There are two things I witnessed yesterday that I need to report on. The first was a license plate frame on a late-model BMW that read: “Real Men Loves Jesus.” [sic] Needless to say, that amused me on multiple levels. The second thing is the following commercial, which I luckily found on YouTube this morning. I caught this on cable last night, and for a second or two I thought I was in the Twighlight Zone — or at least in some bizarre, Southern accent-drenched, urinary-related equivalent:
But censorship on this scale is anything but funny: China blocks iTunes over all-star Tibet album free download. Bravo to the International Campaign for Tibet for using a creative marketing approach in spreading their statement of protest.
In unrelated news, I feel I need to write something on the topic of “sex” soonish. The subtitle of this blog promises sex and so far I’ve managed to delivery exactly one post (my first) in that category. But don’t fret my friends, the subject matter of my forthcoming sex-related post will likely remain true to Pink Moan form (read: abstract, analytical, kind of creepy).
There are a LOT of things that bother me, but here is just one of them: people who vehemently oppose gay marriage and adoption under the umbrella of family values/Christianity. Get over your fear of the “other” (let’s evolve a bit, shall we?) and learn to embrace difference. Variety within the population of a species is a necessary thing. That’s just good science, people. Oh, and remember that trend several years ago with the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets? I don’t know for sure, but do have a gut feeling, that Jesus would unconditionally love his fellow wo/man no matter her/his sexual preference or gender identity.
That being said, here is a recent trend I’ve noticed: male pop vocalists whose sexual preference invites inquiry (gay) having babies via surrogate moms:
I just wanna say I’m all for this trend of non-romantically involved couples becoming parents. And I think it’s wonderfully queer that the first name of Aiken’s babymama is “Jaymes” to boot. I love that detail. Clay and Ricky both chose to sire children via their seed and a surrogate, but let’s not forget adoption as an option. Here’s to more queer, planned and loving families of the future (and not just celebs).
I LOVE this story: Rolling Stones classic wakes grandfather from coma. It warms my heart on so many levels. I like the idea of this grandfather in a coma revisiting his younger consciousness upon hearing (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and tapping into that reality in order to receive the burst of energy necessary to wake up and continue to live. The thrill and urgency of primitive rock and roll = life.
My friends and I were talking about this over dinner yesterday: what music would we like to have played to us in an attempt to bring us out of a coma if we ever were to experience the misfortune of being in such a state? My first choice was the Velvet Underground and Nico, but then I quickly nixed that option for fear the album might actually enhance the comatose state (Nico’s sultry croon beckons from the other side — come join us). I’ve settled on the punk rock (Dead Kennedy’s, Descendants, Gray Matter, Operation Ivy, Black Flag) of my teenage years and early Beatles. I think, if anything, the jangly Rickenbacker guitars, signature harmonies and pure pop magic of early Beatles’ tunes could bridge my adult and childhood selves, and nudge me sweetly back into waking life.
Something I’ve been interested in for a while now is the concept of bilocation, or the ability to appear in two separate places at the same time. According to the Wiki entry on bilocation, many of the 17th century saints experienced this phenomenon, as well as folks like Aleister Crowley. The Wiki entry defines bilocation as a physical, rather than spiritual, phenomenon. I don’t know how within the realm of physics this material duplication could ever be explained, so I am more inclined to think of bilocation as a phenomenon related to perception.
