RKNet Blog... Thing

It’s rare that I decide to comment on political matters, or politics in general. I find the entire subject fraught with philosophical dead ends and sand pits. Politics deals with handling the issues of large numbers of people by trying to make decisions that effect the masses while pleasing as many of them as possible. In short, a Sysiphean task of mind-bogglingly awful proportions that no one will ever do “right” no matter how great or wise they may be.

At the end of the day “Republican” and “Democrat” are just words. Just ideologies of people whose decisions may effect systems that do directly effect our lives, but do not run our lives any more than we allow them to do so. It’s the beauteous terror of what is still more or less a free country that our success, or failure, is still mostly within our own hands, and the hands of those we trust most. If those hands you trust most are those belonging to strangers in the national government, you should be prepared at any time for disappointment.

That said, I am now and always will be a cruel advocate for self-sufficiency and not living beyond one’s means. This does not mean separatism, rigorous self-denial, working one’s self to death, etc are the best or only options. That kind of pessimism comes from the blissful, privileged innocence in which most of us were raised.

The short version of that is: Fuck the system, take care of you and yours and things will probably turn out ok.

Despite my recent splurge on a new phone, and my recent decision to maintain my technicolor hair professionally, there are many aspects of my life related to spending and saving money that I don’t share. Most of those things consist of ways I cut corners, entire categories of Things I Simply Don’t Do Because They Cost Too Much(tm), and my recent commitment to agressive debt reduction and budgeting.

All that said, here are some articles from a terrific blog about getting a freaking grip on the root of all evil.

• Are You Worried About Today’s Economy?
• Five Tactics for Pursuing Voluntary Simplicity
• The New Thrift and Seduction by Debt
• Unit Pricing: Get More Food For Less Money

And an idea that I am getting more excited about the more I think about it: Buying into a local farm for fresh produce, eggs, meat, and dairy all year. (Or at least all spring, summer and fall!)

Just look at all the options for the area!
Who wants to buy in with me, when I figure out what the hell a “share” at a farm adds up to?

In this mix, for your listening pleasure, I thought I’d slow things down, and stretch things out a little. Kind of get you all in the mood for some late night philosophy and spooning. I’m too cheap to ply all of you with booze so I thought I’d make you a mix tape, kind of give you a little something to ruminate on before I discuss the merits of an open view of love in this century and bum drinks off you all night. Hope that’s cool, ’cause we’re totally friends right broham?

Anyway, the background image for this tape is Sisters G from Gatochy’s flickr stream. I can think of no nicer image to go with the theme of “everything is better in pairs”. Except for maybe some extra-adorable mittens, but it’s Spring now and no more of THAT! Anyway, for the sake of not writing all over the lovely ladies’ faces, I just titled the tape “Pairs”.

Pairs are exactly what you’ll get on this tape. Let’s explore the contents, shall we?

1. Jesus and Mary Chain - April Skies
• I listened to this song the other day on the way to work and it improved my mood like nothing else could at that very moment. Music to soothe the savage neurotic.
2. Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
• The second J&MC track is one of my favorites. “I wanna move, I wanna go, oh I wanna go, do-do-de-do-do-doo…”
3. Donovan - There is a Mountain
• Heard this on the radio the other night and thought “WOW, Donovan was on a lot of drugs“. Pure listening enjoyment, here.
4. Donovan - Epistle to Dippy
• I went with one I’m unfamiliar with, to avoid the folly of ignoring deep tracks. It’s got a bit of a Velvet Underground feel. Check the pedigree though!
5. Jonathan Richman - Satisfied Mind
• I chose this track because it’s a classic (1955 by Porter Wagoner), and Richman’s treatment of it is a great introduction to his style.
6. Jonathan Richman - Springtime in New York
• Truth be told, all I can think of when I read this is Stephen King’s The Wastelands. It’s all those dreams about NYC they have.
7. Cocorosie - By Your Side
• Takes a helluva woman to offer to wear someone’s black eyes. I love the way they layer sounds.
8. Cocorosie - Butterscotch
• Why DOES butterscotch taste so good? Dig the sweet singing and electronic rooster noises.
9. Harry Nilsson - You’re Breaking My Heart
• The guy who wrote “one is the lonliest number” says fuck. Several times. AWESOME.
10. Harry Nilsson - Moonbeam Song
• From the sounds of this song, you can see where he fits with Richman and Donovan. Rich metaphor paired with a bare-hearted, literal approach combine for maximum enjoyment.
11. Jeff Tweedy - California Stars
• Just Jeff and the guitar singing a lovely tune from Mermaid Avenue that was originally penned by Woody Guthrie.
12. Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
• Rounding out this mix is Jeff with the rest of his usual band, Wilco, in a tune off of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The opening violin reminds me of Yoshi’s Island.

I hope you all enjoy this! What are some of your favorite pairs of songs?

In the very broad strokes that I have always heard, the Christian calendar period referred to as Lent is about giving up things that are bad for you, to spiritually improve yourself by ditching nasty habits, etc. A laudable goal, but for those of us who aren’t Christian, it seems redundant in the light of New Year’s Resolutions, because there simply isn’t the church-based motivations to make it worthwhile.

