art, politics, religion: discuss
John Oliver’s weekly Sunday night feat of clear communicating, citation driven, liberal-biased entertainment show is often one of my favorite ways to spend 20 to 30 minutes on a Monday.
This clip from last night is nothing short of an angry diatribe. And rightly so. Americans are angry. Democrats are screaming that we should all come together and Republicans are screaming, “Law and Order! Get in line behind the divider in chief!”
Continue reading “Righteous Indignation, thy name is John Oliver”Tweet from Tea Pain reads: “184,622 COVID deaths 1819 deaths in past 24 hours Unemployment 10.2% 1 million new unemployment claims this week GDP drops 32.9% Economy in deep recession Trump is killin’ us.”
This is Trump’s America, but Biden is going to tear this country down to the ground? My crystal ball is broken.
Can I borrow yours?
I’ve enjoyed checking Allsides.com lately, which is a website attempting to offer three versions of major headlines. It’s interesting, though, because sometimes I read the center headline and think, “If I were conservative, I’d see that as leftist.” But center is often the most descriptive and its job is not to mislead but inform.
I will be voting blue in November. But if a strong candidate were to arise on either side, I’d consider both. There isn’t one issue so strong as to sway my vote, like, say abortion or prochoice.
You can take climate change, regulations, illegal immigration, gay marriage, et al. If a candidate is worth voting for, he or she or they have my vote.
But give Allsides a try sometime. You might find it an interesting browse that opens up your brain nuggets to alternate views of thought.
Holy shit. This is a hot track. The Blessed Madonna, formerly the Black Madonna. I just heard of this today. But apparently it’s been out for a bit. Damn.
Holy Moly. Go check out these beautiful oversized flowers from artist Petrit Halilaj.
Billie Eilish.
When she crept onto the scene with Bad Guy, I struggled with being impressed with being dubious. She clearly has talent. But is her steam going to dissipate as fast as a one hit wonder.
I’m a sucker for female vocalists. I’m a sucker for dark Cure-like depressive happiness tracks. I’m also a sucker for movies with strong female leads. I don’t quite know what it is about my personality. But that’s super attractive to me.
Pop and top 40 artists are by far my favorite genre. There’s a couple Taylor Swift songs that, mind you I don’t own, but I will crank up in the car. That song Trouble. Or whatever it’s called was the song that played before a super alt-band I photographed at Metro in Chicago called Blue Hawaii took the stage.
The bass from the song was blasting through the speakers, and listening to the girl I would be so embarrassed to like, was incredible. That’s how music was made to be listened to. Loud and through amazing speakers.
I mean, I secretly love artists like Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez, too.
But I loved tracks from Fiona Apple, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Siouxsie and the Banshees, MIA, Lauren Hill, etc etc.
But Billie Eilish. I think she’s special. And I hope she and her brother keep it up. This track, everything I wanted, is such a special moment in music. It brings tears to my eyes, and I’m just not that into her.
The second song on this tiny desk concert is the same as the one I posted above. And it’s an amazing rendition.
My last post detailed a conversation I had with my friend “Don” about politics. I can’t stop thinking about it. It kept me up last night after I suffered through the last night of the RNC. What a shit show. What a boring, flaccid excuse for a deadened heartbeat.
That last speech was paint drying at a Catholic church service. I’ve heard golf claps louder than the applause last night. I think the standing ovation was the ecstatic feeling you get when the torture is finally over and those weirdos could go home and bask in the glow of their imminent positive Covid-19 results.
Continue reading “I have the keys to success, but you can’t have them”Today over lunch I had an epic conversation with an older right-wing evangelical. It was what one would expect. Repeated speaking points.
The topic of racism came up. My friend, let’s call him Don, asked, “Do you think Trump is racist?”
“Yes, I do.” I said.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because for years he perpetuated the lie that Barack Obama was an illegal muslim. That he consistently has made race-baiting statements and indicated in plain site that he supports white nationalists and white nationalist agendas from his toilet via twitter.”
And then Don proclaimed that no one has done more for Black People than President Trump.
[screeching tire sounds]
WHAT?!?
Did you forget [cough] Abraham [cough] Fucking [cough] Lincoln [cough].
Then you have Lyndon Johnson, who passed the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.
And then you have this:
Continue reading “Imagine being so tethered to an issue, nothing else matters”This opinion piece by Jerushah Duford, Billy Graham’s granddaughter, is an interesting read. I will scratch my head for some time to come as to how any evangelical supports President Trump.
