culture

Change of Life

Get rid of our Tesla.

Get rid of our Kindle.

Drive much

much further

than Whole Foods,

which is closer

than the other

grocer.

Get rid

of delivery

from Amazon

Prime,

though

I can’t find

basic stuff

as there 

isn’t enough

stock;

and what is 

present,

is

locked

away

in every 

brick

and mortar

store.

Get off 

Facebook,

so the Zuch

can’t monetize

what I publicize

only to

my friends.

The ends

may justify

the means

against

the mean

guys,

but I realize

the compromise

has already

given them

the prize. 

Blue Sky’s

attraction

as the alternative

faction

needs

to be

fun,

which,

in the long

run,

is why

we comply

in the

viral

virtual

spaces.

Meanwhile,

with traces

of plastic

everywhere

in everything

we are consuming

and doing,

abandoning

plastic

may seem

drastic,

but it’s fantastic

to think

we’ll not sink

further,

as we murder

our only

home.

Our way

of life

that you

see dismantling

quickly

by Elon’s

Department

of Government

Efficiency

is theatrical

cruelty

and insufficiency,

when 

the way we

live

is also 

driven 

corporately.

The real

collusion

is the intrusion

of his

and his

and his

and his………

businesses

in our government

when they

have no 

business

doing so.

These seemingly

adolescent

guys

with whom

we’re forced

to compromise,

have their

eyes

on the prize

of unending

wealth 

and power.

But they

won’t stay

fertile

forever.

Their periods

will stop.

They’ll get

the sweats,

as is characteristic

of the climacteric

time.

Past

their prime,

they’ll decline,

but we must

begin

to refine

and change

the way we 

engage

while

they’re on

and in

the current

stage.

Strip Tease

In addition 

to deportation

threats 

and ridiculous 

tariffs,

then paying off

and laying off

professional

civil servants;

cutting off

contagion 

deterrents,

the Gaza plan

to rid

each Palestinian

from the strip

is bound to please

no one.

So why the tease?

To create unease

from the diseased

mind

of this president.

As Elon 

steals 

private data,

and the country

reels

from threats on

Gaza,

there’s buy in

on the buy outs

by the louts

who think 

they’re dude-licious.

They are malicious

and they revel

in their level

of audaciousness.

Stripping

government 

agencies

of employees, 

money,

and people’s

tax ids,

seem to be

terrible

policies,

much less

an incredible

display

of heinousness.

He knows

how slowly

our system

moves

as he proves

he can force

the course

of events.

The remnants

of the GOP

in congress

abide

willingly.

It worked

with Dobbs,

as he robs

the country

of morality

and integrity,

in the name

of liberty,

stripping

down

to barely

function,

claiming

victory.

It’s only

early

February.

The master

of mutual

approval

loves

removal

to show

he’s 

the  boss.

The loss

is ours

if we

just watch

him peel

each article

away.

The Brutalist (No spoilers here.)

Don’t read

the reviews.

Choose

to experience

without interference.

As adherents

to 

coherence,

we try 

to make sense

of the nonsense

that cruelty

induces

and reproduces

incessantly.

Patterns

familiar,

despite

the particular,

the resolute

brute

is a weed

at the root

who seeks 

repute

and power

above all.

The pall

ever thickening,

ever sickening,

ever quickening

the fall

that seems

impossible

for survival,

whose revival

is always

somewhere

here

and there

sometime

within the

rhyme

of history.

Or 

is it 

organic

matter

that’s the 

matter?

Like yeast,

the brutalist

beast

is like

a fungus

that lives

among us

fermenting.

Resenting

and unrelenting, 

misrepresenting,

circumventing

convention,

the contention

of reinvention

and prevention

of dissension

will always

play 

a part

for the brutalist,

whose

opposite

is the humanist.

With creativity

and resolve

we solve

for the time

being,

as humanely

and sanely

as possible.

Get comfortable

with selflessness.

It may not 

be painless,

but much less

painful

than the brutal

creeps

that creep

back

and attack,

when we slack

off.

You don’t

need a review

to understand

this new

iteration

of the old

intention

of the brutalist.

The cruelest

abide

on the side

of hate

or remain

indifferent

to the stain

of the persistent

brutalist

illusionist.

His Truth is Marching On

The Golden Age

of guiltless

gilt

is again

the rage

as the pendulum

tilts

away from

moderation.

The pull 

of bull*#@!

and excess

never felt less

tension

in an ongoing

extension,

despite apprehension,

of our historical

monarchical

attraction.

It’s the trappings

and happenings

of power

and endless

stuff

that make 

it so easy

to declare,

“enough

with compromise!

