Once upon a time I assumed that everyone believed in live and let live freedom. I thought everyone at least thought basic do-not-steal honesty was a good thing. Or almost everyone. I thought good people felt honor bound not to dictate to others how they must use their resources and property, and that they would never go along with things which enriched themselves at the clear expense, and over the protests, of others.
I was wrong. There are some people who think that the way to freedom is through control over others and their property. Then there are those who don't think that way. Some seem to fall in the middle because they'd still get gung ho on drug laws and support police abuse of the 4th amendment. And they think of the "unborn" as an abused minority group. I'm sorry, but that is one place I part ways with many who agree on other issues. Like it or not, and I am no big fan of it, but abortion ought to be off the table as far as outlawing, or funding. Nothing wrong with buying it on time. But using tax money for that is forcing the point.
I will say, despite how many have decided to look at the issue, I consider it a blessing when some people opt not to multiply, even if the ball was rolling. Seriously, let it go. I probably would not perform one but I sure don't see it as my business if I am not involved. I don't care to pay for it myself, but I don't think a lot of things should be tax funded. No surprise there.
The interesting thing to watch is to see how far the mob action thing goes. There is a fine line between reasoned dissent and mob abuse. To describe every riot or chanting mob as what democracy looks like is a stretch I think. Sometimes it is what a bully looks like.
The things that strike me the most are when it degenerates down to personalities, avoiding the true issue at hand. That is usually what happens. It preps the people to look for a savior to love, a leader, a king, a despot. First focus their ire on one person, then their love on another. Forget the actual morality or philosophy, or even the facts.
It's OK. As long as you can say you stand in SOLIDARITY with the union or whoever, it is always cool. The word "solidarity" is one of those unassailable terms of our times which has taken on the magic of holiness. To question what the hell that means or exactly why, I, in California would stand with people I don't know regarding issues and bills I haven't read, or regarding people and cultures I cannot honestly say I understand, would throw up my fist and proclaim my solidarity when I don't really know the philosophy or moral ground involved is considered sacrilege.
(no way I am going back to figure that sentence out so I can fix it)
They cried "solidarity" first, so I have to be one with that side. It's like calling shotgun, or dibs.
It's like those who chant union slogans and don't care if the union is right, wrong, run by mobsters, or anything else.
So. Where is it going to lead? You know there are millions of people who can't wait to find a chance to be on the news, stand in the middle with the megaphone, feel like they are a part of whatever it is. The thrill of the mob, and the self righteous zeal of the protest. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with everything that draws a crowd. I do always resent people with megaphones who shout, expecting the mob to shout a preset response, or repeat as told.
It is the difference in some basic makeup of people. I know many who relish the crowd and the loud dissent, even if it drowns out discussion. I don't fall into that group. But I don't fall into the group who reveres the police and every law on the books either. Some are OK. Most are not--in both cases.
Personally, I do not trust what is going on around the world, or at home. I only wish I had my secret bunker with ten years of good food, and other stuff in there.
They're gearing up for something stupid--I just have a hunch. No doubt it wil be glorified later as for the greater good, our safety, security, economic well being-- who knows? On the official level the reasons, the cause and effect, are always 180 degrees from what is said. (that means opposite for the compass degree challenged)
What people don't realize about mobs is that as dangerous or powerful as they can be, they can also be very easily manipulated and controlled. Rule of thumb on mob mentality is that a mob of geniuses becomes an entity with an IQ of about 82.5. It is true. It works just like committees comprised of more than 3 or 4 people. The level of intelligence is about 2/3 that of the weakest link. Can't do anything about it. That's why sub-committees were invented. The moral quotient weakens along the same curve as the smarts, as well.
I don't know. Just seems like some odd stuff all happening at once. I'm not chalking it up to a sudden mass elevation in awareness level of humanity. That would be nice, but I am not feeling it.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Pale and Pail; no, not equal
Several times lately I've seen the word "pail" used as a verb where "pale" would be correct.
Dear AP, and others--Pail= a bucket, container
Pale = lacking color, vigor {as in "that pales in comparison to his last outburst"]
also as in "Are you felling well? You look PALE"
= fence stake or boundary {as in "beyond the pale"]
Normally these things don't bug me, but there are times. It is what we get for A. spellcheck, B. the fact that most people ain't got good larnin' in the pubic skoos.
I catch myself writing phonetically all the time. And many times I do not catch it. When I see it I know. I believe most of the errors I'm mentioning here are cases of not knowing the difference. It happens.
While I'm at it, (and I, too, lack the education I think fitting a person of my stature) let's take a look at "then" and "than"
Then deals with sequence and time--as in first I punched him the nose, and THEN he shot me.
Than ideals with comparison---as in, "He announced to the entire locker room 'mine is bigger THAN yours'".
or, "I'd rather be a hammer THAN a nail"
Valley girl speak sometimes confuses the vowels A and E, so it is natural that the spelling and context of words gets screwed up in print. "she's my best girl frand, gah" "He is rally rally cute"
Dear AP, and others--Pail= a bucket, container
Pale = lacking color, vigor {as in "that pales in comparison to his last outburst"]
also as in "Are you felling well? You look PALE"
= fence stake or boundary {as in "beyond the pale"]
Normally these things don't bug me, but there are times. It is what we get for A. spellcheck, B. the fact that most people ain't got good larnin' in the pubic skoos.
I catch myself writing phonetically all the time. And many times I do not catch it. When I see it I know. I believe most of the errors I'm mentioning here are cases of not knowing the difference. It happens.
While I'm at it, (and I, too, lack the education I think fitting a person of my stature) let's take a look at "then" and "than"
Then deals with sequence and time--as in first I punched him the nose, and THEN he shot me.
Than ideals with comparison---as in, "He announced to the entire locker room 'mine is bigger THAN yours'".
or, "I'd rather be a hammer THAN a nail"
Valley girl speak sometimes confuses the vowels A and E, so it is natural that the spelling and context of words gets screwed up in print. "she's my best girl frand, gah" "He is rally rally cute"
Oh The Humanity!
What has become of me? I'm beginning to think I have found a different edge from the one I tried not to go over sometime ago. I'm almost getting fat, though that is merely a side effect.
I realized that I was looking for the grits because I am becoming an insomniac who seeks fatso comfort food. Still, that is not so bad. I like grits, and I'm not actually fat. I'm borderline on having to wear size 33" waist pants instead of 32. Mostly butt taking up the space I think. That sounds silly and it is. This is the edge I'm treading; bizarre, vain, and sad considerations occupying my time, rather than money making frustrations, day trading, or selling used vacuum cleaners that I find and fix.
So, I wanted to read the instructions on the grits because I forget if you boil the water first or heat it with grits in place. Because I don't want to turn on the kitchen track lights which would mean three 100 watt spotlights sucking down electricity, I carry the bag over to the bed where the floor lamp with one squiggly bulb which pulls 23 watts (supposed to replace normal 60 watter) resides.
Later I go to check the water, now boiling on the very slow two burner hot plate, and can't find the grits. Oh, there they are sitting on my bed. Then it struck me, I may not be normal. No wonder the horde of wild women I would think would be after me are not beating down my door. If they could weave their way through the junk upon entry, they'd find a bag of grits on my bed, along with some clean clothes, a towel, and other textiles piled up on one corner.
The up side is that if the feds ever nail me for not knowing how to approach taxes or other official matters, I can present a strong case of being too nuts to know better.
For some reason, when I looked over and saw that I left the bag of grits on the bed, I felt it was a sign. Something was telling me I am not properly organized and perhaps my life is mixed up. It is not the ultra dark place where I dwelt so long before leaving Memphis, so that is a relief. It is also something good to remember. My biggest fear upon setting out for new horizons was that I would bring the part of me that can never get it right along. Of course, I knew I couldn't run away from myself. I was more trying to assert a form of control over my mind and destiny. It worked to a point. But once I stop moving, I am always in danger.
I think there are ways to manage this issue, if I could get the nerve and discipline to do it right, but there is probably no curing it. I'll always be the guy with grits on his bed because he doesn't want his utilities-included rent to go up. I've even considered using the camp stove instead of the electric hot plate thing to save energy--and because it is about 20 times faster.
If I were a junkie or a drunk, this would all make sense. As it is I have no excuse, except the one I'd use in court, should the need arise. And it wouldn't even be a lie. I simply am no good at taking care of my basic self. That was obvious as soon as I became unmarried a lifetime ago. But I haven't been too willing to let any interested parties get overly involved because I also have an aversion to judgement, or someone taking over based on half true assumptions, or later using it all as ammunition against me in some crazy campaign of defamation.
