Front Matter:
I wrote an earlier draft of this and stupidly clicked exit instead of publish. This new version is my best attempt to recreate that version. The following is a much faster paced one because I just didn't feel like writing that much again.
This contains some preliminary thoughts that don't necessary constitute a full argument. I sometimes doubt the conclusions. Be forewarned.
---
The 140 character limit for a twitter post may mean something profound. I believe that resource scarcity results in the adoption of a highly referential language. From here, I carry the statement to less defensible ground: the resultant effects on society might not be so desirable.
Consider this hypothetical case. I am a young boy who fell in love with another girl. We passionately love each other yet are parents absolutely hate each other. The emotional dimension of the saga cannot be carried so easily be the brief statement that I made about my situation. My twitter post might be "feeling like Romeo rite now."
You obviously need to know about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for that comment to make any sort of sense. Therefore we need to deal with two questions: (1) what constitutes a good reference pool? and (2) how is such a pool created?
A pool must consist of works in the past that have highly standardized interpretations. Consider this second hypothetical. I am a son who cannot go to school as I have to work to pay for my grandfather's medical bills. Trapped by obligation would I write "I am Karna"? IF I were referring to Karna in the following vignette:
"Indra, king of the gods (Devas) and father of Arjuna, realized that Karna would be invincible and immortal in battle as long as he had the golden armour suit and earrings that he was born with. During the Pandavas' exile, when war was imminent, Indra took it upon himself to weaken Karna. He decided to approach Karna as a poor brahmin during his mid-day worship. Surya warned Karna of Indra's intentions, exhorting him not to give away his armour and earrings. Karna thanked Surya but explained he was bound by his word and could not send anyone from his door empty handed even if it meant his death. As Surya had predicted, a disguised Indra approached Karna and asked for his kavacha (body armour) and kundala (earrings) as alms. Karna readily gave them away, cutting the armor and earrings off his body. Indra, shamed into generosity by Karna's gesture, reciprocated by giving Karna the boon to use Indra's most powerful weapon, the Vasavi shakti, but only once. It is at this point that he earns the name Vaikartana, as he cut the armor off his body without flinching."
A multidimensional character like Karna also did the following:
"After Shakuni had won the game of dice by trickery, the Pandavas' queen Draupadi was dragged into the court by Dushasana , Duryodhana and his brothers, attempted to strip her. Karna insulted Draupadi by saying that a woman with more than four husbands is nothing but a 'whore'."
Ambiguity such as this requires my the referred objects to be come with highly, highly standardized meanings.
This is a process that requires human interaction. Is it political? Is it social? Whatever the mechanism, creating such a corpus around issues interpretation inherently creates tension as human beings tend to have very different ideas about the "same" thing. This serves a clearing mechanism for profound issues that confront people and as such disagreements and then, over time, an utter mutual incomprehension could be the natural end result.
But all is not lost. Consider this clip.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
On Dharma (Saturday, October 31, 2009)
Starting a title with "on" makes feel like a douche bag. Perhaps I need that miserable disposition to fight a incomplete translation that is floating around the world. I'm talking about dharma. No, not her. It gets interpreted by students of English as law. Certainly, this makes some sense. Most potentates from Afghanistan to Japan and Indonesia to the edges of the steppe have called themselves dharma raja ("law" king) at one timer or another. Such a king, after all, has to promulgate laws or uphold those of nature right? I'm not indicting the whole academy. Rather, I am reacting against the semi-trained or just intellectually lazy who sometimes reside in the academy. Incidentally some of the more cunning ones like to speak of "harmony" between nature and man and invoke Dharma to justify environmentalism. Though there are plenty of good reasons to support that mission, stripping Dharma of the totality of its meaning is a terrible way of doing it.
