You asked me how I can believe that any good can come out of teaching "human sacrifice" to children... referring to Christmas. Such is the nature of rampant Personal Expression on social media. Personally I don't mind it and 99% of the time find it a helpful new aspect of our collective evolution. Inquiring minds want to know. Critical minds want to criticize. Somewhere in between most all of us surely exist. It's a valid question. Christmas is after all one fucked up if not groovy scene. A buffet table of the best and worst of humanity's confused collected consciousness. All mashed together, one giant mind boggling mass of culture clash and historical inaccuracies. It's no wonder younger generations have no idea what or why Christmas is other than parties and presents. How can anyone believe? That should be the question. Just what the hell are we believing in at this point anyway? Christmas trees, Christmas parties, Christmas songs, Christmas presents, Christmas concerts, Christmas music videos, Christmas Music Channels, bell choirs, White Christmas, angels singing, sleigh bells ringing, Midnight Mass, Santa Claus, the First Noel, Advent, Yule, reindeer, stockings filled with trinkets hung over whatever you've got, egg nog, fruit cake, the Grinch who stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph and his red nose... And then there's Hanukkah. Indeed, Christmas is a mess.
And at the heart of all stands a dead man strung up and hanging on a cross of wood; or an angelic little baby sleeping on a bed full of straw in a barn full of animals and a few kings, or wise men, depending on who you believe. So yeah, I hear you. Loud and clear. Christmas is as fucked as it gets when it comes to human invention. Never mind that Jesus the man wasn't born anywhere near December. That will only make it worse.
How I can believe... That's the only way that I can begin to answer your question. I cannot speak about the abomination of confusing symbolism, hyperbolic materialsm and commercial exploitation that Christmas has turned into in the public eye. But only what this "human sacrifice" angle means to me. But before we venture too far forward, permit me to correct the very heart of your query without dismissing it. Christmas itself, at its core, has nothing to do with the "human sacrifice" element of Pagan-Christianity. That's Easter. Just a fact check. Christmas as it was originally designed, as I am sure you already know, was a celebration of the birth of Jesus the man; put in the place of Yule, the Winter Solstice and several other Roman and Pagan holidays that took place on December 25th. It has nothing to do with his death, or "sacrifice" as you call it.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
America's Telling Untold History
A slow starter, Oliver Stone's 12 part Showtime series entitled The Untold History of The United States should nonetheless be mandatory viewing for all American citizens young and old, especially those who enthusiastically wave patriotic flags right or left, or speak of American exceptionalsim.
When cast under a bright truthful light, the only thing exceptional about the last sixty years of America's history is its brazen imperialistic tendencies and broad sweeping deceptions in order to support dictatorships around the globe for its own heartless self interests.
By series installment 5, Stone and crew are waist deep in uncovering and revealing one of the cruelest ruthless and deceptive empires the world has ever known. For history buffs there may not be truckloads of unknown facts to be found, but compiled into one tightly knit narrative, the series does what it ostensibly sets out to do succinctly and more than adequately. It reveals a nation sheepled with citizens so blind to the true intentions and evil machinations of it's own government that their very history can indeed be said to be untold -- no matter how much media access and "news" they're surrounded and suffocated by.
Anyone with an ounce of nationalistic pride or love of country will find themselves feeling shocked and embittered, especially considering that the series, being limited by time constraints, only touches the surface of some of the most egregious crimes of the 20th century perpetrated by the world's alleged "global leader of freedom and democracy." The looming question boiling through every hot-blooded American who dares to watch the entire 12 part series is surely to be "what now can be done to save our once great democratic republic?" and further "how can we ever make amends to the rest of the world for the atrocities committed in our names and right under our noses over the last sixty years?"
Monday, December 10, 2012
We Are Stardust, So What is Consciousness?
We already know that everything in the known universe (note "known"), all matter, is made up entirely of dead stars. Stars like our sun. Everything we see hear feel touch smell or taste around us on earth and everywhere else is materially comprised of the leftover matter of stars that once lived for billions of years and then exploded and died. It is the explosion of stars upon their death that spreads the very building blocks of all matter throughout the universe. Everything from carbon to iron to to gold silver helium oxygen... All liquids solids gels gasses atoms and even sub-atomic particles, all of it, even you me and everything inside of us, originally existed first in some far off star somewhere before it made its way to earth to form the basic materials used to create everything we see around us, including ourselves.
When people dreamily recount how we are all stardust, it may sound mythic, poetic and mysteriously romantic, but that doesn't make it any less true. There isn't an atom in our body nor in any of the clothes we are wearing that didn't originally come from a distant star in a far off galaxy long before it drifted into our world to create who we are today.
The truth of this fact and all the scientific details related to it aren't in question; they're second nature to those who study astronomy, physics and cosmology. Taken for granted. Common knowledge.
Regardless, the ramifications of this strange reality are still staggering. Especially to sentient beings like ourselves who long to discover a deeper meaning about who we are, why we are here and where we came from. Human beings especially have a deep and innate longing to feel special. We created the idea of us having "souls". And since the dawn of recorded history we've invented creation mythologies involving divine superior beings to help explain who we are and how we got here.
On the one hand our understanding that everything we are originally came from an explosion caused by the death of a star can seem comforting. On an atomic level it is irrefutable. That we are star stuff. That every atom in our body has existed for billions of years and we are just borrowing them for a short time so that we may live out our lives just as the stars that preceded us did. But on the other hand the ramifications of such a material explanation for our existence can seem like a very cold solution to such a heated ancient mystery.
After all, we think. Do stars think? We have feelings and emotions. Do stars? We contemplate our past and future. We ponder our existence and hypothesize about our afterlife. Do stars?
Most people already know the answers to these questions and many more like them. So what's the difference? What is the variable that has contributed to the phenomenon that there is such a vast difference between us and the stuff we are made of?
Could it be consciousness? We've got it labeled. We've named it. Because we think we know what it is well enough to have created a name for it. Though we can't see it or feel it or touch it or even measure it, we still have no doubt that such a thing exists. And yet where does IT come from?
And deeper still, what we are really discussing is awareness. In fact one might argue that the term consciousness is in reality nothing but a placeholder for the deeper truth that we are self aware. We are aware of ourselves. We are aware that we exist. We are aware that we are we and not someone or something else. We are conscious of this. Hence consciousness.
The real question then is what is consciousness? Or awareness? Will we one day discover that it too is material? That it too is composed of matter? Sub-atomic particles similar to the stuff that our very hearts and minds are made of? Or is conscious awareness something else entirely? Something that transcends matter...?
In a universe that we now know is made up of 11 different dimensions we very well one day might discover that even consciousness has its place in the material world. Or not. But if we do, what kind of materials could consciousness be made of? Awareness? Perhaps mysterious new particles or elements that we've not yet discovered. Only time will tell. It almost always does. If we're lucky we may still be around when this happens. Since every atom in our body is billions of years old and will continue to exist for billions more years, there's a good chance we will be. I for one am looking forward to this discovery.
Of course we may one day discover that consciousness and awareness are not material at all. That they are composed of entirely different stuff that isn't stuff at all. I equally and eagerly look forward to this discovery as well.
When people dreamily recount how we are all stardust, it may sound mythic, poetic and mysteriously romantic, but that doesn't make it any less true. There isn't an atom in our body nor in any of the clothes we are wearing that didn't originally come from a distant star in a far off galaxy long before it drifted into our world to create who we are today.
The truth of this fact and all the scientific details related to it aren't in question; they're second nature to those who study astronomy, physics and cosmology. Taken for granted. Common knowledge.
Regardless, the ramifications of this strange reality are still staggering. Especially to sentient beings like ourselves who long to discover a deeper meaning about who we are, why we are here and where we came from. Human beings especially have a deep and innate longing to feel special. We created the idea of us having "souls". And since the dawn of recorded history we've invented creation mythologies involving divine superior beings to help explain who we are and how we got here.
On the one hand our understanding that everything we are originally came from an explosion caused by the death of a star can seem comforting. On an atomic level it is irrefutable. That we are star stuff. That every atom in our body has existed for billions of years and we are just borrowing them for a short time so that we may live out our lives just as the stars that preceded us did. But on the other hand the ramifications of such a material explanation for our existence can seem like a very cold solution to such a heated ancient mystery.
After all, we think. Do stars think? We have feelings and emotions. Do stars? We contemplate our past and future. We ponder our existence and hypothesize about our afterlife. Do stars?
