Solaris and Stanislaw Lem

“Each factory will be making Robots of a different color, a different nationality, a different tongue; [...] they'll no longer be able to conspire with one another...” –– Karel Čapek, R.U.R., 1920.

“How do you expect to communicate with the ocean, when you can’t even understand one another?” ― Stanisław Lem, Solaris, 1961

One of my all time and for many years now favorite authors is Polish Science Fiction writer, Stanislaw Lem. Originally made famous to me when I first heard in High School he had coined the term, "Robot". Many believe it was Isaac Asimov. I owe Isaac a lot from my young readings of his works, but sadly, it was not him.

Stanislaw Lem

However, I later found out it also wasn't Lem, Actually it was Karel Čapek, a Czech writer who coined the term "robot" ("robota"), or rather made it popular.  He introduced and made popular the frequently used international word robot, which first appeared in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) in 1920.

We had read his play in high school back in 1970, which was when I originally was introduced to him being the originator of the term, "robot", and to Stanislaw Lem. The word robot comes from the word robota, or "drudgery", or "work of a villein", in literary Czech and "work", or "labor" in literary Slovak. I'm half Slovak (and Irish/Scottish) myself.

 

HOWEVER, the true inventor of the term "robot" was actually Karel's brother Josef Čapek. While Karel Čapek is frequently acknowledged as the originator of the word, he wrote a short letter in reference to the Oxford English Dictionary etymology in which he named his brother, painter and writer Josef Čapek as its true inventor."

Still, once I heard that that Lem had coined the term, I originally had to look him up and from time to time revisit his writings. It was only shortly after I started looking into Lem that I found the mistake and corrected it in my mind. But that then lead to my finding the 1972 Russian film by Andrei Tarkovsky called, Solaris, from the Lem novel of the same name. That lead me to finding Tarkovsky's other films which I came to appreciate.

Russian Film Director, Tarkovsky

Solaris was a fascinating novel that the two films, both Tarkovsky's and the newer 2002, Steven Soderbergh , American remake with George Clooney, has yet to fully explore. They always seem to focus on the primary Human interactions, rather than the planet's (Solaris being the name of the planet, though the story in the films takes place on the orbital space station).

On Tarkovsky's flm style, from The Calvert Journal:

"Tarkovsky's poetic style is far from accidental. As he expressed in his two books, Sculpting in Time and Time Within Time, he believed that the purpose of film was to break with narrative norms to capture the passage of time and elicit a strong emotional response in the audience."

On Soderberg's film style, from Premium Beat:

"For many of his films, Soderbergh employs what’s called a “multi-narrative” or “hyperlink cinema” style. This cinema style begets complex narratives full of diverse perspectives, complicated plot twists, and intertwined storylines that jump both backward and forward in time."

For a commentary on both films see: Seeing double with Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris” (1972/2002)…

Russian Solaris film version poster

Wikipedia describes the differences between literary and cinematic like this: "In the literary Solaris, Stanisław Lem describes human science’s inability to handle an alien life form, because extra-terrestrial life is beyond human understanding; in the cinematic Solaris, Tarkovsky concentrates upon Kelvin's feelings for his wife, Hari, and the impact of outer space exploration upon the human condition. Dr. Gibarian’s monologue [from the novel’s sixth chapter] is the highlight of the final library scene, wherein Snaut says, “We don’t need other worlds. We need mirrors”."

A symmetriad, one of the structures produced by Solaris

What I would like to see is an interpretation of the planet research, rather than those researching the planet extrapolating their experiences so much. It's a fascinating story either way, but we've done the Human elements to death and it would be interesting to see the alien elements explored a bit more.

"What appears to be waves on its surface is later revealed to be the equivalent of muscle contractions. The scientists there have studied the planet and its ocean for many decades, a scientific discipline known as Solaristics, which over the years has degenerated to simply observe and record the complex phenomena that occur upon the surface of the ocean. Shortly before psychologist Kelvin's arrival, the crew has exposed the ocean to a more aggressive experimentation with a high-energy X-ray bombardment. Their experimentation give unexpected results and becomes psychologically traumatic for them as individually flawed humans." - Wikipedia

An apt description. Thus the story goes into how Humans begin to degenerate into complacency when they do not understand something within their short time frames of interest. Everyone wants to keep their jobs, but don't know what to do. Rather than explore the actual planet, to use Phenomenology, or other forms unused to this point, they more or less give up and start trying to irritate the planet, causing them much grief and confusion.

