"Sail away, sail away...

We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay..."

- Randy Newman

Thought for the day: Only the good doubt their own goodness, which is what makes them good in the first place. The bad know they are good, but the good know nothing. They spend their lives forgiving others, but they can't forgive themselves. -Paul Auster, novelist and poet (b. 1947)

seagrass basket weaver

on market st

Well, I guess Mr. Camping is mighty disappointed in his Lord just now for not showing up as promised. You gotta feel for the guy. Here are some photos of downtown Charleston below Broad St, where I am headed in a few hours to see an apartment I may repair to for the weekend, thanks to the generosity of new friends. It's along the breezy Battery (pictured above, me and cousin Marion there) so promises to be quiet on what would otherwise be a noisy Memorial Day weekend (I recall a memorable one sixteen years ago) here at the coast. I'm looking foward to wandering the charming back allees and gardens of this gorgeous place, so european in flavor, and finding a good cafe au lait if there's one to be found and some sympa fellow writers at the City Lights cafe. No doubt some good southern food awaits me as well. I had a pulled pork barbeque (could NOT resist) "egg" roll (sans egg) with avocado/corn sauce the other day at Blossom's and thought I'd died and gone to heaven as I sipped my sweet tea and tried to stuff in another mouthful. I am talking guuuuuood!

I see the French Open has started on the tv. Espn2 and tennis channel for now, but regular channels for the quarterfinals, and some matches before that. TV schedule here.

In other news, they are selling houses in Sicily for a dollar I hear. I might want to get in on that. Yet another real estate success story to add to my list. (LOL)

I hear folks say it's impossible to switch off the internet, the main source of real news for many of us. Well, apparently this isn't so, sez the BBC guest here. Furthermore, this guy, who invented the World Wide Web (NOT Gore), Tim Berners-Lee, sez there are things about the present Internet we should be concerned with, at least he is, in this brief video interview with a really energetic guy just brimming with ideas. Reminds me of a musician I know...

The Cannes Film Festival is over, and for you film fans, not movie fan, film fans, check this article for films to watch out for coming to select, and i do mean select (i.e., rare) theatres in your state... if you're lucky.

And in my humble opinion, Chris Hedges can't get too much attention, a truly moral man who has something to say in this 15 minute interview with Laura Flanders (and I much prefer her to the strident monotone of Rachel) on GRITtv about the mindless militarism of the US and its effect on us as a people.

The Times asks if Sitting is a Lethal Activity. My response? Duh. I can vouch for the hazards of sitting passively for the better part of the day and so can my waistline. It's amazing to me that such an obvious question even needs asking. People who sit all day wondering why they're fat, while they consume the calories of an ancient Greek stone mason. A must read for those of us watching ourselves go pearshaped. I've started back with yoga and 3 mile walks, but it's gonna take time to regroup from a former lifestyle of 10 hour days digging in a garden to now driving around in a car eating fried chicken (not really, but almost).

I saved the worst news for last... But it's also fascinating. For those of you wondering why FOX NOT News has such a loyal following, and why facts don't seem to change many people's minds about issues, there's this new study that lays the reasons out, explaining why facts actually backfire when you're trying to make a point, and it's enough to make you wanna cry. I recently got into a conversation with a self-styled liberal who resisted every fact I offered as though it weren't true, defending her right to see reality any way she chose and still call herself progressive. She ended up ranting in print and using the abusive language of panic that she'd been called on her ignorance and loose talk. She was old enough to know better too. Really distressing. And here's another bit of info political junkies need to know: Apparently those precious Independent Voters, the ones who decide elections these days, aren't all they're cracked up to be, not much in the brain power department either. No surprise to me, I've always felt so called Independents were just slovenly citizens, too lazy to figure out where they stood who based their vote on last minute impressions. We really are a nation of reactionary dumdums, and we're proud of it! Sometimes that scares the bejesus out of me. I could offer links to a history of fascism and naziism here, but why ruin a perfectly nice day.

Get out there and find some sun.. Soak it into your bones.

Today's the Big Day!

Here's Harold to tell you all about it...nice sideburns, Har!

(at the BBC's website, I read)

"Harold Camping, 89, predicts that Jesus Christ will return to earth on Saturday and true believers will be swept up, or "raptured", to heaven."

Well, I want to know of Jesus will be taking questions, cause I have some I've been saving up.

Harold says biblical texts indicate that a giant earthquake on Saturday will mark the start of the world's destruction, and that by 21 October all non-believers will be dead..[Muslims call them infidels]

"US atheists are to hold parties in response to an evangelical broadcaster's prediction that Saturday will be "judgement day".The Rapture After Party in North Carolina - "the best damned party in NC" - is among the planned events."

North Carolina!? Why that's just up the road! What should I wear? What are you wearing? (Finger to temple, tilted head) Maybe my new pure white capris! Does this mean I don't have to pay my phone bill? What about those Pradas I have on layaway?

