1.     Taboo Plaza

 

Our country has a jacked up history.  If you don’t believe me I have one of two books I suggest you read.  U.S. History is ugly and bloody and for far too long we’ve allowed our gaze to be diverted from facts.

The facts are that U.S. History is a history of exploitation and class warfare.

The American aborigines, kidnapped Africans, the Irish, the Chinese, women, men and children have been screwed legally by a government that is reactive when it comes to the plight of the people and proactive when it acts in the interest of business.

Nothing has changed.

America is f****d up by pretty much the same people year to year.  From the very beginning it has been the same, but only the faces change.  Blood and warfare built this country and apparently we still think blood and warfare will propel us into the future.

We are violent and vulgar. 

America is beautiful.

We fight each other.

America is ideal.

There needs to be a reset switch on America like the soft reset on a handheld Palm Treo.  We need a moment to reset the rules and make sure that everyone is aboard, because locking up our population in large numbers is ridiculous.  If you don’t measure the health of a country by the discontent of its citizens, then what yardstick do you have left?

America is the best place in the world, but it ain’t clean.  And it’s not going to be until we start scrubbing.

America doesn’t have to be an economy.

What else is it?

That’s for the dreamers to figure out. 

What else could it be? 

It could be a democracy, because right now it resembles an aristocracy as much as anything else.

Staple foods rot in silos in Washington State.  People starve to death in Louisiana.

It’s a great place to be, but the atmosphere still bears the racial cloud from its roots.

 

2.     Current Affairs

 

Are you enjoying your job? 

Do you like your life? 

That’s the current affair this week.  Turn the mirror around on yourself for just a moment. 

How are you doing?  If you’re not good, what are you going to do to change that situation? 

Are you where you want to be?

Silently focus on your inside for a moment.  Stay quiet long enough to hear a voice tell you the answers.

I hope you find something good inside because the outside world is getting scarier everyday.

           

3.     Then Humans Discovered… (Harn’s Legacy: Finale)

 

Continued from February 17^th post.

Harn walked the path that Krunk last walked.  He didn’t know why.  He didn’t have a reason.  He felt an inkling of regret, although he would not have been able to explain why or for what.

He walked a path that he had walked with Krunk numerous times before.  This walk led to the field of the buffalo mushroom.  When he reached the opening, Harn saw the field of mushrooms that Krunk had found the day before.

With an aching stomach, Harn fell upon the field of mushrooms greedily.  He ate until his stomach hurt and then he ate some more.  Harn then lied down in that field of psilocybin mushrooms and felt as if he would die.

Harn felt as if he might die for hours.  Hours of discomfort and visions visited him in that field that day.

Harn never ate the buffalo mushrooms again, although that day he discovered the word buffalo.  As soon as he discovered it, he forgot it.

Harn discovered his hands for the first time.  In all his years, he had used his hands but never really looked at the creases in them.  Harn discovered his fingerprints, even though the word would not be created until centuries later.  Harn discovered the mind that day as distinct from the body.  He thought he understood the concept.  When he awoke in the morning thought had failed him.

The only thought that stayed with Harn was THE ONE.  Harn discovered it as a 2 x 4 to the face will leave you with a lasting impression and the thought of THE ONE stuck with him as well.

Harn went on to bury his tribe at their appointed time in the fetal position.  Prior to Harn, no one had ever been anything less than food for the vultures when they died.  Harn established a following around THE ONE.  This following allowed Harn to reproduce when before he did not have such a privilege.

Harn bore many children and passed along his strain of psilocybin down to his progeny. 

In this way, Harn began the process of creative thought and religion for all of us to follow.

 

4.     Getting to Know Your Government

 

Last week’s batch of Senators averaged 12.5 years in public office as U.S. Senators. This week’s batch of Senators average 17.25 years as U.S. Senators.

 

Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa)

·        Religion: Baptist

·        1955: University of North Iowa

·        1956: University of North Iowa (graduate degree)

·        1959 to 1974: Iowa House of Representatives

·        1975 to 1981: U.S. House of Representatives

·        1981 to present: U.S. Senate

 

Tom Harkin (Democrat, Iowa)

·        Religion: Roman Catholic

·        1962: Iowa State University

·        1972: The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, J.D.

·        1962 to 1967: U.S. Navy

·        1975 to 1985: U.S. House of Representatives

·        1985 to present: U.S. Senate

 

Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas)

·        Religion: Roman Catholic

·        1979: Graduated from Kansas State University

·        1982: University of Kansas, J.D.

·        1995 to 1996: U.S. House of Representatives

·        1996 to present: U.S. Senate

 

Pat Roberts (Republican, Kansas)

·        Religion: Methodist

·        1958: Kansas State University, B.A.

·        1958 to 1962: U.S. Marine

·        1981 to 1997: U.S. House of Representatives

·        1997 to present: U.S. Senator

 

5.     Our Nation is Now Dumber for This…Thank You for Your Participation!

And the beat goes on…with the random pattern continuing.

 

6.     Down On Rage Street

And the beat goes on…with the random pattern continuing.

 

7.     My Butthole Bleeds for You…Really….It Does

 

Poor little Britney: her life is stressful you know.

