Darkness in Democracy and Other Fictions

My Halloween week of shadows continues with some video presentations from the dark recesses of the interweb. Life is so much better now that we can instantly view the full spectrum of human lamentation. Or not, you be the judge.

This post got started with this little bit of mental floss uncovered by the good Dr. Pauly. Here is Life Inc. or How the World Became a Corporation, a tad oversimplified but great fodder for my whining liberal friends, except for the final dig at Obama.

Fake Democrats, a graphic represenation of the far left's view of how Amerika has moved toward Fascism. Not at all the same as the way the far right view the move to Fascim, as they blame Obama, no in this clip the paranoids blame Bill Clinton.

The Myth of the Liberal Media. A weak ass and I mean weak ass refuting of the accepted view of the media by the formerly assertive Noam Chomsky. Even those who agree with him will find themselves doubting their own mind's when hearing this limp presentation. America is not a democracy, nor was it intended to be is a much more strident and typical Chomsky presentation and worth a listen, if only for knowing either who your enemies are or how far your friends have fallen. Oh and for a fair and balanced view of the Liberal Media Myth, here is a little chew for your political cud from that bastion of fairness Bill O'Reilly.

I stumbled on a whole mosh pit of videos labled: Why Do They Hate America, well why not? Bananas, American Soldiers, and Perfect Paranoia.

Since there is always light, even in the dark of darkness and as these videos illustrate there is also darkness even in places that are full of light or at least full of something; but rather than plummet into the bottomless pit of despair (brought to you by Hasboro) or dash our ships of life against the shores of everlasting anguish (permit needed from California Coastal Commission for all dashings). Rather than go there, there or there; here is some Darkness at the Edge of Town from the Boss.

On a personal note, you know all those great YouTube videos that your friends send you to watch. Makes you think that YouTube is a wonderful repository of witty, funny and pertinent video observations on life and, of course, the live performance of rock anthems. But, in reality, if you spend just a bit of time clicking on those other "suggested links" and then on their links and so on and so on; it takes about four degrees of separation for you to find the real visual whack jobs of the universe. It's not just that they have no opinion but they have little or no video skills either, it's just drivel all the way down. The internet makes everyone a movie director and everyone else a writer. Yes, I know that leaves me wide open to the tiny slings and arrows to be lobbed my way at 140 characters or less.

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Art Credit: Jackson Pollack

End of the World

The suggestion has been made that my last blog was a bit dark, perhaps even atypically dark for at least one sentence. Rather than deny, I shall embrace. Leading into All Hallows Eve, I shall endeavour to purge my daemons and delve into darkness. I start today, inspired by a review in the NYTimes suggesting alternate lyrics to R.E.M.'s The End of the World As We Know It. Way down below are the complete lyrics if you want to play along, but the ones twisted by all the news thats fit to print were:

The other night I dreamt of knives, continental drift divide. Mountains sit in a line

Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Brezhnev. Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs.

Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom!

You symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck, right? Right.

And, of course, the NYTimes lyrics weren't dark at all but we can certainly can get there.

The other night I dreamt of lives, mind melts collide. Tin soliders sit in line

Richard Speck. Rich Ramirez. Raul Castro and Randy Newman.

Halloween party, Betty Page, tic-tac, splat!

Me defected, resurrected, uptight, insight? Wrong.

A live performance that holds a grittier essence of the words.

All are invited to toss out words from your own dark reaches of mind, heart, soul or other.

Full Lyrics (I may take on the whole song before next weekend:

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes,
an aeroplane - Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn,
world serves its own needs, dummy serve your own needs.
Feed it off an aux speak,, grunt, no, strength,
The ladder starts to clatter with fear fight down height.
Wire in a fire, representing seven games, a government for hire and a combat site.
Left of west and coming in a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck.
Team by team reporters baffled, trumped, tethered cropped.
Look at that low playing!
Fine, then.
Uh oh, overflow, population, common food, but it'll do.
Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed dummy with the rapture and the revered and the right - right.
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign towers.
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn.
Locking in, uniforming, book burning, blood letting.
Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.
Light a candle, light a votive. Step down, step down.
Watch your heel crush, crushed. Uh-oh, this means no fear cavalier.
Renegade steer clear! A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies.
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it. (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone) and I feel fine.
(I feel fine)

It's the end of the world as we know it. (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it. (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone) and I feel fine.

The other night I dreamt of knives, continental drift divide. Mountains sit in a line
Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Brezhnev. Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs.
Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom!
You symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck, right? Right.

It's the end of the world as we know it. (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it. (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone) and I feel fine.

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photo credit: archives

Autumn Leaves

One of the great pleasures of autumn in a temperate climate is the turning of the leaves. While I am not going to experience the true warmth of an Indian Summer this trip, I did get my one blissful dose of nature's color yesterday. Early frosts, high winds and rain can severely foreshorten the fall color experience, this year falls somewhere in the middle of the color enjoyment experience.

I was out running errands yesterday, when I ducked down a side street and there were five or six blocks of brilliant yellow maple trees. Interspersed every block or so was a burst of red or a still fading green tree. The browns of late fall have yet to appear, so we have peak colors or at least what will have to stand as peak for this autumn in lower Michigan.

I particularly have noticed quite a few trees that seem to blush with a reddish-pink as opposed to the usual dark red maples of most fall palettes. Some combination of summer heat and fall rain has produced more of these light red patterns than in my memory of past autumns. It was cloudy yesterday but a weak sun broke through while I was on that side street, so I got the full experience of the color and light. There is a feeling of bliss that hits the spectrally attuned at these times. A light and satisfying experience that all is right with the world. It mimics that first blush of warmth that comes with a new lover. Before the heartless shrew defiles your heart and leaves you alone and barren as the trees shall be in just a few weeks.

I know, I know but sometimes these things have to be said. Besides she still owes me money and she took my parrot. Meanwhile back to our autumnal musings...

Today, the wind and rain have come and the lawns are littered with thousands of yellow leaves. Time to put up wood for the winter, get those last few storm windows snugly in place and in my case, consider heading south.

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photo credits: the interwebs