amazing to think about
whale hunting as the 19th century's unsustainable energy lust
all that New England wealth
amassed from killing cetaceans
for their black gold
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Our Fix-It Faith and the Oil Spill
Our Fix-It Faith and the Oil Spill
Alex Brandon/Associated Press
OCEAN MARVEL A deep seas drill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006.
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: May 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
46 more days to go
1)
working folks stand up for themselves
the US in the icaran free fall
criminals scatter into the media
frost nixon makes it to the screen
the long cold winter, a prank phone call on democracy
presidency stolen, presidency returned
thieves alight, old economies topple down
london bridges falling like the value of the pound sterling
barber shops for car industry concessions
labor gets a hair cut and the banks go rolling down the hill
the carbon footprints
all that remains of our old chemical economy
2)
republic windows and doors sit in
on the rachel maddow show, it’s monday, 12-7-08
and bank of america is refusing to give the company a loan!!!
workers negotiate with the bank that owns their factory,
gave its employees 3 days notice
before they shut its doors
and so the workers sit in
demanding their vacations and some severance pay
who controls whose assets?
workers hold their old furniture, the office supplies,
the windows of the republic, yes, its doors
as yet unbought and uninstalled
while bank of america gets our bailout billions
massive protests planned for chicago
obama expresses his support
and when the president says he’ll get behind that
it's time for us to fight
as long as its going to take,
the rights of 17 years
the united electric
in work we stand.
Meanwhile,
9/11 suspects plead guilty
the day obama wins.
What does this mean for martyrdom and the death penalty?
Does the state become their salvation
or ours?
Are we not supposed to be infuriated?
2)
sho-time weeds
wacky women fucking up in the suburbs
stepford scissorhands
jumpcuts in generations
children fucking cocaine
the degeneration of californication
the shift from absurdism to teenager soap opera
poppy edge
poppy edge
lost angeles
left coast, left handed
lesbian luscious vicious
sho time
sho enuf
uncle tom cabins
a restaurant six feet under
cafe funeral palour games
straight men being good to women
while completely objectifying them and at the same time worshipping them
as mommies
Are we not supposed to be infuriated by this?
3)
Admiral Shinseki stepped down when he was ignored by Rumsfeld
someone always has to be right about troop surges.
Obama’s new thumb in the eye appointment as the head of VA,
Privateer blackwater mauraders charged with manslaughter,
How many more insults to Rumsfeld can we muster?
(It’s not like Mayor Ray Nagan as the head of FEMA.)
The Japanese-American Vietnam war vet with decorations
he lost a foot in battle,
true heroism is always a lost limb or something lost....
Kennedy's war replaced another Asian racism
hip hop for the corporate set,
he’s so low profile, can he lead such a big obstacle?
The massive challenge of the VA
like the big 3 auto makers
behind the times, not receptive to the needs of their customers,
failed to innovative, failed to experiment with new technologies
the VA needs its massive bailout too
and what should we do about the private security contractors
guys with guns this deeply involved in our operations
will they get to visit the VA too?
what will end the rumsfeld era?
the stop gap measures
our addictions to hired guns
bad for the military, bad for civilians, bad for troops on the ground
the competitive 6 figure money dynamic
and the way that money sits among
a community of vets with their hospitals crumbing
and now the taliban are a semi permanent presence in 72% of afganistan
tell me again, why are we telling people 1/2 way across the globe
who should make their rules?
oh israel, oh zion
our addiction to that holy sand
the quality of the everlasting sun
the most blessed of all land
we all remember
we all dream
we want our right of return
and that salt of the dead sea
4)
there is always the poignancy of Ron Howard
having voted for Nixon in 72
and after the whole watergate thing
we realize that the person we thought would be the safe choice
turned out to be really wrong for the country
and how crushed we are to have been so wrong
so wronged
5)
Economy in a tailspin
the president pardons turkeys
his passive aggressive disappearance act
foisting the new guys into control
their trial by fire
flames licking our heels
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
they don’t need no water
let the motherfuckers burn
Friday, November 07, 2008
the t-shirt
And I realized that for the first time in my 41 years of life, I could and WOULD actually wear a picture of a US President and feel genuine and proud.
Alice Walker's open letter to Obama
An Open Letter to Barack Obama
from Alice Walker, published on TheRoot.com
Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.