Most people already know the answers to these questions and many more like them. So what's the difference? What is the variable that has contributed to the phenomenon that there is such a vast difference between us and the stuff we are made of?
Could it be consciousness? We've got it labeled. We've named it. Because we think we know what it is well enough to have created a name for it. Though we can't see it or feel it or touch it or even measure it, we still have no doubt that such a thing exists. And yet where does IT come from?
And deeper still, what we are really discussing is awareness. In fact one might argue that the term consciousness is in reality nothing but a placeholder for the deeper truth that we are self aware. We are aware of ourselves. We are aware that we exist. We are aware that we are we and not someone or something else. We are conscious of this. Hence consciousness.
The real question then is what is consciousness? Or awareness? Will we one day discover that it too is material? That it too is composed of matter? Sub-atomic particles similar to the stuff that our very hearts and minds are made of? Or is conscious awareness something else entirely? Something that transcends matter...?
In a universe that we now know is made up of 11 different dimensions we very well one day might discover that even consciousness has its place in the material world. Or not. But if we do, what kind of materials could consciousness be made of? Awareness? Perhaps mysterious new particles or elements that we've not yet discovered. Only time will tell. It almost always does. If we're lucky we may still be around when this happens. Since every atom in our body is billions of years old and will continue to exist for billions more years, there's a good chance we will be. I for one am looking forward to this discovery.
Of course we may one day discover that consciousness and awareness are not material at all. That they are composed of entirely different stuff that isn't stuff at all. I equally and eagerly look forward to this discovery as well.
Saturday, December 08, 2012
The Scapegoat in American Culture: From Lee Harvey Oswald To Osama bin Laden
I just recently discovered this article and found it fascinating. An absolute must read.
JULY 30, 2011
"From the very beginning, the Powers that Be have treated the Warren Report as if it is the word of God, come down from on high, etched in stone. In the picture above, that big book almost looks like a stone tablet. Why, it might was well be Moses himself placing it in Lyndon Johnson’s awaiting hands. Later, he would tell Walter Cronkite that he never believed in the lone gunman theory." - George Bailey, "The Sum Of All Things."
"Those who lack all idea that it is possible to be wrong can learn nothing except know-how." - Gregory Bateson. (1).
These famous names - Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, Osama Bin Laden - are famous for the wrong reasons. All of them are innocent of the great crimes they were accused of committing by the United States government and the mainstream media.
Oswald and Osama never received a trial. Oswald's guilt for the murder of President John F. Kennedy was never proven in a court of law, and neither can we say that Osama bin Laden is guilty for the September 11 attacks. Both men were framed by the powerful oligarchical forces that seized the United States government from the American people.
It is a fact that a ruthless and cunning oligarchy has shaped American history for at least a century in order to advance a private agenda for a dictatorial world government. When America and the West is liberated, and real history is restored, the men listed above will be remembered by future generations as scapegoats, not assassins and terrorists.
II. The Manufacturing of a Scapegoat
From time immemorial, rulers of tribes, nations and empires have created scapegoats to deflect the evils of their political system onto a powerless individual or group, and thereby stop the people living under their harsh system from recognizing the real sources of evil in their society and correcting their problems.
The American empire is no different than any other world empire. It engages in acts of evil around the world, it commits crimes against sovereign nations, and it oppresses its own people in the name of "national security." But none of this would be possible if the rulers of the empire were not exceptionally good at one thing in particular, which is manufacturing a scapegoat to justify its acts of evil and its atrocities.
In the book, "Up from Scapegoating: Awakening Consciousness in Groups," psychiatrist and Jungian analyst Arthur D. Colman explains the psychological roots of scapegoating, writing:
The creation of a scapegoat requires a process akin to the psychological mechanisms of projection and projective identification in that it uses an other to contain aspects of oneself.
The scapegoat is created by "projecting" the darker side of group life, the darker side being the reality of evil and sin in society. For the individual, the shadow contains those elements of the psyche that are not accepted as his or her own. As individuals we attempt to project that shadow onto others. Likewise, the group finds common negative ground in the scapegoat. But the scapegoat is not identical to the shadow; the scapegoat is a collective creation, a symbolic compromise for many individuals' negative projections. One can say that the scapegoat is humanity's societal vessel for the shadow--a vessel which is, by definition, innocent of the burden it assumes.
The scapegoat is a very ancient archetype and scapegoating an ancient activity, so ancient that there are few primitive societies where evidence of the practice has not been found. (2).
The scapegoat is the embodiment of all that is evil and bad in the world, and Osama Bin Laden fits the bill perfectly. He has a dark beard, a long face, a turban, a shady background, and he speaks Arabic. But he was just a man from a rich family who had connections with the Bush family. That's all. Of course, he was not a just man or a good man. But he was not the head of an Islamic movement with dreams to take down America and Western civilization.
It is clear that Bin Laden knowingly offered himself up as the scapegoat in the American empire's world drama. He sacrificed his name, image and memory and in return the American empire guaranteed to give government contracts to his family. Also, Bin Laden knew he was going to die soon because of his kidney disease, so he decided to make the best of his situation by agreeing to the use of his image by the American empire as a world symbol for terrorism.
Author Kenneth M. Gould said in his book, "They Got The Blame: The Story of Scapegoats in History," that in ancient primitive societies "a criminal or a weakling was chosen who would soon die anyway," as a scapegoat (3). Bin Laden was both a criminal and a weak dying man, making him the perfect candidate for a scapegoat.
Gould writes that rulers often use the scapegoat mechanism to cover up their misdeeds and keep down a potential rebellion:
In any event, the history of mankind is full of tragic examples of all sorts of guilt and evils being ascribed to innocent but unpopular groups or "minorities," who, for one reason or another, seemed different from the rank and file of the community, and thus aroused suspicion, fear, or hatred. Rulers soon found it to their advantage to let these popular prejudices concentrate on the heads of such groups, until widespread persecution resulted. By such means, it was easy to distract the attention of the public from the real shortcomings of the group in power, or to cause the masses to forget their own miseries. (4).
In Washington, the rulers behind the scapegoat-industrial complex work day and night to manufacture new scapegoats in order to keep the anger of the American people from being directed at them. Scapegoats like Osama Bin Laden also help generate profits for the military-industrial complex and the new terrorism-industrial complex.
The corporate/government media brainwashing machine is cunningly used as the modern version of the ancient circle of fire where the tribe huddled together around tribal leaders and priests who told them that all their anxieties, fears and problems will be taken care of if they follow their authority and do as they say.
III. Modern Scapegoats, Modern Ignorance, Modern Persecution
We like to think that we live in a civilized and advanced era because of our technological gadgets. But that is not true. Fifty years ago the world came very close to a full-blown nuclear war. And the same threat exists today. The manufactured conflict between Western civilization and Islamic civilization could easily go nuclear.
It is critical that we know the truth and understand how our brains work. How we think and what we think is a matter of human survival. If our beliefs about terrorism are not based in reality then we must change our beliefs. And that sounds easy but it is not.
Those of us who change our beliefs about the guilt of Osama Bin Laden and the reasons for the war on terrorism are denounced as "conspiracy theorists," and politically isolated. Meanwhile, the U.S. military and NATO are on a hopeless quest to hunt down terrorists in a modern re-run of the witch-hunts.
French philosopher René Girard writes in his book, "The Scapegoat," that the people who hanged innocent women because they believed they were evil witches were acting in good faith. They were convinced of their guilt, just like people today when they say "let's kill all the terrorists," and "let's drop bombs on the evil Muslims." Girard writes:
We are all able today to recognize the stereotypes of persecution. But what is now common knowledge scarcely existed in the fourteenth century. Naive persecutorsare unaware of what they are doing. Their conscience is too good to deceive their readers systematically, and they present things as they see them. They do not suspect that by writing their accounts they are arming posterity against them. This is true of the infamous "witch-hunts" of the sixteenth century. It is still true today in the backward regions of the world. (5).
What separates modern persecutors in the war on terrorists from medieval persecutors in the war on witches is the fact that modern persecutors have nuclear weapons. The obsession against "evil Islamic terrorists" could potentially lead to nuclear annihilation. Also, if the American empire continues to act like the "Great Satan," then Iran's religious leaders who are also on a stupid quest to rid evil from the world will resort to nuclear weapons.
