The 'me' in Mediocrity

                                                                           Epilogue

                             It is imperative to remember that Homer saw Life in only 2  ways ,   Either it was the "Short Life of Glory" or  the "Long life of Mediocrity".   Early on I rejected this View .

Rock steady ........Steady az She goze ... .

            

Legacy

                               

                              The Greek made physical training an important part of Education, not because he said to himself, "Look here, we mustn't forget the body" , but because it could never occur to him to train anything but the WHOLE man .  It was [as] natural for the polis to have gymnasia* as to have a theater, or warships, and they were constantly used by men of all ages, not only for physical but for mental exercise [as well] .

                  The reward for Arete is the praise of one's fellows and [the lauds of] Posterity .

X -Lence

                             

                        If Arete is used in the context of a man, it will cannot excellence in the ways in which a man can be excellent ----  Morally, Intellectually, Physically, and Practically .   Thus the hero of the Odyssey  is a great fighter, a wily schemer,  a ready speaker, an man of stout heart and broad wisdom who knows that he must endure ,without too much complaining, what the gods send ;  and he can both build and sail a boat ,  drive a furrow as straight as anyone , beat a young braggart at throwing the discus , challenge the Phaecian youth at boxing, wrestling or running ;   flay, skin, cut-up and cook an ox , and be moved to tears by a song .   He is, in fact, an excellent 'All-Rounder' ---- he has surpassing Arete .

Arete R ray tay

                                                                         Prologue

                             I've been watching College Football because it's the "Bowl Season" and the teams are evenly matched, affording Justice in a metered way .    These are young Men --  an "Early Man" so to speak ,  Individuals who manifest their Fate, Karma and Destiny by engaging in Combat Sport .    During one play instance, this arrived, "Arete" .   Arete is a Greek word and translates [for some] as "Virtue" and [for Scholarly Others], "Personal Excellence" .   

             I extracted the following passages from Kitto's, The Greeks -- a 'required reading' for Dr. Ward's "Ancient Greece " Class , {which I had to petition in order to gain entry} .  

                                                           The Soul of the Homeric Hero

                              What moves him to deeds of Heroism is not a sense of Duty as we understand it - Duty towards others ;  it is rather Duty towards himself .   (my italics)    

                               Arete inplies a respect for Wholeness or Oneness of Life, and a consequent dislike of specialization .   It implies a contempt for efficiency -- or rather a much higher idea of efficiency :   an efficiency which exists not in one department of Life, but Life itself .

Miss Treatment or Chronic Infundibula

                             One of my Heroes is Brett Butler of "Grace Under Fire" Fame .    In an interview she defended her Alcoholism by brandishing "I was a drunk for a long time, and I NEEDED every drop ."   Been there, been her .

            I figured to mate John Barleycorn to Miss Treatment and would depict Miss Treatment in the likes of Brett Butler [not her birth name] .

            Believe me when I tell you I suckled at the tit of Miss Treatment -- DESPITE the FACT that I KNEW   her to be a shape-shifting   WITCH .   It didn't matter -- I NEEDED  her 'milk' while KNOWING it  was  Poison  and  that  it  was   KILLING   me .        ...such is the True Nature of that Disease .

            It is my wish to supply  an Alcohol Warning to all those who seek the Truth of Universal yet Singular Identity {" I " Dentity } .   

            I must leave this here for Now .               

"john barleycorn must die"

                             From that album Winwood suffers unto us this  :   "...his hands are torn and bloodied, from the scratching of his Soul ..."    Such is the True Nature of {Divine} Introspection .   Before I embarked on my own "Inward Journey" Dr. Ken Ring wrote me, "You must go as far as your Courage and Discrimination can take you ."    ...and then there are these Words :  "Ain't nothin' easy " .

            Know this :  the "Process of Individuation" and the "Inner Trip of the Hero" are One in the Same .  Here it is where Zen's "Looking into one's self " becomes an abject Necessity  if one is to Awaken to Transformative* Regeneration, that is depicted as Change-For-The Better .   Here it is where Spirituality ascends to its Rightful {Full of Right-Ness} Position in the Psyche of the Individual .   Heretofore 'Qualified Altruism' becomes Universal in Scope and Measure --  here it is where the Individual's Conscious-Ness" becomes capable of "Subsuming the Universe" .   This "Subsumation*" is what guarantees TOLERANCE of all that is Cruel and Atrocious, the Somethings* that "The Maker of All Things"  'supplies' to Sentient Beings {"For Better AND For Worse"} .                        

"Bush beans" .

                              We've been taught : "The Spirit of God is within" .   Buddhists Believe :  "Within each of us is a Buddha ."   Jung insisted that within each of us lies a "Diamond".  The "Diamond" is a 'Force' of Creativity which is singular to the Individual .   In the exact same way that we are all Jesus, that we are all Buddha, Jung Believed we are all Artists .   Dr. Joseph Campbell amPLIFIED* this {   ...   } Teaching.

            The Socio-Political Manifestation of this Teaching is the American Belief that ANYONE could be President of the United States .   I consider this THIS a psychotic DELUSION despite the FACT that it is True -- anyone  CAN  be President since titularity* is a common Practice [where 'practice' is actually 'foible'] {where 'foible' is indeed, the "weakest part of a Sword"} .   Bush the Stupid is best example .  Bush once bragged, "I am living Proof that even a C- student can become President of the United States" . 

