I've got slack but I'm not a slacker

I remember well about ten years ago, give or take, someone I know wrote something I thought was pretty funny. The premise was that the then so-called Generation X would most likely only be able to use the first time they saw the film Slacker as a common reference, the way Baby Boomers would have referred to where they were when they heard President Kennedy was assassinated. I still think this is a pretty funny premise.

Of course, we (and not just "us," whoever we may be) now have 9/11, and this indeed can provide us all with a common reference relatively similar to the presidential assassination of the early 60s.

Of course this has already occurred to everyone. Getting back to Slacker... I would like to see it again sometime. I definitely buy into the premise that everyman/woman is worthy of film and screen time. I enjoy the complete randomness. I love the eccentric characters.

But what is this that the title insinuates? I have looked through, barely, quickly, the booklet that comes with the (relatively) new deluxe DVD of Slacker when I was at Vision Video (a local video store here in Athens.) There was something I read that I didn't understand completely. The writer, comparing Austin, Texas, to some other midwestern college town (He didn't say whether it was Champaign/Urbana, IL or Lawrence, KS or Madison, WI or somewhere else) and how the people there actually went to their jobs.

I believe there is an element of truth to the "fuck society" philosophy and admire those who are able to get by with as little work as possible, as long as they are still self-reliant. There comes some point however though when you have to either pay the fucking rent or live on the fucking street. If you are privileged you can couch surf infinitely.

I probably am misunderstanding what he/she/they was/were trying to say about those who went to their jobs. Or am I? The obvious implication was that, "ah... these folks are not like us. We are the true slackers. They ... they... work."

In the end it doesn't matter for us and for the filmmaker. Obviously he is not an absolute slacker or he wouldn't have made the film. Obviously I like the movie or I wouldn't be bloraging about it here.

Yet there is something that bothers me. I guess I used to consider myself something of a "slacker" and this was a popular myth for those of us who were twenty-three years old or so about ten years ago. The truth is I am convinced I have ADD (or Adult ADD), I procrastinate, I am lazy, but I am not a slacker. I work. I eventually get shit paid for, whether it be thanks to my wife, or the long arm of the law, or just to my own better judgment (thanks mom.)

I do like the words "slack" and "slacker." There is something there. Of course, I used to be a practicing SubGenius, and we know how highly that faith regards slack. Although I am no longer orthodox, I do still enjoy listening to the word of "Bob" from time to time. And this teaches us that slack need not be found in mere inactivity, but it can also be found in the pursuit of all kinds of activities whether its blooging, making movies, making music, or even, under the correct circumstances, your "job."

Having said all that, I should probably do some schoolwork while I'm still awake and before I am too drunk.

breathe

I had two exams on Tuesday. I'm not sure why, but I didn't get to see the results yet for the class I have in the morning. I'm hoping I will get to see the one from my afternoon class today. Now there's never really a break in the action but it's always a better feeling after the exam than before...

I have lots of thoughts swimming around in this fucked-up head of mine, some of which I've been thinking about exploring more in this space right here. We'll see later on if I actually make the time to do so.

Got the tickets

I have neglected to mention it yet, and in fact Holly has beaten me to the punch, but we got the Gang of four tickets for their upcoming show at the 40 Watt. So this obsessive geek can breathe easy now...

so.. very...

sleepy

current music: Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls

Truly "random thoughts"

As always, the numbers do not indicate any order.

1. It has been said many times in many ways that a life without at least some struggle may be a life not worth living. If this premise is true than my life right now is very much worth living.

2. The situation at the institution has stabilized for me, more or less. I haven't been able to get what I want from them. I'm looking into my options...