According to the answers.com we have fourteen different definitions of the English term law, but two are relevant here: 1) A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority and the subtly different 10) A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature. The mention of morality and conscience set off my alarm bells. I intend to argue here of the significance of the second characterization of this very important concept. That is, there are elements of great vulnerability and dependence on individual choice to what has been traditionally characterized as this regal and seemingly inviolable plan of nature. This isn't anything new, if we are to look at the Puruṣārthas, we see that Dharma is portrayed as an existentialist concept (i.e. Camus). What I will do here is go to the last book of Mahabharata to show Dharma in this sometimes ignored light.
Note: I'll be using this translation: http://www.mahabharataonli
It's quick and dirty, but gets the essential message across. I wasn't going to type from my max muller.
This title Mahaprasthanika Parva refers to the Great Journey where Yudhishthira (aka the king), his brothers, and common wife (long story) tell their subjects to go fuck themselves, because they're going away. So they wear bark clothing and leave their kingdom and go walking towards the wilderness. A stray dog joins them on the journey. One by one, they start falling and don't seem to reach moksha. How strange, considering that these august men (and one woman) aren't liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth?
The reasons for their imprisonment are quite clear and rational. This happens to every one but Yudhisthira, but we'll see two of the five brothers - Sahadeva and Arjuna.* I do some butchery of the text down below to keep the cast of characters to an absolute minimum.
They all follow action -> reaction or infraction -> punishment logic that the first definition of dharma seems to imply. Yet, the whole point of this book is to subvert that notion by bringing in the law of individual creation (morality and ultimately the self) to a privileged position.
Now alone with the dog, the king reaches the threashold of heaven. Despite understanding the reasons for their return to earth and torturous rebirth, Yudhistira dares ask:
This request is truly jaw dropping. If we are to understand Dharma as a natural law, one of rigid cause and effect, how can Yudhisthira request such a thing? This makes sense if we see Dharma as an internally generated set of values that govern life. The law of self.
This point is pressed on again. Remember that dog?
The poet is devilishly devious here. That is, he is directly attacking the first definition of dharma. We have an existent set of rules that were defined on an astral plane and judge your actions. The consequence of this is a subordination of individual creation of morality. In short you can't say "I thought I was doing the right thing" because every action has been judged on a level above the individual.
Yudhishthira replies:
How dare he oppose the laws and procedures of heaven? My central contention is that an individually created set of values inside the person are trumping the law of heaven. In true poetic form, the dog morphs into Dharma itself and tells the sage king that this was a test to see if Yudhishthira was worthy enough. By "sticking to his guns" and defying the laws of heaven, the king reached moksha.
Dharma is a stray dog. It is weak, destitute and terrified. It is always in jeopardy if the individual does not defend it his entire life. This whole book in Mahabharata tells us that it is something that comes from inside the person and sometimes comes into conflict with the law of heaven. If Yudhisthira had understood dharma as law(1), then he would not have passed the tests of Yama (Yan in Chinese, Dai-o in Japanese) and have been endlessly reincarnated.
Wow, is this how i spent my Friday night?
----
I transcribed this largely from an argument I was having with someone a few hours ago. He was a holy roller, as zealots tend to be. It was immediately clear - a virtue of his illiteracy in what he purports to "know" that he came from the lower classes.
According to the answers.com we have fourteen different definitions of the English term law, but two are relevant here: 1) A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority and the subtly different 10) A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature. The mention of morality and conscience set off my alarm bells. I intend to argue here of the significance of the second characterization of this very important concept. That is, there are elements of great vulnerability and dependence on individual choice to what has been traditionally characterized as this regal and seemingly inviolable plan of nature. This isn't anything new, if we are to look at the Puruṣārthas, we see that Dharma is portrayed as an existentialist concept (i.e. Camus). What I will do here is go to the last book of Mahabharata to show Dharma in this sometimes ignored light.
Note: I'll be using this translation: http://www.mahabharataonli
It's quick and dirty, but gets the essential message across. I wasn't going to type from my max muller.
