Reading Rant: "Malfeasance: Appropriation Through Pollution?"

Michel Serres

French philosopher Michel Serres' "Malfeasance: Appropriation Through Pollution?" has quite an interesting take on pollution in that he expands our common notion of pollution (that is, chemicals and other substances that unleash their toxins on air, water or land) to include mental pollution which he believes is a byproduct of our hyper-consumerist culture & equally as destructive. Michel explains:

Let us define two things and clearly distinguish them from one another...First the hard [pollutants], and second the soft. By the first I mean on the one hand solid residues, liquid gases, emitted throughout the atmosphere by big industrial companies or gigantic garbage dumps, the shameful signature of big cities. By the second, tsunamis of writings, signs, images, and logos flooding rural, civic, public and natural spaces as well as landscapes with their advertising. Even though different in terms of energy, garbage and marks nevertheless result from the same soiling gesture, from the same intention to appropriate, and are of animal origin."

In his mind, they both come the same source: our wanton disregard of Nature & her beauty:

"The captain who unloads waste in the high seas has never seen, or rather has never let, the countless smiles of the gods emerge; that would be too demanding, or even creative. Shitting on the world, has he ever seen its beauty before? Did he ever see his own beauty? And so, he who dirties space with billboards full of sentences and images hides the view of the surrounding landscape, kills perception, and skewers it by this theft. First the landscape then the world."

Of course, the biggest polluters in the world (not including the Pentagon) are oil, chemical and power companies, & as Michel seems to suggest, these entities use pollution to mark, claim, and appropriate territory through defiling it and that over time this appropriative act has evolved away from primitive pollution, (urine and feces), to "hard pollution" (industrial chemicals), to "soft pollution" (the many forms of advertising). How interesting this notion as National Geographic (March 2011) issue argued that we are now in a  geological era  termed the Anthropocene, or the Age of Man & it is marked by our catastrophic impact on the Earth.


Michel's sense of dread & urgency pulsates & his plea is nothing short of a social/spiritual call to arms:

Companies fill the space now with their hideous brands, waging the same frenzied battle as the jungle species in order to appropriate the public space and attention with images and words, like animals with their screams and piss. Excluded from those outskirts, I no longer live there; they are haunted by the powerful who shit on them and occupy them with their ugliness....what ignorant ruling class is killing you?"

Michel seems like a lone voice crying in the wilderness....Does it really have to take a monumental disaster for us to change course? 

OneLove

:::MME:::

The Stain Remains

(Yep--The same o' same o'....)

Now that President Obama has released his birth certificate for all the no-nothing birthers to see, one would think that it's a wrap. Oh no, rational observers! As the President wisely noted, there is a segment of the US population that will not listen to reason & accept facts, so it's best to just leave them wallowing in their psychopathic unreality as the world moves on.

Now I hear Mr Comb-Over (Donald Trump) wants evidence of the President's academic achievements in yet another fruitless quest to dishonor & ridicule him. We all know what's going on here. Is it not way past time for this country to wake the f*** up & become the 'civilization' it has long claimed to be?

Goldie Taylor was especially spot-on with regards to this issue. Check out her brilliant piece of truth-telling here.

OneLove

:::MME:::

When Dawn Comes

A Buddhist Master asks, “How do you know when the night has ended and the dawn has come?” 
A student replies, “When I can tell a donkey apart from the hay.”
Another says, “When I can see my hands clearly.”
The master responds, “The night is over and the dawn has come when you look into a stranger’s eyes and instead of seeing something to judge, you see your brother or sister."

(We have a ways to go.....)

OneLove

:::MME:::

A Few Words On The Soul

We have a soul at times.
No one's got it non-stop,
for keeps.

Day after day,
year after year
may pass without it.

Sometimes
it will settle for awhile
only in childhood's fears and raptures.
Sometimes only in astonishment
that we are old.

It rarely lends a hand
in uphill tasks,
like moving furniture,
or lifting luggage,
or going miles in shoes that pinch.

It usually steps out
whenever meat needs chopping
or forms have to be filled.

For every thousand conversations
it participates in one,
if even that,
since it prefers silence.

