We multiply diseases for delight, / Invent a horrid wants, a shameful doubt, / Luxuriate in license, freed on night, / Make inward bedlam – and will not come out – Marcia Lee Anderson – “Diagonsis”
John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry was the 9/11 of its time. All across the south fear of slave uprisings was evident especially in East Texas which had suffered a prolonged drought. “The Negros were taken up and whipped [in Athens Texas] and to the astonishment of many, the fact [of a revolt] was disclosed”. Whites and blacks were hung or shot – vigilance committees were formed thourghout the south. The Galveston ‘Citizen’ cites Henerson [leveled by an arson fire on Aug 8, 1860] as a terrible lesson for other towns – “The citizens put no faith in the reported conspiracy and neglected to appoint a patrol or set a watch”. – drive from your midst “all stragglers and suspicious characters”. Governor Sam Houston kept his head and told Texans that the number of arrests and hangings had been widely exaggerated, that no vial of poison had ever been found, and that what fires had occurred were accidental. Our Department of Homeland Security (a permanent Vigilance Committee) did no such thing they began to boost of the number of plots that they prevented – they also proclaimed that noting had happened, but it was only because they had been so vigilant. It was in their interest to keep tensions high. And everyone who did not hold slaves was in fear of being lynched as a agitators and those who did own slaves were fearful that their slaves would be lynched as conspirators.
High public debt looks entirely unsustainable in the long run. We have almost reached a point of no return for government debt - Societe Generale Tells Clients How To Prepare For Potential 'Global Collapse'
Only 24% of US TV Meteorologists agree with UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that “most of the warming since 1950 is very likely human-induced” – 50% disagree strongly and 25% are neutral. The meteorologists say they mistrust many current sources of climate related information and many have publicly spoken out about their belief that man is not the cause of global warming. A third of the forecasters agreed with a statement by Weather Channel founder John Coleman that “Global warming is the greatest scam in history”
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Man could strut and boast all he wanted, but … he really drew his ‘courage to be’ from a god, a string of sexual conquests, a Big Brother, a flag, the proletariat, and the fetish of money and the size of his bank balance – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973 p56
I was discussing Chinese Jade flutes with a jazz drummer from Ghana. He is studying Italian. We progressed from flutes to the Johnny Cash tribute at the Elbowroom this weekend. He said that he was a big fan of Rosanna Cash.
Photographs do not explain; they acknowledge – Susan Sontag – On Photography, 1977p111
The porter was good. It had a carbonic acid bite and a slightly chocolaty taste. It was a smooth beer. It was served colder than I thought proper for an ale. I had heard nothing on the gay marriage front today. Sexy faux girls where lounging in front of Diva’s. Real girls under the same circumstances would have appeared sluttish, but faux girls are erotic.
A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know – Diana Arbus
I made no transcriptions of Walter this morning. But I missed a great opportunity and Walter picks up a copy of the “American Hunter” left by a previous patron and turns to an article on shooting turkey. It explains were to shoot the turkey (in the ass hole). He is curious about how they get camouflage on hunting rifles and whether face camouflage would be fashionable on Fillmore Street. The other Fred tells about turkeys wondering the streets of Sacramento when he grew up. Walter wants to know if they were Eastern or Rio Grande turkeys.
All of us are driven to be supported in a self-forgetful way, ignorant of what energies we really draw on, of the kind of lie we have fashioned in order to live securely and serenely – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973 p55
OK, so I have not been able to leave Walter out entirely. I say “You notice, Walter, that I am not transcribing your words today”. “You don’t think I have anything significant to say” he asks? “No”, I reply, “its just that I have decided to ignore you today”. This was not true of course as we had been bantering back and forth for over an hour and had managed to chase everyone else within a radius of ten feet away. You could almost smell the devastated and abandoned blast zone. The few remaining soles in the place gave us occasional eyebrow raisings and sideways glancings. No one would look us in the eye, except of course for George W Bush had he been there. Walter has now left. I am silent. The native are regrouping.
Every authentic rebirth is a real rejection from paradise – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973 p58
I now have a circle of occupation surrounding me. Every table around me is now occupied. Those that are distant from me have remained empty. I have yet to notice any tables being scooted closer to me. I am determined to exit before they actually got any neared to me. I shall get out of here while I still can. I escape. I go to the park. There is a big oak tree.
Neurosis is another word for describing a complicated technique for avoiding misery, but reality is the misery – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973r p57
According to the Pew Foundaiton, Internet users compared to those who do not use the net, are 42% more likely to visit a public park or plaza and 45% more likely to visit a coffee shop or café. Bloggers are 61% more likely to visit a public park than internet users who do not maintain a blog, or about 2.3 times more likely than non-internet users
I could hear the noise of the wood in the wind; a soft marine roar. It was the immense compound noise of friction – of leaf fretting on leaf, and branch rubbing on branch – Robert MacFarlane – The Wild Pleces, 2008 p3
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