Forgetting How.

Note: None of this is really all that true. It’s an experiment?

I think I’ve forgotten how to talk to people.

Whenever I’m contradicted, I get this pain in my gut, a metaphysical pain, a sucking, existential gnawing that everything I know is wrong, I’m wrong about it all. But then I remember that the person I’m talking to has only said they don’t like Radiohead. Or that taxes are a good thing. Nothing serious.

Instead of relaxing, I just don’t say anything. I know I can probably argue better, or at least try, but now I just refuse.

I don’t think it’s weakness; it’s either laziness or apathy or something. Maybe it’s also fear, fear of arguing, that’s what it is. But it’s a temporary ailment, as far as I’m concerned and I’ll get back into the swing of shouting my opinion back.

I mean, I won a YouTube argument today. How about that? I didn’t think it was possible and yeah, arguing on the internet is like running in the special Olympics, etc. But hey, I proved a point and did it peacefully and the other person didn’t have anything to say. That’s a start, right? Soon I’ll be able to stand up for myself and argue again. Or maybe not.

I got an email today telling me to call my Senator and tell him that I don’t support the new bailout “stimulus” garbage. So, spur of the moment, I called Sen. John Kyl and when I got one of his secretaries, I started my rant:

“I want to tell Mr. Kyl that I don’t support this bill and that it will make the economy worse and, and, and –“

“—Mr. Kyl has already voted NO on the bill and as far as I know, his opinion of the bill hasn’t changed.”

“Oh.” And I believed him.

“Good day.” Click. I didn’t even bother calling McCain.

Talking Just to Talk - Warning: Stupid Politics Inside

Talking Just to Talk - Warning: Stupid Politics Inside

(please read all of this before you discuss, it makes it more intelligent).

This is Not News

Last night, I was watching CNN, some commentary about Obama moving into the Oval Office and how chaotic it can be. As a journalist, it disgusts me that broadcast television calls this newsworthy. Seriously? You couldn't comment on Obama's foreign policy or how he's approaching the terrorism in the Gaza strip or anything?

In the Arts and Entertainment section that I work for, if my editor asked for a story idea and I told him, "The president's furniture." I wouldn't have a job, let alone a story.

Today, I woke up and Obama was already being sworn in. The entire school was celebrating with wide-screen, plasma screen TV's and red, white and blue deserts topped with tiny American flags. Commentators, heads talking just to talk were telling us how this is a "glorious day for America". Really? Glorious? The Hand of God reached down and touched the bald forehead of Barack?

That's the thing with broadcast journalism. There is so much editorializing and shit that is unjournalistic. Commentators never say anything of substance or importance. In my opinion, I think important news should be something that affects you, directly or indirectly.

Good example of news: A salmonella scare.

Bad example: Britney Spears' boob job. (By the way, the only reason she made a comeback was because the media said she did. Maybe they felt bad for ruining her life? To me, she's still a bimbo, a terrible artist, a terrible person and always will be. You can't make a comeback from that.)

The agonizing inaugaration was not important to me and 90% of it didn't count as news.
I thought maybe if I ignored him, Obama would go away.

Promises, Promises

So far all, nearly all Obama has done is make a bunch of promises and a bunch of excuses because he can't possibly keep those promises. He can't change America, not in the way people think.

Some people think that Obama may not be able to make any actual positive change, but he can at least inspire people enough to make change for themselves. Really? A morale boost is all this country needs?

Imagine this: Throngs of people in the street, cheering that they are losing their money, their jobs and their homes. Cheering that they are still at war with Iraq and Afghanistan and moving into war with Palestine and God knows where else. These same stupid people that elected this socialist into office.

Socialist? Yes, it's not just namecalling, Obama really is a socialist. He has voted YES on every single bailout proposed to the Fed and plans to make healthcare social. So when our mortgages, our cars and our very health are owned by the government, you still want to say Obama believes in a free market? Ha!

Maybe you don't understand the definition of socialism:

From wikipedia: Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership.

Under Obama, the state will run the majority of American car companies, mortgages, banks and hospitals. And all this before Obama was even sworn in! Give the bastard four years (or God forbid, eight) and who knows what kind of chaos he plans?

