Last Days of Summer (2013) - Part 1/3

» The last few days of summer are always full of such nectar. Autumn arrives with the equinox at precisely 1:44 PM Pacific Daylight time on the 21st. (4:44 on East coast).

Wolf howling at the moonShhh. This is the exact instant the sun slips quietly cross the equator ..

.. heading back south, after famously spending the past six months with us here up north.

I like the way that cooler days and brisk nights lend themselves to clear-headed thinking.

And today is the last full moon of the summer. Howling time.

Since the Internet allows me to communicate with, and establish a dialogue with ..

.. people in places such as New Zealand and South Africa (Johannesburg) ..

.. I am now 'conscious' (.. in a way that I was not before) .. that, when our autumn begins, their spring begins.

And day-light here-for-us equals night-time there-for-them (.. on the other side of the world). Everything is opposite. Polar opposites.

I think it is a good thing .. for all the world's creatures to become conscious of others. That our little world is not the whole world. Cooperation being the key.

» Experiencing Life with Those Less Fortunate

Sao Paulo, Brazil | Inequality Demonstrated PhotographicallyI also like the way that the Internet makes research (data mining) SO MUCH EASIER .. than it was back-in-the-day ..

.. when we were limited to the local public library and grandpa's 30-year stash of National Geographics that he kept in boxes up in the attic.

I could never produce a document like the one you are reading right now ..

.. were it not for the Internet, the Web, and especially the hyperlink.

» Conversations with Tolstoy

Some times I feel like Tolstoy is looking over my shoulder .. and he's sportin' serious wood. Boner city. At the possibilities. Just my intuition. Or maybe my imagination.

I can almost hear Tolstoy saying » "Dude, that hyperlink-thing is pretty cool. I coulda really stirred up some serious shit with that. You twenty-first century kids got all the cool toys. It's not fair.

Leo Tolstoy | 1828-1910Tolstoy yells to the rear » "Sophia! Come here! You gotta see this!" =)

[ Update April 4, 2014 - Notice the date on that Samsung commercial » March 2, 2014.

What date was that commercial released?

I forget when I first saw it. Superbowl or maybe the Oscars. But I know it was definitely after I posted this (today's entry, Sept 19, 2013).

I also mention this very same phrase later in this (today's) same entry. (See here for page 2/3 » Korean Coast at Night Otherwordly. Eight paragraphs down from my anchored link.)

And if you are a regular, then you know that my ego is convinced, saying »

» "Dude, you *know* where they got the idea. Heck, you wrote about Korea, using that very phrase. That gives them dibs. Dont you remember the enchanted time that the Korean government showed during your visit there? At that mountaintop 5-star restaurant. With the 6-star view. With the waiters wearing the white gloves. You should be honored."

And certainly, I am.

They open the drapes to this huge curved window .. which takes a while, ya know? And you go, "Wow." And you sit up a little straighter.

Along the lines running parallel to this topic, a part of me seems to just want to keep his head down and do his job (.. laying metaphorical pipe).

Yet another part of me is like, "Come on, we're going to get a trophy for you." And I can't stop them from going. (You know who you are.)

Samsung seems to have named this video » you need to see this. Tho in the video itself they use the word "gotta" (like me) the first two times that the phrase is used.

You gotta see this (by Samsung)You judge for yourself which version (need to or gotta) resonates more naturally.

If nothing else, my ego is entertaining, no?

In Korea, I remember being on a bus, looking down a good 500 feet. No rail or nothing.

If the driver sneezes you are dead. So close to the edge. Heart-pounding close.

But yes, it was worth the white-knuckled drive. Returning seemed a little less life-threatening. Maybe cuz it was dark.

My point » Korea has an exotic lanscape with lots of sharp-steep ridges and valleys. Severe.

I had the same feeling while climbing up the cables at Half Dome (in Yosemite).

Dude, unrelatedly, I have heard that the same gene that gives you red hair is also responsible for ..

.. giving one uncontrollable passions and the sensuous sensitivity that normally comes with uber-healthy hormones. What have you heard?

Red hair. White phone. Blue skies. Very patriotic, no?

end update April 4, 2014, Samsung you-need-to-see-this parallel. ]

"Okay," he says, "show me one more time how you set the hyperlink and I'll introduce you to Sophia."

I show Tolstoy how to set the link. "Do you see those words where I quoted you saying » 21st century kids? Now watch this."

