We Want to Wonder "Why?"

well, we want to wonder "why?"
why lights burn out in minds and in the sky
why some of our love pours and some runs dry
why success or failure outweighs the try
why some dames eat orchids and men crave guys
why we follow socialists, capitalists, and Bear-oh my
why pot remains criminal but poisoned tobacco is a legal buy
why financial giants, Populist despots and Dick love to watch their comrades die
why it's harder to be authentic then it is to be sly
why it takes years of good men to slow down a government's lies
why greed and fear toss ice caps into furnaces to fry
why "it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's goodbye"
why bright lights, glowing sticks, and large breasts catch our spinning eyes
why they broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven on high
why some human beings don't have 20 dozen reasons to want to survive
why pharmacies can cure and cause us to cry
why all therapy isn't musical-vibrant and Live

RwmG

Lords of Light

In a flash, love was made by two white elephants,
with wild bouts of Chantix induced anti-nicotine tendencies and lucidity.
Exactly how long is your effect's duration, Pill Generation?
Long enough for breakfast in bed-to burst the Yolk of Heaven
and rage against the dying of the light,
until that other pupil remains wider than its ordinary brother.

Things are well kept and controlled here my Brahman brother.
Nothing repeats itself in this hollow space besides the elephants
and freedom references and fluorescent light.
And as I so deemed I dreamed, missing my lucidity.
No one mentioned that there are apples covering the ground in heaven,
left partially consumed-but not yet browning-for a generation.

It's more like the High Fructose and make believe generation.
These thoughts i treat like Ishmael and others like his little brother.
Rhythms of silence can make a moment heaven.
The solitudes of the flesh are the skin of elephants.
Sin is a state of being known by those devoid of necessary lucidity.
Sons of the Lords of Darkness replaced by the Sons of the Lords of Light.

RwmG

Between Arlington and Austin

A traveling stranger
taught me to move
my feet to keep
from falling into that circle
of anxiety--insane,
revolving,
automatic,
directionless.
I would peer into his
strange eyes--shrinking,
widening, capturing, gleaming
like some purple
magenta square stone
long lost at home.

Now, as my mother sings
and firefly rain
falls all around my
hopeful excitement;
I wonder fully and
give half-assed affection
to those dispersed women
slowed by misunderstandings,
men mulligans,
and mazes.

And the road can be cold,
and the road can be hot,
but the road has my trust.
Be sure to miss the God rush,
catch the Incident,
bring out your Dead,
know shades of Grey,
spread Rothbury,
miss the Moon, hug Hubble,
embrace Barry's change,
learn from Yasgur's
and read Songs of the Doomed.

Already, I miss that last
bite, sip, or whiff
of my life's morning
sun. Bright and golden
are the good times
we hold so close
that memory is our skin
is our thinning hair
is our racing heart
is our jeweled teeth
is the cracks
of crusty lip that we
bite, tear, chew
and digest unto our
bodies again and again.

RwmG

Be There

Some of us on this breathing sphere
see things slip and sink.
Some of us on this wet rock
see things climb and expand.

In a polite town is where I reside.
I move and get down to the beats inside,
and live to dream about a worldwide Shakedown-
where hearts and eyes gleam and honest reality is found.

Some of us on this breathing sphere,
hope for shortcuts and sedation.
Some of us on this wet rock,
hope for equality and pretty peace

It beats me how they can continue to fall down
this circling Ferris wheel of anxious frowns.
Roads are often dark and wide, lights bright,
for the old and inexperienced alike.

Some of us on this breathing sphere,
are playing with reverence to our mistakes
Some of us on this wet rock,
are setting off explosions in our minds.

My hand rests upon my finally shut eyes.
At this stubborn sudden moment i realize
I've been getting the shakes and permahigh
and I see now how far out Saturn lies.

Some of us on this breathing sphere,
want to be gone.
Some of us on this wet rock,
want to be there.

RwmG

Melt

Sometimes I fell like they're just trying to eat me.
These with their hearts scattered.
"I need you" today
"I don't need you" this way.

Knock my head, pain my liver to make it sleepy.
Compassionate dreams heal--for some it can't matter.
I'll forgive you someday,
How can we believe a thing we say?

Who knows what instrument fits right in this mix?
It's an undeniable process we venture upon.
But we focus on our breathing,
try and melt this forward thinking.

It is safe to dance with family pics,
but perilous tongue to tongue on this lawn.
Upgrade you love, but not so often,
roll into others arms with caution.

RwmG

Years of the Yuppie: The Personal Consumer (4/8/09)

The election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States in 1980 resulted in a comprehensive shift in American values and lifestyle. During his two terms in office, the Reagan Revolution marked society’s rejection of ‘60s counterculture, activism, and liberalism. Reagan’s “Greed is Good” initiative encouraged Americans to indulge in their own livelihood, prosperity, and material gains. Wall St. became the generator of an advantageous new American economy; while personal consumption and spending proved to be a rewarding means for the American individual to feel as though they held a stake in both their own lives as well as the state of the nation. For the first time in their lifetime, a younger generation of Americans felt an encouraging feeling that “things were looking up” in the 1980s. The introduction of the American Young Urban Professional-commonly known as the Yuppie-into society created a new breed of American. The ‘80s proved to be not only the Reagan Decade but also the decade of the Yuppie. Jay McInerney’s 1984 novel, “Bright Lights, Big City”, depicts the plight of the yuppie from within the garish metropolis of Manhattan. The rise of the Yuppie produced a new understanding of what it meant to uphold and strengthen one’s personal identity in society, and what it meant to be a consumer in America.

