Tag Archive: corporations


Words that only come to me in disconnected ramblings. I have several articles bookmarked and random bits of essays written, but I haven’t had a chance to pull it all together. Or, more like, I haven’t been inspired to do so. Actually, more like it’s still brewing up there, and I am writing it in conversations I have throughout the days and I’m just waiting to be able to sit down and have it write itself.

Suffice to say, it has to do with the value of poetry and paintings. And how those things are devalued. And, you know how it goes…when you are suffering from writer’s malaise, everything has already been written, so what’s the point in rewriting it in inferior language. Just listen to The Ex song posted above…you’ll get the drift.

Or read this interview with Noam Chomsky:

Anarchism is quite different from that.  It calls for an elimination to tyranny, all kinds of tyranny.  Including the kind of tyranny that’s internal to private power concentrations.  So why should we prefer it?  Well I think because freedom is better than subordination.  It’s better to be free than to be a slave.  Its’ better to be able to make your own decisions than to have someone else make decisions and force you to observe them.  I mean, I don’t think you really need an argument for that.  It seems like … transparent. The thing you need an argument for, and should give an argument for, is, How can we best proceed in that direction?  And there are lots of ways within the current society.  One way, incidentally,  is through use of the state, to the extent that it is democratically controlled.  I mean in the long run, anarchists would like to see the state eliminated.  But it exists, alongside of private power, and the state is, at least to a certain extent, under public influence and control — could be much more so.  And it provides devices to constrain the much more dangerous forces of private power.  Rules for safety and health in the workplace for example.  Or insuring  that people have decent health care, let’s say.  Many other things like that.  They’re not going to come about through private power.

That’s about where my head is at right now.

 

Solsticephotowalk

Hung

So, today I hung a jury.

Well, first I had breakfast.

Breakfast of Jurors

Breakfast of Jurors

Then I put on lipstick

Lipstick

Lipstick

THEN I hung a jury

Hahaha. I don’t really want to recap the story, but I found it amusing that it was so easy for me to stand my ground while at least a couple of the dudes in the room clearly felt I was a total idiot…if not downright unamerican. “I’m sorry.” I said. “I missed lunch, too.” I said. “Yes, I’m pretty clear on the One-Witness Rule, thanks. We don’t have to have the judge come in here and explain it to me again.” But, you know…I handled it. I stood my ground. And even though the defendant seemed like a TOTAL asshole, I just didn’t think there was any proof that he was guilty. Sorry, guys!

So, that happened. That was interesting. It points me in the direction of some (if I can get all new agey for a second) inner work I need to do around what I will accept versus what I accept of others. Maybe if I figure it out, I’ll write about it here.

Anyway, after that – hair dying happened.

Bleached

Bleached

 

Dyed (wet)

Dyed (wet)

 

Dyed (Dry)

Dyed (Dry)

 

What's red and purple and nerd all over?

What’s red and purple and nerd all over?

And celebratory “Mom got the job” dinner with the boys.

And – YAY – Footie pajama dance party! Maybe even two more nights this week, too!

***

I’m not sure why, but this Lawrence Lessig video that has been making the rounds depresses me. It was definitely brave for him to stand in front of a crowd of people, many of whom were most likely among the culprits identified in the talk…and identify them as culpable, in fact, pointedly so. However, the argument relied too much, in my mind, on this notion that the structure of power occurs by happy accident rather than by deviant design…

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

…Or maybe Lessig is just way ahead of me, and he’s trying to foment the class war of the 1% Chrystia Freeland talks about in Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone else:

In a democratic age, the super-elite can survive if every millionaire is convinced he has a billionaire’s baton in his knapsack. If that conviction breaks down, the battle of the millionaires versus the billionaires could move from Cairo and Kiev to London and New York.

…or perhaps we just disagree. Which can happen between reasonable people.

So, then there are the Tax Evaders. Now you can punch them! http://taxevaders.net/

In fact, some people are playing “Tax Evader” on the sides of buildings owned by actual tax evaders!

Activists from Luminous Intervention play Tax Evaders video game with a Kinects on a Bank of America building in downtown Baltimore Wednesday night.  http://luminousintervention.org/ Photo: Casey Mckeel

Activists from Luminous Intervention play Tax Evaders video game with a Kinects on a Bank of America building in downtown Baltimore Wednesday night.
http://luminousintervention.org/
Photo: Casey Mckeel

What are you doing to make things better?