This title Mahaprasthanika Parva refers to the Great Journey where Yudhishthira (aka the king), his brothers, and common wife (long story) tell their subjects to go fuck themselves, because they're going away. So they wear bark clothing and leave their kingdom and go walking towards the wilderness. A stray dog joins them on the journey. One by one, they start falling and don't seem to reach moksha. How strange, considering that these august men (and one woman) aren't liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth?
The reasons for their imprisonment are quite clear and rational. This happens to every one but Yudhisthira, but we'll see two of the five brothers - Sahadeva and Arjuna.* I do some butchery of the text down below to keep the cast of characters to an absolute minimum.
Then Sahadeva of great learning fell down on the Earth. Beholding him drop down, [another brother] addressed the king, saying, ‘He who with great humility used to serve us all, alas, why is that [he has] fallen down on the Earth?
Yudhishthira said, ‘He never thought anybody his equal in wisdom. It is for that fault that this prince has fallen down.
What then is that for whose evil consequence this one [Arjuna] has fallen down on the Earth?’
Yudhishthira said, ‘Arjuna had said that he would consume all our foes in a single day. Proud of his heroism, he did not, however, accomplish what he had said. Hence has he fallen down. Phalguna [Sry, heroes have an irritating habit of being called 100 names] disregarded all wielders of bows. One desirous of prosperity should never indulge in such sentiments.
They all follow action -> reaction or infraction -> punishment logic that the first definition of dharma seems to imply. Yet, the whole point of this book is to subvert that notion by bringing in the law of individual creation (morality and ultimately the self) to a privileged position.
Now alone with the dog, the king reaches the threashold of heaven. Despite understanding the reasons for their return to earth and torturous rebirth, Yudhistira dares ask:
My brothers have all dropped down here. They must go with me. Without them by me I do not wish to go to Heaven, O lord of all the deities. The delicate princess deserving of every comfort should go with us. It behoveth thee to permit this.
This request is truly jaw dropping. If we are to understand Dharma as a natural law, one of rigid cause and effect, how can Yudhisthira request such a thing? This makes sense if we see Dharma as an internally generated set of values that govern life. The law of self.
This point is pressed on again. Remember that dog?
Indra (a god) said, ‘There is no place in Heaven for persons with dogs. Besides, the (deities called) Krodhavasas take away all the merits of such persons. Reflecting on this, act, O king Yudhishthira the just. Do thou abandon this dog. There is no cruelty in this.
The poet is devilishly devious here. That is, he is directly attacking the first definition of dharma. We have an existent set of rules that were defined on an astral plane and judge your actions. The consequence of this is a subordination of individual creation of morality. In short you can't say "I thought I was doing the right thing" because every action has been judged on a level above the individual.
Yudhishthira replies:
O great Indra, I shall not abandon this dog today from desire of my happiness. Even this is my vow steadily pursued, that I never give up a person that is terrified, nor one that is devoted to me, nor one that seeks my protection, saying that he is destitute, nor one that is afflicted, nor one that has come to me, nor one that is weak in protecting oneself, nor one that is solicitous of life. I shall never give up such a one till my own life is at an end
How dare he oppose the laws and procedures of heaven? My central contention is that an individually created set of values inside the person are trumping the law of heaven. In true poetic form, the dog morphs into Dharma itself and tells the sage king that this was a test to see if Yudhishthira was worthy enough. By "sticking to his guns" and defying the laws of heaven, the king reached moksha.
Dharma is a stray dog. It is weak, destitute and terrified. It is always in jeopardy if the individual does not defend it his entire life. This whole book in Mahabharata tells us that it is something that comes from inside the person and sometimes comes into conflict with the law of heaven. If Yudhisthira had understood dharma as law(1), then he would not have passed the tests of Yama (Yan in Chinese, Dai-o in Japanese) and have been endlessly reincarnated.
Wow, is this how i spent my Friday night?
