Hey again bloggers, or whoever could be reading this blog. It’s been a while since I have posted anything about music, music and more music on this blog. And so this post happens to be about music, music and more music and charvel available at Musicians Friend . And if you happen to be looking for anything all things music and guitars, finding them and all about them can be just a website visit away.
And as this Gregorian Calendar year still finds itself as the year 2017 here on planet earth, I still find myself reading those headline news of the day, many of which still seem to have to do with those United States Presidential Elections 2016 that still seem to be resulting in a million or more #notmypresident, March 4th for Standing Rock and now No Ban No Wall Union Square NYC Vigil protests and beyond. Though it is those Protest to Resist ICE Raids and statements on Facebook that read something like “ICE is setting up checkpoints & demanding papers on the 6 line. Two seen at 149th & Southern Parkway. Anybody without documents should avoid the 6”, that brings to mind that First They Came For The Socialists passage that also brings to mind all of those passport posts that I have posted on this blog before that seem to have something to do with banning immigrants, deporting immigrants that seems to have something to do with technology, globalism, the passport, travel, the microchip, the RFID bar code that finds itself posted in that photo above, a cashless society and that 666 anti christ mark of the beast save no man that he may buy or sell except he have the mark of the beast on his right hand or forehead thing in the world we seem to live in these days, I think.
The Passport
For what reason is the number of that passport immigration law that prohibits freedom of travel amongst humanity anywhere on planet earth, and that Section 666 Social Security Act, cashless society, national I.D., the number of your name to receive any state services and everything else in between thing, 666? Is this that save no man that he may buy or sell except that he have the mark of the beast thing in the book of Revelations. Is this written in prophecy somewhere. Did George Orwell or Nostradamus predict this? Is that a coincidence or on purpose that this law has the same number of that beast thing. And who or what is the beast, and what is that mark on ones right hand or forehead. What does that mark represent or mean, if anything. And what’s up with that UPC bar code photo that I placed in this blog entry. And for what reason do all universal product codes contain this number. What the heck does that mean? Is that the number of the beast, the number of man? And what’s that New World Order, Verichip and RFID tag thing all about. Big Brother, Brave New World and technology are here and that’s a whole another blog posting. And I have heard so many green card immigration nightmare stories about green card marriages, lotteries and green card everything else in between. Of people leaving a country and not being able to return for whatever reason. And the stories of loss of life while crossing a border, whether by land or sea. And for what reason are there boarders, divisions, restrictions, barriers and territories of land in this world. And for what reason are people not free to travel anywhere in the world without the permission of someone else. Who invented this concept. Is it possible to undo this passport, visa, citizenship, where are your papers to come here law so that everyone can be free to travel anywhere in this world. For what reason does this concept exist. And who is a foreigner. Aren’t we all strangers in this land. Is another world possible. No one is free when others are oppressed. And what does this have to do with a No Police State?
And then there’s Reverend Billy And The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE variation of that pastor Martin Niemoller passage that would be funny if it weren’t so true.
FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE druggies who tried to make their fantasy economy away from the bigger killers, but I did not speak out, because I’m white with powder cocaine. Then they came for the immigrants, flooded by Clinton’s subsidized corn and dragged screaming by ICE from their homes, and I did not speak out, because I’m sitting here waiting for my Mexican cook to bring me my pasta special. Then they came for the poverty-dizzied young from zip codes like Bed-Stuy and the Bronx, fed into the for-profit prison pipeline, and I did not speak out, because where do you start? It’s a national operation run by Wall Street. Then one day the Earth came for me, the ocean turned to acid sweeping through the streets, and I cannot protect my family, because America is declared a permanent emergency, and the cops and soldiers are the same guy, jailing us in our upstairs apartment, and no-one is left to speak for me because permits to speak in public are rationed by Chase Bank.
And what again if anything, does this have to do with a No Police State?
And in the midst of having drummed up another one of those art shows in that city of New York, I still find that it is a new year 2017 and that America has still descended into what seems like one big anti inauguration protest these first few weeks of this Gregorian calendar year as a result of those United States Presidential Elections 2016 according to that Facebook news feed and the headline news. And when I am at a lost as for what to post on this blog and my other blagh, I sometimes find myself recycling those blog posts in an attempt to maintain web 2.0 user generated content for this blog and my other blog whenever blaghers block possible. And I sometimes find myself drifting to that same “I Am No Queen” passage, that same poem and those same photos that find themselves posted above, over and over and over and over for some reason. And life continues, the cycle of life continues. And death is a part of life and I guess life is a part of death, or something like that and whatever other quotes, philosophies and saying about life and death there may be. The only thing constant is change and some stories do not end as you expect and it is the saddest story ever told.