Just when our body goes from ache to pain,
it slips off-duty.

It's picky:
it doesn't like seeing us in crowds,
our hustling for a dubious advantage
and creaky machinations make it sick.

Joy and sorrow
aren't two different feelings for it.
It attends us
only when the two are joined.

We can count on it
when we're sure of nothing
and curious about everything.

Among the material objects
it favors clocks with pendulums
and mirrors, which keep on working
even when no one is looking.

It won't say where it comes from
or when it's taking off again,
though it's clearly expecting such questions.

We need it
but apparently
it needs us
for some reason too.

-Wislawa Szymborska

MME's Classic Soul Series : The Music of The Commodores



The Commodores


When it comes to smooth, soulful, lyrically-rich melodies, very few bands can compare to The Commodores. Their distinctive sound (pre-1985) still stands the test of time & truth be told, they sound better than most of the bands on radio today. As the best-selling male act at Motown (1975-1985), they set the bar quite high & it's a shame that the era of the "Supergroup" is over (or was it overtaken by modern technology which can program any instrument & enhance any weak vocals via sound editing?) Thank goodness for bands like Mint Condition, The Roots & Prince's New Power Generation that continue to make real, live music rooted in the Golden Era of soul/funk. I read recently that Lionel Richie expressed an interest in reuniting The Commodores as he fears that within the next ten years no one will care or remember. This fear is all too real as exemplified by a contestant on American Idol who nonchalantly admitted that he never heard of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' classic, "If You Don't Know Me By Now"--he thought Simply Red's version was the original!! Come on, son!! (Randy Jackson had to correct him). We have to keep this music alive or it will be lost or uprooted from its origins. Imagine "Easy (Like a Sunday Morning)" forgotten in 10 years or known only as Muzak elevator music? The loss would be incalculable.





OneLove


:::MME:::

The Age of Too Damn Stupid

the age of stupid (1) by soleillevant32bis

Wikipedia has a very good break-down of this documentary which is quite shocking in its details. Very well-balanced and impressively researched.

Part 2    Part 3   Part 4   Part 5

OneLove

:::MME:::

Silence is Betrayal

(Timeless words from a visionary. Replace "Vietnam" with Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria....... Take heed)

OneLove

::MME::

Beauty & Danger (..of truth)

(Click to enlarge)

During times of universal deceit, the truth becomes a revolutionary act~~Orwell

OneLove

:::MME:::

The Essence of Roots Reggae: Taj Weekes & Adowa



Taj Weekes & Adowa

There are some CDs you can play over & over and never get tired of like ALL of Bob Marley's work, Earth Wind & Fire's "I Am" & "All 'n' All", The Commodores Greatest Hits, The Bee Gees Greatest Hits, Branford Marsalis' "I Heard You Twice The First Time", Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" and Steel Pulse's " True Democracy",  to name a few of my favorites which I will probably play until Jah calls me home. Add to this list Taj Weekes & Adowa's roots reggae classic, "Deidem". Being a big fan of roots reggae in the vein of The Abyssinians,  I-Wayne & Luciano, the sound of Taj Weekes & Adowa  easily secures itself into the deep & rich legacy of conscious reggae's uplifting vibration. Adowa's deft musicianship coupled with Taj's haunting, poetically poignant &  spiritually-soaked lyrical flow is truly a feast for our famished souls.


"Deidem"(which means "all of us") was well received & was up for consideration for Best Reggae Album by The Recording Academy for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009. If you were to listen to the music of the artists who were on the list of nominees for this category--Burning  Spear, Elephant Man, Heavy D, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Shaggy and Sly & Robbie--you'd have to admit that Taj Weekes & Adowa had a superior product that year. I listened to all of the CDs that were nominated and, with the exception of Burning Spear's "Jah Is Real", none of them was in the same league as "Deidem".