----
I transcribed this largely from an argument I was having with someone a few hours ago. He was a holy roller, as zealots tend to be. It was immediately clear - a virtue of his illiteracy in what he purports to "know" that he came from the lower classes.
On Trolling - Part 1 (Monday, December 15, 2008)
To incite others is the greatest skill known to man. It comes down to reading people, finding what makes them tick, and then exploiting it. I admit that I'm not even close to being called a good troll. That honor goes to a Yale student that wanted to get pregnant, have an abortion, and paint something with the little guy's blood. Though it was a sham, the number of christ lovers who got riled up is amazing.
---
To those not in the know, Asiance is a magazine that caters to Asian girls who think or desperately want to be white. The other side of the equation are asian guys that want to convince the women that white men are all fetishists. I'm not making any judgments (i honestly couldn't care less), but this is great fodder for people like me. Oh and a tiny fraction of people there are white guys looking for "tips" i guess...
The dynamics are perfect for a trolling: internal divisions, third force, easy emotions. I decide to pretend to be a Yuppie Asian guy who works as a consultant. The name: Andrew Choi. (go ahead and laugh)
There was this article about someone who got a STD from her boyfriend and reacted by telling the world about why we should all be monogamous.
http://asiancemagazine.com
Sex and danger...my god how could I resist!
I started nicely:
Andrew Choi December 1, 2008 - 4:28pm
The question of the hour - was he white?
PERFECT response:
Jennifer Martin December 2, 2008 - 1:31am
It was an Asian guy. A white guy wouldn't do that to an Asian woman..
YES! it's about to start!!
Don December 2, 2008 - 3:37pm
How do you know Jennifer?, you are not the writer of this article. There are white, black or hispanic guys who do this and sleep around many women and think there are invincible and spread STD to their partners. This is what happens when you have unprotected sex. I am sure the are knucle head Asian men who do this but most Asian American men are culturally conservative and aware as we have statistically have a higher unmarried rate. I will give this Nancy credit to write this article and educate us about getting tested for STD if you want to engage in sex with a attractive partner even if you think she looks clean. Better safe than sorry.
Boring, but a start none the less. At this point, i wanted to jump in and re incite hatreds.
But the author decided to chime in:
Nancy Lee December 3, 2008 - 9:55pm
Hi everyone, Thank you for the feedback. I love that you post comments to my article. I will say that the man who gave me herpes was Italian Indian. So yes he was Asian. I did not feel the need to include what race he was because it does not matter. STDs do not discrimate, therefore neither should you. Please see a great article that was recently published in The Wall Street Journal on the rise in cheating among 20 year olds. http://online.wsj.com/arti
bo ho ho. When she mentioned Italian Indian, i felt heartbroken because she could effectively end the trolling. Both asian and non are to blame. Though, I could write that I never considered indians AZNs. Should I write that to start an other round. I can just imagine losers chiming in with "We are too". "Did you ever hear of the Indians who came to the US in the 1800s to California?" "what about representative Saund...first asian in congress" Thankfully, there is a god!
JD December 10, 2008 - 10:09pm
the same thing happened to me. only i'm still with him. sometimes i feel that i won't find anyone else. and you know what? it really is humiliating for it to happen to me as an asian woman. we are raised with such protection and conservatism. i feel like i betrayed my parents, my religion and my entire way of life. i sometimes feel that i can't leave. sometimes i don't want to. i'm very confused...i know i love him, i know i hate him for what he did and i know that i don't trust him. but does this mean it can happen again? mine told me he blacked out and doesn't remember it happening...he said he felt "funny" the next day. then he didn't tell me what he "thinks" happened until after he slept with me. i wish i had at least had had a chance to choose to be with him or not. i dont know...there doesn't seem to be a safe way out. it hurts if i stay and if i go...oh and by the way he is white.
