Another Dying Religion... Hopefully.

Warning: The following contains interpretation. If you're looking for fair and balanced presentation of bare & unbiased facts, you're barking up the wrong stump.

Good luck finding that shit too.

We're born into an economy. We are catechized with the principles of monetary balance. We are heavily encouraged not to figure out who we are, but how we're going to contribute to the economy... not the greater good, but the economy.

Regardless of how you were raised, the economy eventually becomes your family. Regardless of your religious or spiritual persuasion, the economy eventually takes the place of God. Regardless of your core sociopolitical principles, the economy will dictate your vote. No matter what your talents, desires, conscientious formation or most deeply-held convictions, the economy will determine how you will live.

Think about that for a second. Something is in a position to override that which makes you human - your will. The older you get, the more your decisions will be dominated by economic realities.

What the hell is the economy anyway? Who the hell does this economy think it is? Why should we allow our lives to be controlled by this weird, incorporeal entity? We can't see it, hear it, get to know it... It's actually worse than the gods described by Dawkins or Hitchens (i.e. non-existent & controlled by cynical elitists). I mean, at least you can designate some sort of personality to your god of choice; can't do that with an economy (unless you paint Reagan's face on it or whatever).

Can we reclaim our lives?

I will either succeed in this endeavor or die trying. I will likely die poor in this pursuit, if current circumstances are any indication. Doesn't matter. Rather live in the pursuit of freedom and die poor, than live under the illusion of wealth... and then die anyway.

It's an uphill fight too. I mean, I started late with the whole "know thyself" thing. Identifying the sources of one's biases is not easy, even if you get on it from day 1. And it gets worse. The more you remove the layers of indoctrination from your consciousness, the more you find caked on there. But what can you do? Run out the clock buried in illusion, or die in the unfinished process of realization.

So I guess this economy thing is just one more layer. And it's a thick one too. It's really the most basic function of our society, the single biggest obstacle to our ability to trust and help each other. Can't live with it, can't eat without it.

The threefold choice here is as obvious as it is unfortunate: Accept poverty & live outside the tent, accept illusion and waste your life in the pursuit of wealth, or go nuts and try to burn the whole sorry mess down, Fight-Club style. Kinda bleak, no?

For me, the only acceptable choice of these is the first... and it really isn't acceptable. I mean really. How can I accept poverty as the only mode of living? Poverty sucks.

There are days when a legitimate life of crime looks way more inviting. Know what I mean? Wouldn't you rather be the master of a cohort of wage-slaves? That's the way: Own your business, and then pay people as little as legally possible to run it for you. You get the profits, they do the work. Pay them enough to keep them alive, but little enough to keep them desperate to come back the next day.

Gotta leave it there. Time to get ready for work.

More on this as I try to understand it.

War Against the Pigeons

It's a perennial fight. They succeeded last year with the birth of their prince/princess, Francis (lack the intel to know for sure, hence the androgenous name). Been chasing them off the balcony ever since.

We can learn something from pigeons. They're weak, stupid and annoying. They are also tenacious as hell. No matter what measures are enacted to throw out of the home they have chosen, they persist in returning to rebuild their smashed home. Their persistence in the face of adversity would be inspiring, if not for the fact that they shit more than any two dogs.

More than persistence though, I reckon it's a weird combination of memory and forgetfulness that keeps them coming back. They remember where home is, but forget that it is also home to two angry bipeds and a carnivorous (and very territorial) cat. They remember only that this is the place where their son/daughter was born.

Without getting all political, this reminds me of a number of displaced cultural groups - not the bit about being weak, stupid and annoying, nor the bit about shitting a lot, but the rest of it.

Of course we're encroaching on their habitat. Let's not forget that they are also encroaching on OUR habitat. Who's to blame here? Clearly I was here before the pigeons were - both in terms of how many years we've been on this rock (2 for them, several more for me) and in terms of how long we've been living in this particular location (a year and a half for me, a year for them). Also, this habitat was built for humans, not pigeons.

Maybe Garfield was right about something: You must establish your territory, and then be prepared to defend it. Or was that Henry Kissinger? I have trouble telling the difference sometimes.

Singing, Pigs and the Job

I've had this Blogger account for about a year now & never posted once. Thought you needed something important to say. Having read a blog or a thousand since then, all I can say is... Boy is my face red.

...Moving on...

First time I wrote an autobiography I was 15. It was understandably short (that's what she said anyway) and vapid. Why argue with what works?

At work a couple weeks ago, I was singing under my breath and a lady at the counter said "Better not give up your day-job." Funny thing is, I work at night. What was she really saying?

Edie Brackell (spelling?) bugs the living Christ outta me. Can't put my finger on the exact reason. Perhaps it is the same reason that "some there are who cannot abide a gaping pig... others, when the bagpipe sings i'the nose, cannot contain their urine." All I know is, when Edie sings through her nose, I wanna stab people in the ears.

On a related note, I've started to question Paul Simon's wisdom.

I hate politics, but am inexorably drawn to it. Reminds me of my job.

Today is a day off from the job I hate. Nothing personal against the people there; by and large they're good folks, and the work keeps me out of trouble. Feels like a waste of life to be there is all. The job flies in the face of so much that I hold dear.... like money, for instance.

Good news though: I have another job... One that does not pay as much as my more acceptable, minimum-wage one, but one I enjoy infinitely more. I get to do that one today. See you at the studio.

Since brevity is the sole of wit (some asshole wrote a poem about that once), I'll end it there today. Til next time, remember: Arguing with corn-fat crackers is like trying to break up a fight between two pigs. You get mud all over you, and the pigs resent you for it.

Peace and Respect!