The book is a great indictment of our natural inclinations and a warning for us to beware and look beyond when we become lost. To not remain lost, but find another way to understand the universe around us. Although Lem's construct is that we cannot understand a very alien lifeform, which may be extremely relevant, it also points out our need to understand what we cannot understand.

There is a great scene in the book, where they land a helicopter like craft on one of the creations of the Solaris mind. It is like an island of white, made from something chalk like, buildings, structures, as if you walked into a Mediterranean village, with no people, no color. These things last only a few hours and so, at some point, it began to dissolve, and they had to leave, to watch from above is it was assimilated into the vast liquid planet. It is a fascinating scene that never finds its way to the silver screen.

There is much to be explored in this novel, the films to come based upon it, Lem and Karel Čapek's stories (though I prefer Lem). Also, check out Tarkovsky's films. Though slow by modern and American standards, have a bottle of wine and some snacks and settle in for an interesting intellectual journey.

I love both film versions of Solaris and very much the book. I just wish someone would do a film on the book that includes much more of the story of Solaris. Like the scenes on the surface, which seem so ridiculous they were not in some way included. Though I admit, cost and time would limit that. Still, now that these films have been done, there is room for this to explore. And there is so very much TO explore.

I would very much like to see a film that shares much more of the book, Showing us "Solaris" and not just such specific slices of it on the orbiting space station. Which miss so much of what is in that great book. 

At least in the Tarkovsky film there is a passing reference to other parts of the book, as in mentioning an expedition to the surface by balloon and helicopter. With a first hand observation delivered of what was seen (and experienced) at the "planet's" surface by a very nervous/disturbed pilot back on earth. They even show a film of the planet's surface. Not that it shows much, but at least it was referenced.

From Wikipedia on this:

"Psychologist Kris Kelvin is being sent on an interstellar journey to evaluate whether a decades-old space station, positioned over the oceanic planet Solaris, should continue to study it. He spends his last day on Earth with his elderly father and retired pilot Burton. Years earlier Burton had been part of an exploratory team at Solaris but was recalled when he described strange happenings, including seeing a four-meter-tall child on the surface of the water on the planet. These were dismissed as hallucinations by a panel of scientists and military, but now that the remaining crew members are making similarly strange reports, Kris' skills are needed."

Finally, I'll leave you with this...

Though I do very much like both films, Tarkovsky's & Soderbergh's/Clooney's, to exemplify my fond feelings of this, I opened my own epic horror/SF book, "Death of heaven", with a reference, an homage to Stanisław Lem's great book, "Solaris". The book opens far in the past and then in the first chapter, leaps to modern times.

From the opening of the book, "Death of heaven" by JZ Murdock (2014, Rev.2):

The Steppes

In the year 1259 on the Russian Steppes, under a clear, crisp sky on these massive flat plains, two men are arguing. They are Mongols. They are War Lords. Both are dressed as Mongols have dressed for a very long time. Both stand facing one another holding the reins of their horses that stand behind each of them. Behind the War Lords and their horses stand a large horde of men, vicious fighters all.

A general murmur comes from such a large group as would be expected: horses snorted, men on horseback moved about and talked quietly among themselves. But the two Lords were focused solely upon each other. One of them, Hulegu, wears a red hat. He is in a heated dispute with Mengu, who is wearing no hat at all but has the bearing of a very powerful leader.

The men seem to find no agreement between them. Mengu is calm, and doing his best not to smile. Finally, Hulegu walks to his horse, frustrated. He mounts his horse, glances back at his brother and rides off in anger at full speed. As he rides away, Mengu watches as his younger brother grows smaller with the distance. After a few minutes, Mengu shakes his head and walks back toward his men, leading his magnificent horse behind him. 