The Yuppies embodied an American cultural phenomenon—the “Me Generation.” Many baby boomers—who participated in and experienced the ascension of an idealistic and communal ‘60s counterculture—found themselves faced with the harsh reality of their own independent well being by the 1980’s. These people “‘chilled out’ during the 70’s, compromised, dropped much of the social commitment, and began to become—a yuppie.” Yuppiedom did not simply occur by means of some external factor. Instead, it transpired through a heightened sense of self-indulgence in their personal lives. Unlike, the “Man in the Grey Flannel Suit” and the Nuclear families of the 1950’s, the yuppies adopted a new system of middle class living that was not centered on the family and the home. “They have rejected the suburban values of their parents in favor of living where the action is.” The central character in McInerney’s novel lives the standard ‘80s New York City yuppie lifestyle marked by luxurious tastes and desires, and a promising profession. His yuppieness is a direct product of his migration from the Midwest to the City. “You began to feel that you were no longer on the outside looking in. When you were growing up you suspected that everyone else had been let in on some fundamental secret which was kept from you.” The baby boomers and yuppies no longer felt a need to exist within the margins of society; now they could focus on decisions in regards to their own life’s direction.
For many people, being a yuppie meant turning their aspirations inward. “Much of the energy and optimism and passion of the ‘60’s seems to have been turned inward, on lives, careers, apartments, and dinners.” As hard working Americans, the yuppies believed that they owed it to themselves to amass wealth and consistently satiate their personal desires. Constantly aspiring for more from oneself and never being satisfied. “Your presence here is only a matter of conducting an experiment in limits, reminding yourself of what you aren’t.” For most yuppies, every decision, every move became inherently calculated in a selfish way. Their ideas and work became for the self. They no longer focused their interests on society, those people close to them, or some struggling oppressed whole. By rejecting their aged hippy political ideologies, the yuppies “converted ‘our thing’ into ‘my thing’.” This shift in concentration of the yuppie’s concern can be seen in how the protagonist of “Bright Lights, Big City” reacts when an old woman is accosted on the train by another man. “You would like to see if she’s all right, but at this point it wouldn’t do much good. You sit down.” Focusing their attention on their material lives and the prospect of upward mobility, the yuppies popularized an apathetic American mood. “What Yuppies have discovered is nothing less than a new plane of consciousness, a state of Transcendental Acquisition, in which the perfection of their possessions enables them to rise above the messy turmoil of their emotional lives.”

Perhaps the most lasting impact that the yuppies had on American society can be found in the economics of the “Reagan Decade”. Paired with Reagan’s supply side economics, tax cuts, and limits upon the federal government; the yuppie’s devotion to new ideals of consumption drastically changed American economics. “The yuppie bind of having to work hard to afford the kind of luxuries that make hard work possible.” The yuppies wanted more and more out of their material lives, so they frivolously worked the most profitable jobs they could attain. As they made more money, they spent more money—becoming trapped in a cycle of BMW car payments and penthouse leases. “A man’s home after all, is his castle.” For McInerney’s main character, the concept of a home exceeded traditional modest ideas. Yuppies saw their homes, their cars, their clothes as a means to show the world how perfect, clean, and attractive their life was. “Yuppies like to think of themselves as having: an ability to perform deftly, technological sophistication, elegant looks.”

As their level of spending increased, the yuppies’ new-age consumption became a model in which the corporate market had to adhere. “Yuppies are challenging the ossified corporate structures, just as they once challenged the sacred traditions of academia, and forcing them into more imaginative solutions.” An entirely new popular area of consumption emerged—that of the private sector. “Even those who don’t meet all the statistical criteria my find their lives and spending habits to a large degree falling into patterns set by the Yuppies.” By 1984, a trickling down of the privatization of everyday life became commonplace amongst business and society alike—with the private sphere being seen as a “better” alternative to the public sector. The average American consumer suddenly had extra cash to spend on a steak dinner, or a blouse from Bloomingdales. “You had rent covered, you had your favorite restaurant on MacDougal where the waitresses knew your names and you could bring your own bottle of wine.” The yuppie’s new model of consumption provided American’s in the ‘80s with a belief that anyone could get rich, or at least live rich.

The impact of the yuppie upon the future of the American economy did not limit itself strictly to the role of the consumer. Yuppies that made enough to have extra money left over after satisfying their need to spend often looked for new opportunities to make money. The “Reagan Decade” embodied the rise of the small investor. In “playing the stock market”, the yuppies discovered a means in which they could gain some influence over the economy itself. “They make money from money, manipulate markets for their own profit, and provide highly skilled and rewarded service central to a capitalist economy.” Additionally, the ‘80s became the period in which the popular American entrepreneur surfaced. More and more, Americans used their affluence to fill their pockets with new money from new personal businesses. “They all have enterprises on the side, typically a little something in real estate.”

In the late ‘80s, the American yuppie saw its popularity slide, becoming an object of scorn—their reputation ruined by an obvious increase in immoral business decisions made by well-known yuppies. However, the yuppie ideal lived on. The impact of yuppiedom on American society fueled a period of expansive economic growth that-until very recently-led the nation into a prosperous and enchanting couple of decades. Even amidst our current economic malaise, American’s still embody the yuppie essence. American’s today continue to strive for the best possible way to live their lives, placing a special importance on efficiency. One would be hard pressed to find Americans within today’s society who does not value their own well being in one or more manners introduced by the yuppies.

Zach Lipkins- Air Whales

The positively down-tempo music of our good buddy-Mr. Zach Lipkins(a resident of Pdubz, USA)-has definitely cemented it’s place among the Bonobo’s and Thievery Corporation’s of the world on my “2-5am & and Thoughtfully Stoned” Itunes Playlist. For anyone who hasn’t gotten a chance to get down to some of Zach’s head-y jams, letss do diss!…

I might not have really paid notice to it so much when I first played his album, Air Whales, but I can’t help but feel good blasting some of these mind picking,organic-done-electronic tracks straight from Zach. I think this album is so soothing, it's gotten to the point where my ADD-esque mind is just fine with letting it play from end to end, if only it could get rid of this head cold.

After much deliberation, I think that Sebra has become that one most auspicious track that my mouse gravitates to initially on this tracklist. It starts off with the hollow sound of finger’s rubbing across a guitar fret, moves into some head bobbing soft break beat’s, and adds a little repeating synth progression. All the while, some of the sounds make me feel like I am inside of a freshly OCD-cleaned out Illadelph, or simply floating through something very fluid.

