Richter, are you prepared? Have you adjusted? Are you ready for the hideous possibilities that are presented to us in this dark year of our Lord 2009? I'd like to think you are, but the dearth of nervous and panicky news reports from the East coast leads me to believe that you have been rather lax in your efforts.
This isn't a time for half measures, sir. This is a time for stomping around, shitting blood, and scaring the living bejesus out of the drones that surround you.
Simply ask yourself "What would Patrick Henry do?" You know what he'd do. Old Pat was a crusty bastard, and didn't take any shit off of anyone. He in fact invented "Or Kill Me", and as such is the best source of advice I can offer you in your endeavors.
He understood that "treason" is only a bad thing when you live in a good society. And while our society has many cosmetic benefits, the horrible truth is that it's a trap. Sure, they don't often kick in your door and haul you off in the middle of the night, sure they rarely hold people without charges, and sometimes you can send a letter or make a phone call without some government geek listening in. No, the problems Patrick Henry faced were fairly straight forward, and the enemy was easily identified.
Not so, in our case. We have a far more subtle enemy...we have the TV, which tells everyone that Everything Is Fine, we have 8 million goodies we can buy on easy terms, we have the slavery of excessive consumption. The threats to our liberty are not represented by an iron fist, but a comfortable woobie that we can wrap ourselves in and pretend that our society isn't fundamentally sick.
I mean, why hold the population down with force, when you can convince them that torturing is good and right, and Jack Bauer is there to save them from the ticking time bomb left by smudgy people from unfurnished countries? Why kick them with jackboots, when you can simply smother them in debt?
This is no way for a free people to live, Richter, and it's damn near too late to do anything about it. It's finals week, sir, and the time for "3 word story" and "The Haiku Game" are long past. We shall not prevail with street theater or silly internet trolls. It's time to shit or get off the pot.
So, Richter, are you ready for The Finals™?
Or Kill Me.
Am I catching the blame for the news again? Well SHIT, I can't be held responsible for what the media decides to shit itself over.
If it's the other discordian contingent you're talking about, well, then that's an odd case all right.
Suu's bugging out, and fuckign FUCK SHIT. It works for her though, and at least her and the General will be closer to the border. Not that a border will make any difference, but it may get them a few months, paperwork to obfuscate and holes to slip through when it all closes down.
Eve, LMNO and Dcup are all subject to the singularity that is their city. They're fine there, in that city, SCREAMING and FLAILING FINE IM FINE IM FINE! ITS ALL ALL RIGHT ALREADY! WE'LL ALL FLAOT ON! The Mass. Metro area will eat ANYTHING, unlike Olaf, and they are giving it indigestion. LMNO is still a bit broken up over BF1's breakup, but it's a good. Watching them split was a reminder of Curly, as if he was wearing tight khakis with a pink polo, drawn and quartered, thrown into a laundromat dray and set to "Beef Jerky". In a month they'll refuse to talk about it again, like they refuse to talk about 9/11 anymore, but love to tell us how we're not SAFE. Jsut stepping onto our porches like harvard professors won't cut it, we need to keep going down the street in big fucking boots, some heavy old clothes, laoded with something good and CONTAGIOUS. Beers with a president cannot be accepted as placation for the direction this is all going.
EoC, Dimo, I ahev yet to check in with, but there's hope there Roger. I will not be alone in the wasteland.
Nothing short of nukes will stop Cram, and Cainad's a jagged splinter off the same mold.
I NEED to be free Roger.
I have to be able to eat a reuben at high speed, fly through the woods, and shower the plastic excuse for sauerkraut back onto mother nature. She better bring 2 cups.
I have to be able to gear up in a public park and beat people with a stick, and tell the hypervigilant police it FINE, I'm only there to play with other consentign adults, and we're not going to ask the city to tell us not to.
I have to be able to pitch a rant about how it's all so bizzare the water could be mescaline and we'd never notice the switch without someone getting all nervy over even BREATHING a comment about non consensual drug use. Call out that bastard from Fogler's first. I will not be fed decaf.
I am maniacal force, but I do it all for the sake of humping the top of Maslowe's pyramid, for the sacrament of having a good time. I am not safe, never will be. I am frightful to them becasue my idea of fun is POSSIBLY FATAL, and I grew the humor to go with it around the folks they hate to admit they have, but are VITAL to America being here in the first place. They fear it because these back pocket philosophy assholes are only happy with their buses being hypothetical.
They will not like me and never will. I will not waste their time with a mild and toned down "Safe" Richter. I am one of the Good Guys, and as fucked and deranged as that is, I will bring the word and the fun to all those I know.
I can't write Haiku anymore. Haiku is a scabbard, an oiled wrapping, a mantle to keep that heirloom tool of HORRIBLE idle when it's not needed. My tools are in my hands, bound fast by my fucking thumbs.
Of course you realize, Richter, that they are going to toss us in a cage before this is all over. The world is no longer a hospitable place for people who are serious about having a good time. As you point out, they did Curly in for exactly this reason.
But what of it? Is it better to die of boredom on your knees, or get thrown in a cell with puncture wounds and unexplained welts and sucker marks all over your taser-burned carcass, still screaming that rebel yell that they haven't heard since '83?
I know what my choice will be. I know what Patrick Henry did, and Ben "anything for a laugh" Franklin, and Curly, and the ghost of Payne.
And Paine, for that matter, a hideous mutant that wasn't built for his time or any other. They said he took it too far, that he never knew when to quit, and that he wanted actual freedom which everyone knows is a little too dangerous for monkeys to manage. So they beat him and beat him, but he never did shut up. Legend has it that if you visit his grave, you can still hear a howling noise filtering up through the dirt.
But fuck them and their limits, Richter. They don't know what you and I know, they haven't spent any time in the fast lane of the Lost Highway...for that can't be trademarked, and plastic wrapped, and made into safe, harmless fun for the whole family. Hell, even the police won't follow you there, though they might be waiting for you on the off ramp, should you ever find one.
