Wonders of the World, Invisible and Visible

Projected from a William S. Burroughs novel? No! Merely a tricky psychedelic Mexican adventure inspiring the purchase and consumption of magical colored mints, complete with anthropomorphism. For more on this highly successful trademarked Ferrero product that originated in 1969, please see: http://www.tictacusa.com/

Here, you will be treated to all sorts of additional information worthy of a whole slew of Beat Generation poets. For example, from the Tic Tac® Timeline:

"1952. Existentialism gains a strong foothold in intellectual circles, largely supported by the theory that choosing your favorite flavor of Tic Tac® mints demonstrates an individual's irrevocable gift of 'moments to make choices.'"

Try a Tic Tac® mint: your life will never be the same!

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.

The Joneses

The underlying ideas behind Derrick Borte's The Joneses (2009) are clever and mordant. A service representing (and bankrolled by) a consortium of companies and product lines embeds cells into residential areas in the form of atomic family units. Each cell or unit consists of a pair of parents and a pair of children, with perfect gender balance (although this is customized to each market, as flashed on screen during the end credits). Using various marketing (and guerilla warfare) techniques, each unit aims to sell as many products as possible; after a year in each market, the cells are relocated to new areas.

The particular and peculiar strength of capitalism is its ability to absorb almost anything, even insurgency, rebellion and revolution, transforming virtually everything into a commodity for sale. One of the most blatant acts of diabolical capitalistic alchemy is epitomized by the McDonalds marketing campaign of 1986-1987:

At McDonald's, it's Mac Tonight
Come on, make it Mac Tonight

This little ditty takes Kurt Weil and Bertolt Brecht's "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" / "The Ballad of Mack the Knife," a sharp Marxian critique of modern society first performed in 1928 -- a year before the Great Depression -- and transforms/corrupts it into a tool for selling the Golden Arches during the Ronald Reagan presidency. In the Weil/Brecht song (via Die Dreigroschenoper / The Threepenny Opera), it's not make it Mac Tonight, but Mack the Knife:

And the shark, it has teeth,
And it wears them in its face.
And Macheath, he has a knife,
But the knife one doesn't see.

The premise behind The Joneses is like that. There is the glitter of what you see, and there is the knife one doesn't see. Consume until you drop. Sell until the market is satiated. Capitalists move in and then out, like locusts, to the next big thing. Shop till you drop, and the bubble bursts.  

In the film itself, there is also the story about the members of the "Jones family" (each with a coded celebrity name, played by Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth), and the people in their neighborhood (including Gary Cole of Office Space and Entourage) who, through the ripple effect and other marketing tactics, are "inspired" to keep up with them through credit purchases and lines of home equity.

Besides questions about the nature of consumer culture, one is asked to ponder over the meaning of personal identity and the impact of social manipulation and influence.

Let's not forget the idea of Generation Jones (those in the West born between 1954 and 1965), nor Bob Dylan's  "Ballad of a Thin Man" (1965): 

Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Today's Rune: Wholeness.  

Den dag fisken flöt upp

The recent mysterious bird and fish kills in Arkansas and Louisiana have got to make you wonder. First thing for me is this: the way the stories are being reported doesn't quite add up (even the basic facts seem confused by various reporters). Beyond that, more may or may not be revealed. But for God's sake, why have so many people already forgotten the Deepwater Horizon oil spew disaster?  Lead in their food? Collective amnesia? Other more important things going on?

In any case, scientists and artists have been attuned to these kinds of weird nightmarish events, risks and choices for a long time. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) is one example. A probably lesser known artifact of 1960s conciousuness raising is a movie that had a big impact on me as a kid (I still recall it vividly and would like to see it again now). Michael Cacoyannis / Mihalis Kakogiannis' The Day the Fish Came Out (1967), is not all that different from The Andromeda Strain (1971), except that it's more of a very dark comedy and it's by the same guy who directed Electra, Zorba the Greek and The Trojan Women. Candice Bergen is in it, too.

The basics of the film are this: a US military plane has to ditch its sealed but highly toxic cargo on a Greek island; the pilots bail out onto the island; locals discover the goods and try to open the seal; tourists and undercover agents overrun the island; the pilots are trained to elude capture and are trying to figure out what's going on. I found The Day the Fish Came Out highly entertaining as a kid and later as a teenager. Of course, the underlying message is a chilling one, full of gallows humor about the human condition (and human stupidity). 

And now, any thoughts about The Days the Birds Dropped From the Sky?

Today's Rune: Signals.    Den dag fisken flöt upp is the Swedish variation. Looks like "The Day the Fish Float Up" to me . . .

Rules of Thumb: Guide to Living, Part 4

Reading/Art: sample widely, visually, aurally, and in every way.

Music: try a variety. Learn something new. Pick up an instrument and play something -- anything.

Science: attempt awareness of at least some basics.

Writing: do write, don't just talk about it; also, correspond with actual written letters as well as via the internet or mobile phone.

Travel and experience new things: do whenever possible, if only in the imagination.

Direct sunlight: a little, but not too much.

Weather: dig it, or dig out of it.

Moon, stars, sky: observe and contemplate.

Exercise: at least moderately and as often as healthy. Not too little, but don’t go overboard.

Clean up and dress as well as you are able, consistently; use a lot of moisturizer, folks!

Breathe: don't think about it too much, unless you're gasping for air. In which case you might want to see a doctor or healer of some kind.

Swim: if possible.

Pay: in cash or within your "means" when possible.

Save: when possible.

Decluttering/feng shui: as often as seems worthwhile -- all living and working spaces.

Take care of yourself first. Take care of the little things as well as the big ones.

Be thankful and grateful. Keep the faith. Fight the good fight. Keep on keeping on. Balance. Practice every bit of Zen and the art of living that works well for you. Everything else is luck of the draw, fate, destiny, the stars, kismet, entropy, grace or karma -- if you believe it.

Today's Rune: The Self.  

Rules of Thumb: Guide to Living, Part 3

When you are really hungry, eat; when you are really tired, sleep.

Try to get a decent amount of sleep on a regular cyclical basis. For most people, a block of fewer than five sleeping hours tends toward psychotic waking hours; a block of more than ten hours at a time tends toward the waking lethargy of a hibernating bear. Naps as needed, especially when working crazy hours.

Dream: take notes when you remember.

Imagine: take notes or draw something when you think of something you want to remember.

Plan: Ditto. Lists are fine. 

Drink lots of water, the purer the better. Fresh spring water is best. Don't waste your time or body on "diet drinks."

Eat more vegan meals -- good for you, good for living; in any case, make it a point to eat well and have some idea of what you are taking in, as well as where it comes from, and approximately how it arrives for your consumption.

Learn new things, walk in other shoes, spread the word.

Today's Rune: Protection.

Rules of Thumb: Guide to Living, Part 2

Be courteous and kind more so than not. Tip well. Be generous and gregarious. Don't be stingy, but don't go overboard, either, or you may drown.

Moderation more so than not.

Consistency more so than not.

Empathy more so than not.

Perspective – see the humor in most situations, even if it is gallows humor.

Perspective – detachment if the situation demands it.

Perspective – engagement if the situation demands it.

Indulge yourself and other people a little, but not too much (boundaries, perspective).

Converse with people, be a good listener and talker, too. Be aware of audience and adjust accordingly.

If you use a mobile phone, don't be a clown. Consider your surroundings and be considerate.

Try to recognize and consider other viewpoints, including those through the filters of other languages and times.

Look things up in a dictionary, or online. Try to understand how things are spelled, and why.

Keep an open mind more so than not.

Today's Rune: Possessions.

Rules of Thumb: Guide to Living, Part 1

Instead of resolutions, here's something a little different. Drawing on personal experience and social observation, including basic ideas culled from religion, philosophy, poetry and psychology, here's the first of a four-part series regarding approaches to living in today's vast, global social matrix. This connects friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, peers and colleagues to varying degrees, and assumes a modicum of food, shelter and clothing as base point; these approaches would probably not hold much water for someone mentally paralyzed or stricken with cholera.

Part 1.

Do not succumb to feeling sorry for yourself or anyone else. This is almost always a useless feeling -- especially for everyone else involved. Instead, either do something for yourself or help someone else, or both. Start now if you need to.

Refrain from worry, an almost always useless emotion. Instead, exercise one or more of the following: patience, meditation, prayer, faith, exercise, self-care. Except in certain objectively dangerous situations, fear is a useless emotion. However, attention must be paid to the little things and to the big things, just not all at once or you will go crazy.

If angry, make it brief and move on -- channel into something creative and purposeful. But if you need to be angry, let it flare out and don’t turn inward on yourself.

Aim to keep your ego out of most interactions -- if you're feeling touchy about something, ask yourself why. Change accordingly.

Refrain from guilting people and refuse to be guilted by people.

Avoid toxic people in your life when possible and, if not, contain them.

If you are not happy with the general status quo, change it and if you cannot, change yourself. Do something helpful in some way.

Refrain from obsessing about age, but act abidingly and do be aware of mortality in your decisions. Don't hold back unless the situation demands it.

Today's Rune: Fertility.