Here’s a snip:
I feel homeless. Like so many others, I feel disoriented as I watch the church I have always served turn their eyes away from everything it teaches. I hear from Christian women on a daily basis who all describe the same thing: a tug at their spirit.
I feel it every time our president talks about government housing having no place in America’s suburbs. Jesus said repeatedly to defend the poor and show kindness and compassion to those in need. Our president continues to perpetuate an us-versus-them narrative, yet almost all of our church leaders say nothing.
I feel this tug every time our president or his followers speak about the wall, designed to keep out the very people scripture tells us to welcome. In Trump’s America, refugees are not treated as “native-born,” as scripture encourages. Instead, families are separated, held in inconceivable conditions and cast aside as less then.
I understand that one is supportive of one’s political affiliation. It doesn’t mean one cannot be critical of it. To defend Trump as somehow worthy of Christian support, let alone admiration, is completely beyond my purview of the world. He embodies what I was taught not to be in all aspects of life, from business to personal.
To me, he’s nothing more than the same kind of asshole Washington attracts. And to give him a pass because he wasn’t a politician or a military man … and he’s not fake, says it like it is … that’s why he’s “cool.”
When you come from a faith-based background, there is more of a chance that there is a willing resolve toward concepts like second guessing one’s stance on, say, violence. Do not murder becomes Do not murder except in these situations. Help the poor becomes help them, but don’t help them too much or they won’t need help anymore.
At the recommendation of a friend, I just started reading “The Case for Trump” by Victor Davis Hanson. This 2019 book attempts to paint Mr. Trump as the result of the inevitable. The history of politics paved the way for an outsider to come in and shake things up. And people who don’t agree have concentrated on his failures before presidency and not as a titan of greatness that he has proven himself to be as a president.
Not seeing his greatness is the result of a liberal leftist plot to convince half of America that Trump is evil and they’re all falling for it like media led sheep.
I’m perplexed. Hanson admits to Trumps failures and willingly accepts them as okay.
It comes at no surprise that the support quotes on the back of the book are from Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and the like.
It comes as no surprise that this book is 5-stared by the darling lovers of Fox News, a station that Hanson frequents as a contributor. What is generally overlooked is that each party right now is making a gigantic mockery out of the other.
What is happening is the squeaky wheels are getting the oil. The reward is not toward people in the center who can reach across the aisles. It’s toward people with such fantastic out there ideas that get the attention these narcissists so greatly pine for.
I have the same disease. Admittedly. I would love to reach a level of public adoration, name recognition. I understand it.
I also get the feeling sometimes if I wanted to become famous, I could embrace an Atheist turned Christian persona and it would catapult me and my name into some form of popularity. Christians eat that shit up. “Look, that guy lived as an atheist to the point that he blogged heavily about it. Then he turned back to JESUS!” I’d be able to speak in Zoom churches all over the world. I’d be invited to schools and colleges. So long as I kept the ruse alive that I was a reformed atheist turned Jesus lover, man, I’d be rolling in all kinds of book deals.
But it would suck, because I’d probably have to go to church again. Ugh. What a bore.
And then I’d have to convince Tina to wrap her lips around a shit sandwich, which she would never do … well, maybe when she started seeing the money roll in. And all the pool boys she could finally hammer down like a pornstar.
She’d see the cash, tax free, start rolling in, because I’d hide behind some church foundation and buy planes trains and automobiles. Houses. Penthouses. Fine dining and the clothes! The shoes! The glitz. The feeling of celebrity. The intoxicating grandeur of magical thinking. She’d retire phrases like “go fuck yourself” and “that’s a bunch of bullshit” for “glory be” and “bless your heart.”
And when the healing touch enters my body, and we started selling food buckets for the apocalypse, I’d pay for that teeth capping white stuff to give me that glimmering smile every time the spotlights crossed over my smiling face, especially watching that plate pass from hand to hand.
Or I’ll settle for none of it, and be pleasantly happy.
I will take two of these gorgeous repurposed vintage-Style Kart Designed by Aldekas Studio. Damn-o-la. What a beautiful piece of machinery.
From Colossal:
Those looking for an alternative to cars or reprieve from public transit can thank Aldekas Studio for a new set of wheels that’s both stylish and environmentally conscious. The Mexico-based designer repurposed the fenders and headlights of a Volkswagen Beetle— which officially is the Type 1 model that was released originally in the 1930s—into a miniature vehicle named “Bugkart Wasowski.” The kart’s curved body is attached to a bright red frame, which contrasts the olive green exterior.
Le Café Wittypoots 