All I Want for Christmas (and the New Year) Is for People to Come to Their Senses

Well it's that time of year again. Christmas - that sad excuse for a holiday that used to mean something, but is now a sickening orgy of consumerism has passed and soon the New Year will be upon us.

Sometimes I think about resolutions I will try my best to honor, like frequenting more dive bars or bingeing on donuts or finally getting up the nerve to sexually harass a man in public. Though I'm not too sure about that last one. The dudes might enjoy it too much.

Other times, like this year, I think about all the crap society should vow to purge itself of. For example, it would be so wonderful if corporate culture could be seen as passe, once and for all. How refreshing it would be to hear people in cafes chatting and saying things like: "Corporate culture? Yeah! That was pretty disgusting!" It would give me such a warm feeling inside.

And car culture. I still hate it, even though I am now driving. As a matter of fact, I hate it even more now. Maybe some of you have seen romantic moments in an automobile. Or perhaps you even feel so affectionate towards your vehicle as to actually name it. Sorry, I can't identify on that one. Living in the US at least, it's just too rough if you ever plan on being a pedestrian for more than ten minutes. And to me, that has all kinds of nasty side effects, from making folk more anti-social, to aggravating the obesity crisis. My estimate is that Americans have a walking deficit of 8,000 steps a day thanks to car culture. That's not good news. I've walked 140,000 steps this month, and that has only burned off two pounds, a pound consisting of 3500 calories. On average, if you only walk 2000 steps a day or less, chances are those tasty burgers you like so much will end up living permanently on your hips. And then while in traffic, you'll have even more of an excuse to rage at other drivers. See what I mean about the negative effects? Fortunately, Google will soon solve this problem for us, by building self-driving cars. Fantastic! Then we will all get to sip milkshakes while having our lazy butts carted around... you gotta love the madness of modern drivelization.

I'm sure I will think of other things I'd like to see changed. Of course, in the meantime, the solution is to change myself first. So of course, I will continue spitting on corporate culture. I plan to get even better at that. I will also keep up with the walks, in spite of the fact that Americans seem to think I am a bum for insisting on taking such long hikes. Oh hell America! What do you want me to do instead then? Get one of those awful Segways? No thanks. I saw how the inventor of those ended up. It wasn't pretty. Kind of hilarious though if you know the story.

Way hey, Marina del Rey!

Wow, this recession is really taking me places! :D My family and I are now officially frickin' nomads, going from city to city in our job search. Thank you corporate Murka! Remind me to send you the contents of our litter box (we have two cats). Hey it's the least I can do, my friend ;) It's all you've ever given me...

I don't know much about Los Angeles and its environs at all. I know for a fact that the drivers are a little nutty. They rarely signal when changing lanes and seem to get a wee thrill out of cutting in front of other drivers in general. Don't know what that is. In Oregon the driving style was almost meditative.

I wonder if folk here are as superficial as everyone in the Bay Area seemed to think? But heck, San Fran had its little snobberies and airs about it, that's for damn sure. For one thing, I felt I was the odd one out looking for work, and everyone else was sitting comfortably as trustafarians. "Job searcher?! Haha! That's very blue collar!" So I think they can shut up and stop criticizing other cities.

I do get the feeling that there are more industries to choose from here, job-wise. After all, Jane or Joe Schmo needs some kind of job if she or he ever plans to make it in Tinseltown.

It is pretty here in Marina del Rey, where I now live in a small one bedroom with my mother. Weather is pleasant. I get to be a beach bum and watch the other bums dancing about in the sun. I suppose the advantage to having such a huge population of bums is that they can outnumber the yuppies and perhaps dine on them if they get really hungry :) Mmm, expensive, but so very tasty! We like our meat rare!

He's mighty miffed!

So I am playing around with Cafepress a bit. Not that it would necessarily bring in a profit during a recession, but I like being able to customize and personalize things, as I suspect many folk do.

I've added a 'humor' section and the first image that came to mind was the 'angry bankster' dollar bill image I created a couple of weeks ago. Laughter is so many things, isn't it? Medicine, weapon, relaxant...

