Frank Paynter did some serious blogging over the weekend, with the great title of Wrote some things I strongly felt...thought I'd share it here. The word "sharing" says it all for me. At just about any blog I'm moved to comment on, I feel like saying "thanks for sharing."
Frank shares with us an idea that is verboten in the corporate media: "In September a great crime was committed, but those who are evil among us short circuited the international justice system and denied us the opportunity to use "state" power (including the Army) to bring the criminals to justice." Instead they chose war, for their own opportunistic ends. And the media machine cranked up and sold us another lie.
"I'm not a lawyer. I don't know what court the conspirators should be tried in," writes Frank, "but I know we shouldn't dignify their vandalism by playing Goliath in their street theater." Amen, brother, and well said.
I'm convinced that the only way to change the world is to turn off and turn away from all things monolithic, inhuman, and to turn toward our fellow man and woman. To communicate, share, and say what we think. To be the change. To act in small ways that spread naturally, the way something like say Eva Cassidy or Seabiscuit becomes a “hit.”
"I think we need a more fractal approach. We accept that we've won, and then start acting like it. On all fronts. We've won the war against the oil companies? Fine. Then we stop using oil, eh? We've won the war against genetic agriculture? Then we eat only truly organic foods. We have won the war against end-stage capitalism? Than we don't go to McDonalds, even when we are home from college on xmas break and our old high school friends will think we're nuts for not going in.
"It is these tiny moments - these micro-moments - where the kinds of incremental change that topples regimes takes place. Micromoments where our friends get educated. We don't use the mass media; we use mouth-to-mouth media. "They" own the media, so we might as well own reality."
I’m beginning to think that Weblogging is to writing as Rock-n-roll is to music -- a real, free, forceful, rebellious, communal, celebratory, honest, grassroots expression of the people.
Is it any wonder the whole journalism/blogging question makes some uneasy? I mean, talk about irrelevant, here's William Safire in today's NYT:
"To set one [a blog] up (which I have not done because I don't want anyone to know what I think)..." No, I didn't see any hint of irony here. There's no intentional humor, but the whole piece is laughable.
"Will blogs kill old media?" Safire -- and Newsweek -- ask. "My answer is no," answers Safire. "Gossips like an old-fashioned party line, but most information seekers and opinion junkies [mutually exclusive? -- ed.] will go for reliable old media in zingy new digital clothes."
"zingy new digital clothes"? Ridicule, or even a succinct snide comment, is too good for this. Wrong question, in any case. We don't want to compete. We want to participate. We want to shake things up. We want more barn.
The cluetrain was still running, last I checked...yep....come on William, come down off your camel, and climb aboard. (Where's RB when you need him?)
Anyway, in the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen (sort of):
Badlands, you gotta blog it everyday
Let your broken heart stand
As the price you gotta pay
Keep blogging til it's understood
And these badlands start treatin us good
That's the title of one of my favorite movies. It stars a young John Cusak as a high school graduate who doesn't have a clue as to what his future is going to be, but is all the same excited about life. Pretty much the attitude of any high school graduate, or at least it was mine. Yes, there was lots of trepidation, lots of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), but lots MORE, I don't know, positive feelings. A sense of wonder and discovery.
It's still there. Sure it is. Yeah, I'm still kind of adolescent, but doesn't that mean I'm just itching for growth, adventure, experience? there's so much to be negative about, but I'm stayin on the sunny side today. I'm going to say something positive here. No bemoaning. No whining. No gnashing of teeth.
You know what Cusak had in that movie that sustained him, filled him with optimism? Love. He loved a girl. He loved the fact that he was in love with a girl. He loved being alive, on this planet at this time. Because there was love. That simple fact. That elemental connection. At one point, he asked his older sister, can't you just decide to be in a good mood, and be in a good mood? I've decided that today. And I want to share it, connect and create something (some BellSouth ad copy writer was onto something there). Create what? Some good vibes. I'm sending them out to Jeneane, George S., RB, Billy Ray, Tom B., Richard B., Marek, Elaine, fp, Tom S., and all the blogger friends that I have out there in potentia. And to their families. And to EVERYBODY else. It's not much, really, but it's all I can do.