My biggest problem with people who like Obama is their blind trust. Because Bush was so incredibly bad, they will turn a cataracted eye to anything terrible Obama will do.
Let me make it clear, Bush was a fascist and the only difference between the two is the security policies of both presidents. But in actuality, Obama has a very similar security policy to Bush. OH NO!

Complete Evil?

Let's look at what Obama has already done as a senator.

DID YOU KNOW?
He has voted for every single piece of pro-war, pro-military legislation that has come down the tube to him. A PERFECT RECORD. Every single one. What's wrong with that? Well, I won't try to convince you war is completely evil, but that means that Barack did vote for the Military Propriations Act, a little law that expanded on the USA PATRIOT Act.

As you probably know, the PATRIOT Act essentially shredded the Bill of Rights and made it legal to torture human beings. Not every single person in Guatanimo Bay or Abu Gharib is guilty. Many of those prisoners were pulled off the street, given no trial (or a mock one) and never got to defend themselves.

DID YOU KNOW?
This torture violates the Geneva Convention. Can you imagine if that happened to you?

But Obama is for peace! He said so! Yeah, big difference between saying something and being it. It is true that Obama is against the war in Iraq. He often says he didn't vote for it. That's easy, because he wasn't in the senate when it was heppening. Aww. . .

Obama is an oppurtunist. He is against this unpopular war, not all wars. He has expressed interest in invading Palestine and Darfur, an excursion that will further bankrupt America and threaten us with another World War. After all, Palestine has nukes and allies, unlike the other two countries we are blowing the shit out of.

DID YOU KNOW?
That proves Barack Obama is a socialist, fascist (he can be both, by the way), torturer (by association) and just plain EVIL. Today, millions were wishing Obama good luck as president. It's really the American people who need the help.

---x
NOTE: I didn't mention race once in this entry (not counting now).That's because it isn't important. Wow, Barack is black. As this may prove, it doesn't influence whether Obama is a good president or not.

The only thing I hope to accomplish with this blog is to spark a little cynicism in you. Even if you don't agree with me entirely and still adore Obama, I want you to stop trusting him. I want you to stop being blind.

Comments?

Brownie Thoughts

Obama will go crazy. The job is so incredibly powerful and stressful that it will turn him into a madman. I've noticed that every single ex-president of this century looks broken, defeated and his soul is tattered. Look at Nixon, H.W, Clinton and most recently, W.

Without even time to recollect what insane activity he did last night, Our Hero examines the cuts and bruises that mysteriously appeared on his hands and breathes in deeply, ready for another swim.

Tiny door

Do you think that when Mary Jane is legal, they will manufacture pre-packaged, one hit, disposable pipes or just cigarettes?

My hair is a poem, like the rings of a tree, tells the age, the disasters and the triumphs of my life.

New Fiction: Inheritance

Never finished this, publishing it anyway.

http://menemenetekel.blogspot.com/2009/01/inheritance.html

Bus Fire

There was a bus fire a couple of weeks ago at Union Hills and the I-17. My friend Dave and I drove out of our way just to see it. It was considered a hazmat site because the Valley Metro buses have special gases in their tanks.

It was really cool and exciting, watching it burn, as a crowd gathered around us. It was strange, how I met people I never would have known if it wasn't for the negligent destruction of a stranger in a government occupation. It's strange how we connect sometimes.

You can see more pictures here:
http://flickr.com/photos/menetekel/sets/72157612265305327/

Gestapo Curfew

I was taking a late-night walk with my girlfriend and we stopped to kiss. A bright light was flashed in our faces. A cop was stopped in the middle of the street, glaring his spotlight into our eyes.
"How old are you?" He yelled.
Confused, we answered.
"You look twelve." And he drove off.
This curfew in Phoenix is just more evidence that we live in a fascist police state. The Gestapo used to stop people and I.D. them. "Are you Jewish? You look Jewish. You have a big nose."
The U.S. government profiles Iraqis and often, Arabs will pull random kids off the street, claim they are terrorists and turn them into the military for a reward. These people are sent to prisons such as Abu Gharib or Guantanamo Bay, tortured and given a mock trial, if a trial at all.
Furthermore, the curfew is unconstitutional. My privacy is not to be sacrificed because some idiot parents can't watch their kids. Of course, that's not the real reason the curfew exists. It exists to terrorize people.

