Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Nothing in Particular, Just Rambling About.

In order for me to continue writing here and remain reasonably honest in what I post I will, of a necessity need to appear to contradict myself and I will need to rail and to wail, to succor and to discomfit. You can expect it to range between the sacred and the profane. There actually isn’t any inconsistency in this; my positions change and so does my perspective; just like a planet moving through space, it’s never in the same place. It isn’t to be assumed that anything I say is ultimate in itself or ultimate in me- we would be expecting far too much from words as well as their author. I’m not ‘realized’ in the sense that my center of balance is unaffected at all times by phenomena or potential discord of an internal nature. This should be viewed as a travelogue. Sometimes it may be sublime, or at least in approach of it. Sometimes it may be a window on incongruity and the ironic in circumstance.

One might well ask why I post here at all. I have personal projects that are the meat of my efforts and serve to define me in terms of the world I live in; just as your occupations, aspirations and mind-sets define you. None of it’s important in the long term except as it serves toward an ultimate resolution of the self into The Self. We are the place where God puts his money and God is the place where, the wiser among us, put our money. Of course I’m speaking metaphorically here and one would hope that’s automatically understood. Why I work as I do is in the hope that it adds to a greater awareness among us. This increased awareness serves to make my own personal world easier to live in. I have been incalculably benefited by the leadings and directional advisements of others. This information has made my life much more worth the living. I can’t say whether anything I say or do will have a salutary effect on the lives of others. I can only say that I intend it this way.

If I can point you to something better than what you have I am very happy. If I can warn you that the game is rigged and that con artists are working the crowd well, that’s good too.

There’s an understanding in some parts of the East about the way some people are. What may seem insane here is venerated there. It’s funny how our most respected religious leaders are, in fact, businessmen. It’s also funny how any activity, no matter how base- as long as it’s legal and often even when it is illegal, is celebrated as good business acumen. We tend to look upon rapacious but successful business practices as a smart move. People are celebrated for their ability to fuck the other guy.

We’re real good at drawing attention to what fine people we are as well. The act of public giving is celebrated as evidence of what a fine, fine fellow we are. Of course, I’m not much moved when someone with fifty million dollars gives away a million dollars, especially when it buys more than a million dollars worth of publicity. I consider that a no class sort of a thing but hey, you buy it and that’s all that counts. I’m much more impressed by anonymous giving. Such giving may be exposed by the burrowing vermin of the opportunistic press but that’s not the fault of the giver.

Bushligula has sent his brother and his bankrupt, debunked, Lou Costello-like public mouthpiece to Asia to assist in recovery. My first thought was; what are Jeb’s qualifications for this? Oh yeah, he had a bunch of hurricanes in his state; but did Jeb do any of the logistics or repair work? Jeb got on the phone and called FEMA and the National Guard (what was left of it) and they did it. Jeb’s in Asia for a photo-op. I’m sure he’ll call his brother and tell him that it’s just like they say on TV. Jeb and his entire family are a bunch of the most dishonest and criminal politicians you have had since Huey Long and Tammany Hall. But see, Americans celebrate this kind of entrepreneurship. That is clever politicking. It appears that a very large segment of the population approves of any behavior that appears to serve their interests. None of their interests are served but there you go.

Jeb’s being groomed. It’s a sad, sad spectacle to see Powell speak. You have to wonder how he resolves all of his blatant lying with any sense of honor he may ever have had. But his progress has ever been filled with such things. His first big jump came through assisting in the Mai Lai cover-up and he’s been on greased wheels since. One wonders what goes through Clinton’s mind when he stands on the stage with the Bushes. Certainly Clinton knows what has been happening. I guess it’s just a feature of real politick. You didn’t see Carter there for some reason. See, that’s how my mind works. I am always wondering.

I’m stunned by the information that no one knew the warning signs of a Tsunami. I thought that was common knowledge. I’m still pretty shocked by that. I guess a lot of things I take for granted are not in the general information pool. I can’t shake the feeling that some awesome events are on the fairly immediate horizon. With what I think I know about natural balance and the perversion of ordinary living, it sure does seem that the pendulum is about to swing; overdue to swing.

I suppose I’m jumping all around the place because I’ve been watching a bit of BBC News. I’ve had the BBC channels put in because all I’ve seen is German for the last five years and I paid scant attention to it. The amount of self serving clap trap and specters of ominous dread, counter-balanced by odious pandering to human interest scenarios makes the gorge rise fairly quickly. It appears that everything is entertainment and pompous primping in the mirror. I’ve not seen such phony gravitas since 911. Of course the real workers are at their job and we can take comfort from that. And of course they’ll be building those villages and hotels right back on the beach; count on it.