Now, I'm going to go out tonight with friends. Go to an ethnic restaurant on Buford Highway (if you are ever in Atl, you must check out this funky corridor), then go see a Shakespeare play. Life can be great. Take time. Celebrate. Try not to lose sight of that fact. Make a connection.
Sorry to be so open, direct and sentimental. I just felt like it was needed.
Why Bother?: Getting a Life in a Locked-Down Land by Sam Smith has been on my Amazon Wish List ever since I created it about a year ago. Procrastination is one thing, but really, it is high time I got a life. But then what would I blog about?
Curtis White: "One of the most revealing news clips I've heard since September 11 was an analysis of "consumer confidence" that pointed out that one of the hindrances to a return to normal by American consumers was precisely that the destruction and death involved in the World Trade Center had turned people away from the superficial happiness of consumption and had made them all too aware of their human vulnerability. The destruction of the World Trade Center turned people toward marriage, church and commitment to others. That turn, oddly enough, is what Virilio sees as the beginning of the internal dissolution of the empire of Pure War and the religious fanaticism it has empowered. The Soviet Union was not confronted and defeated; it was dissolved internally by its failure to provide for the human needs of its own citizens (and I'm not talking about the need for television sets and satellite hookups). Perhaps it is such a spiritual turn that can undo the grip of the military, the technocrats and the multinational vision of the New World Order."
War is only good for those who make and sell the guns ~ John Gorka
Or How to Survive in the Current Economy. URS Corp is going to acquire EG&G, which is 90% owned by The Carlyle Group, which is run by such fine people as George H.W. Bush, James Baker (remember his cheery face during the vote non-recount?), Frank Carlucci, and John Major, among other middle aged white guys. The Carlyle Group would basically double its $135 million investment, says The Deal, via Ethel the Blog, which is where I found this tidbit.
Also according to The Deal, during a conference call, URS chairman and chief executive Martin Koffel said EG&G's focus on military services will boost his company's growth. "Defense spending has been on the rise since Sept. 11, and ... the stage has been well set for even higher defense spending in years ahead," he said. (More misery and death for others, more money for me, he didn't say, but might as well have.)
And while I'm on politics, is this the best site on the Web?
Sometimes you see somebody do something and you think, "hey, if he can do that, I certainly can." Especially if it's something you always knew you could. Something you'd been doing, but kept private, because it's easier that way, less risky. In this case, that something is writing.
Then, along comes blogger publishing software, and, well, You LIve Your Life As If It's Real. In a virtual realm, paradoxically. That link is the title of my friend Ray Sweatman's new blog. I knew he was a writer; he knew he was a writer. Now, anyone with an Internet connection can discover the same. Or at least you lot, but you have to start somewhere.
I think he channeled Charles Bukowski for last night's post, Overheard at Self-Loathers Anonymous:. And I didn't think he even liked Bukowski. Assuming another writer's voice for fun and links -- I might have to try that. ;-).
"I'll let you be in my dream, if I can be in yours"
Bob Dylan
Talkin' World War III Blues
Valued Readers:
What the fuck? What the blog is going on? I give you hints, I send you e-mails. And you just shrug. Hosers!
I’m talking about George Partington here. Must I spell everything out for you? Read his blog, damn it.
http://highwater.blogspot.com
Done? Good. Good laugh, huh? He’s FUBAR, but in a good way. Not your typical blogger. Weird, actually, but I don’t have a problem with that. He gets it. He’s been reading me for a long time now. He’s completely absorbed the teachings, which is more than I can say for most of you people.
He may very well have had little too much of the cool-aid. Caveat emptor! Motherfuckers.
But no. Let me break it down one more time, before I rip the fucking lid off with my next send on voice and the monstrous theft thereof. He’s a fragile soul, open to the stars, the fates, and a good Bob Dylan song. He’s searching for a dream that hasn’t been repossessed. (Yeah, that’s a quote.) He’s being pulled into the void, better known as the Internet, and he may not survive. It’s a wild ride. You’ve been there. You know.
What holds the Internet, i.e., e.g., in other fucking words, us, together? Class? …..links.
At Tuesday Night’s Meeting of Corporate Workers of America Anonymous
Hi, my name is Dick (Hi Dick!) ….and…and…uh….I work for a large corporation. I’m 45, and this is my first time at one of these things….but I’m at my wits’ end.