IV. The 5 Steps of The Scapegoat Process in American Politics
1. CIA grooming of the scapegoat. This is a very important step. Oswald and Osama were both CIA agents who were groomed and trained, and told to fight against the Soviet Union. In Oswald's case he was betrayed and double-crossed by the CIA, as he was killed soon after he was charged with the murder of JFK. Bin Laden, as mentioned before, wanted to be the scapegoat. Members of the Bin Laden family were escorted out of America by the government shortly after the 9/11 attacks, no doubt a return for a great favour.
2. The execution of a violent act that is highly symbolic in nature. It could be either an assassination or a false flag attack. The goal is to cause social panic, collective fear, confusion, terror, anger, and righteous hatred in the spirit of the people.
3. The scapegoat must be identified by the government to the press and the public immediately after the violent act occurs. There can be no time for speculation, introspection, and deep thought. The masses must connect their feelings of hatred and anxiety with the designated scapegoat while they are still in a state of confusion and mental chaos.
4. The glorification and transformation of the scapegoat into a cultural symbol and world icon through the media. This image of Bin Laden is one of history's most recognized images for a reason. Images are powerful and speak volumes. The crafty neocons turned Bin Laden into the Che of Islamic terrorism.
5. Establish a cult of belief around the scapegoat. The guilt for the deed has to be psychologically glued to the scapegoat. Every other explanation for the violent act, whether it be 9/11 or whatever, must be dismissed as a crazy conspiracy theory.
V. An Empire of Myth and Betrayal
Facts and evidence are powerless against myth and scapegoating. Washington has deliberately created a culture of brainwashing and unreality, of terror and trauma, of myth and pseudo knowledge. The world is held hostage to this dumbed-down and poisoned culture.
But America's collective psyche is not resistant to truth and reality. Millions of individuals in America and other Western countries are not submitting their minds to the false beliefs and prejudices of a dumb and blind herd that is being misled by an evil and ruthless power elite in Washington and Israel.
The second part in this series of articles will be called, "The Scapegoat in American Culture: The Hidden Hand of Satan."
Notes:
1. Bateson, Gregory. 1979. "Mind and Nature." E.P. Dutton: New York. Pg. 26.
2. Colman, Arthur D. 1995. "Up from Scapegoating: Awakening Consciousness in Groups."Chiron Publications: Wilmette, Illinois. Pg. 7-8.
3. Gould, Kenneth M. 1942. "They Got The Blame: The Story of Scapegoats in History."Association Press: New York. Pg. 12.
4. Ibid. Pg. 13-14.
5. Girard, René. 1986. "The Scapegoat." The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. Pg. 8.
Saman Mohammadi at 12:37 AM
JULY 30, 2011
"From the very beginning, the Powers that Be have treated the Warren Report as if it is the word of God, come down from on high, etched in stone. In the picture above, that big book almost looks like a stone tablet. Why, it might was well be Moses himself placing it in Lyndon Johnson’s awaiting hands. Later, he would tell Walter Cronkite that he never believed in the lone gunman theory." - George Bailey, "The Sum Of All Things."
"Those who lack all idea that it is possible to be wrong can learn nothing except know-how." - Gregory Bateson. (1).
These famous names - Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, Osama Bin Laden - are famous for the wrong reasons. All of them are innocent of the great crimes they were accused of committing by the United States government and the mainstream media.
Oswald and Osama never received a trial. Oswald's guilt for the murder of President John F. Kennedy was never proven in a court of law, and neither can we say that Osama bin Laden is guilty for the September 11 attacks. Both men were framed by the powerful oligarchical forces that seized the United States government from the American people.
It is a fact that a ruthless and cunning oligarchy has shaped American history for at least a century in order to advance a private agenda for a dictatorial world government. When America and the West is liberated, and real history is restored, the men listed above will be remembered by future generations as scapegoats, not assassins and terrorists.
II. The Manufacturing of a Scapegoat
From time immemorial, rulers of tribes, nations and empires have created scapegoats to deflect the evils of their political system onto a powerless individual or group, and thereby stop the people living under their harsh system from recognizing the real sources of evil in their society and correcting their problems.
The American empire is no different than any other world empire. It engages in acts of evil around the world, it commits crimes against sovereign nations, and it oppresses its own people in the name of "national security." But none of this would be possible if the rulers of the empire were not exceptionally good at one thing in particular, which is manufacturing a scapegoat to justify its acts of evil and its atrocities.
In the book, "Up from Scapegoating: Awakening Consciousness in Groups," psychiatrist and Jungian analyst Arthur D. Colman explains the psychological roots of scapegoating, writing:
The creation of a scapegoat requires a process akin to the psychological mechanisms of projection and projective identification in that it uses an other to contain aspects of oneself.
The scapegoat is created by "projecting" the darker side of group life, the darker side being the reality of evil and sin in society. For the individual, the shadow contains those elements of the psyche that are not accepted as his or her own. As individuals we attempt to project that shadow onto others. Likewise, the group finds common negative ground in the scapegoat. But the scapegoat is not identical to the shadow; the scapegoat is a collective creation, a symbolic compromise for many individuals' negative projections. One can say that the scapegoat is humanity's societal vessel for the shadow--a vessel which is, by definition, innocent of the burden it assumes.
The scapegoat is a very ancient archetype and scapegoating an ancient activity, so ancient that there are few primitive societies where evidence of the practice has not been found. (2).
The scapegoat is the embodiment of all that is evil and bad in the world, and Osama Bin Laden fits the bill perfectly. He has a dark beard, a long face, a turban, a shady background, and he speaks Arabic. But he was just a man from a rich family who had connections with the Bush family. That's all. Of course, he was not a just man or a good man. But he was not the head of an Islamic movement with dreams to take down America and Western civilization.
It is clear that Bin Laden knowingly offered himself up as the scapegoat in the American empire's world drama. He sacrificed his name, image and memory and in return the American empire guaranteed to give government contracts to his family. Also, Bin Laden knew he was going to die soon because of his kidney disease, so he decided to make the best of his situation by agreeing to the use of his image by the American empire as a world symbol for terrorism.
Author Kenneth M. Gould said in his book, "They Got The Blame: The Story of Scapegoats in History," that in ancient primitive societies "a criminal or a weakling was chosen who would soon die anyway," as a scapegoat (3). Bin Laden was both a criminal and a weak dying man, making him the perfect candidate for a scapegoat.
Gould writes that rulers often use the scapegoat mechanism to cover up their misdeeds and keep down a potential rebellion:
In any event, the history of mankind is full of tragic examples of all sorts of guilt and evils being ascribed to innocent but unpopular groups or "minorities," who, for one reason or another, seemed different from the rank and file of the community, and thus aroused suspicion, fear, or hatred. Rulers soon found it to their advantage to let these popular prejudices concentrate on the heads of such groups, until widespread persecution resulted. By such means, it was easy to distract the attention of the public from the real shortcomings of the group in power, or to cause the masses to forget their own miseries. (4).
In Washington, the rulers behind the scapegoat-industrial complex work day and night to manufacture new scapegoats in order to keep the anger of the American people from being directed at them. Scapegoats like Osama Bin Laden also help generate profits for the military-industrial complex and the new terrorism-industrial complex.
The corporate/government media brainwashing machine is cunningly used as the modern version of the ancient circle of fire where the tribe huddled together around tribal leaders and priests who told them that all their anxieties, fears and problems will be taken care of if they follow their authority and do as they say.
III. Modern Scapegoats, Modern Ignorance, Modern Persecution
We like to think that we live in a civilized and advanced era because of our technological gadgets. But that is not true. Fifty years ago the world came very close to a full-blown nuclear war. And the same threat exists today. The manufactured conflict between Western civilization and Islamic civilization could easily go nuclear.
It is critical that we know the truth and understand how our brains work. How we think and what we think is a matter of human survival. If our beliefs about terrorism are not based in reality then we must change our beliefs. And that sounds easy but it is not.
Those of us who change our beliefs about the guilt of Osama Bin Laden and the reasons for the war on terrorism are denounced as "conspiracy theorists," and politically isolated. Meanwhile, the U.S. military and NATO are on a hopeless quest to hunt down terrorists in a modern re-run of the witch-hunts.