Dreamweaver codes beautifully the link to the words.

Tolstoy likes this. His eyes sparkle at the possibilities.

"Now let me click on those underlined words," says the count, elbowing me out of the way in his eagerness. 

» Twenty-First Century Voice

As he watches the video start, he says, "Very twenty-first century. I can see why you selected this. You *are* a clever writer. You must be that Rad guy that Bukowski keeps raving about."

He watches some more and listens carefully, then says, "This man has a gift for words, himself."

"I *thought* you might like him," I say, "being the bad-ass you were. He certainly has the gift."

lightning bolt strikes empire state bldg nycI listen to some more and add, "He reminds me of Isaiah. Maybe even Jeremiah.

Strong words. He brings the thunder."

The final paragraph of this article uses the word » scalding.

Myself, if I were searching for a word to describe the latter, I might opt for the tactical nuke of » incendiary. All five syllables.

Scalding implies that they could go to the hospital and recover. But incendiary implies a small pile of dry (still warm) dust. Still smoking.

This artist lets you know that there *is* a therapeutic value to calling bullshit on unrighteous bullshit .. especially when you are right.

He certainly appears committed and dedicated to the therapeutic task.

[ Remind me to tell you the story of how Lani used ART (drawing, in particular, for hours at a time) ..

.. to help get herself thru her parents' break up and divorce. She was around 11 at the time (.. her mom told me).

My point » art seems like a healthy outlet .. for rather severe emotional distress.

In a future entry I will show you how pretty much anybody can experience rage .. but why only an artist can turn it into art. (Even if I dont know it yet.) ]

I am reminded here of what Sophy wrote .. in her book » For Writers Only .. in the chapter titled » Audience ..

.. where she writes » Success itself brings loss, an agonizing readjustment of self. (What a sentence. Thanks for writing that book, Sophy. Mui mucho.)

<ignore this intentional body_text marker>

••• today's entry continues here below •••

"Look at the connection," Tolstoy says, "that this man has with his audience. And that they have with him. Like family. How can that be?"

The Ballad of Bob Dylan"Even more," I comment, "than HOW he says it .. it's WHAT he says .. that's so impressive."

Tolstoy watches some more and says, "You're right. I do like him. He's the shit. Twenty-first century shit."

» Crafting a Comparison

Then he adds (quite unexpectedly) » "You should craft a comparison of him with Dylan.

Dylan was the voice of HIS generation. And *this* man is obviously the voice of his.

They both have that mystical connection with their audience that defies explanation."

"I dont know much about him," I say, "'cept that he grew up in an area only a few miles from where the Bug's mom grew up."

"You know him better than you think," says Lev Nikolayevich. "And I would be interested in the results of your comparison .. to see if we can plot a trajectory for the future of our youth."

» No Sympathy from Tolstoy

"My ass is still sucking wind," I say, "from these last few 4-page entries."

"Well," says the author of War and Peace, a 1300-page tome (uttered sans any perceptible sympathy), "maybe when it stops sucking .. oh look! Here comes Sophia."

[ Update. Christmas. I HAVE this, already. On Moleskine. (A nice tool.)

Like it wrote itself. (A gusher.) No, I was not trying to write it. Like it came on its own. So, in that sense, yes, it seems like a gift.

It actually reminds me more of what I did for Julie Allen (.. rather than my piece on Dylan.).

Julie's friend and mom both told me that I 'knew her' .. even tho I had only spent a few minutes with her.

It's like I can SEE INTO people, sometimes. People I hardly even know. (The word intimacy comes to mind.)

When you really know someone, you know their » soul. Or have a good sense of it .. with all its imperfections.

And the ability to accept and especially to resonate with an imperfect soul requires a degree of compassion, no?

It's kind of funny that .. of ALL the stuff on my site, the thing that most impressed the Bug's Detroit area kin .. was » my page on the Dog (.. who I have since elaborated upon » here).

Drums Backlit Survival» An Apprehensive Pause

His popularity however, gave me pause. Long story.

And I would not expect most people to understand. I really dont understand it, myself ..

.. except that, when I saw Oprah's interview with Cormac, I sensed that he somehow felt the same. (Uncomfortable.)

Anyway, let's just say that I was apprehensive and leave it at that. So it took some convincing. Some persuading. The persuader showed up.

It is actually less of a comparison, per se (.. with Dylan) .. than it is a compassionate look at the younger man. As both an artist and a man.