I started working corporate right out of college. Some of my friends thought I should wait, that I was too young, but I didn’t listen. I thought I could handle it. My dad was an accountant, and he had a good life. He had it under control.
I started out, just, you know, adding up numbers, looking for ways to...cough…increase revenue. I really didn’t have a problem at this point. My PowerPoint presentations were clear and methodical and, I think, well received. My e-mails were crisp. I kept my nose clean. It’s not like I was a spineless yes-man. I even corrected my boss’s figures once.
Then I got promoted (murmur) . The pressure increased, but so did the pay. I bought a ten-bedroom house way up on the hill over town. Some of my friends mockingly called it a starter-mansion, but I put that down to jealousy. Besides, I rarely saw them. The mortgage payments were huge, but I felt certain a promotion and a big pay raise were coming. My boss kept praising my “creativity.”
Sure enough, I got promoted. I was VP of finance, reporting directly to the CFO (gasp). I’ll never forget that day. He handed me a cigar and the keys to a well-appointed office. I had Alice rearrange the furniture that very night. Of course, she hung my photo of President Bush on Air Force One crookedly, and I told her to go home to her apartment and three kids that morning.
I hired a new secretary at half the pay the next day. And speaking of pay, mine was, well…ample. Our stock just kept going up, my stock options were priced extremely low….well, when all was said and done, I had enough to redo the bathrooms in my primary residence in solid gold and the best Italian marble.
Some were beginning to wonder at my behavior, but my boss called me a miracle worker, which is pretty much what Wall Street kept saying about the company when they saw our numbers.
Then this young VP of sales said we needed to meet. He seemed like a nice guy, but I couldn’t figure out how he got to be VP. The sales force loved him though. He told me that his reps were finding it harder and harder to close deals. That companies were putting off buying decisions. In short, demand was softening. In fact, it had been for some time. Then he hit me with a tough question. Did I know what I was doing? Why were the company’s revenue numbers still so high? Then he asked the killer: what was my total compensation for the previous year?
He was so nice, and concerned, that I let him get away with the insubordination. That night, laying in bed, I thought…was that a business meeting, or an intervention?
By the next morning I was too busy preparing the target numbers for our planned…downsizing (grumble) to give it much thought. What did that VP know, anyway, we were addressing the problem in…uhm…a variety of ways.
The day of the layoffs wasn't pleasant, but a few minutes behind the wheel of the Jag helped. I paid attention to the superior ride, the sporty handling, the fact that it said “Jaguar” in gold script on the dash, just above the burled Walnut trim. I still need to get that trim waxed. Just doesn’t glow like it used to….
Uh…oh yeah. Actually, nothing was “glowing” like it used to. That’s when I knew I had a problem. It looked increasingly like I, and the company, had hit a wall. I kept running through investment schemes in my mind. I could get Fred’s company to buy us, and cash out. Then, instead of a yacht, I would buy my own shipyard. Maybe I could get into manufacturing in the Philippines or Mexico or China or even Burma. There were lots of ways to keep this going.
But that’s when we received the letter from the SEC. They were onto us. I…we, were screwed.
That night, I was watching CNN, or FOX or CNBC (I was such a heavy user of all of them that they started to blend together), and the talking heads all morphed into one terrifyingly bland face with one droning voice…numbers were down today….Greenspan said….Ford and Mack Truck to merge, plan new SUV…
I started sweating and shaking, I had to get out of there.
I got in the Jag, slammed the door and was out on the streets. ZZTOP came on the radio and I thought about how simple it used to be. How good music, a good woman and a summer night were all I needed. Thank god for Classic-rock-formatted radio. Then the Streets of Philadelphia came on….I used to love Springsteen, and I remember when he won the Oscar for that song. Always wondered how much he got paid for it. I recognized it right away. Then Bruce’s singing caught me like a whisper in my ear. And it wasn’t just the premium package stereo.
I couldn’t say it any better, so I brought along this CD player. (Hits play…walks back to chair and sits down).
I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell
what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
Saw my reflection in a window
I didn't know my own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
wasting away
On the streets of Philadelphia
I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia
Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
just to slip this skin
The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia
Leftover chicken and rice, a quick spin across the globe, and back to work
Ok. It's lunchtime, have a minute to blog this. Besides, I had a good interview with Eric Norlin about digital identity for an article about the same.