French philosopher René Girard writes in his book, "The Scapegoat," that the people who hanged innocent women because they believed they were evil witches were acting in good faith. They were convinced of their guilt, just like people today when they say "let's kill all the terrorists," and "let's drop bombs on the evil Muslims." Girard writes:
We are all able today to recognize the stereotypes of persecution. But what is now common knowledge scarcely existed in the fourteenth century. Naive persecutorsare unaware of what they are doing. Their conscience is too good to deceive their readers systematically, and they present things as they see them. They do not suspect that by writing their accounts they are arming posterity against them. This is true of the infamous "witch-hunts" of the sixteenth century. It is still true today in the backward regions of the world. (5).
What separates modern persecutors in the war on terrorists from medieval persecutors in the war on witches is the fact that modern persecutors have nuclear weapons. The obsession against "evil Islamic terrorists" could potentially lead to nuclear annihilation. Also, if the American empire continues to act like the "Great Satan," then Iran's religious leaders who are also on a stupid quest to rid evil from the world will resort to nuclear weapons.
IV. The 5 Steps of The Scapegoat Process in American Politics
1. CIA grooming of the scapegoat. This is a very important step. Oswald and Osama were both CIA agents who were groomed and trained, and told to fight against the Soviet Union. In Oswald's case he was betrayed and double-crossed by the CIA, as he was killed soon after he was charged with the murder of JFK. Bin Laden, as mentioned before, wanted to be the scapegoat. Members of the Bin Laden family were escorted out of America by the government shortly after the 9/11 attacks, no doubt a return for a great favour.
2. The execution of a violent act that is highly symbolic in nature. It could be either an assassination or a false flag attack. The goal is to cause social panic, collective fear, confusion, terror, anger, and righteous hatred in the spirit of the people.
3. The scapegoat must be identified by the government to the press and the public immediately after the violent act occurs. There can be no time for speculation, introspection, and deep thought. The masses must connect their feelings of hatred and anxiety with the designated scapegoat while they are still in a state of confusion and mental chaos.
4. The glorification and transformation of the scapegoat into a cultural symbol and world icon through the media. This image of Bin Laden is one of history's most recognized images for a reason. Images are powerful and speak volumes. The crafty neocons turned Bin Laden into the Che of Islamic terrorism.
5. Establish a cult of belief around the scapegoat. The guilt for the deed has to be psychologically glued to the scapegoat. Every other explanation for the violent act, whether it be 9/11 or whatever, must be dismissed as a crazy conspiracy theory.
V. An Empire of Myth and Betrayal
Facts and evidence are powerless against myth and scapegoating. Washington has deliberately created a culture of brainwashing and unreality, of terror and trauma, of myth and pseudo knowledge. The world is held hostage to this dumbed-down and poisoned culture.
But America's collective psyche is not resistant to truth and reality. Millions of individuals in America and other Western countries are not submitting their minds to the false beliefs and prejudices of a dumb and blind herd that is being misled by an evil and ruthless power elite in Washington and Israel.
The second part in this series of articles will be called, "The Scapegoat in American Culture: The Hidden Hand of Satan."
Notes:
1. Bateson, Gregory. 1979. "Mind and Nature." E.P. Dutton: New York. Pg. 26.
2. Colman, Arthur D. 1995. "Up from Scapegoating: Awakening Consciousness in Groups."Chiron Publications: Wilmette, Illinois. Pg. 7-8.
3. Gould, Kenneth M. 1942. "They Got The Blame: The Story of Scapegoats in History."Association Press: New York. Pg. 12.
4. Ibid. Pg. 13-14.
5. Girard, René. 1986. "The Scapegoat." The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. Pg. 8.
Saman Mohammadi at 12:37 AM
Friday, December 07, 2012
Facts and Anomalies Regarding the Speed of Light
- Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles per second -- it circles the earth 7 times in one second. Explains thunder following lightening by a few seconds. A light year is 6 trillion miles (6,000,000,000,000), the distance light travels in one year.
- Because light does not travel instantaneously but st a precise constant we can ascertain how old a star or galaxy is or was when we are looking at it based on how far away it is. Allowing us to look far back into the past. We see the crab nebula as it was 6500 years ago. The galactic core of our own milky way galaxy 26,000 years ago. The Andromeda Galaxy our closest neighbor 2.5 million years ago. In other words we have no idea what these objects look like NOW. Only what they looked like back then. Because of how long it takes light to travel. Its a catch 22. Though it's fast, the speed of light still limits our ability to see things in the universe as they actually appear now.
- Moving at the light speed time slows down time compared to regular earth speed. So a person ages much slower if traveling at rhe speed lf light. And what may seem like four days to a light speed traveler may indeed be 40 years to someone on earth. But the closer to light speed we travel the more mass is needed to get to that energy till the mass reached is infinite-- making it impossible.
- Two alternatives have been posed. One would be creating a worm hole by zapping a large amount of energy using lasers into an exact point in space to break a hole in it and then going to a diff place in the universe. Also we may be able to travel at warp drive-- using the warping of space-time, space expanded behind the ship and contracted in front of it, creating a bubble around the ship propelling it faster than the speed of light in order to get to remote places in far away space.
- Communication between earth and Neil Armstrong on the moon took 2.6 seconds between each transmission because it takes the radio signals traveling at the speed of light 1.3 seconds between earth and the moon. - Light from the sun takes more than 8 minutes to reach earth. - 44 minutes for the probes that are exploring Mars. -2 hours to talk to the Cassini probe at Saturn. -Over 29 hours to talk to voyager 1 now heading out of the solar system which is 10 billion miles away.
- We've recently learned that Light is not in fact the fastest thing in the universe. Space now is. Because we know that space itself is expanding, space in the outermost reaches of the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. Mind boggling.
- Our light horizon or limit -- the farthest
we can see light in the universe due to how far things r that we can not see the light of is 13.5 billion light years. So that's the farthest we can see in the universe though it might be bigger than that. Way bigger.
- In fact some theorize that the universe may be ten to one hundred times larger than current estimates; other theories postulate that there may be more than one universe, that the current model that we now believe we live in may be just one out of many. The simple truth of the matter is that due to our current technological limitations in seeing beyond light that is too far away from the earth for us to ever see, no matter how old it may be, at present we can never know how large the universe really is nor have a definitive knowledge of how many other stars or galaxies may exist in the universe besides the ones we are already aware of.
- Because light does not travel instantaneously but st a precise constant we can ascertain how old a star or galaxy is or was when we are looking at it based on how far away it is. Allowing us to look far back into the past. We see the crab nebula as it was 6500 years ago. The galactic core of our own milky way galaxy 26,000 years ago. The Andromeda Galaxy our closest neighbor 2.5 million years ago. In other words we have no idea what these objects look like NOW. Only what they looked like back then. Because of how long it takes light to travel. Its a catch 22. Though it's fast, the speed of light still limits our ability to see things in the universe as they actually appear now.
- Moving at the light speed time slows down time compared to regular earth speed. So a person ages much slower if traveling at rhe speed lf light. And what may seem like four days to a light speed traveler may indeed be 40 years to someone on earth. But the closer to light speed we travel the more mass is needed to get to that energy till the mass reached is infinite-- making it impossible.
- Two alternatives have been posed. One would be creating a worm hole by zapping a large amount of energy using lasers into an exact point in space to break a hole in it and then going to a diff place in the universe. Also we may be able to travel at warp drive-- using the warping of space-time, space expanded behind the ship and contracted in front of it, creating a bubble around the ship propelling it faster than the speed of light in order to get to remote places in far away space.
- Communication between earth and Neil Armstrong on the moon took 2.6 seconds between each transmission because it takes the radio signals traveling at the speed of light 1.3 seconds between earth and the moon. - Light from the sun takes more than 8 minutes to reach earth. - 44 minutes for the probes that are exploring Mars. -2 hours to talk to the Cassini probe at Saturn. -Over 29 hours to talk to voyager 1 now heading out of the solar system which is 10 billion miles away.
- We've recently learned that Light is not in fact the fastest thing in the universe. Space now is. Because we know that space itself is expanding, space in the outermost reaches of the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. Mind boggling.
- Our light horizon or limit -- the farthest
we can see light in the universe due to how far things r that we can not see the light of is 13.5 billion light years. So that's the farthest we can see in the universe though it might be bigger than that. Way bigger.
