Thursday, April 30, 2020
Currently... (five most listen to bands in high school thingy)
Bowie
Psychedelic Furs
The Cure
The Berlin Philharmonic (or, everything on Deutsche Grammophon)
Depeche Mode.
Honorable mention: Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation (a very new sound to us)
We subscribed to Deutsche Grammophon. (Yes, that was something you could do back then.)
Every record they made, in the mail.
Psychedelic Furs
The Cure
The Berlin Philharmonic (or, everything on Deutsche Grammophon)
Depeche Mode.
Honorable mention: Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation (a very new sound to us)
We subscribed to Deutsche Grammophon. (Yes, that was something you could do back then.)
Every record they made, in the mail.
Currently... (H/T FB friend)
"I currently don't have the time (or, frankly, the mental energy) to find meaningful data about literacy in the United States. (I'm talking about all kinds of literacy – not just reading and writing, but also basic reasoning skills, science literacy, media literacy, etc.)
But, having dipped my toe (inadvisedly) into the comments sections of local media...it seems like an awful lot of people are functioning at about a sixth-grade level.
This probably shouldn't surprise me. But it always does.
There's that George Carlin bit: "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."
For whatever reason – privilege, inborn traits, upbringing, good teachers, choices that I've made, whatever – I've turned out to be pretty damn smart.
So I tend to keep company, mostly, with other smart people. (That's y'all!)
So my baseline expectation for the average person's cleverness is perhaps higher than it ought to be. And when I'm confronted with the brain-meltingly ignorant and facile utterances of some of my countrymen, my first reaction is to think "there's no *possible* way that you're actually this dumb; your nonsense must be motivated by something else".
But I'm gradually, grudgingly coming around to the notion that a lot of them *really are that dumb*. Somehow, vast swaths of our society manage to hold down jobs, raise families, own homes, pilot motor vehicles – all with the intellectual maturity of a middle-schooler.
Again – perhaps this shouldn't be surprising. Unless you're naturally curious, or receive social pressure from your peers, there's no particular *incentive* for folks to become knowledgeable about things that don't directly affect their own survival and happiness.
Apparently I *did* have time to write a condescending-as-fuck Facebook post about this, so whatever."
But, having dipped my toe (inadvisedly) into the comments sections of local media...it seems like an awful lot of people are functioning at about a sixth-grade level.
This probably shouldn't surprise me. But it always does.
There's that George Carlin bit: "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."
For whatever reason – privilege, inborn traits, upbringing, good teachers, choices that I've made, whatever – I've turned out to be pretty damn smart.
So I tend to keep company, mostly, with other smart people. (That's y'all!)
So my baseline expectation for the average person's cleverness is perhaps higher than it ought to be. And when I'm confronted with the brain-meltingly ignorant and facile utterances of some of my countrymen, my first reaction is to think "there's no *possible* way that you're actually this dumb; your nonsense must be motivated by something else".
But I'm gradually, grudgingly coming around to the notion that a lot of them *really are that dumb*. Somehow, vast swaths of our society manage to hold down jobs, raise families, own homes, pilot motor vehicles – all with the intellectual maturity of a middle-schooler.
Again – perhaps this shouldn't be surprising. Unless you're naturally curious, or receive social pressure from your peers, there's no particular *incentive* for folks to become knowledgeable about things that don't directly affect their own survival and happiness.
Apparently I *did* have time to write a condescending-as-fuck Facebook post about this, so whatever."
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Currently...(through the cracks)
"This young guy who has been coming to mow my yard ended up speaking to me today about his mother’s battle with pancreatic cancer and diabetes. He told me he doesn’t know what’s going on but she’s been mean lately so to get out of the house he offered to beautify the property.
He asked me about the Coronavirus and said, “It’s just like pneumonia, right?” I told him it’s worse than pneumonia. We talked about it. He was under the impression we’re in our second wave, I told him this wave is the first and lasts until August.
He told me he hasn’t gotten his stimulus, hasn’t filed taxes in 4 years, his mother hasn’t gotten her stimulus (on SSI/SSD) he doesn’t have an ID or a bank account (can’t open a bank account without an ID). He formerly lived in Ritchie County. Has been using the Ritchie county address for food stamps and Medicaid. I told him to switch it to Wood County, because it’ll help me help him get his social security card. I told him I’d help him get his ID, help register him to vote (proof of address), and help him and his family navigate getting their Stimulus. And through those interactions, I can assess what additional needs they may have and navigate obtaining more resources.
I stood there and thought about how they’re lost in the chaos of everything going on on a micro and macro level. The family keeps to themselves. The guy is a really good kid. He showed up today to mow early before the weather turns bad again for a few more days.
Edit: didn’t know he was still on the property. He’s cleaning out gutters of my house and just asked me if I had a bucket so he doesn’t make a mess."
He asked me about the Coronavirus and said, “It’s just like pneumonia, right?” I told him it’s worse than pneumonia. We talked about it. He was under the impression we’re in our second wave, I told him this wave is the first and lasts until August.
He told me he hasn’t gotten his stimulus, hasn’t filed taxes in 4 years, his mother hasn’t gotten her stimulus (on SSI/SSD) he doesn’t have an ID or a bank account (can’t open a bank account without an ID). He formerly lived in Ritchie County. Has been using the Ritchie county address for food stamps and Medicaid. I told him to switch it to Wood County, because it’ll help me help him get his social security card. I told him I’d help him get his ID, help register him to vote (proof of address), and help him and his family navigate getting their Stimulus. And through those interactions, I can assess what additional needs they may have and navigate obtaining more resources.
