kick-ass band. It took a long time to get to this place without worry, doubts, or second thoughts. Also, there is the long process of finding out what "works," what doesn't; working thru all the elements, having the right gear, working thru bad sound, broken strings, tuning issues, not being being able to hear yourself in the center of the hurricane. The audience was appreciative, enthusiastic; I was just one element in an 8 piece ensemble. The "magic" comes from losing yourself in the moment. The vibe the band creates is bigger than any one of us. So yeah, my voice in the middle of the maelstrom of sound, just another vibe in the ocean of vibes. Whenever you do anything "creative," you are edging out on the high wire, not knowing if what you are doing is really good, bad, or indifferent. Really just trusting the creative impulse. Giving your all, losing your self in moments of complete trascendence. Those moments can't be ordered up, or commanded, they descend upon you, like a cloud, or like a gentle rain. There is nothing better in the world. You can bask in the glow of an uncommon, beautiful thing. Just another show, but it is a little glimpse of everything conjured up just right, everything truly in it's right place.

In it's Own Weird, Negative Way, it is Impressive...

Folk #1: Think of him as a "negative role model." You know whatever he is, represents, says & does, should be dismissed, rejected, belittled, ignored. Be glad you are not him! Use his example as a map for how not to live, how not to think, act, or believe. He is cruel, racist, unkind, selfish, boorish, ignorant, you are kind, compassionate, embrace diversity, empathic, humble and loving, always seeking intelligence in this vast Universe. Think of him as the human-black-hole, a field of negativity, nihilism, death; you must avoid him, his followers, and all his emanations at all costs. Your life depends on it. Your happiness, your fulfillment, your hope for a meaningful and satisfying life requires you to navigate away from anything associated with that very sick, twisted, corrupt idiot. Think of his life as The Idiot's Guide to How Not Live a Life. Ha. How is it that one human being can attract, embody & manifest all the worst qualities of humanity? All contained in one over-stuffed toxic package? I suppose in it's own very weird, negative way, it is sort of impressive...

Blind Stupidity...

Perfection. There are only so many ways & times you can say fool, idiot, creep, moron, knave, scoundrel, grifter, felon, con-man, cry-baby, narcissist, egotist, psycho/socio-path, liar, bully, coward, sexual predator, all-around terrible human being. Sometimes one image is all you need...

Beware the Shit-Stirrers...

Folk #1: My friend's Mother came to one of our theater productions back in the early 2000's. It was a festive get together. Our little theater group put on a funny, surreal, play, there was a good turnout, and then there was a rollicking celebration afterwards; drinking, chatting, laughing, and goofing around. One of our tangential friends, a shady, marginal character we called "Johnny Boy," stood out in a crowd of shady, marginal characters that always hung around the theater space. Free booze, pretty girls & music was like fly paper to these needy, on the hunt, flies. My friend's Mother sat observing it all. She took one look at Johnny Boy from across the gallery space; he was animated, fractured, even at a distance looked not quite right, and she remarked to no one in particular: "That Johny Boy is going to ruin it for everyone." Ha. Of course she was right. Wherever Johnny went there was always chaos, fights, and hard words left in his wake. Later in the decade, Johnny would send me photos from on the lam in Thailand; the theme was always half-dressed ladies, illicit drugs, wild nights, dark-doings.  It was best to keep one's distance from Johnny Boy. Always arm's length. Beware the shit-stirrers. Hmmm... I wonder why I am thinking about Johnny Boy this morning?!

The Good Work of Living Well...

Folk #1: Hitting bottom. What is to be found there? Nihilism. Pessimism. Doomerism. You know, death-cult, suicide-cult shite. I suppose it's good know, to be aware of the very dark things that you must avoid, and to recognize them as the intellectual poisons fatally-toxic to your head, heart & spirit. USA is in the grip of MAGA. MAGA = Death Cult/Suicide Cult. I suppose Hate suffuses & infuses everything in this dark, toxic place. It is self-hatred turned on the world. It is a mind-fuck, a spirit-suck, a black-hole that swallows everything. This Death/Suicide Cult looks powerful & inevitable, but it's a hollow, empty, dead-end, no doubt. It can't be reasoned with, it must be avoided, contained, and defeated. Most of us truly Love Life & Love Love. That is the alternative, the positive truth, the life-raft that will save us. So, yes, you touch down, then you must rise up from the bottom, land on solid ground, and begin doing the good work of Living Well.

Surrounded by Knaves & Fools...

Folk #1: St. Patrick's Day 2026. It doesn't have much meaning beyond an excuse to drink to excess, & then puke on your shoes. Beer & vomit. And for a certain class of Humans, that is just typical behavior. Some of us left all that behind in our mis-spent youth. Now it's about observing your fellow humans acting badly and thinking "glad it's not me." Unleash yourself from the drinking class, and, suddenly you are a bit of an outsider. Choose to be a vegetarian too, and, well, you find yourself on the far shore of existence. Oh yeah, admit you like to read poetry, and poetic novels?  Ok. You are an outlier, no doubt. Yes.  Being on the outside looking in gets to be quite comfortable & comforing. Dave Davies of the Kinks once put it well: "I'm not like everybody else." And that's ok. It kind of inverts the old idea of being a "rebel," no cigarettes, no booze, no BBQ, no junk food, early to bed, early to rise, leaning to the Light,  you know, just for kicks? "Straight Edge," vs."Broken Arrow." I was once told by a "psychic," that my mission in this life was to "heal my male ancestral line."  Seems a bit of a heady, mad, impossible quest & task, the kind of mission & theme you can take into the core of your being and guard with your life. I look back at my own line, a  long string of "working stiffs," folks just trying to get through, and, yes, well, there is continuity in the line. I find myself trying my best to do what I can with what I have, which isn't all that much, but just enough. I can choose to be happy, as an act of flinty discipline. Surely, I am arbitrary, temporary, making it all up as I go along. Often I have no clue what it's all about. I look around at the world and I see difficult dire, deadly, times, bounded by tragedy, and cruelty; surrounded by a world overstuffed with knaves & fools. I am in it, but not of it. That's my code. I tell myself: "It must be enough."

Clearing the Head-Space...

 

Folk #1: I write about the madness, often, here, in this little blog. Reading my posts you might think I am overly-occupied with the doings of terrible people doing terrible things. It is not so. Or, ok, it is so, but only to a certain extent. Sure, there is a battle going on in my head-space (one battle after another), sure, the hurly-burly of furious action is front & center in my head, but I am always trying to clear my head, my space, to open to a new clarity, to locate, & to retreat to, the calm center of consciousness. It can be done in short bursts, and, surprisingly, sometimes, I can do it all day long. I turn to meditation, music, laughter, love, joy. I try to fill up my days by doing those things that I love to do. Much of yesterday I spent my time in a recording studio working on new music. It was glorious. No one was shooting missiles at me. If I stick close to the ground, wander the streets of my little neighborhood, I can lose myself in a world of wonder. Really. It's true. I imagine myself as a little Golden Buddha. letting go the troubles, the worries, the doubts, of a crazy-ass existence, and focus on the Light,  Light in the Darkness, leaning into the "path of enlightenment." Yes. Be like the Golden Buddha. That is a noble path. No blood for oil. No war. Fuck the evil-doers. I let all the shite go. Damn the torpedoes.

The New World Disorder...