In the mean time, we tested our PA on site for the upcoming church fundraiser, praise be to [deity of your choice]. We're using GV1's system, rather than that of the holy place. Despite the work involved, and the distance of the place, he correctly reasoned that it would be good to know how it will sound, if it is adequate, and if there are problems so that we can correct what needs it. By doing it now, we have time.
GV1 is my new name for the guitar vocal guy in this group. One of them anyway. G1 is from the Memphis band.
I could not believe how well it all worked. No matter where you sit in the place, the sound balance is the same, and the volume is close to the same. And the monitors were great as well. I don't think adding people to place will influence it much---unless they are chattering and being a problem. I have a stick in my car I can use to make them behave if need be.
The big trouble is I sometimes lose all faith in my skills. I'm such a jammer at heart and this is not jammer type of play. It is good to be able to do it, but it is sometimes worrisome to me. I often play things that suck. The next time I might nail it. I seem to lack consistency and it all appears to depend upon my inner state of mind, even more than practice. The goal is to help enhance the sound of the group, not detract.
Got to get a place set up to work on harps. Seen the price of harmonicas lately? Through the friggin roof. I can't find my Lee Oskar tool kit but it is around here somewhere. It has all the things you need for most harp work. I could make good harps out of the dozens I have with stuck or out of tune reeds. The problem with having a good ear is that you know when one is beginning to go south. The trick is to play whatever position requires the most bends so you can hit the right note. If it is a bend note you just make it work. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that harp playing depends upon a lot of faking it.
I realized that I was looking for the grits because I am becoming an insomniac who seeks fatso comfort food. Still, that is not so bad. I like grits, and I'm not actually fat. I'm borderline on having to wear size 33" waist pants instead of 32. Mostly butt taking up the space I think. That sounds silly and it is. This is the edge I'm treading; bizarre, vain, and sad considerations occupying my time, rather than money making frustrations, day trading, or selling used vacuum cleaners that I find and fix.
So, I wanted to read the instructions on the grits because I forget if you boil the water first or heat it with grits in place. Because I don't want to turn on the kitchen track lights which would mean three 100 watt spotlights sucking down electricity, I carry the bag over to the bed where the floor lamp with one squiggly bulb which pulls 23 watts (supposed to replace normal 60 watter) resides.
Later I go to check the water, now boiling on the very slow two burner hot plate, and can't find the grits. Oh, there they are sitting on my bed. Then it struck me, I may not be normal. No wonder the horde of wild women I would think would be after me are not beating down my door. If they could weave their way through the junk upon entry, they'd find a bag of grits on my bed, along with some clean clothes, a towel, and other textiles piled up on one corner.
The up side is that if the feds ever nail me for not knowing how to approach taxes or other official matters, I can present a strong case of being too nuts to know better.
For some reason, when I looked over and saw that I left the bag of grits on the bed, I felt it was a sign. Something was telling me I am not properly organized and perhaps my life is mixed up. It is not the ultra dark place where I dwelt so long before leaving Memphis, so that is a relief. It is also something good to remember. My biggest fear upon setting out for new horizons was that I would bring the part of me that can never get it right along. Of course, I knew I couldn't run away from myself. I was more trying to assert a form of control over my mind and destiny. It worked to a point. But once I stop moving, I am always in danger.
I think there are ways to manage this issue, if I could get the nerve and discipline to do it right, but there is probably no curing it. I'll always be the guy with grits on his bed because he doesn't want his utilities-included rent to go up. I've even considered using the camp stove instead of the electric hot plate thing to save energy--and because it is about 20 times faster.
If I were a junkie or a drunk, this would all make sense. As it is I have no excuse, except the one I'd use in court, should the need arise. And it wouldn't even be a lie. I simply am no good at taking care of my basic self. That was obvious as soon as I became unmarried a lifetime ago. But I haven't been too willing to let any interested parties get overly involved because I also have an aversion to judgement, or someone taking over based on half true assumptions, or later using it all as ammunition against me in some crazy campaign of defamation.
In the mean time, we tested our PA on site for the upcoming church fundraiser, praise be to [deity of your choice]. We're using GV1's system, rather than that of the holy place. Despite the work involved, and the distance of the place, he correctly reasoned that it would be good to know how it will sound, if it is adequate, and if there are problems so that we can correct what needs it. By doing it now, we have time.
GV1 is my new name for the guitar vocal guy in this group. One of them anyway. G1 is from the Memphis band.
I could not believe how well it all worked. No matter where you sit in the place, the sound balance is the same, and the volume is close to the same. And the monitors were great as well. I don't think adding people to place will influence it much---unless they are chattering and being a problem. I have a stick in my car I can use to make them behave if need be.
The big trouble is I sometimes lose all faith in my skills. I'm such a jammer at heart and this is not jammer type of play. It is good to be able to do it, but it is sometimes worrisome to me. I often play things that suck. The next time I might nail it. I seem to lack consistency and it all appears to depend upon my inner state of mind, even more than practice. The goal is to help enhance the sound of the group, not detract.
Got to get a place set up to work on harps. Seen the price of harmonicas lately? Through the friggin roof. I can't find my Lee Oskar tool kit but it is around here somewhere. It has all the things you need for most harp work. I could make good harps out of the dozens I have with stuck or out of tune reeds. The problem with having a good ear is that you know when one is beginning to go south. The trick is to play whatever position requires the most bends so you can hit the right note. If it is a bend note you just make it work. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that harp playing depends upon a lot of faking it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Conspiracy Theories ????
How I stumble on these things, I have no idea. I don't actually do that much internet stumbling. I'm tired to of the term, "Surfing the internet". I always hear voices from the late 90's in my mind, who actually knew nothing about it but, for political reasons, wanted to sound hip.
Once in awhile you land on videos and information which really stretches credibility; both in the content, and the idea that the person who made the video could be serious.
Did you know that there are people who claim the Denver airport is full of things pertaining to everything from black ops, to the apocalypse? Yep, the murals are all about it.
One guy says the leopard in one of the murals, " represents Barack Obama". And the two cubs in the painting are his kids. They seem to have left Michele out. I guess she was off hunting for some lean meat while he spent quality time with the cubs.
If someone in a mural is wearing a hat, the guy insists it is a halo. He uses the word, "obviously" to describe the not-remotely-obvious. "See that rock? It is really disguising human degenerates who bear the sign of the beast".**
**not actual quote--artist's impression to give the idea
The Denver airport theories have grabbed several different people. It seems there is the new world order school, which swears the symbols and pictures spell out their intent, and the revelations crowd who bend it all to fit their bent idea of Biblical doom. I think these people sound dangerous, but I wouldn't start making laws or censoring them.
I'll just say it right here: You can make any prophesy come true if you try. I simply do not buy most of the stuff I hear regarding beast marks and all that. You can read Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and others and come up with foretellings of the future at least as accurate as the ones crazy superstitious pretend holy people come up with. Should we then think of those people as holy? We can get all wound up in "be gone, ye, satan!!" talk, and all that.
I've no doubt that conspiracies exist. I remembering conspiring with others at times in my past. Sometimes it was for noble purpose, and sometimes not. Suspecting a conspiracy does not automatically make you nuts. There are other criteria for that.
This guy is nuts--click here to see for yourself
What I like is how he cites his research; "according to my sources on the internet..". OK. According to my sources on the internet I'm the real Slim Shady.
I see a butterfly in any mural, I automatically say, "that OBVIOUSLY represents Louis XVI, the dead French King."
The usefulness of nuts like this self=proclaimed "Third Eagle of the Apocalypse, and the co-prophet of the end times", is that it makes anyone who distrusts the established order of things look like a complete nincompoop. So, they are actually useful to equally wacko government wanks.
It is a little unsettling to realize just how far out there some people are. Many do it under the guise of a gruesome brand of religiosity. No way to reason with that. But, if you wanted to manipulate events, they could be quite useful. Even if one believes we are under threat from Islam fanatics, you have to see that much can be done under the guise of fighting them, and that it is quite easy to abuse the assumption of a nebulous enemy. Unfamiliar fanatics are pretty scary. The stonings and other Dark Ages throw backs tend to get one's attention. A very useful enemy with a well deserved image of being backward, superstitious, homicidal lunatics. The most useful thing is that this enemy can be anywhere. It may be you. This enemy is so useful it gives an excuse to government to ignore any of your rights it chooses. And the graft and corruption it enables goes equally as far.