Tho certainly, both men are singer-song-writers .. with a reputation for producing lyrics that seem to contain that special something .. to which people relate.

Look. I am not even using his name .. because I dont want the search engines to find it. Until the appointed time.

Plus I have GONE BACK (Christmas-time) and inserted this part .. after the entry was already done.

I feel like such a sneaky shit, sometimes. =)

This forward and backward looping feels like crochet'ing .. in order to make a more complex pattern (.. which from a distance, looks something like a slingshot).

No, I have never knitted anything. But I have seen it done many times (by Gram).

Some of his contemporaries (other musicians) became irritated with Dylan .. because he did not always adhere to chronological order (things they saw as rules).

I noticed how Puzo also did not adhere to chronological order .. and how liberating that seemed. Light bulb effect.

Michelangelo's David (1501-1504)Sometimes you dont even realize that a thing can be done ..

.. until you SEE somebody doing it.

Let's get this party, uh, I mean, this » century .. started right. Renaissance 2.0.

The digital renaissance. The information revolution.

The term » renaissance .. was first used in print by Michelangelo's friend » Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), who pretty much defined it, also.

The man who rescued the broken arm of David (see t=6:10).

I bet that the God of Abraham likes that guy. A hunch.

But especially the artist .. perhaps because that is what most interests me. His creative p.r.o.c.e.s.s.

That is what drew me to Dylan. And Tolstoy, most definitely.

And to Keith Richards, who actually elaborates on his creative process quite a bit .. something I appreciated. Of course, he elaborates on much more. =)

And to Jonah. And Bob Marley. And Fitzgerald. And Hemingway, probably most of all. Cuz of the book. And Proust. And Stendhal. And the rest.

Tho I admit that my looks at Nietzsche and Dostoevsky were for reasons beyond mere creativity.

Particularly, I seem interested in those places where the liberation-of-creativity is a contrasted (most strikingly) with the shit-that-seems-to-go-along with it (.. suffering, in its various forms, and angst in particular).

Does it not seem that .. if you excel at creative arts .. you can expect some degree of fallout to accompany? The life-expectancy of the artist seems to fall proportionally with popularity (fame). No? Music. Literature.

Skull, Spray-painted, from Survival video» Tolstoy's Reputation for Being Irritating

"Did you notice," Tolstoy asks, "that Dylan was born in '41?

Same age as your friend there with the can of spray paint."

"That's just a coincidence," I say.

Tolstoy turns sharply. "Is it?" he asks. [ I like how Tolstoy is always challenging you. ]

I could feel his eyes on me as I continued watching the video.

After a little, Tolstoy says » "Did you notice .. that the name 'Dylan' means » flow?"

No I didnt, but I'm not gonna let him know that.

While watching the video, I am really thinking about how .. that is a pretty good trick .. for a figment of my imagination. =)

"Should I continue?" says Tolstoy. I can hear the eager confidence in his voice that tells me he is not bluffing.

"No," I say. "That's good. I'll do it."

"Did you notice," Tolstoy adds, "that the letter 'E' comes directly after the letter 'D' and that your buddy there sits right next to Dylan on the all-time sales list? I bet their numbers will be identical in another month or two."

"Dude!" I say, starting to feel exasperated, "Did you not hear me? I said I would do it."

I pause before adding » "I can definitely see how you got a reputation for being so irritating." [.. "such an asshole," some might say ] "And I can see why your publisher refused to publish the final part of Anna."

I am trying to decide whether to insert it right here .. into this entry .. or start a new entry. Hmm.

Leaning toward a new entry .. after I finish with Mandela. Because it feels (for me) beyond what I have done here. Well beyond.

Maybe on New Year's day. Oh, I see .. on » the 11th. The anniversary. As a way to honor our fallen brother. Right proper.

Okay, I could do that. That would work. Right now would be too much. But I will have to hustle.

Did you know that Dylan holds the song ranked #1 (of all time) .. by Rollingstone Magazine. You reckon they might know?

Yin-Yang Tattoo, well-placed» Yin Yang | Embracing Duality

It involves a yin-yang thing that I feel has been coming for a while.

And yin-yang is all about embracing duality (.. which you find at the heart of digital technology) ..

.. something every Christian, one might expect, would be eager to embrace.

When I think of duality, I am reminded how, on one hand, mankind possesses a spark of the divine ..