I am no Queen
I sit a widow and shall see sorrow
I kannot walk any further
my journey may end here
there are no words to take away the pain
to replace a person who is gone
my eyes are dim and heavy with grief
I kannot close them
I do not wish to see the darkness they hold
this thing which I have greatly feared
has come upon me with trembling
kausing all my bones to shake
I am scared with dreams and terrified
with visions of what will my funeral be like
when I die today at this very moment
will there be a funeral
who will come and who will pay
will they eulogize me and what will they say
leave me to sit and decay
make me your centerpiece in a chair dressed up dead
preserve me with spices, mummify me
let the birds of the air pluck me
the beast of the field tear me
till I be consumed by maggots and
dust and fly away when I die
there hath been no greater love than
that which hath been
it is the sound of Rachael mourning for
the children that never were
no one to comfort her
no where to wail lament save the ocean
why died the not from the womb
why died they not the breast prevent them from suck
why died they not the knees prevent them
why died they not give up the ghost that
no light shine upon this day
cursed be the man that saith the child is born this day
it is the wake of a funeral procession about to begin
it was a sunny day that day across the street from the graveyard
and we all laid down in our coffins to die
Have a great life, death and poetry day.
And if I must blogger say, it was 23 degrees on this night in the middle of December during that holiday season that I found myself on one of those twice monthly Freegan trash tours, also known as dumpster diving, in that city of New York last night, that usually take place after their meetings, this one being at the Sony Public Atrium on 55th Street and Madisoin Avenue. And after thatfreegan meeting, this trash tour group of about ten or fifteen people made its way ten or fifteen blocks toward what seemed like about 70th street, stopping at what seemed like 10 different spots of various supermarkets, coffee shops, deli’s and any other kind of food stores along the way. And it was said that this was a slow night, as usually food is found at every spot, or every other spot, more than one can carry, and on this night food was only found at two or three of these ten spots, with most of the food being found at the last spot of what seemed like a gourmet natural health food store at the end of the night as in those photos that find themselves posted above. And there is also to be a freegan feast a day later after this dumpster dive of that freegan food that was found, to be shared at someones home with everyone. And from what I know, these trash tours usually take place during the hours of 9pm and 11pm, during that two hour window of when the food is put out on the sidewalk or dumpster and thrown away to when the food is picked up by the garbage trucks to throw it away. And so what exactly is freeganism and dumpster diving? Well, it has something to do with capitalism, consumerism and saving the world. And according that freegan.info website, What is a Freegan?:
Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.
After years of trying to boycott products from unethical corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn’t just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself.
Freeganism is a total boycott of an economic system where the profit motive has eclipsed ethical considerations and where massively complex systems of productions ensure that all the products we buy will have detrimental impacts most of which we may never even consider. Thus, instead of avoiding the purchase of products from one bad company only to support another, we avoid buying anything to the greatest degree we are able.
The word freegan is compounded from “free” and “vegan”. Vegans are people who avoid products from animal sources or products tested on animals in an effort to avoid harming animals. Freegans take this a step further by recognizing that in a complex, industrial, mass-production economy driven by profit, abuses of humans, animals, and the earth abound at all levels of production (from acquisition to raw materials to production to transportation) and in just about every product we buy. Sweatshop labor, rainforest destruction, global warming, displacement of indigenous communities, air and water pollution, eradication of wildlife on farmland as “pests”, the violent overthrow of popularly elected governments to maintain puppet dictators compliant to big business interests, open-pit strip mining, oil drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, union busting, child slavery, and payoffs to repressive regimes are just some of the many impacts of the seemingly innocuous consumer products we consume every day.
Is another world possible. Peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind.
And it’s that time of year yet again where another one of those holidays rolls around to where I can just recycle this blog post and post about that same holiday all over again. And in all honesty, I find myself blaghing on this day because it is Halloween on this day again, and I found myself taking a bunch of photos at that Theater for the New City Village Halloween Costume Ball yet again in that city of New York. And then there’s that annual Village Halloween Parade to be found in New York City on this day also. And that day of the dead, when the dead come to life, or something like that, started out with that guy all lit up in lights for this Halloween night atPort Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, as in those photos that find themselves posted above, and it continued with people all dressed up, and lit up in Christmas lights and all kind of lights on this night. And the costumes are always amazing to see on this day. If only every day were Halloween, then we would be free to be who we want to be, I think. Happy All Saints Day.