It is a strange thing to see. A government which decries terrorism and oppression continues to fund the irs, make very liberal use of eminent domain powers, and tends to misuse and abuse its own military (misues by sending into strange undeclared wars under bizarre restraints, then jail their own for self defense or on hearsay charges from the enemy that they are meanies) is one that would give rise to theories of all sorts. No other way to make sense of it. It certainly does not stand up to logical scrutiny on face value.
I may think the man is my philosophical opposite in the realm of politics, but I don't think he's the anti-christ or any other macabre biblical player. And certainly not the leopard in a mural of mayans and corn fields. That gave gave me the creeps with his pretense of the mural being a warning to Obama. I guess he thinks some god put the stuff in the Denver airport.
Oh, I forgot, he seems to have a question regarding if the murals are the work of Satan, or from God. See, that is the kind of talk I find disgustingly weird, and somehow dangerous. They decide you are "of the devil" they can get in self righteous rage and kill you in the name of the lord. I do not buy any of that bunk.
Whatever of the bible is true has been totally misshaped and twisted by holy men through the ages. And despite the fact they've been around thousands of years, I do think they are wrong and I am right. Half truths tend to carry further with the masses than whole truths. Got to give credit for some truth being in there.
Beware Denver airport. That's the long and short of it. Who knew?
This has been a public service documentary by Me; bird of prey, in some order, of the apocalypse, and a prophet of Christmas future, if you'll sucker for that title
Once in awhile you land on videos and information which really stretches credibility; both in the content, and the idea that the person who made the video could be serious.
Did you know that there are people who claim the Denver airport is full of things pertaining to everything from black ops, to the apocalypse? Yep, the murals are all about it.
One guy says the leopard in one of the murals, " represents Barack Obama". And the two cubs in the painting are his kids. They seem to have left Michele out. I guess she was off hunting for some lean meat while he spent quality time with the cubs.
If someone in a mural is wearing a hat, the guy insists it is a halo. He uses the word, "obviously" to describe the not-remotely-obvious. "See that rock? It is really disguising human degenerates who bear the sign of the beast".**
**not actual quote--artist's impression to give the idea
The Denver airport theories have grabbed several different people. It seems there is the new world order school, which swears the symbols and pictures spell out their intent, and the revelations crowd who bend it all to fit their bent idea of Biblical doom. I think these people sound dangerous, but I wouldn't start making laws or censoring them.
I'll just say it right here: You can make any prophesy come true if you try. I simply do not buy most of the stuff I hear regarding beast marks and all that. You can read Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and others and come up with foretellings of the future at least as accurate as the ones crazy superstitious pretend holy people come up with. Should we then think of those people as holy? We can get all wound up in "be gone, ye, satan!!" talk, and all that.
I've no doubt that conspiracies exist. I remembering conspiring with others at times in my past. Sometimes it was for noble purpose, and sometimes not. Suspecting a conspiracy does not automatically make you nuts. There are other criteria for that.
This guy is nuts--click here to see for yourself
What I like is how he cites his research; "according to my sources on the internet..". OK. According to my sources on the internet I'm the real Slim Shady.
I see a butterfly in any mural, I automatically say, "that OBVIOUSLY represents Louis XVI, the dead French King."
The usefulness of nuts like this self=proclaimed "Third Eagle of the Apocalypse, and the co-prophet of the end times", is that it makes anyone who distrusts the established order of things look like a complete nincompoop. So, they are actually useful to equally wacko government wanks.
It is a little unsettling to realize just how far out there some people are. Many do it under the guise of a gruesome brand of religiosity. No way to reason with that. But, if you wanted to manipulate events, they could be quite useful. Even if one believes we are under threat from Islam fanatics, you have to see that much can be done under the guise of fighting them, and that it is quite easy to abuse the assumption of a nebulous enemy. Unfamiliar fanatics are pretty scary. The stonings and other Dark Ages throw backs tend to get one's attention. A very useful enemy with a well deserved image of being backward, superstitious, homicidal lunatics. The most useful thing is that this enemy can be anywhere. It may be you. This enemy is so useful it gives an excuse to government to ignore any of your rights it chooses. And the graft and corruption it enables goes equally as far.
It is a strange thing to see. A government which decries terrorism and oppression continues to fund the irs, make very liberal use of eminent domain powers, and tends to misuse and abuse its own military (misues by sending into strange undeclared wars under bizarre restraints, then jail their own for self defense or on hearsay charges from the enemy that they are meanies) is one that would give rise to theories of all sorts. No other way to make sense of it. It certainly does not stand up to logical scrutiny on face value.
I may think the man is my philosophical opposite in the realm of politics, but I don't think he's the anti-christ or any other macabre biblical player. And certainly not the leopard in a mural of mayans and corn fields. That gave gave me the creeps with his pretense of the mural being a warning to Obama. I guess he thinks some god put the stuff in the Denver airport.
Oh, I forgot, he seems to have a question regarding if the murals are the work of Satan, or from God. See, that is the kind of talk I find disgustingly weird, and somehow dangerous. They decide you are "of the devil" they can get in self righteous rage and kill you in the name of the lord. I do not buy any of that bunk.
Whatever of the bible is true has been totally misshaped and twisted by holy men through the ages. And despite the fact they've been around thousands of years, I do think they are wrong and I am right. Half truths tend to carry further with the masses than whole truths. Got to give credit for some truth being in there.
Beware Denver airport. That's the long and short of it. Who knew?
This has been a public service documentary by Me; bird of prey, in some order, of the apocalypse, and a prophet of Christmas future, if you'll sucker for that title
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect, etc.
Tonight was one of the most disjointed practices ever. I think I know why, but that is best left unremarked. For my part, I just did not feel too zippy or with it. No one really did. Very odd.
When you are running out of time before a gig, and you do the kind of stuff that is not a platform for ad-lib, then it is best not to change things or cast doubt where none existed. Just saying.
I've got the ability to keep trucking after a mistake so it will be OK. But I am not so much of a singer and I am doing some singing. If only I could do that high pitched scream thing. No way I'd want to do the American Idol pop/broadway hybrid style. It takes talent but it usually lacks the stuff of true soul or blues or whatever is born of emotion. It tends to be a technical, computer generated algorithm which results in how emotion should sound. Not always, but plenty. I quit watching it long ago, and only did for awhile, which means my assessment cannot be taken as thoroughly researched and valid. Though it may be accurate. Who knows?
===============
Note to lady staying at Mr Big's place: If you make fire in the fireplace, and the damper, known as the flue, is not open, the smoke will fill the room. Calling around town to get opinions on the question, "Would it be good to throw baking soda on it to put it out?" may not be the ideal first response.
People in high places seem to keep less than resourceful company. This does not bode well for certain circles of power in this country. Some of them cannot open doors without breaking door knobs, others cannot operate toilets without breaking them, others can't use a table or wooden tray without disfiguring it, and this latest one can't use a fireplace without wreaking havoc on the interior of the house.
That probably means work for me, but for some reason it is less rewarding when you are basically picking up after people who believe they are above taking responsibility for any of their actions. They are much too important. Apparently being a nitwit is how you assert your importance in that particular network. And they put on the front of being so dedicated to helping the downtrodden. God save the downtrodden if these are their saviors.
===============
A news mannequin referred to the dissenters and mobs in the mideast as "freedom fighters". I'm skeptical but hope he is right. Far too often, what appears to be a righteous revolution pitting those who seek freedom against tyrants ends up being a war between two different tyrannical units. Often it doesn't become evident until it is too late. And often it is not what the rank and file wanted, or they did not really have good definition of what they wanted. I'm not there so I don't know. But I doubt many of them do either. It is very tricky for the vultures not to seize opportunities during these "transitions".
If only Jesse would fly over there with his megaphone.
===========================
I still say, "Let what happens in Wisconsin stay in Wisconsin". Outsiders, you probably have your own issues that are screwed up. let your state or city set the example. In my case maybe I can let one tenth of my life get straightened out enough to be an example. No way I could begin to unravel the local official city and country rabble here. If I did have the power the only thing I'd feel confident about is deporting a couple of El Cajon Highway Patrolmen to NYC or somewhere. I'd certainly fire them and give them no pensions or severance pay. And I'd ban them from any position of authority, and not let them own a gun.
When you are running out of time before a gig, and you do the kind of stuff that is not a platform for ad-lib, then it is best not to change things or cast doubt where none existed. Just saying.