.. capable of the most tender acts of compassion.

While on the other, men can also be sick fucks .. capable of the most cruel acts imaginable. How to reconcile the difference?

The yin-yang symbol comes to us from Eastern philosophy. I am no expert, but when I think of Eastern culture, I think of those who acknowledge and honor the God inside them.

While Western culture makes me think of those whose respect and honor the god in their pocket. The one in their wallet.

Anyway, duality is about 'vibing' between opposites. Harmonics.

Which people use to communicate with each other. And which some elevate to an art form. Seeing that harmonics is possible when you have multiple 'layered' voices (.. of different frequencies).

And harmonics, to some degree, is about » timing (frequency = cycles per unit time).

19946 | SurvivalDefinitely out of my comfort zone. Suffer it to be so.

Instead of forcing this entry, I will try rather to LET it come, to LET it flow .. LET it write itself.

» So Many Choices

Perhaps I'll title it » Not Stan, which seems pleasantly vague. No flash photography.

Or perhaps » State of the Art. Still artistically vague. This title would allow me to incorporate the technology-aspects available to the 21st century artist. But I can feel myself already being drawn the c.r.e.a.t.i.v.e aspects of the 21st century artist.

The forward-looking artist. In the past, we might've used the hyphenated term » avant-garde and read a little Ulysses .. out there on the (b)leading edge.

» The Flow No One Do

Or how about *this* for a title? » The Flow No One Do.

This one would focus on » demonstration .. as in » "I'm showing you. I'm not just telling you. Look at this shit! Can you believe it? Dude, I can't believe it, myself, sometimes and .. I'm the one DOING it. So I know you must be rubbing your eyeballs in disbelief."

» The Maniac Who Ran Across the Pond

[ The thing that he launches into beginning with the verse » "Aint got shit to lose..." (midway thru verse 3) .. seems to me that you cannot do stuff like that without being a complete maniac about words.

It reminds me of a man strapping specially-designed paddles to his feet and r.u.n.n.i.n.g a.c.r.o.s.s the surface of a pond. Long as you keep running fast enough .. you stay afloat.

Lani walks on water at Noguchi Garden Park in downtown Costa Mesa, CaliforniaHis own imitation of walking on water. "Look at this! Can you believe this? Can you believe what you are seeing?"

Standing there at water's edge, I heard something inside shout » "Go, motherfucker! Go!"

At the end of each verse, he catches air like a figure skater .. before beginning the next.

"Show-off," I mutter.

» Not as Easy as it Looks

Now I will admit that he does indeed make it look easy. But I can assure you that it is not.

If it were easy, everybody would be doing it .. making a fortune. (No more kissing ass.)

If you fancy such lyrics a trivial thing, then go ahead and try crafting a few yourself. Take your time. We will wait.

<cue Jeopardy soundtrack.>

Back already? Didnt I tell you that shit was harder than Chinese arithmetic?

You are aligning and arranging complex concepts along along a number of seemingly impossible multi-dimensional matrices (MAY-tra-sees)

It is all-consuming.

My brother once said, "Anybody can be a doctor, but only the smartest can learn everything there is to learn in only four years."

Medical school is generally consider all-consuming. [ As a side-thought .. do all-consuming things at a young age tend to stunt emotional growth? Leaving no time for emotional growth? ]

I have that same feeling with this artist .. that anybody can write lyrics like that. Go talk to him .. he will gladly tell you how.

Might wanna bring along your abacus.

Lani & Emotional Alchemy of » Using Art to Channel Angst

Lani at Noguchi Gardens, Costa MesaThe trick, as I'm sure Lani will concur ..

.. is the alchemy of turning (emotional) angst into art.

The Film school girl told me that the boy (her son ..

.. who happens to be the person from whom I first heard of the artist under discussion) .. put his fingers into his ears (literally) ..

.. and did NOT want to hear what they were trying to tell him.

He was 9 at the time. That's a tough age to hear that your folks are splitting up.

"I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I can't hear you."

Whereas the girl heard them. ]

» I Will Light This Bitch Up

How about this for a title » I Will Light This Bitch Up. Something in me is jumping up and down, cheering for this one.

We could get downright thermonuclear with this title. The thunder cometh.

When I heard that verse, I thought of what is written » here. Think about it. I am talking about the spirit behind the words. Particularly the part that says » "there is none who can deliver from My hand."

