Molly Jean

 Dear Molly Jean:

Since he was 5, my husband has wanted to be an underwear model. But at home he throws his stained underwear on the floor. Please tell him this is incompatible with his life goal.
Mrs. Underwear

Dear Mrs. Underwear:
Underwear models have a high commitment to personal hygiene. All underwear models sign the Underwear Models Code of Conduct. This should encourage him to change his behavior.

Dear Molly Jean:
Our dog found out that the dog next door gets fresh food delivered to him on a regular basis. He wants fresh food too. What should I do?
Dog Mom

Dear Dog Mom:
If your dog sleeps with you, jumps up on your lap, wags his tail when you get home, and you talk to him like he was your child, then give him the damn fresh food.

Dear Molly Jean:
My best friend from childhood showers only once a week, eats lots of garlic and thinks deodorants cause skin cancer. When we get together for a beer, I can hardly stand the smell. Advice?
Garlic Man

Dear Garlic Man:
I have some suggestions. Light a strongly scented candle during your meetings with him. Breathe only through your mouth while you spend time with him. Bring a bottle of Febreeze with you.

News

 The news isn’t the news. The news is what the news media deem to be the news, the news that gets ratings and sponsors. Harry, Meghan, Brittney, Kanye, Kim, Taylor are the news because they get attract audiences. But what about Malala or Greta Thunberg or any of the veterans of combat who come home with no support and struggle every day?

Where are the stories of the policemen shot in the line of duty? Where are the stories of the captive young women struggling to escape the sex trade? Their stories are no more than short blips on media screens.
As human beings, our empathy needs to be directed to those who show courage, who serve, who exemplify a decent life, not to those who entertain us and whose notoriety and wealth bring them attention.
The news spends too much time telling us how we’ve failed and not enough time telling us how we’ve succeeded. Popularity and fame are not necessarily indicators of excellence, courage, integrity or lasting significance.
What does it say about us that we are complacent with news that is filled with chit-chat and sports silliness? News where we hang on the words of the coach or the quarterback. News where there is no arts reporting. We forget that the news is an important element in making sense of the world, not of distorting the way we see the world.

Reform

 Yes, there must be continuing reform of police departments. The public has high expectations for police, but really doesn’t have a good understanding of the daily demands on officers, especially in situations which may threaten their lives. The public often rejects tax increases to pay police what they are worth and to pay for quality training. News media provide extensive coverage of the worst of police behavior but only casual mention, if that, of the work of good cops.

Frequent demands for police reform are not followed by efforts to inform and reform the public that the police must deal with. We don’t do enough to build a healthy society. We must work harder to alleviate hunger, homelessness, poverty, poor education, lack of available preschool, drug use and all the root causes of crime.

Police have to deal every day with the failures of the society we create.

Holocaust

 Holocaust Remembrance Day calls us to remember the horrific and inhuman treatment of the Jews during

World War II. Without doubt, we should do this. But we could probably fill all the days of the year with international remembrance days to acknowledge every genocide, enslavement, extermination of indigenous peoples, crusade, religious persecution, internment and war that have taken life and humanity from so many people.

The question for me is not, “What has been done to us?” But, “Why do humans keep doing this to one another?”
It’s hard for me to believe that DNA determines, at birth, this kind of inhumanity. It has to be our culture. It has to be that humanity is not really a priority us. It has to be underestimating the power of evil. It has to be our complacency. It has to be our lack of courage. It has to be our lack of empathy.

Will we forever fight this battle for humanity?

American politics

 The Twisted Creed of Contemporary American Politics

INTEGRITY is just too hard work.
HONESTY just confuses the voters.
SPIN it to WIN it.
All you need is MONEY.
COMPETENCE is not that relevant.
PARTY is more important than real solutions.
Everything is done in "SERVICE of the American people."

Molly Jean

 Dear Molly Jean:

I love my boyfriend, but he wants me to get cosmetic surgery to look like Kim Kardashian. He says he will pay for it.
I like myself the way I am. What should I do?
Kim’s Not for Me

Dear Kim’s Not for Me:
Simple. Tell him you’ll consider his request as soon as looks like The Rock.