Folk #1: Intentionally lighting the Middle East on fire? Not smart. Gladly blundering into a War? Pretty damn stupid. And terribly immoral. Not realizing that other folks have "theory of mind;" not understanding & taking into account that  other Human Beings have their own thoughts, ideas, dreams, plans, motives? Infantile, stunted, a sign of a malfunctioning brain. Talk about "self-sabotage." No surprise this man is a multiple Felon, a serial sexual abuser, a bully & a clown with a long record of failures & bankruptcies. Did I mention the Lies? Never-ending. How could such a Human Being be elected, elevated to such a position of weight & power by a free populace? Unfathomable. This lawless President, and his boot-licking toadies are on a path of world-wide chaos & destruction. Welcome to the New World Disorder. It is true, and it is our small glimmer of Hope, there is still reality, gravity & hard consequences: "The harder they come, the harder they fall, one & all." Afterwards, the healing will commence, and the picking up the pieces and putting back together again will be a major enterprise of renewal. Other, vastly better equipped Humans will be required for the difficult tasks ahead.

The Psychopaths Amongst Us...

Folk #1: What is a Psychopath? Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, persistent antisocial behavior, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress, which create an outward appearance of normality.

The latest news seems to beg the question: What happens when society rewards & elevates these broken, stunted, malformed personality types to the highest ranks in Government, Business, Show-biz, Pop Culture?

The obvious result: blind cruelty, pointless violence, raw brutality. Amplify this across countries and you get bloody wars of attrition. Unhinged, delusional, diseased, poorly functioning minds at war with each other.  The rest of us are left to watch the gory spectacle unfold & to pray that the pieces don't fall on our own heads...

Stupid & Corrupt Meets the Day...

Folk #1: It's funny to watch the really Corrupt & Stupid People find out that not every one else is quite as Corrupt & Stupid as they are. You know, "the shock of the real." Another hard reality, and a hard-learned lesson in humility. Of course, these Corrupt & Stupid People are so Corrupt & Stupid, all lessons, roll off their backs, they fall by the wayside. Nothing will deter these Corrupt & Stupid People from their mission of corruption & stupidity. So, anyway, yes, the Gates of Hell have been pushed open-wide, it is quite disturbing, but there is still a tiny flicker of satisfaction as we watch the Corrupt & Stupid People flail about in total stupefied incomprehension. They find themselves up against something totally mysterious: other folks with minds of their own, some actually armed with a smidgen of Intelligence, Integrity, Agency, Will, Intention, Resistance.  Sure, all this madness & fury may spell "curtains," for a certain way of life for all of us, it is a constant battle, between the dense & the enlightened, but it is sort of gratifying to watch the Corrupt & Stupid Ones find out that "the world," & reality itself, refuses to bend or bow to their deeply stupid & corrupt idiocies...

Morning Words...

Folk #1: Words & phrases that tumble off the top of my head this morning...

Hubris
Arrogance
Idiocy

Blind Stupidity

Clusterfuck

Fatal Embrace

Catastrophic Failure

2 Billion Dollars a Day

Oil Crisis

Vietnam

Iraq

Afghanistan

Iran

Straits of Hormuz

Quagmire

Forever War

FUBAR

Civilian Casualties

Murder

Mayhem

Dogs of War

Gates of Hell

Unintended Consequences

No Exit Strategy

War Crimes

Dishonorable Men

Cowards

Fools

Lies

Lies

Damned Lies

Release the Epstein Files

Fuck

"Girl, we gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do..."

Yes, of course, the Idiot Plot...

Folk #1: Yes. Of course. "The Idiot Plot!" - an idiot plot is one which is "kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot" and where the story would quickly end, or possibly not even happen, if this were not the case.

Sure, it can be mildly entertaining, if, & when, it's just entertainment; a movie, a series, or a show, in which you watch other folks, clearly, first-class, clueless Idiots, navigating thru the world, fucking up with total abandon and idiocy. Laughter and joy can ensue, watching folks clearly more fucked up than you, totally fucking up. There is a certain satisfaction in thinking: "At least I'm not that much of a fucking Idiot!"

In the real world? Not so funny. Every morning you wake up, worried, anxious, unsure, sipping your morning coffee asking yourself: "What fresh fuckery today? What have the Idiots done now?!" 

We are stuck in the Idiot Plot, with no clear escape hatch. Yikes.

Random Words from a Diseased Mind...

Actual Quote from Trump: "No other president can do some of this shit I'm doing."

Folk #1: Exactly! Yes. In my own mind, I have danced around with the idea that Will Stancil posted on Blue Sky (see above). Thinking about this lawless, rogue, President, a human being, who rarely seems to have a coherent, rational, logical thought in his head; attributing, any cogent motives or strategies to this poor example of a man, seems like pointless foolishness, & an obvious "category mistake."   

All the media coverage of this man's mutterings are truly off-target.  Yes. "... asking a poodle to change a flat tire." So perfect. He's just "doing shit." Shit no one else would do. 

There may be some raw "thoughts" swimming around in this President's head, probably up front & center in his head: "stay out of jail," but beyond that, think way more basic; reptilian, lower-function, all-reaction/all the time. Pure survival shit; rage, blind stupidity, gutter racism, incoherent ramblings & random poorly-formulated words from a truly diseased mind.

It's pathology, baby! We are stuck with this sickness, until, well, not sure how this ends. Yikes...

Monday Morning Hot Take...

Folk #1: I am an Excitable Boy. Just like Warren Zevon. But this morning, trying my best not to be excited or anxious. I am sipping my coffee, doing my best to stay cool, calm, collected. You know, clear-eyed, grounded, level-headed, looking for Intelligent Life on the Planet. Surprised by the on-going "idiocy & barbarity of my fellow Human Beings." So my hot take isn't all that hot. Maybe this new war in the Middle East is just one grand social experiment, meant to trigger a Global Meltdown? You know, popping the balloon just to make noise? Intiated by one foolish, man, criminal in nature, well beyond the pale of any sensibility or rationality. "This imbecile doesn't know what he's doing..." Let's step back for a minute and remind ourselves of one good rule for better living: "Don't mess with shit you don't know." But, in order live by that code, you have to be smart enough to know what you don't know, and disicplined enough to know when to shut up and sit down. Our present dire cirmcumstance, this vast moment of uncertainty & chaos, is the result you get when one man refuses to shut up & sit down. Think of this Presidency as a deadly experiment that asks the loaded question: "What happens when we break everything, all at once?"

Cognitive Dissonance in Action...

Folk #1: Latest events in the world confirm that yes, we are the bad guys now. When I say "we," I mean the USA. We, our leadership & military forces, are now acting like a lawless, rogue nation. We are the source, the generator of chaos, death & destruction. In retrospect, I suppose, it was inevitable. Life & Death decisions & actions are being made and implemented by a very unwell, cruel, heartless & clueless President. Elect a criminal, expect criminal policies & actions.

We spent yesterday afternoon with a group of creative, dynamic, beautiful American citizens, musicians all, playing music together in a small room, with all our heads & hearts aligned. It was a powerful experience. Even though all of us are very woke & engaged citizens, not one word was spoken about the horror unleashed in our names. It's fair to say, everyone was stunned into silence on the state of the state, desperate to lose themselves in something close to home, something good, nourishing, and soul-affirming. 

We know that we are lucky to have each other, and that we have a project to work on together. It's an alternative, an antidote, to the latest USA Suicide Cult. This Hell on Earth newly unleashed is unspeakable. Really my thoughts this morning about it all can be summed in a string of curses & obscenities. 