Super size

me!”

More 

is better. 

Greed is 

good.

Look 

what’s

happened

to 

the neighborhood.

Intrinsic

to our politics

and capitalistic

society,

is all consuming

consuming

all

mixed with

hypocritical

piety.

It always

feels worse,

this curse

of ours,

wanting

more

to store

or spend

at the expense

of innocence.

Alongside

the tide

of excessive

pride

and greed

is our 

profound

need

for individual

priority.

And now

notoriety 

is an identity

politics

crisis.

Attempts

at opportunity

for historically

oppressed

minority

communities,

is seen

as threatening

the integrity

of the 

majority

impending minority.

And how

best

to best

the rest

of us?

Outrage

us

with outrageousness

and muss

with the truth

regardless.

Some youth 

know this;

others don’t

access

facts,

much less

analysis.

And as youth

would

have it,

an easy

fix

is to nix

what’s been

and fall

in line

with rebellion.

Anger 

is simple

and made

pure

by

being sure

of owning

the truth.

Maybe

it’s not

youth

so much

as the immature

who wield

such power,

led

by that

towering

inferno.

Battle him!

For the sake

of the republic!

Remaining

democratic

is not automatic.

It requires

an all hands

on deck.

Shame Must Change Sides

This week

in between

is really seen

as a global

holiday

season.

The contrast

is vast

between 

the miraculous

and the rest

of us;

darkness

and light

and not

just

at night.

The kindness

reminds us

that our

gifts

mend

our rifts

and drifts

from basics.

The memory

of

the year

with a new one

so near

is condensed

to the election

and the fear

of  an inflection

point.

But another

story,

details

quite gory,

is still

quite worthy

of our

consideration.

In France,

was a

trial

so vile

it was almost

beyond

comprehension.

Gisele Pelicot

didn’t know

she was 

being drugged

and raped

and video taped

by her spouse

in their house

while men

he arranged,

(this is all

so deranged),

to violate

her

as he watched

dozens

of them

over dozens

of years.

It sears

the heart

and brain.

In 2024

Gisele

could restore

herself

and us

with justice.

The disregard

of humanity,

the insanity,

and the evil

lengths

to which

people

will go

for their

libido 

and ego

satisfaction

is not

the story’s

end.

With unfathomable

strength

and grace

she reminds

us 

to face

and say

what is so:

“Shame

must change

sides.”

Gisele Pelicot,

my shero.

Beyond

2024,

though

we will

have to endure,

we shall

restore,

and

it will

surely be

a rough ride.

Shame 

must change

sides!

And hope

resides

in action.

December Redefined

Abundant Life

Christian School

in Madison,

Wisconsin

is still reeling,

feeling

the fuel

of grief

and disbelief

from abundant

life 

shot dead.

That the shooter

was not a gunman

or a front man

for a cause

caused 

barely

a pause,

because

girls

can have

boys’

toys

too.

And the second

grader

who might

have saved 

her

by calling

9-1-1

probably

saved many

others

from her

gun.

Often,

adolescent

girls’ pain

is visible,

while boys’

behavior 

is often

derisible,

but the pain

is miserable

no less.

Too many

are stuck

not feeling

an abundant

life;

just strife,

sharp

as a knife.

The abundance

of violence

seems to be

cyclical,

but school

shootings

are atypical

in the rest

of the world.

We are desperate

for a respite

from the seemingly

endless

senseless

shootings.

And the irony

of the lexicology

of the entities

astonishes

me.

I just can’t 

stop thinking

about linking

meaning,

which no 

longer

seems 

linked:

United.

Health.

Care.

Abundant.

Life.

Christian.

School.

Now defined 

as combined

moments

a la 

Columbine—

referring

to disturbing

incidents

of lost 

innocence

and terror.

Each thought

and prayer

from despair

without repair

is useless.

Hope lives

in action

and legislation,

but given

the incoming

administration,

find grassroots

sources

for your 

resources.

In the darkness

of our 

Decemberness,

we celebrate

the light

we create

through

gifts

and shifts

in resolutions.

Rededicate

to effectuate

the path

toward

solutions.

A miracle

takes

people

to work.

United.

Health.

Care.

Abundant

Life

with love,

Happy Holidays!

How’s Your Weather?

Learn to see

the forest 

through trees,

behind

the curtain,

certain,

while consumption

without assumption

of consequence

or sequence

of events

systemic,

seemingly

endemic

in our culture,

ignoring

nature

in danger,

due to

the illusion

of control.

Learn to see

blindspots;

hot spots

of regions

and reasons

for how we

unintentionally

perpetuate

this state

of climate 

crisis

for us

which 

we may not

be able

to reverse,

could relieve

this perverse

curse

of disconnection

between

decisions

and ramifications.