After laughing at this loser for a second, i realized that I needed a different positing. Time to gain the trust of the author for later. Anyway, the were going after her, so I needed to bide my time for later in the game.
Andrew Choi December 12, 2008 - 1:22am
The biggest lie of the 21st century is that ANY kind of companionship is good as long as there's a warm body nearby. Look at what he did to you... Don't you think you deserve better? I understand that you have feelings for him, but you're acting like a battered wife.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. how sad.
Excellent, it's working! its working!!
Nancy Lee (author) December 12, 2008 - 8:15am
seriously girl, You really need to dump him..There's no telling what he will do now. Plus he now knows you'll take this from him and will really treat you like garbage.
Now phase 2 of the game:
Brandon Beatty December 14, 2008 - 1:07pm
Hey JD and Nancy, I read this article and first let me stay as a man in general, Those little boys (and I am putting the empthasis on the word LITTLE), really should have their abliity to reproduce taken from them for playing russian rollette with your lives. Frankly, they should be charged with committing a terrorist act for what they did was a equal amount of a terrorist act and not caring about the both of you. JD, I'm with the rest of the posters, dump the uncaring bastard. He has shown no remorse for what he did and you did NOTHING WRONG. I'm glad that you did not get HIV or AIDS and he should know that if he knowingly he had the AIDS virus and he had sex with you or Nancy, he Would be looking at federal charges. Keep your head up JD, you will find that man who will treat you with the respect you deserve. To Nancy, again thanks for responding to my other post and I want to stay the same thing to you like i said to JD: Keep moving on. You should not let that idiot put your life on hold because he wanted to be greedy and have cake and eat it too. You did bring serious knowledge to the posters and I hope that you continue to do so.
Here is my sizing up of Mr. Beatty. Any guy who uses "little boys" is either a pedophile or trying to look like "man" before a bunch of girls. We're older and wiser - just like daddy. Shut the fuck up, "sensitive" man. Perfect for trolling because I'll accuse him of trying to white knight an asian girl. That should incite the hardcore Asian men gender nationalists...
Andrew Choi
December 15, 2008 - 5:53pm
Brandon, why are you white knighting? You know she won't sleep with you because you're acting like a proper white gentleman standing up against the lesser.
PERFECT. Its a comment that's incendiary and should attract a lot of losers who think that some fucking talkback section matters... but there isn't much traffic here unfortunately.
---
To those not in the know, Asiance is a magazine that caters to Asian girls who think or desperately want to be white. The other side of the equation are asian guys that want to convince the women that white men are all fetishists. I'm not making any judgments (i honestly couldn't care less), but this is great fodder for people like me. Oh and a tiny fraction of people there are white guys looking for "tips" i guess...
The dynamics are perfect for a trolling: internal divisions, third force, easy emotions. I decide to pretend to be a Yuppie Asian guy who works as a consultant. The name: Andrew Choi. (go ahead and laugh)
There was this article about someone who got a STD from her boyfriend and reacted by telling the world about why we should all be monogamous.
http://asiancemagazine.com
Sex and danger...my god how could I resist!
I started nicely:
Andrew Choi December 1, 2008 - 4:28pm
The question of the hour - was he white?
PERFECT response:
Jennifer Martin December 2, 2008 - 1:31am
It was an Asian guy. A white guy wouldn't do that to an Asian woman..
YES! it's about to start!!
Don December 2, 2008 - 3:37pm
How do you know Jennifer?, you are not the writer of this article. There are white, black or hispanic guys who do this and sleep around many women and think there are invincible and spread STD to their partners. This is what happens when you have unprotected sex. I am sure the are knucle head Asian men who do this but most Asian American men are culturally conservative and aware as we have statistically have a higher unmarried rate. I will give this Nancy credit to write this article and educate us about getting tested for STD if you want to engage in sex with a attractive partner even if you think she looks clean. Better safe than sorry.
Boring, but a start none the less. At this point, i wanted to jump in and re incite hatreds.