As he reaches his second in command, he notices the look on the man’s face. It stops him dead in his tracks. He turns to look after his brother in the distance, to see what had captured his subordinate’s attention. He notices high above them how the very air above Hulegu is swirling far up into the sky in a terrifying display of extraordinary insanity. 

Finally, it began to take a form.

The air transformed and then solidified until an entire cliff side appeared in the middle of the massive, flat plain. Where only moments before there had been nothing, there was now a series of white, square buildings littered all along the side of a cliff, where no mountainside had ever existed. The man who had been riding through those Steppes was no longer there, having apparently been wholly absorbed by the materialization of a village along a steep rock face. To add even more to the surreal event, it was all a stark white defined only by shadows here and there.

Mengu stood there staring, in shock. It took a few minutes, but he started to realize that there was absolute silence surrounding him. He closed his eyes, blocking out the terrifying image before him and realized that if he hadn’t known how many men and horses were behind him, he would have no idea that they were even there. 

The silence of his men was a vast chasm pulling him backward. He opened his eyes, but to all his hope, the solid white monstrosity was still before him. He turned almost expecting not to see his men. But there they all were, silent and mostly with mouths hanging open in awe.

He turned back around and the cliff side was still there. 

Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the village buildings started to dissolve. The cliff began shatter and crashed to the plains with immense sounds and a slight delay from the distance. It began to melt and finally the remnants of all that had appeared began to blow about as dust swirling in the winds until it had all completely dissolved out of existence. 

Once again the Steppes were empty as they had been for all of history. And the rider, who had been there before, was no more.

Chapter One: The Conqueror Worm

On Amazon

The Core Corp - the real U.S. Revolutionary Heroes

Who, won the war? The Revolutionary War, the War for Independence. There is a real opportunity here for a movie and I'm sure, it will get done.

For the masses, there was a turnstile on entry into this war. Soldiers came and went through the entire war. But there was a core group of soldiers who started in it, fought through it, and were there at the end of it. 

Before I go on further, in talking about this core element's leader, I want to mention, that Washington, in the end, was as John Quincy Adams was and had indicated in his inaugural speech, in that of being a Federalist. At the end of his four years, Adams was ejected from the white house as quickly as could be done for holding this view. As for Washington, had he and his cohorts been in action during the Civil War, it's likely that Thomas Jefferson would have gone with the Confederacy, and Washington with the North. Washington believed in a strong Federalist state, Jefferson with independent states. I have to say that, in seeing how things have gone in recent decades, I would have had to side with Jefferson.

The states have given us some craziness over time (see southern Arizona lately), but have also been a counterweight to the excessive capability of abuses from our nation's capital. "The Patriot Act" has overstepped the bounds of decency and what this nation was built upon. "The War on Drugs", a "war" against our nation's own citizenry; has been a concern that should be moderated by our medical profession, yet the ignorant and judicial sides of our government have seen fit to abscond with a concern that is obviously, a situation proven repeatedly to be true, in stepping into a realm beyond their control or understanding.

I believe we need that counteractive mentality allowing our states to have independent minds so there are those time that we have a difference of opinion and we need that for a strong, national dialogue of plans and intentions. The Federal laws are there as a catchall, protecting our states from the most obvious infractions of morality and ethics. When the Federal level is lead astray from what is rational, it pays to have the parts of the whole, the states themselves, to be there to say "wait", "stop", what the hell are you doing?

Okay, getting back to the concerns of the core soldiers in the Revolutionary War....

There are 3-4,000 young men who fought in the Continental Army for the duration. They signed up for the duration. They were the core. The other members of the Continental Army came and went. It was like a turnstile. There was this core of people. They were not the typical Americans. They are not yeomen farmers. Or artisans, even. They are indentured servants, recent emigrants from Ireland, or Scotland and they freed slaves.

"Twelve percent of the Continental Army is Black. They are fighting by the way, in integrated units. Which, the only other time, it doesn't happen again until the Korean War. Those, are the guys that won the war. And they've never, ever been recognized. They didn't get pensions, they didn't get paid, they didn't get fed.... The reason they did it is because they didn't have any other prospects. And in the end, once they got into the war, it was a kind of "band of brothers" thing." - from a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph Ellis who wrote the excellent book, "His Excellency: George Washington"

There are other people a plenty, who through various wars throughout American history, have not gotten the attention they deserve. OSS, CIA and other special agencies come to mind in this arena. When these individuals get our nation's highest medals and honors, they are kept secret; in the case of the CIA, hard copy of these awards are never to leave the building. They may never be heard of, but we know they are there, they know they are there and have been rewarded for their efforts, albeit sometimes, after their demise in the field.

Outside of these clandestine operators, there are also plenty of special and normal forces who have not and will not receive recognition. So when it comes to mind who these are or those who deserve and have not been given even passing recognition for their sacrifices, it makes sense to bring their story to light and perhaps, give them if only postmortem commendations, if not by individual, then by unit. The Fighting Irish come to mind.

I believe this core group of soldiers deserves this kind of recognition, even if at such a temporal distance from their actions, because we need to know who those are who have given so much, that has gone on to serve so much for so many; across our nation and across the world.

Cheers! To those core soldiers of the first American Continental Army.

See also:
Black soldiers in the Revolutionary War
The Fighting 69th 

Weekened Wise Words

Happy Weekend! To repeat my blessing from two days ago on St. Patty's day for those around the world who are suffering and need comfort and respite:

They all every one, have my most powerful and earnest, excessively positive thoughts.

May they all be soon dancing and happy once again and their troubles be put far behind them and never to find their address in the dark of night or light of day!

 Old Irish Blessing:

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.

May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

There are good ships, and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships are friendships,
And may they always be.

Bless you and yours
As well as the cottage you live in.
May the roof overhead be well thatched
And those inside be well matched.

Nicaragua

What in the Hell, happened in Nicaragua?

Do you remember that? I remember when I was in college, a lot of yelling about the Sandinistas. But I thought back then everyone was on their side. Now it appears they were the enemies and the henchmen of the government we supported? I realize now that people weren't for the revolutionary government back then but they were against what our government was doing in paying the Contras who were a bit out of control with human rights violations, killing civilians, and such. Because, perhaps, our blindness in disliking what our government was doing in supporting people who were trying to overthrow an established government so close to home, they lost sight of what the current regime was doing and why, there was a grassroots group trying to unseat them, and now we know, rightfully so. Perhaps, Reagan was doing the right thing.

I'm so confused.

Here is what triggered this. I was watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations food show where he travels around the world. In this episode he goes to Nicaragua and is horrified by how badly the people are being treated by their leaders. Again, communism is all about how to control people and be richer than those you have charge over to protect and see happy, healthy and productive.

Bourdain is profiled in the upcoming issue of Time. Tony this year so far, has visited Haiti; Cambodia, including a discussion about the Khmer Rouge's ethnic killings, and Nicaragua  where he visits a garbage dump, where churequeros, both adults and children scavenge for food and recyclables.

 Nicaragua churequeros

From Tony: "It's not exactly appropriate to move over to Frontline all of a sudden, but, you know, seeing this it's feeling so good about doing another scene where I shove food in my face." Tony was obviously pissed off in considering what these people were going through, and the fact that there were second and even third generation people there to whom this is a way of life. Why, if their leader is so wonderful are there people living like this. Rummaging through garbage for food and sell-able items just so they can eat?

From Tony's blog on his site:

"I admire people who live by their principles–even when I don’t agree with them.  I don’t much like communism, particularly the soul crushing evil done in its name through much of history, but I have a romantic’s soft spot for an old Bolshie who took to the hills as a young man, believed in their heart that they were liberating their people from oppression (particularly if whoever they were  fighting against was a uniquely bad bastard).  Perhaps this will explain my visceral loathing for Daniel Ortega–seemingly the President For Life of Nicaragua, a guy who, clearly, has two sets of principles. One for the Nicaraguan people–and one for himself.   My detestation of Nicaragua’s Maximum Leader is exceeded only by my admiration for its people who deserve so much better.