Here is my #1 favorite option for a title » I Can See Why the Fuck I Disgust You. [ « Yes, those links surprise me. Where does this stuff come from? I think it has something to do with freedom. Think about it. ]

Might have to give it minute. It grows on you.

[[

» Rad Pattern-Matching

Okay. This is how is works for me (.. and yes, I am surprised that you are getting this .. because it feels uncomfortably intimate).

It is like somebody walks up out of the ether, holding a translucent stencil-design .. which he positions (holds) over the image I am viewing .. or the thing I am thinking about. No words are spoken.

Pattern Stenciled on WallAnd as he holds it up, I can see how the patterns contained in his stencil correspond to the image I am viewing ..

.. or the thing that I am thinking about.

Which, in this case, is the verse/lyric I just mentioned that begins » "I can see why ..."

Should be intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer, but worth noting nonetheless ..

.. that you can't MATCH a pattern that you don't RECOGNIZE.

(I am pretty sure that William Gibson would concur.)

Sometimes there are things right in front of our eyes .. jumping up and down saying "Look at me!" .. but we somehow fail to recognize. No?

» I Cant Say That

Anyway, when I see how well the patterns match, I say » "Dude, I can't say that."

And he lowers the stencil'ed outline (attached to a stick, like a short-handled tennis racket, held in his right hand) and walks off (.. to my right).

There is an awkward silence as he takes another 3 or 4 steps.

Just before he disappears completely from view (fading quickly with each step), I hear him say clearly » "Okay."

"Okay?" I say. "What does that mean, okay?"

No answer. Silence. I am talking to myself.

In the past, there have been things that I didnt say, write, publish. Plenty of things. And it has never been a problem. Soo.

Well, I've had my mind changed for me. Seems that I can indeed say this. See what you think. Do you see a matching pattern? Or am I losing my mind?

» The Pattern and the Matching Slingshot Effect

I can even tell you what the pattern looked like in this particular stencil.

It looked sort of like a vertical dumb bell .. with a BIG thing at the top and bottom.. with this little thing connecting them.

Except the balls (at the top and bottom) werent smooth, like you have with a real dumbbell. Rather they were jagged.

SlingshotAnd the top ball had the number » 52, while the bottom » 53.

The christian might argue that the ability to recognize (and match) patterns is a crucial requirement ..

.. a gift that should be developed into a righteous skill.

» Title Troubles

In a way, this pattern-matching thing here reminds me of the title of my first jail entry.

Because I soo did not want to use the word 'first'.

Cuz that could/would imply a » second. At least. And who knows how far the number might go?

So I was working very hard to craft a title that 'felt right' .. without the word 'first' in it. An intuitive thing, yes.

But eventually, I began to see that word first was indeed the 'right' word. "That suks," I thought.

Tho I admit I was hoping my intuition here was merely waxing artistic .. and not very accurate (.. meaning that trip #2 to the jail would not become a reality).

Do you feel that visit #2 was worth it? ]]

Along these lines, what do you think of this for a title » A War of Words.

Spiritual warfare is about words .. such as » "I will ascend my throne above the stars of God. I will be like the Most High."

And a loosely paraphrased 21st century interpretation of the documented response.

"No you wont, you little bitch. Your punk-ass is thrown down." And it's about your ability to back up those words.

Anyway .. I havent yet finished the entry before that. I'm talking about the Forward-Looking entry dated » 11-12-13. And I can tell I will need to finish that one, too, which I abandoned when Mandela died. (Update: now done.)

Anyway, after I'm done, I may need a massage. Or maybe even » a week at Two Bunch.

</end Christmas update> Once I set the link, Tolstoy started talking. The survival-link and the words '21st century kids' both seemed to contain magnets .. attracted each other. This puts pressure on me for the January 11th anniversary entry .. pressure I can easily do without. Feel me? ]

"Sophia, let me introduce you to this interesting man from the twenty-first century. They have the coolest toys in the future. Look at this."

"What is 19946?" asks Sophia. "Is that where your serfs live?"

Tolstoy at age 20 in 1848Tolstoy was a bad-ass as a young man. I mean, look at that picture of him (at age 20). Serious 'tood.

"Dude, I TOLD you that if you pointed that stupid camera at me again, I was gonna kick your ass."

» Letting the Next Level Come

My point » you and I in the twenty-first century have tools that Tolstoy couldn't even dream of.