But the author decided to chime in:
Nancy Lee December 3, 2008 - 9:55pm
Hi everyone, Thank you for the feedback. I love that you post comments to my article. I will say that the man who gave me herpes was Italian Indian. So yes he was Asian. I did not feel the need to include what race he was because it does not matter. STDs do not discrimate, therefore neither should you. Please see a great article that was recently published in The Wall Street Journal on the rise in cheating among 20 year olds. http://online.wsj.com/arti
bo ho ho. When she mentioned Italian Indian, i felt heartbroken because she could effectively end the trolling. Both asian and non are to blame. Though, I could write that I never considered indians AZNs. Should I write that to start an other round. I can just imagine losers chiming in with "We are too". "Did you ever hear of the Indians who came to the US in the 1800s to California?" "what about representative Saund...first asian in congress" Thankfully, there is a god!
JD December 10, 2008 - 10:09pm
the same thing happened to me. only i'm still with him. sometimes i feel that i won't find anyone else. and you know what? it really is humiliating for it to happen to me as an asian woman. we are raised with such protection and conservatism. i feel like i betrayed my parents, my religion and my entire way of life. i sometimes feel that i can't leave. sometimes i don't want to. i'm very confused...i know i love him, i know i hate him for what he did and i know that i don't trust him. but does this mean it can happen again? mine told me he blacked out and doesn't remember it happening...he said he felt "funny" the next day. then he didn't tell me what he "thinks" happened until after he slept with me. i wish i had at least had had a chance to choose to be with him or not. i dont know...there doesn't seem to be a safe way out. it hurts if i stay and if i go...oh and by the way he is white.
After laughing at this loser for a second, i realized that I needed a different positing. Time to gain the trust of the author for later. Anyway, the were going after her, so I needed to bide my time for later in the game.
Andrew Choi December 12, 2008 - 1:22am
The biggest lie of the 21st century is that ANY kind of companionship is good as long as there's a warm body nearby. Look at what he did to you... Don't you think you deserve better? I understand that you have feelings for him, but you're acting like a battered wife.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. how sad.
Excellent, it's working! its working!!
Nancy Lee (author) December 12, 2008 - 8:15am
seriously girl, You really need to dump him..There's no telling what he will do now. Plus he now knows you'll take this from him and will really treat you like garbage.
Now phase 2 of the game:
Brandon Beatty December 14, 2008 - 1:07pm
Hey JD and Nancy, I read this article and first let me stay as a man in general, Those little boys (and I am putting the empthasis on the word LITTLE), really should have their abliity to reproduce taken from them for playing russian rollette with your lives. Frankly, they should be charged with committing a terrorist act for what they did was a equal amount of a terrorist act and not caring about the both of you. JD, I'm with the rest of the posters, dump the uncaring bastard. He has shown no remorse for what he did and you did NOTHING WRONG. I'm glad that you did not get HIV or AIDS and he should know that if he knowingly he had the AIDS virus and he had sex with you or Nancy, he Would be looking at federal charges. Keep your head up JD, you will find that man who will treat you with the respect you deserve. To Nancy, again thanks for responding to my other post and I want to stay the same thing to you like i said to JD: Keep moving on. You should not let that idiot put your life on hold because he wanted to be greedy and have cake and eat it too. You did bring serious knowledge to the posters and I hope that you continue to do so.
Here is my sizing up of Mr. Beatty. Any guy who uses "little boys" is either a pedophile or trying to look like "man" before a bunch of girls. We're older and wiser - just like daddy. Shut the fuck up, "sensitive" man. Perfect for trolling because I'll accuse him of trying to white knight an asian girl. That should incite the hardcore Asian men gender nationalists...
Andrew Choi
December 15, 2008 - 5:53pm
Brandon, why are you white knighting? You know she won't sleep with you because you're acting like a proper white gentleman standing up against the lesser.