Where is all this going? I have no idea, and I can't imagine these folks in charge have any clue either. Let's just be clear, we have taken a deadly, very wrong turn, I don't think it's gonna be a happy ending any time soon. We can Hope for a better day, maybe it's out there on the horizon? In the meantime, filling ourselves up with music, laughter, love. Not an abdication of repsonsiblity, but an act of healing & affirmation of a better way. Fuck the Warmongers & Evil-Doers. Damn the Torpedoes.

We Really Don't Need It All...

Folk #1: We live in a perpetual motion machine. Let's call it Civilization or maybe better, Pop Culture. Everything is in it: Business, Politics, Media, the Arts, etc. Like a Waring Blender all the elements are blurred & pulverized into a big, inglorious mush. How to navigate this shite, and keep from losing your head? It's an on-going project. We are told that "You Can Have It All," and, well, you just know that is a lie. I mean a deadly "Fucking Lie." We are all so over-amped, hopped with an always-unfolding, never being satisfied, "Needing, Wanting, Grasping." It is so easy to get sucked into the swirling vortex of unhappiness. We are always stuck in the "Winter of our Discontent." How to counter it all? Simplify. Go back to basics. Try to remind your self of what is important, what is essential, and what is just superfulous baggage. Most of the best things in a Life are Free. It's funny, and counter to the bigger narrative, but it is true. Sure, it is nice to have nice things, we are all very capable shoppers here in USA; Citizens & Consumers.  But really the best way forward: Quality over Quantity. Living with Less. Enjoying it more. It's Ok to be satisfied with the things you can own & do. The Power of Yes, and the Power of No. The Power not to Need, Want, Grasp. Sort of a Super-Power.

Not Politics. Madness.

Folk #1: Madness. These fuckers are crazy. Deeply unwell Human Beings, capable of pretty much anything. Egos blown up to massive proportions. At the same time super sensitive, deep in their heart of hearts they know that they are weak, needy, creepy, frauds. They suspect we know it too. And every word & action betrays their hollow, soul-less state. Their reptilian brains work fine. Pure survival. Pure need. Voracious. Never satisfied. They seek to be revered, but the vast majority of the human population, near & far, are horrified & appalled. It would all be sort of cynically funny, if it wasn't so deeply tragic. This all looks like an over-amped, suicide cult of stupidity & cruelty. No real purpose, except death & chaos. Fuck these madmen.

Reassured? Nope...

Folk #1: Sure, these folks wield immense power,  they possess and command, weapons of mass destruction which they can unleash instantly on Human Beings near & far. They can destroy vast populations of Humans in an instant. It is almost "god-like," power, the power of Life & Death, Chaos, Destruction, Tragedy and Suffering. Forever Life Altering & Life Ending events. Unleashed on a whim "a feeling." Destroy a school? Instantly kill 168 school children? Yes. Ok. Well, maybe that was a mis-fire? The fog of war? Blame it on the AI? But, you know, at least we can be reassured that these War-Mongers, our present Overlords, are honest, disciplined, honorable, courageous, intelligent, accountable & responsible Human Beings. You know, only the best of the best, the finest humans amongst us. The shining examples, the folks we can look up to, and admire.

Oh... Wait...Oops... Fuck... Nevermind... Oh God... Oh No... We are all doomed to live beneath the thumbs of these corrupt, dishonorable imbeciles... Yikes...

Paradise Lost, Hellscape Found...

Folk #1: Crazy folks who carry around Bibles vs Korans, as well as weapons of mass destruction. They are now engaged in a Holy War. Freaking insane. And the rest of us watch in horror. Funny. We Human Beings were born into Paradise. A life-supporting Blue Planet of amazing abundance. A perfect atmosphere and landscape of wonder, with the ability and bounty to support multitudes of ever-evoling life-forms. What do we do with our time on the planet? Many of us turn to barbarity. Human Beings are expert at devising ways of killing other Human Beings. We are ambitious and creative in our murderous ways. We are relentless, ravenous in our blood-lust. So, yes, one comes to the insight: Paradise Lost, Hellscape Found. We don't need any old, musty, dusty books to tell us that we have royally fucked up. And one Human, a fat, clueless, corrupt disgusting example of a Human, oh so enamoured with his own over-amped, Hinderburg of an Ego, blindly opened the Gates of Hell in his little vanity War of Choice. Fuck. What is that sound in the distance? The Sound & Fury of Unintended Consequences...

The Bully Vs Truth & Consequences...

Folk #1: The Bully wants to be feared & loved. Turns out he is actually laughed at and hated. The Bully can do much damage, really, he can unleash Hell on Earth. He has power, troops, bombs, and a total lack of common sense, humility or restraint. The Bully thinks he is the center of the action, the main character of the story, but of  course, he isn't. He is just another bit player, he gets to strut around on stage, for a little while, just like the rest of us, but then he walks off, or is carted off, well before he believes he's done. Sure he is upfront & prominent now, but his days are numbered, and there any many billions of people, and forces, beyond his control. Sure, he has his devoted cult, but if, for some reason, he suddenly up and died, well, no doubt, many billions of humans around the world would rejoice, dance in the streets in joy. Brutal, I know. That's the fate of world-class Bullies. What is funny, in a tragic, & not so funny way, is that the Bully thinks it's all about him, he thinks he is in control, but of course, he isn't. We have skidded into the Truth & Consequences Era of our time. Push-back, Blow-back, Unintended Consequences, Dogs of War, Dogs of Hell Unleashed. This idiot Bully and his minions didn't count on the reaction to their action. Total fucking madness & stupidity. Turns out Americans don't like to be murdered on the streets of our own cities, and folks in other countries don't like to be bombed, murdered, and dismemebered by drones & military jets. The Bully finds himself isolated, surrounded only by lackeys, boot-lickers, toadies, wanna-be-bullies. Yes. The Bully is probably surprised by being punched in the nose, in reaction to his actions. Not everyone is bowing down & applauding him. Most of us are appalled and digusted. Truth & Consequences, turns out they are like guided missiles aimed at each & every one us. No one is spared when the shit gets real.

Blundering into War, Death & Destruction...

Folk #1: Yes. The headlines are bad. Trump blundering into in a war, like the flailing, failing, corrupt, criminal he has always been. US bombing a school and killing a bunch of kids (war-crime!). US soldiers are dying too (stupid self-sabotage!). None of this was legal or smart. Pretty much corrupt, criminal & immoral all around. Never went to Congress. Never made the case. All blundering, bully, wannbe-dictator-shite. Nothing coherent, or logical about creating another new Hellscape in the Middle East. This man acts as if there are never any consequences for his bad actions, somehow he always skates. The long list of the man's crimes accumulates. Will there be a day of reckoning & Justice? One can only hope...

This headline captures it in a nutshell...

Terrible People Doing Terrible Things...

Folk #1: Are we still the good guys? It is hard to tell. Our government is run by terrible people doing terrible things. Terrible things both near & far. Seems this administration is only good at one thing, terrorizing & killing people. They are doing it in the streets of America, and in the streets of foreign lands too. "How long can this be going on?" Our beloved Ocasio released an eloquent statement. We agree with her wholeheartedly...

Distance...

Folk #1: Distance yourself from the madness.

Empty to the Wonder...