"To whom much is given...," says Tolstoy.

I somehow sense that it is now time to take things to the next level. But that this will involve more "letting" (thru you, yielding) than forcing.

[ I am actually better at forcing, myself, than letting .. because I get eager, sometimes. ]

And there is also something (still vague) about two separate requirements (interlocks, conditions) that need to be met (satisfied) simultaneously (synchronicity) .. in order for this to happen.

» The Contemptuous Glance at My Crotch

Tolstoy says, "Sophia, this man thinks that four pages is a lot."

Contemptuously Sophia glances at my crotch before laughing disdainfully. "Four pages. I am not very impressed, Mr. Twenty-First Century Man. Things must have gone downhill since the days when we wrote."

"I know all about the books you wrote," I say. "I read all about them. But pages are different now. Let me show you what I mean. I can see you need a demonstration, girl. Uh, I mean, Mrs. Tolstoy."

While I am looking for a suitable example, Tolstoy asks, "What do you think about the color palette used in The Monster? Look familiar? Track 12, right? What track would YOU have selected? And you must appreciate the sound of those heels walking across the floor in the beginning..."

"Dude, cut it out," I say, "you're freaking me out with that shit. Besides, I never showed you that video .. so that means you're cheating."

"Sophia," Tolstoy cries, "Mr. Twenty-First century man finds me annoying.

Then he turns to me and says, "You should meet Dostoevsky. Talk about bringing the thunder ..

.. if Dostoevsky so much as glances at your ass, it catches fire instantaneously. Spontaneous combustion of your ass. Do you know what that feels like?"

While I am thinking about how I just called Tolstoy 'dude' .. he says, "Sophia, go see if Fyodor is back there."

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)Then he turns to me and says, "Prepare for your ass to catch fire Mr. Twenty-First century man.

I am Mr. Nice Guy compared to Dostoevsky.

Before your ass catches fire, tho, he will fuck with your head first.

And nobody fucks with heads like Fyodor."

As I hear Sophia calling for Fyodor in the distance, Tolstoy says, "We have a saying in my country »

» the breath of the prophet feels like a dragon breathing on the necks of the unrighteous."

» Russian Names - Formailty vs Intimacy

Notice how Russian culture uses various forms of a name for each person (« you can click on the individual names, must be Javascript) ..

.. to indicate levels of formality vs the intimacy that comes with the diminutive.

I do not know, because I have never lived in Russia, and I dont even know if this practice continues today ..

.. but I suspect this Cultural Naming Custom would bring to the forefront of everyday life .. a (stiff?) formality on the outside (business) .. but with a corresponding tenderness-of-intimacy to balance it.

I could be totally wrong about that. I am just thinking out loud. These ideas about culture and society have been bouncing around in my head as I try to imagine what life for these Russians was like.

» The Guy in the Circle

Speaking of (up above) Public Libraries and Old-School Research (PLOSR's b-day today, btw) .. one of the most interesting guys that I met at the coffee shop (.. he was always reading some interesting book there whenever I saw him) ..

.. told me that, after college, he left to live for a while in São Paulo (largest city in South America, with 11 million souls).

I asked why he chose São Paulo .. of all the places he could have gone. He shrugged and said that he thought it would be good to see how the rest of the world lives (.. as opposed to limiting his experience to the bubble that is Orange County).

"What was your biggest surprise?" I asked, recalling my own surprises at how reality often differs from expectations, "upon arriving? .. that you hadnt expected to find there?"

"The smell," he said (without hesitating) .. staring off somewhere far.

Sao Paulo, Brazil (map)"The smell?"

"Yeah," he said. "Smells like garbage there. Like rotten garbage. Never goes away."

He turned to look out the large plate window and added, "People here could never live like that."

This guy worked in an office right above the coffee shop, so I never had much time to chat with him. "Gotta go," he'd say. "Back to the mines."

It was obvious to me that he had a breadth-of-experience and a depth-of-social-insight .. that you dont find very often .. especially not in ritzy, glitzy Newport Beach.

His experience there in São Paulo seemed to foster a sense of compassion for those less-fortunate .. tho I somehow suspect he possessed this compassion before he ever got his passport stamped.

I respected him for that (.. especially when I think of what Einstein said). He had a quiet knowing confidence .. that you don't often find in Orange county.