I stood there and thought about how they’re lost in the chaos of everything going on on a micro and macro level. The family keeps to themselves. The guy is a really good kid. He showed up today to mow early before the weather turns bad again for a few more days.
Edit: didn’t know he was still on the property. He’s cleaning out gutters of my house and just asked me if I had a bucket so he doesn’t make a mess."
Monday, April 27, 2020
Currently...
“according to new research from cybersecurity researchers, many of these protests are neither spontaneous nor organic. Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs and researchers at DomainTools have separately analysed web addresses including the word “reopen.” And interestingly, they’ve found that many of these can be linked to domains associated with gun advocacy groups, lobbyists, and other conservative organisations.”
- Security Researchers Say The Reopen America Campaign Is Being Astroturfed
- Security Researchers Say The Reopen America Campaign Is Being Astroturfed
BTW... (food insecurity)
Absolutely every citizen needs to sign up for SNAP, whether they think they need/want it or not.
If you don't need it, then donate goods bought with it.
If you do need it, it won't be enough for most, given the way they shop and don't know how to cook.
Still, every damn citizen should get it. Yes, it is an "entitlement".
Yes, you are fucking entitled to this miniscule portion of all that's been expropriated and held hostage by the state and profiteers. Simply by virtue of being a living being on a planet that provides all you need to live.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
BTW...
"This is a pretty house, yes? But there's more than just style here. There’s substance. Tons of it. This bit of Architecture, with it’s 12” solid brick walls, is literally 3x the weight of a standard bldg of the same scale. All of that material creates an insulative property called thermal mass which simply means, once those thick walls assume a particular temp, changing that temp is an extremely slow process. During the Summer months, as the walls take on solar gain in the day, heat begins to reach into the outer walls. When the sun goes down, that heat retreats back out of the walls before fully penetrating. This 24 hour cycle is referred to as ‘diurnal swing.’ It works best in arid regions with a lot of disparity between day & night tempsーsuch as the Southwest US. But it works quite well in other regions as well. The same diurnal process happens in reverse during Winter; cold nights are blanketed by the solar gain of day. In addition, a building’s contact with the ground is constantly conducting a naturally human friendly, subterranean temperature directly to the walls yr round. The take home is if the power goes out indefinitely, the residents of such a dwelling would neither swelter unbearably in the dog days of Summer nor freeze in the depths of Winter; compared to a conventional sheetrock house which would be untenable during seasonal extremes w/out mechanical assistance. Among the other attributes extending beyond a pretty face, this cottage has the unusual ability to stand the test of time.. for a very long time. You might call it ‘artifact ready.’ And this is in no way speculation; on almost every corner of England & France stands a 600 year old citizen built the same way. Which begs the question: what does it mean to a community and a culture when the local Architecture keeps them so practically connected to their ancestors via centuries old echos of essential utility and aesthetics? And what does it mean if those tangible connections were never established to begin with? I’ll close with this: what is the metric for valuing a home that one’s great, great grandchildren might inherit; that ages gracefully & becomes richer with time, for everyone?"
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Five facts about the IWW:
1. All members of the working class can join, except cops, prison guards, and bosses. Historically, the police have been used to repress insurgent labor organizing and their role has been to protect capital and the property of the bosses at the expense of workers. As a union, we organize incarcerated workers and recognize the inherent violence of the prison industrial complex. For that reason, we do not allow prison guards to join. Lastly, as the introduction to our preamble states, “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common,” we do not allow membership for those who have the ability to hire and fire.
2. You can be a dual-carder and be a member of more than one union. If you are currently in a job that has representation by a union, you can also join the IWW. Dual carders are often some of the most active members of their union, pushing them from below for better contracts and more democratic representation.
3. You don’t need a contract or election to be a union. A union is two or more workers, in a workplace, organizing for a set of common issues. Historically, contracts limit the ability for workers to achieve their gains which must be renegotiated only within a set timeframe. Organizing without a contract can allow you to make gains regardless of the conditions that can limit you in a contract. However, we also organize workers through contract elections if that is what they choose.
4. We are a completely democratic union. We organize under the principle of “solidarity unionism,” meaning that members on the shop floor determine what course of action to take to defend their rights and secure gains. Unlike business unionism which tends to work alongside bosses to protect both management and workers, the IWW believes that protecting the employing class, in any fashion, will harm the working class. We do not believe in class collaboration with the bosses.
5. We never endorse politicians. Period. Power comes from the bottom-up, and for 115 years the IWW has never endorsed a politician or candidate for office. Regardless of who the individual is or their stances, the IWW believes that only through organizing our workplaces can we secure the victories that politicians promise once elected.
If this sounds like the union for you, reach out to us and we’ll get you in touch with our organizers today!
BTW... (Rabelais)
Best read out very loudly in beer-piss soaked baggy pants and a floppy hat with an egregiously long feather whilst gesturing broadly with the large joint of roasted meat in your free hand.
BTW... (The Itinerant Gourmet mission statement)
"Shut up, PAY ME, get outta my kitchen. Sit the fuck down and eat."
That's how it works
That's how it works
Currently...
"We didn't really identify as queer in the 90s; we identified as weirdos, artists, punk rockers, rebels. like, that was our identity, and that's what drew us all together."
-circus of books
Because art, culture, music, aesthetic, etc. were the rare earth magnets that drew us together. Emotional availability within the safety and validation of that sphere then allowed for diverse expression of affections.
-circus of books
Because art, culture, music, aesthetic, etc. were the rare earth magnets that drew us together. Emotional availability within the safety and validation of that sphere then allowed for diverse expression of affections.
Friday, April 24, 2020
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