Oh, hello. Usually so empty in here, quiet. Hey, check out this excerpt from a 1999 Douglas Adams piece, courtesy of The Shifted Librarian. It's clueful, yet it rests outside clue-blogdom. And really, it's further proof that we're all in this together, as George Sessum points out in a recent post from Hong Kong:
"One of the things confirmed for me here is there is no difference in all of us who walk the face of the earth... just a bunch variables. And even then we're still a predictable lot with the same needs for humour, music, activity, offspring, etc.,etc."
If you read the piece already, but it's been three years, do click over. It's a nice annotation. And it comes to The Shifted Librarian from Adam Curry's Weblog, which is definitely going up on my blogroll...soon.
Adams, not Adam, said this in 1999: "One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no ‘them’ out there. It’s just an awful lot of ‘us’."
Jenny from The Shifted Librarian points out that Adam Curry noted that Douglas Adams wrote that Risto Linturi, research fellow of the Helsinki Telephone Corporation, published this in Wired magazine (paraphrased somewhat by George Partington on High Water): We are herd animals. These kids (Helsinki teenagers) are connected to their herd – they always know where it’s moving.' Pervasive wireless communication will bring us back to behaviour patterns that were natural to us and destroy behaviour patterns that were brought about by the limitations of technology."
I don’t know, it felt like talking to a psychiatrist that didn’t get it, or worse, didn’t care. Oh sure, one person left some encouragement in a comments box, but that’s it. Nobody put me on their blogroll.
Well, you’re gonna write anyway, right? You need to write, don’t you?
I guess. I can’t really find any footing right now. I either put up links and brief comments on what I’m into at the moment or drivel complaining about how indifferent the world is (see above).
You have a point there. And what's with *your* blogroll. Two people? You can't expect others to do for you what you aren't even willing to do for them.
I know. I'm gonna work on that. I thought it was kind of fitting that I have the two most important bloggers (to me) up there by themselves for a while anyway. And this new template had the space there, with "Friends" above it. Even I could figure it out. And I do feel like they're friends, in a way.
That's a pathetic excuse. I know you read lots of other blogs. And yours could be good too. That “late night chat” post was pretty good.
Yeah, but it wasn’t writing. It was cut and paste from an actual chat. It made for good reading though, so I posted it. But kind of dishonestly, because I didn’t indicate that it wasn’t fiction. Thought it would be more interesting if I left that open to “interpretation.” Of course, now that one reader I have will be expecting me to post something else as stimulating, and I don’t know if I have it in me.
So rather than find out, you’re going to quit blogging?
Well. Maybe I’ll start up again after I finish these articles I need to crank out. Maybe the good people (gotta be more than one) will check back. Maybe I’ll post a link to my article on corporate blogging in the meantime. Got one on CD Baby coming out too that’s kinda cool.
So you’re not quitting then?
Are you kidding? This is addictive. This weekend I found myself thinking of writing a piece on straightening up my daughter’s room. I know, sounds boring, but it’s perfect for a blog. I was inspired by John Rosemond’s column in Sunday’s paper (Jeneane, you’ll have to click on the “weekly column” link; I couldn’t see how to have the link go straight to the piece). He says you shouldn’t let your kid’s room get too messy and cluttered, because then they have a hard time focusing on any one toy. They see toys everywhere and it’s rather daunting. Just what they don’t need, another source of ADD. So I announced to my 2-year-old daughter Eleanor that this morning we were going to straighten up her room. I went up there and kicked B-U-T-T. That room looked great when I was through with it, and Eleanor immediately started playing contentedly with her doll house, while I moved on to tackling the grime on the louvered closet doors.
I had a pile of trash and crappy, unnecessary toys out in the hall. I had a place for everything and everything in its place. It felt good. And I looked around and said, damn, I need to do this with my whole life. My life is cluttered, too. Books, CDs, magazines, bills, newspapers, post-it notes to myself, shoes, socks, unread New Yorkers. I need focus too. Then maybe I’ll get somewhere, and that sense of satisfaction will grow into something resembling a feeling of well-being.
So I guess I’ll keep on bloggin, once I get my house in order. Something good may happen yet.