No, the time for "limits" and "safe" and "harmless" have come and gone. We tried that, and all it did was make us slaves. So now it's time to have FUN, and no listening to whimpering about "noise laws" and "collateral damage". There's no speed limit ANYWHERE, Bubba, and if you see us coming, you better run.
The pendulum swings, Richter, and it swings wide. We've seen what 30 years of Reaganism has done to America, and now they need to see a few decades of Lord Buckley, drowning them in spittle as we bray our mockery and our laughter in their gibbering faces.
It's what this country was designed to do. This nation isn't a Lexus, and we need to stop pretending that it is. It's a beat up Jeep with a spiked bumper, and here we come. I was BORN for this shit, Richter, and it's time to stop pretending to be something I'm not.
Or kill me.
How do we get them IN to it though?
I walk by people every day, they have that same hell bent gleam in their eyes. The ones who suddenly stand at attention when I have a good cathartic ranting brainshit in Wal - Mart. The ones who can BE the American dream.
I don't know how much more journalism can do, Gonzo life is the only reasonable conclusion I can arrive at. Dump them into it, get them involved. No support ribbons, peaceful protests, or Facebook tags, you walk in the door by getting your hands DIRTY. No initiation, prescreening, open house, or meet and greet. Get yo ass up to speed and ROLL like you WANT TO.
Play the FUCK out of the game, eat the HELL out of that cheeseburger, point the red wagon downhill, and fly off at it.
I watch people and they're only waiting. Sitting there against the one or two glowing be - all end - all secret God moments of their lives, and they are fucking wasting it.
Every second will only ever be as hysterical as we make it.
Dr. Landshark rides again.
Fuck 'em all, Richter, the best thing we can do is lead by example. I can't wait for them, I gotta get my monkey on NOW. Let the huddled masses follow or not, as they see fit. Let the Discordians and the Subgenii and the others dive in, or just keep putting their pinky toe in to test the waters. Not I, sir, I have to jump the fuck in, I have to take it to the fucking wall.
And I gotta do it now. Tomorrow is too late. Tomorrow is the enemy, because it's always gonna be tomorrow, isn't it? No. Today.
And just what are these people waiting FOR, Richter? Nothing. They are conditioned so well that they wait for the sake of waiting itself. Let me say it again: TOMORROW IS THE ENEMY. Not the so-called government, not some nebulous cabal of bankers and industrialists, not the religious whackjobs or the Agnew-porn freaks. TOMORROW.
Some of the founders urged "tomorrow", even old Ben. But Sam Adams and Patrick Henry understood, Richter, they understood that Tomorrow is slavery and living death, and that the world is TODAY, life is TODAY, and fuck those that think that yesterday held the answers. If it DID, we wouldn't be in the shit we're in today.
If we need to get any message across to anyone, it's that THERE IS NO TOMORROW, save the narrow plot they shove you in when you die. NO TOMORROW. NO YESTERDAY. ONLY TODAY...and if you waste today, then you may as well jump in that narrow plot NOW, and save us all the hassle.
Or Kill Me.
Whoa.
Fuck yeah.
Quote from: LMNO on November 17, 2009, 07:16:42 PM
Whoa.
Fuck yeah.
I feel like a scab, Alphapance, like a strikebreaker, but what can I do? I don't shit the rant, the rant shits me. There is no TIME for fuckweasels like KopyKat and TOA, there is no time for ANYTHING. Time is a commodity, and we have RUN THE FUCK OUT. Look around you? Everywhere, everything is falling apart, and Saturday Night may soon be a thing of the past...hell, for many people,
it already is.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe my rage gland is acting up, and I'm pissed off over nothing...but I doubt it. I don't think it's just my bad attitude, I think that maybe things really ARE that bad, and that it's time to head for the wasteland, there to plot and plan and generally carry on.
How bad does it have to get, LMNO? Must we wait until we're ALL door greeters at WalMart? How about you? Will you go gently into that good night, or will you hear the lion within you roar? As one man asked, will YOU take to the hills, LMNO? After all, even THEY are all afraid, but they can't see why, because their conditioning won't allow them to see that huge fucking elephant in the living room.
But I see it. Oh, yes. And I am not fooled.
Or kill me.
You'll never have any fun hiding out until it's safe, becasue it never will be.
Go out looking for it. Fly screaming at the bastards when they come for you. Even if no one can say you did it SMART, at least you can say you did it with some STYLE.
Dammit.
They can take my limbs, they can take my cartilage.
They can feed me the pills to slough off the rust that slowly accretes on my bones.
They can trick me into spending 50 hours a week under the cool, cruel flourescence. They can give me just enough to get my second-best choice of what the offer me on TV, and try to make me feel bad about not affording my first choice.
They can offer me credit, and grease up my asshole while doing it.
They can berate me about how I should live my life.
They can offer me alcohol to ease the pain.
They can manipulate my choices, playing the two-man con with the world as the sucker.
But I'll never give IT to them.
I nurture IT, deep in my heart. IT belongs to me, and I hide IT from the prying eyes of their satellites.
IT burns hot. Sometimes IT is hard to look at, like a welder's arc. IT is alive. IT is mine. They can't have IT.
IT tells me things, TGRR. IT speaks to me. Late at night, when I'm falling asleep, IT speaks of the open plains of possibility, the land of Anything-Can-Happen, If You're Batshit Crazy Enough. IT tells me the story of the Great Escape, how many tried, few succeeded, and even left made it back to tell their secrets.
IT stays with me through my days, and even though I may have days when I walk with a cane, people can see IT behind my eyes when I tell them of the days to come, if they only reach out and fucking grab it.THEY will never take IT away from me.
Quote from: Richter on November 17, 2009, 07:47:40 PM
You'll never have any fun hiding out until it's safe, becasue it never will be.
Go out looking for it. Fly screaming at the bastards when they come for you. Even if no one can say you did it SMART, at least you can say you did it with some STYLE.