PERFECT. Its a comment that's incendiary and should attract a lot of losers who think that some fucking talkback section matters... but there isn't much traffic here unfortunately.
On Mattie Stepanek (Wednesday, April 15, 2009)
If the thought of attacking dead kid with muscular dystrophy offends you, I suggest you hit the back button.
---
Why is it that when we see a disabled child, we think he or she should have a fucking zen like understanding that eludes the rest of us? Handicapped people are just as dumb and petty as the rest of us. I see this kind of zen baby language whenever people talk about mattie stepanek. The first time I saw him on larry king I just wanted to call out this kid.
He wrote terrible (and I mean TERRIBLE poetry) and is obsessed with his cult. He calls himself "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played." What the fuck dude, the temerity of this guy. A peacemaker? really, did you stop the bloodshed in belfast? He captured the heart of Oprah and fuck that does it I guess. Midwestern idiots lap it up like it's ambrosia. He's just like that other fraud of the 90s Princess Diana (I'm sorry the People's Princess. Cause god knows that all men are not created equal) with a wheelchair.
I wouldn't have a problem with him, of course, if he wrote like elliot. Nope, his poems are typically like the following:
"I Am".
I am black.
I am white.
I am all skin in between.
I am young.
I am old.
I am each age that has been.
I am scrawny.
I am well fed.
I am starving for attention.
I am famous.
I am cryptic.
I am hardly worth the mention.
I am short.
I am height.
I am any frame or stature.
I am smart.
I am challenged.
...
it goes on and on
This guy is a consummate attention whore. He's book reflections of a Peacemaker has to be one of the most self indulgent pieces of poetry EVER written. On Page 21Mattie really out does himself. He writes:
Maybe, one of the people or one of the soldiers
Will read it aloud to the country of people,
And maybe, someone will hear the note
And feel the words
Remember their Heartsong...
And that can be the beginning of peace
And the beginning of the end of the war
Jee Mattie, great instrument of the lord, the people will surely put down their arms and hug each other now that they're read your divine wisdom. Why does he get away with this arrogant self worship? Because he's terminally ill? If that's true, what an awful society we live in.
Then I got thinking, if Mattie can do it why not me. I'll say I have tay sachs and produce the following awfulness:
---
Why is it that when we see a disabled child, we think he or she should have a fucking zen like understanding that eludes the rest of us? Handicapped people are just as dumb and petty as the rest of us. I see this kind of zen baby language whenever people talk about mattie stepanek. The first time I saw him on larry king I just wanted to call out this kid.
He wrote terrible (and I mean TERRIBLE poetry) and is obsessed with his cult. He calls himself "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played." What the fuck dude, the temerity of this guy. A peacemaker? really, did you stop the bloodshed in belfast? He captured the heart of Oprah and fuck that does it I guess. Midwestern idiots lap it up like it's ambrosia. He's just like that other fraud of the 90s Princess Diana (I'm sorry the People's Princess. Cause god knows that all men are not created equal) with a wheelchair.
I wouldn't have a problem with him, of course, if he wrote like elliot. Nope, his poems are typically like the following:
"I Am".
I am black.
I am white.
I am all skin in between.
I am young.
I am old.
I am each age that has been.
I am scrawny.
I am well fed.
I am starving for attention.
I am famous.
I am cryptic.
I am hardly worth the mention.
I am short.
I am height.
I am any frame or stature.
I am smart.
I am challenged.
...
it goes on and on
This guy is a consummate attention whore. He's book reflections of a Peacemaker has to be one of the most self indulgent pieces of poetry EVER written. On Page 21Mattie really out does himself. He writes:
Maybe, one of the people or one of the soldiers
Will read it aloud to the country of people,
And maybe, someone will hear the note
And feel the words
Remember their Heartsong...