But you have to be into something. And the film Donnie Darko is it right now. So, if anyone is interested, there's a fantastic review here. And I've decided I need to start adding some teasers, as any good journalist should, so here ya go:
"For a metaphysical poke into the nature of time, God, and responsibility to one's thread in the cosmic tapestry, consider Donnie Darko the lesser cousin of Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys and Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. For a teen-angst black comic romance where Reagan-era suburban superficiality is skewered on the same spit as New Age feel-good simple-mindedness, imagine the product of a late-night bull session between John Hughes and David Lynch after they've just screened Rushmore, Magnolia, and Harvey while polishing off a bottle of Bombay Sapphire....
...A story of an increasingly chilly and superficial society barreling toward apocalypse could so easily drip with toothless nihilism or fashionably hip condescension. As a goth-clad fright film or a sci-fi fable about a teen hero who upturns the world, Donnie Darko would have been a surer sell if it played down to conventional expectations. It does neither of those things. It's more touching than cynical, and its dark raiments don't conceal a heart that acknowledges beauty's existence in the world and speaks optimistically of each individual's potential to impact the future."
jackofhearts: what up joe?
Joe12: hey!
jackofhearts: hey dere
Joe12: how was bowlin?
jackofhearts: we got out early
jackofhearts: ok
jackofhearts: was gonna call you, see if you still wanted to get a beer
jackofhearts: but didnt know your number
jackofhearts: so i came on home
Joe12: jeez
Joe12: what did you bowl?
jackofhearts: hee
jackofhearts: a huge 93
Joe12: snnnhhh
jackofhearts: think i pulled a muscle in my back tho
jackofhearts: ouch
jackofhearts: ha
Joe12: ooh
Joe12: just one game?
jackofhearts: yeah
Joe12: goin ta get a beer
jackofhearts: guess they didnt care for it too much
jackofhearts: k
Joe12: well, bowling does take some getting used to
Joe12: it's awkward at first
jackofhearts: yep
Joe12: but fun
jackofhearts: yep
…later …
Joe12: cuz obviously, i'm not appreciated (sufficiently) at work
jackofhearts: hee..nobody ever is
Joe12: doubling my salary would be a good start
Joe12: no shit...why do i buy into this silly game?
jackofhearts: hee...keeping the job would be nice
Joe12: i mean really, you have to sit there and work with people who think because their position is OVER you, they can assume you’re inferior, discount what you say, etc.
jackofhearts: most definitely
jackofhearts: it's good to be the king, pull!
jackofhearts: who's been giving you hell?
Joe12: me
jackofhearts: oh
jackofhearts: heehee
Joe12: it's my favorite pasttime
jackofhearts: haaaa
Joe12: damn, that's just too true, isn't it?
jackofhearts: yes sir
Joe12: it's just REALLY difficult being an unrecognized genius
jackofhearts: ha
jackofhearts: well time to do your own stuff then
Joe12: that's what i'm gettin at, yer right
jackofhearts: that's the only way to get recognized
Joe12: BUT recognition scares the beejezus out of me
jackofhearts: yep
jackofhearts: i think success scares me too
jackofhearts: or is it the fear of failure?
Joe12: oh yeah, the latter
jackofhearts: yep
Joe12: that's why i've coasted forever
jackofhearts: yep..me too..prob
jackofhearts: well time to get busy
Joe12: but can't accept that...it's what they call a conflict
jackofhearts: ok
jackofhearts: if you cant accept it anymore
jackofhearts: it's time to get busy
jackofhearts: no more excuses
jackofhearts: work is work
jackofhearts: pays the bills
Joe12: i just wanta get wasted and listen to rock n roll!
jackofhearts: do the other on the side
jackofhearts: yes sir
jackofhearts: sounds good to me!