The one live show I was able to attend of Zach’s last year nearly blew me and the rest of the 20 Pratt crew right off our seats (yes, this was quiet, sit down show amongst scholars )…and into the quietest dance off ive ever been a part of. I am excited to catch his next show (TBA), which will hopefully include a longer set and some Gavin Castleton (Gruvis Malt) live vocals. I think someone should work on getting Zach to throwdown some late night sets in the near future, i got a few ill dance moves ready for that night.

PS. ask Zach how to get a copy of the album at zlipkins@gmail.com or at myspace.com/zachlipkins

The Mind and Enlightenment (11/1/08)

By Rich Guerra

The notion that most people’s minds’ cling to ideas, doctrines, words, and other such dependencies is indisputable. This spurs from a natural misunderstanding since conception of the world and life that surrounds us. Most would be unable to fathom, or put into practice for that matter, any notion that we are in fact able to reach out and understand the nature of our existence. Hui Neng’s Platform Sutra exposes the means in which anyone can develop the understanding that so many believe to be unattainable. In this paper I intend to explore the necessity of understanding one’s own mind and looking solely to it for progression toward Buddha hood; the pitfalls of the misidentified mind and the defilements of the impure mind; as well as the fundamental principle of non-attachment. The Sutra of Hui Neng represents the Sudden School and provides the reader with an alternative to traditional Buddhist teachings. Hui Neng’s Sutra connects Buddhism and Enlightenment intimately with the human’s most complex component, the mind. I hope to illustrate his understanding of one’s Essence of Mind, as well as his belief in its ultimate necessity within this essay.

“When he came to the sentence, ‘One should use one’s mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment,’ I at once became thoroughly enlightened, and realized that all things in the universe are the Essence of Mind itself.” The moment in which Hui Neng attains sudden enlightenment through the Patriarch Hong Ren’s words exemplifies the importance of the principle of non-attachment to the Sutra. The myth of Hui Neng is meant to represent the life of a pure Buddha, and the single concept that spurred this pure Buddha’s enlightenment was that of non-attachment. By realizing that “all things are the manifestation of the Essence of Mind”; Hui Neng sees instantly that the mind is the instrument which must be utilized in order for enlightenment to be reached. He states in the forth chapter of his Platform Sutra: “If we allow our thoughts, past, present, and future, to link up in a series, we put ourselves under restraint. On the other hand, if we never let our mind attach to anything, we shall gain emancipation. For this reason, we take ‘non-attachment as our fundamental principle.” Any idea, such as the self or time, is simply a way for the mind to become attached, thus limiting the nature of one’s Essence of Mind. Hui Neng explains to his followers that one must practice ‘Idea-lessness’ in order to remain detached from all circumstances and avoid belief that there is anything to be attained in the Essence of Mind. Hui Neng states in the second chapter of the Sutra: “The capacity of the mind is as great as that of space. It is infinite, neither round nor square, neither great nor small, neither green nor yellow, neither red nor white, neither above nor below, neither long nor short, neither angry nor happy, neither right nor wrong, neither good nor evil, neither first nor last.” If all things in the universe are the Essence of Mind itself; there can be no idea or form used in which one can wrongfully limit its nature. Once you can see the mind with non-attachment, you can use the mind to connect to your Buddha nature. Hui Neng continues his argument in relation to Dhyana: “If we are attached to outer objects, our inner mind will be perturbed. When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace.” This practice of non-attachment is Dhyana, and Samadhi remains as the inner peace that is reached. One must be able to grasp this concept of non-attachment in order to realize the Essence of Mind. Enlightenment cannot be found if a person has found themselves trapped by the defilements of ignorant practice.

Zhi Chang was first taught by Master Da Tong the way to realize the Essence of Mind and attain Buddha hood, but had not yet become enlightened. In his explanation, Da Tong had confused Chang with the concepts of “Right View” and “True Knowledge.” When Zhi Chang came to Hui Neng to ask him of the true nature of the Essence of Mind, Hui Neng replied: “To let these arbitrary concepts rise spontaneously in your mind indicates that you have misidentified the Essence of Mind, and that you have not yet found the skillful means to realize it. If you realize for one moment that these arbitrary concepts are wrong, your own spiritual light will shine forth permanently.” Zhi Chang was unable to realize his Essence of Mind since his mind remained contaminated by ideas. The instant he believed that the Essence of Mind would not be found within the delusion of concepts of phenomena, Zhi Chang became enlightened. Chang remains as an example of how easily one can allow enlightenment to slip through their fingers. Even the teachings of a Zen master can defer your realization of Essence of Mind, through the smallest attachment. “It is because of the delusion under which our mind works that we fail to realize it (the Wisdom of Enlightenment) ourselves…There is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one. What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it.” This ignorance that Hui Neng speaks of is characteristic of anyone who is yet to realize the Essence of Mind. The enlightened man has not simply spoke about the Essence of Mind, as the ignorant man often does, but has used his mind to make such thoughts into reality. He does this by cutting ties with mere thoughts and delusions, and instead uses mental practice to see that the only nature that exists is Buddha nature. I really connected to this idea, because I find it much more comforting to believe that through mental practice one could become closer to understanding existence. “He who does not know his own Essence of Mind, and is under the delusion that Buddha hood can be attained by outward religious rites is called the slow-witted. He who knows the teaching of the Sudden School and attaches no importance to rituals and whose mind functions always under right views, so that he is absolutely free from defilements or contaminations, is said to have known his Essence of Mind.” Hui Neng stresses the fact that the teachings of Gradual School are merely defilements. Buddha hood cannot be attained without realizing one’s Essence of Mind. One cannot come to understand the Essence of Mind if they remain attached to any religious concepts or practice. The Essence of Mind cannot be found within any devout religious practice and cannot be understood by any ignorant person who does not realize that the pure mind is to be found within the impure mind itself.