And that's EXACTLY what John Dillinger tried to tell us. Fuck up GLORIOUSLY, if you have to, but do it with panache. Why the hell do you think they gunned him down? It wasn't because he robbed banks, it wasn't even because he escaped from the "escape-proof" prison, it's because he did it with style, he made that shit look
good.
He was a giant among men, and the world hasn't seen his like since. Only once a century or so does a full-bore freak like Dillinger appear, and we never appreciate them while they're here. RAW said that Dillinger died for our sins, and I suspect he might have been right.
Quote from: LMNO on November 17, 2009, 07:49:32 PM
Dammit.
They can take my limbs, they can take my cartilage.
They can feed me the pills to slough off the rust that slowly accretes on my bones.
They can trick me into spending 50 hours a week under the cool, cruel flourescence.
They can give me just enough to get my second-best choice of what the offer me on TV, and try to make me feel bad about not affording my first choice.
They can offer me credit, and grease up my asshole while doing it.
They can berate me about how I should live my life.
They can offer me alcohol to ease the pain.
They can manipulate my choices, playing the two-man con with the world as the sucker.
But I'll never give IT to them.
I nurture IT, deep in my heart. IT belongs to me, and I hide IT from the prying eyes of their satellites.
IT burns hot. Sometimes IT is hard to look at, like a welder's arc. IT is alive. IT is mine. They can't have IT.
IT tells me things, TGRR. IT speaks to me. Late at night, when I'm falling asleep, IT speaks of the open plains of possibility, the land of Anything-Can-Happen, If You're Batshit Crazy Enough.
IT tells me the story of the Great Escape, how many tried, few succeeded, and even left made it back to tell their secrets.
IT stays with me through my days, and even though I may have days when I walk with a cane, people can see IT behind my eyes when I tell them of the days to come, if they only reach out and fucking grab it.
THEY will never take IT away from me.
Shit yeah.
the problem is i am one.
the many have not revealed themselves to me and so i remain one.
until then i cannot be more than one.
i've always known the internet as 'Total communication, total isolation.' and this proves it.
because although in front of me on this screen i see what would be many, but then i realise this is no longer southeast Kent UK. this is earth and all that lies on it. and then that many are so few.
what's worse is i am young and still immature. i am not of the right mind to make myself a false but believable many.
so yes i HATE what is happening and yes i WANT to change it. but as of yet i feel un-able.
but you know what?
I'm gonna make them realise that that's not gonna stop me trying. just because i won't make enough of a difference YET. so if they ignore me it'll be the best mistake they ever make.
Themeninss, you can't change anyone but yourself. You can't wake the masses up, and they'll kill you if you try. Just look at what they did to Gandhi and Jesus and Martin Luther King and Curley. Get your freak on, don't worry about them. They'll hardly notice when you leave tire tracks up their collective arses.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:19:08 PM
Themeninss, you can't change anyone but yourself. You can't wake the masses up, and they'll kill you if you try. Just look at what they did to Gandhi and Jesus and Martin Luther King and Curley. Get your freak on, don't worry about them. They'll hardly notice when you leave tire tracks up their collective arses.
i'm not attempting to wake the masses i'm doing exactly as you just stated. i'm doing my thing and letting them wake themselves but sometimes i just wish they'd hurry the fuck up y'know?
Quote from: themeninss on November 17, 2009, 08:22:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:19:08 PM
Themeninss, you can't change anyone but yourself. You can't wake the masses up, and they'll kill you if you try. Just look at what they did to Gandhi and Jesus and Martin Luther King and Curley. Get your freak on, don't worry about them. They'll hardly notice when you leave tire tracks up their collective arses.
i'm not attempting to wake the masses i'm doing exactly as you just stated. i'm doing my thing and letting them wake themselves but sometimes i just wish they'd hurry the fuck up y'know?
Don't hold your breath, kid. If the masses haven't woken up yet, they aren't going to. Forget them, and get your fucking monkey on.
We once thought we could save the monkeys, here at PD, back in the idealistic days (about two weeks back in 2002/2003), but we've learned better since then. The monkeys that do wake up can find us. It's no good going looking for them, except for cheap sex and intentionally horrible romances.
Fuck.
Theres this thing I do. When I get up in the morning, get ready to go in to the university, I'm all set with my computer bag and I step outside of my apartment for a few moments. Maybe its dark still, and the stars are shining brightly, or maybe its pouring down rain, or a glorious orange sunrise. Whatever the sky looks like, I just stand there for a few moments to take it in.
This is a reminder. Yes, fuck you, fuck you loser humans who can't see it, you can all go live in your little cubicles with the wires straight to your brain. This is a reminder to me that I am HUGE, I am MASSIVE, and you can not fucking keep me down. The energy in my body is over 13 billion years old, the molecules in my body at least 5 billion years old, the lineage I head stretching back more than 3.5 billion years. You can't take that shit away from me, I'm just too big for you, too big for your comprehension. I'm just too big and old and SMART. I'm GINORMOUS. Okay? And the morning sky is just a reminder of that. Because when you puny apes look up, you feel so small and weak, but I am huge. And I get IT. And I take IT with me where ever I go. And I sit and identify caddisflies all day long for the sheer pleasure of being able to see those connections and know that 700 million years ago they and I were just little bilateral worms in the ocean. And so were you.
This is a reminder that today is awesome, that right now, is fucking AWESOME. Again, fuck you losers who can't see it, who would wish for tomorrow, the people who barely notice they are alive, who are barely breathing and thinking, who forget they are eating lunch, replaying dreams they had about American Idol over and over in their heads. Consciousness is wasted on humans.
I think I'm going to start doing this.
Also,
QuoteConsciousness is wasted on humans.
Post of the century.
Fuck yes, Kai. But they won't listen. They can't. They've been conditioned, so have we, but something went wrong with us, and it didn't take. I mean, it's not economical to hunt down every deviant and hammer them into holes, right? Besides, we make great headlines, occasionally.
Anyway, they CAN'T listen, and they hate you for the fact that you can. But they're afraid of you, too...never forget that. They FEAR you because you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing, and that upsets them on a level that they can't properly analyze. They were conditioned to ignore the giant elephant in the living room, but they just aren't prepared for the screaming fucking ape in the kitchen.