            When the 'trappings' and `warpings`   of my Ministry are jettisoned, one will detect an altruistic Trajectory which has as its Goal ,  a Democratic Socialism that itself registers as a Utopic Vision of Conditioned Perfection .  Clearly one of the Pre-Requisites is an Educated, Informed Individual, who actualizes within him or her self  an Ethics and Morality foundationed* upon the Principles of Equality and Justice , a "Shared Commonality" that {weirdly} manifests as "I AM my Brother and Sister's Keeper".

            Remember the 3 Musketeers ?   "All for One , One for all ."    "It"  is   that .

"From the Temple Steps"

                              The Goal of the "Process of Individuation" is this :  "To be whole and complete unto one's self " .   Know this :   Dr. Joseph Campbell's    Hero With A Thousand Faces IS the Definitive Text on Jung's "Process of Individuation" .   Jung's Work is FRAUGHT with German Intellection*, German Philosophies, and Biblical References that lead one to be stymied .   Not only does Campbell minimize the Stymie he actually modifies it by incorporating Classical Greek Mythology and best of all --- he employs various Aspects of Buddha's Mahayana AND Children's Literature in order to secure "Familiarity" .   

            It's NOT  " as if  " I am ignoring Buddha's "8-Fold Nobel Path", it's that in the Effort to neutralize Suffering EVERYTHING must be considered to be `On the Table` Worthy .  

            Recall the First Noble Truth :  "All Existence entails Suffering" .

            To be an Individual MEANS to {be able to} manage Suffering and all its Manifestations .

            This is where I live .

The Catcher In The Steppes

                             There's the 'sense' of  'modernization' that MAY befoul his Work -- >that<  MAY occur but I'm NOT-gonna "buy into" it.   I can't .   We must always "keep in Mind" that Hesse underwent Jungian Analysis, and  his  Work  either  reflects  or  echos   Jungian Concepts .   Here it is where Jung's "Process of Individuation" is CLEARLY Expressed by Hesse .   His Search for HIS Soul is OUR Search for OUR Soul .   After Magister Ludi he was awarded the Noble Prize in Literature .  It was RICHLY Deserved .

            We need not "follow in his footsteps" so much as 'follow' his 'Drive' --[where Drive is] the Inner Will that manifests as a tireless outpouring of HIS Characteristics, {attributes, shortcomings and Resolve} found within the Characters he 'supplied' in his novels .   Indeed, his Life IS his novels .  How GREAT {SUPER-TERRIFIC} is THAT ?

            Here we find this :   "Seeing into one's self, and the attainment of Buddha-hood".

            

Stephenwolf

                              I didn't have to 'wonder' about Hermann Hesse and his ties to the   'bourgeois' life {style} .       I could see myself in his Works -- no that's not quite right --  I could see, feel and hear myself in his Words .      Hesse supplied a drugged out version of 'Divine Union with the Inner Female' {his 'Anima' } Hermine .   It's an age old Classic -- that of an Aging Soul finding youth and vitality within the serious context of a playful Damsel whose goal it is to free him from societal restrictions and mental consideration that obstruct a True Awakening an awakening that actually would 'eventuate'* in his Magister Ludi [ The Glass Bead Game ] .

            Hesse managed to attend to the I Ching  something that not only altered my life but TRANSFORMED me in the utmost Significant way .   Thing is, after years away from College and University Scholasticism, I figured that with my Zen Sword Training, and studies in Buddhism, I could offer [supply] a Continuation of Hesse's {      ...      } `Program` {for lack of a better term}.  Also, and "not for nothin'" I figured to augment his Program by introducing Zen into his Expressions of Art, [found in Narcissus and Goldmund] .  {I mean, there's arrogance and then there's ARROGANCE} .

             Hesse recognized that TRUE Art could be found in ALL the Trades and Crafts --- that TRUE Trade and Craftsmen WERE, in fact,  Artists .   I dearly LOVE him for that .

"Art" of Darkness

                             My middle name is Art , hence the title .

            Fortin once described himself as being outside {the scope and measure of} Time .   I `surface` this only because I have issues that 'stem' from my birth {"Born under a bad sign"} .   One of these issues is a careful disregard of a Linear [Time] Perspective .  Unlike Marc, however, I find myself [at times] a fucking SLAVE to the Concrete and Granite of Time, {where things are "Written in {by} Stone" .   Here it is where ANY 'starting point' is Relative to my moods and feelings of the Time at which I tend to desk-chair and laptop .   

            I wish it could be different ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .

            I run the risk of Glamorizing Suffering -------  to Romantic-size my Journey by supplying parallels to Sisyphus, Prometheus, and most importantly, Hephaestus - God of the Forge .   That shit is all ROMANCE but it supplies a context through which my Unconscious can be expressed .   

            Here is the ULTIMATE 'Glamorization' of Suffering :   "I Suffer, therefore I am."

            

Test of Meant

                             A member of my 'club' > One Flower Zen < asked about the Teachings to which I am devoted .  I gave a lengthy reply using Dogma from the Mahayana .   I figured there'd be at least one response from the other members, sadly, not even one .   "So it goes........"

            I finished this morning's Recitations and sat in Chairy-Chair in Emptiness , while there I saw a possible trajectory of Writing that would begin to record my Journey / Search / Expedition from college to my residence at the Mind Light {Zen Sword} Temple in Boston .   I haven't the Talent nor Ability to author a series of novels as did Hermann Hesse although my Journal Work is modeled after the Infinitely Beautiful Anais Nin bt still I have the [Desire] to submit my Record to the World, a Testament, so to speak, of Life .