Journalism Final Paper

A paper I did for my advanced reporting class that I got a B in. I must have gotten an A or a high B for this paper, because those were the grades I usually got on my reports. I interviewed a lot of friends and artists that I know, but I couldn't use all of the quotes I got. For this, I apologize (and also for taking so long to publish this). I hope you find this interesting, somewhat.



Street Art Movement Grows Stronger



An unlikely contender, graffiti and street art has grown more respected by the modern art world. An illegal and once unappreciated form of art, the medium has now moved into galleries, including the prestigious Tate Modern museum that covered their riverside façade with street art from artists around the world.

“I think [street art] is influencing the art galleries to open their eyes and actually view it as a modern art form,” said Mad One, a street artist from Phoenix.

The most famous graffiti artist of today, and possibly in history, is the anonymous stencilist, Banksy. The artist has left is mark all over the world, including the Israeli West Bank Barrier, Disneyland, decaying sections of post-Katrina New Orleans and his hometown of London.

His art has ranged from sculptures installed in public to towering murals with strong political messages to a “pet shop” in New York City with animatronic food representing the exploitation of animals, but Banksy is best known for his signature stencil work.

"I use whatever it takes,” Banksy stated on designiskinky.net “Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl's face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key."

Banksy has sold canvases to celebrities Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves and Christina Aguilera and other artworks have far exceeded expected prices at auctions, making Banksy one of the most popular - financially speaking - artists of his time. A piece called Space Girl & Bird, depicting a child wearing an antique diver’s helmet, sold for £288,000 (US$576,000).

Banksy’s art is so popular that his street work is sometimes stolen, literally chunks of walls chipped out and sold on eBay for large amounts of money. In 2004, Banksy’s statue The Drinker, a parody of Rodin’s The Thinker, was kidnapped and held for ransom by a group who called themselves AK47. They demanded £5,000 but Banksy only offered £2, told them to buy some gasoline and set it on fire.

Banksy’s fame has opened doors for other street artists to get a chance inside popular galleries but not everyone sees the movement as positive. Some people, especially government organizations, see graffiti as an eyesore. An iconic piece by Banksy imitating Pulp Fiction showed Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta holding bananas instead of guns. Transport for London, the local government transportation bureaucracy, painted over the graffiti and claimed in a BBC News article the work created a “general atmosphere of neglect and social decay, which in turn encourages crime.” Banksy defiantly repainted the scene with the characters instead wielding guns and wearing banana suits.

But judging from the reactions street art can have, positive or negative, art or not, graffiti clearly has influence.

“I was always just aware of graffiti without paying attention to it, until a friend showed me some stuff and I began to realize it had more meaning and expression than just vandalism,” An anonymous graffiti photographer said.

“I don't do it, [but] I photograph it and write about it,” the photographer said. “I want to provide a better quality of descriptive writing with more positive balance about the art and the significance, the symbolism, the history of the genre and anything I know about the writers and artists.”

There are many different types of graffiti, including stickers, installed mixed media objects such as sculpture, paste-ups or wheatpaste (posters that can be adhered to almost any surface) and the best-known type – spray paint.

But modern graffiti does not limit itself. Organizations such as the Graffiti Research Lab have strived to invent new forms of street art, blending technology and public space. GRL invented LED “throwies,” a combination of LED lights, a lithium battery and a magnet, which can be thrown onto any metallic surface and will light up the area.

GRL also invented the L.A.S.E.R. Tag system, a huge laser pointer system that projects an image or phrase onto something as large as a 25-story building front. Such types of street art don’t work as well in a gallery.

“Street art is at its best when it is illegal and created on the street,” the photographer said. “[My favorite kind] is wildstyle writing done without permission. A significant piece of stencil art, which is well-placed, well-cut and thought-provoking is always good. At the other end of the spectrum, paste-ups and stickers are not really street art, there was almost no adrenalin invested in their placement.”

“Graffiti writing is art, tagging isn't,” He said. “When the writer has set out to propagate their message or their ID using their own highly stylized form then the image is simply ‘art’.”