We are that ape, Kai, and they fear us. Perhaps it's time to remind them WHY they do.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:30:02 PM
Quote from: themeninss on November 17, 2009, 08:22:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:19:08 PM
Themeninss, you can't change anyone but yourself. You can't wake the masses up, and they'll kill you if you try. Just look at what they did to Gandhi and Jesus and Martin Luther King and Curley. Get your freak on, don't worry about them. They'll hardly notice when you leave tire tracks up their collective arses.
i'm not attempting to wake the masses i'm doing exactly as you just stated. i'm doing my thing and letting them wake themselves but sometimes i just wish they'd hurry the fuck up y'know?
Don't hold your breath, kid. If the masses haven't woken up yet, they aren't going to. Forget them, and get your fucking monkey on.
We once thought we could save the monkeys, here at PD, back in the idealistic days (about two weeks back in 2002/2003), but we've learned better since then. The monkeys that do wake up can find us. It's no good going looking for them, except for cheap sex and intentionally horrible romances.
there are a few out there who share my mindset but not to the same level. Those people i feel are worth working on as there is something to work with. just like a friend of mine gave me a nudge in the right direction i plan to pass it on. as for cheap sex, the price of a johnny and a few hours doesn't sound too bad :evil:. gotta enjoy the little things. and tbh just because they're asleep, doesn't mean i can't fuck about with their dreamstate. so fuck-it i'll let them sleep on, it's not stopping me having a good time. DREAM ON SLEEPERS!
Quote from: themeninss on November 17, 2009, 09:01:23 PM
there are a few out there who share my mindset but not to the same level. Those people i feel are worth working on as there is something to work with. just like a friend of mine gave me a nudge in the right direction i plan to pass it on. as for cheap sex, the price of a johnny and a few hours doesn't sound too bad :evil:. gotta enjoy the little things. and tbh just because they're asleep, doesn't mean i can't fuck about with their dreamstate. so fuck-it i'll let them sleep on, it's not stopping me having a good time. DREAM ON SLEEPERS!
Meh. Humans are good for three things:
1. Sex, but it's a kink, like bestiality.
2. Patsies.
3. Open gear lube for The Machine™.
Leave them to their dreams, for their dreams are small, weak things, mostly having to do with plastic boobs and little paper rectangles used for trade. Sure, you CAN eat those kind of dreams, but you'll only be hungry an hour later.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:57:46 PM
Fuck yes, Kai. But they won't listen. They can't. They've been conditioned, so have we, but something went wrong with us, and it didn't take. I mean, it's not economical to hunt down every deviant and hammer them into holes, right? Besides, we make great headlines, occasionally.
Anyway, they CAN'T listen, and they hate you for the fact that you can. But they're afraid of you, too...never forget that. They FEAR you because you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing, and that upsets them on a level that they can't properly analyze. They were conditioned to ignore the giant elephant in the living room, but they just aren't prepared for the screaming fucking ape in the kitchen.
We are that ape, Kai, and they fear us. Perhaps it's time to remind them WHY they do.
It doesn't matter that they don't listen, Roger. If they want to waste the precious life they have I can't do anything about that. But they should fear me, oh yes, because I do, my thoughts, my words and actions, they threaten the human world views. They are little and I am BIG. They could be big too if they wanted, but they are so afraid, so very afraid of loosing it and getting IT, because IT is different, and the world views can't abide different.
Quote from: Kai on November 17, 2009, 09:17:35 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:57:46 PM
Fuck yes, Kai. But they won't listen. They can't. They've been conditioned, so have we, but something went wrong with us, and it didn't take. I mean, it's not economical to hunt down every deviant and hammer them into holes, right? Besides, we make great headlines, occasionally.
Anyway, they CAN'T listen, and they hate you for the fact that you can. But they're afraid of you, too...never forget that. They FEAR you because you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing, and that upsets them on a level that they can't properly analyze. They were conditioned to ignore the giant elephant in the living room, but they just aren't prepared for the screaming fucking ape in the kitchen.
We are that ape, Kai, and they fear us. Perhaps it's time to remind them WHY they do.
It doesn't matter that they don't listen, Roger. If they want to waste the precious life they have I can't do anything about that. But they should fear me, oh yes, because I do, my thoughts, my words and actions, they threaten the human world views. They are little and I am BIG. They could be big too if they wanted, but they are so afraid, so very afraid of loosing it and getting IT, because IT is different, and the world views can't abide different.
Yes, it's too much trouble to be a biped, what with the bills and the traffic and who's minding the fort and what about Little Billy, who's gonna take care of Little Billy while we're out learning how to walk on our hind legs? Think of the Children™, Kai. This irresponsible "freedom" you claim to enjoy is only going to set the little darlings up for disappointment when they fail. That's why we don't bother with achievement anymore, we just tell them that they're special and that self-esteem is given, not earned. We're all unique in the very same way.
Who are we?
We're the happy, big people. With jackhammers. And big red straps.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 09:34:03 PM
Quote from: Kai on November 17, 2009, 09:17:35 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:57:46 PM
Fuck yes, Kai. But they won't listen. They can't. They've been conditioned, so have we, but something went wrong with us, and it didn't take. I mean, it's not economical to hunt down every deviant and hammer them into holes, right? Besides, we make great headlines, occasionally.
Anyway, they CAN'T listen, and they hate you for the fact that you can. But they're afraid of you, too...never forget that. They FEAR you because you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing, and that upsets them on a level that they can't properly analyze. They were conditioned to ignore the giant elephant in the living room, but they just aren't prepared for the screaming fucking ape in the kitchen.
We are that ape, Kai, and they fear us. Perhaps it's time to remind them WHY they do.
It doesn't matter that they don't listen, Roger. If they want to waste the precious life they have I can't do anything about that. But they should fear me, oh yes, because I do, my thoughts, my words and actions, they threaten the human world views. They are little and I am BIG. They could be big too if they wanted, but they are so afraid, so very afraid of loosing it and getting IT, because IT is different, and the world views can't abide different.