I've got the ability to keep trucking after a mistake so it will be OK. But I am not so much of a singer and I am doing some singing. If only I could do that high pitched scream thing. No way I'd want to do the American Idol pop/broadway hybrid style. It takes talent but it usually lacks the stuff of true soul or blues or whatever is born of emotion. It tends to be a technical, computer generated algorithm which results in how emotion should sound. Not always, but plenty. I quit watching it long ago, and only did for awhile, which means my assessment cannot be taken as thoroughly researched and valid. Though it may be accurate. Who knows?
===============
Note to lady staying at Mr Big's place: If you make fire in the fireplace, and the damper, known as the flue, is not open, the smoke will fill the room. Calling around town to get opinions on the question, "Would it be good to throw baking soda on it to put it out?" may not be the ideal first response.
People in high places seem to keep less than resourceful company. This does not bode well for certain circles of power in this country. Some of them cannot open doors without breaking door knobs, others cannot operate toilets without breaking them, others can't use a table or wooden tray without disfiguring it, and this latest one can't use a fireplace without wreaking havoc on the interior of the house.
That probably means work for me, but for some reason it is less rewarding when you are basically picking up after people who believe they are above taking responsibility for any of their actions. They are much too important. Apparently being a nitwit is how you assert your importance in that particular network. And they put on the front of being so dedicated to helping the downtrodden. God save the downtrodden if these are their saviors.
===============
A news mannequin referred to the dissenters and mobs in the mideast as "freedom fighters". I'm skeptical but hope he is right. Far too often, what appears to be a righteous revolution pitting those who seek freedom against tyrants ends up being a war between two different tyrannical units. Often it doesn't become evident until it is too late. And often it is not what the rank and file wanted, or they did not really have good definition of what they wanted. I'm not there so I don't know. But I doubt many of them do either. It is very tricky for the vultures not to seize opportunities during these "transitions".
If only Jesse would fly over there with his megaphone.
===========================
I still say, "Let what happens in Wisconsin stay in Wisconsin". Outsiders, you probably have your own issues that are screwed up. let your state or city set the example. In my case maybe I can let one tenth of my life get straightened out enough to be an example. No way I could begin to unravel the local official city and country rabble here. If I did have the power the only thing I'd feel confident about is deporting a couple of El Cajon Highway Patrolmen to NYC or somewhere. I'd certainly fire them and give them no pensions or severance pay. And I'd ban them from any position of authority, and not let them own a gun.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Side Effects May Include Death and/or Vomiting
That is one reason I am grateful for my lack of medical access. It is possible that if I were on the right insurance, I'd be encouraged, or even required, to get any number of tests.
Just listen to the fast talker run through the risks associated with meds that half the world takes. Yet they worry about pot and opium. How odd.
It looks like the only medications that I see advertised which have an intriguing sounding side effect would be those that warn of a four hour 'attention' span, as it were. Not something the lone desperado really needs. That is a side effect best shared with your close social circle. No close social circle, no need to seek such things.
I'm fairly certain that the right encounter would result in much the same thing anyway, and without cause for panic. However, if I were to go get a thorough check-up, I would bet that I would be prescribed medication of one kind or another.
It would be a great investigative reporting project. Go to a few different major clinics or professional associations, get the thorough probing, undergo tests, and compare results. I'll bet I'd get all kinds of pills to take, and then more pills to counteract the effects of those. Soon, provided I wanted to have close interactions with my fun close social circle, or portions thereof, I'd desperately need the meds that result in warnings that if the pill actually works for more than four hours, I'm in trouble. That would be to counteract the effects of the other batch of pills.
It is a bit of a dilemma because many things modern health care can do are of great benefit. Artificial joints is one of the good things, as well as many types of surgery, and a few cures for diseases. I, myself, was able to fend off a case of pneumonia without hospitalization many years ago. He gave a bunch of dope, said my plan to fly that day to Miami may be a good plan, and that was that. I was wiped out for quite some time and could hardly breathe or walk at first, but I made the flight, and here I am.
Whatever he gave me produced a great feeling of relief and well being within a few hours. He told me not to think I actually felt better if that happened and go do something stupid. Getting out of 10 degree weather (F) and into Miami sunshine to recover was one of the few smart plans I've executed.
So, the way I see it is that the medical community can either save or improve your life, and it can also screw it up or kill you. Many people become hooked on all things medical and sometimes suffer as a result. They go from health care hobbyists--because they are on some plan which lets them visit doctors a lot--to health care dependents who are less healthy every year. In some cases it may just be a genetic thing, but I think that sometimes getting into that loop did them in.
Most nurses get very mad at me for such views. Not always. I know more nurses than doctors. I'm sure many doctors would also think I am trouble. But how would they know? Thanks to John Edwards and others in the insincere tort business, they are better off if they have covered their legal tracks completely than if you live. You go in and they say you seem ok, go home, and you get sick or die, then John and colleagues might ruin you in court.
Well, I hope those who really need the assistance of good medical people get it without red tape considerations, and others who don't need it try not to tie up the system out of foolish paranoia or lack of other hobby. My avoidance is a public service because it frees up the resources for those who need it right now.
I wonder how many people go into the emergency room with the full mast flag that can't be lowered, due to the pill side effects. That must be an interesting exchange with the admitting nurse. Do you cover it up or just parade around like a lunatic?
I'll bet it is a very rare occurrence. I'd probably not go. Although it would be an exhibitionist's dream ailment and emergency room visit.
Being human is quite a lot of fun. I just don't get the people who hate their own species so much.
Just listen to the fast talker run through the risks associated with meds that half the world takes. Yet they worry about pot and opium. How odd.
It looks like the only medications that I see advertised which have an intriguing sounding side effect would be those that warn of a four hour 'attention' span, as it were. Not something the lone desperado really needs. That is a side effect best shared with your close social circle. No close social circle, no need to seek such things.
I'm fairly certain that the right encounter would result in much the same thing anyway, and without cause for panic. However, if I were to go get a thorough check-up, I would bet that I would be prescribed medication of one kind or another.
It would be a great investigative reporting project. Go to a few different major clinics or professional associations, get the thorough probing, undergo tests, and compare results. I'll bet I'd get all kinds of pills to take, and then more pills to counteract the effects of those. Soon, provided I wanted to have close interactions with my fun close social circle, or portions thereof, I'd desperately need the meds that result in warnings that if the pill actually works for more than four hours, I'm in trouble. That would be to counteract the effects of the other batch of pills.
It is a bit of a dilemma because many things modern health care can do are of great benefit. Artificial joints is one of the good things, as well as many types of surgery, and a few cures for diseases. I, myself, was able to fend off a case of pneumonia without hospitalization many years ago. He gave a bunch of dope, said my plan to fly that day to Miami may be a good plan, and that was that. I was wiped out for quite some time and could hardly breathe or walk at first, but I made the flight, and here I am.
Whatever he gave me produced a great feeling of relief and well being within a few hours. He told me not to think I actually felt better if that happened and go do something stupid. Getting out of 10 degree weather (F) and into Miami sunshine to recover was one of the few smart plans I've executed.
So, the way I see it is that the medical community can either save or improve your life, and it can also screw it up or kill you. Many people become hooked on all things medical and sometimes suffer as a result. They go from health care hobbyists--because they are on some plan which lets them visit doctors a lot--to health care dependents who are less healthy every year. In some cases it may just be a genetic thing, but I think that sometimes getting into that loop did them in.
Most nurses get very mad at me for such views. Not always. I know more nurses than doctors. I'm sure many doctors would also think I am trouble. But how would they know? Thanks to John Edwards and others in the insincere tort business, they are better off if they have covered their legal tracks completely than if you live. You go in and they say you seem ok, go home, and you get sick or die, then John and colleagues might ruin you in court.
Well, I hope those who really need the assistance of good medical people get it without red tape considerations, and others who don't need it try not to tie up the system out of foolish paranoia or lack of other hobby. My avoidance is a public service because it frees up the resources for those who need it right now.
I wonder how many people go into the emergency room with the full mast flag that can't be lowered, due to the pill side effects. That must be an interesting exchange with the admitting nurse. Do you cover it up or just parade around like a lunatic?
I'll bet it is a very rare occurrence. I'd probably not go. Although it would be an exhibitionist's dream ailment and emergency room visit.
Being human is quite a lot of fun. I just don't get the people who hate their own species so much.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Let the 60's Die, Please!
Not sure if I need say more. Of course, I will. A lot more. Skip down to the video if this bores you.