Carlos Castaneda writes a lot about energetic “doubles” that we all apparently possess. Our double is just as real as we are, it is a part of us. It is the “us” that travels in dreams and elsewhere, astrally, and at times manifests itself physically. In Tales of Power Castaneda’s Don Juan character calls upon his double to perform tricks of perception — like being on flat ground one moment then on a mountaintop the next. At one point in the book, Don Juan reveals to a terrified Castaneda that he, Castaneda, has interacted with the double, rather than the “real” Don Juan, on several occasions. Now, is this the same thing as a doppelgänger? The term doppelgänger can mean “look-alike” but generally it has more sinister connotations. Are our doubles are always sinister, ready to perform bizarre, evil-tinged tasks in the 5th dimension? Not necessarily. I like to think that our energetic doubles are amoral. They exist outside of normal space/time as non-dualistic beings, ungoverned by human inventions like “good” and “evil.” Perhaps that’s why doubles, or doppelgängers, get an ominous rap. On the flipside, Vladimir Nabokov explores the sinister aspect of the doppelgänger in his 1934 book Despair, whose main character Hermann is obsessed with executing the perfect crime — his own murder.
I have a friend who said she experienced a sort of astral projection once. She floated away and saw her body from the ceiling. Then, just as things were getting interesting, she was back inside her body and the whole experience was over. Another friend of mine, who now lives in Austin, says she likes to think part of her is still in New Orleans, her pre-Katrina home. She imagines her double going about business as usual in New Orleans, while she exists simultaneously in Austin. I love this notion, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since she shared it with me.
Perhaps the dream world serves as ground zero for interaction with our doubles. Maybe we share energy, foster ideas, make plans, etc., with our doubles in dreams. To borrow the title of a Delmore Schwartz short story, in dreams begin responsibilities. I know I’ve strayed off the topic of bilocation here, but doppelgängers, doubles and dreaming are all interrelated in my swirly mind. I’ll leave you with this dreamer’s call to arms, a clip from Waking Life:
Summers always seem to slip away from me. It’s part of my obsession with time, I think, and a bit daunting to explain. But ever since I was a kid it’s been hard for me to enjoy the summertime. You see, nearly as soon as the season begins I’m already anticipating the depressive spiral I experience upon summer’s inevitable passing into fall. Wow, that’s some serious Jewish neuroticism rearing it’s head, isn’t it?! Even Woody Allen would have a hard time topping that neurotic tic. Someday I’ll talk about the theory my fellow Heeb friend Maddy has regarding Jews and neuroticism (hint: it’s programmed into our DNA and has to do with our being on the run throughout history), but that’s a whole ‘nuther post.
Back to summer. Endless myth and sunshine. No school when I was a kid and vacations to California and NYC to visit my dad. As an adult, summer doesn’t mean as much to me but the dread of it ending is still there. It’s ingrained. This weekend I’ll venture to the beaches of Malibu in an attempt to have fun, relax and grab myself a piece of the California sun. I dig the myth. In the meantime, I’m digging these Belle and Sebastian lyrics (from I Know Where the Summer Goes), I think they groove with my neurotic sentiments:
“I know where the summer goes
When you’re having no fun
When you’re under the thumb
I know where the summer dwells
If your underarm smells
And your kitchen looks like hell”
My great uncle Charlie died on Tuesday of this week and is being buried in Texas today. He was 92. I just wanted to say bye, Charlie, and that I’ll miss you. If I find a pic of us together I’ll post it.
We all know the hazards of record collecting: spending ridiculous amounts of cash and hours on ebay, never being able to move due to your daunting shelves of vinyl, hoarder syndrome, obsession, nostalgia, etc. But here’s proof that vinyl will do you in:
Ha, poor Fatboy Slim. He looks totally frazzled in these pics. I can almost feel the weight of his vinyl-stuffed backpack — strap mercilessly digging into soft shoulder flesh. Say what you will about digital media, but my iPod is looking pretty attractive right now.
The first thing is one of my very favorite works by Kurt Vonnegut, a short story from 1961, Harrison Bergeron. In my opinion, this mega-short work is one of the finest modern short stories. Harrison Bergeron is up there with Flannery O’Connor’s excellent Everything That Rises Must Converge, but much, much different. Although both stories are based around the theme of equality and both works comment eloquently and without cheesy sentiment on the nature of the human condition.
On a much different note, here’s a great clip by the Black Lips where they come off sounding more like the Stone Roses, with Veni Vidi Vici:
