The American Dream

What the hell is this "American Dream"? What do people from all over the world think is this "American Dream" that I've been hearing about all of my damn life?

Does the American Dream exist, or is it really only as real as Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny, legends that really have just helped fuel our culture of consumption?

Are people merely naive when they believe that it is worthwhile to pursue the "American Dream"?

I'm an atheist. I don't believe in much of anything at all that cannot be explained through materialist methods. If it is more than an idea but it is not made up of matter, then I am very skeptical that it exists. So, for me to listen to you tell me that I need to believe in god and believe that this being is watching over us, judging us morally, and manipulating our destinies, is an exercise in open-mindedness and patience, for me. I really have to hold my breath and hope that you don't ask me if I believe what you say is true and that it has changed my way of thinking, because it most likely has not.

So, when someone comes up to you and starts bringing up this idea of the "American Dream" what do you say?

Well, here's what I say...
[More Later]

Matt Weber, Costco, Consumption, and Loneliness

Granbury Walmart
Originally uploaded by granbury18.

Matt Weber is an excellent photographer. He really knows how to capture an emotion through one single image, and he can also put together a series of images that explore the complexities of our culture and what it means to be human, at least in our age.

I like this one of the little girl and the young couple, shopping at Costco, one of the many giant "superstores" that reduce the sticker price of the products they sell, at the cost of reduced wages for their employees and the demise of the "mom's and pop's" stores. Costco, WalMart, Sam's Club, and many other big chain stores represent what globalization, global culture, and development really mean to me: homogenization, dehumanization, and the marketing of consumption as a way of life.

The little girl in this image does not appear to be happy to be where she is, and that may not reflect the reality of her inner feelings, but it definitely adds to the messages this photo sends to me. She looks lonely, neglected, and sad, to me. That's how this world sometimes makes me feel, and I think I see that in others too.

Thanks, Matt. I think art needs to be out there, and I am glad that the internet helps get the artists to throw their works up for people all over to view.

Pastor Lew meets Ryan

A pastor named Lew picked up Ryan, who was trying to get a ride in Florida. He was really impressed by him and his adventure, so he wrote about it on his blog, revolution. Ryan has often been very outspoken when it comes to evangelist types and people who claim to follow the example of Jesus.

Ryan has written a lot about our culture, as Lew points out, has become a true student of our culture, or what I would call, an anthropologist. I love it!!!!! I went to school and studied how to become an anthropologist, and Ryan has actually employed himself as an anthropologist. That's very cool, because it inspires me not to throw away my own dreams.

I'm going to have to contact Lew and see how we can work together to help support Ryan with some more marketing and promotions, grassroots-style.

Moving On To The Land Of Where I Want To Be

It's interesting to me how cyclical life really is, despite how much we perceive it to be a series of linear events.

We think of life as a line among lines...
Born---->This is what I did when I was 2---->I moved here when I was 5---->I found this when I was 6---->I lost this when I was 8---->I learned about this when I was 10---->I experienced this when I was 11---->I did this when I was 21---->Died

Each person's and thing's history, in this framework, is a series of events that happen at certain points in time, connected by cause and effect at certain pivotal points, all within the framework of the history of reality. Many things occur at the same time, and some of those things are directly related, but we forget that we do not understand what time and space really is.

Some cultures are based on a time, history, and lifestyle in terms of cycles and circles, rather than lines. There really is no beginning. There really is no end. Everything is in constant change and flux.

Tonight, I realized something. The multitudes of lists that I make are not just exercises in worthless distraction. This practice of making lists is how I store and restore ideas. I think that I was born to be a writer.

I've wanted to be so many things: spy, soldier, musician, computer programmer, technician, writer, environmentalist, father, husband, lover, son, brother, adventurer... All of these desires and experiences have helped to create me into who I am. A writer writes. A writer shares experience and knowledge. A writer entertains and informs. I've been practicing to be a writer all of my life, and I've made excuses and excuses to keep myself from the potential for failure and the fear of not having enough money for so long that I feel as if I am experiencing what Neo experienced when he was rescued from the Matrix and brought into Zion.

I've been reading this great book, Writing Down The Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. I've been receiving payment in return for "guitar lessons" from a student who really wants someone to work with as a writing partner. I've been passed over on getting promoted to bartender, or at least it feels that way. I've had little luck in trying to get into the IT field. I've had little luck in trying to save my marriage and many other relationships that appear to have been failing. Now, it's time to take control of the ball.

Although this is a more personal blog post, I am not really revealing the whole of it. The point is that I am undergoing change, as usual, but I am more conscious of that change now.

Building a Ger (Yurt)

This video is on Revver, and it is really good! The video depicts a Kazakh family constructing a ger (yurt) for a wedding party in northwestern China. It is amazing to me how everyone has their own unique task to complete in the construction and it seems that noone gets in the way. They all work together so well. It seems so unsual, thinking about doing collective tasks with a much smaller family, like building a Christmas Tree, or preparing a Thanksgiving meal, or hosting a July Fourth cookout. This project seemed to go so smoothly.I also enjoyed hearing Kazakh voices, speaking Kazakh, and hearing traditional dobra music.



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SuicideGirls, by Missy Suicide on Amazon.Com

I'm always interested in how a "way of life" gets marketed and commoditized into a way of life. The SuicideGirls concept, a brand attributed to a company called SG-something, grew from many other past ideas, including Playboy, emo, goth, punk, indie, tattoos, betty page pin-up models, body piercings, skateboarding culture, and all of those "alt-culture" type things that people claim can't be put into a category.

Check out http://www.suicidegirls.com, if you're interested in this community.
link...

tags: [book] [books] [suicidegirls] [suicide_girls] [girls] [pinups] [pin_ups] [pinup_models] [models] [punk] [emo] [goth] [indie] [tattoo] [tattoos] [goth_girls] [punk_rock_girls] [goth_rock_girls] [emo_rock_girls] [body_piercings] [betty_page]

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