- In fact some theorize that the universe may be ten to one hundred times larger than current estimates; other theories postulate that there may be more than one universe, that the current model that we now believe we live in may be just one out of many. The simple truth of the matter is that due to our current technological limitations in seeing beyond light that is too far away from the earth for us to ever see, no matter how old it may be, at present we can never know how large the universe really is nor have a definitive knowledge of how many other stars or galaxies may exist in the universe besides the ones we are already aware of.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
What the Mayans Are Saying Today About 2012
Yes there are still Mayans living and breathing among us. And Mayan elders too. Most of us have heard by now that "ancient Mayan calendars predict that the world will end on December 21st 2012". That's not too far off now. In fact it's right around the corner. Perhaps we should think twice before we bother heading out to buy this year's Christmas tree.
I've come to trust my intuition now as much as my ability to eat or breathe. The proper term in the paranormal science community for what I'm specifically referring to here in relation to being able to feel or know something ahead of time is called precognition; but I prefer the word intuition because as a quasi sixth sense that all of us are born with, intuition can readily account for more than just precognition. It can also serve to refer to an all encompassing sense that implies all the other so called paranormal abilities scientists have observed in sentient beings: telepathy (or mind reading), clairvoyance, ESP, psychicism, remote viewing, etc. along with precognition (or future telling to be precise). One day science will discover the biological (and perhaps cosmological) mechanisms behind these heretofore labeled "paranormal" abilities of humankind and, as with all things science dissects to the point of discovery, everyone will eventually take these abilities for granted as natural extensions of our innate potential and realize that there is nothing "paranormal" about them at all.
[For reference: though there are literally thousands of scientific studies and clinical trials being conducted all over the world on a daily basis by psychologists studying the paranormal and these abilities, it's the physicists who have made the most progress in our endeavor to learn just how and why they function -- thus the cosmological cause mentioned above. In a nutshell these mysterious abilities observed in millions of people throughout recorded history are easily possible based on a combination of several radically new theories and discoveries like super string theory -- the idea that all matter is actually sub-atomically comprised of energy, not matter, and the fact that space is not empty as believed before but in itself is actually a form of matter. As in: if the stuff of you and me is made up of the same stuff that makes up what we now see as empty space then we are not separate from anyone or anything, even if hundreds of miles away. Throw in quantum entanglement theory, and then the fact that thoughts travel faster than the speed of light -- combined with relativity theory, and before you know it it becomes almost obvious that all of these so called paranormal abilities of humankind are not only plausible but should be readily available to any and every one who lives and breathes on planet earth or anywhere else in the universe.]
OK then so where were we... Oh right, intuition and the end of the world. We now have a sound reference point for what one might mean when using the term intuition. Which is important in this context, speaking of what we might expect in the coming weeks leading up to the proposed end of the world. I believe that as a whole we as a species can feel the general vibration of our present moment, whether it is calm or tense for example -- just as a pack of antelope can feel when there is a predator nearby, and just beyond the present moment as well. How far 'past' the present moment -- or into the future -- one can feel or see we can say is a measure of how advanced their sense of intuition is. Collectively this sense is heightened, compared to any one being; this is an idea that science has proved through the study of pack theory, flocks of birds or schools of fish, etc.
This is an important point to consider, because as a collective species for all our recent obsessing with the end of the world, the end of days, the rapture, doomsday predictions, preppers, etc. there is still a sense that most of humanity does not really believe that our world and our lives on planet earth are going to end any time soon. Intuitively I sincerely do not believe it myself. And I've spent a considerable amount of time feeling into it. But for the life of me i just do not have a sense that anything earth shattering (forgive the pun) will transpire on December 21st of this year. And for all the hype and money being made exploiting society's recent obsession with the subject I get the sense that most people feel the same way.
There is certainly cause for alarm; social and political unrest all over the globe, climate changes that have created a new more dangerous normal in the earth's weather patterns. But one could easily point to any number of other moments in recorded history where conditions on earth were much more intense and severe. Take the plague as just one instance.
One thing that has always puzzled me about the whole Mayan calendar prediction of the end of the world theory is that the idea is always being proposed by non-Mayans, pseudo scientists and new age preacher profiteer types. Since direct descendants of the Mayan people still exist, why not ask some of them what they think rather than some white guy living in a bunker in the middle of nowhereville Nebraska who happens to run an end of the world website? In the article below, that's precisely what someone did. The results unfortunately for those who have already packed their bags for the afterlife are not supportive of this en of the world theory. But they are still interesting. Hence my posting the link below.
One note about what these "elders" speak of that will help: they are not scientists. And based on the tone and tenor of their ideas it is apparent that they are probably not up on the latest discoveries of modern Western science. When they speak of "ether" or spirit it may be tempting to dismiss their whole ideology as a bunch of old fashioned pseudo-spiritual mumbo-jumbo. But before we do we must remind ourselves that our current science supports what they are speaking about. We just happen to use different words and terminology. We've already discussed that we now believe that the space around us is not actually empty nor made of nothing as it appears. This is a huge discovery, bigger in scope and implication than can be explored here. There are also the recent discoveries of dark matter and anti-matter to contend with. Again, very mathematically and scientifically real phenomena and equally mind boggling and impactfull in their implications. With these ideas in mind the article below takes on a more relevant and viable nature. The key to getting the most out of it is to apply modern science to the ideas being presented; to recognize that the WAY they are saying things may not sound very scientifically rational or plausible, but that doesn't make it not so. It just makes it a set of ideas presented in a more simple, child like or primitive non-scientific format that could be better understood and believed by Westerners, and easily verified by scientific facts, if transposed into modern scientific jargon. Perhaps not all of it. Not every sentence. But a good portion of it. Try reading the general ideas through a more scientific filter in real time as you read it.
Of course no one has a monopoly on "what's going to happen next" in the world. If we ever met someone who did we'd quickly call them God and kill them I suspect. So the study and exploration continues. And hopefully, if intuition serves, we all have plenty of time left for that.
What Do the Mayans Say About The End of the World Today:
http://www.seri-worldwide.org/id435.html
I've come to trust my intuition now as much as my ability to eat or breathe. The proper term in the paranormal science community for what I'm specifically referring to here in relation to being able to feel or know something ahead of time is called precognition; but I prefer the word intuition because as a quasi sixth sense that all of us are born with, intuition can readily account for more than just precognition. It can also serve to refer to an all encompassing sense that implies all the other so called paranormal abilities scientists have observed in sentient beings: telepathy (or mind reading), clairvoyance, ESP, psychicism, remote viewing, etc. along with precognition (or future telling to be precise). One day science will discover the biological (and perhaps cosmological) mechanisms behind these heretofore labeled "paranormal" abilities of humankind and, as with all things science dissects to the point of discovery, everyone will eventually take these abilities for granted as natural extensions of our innate potential and realize that there is nothing "paranormal" about them at all.
[For reference: though there are literally thousands of scientific studies and clinical trials being conducted all over the world on a daily basis by psychologists studying the paranormal and these abilities, it's the physicists who have made the most progress in our endeavor to learn just how and why they function -- thus the cosmological cause mentioned above. In a nutshell these mysterious abilities observed in millions of people throughout recorded history are easily possible based on a combination of several radically new theories and discoveries like super string theory -- the idea that all matter is actually sub-atomically comprised of energy, not matter, and the fact that space is not empty as believed before but in itself is actually a form of matter. As in: if the stuff of you and me is made up of the same stuff that makes up what we now see as empty space then we are not separate from anyone or anything, even if hundreds of miles away. Throw in quantum entanglement theory, and then the fact that thoughts travel faster than the speed of light -- combined with relativity theory, and before you know it it becomes almost obvious that all of these so called paranormal abilities of humankind are not only plausible but should be readily available to any and every one who lives and breathes on planet earth or anywhere else in the universe.]
OK then so where were we... Oh right, intuition and the end of the world. We now have a sound reference point for what one might mean when using the term intuition. Which is important in this context, speaking of what we might expect in the coming weeks leading up to the proposed end of the world. I believe that as a whole we as a species can feel the general vibration of our present moment, whether it is calm or tense for example -- just as a pack of antelope can feel when there is a predator nearby, and just beyond the present moment as well. How far 'past' the present moment -- or into the future -- one can feel or see we can say is a measure of how advanced their sense of intuition is. Collectively this sense is heightened, compared to any one being; this is an idea that science has proved through the study of pack theory, flocks of birds or schools of fish, etc.
This is an important point to consider, because as a collective species for all our recent obsessing with the end of the world, the end of days, the rapture, doomsday predictions, preppers, etc. there is still a sense that most of humanity does not really believe that our world and our lives on planet earth are going to end any time soon. Intuitively I sincerely do not believe it myself. And I've spent a considerable amount of time feeling into it. But for the life of me i just do not have a sense that anything earth shattering (forgive the pun) will transpire on December 21st of this year. And for all the hype and money being made exploiting society's recent obsession with the subject I get the sense that most people feel the same way.
