VIDEO OF THE TIMES: Red, Blue and Black
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21.11.06
Thanksgiving In The New World
For thousands of years, people have set aside a day to celebrate the autumn harvest, giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. Ancient Hebrews held a special eight-day feast to celebrate their harvest season. People in ancient Greece dedicated a nine-day harvest festival to “Demeter”, the goddess of agriculture. (Pilgrims) Similarly, pre-Christian Europeans marked a good harvest with a large feast before crops were gathered and stored for the winter. Celebrations surrounding the autumn harvest have continued throughout history, and many modern cultures have set aside a specific day to give thanks. The date and customs may vary from country to country, but the desire to take time and reflect on life's blessings remains the same (Festivals and Feasts). In the United States, this day of thanks is called Thanksgiving. It is a national holiday observed on the fourth Thursday of November. On this day, family and friends get together for a feast to celebrate their good fortune, relax and enjoy one another's company. It is also the unofficial beginning of the winter holiday season
Anyway, I could feel many things about Thanksgiving Day. Especially, after quite a bit of contemplation, although the celebration was good-natured, this event truly signifies the beginning of a drastic decline of native culture and Thanksgiving would be more fittingly observed as a day of mourning rather than a celebration. So, as we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner, let us consider and look back upon to what happened to the American Natives when the Pilgrims arrived and welcome them with open arms, little knowing it was the beginning of the end. Ok, maybe I was a little drastic but somehow that doesn’t leave a very festive taste in my mouth.
Anyway, I could feel many things about Thanksgiving Day. Especially, after quite a bit of contemplation, although the celebration was good-natured, this event truly signifies the beginning of a drastic decline of native culture and Thanksgiving would be more fittingly observed as a day of mourning rather than a celebration. So, as we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner, let us consider and look back upon to what happened to the American Natives when the Pilgrims arrived and welcome them with open arms, little knowing it was the beginning of the end. Ok, maybe I was a little drastic but somehow that doesn’t leave a very festive taste in my mouth.
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8.11.06
Losing My Religion - An Excerpt
Religion... Since its conception, it has inspired destruction, and needless death. The bible, Talmud, and Koran all speak of great battles. The Greek and Roman civilizations destroyed native cultures by the handful to assert their culture and religion over the natives. The Romans slaughtered Jews and Christians. The Crusades were all fought to claim a “holy land” which killed 500,000 people. In a population of just a few hundred million, that’s a huge amount. The inquisitions held in Western Europe decimated anyone who wasn't a Christian. The Holocaust was genocide of a religious group. Ireland, Israel, the entire Middle East... all up in arms over whose God is better. And how many cultures are still hurting from the influence of religion? How many countries in Africa fighting after western missionaries set up societies for the native cultures and fled? The Sudan, Rwanda... just a few still embroiled in conflict.
We all know the story of Galileo, no? How he ventured a scientific theory that later proved to be true, but disagreed with the church? Where would we be if Galileo never spoke? If he was like the rest of the sheep, happy to be told how things were without second guessing? The church apologized for that incident 300 years later! 300 years?! That’s how long it took for the church to accept that the universe wasn't geocentric?
What religion accepts as fact is relative to the times. Before man achieved sustained flight, we thought heaven was in the skies and the angels sat on clouds. We couldn't dig too far into the ground, so of course hell was underground. Now? No, no no. Heaven and Hell are places that don't exist on the physical plane, they're another place entirely.
Granted, religion has provided a basis for society as we know it today. In the time when people were few and far from each other, it drew them together and formed communities. Religion has motivated people to help each other, provide homes and medicine, time and money for each other. And for a pre-modern society, that is a great asset. But hasn't religion served its cause? Hasn't religion outworn its welcome? There are homeless outreach programs, drug rehab programs, organizations that provide provisions for starving people in Africa. But do we need a book to tell us that we should be nice? Sure, these are great things these people are doing, but why do it in the name of some higher power when we can claim it for the sake of humanity? “Humans can be infinitely kind”, the message should be, not “humans can be infinitely kind when receiving God's love.” It's about motivation. And there are much better motivators than religion when religion has a track record like that.