Harold sez he plans to spend the day watching events unfold on TV. Well I say, Party on, Harold!

(It's WJWD, no doubt)

What might Harold have to say about the new science on "dark energy" I wonder? I can't help but doubt he's a big science fan.

BBC sez,

"First results from a major astronomical survey using a cutting-edge technique appear to have confirmed the existence of mysterious dark energy.

Dark energy makes up some 74% of the Universe and its existence would explain why the Universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate.... "The action of dark energy is as if you threw a ball up in the air, and it kept speeding upward into the sky faster and faster," said co-author Dr Chris Blake of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia....

While dark energy makes up about 74% of the Universe, dark matter - which does not reflect or emit detectable light - accounts for 22%. Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just 4% of the cosmos. [Now that'll give one pause!]

However, despite scientists being able to infer the existence of dark energy and dark matter, these phenomena still elude a full explanation."

(wull no shyte...)

Oh my God, and then there's this...

"An American woman is being questioned in California for allegedly trying to sell a moon rock for $1.7m (£1.05m).

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was held in a sting operation [??? Your tax dollars, hard at work!] when she showed the rock to a Nasa investigator in Lake Elsinore.

Moon rocks are considered national treasure in the United States and their sale is illegal."

Finally, there's this from Joshua Brown, The reformed Broker

Somali Pirates Raise a Venture Fund

"It's nice to see the spirit of venture capitalism take root all over the world, even on the war-torn coasts of Somalia. But on the Arabian Sea and in the Gulf of Eden, we're not so much talking about social media startups - in this case we're talking kidnapping and theft...but fine, it's a start."

[From Forbes] The first quarter of 2011 has seen piracy-at-sea hit an all time high with 142 attacks worldwide and 97 of the East coast of Somalia, up from 35 a year ago, a report by the IMB Piracy Reporting Center says. As ransom-payouts increase exponentially, more sophisticated piracy syndicates are even selling shares in planned attacks to villagers in order to finance their operations, according to the head of the U.S. Navy.

"There's always a bull market somewhere. In this case, it's in jacking vessels and ransoming their crews and contents. It's nice to see that the villagers are able to get in on the action [ love this guy's sense of humor]. I wonder if the pirates first verify whether or not they're accredited before taking their funds. "

For more read original Forbes article. Unbelievable...

I guess today can't be the day I kill myself cause there's just too much to laugh at out there. Maybe tomorrow will be more promising.

Abu Dhabi Doo! ( Love that hat!)

erik prique?

That little phoquer Erik Prince is at it again. This time he's arming the UAE, Iran's unfriendly neighbor. You remember him and his Blackwater pals screwing things up after Katrina, raiding legal medical maryjane joints in LA (and likely smoking up the proceeds), murdering innocent civilians in Iraq, refusing to testify forthrightly when Congress called. You remember! Ol' Erik, yeah... FOB, big donor to the GOP, the guy who put together an army to illegally invade anyplace the US president thinks needs invading and at twice the price we'd pay our own soldiers? Composed of guys who can't jump the lowered bar of psyche tests the regular army administers? I can't help but wonder... why do we need to hire half an invasion force through private companies? Is it because there aren't enough normal American boys willing to go along with this nonsense? I'd like to think so...

This from the article in Sunday's NY Times: "He is hoping to build an empire in the desert, far from the trial lawyers, Congressional investigators and Justice Department officials he is convinced worked in league to portray Blackwater as reckless. " Poor baby. My daughter has the perfect response to whiny white boys like Prince: Waanh.

Read it and weep, folks. There is just no stopping the male's determination to arm the world; this guy Prince is seriously dangerous. Odds are the real goal in hiring him is to suppress any opposition in the UAE and whatever middle eastern strongmen in those wussy soft flowing robes and gentle faces (don't be fooled) remain in power. The Saudis have him on speed dial.

I say Carl Levin for president. At least the guy has balls enough to go after Goldman like a junkyard dog.

Quand venons-nous aux armes, citoyens?

Kinda sez it all, don't it?

Chapel Hill window...

market st, wilmington

magnolia blossom

The French House porch

nice bath

Duke U

rentals?

Let's just take a little break and enjoy the scenery, shall we? I mean, despite the US corporate coup d'etat, we have to go on living, non?

Here are some scenes of mostly Wilmington, North Carolina, with a few of Durham thrown in, that caught my eye. I tell you one thing, the people here are warm and inviting as fresh baked bread, even though it's already hot and steamy out. I love the ceiling fans everywhere, the sleepy loll of naptime, the brick, yes brick, streets that pitter when you drive on them, the sidewalk cafes, the Cape Fear River with its alligators, and the old downtown streets lined with nineteenth century architecture Tony Soprano's mason ancestors could appreciate, the eighteenth century gracious homes. It's so nice, and the leisurely attitude suits the climate - conversation that has all the time in the world. Not bad for the Younatted Stets.

