The World Is On Fire

conventional and traditional morality have brainwashed us. trepidation and anticipation have brainwashed us. conditioning and culture have made us complacent and unquestioning. the effect of these conditions has seeped into our bones, saturated our marrow, and soaked our visceral tissue.

do you believe me? well, in your personal circumstance, do you disagree?

we’re all familiar with the notion of that which is “unlovable”, that which is “unlovable by anyone”. and this conditioned sense of morality makes your ego shout, “but not me! i am open-minded! i am full of compassion! i could love anyone!”

well, here’s a physical test. is the buddhist concept of karuna something that you truly embody? can it really be embodied physically? yes, it can be embodied, in the most sensual visceral aspect of the word “embody”. so here is the test, here is the challenge.

masturbate manually while your fingertips are lubricated with hot sauce, ingredients including naga jolokia.

if you can achieve orgasm, then you have physical proof that you are an un-brainwashable-creature, able to experience experiences beyond every limit that the status quo would impose upon you. think of it as a rite of passage. if you can achieve orgasm to the ghost pepper, then you truly embody the ideals of unconditional love and acceptance without boundaries.

(if you are already a practitioner of buddhist tantra, this exercise is merely an exercise, and not an accomplishment.)

i have often said that there are many small things that we can do, in the way we live our lives and relate to the world, that can make a big difference. especially if a large number of people all do small things, the impact will be significant.

no one is powerless. there are many ways to take power back into the hands of the people, and collectively contribute to our liberation from corporate tyranny, starting from the ground up to secure sustainable freedom and wellbeing.

so what are these small things? i’d like to describe just a few of them today. some are easier to do than others. but engaging in any of these practises at all, even if only a few or only occasionally, will fuel our revolution and improve our quality of life. satisfaction guaranteed!

one important thing to remember, is that anything you do to minimise your utility bills and grocery bills and overall expenses will reduce your dependancy on the wage-slavery of needing a paycheck. here follow just a few examples…

*** don’t buy as many things. if you don’t need it, then don’t feed your money to it. if you really want it, see if you can get it without money, like trading something for it, or making it yourself instead of purchasing a mass-produced item.

*** if you’re going to spend money on something, try to spend it where it will end up in the hands of a friend or a local business, or even an online business whose ideals are similar or supportive to your own.

*** avoid going out to eat. buy groceries and prepare your own meals.

*** try to limit your grocery shopping to farmer’s markets and local deils and butchers.

*** when you have a choice, choose items that have less or no packaging. bring your own mug to coffee shops. bring your own containers to the deli or the butcher. bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping.

*** dry your laundry on a clothesline instead of using an electric dryer.

*** grow vegetables, herbs, and fruits. trade with others who grow their own stuff too.

*** avoid processed packaged foods. purchase fresh produce and bulk dry goods.

*** compost! setting up and maintaining a compost bin and compost pile will give you rich nutrient-filled soil to supplement the plants that you grow. if you live in an apartment complex or something where you can’t set up a compost pile, see if you can find a friend who composts, and keep a compost bin and contribute to your friend’s compost pile.

*** try to throw away as little as possible, in general. trash pickup is afterall another service that you have to depend on. the less trash you have to rely on someone else to remove for you, the more independant you are. save cans and bottles. they can be used for all sorts of things. and in many places you can take them to recycling centres yourself to exchange them with money. paper material makes up a very large precentage of what people put out on the curb. shred your paper and reuse it in all sorts of ways! or don’t shred it, and reuse it. options for reducing trash out-put are endless. reduce and reuse! for things that don’t seem to have any reusable qualities, come up with creative ways to make arts & crafts.

*** join your local freecycle email list. use that to get rid of things you’d throw away, and find things you’d otherwise have to pay for. one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. go to freecycle.org to sign up. and don’t forget about craigslist! it’s not just for hookups, you can actually find furniture and appliances there, among other things, sometimes for free.

*** find ways to entertain yourself without spending money, like going to a park, bicycling, disc golf, ultimate frisbee, hackey-sack, other outdoor sports that don’t require money. it’ll keep you healthy in addition to keeping your expenses down. other fun things that don’t cost money include poetry readings and performance art, and going to local meetings like NORML meetings and community discussion clubs.