            To supply such a Testament is as ancient as the Bible itself, indeed, The Devoted found it necessary to 'leave behind' a Record of one's Devotion to the Father Almighty .   In my instance -- it would NOT be a Testament of Devotion to HIM but rather a Testament of Devotion to the Bless-ed One .   I have written elsewhere, had it not been for Zen I would have committed suicide at worst, and at best been committed to an Insane Asylum .                       So it goes .

            

...a conduct Tor ...

                              A few days {daze} ago this arrived [presumably from one of my selfs], "Steve, don't fear the 70's" .   I recorded that message on one of my note pads and beneath it wrote, `Where the fuck did THAT come from and WHY ?????` .

             From one of the songs on CSN&Y' albums, this :   "You, You along the road, must have a Code, that you can live by ."   Definitely from the 70's {like for sure} .  A Code ?  What Code ?  A "Code of Conduct" ???????                             Perhaps .

            

            

            

Stench Warfare

                              When certain events of the Ukrainian Revolution were being broadcast I was taken by an event that occurred in the "dead of night"  .   It was 3 or 4 in the morning and the "Masses" had assembled to protest the VICIOUSLY Corrupt Pres and his Gov .   The response of the Gov was to train fire-hoses  on the Protesters and saturate them in the ARCTIC Cold.   The Protesters STOOD THEIR GROUND while bellowing FUCK YOU !!!   Their RIGHTEOUS Defiance changed my Life .   Then and there I pledged my Allegiance to Ukrainian DEMOCRATIC Self Sovereignty .   These are Folks you WANT "On your Side"  Now and Forever .

            This was no "Boston Tea Party" but the INTENTION was as crystal clear .   Oppression would NOT be Tolerated  and                      They were willing to DIE for their Freedom .  2 words, Fuck and one half !!!!!!!!!

Rock steady ........ Steady az She goze ....                   

Desperate-ism = Desperatism

                              It's now time to arrest my digressions .   Today's Consideration was SUPPOSE-TA-BE not only a rebuke of Joe for his Ciceronian* `baloney` but also to make  >>  The Case for   The Support of Ukrainian War Necessities which INVOLVES America's true ABSENCE of ANY Foreign Policy {like} AT ALL.   

            Exactly , what IS the "Case" for 'The Support of Ukraine' ?   We are told that Supporting Ukraine is "In America's Best Interest" - that, If Putin is not STOPPED , then he will simply continue onward onto once Russian Territories and Lands thereby subjugating MILLIONS to Putinism barely cloaked by the term Despotism .   I mean, what the fuck are we ACTUALLY 'looking at' ?

            I wish I could write, "History does not lie" ---we KNOW that ain't True , not only does the Victor get the Spoils, but the Victor 'gets' to record the WINNER'S HISTORY OF EVENTS .    We must hold the "achievements" of Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Mohammed Ali, and the Russian Czars --   ALL of whom had Global {Psychotic} Ambitions to a degree of Scrutiny that literally "brands" them with the Sign of Despotism .  Thing is , look at China NOW -- a COMMUNIST Nation wherein its Peoples are almost DYING for Intellectual and Scientific FREEDOM .   Here it is where 'Freedom' can be partially defined by "Free Will" otherwise addressed as 'Self Sovereignty' .  It is this FUNDAMENTAL Desire, that is the Existential Incentive [incentive is too weak] /  Motivation for Ukrainians .   But how is that OUR "Cross to bear" ?????

The Foreign Policy of "NO" Foreign Policy

                             I can't help myself :  check this out ;   "Sword of No Sword" `becomes` >>> The Foreign Policy of  NO Foreign Policy <<<  .   I had to chuckle , I LUV when the Ridiculous becomes the Sublime .

            You can see it rite ?   America just can't seem to say "NO !"   Need arms ?  Yes, we have arms .  Need food ?  Yes we have food .  Need an Iron Dome ?  Yes we have your Iron Dome .  It's {seemingly} endless .

            In the "Before Time" Pirates were Terror-frying American Ships and Shipping Lanes .   Free Market Slave Capitalists were SCREAMING for the U.S. Gov TO DO SOMETHING .   The U.S. Navy was born out of LOBBYIST Frenzy .  Out of the abject FINANCIAL Terror-laden CHAOS   ORDER was 'Imposed' .    Now 'we' have Destroyers patrolling the Red Sea, the Med.,  the Suez  among  STRIDENTLY Significant Others .   

            We've come a long way ,  but are we now TOOOOO "Far from Home" ?

            

The Kissinger Effect

                              The dominant feature of  Kissinger's Foreign Policy was ORDER .   Kissinger stated that without Order the Rule of Law was impossible .   Others  rampantly  disagreed  with  him ,  believing that the LAW and its Justice should be the Prevailing Aspect of Global Security .   

            I considered Henry a Reincarnation of the now famous Cicero, the Roman "Legal Eagle" who stymied the Roman Courts with BRILLIANT Sophistry and Aphoristic Rhetoric .   Henry 'happened' because of his STUPENDOUS Intelligence and his "All seeing >> I << " .   I mean it this way :   You KNOW your are "Someone" when the Chinese Gov considers you a "Jewel of the Empire" (my words not theirs) .  

            Here's my point, there are Kissingerian*  "Residual Aftereffects" that somehow 'became' inherited, meaning, America's Foreign Policy is 'Obtuse' at Best, at Worst,, Correlation-ally Obscure .   Consider America's "Position" regarding Taiwan .   America seeks to "hold in check" Chinese Aggression by NOT "Recognizing" Taiwanese Self Sovereignty and to GUARANTEE American Allegiance to Taiwanese Self Sovereignty .  I mean SHIT !!    AREYOUFUCKINGKIDDINGME ???