In the opening lines of Hui Neng’s Platform Sutra he states: “Learned audience, our Essence of Mind which is the seed or kernel of enlightenment (Bodhi) is pure by nature, and making use of this mind alone we can reach Buddha hood directly.” Hui Neng explains here that there is only one place to look for enlightenment: within one’s self; and only one way to realize that enlightenment: through one’s mind. This is the meaning behind the entirety of Hui Neng’s Sutra. A person’s Essence of Mind is their true nature free from defilements associated with attachments. Every person, no matter who they are, has Buddha nature, but they must utilize their mind to understand that nature. When Fa Da comes to Hui Neng, he explains that he has recited the Lotus Sutra three thousand times and has yet to become enlightened. “The Patriarch replied, ‘Fa Da, the Law is quite clear; it is only your mind that is not clear.’” Hui Neng goes on to explain that: “You should therefore accept the interpretation that Buddha-knowledge is the Buddha-knowledge of your own mind and not that of any other Buddha.” He explains to Fa Da that there is nothing outside of your own mind that can assist you to realizing your Buddha nature. No matter how many recitations Fa Da performs, the Lotus Sutra remains another Buddha’s Enlightenment-knowledge. He must realize that his own Enlightenment is to be found within his own mind. “For him who does not know his own mind there is no use learning Buddhism.” Sutras and teachings are not enough to help a person attain his Buddhahood. Hui Neng stresses throughout his Sutra that although every person has Buddha nature, they cannot hope to realize it until they first come to realize their Essence of Mind. A person could practice Buddhism all of their life, and would never find enlightenment without attaining full understanding of his mind. “When our mind clings to neither good nor evil we should take care not to let it dwell upon vacuity, or remain in state of inertia. Rather should we enlarge our study and broaden our knowledge, so that we can know our own mind, understand thoroughly the principles of Buddhism, be congenial to others in our dealings with them, get rid of the idea of ‘self’ and that of ‘being’, and realize that up to the time when we attain Bodhi the ‘true nature’ (or Essence of Mind) is always immutable.” Buddhist teaching acts as a way to prepare oneself for realizing one’s Buddha nature, but a follower must go further and attain full understanding of their own mind. The Essence of Mind is nothing and everything at once, it can neither be created nor annihilated, and it is absolute.

Hui Neng believes that the difference between one person and another is simply whether they use their mind or they do not. Within his teachings, he remains entirely focused on the mind and its direct association to Buddha hood. If Buddha hood is a person’s goal, there is no alternative to realizing one’s Essence of Mind. If the true nature of the mind is to be understood, one cannot remain attached to any person, thing, or idea. These dependencies, no matter where their origins remain, must be overturned if enlightenment is to be reached. There is no special genetic makeup that needs to be had in order to realize Buddha nature; it is simply a process of overcoming ignorance and realizing one’s Essence of Mind. In today’s society, it seems like enlightenment never crosses the minds of most regular non-monk citizens. I feel like Hui Neng’s principles regarding the mind and attachment could, in fact, serve any lay person well. They don’t necessarily have to be obsessed with understanding their Essence of Mind, or racing towards Cessation. I believe that Samadhi can be attained in a smaller, not so all encompassing, sense. So that, by practicing even a nominal amount of Hui Neng’s teachings regarding the human mind, a person may find themselves a little more content with the uncertainty of existence.

This Place

There's all this time lost in the fog
and you can die laughing, crying, or singing a song.
If you lived near a waterfall, could you hear it for long?

The strong and weak hearts, neither understand.
And the lights get brighter in this wild land,
but the simplest sight still stands.

Birthmarks and lakes of wine
Benzo dreams linger on
Breathing deep keeps us online
Believe in the pictures we draw

She would torture her soul with endless thinking,
chase that rabbit round' the track without blinking.
And they say the evenings are for heavy drinking.

How much of life is work, when you don't get paid?
We need to convince others not to lie to get laid.
Why stay bitter to those who've never had a Touch of Grey?

Birthmarks are lakes of wine
Benzo dreams linger on
Breathing deep keeps us online
Believe in the pictures you draw

Throw some electrolytes into this dark cosmos.
I've lost the thing I deserve the most,
so empty out your fanny pack and propose a toast.

Love rattles like a ride uphill on a bike while very drunk.
The harmonica howls, drums entrance,and the bass goes kurplunk.
Go gift your neighbor, brother, or stranger out of a funk.

Birthmarks are lakes of wine
Benzo dreams linger on
Breathing deep keeps us online
Believe in the pictures we draw

We all fall, rise, and hold our own dose of grace.
Color, shape, texture, nor expression make a face.
A big designed mankind cartoon, lots of possibilities in this place.

RwmG

No Solace

The libido fucked the heart from the start,
twisting and distorting a sweet unknown.
Oh, how modern. Oh, how you've forgotten
to churn the sea within your leaky tub.

Isn't it funny how the liver can
sometimes be the source of raw emotion?
The real natural intellectual must see
through the muck with a detached clarity.

When a world of hurt overpowers you
and there is no solace to find within
the selfish sun or the impatient moon-
we will still have our dreams to turn into.

Dreaming everyday is more than it is
all cracked up to be. Practice makes perfect.
A closeness to this dream is a bright light-
some are blinded, some walk with the path lit.

How do we stop this accelerating?
This ride doesn't require explanation,
yet we lash out for something essential-
hoping to simply transcend decision.

When a world of hurt overpowers you
and there is no solace to find within
the selfish sun or the impatient moon-
we will still have our dreams to turn into.

RwmG

It's May 4th Already?

Wonderful,
but a little maddening.
Miles away from a
perfect night’s sleep.

Wouldn’t you like to
know where we got our
sideshow swagger?
Dancing shoes dragger.
Crystal personali-key bagger.

A billion light-years of
multiplication
will still end somewhere.
I'm all in for mischievous infinity.
Just try not to lose
your footing or
that laugh.

Learn natural tenderness,
flex your tipsiest of toes,
only be the kindest buds.
Peering in and out of
“not really being like this”.
And trading shpongle
masks for spiritual hugs.

RwmG

Setting Fire to Liars

Every so often I let loose the hounds of hell.
They snarl and snap incessantly at my moral mind.
Easy exits emerge through frustration, compelling me to cross altruistic lines.

Compassion and kindness may pour from a proud fountain,
But malevolent thoughts taint these waters without warning.
It can poison the heart of man—pauper, knight, or king.

What should you do when you can’t be loved back?
Rip the past to shreds? Convince your heart that it’s all in your head?
Directing your desires to the track of success and street cred.