There is certainly cause for alarm; social and political unrest all over the globe, climate changes that have created a new more dangerous normal in the earth's weather patterns. But one could easily point to any number of other moments in recorded history where conditions on earth were much more intense and severe. Take the plague as just one instance.
One thing that has always puzzled me about the whole Mayan calendar prediction of the end of the world theory is that the idea is always being proposed by non-Mayans, pseudo scientists and new age preacher profiteer types. Since direct descendants of the Mayan people still exist, why not ask some of them what they think rather than some white guy living in a bunker in the middle of nowhereville Nebraska who happens to run an end of the world website? In the article below, that's precisely what someone did. The results unfortunately for those who have already packed their bags for the afterlife are not supportive of this en of the world theory. But they are still interesting. Hence my posting the link below.
One note about what these "elders" speak of that will help: they are not scientists. And based on the tone and tenor of their ideas it is apparent that they are probably not up on the latest discoveries of modern Western science. When they speak of "ether" or spirit it may be tempting to dismiss their whole ideology as a bunch of old fashioned pseudo-spiritual mumbo-jumbo. But before we do we must remind ourselves that our current science supports what they are speaking about. We just happen to use different words and terminology. We've already discussed that we now believe that the space around us is not actually empty nor made of nothing as it appears. This is a huge discovery, bigger in scope and implication than can be explored here. There are also the recent discoveries of dark matter and anti-matter to contend with. Again, very mathematically and scientifically real phenomena and equally mind boggling and impactfull in their implications. With these ideas in mind the article below takes on a more relevant and viable nature. The key to getting the most out of it is to apply modern science to the ideas being presented; to recognize that the WAY they are saying things may not sound very scientifically rational or plausible, but that doesn't make it not so. It just makes it a set of ideas presented in a more simple, child like or primitive non-scientific format that could be better understood and believed by Westerners, and easily verified by scientific facts, if transposed into modern scientific jargon. Perhaps not all of it. Not every sentence. But a good portion of it. Try reading the general ideas through a more scientific filter in real time as you read it.
Of course no one has a monopoly on "what's going to happen next" in the world. If we ever met someone who did we'd quickly call them God and kill them I suspect. So the study and exploration continues. And hopefully, if intuition serves, we all have plenty of time left for that.
What Do the Mayans Say About The End of the World Today:
http://www.seri-worldwide.org/id435.html
Get this: after a star like our sun dies it eventually becomes too dense and heavy to sustain itself against gravity, so it implodes and then explodes (a super nova), releasing the most powerful energy in the universe for a split second. But it doesn't cease to exist. Matter is still left. It then turns into a small 20 foot neutron star, the densest things in the universe. One cubic centimeter of a neutron star, the size of a sugar cube, weighs as much as all the cars in the United States.
via Facebook
To Moliere or Not to Moliere, That is the Question
Last Screening: Moliere
A French film from a few years ago. A period piece, full costume and all. If you're already a fan of the great French playwright and actor, then this is a gimme. If you love dry witty 17th Century salon repartee' and double entendre -- where one's brain garnered more merit in society than mere beauty, or Shakespearean comedy's twists and turns then you'll easily find this film a feast for your ears as well as eyes.
For me it was a bittersweet experience throughout. A dualistic reaction swirled within me, on the one hand pure enjoyment as an observer, and on the other a subtle gnawing at my insides by the loss of the libertine lifestyle i so enjoyed as a single man playing the part of artist above all else in a free world. I am not one to believe in platitudes, let alone recite them, but there is something to ponder about the idea that for every path toward one form of happiness another must be forsaken. Though I do not wholeheartedly believe it to be true, I get the feeling that it's an idea with merit.
The irony seeps so heavy from even these very thoughts like maple from a sapling, for it is true, even here, in these Diaries where I have spent more than ten years pouring out every thought and feeling I've ever had -- that I now feel a strong reluctance to do so any longer. Talk about double entendre. This grand irony perching its head above ground through the very format I am using to explore it. Truth be told this has been the case for a few years now. Being married it is nearly impossible. More than that, it would be unfit, unfair, inappropriate. And that's just the matter of these Diaries. I now understand why as a writer, as artists, we must find other ways to get our truths across without such blatancy that these Diary posts once afforded me. The truths that we are compelled to communicate, to let out, to unleash, still exist; they are in that regard existential. It is an existential need, as vital to the living organism of artistry within as blood or clean air is to the body that houses it.
So rather than lay it bare out on the line as was once so easy here, these Diaries have had to transform into a more innocuous form of prose, less revealing, less personal, hopefully no less engaging or powerful; but more worldly and culturally relevant. The real meat of the personal nature of things must be delivered through other means artistic, such as song or works of fiction or poetry. And indeed we are already in the process of that. It will obviously not be as readily or easily available for consumption as the Diaries once were, but I don't believe that I am capable of ridding myself of the need to let loose with the truths that illuminate our life while here, the very stuff that gives us cause to remain here, any more than I am capable of living without food or water.
There is much to be gained from a life well contented in marriage and family. More so at least for me than I believe I would have gleaned from continuing the life of a bachelor any longer. But perhaps I say that only because I allowed myself decades to enjoy bachelorhood, an enjoyment I would recommend anyone partake with gusto and all their will and might and relish wholeheartedly before succumbing to that next stage of nuptials and commitment, fidelity and trust beyond measure with another. But if one thinks that they can at the same time walk through the world and among the masses naked open and sincere, baring all and more, and still keep said marriage content, they are kidding themselves. It It would be a cruel practice and require a slow letting go of all respect to even attempt. One that would quickly suck the love out of the heart of the other and leave in its place a profound bitterness.
Think Woody Allen and how he never stopped to consider how his showing his cards to the entire world, every nuanced passing whim of his heart and mind, with no regard for his girlfriends or wives. The joke I always observed was that if you are married to Woody Allen and find him uncommunicative, wondering how he feels about you, don't ask him, just watch his next movie. He's telling you how he feels right there. He just never possessed the courage, nor respect or chivalry, to tell you himself and in person. I observed this heartless cruelty in the lives of artists since I was a boy, a cold willingness to put their art above the feelings and trust of their lovers. And for a long time, before I matured, I was under the illusion that this was just a necessary component of being a true artist, a truly great artist. But as with many things we play with in our imagination as children this was an illusion, and an unnecessary one.
Any one who uses art or being an artist to treat those who love and trust them the most poorly has simply failed to grow up. They are no more or less an artist because of it. Their art will never be the better for it, their heart will never allow it. The heart longs for only one thing: truth. Which is why we believe that love is the primary thing we long for the most, for love is the most truthful thing we can experience here. Love feels good. But underneath that good feeling is the purity and purpose that only truth can provide. Raw vulnerable untouched unstoried unscathed untainted just free. The closer we get to it, the more pure we become, a never ending and always evolving metamorphosis into something more pure, more truthful and honest. A freedom like no other. And from that place real art can be created like no other, one that can truly transcend, not just the man himself, or the time and place from which he creates, but from the common temporality of human beingness itself. Timeless art is truth in its purest form, even in fiction.
So it takes a subtle discretion, at least for an artist, to pull it off, bridging the life of the contented with the life of restlessness angst and passion. The art must be disguised, though still be true. It must take on a life of its own, one that is separate from its creator, so the artist is free to live the life he or she is equally entitled to (besides that of an artist), a simple normal contented life of ease and struggle, pleasure and pain, challenges and accomplishments, as any other on earth is. We may not get to play Moliere forever, but I dare say life would be boring if we did; and if we are lucky, we allowed ourselves plenty of years in our youth to do so. There is more to being human than reckless abandon for the sake of the genius of creation. Nobler goals. There is the challenge to master the art of living. Most artists never get a chance to experience that side of the coin. Giving into the myths and illusions we begin to harbor in our youth. But I for one am going to try, while at the same time producing some of the best art and works, in whatever shape or form they happen to come at me in, of my life.
A French film from a few years ago. A period piece, full costume and all. If you're already a fan of the great French playwright and actor, then this is a gimme. If you love dry witty 17th Century salon repartee' and double entendre -- where one's brain garnered more merit in society than mere beauty, or Shakespearean comedy's twists and turns then you'll easily find this film a feast for your ears as well as eyes.