            

            

"And the wind cries..."

                         What are "we" doing in Ukraine ?   What are we doing in Israel ?  What are we doing at the Southern Border ?   

            Rosa Brooks, [ How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything] reports that there are in excess of 900 "outposts" in Africa {and around the World} .   You must ask, 'Is the Mil determining Foreign Policy ?  

            Yesterday aft Biden was `backed up against the wall` when asked,"What IS America's Foreign Policy regarding Ukraine and Israel ?"   He spoke some words that deflected the Question .

             And what of Taiwan ?   Joe said he would "support" Taiwan in its attempts to deter China's Efforts at a `Hostile Take-over` (my words) .

             Jimi Hendrix asked it best, "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand ?"

"Pale Rider"

                              The Little Man Marshal begs of the Pale Rider ,  "What happens after we kill those guys, what do we do ?"   

                There's a brief pause, then the Pale Rider sneers, "You live with it ."

            

Rock steady ........ Steady az She goze ... .

Dunkirk or "Ain't no livin' in a Perfect World"

 Why aren't there  Hospital Ships off the coast of Gaza ????????   

 Where is the Fleet of Solve-ation* to house the Women and Children  ?????????

   

 Does no one remember Dunkirk ??????

            

"No One Here Gets Out Alive"

                             It's fascinatingly bewildering that the term 'extermination' has risen into the Consciousness of both Jews and Hamasians* .     You'd think that of ALL people the Jews would consider ANY Holocaust-like Atrocity a something in which they could NEVER  be linked .   Sadly, the Jews Bloodlust* for Revenge is completely UNDERSTANDABLE but does this Understanding JUSTIFY the DysCivilized* SAVAGERY of Woman and Children Massacre  even IF that Massacre is "Collateral Damage" ??????????   

            

"Kings"

                                             "Let there be not ONE left standing among the living ."

               Recognize that quote ?  It's from the Book of Kings, the Biblical Tradition of Hebrew Warfare .   Anyone figure Hamas to be Jewish ?   Of course not .   To slaughter a village "to the last" is as Ancient as Ancient gets .     You can't leave one alive since that One will REMEMBER the massacre and have IT as the Motivation to gather an Army and inflict REVENGE .   Woe unto the General who ignores this Dictum  .

            

            

Tunnel Vision

                              If any of you followed Fareed for more than 2 years you would KNOW that  one of the ways in which Gazans and West Bankers were able to obtain foodstuffs and Necessities was via the Black Market which utilized the Tunnels .   Here  it  is  where  Gazans   NEEDED   those  Tunnels  out  of DESPERATION .   Here it is where citizens were EGREGIOUSLY RELUCTANT to "Bite the hand that feeds them" .   If you've seen the tunnels they are concrete structures, meaning, after the digging, concrete forms were used to contain the 'wet' concrete .  This was no "Five Minute Deal".  It takes DAYS for the concrete to harden [cure] , days in which the citizens were ACUTELY aware of the Danger involved should the Jews be 'informed' .   Silence meant the continued flow of Black Market  Necessities .  

                                  

They took the "A-train" .

                             Those that decry Israel's WWII Battlefield Strategy and Tactics need their heads examined by WWII Psychiatrists and Historians .   Recall the outcome of Pearl Harbor ---  Americans RADIOACTIVELY OBLITERATED Nagasaki and Hiroshima ---  Hundreds of THOUSANDS of INNOCENT CIVILIANS were BURNED TO DEATH and  PULVERIZED   to ash and dust .   ANY  Condemnation of Israel's Wartime Efforts should be viewed with A-Bomb glasses BEFORE words are even considered  .  

            

"Strange News From Another Star"

                              I awoke to a streaming of details regarding the War in Israel .   I could read what was streaming into my tiny monkey brain .   Presently I am adhere-ing* by the glue of Tesla's Belief that we are human radios tuned to the broadcasts of the Universe .   There's ample room for Excuse and even Disavowal should I be held Responsible for the Preposterous and Outrageous .   

            

...something fishy about Fusion ...

                                                                                 Epilogue

                              Europe CAN be Rescued .   1 word :   Atomic Energy,,   but NOT in the form of Nuclear Fission but in the form of Nuclear FUSION .   That Physics has been "discovered" by an MIT Co-Ed some time ago .   She bragged that the Science to produce Nuclear Energy was NOT twenty years away but a remarkable TEN .   It begs the question ; "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED ?"

Rock steady ........ Steady az She goze ... .

Vodka Tonic

                              You can see it rite* ?  The 'life blood' of Europe isn't European at all--it's RUSSIAN .

            You know anybody who would WILLINGLY allow ANY someone to apply a tourniquet around their neck ????????    Even the THREAT of such an allowance would be CRITICALLY Debilitating .   

            It's no wonder that European 'enthusiasm' for Ukrainian Victory is flagging .   Is there Blame to be applied ?   I doubt it .

            There's no telling what Putin would do even IF he was brought to Submission , an unlikely Outcome if ever there was .   General Patton said it best, "You can't trust those Russian sons-a-bitches" .