Who is the new Boss of America anyway?
These wives want to be John Wayne and their husbands live life questioning.
Universality of self-assurance reigns over compromise, acceptance and everything.

I did all those things they asked me to with a perpetual smile.
Looked out across society’s vast panorama, ready to walk the earth.
I’ll pose as an “X” slacker for now, but am reluctant of Kurt’s flannel shirts.

What can I do but struggle to keep this mind upright?
And adjust my pack’s straps tighter while these people pile up higher.
Feeding on help and insight, setting fire to liars.

RwmG

Reach

When i was real
short, I waited
for the world
to begin.
Many things had yet
to become
opinionated and turned
out. And in
my naivety, I counted
on truth
to be revealed-
joined by revolutions
of excitement,
and an optimist's
grin of infancy
upon a smooth face-
marked by a set
of teeth unstained by
liquids that jitter,
solids that grind,
and gases that relax.

Undiscovered countries
came into view within
the glass of a
telescope swapped for a
kaleidoscope swapped for a
microscope. And
continents of thought
sometimes became
inhibiting or
disheartening or
perplexing or
stressful or
harsh.

But I wondered upon
generalization revelations
and on music-
like the Voice of God-
to quiet the anxious
noise of man
while i slept
thoughtfully
and constructed
an identity comprised of
dreamy distortions and of
hopeful high-hats
and representative of
life-encouraging
musical genres.

Then the Ru'ya came.
And the liminar visions
shook lucid branches.
Out fell good omens and
clairvoyant bifocals
that felt like hypersensitive
translations falling
onto the avenue of
the body.
These ensnarements of existence
unraveled in a slump-
just as the woven web.

I found thought's blessing
to be overwhelmed
by its curse.
Tears of sadness and
of laughter were
indistinguishable to me.
But what is
mankind's vertical
manifest destiny,
if thoughts vanish
at the close of
the day?
Maybe that could
hold some reason for
why I desire new
thought so bad.

And we often see
the blue moon standing
alone, or usually grab
blue garments when
the choice arises.
Pervasive percussive
traditions are climb up
incense sticks that induce
trance. While we religiously
stay up late to dance
and reach
and reach.

RwmG

The Good, the Rad, and the Afterlife

The Good, the Rad, and the Afterlife
by Rich Guerra

I’ve never been one to get excited about spending an evening out anywhere near Boston’s Downtown Crossing. I suppose I have yet to appreciate the ambiguous allure of the area’s club nightlife- a network of overpriced and over crowded spots where groups of status seekers and wealthy collegiate undergrads find themselves in frequent need of another $12 watered down Vodka Tonic to validate their reasoning for catching a cab down to Tremont Street to begin with. When I take the trip from the Allston/Brookline area down to the heart of Boston, I am aching to feel an authentic pulse.

Around midnight, the city blocks surrounding the Good Life are typically quiet and empty. At the corner of Kingston and Bedford, the bar’s upstairs dining room is visibly vacant through large glass doors, locked up at the 11:00 conclusion of weekend dinner hours. The side entrance remains open beneath a bright circular sign marked by the bar’s trademark symbol- a letter “L” slanted to form a 45 degree angle that overlaps a letter “G” in a way meant to look like a rocks glass with a straw tilting out to the right.

Inside, two men converse with a tall woman bartender smiling while she reclines in front of a neat row of liquor bottles. A vacant strip of barstools sits below a row of large flat screen televisions showing unwatched March Madness basketball games. Large impressionist artwork lines the walls of the remarkably clean, well-lit upstairs bar. In the middle of the dining room set off to the right, an elegant grand piano sits silent. I feel a steady rumbling rise from the basement below, as muffled bass-heavy music retreats up a stairway from the Good Life’s lower level-The Afterlife Lounge.

The Afterlife Lounge is where I find my motivation for a night out downtown. Each Tuesday through Saturday night, various local, national, and international DJ’s mix and spin a wide range of music that you would be hard pressed to hear played at a bar or club elsewhere in greater Boston. One night, its’ the deep “WOMP…WOMP” of a mellow Reggae/dub beat, Dubstep, or down tempo Electronica. Other nights the dance floor will explode in a frenzy of Hip-Hop, Funk tracks, or Drum n Bass clicks, scratches, and beats.

I descend one of the two stairways into the basement and am met by the strong and rhythmic voice of the Lounge’s stalwart sound system. Inconspicuous yet powerful speakers span the perimeter of the Lounge, but it’s the two central speakers positioned on either side of the DJ’s work station that make some serious noise. Standing three feet tall, and emitting a booming sound that blows the legs of my pants back and forth- they are the soul of the bar’s sound.

The heart of the Afterlife’s sound lies between these two speakers and beneath a red brick archway. Tonight, resident DJ, Professor Pious, pulls 45 vinyls from his backpack with his left hand to spin upon his duel turntables, while his right hand remains attached almost magnetically to his Apple MacBook Pro. His head pulls back and forth to the beat of his own mixed audio creation, as his red bearded face remains illuminated by the glow of the two metallic laptops surrounding him.

One of the bar’s patrons dances within the archway on the opposite side of the platform where the DJ’s equipment rests. She hops up and down to the fast-paced Electro track that Pious provides, and I watch as she leans over the platform to shake her open palm in Pious’s face. As her wrist moves faster to the beat, he shows that he appreciates her encouragement by cranking up the song’s intensity.

Intimate booths-where flirting couples sit to rest and pick up their drinks-line the red velvet draped wall that wraps around and out from the DJ’s work area. Black books with the words, “Vodka Menu”, embossed in gold lay strewn across the booth’s tables. In addition to the chill music being mixed by the DJ, the Afterlife Lounge’s bar offers 150 frozen vodkas ready to be mixed up by the bartender. Stainless steel freezers line the area above the bar.

Looking around, I notice a group of young neo-hippies with dreaded hair that are smiling wide, kicking their heels out every which way in a funky syncopated dance step. Many who come out for these late nights at the Good Life are not afraid to dance alone, some seem to prefer it. One guy clears a space for himself in front of the archway. He is wearing large black parachute pants, and is in a sort of stance like he was riding a horse. My first thought is to laugh, but after watching him spin around on his hands with a controlled ease, I know he is no joke.