Again, war is so destructive. Not only does it cripple countries involved, it can drive civilization backwards. Lives are lost, schools destroyed, disease runs rampant. Why do we need more reasons for this? Karl Marx once said that religion and poverty go hand in hand. Another of his theories suggested that all wars have roots in class struggle. In societies with poverty, there is sure to be class struggle. Therefore, religion and war go hand in hand. We should be working for a better tomorrow, not a war-filled tomorrow.
In conclusion, whether or not there is a God in the end, life is what you make of it. No book needs to tell us how to be a decent human being. We don't need a higher power to direct us into being good people. To resign ourselves to living our lives being kind so we can go into heaven is selfish and wasteful. Live a good life for the sake of living a good life. Be kind for the sake of having kindness returned. Don't believe everything that it is you heard, no matter how many times it is told.
We all know the story of Galileo, no? How he ventured a scientific theory that later proved to be true, but disagreed with the church? Where would we be if Galileo never spoke? If he was like the rest of the sheep, happy to be told how things were without second guessing? The church apologized for that incident 300 years later! 300 years?! That’s how long it took for the church to accept that the universe wasn't geocentric?
What religion accepts as fact is relative to the times. Before man achieved sustained flight, we thought heaven was in the skies and the angels sat on clouds. We couldn't dig too far into the ground, so of course hell was underground. Now? No, no no. Heaven and Hell are places that don't exist on the physical plane, they're another place entirely.
Granted, religion has provided a basis for society as we know it today. In the time when people were few and far from each other, it drew them together and formed communities. Religion has motivated people to help each other, provide homes and medicine, time and money for each other. And for a pre-modern society, that is a great asset. But hasn't religion served its cause? Hasn't religion outworn its welcome? There are homeless outreach programs, drug rehab programs, organizations that provide provisions for starving people in Africa. But do we need a book to tell us that we should be nice? Sure, these are great things these people are doing, but why do it in the name of some higher power when we can claim it for the sake of humanity? “Humans can be infinitely kind”, the message should be, not “humans can be infinitely kind when receiving God's love.” It's about motivation. And there are much better motivators than religion when religion has a track record like that.
Again, war is so destructive. Not only does it cripple countries involved, it can drive civilization backwards. Lives are lost, schools destroyed, disease runs rampant. Why do we need more reasons for this? Karl Marx once said that religion and poverty go hand in hand. Another of his theories suggested that all wars have roots in class struggle. In societies with poverty, there is sure to be class struggle. Therefore, religion and war go hand in hand. We should be working for a better tomorrow, not a war-filled tomorrow.
In conclusion, whether or not there is a God in the end, life is what you make of it. No book needs to tell us how to be a decent human being. We don't need a higher power to direct us into being good people. To resign ourselves to living our lives being kind so we can go into heaven is selfish and wasteful. Live a good life for the sake of living a good life. Be kind for the sake of having kindness returned. Don't believe everything that it is you heard, no matter how many times it is told.
Religion of the World
Taoism: Shit happens.
Buddhism: If shit happens, it's not really shit.
Zen: What is the sound of shit happening?
Confusianism: Confucius says: shit happens
Islam: If shit happens, take a hostage.
Protestantism: Shit happens because you don't work hard enough.
Catholicism: Shit happens because you're bad.
Judaism: Why does shit always happen to us?
Hare Krishna: Shit happens rama rama.
TV Evangalism: Send more shit.
Atheism: No shit.
Hedonism: There's nothing like a good shit happening.
Jehovahs Witness: Knock, knock, shit happens.
Christian Science: Shit happens in your mind.
Agnosticism: Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn't.
Stoicism: This shit doesn't bother me
Buddhism: If shit happens, it's not really shit.
Zen: What is the sound of shit happening?
Confusianism: Confucius says: shit happens
Islam: If shit happens, take a hostage.
Protestantism: Shit happens because you don't work hard enough.
Catholicism: Shit happens because you're bad.
Judaism: Why does shit always happen to us?
Hare Krishna: Shit happens rama rama.
TV Evangalism: Send more shit.
Atheism: No shit.
Hedonism: There's nothing like a good shit happening.
Jehovahs Witness: Knock, knock, shit happens.
Christian Science: Shit happens in your mind.
Agnosticism: Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn't.
