Pop Life

this pop life is gonna fade, coming down blvds speeding inside my coke can while britney spears flashes me whats left of her breaking news ... she opens her mouth and the offspring emerges gently morphing into the hills and setting up a staged reality while lauren and the kardashians fight for the acknowledgement of every thirteen year old girl on the planet, spread those legs and strip down, capture your movements on an iphones and send it off to E! and youtube, within moments youll find yourself floating through fiber optics on a high speed chase trying to catch up with the information thats traded via laptops and cumshots  

warhol wasnt far off, kudos for having threesomes and threatning to kill your roommates because they drank the last juicy juice and you happen to have a camera in your face ... soak up the poplight, spotlight, its never quiet on this set, all you want to buy is a pair of flip flops to go with your prescription meds mix with a bottle of jack wanting to be celebrated like janis but we havent martyred a reality star yet ..

do you think if youre the first they will put you on the walk of fame?  

willing to try? 

Scare Tactics

On the last day before the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama bombarded PA air waves with ads promoting their respective messages.  While Obama has continually focused on his message of hope, Hillary has gone through the gambit.  At one point she portrayed herself as the most capable leader.  When that didnt work she showed a softer side by pleading with America.  When that fell on deaf ears she went on the offensive with the now notorious "3am" ad.  She desperately criticized Obama for his personal relationships, no matter how fleeting they were.  And now on the day before the primary, Clinton has reached further into her Karl Rove campaign handbook and in one commercial has attempted to scare the shit out of Pennsylvanian Democrats and fool them into voting for her.  

WWII, Pearl Harbor, Berlin Wall and of course Bin Laden.  Does that not sound eerily similar to the Bush agenda?  Hasn't our current Leader in Chief used the same tactics to manipulate the masses into following his strategy for personal gain?  Hmmm.... On top of that Hillary quotes Harry Truman "If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."  The same Truman who was a notorious racist (often in his personal love letters to his wife Bess) and dropped two bombs that killed more people with one act in the history of humanity.  

Perhaps Mrs. Clinton thinks less of the American people.  Perhaps she underestimates our intelligence.  Unfortunately there will be some folks who fall for it but in the long run, if we are going to evolve as a society, this type of climate must change.  We need leaders who inspire hope and cohesive evolution, not ones who use fear tactics to scare the public. 

A Society of Judgement

We live under a microscope.  A microscope where anything that we say or do will be dissected and criticized by society total.  A microscope that will take a raucous war cry from Howard Dean and bring down a campaign or an "i cant believe America is falling for this idiot" sigh from Al Gore and bring down another.  

Obama used the term "bitter" to describe a certain demographic of Americana.  Obama was linked to a preacher whose political views are too controversial for the mainstream.  Now with our 24/7 media coverage an individual in and out of the spotlight cant take a shit without Wolf Blitzer flushing the toilet and Perez Hilton scrubbing the floor.  The Pandemic is much larger then the political sphere but i want to keep it focused on this.  

America has always found it necessary to break down our political representatives (as well as other public figures).  Perhaps that's part of the job.  Perhaps if our trust in public figures was not so threatened we would be a kinder and gentler society.  Yet we are not at that point.  Mistrust and resentment resound throughout and with that bloggers blog, people text information back and forth and snap pictures with their latest iphones.   

We are all news outlets now and as a result have all become social commentators.  But instead of promoting change and bringing us together it seems that in many instances it has made us more scornful and tears at the very fabric of our society.  We have gotten to the point where we criticize our representatives for having the brass to talk frankly and bluntly with us.  To speak to us like adults instead of children.  

Our politicos will never be perfect.  Infact they will be far from it (and i certainly do not excuse Spitzer for getting down with hookers all over the eastern seaboard).  But if anything they are a representation of ourselves.  We created them, we created the world within they live.  Lobbyists, corporate donors, seedy dealings all exist because we allowed it to happen.  All of us are responsible but yet none of us want to take the responsibility.  

And now we have a candidate with enough intelligence, empathy, compassion and hope and all we want to do is dissect him, break him down and bring him down to our level.  The level of imperfection.  Well let me tell you something, hes already there and that's what makes him so valuable.  What makes him different is that he can take those experiences and rise about his mistakes.  The question is though, can we do the same?  

North Vs South

The south is a bit different then the north, specifically the northeast.  I try to remember that home is where your heart is and depending on whether or not you take that literally its a completely different mentality.  Ive been in Charleston for two weeks tonight and today realized that i do actually LIVE in Charleston.  Even if its not permanent its still living.  I think people forget that.  No matter what they are doing, even if its monotonous, its living.  Somewhere spontaneity became associated with living.  Thus far my existence might not be considered spontaneous but is certainly categorized as random.  And with that my random life has brought me down south.  

Down south where you can find a random church on every corner.  A church of any denomination. Down south where there is a gas station on every corner and the prices rival that of the big cities of the north east.  Down south where people live comfortably and take their time.  Down south where traffic might accumulate but people do not honk their horns and instead wait patiently.  Down south where whites live in one area and blacks in another and although they might come across one another in the streets, for the most part they stick to themselves.  Down south where the young people seem to be turning liberal but are still mired in a familiar obligation to their conservative past.  

And i guess that has been the biggest challenge.  Philly is a melting pot of craziness.  All of the north east is.  It is a huge melting pot of culture and art and ethnicity.  People might be short and abrupt with one another but its because they are constantly challenged.  Perhaps they should take a minute and enjoy what they have but they also know that there is always more.  In the south the MORE doesnt matter, its what you have thats important.  Neither culture is necessarily right, it just depends on your disposition.  The other day i bought a pair of shoes.  Twenty minutes later i was food shopping and the owner of the shoe store happened to recognize me.  He asked me if i was happy with my purchase and thanked me for my patronage.  That would never ever happen in Northeast.  I was pleased but at the same time bugged out by the encounter.  

Should i pause and enjoy the encounter.  Take some solace in the fact that someone is genuinely appreciative or should i be annoyed that the owner took away more of my time?  I guess its a matter of preference but it has certainly been an interesting experience thus far.  

Besides that, drinks are cheap.  My roommate and i went out last night, i had five yuenglings and she had five miller high lifes all for seventeen dollars.  wtf?  

No matter whats going on at least i have cheap beer.