Donald Trump, superhero

It’s official. Donald Trump (in his own mind) is a superhero. He has an impenetrable shield called the “narcissistic ego shield of power.” No matter how much criticism, no matter how many lawsuits, no matter how many testaments of sexual impropriety against him, no matter how many jokes and satirical barbs are thrown at him, they all bounce right off.

Inside the shield, he is sexually potent with a formidable member. He would surely run into a building under siege, unarmed, and quell the violence. He would arm wrestle Kim Jung-un in a moment, and ride shirtless with Vladimir Putin across the steppes of Russia.

He is truly a MAN among men.

D'Augtoy

Here’s a poem from one of my favorite Millenial angst poets, Madison D’Augtoy.
It’s called “Stage.” It’s from her recent anthology of poems, “Blistering Sentiments.”

I find my lessened
But not depleted self
Here
At the Theater of Fuck.
The curtain rises slowly,
And I am lit so all
Can see the inners of my
Candid, blistered self.
Their eyes fuck me with disinterest.
But the stage is my
Storybook.
As the curtain falls, I don’t give
One holy fuck
About immortality.

Empty people

The great teachers remind us that no amount of things, or stuff or money can fill us up as human beings. If that is what defines us, we are empty people. A prime example is our president. It is acting through basic values such as love, integrity and compassion that bring us to fullness as human beings.

Most of us common folk are in ongoing process of deciding whether we are half-full or half-empty. We are pulled between self-interest, consumerism and the need to feel accepted and the impulses to give of ourselves, to have empathy and to sacrifice for others.

We see this struggle played out in faith life, at the polls and the day-to-day choices we make in a materialistic world. Right now America needs for its citizens to make the choice to begin at half-full.

Kilty Pleasures

Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite romance novel writers, Mary Grace Picthfork. Her new novel, “Kilty Pleasures,” will be out in June, 2018.

Kilty Pleasures is the story of the unlikely but beautiful love between Gwyneth and Dougal.

The warm, gentle breeze off the rolling, green hills blew through the half-open window, brushing aside the golden curls on Gwyenth’s soft, creamy skin. Dougal looked into her limpid blue eyes, lost there for a moment, as he moved his sturdy hand down her swan-like neck to her ample, gently heaving breasts. In response, she rested her hand on his chiseled, hairy chest.

The light coming through the window caught the tips of his firm nipples, and Gwyneth have a deep sigh. As a young, innocent girl she had not let herself wonder what lay beneath the kilts of her lusty young kinsmen. But she was soon to find out in a way no woman could ever dream of. “Dougal, oh, Dougal, “ she moaned.

SexySheets

Just in time for the rapidly approaching wedding season, SexySheets is offering 3 new products for that unique wedding gift. All sheets are 100% silk, made in the USA and come in double, queen and king sizes. All sheets are machine washable and dryable.

The TANTRIC model is screen printed with illustrated instructions for Tantric sex.

The CELEB model has full-size nude images of Stormy Daniels and Chris Hemsworth. Two options are available to suit couple’s sleeping positions.

The HUBBY model has one side blank and the other side printed with the text: THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR HUSBAND OF THE MONTH. Text may be positioned on either side to accommodate couple’s sleeping pattern.

Hurry. Order now. Theses popular items go fast.

Expectations

Where do your expectations come from?

American scenario #2

American scenario #2

Police killings of people black are reacted to by the protests and actions of the Black Lives Matter movement. People black kill people black in unacceptable numbers.

People white kill people white in murder/suicides and school shootings and other mass shootings.

People are in the streets marching. Children are in the streets lying down in protest.

Where is Congress? Counting their pockets full of campaign cash

Opposites

As Americans, we are conditioned to see the world in opposites: male/female, black/white, young/old, rich/poor, Republican/Democrat. Yet we experience the gender spectrum, encounter biracial individuals, youthful seniors and independent voters. We are suspicious of Muslims because they are not Christians even though both religions grow from the Abrahamic tradition.

