leavingVR

one bog

2010-02-09T09:00:00.001-08:00

I have decided to consolidate all my blog writing into one blog:
Bugarug

I will completely remove this blog in about two weeks.

well well... reality intrudes

2009-12-28T12:22:00.001-08:00

Looks like this coming year may be the year that the nature of our devolving reality hits.
How will you react?
Or pro-act?

Radicalization

2009-12-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

People are usually radicalized when circumstances demand it. That is, they see no other choice.

In order to save ourselves, our families, and our communities and the world, I think it's more than past the time for radicalization. Radical comes from the Latin or Greek (which?) for "root."

Revolution refers to the political view of the ancients that everything was cyclical. A political revolution was simply the returning of society and politics to a previous (and better)state.

I think that revolutions of the ancient kind will become increasingly common, but humanity also needs to consider going even further into the root of nature, natural law, and the essence of being, and bypass most of the past forms of political association. Something new is necessary, but something so radical that its simplicity will make it seem self-evident afterward. I have no idea what it will be, but it will be communitarian and radically decentralized.

Charles Eisenstein

2009-12-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

an eve

2009-12-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Snowstorm... not quite a blizzard up here. Went out to put windshield wiper fluid in the "new" used wife-n-child-mobile I'd recently purchased for $500 cash on the barrel head from a friend (after having my genius automechanic friend verify it's amazing condition), went to local pub where I've met Zoner.Very few there because of the weather, but the eccentrics where there, the owner who works for Lenny Kravitz (which he likes way better than working for the Blue Man Group as manager)... my artist friend Tim who is impoverished, but feeling better. I usually buy him a drink but this time offered to help him apply for unemployment bennies on the Internet, which he has no idea how to use. I may buy some art from him... he likes the river, boathouses, cooking, art, conversation... the big hootenanny group was playing, including the odd Larry Havluck from my hometown, the older brother of a good friend who is incredibly jaded. Met a guy who can't shut up, and admitted it... talked about the recent demise of the wonderful Liam Clancy with Bill Watkins, the self-centered but witty and entertaining host in kilt with dagger on his ankle. Bill had, of course, met Liam Clancy a number of times. Bill has also fought for the Sandinistas, and done other incredible things that may or may not be true.
Had a strange feeling that I would be able to find my way... went home in the cold bracing air and ate some almonds.

Today's vinyl finds

2009-12-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I may as well make my frequent acquisitions of "vinyl" (LPs that are generally pressed in the substance known as vinyl) part of this blog. Unlike digital music, this stuff can be picked up and you can even see the vibrations change throughout the recording.
Before I get to that, an article from today's New York Times about the resurgence of vinyl.

today I was bored and went overboard. I found:

1. The Dale Warland Singers, Sing We of Christmas. Eero seems to like christmass, and I'll give this to my ma-in-law
2. ", Carols of Christmas, also a gift for mom(s)
3. James Taylor's Greatest Hits
4. The Corries, Live from Scotland Volume 3, Recorded on Tour in 1975 (unknown to me folk duo)
5. Louis Killen, Old Songs and Friends, Front Hall Records, Voorheesville, NY, 1978 (unknown to me folk singer, interesting song titles)
6. The Joan Baez Ballad Book, Near mint (two volume set). This is a duplicate or triplicate for me, but I always buy mint Joan if I find it, no matter how many copies I have. If you are interested, we'll see what we can do.
7. Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem and their families, "Irish Folk Airs", Everest Tradition label
8. Vladimir Horowitz, Listz: Sonata in B minor, Funerailles; Schumann:Toccata etc. recording from the 1930's on Seraphim "Great Recordings of the Century series."

absolutely fucked

2009-12-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

We are so absolutely fucked, it's unbelievable.
Obama had his LBJ moment tonight.
Way to go, Big O.
The Athenians had the best speeches and speakers in the Peloponnesian War, too. But they lost.
And Athens lost its empire. And went into slavery and misery.

So it goes.

Dick Cheney is a dick

2009-11-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

Why doesn't Dick Cheney shut the fuck up?

Amazing book find, out-of-print.

2009-11-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

Book title: The Darkness is Light Enough
Author: Dorothy Andrews
Fellowship Press, 1976, Inverness, California. Produced at the West Coast Print Center. Illustrations by Ruby Morris.

I still haven't found much of anything about the author. I know she was/is an artist.
Excerpt, chapter 5:

Do you remember when you were a child how you drenched yourself in fairy tales - those tales we loved not for their stories, but for their atmosphere? Always it was the atmosphere that was the hero. The things that happened, do you remember where? In the heart of a forest, or beside an old well, in an abandoned hut, or on a path covered with brambles, at the foot of an ancient tree, in the depths of a silent pond - only in such places did this self awake, only in secret places. In them one felt the flow of energy; roots grew beneath one's feet; below, the earth was turned and turned again by hundreds of creatures; waters flowed; in the hot liquids of the earth a smelter flamed; somewhere, perhaps in that copse, eyes were watched; sap was running through the hearts of trees; buds preparing to burst; cocoons at the very second of dehiscence - all hidden, all in the secret atmosphere.
...One forgets, one forgets too much in cities; nothing is hidden; even at night all is bared by yellow lights so shy spirits dare not appear....
When one was a child how simple it was - grasped at once. Turn a child loose in a field and watch him run till he drops, racing phantoms. Turn a child loose in a ravine where wild flowers grow and watch his face turn into a flower, metamorphosed by nothing but atmosphere.
How many creatures have we stifled by our indifference to atmosphere, so careless of it our eyes have turned blind in self-defense?
...Who has not walked with a friend down a quiet road in the night and through the stars suddenly found himself madly in love?

guns and butter

2009-10-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

Otto von Bismarck's philosophy, as I recall from high school history class, was "guns and butter."