"The Nicaragua show is the last (for a while) of a trio of sad, angry episodes. For the next few weeks anyway, you can be assured of some somewhat more upbeat hours of television. But I was angry this time around. ”Socialist” and “Greedhead” are two words that really don’t go together, but too often do in my travels.  And for an old lefty like me, that goes down hard. Of course, it wasn’t all downbeat. Nicaragua is, after all, a spectacularly beautiful country. The food is great. The rum even better. The people are proud, generous, funny and sophisticated at every level of society.

"I hope the show makes people want to visit this poor but beautiful nation with so much to offer–to see not only what Nicaragua is, but what it can be. I try–I really try–to stay away from politics on my show. I’m not that smart. I’m a guy with a travel and food show. But what people eat–or aren’t eating–is the elephant in the room. And from time to time, that’s worth mentioning.

"A miserable, hypocritical prick–whatever the system of government–is still a prick.  I tend to look at the world, still, from the point of view of a restaurant guy–a small business owner.  Right? Left? I don’t care. I look at “leaders” as if they were managers of my restaurant. I go away for four years and come back. If my business has gotten inexplicably worse, I have fewer customers, the neighbors are pissed, my employees unhappy and there’s money inexplicably missing from the till, I call that a bad leader.  I don’t know if that’s politics or simple good sense."

Anthony Bourdain

Thanks Tony. Keep up the good work. We do need to see these things.

St. Patrick's Day

Let me say first, that today, I will be in Seattle, celebrating St. Patty's day along with my son, with whom I celebrated it on this day last year, that being his first time. We had a great deal of fun and we're going to try to duplicate the effort this year. I'm not much of one for parades, but there's no end to them during this week.

Flag of Ireland

There are some good links on this blog today for things Irish and St. Patty's Day oriented. I'm not saying anything about the bars I'm mentioning, I only go to those two (and a shout out to the Owl and Thistle) as I take a ferry over from Bainbridge Island and you walk along a path straight to Owl & Thistle or Fado, and then it's a straight shot to the left on 1st Avenue to Pike Place Market and Kell's. That way no car is involved. I can actually take a bus if I wish to and from the ferry and home. Then you can even hit the bar at the ferry terminal, Commuter Comforts, run by some of my favorite people.

Regarding those who are suffering around the world, they have my most powerful and earnest excessively positive thoughts to them all. May they all be soon dancing and happy once again and their troubles be put far behind them and never to find their address in the dark of night or light of day!

But on one day a year, no matter how bad things are, it's good to take the time to celebrate and forget about your woes and the world's troubles. A tradition that was once in Ireland, far more important perhaps, than it is now; albeit now is not so great either. Where we had the "Great Troubles" before, we now, in Ireland, have the "Financial Troubles" which is troubling, but after all, no one is kneecapping you over your credit rating, or blowing your friends up at the local pub.

March 17th, is St. Patrick's Day. It is a high holy day of drunks, Irish and party goers the world over. They say on St. Patty's day, everyone (who wants to be) is Irish. It's a grand day of sharing community and inebriation. Always have your toast "Sláinte!" ready at hand as its commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland (and Scotland and the Isle of Man), literally translating as "health". And here health to ya!

Saint Patrick (c. 387–461)

It's also a special day for Catholics. But they have their blog, I have mine. I have celebrated St. Patty's day all my life. As far back as I can remember. My mother, when I was younger than five, had a cut out streamer hanging from one side of our ceiling in our living room, to the other, saying: "Erin Go Bragh!" Meaning, allegiance to Ireland or typically, "Ireland Forever". It is probable that the English version was taken from what was a "dative" context, such as Go bhfanad in Éirinn go brách ("May I stay in Ireland for ever") or Go bhfillead go hÉirinn go brách ("May go back to Ireland for ever").

This was funny because, she is Czech, but I think she was just a "party girl" and liked celebrating a day that was all about, well, celebrating. Her husband at that time, wasn't my dad, who was Irish, but her current husband, who was always proud of saying he was English. We never got along. Of course now, for some reason, he claims Irishness. I've no idea why. He claims he never made a big deal out of being English, nor did he ever decry Irishness. But he did.