Folk #1: We've reached Friday over here. It is sort of a "fiction." Time; is it an illusion, fungible, relative, circular? We have made up these days of the week, and count them down, mark them off the calendar. Since we all do it, these days have their own reality. Earth rotating around the sun (365 days), sunrise/sunset. So, yes, anyway, a busy week, lots of trudging & slogging, happy it's Friday, looking forward to the weekend. Where is my head at this morning? That's my own personal question submitted to my own personal self. It's probably not your question. I am in the "I don't know and I don't have a clue," mode. My head is swirling with sentences like: "I know nothing." "What is it all about?" "What is going on?" "Who the fuck knows?" I suppose it's a way to clear my head. Empty it of any & all preconceived notions, expectations, predictions, judgements, lofty ideas, worries, concerns. Not exactly a blank page or a naked canvas, but maybe leaning towards that state. I wonder. I am filled with wonder. That's about it. Funny, it actually feels good.

The Pointlessness is Overwhelming...

Folk #1: Maybe the pointlessness is the point? Following the "doings" of my fellow Human Beings, means being swamped by the Bullshit. Man, oh, man. This internet/social media/AI Frenzy/MAGA Suicide-Cult-Shite is totally fricking dizzying. Tracking with this shite is gob-smackingly, stupefying. Whole sectors of our society, politics, business, culture have devolved into dazzling, hyper, over-amped bullshit. A weird feeding frenzy and feedback loop. It is easy to plunge in and get lost in the swamp of shite. If somehow you are able to extricate yourself, step back, take a breath, watch the madness unfold, you will be amazed by how willing Human Beings are with gladly fluffing themselves and others with bullshit, for profit, power and kicks. What's the alternative? "Surrender Dorothy!" Let go. I think of that great Firesign Theater line: "Everything you know is wrong." Start there. Go back to basics. Live in the real moment to moment. Fuck these grifters, conmen, hucksters & bullshitters. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." No reason to give it all up to the worst fools amongst us. There is intellignet life in the Universe, somewhere, I do believe, although, I could be wrong...

State of the Union? The Coverup Continues...

Folk #1: My partner & I are all about mental well-being, positive energy, taking care of our bodies, spirits, leaning into the light, exploring the wonder & the beauty of a creative existence. You know, we are on a long-form improvisational, creative journey. We must carefully & wisely tend to our gardens, not let the b.s. & the bad action from all the bad actors swamp over us.

So, we skipped the State of the Union address last night. The only way we would have watched it, is if we had been kidnapped, strapped to chairs, and had our heads and eyes pinned open like Alex in A Clockwork Orange. Luckily none of that happened. Instead we occupied ourselves with other diversions.

But, really, fuck the State of Union, at least according to this criminal President. This is the big story of the moment:  Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump

The coverup continues...

Hard Teachers, No Curve...

Folk #1: I am reminded, again, that Nature & Reality are hard teachers. They don't grade on a curve. They don't bend to one's whims, pleadings, excuses, hopes, dreams, wishes. Ignore these teachers at your own peril. Your job as Human Being is to listen, to observe, to experience, to adjust, evolve, reorient yourself based on the lessons of Nature & Reality. One learns very quickly, if one is paying attention at all, that you are connected to everything, a tiny, microscopic being in a vast sea, an infinite, always expanding ocean of beings, phenomena, & experiences. Yes. Humility. Attention to detail. Being open, alive, aware, awake. This is a Universe of wonder, beauty, & joy, mixed with chaos, disorder, destruction. You are "in it, and of it." You, your being, is part of it all & embodies it all. Being in sync, in tune with Nature & Reality; it's a job, a discipline, even if, and as, your conception of your self & life, are subject to radical change. The changes can come in a blink of an eye. Your every thought, belief, & idea can & will be challenged, often smashed to bits. One breath, one moment, and everything is suddenly different. Oh well. It's that kind of Universe, that kind of life. We are here to live it, fully, with eyes wide open. Damn the torpedoes.

The "All at Once Phase..."

Folk #1: Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha...

Something is in the air: "Good news, just not for them."  Think: "The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall." Just reading the signs, taking in the vibes. Evidence is accumlating: a Fall, a Crash, a Collapse, a shifting balance, a new landscape, a new day.

Stupidity,  Corruption, Racism, Cruelty, Murder, Kidnapping, Concentration Camps. That shite will only get you so far. Reality Bites. Neil Young: "Sooner or later, it all gets real..."

"Try Harder: Actualize Collapse." 

Just pray the pieces don't fall on you or your loved ones. Take care, stay close to ground. It doesn't take "a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows." 

In the battle between the forces of Dark & Light, Fortunes seem to be slowly turning. As they say: "slowly at first, then all at once." Ptetty sure we are nearing the "all at once phase" of this era. I am no longer a betting man, but if I were, I'd be betting on the forces of Light, and the Glorious Days of Reckoning.

Random Phrases...

Folk #1: This early morning, still deep dark, a few random phrases are stirring around in my head. They seem sort of "relevant?"

"Things are not as they seem..."

"Looks deceive..."

"Everything is connected..."

"People are so damn disappointing..."

"I have issues..."

"WTF!"

The Glimmering Glimpse...

Folk #1: There's the slog, the mud, the muck, the mire, the hurly-burly of a life, well-lived, but then there are those moments of sweet transcendence, glimmering glimpses of "cosmic consciousness" - "the sacred aliveness of the world." Sure. I have had a few of those moments, fleeting, immediately retreating back into the murky void,  still, just the simple glimpse, the hint, the shimmering moment of enlightenment stays with you. You realize that higher consciousness is always there, hovering over and around your being, dancing above you.  Tantalizing, inviting, comforting. There are some simple paths one can take to open up the doors of transcendence. Getting lost in the moment, dropping your Ego, embodying the Silence, connecting with Nature, letting yourself go, losing your self into the vast interconnected web of Life. Riding the vibe of connection. Experience that once, and you really are transformed. I mean, not talking God here, instead it's about experiencing a connection to all things. Taking it in, sinking into that. A small thing, and everything...

Soul Searching...

Folk #1: Yes. "Grasping at straws." Trying to explain things to myself. And well, my self isn't buying it. I am a gnarly, recalcitrant, argumentative motherfucker. I can really annoy myself sometimes. Reflecting on my previous post, I realize, I have burned lots of my brain cells in the many decades of my time on the planet trying to understand Life, trying to figure out my place in the grand scheme of things, trying to take in, & do my best, to understand the grand scheme itself. Trying to figure out what can't really be figured, solving a puzzle that is ultimately unsolvable. But then again, I think, maybe understanding things is overrated, and besides the point? You know, finally, maybe I just have to get on with living, get on with experiencing the moment to moment, don't judge it,  just make it through day to day, without totally losing my shit, without becoming a callous, fucking, asshole, without lying to my self or others, without getting high on my own supply, without bullshitting myself and every last person in my orbit. Trying to be a "good person."  "A man of my word." Maybe too simple?  Not ambitious enough? But, you know, really, doing my best to not fuck up, not to hurt myself or other people, maybe that is the best this sometimes humble and sometimes not so humble pilgrim can hope to achieve in my own little lifetime? I mean, what the fuck?! And still, I wrestle with questions like: How do I get my head around living with all these cruel, stupid, soul-killing, energy-sucking creeps who live amongst us, and want to rule over us? I mean, it's a major fucking slog and vibe-killer watching, listening to & dealing with those zombie-ass, creeps. What to do with that burden? I don't rightly know. Tuning the assholes out, turning away from the carnage & mayhem, seems like a sensible & healthy thing, good for my mental health and well-being, but, then again, ignoring the over-amped, prodigiously ignorant, ravenous beast at the door doesn't seem all that smart either. It is a fucking, hairy, conundrum. How to tolerate the intolerable? How to co-exist with folks who don't give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves, folks who gladly harass, torture and kill other folks, often just for the living fuck of it?  A difficult question, no doubt about it.