So then, get your angry bankster stadium blanket (or other angry bankster merchandise) while they are still available. And if the featured angry bankster decides to sue me, you know I'll still be laughing like a maniac behind bars :) Capitalism is pretty much the worst joke ever.

Come and get it! Angry bankster stadium blanket

LYNCH CORPORATE CULTURE NOW!

Yes, it has come down to this. I'm not usually one to advocate violence. But if you're not one of the lemmings who has bought into the corporate paradigm, you must murder it. There is no other way. If you think there is, think about what your children's futures will look like under this kind of oppression. Such false and callous authority. It can only get worse if allowed to fester.

If you feel you no longer have the strength, understand that you have more power than some dead, fictitious entity. Understand that life is stronger than anything man-made, because it has the incredible force of spirit behind it. If it helps, think about animal totems. Use the power of brother hawk to get the larger perspective, then zero in on your prey and make your kill. Use the energy of sister panther to claw at and kill all that is excessive and unhealthy in your environment. Right now, that would probably be the fake constructs of money and business. Take inspiration from raccoon to secretly investigate all that is wrong with this culture, and plan accordingly. Get that little black mask out! Be a ninja in service of justice. Use the amazing wisdom of owl to master silent flight past your enemy, so you can carry on uninterrupted. Take an example from squirrel or mouse and observe their awareness to detail.

Use the power of the changing seasons to recharge your own energy. You are powerful and dynamic. These dead systems are not. It's time we all saw the light. We can do this. We can finally be in service to life, and only life. Let the corrupt old men cough up blood and finally die off. That is the way of nature, life and spirit. There can be no other way.

And finally, if corporations are indeed persons (as was decided in the appalling Citizens United ruling), we should indeed be able to reach our respective verdicts and have them lynched :) Oh, silly me! Lynching doesn't require any verdict! Well all the more simple then :D We can get right to it.

Weirdly, I am writing this on the anniversary of Steve Jobs' death. I had no idea until I was reminded by the news. Well what a happy coincidence then. Are you enjoying whatever circle of hell you are now inhabiting Steve? I hope so. It pleases me no end to think of you there, fucker.

An Update

Twitter has now done something that would make Apple mighty proud - it suspended the account attached to the petition to repeal Citizens United. Why does this not surprise me? And why is there so very little outrage over it?! By now, we've really sold our souls to the devil. Why don't we care? Are we simply too exhausted? Is there so little fight left in us, that we refuse to even mock them anymore? Lord, are we in trouble...

For anyone who cares, disregard the link to Twitter in the previous post. Or click on it if you don't believe they've suspended it. There is now a new Facebook page regarding Twitter's action:

Twitter Quashes the Campaign to Repeal Citizens United

Repeal Citizens United - Please sign if you can...

All right, even if you happen to be a rabid Apple fanboy, you still would probably prefer that corporations not be defined as natural persons. Unless of course you are deeply anti-social and feel you have more in common with an unthinking, non-breathing, entirely fictitious entity. Then, yeah, I would get it.

So my appeal is to those who believe in the power of the people not to be bought. Get back to the original definition of democracy for a change. Breastfeed actual infants, not CEOs! You get what I'm saying?

Here are the links:

The Petition

Twitter

Facebook

Let's get things 'simplified,' so we can all breathe a little more easily!

Beautiful piece

Found a wonderful article by Chris Hedges today on Truthout. It was uplifting in a real and promising way. No New Agey stuff about 2012, just the facts on the inevitability of collapse of corrupt systems. We need more like this:

Don't say you weren't warned...

"America is immune to all appeals. Her people do not understand the language of the poet. They do not wish to recognize suffering - it is too embarrassing. They do not greet Beauty with open arms - her presence is disturbing to heartless automatons. Their fear of violence drives them to commit insane cruelties. They have no reverence for form or image: they are bent on destroying whatever does not conform to their pattern, which is chaos. They are not even concerned with their own disintegration, because they are already putrescent. A vast congeries of rotting sepulchres, America holds for yet a little while, awaiting the opportune moment to blow itself to smithereens."

- Henry Miller