Yes, it's too much trouble to be a biped, what with the bills and the traffic and who's minding the fort and what about Little Billy, who's gonna take care of Little Billy while we're out learning how to walk on our hind legs? Think of the Children™, Kai. This irresponsible "freedom" you claim to enjoy is only going to set the little darlings up for disappointment when they fail. That's why we don't bother with achievement anymore, we just tell them that they're special and that self-esteem is given, not earned. We're all unique in the very same way.
Who are we?
I couldn't tell you who "we" are -- but I can tell you that if I'm a part of any "we," that "we" is not part of them. "Them" is the little bastards eating TV dinners and TV philosophy and TV politics in little trays, free refills included -- sometimes. LED indicators lighting up a cheery green every time they tune in to the latest ghost-man on the television screen, offering spectres of a reality sort of like what everyone lives in but with a few subtle differences. And these people are in a way, miraculous -- they can make that reality into their reality. A rose-tinted transparency on the overhead projector of Everything.
I'm not one of them, Roger. If there is a "we", if there can be a "we", that "we" is not with them.
BY EXCELLING IN THAT WHICH INTERESTS ME
BY ATTEMPTING TO AVOID THE LIMITATIONS OF BEING "PRACTICAL"
BY NOT LETTING OTHERS TELL ME WHAT TO THINK
I AM A DIPLOMAT AN AMBASSADOR OF ERIS AND IM HERE TO PWNS YOU!!!
Edit: Diplomat? wtf was i thinking
Quote from: null & void on November 17, 2009, 09:40:38 PM
I couldn't tell you who "we" are -- but I can tell you that if I'm a part of any "we," that "we" is not part of them. "Them" is the little bastards eating TV dinners and TV philosophy and TV politics in little trays, free refills included -- sometimes. LED indicators lighting up a cheery green every time they tune in to the latest ghost-man on the television screen, offering spectres of a reality sort of like what everyone lives in but with a few subtle differences. And these people are in a way, miraculous -- they can make that reality into their reality. A rose-tinted transparency on the overhead projector of Everything.
I'm not one of them, Roger. If there is a "we", if there can be a "we", that "we" is not with them.
We're the people people. We're almost like you, but not quite as real. We make the things that make YOU real. Like reality television. Like the finest, newest, whitest supermodels. Like the newest rap artist, you have to like them, MTV even said so. Speaking of that, we're the people who brought you TRL. Nice. Short. Interrupted by enthusiastic young pretty people who are just gushing with joy over the 30 seconds of video clip we give you. We're the people that bring you special reports that tell you what to be really careful about. We're the smiling face telling you all about the newest pill. Have you heard about it? It's
purple.
Who are we?
That "we" is The People behind "them". The People who made a few trillion artificial suns so we'd never have to see the real thing, and The People who made telepathy machines so we'd never have to meet each other, just have to put those banana-shaped sensors next to our heads. It made things easier for everyone, and it made it easier to fall into the trap of "them". Then Those People made the pundits, the talking heads, the ghost-men with their verbal snake oil. And it's all a trap, you know, because all of it leads right into the cogs you are, no doubt, all too aware of. Those cogs with teeth like mountains and a slow, unhesitating pace. It's important to Those People that things keep going into the cogs, because it keeps them running smoothly. And Those People know that if Cog #594390 ever clicked so much as a nanosecond out of line with Sprocket #57823, it would mean certain d00m.
Quote from: null & void on November 17, 2009, 09:53:10 PM
That "we" is The People behind "them". The People who made a few trillion artificial suns so we'd never have to see the real thing, and The People who made telepathy machines so we'd never have to meet each other, just have to put those banana-shaped sensors next to our heads. It made things easier for everyone, and it made it easier to fall into the trap of "them". Then Those People made the pundits, the talking heads, the ghost-men with their verbal snake oil. And it's all a trap, you know, because all of it leads right into the cogs you are, no doubt, all too aware of. Those cogs with teeth like mountains and a slow, unhesitating pace. It's important to Those People that things keep going into the cogs, because it keeps them running smoothly. And Those People know that if Cog #594390 ever clicked so much as a nanosecond out of line with Sprocket #57823, it would mean certain d00m.
Don't think about that, citizen. We have many bright things for you to look at, and many fun diversions for you. A great deal of effort has been expended to give you what you want, and at rock-bottom prices, we might add. It simply wouldn't do to be so ungrateful as to refuse these shiny, wonderful things, would it? No, that sort of behavior is exhibited by badwrong people who don't
want nice things. You've seen them, those people
walking. Living under bridges, panhandling because they didn't want what we have to offer. Empty people. Smudgy people. People from unfurnished countries. We're against
them that.
Who are we?
We are the people who make sure the trains run on time.
We are the people who make sure the speech Stays On Message.
We are the people who take the notes. Who analyze the images. Who write the memos. We are the people who engineer the latest fashion.
We are the future
We were the revolution.
Didn't you notice?
the finals are not a survivalist trip in the hills - unless they are.
the finals are not a minimum wage job in a spirit destroying job - for some people
the finals are not a mind numbing show you watch on your TV set - unless you are watching with an alert mind
the finals are not some shiny material possession that you must have - but some shiny material possessions will be invaluable to those in the finals
the finals are not about getting caught on your heals - they are about being on your toes
the finals are not about what you are looking for - they are about what you see and how quick you see it
the finals are not about scraps of paper with values assigned to them - the finals are about what has real value and assigning it correctly
the finals are not going to tell you what to do or how to behave - you should know by now
the finals are not what the majority are willing to put up with - they are what you wont put up with anymore
the finals are not tomorrow - they are right now
Quote from: Demolition_Squid on November 17, 2009, 10:42:52 PM
We were the revolution.
Fuck That.
We ARE the revolution.
Not one of those revolutions that make a difference
TM, but the revolution that happens every day. The revolution for ourselves, that makes a difference to no one else.