Maybe too many people who lived through it never critically looked at demonstrations close up and talked to participants. Most of them could not tell you any facts. They were there to be seen, be cool, get laid, and get pot. Not necessarily in that order.
Then again, most people did not live through it (late 60's/early 70's protests). They just got their impressions from glamorous looking footage, and hearsay. I am not among that group. Like now, I couldn't justify taking over a building, blocking roadways, etc. However I did go see what was up in case I could score dope or get lucky. And out of curiosity. It amazed me how hateful people could be while "standing up for peace".
**(On the other hand, the reaction of officials did more to fuel things than one might think. Idiotic response by police and government. Agitators knew that and sometimes did things to their own and framed the cops to make the victim part fly. Later reports bring up the possibility that someone other than guardsmen fired the first shots at Kent State. It was still dumb to deal with these things as they did. So sad that in many ways both sides back then actually hated freedom. Both sides wanted everyone to conform to their mode of behavior. Live and let live was not in the mix)
{photo by Robert Altman, I think. I lifted it but not for commercial purposes. Altman is online]
They did not know how to handle large groups of people showing up to express disapproval of undeclared wars.
It was a very strange and confusing period. The art of being hip was far more confining than one might think. However the lack of disease fears and the general sedation of the peer group made for rather friendly interpersonal relations with complete strangers.
***And as much as it goes against my grain in certain ways, I have to say that the draft and the confusion over why it was done did set the stage for the rest. Once you can legitimize your status as victim, it is easy to suspend reason and values in your retaliation. Of course not everyone had a low draft number, like me.
It is curious that some of the most hip protester types of that era that I knew turned out to be the most aggressive and unprincipled of business people later. Peace, love and screw you. Very greedy. It got them laid and gave them a social circle. It was not a truly idealistic movement as much as it appeared****
***Too bad the WWII people couldn't see the forest for the trees. They often resented their kids for not being poor and having to go fight the Huns or Japs. So they went along out of blind patriotism. They should have been the ones to block the unnecessary, and, in my mind, illegal forced conscription of their sons. Though it may be noted that a huge percentage of soldiers in Viet nam volunteered for the service and for that duty. A skewed statistic because enlistees had a better deal than draftees and more control over duty (not saying much)+++++
+++The ultra active peace and love crowd were also the ones who actually harassed and spit on returning soldiers. That was inexcusable. It was all love as long as you dressed like them, looked like them, parroted their language and lingo and thoughts. But step out of that self proclaimed freedom cult, and wrath be upon you. Most rigidly conformist outfit since the military, but less tolerant. That is where I found the movement to be doltish and hypocritical.+++but the draft and war sucked. No way around that.===
No way I support drafting people for non-defensive wars. I hate the whole concept. I am totally opposed to overseas police actions, nation building, and foreign aid, except to maybe help if a meteor falls on a poor place.
But it is all part of the Great Pretense to think that mass demonstrations are not usually (at the very least 90% of the time) organized and fueled by special interests which aren't part of the stated purpose of the marching mob. There are rare exceptions.
Most of the time skilled agitators and organizers appear from out of town, and even bus people in.
It is what I suspect was the case in Egypt as well. That is pretty much all the Wisconsin hooplah has in common with Cairo. To pretend otherwise is, well, it is to pretend. Not to say Egypt did or did not have a ripe climate. They were and are under a police state which makes us look very free. But comparisons do not truly identify the nature of that being compared. They only illustrate degrees. Anyway, WI teachers have little in common with Egyptian mobs, and Wisconsin has very little in common with Egypt.
My view of Wisconsin's issue is that it is their issue. Jesse Jackson or Sarah Palin or Obama coming in to the fray is nothing but demagoguery. I have my running issue with public employee unions, especially if it is a closed shop or close to it. You don't want in, you shouldn't have to join, and you shouldn't have to pay for protection if you opt out. One reason is that, if elected representatives of the taxpayers set terms of employment, and then tax paid employees decide they don't like it and have a union strike and the state is over a barrel because their laws make them deal with the union, then the tax payers are in effect being subjected to taxation without representation.
Further, it is in the interest of a political party to not only promote the public employee union but add more public jobs and increase the size of government because a unionized public employee voting block is very useful. It is a self serving end at the expense of the lower average payed private sector workers, who pay for all this.
The reason so many states and the feds are deeply in debt is that you cannot keep adding functions to government, and tax paid employees without going out of balance. The people paying for the pensions and health care of government workers cannot afford it themselves. There are so many tax paid jobs which ought not exist to begin with, but that's another story. Who would miss the DEA, for example? Not very many normal citizens.
Every time I see marchers and chanters with placards for causes which are rather high class, or unnecessary, it leaves me cold. "I don't like what they are voting on so I am going to repeat after the guy with the megaphone and make a sign that attacks the person who is the figurehead of it all". "Maybe I'll make him look like Hitler. That's always a succinct point in the debate. I'll draw a picture of him being lynched. That's pretty cool." ---I saw signs with both those things in pics of the Wisconsin festival. Many, in fact. But I don't actually think they don't have that right. It is odd that those who support them got so riled when there were Obama-made-into-Hitler posters in protests against his policies. Either we all get the same rights or we don't.
{another aside, How come Jesse showed up and didn't decry their lack of diversity? Bunch of well to do (relative to me) white folks there complaining that the recession may hurt them, too.]
Better yet, why don't we get our friends, kids, babies, and dogs out where people drive with their children, and carry signs with pictures of fetuses and complain about abortion. Never mind that some people do not want to have to explain to their five year old girl what that means. Be sure to line a street which they have to use so they can't avoid you. (still mad about that happening in Greensboro with little K in the back seat all curious. I cut dangerously close to those dolts hanging over the curb)
Oh, but it is all for a good, self righteous cause, and we've been brainwashed into believing that mob action is democracy and the way to deal with everything.
I don't buy it. But I have quit jobs that were abusive. I was in a union and found it useless. If you read the contract, the majority of it only has to do with keeping the union and its administrators fat and powerful. To pretend it is an idealistic fair minded organization there to protect the poor worker (or employee) is generally an erroneous thing to do.
Somehow the whole approach plays into the problem. The government-business partnership model is nothing but corrupt from the get go, and somehow, we've structured life so that the bigger the company, the stronger the plantation mentality. There is enough of the market and nature there to provide a good standard of living, but it is not quite right. Something is way off.
The answer is not forcing everyone to turn over the fruits of their labors to some modern day priests, which politicians have become, to decide how the holy powers think it ought be used. I've not formulated the answer I think best, but I know taking another's property, time or else by force is not it.
So, just about everyone in the picture as promoted in public information outlets is wrong. That is all I can say. The best, most reasonable companies I've known were small companies started by people who could not handle working for a larger bureaucracy, so the saved up, quit, and went into competition. And they thrived. It was only my own problems that caused me to leave those places. The companies were merit based in their internal policies, and treated employees with respect, like adults. No little "write-up" forms, or written reprimands for trivial nonsense. Just did not work that way.
No workers wanted a union to even think of approaching those places. The workers would have done more to chase them away than the management. One place had a union guy working there because it provided a loophole for certain jobs. He'd have done better being non-union, but he was brainwashed. The union told him how to vote in elections and what to think. But he had no desire to go work elsewhere, in a closed shop.
Exactly where the overall system ought to change, in the big picture, I am not sure. There are many small things. The corporate structure changes baffle me most. That feudal culture that permeates all is rather valueless and people violate their own sense of right and wrong all the time to keep even menial jobs.
The argument of "if you don't think this is right then what is?" doesn't change the fact that it is wrong. That is like saying, "If we want to pay the piper we have to steal from Dad's wallet. Oh, you don't like that? Well if we don't get it that way, then how? Ha! you can't answer, therefore the Dad idea is obviously right".
Maybe the little things can be whittled at first. The Big Pretense permeates all. I recall jobs which were best done with the attitude that these were grown people signing on the dotted line. I knew they were in over their head, didn't truly know what they were doing, and that they'd suffer for it. Quite often I found ways to kill the deal. Other times I took the stance that it is not my job to make their choices. They were doing what they did because they thought that is how everyone does. It is a fine line between knowing that the other is going in with their eyes closed, so they are easily deceived by lies of omission, and taking responsibility for the actions of others.