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%

All that wealth floating to the top while the rest of us starve is no mystery. From the Economist Obama and his Cronies Have Repeatedly Refused to Listen to, Joseph Stiglitz in the recent Vanity Fair:

"But one big part of the reason we have so much inequality is that the top 1 percent want it that way. The most obvious example involves tax policy. Lowering tax rates on capital gains, which is how the rich receive a large portion of their income, has given the wealthiest Americans close to a free ride. "

Pass this along to any whiny white boys you know who complain about taxes.

Confused about what's happening in the world? This guy takes all the disparate pieces of the crazy puzzle and puts it together to create a big picture that's refreshingly honest and may point the way to solutions. 'Cuz to solve a problem you first have to identify it.

that oughta give everyone something to talk about...

From that link, this:

"Global inequalities and the impoverishment of broad majorities mean that transnational capitals cannot find productive outlets to unload the enormous amounts of surplus it has accumulated. By the 21st century, the TCC turned to several mechanisms to sustain global accumulation, or profit making, in the face of this crisis.

One is militarised accumulation; waging wars and interventions that unleash cycles of destruction and reconstruction and generate enormous profits for an ever-expanding military-prison-industrial-security-financial complex. We are now living in a global war economy that goes well beyond such "hot wars" in Iraq or Afghanistan.

For instance, the war on immigrants in the United States and elsewhere, and more generally, repression of social movements and vulnerable populations, is an accumulation strategy independent of any political objectives. This war on immigrants is extremely profitable for transnational corporations. In the United States, the private immigrant prison-industrial complex is a boom industry. Undocumented immigrants constitute the fastest growing sector of the US prison population and are detained in private detention centres and deported by private companies contracted out by the US state."

Welcome to Wonderland.

"Why, you're nothing but a pack of cards!"

You just never know what life has in store. One minute you're being lied to and the next the very definitions of lies and truth shift so dramatically you begin to question the presumption that you could once tell one from the other. Before you know it a lie is no longer a lie but one person's "version of truth", and down you go on the slippery slope to Wonderland.

As this seems to be the case no matter the subject, I've decided to stop writing this blog until such time as it again becomes obvious to me that truth in these united states is something discernible. Until then I' ll limit my scribblings to a paper page where no one calls you crazy for assuming that, simply because so much of what you once believed was true turns out to be lies, the next batch of words streaming from the mouths of those in whom one puts one's trust might merit skepticism.

To put it bluntly, a form of expression to which I am no stranger, I'm sick of being a sap. I recall Rhett Butler saying he's off to see if he can't find something of grace and worthiness in the world. Or something like that. That's how i feel. I saw a wonderful program on Netflix, Any Human Heart, reminding me that when one reaches a certain point in life, and the society you live in ceases to be something you can relate to, you simply have to find somewhere to be that doesn't offend your senses, all five of them, or your intelligence on a daily basis. Or at least that does so at a minimum.

When I was in Spain Isabel told me the folks in northern Spain live to work, whereas the folks in southern Spain work to live. It's a lifestyle/values choice, and one you sense in the streets of Seville, a relaxed, palpable joie de vivre. There is time to live. In America we are beyond such pleasures, one exists in a desperate race to Fill the Hole, dousing all manner of hungers as quickly and excessively as possible: eat crappy, boring food that fills the stomach but starves the soul and senses and leaves you longing for something more; escape from facing fear, anomie, betrayal, the longing for something intangible, with the latest prescription cocktail, or booze, or dope, or videogames, or movies, or mechanical toys and multisensual distractions; fill the hole of gnawing debt with possessions; treat repressed fear of our invisible chemical environment with homeopathic scents ; assuage guilt for ruining the planet by spending at Whole Foods, or shopping anywhere for that matter and for things you don't need (made by people whose lives you will never touch more than to support their continued corporate oppression); carry on in our daily denial that any of this matters and whenever reality intrudes too stridently, take another vacation to somewhere idyllic, or hit the highway and pretend it's 1967 and you haven't a care in the world.

The Nation in Denial. I don't know about you, but it's killin me.

I've done my bit. I don't want a car anymore. I don't want to mow an utterly unnecessary lawn, or drive miles to the nearest grocery store wandering aisles of processed, tasteless wares I don't care to eat, or debating big box flooring samples. There must be somewhere the simple joy of living is to be found as a presence. Not the smug safety of suburbia, but a real place with real people who actually talk to one another about real stuff.

Where that might be I have no idea. But it isn't anywhere I've been so far within the Younited Stets (as my Brit friend Ben likes to pronounce it). I'm giving it one last try, staying here probably long past the sell date.

At some point do you just sell everything and disappear? I haven't a clue.

"We shall not cease from exploration,

and the end of our exploring will be

to return to where we started

and know the place for the first time." ts eliot

I started in me mum's womb.

wish me luck..