For me it was a bittersweet experience throughout. A dualistic reaction swirled within me, on the one hand pure enjoyment as an observer, and on the other a subtle gnawing at my insides by the loss of the libertine lifestyle i so enjoyed as a single man playing the part of artist above all else in a free world. I am not one to believe in platitudes, let alone recite them, but there is something to ponder about the idea that for every path toward one form of happiness another must be forsaken. Though I do not wholeheartedly believe it to be true, I get the feeling that it's an idea with merit.
The irony seeps so heavy from even these very thoughts like maple from a sapling, for it is true, even here, in these Diaries where I have spent more than ten years pouring out every thought and feeling I've ever had -- that I now feel a strong reluctance to do so any longer. Talk about double entendre. This grand irony perching its head above ground through the very format I am using to explore it. Truth be told this has been the case for a few years now. Being married it is nearly impossible. More than that, it would be unfit, unfair, inappropriate. And that's just the matter of these Diaries. I now understand why as a writer, as artists, we must find other ways to get our truths across without such blatancy that these Diary posts once afforded me. The truths that we are compelled to communicate, to let out, to unleash, still exist; they are in that regard existential. It is an existential need, as vital to the living organism of artistry within as blood or clean air is to the body that houses it.
So rather than lay it bare out on the line as was once so easy here, these Diaries have had to transform into a more innocuous form of prose, less revealing, less personal, hopefully no less engaging or powerful; but more worldly and culturally relevant. The real meat of the personal nature of things must be delivered through other means artistic, such as song or works of fiction or poetry. And indeed we are already in the process of that. It will obviously not be as readily or easily available for consumption as the Diaries once were, but I don't believe that I am capable of ridding myself of the need to let loose with the truths that illuminate our life while here, the very stuff that gives us cause to remain here, any more than I am capable of living without food or water.
There is much to be gained from a life well contented in marriage and family. More so at least for me than I believe I would have gleaned from continuing the life of a bachelor any longer. But perhaps I say that only because I allowed myself decades to enjoy bachelorhood, an enjoyment I would recommend anyone partake with gusto and all their will and might and relish wholeheartedly before succumbing to that next stage of nuptials and commitment, fidelity and trust beyond measure with another. But if one thinks that they can at the same time walk through the world and among the masses naked open and sincere, baring all and more, and still keep said marriage content, they are kidding themselves. It It would be a cruel practice and require a slow letting go of all respect to even attempt. One that would quickly suck the love out of the heart of the other and leave in its place a profound bitterness.
Think Woody Allen and how he never stopped to consider how his showing his cards to the entire world, every nuanced passing whim of his heart and mind, with no regard for his girlfriends or wives. The joke I always observed was that if you are married to Woody Allen and find him uncommunicative, wondering how he feels about you, don't ask him, just watch his next movie. He's telling you how he feels right there. He just never possessed the courage, nor respect or chivalry, to tell you himself and in person. I observed this heartless cruelty in the lives of artists since I was a boy, a cold willingness to put their art above the feelings and trust of their lovers. And for a long time, before I matured, I was under the illusion that this was just a necessary component of being a true artist, a truly great artist. But as with many things we play with in our imagination as children this was an illusion, and an unnecessary one.
Any one who uses art or being an artist to treat those who love and trust them the most poorly has simply failed to grow up. They are no more or less an artist because of it. Their art will never be the better for it, their heart will never allow it. The heart longs for only one thing: truth. Which is why we believe that love is the primary thing we long for the most, for love is the most truthful thing we can experience here. Love feels good. But underneath that good feeling is the purity and purpose that only truth can provide. Raw vulnerable untouched unstoried unscathed untainted just free. The closer we get to it, the more pure we become, a never ending and always evolving metamorphosis into something more pure, more truthful and honest. A freedom like no other. And from that place real art can be created like no other, one that can truly transcend, not just the man himself, or the time and place from which he creates, but from the common temporality of human beingness itself. Timeless art is truth in its purest form, even in fiction.
So it takes a subtle discretion, at least for an artist, to pull it off, bridging the life of the contented with the life of restlessness angst and passion. The art must be disguised, though still be true. It must take on a life of its own, one that is separate from its creator, so the artist is free to live the life he or she is equally entitled to (besides that of an artist), a simple normal contented life of ease and struggle, pleasure and pain, challenges and accomplishments, as any other on earth is. We may not get to play Moliere forever, but I dare say life would be boring if we did; and if we are lucky, we allowed ourselves plenty of years in our youth to do so. There is more to being human than reckless abandon for the sake of the genius of creation. Nobler goals. There is the challenge to master the art of living. Most artists never get a chance to experience that side of the coin. Giving into the myths and illusions we begin to harbor in our youth. But I for one am going to try, while at the same time producing some of the best art and works, in whatever shape or form they happen to come at me in, of my life.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The Untold History of America :: a review
Current Screening: The Untold History of the United States
I eagerly watched the first 3 parts of Oliver Stone's much anticipated new documentary film that were available so far on Showtime last night, expecting some real eye opening moments. As much as I love and admire Ollie, I must confess there wasn't one untold fact to be had in all three hours. I waited and waited for even one tidbit of "untold" fact or detail -- even something I already knew would have been welcomed. But no such luck. Pretty straight forward & by the book U.S. revisionist history. Common knowledge stuff. Especially in comparison to what's commonly already known in the activist community, i.e. Howard Zinn's "A People's History...", et al.
There were grand omissions throughout, such as Roosevelt's foreknowledge of Japan's plans to bomb Pearl Harbor well before it transpired; as if Stone wanted his opening gambit to appear soft and innocuous so as not to frighten away the majority of viewers. One might give him the benefit of doubt and assume his treating the nation's dubious history with kid gloves was a calculated effort to lure more viewers in at the start and hope he will be more even handed and honest in later installments.
In case anyone feels compelled to excuse this fact by asserting that "no one could possibly cover all of American history in a mere ten hours", let us remember that was never the stated intention of this piece; it calls itself "the UNtold history of the United States." Stone and company spend so much time expounding upon commonly known history that they don't leave room for any "untold history." The last thing America needs is yet another book or documentary recounting the same old tired stories that are already solidly founded in the public domain of America's psyche. [see the 30 hour Lawrence Olivier narrated World War II documentary for example].
Secondly, though It portends by its title to be a general history of America, he opens this "American history" in the mid-1930s, a perplexing choice, omitting hundreds of years of the country's most interesting untold stories. That would make sense if the book/film were titled ...: 1935 to 2012. But it's not.
Perhaps most disappointing is the fact that Stone, being an ex-military man himself, focuses 95% of his take on history to covering stories of war and conquest. Contextually, knowing Stone's background, this makes perfect sense. But again it's misleading considering the broad scope of the work's title.
I think the best thing that can be said about it thus far is that at the very least it serves as a pleasant introduction to U.S. military history 1101 covering the years 1935 to present day for the layman. But if one doesn't venture past this work and leaves their learning here, they would be left with mere semi-factual scraps compared to the most important elements of America's untold history.
Like the Beatle's Yellow Submarine film and album, if you could call it that, this is one of those examples of something that held great promise because of the artist and the subject matter (and no small amount of hype by the studio, production company and distribution company), but ended up being far less than expected. One can hope though that the appearance of such a work and the ensuing interest in it by the public at large might inspire others to attempt a similar project who would desire to be more thorough and revealing in the quest to serve the title of the piece more accurately and legitimately. In time I'm sure it will happen. In the meantime this film isn't "bad"; it's a nice start for those who want to gain a modest understanding and foundational knowledge of what's already being taught in America's high school classrooms.
Recommended companion resources: A People's History of the United States, None Dare Call It Genocide, They Dare To Speak Out -- for starters at the least.
I eagerly watched the first 3 parts of Oliver Stone's much anticipated new documentary film that were available so far on Showtime last night, expecting some real eye opening moments. As much as I love and admire Ollie, I must confess there wasn't one untold fact to be had in all three hours. I waited and waited for even one tidbit of "untold" fact or detail -- even something I already knew would have been welcomed. But no such luck. Pretty straight forward & by the book U.S. revisionist history. Common knowledge stuff. Especially in comparison to what's commonly already known in the activist community, i.e. Howard Zinn's "A People's History...", et al.
