As the last shuttle mission is grounded today, I feel a rant.
The economy is fucked, royally fucked, and the media is downplaying the full disaster looming up on us all.
Cutting back on government spending should happen regardless, but it will not fix anything. Saving money does not pay bills, generating money pays bills, and the two are not the same thing. Equally, raising the debt ceiling will not contribute anything positive. It did not work the past dozen or so times raised in as many years. Where was the Republican outcry the eight times Bush raised the debt ceiling? Trimming away the unfair tax breaks from the top 2 or 3 percent of the population is not socialistic redistribution of wealth, it is acting morally. They would still be the richest 2 or 3 percent of the population. But still, it will not be anywhere near enough to settle the trillions we owe. And we do owe trillions and trillions, making us far far from being the richest nation. American ego is one hundred percent misplaced. And anybody who is not offended at the downplayed national unemployment numbers is sickly sheltered. Get out and feel the massive sigh of exhausted discontent.
The Republicans and Democrats are equally mistaken, criminally mistaken, as they try to use same old flawed techniques to fix problems that are only growing and growing. Nuts to both parties for not considering any third alternative.
Withdrawing troops is not the same as cutting military expenditures, either, as this is another option tossed around. Make no mistake- we are slowly pulling the troops back for two reasons. Firstly, because we cannot afford to maintain their global presence anymore. And lastly, because waiting any longer to settle our debts (which is what raising the debt ceiling is) will eventually lead to some very upset bill collectors. I'm not paranoid enough to think the troops will be needed on the homefront when rioting breaks out though. I think this country's citizens would never riot, as there have already been more than enough just cause thus far in recent years. But we may well be on the military defensive in the next year, and by god will you and your elected officials deserve the bitchslap. Laziness and ignorance brought us here, but laziness and ignorance will not free us from these circumstances. It was you who insisted on living beyond your means, too ignorant to balance your damned checkbooks like real adults.
21 July 2011
20 July 2011
Rand
What I walked away with from Ayn Rand's fiction (specifically, Anthem, the Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged) was the importance of striving to be one's very best, which has nothing to do with money. I do not see it as an excuse for Capitalism whatsoever. If anything, it is very much the opposite, as those obsessed with amassing wealth are still Looters, leaching money from (and so dependent upon) consumers.
Early in her career, she did say repeatedly that she was a novelist first, not a philosopher. However, her ideas were thorough enough that it is easy to see her characters as puppets for promoting said ideals. Later in life she did, in her non-fiction writings, embrace degrees of Western Capitalism, though I wonder how much of that really was little more than others trying to misconstrue her own words. Obviously, the persons who continued her legacy in the form of the Ayn Rand Institute are clearly Conservative Republicans, and so her efforts have been reappropriated for their aims. But how many of the current publicly-devout Rand enthusiasts actually read her fiction? How closely do NeoCons mimic the looters devastated in Atlas Shrugged, the persons pursuing only personal greed were the villains of the story! What on earth does any politician have in common with John Galt? These people would never inspire strikes, they would be the ones hiring mobsters to break up said strikes. They depend on others doing their work for them. Of course, even if she did fully accept Capitalism in her later years, such a change of opinion goes against the core of her own Objectivism belief structure.
As such, no matter her later changes of heart, the ROOT of her beliefs was Individualism. Any one of us, singularly trying to conquer our own individual life. Not getting rich. If you strive to make a great product, no matter your trade, then do it, BE the grand Producer. But success rests on the job well done, on the work itself, on the work of art created. Success is not measured on monetary wealth. Then the money takes on more meaning than the product itself.
The greatest happiness comes from self-assurance and self-reliability and self-dependence, from the SELF, and that's something that cannot be bought.
Early in her career, she did say repeatedly that she was a novelist first, not a philosopher. However, her ideas were thorough enough that it is easy to see her characters as puppets for promoting said ideals. Later in life she did, in her non-fiction writings, embrace degrees of Western Capitalism, though I wonder how much of that really was little more than others trying to misconstrue her own words. Obviously, the persons who continued her legacy in the form of the Ayn Rand Institute are clearly Conservative Republicans, and so her efforts have been reappropriated for their aims. But how many of the current publicly-devout Rand enthusiasts actually read her fiction? How closely do NeoCons mimic the looters devastated in Atlas Shrugged, the persons pursuing only personal greed were the villains of the story! What on earth does any politician have in common with John Galt? These people would never inspire strikes, they would be the ones hiring mobsters to break up said strikes. They depend on others doing their work for them. Of course, even if she did fully accept Capitalism in her later years, such a change of opinion goes against the core of her own Objectivism belief structure.