One big mistake was the advent of payment selling, buying everything on time. People came to believe it was normal to buy whatever anyone would finance, whether directly or on a card. No wonder, as a country, (and apparently as a world) we allowed ourselves to go so heavily into debt. We forgot that things have a price and that to trade you have to hold up your end of the bargain. Sometimes it means you get the cheaper car, or keep the old one awhile. Maybe you get by with one less shirt. Maybe you make sandwiches rather than buy them ready made somewhere, etc.
From demonstrations to international "benevolence" to the way schools are run and business is conducted, the Big Pretense has warped all of it, and, in the long run, it is not really as much fun. To dissolve that spell, people have to lose the addiction to self righteous anger and envy, among other things. It is tough, on any level. I get sucked in by it, too. But I am working on it because I know better. The envy aspect and thinking your good fortune equals my bad breaks are not part of my problem though. That seems like a healthy start. I sucker for the dearth of imagination when it comes to recognizing the fact that no matter what, opportunities abound.
No amount of marching, unless a reasonable overthrow is imminent, will address the real issues. Certainly this longing to be in a 60's demonstration won't result in any substantive advancement of freedom and joy.
Maybe too many people who lived through it never critically looked at demonstrations close up and talked to participants. Most of them could not tell you any facts. They were there to be seen, be cool, get laid, and get pot. Not necessarily in that order.
Then again, most people did not live through it (late 60's/early 70's protests). They just got their impressions from glamorous looking footage, and hearsay. I am not among that group. Like now, I couldn't justify taking over a building, blocking roadways, etc. However I did go see what was up in case I could score dope or get lucky. And out of curiosity. It amazed me how hateful people could be while "standing up for peace".
**(On the other hand, the reaction of officials did more to fuel things than one might think. Idiotic response by police and government. Agitators knew that and sometimes did things to their own and framed the cops to make the victim part fly. Later reports bring up the possibility that someone other than guardsmen fired the first shots at Kent State. It was still dumb to deal with these things as they did. So sad that in many ways both sides back then actually hated freedom. Both sides wanted everyone to conform to their mode of behavior. Live and let live was not in the mix)
{photo by Robert Altman, I think. I lifted it but not for commercial purposes. Altman is online]
They did not know how to handle large groups of people showing up to express disapproval of undeclared wars.
It was a very strange and confusing period. The art of being hip was far more confining than one might think. However the lack of disease fears and the general sedation of the peer group made for rather friendly interpersonal relations with complete strangers.
***And as much as it goes against my grain in certain ways, I have to say that the draft and the confusion over why it was done did set the stage for the rest. Once you can legitimize your status as victim, it is easy to suspend reason and values in your retaliation. Of course not everyone had a low draft number, like me.
It is curious that some of the most hip protester types of that era that I knew turned out to be the most aggressive and unprincipled of business people later. Peace, love and screw you. Very greedy. It got them laid and gave them a social circle. It was not a truly idealistic movement as much as it appeared****
***Too bad the WWII people couldn't see the forest for the trees. They often resented their kids for not being poor and having to go fight the Huns or Japs. So they went along out of blind patriotism. They should have been the ones to block the unnecessary, and, in my mind, illegal forced conscription of their sons. Though it may be noted that a huge percentage of soldiers in Viet nam volunteered for the service and for that duty. A skewed statistic because enlistees had a better deal than draftees and more control over duty (not saying much)+++++
+++The ultra active peace and love crowd were also the ones who actually harassed and spit on returning soldiers. That was inexcusable. It was all love as long as you dressed like them, looked like them, parroted their language and lingo and thoughts. But step out of that self proclaimed freedom cult, and wrath be upon you. Most rigidly conformist outfit since the military, but less tolerant. That is where I found the movement to be doltish and hypocritical.+++but the draft and war sucked. No way around that.===
No way I support drafting people for non-defensive wars. I hate the whole concept. I am totally opposed to overseas police actions, nation building, and foreign aid, except to maybe help if a meteor falls on a poor place.
But it is all part of the Great Pretense to think that mass demonstrations are not usually (at the very least 90% of the time) organized and fueled by special interests which aren't part of the stated purpose of the marching mob. There are rare exceptions.
Most of the time skilled agitators and organizers appear from out of town, and even bus people in.
It is what I suspect was the case in Egypt as well. That is pretty much all the Wisconsin hooplah has in common with Cairo. To pretend otherwise is, well, it is to pretend. Not to say Egypt did or did not have a ripe climate. They were and are under a police state which makes us look very free. But comparisons do not truly identify the nature of that being compared. They only illustrate degrees. Anyway, WI teachers have little in common with Egyptian mobs, and Wisconsin has very little in common with Egypt.
My view of Wisconsin's issue is that it is their issue. Jesse Jackson or Sarah Palin or Obama coming in to the fray is nothing but demagoguery. I have my running issue with public employee unions, especially if it is a closed shop or close to it. You don't want in, you shouldn't have to join, and you shouldn't have to pay for protection if you opt out. One reason is that, if elected representatives of the taxpayers set terms of employment, and then tax paid employees decide they don't like it and have a union strike and the state is over a barrel because their laws make them deal with the union, then the tax payers are in effect being subjected to taxation without representation.
Further, it is in the interest of a political party to not only promote the public employee union but add more public jobs and increase the size of government because a unionized public employee voting block is very useful. It is a self serving end at the expense of the lower average payed private sector workers, who pay for all this.
The reason so many states and the feds are deeply in debt is that you cannot keep adding functions to government, and tax paid employees without going out of balance. The people paying for the pensions and health care of government workers cannot afford it themselves. There are so many tax paid jobs which ought not exist to begin with, but that's another story. Who would miss the DEA, for example? Not very many normal citizens.
Every time I see marchers and chanters with placards for causes which are rather high class, or unnecessary, it leaves me cold. "I don't like what they are voting on so I am going to repeat after the guy with the megaphone and make a sign that attacks the person who is the figurehead of it all". "Maybe I'll make him look like Hitler. That's always a succinct point in the debate. I'll draw a picture of him being lynched. That's pretty cool." ---I saw signs with both those things in pics of the Wisconsin festival. Many, in fact. But I don't actually think they don't have that right. It is odd that those who support them got so riled when there were Obama-made-into-Hitler posters in protests against his policies. Either we all get the same rights or we don't.
{another aside, How come Jesse showed up and didn't decry their lack of diversity? Bunch of well to do (relative to me) white folks there complaining that the recession may hurt them, too.]
Better yet, why don't we get our friends, kids, babies, and dogs out where people drive with their children, and carry signs with pictures of fetuses and complain about abortion. Never mind that some people do not want to have to explain to their five year old girl what that means. Be sure to line a street which they have to use so they can't avoid you. (still mad about that happening in Greensboro with little K in the back seat all curious. I cut dangerously close to those dolts hanging over the curb)
Oh, but it is all for a good, self righteous cause, and we've been brainwashed into believing that mob action is democracy and the way to deal with everything.
I don't buy it. But I have quit jobs that were abusive. I was in a union and found it useless. If you read the contract, the majority of it only has to do with keeping the union and its administrators fat and powerful. To pretend it is an idealistic fair minded organization there to protect the poor worker (or employee) is generally an erroneous thing to do.
Somehow the whole approach plays into the problem. The government-business partnership model is nothing but corrupt from the get go, and somehow, we've structured life so that the bigger the company, the stronger the plantation mentality. There is enough of the market and nature there to provide a good standard of living, but it is not quite right. Something is way off.
The answer is not forcing everyone to turn over the fruits of their labors to some modern day priests, which politicians have become, to decide how the holy powers think it ought be used. I've not formulated the answer I think best, but I know taking another's property, time or else by force is not it.
So, just about everyone in the picture as promoted in public information outlets is wrong. That is all I can say. The best, most reasonable companies I've known were small companies started by people who could not handle working for a larger bureaucracy, so the saved up, quit, and went into competition. And they thrived. It was only my own problems that caused me to leave those places. The companies were merit based in their internal policies, and treated employees with respect, like adults. No little "write-up" forms, or written reprimands for trivial nonsense. Just did not work that way.
No workers wanted a union to even think of approaching those places. The workers would have done more to chase them away than the management. One place had a union guy working there because it provided a loophole for certain jobs. He'd have done better being non-union, but he was brainwashed. The union told him how to vote in elections and what to think. But he had no desire to go work elsewhere, in a closed shop.
Exactly where the overall system ought to change, in the big picture, I am not sure. There are many small things. The corporate structure changes baffle me most. That feudal culture that permeates all is rather valueless and people violate their own sense of right and wrong all the time to keep even menial jobs.