Joe12: who's got the time ('get busy")
Joe12: see the problem
jackofhearts: well then accept it
jackofhearts: it's one or the other
Joe12: i don't want to let it go
jackofhearts: yep
jackofhearts: so the conflict serves its purpose
Joe12: hmmm
jackofhearts: yep
Joe12: yep? yep what?
jackofhearts: yep to hmmm
jackofhearts: no?
jackofhearts: does hmmm mean you dont buy it or hmmm maybe there's truth to that
Joe12: well, yeah, just was wondering if you had anything to add
jackofhearts: oh
jackofhearts: the conflict allows you to stay in never never land
jackofhearts: without resignation
jackofhearts: and/or acceptance
jackofhearts: and yet with the possibility of changing in the future
jackofhearts: hence, the conflict
Joe12: god, i'm so adolescent
jackofhearts: shit, arent we all?
jackofhearts: seriously
Joe12: why is that?
jackofhearts: the peter pan complex?
jackofhearts: i dont know
jackofhearts: we're living longer
jackofhearts: so maybe it's natural
Joe12: what, to keep it till... when...?
jackofhearts: hee..i dont know
jackofhearts: you're asking me?
jackofhearts: haa
jackofhearts: i'm 39
jackofhearts: living at home
jackofhearts: not married, no children
jackofhearts: working part time
jackofhearts: not sure what i've done with my conflict
jackofhearts: but cant seem to do what it takes to get into public schools
jackofhearts: which seems like a total resignation
jackofhearts: and acceptance
jackofhearts: that that's all there is
Joe12: acceptance should bring freedom
jackofhearts: freedom from what?
Joe12: to do what ya want
Joe12: which would entail figuring out what you want
jackofhearts: well thats the conflict part
jackofhearts: or the dream part of the conflict
jackofhearts: one either has to go after that dream
jackofhearts: or accept it as a childish illusion
Joe12: accept who you are, value that...don't buy into society's definitions
jackofhearts: yes, that's true
jackofhearts: but we werent really talking about society's definition, were we?
Joe12: no
jackofhearts: it's our own idea of ourselves
jackofhearts: but i do think
Joe12: right, as opposed to "society's idea"
jackofhearts: right
jackofhearts: that there is something you NEED to do
jackofhearts: or WANT to do
jackofhearts: just for yourself
jackofhearts: that you must find the time to do that
jackofhearts: outside of all the others
jackofhearts: even if it's 15-30 minutes a day
Joe12: what, though?
jackofhearts: well that i dont know
jackofhearts: but writing
jackofhearts: something with that
jackofhearts: if you feel confined by work
jackofhearts: (and duped into finding self-worth there)
jackofhearts: you should branch out
jackofhearts: write your own books
jackofhearts: not necessarily fiction
jackofhearts: but you know..whatever you're into
jackofhearts: i mean neither of us are being challenged
Joe12: right
jackofhearts: so you have to challenge yourself
jackofhearts: dont ask me how
Joe12: and we aren't challenging ourselves, cuz we're like, what's the point?
jackofhearts: right
jackofhearts: it's not ALL our fault
Joe12: which, of course, we like to ask to keep ourselves in never never land
jackofhearts: yeah
jackofhearts: and i like to say...well someday i'm gonna write that book
Joe12: what did fogarty say...
jackofhearts: ha
jackofhearts: exactly
jackofhearts: not without a little help
jackofhearts: hey there goes War Emblem:-)
Joe12: where?
jackofhearts: hbo
Joe12: and I'm like, (picking up here) two kids, a mortgage, etc. you dummy
Joe12: (to what's the point)
jackofhearts: quiet desperation
Joe12: but it still has to be for me
jackofhearts: this phrase has been haunting me lately
jackofhearts: what has to be for you?
Joe12: the point
jackofhearts: oh yes
jackofhearts: that is the point
Joe12: what phrase?
jackofhearts: quiet desperation
Joe12: captures the times, really
jackofhearts: thoreau
jackofhearts: we all live lives of quiet desperation
jackofhearts: and van used it in a song
Joe12: yep
jackofhearts: well, i really enjoy teaching
jackofhearts: adults
Joe12: good
Joe12: but
Joe12: ?
jackofhearts: no security there
jackofhearts: or i';d have to do the ESL masters
Joe12: start your own ESL school
jackofhearts: and then i may not enjoy it anymore
jackofhearts: in the sterile university atmosphere
jackofhearts: (not to mention the money, the time, and getting the job)
jackofhearts: my friend Toya did that
jackofhearts: was doing fine
jackofhearts: but she wants to get into public schools
jackofhearts: maybe already had
jackofhearts: has
jackofhearts: i'm basically a melancholy passive
jackofhearts: very difficult for me to START anything
jackofhearts: i do think doing what you enjoy/love is the key to happiness
Joe12: yes
Joe12: me too
Joe12: and it's SO rare
jackofhearts: it is
Joe12: we're fucked up from the get go...now we're 40 and well, how did I get here? as the talking heads said
Joe12: goin to pee
jackofhearts: my favorite song lately
jackofhearts: one of em
jackofhearts: hee
Joe12: ha
jackofhearts: it was in that movie with nic cage
jackofhearts: i kinda liked it
Joe12: the scorsesse thing?