Odd to say, my mother has done that too. In telling her once I stepped over my brother's prostrate form, on the living room rug, watching TV, she made me step back over him because, "if you step over someone, it means they may die." She denies ever saying that now. Strange enough, a few years after that, he died.

Back to St. Patty's day.

And now, our Wikipedia moment:

"Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It originated as a Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 17th century. It has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Irish culture.

"It is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others."

According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.

Wearing of the green

Originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798 rebellion, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

Now that that's all out of the way....

We will probably go to Seattle's Kell's Irish Pub at Pike Place Market. Have some lunch, get a T shirt ($20 entry fee).

 Kell's Seattle

I do so dislike that they use plastic cups but worse, that they use cups that are not a full Pint. So you have to pay extra and get two "pints" on St. Patty's day if you want one. The up side of that is that you end up with more than a pint, but it's God awfully expensive that way.

Fado Seattle

There is a lot to enjoy however. People are there early, at the Fado this year, they are starting by opening their doors at 7:30AM. It's always fun once in a while to have a pint first thing in the morning (but please, be sensible, eat breakfast, drink a glass of water between each pint).

Now most pubs are celebrating all week long, staring the previous weekend, and ending the following one. But I just celebrate it on the Day.

I love Irish music, especially if it's live, and its always fun to have some good clean laughter, good times with interesting people, friends and loved ones, or at least strangers who treat you nicely. And St. Patty's day is all about being nice to strangers and having a pint with them.

Sláinte!

On a side note, it always helps to have a few Irish blessings under your belt for St. Patty's day. If you can belt out a few of these you will be the life of the party Here are a few I have hanging on my walls:

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

May those who love us love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.

Now a few quick ones good for a toast in a raucous room of rowdies:

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

May the saddest day of your future be no worse
Than the happiest day of your past.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.

May the enemies of Ireland never meet a friend.

May the roof above us never fall in.
And may the friends gathered below it never fall out.

Here's a toast to your enemies' enemies!

For those religious types:
May the Lord keep you in His hand
And never close His fist too tight.

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let's all get drunk, and go to heaven!

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

May the luck of the Irish
Lead to happiest heights
And the highway you travel
Be lined with green lights.

May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
Slow to make enemies,
And quick to make friends.
But rich or poor,
Quick or slow,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May you have food and raiment,
A soft pillow for your head,
May you be forty years in heaven
Before the devil knows you're dead.

May the face of every good news
And the back of every bad news
Be forever toward us

May I see you gray and combing your grandchildren's hair

And finally....

There are only two kinds of people in the world,
The Irish, and those who wish they were.

Okay, that was just a jest for fun, maybe yet one more....

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

What do we really need in America?

President FDR is reported to have said that no American, after taxes should have more than $25,000 (figure in today's terms, around $300,000). I would raise that somewhat considering how money is evaluated differently now (as you saw above) and have a buffer for problems, national crisis, etc., and say maybe $10 Million dollars.

But, can you imagine if that happened, as FDR thought, that the government should be using that extra money they would have to take care of the American citizens (including all the country's concerns, within and without its borders), its infrastructure, college for all kids, healthcare for everyone? When did we get so greedy? Why do we need $100 million? Or a $1 billion? Or even $10 million?

"In 1942, only a few months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a 100 percent top marginal tax rate. At a time of “grave national danger,” the president advised that April, “no American citizen ought to have a net income, after he has paid his taxes, of more than $25,000 a year. Roosevelt was proposing, in effect, what amounted to a maximum wage—at an income level that would equal, in our contemporary dollars, about $300,000.

"Imagine, for a moment, what would happen today if John Kerry—suddenly inspired by FDR’s bold example—were to propose a 100 percent tax on income over $300,000 to help wage the war against terrorism. Kerry would be hooted off the political stage, maybe even tagged a terrorist himself for trying to disrupt and destroy the American economy.