The argument of "if you don't think this is right then what is?" doesn't change the fact that it is wrong. That is like saying, "If we want to pay the piper we have to steal from Dad's wallet. Oh, you don't like that? Well if we don't get it that way, then how? Ha! you can't answer, therefore the Dad idea is obviously right".
Maybe the little things can be whittled at first. The Big Pretense permeates all. I recall jobs which were best done with the attitude that these were grown people signing on the dotted line. I knew they were in over their head, didn't truly know what they were doing, and that they'd suffer for it. Quite often I found ways to kill the deal. Other times I took the stance that it is not my job to make their choices. They were doing what they did because they thought that is how everyone does. It is a fine line between knowing that the other is going in with their eyes closed, so they are easily deceived by lies of omission, and taking responsibility for the actions of others.
One big mistake was the advent of payment selling, buying everything on time. People came to believe it was normal to buy whatever anyone would finance, whether directly or on a card. No wonder, as a country, (and apparently as a world) we allowed ourselves to go so heavily into debt. We forgot that things have a price and that to trade you have to hold up your end of the bargain. Sometimes it means you get the cheaper car, or keep the old one awhile. Maybe you get by with one less shirt. Maybe you make sandwiches rather than buy them ready made somewhere, etc.
From demonstrations to international "benevolence" to the way schools are run and business is conducted, the Big Pretense has warped all of it, and, in the long run, it is not really as much fun. To dissolve that spell, people have to lose the addiction to self righteous anger and envy, among other things. It is tough, on any level. I get sucked in by it, too. But I am working on it because I know better. The envy aspect and thinking your good fortune equals my bad breaks are not part of my problem though. That seems like a healthy start. I sucker for the dearth of imagination when it comes to recognizing the fact that no matter what, opportunities abound.
No amount of marching, unless a reasonable overthrow is imminent, will address the real issues. Certainly this longing to be in a 60's demonstration won't result in any substantive advancement of freedom and joy.
Talk Radio Call; part 2--dick bass
This is further info on the talk show fiasco described in an earlier post. An anonymous source was able to provide me with the station's security video, and video of me calling which was somehow obtained from the secret black ops people who follow me and record my every move.
I spliced them into one easy to understand movie.
This is an easier way to show what happened than writing a foot long post.
I spliced them into one easy to understand movie.
This is an easier way to show what happened than writing a foot long post.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Disjointed Thinking Regarding What Comes To Mind
So, I wake up from this peculiar dream. I'm on a highway, "The 8", I believe. It seems that I am approaching the off ramp. It is kind of overcast and maybe just at dusk. There is an old dark colored car on the shoulder and everything about the vehicle and driver is dark. He waves a cardboard sign out the window that looks dirty and it has circles drawn on it in black yellow and dirty red. I think it had writing in marker that said "Help", or "help me".
He was trying to wave me down. My first reaction was to pull over, which I did. Then I think: he's not getting out. I can't see what or who is in the car, and what's up with the sign if he suddenly needed help? When would he have the time and such to make that, and why does it look like he's had it awhile? I decided it could easily be a set up. I was scheming a way to get to the bottom of it without risk of being hijacked or jumped. That's it. I woke up thinking that this was not a legit opportunity to be of service to my fellow man. At least it was in color and I wasn't a victim. I rarely am; in dream or in life.
==================================
I'm still trying to define my aversion to the tactic of demonstrating or marching in the case of the Sunrise Powerlink opposition. That whole thing is rather interesting because it is an example of a situation which most conservative talk people, or others who usually decry abuses by the environmental activists, would automatically assume the opposition is just more anti-human, neo-Luddite rabble rousing. Nothing could be further from the truth.
On the other hand, many of the union types, and more left wing leaning people think the opposition is a roadblock to lovely, renewable green energy. Again, the are miles from the truth.
Many who are involved in the groups opposing this debacle are there because of a self serving agenda to try to get their own preferred, subsidized companies on the map--companies which make solar products and such, but not the sort that would use the powerlink for delivery. Then there are those who think they are the spokespeople for birds and other non-human citizens---the kind who think rats and the earth "need a good lawyer".
I oppose it because it is not needed, because they are putting people off their land, because it is merely there so Sempra can sell energy from their Mexican power plant, and because it will result in higher rates. It is a very shameless scam, and the process is fraught with obvious corruption and avoidance of complying with their own rules.
I won't argue with my friends who will go downtown to do their thing and demonstrate, but I do not have it in me to feel good about joining them. Only because there is something about that method that doesn't feel right in this case. I realize that we've been taught since the sixties, and forever through union activity, that this is the way of freedom and how it is done.
Not having a better plan, I can't offer an alternative. Yet, I know it is there. More than anything, I think the structure of a system which permits such underhanded theft and abuse should be the ultimate target. More often than not such dissent merely focusses on a particular decision rather the whether the powers that be should have the right to even make such a move. That is why we have not become freer and less corrupt, even though group demonstration has been on the rise in the last fifty years.
The only way to truly improve things is to dismantle the institutions and laws that provide the structure for such elitist disregard for individual rights and a freer market.
It bothers me that I cannot be true to myself and please my friends by walking the streets with a crowd to express disapproval. I do not think it will influence the court case. If they somehow impede traffic, or shout at court officials as they enter the courthouse, it will have a negative effect. I do not support those who shout down speakers or get loud and obnoxious to passers by. It doesn't matter whether I agree with their point or not.
No. I guess I won't join the mob in this case--good or bad. There may be a time when I do support a mob that prevents entry to IRS offices or other government tools of tyranny. Not now, and not this.
===============================
I have to wonder that so many video games focus on shooting things and people in one way or another. There's a lot of killing and whoopass. Some say this in no way conditions normal people toward violence. I wonder about that.
I know that in sports and music, when I am not in a situation to actually do the activity, I often imagine it and picture the process in my mind. When the actual time comes to perform the task, then I am way ahead of the game and it comes easier. It seems only natural that someone playing virtual kill games would be a little less hesitant to act it out in real life, provided the opportunity arose.
Some of the games appear engaging and fun. Many appear to glamorize anti-social, criminal and needlessly violent behavior. I know that is not the proper view and makes me sound like a Puritan. So be it. Just seems logical. Oh, perhaps we've evolved beyond the stage in which logic is a universal structure for reaching truth. I'm still stuck there. I do not believe that one truth is as good as another just because some claims "his truth" is valid and that logic has no bearing on it.
Just look how easily we've become accustomed to things like views of bombing, shootings, beheadings, etc. For a minute there I think people weren't so numbed to the reality of what those things really are and do. Now it is just another scene from a video game but displayed as news. We're paying for this stuff, and have even provided the hardware for much of it when it looks like we aren't involved. I'm hoping that one day various portions of The Big Pretense dissolve and people refuse to pay.
==========
oh well-I've never been able to get my head around the legitimacy of public employee, paid by tax money, unions either
that could get me shot
He was trying to wave me down. My first reaction was to pull over, which I did. Then I think: he's not getting out. I can't see what or who is in the car, and what's up with the sign if he suddenly needed help? When would he have the time and such to make that, and why does it look like he's had it awhile? I decided it could easily be a set up. I was scheming a way to get to the bottom of it without risk of being hijacked or jumped. That's it. I woke up thinking that this was not a legit opportunity to be of service to my fellow man. At least it was in color and I wasn't a victim. I rarely am; in dream or in life.
==================================
I'm still trying to define my aversion to the tactic of demonstrating or marching in the case of the Sunrise Powerlink opposition. That whole thing is rather interesting because it is an example of a situation which most conservative talk people, or others who usually decry abuses by the environmental activists, would automatically assume the opposition is just more anti-human, neo-Luddite rabble rousing. Nothing could be further from the truth.
On the other hand, many of the union types, and more left wing leaning people think the opposition is a roadblock to lovely, renewable green energy. Again, the are miles from the truth.
Many who are involved in the groups opposing this debacle are there because of a self serving agenda to try to get their own preferred, subsidized companies on the map--companies which make solar products and such, but not the sort that would use the powerlink for delivery. Then there are those who think they are the spokespeople for birds and other non-human citizens---the kind who think rats and the earth "need a good lawyer".
I oppose it because it is not needed, because they are putting people off their land, because it is merely there so Sempra can sell energy from their Mexican power plant, and because it will result in higher rates. It is a very shameless scam, and the process is fraught with obvious corruption and avoidance of complying with their own rules.