*** buy your own booze instead of going to bars on default. like buying groceries instead of going out to eat. better yet, make your own beer or wine.

*** get your clothes from thrift shops, or make your own from scraps of clothes you already have. mend and rework things instead of replacing them.

*** go dumpster diving!

*** use fans instead of air conditioning units or central air.

*** make your own soap.

*** make your own candles, or find really cheap candles, to use instead of electric lights.

*** shower less frequently.

*** walk or ride a bicycle instead of using a car. the distances are much less daunting once you get used to it. get a wagon to carry things like groceries or other supplies that you need to pick up. you can chain a wagon to a bike rack when you go into a store.

*** use rags instead of paper towels, use handkerchiefs instead of tissues. consumable disposable paper products are a huge part of the corporate empire and we did without them entirely until relatively recently in human history.

*** shave less frequently. or find yourself an oldschool straight razor that will last for the rest of your life.

*** wear makeup less frequently, use fewer styling products.

*** eat less snack food. food is a valuable resource. consume it as needed, rather than in idleness or as an oral fixation. if you need something to consume all the time, drink water. if you need something to do with your mouth, get a harmonica or a jawharp. especially avoid mints, candy, tic tacs, chewing gum, etc. these things are part of a huge industry that just wants your money and conspires with the dental hygeine industry so that they can get a lot of your money too. you don’t actually need any of their products. ever. for any reason.

*** stop drinking soda and energy drinks. avoid all the new weird packaged-consumer-drink-items that keep coming out. they didn’t exist 10 years ago. nobody needs them. drink water, drink iced tea. you can make iced tea in all sorts of different flavours, put real fresh fruit into it, carry it around in a big thermos or water bottle. this will improve your health and contribute to your independence from the american medical industry.

*** don’t rent movies. get a public library account and use it. and youtube doesn’t cost money. neither do a lot of other things you have access to via the internet.

*** if you want to go to a bar, go to one with live music. support local musicians. the local music scene, regardless of what genre you like, is full of people like you who don’t like the way our society is and want to change it for the better. there’s an amazing amount of social capital at music shows. and if there’s a cover, it supports the bands. and if there’s a drink minimum, it supports the bar, which is a local business. and if you’re really trying to be careful where you put your money, go to shows that don’t have a cover charge, and bring your own flask.

*** make your own cards and giftwrap with paper scrap from your home. the greeting card and giftwrap industry, hallmark etc, is a bloated leech that never had an excuse for existing. when you need to give someone a present for whatever occasion, give them something handmade instead of mass-produced. if you don’t think you’re artistic enough, get something from a local artisan rather than from a department store.

*** in lieu of groceries, buy a share in a local community garden.

*** do your own haircutting or styling, or have a friend do it.

*** if you make a lot of arts and crafts, or if you paint etc, set up a shop on etsy.com, or even get a booth at your local farmer’s market. reducing our expenses increases our independence, but supplementing our income without spending hours working for a wage is an even greater level of liberty.

*** don’t live alone. rent and utilities are expensive. a housemate to split the bills gives each of you less of a burden each month. a communal setup with more than two people is even more liberating.

this list could go on and on, maybe even forever. remember, this isn’t about being green or being healthy or being a “good person” whatever the hell that means. this is just about survival. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

please add to this list. the more options we have, the better.

my little sister takes amazing pictures of my kittens.

here’s a flickr photostream from may.

and here’s an entry in her blog with 2 photos that she just took this month while visiting.

and here’s another entry featuring the breakfast chair, painted by my friend dakota and me.

do they still teach this in american schools?

“when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s god entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. — we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. — that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. but when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

i keep a copy of the Declaration of Independence on the wall in my living room. i found these words moving and inspiring ever since i first read them as a child. i was home schooled, though, so i don’t know if the kinds of textbooks i had as a child are long, long extinct by now. the words of the founding fathers don’t really help to instill an obedience-to-corporatism mindset, so i’m reasonably concerned. if i were to pass out fliers in public places (like the farmer’s market, outdoor music festivals, etc) that said nothing but “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government“, do you think most people would recognize the quote? or would they look at me in confusion, and based on my tattoos and long tangled hair, assume it was just some sort of anarchist propaganda?