            "Truer words.............. . "

Pipe Lions

                              This thought 'arrived' :   `There ain't gonna be no Victory for Ukraine` .   I sat with that for some time .   Permutations arrived,,,  laden with Futuristic Possibilities , none of them desirable .   I felt irritation due to the unremitting unintelligence* of Media News Projectionists ... but 'it' wasn't just them ----  .   I have Faith in the BIG Brains and SUPER-Bigs, a Faith in their access to Inside and Insider Information .   Accessing and then UNDERSTANDING the Political Machinations of Administrative and Governmental Conditions-as-Policies gives them the RIGHT to inform the Public with their HONEST Interpretations of  "Cause and Effect" .   These heart-felt and HONEST Interpretations have GREAT Value as Illuminative Devices that reveal Political Science {   }  Secrets .    BUT     there  are NO Secrets to DIRECT Knowledge of Conditions AS THEY PRESENTLY EXIST .   

            The   European  Union  {where Union qualifies as NATION}  NEEDS  Russian  fuels  to  EXIST !!!!!

             There can be no Defeat of Russia since the Defeat of Russia {and here Russia IS Putin} because Russia can, AT ANY TIME, 'close the valves' of the very pipelines that supply the fuels that maintain European Existence .   'Closing the valves" is the same as applying a tourniquet to the veins and arteries of the European Body Politic .   Should this THIS transpire, the Suffering would be UNTOLD .

Bliss Dairy

                                                                                 Prologue

                             It's almost BALMY outdoors, perhaps one of the last late Spring days we will experience for some time .   They told us to expect a Wind Storm with drenching downpours ~~~  that has NOT transpired .   The warmth is SOOOOOO inviting --- but the rain ---- the rain ... .

            I did my Recitations and sat in Chairy-Chair wandering about for this morning's Topic although completely nestled within Chairy-Chair's embrace ~~~~ .   I have laundry and indoor activities that will bring about Order from Chaos ---  I love that .....  there's Required Reading, Study and even some Research available --------- .   I lifted for the first time in over a year .  The weights I used were mere feathers --- I almost choked on my snide resignation ---  old age sucks and then you get hit in the face with a rusted-out cast iron skillet of Truth .   

            In between thoughts there is the Emptiness that not only Soothes but Heals .   It is written, "Stillness is Bliss" .   There is a Dairy Bar in North Attleboro, Mass .  It's name is Bliss Dairy .  Bliss then becomes Ice Cream .   That Emptiness, the feeling of that Emptiness, it's like eating Ice Cream ........ .

            

            

Fox Point

                              We have arrived at the Point .   The Point is this :   2 words ;  BIAS .    I WANTED TO BELIEVE IT WAS THE OLD CD .   That DESIRE led me to a cleaning FRENZY I could have avoided EASILY , since, the Equalized was on top of the CD Player and was READILY accessible .      

            I had to sit after conducting the test .   

            Bias had altered my Scientific ConsciousNess* .   It steered me in[to] the Rwong* Direction and caused me emotional distress .   I shook my head to relieve myself of Geriatric Imbecility ............... .

            Bias prevents [deters] the realization of Truth .   The Problem is that it's NOT just a cliche,,, it's that it has UNCONSCIOUS underpinnings that are the foundation of our Conscious Stability .   

            

            Rock steady........Steady az She goze ... .

"Welcome To The Monkey House"

                             Meanwhile --  back at the Monkey Patch -- I was going through the [now] incessant emotional turbulence over the loss of my fav CD, a Sony XE 400 .   According to Google it was manufactured in 1996 but only for 6  months .   I mean IT'S OLD .   Thing is, everything about it is BEAUTIFUL .  So ---  I mean --- there's THAT .   The cleaning and clearing normally aids in the assimilation of unwanted thinking ,  but attachments can become Demons and this one was groWING .

            I conducted the first test in the Music and Poetry Salon .   Guess what .   Yup -- it WASN'T the Sony, it was the Equalizer  a Sony SEQ 120 .  Again, according to Google, it was manufactured from 1980 to 1989 .   The serial number reads 864570 so I will assume the date of manufacture was 1986 .   You want old ??? 

            The thing about Equalizers is that they can respond to the conditions of the room .   Even though my Cave walls are laden with books, the high end [treble] can offend my old man ears .   I can soften the upper octaves with the Equalizer .   I KNOW the Amp has Treble and Bass Response but the Equalizer can target SPECIFIC octaves .   [But I digress ...]

"Angel Dust"

                              The other day I heard static from my JBL's .   Not good .   I cleaned the CD ---no change .   What remained ?   The CD player came into view, it's so old I don't know when I bought it .  I figured --it's time had come .   I had an Equalizer connected to it and the Amp but I gave THAT no more thought,,,, I convinced myself it was my fav CD Player .

            It took HOURS to disconnect the units so that I could PROPERLY test them .   It took HOURS because when you move shit about you gotta CLEAN and VAC every square (fucking) inch after having first paintbrushed* the entire area .   Of course where you stand is also cleared, cleaned and in most cases bleached , so -- I mean -- there's THAT .  There are also  "NASA" "Holds" .  These 'Holds'  are MANDATORY because when you stop to rest there are ALWAYS things that require INDUSTRIAL Consideration .    Generally the 'Holds' are Pirsigian in Nature, meaning I just "sit and stare" .   I am constantly AMAZED at the results this sitting produces .   

           Outwardly I must appear to be resting , but I don't like that, instead I tell myself that I am "Conducting thought experiments" vis-a-vis Tesler .   Remember kids, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."  {{ Oh how bless-ed it is to live the Lie}} .