Thankfully, someone has come up with an alternative: Discardia.
Discardia sounds delightfully like Discordia, and feels as though it has roots there, though it is unclear from the text on the matter whether it is indeed truly Discordian in nature. Either way, it is non-denominational and is strictly for personal growth, rather than personal growth for the sake of a religious precedent.

The premise behind Discardia is very simple.

Discardia is celebrated by getting rid of stuff and ideas you no longer need. It’s about letting go, abdicating from obligation and guilt, being true to the self you are now. Discardia is the time to get rid of things that no longer add value to your life, shed bad habits, let go of emotional baggage and generally lighten your load.

As a person who has a hard time letting go of tchotchkes and knick-knacks and guilt and obligation, this is precisely the kind of regular ritual I could really get behind. It happens multiple times a year, unlike traditional religious cleansing periods, which typically only occur during one day or period of time each year. The founders of this concept were kind enough to provide a calendar by which to prepare yourself.

This provides an opportunity for more than just a “spring cleaning” or a singular religious internal cleansing. It is a chance to inject some much needed clarity into a cluttered, hectic life at multiple times during the year. It’s really like an ultimate lifehack holiday.

Today is the first day of Discardia for this portion of the year. As the moon wanes to the position of new, and as spring draws ever closer, you can shake the stagnant air from your home, the pine needles from your rugs, the catalogues from your bathrooms, and take a nice deep breath.

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ode to the West Wind

Because everyone else will be espousing their philosophical and political agendas, I feel it appropriate to bring up a philosophical and political standpoint that has been on my mind a lot lately. Not as an “I told you so” or a demand for changes in the wake of disaster. Only as a question, something to consider. I like the way the linked question was phrased, for the most part. The alternate spin I would put on it is: are we all simply too involved with the world at large, above and beyond our own area communities, to go without over-arching systems of government?

I bring this up because of concerns raised by a good friend of mine in the wake of Virginia's tragedy. A large enough group of people decided it was perfectly acceptable to keep arms out of the possession of lawful defenders in that area. As demonstrated time and time again, unlawful, violent people with the intent to harm have no regard for such laws. What makes them criminal in cases like this is not so much their disregard for the laws themselves as it is their disregard for the human lives the laws were theoretically designed to defend.

Yet the question on many people's minds must be: If lawful, non-violent citizens were granted their right to bear arms within that area, would there have been as much carnage?

It is anyone's guess and the truth of the matter is the situation is over, done with, and no amount of speculation can reclaim the lives lost today.

I would implore everone to take this opportunity to respect and espouse the benefits of reason and intelligence instead of reactionary snap judgements and fingerpointing. Not only would I encourage that of anyone I have direct contact with, but I would strongly encourage all people of strength and wit to aid others through a scary time, and try to prevent the kind of fearful outbursts that cripple us all.

If we cannot be self-governing en todo, then perhaps we can at least make the democracy we have today worth supporting.

On a much lighter note than some of the recent material, I’m feeling another wikipedia flood, or “words to know” post coming on real soon. As usual, it will capitalize on my total figurative boner for history.

In the meantime, here’s a link to my mum’s burgeoning Zazzle gallery.
claudia522’s Gallery at Zazzle
Not much to it at the moment, but we’re discussing various options for clever products. She’s got a lot of photos that could potentially make for some very lovely prints.

If anybody has any ideas, do let me know.

Edit: speaking of promotion…
I heard from that Venture Brothers Season 2 will be coming out spring next year. In the meantime, there are plenty of ways to get your hands on the delicious first season. I’m pretty freaking excited about it. There are a LOT of things I like about that show. The episodes of season 2 I caught are all freaking priceless.
Incidentally, one of my favorite Monarch quotes? “I met her on the LiveJournal!” I definitely roffled over that one. Boy howdy.
Through the glory of that Publick’s massive thank you post, I also got to find out a lot more about his partner in crime, Doc Hammer. Like, for example, that the sexy artist has a Mrs. Hammer. (IMDB says they’re separated though. That sucks. Who put that up there anyway? Seems kinda rude.) http://doc-hammer.deviantart.com/ Check out some of his gorgeous portrait art over at this here deviantart account (which I keep neglecting to sign up for *duck*).<p

Synopsis of totals available behind the cut:
Radio Rock: 1
Country: 2
Psychobilly: 1 (I would like to see Unknown Hinson in either country or Psychobilly. He’s great, you should google him and check it out!)
Pop: NA
Emo: NA
Original Emo: NA
Ambient: 0
Chillout: 5
Indie: 5
Metal: 0
Metalcore: 0
Hardcore: 0
Post Hardcore: 2
Grindcore: 0
Doom / Sludge / Experimental: 0
Powerpop: 2
Punk: 1
Pop Punk: 1
Street Punk: 0
Crust Punk: 1
Rap: 0
Hip-hop: 4
Ska: 0
Classic Rock: 12
90’s Alternative: 6
Industrial: 2
Electroclash: 2
Electronica: 2

My heritage wins out overall. If any bands are missing from my listening loop, please, fill me in! I really only checked off artists I either have albums for, or have a strong familiarity with. Which means there are several in these categories that I “sort of” know, but not enough to stand behind them for the purposes of this survey. Read the rest of this entry »