my garden flourishes but it always needs more work.

do you know what you’re doing with your life? do you really know? what are your values? what are your goals? what are your dreams? are they real, or are they some sort of mechanical parroting of all the mixed signals that flood your environment? do you really know who you are, rather than what you want people to see on your surface? many people have a very clear sense of their superficial-ideal-self, while remaining oblivious of and alienated from true self-knowledge. just take a three minute quiz on the internet to answer any of the above questions, right?

often people are afraid to look inside themselves and meet who they really are, not because they feel anxiety about “who” they’d find themselves meeting, but rather that they dread having nothing interesting to say, and anticipate nothing interesting to hear. american society attempts to make barbie dolls of its population. without the fashions, without the fashion accessories, without the myriad colorful bits of divers plastic, underneath it’s all just the same plastic. and no one wants to face that in the mirror, let alone sit down and have a chat. better to cover it with more plastic, right?

even many of those who are awake in this society are still asleep in various ways. so many who are awake in some ways are unaware or even closed to the idea that we’re in the midst of a corporate crisis, in denial of the reality that anything institutional and anything mass-produced is part of a framework that is being used to enslave the mass population.

class divisions in america continue to deepen. the poor are getting so much poorer every day and no one seems to see how quickly this is happening. even the people spending more money on groceries aren’t really noticing the figures. the media is now so full of pacification and reassurance about the economy. politicians aren’t leading the people, they’re misleading the people and farcically distracting the people, struggling to maintain and sustain popular complacency.

when will we learn as a collective to stop looking toward authority figures for answers and solutions? those who see that we need to take our wellbeing into our own hands are solitary lonely voices in the wilderness and everyone else has been taught to think that we’re insane and label us paranoid.

i personally never entered a social contract with this government, or the institutions around me. i love this country and have a comittment to its ideals, to my ideals, and to the wellbeing of those around me. every day i see the bars growing thicker around us while i watch people perpetuating the same patterns over and over, oblivious that we’re all in a cage.

there are so many small things that people could be doing that would add up to really large things if enough people were all doing them.

there isn’t really anything about one corporation that’s worse than another. the problem is corporatism and our dependancy. our relationship to this structure. a big part of the problem is merely seemingly innocuous innocent habits and small things in our lifestyles. we entrench the status quo, we permit it, we imply consent on a daily basis in spite of any overt declaration otherwise.

think about your values, your goals, your dreams. think about what you want to be (not who you want to be, not what you want to look like). can you write an essay about it? go write an essay about it.

and if you don’t mind, i’d love to read whatever you write.

if we gather all the fallen
lost and lonely, empty-eyed ones -
then we’ll have ourselves an army.

young creatures sad and despondent,
disillusioned, apathetic -
they would love to be our friends.

when we fight for any lost cause,
if we all join arms together,
then our hell will become heaven.

soon i will be catching up to our technological times and making my “Shapeshifting for Profitable Philanthropy” available in ebook format. more updates will come as this story develops. i’d like to thank everyone who has been supportive and encouraging. sometimes the input of others is very significant in helping me to see past my romantic/nostalgic biases. ultimately, my goal is to continue to grow and adapt in this changing world. the value of traditionalism doesn’t outweigh the value of survival in a changing landscape.

i’ve been working a lot of overtime, i can’t pass up any opportunity that will help me to get back on my feet financially. it’s a necessary sacrifice. QiuNiu had a job for 2 weeks. jobs are very hard to get and hard to hold onto these days. according to my sources, the real unemployment rate in america including short and long term discouraged workers is 22.3%. an alleged 2.1 million americans have completely given up looking for work. but the official unemployment rate is still single-digit. how long do you think it will be before the official rate is double-digit? i’m sure it won’t be much more than a year.

many companies are starting to reluctantly announce price increases. they’ve been holding off as long as they can but the costs of production and the profit losses are forcing their choices. and a new meme-like frenzy is sweeping the nation under the name of “couponing”. thousands of people are massively emailing and phoning companies and asking for coupons. and this is even before the majority of price increases have hit the market! their actions are costing companies a lot of money in order to handle the incoming contacts, and will most likely result in a significant reduction in promotional materials available. when companies considered price cuts earlier this year, they had already included in their decisions a reduction in the value of the coupons they offer. the mass-begging of the consumers is just going to make the situation worse for themselves.