Adding to the exceptional talents of this St. Lucian-based reggae band, is their commitment to humanitarian issues. Taj Weekes practices what he preaches as demonstrated by his work as Goodwill Ambassador to the Caribbean in cooperation with the International Consortium of Caribbean Professionals (ICCP) and as founder of his charity, They Often Cry Outreach, which is dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged, at-risk and orphaned children in the Caribbean and beyond. It is blazing fires like this that point to a better way to BE in this world. As Taj reflected in an interview, "What is the use of art if it doesn’t provoke  discussion or stir thought?  Music certainly doesn’t need another artist singing about rims and women’s body parts.  There’s enough of that already.  We’ve been jumping and waving for what seems like forever, maybe it’s time we sit down and get our thoughts provoked a little."

Preach my brother!


Stay conscious.

The Path of the Warrior

These two videos of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai and renowned Canadian geneticist and environmental activist David Suzuki, are graceful eye-openers to a world beyond our narrow self-interests. Dr. Maathai--a voice of courage on women's equality, deforestation, social justice and human rights in her native Kenya--is a true warrior who has dedicated her life to the health of the planet & the poor.
Dr. Suzuki--a Japanese Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist-- is the kind of scientist that tells it like it is & he does it with a cool & grace that are just as impressive. He speaks eloquently about the central role that the women in his life and around the world have played in social and environmental justice. Not many scientists are of this caliber as money, ego & power have long been resident toxins in the waters of intellectual honesty & moral conviction.


Please take some time to absorb what these enlightened folks are trying to teach us.


David Suzuki: Restoring Life's Fabric from Bioneers on Vimeo.

Also, take a look at Dirt: The Movie--Very interesting!


OneLove


:::MME:::

The Tragicomedy of Statecraft

The Daily Show - I Give Up - Pay Anything...
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

As greedy public workers bankrupt states, America makes it harder for honest corporate citizens to create jobs.....(If you believe this, you're an insufferable idiot!).

Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources - Aristotle

Peace

::MME::

Poet's Nook: "What Kind of Times Are These?" by Adrienne Rich

There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill
and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows
near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted
who disappeared into those shadows.

I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled
this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,
our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,
its own ways of making people disappear.

I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it's necessary
to talk about trees.

-Adrienne Rich

(This dark, brooding piece by Adrienne Rich has numerous shades of meaning. For me, I detect a critique of greed/materialism & political secrecy in high places...Brilliant piece!)


OneLove

:::MME:::

A Towering Intellect Goes Home: Manning Marable (1950 - 2011)



Manning Marable




My vision of a socially just society is one that is deeply democratic, that allows people’s voices to be heard, where people actually govern...There  should be no hierarchies of power between those who lead and their constituencies.  Everyone has the capacity, has the ability to articulate a vision of reality and to fight for the realization of their values and goals in society. This is deeply democratic, one where we don’t have elitist notions of what society should look like, but have humility and the patience to listen to and learn from working class and poor people, who really are at the center of what any society is.
---Dr Manning Marable


One of America's most influential and widely read scholars, Dr. Manning Marable, passed away this past weekend at the age of 60. I am sure many essays will be written about this towering intellect in the days & weeks to come as his influence is inestimable. His influence on me was quite dramatic. As a young college student in search of meaning, I remember studying his classic, "How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America", in a Political Science course taught by another influential intellect, the late great Dr Ron Walters. The title itself was shocking to me & as I read through the book, the initial shock turned into a righteous rage. His deeply penetrating analysis of race & class in the U.S wiped out a number of illusions I held at that time. My vision of the world changed & I endeavored from that moment to stay attuned to the plight of the poor, reviled & isolated. Staying informed & helping to persuade others to examine their own illusions became my raison d'être & I owe this spark to Dr Manning Marable. Other people fed this fire, but Dr Marable was the one who threw the molotov through my shaded window.

It's doubly sad that Dr Marable will not be able to see the fruits of his recent biographic masterpiece, "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention" which is due to be published today This promises to be a terrific read as he dispels many myths about Malcolm X & reveals a number of bombshells as well (like how Malcolm X had far more doubts about religion and politics than was portrayed in the autobiography written with Alex Haley). What a tremendous loss, but we are the richer for his invaluable contributions & courageous truth-telling.
Rest in peace, brother.




OneLove

:::MME:::