Questions & Answers...

Folk #1: Asking questions. Looking for answers. Trying to figure things out. Trying to solve the Riddles, large & small, of Existence. It's a life-long quest. I have spent so much of my time on the planet occupied with this Don Quixote-like quest. Questioning everything. Battling windmills, battling the wind. What engages me? Whatever engages me.  Pretty much anything. Still, fairly quickly, I have learned there are hard limits to knowledge, the searching is endless, and any sense of "understanding," is often fruitless. I find myself lost in a cul de sac, or in a hall of mirrors; a confounding zone where the questions multiply, they bounce around, they collide with each other; bits & bites of knowledge slowly accumulate, but solid & clear answers refuse to offer themselves up. Life; it's complicated. Seems that the more you look, the more see, often, the less you know, there is the uncertainty principle, the more you explore a subject, any subject, the murkier things get when you delve deep enough into the dark nougat center. You end up with lots of knowledge, data, facts, kernels of truth, often contadictory, partial, arbitary. Understanding is a fleeting chimera, an always vanishing unicorn. Of course, silly me, I am not the greatest questioner. My limits are oh so obvious. Even, & especially, to me. Being fully Human demands a disciplined self-awareness & a hard-won humility. Mystery is everywhere. Yes. We are bound by Mystery. Or maybe bound & gagged by Mystery. I suppose that's ok, or, you know, it has to be ok, one learns to live with the limits of knowledge, the limits of understanding, the limits of reason, and the all-pervading reality of a nebulous Mystery at the heart of everything. Making sense of not making sense. There is a vast Cloud of Unknowing looming over us all. When you are at your wit's end, grasping, grappling, fumbling for answers, an all-purpose, very handy response comes to mind. Take a question, any question, one that starts with a simple, "Why...?" Ha.  Aye. Right?  Tricky. The Belfast Cowboy might say: "There is no why, it just is..." There's the rub. You may come up with million plausible-sounding reasons for certain phenomena. You do you best trying to be reasonable. Still, the cold, hard, funny & obvious response would be, could be, & often is: "Who knows? I mean, you know, shit happens."

Through Someone Else's Eyes...

Folk #1: Funny. I always knew I was an Excitable Boy (hat-tip to Warren Zevon). I bumped into an acquaintence yesterday on the path. I hadn't seen him for a few months, he had had an existential health crisis, and had been sidelined for awhile. I had no idea of the drama he had gone through, nor the impression I have made on this person over a number of random conversations on the lakefront. Sure. We've had some deep, philosophical exchanges, engaged in loopy dialogue about pretty much anything that happened to float into our heads. Some cool insights, book recommendations & laughter too. I was surprised to find that I touched this person deeply to the core. I seem to have inspired him, and challenged him, and our conversations were often on his mind, even when he was in hospital recovering from heart surgery. It was wild to hear him describe my character, to see myself through his eyes, his consciousness, & his very unique sensibility. He described me as person on "a mission," passionate, engaged, firey and energetic, maybe a bit of a creative evangelist. Ha. I thought some of that rang true, and some of that was illusion. Just so happens I was reeling yesterday, on the ropes, barely going through the motions of the day. questioning everything; my purpose, my being,  I mean I was reeling a bit, "Faking it to make it," through the day in one piece. We walked togeter, taking in the beautiful day. Our conversation brought me back to the moment, and I could feel energy flowing back into my body. Funny how that happens. We finally reached a point on the path where we were to go seperate ways, we hugged each other, two grown men, showing true emotion and comradery. It was a touching moment. Then, it was onto the next big thing, I knew it was out there somewhere, just around the next corner... I mean, you know, maybe...

Disassociate...

Yes. The smart play? Disassociate yourself from the Epstein/Asshole class that is permeating our culture. There is only one solution: vote all the assholes out. A total house-cleaning. The same with the out of touch elites trying to "overlord" us all.  Shame & shun them. Banish them from polite society. No mercy. Be bold & brave. Take to the streets. Stand up and be counted. Our day will come. No doubt. Then a thorough, merciless reckoning.

Multiculturalism is Good...

Folk #1: - Multiculturalism. Of course it is good. Go to any major American City (for instance: Chicago, New York, LA, San Fransciso, San Antonio, Atlanta, etc) and see the benefits of people from all corners of the planet co-existing.  Why are these cities such fabulous places to visit & to live in? Multiculturalism. Enjoy the food, the music, the vibrancy of humanity in all it's many forms and flavors. Cruise the streets of Chicago, a rainbow of peoples from everywhere: Latin American, South & North American, Thai, Indian, Polish, Irish, German, African, Russian, Ukrainian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, British, French, Native Americans, I mean, everything, all at once, you name it, you will find it here. If you are looking to get an education about the benefits, joys & wonders of multiculturalism, check out Anthony Bourdain's old series Parts Unknown. It's a fabulous glimpse of the splendiferous wonderment of humanity around the planet. Surprises everywhere. Anyone railing against multiculturalism is a fool, a creep, a white supremacist, a racist, a fascist, a cretin, an anti-humnanist sicko. Oh yeah, you know, prominent creeps like Rubio, Trump, Musk, Miller, Etc. Retrograde assholes all. They should be shamed, shunned & banished from society. Fuck them all.

People in the Streets Demanding a Better Way & Day...

 

Folk #1: Well the above chart is quite encouraging. Protests against the Trump Administration, and his policies of cruel and unusual punishment against the Citizens of the USA continue to grow in number. "Could be well over 15 million" Americans in over 40,000 protests across USA.

We are are supposed to be the fat & sassy ones, bored out of our skulls, stupid, unconcerned, snorting opioids and betting on sports on our smartphones, but, no, well ok, yes, there are lots of folks occupying their time like that, but still a sizable portion of us are also outraged, very deeply unhappy and concerned about the state of state. And willing to take to the streets to demonstrate our feelings.

Over here, my partner & I have participated in a few of these protest ourselves. It has been a very gratifying thing to do. A declaration that this is not acceptable, not the America we know & love. Our fellow common ones are showing  us all a better way. Fuck Trump. Fuck ICE. We need a reboot. Resistance in all it's many splendored forms is a beautiful thing indeed.

Where Will I Find the Wonder Today?

Folk #1: What to write about this morning? I have reached deeply into my own calm center. Zen, indeed. I switch on my Chromebook, and check in with the over-amped, raving, drooling, lunatic mob, those crazed folks running the U.S. Government, and those stilted cretins who are still cheering them on. I suppose I need to know what fresh fuckery now? It's admittedly a weird form of entertainment. Observing these cruel, stupid, corrupt, yes, evil people and their thrashings of idiocy. They seem desperate. The louder they cry, whine, gnash their teeth, the more they seem ineffective, clueless, out of touch with the real, seriously sick & twisted. Not healthy Humans. I sip my coffee, listening to Jason Molina and The Magnolia Electric Co. on the stereo. Jason was a troubled soul (I listen to him sing and it's a sad, beautiful, inspiring thing), who laid down some amazing music: "And I am proof that the heart is a risky fuel to burn, Yeah, we are proof that the heart is a risky fuel to burn..."