Dear Molly Jean:
My dear boyfriend has a foot fetish, but I have bad toenail fungus. Is there hope for us?
Ugly Toes

Dear Ugly Toes.
Check Amazon for “dildoes,” and search “specialty items.” You will find a dildo with attachable latex toes. He’ll enjoy it.

Dear Molly Jean:
My girlfriend is kind and beautiful. But her mother is a bitch. Should I ask my girlfriend to marry me?
Bothered by Bitches

Dear Bothered by Bitches:
Like mother, like daughter. Marriage has been known to turn good women into bitches. Tread carefully. Two bitches are not better than one.

Molly Jean

 Molly Jean Gives Advice

Dear Molly Jean:
I recently broke up with my boyfriend, but I still like him. I met a new guy I like. I ‘d like to keep them both. What should I do?
Love Dilemma

Dear Love Dilemma:
If you’re lucky, your two boyfriends will be bisexual and you will have a delightful love triangle. Give it a try.

Dear Molly Jean:
My husband likes to walk around naked, which I get tired of. And it’s not that big anyway. What should I do?
Too much.

Dear Too Much:
Take all of his dirty underwear off floor and throw it at him. If this does not work, do a little sexting to his mother.

Dear Molly Jean:
Kelly Clarkson has been at my door several times and once even forced herself into my house at dinner time. Has this happened to other patriotic Americans.
She Ate the Whole Cake

Dear She Ate the Whole Cake:
There are several easy solutions to your problem. Use bear trap at the front door. There is a little known feature of the Ring security system that shoots poison darts. Or just put arsenic in the cake.

Damar

 

Values

 When the citizens of a society don’t understand the necessity of personal values, the society will crumble. In our times, religion has not been able to make the case for values to live by. Certainly government doesn’t. Capitalism subverts values. The family is not reliable either. Our “heroes” in sports and entertainment often have feet of clay. The arts can be counted on, but they are not always on the radar of most citizens.

As a result, we are tirelessly in social conflict over issues—like racism, inequity, discrimination, gender—that would not be as contentious in a society that embraces human values.

Naked Day

 The clothes we wear, the languages we speak, the rituals we follow, the gods we worship, the masks we wear, the skin we live in, the money in our bank accounts, our nationalities. All of these things identify us as different from one another. They separate us from our common humanity.

So I’m declaring July 1, 2023 as International Naked Day. We will all take off our clothes and our masks and stand naked in front of one another, proudly displaying our humanity, accepting our humanity and the humanity of others.
Get ready.

Reality

 The only reality each of us has is the reality constructed by our own brains and bodies. We communicate with one another incessantly to test our realities, one against another, often in an attempt to change one another’s reality. All the things that come at us each day through our encounters affect our reality in small or large ways.

Some build a reality through the lens of hate, or love, or greed or mental illness, or occupation. We believe that reality is what’s “out there” when it is actually a mirror that reflects who we are in the world we imagine we’re in.
The world outside of our reality is complex, fascinating, mysterious and full of possibility. The curious and probing minds constantly tell us that. We just have to have the courage to let it in

Human

 We are born as creatures of evolution and of the consequences of a brain developing over 100,000 years. We are born as homo sapiens with the life task of becoming human beings.

What does it mean to be human? If we think of being human as being anything and everything that humans do, then we have to accept everything from Jeffrey Dahmer to Mother Teresa and everything from Vladimir Putin to the Dalai Lama as human. This can’t be acceptable.

We have to think of being human as something noble, something that is a goal of being alive. Becoming human is the journey of life, beyond wealth, titles, prestige, privilege and fame. Becoming human is an achievement of even the humblest among us and often elusive to the most powerful among us.

Fashion

 

Empathy

 Try this. Next time you’re at the grocery store or in a crowd, pick an individual you don’t know, and say to yourself, “This person is a human being.” That simple act pushes aside all the stereotypes and labels that separate us. This is a simple act of empathy, but where does it take you?

National Enquirer

 National Enquirer headlines

Melania Donates $50 million of Clothes to Luxury Resale Site
“Donald just doesn’t like them anymore.”

Vladimir Putin Postpones Elective Surgery
“With this annoying war I don’t have time for pectoral implants.”