The Pound of Music

                              So ~~~I feel compelled to write about an incident that occurred just the other day but one of 'editors' hit me with, "You are glamorizing Geriatric Imbecility" .   The thing about glamorizing Geriatric Imbecility is that its phuqing* phunny* .  I useta* do 'playful' on a regular basis, indeed, there was a stretch where I did Sunday Funnies for my Twitter column but with the War in Ukraine and now the War in Israel it seems not only inappropriate but callus as well .   Still , I was plagued by a sense of Duty, that somewho it was my phuqing DUTY to inform you of the inner workings of my tiny monkey brain since there ARE times when I work like a "stoned monkey" ,  fussing and fidgeting with small matters that drive me to NUTS .   

            In order to write I need the entire 'Cave' to be in Order -- I don't mind if it needs dusting and a kwik vac, as long as the desk is clear and  Angels would DARE to enter .   In order to exercise I NEED the Tools' Room Ordered , the floor vacked* and ALL tools in their home locations .   I NEED to Focus on the muscles being worked and distractions caused by laziness and sloth become SUPER-DEMONIC .   

           But to return ...   I am an audiophile in the BEST 'sense' of the term .   I try and DEVOTE myself to listening to Music at it's HIGHEST Level [pun intended] .   I  describe  'it'  as  'mining for gold'   in that lyrics {for me] contain Gems and  Nuggets of  Wisdom that aid in the delivery of Truth .   

           Rogers and Hammerstein said it best, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down ."

Castor Oil

                              Just a few moments ago I finished the set-up for a job to modify a castored* cabinet that houses a small shop-vac* that I want to become the primary , (since I have another shop-vac that's the same size but so much lighter) as well as a Fuller hand-held that bothers me not because of its power but because of the length of its cord .  You need TW O* vacs when the filter of one needs cleaning .   I have TH RE E* because remember all those Issues I have ? well here's another .   I don't wanna get out my tooth brush to wipe out the dust and shit ,  a vac is far more effective .

            In the Winter, the Tools' Room doubles as the exercise venue-- I have a bench with a leg extension machine, my Lat Machine and various dumbells* from 3 to 20 lbs .   I  designed  the  lat machine  so  I could  perform  seated  rowing,  the  exact position for rowing and "come-along" motion .  I even have half a gym mat for my old-man-flat-ass .   Of course the speed bag is up and the 40 pound heavy is available as well, although THAT'S for March to prepare for shoveling .

            I dread a Winter of Snow accumulations that MUST be addressed, but at least THERE I would be exercising .  What's WORSE is the bitter ARCTIC Cold that makes outdoor activity IM-FUCKING-POSSIBLE ---- THAT'S when exercise is a MUST if overall body-mind health is to be experienced .

            

"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test"

                                                                                 Epilogue

                              I am unwilling to proceed any further .    Cheney's conviction that Trumpism is a "Cult of Personality" is proof of a Campbellian "Restricted Consciousness" --- so be it .    

            I may regret leaving you with the very Romance I so dearly loathe but other Topics have become vise-like pressures .   The title of this blog is from a Tom Wolfe quasi-biography / History of Ken Kesey, author  of  [most-notably] One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and [less notably] Sometimes A Great Notion  .    

            Here goes :                                                 The Bus

            "There are going to be times" , says Kesey, " when we can't wait for somebody .  Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus .  If you're on the bus and you get left behind, then you'll find it again .  If you're off the bus in the first place---then it just won't make a damn ."

             Wolfe qualifies :   The World was simply and sheerly* divided into the "aware" i.e., those that had the experience of being vessels of the divine, and a great mass of the "unaware", the "unmusical", the un-attuned" .   Or, "You're either on the bus or off the bus" .  Consciously the "aware" were never snobish toward the "unaware", but in fact most of the great jellyfish blobs of straight souls looked like helpless cases -------- .  But these groups [of the Aware] treated anyone who showed possibilities, who was a potential brother, with generous solicitude ."

Rock steady........Steady az She goze ... .

Strainje

                             How about this one :    

                             If  God  is Money and 

                            "Money is the root of all Evil" then 

                             "God is the root of all Evil " .

            

                 You can see it rite ?

            

In God We Rust

                             On all our paper currency and metallic "Pindar Disks" we have "In God We Trust" .   Here it is where American HYPOCRISY can NOT be "Overstated" since where is to be found the so-called SEPAR ATION of Church [God] and State ???    The BRILLIANT   Marshall McLuhan  proclaimed, "The Medium IS the Message" [where currency is the Medium of Exchange] .  The Degeneration of the "Separ ation of Church and State" has {INEVITABLY} led to MONEY  as  {recondite} SYMBOL of God Power .   Here now, THERE IS NO SEPAR ATION .   Divine Authority 'gives way' to MONETARY Authority and if we substitute Power for  Authority  it  sharpens  the View , clarifying  the  Vision  of  God  the  Almighty  as  MONEY  the Almighty .   Here we find this :   Worshiping GOD is Worshiping MONEY .   

            Take a look :   In Money We Trust .

Church Lurch

                              Yesterday afternoon I learned that trump's mind-tentacles had reached into the soul of the Evangelical Body Politic so much so that they now consider him their Savior NOT in the Messianic Sense but as SAVE YOUR --the Earthly Presence of a someone who would SAVE their 'Church' from the grasp and clutches of American Political Future-ism* .   The parallels between this particular Construct and that of the 'Ists' in Confederism* [Neo-Confederate Insurrectionists] is WAAAAAY Beyond "Disturbing" .   