Yes, we are all that smart proof, and as Randy Newman sang in another context: "Burn river, Burn..."

I imagine the hammer coming down on these crazed folks, the hammer of Justice & Truth. Maybe it's a healthy fantasy of mine. I still believe. I can imagine a better world, a better iteration of Human. Is it a pipe dream? I don't think so, I'm not sucking on a pipe. Give me some cold, hard, facts, some grains of truth, and I can run down a new scenario. The cruel idiots may be the loudest voices at the moment, but I do believe it's all empty, hollow, soul-killing b.s. It won't last. It's really the death rattles of a dying movement.

The Zen in me means I am not attached to any one of my dreams or ideas. They all flow thru me like water. Still dark here, but I know the sun will soon peek over the horizon. Announcing a new day in Paradise. I wonder where I will find the wonder today?

"What if I Could be Totally ZEN & Totally Happy, Anyway?"

Folk #1: Let's say, for the sake of argument, that things just aren't going your way. You seem out of sync with your life, & with the times you find yourself living in. You feel like you are flailing & failing at every turn. And you see the corrupt, stupid & evil folks around you thriving, living it up like there is no tomorrow. It's a bit disheartening & frustrating. It feels like a sentence, a judgement is being imposed on you from an Angry God, a God that you don't even believe in. "Out of sorts," is one way of putting it. Alienated is another. What to do? Beats me, remember it is me who is flailing & failing. Still, for some unknown reason, I feel a bold, uncommon, frankly, ridiculous impulse of fire & defiance welling up from deep inside my being. I find myself declaring: "Fuck it." & "Fuck them." I vow to myself to have a rethink, to embark on a disciplined program of renewal. I play Devil's Advocate & ask myself:"What if I could be totally ZEN, and totally happy, anyway?"

Epstein Scandal, the Godzilla of Scandals...

 

A picture for the ages. Pam Bondi the Attorney General of the U.S. another Trump lackey, still covering up the Epstein scandal. Those folks with their hands raised are victims and witnesses who have never been deposed. Bondi is doing her best to cover things up for the rich and powerful folks implicated in the scandal. The is the conspiracy of conspiracies. It's vast, and ever-expanding. I don't think this is going away anytime soon. It is too big at this point, it is like the Godzilla of Conspiracies. Too many unanswered questions, too many victims, too many perpetrators who have still not faced any consequences. The more evidence comes out, the more folks implicated, the more dastardly and counter-productive the coverup becomes. Yes. Wealthy folks in every industry, and government officials in every office. The protection racket is crumbling. I was always a bit skeptical of this monster of conspiracies, but it just won't evaporate or die. It appears to consume anyone getting in it's way. The more you look, the more you see. It expands like a corrosive, deadly virus, a reptile like monster consuming all in it's way. A total cleanse and a day of reckoning is required. The cold blade of truth must have it's moment. Stay tuned.

Yes. Self-Care in the Face of the Bullshit...

 Folk #1: "Self-care." Very important. Especially if you are tuned in to the Global situation: a crazy-ass planet, populated, & over-run by a crazy-ass species. We think we are so goddamned smart, and privileged & entitled. What a joke. It's on us.

So, yes, we feel obligated to pay attention, it is part of the job of being a Human Being, but it is an energy-suck. We must be smart about using our energy wisely, it is not an infinite resource, often we must pull our energy back in, focus on clearing, cleansing, meditating, letting go of all the stupid, toxic, evil shite flowing past and over us.

A disciplined retreat & stepping back. It is important, and essential to occupy ourselves, to fortify ourselves with healthy food in it's various forms. Food for the body & the spirit. For us, it's always plant-based, organic food, plus, of course, the food for the spirit: music, literature, poetry, novels, engaging fictions, and an endless search for intelligent  life on the planet. 

Finding a spot of peace, gratitude, wonder, joy, despite the crazy-ass lunacy.

We are All Bad Bunny...

Folk #1: Thinking a bit more about the Bad Bunny moment (see previous post). 13 mins exactly. I do think it was an important event. Definitely better than the game. Could it be a tipping point, a sea change, a cultural marker, an event that alters the direction & spirit of the zeitgeist? I don't know. Maybe. "A change of consciousness can happen in an instant." Pop Culture can be quite the powerful force for change. Some say it was Levi's Blue Jeans and R&R that killed Communism in Russia.

Bad Bunny brought Puerto Rico to San Francisco, and to the wider world. He sang in Spanish, which totally flew past me, but his performance was powerful & undeniable. There was beauty, history, celebration, ingenuity, diversity, color, power, compassion, humor, vibrancy, in every move and gesture.

The symbolism was powerful and cleansing. A totally different idea of what it means to be alive on the planet right now. Since the words were just another element of the music, the performance actually gained in power and effect. It was a healing, a clearing, a blazing affirmation of humanity in all it's multiplicity. 

We all come from different places, we all have different faces and histories. But, we are here, together, right now, and our differences are a beautiful strength. Bad Bunny and his collaborators showed us how to live together, in the moment, embracing each other. Thriving on the beautiful, vibrant energy of being alive with heart, compassion, empathy.  You know, without saying it: Woke 2.0.

A powerful pop cultural moment, no doubt. Such a stark contrast in oppostition to the dark, ugly, divisive, corrosive, MAGA abomination. It is easy to choose sides. We are all Bad Bunny now! 

Bad Bunny: "Together We Are America."

 

Turns out Bad Bunny is Good Bunny. Funny. Singing in Spanish. Delicious. "Together We Are America." Who knew that would be a "radical" statement? When Bad Bunny says "America" it includes all of Latin America, & a North America that includes Canada too. Of course, it's a radically perfect contrast to MAGA's creepy dark vision. Yes. Puerto Ricans are U.S. Citizens. How refreshing to see happy, creative, beautiful people celebrating a vision of a joyously diverse America. Oh, yeah, that is the America most of us want to live in, the America that we all Love. What's super funny, & tragic too, our President is an old, racist, fuck who is living in the wrong country & the wrong century. Maybe he could do us all a favor and choke out on his own hate, bile, & racist-vomit?! That would be sweet karma, indeed.

Joyously Merciless...

Folk #1: What have you got? I am against it. Put me in the camp with the resistors, the common folk. This Oligarchical Billionaire class, yes the Epstein Class, is poison to our democracy. We need champions for decency, compassion, love & democracy. Radical measures will be required. Abolishing ICE will be an essential first step. Dismantling DHS too. Reordering government. Woke 2.0 must be vigilant, resiliant, & merciless with overflowing compassion for Democracy, Justice & Truth. Yes. Joyously merciless for the cause of a better union.

Donald Trump Enters the Next Circle of Hell: Gutter Racist...

“This disgusting video, posted by the so-called president, was done intentionally. F*ck Donald Trump and his vile, racist, and malignant behavior. This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder. President Obama and Michelle Obama are brilliant, caring, and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country. It’s time for John Thune, Mike Johnson, and Republicans to denounce this serial fraudster, who’s sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue pretending to be the president of the United States.” - Hakeem Jefferies, Democratic House Leader

Amen, Brother. 

Donald Trump has again descended to another Circle of Hell. The Circle reserved for the Gutter Racists. We knew he had it in him. I mean, some of us from the start knew that he was always a stone-cold racist. When all the other masks fall from his face, the cold, dark, ugly heart of racism emerges. Just when you think he has hit bottom with his ugly words & deeds, he finds another level of disgusting, malevolent behaviour. 