jackofhearts: kind of a spin off on Wonderful Life
jackofhearts: no
jackofhearts: Family Man
jackofhearts: i think it was called
Joe12: oh yeah
Joe12: yeah, that fabled wonderful life....
jackofhearts: yep
jackofhearts: did you see family man?
Joe12: no
jackofhearts: you might like it
Joe12: i'll check it out
jackofhearts: i suppose it is a bit sentimental
jackofhearts: tho the ending wasnt, if i recall
jackofhearts: i didnt like the scorsese thing at all
jackofhearts: Bringing out the dead
jackofhearts: it was just weird
Joe12: never saw it
jackofhearts: not worth the time
….
jackofhearts: did you pass out there?
Joe12: just readin
jackofhearts: ah
Joe12: guess i should head to bed
jackofhearts: yeah..me too
Joe12: thanks for the help
jackofhearts: ha
Joe12: no, really
jackofhearts: the blind leading the blind
Joe12: hee
jackofhearts: sure
jackofhearts: we shoulda had that beer
Joe12: well, we did, in a way
jackofhearts: true
Joe12: later
jackofhearts: yep
This post is to send some love and some positive thoughts in the direction of Marek J., who is in the hospital. To read his blog is to discover a fellow traveler ready and willing to give of himself, as evidenced here.
FOXNews.com has uncovered a new, hidden dimension in the whole corporate corruption thing that has the economy in a tailspin. It's Al Qaeda's fault! No, really. See the last two paragraphs of the "news" report. The column The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street has the scoop (item #4).
Why am I doing this? This is certainly no "ticket to ride." Not much in the way of writing here, but anyone can tell pretty quickly where I'm coming from. I'm angry, angst-ridden, alienated. Or in gentler moments, bemused, bothered, and bewildered. I'm adolescent.
What does that add to the general understanding and enlightenment of humanity? Where's that deeper, universal level? What can I offer other than a battered, broken heart?
And I step up daily for more abuse. And if I'm feeling strong, I shake it off and say what else can you show me? Most of the time I'm strong enough not to hate. Most of the time.
It's not all dark and depressing, I know. I have real life to remind me. I come home to a wonderful woman, a happy, if not ecstatic, baby and a gifted, glorious toddler.
I've cut TV out almost completely.
Then I go and rent a movie like Donnie Darko. It cuts deep. It shakes you up. Is it about about a boy fighting a losing battle against madness and darkness? Not really. I don't think he fights a losing battle. He dies, but that's what he was meant to do, he's traveling in "god's channel," a phrase used in a discussion with his science teacher about time travel. It's tragic yet it's for a reason. God has her reasons, that's how we comfort ourselves.
At the very end, we're back at the beginning, the jet engine crashing into Donnie's bedroom. There's this moment when the family is standing outside the ruined house, this time knowing that Donnie was in his room and Gretchen, Donnie's would-be girlfriend, rides by on a bike and stops to ask a neighbor kid across the street what happened. He tells her Donnie Darko died and asks, did you know him? She says no, then sees his family outside and meets Donnie's mother's eyes and there's this moment of recognition, they exchange a tentative wave, and to me, it's saying that Donnie has returned to the collective spirit that is humanity, that it's okay. The boy raises his hand too, and the film ends.
---
I'm standing in your corridor
I wonder what I'm waiting for
The leaves are drifting out to sea
I'm waiting for you desperately
All things beautiful
All things beautiful
I want everything
I want everything
You call us with your silent seas
You call us in our tiny boats
Gather us up with the storm,
And cast us out upon the shore
All things beautiful
All things beautiful
I want everything
I want everything
You're deep inside this fecund swamp
Oh let it be your beating heart
You're deep inside this fecund swamp
You call us in our tiny boats
In the case of this blog, it's this song from Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft." Released on Sept. 11, 2001, the album, and particularly the song "High Water," seems to anticipate the future, i.e. the present political situation we're all livin through. David Vest explores this in an article that appeared in CounterPunch and on his own site, rebelangel.com.