There were grand omissions throughout, such as Roosevelt's foreknowledge of Japan's plans to bomb Pearl Harbor well before it transpired; as if Stone wanted his opening gambit to appear soft and innocuous so as not to frighten away the majority of viewers. One might give him the benefit of doubt and assume his treating the nation's dubious history with kid gloves was a calculated effort to lure more viewers in at the start and hope he will be more even handed and honest in later installments.
In case anyone feels compelled to excuse this fact by asserting that "no one could possibly cover all of American history in a mere ten hours", let us remember that was never the stated intention of this piece; it calls itself "the UNtold history of the United States." Stone and company spend so much time expounding upon commonly known history that they don't leave room for any "untold history." The last thing America needs is yet another book or documentary recounting the same old tired stories that are already solidly founded in the public domain of America's psyche. [see the 30 hour Lawrence Olivier narrated World War II documentary for example].
Secondly, though It portends by its title to be a general history of America, he opens this "American history" in the mid-1930s, a perplexing choice, omitting hundreds of years of the country's most interesting untold stories. That would make sense if the book/film were titled ...: 1935 to 2012. But it's not.
Perhaps most disappointing is the fact that Stone, being an ex-military man himself, focuses 95% of his take on history to covering stories of war and conquest. Contextually, knowing Stone's background, this makes perfect sense. But again it's misleading considering the broad scope of the work's title.
I think the best thing that can be said about it thus far is that at the very least it serves as a pleasant introduction to U.S. military history 1101 covering the years 1935 to present day for the layman. But if one doesn't venture past this work and leaves their learning here, they would be left with mere semi-factual scraps compared to the most important elements of America's untold history.
Like the Beatle's Yellow Submarine film and album, if you could call it that, this is one of those examples of something that held great promise because of the artist and the subject matter (and no small amount of hype by the studio, production company and distribution company), but ended up being far less than expected. One can hope though that the appearance of such a work and the ensuing interest in it by the public at large might inspire others to attempt a similar project who would desire to be more thorough and revealing in the quest to serve the title of the piece more accurately and legitimately. In time I'm sure it will happen. In the meantime this film isn't "bad"; it's a nice start for those who want to gain a modest understanding and foundational knowledge of what's already being taught in America's high school classrooms.
Recommended companion resources: A People's History of the United States, None Dare Call It Genocide, They Dare To Speak Out -- for starters at the least.
All The King's Men
Current Screening: All The King's Men. The 2006 version starring Sean Penn, Jude Law and a host of other notables including Sir Anthony Hopkins himself. this film was for many years considered "the most unsuccessful and biggest flop of it's day" due to the fact that it generated -$48,000,000 in sales, as in it lost over forty-eight million dollars at the box office compared to how much was spent for its budget. But that shouldn't scare you away from it in the least. As with all great things, the unwashed masses are often the last to discover them. Often times years or even decades later. Not only is Penn as always at his finest, proving once again that is the greatest actor of his generation because he is entirely in a class of his own, the screenplay is also filled with better than fine dialogue, intelligent, telling, insightful and ironic all at once. If you've a brain you will hang on every sentence narrated by the Jude Law character, and marvel at Sean Penn's brilliant ability to embody any and all incarnations of humankind during his passionate speeches as a Southern bred hick from Louisiana. Highly recommended damn good art.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Dream Apocalyptic
My dreams are becoming increasingly more apocalyptic lately. Granted I've been fighting a plague like sinus infection for over three weeks and thus have more so called medication in my bloodstream than one would need to wipe out a small city, certainly enough to induce nightmarish hallucinations in the pitch black of late night or early morning. Frankly I'd prefer to believe that the cause. But the truth of the matter is that these visions of mass public chaos and death surrounded by dark skies and distant fires burning through city landscapes are not new; they're not symptomatic of my last three weeks of sleep. If anything this morning in particular (it's 6:26am presently) is one of the first nights I can remember seeping through the night in almost a month due to how severe this illness has been, hence I've not actually seen much in the way of apocalyptic dreams lately.
No, unfortunately these visions are not new or recent enough to be conveniently dismissed as drug induced reveries of a tortured mind and sweaty body fraught with illness in the middle of the night. What prompted me to awake this morning, and these are just quick notes to remember the event so I can go go back to sleep for at least a few more hours, was a scene much like an industrial area, large and sprawling with blackened skies and dark grey smoke billowing from nondescript tower like structures, giant industrial smoke stacks or chimneys perhaps for as far as the eye could see.
There was a group of us, seated and standing, waiting for something, though it doesn't occur to me now what we were waiting for exactly. Most of us strangers. There was an elevator that I and several others were trying to go up and down in quickly as if in an emergency; often times it didn't work and we were frantic with worry, many were shouting and panicked. One such time that we were able to go back up and return to the floor level successfully we encountered a mass of bodies of our friends on the ground, many of them dead and maimed, others nearly dead and moaning in pain, all of them blackened and bloody. We were upset by the discovery though not surprised in the context of the dream.
One interesting image to remember: a local music promoter who was showing his wares -- hand drawn show posters and new demo albums of artists he represented (it was a dream after all and I am in the music business; I can't remember the last time I had a dream that didn't contain subconscious referenced to or remnants of the music industry). He was seated and I was standing. I remembered meeting him in a dream from a few nights ago; it was as if he were part of a scene I was new to and was just becoming a part of. He showed me the album cover to a new group he particularly liked -- though in retrospect it was more of a music video than a still image. What struck me was that there were two giant bird like statues perched on top of the tallest buildings in the skyline of a decayed cityscape, again plenty of dark sky and smoke billowing from stacks scattered throughout the horizon, the birds were like ancient Egyptian eagles or phoenixes, with long beaks and giant wings though tucked under so they were tall and slim. More like standing guard as if the city had been seized already, taken captive in a war and all that remained in this embattled city were these bird statues standing guard as a sign or warning that whatever it was that we were fighting had already laid claim to this place, the statues a sign of it. The musicians themselves were the angry voice of the peoples' rebellion of yet another fallen city under siege by darker powers than anything we've ever seen in our lifetimes. It was an ominous image. The only one he told me thst symbolised that what i was seeing belonged to this specific musical group. Both giant ststues faced East. A darkened city except for intermittent fires burning everywhere and lots of smoke.
No, unfortunately these visions are not new or recent enough to be conveniently dismissed as drug induced reveries of a tortured mind and sweaty body fraught with illness in the middle of the night. What prompted me to awake this morning, and these are just quick notes to remember the event so I can go go back to sleep for at least a few more hours, was a scene much like an industrial area, large and sprawling with blackened skies and dark grey smoke billowing from nondescript tower like structures, giant industrial smoke stacks or chimneys perhaps for as far as the eye could see.
There was a group of us, seated and standing, waiting for something, though it doesn't occur to me now what we were waiting for exactly. Most of us strangers. There was an elevator that I and several others were trying to go up and down in quickly as if in an emergency; often times it didn't work and we were frantic with worry, many were shouting and panicked. One such time that we were able to go back up and return to the floor level successfully we encountered a mass of bodies of our friends on the ground, many of them dead and maimed, others nearly dead and moaning in pain, all of them blackened and bloody. We were upset by the discovery though not surprised in the context of the dream.
One interesting image to remember: a local music promoter who was showing his wares -- hand drawn show posters and new demo albums of artists he represented (it was a dream after all and I am in the music business; I can't remember the last time I had a dream that didn't contain subconscious referenced to or remnants of the music industry). He was seated and I was standing. I remembered meeting him in a dream from a few nights ago; it was as if he were part of a scene I was new to and was just becoming a part of. He showed me the album cover to a new group he particularly liked -- though in retrospect it was more of a music video than a still image. What struck me was that there were two giant bird like statues perched on top of the tallest buildings in the skyline of a decayed cityscape, again plenty of dark sky and smoke billowing from stacks scattered throughout the horizon, the birds were like ancient Egyptian eagles or phoenixes, with long beaks and giant wings though tucked under so they were tall and slim. More like standing guard as if the city had been seized already, taken captive in a war and all that remained in this embattled city were these bird statues standing guard as a sign or warning that whatever it was that we were fighting had already laid claim to this place, the statues a sign of it. The musicians themselves were the angry voice of the peoples' rebellion of yet another fallen city under siege by darker powers than anything we've ever seen in our lifetimes. It was an ominous image. The only one he told me thst symbolised that what i was seeing belonged to this specific musical group. Both giant ststues faced East. A darkened city except for intermittent fires burning everywhere and lots of smoke.
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