She’s split up with beau beau Kevin.  Maybe.  She may have a drug problem.  She’s trying to make another record, ya’ all.  She’s got two kids.  On top of all that, she’s having a hard time finding a good nanny. 

Life is tough all around ya all.

It’s no wonder she may or may not be on suicide watch.

Making the kind of rational decisions she’s been making lately, I think it’s the world that’s crazy.  How can this not be a great idea before getting ready to release a new album?  I’m sure her fans, and horny old men across the nation, would much rather see her bald than looking like this. 

She’s just thinking ahead about her big national tour ya all.  She’s just hankering to get some publicity.

You don’t think she made $100 million without thinking ahead do you.

There’s nothing more tragic than a poor, little, rich girl.

At least she’s got the support of good people like Courtney Love and Paris Hilton to get her through it. 

With a support system like that, I know she’s destined to turn out just fine.

 

8.     Tip of the week

 

I’m not saying that this week’s advice is necessarily sound, but I heard it from a girl in my graduate studies class this week and I have to float this one out there.  Now keep in mind, she’s referring to the Irish fleeing Ireland and the potato famine to come be poor in America.

Her advice was that they should’ve changed their expectations.  If they worked 16-hour days in America in filthy conditions, they should’ve just changed their expectations.  What did it matter that they were treated like black people in America before the Civil Rights movement?  Apparently, if they had changed their expectations things might have turned out better for them.

I figure this advice may also be applied to battered women, Native Americans and dying Iraqi’s.

Change your expectations.

Again I’d like to reiterate: I’m not sure that this is sound advice, but that was advice I heard this week that I had never heard before in a non-Buddhist context. 

So, there you go!

 

9.     Birthday Shout Outs (2-18 to 2-24)

 

·        (2/18/1931) Toni Morrison- She may be one of Oprah’s book club authors, but that doesn’t mean she’s bad.  The Bluest Eye is a seminal piece of literature to understand the Black American experience as far as I’m concerned.

·        (2/18/1947) Dennis DeYoung- He was the keyboardist and vocalist for Styx.  A bit poppy but pretty cool nonetheless.

·        (2/18/1950) John Hughes- This guy has been involved in so many cool movies it’s surprising he’s not more well-known.  National Lampoon’s Vacation, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Mr. Mom, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful and Uncle Buck: this guy should have a shrine in Washington D.C.

·        (2/18/1954) John Travolta- It’s Vinny freaking Barbarino for god sake.  He didn’t even need the part in Pulp Fiction to be a legend.

·        (2/18/1955) Raymond Rougeau- He was a French Canadian heel and he played the part so well.  Absolutely despicable.  The thing you have to remember when I say that is in professional wrestling you’re good if people can either love you or hate you.  When they don’t care about you that’s when you suck.

·        (2/18/1965) Dr. Dre- The Chronic and Straight Outta Compton in one lifetime?  That’s amazing.

·        (2/19/1473) Nicolas Copernicus- People still talk about this guy.  He’s possibly one of the last people on the planet to really understand what is going on.  He was revolutionary and not afraid to express it.

·        (2/19/1940) Smokey Robinson- This brother was bad.

·        (2/19/1948) Tony Iommi- The heart and soul of Black Sabbath with no disrespect to Ozzy Osbourne.

·        (2/20/1902) Ansel Adams- He got people to buy his pictures and call them great.  That’s an accomplishment.

·        (2/20/1927) Sidney Poitier- I haven’t seen him in a lot, but he was on in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

·        (2/20/1963) Charles Barkley- He brought a basketball atmosphere to Phoenix and he was amazing in the 1993 NBA Finals.  He just wasn’t as good as Jordan.

·        (2/20/1967) Kurt Cobane- This guy could mumble with the best of them.  Nirvana either stopped at just the right time or they were the most untapped potential of the 1990’s.

·        (2/21/1943) David Geffen- He had a willingness to bet on the unexpected when it came to music but he had good taste.  He’s signed: John Lennon, Nirvana, Neil Young, Elton John and the Eagles.  That’s insight.

·        (2/21/1949) Jerry Harrison- Anytime I can play the Talking Heads, I’m down.

·         (2/21/1969) Eric Wilson- He played bass for Sublime and that is good enough for me.  If you don’t have this album, I’d strongly recommend buying it.

·        (2/21/1979) Jennifer Love Hewitt- She was the only thing that made Garfield the movie possible to sit through and I have a four-year old that loves Garfield the movie so I needed Jennifer in this movie.

·        (2/22/1732) George Washington- The first President of the United States of America.

·        (2/22/1810) Frederic Chopin- People still play his music.

·        (2/22/1950) Julius Erving- They say he was the one that made the game exciting.

·        (2/22/1968) Bradley Nowell- The vocalist of Sublime.  This is a great week when you can listen to Sublime twice.

·        (2/23/1685) George Frederic Handel- People are still playing his music.

·        (2/23/1868) W.E.B. DuBois- A very impressive man whether you agree with his interpretations or not.

·        (2/23/1939) Peter Fonda- Easy Rider and Cannonball Run did it for me.

·        (2/23/1952) Brad Whitford- Aerosmith has been around forever and somehow they are still essentially cool.

·        (2/23/1973) Masato Tanaka- This guy is quite possibly the most gifted wrestler in the last ten years.  It takes a tremendous fighting spirit to work like this.