We are having fun revolting, and have revolting fun. We will still be having fun when the hammer comes down. And there is no need to worry about that day, for today is the day for having fun. As is tomorrow, and so was yesterday.
The Revolution died a long time ago. The leeches sucked it dry. No, I'm not talking about the System or the Man or whatever the fuck you call it. I'm talking about the People. The People failed the Revolution, let the System turn them into parasites. They believed what they were told, let their dreams be taken away from them, let themselves become addicted to that most addictive and illusory of drugs. Control. They System told them that they could have control over their lives, over their government, over existence, and without even lifting a finger. It taught them to forget that freedom and with it control have to be earned with blood and effort. And so the monkeys became leeches, and they sucked the Revolution dry.
Any revolution starts going septic when joined by those who see it as a scene, rather than a necessity.
Quote from: Dr. James Semaj on November 17, 2009, 11:35:42 PM
The Revolution died a long time ago. The leeches sucked it dry. No, I'm not talking about the System or the Man or whatever the fuck you call it. I'm talking about the People. The People failed the Revolution, let the System turn them into parasites. They believed what they were told, let their dreams be taken away from them, let themselves become addicted to that most addictive and illusory of drugs. Control. They System told them that they could have control over their lives, over their government, over existence, and without even lifting a finger. It taught them to forget that freedom and with it control have to be earned with blood and effort. And so the monkeys became leeches, and they sucked the Revolution dry.
Hrm. Gonna rant on this tomorrow.
Quote from: Richter on November 18, 2009, 12:45:48 AM
Any revolution starts going septic when joined by those who see it as a scene, rather than a necessity.
QTF. I'm familiar from this mostly from a musical perspective, as rock n roll was the revolution of the twentieth century, but from what I know, this always happens. Every time. Rockabilly, the hippies, the punks, grunge. It's always when it becomes the Next Big Thing(TM) that a movement loses touch with itself. I'm sure this applies to every other revolution, I'm just referring to what I know.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 06:29:59 PM
Of course you realize, Richter, that they are going to toss us in a cage before this is all over. The world is no longer a hospitable place for people who are serious about having a good time. As you point out, they did Curly in for exactly this reason.
But what of it? Is it better to die of boredom on your knees, or get thrown in a cell with puncture wounds and unexplained welts and sucker marks all over your taser-burned carcass, still screaming that rebel yell that they haven't heard since '83?
I know what my choice will be. I know what Patrick Henry did, and Ben "anything for a laugh" Franklin, and Curly, and the ghost of Payne.
And Paine, for that matter, a hideous mutant that wasn't built for his time or any other. They said he took it too far, that he never knew when to quit, and that he wanted actual freedom which everyone knows is a little too dangerous for monkeys to manage. So they beat him and beat him, but he never did shut up. Legend has it that if you visit his grave, you can still hear a howling noise filtering up through the dirt.
But fuck them and their limits, Richter. They don't know what you and I know, they haven't spent any time in the fast lane of the Lost Highway...for that can't be trademarked, and plastic wrapped, and made into safe, harmless fun for the whole family. Hell, even the police won't follow you there, though they might be waiting for you on the off ramp, should you ever find one.
No, the time for "limits" and "safe" and "harmless" have come and gone. We tried that, and all it did was make us slaves. So now it's time to have FUN, and no listening to whimpering about "noise laws" and "collateral damage". There's no speed limit ANYWHERE, Bubba, and if you see us coming, you better run.
The pendulum swings, Richter, and it swings wide. We've seen what 30 years of Reaganism has done to America, and now they need to see a few decades of Lord Buckley, drowning them in spittle as we bray our mockery and our laughter in their gibbering faces.
It's what this country was designed to do. This nation isn't a Lexus, and we need to stop pretending that it is. It's a beat up Jeep with a spiked bumper, and here we come. I was BORN for this shit, Richter, and it's time to stop pretending to be something I'm not.
Or kill me.
Whoa fuck! :mittens:
Quote from: The Right Reverend Nigel on November 19, 2009, 04:47:06 AM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 06:29:59 PM
Of course you realize, Richter, that they are going to toss us in a cage before this is all over. The world is no longer a hospitable place for people who are serious about having a good time. As you point out, they did Curly in for exactly this reason.
But what of it? Is it better to die of boredom on your knees, or get thrown in a cell with puncture wounds and unexplained welts and sucker marks all over your taser-burned carcass, still screaming that rebel yell that they haven't heard since '83?
I know what my choice will be. I know what Patrick Henry did, and Ben "anything for a laugh" Franklin, and Curly, and the ghost of Payne.
And Paine, for that matter, a hideous mutant that wasn't built for his time or any other. They said he took it too far, that he never knew when to quit, and that he wanted actual freedom which everyone knows is a little too dangerous for monkeys to manage. So they beat him and beat him, but he never did shut up. Legend has it that if you visit his grave, you can still hear a howling noise filtering up through the dirt.
But fuck them and their limits, Richter. They don't know what you and I know, they haven't spent any time in the fast lane of the Lost Highway...for that can't be trademarked, and plastic wrapped, and made into safe, harmless fun for the whole family. Hell, even the police won't follow you there, though they might be waiting for you on the off ramp, should you ever find one.
No, the time for "limits" and "safe" and "harmless" have come and gone. We tried that, and all it did was make us slaves. So now it's time to have FUN, and no listening to whimpering about "noise laws" and "collateral damage". There's no speed limit ANYWHERE, Bubba, and if you see us coming, you better run.
The pendulum swings, Richter, and it swings wide. We've seen what 30 years of Reaganism has done to America, and now they need to see a few decades of Lord Buckley, drowning them in spittle as we bray our mockery and our laughter in their gibbering faces.
It's what this country was designed to do. This nation isn't a Lexus, and we need to stop pretending that it is. It's a beat up Jeep with a spiked bumper, and here we come. I was BORN for this shit, Richter, and it's time to stop pretending to be something I'm not.
Or kill me.
Whoa fuck! :mittens:
Thanks. I was in a mood.