have you planted a garden? the weather has been pretty crazy, and it’s been difficult. but be dedicated and persevere! and if you don’t have garden space, start some pots indoors. mini herb gardens in a window box are convenient, and potted tomato plants do well indoors as long as you put them in a really big pot. if you don’t have the time or the resources, you also might want to look into community gardening in your area, see if you can buy into a share or be a sponsor of someone else’s plot so that you can get some of the harvest. farmer’s market season is here, too, so stock up on fresh produce and can it or freeze it. tomatoes, eggplants, squashes, and fruits can be deconstituted before they’re frozen so that you don’t need to worry about freezerburn. just google “food preservation methods” and you’ll find a lot of valuable information.

an interesting thing i’ve been looking into, as i anticipate the Death of the U.S. Dollar, is BitCoin. BitCoin is a “peer-to-peer currency”, meaning it’s regulated collectively rather than by a central authority. the research i’ve done thusfar seems to suggest that the system is immune to hyperinflation, since the total number of BitCoins that will ever exist is already set and will never change. additionally, it seems like an extremely delicious investment opportunity, since the value of one BitCoin is rising dramatically in terms of U.S. dollars. if you invest just $100 at this time, that could be worth $1000 very quickly. you’ll have to read more about it yourself. typically i don’t recommend investing in intangible assets, but with my thoughts about adapting to current technology and adapting to the future, it seems like something that everyone should definitely read about at the very least. i personally haven’t invested in any BitCoins yet. i’d like to become part of the community and earn BitCoins by exchanging artwork or other creative productivity for them, rather than purchasing them with U.S. dollars, but that’s just because i’m on a very strict budget right now and don’t have any funds to invest.

i finished a painting recently. when i have time, i need to put up a gallery of my artwork on etsy.com so that i can distribute my work to the world. in the meantime, is there anything that anyone would like to comission?

fascist corporatism now assaults wisconsin.

scott walker is turning the Department of Natural Resources into a charter agency. instead of protecting our air, water, and natural resources, this charter agency will function as a permit pump to let corporations get away with breaking the pre-established laws on the books. obviously, this move has a great deal of support from wisconsin corporations and also corporations outside of wisconsin who do business here.

scott walker is also creating a Department of Financial Institutions, an unheard-of department that does not exist in any other state in america. this new department will take over the notary public and trademark duties from the secretary of state. creating a new department with new staff and new payroll certainly won’t save money, and it’s hardly efficient to divide duties among multiple entities that were previously handled effectively by a single entity. however, he claims this violation of the law of occam’s razor will save money. and while no one supports this, no one really knows about it and it came up so suddenly, that no one’s really getting a chance to oppose it.

he’s also giving dennis smith, head of the department of human services, total authority to make changes to medicaid without public scrutiny. information available to me indicates that one fifth of wisconsin’s residents rely on medicaid. whether or not dennis smith is right to advocate that wisconsin leave the medicaid program, he should not be able to do so without public scrutiny.

transparency is clouding over… it’s more important with every passing day, with every passing hour, to know what the fuck the administration is doing. to beware these knives in the darkness poised to stab us in the back. to make preparations while we still can before total darkness falls and the demons strike.

this is a challenge. are the people of wisconsin strong enough to face this challenge, to be an example and show that true american values and ideals really can triumph over corporatism and fascism? we’re on the front lines, but this war rages across the whole planet. can wisconsin send a message of hope to the human race, and demonstrate how it’s possible to overcome the vipers that snuck into our nests while everyone was distracted by television and poverty?

the eyes of the world are upon us, right? but most of us aren’t watching scott walker and his snakes closely enough. hard, hard times are coming. we face a terrible struggle. things will get much worse before anything we can do will start to make things better. but we need to persevere. we need to be vigilant and united.

according to my publisher, ebooks are the new market. ebooks sell better than print books. ebooks sell faster. and people who buy ebooks tend to make more purchases at a time, as well as spend greater amounts of money at a time, than people who buy print books. companies that sell books online are selling more ebooks than print books. libraries are investing in ebooks. even brick and mortar bookstores are making significant sales in ebooks.