Stoicism: This shit doesn't bother me
Rastafarianism: Let's smoke this shit.
25.10.06
21.10.06
A Halloween Tale: Forsaken
Here I am at the top to the hill alone and howling at the moon while the hooded clouds disappear like wraiths from lord of the rings giving ways to the new crescent moon. The wind blows searching for merciful release from the clutches of the dark sky. At the edge of my vision, I could see shadows of birches dancing to the mournful cry of the wind, which reminds me of the poem of Robert Frost. I am lying peacefully on my back with my arms stretched out staring at the sky, quietly except for the sorrowful howling wind. I smiled as I turn my head to see my hands clutching the dull cold green grass as I pulled it out from the ground. Suddenly, I feel the pain erupted from my neck. There I see a face as pale as ivory smiling against the blackness of the night. Twin orbs of deepest sapphire staring at me with partly opened lips dark red as a Burgundy wine. Long blond hair like silk of corn frame her face. Her naked form as white as the new moon in the midnight sky straddling me and smiling. I felt her breasts brush against my bare chest. She closes her eyes and bites her lower lip and she moans. Sharp glistening fangs emerge from her lips speckled with my blood. In the darkest, deepest recesses of my mind, something screams. Yet, it is drowned as waves of ecstasy washes over me. The pure horror of pain and wonder draw pleasure to my loins as she moves. She arches her back and digs her sharp fingernails into my chest drawing my warm blood as it flow into the ground, I releases and burst into her my waves of pain and ecstasy. A silent cry of anguish and pleasure escapes my lips. And she cries out into the hallowed moon shattering the stillness of night, a cry of pure ecstasy from drawing my blood fulfill her own darkest desires. I buckle and she rides me like Seabiscuit and in nightmarish speed she plunges those fangs again deep into my neck draining all my strength away. She disappears like a speed of light. The clouds descend with disappointment and try to touch my face in terror. Unimaginable horror surfaces and I groan and scream. The angry moon appears and poised like a sharp knife and then it plunges to my heart. And then the midnight sky released a sweet merciful cry of anguish. Further away, I see trees outlined in lighter gray against the horizon. I remain lying on the soft grass. In the stillness of the night, I smiled for I was enchanted by the dark. And now, I know I would never see a sunrise or sunset ever again.
11.10.06
Franken Food
Today, most of the food available in supermarkets has been genetically engineered. It is estimated at about 70 percent of corn and soy sold the grocery stores in United States and Canada are Genetically Modified. Scientist can impart desired genetic characteristics by splicing genetic segments of one species into the genes of another. This genetic intrusion could never occur in naturally. The odds are great that we consumed these food everyday without knowing. With no long-term studies conducted as to the effects on safety and the impact on our environments, we are the guinea pigs! The controversy continues.
Writings from a Journal
Inside of Me
Lost and confused inside from the nothingness of me
Hollow and alone and down on my face asking for forgiveness
Screaming from all the wounds and praying on my knees
Begging for strength and waiting for God’s grace
Let me take back my life
Release me from this empty space
I cannot hold any longer this inside strife
Take away this poison lace
Sometimes it does not make any sense at all
I’m helpless in this darkness quest
I let my self get lost inside when it calls
To numb away the pain in my chest
I want to stand up and take the blame
And move forward to make a change
For years and years I want to end this game
Somehow I’m stuck because of my shame
I want to break away, I want to feel, I want to heal
But paralyzed of the unknown
Afraid by the pain of the ordeal
For I know I am alone
I hated what I took that became part of me inside
Clinging to me like stars in the sky
And in my thought and in my soul it glides
For I will take it until I die
(Madrid, Spain)
Lost and confused inside from the nothingness of me
Hollow and alone and down on my face asking for forgiveness
Screaming from all the wounds and praying on my knees
Begging for strength and waiting for God’s grace
Let me take back my life
Release me from this empty space
I cannot hold any longer this inside strife
Take away this poison lace
Sometimes it does not make any sense at all
I’m helpless in this darkness quest
I let my self get lost inside when it calls
To numb away the pain in my chest
I want to stand up and take the blame
And move forward to make a change
For years and years I want to end this game
Somehow I’m stuck because of my shame
I want to break away, I want to feel, I want to heal
But paralyzed of the unknown
Afraid by the pain of the ordeal
For I know I am alone
I hated what I took that became part of me inside
Clinging to me like stars in the sky
And in my thought and in my soul it glides
For I will take it until I die
(Madrid, Spain)
4.10.06
Deconstructing You
Sometimes, I pause and drift away and just start thinking and soon enough I begin to believe that I am far more complicated, unique and weird than I am actually are and I take an inordinate solace in thinking that there are people who actually understand and appreciate my complexity and uniqueness in character.