Kim Kardashian’s Butt Implants Slip Down to Her Thighs
“I’ll just have to buy all new clothes.”

Joe Burrow Is Actually 14 Years Old
“Not true. I just dress like I’m 14 years old.”

 At every NFL game there is a staff of about 30 professionals ready to treat any injury to any of the players, players who play this violent sport for high compensation.

At the same time, there are many veterans who’ve had to deal with the consequences of IEDs, battles, loss of comrades and burn pits, and they struggle to find the help and support they need.
What do we make of this?

Old folks

 Old folks

Don’t complain to old folks. Sing to them or dance with them.
Don’t get angry driving behind a senior. Imagine yourself there one day.
Don’t blame old folks for their failings. Forgive them and get on with your life.
Don’t complain about the messes old folks make. They cleaned up your messes.
Don’t be surprised if old folks fall apart. That’s what evolution intended.
Don’t warehouse old folks in nursing homes. Put them in temples of wisdom.

RAce and the City

 From Race and the City, an SOS Art project

So here’s the lesson

A river is a boundary that laps both sides
Blindly, unless it flows between
Abolition and Negrophobia
Pushing pigmentation to one side
Or the other, carrying the oppressor
Forward, the slave is drowning

The law is a boundary, Black Laws
Walling out black voices
Yet walls surround white suburbia
And keep in fear and privilege
Negroes may have the tenements
As their place to scavange for hope

The highway is a boundary, pushing aside
Where folks dwell and build community
White roads shatter neighborhoods
Where black human beings make life
Then black folks scattering, them gone
Is all that really counts

The mind finds boundaries to wall in
All the delusions that make racism
Invisible in every visible way, racism
Wearing every mask racism can invent
How is black skin so impenetrable
Couldn’t they see that humans were inside

Whites stood on the shoulders of blacks
To crush black dreams, believing wealth was worth it
The factory floor was a boundary
Only a few blacks could ever cross
White prosperity arrived on backs of blacks
But none for blacks, their arms and legs
Were saved for menial servitude

Black spirit--human spirit—resisted
Any boundaries, any walls, never was crushed
Always a spark or fire, always burning
With its own songs and dances, and churches
In defiance, personal courage and reform
In community, schooling one another
Holding together fast to dignity, despite

Moral Compass

 National Moral Compass Week

Sunday: A day of acting reverently
Monday: A day of acting humbly
Tuesday: A day of acting honestly
Wednesday: A day of acting with compassion
Thursday: A day of acting generously
Friday: A day of courageously
Saturday: A day of acting nobly

Social issues

 We treat all of the social issues that face us—drugs, violence, the abuse of women and children, bigotry, racism, wealth inequality—as if they are separate issues. In fact, I believe all of these arise from our inability to build our children into decent and loving human beings. We are distracted by money, celebrity, spectacle, marketing and easy convenience. These voices drown out the voices of responsibility, compassion and authentic love. Addiction arises from both life struggle and the false pretense of pleasure. Violence saturates entertainment and media. Discrimination and wealth inequality lay the ground for criminality and homelessness. Inadequate mental health care leaves many helpless. The lust for power poisons society.

Solving our social problems is by no means easy. It’s been a struggle for centuries. But give up the “wars” on social problems and make our children the first priority. Love them.

Random

 

We are random creatures in a random world. We put on a rational veneer of laws, rules and moral values to contain the randomness. Laws don’t endure and they aim at punishment. Rules are meant to guide but often unnecessarily control. That leaves moral values, which give us hope because they guide us to care about others.

Hand

 Artists and craftsmen, look at your hands. Ask them what they taught you and what you taught them. Ask them what they remember of touch, measure, strength, rhythm and communication. Then imagine what happens when the computer intrudes with its mouse, tools and pads. The computer becomes the brain, and for all its capacities, dumbs down the hand. Keep the hand alive in the touch of paper, wood, clay, metal and all the tactile surfaces.

Art news

 This won’t ever happen… but it should.

The local evening news replaces the report by the Bengals coach with a reading of a poem by an award-winning local poet.

In the sports report, instead of covering football, the athleticism of ballet dancers is the topic.