so, am i depriving myself of my market, by avoiding ebooks? am i like a passenger on a sinking ship who refuses to board a life boat? i really don’t know. i’d like to think that i’m making a statement. i’d like to think that i’m standing up for something and holding true to my ideals. even though money is very important, and ultimately i would like to be able to make a living from my writing, i think resisting as long as possible is more important than the profits i could make by scrambling aboard the bandwagon as quickly as i can.

now, what do i have against ebooks?

first of all, i cherish my old-fashioned belief that a book is an individual tangible entity. books are like people. the cover art, the paper texture, the cracks in the spine, the creases in the pages, whether it’s worn or unworn, all of these things give a book character and give it a voice that tells additional stories. you can bookmark multiple pages, flip from one favourite passage immediately to another, or even fold a corner so that years later when you return to a forgotten friend they’ll remind you exactly who they are and what you fell in love with. in addition to bookmarks, you can save mementos between the pages. a fallen leaf added to a poem read in a park. a note from a friend slipped into a chapter that reminded you of her. a post-it note cross-referencing another passage that adds insight.

ebooks don’t allow any of that.

secondly, i don’t consider electronically dependant media to be reliable or accessible. what do you do if the charge in your kindle-thing or nook-thing runs out when you’re in the middle of an exciting paragraph, or in the middle of a long greyhound ride? when the power goes out you can always read a paperback by candle light, but you can’t read your ebook if it’s not charged up. you can put some books in a backpack and go spend a month in the woods, and refer to those pages every single day, but an ebook becomes nothing but extra weight after repeated referencing. you can get away from civilization and cellphones and wristwatches and everything from the 20th century, and still keep paper books for companions and read them by firelight on the shore of a lake or by candle light in a cabin without electricity. ebooks have a dependancy, which makes the reader dependant, rather than free. real books never compromise one’s freedom.

also, Qiuniu smashed his ebook-reader in the door of a car once because it was in the pocket of his trenchcoat. a real book wouldn’t have been hurt by that. and once upon a time when i was in china, a pipe in our living room burst and a good portion of the family library was soaked. we were able to rescue and restore every single book. furthermore, there have been occasions when travelling through storms that the books in my backpack have been thoroughly drenched, or when crossing bodies of water that books i carried were totally immersed, and i was able to restore them. once i dropped my copy of shelley’s complete poems into a bubble bath by accident as i reached for my glass of wine, and it was unharmed. but as far as i understand, electronic devices can’t be resuscitated after baptism by water.

so, my main arguments against ebooks are nostalgic attachment, and paranoia. i recognize this. but i think there’s more to my sentiments than sentimentality. there’s an entire way of life, an entire way of relating to the material world, that is altered in fundamental ways by the replacement of individual things with compact electronic exocortexes. i have a folder full of ebooks on my computer that Qiuniu downloaded, but many of the titles in the folder already live in material manifestation on my bookshelves. as much as it’s a trip to think of holding a library in one’s hand – i was brought up to fantasize about behind held, like a fetus in a womb, inside a library.

i’ve never had an ebook-reader-thing. in fact, i’ve never even had an ipod-type-device. i prefer to collect vinyl records, of course. and when i need to take my music with me, i have tape cassettes and a walkman. remember those?

one day i’ll have to incoroprate ebooks into my lifestyle. before that even happens, i’ll probably have to get a cellphone that’s more like a computer than a phone. it probably won’t be very long before ebook-readers and cellphones are the same devices. i’m in no hurry. i’ll take my time. the future is inevitable. the past is gone. but the present is still whatever i make of it.

our bodies are a material expression of our interaction with reality. they are toys, sometimes, but primarily they are tools. these delicate flesh-systems support a complicated matrix of physical and metaphysical connectivity.

health and illness are manifestations of energy and relationships. conventional attitudes regard symptoms of sickness as evidence of victimization by external forces. while this can be part of the picture, it’s also important to understand symptoms as communication and expression from internal forces. each symptom is an important message, and until that message is understood, even if the symptom is assauged or its voice is silenced, the root cause will remain and continue to generate the same or other symptoms.