3. Vice is nice but moderation is key.

4. Got a live double disc of the Mission of Burma show at the (r.i.p.) Echo Lounge in Atlanta on 20 February 2003, where I was one of the many ecstatic attendees. I'd be happy to facilitate a listening of this recording for my friends reading this. I'm listening to it just now. Just finished track 2 on Disc 2 That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate. Forgive me for pasting the cited lyrics below, and I only ask forgiveness because I know that it's not always the most convenient formatting. I love the title and lyrics of this song though, and somehow, they seem relevant, as ever, even if only in an indirect or abstract way...

this might be your only chance
to prove it on your own
Tulsa's not that
Tulsa's not that far

besides if you stay
I'd feel a certain guilt
did I hold you
did I hold you back?

can I count on you
if I fall apart?
if I fall a
if I fall apart

that's how I escaped my certain fate...
innocence a novice's mistake
that's how I escaped my certain fate...
honesty's an actor's worst mistake
that's how I escaped my certain fate

Not all the performances at this show were so top notch that you couldn't fault them, but over all it's up to what you should expect. The recording quality isn't perfect but acceptable or more than acceptable for a bootleg. More importantly it will let me re-experience this show, which I never thought I would. It's very interesting to get an unexpected recording of a show you've attended, especially one like this. You get to focus on the sounds whereas when you are there you are overwhelmed by the absolute enormity of all the input all the senses are receiving while you try to contemplate the unbelieveability of being at such an unlikely show (i.e. that of a great band that has reunited...) I should give credit to the great Low Yo Yo Stuff for providing me with this treasure.

more random thoughts to come later...

one acceptable working definition of "punk"

Punk as in the rock, the philosophy. According to Jim Jarmusch, it is "The fight against complacency."

And Holly says "We need a good anti-war song to come out now. People didn't used to be afraid to write songs that were anti-war."

I realize that there are some anti-war songs out there, but none that have become popular or as far as I know that have been done by people likely to be popular, nor supported by mainstream radio.

[expletive...]

Things are getting really shitty with the adminawhore, et al, at the institution, which is where I spent most of my night so far, until I got home a few minutes ago.

Maybe my days are numbered there after all, and maybe that's a good thing. As all the idiots on reality TV elimination shows say: "Karma's a bitch."

I wonder if anyone even remotely associated with that place will ever read this. I wonder if they who must never be named will ever read it. And if they did, could they do the math? Lord knows I've taken great pains to be very discrete for both legal and practical reasons.

The answers to those questions: Probably. Maybe. Don't know. Don't care.

In case they do: a message to you all: fuck off.

all I need is some more sleep.

really.

It's a beer.

And it's called Aass. Anyone know where I can get it in Athens, or anywhere in Northern Georgia for that matter?

no tickets, not yet

So, because I am an obsessive geek, I went to the bank yesterday to withdraw sufficient funds to purchase tickets for the aforementioned Gang of Four show, and went to the coolest record store in town to buy them, only to be told they aren't available yet... Does that mean people can buy will-call passes online already? Are a bunch of dicks from Atlanta going to buy my ticket before I can. Sure I could buy a will call pass thingy too. But that's lame. And I wouldn't get a ticket as a souvenir, just my name written on the guest list so to speak. I'm sure I can get a ticket later today or more likely next week. But, of course, I want it...NOW!

I feel weird

Because I'm discovering I may actually be a so-called "morning person." Never woulda thought it.

definition of failure

I'm stealing this idea from my lovely wife, but I can't resist. As of right now (10:13 ish p.m. US EDT, Thursday 8 Sept) if you type "failure" in google you get this. Perfect. One can only hope that this sentiment will stick and linger on with whoever is chosen to run in 2008. It would make sense that they lose next time around what with the economy and gas prices, and yadda yadda. Remember the 1980 election? I do, even though I was eight at the time.

"Please send me evenings and weekends."

Gang of Four is coming to the 40 Watt. Let me repeat that: GANG OF FOUR IS COMING TO THE 40 WATT, HERE IN ATHENS, GEORGIA. I am so going.

sometimes I wonder

if I shouldn't be a little more careful what I write on this thing...

speaking of photos

I am very disturbed by the fact that apparently I don't know where are the slides I took in México ten years ago. I thought they were in this cigar box of slides that's full of slides my dad shot but they are not there. Luckily most of the photos I took on that trip were prints but I did have two or three rolls of slides and as I recall they turned out pretty damn good. Fuck. Maybe I'll find them tonight if I take the time to really search.

The great aggregator

This blog is now feedable (not sure if that's the right word but I like the sound of it), at the request of and with some nimble help from the aforementioned friend and photographer Steve. So if anyone reading this who wants to get it via RSS or whatever (I barely know what any of that crap is...), the URL for this blog's syndication/feed thingy is http://www.geekcore.net/model_consumer/atom.xml .