            Both of these {       } "Tribes"  are now aligned with Muslims whose HATRED of ANY Future governs their 'day-to-day' Reality .   Here it is where we can 'see' the American Civil War as a Socio-Religio CRUSADE .  Evangelical FEAR that America and all its governing and administrative bodies and Institutions will relegate Christianity to a "Side-show" in the Circus of Life , thereby rendering it BARELY Significant in the Overall GENERAL Political "Orthodoxy" of  American Constitutionalism ,, the one that  DEMANDS  a  "Separ  ation of Church and State" .    

            

Men Mind

                             Further  Reading :

Plutarch's Lives  The Lives of the Nobel Greeks,, The Lives of the Noble Romans

Oedipus Rex       Sophocles

Childhood and Society      Ericson

Psychological Types      Jung

Dark Hearts --The Unconscious Forces That Shape Men's Lives      Pederson

Shadow Dance--Liberating The Power & Creativity Of Your Dark Side      Richo

Why We Are Polarized      Klien

I Alone Can Fix It       Leonnig and Rucker

FEAR      Woodward

Fire and Fury      Woodward

UNHINGED      Omarosa 

The Secret History      Procopius 

The Iliad      Homer    

Unconditional Shove

                             We've yet to hear ANYBODY employ the term "Unconditional Love" to Trumpian Zealots, Fanatics Ne'er-do-wells, Sociopaths, "blunt skulls", knuckle draggers*, Red Necks and Evangelical Blasphemers .   I employ it here simply because it suits the Socio-Political Environment with a somewhat callus ease .   GENERALLY a Mother's Love IS ---> Unconditioned and that Unconditioning* CAN manifest as a Mother's Will to SACRIFICE her own Life should her offspring be threatened by DEADLY Forces .   A Mom will DIE to protect her offspring and so it is with 'die-for' Trumpist who would WILLINGLY Sacrifice their own lives to advance their Father's [Sociopathic*] `Agenda ` .     

Piccadilly Circus

                              Currently, we have a deep and PROFOUND Opportunity to explore the Realm of  Paternalism as it relates to Authoritarianism, Fascism, Confederatism*, Nazi-ism* and Despotism .   This Opportunity should NOT be taken lightly nor for granted .   

            Good, honest and decent BIG and Super BIG {and even the SUPER BIGS} have struggled to identify the 'reasons' for Trumpist Zealotry and have submitted the grotesque laziness of "We just don't know WHY these  `folks` find trump to be the ULTIMATE 'expression' of their minds, hearts and souls ."   This 'failure' is due [largely in part] to Ignorance of the PSYCHOLOGICAL   Constructs that govern both thought and action .   I contend that this Failure resides within Political Science itself .   [The use of 'Political SCIENCE' itself is SOOOO fucking RICH .]   Science is SUPPOSE-TO-BE devoid of Subjectivity and CLEARLY Political Science is nothing BUT arduous Subjectivity that reflects ALL the Emotions and PASSIONS that Human Interaction and Social Intercourse encompasses .   

            Chris Pratt portrays a charming dolt in "Parks and Recreation".  He's working in London and visits "Piccadilly Circus" .   He complains to his chick, "Some circus, there wasn't even any elephants."

"Toxic Parents"

                              Dr. Allen Wheelis in his How People Change recounts one summer of his childhood that was spent cutting the family's lawn with a straight edge razor !   When he had accomplished that "task" he asked his father what was next .   His father simply stated, "Start again" .  What kind of parent would ask for such a Herculean Effort from a small son ?  

            Some of you may have questioned my negative bias toward the Father .   Remember all those 'Issues' I have ?   The Father Issue is perhaps the most egregious .   Here it is where Issues of the Sub and Un Conscious 'surface' through intellectual exposition .   Elsewhere I have contended that beneath the vibrant superficiality of Reality there are Forces , sometimes DARK Forces,, that prompt our perceptual Reality and act as horse blinders to keep us on the Path of the "Straight and Narrow", the one of familial and societal Duty and Obligation .   We have a duty and [some would argue] Obligation to be Obedient Sons and Daughters even when that Obedience reeks of "Good Slave"         {        }         adherence .   

        

            

Remember that Film , "Deliverance" ?

                              The Psychological visage of 'trump-as father' MUST be addressed IFF the Nation as Body / Mind Politic is to be 'freed' of the "Spell" {Curse} of the BIG Lie .    [[[ Consider reading , Breaking the Spell That Binds You by  { X }, People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck,  Necessary Losses by Judith Viorst, and my personal fav, Toxic Parents ---Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life, by Dr. Susan Forward and Craig Buck ]]] .     The Lines of Demarcation between trump-the- Father and GOD-the-Father have CLEARLY been BLURRED in the most heinous manner -- such is the Nature of the Human Psyche that seeks PEACE in a World of Sensory Bombardment and {unrelenting} Emotional Turmoil .    ALL the Attributes of a PERFECT Father have been assigned to trump in a seeming clandestine desire for UNASSAILABLE "Deliverance" .     ALL his shortcomings, psychological deformities,,  flaws and CRIMINAL Dispositions are regarded  as INSIGNIFICANT when the Micro-Cosmos of Self and Selves is manifested in the Realm of Personal Grievance .   

           Huey Lewis and his News reports :  "We seen this movie, it don't end nice."

"...and they became what they beheld" .

                              You can see it rite* ?    Millions of Americans "beheld" trump {that on a MACRO-Cosmic level} and "became" trump-like [like trump] {and on the micro-Cosmic level George Santos actually BECAME trump [[ at the end of the projection of Logical Absurdity]] .  