While these pairings of opposites are apparent, we are taught to see them as oppositional, where there must be only one winner in the endless war for dominance of one over the other. We see this is in destructive racist attitudes. We see it in the paralysis in Congress.

In reality, we must see opposites in the light of their natural drive toward resolution. In this way the desired endpoint is not perennial war and tension, but balance and harmony.

So many people don’t even realize they are victims of this oppositional thinking. Yet in their own lives lies the perfect model. They are male and female, separate and opposite individuals, who come together in an act of love to make a new being, a resolution of both.

Fuckorama

I dreamed I was in a 21st century Fuckorama, where everyone was literate in the fuckology of language. I could go to the mall and get anything I wanted from the “All Things Fuck” store. After my shopping, I could go to the FuckPlex, where every movie was guaranteed to be spiced with “fuck yous.” Then I could spend the evening at a well-attended Poetry Fuck Fest, where every poem was crafted around an emotionally explosive “fuck.”

All these experiences drove me to want to improve myself, so the next day I registered for the coming semester at Fuck U.

People black

Last night I attended a performance/poetry reading organized by DJ Gathers, an AAC student. The young poets all showed courage, intensity, thoughtfulness and a willingness to speak their pain and anger. They talked about rape, abuse, body image, racism and more. It was a great deal to digest, but important to hear.

This experience reminded me of an idea and a commitment I made to myself in the recent past but had become lax on. It seemed to me that to use the terms “black people,” “white people,” “Christian people,” “Muslim people,” etc. put the emphasis on the adjective and so automatically put the emphasis on divisiveness.

So my idea and commitment was to refer to people black, people white, people Christian, people Muslim, etc. Identify our commonality first. This may seems simplistic, but language does count.

Descartes said

Descartes said:
I think, therefore I am.
I say:
What I think is who I am.
How I think is why I am.

American scenario #1

American scenario #1

At a middle school Father/Daughter dance, numerous mothers are in attendance. Why?

Under court order, the dads are not allowed unsupervised visits with their daughters.

Hi, I'm Art

Hi, I’m Art.
Hi, I’m Art. I look pretty.
Hi, I’m Art. I fill spaces on empty walls.
Hi, I’m Art. I want you to look at me. Got a minute?
Hi, I’m Art. I want us to talk.
Hi, I’m Art. I’m a good financial investment.
Hi, I’m Art. I’m locked in a white box. Help me get out.
Hi, I’m Art. I want to insert myself into your brain.
Hi, I’m Art. I’m compelled to be here.
Hi, I’m Art. I mean something.
Hi, I’m Art. I want to help you see the world differently.
Hi, I’m Art. I want to give you an experience of the sublime.
Hi, I’m Art. I want you to experience me for yourself.
Hi, I’m Art.

These are indisputable

These are indisputable:
--Since Sandy Hook, there have been 239 school shootings.
--Survey after survey shows a large percentage of Americans favor sensible gun control legislation. Congress fails to respond.
--The NRA and gun manufacturers do extensive lobbying and donate sizeable amounts of money to Congress. Congress responds in kind.
--The mentally ill are unfairly focused on as the perpetrators of gun violence.
--Gun violence in American is in far excess of that in other developed countries.
--Americans consume incredible amounts of violence in TV, movies and video games, and children are exposed to much more violence than is healthy.
--Guns are accessible to so many because gun laws are lax and there are so many guns manufactured and sold online and on the streets.
--We accept reasonable limits on freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom to assemble, but we fight them on freedom to bear arms.
--The idea that this is an unsolvable problem which will only infringe on our Constitutional rights is just plain wrong. It only takes courage and conscience.
--Though research can be sometimes confusing, the number of justifiable gun deaths is very small compared to the overall number of gun deaths.
--There is no solid evidence that owing a personal firearm makes a household safer.