The dance floor seems to cover any space of solid ground available for feet to slide, stomp, and move about. A group of four giddy women dance together, hoping to appeal to a couple of men dressed in business suits. Judging by the dissipating liquor in their frosty martini glasses and the way their knees wobble to the music- these men seem prepared to let loose in the Afterlife.

As the Market Dives, New Art Thrives

By Rich Guerra

The contemporary art market is facing a sinking feeling that Wall Street knows well. Over the last five years, the art world has experienced a flood of fiscal ecstasy. Art values grew on average almost 20 percent per year, according to the Mei Moses fine art index, comprised in part by Michael Moses, a professor of management at New York University’s Stern School of Business. As years of unchecked growth in the global financial and credit markets turned the global economy on its head and America down that road to “The Great Recession”, the global art market’s corporate model produced a downturn of its own during the latter half of 2008.

I have come to find that the traditional effect of national, and in this case global, economic despair is a swift crippling of the contemporary art market. During past recessions, a failing economy cleared out gallery spaces and left gallery walls empty, but it ultimately opened new space for those new artists who surfaced to reshape the way the art world lives and breathes. Artists, like economists, must take it into wider reaches of culture to find a new way up. Granted, the current economic crisis seems to be unlike anything our economy has seen since the first half of the 20^th century, but my hopes are that history will repeat it self for the sake of the art.

“In a turbulent world, art continues to represent both value and relevance,” said

Bill Ruprecht, President and CEO of Sotheby’s Auction House, reports MSNBC.com.

As I walked down 10^th Ave. in Manhattan this past weekend, gallery guide in hand, I couldn’t help but feel disheartened by the ailing condition of the New York City art scene. Chelsea galleries can’t make the rent, well-known artists can’t seem to finance their new Audi A6, but oddly enough, newer, younger artists are catching their big break.

“It’s a time for galleries to take calculated risks and be very clever on what work you show,” said Claire Oliver, founder of The Claire Oliver Gallery in the Chelsea arts district of New York City, “We show artists who are in their 20’s and 30’s, whose art is still affordable, and our sales are still doing really well. Our collectors are still buying art because they love art and are jonesing for it.”

Auction houses, who auction off famous artwork and generally make the big sales, watched those sales evaporate over the last quarter of 2008-often settling at half of the projected selling point. In London, Christie’s worldwide art sales were down 11 percent in 2008. Sotheby’s-considered by many as the premier international art auction house-reported fourth quarter 2008 operating revenues of 166.2 million dollars, a 52 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2007. What do these dismal numbers mean? Young, lesser-known artists who sell their fresh work for less suddenly have become the cat’s meow of the art world, emerging as an affordable option for collectors.

“It has to do with perceived value; suddenly no one wants to buy work with a set value,” said Dan Zvereff, an artist working out of Brooklyn, “It is a push and pull kind of thing.”

Once an artist’s work has a price on it, depreciation is not usually viable option. It

remains an unspoken rule among well-known artists that you shouldn’t sell for less than your set value, even if that value is as bloated as the market itself. The successful artist is then put in a corner, where they have trouble selling without lowering their prices. It is during periods like this in the art world that the young and undiscovered artist must strike the market like their low-brow lifestyle depended on it.

“This is a time that separates the men from the boys,” said Oliver, “Young artists who are working hard and aggressively can make it, but if you have an ‘I’ll see how it goes’ attitude right now, you won’t.”

I’ve come to believe that during economic downtimes, art collectors turn their attention and their pocketbooks toward new artists whose value and notoriety they can raise by helping them break out. Collectors thrive on what appeals to a younger generation, finding fresh blood who use unique mediums and whose work is shaped around a single relatable idea. In Philadelphia, the first Friday night of every month 40+ galleries show their work to a large group of viewers.

“The artwork I am drawn most to at First Friday, and who draw the biggest

crowd are the young artists,” said Nick Zegel, an artist working out of the Philadelphia art scene, “What they are doing is appealing to a younger generation in ways in which the old doesn’t seem to be working.”

Aged economics failed the financial sector, so the world is looking to those with fresh ideas to pull us through. As it has done in the past, the contemporary art market will find its revival in artists who are innovative and new.

“The market is experiencing a necessary shift,” said Oliver, “and the cream will rise to the top.”

Back Seat Driver

I think sometimes. Well, more like
I don't think, seldomly.
And those times are
few and far between
hiding harmonies
and blabbering busts.
Too late to choose to opt out.
A verdant vehicle for conception
veering,
spinning,
and crashing
out of control somewhere
near my destination, but far
off. Trying to relate to different
folks, to different post-traumatic
every-bodies, to side-steppers,
to give them a reason
for joining in on the hunt
for the wave that's coming
for the violent fairy tale
for the way cross' that unbridgeable gap.

You wake up in the morning
expecting to speak to someone,
who knows you?

People can hear these words-
these master accidents.
Thoughts slide away, while
what you say stings ears and
holds like glue.
People can see this long hair-
this eloquent freak flag.
We won't run away, we will
wait for some collective hallucination.
to pull us through.

Confide within confidence
and original optimism.
Watching your tightest thoughts
deflate into flabby regrets.
No anchor in time or
space to move about
comfortably.

Highs and Lows differ
between those
with rags
and those
with crowns.
Your public outrage
does not translate
to your private belief.
These text novels and
laptop realities alter
the ways we think.
And it's like walking home
down an alley off of the street,
feeling the stories tower above,
thinking about them toppling down.

I personally would rather
rise to the occasion.
Abandon persuasion.
Keep my mind and
my knees shaking.
Let um lose all respect
as long as
I do what
I know is right.
Take the gavel to
the Judge.
Take the surrealism
to the idealism.
Stupid strength
fades out quick.