What is admirable about most of us Americans, we are coming to the aid & defense of the brown & black folks amongst us, the trans & gay ones too, those under attack from this criminal/racist/fascist adminstration. We know that the folks under attack are friends, neighbors, collegues, fellow Human Beings who deserve respect, honor, love & support. That's the way you make a better Union.

It is how you create a vibrant, thriving Democracy. How do we make our country decent again? The decent ones stand up and say, "This is not acceptable. We reject this with all our Hearts, Heads, Spirits aligned." We, of course, are so much better than this gutter racist trash. We can, and must, lean to our Better Angels.

Maybe the 1st Crack in the Firmament of Idiocy?

Folk #1: Is it wrong to "Try Harder, Actualize Collapse!" That is a phrase written in the cement on a sidewalk in my neighborhood. Methinks it's not wrong at all. Watching the implosion of Bitcoin on the market ticker and enjoying every last bit of the plunge. Bad karma? Methinks not. Bozos getting what they deserve; it's just natural. I'm actually slightly giddy about their comeuppence. Why? It's funny & gratifying to see greedy idiots who invested in clear, worthless stupidity, being completely humbled & bankrupted. And thinking maybe this particular plunge is just the first crack in the firmament? Maybe AI-associated stocks next? Pretty sure collapse is coming. Gravity, common sense, & reality can be ignored only for so long. It's about time that cooler, smarter, more intelligent heads prevail. And, well, no surprise Trump's approval ratings are collapsing too. Turns out murder, kidnapping, caging human beings in concentration camps are not very popular here in the USA. That is a good thing indeed. We are trapped in an ugly era, but there are glimmers of the real kicking back. So, yeah, Trump, Bitcoin & AI all wish-casting and vibes. Another way of saying total B.S. They are intertwined in their astonishing idiocy. And when the wishes turn to ashes, and good vibes turn decidedly bad, there is the big reveal: there's nothing behind the curtain, nothing to prop up that shit anymore. Yes, try harder to encourage the actual collapse, then it will be time to renew, recharge, refresh. A new day, a new way. Yes. Actually, quite good...

Murk, Muck, Mire...

I am reminded that much of Life is navigating, swimming in, traversing, the murk, the muck, the mire, the mud of a very physical reality. We are stuck in a realm of messiness; there will be blood, bruises, & in extreme cases, broken skin & bones. Extreme weather conditions, call for extreme measures of insulation & protection. Everything is harder, every step, every move, every breath you take is an adventure & a challenge. Extra energy is required just to strap on your boots to face the long days & nights. The stuff of Life. Simple days of outrageous fortune, the slings & arrows of existence; the floatsum, jetsum &  hurly-burly.

How Convenient...

Folk #1: Speaking of Conspiracy Theories (see previous post), I have always been skeptical about those conspiracy-minded folks pushing the idea that Jeffery Epstein didn't commit suicide in jail, but was murdered. It all seemed so cliche. Still, the more we learn about the circumstances leading up to finding his lifeless body laying on the floor of his jail cell, the more murder seems plausible, and maybe even most likely. Funny. Facts are funny things. The prison guards were sleeping, the security cameras were mysteriously turned off at the exact critical time, Epstein's body was found on the floor with wounds to his neck, and according to the leading journalist who really broke the case early on, Julie K. Brown, the reporter closer to this story than anyone else, Epstein feared for his life, left a secret message in a book, and was preparing to finally "name names." It all sounds like a million other stories we've heard and seen in millions of TV shows, movies, & graphic novels. But, still, just because it all sounds like a very cliched, well-worn script, it doesn't mean it isn't true.  Murder. As David Foster Wallace once pointed out, cliches are cliches because they often are true. We now know that many, many powerful & famous people hung out with Epstein doing god knows what. God & Epstein knew the truth of what was going on his island lair. Those powerful folks certainly had good cause to want Epstein to remain silent. How convenient that he ends up dead before he could spill the beans on all those visitors, friends & clients who visited him. It sure seems like Julie K. Brown believes that Epstein was murdered, and if she believes it, well, that's good enough for me too. Will we ever know who murdered Jeffery Epstein? Who knows? Is it gonna be one of those stories, where everything is all wrapped up in a neat little ball, or, is it gonna be the kind of tale that leaves us all grappling around in the a murky, uncertain darkness? "It's Chinatown, Jake..."

The Mother of All Conspiracies...

Folk #1: Over the weekend, a little band of friends were discussing conspiracy theories. Not to get specific (I am not a conspiracy-theorist at heart), the conspiracies were various, wide-ranging, head-spinning, all-consuming, wildly-ridiculous & sort of funny. Turns out many of the most prominent conspiracy theories actually link up with each other. They span decades, cities, agencies, bad actors, celebrities, prominent & famous people, substances, entities & personalities from all walks of life: JFK, Marilyn Monroe, RFK, Charles Manson, LBJ, Epstein, FBI, Magic Bullet, White Christian Nationalists, Elvis, LSD, Jack Ruby, UFO's, Oswald, Hoover, Helter-Skelter, MLK Jr, Drug-therapy, Debbie Reynolds, Trump, Senators, Ketamine, Reps, Space Aliens, Opes Dei,  Mar A Lago, Governors, KKK, Nazis, Nixon, Cocaine, CIA, Henry Ford, Hitler, Malcolm X, Viet Cong, Mossad, Stalin, Arab Sheiks, Castro, Big-Foot, Lindbergh, WMD, Musk, Space X, paranomoral phenomena, the Yeti, JFK Jr, Russia, NSA, Skull & Bones, Miltiary Industrial Complex, Fascists, Bush/Cheney, Torture Regime, Butler, Putin, ESP, Lincoln, Gitmo, Pharmaceuticals, Iraq, Black Ops, Crypto, Disinfo, AI, Mafia, Fox News, Black Sites, Cloud-seeding,  Abu Graib, Bin Laden, Space Lasers, Hypnotism, KGB, the Illuminati, military-grade weapons, Blackwater, Secret Societies, Zombies, Vampires. Quite the over-amped, snaky, shaky edifice of relationships. My conclusion? There is ONE VAST CONSPIRACY: Folks (bad actors all) with money & power trying to keep & to grow their wealth at any cost, doing their damnedest to get away with whatever they can get away with to the detriment of everyone else on the planet. A simple formulation: the filthy rich ones, rule & fuck over everyone else. Bullet holes, dead bodies, strangled dreams, broken promises, accumulating and piling up into a great heap of a Tower of Conspiratorial Babel, an edifice built on the bones & exploded hearts of the young, the pure, the innocent; dark deeds, deadly lies, brutal skullduggery. You know if you believe in all of the conspiracy theories, you believe in none of them, and still you are left with one ugly truth: the haves vs. the have nots, the powerful vs the weak, the rich vs the poor. It's eternal to the Human realm. Yep. We watch it all unfold day by day. We are the common folk, those standing around, gaping at the mayhem, we are the dupes, the marks, the saps, the doofusses, the folks walking around like holy fools wondering to ourselves "What the fuck just happened?!"

What If?

Folk #1: What if you could banish Fear, Doubt & Worry from your life? Just do a quick cleanse,  a simple ritual,  & let all that shit go? What if you decided to be Happy? What if you chose a Life of Kindness, Gentleness, Humilty? What if you Graviated to, and Cultivated, Intelligence, Honor, Courage? What if you threw yourself into & relished Hard Work & Discipline? What if you cherished the things you do have, and refused to concern yourself with the things that you don't? What if you were always onto the next thing? A new project, a cool idea, a journey, an adventure? What if you filled your Life doing the things you Love to do as often you could? What if you filled your Life with Love and turned away from the Haters? That would be a Good Life...