As such, no matter her later changes of heart, the ROOT of her beliefs was Individualism. Any one of us, singularly trying to conquer our own individual life. Not getting rich. If you strive to make a great product, no matter your trade, then do it, BE the grand Producer. But success rests on the job well done, on the work itself, on the work of art created. Success is not measured on monetary wealth. Then the money takes on more meaning than the product itself.
The greatest happiness comes from self-assurance and self-reliability and self-dependence, from the SELF, and that's something that cannot be bought.
17 July 2011
so mote it be again!
As before, these are dream projects that have been with me for awhile. They are at various stages of development, but it is safe to presume they will all see the light of day as finished works whenever pigs fly, for a merry assortment of reasons.
I would like to someday write and package a comic book adaptation of The Challenge From Beyond. Originally conceived and edited by a very young Julius Schwartz, the prose science-fantasy tale was a collaboration between Abraham Merritt, HP Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, and Catherine Moore! Though certainly not the finest hour from any of those writers, it is still a fun story from a legendary line-up of pulp fiction's greatest minds. And by god could it work as a comic book script!
I have a completed rough draft for a horror novel which brings the story of the Pied Piper to the American bible belt's dustbowl bin of the Great Depression years. Working title: Decan Lude.
Zombies. They have been done to death and still stories are released ad nauseum. But I want to accent something I have not seen pointed out much anywhere else. DMT is a chemical that can be found in the human brain, specifically in the pineal gland (aka the third eye). The pineal is believed to play headquarters for dreams, psychic powers, and even the sexual urges ever so prevalent to our species (as well as represented symbolically as the eye inside the pyramid, from the lotus position). So...zombies eat brains, right? What if they are specifically hungering for the DMT source, therein to taste a reminder of what it was like to be alive, like some manner of addiction? And equally, to kill a zombie one must generally destroy the head, right? What if, again, you must actually destroy the pineal gland, the source of DMT production in the body? Hmm?
There is a comic strip I do for fun, that I may be willing to share at some point, as a webcomic or mini-comix. Colonel Mullet, Kentucky's one true superhero, racing around in his modified el Camino and protecting the Bluegrass from the frightful centaurs of the future (as considering the state's obsessive predilection for equestrian racing, its status as bourbon capital of the known world, as well as its notoriety for inbreeding practices...Kentucky will clearly one day be inhabited by centaurs...).
To be continued?
I would like to someday write and package a comic book adaptation of The Challenge From Beyond. Originally conceived and edited by a very young Julius Schwartz, the prose science-fantasy tale was a collaboration between Abraham Merritt, HP Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, and Catherine Moore! Though certainly not the finest hour from any of those writers, it is still a fun story from a legendary line-up of pulp fiction's greatest minds. And by god could it work as a comic book script!
I have a completed rough draft for a horror novel which brings the story of the Pied Piper to the American bible belt's dustbowl bin of the Great Depression years. Working title: Decan Lude.
Zombies. They have been done to death and still stories are released ad nauseum. But I want to accent something I have not seen pointed out much anywhere else. DMT is a chemical that can be found in the human brain, specifically in the pineal gland (aka the third eye). The pineal is believed to play headquarters for dreams, psychic powers, and even the sexual urges ever so prevalent to our species (as well as represented symbolically as the eye inside the pyramid, from the lotus position). So...zombies eat brains, right? What if they are specifically hungering for the DMT source, therein to taste a reminder of what it was like to be alive, like some manner of addiction? And equally, to kill a zombie one must generally destroy the head, right? What if, again, you must actually destroy the pineal gland, the source of DMT production in the body? Hmm?
There is a comic strip I do for fun, that I may be willing to share at some point, as a webcomic or mini-comix. Colonel Mullet, Kentucky's one true superhero, racing around in his modified el Camino and protecting the Bluegrass from the frightful centaurs of the future (as considering the state's obsessive predilection for equestrian racing, its status as bourbon capital of the known world, as well as its notoriety for inbreeding practices...Kentucky will clearly one day be inhabited by centaurs...).
To be continued?