President Bush says his questionable activities with Harken Energy are "old news." Uh, no. It's all over the news right now. He also points out that this stuff was brought up at various other points during his career. That's right, and it's being brought up again because he's never cleared up the lingering questions. But, as Tom Matrullo points out, the press will no doubt let the issue die out before we ever get any answers.
"I think it really all goes back to those Polo ads from the 80's, I really, really do. Remember those ads? All those lean people, genetically lean, like race horses, dressed in so many layers that suggested a permanent household staff to iron all the items and set them out in the morning. Long, lean faces, the faces of the landed gentry, the aristocracy, the idle rich, faces that looked the camera directly in the eye with a bitter smile that said, 'I just fucked your sister. And you're next.'
"I think that's where it started. Pretty soon every formerly plain-vanilla, middle-management, white-on-white white bread guy was wearing the Polo pony on khaki's, button-down, tie and socks all at once and started having this attitude, this air. Like he was entitled to a substantial position in this life, that affluence should properly be effortless, that work was, how say, for the little people."
~ Kent Southard
Ive been blogged by Doc Searls, one of saviest, most consistently interesting bloggers in blogdom! You could say this is my personal high water mark (thus far). Can't resist a pun, even if it has already been done.
Donnie Darko -- teenage love and death in the Reagan era
Richard Kelly is a filmmaker to watch. Only in his mid-twenties and his first film, Donnie Darko, is stunning. It's been called over-ambitious and incoherent, but if it's a mess, it's a beautiful one. The Graduate meets Harold and Maude meets Ordinary People meets Harvey meets...well, meets the original vision of a young filmmaker. I found a great review by Collin Souter at my favorite movie site, Australia's eFilmCritic.
Just trying out my new comment function here. It's from enetation - annotations for your site. Seems to work. Feel free to leave your comments on any previous posts here. To think I've gone this long without realizing how easy it is to get this...
Hitting the trifecta ‘You know, when I was running for president, in Chicago, somebody said, would you ever have deficit spending? I said, only if we were at war, or only if we had a recession, or only if we had a national emergency. Never did I dream we’d get the trifecta.’
— PRESIDENT BUSH
As msnbc.com, which is not exactly a source of lefty muckraking, points out, this is "perhaps the most tasteless and insensitive joke in the annals of the presidency." Especially if you think about what it implies about the current administration. Bush hit the trifecta alright. The former $527 billion Social Security Trust Fund surplus will line the pockets of his cronies through his "defense" and energy plans and his tax cuts. Innocent lives are just the cost of doing business to these people.
WorldCom layoffs devastate workers This was the front page, top story in Saturday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A little lesson in media manipulation. First, the headline: since when do layoffs not devastate workers? But when the layoffs, which have been planned for weeks, happen to come in the same week as a very large story -- a scandal! -- well, then they are 10 times worse than other, everyday corporate downsizing actions. Notice that last phrase, the usual, soft-pedaled way to refer to layoffs, is not used.
But the story here is the nefarious WorldCom and its innocent victims. "Some employees observed emerging from WorldCom's offices Friday in Alpharetta and near Perimeter Mall appeared despondent." Well, yeah. There were layoffs. Not a happy day.
"It's very sad in there," said one woman as she was leaving the Alpharetta office near North Point Mall. "It's like a morgue. A lot of people are crying."
WorldCom is evil. Look what they've done! That's basically what this little article is saying, and nothing more. Not to say that layoffs are good (I knew some people laid off, and I was upset about it), but this story is only being written to fit the overarching narrative, the shock and outrage at corporate America. Soon to be replaced by shock and outrage at the next scandal du jour. Or maybe the story in the Living section celebrating 50 years of soap operas on TV.
Now, imagine if newspapers always showed such solidarity with ordinary workers, if it wasn't a temporary and cynical ploy to play on our emotions.
(Bonus: not only will people now know who it is I work for when I say "WorldCom," they'll even know what my building looks like and where it is. Yep, that's it in the accompanying photo.)