I would describe him as » intelligent, thoughtful, understated, well-read, tall. No flash. No bling. He wasnt looking to prove anything to anybody.

Nietzsche (1844-1900)I had to ask pointed questions in order to 'get' him. To see where he was coming from.

He was not the least bit perturbed by my more 'challenging' questions.

I could see that his circle went all the way around. He won my respect for that.

Because it is difficult to connect the ends of your circle.

Because the circle (your very own circle) will test your ass.

I'm talking, to some degree, about authenticity.

Today's entry remains very much a work-in-progress. Who knows where we might end up.

The End Result of Supply-Side Economics » Rich Get Richer ($upplied)

No telling where we might end up .. but a good place to start would be acknowledging that ..

.. we have reached the end of supply-side sconomics and it has become clear that the end of this road looks like this » the rich get richer.

It was really such a great experiment. Think of how much we learned.

Cuz the 'suppliers' are only 'supplying' their friends (.. who happen to need it least).

Inequality sits at record levels and is getting worse every day .. unless you're rich, that is .. in which case you might feel that it's getting » better.

And our kids get left holding the bag (of ever-increasing IOU's).

Has this not become obvious? .. to even the most casual observer? What the fuck?

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) age 46» JFK Assassination » 50 Years (11-22)

On a zeitgeisty note, I should probably mention the 50-year anniversary of the JFK assassination ..

.. and compare-n-contrast how things have changed. And not.

That photo of JFK reminds me of the beach at Main Beach, Laguna. The rock formation in the water behind him.

Tho I do not have a good photo to show you exactly where I mean » right across the street (PCH) from the dual-level Starbucks with the comfy couches up top.

Touring the Vineyard with » the Gap-Toothed Girl

In reality, it was probably taken on Martha's Vineyard back in the sixties. The parents of my brother's high school girlfriend took their kids there for vacation every summer.

Lauren Hutton | A Gap-Toothed GirlSoon as the kids graduated, they sold everything and moved there. The place is a ghost town in winter (they tell me).

She showed me a nice time there for a weekend one summer. Stepping onto the island is like stepping off into another world.

I liked it very much. Luscious, powdery sand. Everybody is in a good mood (naturally).

She had a perfect gap-toothed smile .. like Lauren Hutton. I always thought my brother should have married her.

She was a real sweetheart. So easy to get along with. So natural. An easy laughter. Everybody liked her. Even Nana.

» The Vineyard & Martha

I heard that the Obamas vacation at the Vineyard.

The gap-toothed girl said (as we were cruising the island Saturday nite) »

"This is where the rich people hang out. There's not much happening here. I know a fun place. But I just wanted you to see it."

The Obamas on Election Nite in Chicago, 2008So I'm guessing that this is where the Obamas chill ..

.. fleeting as it may have seemed. If you blink, you miss it.

Tho the island itself is definitely peaceful ..

.. as tho all your troubles cannot make the ferry ride over and must remain back on the mainland.

Nothing worrisome is allowed on the Vineyard. (That is Martha's first and only rule.)

I found the Vineyard's "island effect" even more dramatic .. than what you find on Catalina .. because the summer at the Vineyard is so short (.. compared to Catalina).

So you appreciate it more. (No, the Vineyard is nothing like the Biblical Martha.)

Kennedy was a Catholic from New England, so naturally I relate to him.

I think Obama should go to Dealey Plaza on November 11th and give a half-century speech from there. He's good at stuff like that. A good time for a speech about gun control, no?

Rolling Stones - 50 Years» Who Killed the Kennedys?

The Kennedy assassination reminds me of the lyrics in the song by the Rolling Stones ..

» Sympathy for the Devil (ranked #32 of all time by Rolling Stone magazine) »

I shouted out, "Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all, it was you and me.

You and me? How so, Mick? [ Live performance on YouTube. ]

Of all the handful of YouTube videos I saw, the one featuring Jim Garrison seemed the most reasonable. Seems this is the same perspective that spoke to Oliver Stone and which he used to craft his film.

Sometimes I feel like our government thinks we are stupid, or ignorant, maybe even gullible .. that they can feed us anything and we'll believe it .. cuz it's easier to believe a lie. Look away. Quickly.

The Rolling Stones » Greatest Rock-n-Roll Band Of All Time?

Speaking of the Stones .. an argument could be made (rather easily) that the Stones are greatest rock-n-roll band of all time. (Ever.)