RwmG

I Like Heavy Beats and Text Novels

and i like to clip my toenails while i am stoned.
and i like to navigate through the dark while I'm at home.
and i like to store my memory lobe in my phone.
and i like to drink coffee, smoke bowls, then see which way the wind blows.
and i like to imitate the highs and raise the lows.
and i like to hear sporadic lyrical vocabulary's and perfect prose.
and i like to refill a glass sparkling water bottle that is over a year old.
and i like to eat pizza, thin mint cookies, and mac n cheese cold.
and i like to appease often, but not fucking doing what I'm told.
and i like to pull over to take a piss out on the open road.
and i like to have efficient arrangement of furniture in my abode.
and i like to wash all my clothes in one packed load.
and i like to write things like "Throw some dub on that bitch!" on sticky notes.
and i like to watch the yellow spread apart when my fork breaks the yoke.
and i like to use a digital tape recorder to playback words that friends' spoke.
and i like to scrub the dishes clean only if I can use alot of soap.
and i like to remember to relax, breathe, hydrate and hope.
and i like to say i like things when others would say nope.

RwmG

Fear and Loathing: Gonzo Journalism and the Evolution of the CounterCulture

By Richard Guerra

The 1960’s embodies a time when those who grew to reject the mainstream American values spawned by ‘50s conservative sensibility decides to take a stand and speak out against them. These Americans disassociated themselves from ideals related to consumerism, conformity, and blind acceptance of the U.S. Government’s domestic and foreign policies. As the Civil Rights movement picked up speed and the Vietnam War emerged, the timing was right for members of the political Left to push for the creation of lasting social reform in America and embrace new forms of progressive activism. The counterculture perspective, spearheaded largely by America’s youth and minority populations, emerged in the 1960’s as a optimistic force against the U.S. Government’s aggressive foreign agenda, corrupt political systems, and unjust domestic civil policies. Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 serves as an approach to traditional politics and journalism, characterized by the revolutionary bedrock of the American Counter-Culture. His personal account of the ’72 presidential campaign brings to light the transformation of the ‘60s Counter-Culture at the dawn of a new decade.



In Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 , Hunter S. Thompson leaves no political camp unturned as he tracks the American political establishment cross-country as a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. He accepts his year-long assignment on the campaign trail as a means of representing brutal honest political journalism. “The great American press was a babbling joke-an empire built on gossip and cliches- a final resting place for rumormongers and pompus boobs.” While most journalists traveling on the presidential campaign trail in ’72 write stories that focus on up-to-date developments and information filtered through the candidates’ political camps, Thompson embraces a counter-cultural approach to political coverage and to Journalism itself. He ruthlessly abandons faith and support for taboos associated with traditional, strictly non-fictional Objective Journalism. “Objective Journalism is a hard thing to come by these days. So much for Objective Journalism. Don’t bother to look for it here –not under any byline of mind; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction of terms.” By incorporating fictional writing, adhering strictly to factual accuracy, and writing as the primary source, Thompson’s writing looks to include elements of the New Journalism style popularized by Tom Wolfe. The result is his own individual breed of New Journalism that he refers to as “Gonzo Journalism.”

Thompson’s “Gonzo” approach to reporting does not simply look to uncover the motivations and actions of the politicians he covers, but instead documents all aspects of the environment he experiences around him. “I think that’s why it’s so easy for me to write what seems like an original or even bizarre point of view about scenes or situations that a lot of writers tend to ignore, because they live right in the middle of them.” Since his own counter-cultural perspective separates him from any sort of American social majority, he does not trust the seemingly mundane facets of society to remain separate from the news. His writing in Campaign Trail ’72 includes sometimes lucid, but often garish details and observations about people, words, and situations that most journalists wouldn’t stop to think about, let alone write about. “In terms of classic journalism, this kind of wandering, unfounded speculation will have a nasty effect on that asshole from Ireland who sent word across The Waters to nail me for bad language and lack of objectivity. There have been numerous complaints, in fact, about the publisher allowing me to get away with calling out new Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist a ‘swine’.” Thompson holds nothing back while reporting, allowing his exact thoughts and analysis to escape to his typewriter almost instantaneously.

In Campaign Trail ’72 , Thompson functions as both a journalist working to cover politics in America, and a member of the Counter-Culture possessing a strong hatred for corrupt politicians. As he listens to George Wallace give a speech or shakes President Nixon’s hand, Thompson brutally examines the canidates at face value. “The main problem in an democracy is that crowd-pleasers are generally brainless swine who can go out on a stage and whup their supporters into a orgiastic frenzy.” Searching within the rhetoric and attitudes of political candidates campaigning in ’72, Thompson rarely finds the breed of authenticity that the Counter-Culture and he naturally desire. Through his reporting, he comes to realize that the run-of-the-mill American public thrives upon a politician’s political spin, and is largely “not a nation of truth lovers.” Thompson embraces this concept. Unlike these politicians, however, he does not label his style of fabrication as truth. His literary inventions do not work to cover up the important facts, but instead helps to expose them in a remarkable light. “With the truth so dull and depressing, the only working alternative is wild bursts of madness and filigree.” The Counter-Culture is not interested in reading about politician’s and politics through the same restricted form as their white suburban middle-class counterparts. Thompson’s shocking journalistic writing essentially acts as an authentic critique of politics and society written in the language of that Counter-Culture. His writing in Campaign Trail ’72 allows him the space to create his own individual journalistic ideal, free from society’s out-dated norms and criteria.
After John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, New Left idealists, Civil Rights activists, and constituents of the Counter-Culture watched Lyndon B. Johnston reluctantly take hold of the reins of the Executive Office of the President. Looking back on the Johnston administration in Campaign Trail ’72, Thompson uncovers his own rational for the expanding disconnect between the Counter-Culture and traditional American institutions. “Johnston did a lot of rotten things in those five bloody years, but when the history books are written he will emerge in his proper role as the man who caused and entire generation of Americans to lose all respect for the Presidency, the White House, the Army, and in fact the whole structure of the government.” According to Thompson, that younger generation of Americans (supporters of the Anti-War movement) watches Johnston fail to uphold their own inherent liberal principles so miserably that the door to the White House is left wide open for Richard Nixon and his Silent Majority.