A Sweet Turn of Fortune...

 Folk #1: The worm turns. Funny. Up ungodly early, but slept well. Is it CRAZY for me to think that something is happening out there? A tiny glimmer of hope? Can't really explain why. Is it possible that GRAVITY & REALITY are rearing their heads once again, and slowly, almost imperceptibly making their first tentative steps to a comeback? Wouldn't that be just a perfect plot twist? I am no longer a betting man, those days are long gone, I get no kick from wagering my hard-earned cash anymore, but, if I were a betting man, I'd put a princely sum of the chances that cooler heads, the better folks, the kinder, gentler, folks will carry us to a new day. I don't know, it's just a feeling this morning. Can't put my gnarly finger on it, but that feeling is floating around me like a happy little sun. Expect lots of crashing and gnashing of teeth from the Fascists, Nazis, bullies, creeps, assholes. I do believe their days of reckoning are coming. Yes. We can get past this nasty time, move forward with a new purpose. Maybe we will actually be better for it too? Ha. That would be an uncommonly sweet turn of fortune.

A Torrent of Terribleness...

You wake up. Tune in. And ask: What terrible things, atrocities, crimes & sins, have my fellow Human Beings committed today? The debauchery, treachery, murder & mayhem, & over-amped nasty shite, never seems to ebb. It's always flowing; an unrelenting torrent of terribleness. The powerful abuse the weak. The rich rip-off, exploit, rape & ravage the poor. And our society, & culture celebrates the abusers, the exploiters, the rapists and ravagers. Yikes. Makes one want to retreat, abdicate from the species, spend time gazing up a the sky, deciphering messages in the clouds, hanging out with the small & pretty creatures, communing with the solemn, wise old trees & rocks. Killing time with the best and brightest non-human associcates. The Human Species; a tricky, complicated, disappointing, vicious, greedy, selfish, rapacious, & extremely silly, lot. Some days you just want to resign from the ranks of the rank. Where do I turn in my decoder ring, and operator's manual?

The Grifter Era...

Folk #1: When we recall this era, and well, Dear Pilgrim, if we survive, and have the luxury of looking back, you will be forgiven if you try your damnedest not to recall this fucking lame-ass, era, I mean, I am sure we can all understand why you'd want to erase every last vestige of this era from your reeling, gobsmacked, deeply faltering, & troubled consciousness; we will recall it as the era when everyone fucking cooked their brains on over-amped, shit-sandwich-type bullshit enthusiastically foisted upon us by rich & powerful grifters, scumbags, moral cretins, greedy fucks, super-sized-assholes, corruptly creepy criminals who ruled & lorded over us, stealing all the perks & attention, sucking all the oxygen out of the atmosphere, and filling our heads & hearts with gaseous, noxious, toxic bilge. Compromised weasels lying to us, in all major areas of our culture: business, media, show-business, politics, etc. Searching for Intelligent Life on the Planet is something I do every morning, checking in on the news of the day, searching for those vanishing chimeras: Intelligence, Humor, Grace, Beauty, Humility, Goodness. Let me tell you, those qualities are rare indeed, going extinct moment to moment. We live in the land of manufactured, gaudily-packaged, hard to digest shite.

A World Gone Wrong, Totally Out of Our Control...

Folk #1: Another maddening reality we deal with day to day. My partner & I have a tendency to want to solve problems. We see a World Gone Wrong, and we try to come up with creative solutions to all the "wrongness," we see everywhere. We spend lots of our time discussing events in the world, trying understand "what's happening," and trying to come up with creative ways to fix or solve these most likely unsolvable problems. Or maybe the problems aren't totally unsolvable, but solving or fixing them would require great collective action from vast quantities of humans.  Collective action well beyond our own personal capabilities. You know it's a World Gone Wrong ,Totally & Out Of Our Control. So the talking and solving is just a sort of fruitless game we play with our own brains. It's not a very satisfying game, often it's frustrating & disheartening. I suppose, at least we are using our brain power, exercising our thinking muscles, being fully aware, alive, awake moment to moment. But it's a certain cross to bear, no doubt. Living with the Wrongness, not letting it destroy us. You know we also play this game with our own very personal problems, we do better when we focus close to home. Again, there are some aspects of our own personalities that need fixing, and eternal attention. And who and what we are has been shaped by experiences and realities beyond our control, but we can do the work of improving ourselves, identifying problems, coming up with solutions, new ways of being. It's a determind process of unfolding, it probably never ends, until the end. Living with ourselves in this world is a constantly evolving adventure. Anyway, we are left to our own devices, being good, doing good. Hoping for the best. Putting our Faith in Good Thoughts & Right Action, no matter how paltry, and close to the bone these gestures mean in the grand scheme of things. Being Human is not an easy thing...

Left with the Buddy System...

Folk #1: It starts early in life, and I think the feeling continues to grow as we experience the world and the people in it. We are truly stuck in our own heads, in our own bodies, perceiving and acting in the world as  unique entities. Sure, at the same time, we are constantly checking in with others, there is the social nature of our human existence, and we are always in a social contract & in an on-going, never-ending conversation with our fellow humans. None of us are truly an island, or alone, unless we have totally fallen off the cliff.  Total isolation is a certain road to madness.  Still we are all on the spectrum: social or anti-social? For most of us there is the day to day query: "I'm okay, are you okay?" Always checking in, verifying, testing the waters, sampling the sanity of our fellow human beings. Lately, and who knows, maybe it's always been so, there seems to be a major break in the fabric of our collective existence. Our consensus reality lacks consensus. And the breach is not a small crack, but a wide, yawning, canyon. Folks just don't see eye to eye. We aren't even living in the same reality. Events happen and folks can't even agree on basic facts. It's quite disturbing & yes, alienating. Also, there is this distinct feeling & impression that all of our institutions are failing us. Logic, rationality, reason, and good cheer seem like quaint fictions. It also feels like no one is truly in charge, (and they aren't), there is no big daddy looking out for us, and those power-hungry folks who do assume the levers of the machinery are corrupt, stupid, cruel, greedy. Many of these folks actually intend to do us harm. Paranoia! So, there is a bit of a retreat, a turning inward, leading to the insight that we truly are on our own. Now, if we are lucky, we know & live with like-minded folks, folks who we can pull close, folks who look out for us, and who we look out for too. We offer each other a helping hand in normal times, as well as in times of deep, over-powering stress. All we have is our own agency & the agency of our buddies. It is the buddy system lifestyle. Now of course, we can make this buddy system a closely held thing, or more admirably, and idealistically, a super-expansive, world-embracing kind of thing. You know, following in the footsteps of that great teacher and moral philosopher, cultural icon, sweater-wearing hero, Mister Rodgers?! "Please, won't you be my neighbor?" Yes, indeed, be a neighbor to the Universe. Hmmm... but what about those others? What about the intolerant ones, the deplorables who live amongst us, those who want to hurt us and hurt those we love? Live & let live is a nice idea, but of course, the evil-doers should be shunned, shamed, brought to justice, and made to face up to the consequences of their actions. Day to day, it is best to avoid those folks, I mean, avoid them like the plague. Still, being neighborly with the neighbors? That's the way to do it.