            Now apply this to Joe Biden .   We have BEHELD Joe and it is rabidly UNLIKELY that most of us actually want to BE Joe Biden .   It hurts --- it SOOOO hurts ... .   It is "Common Knowledge" that "The Truth Hurts" .   Knowledge is Pain -----anybody see THAT coming ?????     Me neither .

            

"Love-Child"

                              Normally I wouldn't continue this Consideration because the threshold of AT LEAST  3 Readers has not been reached--- but this morning I WILL continue ---Please forgive and old man .

            I LOVE "Living the American Lie" ,[which is]  The Promise of Eternal Utopia, the Heavenly `measure` of the Earthly --->  "Promise of Perfection" .   "X-Files" Champion "Muldar" had a poster of a UFO in his office, the caption read, "I WANT TO BELIEVE" .   So it is with me for BOTH !

            Buddhist "Quantum Mechanics" insists on the adherence to "Arising, Stability, Decline, Dissolution" .   We, as in America, are at the Stage of Dissolution {Dis Solution} .   America must "die" ---in a PSYCHOLOGICAL Sense--- in order to be Reborn .    Edmund S. Morgan titled his Text , The Birth of the Republic, I will title the next book I will never write, "The RE-BIRTH of the Republic" with special emphasis on ---> "Public" .  I am {contractually} Opposed to the terms, "Revolution and Reformation" although "Reformation" [to be RE-Formed} is the gentlest term to apply for WHOLESALE TRANS-FORMATION .   Democracy needs to be modified in the GRANDEST Sense of Modify and here "RECLAMATION" [ to be RE 'Claimed'] offers another alternative 'measure' of Understanding .   {Democracy needs to RECLAIM its Birth Essences DESPITE the "infant auto-eroticisms*" of Utopic Perfection . I'm  jus' sayin' .}

            

            

             

"Indecent Proposal"

                              It isn't JUST "The Myth of the BIG Lie" , it's the Myth of Democracy which INCLUDES the "Notion" that America is "Great" or that America was EVER "Great" .    America wants to be viewed as a Self-Sovereign Nation, a Nation 'whole and complete unto itself' .  America is DEPENDENT upon FOREIGN Monies to "bankroll" its Administrative and Governmental Finances .  The Americans BORROW these 'funds' to sustain itself .   The Financial Debt, now registering in the multi-TRILLIONS,, is PROOF of the CHRONIC Fiduciary MALFEASANCE of those responsible for  the Nation's Economic Well-being .   

            America CANNOT "take care of itself" WITHOUT Foreign Monetary "Influence" such is the Nature of The Myth of Financial Security .  And yet, America and Americans consider(s) itself and themselves to be the ULTIMATE Paradigm for Democracy Attribution .   

            Sophistry allows me to cast, The BIG Lie is only PART of the BIGGEST Lie, which is The Myth of Democracy which then can lead us ONLY to ---> AMERICA is the BIG Lie .  

            

"Deaf, Dumb,, and Blind". . .

                              It was a mistake to introduce Maternalism* at this juncture, I apologize .   

            This days-long Consideration is SUPPOSE-TO-BE about addressing "die-for" trumpists ---those who would give their life for trump and Trumpism in their Effort to annihilate Democracy and replace it with Trumpian Dystopia all in the 'name' of "Make America Great Again" .   We must conclude that "turning" die-hard `die-fors` is ritually and CLINICALLY Impossible .   They BELIEVE in the Father ALMIGHTY, trump, and this Belief CANNOT be assailed .   

            Religious Fervor is DEVOID of Ethics, Morals and Mores ---look at the Crusades [[ all in the name of "Make Christianity and Mohammedanism Great Again" ]] .   Zealotry, in ALL its WORST manifestations, is found in Religious Structures and the Global Planetary Political  'Continuum' .   We speak of "Blind Rage" and the similarity in Zealotism* must not be ignored .   Rage blinds, Zealotry blinds .  

            Just because it is Impossible to 'turn' trumps' zealots that DOESN'T mean we can avoid nor escape the abject NECESSITY to NEUTRALIZE the Hatred that Zealotry embodies .    The question remains, "How ?" .

"All brawn and NO brain"

                              `Militant Idealism` professes the need for Political Maternalism* -- the so-called "Cradle to Grave" "Care" that is recognized in Democratic {{Socialist}} Nations such as Canada .   If you've followed the Political Path of Venezuela and Brazil you know that Corruption can derail ANY "Cradle to Grave" 'train'.   Here it is where "Lofty Ideals" are clearly No Match for Street and Gutter Savagery -- the 'ways' of Animal Instinctual-ism gone the way of Power Mongery* .   Here it is where the Idea of Utopia gets inundated by the 'wash' of Tribal Jungle-ism and "The Rule of Law" is displaced by the "Law of the Jungle" .   Here it is where "Civilization" and ITS antecedents are discarded as "Irrelevant and Insignificant" since no one can eat Ideas and in the Jungle, "Only the Strong Survive" .   

            Obviously Maternal-ism stands in DIRECT Opposition to Paternalism .  {I mean it SHOULDN'T since the Body Politic, the "only child" of Paternal and Maternal ISM would benefit their offspring GREATLY if the two "Parents" were to unite in Obligational* Authority--- the one BEST suited for the Growth and Maturation of said Child} .   Democrats are viewed as Weak by the republican Paternalists and this Weakness is surely correctly perceived as "Feminine" in nature .   We USE TO remark, "Women are the Weaker Sex" .   Indeed, males have a MUSCULAR 'advantage' over females but that quasi Superiority ENDS with that .