Welp, it’s been quite a minute. First off, let me welcome all those lovely subscribers Deb Bowen sent, who are probably wondering “whut in the …..?” Please note: As soon as I let the wonders of Substack be known at work, I found myself creating one after the other for my job, and then my own stack did thusly fall by the film wayside, lol. For evidence of where I spent that time, you may feel free to peruse our film union stack local491motion.substack.com ! It’s public, and I welcome your comments.
So, yes, you may have noticed I thought at first I was gonna have time to do live recipes (HAW) when I came onboard, hahaha, but then I removed that tagline and went with EXPECT ANYTHING. I saw that recently and thought, you’d better get a move on, or change it to EXPECT NOTHING, to be truthful!
Now here we are in crazier times than any of us imagined, material to write about coming in like it was being sprayed from a double fire hose. For former teachers, we see the country being sidetracked by what looks like the worst student behavior problems of all time, who’ve been allowed to ‘take charge’ if you wanna call it that, of our nation. News outlets are reduced to real estate ads and childish clickbait, famed historic newspapers down to one serious writer and a buncha lightly-educated theiving dolts that call themselves Content Creators. The well-read are seemingly the fastest disappearing demographic in the US, and anything you can do to encourage reading now is the future peace of mind equivalent of planting trees for future shade and apples.
Fear and loathing have risen as the emotions we see most represented by all the fast fed media. Some folks fear war. Some fear political upheaval. Some fear their jobs will go away. Some fear the lack of proper medical care. Some fear the solar flash. Some fear the earthquakes and volcanoes. Some fear their neighbors. Yes, paranoia is gripping millions who can’t spell or pronounce it.
And the loathing…lord. Over color. Over sex. Over money. Over hats. The mega-man-media conglom has played you like fiddles and you take every piece of bait. I see brilliant artists meming away their whole days instead of actually studying and creating. For months. Years. Giving your energy straight away to the very fools you wish to denounce by half-assed memery. Get outside and get a hold of yourself. Are you a human or just another meme-bot cog in the machine of distraction? Ground yourself and notice the huge amount of good you could do.
Vibration is everything. You want a high one.
If you were talking about your publishing royalties instead of vibe, you’d mos def want 51% or more of your valuable royalties, and probably more control of the action. But by sharing every atrocity you see all day, you are focusing on the negative and bringing down the vibe of all who see your vibe-harshing shares all day and night. We are perpetuating the darkness we bemoan. Yes, injustice should be pointed out. But notice that 500 of you sharing the exact same bs meme designed to draw you in and infuriate you lowers the vibration of all. I began my morning surf pics/well wishes as a reminder not to get into it with hateful putzes in comment sections. I’m not saying you should take their poo, just make sure you spend your quality vibes on YOU first. Gonna implement this on myself as an example.
A good start has been totally revamping my guitar effects smorgasbord. We also hooked up with an awesome vocalist/keyboardist who has expanded our band’s sound wonderfully. We are constantly learning.
I understand that everyone is not a musician, but I encourage you to find that thing you loved forever, and have another look at it. Gardening, reading, welding, astrology…whatever floats your boat. There is something there for you. Trading out poor wastes of time for worthwhile pursuits is the name of the game now. One is being hurled at us 24/7 with great abandon. One takes time, patience and perseverance. But there is no comparison as to how the second one makes you feel- mind, body and soul.
Here is a video my friend Ed took of the old Calamity Band in the 90s at the Soapbox Laundro-Lounge. We were raising money for WHQR when I was a beloved DJ there.
It’s not audiophile quality, but it conveys a message. Or two.
Stay tuned.