In place of football coverage, the CSO conductor explains why the Symphony has not had a losing season in 100 years.

A segment on the arts is created, and the Director of the CAM discusses the international reputation of the Museum.

When I came to Cincinnati from New Orleans in 1975, I was amazed at the quality of the arts, which have only continued to get richer. But not much has changed in terms of Cincinnati’s own appreciation of its arts. In my estimation, real change won’t happen until all of the arts institutions can use their clout as an effective art bloc.

Damar

I believe most people want to do good and show their concern for others. The most recent example is the outpouring of all kinds of support for Damar—public demonstrations, financial contributions and media coverage. The problem for me is that we don’t see the same kind of support and media coverage for a teacher shot by a 6-year-old and still caring for the safety of her children. Damar will be in the media until he is back on the field. The teacher will get a couple of days of coverage. There will be much discussion of how well the NFL protects its players, but much less discussion of how we can protect teachers and keep guns out of the hands of 6-year-olds. 

Art?

 If humanity is not apparent, is it art?

If it doesn’t grab your attention, is it art?
If it doesn’t linger with you, is it art?
If the experts say it’s art, is it art?
If it fades into the wall, is it art?
If you believe it’s art, is it art?
If it never fails you, is it art?
If it’s priced at a million dollars, is it art?
If I tell you it’s art, is it art?

Evolution

 Evolution never had us in mind. There was no meaning; we just happened. The human brain was another unexpected surprise. At some point the human brain had a yearning for eternity and a higher authority. Thus the gods entered the human dimension. The gods expected humans to be grateful and responsible, selecting willing humans to educate their brothers and sisters. The gods expected each human to put meaning in the world, each in their own way.

National Days

 Get prepared for the coming week.

Sunday National Dance with Your Kids Day

Monday National Put Pickles in Everything Day

Tuesday National Don’t poison Your Lawn Day

Wednesday National Convert a Republican Day

Thursday National Kiss an Artist Day

Friday National Toot Your Own Horn Day

Saturday National Go Back to Kindergarten Day

Made

 The universe made humans.

Humans made the gods.
The gods made the sacred.
The sacred made deep humanity.
Deep humanity is still the goal.

Yachts

 Most of the humans in the world are bobbing up and down in the sea, paddling wildly, waiting to drown. The other half can swim, and they swim as hard as they can, occasionally floating under the warm sun, hoping to reach the shore. A tiny handful are cruising the seas in their well-appointed yachts, oblivious to the thuds as they hit the bobbers and swimmers.

Teachers

 A teacher’s job is to educate.

BUT…
How many students had their career direction determined by a teacher?
How many students were supported for who they are by a teacher?
How many students’ mental health was improved because of a teacher?
How many students knew they were loved because of a teacher?
How many students still remember the help of a teacher?
How many students were fed and clothed by a teacher?
How many students were kept from harm by a teacher?
How many students came to believe in themselves because of a teacher?

Life unfolds

 Life unfolds in a

Sea of possibility
Choices make us us

Life guarantees the
Gifts of suffering and death
Make the best of them

What is a human life
Without paying attention
To life’s sacred times

Your life belongs to
The buzzing hive of all life
Make some sweet honey

Stay humanly alive
See death as just a stop sign
Living was the gift

Jan.2

 New Year’s Eve is over.

Singing, dancing, partying, spectacular fireworks, many exchanges of wishes for a great New Year.

January 1 is over.
Recovering, assessing, friends and family, quiet time

January 2 is time to ask.
How many evil-doers will still be evil doers?
How many jackasses will still be jackasses?
How many decent people will be frustrated with the world around them?
How many lovers will discover that love is too hard?
How many problems won’t even get a feeble attempt at a solution?
How much richer will the rich get?
How much hunger will be tolerated?
How much closer to our own destruction will we get?

Destiny

 There is no such thing in life as destiny. Destiny is just looking back at where serendipity and your life choices took you. Life is really just possibilities that collapse into reality based on how you act in the world. The only things life guarantees are suffering and death. If you want joy, you make it. If you want beauty, you make it. If you want love, you make it. If you want to poison yourself with hate, power and greed, then life doesn’t need you.