i am unwell right now. my symptoms tell me important messages. one message is that i am not handling stress appropriately. i am engaging in behaviours to cope with my stress that are escapist and unhealthy. instead of giving my body the relaxation and relief that it needs, i am actually adding more tension and depleting my energy levels that are already drained. these are very correctable things. and i wouldn’t even have perceived a problem without my symptoms bringing this to my attention.

another message is that my interactions with others are imbalanced. i overextend myself, and in my depletion there arises a void that allows toxicity to accumulate. anger and bitterness are poisons, especially supressed. i must either express these feelings, or dispell them, instead of carry them around beneath a false smile. i lie to others in order to give them more strength than i really have to give. i perpetuate myths of invincibility rather than practising a true discipline of fortitude. i am very weak, and while i admit all my weakness to myself, i constantly construct situations in which i cannot show my weakness to others. this makes me weary. in the long run this doesn’t help anyone.

another message is that my walls and shields are compromised, my defenses have been breached. i need to proactively, aggressively address this situation. but i am in such a depleted state that my attempts to rise to this task have been insufficient. i need to renew my motivation, i need to restore my love and compassion for myself. i am much more than mere kindling that can be thrown upon a fire. i need to remember that. and it’s a very difficult thing to remember.

my body is antagonized by toxicity. i need to fast, cleanse myself, purify my flesh. my body is not a mere crucible. it’s much more important than that, it requires much more care and maintenance.

i’ve planted the garden in front of my house. the back of my house still needs work, but the mints are coming in and you can already smell them even though you can barely see them under the leaf mulch. i’m going to be growing corn and pumpkins in a garden box in the back but i have more work to do to ready the box. i’ve started a lot of plants indoors and i’m expecting a very lush fruitful harvest this year.

the rosebushes and honeysuckle are flourishing. one of the fruit trees already has some white flowers, while the other two still just have buds. the strawberries are filling up the southwest corner of the garden box in front, and there’s squash in the northwest corner already. the blackberry just outside of the garden box is alive this year and putting forth a lot of new growth. i need to take my big tomato plant from the kitchen and find a good place for it outside where i can trellis it.

money is more of a struggle than it’s been since i just got out of college, but i’ve gained a lot of wisdom and resources since then, so i don’t feel the loss of control or helpless frustration that i used to feel about such struggles. i am peacefully confident that everything will be okay. all it takes is hard work, and i have had years of experience demonstrating to myself that i can have faith in the efficacy of my efforts.

Qiuniu helped me to put up the chickenwire fence around my garden box in the front yard. he did a beautiful job. i worry sometimes that the life i choose makes demands of him and imposes a lifestyle that he wouldn’t otherwise embrace, but when i really think about it, he’s a source of my strength and inspiration, and while i’m worrying about him, he’s actually supporting me and helping me to make greater demands of myself that are rewarding to us all. how much do you appreciate the people in your life? how often do you take the time to tell them that you love them? it’s important to be there for your loved ones in times of crisis, but it’s just important to enjoy each other’s company when you don’t require each other’s assistance. the people we’re bonded with are forces that shape our realities. if we work together, we can build a world much more effectively than if we work alone. 

i’ve been getting caught up on a lot of house and garden work. the next thing that’s been languishing is my painting. i have one painting that i’m almost done with, another that i’ve started, and another that i have intention for but no clear design, and yet another that i’ve promised my sister for her birthday. oh, and i’d also like to paint something for a wedding present for a couple friends of mine from college whose wedding i was unfortunately unable to attend.

this blog-thing is coming along. i don’t update it as frequently as i’d like to. but one of my goals with this blog is to discuss the world around us, and most of what’s going on in the news right now is the sort of brainwash-distraction-bullshit that i don’t even want to write specific comments on because i don’t think it’s a worthwhile focus of anyone’s energy. mass media wants mass hysteria to mass-feed some massive monsters, and there’s no reason for us to play into that kind of game.

if you’d like me to link to your blog or website, leave a comment and let me know. all that i ask is that you link to me in return, and i’ll happily add you to the side-column.

it’s springtime. whether you’re helping things grow, or just watching the leaves unfurl, your energy is an important part of the process. i’m glad you’re reading my words, whoever you are.