“For me graffiti is what it is.” Prof. Shawn Skabelund, an art teacher at NAU said. “I see it as a form of vandalism. I am all for protest art or what we call guerilla art, art against the corporation and or the art establishment, but I question the need and/or validity of an art form that marks or tags something. I'm not even sure I would go so far as calling it art.”

Crunchy Pickle, an artist from Phoenix, disagrees.

“Anything a human does, in one way or another, is a form of art,” he said. “Of course graffiti is an art. Pure vandalistic destruction is an art too. As with painting, most anyone can fling paint at a canvas, but it takes practice to make something pleasing. With graffiti, it takes practice to achieve the desired result. And, yes, even breaking windows is an art. It is all creative destruction.”

Pickle doesn’t even identify himself as a street artist.

“I'm a graffiti writer,” he said. “In a way they are the same - the creation of unauthorized images - but the "street artist" isn't taking as much risk in a spot. Pasting pre-printed images isn't the same statement as wielding a spraycan in your hand. Street art is like cheating at graffiti.”

“For me it satisfies the urge to Create, and the urge to Destroy.” Pickle said. “Perhaps that's the primal hunt-kill instinct, applied to modern society. And if you ever hear writers sitting around a table of beers, it sounds an awful like the Hunt and War Stories that men have told since before history began.”

Graffiti comes from the Italian graffiato, which means, “scratched.” Graffiti is prehistoric, as old as ancient Egypt, where the Romans carved obscene messages into the walls and monuments. Graffiti has been discovered in Pompeii, including Latin profanity, magic spells, political slogans and famous literary quotes, all of which gives archaeologists clues into Roman street life. The Mayans, the Vikings, and even Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael did graffiti, according to an article by The Atlantic Online.

Modern street art is a bit different, since the invention of the aerosol can and heightened security against the act. In the ‘60s, political activists used graffiti, mainly because it is an appropriate medium to get a message across.

“It’s really in people’s faces,” as D3ADM3AT, an artist from Concord, New Hampshire put it. “It’s on almost everyone’s street.”

But graffiti began to be used by gangs to mark territory and soon gained a negative connotation. At the same time, it grew into an element of hip hop culture, mostly because it was practiced in areas where elements of hip hop were evolving.

The golden age of graffiti was from the 1970’s to the early 80’s. From 1985 to 1989, new reforms greatly changed the culture of graffiti by making it more difficult to tag. Many taggers quit, but others saw the obstacles as a challenge. This made certain tagging areas more coveted and the movement became violent, possibly the most violent period in graffiti history. Strength in numbers became much more important and artists that went out alone were often beaten and robbed.

Graffiti calmed down once many artists started getting shows and gallery exhibits. Street art moved from darkened alleys into the cultural spotlight and with that shift came commercialization. In 2001, IBM launched an advertising campaign in the streets of Chicago and San Francisco to promote Linux using stencils but several of the “artists” were arrested and IBM was fined more than $120,000 in damages.

In 2007, Adult Swim tried a promotion for their TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” by installing LED light boards (similar to the LED throwies) around Boston. The installations triggered repeated bomb scares across Boston, prompting bridges and a stretch of the Charles River to be closed. Adult Swim paid $2 million in fines; $1 million to the city of Boston and another million toward charity.

Graffiti has even been the main theme of several video games, such as Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, a game that pits the player against a totalitarian government. The main character, Trane, fights back using graffiti protest. The game is controversial and was banned in Australia for giving a basic how-to on graffiti. The legal action greatly disappointed Mark Ecko, the urban clothing designer whom the game was named after.

“Graffiti is without question the most powerful art movement in recent history and has been a driving inspiration throughout my career,” he said.

Despite the popularity graffiti is receiving, even if it moves into galleries and becomes more accepted by communities, it will probably always stay on the streets.

“I paint the streets because I want to participate in the development of free urban space,” 500m, an artist from Montreal, said. “And I want my practice to be interdisciplinary. Street art is not just painting, its contextual painting. Always using different spaces and textures and working according to them. I think street art has the role of democratizing the arts; it makes people feel that they need to live with art. They need to embrace their creativity. It has a liberating role.”

The End is Nigh (So Let's Get High)

I.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html

Skim the above article and then wallow with me in trivial discussion.