I won't argue with my friends who will go downtown to do their thing and demonstrate, but I do not have it in me to feel good about joining them. Only because there is something about that method that doesn't feel right in this case. I realize that we've been taught since the sixties, and forever through union activity, that this is the way of freedom and how it is done.
Not having a better plan, I can't offer an alternative. Yet, I know it is there. More than anything, I think the structure of a system which permits such underhanded theft and abuse should be the ultimate target. More often than not such dissent merely focusses on a particular decision rather the whether the powers that be should have the right to even make such a move. That is why we have not become freer and less corrupt, even though group demonstration has been on the rise in the last fifty years.
The only way to truly improve things is to dismantle the institutions and laws that provide the structure for such elitist disregard for individual rights and a freer market.
It bothers me that I cannot be true to myself and please my friends by walking the streets with a crowd to express disapproval. I do not think it will influence the court case. If they somehow impede traffic, or shout at court officials as they enter the courthouse, it will have a negative effect. I do not support those who shout down speakers or get loud and obnoxious to passers by. It doesn't matter whether I agree with their point or not.
No. I guess I won't join the mob in this case--good or bad. There may be a time when I do support a mob that prevents entry to IRS offices or other government tools of tyranny. Not now, and not this.
===============================
I have to wonder that so many video games focus on shooting things and people in one way or another. There's a lot of killing and whoopass. Some say this in no way conditions normal people toward violence. I wonder about that.
I know that in sports and music, when I am not in a situation to actually do the activity, I often imagine it and picture the process in my mind. When the actual time comes to perform the task, then I am way ahead of the game and it comes easier. It seems only natural that someone playing virtual kill games would be a little less hesitant to act it out in real life, provided the opportunity arose.
Some of the games appear engaging and fun. Many appear to glamorize anti-social, criminal and needlessly violent behavior. I know that is not the proper view and makes me sound like a Puritan. So be it. Just seems logical. Oh, perhaps we've evolved beyond the stage in which logic is a universal structure for reaching truth. I'm still stuck there. I do not believe that one truth is as good as another just because some claims "his truth" is valid and that logic has no bearing on it.
Just look how easily we've become accustomed to things like views of bombing, shootings, beheadings, etc. For a minute there I think people weren't so numbed to the reality of what those things really are and do. Now it is just another scene from a video game but displayed as news. We're paying for this stuff, and have even provided the hardware for much of it when it looks like we aren't involved. I'm hoping that one day various portions of The Big Pretense dissolve and people refuse to pay.
==========
oh well-I've never been able to get my head around the legitimacy of public employee, paid by tax money, unions either
that could get me shot
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Don't Get Excited Every Time You Hear the Word "Democracy"
Some people sucker for anything if the word "democracy" is attached to it. Minorities, in particular, should be wary of that. Because I do not live in Egypt or any neighboring land, and have no real understanding of the place and culture, I cannot give a valid opinion about their activities at present.
When it is said that the people have made a stand for democracy, and I see reports which tell me they are chanting about democracy, I can't force myself to get excited, jump online to various forums I've seen and tell them, "We in the USA are with you and support your cause!". That is paraphrasing what I saw on a site yesterday.
For one thing, I have no idea what the "people of the USA" think or want--no more than the politicians who claim to know what the American people are thinking or wanting actually have a clue.
I wish everyone in the Arab countries well, but I have no idea what they want. What they mean by democracy is anyone's guess. It's their house, they can run it how they choose.
Here's the danger of democracy, if it is meant that everyone has a vote, and everything can be voted on. Let's say we want all the young women between the ages of 16 and 19 to serve our army by cooking their meals and relieving their tension at night. It is a case in which, by perfect democratic process, a minority is legally oppressed by the majority. Just an example to make the point. There has to be a philosophical consensus regarding the extent of majority power or it becomes a tool of oppression.
Democracy is tyranny if it exists without a very strict system of limits. Even then it is a good idea to make the process of creating laws or policies very cumbersome and difficult. If you've ever dealt with crowds, committees, parliamentary procedure and such, you know how easily the majority can be swayed from opinion A to opinion B and back again. That is one reason I support a bicameral legislature, despite various teachers trying to convince me that the speed and efficiency of a one house system was superior.
Mobs are comprised of people shouting because they can, and because they think there is something in it for them. It is rare that the majority of such a crowd understands the philosophy the demonstration supports, or the one they oppose. It was true in the VietNam protests as well, way back when. Most big mob actions are just that way. Doesn't mean there aren't valid grievances and such, but it is what it is.
That is why, as much as I am opposed to this Powerlink scam in SD county, I cannot bring myself to go to the courthouse with the others and march wherever it is they plan to march. Half the people are opposed for entirely different reasons. There is a portion who get off on such marches regardless of the cause, and there are a good number of very smart sincere people.
Something about the method troubles me. I feel the same about picket lines. Something about it I don't like. I'll just quit the company if I can't get my way, and it means that much to me. Most people will only stand up if they have a crowd and feel safe. Getting arrested under such circumstances is a badge of honor and the peer approval still makes them feel safe.
Anyway. I've done what I can to try to get people to see some issues differently, but so far, I do not see the right situation for joining a crowd on the street. I went to one thing as a favor, and to another to see some things for myself.
Either the hearing begins, or gets ruled on this Friday (I think) so they want to march from some building down to the courthouse. I do not see how this will help the case. I'm fairly certain that many people will immediately have the knee-jerk reaction of assuming it is eco nazis being a pain-again--and decide the other side must be right.
I'm not sure what is the better way, but I am not convinced being in a crowd that is led by the megaphone guy is it.
That strayed from the point about the danger of democracy without some qualifiers. Although, the powerlink issue would not be there were our own representative democracy more strictly limited in the power it gives the state. So, there is a connection.
When it is said that the people have made a stand for democracy, and I see reports which tell me they are chanting about democracy, I can't force myself to get excited, jump online to various forums I've seen and tell them, "We in the USA are with you and support your cause!". That is paraphrasing what I saw on a site yesterday.
For one thing, I have no idea what the "people of the USA" think or want--no more than the politicians who claim to know what the American people are thinking or wanting actually have a clue.
I wish everyone in the Arab countries well, but I have no idea what they want. What they mean by democracy is anyone's guess. It's their house, they can run it how they choose.
Here's the danger of democracy, if it is meant that everyone has a vote, and everything can be voted on. Let's say we want all the young women between the ages of 16 and 19 to serve our army by cooking their meals and relieving their tension at night. It is a case in which, by perfect democratic process, a minority is legally oppressed by the majority. Just an example to make the point. There has to be a philosophical consensus regarding the extent of majority power or it becomes a tool of oppression.
Democracy is tyranny if it exists without a very strict system of limits. Even then it is a good idea to make the process of creating laws or policies very cumbersome and difficult. If you've ever dealt with crowds, committees, parliamentary procedure and such, you know how easily the majority can be swayed from opinion A to opinion B and back again. That is one reason I support a bicameral legislature, despite various teachers trying to convince me that the speed and efficiency of a one house system was superior.
Mobs are comprised of people shouting because they can, and because they think there is something in it for them. It is rare that the majority of such a crowd understands the philosophy the demonstration supports, or the one they oppose. It was true in the VietNam protests as well, way back when. Most big mob actions are just that way. Doesn't mean there aren't valid grievances and such, but it is what it is.
That is why, as much as I am opposed to this Powerlink scam in SD county, I cannot bring myself to go to the courthouse with the others and march wherever it is they plan to march. Half the people are opposed for entirely different reasons. There is a portion who get off on such marches regardless of the cause, and there are a good number of very smart sincere people.
Something about the method troubles me. I feel the same about picket lines. Something about it I don't like. I'll just quit the company if I can't get my way, and it means that much to me. Most people will only stand up if they have a crowd and feel safe. Getting arrested under such circumstances is a badge of honor and the peer approval still makes them feel safe.
Anyway. I've done what I can to try to get people to see some issues differently, but so far, I do not see the right situation for joining a crowd on the street. I went to one thing as a favor, and to another to see some things for myself.
Either the hearing begins, or gets ruled on this Friday (I think) so they want to march from some building down to the courthouse. I do not see how this will help the case. I'm fairly certain that many people will immediately have the knee-jerk reaction of assuming it is eco nazis being a pain-again--and decide the other side must be right.
I'm not sure what is the better way, but I am not convinced being in a crowd that is led by the megaphone guy is it.
That strayed from the point about the danger of democracy without some qualifiers. Although, the powerlink issue would not be there were our own representative democracy more strictly limited in the power it gives the state. So, there is a connection.
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