We have

solutions;

paths that 

we’ve proved

to behoove

us.

Technology

and policy

combined

with the necessity

of accountability,

helps us solve

what we’ve 

yet to resolve

without

yet

being able 

to see

clearly.

We need

the creativity

and participation

of everybody.

Use your

resources

and proclivities

for activities

where 

the priorities

engage

others

to bother

to do

more

than weather

current

conditions.

All Kidding/Assad

I’m in 

no position

to comment

on the transition

away

from the al-Assad

family

reign

in Syria.

The criteria 

for hope

is the scope

and sequence

of events

that unfold

as the yet

to be told

story 

of glory

of the rebels’

new power.

As of this

hour,

instead

of al-Assad

at the head

or jihad

far behind,

it’s not

quite clear

what we’re

in for.

The most

uncivil

war

that Syrians

endured

(or didn’t)

isn’t

going

to yield

instant

peace.

Every

ecosystem

is diverse.

So the perverse

use

of force

to endorse

an exclusionary

coarse

is of course

problematic-

not just 

for the 

tragic

victims

of violence,

but the silence

within which

those who

manage

to survive

barely

alive,

can not 

thrive

in oppressive

conditions.

Regressive

politicians

are having

their moment

to foment

and reorient

away

from the mainstay

of the postwar

order.

Chaos

is king.

No kidding.

Shooting

someone

on 5th 

(actually, 6th)

Avenue

came true,

and the

cheering 

and snark

and generally

dark

comments

mocking

what should

be a shocking

and sad

event

meant

that we

are losing

perspective

with invective.

Assad

was a nightmare;

the very

defintion

of evil.

I’m glad 

he’s gone

but this 

does not

feel like

the dawn

of a new 

day.

Those

inured

to the injured

or murdered

concerns

me.

Who are we

kidding?

Killing

doesn’t justify.

No one 

should die

to make

a point.

Bananas Foster

It’s Bananas!

By now 

you’ve heard

the absurd

story

of the crypto

bro

with too much

dough,

in all 

his glory,

created 

a story

about 

quite

an appetite

for art.

Entrepreneur 

Justin Sun

paid

6.2 million

for 

“Comedian”

at auction.

The conceptual

artwork

is an exceptional

quirk

in a world

that is 

rather quirky.

The banana

affixed

with duct tape

may be hard

to appreciate,

but it appreciated

exponentially.

Art is weird,

I’m sure 

you’d agree,

in the sense

that it makes

no sense

in dollars

and cents.

We’ve had 

a Campbell

Soup Can

and a urinal

called

“Fountain”,

provoking

opinion

and questioning

definition

of what is

art?

Art fosters

conversations,

not just

transactions,

about institutions,

obligations,

subjugations,

conventions,

and other 

inventions

of the mind

that get

left behind

or issues

not considered

otherwise.

In the case

of “Comedian”

the fruit

of the labor

of the artist

and vendor

(who sold

the banana

at his bodega)

will not receive

payment

from 

this sale.

But the statement

beyond the

“Comedian”

piece tale

was the ease

with which

the entrepreneur-

banana -connoisseur

ate it.

*image: nytimes.com/2024/11/20/arts/design/cattelan-banana-sothebys-auction.

Wicked Gladiator and A Real Pain

Not quite 

“Barbenheimer”,

“Wickadiator”

might

be the invigorator

that Hollywood

needs,

as the movie house

bleeds

since the pandemic.

“Wicked”

and “Gladiator II”

are the new

block busters

at a theater

near you.

One a prequel;

the other,

a sequel.

The former, 

a musical;

the latter,

well…

a gladiator

spectacle.

Remarkable

to me,

as I tend 

to see 

connections,

it’s the perfect

cultural 

and political

projections

these titles

unwittingly

mention.

I mean…

really…

Wicked

and Gladiator II

are true

descriptions

of the nature

and prescriptions

of the next

administration.

And a smaller

movie

I saw 

recently,

has a title

that says

it all

completely:

“A Real Pain”.

The Wicked

Gladiator,

who “governs”

as dictator,

is a real pain

and an ass

on top 

of it all.

I’m thankful

for a brief

reprieve

from grief,

as I will 

share cranberry 

sauce

across

the table,

and steer

clear

of the political.

I’m grateful

I’ll be celebrating

Thanksgiving

with family

and friends

whose connection

depends

not on

policy position,

or opposition,

but on disposition

and love.

Despite a real

pain

so many 

sustain,

we remain

capable

of being

better.

Happy Thanksgiving!