"The opposition to FDR’s income cap proposal would go about its business behind the scenes. The mandarins on the House Ways and Means Committee would quietly refuse to give the president’s cap any serious consideration. But Roosevelt would not be deterred. Shortly after Labor Day, he repeated his call for a $25,000 income limit, “the only practical way of preventing the incomes and profits of individuals and corporations from getting too high.” Congress would eventually relent and tilt in the president’s direction. The Revenue Act of 1942 would leave America’s most fortunate paying taxes on income over $200,000 at a tax rate well over 90 percent. The war years would go on to become, notes historian John Witte, “the most progressive tax years in U.S. history.”

"Today, by contrast, we are waging a war amid what have become the least progressive tax years in modern U.S. history. Pulitzer Prize-winning tax analyst David Cay Johnston estimates that our nation’s wealthiest households are now paying federal income taxes at a mere 17.5 percent rate, after exploiting all available loopholes. America’s richest households in 1943, after exploiting all available loopholes, paid nearly 78 percent of their total incomes in federal tax."

From The Rational Radical

It just came to my attention, that one in 20 people in the US are agnostic or atheist and there are NO stated atheists in congress.

Really!

First of all, I don't think so.

Second, we need the first one, to stand up, say it, get into congress, and not be fearful to be so. As someone said, don't be afraid to say you don't believe in a talking snake. Or floating paranormal entities born immaculately of woman.

I also find it's annoying that religionists say they have "Faith" as if no one else, no atheist, has "Faith". Or they will say yes, you too can, but you have "faith" where we have "Faith".

Really!

How condescending. No?

Someone also said, why are the stated atheists saying they have have such a rabid fear of religionists, isn't part of being an atheist not giving a damn what they are doing? But someone does need to stand up against ignorance, stupidity, foolishness, important decisions that can get people killed based upon fantasy, satiating emotions and beliefs not based on hard facts.

 Not to mention, some atheists are simply afraid of "True Believers". And that on any and all sides.

Why do we now have empty houses with people crowding homeless shelters? Why are we kicking out some of those people who are losing their homes, rather than fix it so they can keep them, if its shown they didn't do something stupid to end up in that situation? Why do we allow people to lose their homes, so then the banks can sell them extremely cheaply to someone else?

Why not sell them extremely cheaply to those who have, perhaps, illegally, immorally, but to no fault of their own, lost their homes?

What are we doing? What are we allowing to be done? There are a lot of things going on we should put a stop to. But how? This reminds me of Thomas Jefferson. He thought every generation requires a revolution and its long overdue. Not a blood and gore one, but one that actually changes things to make them better.

We have too long gone along with the corporate mindset. Perhaps we should have made a corporation and entity, a person, when we did decades ago. But perhaps now is the time to end that. Times change, things change, we have to institute change. Corporations have too long run our lives and our government. No doubt about that. They need to be reigned in. And now is late in the game, we need to do it yesterday.

There is a lot of change going on in the world today. We have some momentum and we need to keep it going. The heavy weight is moving, keep pushing so it gains more speed in the right direction, which is people. There is a lot of talk about socialism. People, are social. If socialism is about making the world better for PEOPLE, then what is wrong with that? Perhaps what we need is to redefine some words.

Communism, isn't for me, I'm too solitary for that. Socialism, if it means, not allow people to be abused, might be for me. I don't think it means dole out to everyone, out of the community coffers, even the losers, the low lifes, but we should all have certain benefits of being a part of a country. And if this is the most wonderful powerful country in History, why are we working so damn hard just to maintain our lifestyle? Granted, some of our lifestyle is unsustainable and we need to be educated and make some changes there.

But, we should be getting more time off, not less. We should be making more money, not less. Some things we pay for, should even be free. Why, are people held in such low esteem in this country? Yes, it's far worse elsewhere, but does that make it okay? No, I don't think so.

Should we unionize? Force corporations to pay us more, give us more? That misses the point. It's how we think, how we spend our profits. A CEO gets $500 million as a bonus? Something is wrong when you have that kind of disparity between the highest and lowest paid wage earner in a company.

So, in the end, what do we need? We need a paradigm shift. The trouble is, usually there is only one way that happens. By way of damage: Natural disaster, revolution, economic crash. But why? Are we that damn stupid that we have to be forced to evoke change? Or, can we simply start a grass root change? Just, as Nike says, Do It.