Quote from: Kai on November 17, 2009, 08:51:13 PM
Fuck.
Theres this thing I do. When I get up in the morning, get ready to go in to the university, I'm all set with my computer bag and I step outside of my apartment for a few moments. Maybe its dark still, and the stars are shining brightly, or maybe its pouring down rain, or a glorious orange sunrise. Whatever the sky looks like, I just stand there for a few moments to take it in.
This is a reminder. Yes, fuck you, fuck you loser humans who can't see it, you can all go live in your little cubicles with the wires straight to your brain. This is a reminder to me that I am HUGE, I am MASSIVE, and you can not fucking keep me down. The energy in my body is over 13 billion years old, the molecules in my body at least 5 billion years old, the lineage I head stretching back more than 3.5 billion years. You can't take that shit away from me, I'm just too big for you, too big for your comprehension. I'm just too big and old and SMART. I'm GINORMOUS. Okay? And the morning sky is just a reminder of that. Because when you puny apes look up, you feel so small and weak, but I am huge. And I get IT. And I take IT with me where ever I go. And I sit and identify caddisflies all day long for the sheer pleasure of being able to see those connections and know that 700 million years ago they and I were just little bilateral worms in the ocean. And so were you.
This is a reminder that today is awesome, that right now, is fucking AWESOME. Again, fuck you losers who can't see it, who would wish for tomorrow, the people who barely notice they are alive, who are barely breathing and thinking, who forget they are eating lunch, replaying dreams they had about American Idol over and over in their heads. Consciousness is wasted on humans.
This is fucking beautiful.
Glad you like it. Everyone should try it.
Bump.
I totally forgot about this.
Holy Shit.
Revolution? Think about the real meaning of that word. A cycle, a completed circle. The etymology - Latin
revolvere: To roll back. The turning of the wheel. Back to where we started. NO FUCKING CHANGE. It explains a lot of the Revolutions of the past, of course. And
that "revolution" is the one that's been going on since the beginning of it all.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 17, 2009, 08:57:46 PM
They've been conditioned, so have we, but something went wrong with us, and it didn't take.
It's true - we're the fuckups. :lulz:
Mittens to Roger, Richter, Kai, LMNO.
Quote from: Epimetheus on December 18, 2010, 06:17:27 PM
Revolution? Think about the real meaning of that word. A cycle, a completed circle. The etymology - Latin revolvere: To roll back. The turning of the wheel. Back to where we started. NO FUCKING CHANGE. It explains a lot of the Revolutions of the past, of course. And that "revolution" is the one that's been going on since the beginning of it all.
You wind up in the same position laterally, but a downward spiral also revolves.
Welcome to the 21st century, Epi.
Damn.
Bump for ever-increasing relevance.
It will be OK now. Really.
It's not just the normal sneering apathy I grew up knowing. It's the slow slide down from that. It's the slow degeneration of my own content as I realize I'm THAT GUY (Not That One Guy, to be clear) who just posts a few catchy snippets at ever increasing weekly intervals.
It will be OK, Dok. We have The Cause now. Everyone of our generation who doesn't feel like being on one side of this mess can partake of The Cause. They will get to Occupy. Damned if any of them know WHY they are Occupying, they jsut are. There's a tent city on Roger Williams green infected taint now, and drum circles at 9pm on a Sunday night. Why they did this in front of City Hall instead of the Capital is beyond me.
But it's easy for me to sneer and deride. The Cause goes on. The Cause is panhandling for money for hot coffees and tents to stay out in. The Cause can accept PayPal donations if you ask.
I could join The Cause, Doktor. I could make a Kickstarter page; "GET ME OFF MY ASS." Just a few more donations, that's all it will take.
I should love The Cause. I should like that everyone's out to do something about what they feel is wrong. I should like the fact that my generation is railing against zeitgeist notions of oppression and corporate greed. I remember wrangling college students at the first protest I ever went to, and wincing every time they gave a stammering "because it's BAD" explaination of the cause we had then. Now I see that everywhere... And no one has tied bagels to their head yet.
(Then a bum vomits explosively outside, and Donni is mocking him in dirty Pakistani I wish I could follow. )
Two year, huh? It never got weird enough for me, and it's not final enough yet either.
You people are so fucking precious to me right now. I'm holed up in my "safe house" reading this shit. This feels like love letters in a hospital bed.
I can't wait to meet you people in person and rub things on you.
Quote from: Richter on October 18, 2011, 04:10:02 AM
It will be OK now. Really.
It's not just the normal sneering apathy I grew up knowing. It's the slow slide down from that. It's the slow degeneration of my own content as I realize I'm THAT GUY (Not That One Guy, to be clear) who just posts a few catchy snippets at ever increasing weekly intervals.
It will be OK, Dok. We have The Cause now. Everyone of our generation who doesn't feel like being on one side of this mess can partake of The Cause. They will get to Occupy. Damned if any of them know WHY they are Occupying, they jsut are. There's a tent city on Roger Williams green infected taint now, and drum circles at 9pm on a Sunday night. Why they did this in front of City Hall instead of the Capital is beyond me.
But it's easy for me to sneer and deride. The Cause goes on. The Cause is panhandling for money for hot coffees and tents to stay out in. The Cause can accept PayPal donations if you ask.
I could join The Cause, Doktor. I could make a Kickstarter page; "GET ME OFF MY ASS." Just a few more donations, that's all it will take.
I should love The Cause. I should like that everyone's out to do something about what they feel is wrong. I should like the fact that my generation is railing against zeitgeist notions of oppression and corporate greed. I remember wrangling college students at the first protest I ever went to, and wincing every time they gave a stammering "because it's BAD" explaination of the cause we had then. Now I see that everywhere... And no one has tied bagels to their head yet.
(Then a bum vomits explosively outside, and Donni is mocking him in dirty Pakistani I wish I could follow. )
Two year, huh? It never got weird enough for me, and it's not final enough yet either.
The interesting thing about the OWS movement is, as nebulous as their demands are, the demands of the Egyptians were even weirder/more unrealistic.