Since the very beginning we always been told, in fact countless times, that each of us is a unique individual and seemingly, it’s a satisfactory resolution to our very own doubts and insecurities about ourselves. We are bombarded with images of commercialism from the day we are born and instilling expectations of who we are and what we are going to be, even when we are still inside the womb. For generation and generation we undergo this process dedicated on figuring out how to fit in by standing out. Most of the time we find it difficult and sometimes we wonder if this is just a dream, figuring out our own uniqueness and not merely a substitute for living a real life. The good and bad things about this tale is the fact that sometime in our lives, we must accept and support our uniqueness, no matter how strange, awkward or weird that quality may be. Maybe, it is in our strength that we do not flinch away from this aspect of our personalities. But somehow we turn bizarre behavior into the stuff of adorable idiosyncrasy and create this character without compromising our identity, as a complex and sometimes unlikable person. We often fantasize and dream of being confident, comfortable and fearless but somehow we cannot bring this to happen in real life. Soon enough we quickly discover that the most difficult obstacle we face are those we create… ourselves! This is more often to be the case in real life. We sometimes create identity contradictory to our own true emotions to elevate ourselves. Often adding different dimensions that sometimes we may not even understand but we recognized it as our own.
The amount of my creativity and obliviousness to my surroundings sometime render my reality somewhat a dream but often a nightmare. While making my real world painfully real but most often times I overcompensate it in my dream world which most of it are born out of half-truths, hopes and a realized worst fears. This connection sometime operates on a childlike level of simplicity and complicity and I often misrepresented as misunderstood geniuses. Meanwhile, my elusive true self keep wandering around, still looking inside hoping that people accept my complexity, weirdness and uniqueness.
Since the very beginning we always been told, in fact countless times, that each of us is a unique individual and seemingly, it’s a satisfactory resolution to our very own doubts and insecurities about ourselves. We are bombarded with images of commercialism from the day we are born and instilling expectations of who we are and what we are going to be, even when we are still inside the womb. For generation and generation we undergo this process dedicated on figuring out how to fit in by standing out. Most of the time we find it difficult and sometimes we wonder if this is just a dream, figuring out our own uniqueness and not merely a substitute for living a real life. The good and bad things about this tale is the fact that sometime in our lives, we must accept and support our uniqueness, no matter how strange, awkward or weird that quality may be. Maybe, it is in our strength that we do not flinch away from this aspect of our personalities. But somehow we turn bizarre behavior into the stuff of adorable idiosyncrasy and create this character without compromising our identity, as a complex and sometimes unlikable person. We often fantasize and dream of being confident, comfortable and fearless but somehow we cannot bring this to happen in real life. Soon enough we quickly discover that the most difficult obstacle we face are those we create… ourselves! This is more often to be the case in real life. We sometimes create identity contradictory to our own true emotions to elevate ourselves. Often adding different dimensions that sometimes we may not even understand but we recognized it as our own.
The amount of my creativity and obliviousness to my surroundings sometime render my reality somewhat a dream but often a nightmare. While making my real world painfully real but most often times I overcompensate it in my dream world which most of it are born out of half-truths, hopes and a realized worst fears. This connection sometime operates on a childlike level of simplicity and complicity and I often misrepresented as misunderstood geniuses. Meanwhile, my elusive true self keep wandering around, still looking inside hoping that people accept my complexity, weirdness and uniqueness.