When I heard the music of the sixties and saw what I saw in the faces of the ten percent I ran across in every place I was, I thought, “Oh Yeah, this is the ticket.” I really thought the golden age was on the horizon. I turned around and there were disco balls and lines on the mirror everywhere I looked. It was at that point that I realized that government and the forces that work it are deep into the cultural end of things as well. You may think that government is just a force that swings from pole to pole over the passage of years; that it concerns itself with specific areas of interest. No, it’s into everything. It’s into the music through the people who make it possible for you to hear it. It’s sensitive to every threat.

Or are these just phases we go through? Okay, that’s done, let’s try this. Whatever the deal, you’ve gotten yourself into a right mess. High art is now The Unmade Bed. Happening sounds consist of jackhammer brain rape whose intent is to fry your upper astral. The confusion of images and bad ideas is a whole other Tsunami of shit that will wipe you out as certainly as the other Tsunami. Which Tsunami is the real problem? Oh sure, I’ve been over this ground before. The thing is that there is no counter movement with the intention of leading you out of the mess, there’s just ongoing intensification. Last I heard pornography doesn’t somehow produce a Juliet on the balcony as a serendipitous by product. What you get is Paris Hilton. Are you happy now? heh... heh... I can’t help laughing. Any day now, Paris is going to follow up her debut album with a book on spiritual development and instant Satori.

It seems to come down to tools. You got the right tools; you’re just building the wrong house in the wrong location. Lucky thing is; it’s surrounded by a million other houses so it passes for a neighborhood. When something surrounds you on all sides it’s not hard to believe it’s actually there. When the inevitable happens, will that be a bad thing? If you can’t get yourself out of the mess it’s an act of charity if something else does.

I apologize in advance for the paucity of value in this post. I'm more or less bound to do what's at hand. The only alternative is to do nothing that day. Maybe I should have considered that in the beginning.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think this post is lacking in value at all. Many of us obviously derive a great deal of value out of reading you, regardless of the subject. Sure the specific topic can't be sacred every time, but the source from which it's flowing is; or at least that's your goal, and it shows. You are providing a great deal of encouragement and inspiration to your fellow travelers. Thank you!

ben

Anonymous said...

I do know what you mean. He is an avatar for two reasons I can think of. One is that he takes universal truth and distills it in a new and differently comprehensible format. Two, the same people hate him as hated the other guys. I don't mind calling him this because I know he thinks he is anything but that. I can imagine what he wrestles with. It is his little victories along the way where we see the jumps in consciousness. I wouldn't want that kind of barb wire round my heart but someone has to do it.

fraysnooper, lighten up. les visible doesn't care about party favors from an obviously biased and small minded editor. I went there only to read him and precious few others and regardless of what the also rans have to say he is the very best writer by far to ever grace that toilet with his presence. That's a fact, editorial bias aside.

Now I don't have to feel bad about saying these things. First off I'm right and second I don't care.

z a

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking and I want to continue with the argument a little. Have you read his novel, the Dark Splendor? His publisher spelled the title three different ways in the book, on the spine, the cover and on the pages. He also deliberately left out the final edit. Why would such a thing happen? The book is beautifully written. It hearkens to Nabokov via Elmore Leonard.

He writes songs as good as anything done in the last century and he writes in every genre. He is completely ignored by mainstream industry and unknown outside his collection of fans. He seems able to speak on any subject with amazing articulation. He possesses paranormal insight into events and often predicts things before they happen. I don't know if this makes him an avatar, probably not. It does make him a very curious individual. I know some things about his background and they make him more curious still. Freinds of his talk about all sorts of supernatural occurances around him. I did go to the trouble to communicate with a few of them. Some of what I heard really makes me wonder.

z a

Anonymous said...

Hey Bra

I know Visible from Paradise Fruits in Kihei. He one bad martial artist and songwriter. Plenty local boys know that. I have to look up this avatar on Google. Maybe Visible some kine kahuna maybe. When he take mushrooms he do some strange shit but avatar is like the Big Kahuna. I don't know about that. The Big Kahuna don't chase the wahine's and Visible do plenty of that. Visible drink plenty beer and smoke when he was here.
He did some choke comedy with Bud the Birdman but avatar is some kine world changer. Police always looking to put him in jail. I stay laughing at some of the things he did. He one very funny dude.

I just messin with the mind this little bit of pidgen l'dat.

Kona

Anonymous said...

c'mon Zack and the rest of you. He doesn't deserve this. Call him a genius, rennaisance man or mysterious stranger, that's okay. But this? It's enough he catches flack for telling the truth. He doesn't need the shit that comes with being the truth.

'shaking head'. Would be funny if he was though.

Bruce





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