And I guess it’s that time of year again when that annual HONK! Fest rolls around, that festival of activist street bands that finds seemingly a ton or more activist street bands performing in Somerville, Massachusetts every year around this time of year for a weekend event. And I guess it’s also been a while since I have been to one of those HONK Festivals. And since this blagh has seemingly become about events, events and more events for when that google page rank update does not get get rich internet quick, I find myself blaghing about yet another event. And then there’s HONK NYC, which I guess you could call the New York City version of HONK! Fest, as HONK NYC has seemingly a million or more bands performing around that same weekend thereafter as HONK! Fest also, as there are so many Facebook event invites for bands performing at so many places in the New York City area that it is hard to keep track of them all, I think, such as HONK NYC! at World Maker Faire 2016, HONK! Barbès with Slavic Soul Party & The Nevermind Orchestra!, HONK NYC! at Snug Harbor with SI Museum & SI Childrens Museum, HONK! for Staten Island Art Parade and Concert!, HONK! Dance Party with Frank London & Marching Cobras, HONK NJ! at WFMU’s Monty Hall, HONK Rubulad! Brass-Tastic Blowout, HONK NYC! Percussion Workshop with Scott Kettner of Maracatu NY, HONK for More Gardens! Procession, Workshop & Performance and HONK Harlem! is Tomorrow! Whoot!, which is actually today as I type this blagh post. And so it was that Underground Horns band at that HONK NJ! at WFMU’s Monty Hall event that I found myself at for some reason or another as part of that Honk NYC event, as in some of those photos and videos that find themselves posted above. And that description for that Monty Hall Facebook event invite reads something like as follows:
HONK NYC and WFMU‘s Transpacific Sound Paradise w/ Rob Weisbergbring international brass band mayhem to NJ!
Get there EARLY for a special appearance by the Merasi Master Musicians of Rajasthan, India at 7:30! Followed by the sights and sounds of Brooklyn’s Funkrust Brass Band; New York’s first and foremost Balkan brass powerhouse Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band; the uproarious Le Pompier Poney Club of France; and the transglobal adventures ofunderground horns!
Merasi: http://www.folkartrajasthan.org/
Funkrust: http://www.funkrust.com/
Zlatne Uste Brass Band: http://www.zlatneuste.org/
Le Pompier Poney Club: http://www.lepompierponeyclub.com/
Underground Horns: http://www.undergroundhorns.com/
This concert will be recorded by the fine folks at WFMU Studio. Check out last year’s show: https://vimeo.com/143038847
Don’t miss this over-the-top international activist brass band performance spectacle in JERSEY CITY. Marching band music like you’ve never imagined, plus off-kilter dance routines, twisted baton-twirling, absurdist acrobatics, hysterical histrionics, and high school marching formations from an alternate universe!
And HONK! Fest and HONK NYC Rock. Have a great music day and more.
And so I came across this Occupy Wall Street 2016 event at Zuccotti Park in facebookland the other day and found myself at this event just yesterday, an event where there seemed to be more polizei in attendance than people, in an attempt to vend those DecorForU #berniesanders, #blacklivesmatter and #occupywallstreet necklaces, magnets, key chains and pins or $1 each at this event that was systematically shut down years ago. And Occupy Wall Street and that all things police brutality and beyond movements Black Lives Matter are still moving fast as in those photos and videos that find themselves posted above. And that Occu – Evolve schedule for that Occupy Wall Street 5 Year Anniversary at Zuccotti Park read something like:
OCCUPY WALL STREET 5 YEARS (STILL HERE)!
SCHEDULE
1:00pm-How to Stop The Empire-Special Performance by Dan Kinch
1:00pm-3:00pm-Intenational Livestream Call In @Zuccotti
2:00pm-2:45pm-System Change NOT Climate Change
8:00pm-Assembly of the 99%
8:30pm-City-Wide Convergence-March
From Wall Street to City Hall to One Police Plaza to the African Burial Ground
www.s17for2016.com
#OCCUPYWALLSTREET2016