A particularly persuasive argument when you take longevity into account. It is beyond the scope of today's entry, but worth noting, perhaps, that longevity is so rare and remarkable .. that it naturally begs the question » "What's their secret?"

Then I discovered that » Keith Richards (guitar-man) flies to Switzerland once a year to have his blood changed .. all of it .. like a Chevrolet. Longevity. [ « That's actually a joke. But a good one, which you'll discover if you listen to the audiobook. ]

Jagger was sticking out his tongue long before Miley came along (Destiny Hope) and in far nastier places. [At least, that's what Keith says.]

[ The real story with Miley is her dad, who said » "I'll always love her, no matter what."

I suspect that this is the reason why he [BRC} seems to be the only critic that she cares about.

"My dad loves me, no matter what. He loves me for WHO I AM (unconditionally), rather than what I do (conditionally)."

What does that feel like? I would imagine that it must feel rather liberating.

Freedom of expression can (and does) freak people out. Freedom in itself can be viewed as a threat, unfortunately.

"If that fucker is free, then he might learn how I am fucking him over and feel free enough to kick my ass. Best to lock his ass up." ]

I saw the Stones when I was living in the Seattle area. We sat so high up that Mick Jagger looked like an ant on amphetamines. Went with a big group .. lots of fun.

Brando washes his head as Colonel Kurtz in Coppola's Apocalypse Now» "But this time it was an American"

The Kennedy assassination also reminds me of a quote from the movie Apocalypse Now.

The one where Willard accepts the mission to assassinate Kurtz ..

.. not to mention the contemptuous 'errand-boy' quote. See here:

I identify with the characters in Apocalypse Now because, underneath it all, it's really a story about a dad ..

.. who wants, more than anything, for his son to know the truth about him, and not believe the lies.

If he can accomplish that, if he can get the truth, all of it, to his son, then he doesnt care if he dies.

Right after Kurtz makes that statement, you have the resolution to the movie's crisis. The denouement. The coup de grace. The fat lady sings. "Roll credits, Berto."

[ By the way, these audio clips from hark.com automatically include/add a script to the end of the web page, one for each audio track.

So, in this case, four scripts .. each time the blue player loads.

So, for example, if I go back-n-forth three times between Moveable Type's HTML code-view and WYSIWYG-mode, that will load 12 such scripts.

The HTML code for these scripts can quickly add up and weigh down the page's weight, especially if I am in a mood to do some serious editing ..

.. because the previously added scripts do not go away .. unless I manually delete them (possible only in code-view mode).

I do not know if these scripts actually DO anything, and yes, I can manually delete them, so they don't load into the web page that you view ..

.. but I cannot stop the embedded audio-track object from inserting these scripts.

I wrote to the people at hark.com, complaining, and threatened to boycott their audio clips .. but these clips are so cool that I have developed a technique to work with them.

Basically, I delete objects for the embedded audio clips while editing the page, and replace them with a text spacer that looks something like this:

x_temp_spacer_for_hark_audio_clips_set1_x

When I'm done editing, I go back and reinsert the audio clips and delete any newly added scripts before I re-publish the web page. (Which suks, yes.)

The hark.com <script> looks like this »

» <sKript src="b.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js?c1=7&c2=9304640&c3=1&c4=&c5=&c6="></sKript> ( I changed the lower-case 'c' in the word 'script' to an upper case 'K'.)

Okay, a little more info I learned about these .. they are all powered by flash (or shockwave). Each instance weighs 42-KB. So these four clips cost 168-KB. That's not cheap. So you gotta really want them.

Update - these scripts seem to launch Shockwave or Flash .. cuz when I kill Shockwave .. the audio clips stop working.

That would imply that these scripts are necessary to the functioning of the audio clips (the player). ]

Conspiracy theories surround the Kennedy assassination. Like most people, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy. Heck, Jesse Ventura has already been out pounding the pavement ..

.. kicking ass and taking names in search of answers. And asking good questions, such as » how can we have closure without full disclosure?

In keeping with the tenets of web site optimization, today's entry has been broken into THREE PAGES. The final page is posted here » Last Days of Summer (2013) - Part 2/3.

You can analyze his page's HTML details » here.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Rad published on September 19, 2013 9:19 AM.

Not Talking About Writing - Part 4/4 was the previous entry in this blog.

Last Days of Summer (2013) - Part 2/3 is the next entry in this blog.

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