we all live in many different worlds at once. these worlds rustle against each other, and break and tear like onion or garlic skins. they’re not rigid stable layers. they crumble and disintegrate as time goes on, and new ones arise. the fresher they are, the softer they are, the more pliant. the older they are, the easier it is to turn them into dust.

pay attention to the different worlds around you. take the time to clear away the brittle dead layers. like a snake shedding old skin, you’ll feel healthier without the weight and constriction, you’ll be more comfortable without constraints or clutter.

a big world that seems to hold all our other worlds inside is the news, the media, our notion of what’s going on in the bigger picture. the “news” in america is a lie, a seduction. it’s a brittle rustling outer layer, distracting you from the soft pliant reality that’s closer to home. shed that skin. unburden yourself. turn off your television, close your web browser.

go outside and feel the air on your skin, touch the earth with your fingertips. gaze at the sky, at the trees. visit a park, go for a walk, visit an old friend whom you’ve missed. there are soft layers of living world, living flesh, that will live or die based on your attention. ignore the far-off things that are already dried and dead and turning to dust.

the federal reserve is a key illuminati figure in american attempts to immanentize the eschaton. news reports today feature statements from the federal reserve that paint a deliberately false reality, aimed at those who can’t see clearly to begin with.

inflation is no big deal, the fed claims, because “real” inflation, which doesn’t involve food or energy prices, is not very high. but the inflation of food and energy prices is exactly what hurts the american people as they struggle to live. and the fed goes on to say, that since wages aren’t rising, this will keep inflation in check. but if wages aren’t rising, and costs are going up, then obviously people are struggling, and will continue to struggle more if low wages are maintained. clearly, the federal reserve is intentionally lulling the american people into hypnosis while they lose their money and property, like a bully stealing candy from a child by murmuring softly to make it fall asleep.

this is why thomas jefferson warned us about banks. he explained plainly, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” but, of course, no one listened.

unemployment rates are falling, and reached a “low” 8.8% in march. the federal reserve wants you to think this is a good thing. they want you to think this means only 8.8% of americans do not have income. actually, what the fall in unemployment rates means, is that more and more people are giving up on job hunting, and more and more people are reaching the end of their allotment of unemployment compensation. the undocumented numbers of indigent americans are rising every single day. you can see this in your own cities and communities, maybe even your own neighbourhoods. but the federal reserve doesn’t want you to see anything other than the television screen.

thomas jefferson warned, “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

the federal reserve will be buying up to $600 billion in long-term U.S. treasury securities through june this year. the federal reserve is literally PURCHASING this country and the american government is not only permitting it to do so, but begging it to do so. clearly the administration in the white house is another key illuminati figure, attempting to immanentize the eschaton rather than protect life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness of any of its citizens.

common sense suggests that one should start preparing for a storm as soon as one knows that it’s coming, rather than waiting until the rain starts to fall. but most of the people that i see around me are just complaining about the impending storm, while biding their time like cattle in a pen, glancing at the skies occasionally to see if the storm is here yet, then staring back at the ground with resignation. their sighs speak louder than their words. “i don’t know what to do, so i’ll assume that means nothing can be done.” they’re scared of the prospect of a storm, preferring to avoid reality rather than prepare themselves.

i’m frustrated that the literal weather is inhibiting my preparations for the metaphorical storm. i need to get my garden started. late snow followed by heavy rain gives me a lot of work to do indoors while i wait for the weather to change. i wish i had more space. discontent with one’s environment threatens morale and lowers productivity. external struggle becomes internal struggle, and i disappoint myself. but disappointment is just another passing stormcloud. to be tormented by self-perceived weakness is really a sign of strength. i’d rather resent my skinny wrists and broken nails as i claw the clouds apart, than paint a false sun in the sunless sky.

i’m happy to embrace hardship and make fierce demands of myself while i rage at the inequity of the society around me. how beautiful it is to enjoy unrequited romance with this world! the sting of wind against my skin makes my pulse race, why would i want the ham-handed caresses of indolent complacency?

blessed are those who embrace pain, for they shall inherit the future.

tear apart this plastic place. dig your fingers into the earth. dare to love that which makes you miserable. don’t fear the impending storm – think of it rather as a lover whose return is long overdue. prepare for chaos like titania preparing a magical bower for a lovefest with oberon.