I've been meaning to post this for over a week now

My friend Steve's photos.

So you wanna be spiritual

But you don't want to give your money to a church? Yeah, me neither.

Luckily there are several other ways for you to give your money away in a manner that will make you feel good and probably provide you with some kind of intangible benefit that we would call "spiritual."

Note: normally I don't do this sort of thing, but I was inspired to on Thursday but a few different things I saw and by my subsequent thoughts. It doesn't necessarily come "naturally" to me, but it is relatively painless, as I was raised as a church-goer. Speaking of which part of this post really has almost nothing to do with church; the other part intentionally does, in a certain way, but for a specific purpose almost unrelated to the other...

So like I was saying, if you are like me and don't want to give money to the church but do like the idea of giving some of your money to a worthy cause, (you know what's coming next, don't you?), why not give some to help relieve victims of Hurricane Katrina?

Different ways to help:

Donate to the"Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund" via the USA French, I mean, Freedom Corps.


Donate to the The Red Cross.


Offer housing to displaced hurricane victims.


Donate to America's Second Harvest, a national food bank.


Check the credibility of charitable organizations.

Here comes the part that some might think of as churchy. Really it's just an attempt to answer the oft-posited question of "What would Jesus Do?" (For that matter what would Moses, Mohammed, Budda, Gandhi, etc. etc. or Johnny Cash (yes, Johnny Cash, see below) do? )Also, the following biblical citations serve as a marvelous refutation of the disgusting extreme conservatism (in the political sense, i.e. extreme right-wingness for lack of more handy terminology) of certain people in the US who claim a monopoly on religion and Christianity.

An interesting phenomenon: said religious rightists tend to automatically discount the validity of any rhetoric like mine citing the bible on two grounds. One is that they will say that such quotes are taken out of context and thus cannot be properly understood. Of course, this is the same thing they do when they use scripture to condemn homosexuality, abortion, or to justify slavery (as they used to do), or to justify the repression of women (as some still do; thanks for this one go to the apostle known as Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus who persecuted early Christians until his conversion), etc. The second reason is that they say that a non-believer has no authority or right to quote scripture and is by definition ignorant of anything having to do with their religion. First of all, while I would have difficulty calling myself a "Christian" in good conscience, it's not because I don't believe. I don't believe EVERYTHING that your orthodox Christian would usually believe. I do believe in god however. That is, I believe in the concept of a prime mover. I believe there is something out there beyond our comprehension and beyond the physical realm. I guess you could say I'm a Deist. Anyway, returning to this point: that many religious rightists would say that the scriptural citations that follow and any insinuations I am making against their politics are invalid since it is arrogant and erroneous of me to assume that I can properly cite scripture. What utter horeshit. As if they didn't do the same thing (claiming expertise in an area in which they are not experts) when they attempt to use the definition of a "scientific theory" to undermine the teaching of evolution in our nation's public schools. (And in doing so they betray an crucial misunderstanding on their part in this example I might add.) As if they didn't do the same thing when they suggest that experienced judges make poor judgments when said judgments happen to not coincide with their desired outcome. As if they didn't do the same thing when contradicting sworn testimony of medical doctors when said testimony conflicts with their worldview. And we could go on. So, in short, FUCK THEM. To any who still don't understand what I am saying, this is not meant to insult anyone who is religious, only those who are extremely right wing and erroneously use their religion to justify their outrageous political position.

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." -Matthew 19:21 (NIV, all quotes will be from New International Version translation unless otherwise noted)

Yeah, that's a little too radical for me too, but you get the idea. You don't see dudes like Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell lacking for uh... Possessions. Although I'm sure they give to the poor. Seems like they'd be far from this ideal though, not to mention focused on many earthly things that have nothing to do with what their god really wants.

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
-Matthew 25:31-46

So, I think it's safe to say Bono, for example, is going to heaven, while W., who claims to talk to God, probably better do some serious thinking, because his actions have caused the unjustifiable and untimely death of many of the "least of these" in the form of what the humanoid scum that work for him call "collateral damage."

So What Would Johnny Cash Do?

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.
(Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black")

I think you know what he'd do.

End of sermon.

blah

feeling kinda blah.

But there's nothing wrong or anything.