But they won anyway.
Then they put the army in charge, because they didn't know what to do - because they had no plan for the post-victory - and now they're just as fucked as they were before, or close to it.
I've looked at the list of demands...Not bad, if that's the opening barrage of negotiable issues. If they're hardcore about them, though, there's going to be hell to pay.
I'm in, either way, because I don't know what else to do.
It's like a fucked up round of surfing, isn't it? You jump on something, not knowing if it's going to be that wave you shoot down and ride like you're king of drugs, or the one that will fuck you ass over heels and fling you into the breakwater rocks. Then again I can't see yet if this is a good beach or a bunch of people in Minessota sitting on cheap foam boogie boards in a public park saying "gnarly".
The good news is that being IN could be as non committal as showing up for the sake of "CHEESE ON TRISCUITS OR DEATH".
Quote from: Doktor Howl on October 18, 2011, 06:19:18 PM
Quote from: Richter on October 18, 2011, 04:10:02 AM
It will be OK now. Really.
It's not just the normal sneering apathy I grew up knowing. It's the slow slide down from that. It's the slow degeneration of my own content as I realize I'm THAT GUY (Not That One Guy, to be clear) who just posts a few catchy snippets at ever increasing weekly intervals.
It will be OK, Dok. We have The Cause now. Everyone of our generation who doesn't feel like being on one side of this mess can partake of The Cause. They will get to Occupy. Damned if any of them know WHY they are Occupying, they jsut are. There's a tent city on Roger Williams green infected taint now, and drum circles at 9pm on a Sunday night. Why they did this in front of City Hall instead of the Capital is beyond me.
But it's easy for me to sneer and deride. The Cause goes on. The Cause is panhandling for money for hot coffees and tents to stay out in. The Cause can accept PayPal donations if you ask.
I could join The Cause, Doktor. I could make a Kickstarter page; "GET ME OFF MY ASS." Just a few more donations, that's all it will take.
I should love The Cause. I should like that everyone's out to do something about what they feel is wrong. I should like the fact that my generation is railing against zeitgeist notions of oppression and corporate greed. I remember wrangling college students at the first protest I ever went to, and wincing every time they gave a stammering "because it's BAD" explaination of the cause we had then. Now I see that everywhere... And no one has tied bagels to their head yet.
(Then a bum vomits explosively outside, and Donni is mocking him in dirty Pakistani I wish I could follow. )
Two year, huh? It never got weird enough for me, and it's not final enough yet either.
The interesting thing about the OWS movement is, as nebulous as their demands are, the demands of the Egyptians were even weirder/more unrealistic.
But they won anyway.
Then they put the army in charge, because they didn't know what to do - because they had no plan for the post-victory - and now they're just as fucked as they were before, or close to it.
I've looked at the list of demands...Not bad, if that's the opening barrage of negotiable issues. If they're hardcore about them, though, there's going to be hell to pay.
I'm in, either way, because I don't know what else to do.
It feels like it's really happening, though. For the first time in my life, it's happening.
The funny thing is, nobody knows what to do.
I sat at a table tonight with four women who are all educated, successful people, successful as hell by 1960's standards... a decorated veteran with a Master's degree, a manager of an eye bank, an operations specialist for the eye bank, and a small business owner... and all of us are at imminent risk of losing our homes. One of us makes more than twice what her father ever earned, but that isn't enough anymore. None of us know what to do, except stand in the streets screaming for something to change. I live in a house that sold for $15k 15 years ago... and at it's highest point was worth half a million. WHAT THE FUCK. I'm one of the lucky ones, because I bought it at less than a quarter of a million. People who bought homes at the peak of the housing bubble are between a rock and a hard place, because if they lose their homes, with their $2000/month mortgage payments, they'll have to rent, and rental prices are based on peak bubble prices. I am able to continue my existence right purely thanks to the fact that mortgage interest is tax-deductible, reducing my taxable income to below Federal poverty level. No; my adjusted gross income is not reflective of my earned income. That's why I can't afford to get a job; even on the off chance that I could find employment it would not pay me what I am able to earn on my own. Even though I can't afford medical care which would help ensure my continued productivity.
You know, for the last nine years I've paid unemployment taxes (euphemistically called "self-employment tax") but I'm ineligible for unemployment because I'm self-employed. Funny, that. Funny that at one time I employed three people full-time, but the financial fuckery gutted my business and leaves me barely able to employ myself. People like me aren't paying taxes because we CAN'T, even though just a few years ago I had no problem paying six to eight thousand quarterly. The very rich aren't paying taxes because they WONT, and that's a big difference, there. Between can't and won't. I helped build my now-ex-husband's business to become wildly successful, and for a time he was in tremendous demand... but the entrepreneurs who used to hire him have scaled back or gone out of business, and now he has a good (very good) but very ordinary job with a corporation. That's not the way it should be. Out-of-control corporations have been actively attacking the entrepreneurial sector for three decades, and they are a monster that won't stop until we kill it.
So I really fucking hope that we kill it.
My point is, it doesn't matter if the protests don't have a single, clear, attainable demand. It's enough that people are in the streets screaming meaningless nothings.
"At least they're screaming, now." = Sentiment of the night!
Nickleback just made a song about it.
Everything is back to normal. You may now resume your daily lives, secure in the knowledge that The Machine™ has handled this little irregularity.
:crankey:
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on October 19, 2011, 05:43:08 PM
:crankey:
It was really only a matter of time.
You know this as well as I do.
Nickleback is still a band? :lulz:
Quote from: Nigel on October 19, 2011, 06:02:22 PM
Nickleback is still a band? :lulz:
I'd argue the term, but yes.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on October 19, 2011, 05:38:27 PM
Nickleback just made a song about it.
Everything is back to normal. You may now resume your daily lives, secure in the knowledge that The Machine™ has handled this little irregularity.
:cramstipated:
Wait, wait, wait! Nickelback is a real band!? All this time I thought it was just a derogatory term for a terrible band! :x
Phox,
Totally stole that from somewhere, but can't quite place it.