That's what we have in the USA today.
The government is hell bent on spending obscene amounts of money and resources on war and welfare spending.

Make no mistake: the current debate on health care reform is just as misguided as the debate over the "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The only options that would make sense to a constitutional republic that believes in peace and freedom would be for the USA to leave Iraq and Afghanistan immediately. There is no end game. The welfare of the people of those countries is irrelevant to the political considerations win Washington. But leaving would cause the DC crowd to lose face on the world stage. Thus, what should be done cannot be done.

Health care: the primary problem is that people get sick and die, and that a lot of their health problems are the results of poor diet and no exercise (due to our post-industrial life styles). The best system would be for doctors to be paid in cash, and for doctors to give the poor a discount. My dad did that as a dentist. He treated basically everyone, and charged them what the could afford.

People need to accept that they don't have a right to extremely expensive and high-tech care at society's expense. They should learn to live with the fact that they are responsible for their own lives and deaths.

But this is too much to ask.

fish

2009-10-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make a fish trap, and use in in the river near our house.
Many people will tell me that fish from the river is not good to eat. Too many toxins.
However, I read an article recently about a commercial fisherman on Lake Pepin, which is really just a widening of the Mississippi River. The fish is sold all over the country... mainly Asian immigrants eat the juicy catfish and whatever else they pull out, but the fish seems to be good.

It would be best to stick to smaller, non-predator fish, as toxins get concentrated as you move up the food chain.

I know that my wife and in-laws will not eat the fish, but I will give it a try.

The idea: make a fish trap out of chicken-wire. It will be about 3 feet in diameter. The entrance will be a cone that lets the fish in easily, but they won't be smart enough to get back out.

The danger: getting caught. I suspect that early in the morning or late at night would be the time to set the trap, but then there's the added danger of weirdos or tramps down by the river. Maybe it's a bad idea.

Reality is going to hit hard - is this bad or good?

2009-10-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

I believe this month with be a turning point in the history of the USA and the world. Reality of the un-virtual kind is going to hit hard. Real hard.
Concentrate on the three B's.

un-fucking believable

2009-10-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Many people claim Facebook and similar "social networking" sites are either positive or neutral.
They are evil. They encourage superficial interaction and cyber-ghettos.
People are not encouraged to consider other views. They just filter them out.

it never ends

2009-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

It seems that the battle to leave VR never ends!
My wife convinced me that getting a new TV would be a good idea.
We now have a an HD TV. It has a great picture.
Now I have signed up for Netflix again, and also got the cheapest BlueRay player I could find: a $145 gadget from Sam's Club. I'm a Sams Club liberal or communitarian or something.
I intend to start watching the arthouse movies I've been meaning to watch for years. That may be enjoyable, but is it necessary or good? What is enjoyable may not be for the good.

The TV is also an effective babysitter. But again, is that good?

My new goal is to make a go of the business with Mack, save $, and move up north to Grand Marais, where I will be a fisherman, among other things. I want to leave the world of VR, including our fake economy, behind. I want to make a living from the earth itself, while being responsible to it and for it.

Really leaving VR?

2009-08-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Is it really possible or desirable to leave VR these daze?
That is a question I shall ponder on this blog.

One thing I did this past weekend that has made a positive difference in my life already was installing a filter on our shower to remove the chlorine and other contaminants. I also installed a simple Walgreen's (from Culligan) filter on the sink in the kitchen. I recently learned how bad chlorine is for the health of human beings: it seems to be behind heart-disease and other ailments, besides being bad for your skin, lungs, and overall sense of well-being.

Just say no to chlorine!

Finally, some garden photos...

2009-07-31T09:28:00.001-07:00

pumpkin flowers
rattlesnake bean vines and flowers
Well, I finally finally uploaded some photos of my garden. They're on my "urban sharecropping" blog... ", but I'll post a couple to this blog as well.

It's really hard for me to find the energy blog at all these daze. I love to get out there and work on the garden, but I cannot find the mental energy or fortitude to post and write to a blog. I guess I really am leaving VR, in spirit at least. I love the physical world.

I still love my audiophile hobby, because the equipment is real. You can touch it, change a vacuum tube, turn it on, tweak it, play a record. It combines abstract theory like electricity with the real world.