And that can be the beginning of peace
And the beginning of the end of the war
Jee Mattie, great instrument of the lord, the people will surely put down their arms and hug each other now that they're read your divine wisdom. Why does he get away with this arrogant self worship? Because he's terminally ill? If that's true, what an awful society we live in.
Then I got thinking, if Mattie can do it why not me. I'll say I have tay sachs and produce the following awfulness:
Why We're Doomed (Sunday, December 7, 2008)
It popped up on Bloomberg that 4 Christmases topped the box office. I can't begin to describe the wave of shame and disappointment that washed over me.
First, look at the poster:
http://content8.flixster.c
Oh check out that sassy girl with her hands on her hips. But those boxes! If I wasn't tall enough, well shucks I'll use this shoeboxes. ANd who can forget Vince Vaughn's lame attempt to inject some sort of manliness into the mix. You looke like a pussy whipped giant oaf. If that doesn't send douche chills up your spine I don't know what can.
why would anyone go to this abortion through a projector? I can imagine the scene.
Vampire: Jesse, you know from lisa's gymnastics fundraiser, said they're going to Miami over Christmas. Remember when we did that three years ago?
Ray Ramano: (looking at Ass to Mouth and bukkake porno to get his mind of his fat wife who just totally let herself go) Yea honey?
Vampire: (stuffing the last piece of turkey into her gullet) I was thinking that we should do something like that. You know just to change the pace from work all the time.
Ray: Yea, sure
Vampire: It might put the spark back in our love life.
Ray: (shuddering) ah ha. (completely devoid of emotion) sweetie you want to hire a baby sitter and you know?
Vampire: (fatty's never full) Sure, let's go out to the olive garden. I hear they've got a new all you can eat special. Besides, I want to put my little black dress on (giggle). Just like Carrie! and you could be big!
Ray: (mumbling) oh, i didn't know you could put three in there
Vampire: What's that?
Ray: I was thinkin more like a movie.
Vampire: OH! Mandy said that movie from the guy from wedding crashers...who...i know it...its on the tip of...Vince Vaughn! she said it was really funny.
Ray: German Goo Girls?
Vampire: (fatty moves swiftly) I did movie phone (still living in 1999). It's four Christmases. I've got tickets for the 9:20 show. Well get ready honey. We hafta go now!!!
First, look at the poster:
http://content8.flixster.c
Oh check out that sassy girl with her hands on her hips. But those boxes! If I wasn't tall enough, well shucks I'll use this shoeboxes. ANd who can forget Vince Vaughn's lame attempt to inject some sort of manliness into the mix. You looke like a pussy whipped giant oaf. If that doesn't send douche chills up your spine I don't know what can.
why would anyone go to this abortion through a projector? I can imagine the scene.
Vampire: Jesse, you know from lisa's gymnastics fundraiser, said they're going to Miami over Christmas. Remember when we did that three years ago?
Ray Ramano: (looking at Ass to Mouth and bukkake porno to get his mind of his fat wife who just totally let herself go) Yea honey?
Vampire: (stuffing the last piece of turkey into her gullet) I was thinking that we should do something like that. You know just to change the pace from work all the time.
Ray: Yea, sure
Vampire: It might put the spark back in our love life.
Ray: (shuddering) ah ha. (completely devoid of emotion) sweetie you want to hire a baby sitter and you know?
Vampire: (fatty's never full) Sure, let's go out to the olive garden. I hear they've got a new all you can eat special. Besides, I want to put my little black dress on (giggle). Just like Carrie! and you could be big!
Ray: (mumbling) oh, i didn't know you could put three in there
Vampire: What's that?
Ray: I was thinkin more like a movie.
Vampire: OH! Mandy said that movie from the guy from wedding crashers...who...i know it...its on the tip of...Vince Vaughn! she said it was really funny.
Ray: German Goo Girls?
Vampire: (fatty moves swiftly) I did movie phone (still living in 1999). It's four Christmases. I've got tickets for the 9:20 show. Well get ready honey. We hafta go now!!!
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