Writings from a Journal
Circumstantial Consequences
Crawl inside my head
And I will tell you the secrets that I know
Look into my eyes before I disappear
So you could see infinity becoming unclear
I ran and hide and tell myself
Everything here inside is out of control
I am on the edge of the earth
And falling into oblivion
Trying to escape from the night of despair
Welcome to my universe
The changing sky
Is falling apart
I could no longer find my voice
Lost forever in this great divide
This is another place in another time
Where the night is searching for a sign
I’m looking for a new religion
Violent surge took away the friends I’ve known
Carried down and flush away by my fear and pain
There’s nothing left for me to mourn except myself
Can you hear me still
Are you listening
I’m in my head, spinning
Entangled under the burning sun
Of circumstantial consequences
Crawl inside my head
And I will tell you the secrets that I know
Look into my eyes before I disappear
So you could see infinity becoming unclear
I ran and hide and tell myself
Everything here inside is out of control
I am on the edge of the earth
And falling into oblivion
Trying to escape from the night of despair
Welcome to my universe
The changing sky
Is falling apart
I could no longer find my voice
Lost forever in this great divide
This is another place in another time
Where the night is searching for a sign
I’m looking for a new religion
Violent surge took away the friends I’ve known
Carried down and flush away by my fear and pain
There’s nothing left for me to mourn except myself
Can you hear me still
Are you listening
I’m in my head, spinning
Entangled under the burning sun
Of circumstantial consequences
25.9.06
Screaming From A Distance
All I hear now is a distant scream
that haunts the midnight sky
Empty streets are filled with
cries from a cold confinement
Blood stained road leads to the
dark side of man
The last hope of cinder’s dies
as the air is filled with the stench of death
What left are Doubts and lies
and the world is still silent
that haunts the midnight sky
Empty streets are filled with
cries from a cold confinement
Blood stained road leads to the
dark side of man
The last hope of cinder’s dies
as the air is filled with the stench of death
What left are Doubts and lies
and the world is still silent
12:20pm - 09/22/06 (Los Angeles, Ca)
The only thing necessary for the triump of evil... is for good men to do nothing
20.9.06
Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds are forever. But human lives and limbs are not! Blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. Do you know where your diamonds come from? Do you know the destructive role of some of these diamonds played in countries like Angola and Sierra Leone? Some of these illicit blood diamonds fund and prolong the conflicts in Liberia, the Democratic of Congo, in Angola and Sierra Leone, it is even accused of funding international terrorism. Our fascination and infatuation with this tiny carbon base stone lies within our human nature. It is a dream of countless people to own this valuable piece of Earth. It supposed to symbolize eternal love and wealth. But some of these diamonds, lives and limbs was the prize so that it could get into our hands. Next time you buy a diamond, think about the social, political and economic influence it will have to the rest of the world. Make sure it did not come from the conflict regions of Africa and it pass the Kimberly Process of Certification. But this process of certification is even questionable.
18.9.06
15.9.06
Writings from a Journal
In Limbo
Broken, bruised and beaten to the ground
helpless and screaming inside
welted and frayed from the agony
of my childhood inner fears
Silently weeping and no one can hear
while my inner demons dancing by the moonlight
I howl at the moon before the clouds passes-by
to cover my only hope of light
Crawling out from the depth of hell
only to realized to roam in eternal limbo
(late summer, somewhere in Europe. Too fucked-up, took a wrong ticket, wrong train and end up in a different city while friends waitng in Madrid, Spain)
helpless and screaming inside
welted and frayed from the agony
of my childhood inner fears
Silently weeping and no one can hear
while my inner demons dancing by the moonlight
I howl at the moon before the clouds passes-by
to cover my only hope of light
Crawling out from the depth of hell
only to realized to roam in eternal limbo
(late summer, somewhere in Europe. Too fucked-up, took a wrong ticket, wrong train and end up in a different city while friends waitng in Madrid, Spain)
13.9.06
Choose Life!
Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.
- John Hodge
RejectionNow, here I am begging for protection
for I do my own inflection
not a day will pass without injection
in this world filled with rejection
for people who is not into perfection
The world spin to its own oblivion
glass, crystal and ice
inhale without provocation
with the devil’s decision
everything is in motion.
(Toledo, Spain)
- John Hodge
RejectionNow, here I am begging for protection
for I do my own inflection
not a day will pass without injection
in this world filled with rejection
for people who is not into perfection
The world spin to its own oblivion
glass, crystal and ice
inhale without provocation
with the devil’s decision
everything is in motion.
(Toledo, Spain)
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