It has to start somewhere. It has to start with you. No, really. You. Because if you can change, others can change and if others can change, then we can have a consensus. And if we have a consensus, we can have a movement; and a movement can lead to an alteration in how a country is run. And that is what we need. A country that is run differently. Better. More intelligently, with more thought to what is right and less to making a buck for mere greed. There is more than the stock holders. There are, the people.

Be one of the people so that the county can once again be, of the people, by the people, for the people; so that it shall not perish from the earth and will propagate the world over. We were once a great nation. We can be again.

Music Rebels - The Runaways - Jim Carroll

There's been many rebel types in the music industry. Different rebel types in different music categories. Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, Keith Moon, Johnny Cash, Patti Smith, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, even the high brow Kronos Quartet, all in their own ways. There's even web sites dedicated to reporting on music rebels like Heartless Music.

Two I always found interesting are Joan Jett and the late Jim Carroll. Joan's first band being, The Runaways. Joan's band of many years now is Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Both of these people have movies out about their beginnings. Joan's, was The Runaways.

Joan Jett

I watched The Runaways today about the band Joan Jett started out in. It was odd hearing them talking about Susie Quatro as a role model. I remember her when she wasn't anybody and just didn't see her the same way at the time. I always felt you just have to respect anyone who stands up and... does.

When I was there age, I never ACTUALLY considered running off and being in a band, I only dreamed of it. Funny thing, I had what appeared to be the same guitar and case with internal amp in it that Joan does int he film. I got it from my older brother, he got it from Sears.

It was actually better than I expected, I actually found it sad and motivating. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 68% rating, higher than the fans did at 56%.

For an actual documentary on The Runaways, check out 2004s, "Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways". Available via streaming download on Netflix: "Jail bait" rockers The Runaways tell their own tale -- their hopes, dreams and eventual implosion due to incessant media hectoring, infighting among the band members and chronic drug use. Directed by Victory Tischler-Blue, the film shows what it was like for six teenage girls to gain notoriety in an era hostile to female musicians. Includes live performances, a special appearance by Suzi Quatro and new songs by Quatro and Lita Ford."

I've always liked artists who went against the grain, showed spirit, fought against the machined rage and excelled beyond what their life gave them. Joan Jett is one of those.

As was Jim Carroll with all that he has been through. Jim had a pretty amazing story, just check out the 1995 film, Basketball Diaries, based on his autobiography and staring a young Leonard DiCaprio as Jim.

While still in high school, Carroll published his first collection of poems, Organic Trains. Already attracting the attention of the local literati, his work began appearing in the Poetry Project's magazine The World in 1967.  In 1978, after he moved to California to get a fresh start since kicking his heroin addiction, Carroll reformed a San Francisco Bay area band called Amsterdam, as The Jim Carroll Band, now a New Wave/punk rock group. Carroll got the band started with encouragement from ex New York City apartment mate Patti Smith, whom he lived with along with now infamous artist Robert Mapplethorpe.

The Album, Catholic Boy

The band released a great single "People Who Died", from their 1980 debut album, Catholic Boy, about the people he had known and how they died. The song's title was based on a poem by a New York poet peer of Jim's, Ted Berrigan.

  James Dennis Carroll

Heroin really took its toll on Jim. I had a coworker at Tower Video, Mercer store in Seattle, years ago. She once told me back int he mid 80s, that she heard Jim had kicked "H" and she went to see him. She had her own problems with it and they got worse in succeeding years when she was "dancing" at a peepshow called Champ Arcade on the corner across from Pike Place Market. She went to see Jim do a reading of his poetry one night when he was in town. She walked up to him afterward and said, "I thought you kicked it but I can see you didn't. Takes one to know one." He didn't have much to say about it, he was high.

 

Jim Carroll, then and ....

 ...and later

As with many rebel bands and artists, drugs had a lot to do with being a rebel and being able to keep the distance from people and society to be ABLE to rebel, and that's too bad really. Some make it through and Joan Jett is one of those. Jim died on September 11, 2009 only making it to age 60 due to a heart attack while still working at his desk. Not surprising that he would die younger than need be. 

These two rebels, rocked. One of them right until the end.