As the legacy of the Vietnam War comes into focus, members of the 60’s Counter-Culture are unable to stomach the thought of being left in the dark politically for another decade. This sense of anxiety becomes a reality as the events of ’68 leave student activists and members of the Counter-Culture -once “a part of the same trip, that wild sense of breakthrough in the late Sixties when almost anything seemed possible”-feeling alienated and disillusioned. In Campaign Trail ’72, Thompson describes the demise of the Counter-Culture’s political faith and optimism. “Martin Luther King was murdered in April, Bobby Kennedy in June…then Nixon was nominated in July, and in August the Democrats went to Chicago for the final act. By Labor Day it was all over. ‘The Movement’ was finished.” In 1972, Thompson believes that the only place left in politics for the student/youth movement is to fall in-line behind a “consensus candidate”, or “crippling the party with another one of those goddamn protest movements that’ll end up like all others and not accomplish anything except to guarantee Nixon’s re-election.” The years of effort and work that protesters and member’s of the Counter-Culture provide in the ‘60s to combat all wrong doing by the U.S. Government, appears to have little impact at the start of the ‘70s. Young American’s and boisterous members of the Anti-War movement watch as their hopes are quieted, as shown by the words of one character in a 1975 G.B. Trudeau’s Doonesbury comic: “I stopped demonstrating because I didn’t think the Government was in the least bit responsive.” In Campaign Trail ’72, Thompson watches as more members of the Counter-Culture, previously optimistic about their political impact, are left with a zealous desire to drop out of society completely.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 speaks to the American Counter-Culture of the ‘60s in a way that no other traditional political journalism could. Hunter S. Thompson’s “Gonzo Journalism” allows him the freedom to present his readers with an honest account of what he experiences on the campaign trail, while drawing his own conclusions about the nature of the present society and American politics. His connection to the Counter-Culture provides him with a unique perspective and the means to understand the true nature the Counter-Culture as the ‘70s begins.

RwmG

It’s Like Music to my Robot Ears: Are Electronic Musicians really Musicians?

by Rich Guerra

As computer technology rapidly advanced over the last half century, our access to forms of information and function-previously available only to experts in a specific field extended with the same rigor. The development of music software, computer music systems, and personal computers (most recently portable high-speed laptops) provide trained musicians and non-professionals with a means to create, record, and mix music compositions with the click of a button or a turn of a knob. Do electronic musicians create music in the same classical sense as musicians who create music using organic instruments?



An electronic musician using computer technology to compose a song, is able to create fresh music spontaneously with the same creativity as a musician playing an organic instrument. However, an electronic musician is able to take music improvisation even further. On a computer, the musician can take any sound, examine it a number of different ways, and reinvent that sound through effects and recording. Utilizing electronic music production technology (synthesizers, digital mixers, etc.), electronic musicians are able to break away from traditional forms of musical production, doing more musically with fewer resources.

An electronic musician creates music using any sound that can be recorded on, or transferred into a computer through electrical voltages or digital information. While a laptop will never be an organic instrument, such as a cello or a guitar, computer-produced music does not adhere to any preconceived ideals regarding “what it sounds like". Although some traditionalists hold narrower views as to what signifies a musical instrument, electronic musicians approach the computer as a unique instrument that is able to process natural sounds and generate unnatural ones.

“When thinking about the computer you are talking about any sound on the planet being a musical sound. If you think about that and you look at a laptop computer; it’s really the ideal tool for new forms of musical expression,” said Michael Bierylo, an Associate Professor of Music Synthesis at Berklee College of Music.

If we take a look at music that we hear on the radio, television, or the Internet, an overwhelming fraction of that music has been produced on a computer. Since the start of the new millennium, many software-based virtual studios, like the well-received Ableton Live, have become cheaper and easier to use. These virtual studios provide the user with the freedom to utilize audio editing software while creating new music using audio effects and electronic instrumental sounds. As these virtual studios become more accessible, the number of amateur electronic musicians getting their start sitting at home at their desk's continues to grow.



The rising number of electronic musicians worldwide continue to change the way music is being created. “Someone with inherent and advanced musical knowledge & ability coupled with electronic/computer based technology can create incredible sonic landscapes,” said Ben Cullum, a songwriter/programmer/producer/musician currently touring with the British electronic funk band, The Egg. Adopting a progressive attitude and style, these musicians continue to mesh traditional elements of music with computer generated sounds.

Lotus's Hammerstrike Tour

Lotus: Hammerstrike's Gold

by Rich Guerra

This last year has been an expansive one for Lotus. After acting as a premiere late-night band for summer festival’s like Camp Bisco and Rothbury, they have continued to produce the fast-paced and fauxtrotted steez on stage that we can’t help but shake our rumps too. Transitioning nicely into their fusion sound from a strictly organic Rock/Funk sound, a new-but polished-style has emerged adding elements of Jam/Electronica/Jazz.

“Planting the holographic seeds of an LP with stunning potential and the detectable pliability of major advancements to come, they tended to each new addition with careful attention and precision, the initial, introductory phase of the innumerable performances time will eventually put into motion.” - Greg Gargiulo Jambase on the 9/24/08 Mercury Lounge show in NYC

The current Winter 2009 tour is a continuation of their 2008 Hammerstrike Tour, which helped make their newest album- Hammerstrike(Oct. 08′)-a definite success.

Some would argue that no band working today can produce a better blend of head-shaking instrumental pull and knee-knocking electronic sound than Lotus has year after year. The energetic and enthused crowd of fans at any sold out show on their seemingly never-ending tour feeds off of the band’s own encouraging spirit and stamina. And it doesn’t hurt that they don’t leave home for tour without the notorious overhanging light rig-their own slimmed down version of Daft Punk’s light pyramid. What would a fan’s memory of a Lotus gig be without the eye-popping rhythmic light show?

The Spring conclusion to the tour includes a first time performance at Lupo’s in Providence, two night stand Higher Ground in Burlington, VT and another two night banger at the “intimate” Bowery Ballroom in New York City to finish it off in April. Grab some advanced tickets and bust out your 3D-glasses and camera phones once again for Lotus as they finish off this tour on the east coast.

-Richard (Ranch) Guerra