A Republican Congressman muses over coffee

A Republican Congressman muses over morning coffee:

Another school shooting. Ho hum. At least it wasn’t a foreign terrorist. I’ll write a note of condolence on facebook. But then what to do? 

I think it’s best to just wait for instructions from the NRA. Those will come in the envelope with the check.

Love

Love is the agent that that activates our deepest humanity.

A love poem

Excuse me.
I’m ready to love
So I must get naked
Of pretense, masks and artifice.
Standing,
Only skin and bones.
Before the mirror
Of whoever needs me.
Who’s laughing?
Surely I’m more human now.
What if I like this naked me?
Why would I need a fig leaf anyway?
Have I convinced myself that
Love is all I need to wear?
I won’t get dressed again
Ever.

Welcome to your human family Part 4

Welcome to your human family Part 4

A mother of two is addicted to opioids
An American Indian dresses in his ceremonial garb
A father shoots his family then kills himself
A policeman watches his partner bleed to death
A grocer’s daughter competes in the Olympics
An illegal immigrant hires 100 Americans in his business
A government official pleads guilty to bribery
A third grader becomes student of the month
A family eats a nutritious breakfast together
Two teenagers share their secrets
A nursing home resident decides to stop eating
A French artist breaks up with his lover
A girl finds just the right dress for the prom
A woman meets her future husband at the pool
A refugee brings her music with her to the refugee camp
A schizophrenic stops taking his medicine
Two men kiss in private
A 15-year-old boy watches porn
A young woman defects from North Korea
A couple adopts a disabled Russian child
A girl gets a puppy for her birthday
A father puts his child to bed

My piece

A piece of mine was recently in a group show. Most of the time it was quite lonely, just hanging there. A very small number of people saw it, only some of them took more than a few seconds to look at it, and but a few of them talked about it to someone else.

My piece daydreamed of being that young African-American Olympic speed skater, or the brother-sister curling team, or a song played over and over daily on the radio, or a starlet on a late night talk show.

My piece couldn’t do a bicycle kick or dunk a basketball, couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance or play the harpsichord. It just hung there thinking out loud. I said, “Good Job,” before it got rolled up in plastic and stuck in a corner.

God never

God never had it in mind to create a perfect world. How boring would that be anyway? 

God needed to see just where evolution would take itself. Needed a good laugh sometimes. Needed to see how we would handle the problem of justice. Things like that.

We needed some tests to help us figure out what it could mean to be human. How would we manage to get closer to authentic humanity through our curiosity, creativity, doggedness and suffering?

McD's

How come McDonald’s has all the luck?

Now researchers have discovered that a chemical in the oil that fries the fries at McD’s has the ability to grow new hair follicles. 

So baldies, grab yourself a biggy fries, squeeze out the excess grease, consume the fries (now in a much healthier form) and rub the grease on your head. A good, cheap method that slakes hunger as an additional perk.

Good luck. I’m lovin’ it.

Morality

Morality is not absolute.

Morality is cheap or deep. Cheap morality is a convenient mask, a veneer of words covering self-serving behavior built on flabby conscience. Cheap morality is easily bought and sold.

Deep morality comes from a life-long journey of thought and experience, tested against action and conscience. Deep morality is integral to the person in living and in dying.

I must go get naked

Excuse me.
I must go get naked
Of pretense, masks and artifice.
Now I’m standing,
Only skin and bones before 
The mirror
Who’s laughing?
Am I more human
now?
What if I like this naked me?
Stripped bare against cold, wet voices?
Then I must trust myself
Never to get dressed again
Ever.

My credo of art

My credo of art

--Art is something I must do.

--I make art that requires more than an 8 second look..

--I make art that grows in substance as I grow in substance.

--I make art as a conversation with the viewer about the human condition.

--I make art to have meaning for me and meaning for the viewer, though not always the same meaning.

--The meaning of the work is more important than work itself.

--I consider art to be a gift that unfortunately must often be a commodity.

--I must tend to my own humanity if I want my art to have its own humanity.