A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Jimmy Carter's Malaise Speech, 1979
Was this the last time any US President spoke fully honestly and openly directly to the public and told them what they really see and what we need to do about it? I heard some pundit call this was the speech that nailed the coffin of his 1980 2nd term run against Reagan.
There is a certain arrogance in Carter that feels off putting. He's didactic and talks down in way. He's not inspiring the way that JFK could explain the state of things with poetry and up lift us to follow him.
The Rosenbergs
I watched Ivy Meeropol's documentary about her grandparents the other night, Heir to an Execution. Oh, to be a granddaughter of the Rosenberg's - lefty Jews from the lower east side executed by the state for supposedly passing secrets about the atomic bomb to the Russians. They maintained their innocence for the crimes of which they were convicted through their electric chairs.
Tony Kushner, who chose Ethel to be on of the Angels in Angels in America, was interviewed in the extras section. The difference between an actual relative and a symbol is in the minds of the people who invoke them. Terrorists to nazis, terrorists to McCarthy, terrorists to the news media, the mass hysterics we all become aided and abetted by our need to belong.
And then there is love. Love which binds you to action, to conviction, to belief beyond your children, acting for posterity, nobility, and grace into death.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
psychic bedbugs
we've been invaded by psychic bedbugs. I know how hard they are to get rid of... but it's time to throw our metaphorical mattresses out and clean house.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
“the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull”
EWWWWWWW. I don't know which is more horrifying: a veep who thinks that likening herself to a pit bull is a positive association or touting wearing lipstick as something that defines her! Gross.
Guess we're signing on for 3 more months of culture wars....
Friday, July 18, 2008
the cloud
cloud: location of all information, the infinitely accessible power, that through which we fly
daedalus' project for human flight, the urge for limitlessness - empire and the abdication of responsibility
david pogue's enthusiasm about me.com is troubling to me. I think he too blithly believes in the benevolence of corporate america. yes, apple. one empire begets another. the smug satisfaction of the way that MobileMe dismisses Internet Explorer -- a put down ten years in the making: MobileMe won't work with Internet Explorer since it “has known compatibility issues with modern Web standards." But, really, we're just being swallowed by a giant with a different name. Minotaurs and mazes -- the trap of the human mind - we just can't help ourselves, drawing ourselves into a corner with our brain.
The apple v. pc war - a branding shift, like obama v. bush -- dominance can't believe it's here but it does believe its power and dominance is for the general good, since the idea of the general good has been so deeply corrupted into outright hypocrisy. I think Marshall Curry's "Street Fight" told our story - Cory Booker is so much a parallel to Obama, albiet on our local Newark, NJ scale.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
the Mondaneum & the Geodesic Dome
I just read this fascinating article about Paul Otlet (b. 1868), a Belgian librarian who, in 1934, created a plan for a network of electronic telescopes that would allow people to search into and browse through millions of interlinked documents and images.
This is a picture of his Mondaneum (mon-da-NAY-um) - his library and research operation. This images on the wall, I'm guessing, represent his graphic system to create symbol links between articles and pieces of information. There's a museum of his work in Mons, Belgium that's having its 10th anniversary right now.
And starting June 26, Whitney Museum is going to launch this big retrospective of Buckminster Fuller's career ("Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe") -- there was a great article about him in the New Yorker (June 9 &16,2008 issue).
Both failed in their careers, Otlet because the Nazi's invaded Belgium and destroyed his work, and Fuller, because of the failure of his inventions to work well -- but both men were visionaries whose visions have somehow captured our contemporary realities -- Otlet's vision which basically foresaw the web in a startingly specific concept -- and Fuller's concepts (albiet somewhat misguided) of an ecologically sustainable future in relation to technology, architecture and travel.
All of which makes me think about 20th century visions of the future and outdated futurisms. What is it that's so fascinating about looking back at these moments when the world was radically different than our own in terms of our individual relationship to technology and communication -- and seeing the seeds of our current gardens being planted. There's is strange kind of nostalgia and fascination for finding these citizens of present day reality marooned in some early time, trying to build their time machines into our current day or even future day world -- things we take for granted were pipedreams for them -- hallucinatory romps.
In the NYTimes article about Otlet, the writer keeps trying to say that Otlet would have been confounded by Facebook or overwhelmed by today's web - which strikes me as totally ridiculous to posit -- why wouldn't they have been interested or just disgusted by it? But I guess it's normal to want to reverse the time-trip back on them...
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