I still can't stand digital music. Even a vacuum tube can't really make it sound right.

the reality of oppression

2009-07-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, this will be more of a political VR post.
It's about the arrest of African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The particulars don't interest me so much. Everyday, citizens are harassed, tasered, and worse by the men in blue.

What concerns me is that a level of violence and intimidation against citizens by authority is now tolerated that would have been considered outrageous at the time of the founding of this nation.

Disorderly conduct is a charge that can be leveled against you, and cause you to be imprisoned, for no cause other than "mouthing off" to an officer. In other words, if you don't abjectly grovel, you can be arrested.

The implied threat behind this is that you can be physically restrained, imprisoned, hurt or killed if you do not show servility to the police.

This is not acceptable. Someday this will change... but not before much turmoil and gnashing of teeth. A police state, once ensconced, does not willingly give up power.

Windy days and poets and more

2009-07-16T13:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I need to figure out if I will brave the wind biking home today, or have M pick me up in his Mitsubishi SUV. He is currently in our garage, working on Dad's old white Saab, fixing problem after problem - wiring, AC, etc. etc.

I will tell a story about my audio adventure last night - I acquired a vintage Thorens TD 124 turntable, Mark I. It looks to be in great cosmetic condition, but the motor does not run. Mack believes there is a cut wire in one of the 3 coils, and he may be able to fix it. It will need some tender lovin' care to bring back to life. It came with a Shure M12 tonearm. An odd beast from the late 1950's. I thought I would just get rid of it, but the more I read about it, the more interested I am in using it... it's only drawback is no anti-skate, but does that matter so much? It has ruby jewelled bearings for the vertical and horizontal plane bearings! And an odd design that claims to prevent resonance. Wow!

Rob sent me a link to an interview with one of my favorite new FB friends.

I'll read it later this week...

One week later!

2009-07-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's one week later, and I'm still submersed in Virtual Reality.
Today my only plans for escape involve checking out a friend's blog to see how his new baby is doing, and going to my garden to take some photos and pick some lettuce.

That's it. I did add one blog to my new blog list here: A Wrinke in Time. Some confusing but amazing thoughts at that blog. I highly recommend it.

What else? My friend Mack, who is from a nation that has really experienced collapse, doesn't think there will be mass civil unrest in the USA, although he does agree that American is screwed economically: we don't really produce anything that the rest of the world needs or wants anymore, except grain and Caterpillar heavy equipment. That's really about it... Mack thinks that Americans are way to cowardly to revolt. So no revolution. As far as crime goes, that will go way up, but if the criminals are cowardly, too, it won't take much to dissuade them. But I do suggest having something to dissuade them with.

I recently acquired dissuasion devices and the training to use them. I was pretty nervous in this training, as I've led most of my life in a sociopolitical milieu that demonizes such things. My hands were shaking a bit, but I passed the test! Part of leaving VR is to accept reality, and the reality is that people with nothing to lose may very well become coldly vicious and violent. If they threaten me or my family, they will meet some high-velocity reality really fast.

So, this blog is obviously not a progressive's blog. I no longer have a political ideology - such things are TOTALLY "virtual," and not based in reality at all. Their adherents constantly rejigger their perceptions to make reality fit their preconceived notions.

No more of that!

In a cubicle

2009-07-07T09:23:00.001-07:00

I'm working in my cube right now.
From the look of the economic news, I might be freed from it sooner rather than later.

I'm going to post an image of the poisonous Bittersweet Nightshade plant I found on the banks of the Mississippi River, near the mouth of Minnehaha Creek. Taken with my 10 year old Olympus D-360L digital camera.

The river was great... we had cell phones, though, and were interrupted a few times. Cell phones are a very evil invention of the matrix, but we think we need them now, just for safety... and for calling our loved ones if our skyscraper is destroyed by terrorists.

Welcome to my new blog on searching for reality

2009-07-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is a new blog.
It may soon be my "main blog."

The purpose of this blog is to document a new journey I have vowed to undertake: I wish to find reality. I wish to leave the obscene "virtual reality" that has become reality for most denizens of the modern Western world.

This virtual reality partly consists of, but is not limited to:

The Web
Video Games
TV
Most movies ( there are great works of cinematic art, but most are not worth watching)
Pop culture
The Great Indoors
Malls
Shopping
Marketing
Newspapers
Mass Media in general
actual "virtual reality" where it is used, e.g. video games, simulations, etc.
Genetic engineering
the surveillance state
cell phones
etc.

My goal is to pursue a life that is mediated by virtual reality as little as possible. This means getting rid of technological solutions wherever possible, and doing things the old-fashioned way. It means learning about the natural world, and what it has to offer that can support human life without needing to go to the grocery store, the doctor, the mall.

It means playing my own music, instead of listening to recorded music all the time. It means doing things with my own hands, instead of paying someone else to do them.

In the event of a real honest-to-goodness collapse of the economy, government and industrial globalism, "leaving VR" may mean actually supporting myself, family and local community the way humans did it for thousand of years. That is, using the local resources, human and natural, and cooperating to form an integrated and wholistic web of social, agricultural, and natural life.

This blog entry is the start of that journey.