Burying Lulu
Alright, so roughly six months after the fact, Johanna Draper-Carlson felt the need to do a follow up article on the demise of the Friends of Lulu charity organization, whose Board of Directors I served on for a bit last year. She chose to speak with Kynn Bartlett, who had also served on the interim Board for FoL. Except, they were clearly up to something negative. I did try to keep at least the comments section informed of the truth of what went on. Valerie (D'Orazio) Gallaher, the last and final president of FoL tried a tongue in cheek response to Johanna's puzzling query.
I was then approached to answer questions for Johanna, though I instead explained why I would not contribute to whatever it was she was trying to prove. She posted on my behalf, or the behalf of an alternate reality incarnation of me. As I was keeping Val informed of this, she expertly covered the situation in her own blog.
I invite all those curious to read the Comics Worth Reading post, especially its comments, and Val's two posts. See everything written and decide for yourself what is going on exactly.
All of my remarks and comments concerning this do stand, and they stand strong. Lulu is gone, and the false concern of persons only pursuing sickly private agendas does not help anyone or anything.
I was then approached to answer questions for Johanna, though I instead explained why I would not contribute to whatever it was she was trying to prove. She posted on my behalf, or the behalf of an alternate reality incarnation of me. As I was keeping Val informed of this, she expertly covered the situation in her own blog.
I invite all those curious to read the Comics Worth Reading post, especially its comments, and Val's two posts. See everything written and decide for yourself what is going on exactly.
All of my remarks and comments concerning this do stand, and they stand strong. Lulu is gone, and the false concern of persons only pursuing sickly private agendas does not help anyone or anything.
11 July 2011
09 July 2011
reimagining the worthwhile
Hollywood is lethargic. Writers employed therein, whether entrapped by the comforts of formulaic dogma or just too ignorant to create something daringly new, do nothing but retread paths already traveled. Ad nauseum. Of course, all culture repeats itself, and this is happening exponentially more and more. Relaunches, revamps, reworkings, remixes, and reimaginings.
However, if this is how things seem to be done, I have my own thoughts on some easy targets which have yet to be raped. This time, I will focus on television programs, on shows that could well stand the test of time.
Whirlybirds!
This was one of my dad's favorite programs growing up. I'd love to see it brought back...maybe as a post apocalyptic adventure series? Excuse me, post zombie apocalypse adventure series.
My Mother The Car
One of the greatest set-ups for a series, ever. Without changing a thing this could be a vehicle (pun somewhat intended) for almost any Saturday Night Live alumni. Reincarnation is so stupid it is laugh out loud funny. Throw in anti-nuclear family sentiments and you have the makings of a subversively sharp comedy.
The Flying Nun
Another great premise. Maybe cast a Jena Malone, and this could be Bewitched by way of Christianity. But far far more over the top, ala the Brit series Father Ted.
Thank you and good night.
However, if this is how things seem to be done, I have my own thoughts on some easy targets which have yet to be raped. This time, I will focus on television programs, on shows that could well stand the test of time.
Whirlybirds!
This was one of my dad's favorite programs growing up. I'd love to see it brought back...maybe as a post apocalyptic adventure series? Excuse me, post zombie apocalypse adventure series.
My Mother The Car
One of the greatest set-ups for a series, ever. Without changing a thing this could be a vehicle (pun somewhat intended) for almost any Saturday Night Live alumni. Reincarnation is so stupid it is laugh out loud funny. Throw in anti-nuclear family sentiments and you have the makings of a subversively sharp comedy.
The Flying Nun
Another great premise. Maybe cast a Jena Malone, and this could be Bewitched by way of Christianity. But far far more over the top, ala the Brit series Father Ted.
Thank you and good night.
02 July 2011
a bad, bad retro crossover
What if Marvel's Crystar the Crystal Warrior:
crossed elseworlds with DC's Amethyst the Gemworld Princess?
The 1980's were almost as frightening as the 1970's, but if DC and Marvel were to publish this I'd wager it would bleed many a nerd/geek/Apatheist of their hard-earned video game tokens.
And I may or may not be stoned for this particular post.
But does it matter, really?
crossed elseworlds with DC's Amethyst the Gemworld Princess?
The 1980's were almost as frightening as the 1970's, but if DC and Marvel were to publish this I'd wager it would bleed many a nerd/geek/Apatheist of their hard-earned video game tokens.
And I may or may not be stoned for this particular post.
But does it matter, really?
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