I See You There

In Response to The Zeitgeist Movement:

"The term ‘terrorist’ is an empty distinction designed for any person or group that chooses to challenge the establishment. This isn’t to be confused with the fictional ‘Al Qaeda’, which as actually the name of a computer database of the U.S.-supported Mujahadeen in the 1980′s.

In 2007, the Department of Defense received 161.8 billion dollars for the so-called global war on terrorism. According to the national counter-terrorism center, in 2004 roughly 2000 people were killed internationally due to supposed terrorist acts. Of that number, 70 were American. Using this number as a general average, which is extremely generous, it is interesting to note that twice as many people die from peanut allergies a year than from terrorist acts. Concurrently, the leading cause of death in America is coronary heart disease, killing roughly 450,000 each year. And in 2007, the government’s allocation of funds for research on this issue was about three billion dollars. This means, that the US government, in 2007, spent 54 times the amount for preventing terrorism, than it spent for preventing for the disease, which kills 6600 times more people annually, than terrorism does. Yet, as the name terrorism and Al Queda are arbitrarily stamped on every news report relating to any action taken against US interests the myth grows wider!

In mid 2008 the “US Attorney General” actually proposed, that the US congress officially declare war against the fantasy. Not to mention as of July 2008, there are now over 1 million people currently on the US terrorist watch list.

These so called “Counter-Terrorism Measures” of course had nothing to do with social protection, and everything to do with preserving the establishment amongst the growing Anti-American sentiment both domestically and internationally, which is legitimately founded on the greed based corporate empire expansion that is exploiting the world.

The true terrorists of our world, do not meet at the docks at midnight or scream “Allah Akbar” before some violent action. The true terrorists of our world, wear 5000 dollar suits, and work in the highest positions of finance, government and business."

If I had a nickel for every time some one on tumblr posted something to the effect of “don’t believe what that conservative/establishment tells you, believe what I tell you because I can blow your mind with perspective and statistics” but was being on just as shaky logical ground as conservatives...

Yeah. I’d be rich.

This person isn’t incorrect about their statistics, but there’s a lot about this that is just as knee-jerk paranoia as Glenn Beck. It's the “independent ultra-anti-government pseudo-anarchists who don’t trust authority” stuff I see on there, it's all over the place. It’s great that they want to put their two cents in and remind people never to believe anything blindly, but it’s a gaping fallacy to compare the kind of damage it does to a culture when people die from peanut allergies vs. several thousand people dying at a time because some one wanted them dead very badly. And let’s face it, if you’re not a fan of being told what to do or being threatened with violence and death by an ultra-conservative fundamentalist, May 1st, 2011 was a good day for you either way. Osama bin Laden was extremely serious about destroying those who did not believe as he did, so just because he’s not an evil we are used to calling out on tumblr every day in our comfortable progressive western existence, it’s not so trifling a matter as the threat of peanut allergies.

Sorry, I’m not trying to call these people out for sharing their opinions, but I really DO see so much knee-jerk anti-authority-don’t-trust-the-government fashion hipster nonsense on here and I think that half the time people saying it have never seriously considered that their insight might be better served repairing the system instead of unplugging from it, and this “don’t trust anyone in a suit” crap seems just a little too automatic for me. Especially when it’s in regards to the final defeat of OSAMA BIN LADEN. He was a guy who killed to defend an ideology against progressivism, feminism, sexual freedom, civil rights, and religious plurality. So yeah, I’d call him a terrorist and a pretty messed up person.

Those corrupt persons in $5,000 business suits came to furnish evil in their lives just as the rest of us do (even those without privilege): they let it seep in through weakness and greed. They had motive and opportunity and let their weaker influences lead them to turn their backs on victims they usually didn’t have to look in the eye. This is very bad, but it’s not on the same level as seeking to do violence against those who do not believe as you do. This is not the same thing as buying into fundamentalism against all the scientific information available to you today, and it’s not the same as this or this or this kind of evil. Period.

“The pieces of the bodies of infidels were flying like dust particles. If you would have seen it with your own eyes, you would have been very pleased, and your heart would have been filled with joy.”

Secret Room:

The hole to the room:


A close-up of the wallpaper (at least it isn't yellow!). Roses!




I still can't believe that this was discovered in my home after my recurring dreams on the subject! Maybe it's one of those things that magically appears just when you've learned to let go of the need to seek it!
I can't figure out what the room must have been for. It's too short to stand in, but the wallpaper seems to fit its dimensions which leads me to believe that it was built/used at it's current size.
Perhaps it was a separate attic space that the house's first occupants furnished as a playroom for their children. Who knows, it obviously hasn't been open in many many decades.

1970!

I always loved my parents' old pictures from their 'glory days' in the 1970s.
I'm actually quite envious of the sort of stuff they got up to! They traveled so much. My parents met each other in a political philosophy class, which goes to figure since I went on to become a Philosophy major; the perfect product of their union!
Anyway, here are some of my favorites from the mid to late 1970s, I'll start with Hawaii and other miscellaneous locations:


My mom.


































My dad.


























Total 70s! I love the shirt....
































San Francisco.....






Another one of my mom, with my dad reflected in her amazing 70s sunglasses! I now own that camera he's using.





















My all time FAVORITE picture of my mom:

Note the giant bowie knife and the hatchet. Because either one on it's own just wasn't enough, apparently. I have no idea what they were up to on this trek, but it looks amazing.
I know that at the time, my mom worked for the EPA as an entomologist, so she was often out and about getting dirty and playing with bugs. What a badass...
Also, my dad took all of the pictures excepting the ones he was in.

A Backlog of Art Part I

I'd like to update with some of my art, to give an idea of the sort of thing I like to create!
Let's begin with 2006-2007:
These are the years I really came out of my shell and began to grasp my own style.


This was one of the first I was really happy with, it's never been terribly popular but it holds a lot of personal significance.




Where most of my friends at the time lacked technical skill but had fantastic style and creativity, I had grasp of detail and rendering but I didn't know how to just let an image flow from my hands. I was painfully slow at producing pieces and had a tendency to come up with very contrived themes.



So I'm starting at a point when these limitations really began to right themselves and I truly began to feel happy with what I was producing.

This one in the left was my first really successful piece with any watchers. I still love it dearly, and it's my most consistently used concept to date.





Trying out new styles, textures,
and color combinations....
This is the time when I picked
up my favorite technique: mixed
media. My most often used combinations:
-pen and marker
-water color and pencil
-all of the above!
I usually use bristol or heavy water color paper.
All of the pieces featured here were also produced after a difficult break up, the first hard one of my adult life. I was engaged and my fiance left me.




Ever feel overwhelmed?
This one is the last one of that era of my life. Expressing your experiences through art is sometimes the one thing that can excise the negativity you're going through, and let you move on.
The hardest pain is the kind you can't express the words to explain, and when there's nothing else, there's always art.
Getting better at art allowed me the eloquence I needed to take the next step in life.