Suppose the country you live in and love were to be in utter chaos in less than a year. It seems logical, almost. The states will withhold tax payments on these shitty bail-outs, the Fed moves in with military force, the rest is history. Even if that doesn't happen that way, suppose this Russian professor was a least half-right.

What would you do?

This should put a lot more strain on whatever reflections, if any, you have on 2008. If this coming year were the last you experience before everything changes, changes beyond belief, what are you going to do? Isn't it obvious?

Make it kickass!

Get off your lazy ass and actually commit those new year revolutions, the ones from last year that you gave up on.
Get off your lazy ass and fulfill the dreams you had as a kid. The hardest part is getting started. You can keep yourself motivated enough to keep going.
Get off your lazy ass and breath in real air and tell everyone you love them. That's most important.
Do something with your life.
The end is nigh.
This is your last chance to do something meaningful.
Now, do you have any excuse left?

II.

Saw YES Man with Jim Carrey. Great film, very funny, provoking message. Basic premise is a man who never takes a chance decides to never deny another opportunity again. He causes chaos in his life, but it's good-spirited, happy chaos. The kind I lust after.

It made me reflect on my carefree, driven attitude on life. It made me grateful for all the opportunities I've taken, the chances I went for.

Romantic, illegal, terrifying, dangerous, wonderful. I don't care if I ever got in trouble, which rarely happens anyway, I just care that I did it.

A long time ago I decided I wanted to become a person who always had an interesting story to tell. I'm happy to say that today I feel I am that person. I didn't say no.

III.
I wrote some of my own personal reflections, if you care.

I think that 2008 was the best year of my life. Before that, it was 2007, and so on and so forth. I love my life. I have no regrets, but I wouldn't regret it if I did.

I long ago imagined the kind of person I wanted to be one day and have ever since strive toward that role. That role is Mene Tekel. I want to become him, something I created, something I am not. In 2008, I have made the largest steps toward becoming my own person.

I became a journalist this year. It started with work at the Lumberjack, then the menial tasks at the Citizen but most of the fall, when I started to really hound down stories and pound out reviews. I feel like a journalist when I step into a room. An amateur, to be sure. I know I'm not great, but this is a step and I will continue to strive toward it.

I became a photographer. I was forced by my class to take pictures with an expensive camera, hated it, then fell in love with it. In 2007, I took 2,000 pictures on my point and shoot (in the 7 months I had it). In 2008, I took 8,300 not including the several dozen film rolls I burned through. I bought a Flickr pro account which really gave me incentive to take pictures more decently. While none of that makes me a pro photographer, an amateur to be sure, I still strive for photographic decency. I carry my cameras wherever I go, in hopes of finding a great shot. In fact, I did find such a shot today when I discovered a burning city bus with Dave.

I long ago realized that to attract a wonderful lover, I must be a wonderful lover. And years of hopeful, agonizing patience have paid off. I've discovered a blossom, someone I really want to bloom into old age and even death alongside. Gean Shanks is the companion and friend and lover that I have worked hard to earn. I still don't deserve her, and probably never could, but I will continue to strive towards making our life pleasant by being decent to her.

I overcame a lot of personal self-destruction. For the first time in my life, I don't outright hate myself and I feel free from several disastrous addictions. Any childish angst I retain has been redirected into something productive, such as my downright disgust for unauthorized authority. At least, I hope so. Hard to say for sure.

I traveled more in one year than I think I have ever done. I visited Las Vegas, San Diego (twice), Catalina Island, Tucson, New Hampshire, Boston, Virginia and Maine. I learned much from the people I encountered and added stories to my endless list. I think I became more worldly, open-minded and loving towards humanity. Wow, that was probably the world's worst attempt at being humble. If that's not true, if none of this is true, whatever. At least I got some nice pictures out of it.

I kept all my resolutions from last year, but one. I think that's pretty good. I will make some more this year that have more to do with who I wish to grow into, such as get a tattoo, learn to write better (in tons of ways), get another internship if possible, get a show, publish a book (either by myself or through a publisher, which would be better), don't worry about money and most of all, don't get caught.

My goal is to make 2009 the best year of my life.

(Note: I started every above sentence in section III with "I". For once, it's me, me, me and I don't have to feel guilty. But I'm bored with discussing myself, so let's talk about you. What are your plans for the last year of normality, before the economy collapses and the levee breaks?)