Sidewalk poems are written in chalk on streets—sometimes during poetic celebrations or community events, other times more unstructured and graffiti-like. I’ve written a few myself, though not directly on the pavement!
In this post, I’ll share a real set of sidewalk poems found on the street near my summer home in Medford, Oregon, followed by a few of my own sidewalk-style poems from years past.
First, you’ll find a poetic intro, then the Medford sidewalk poem (somewhere between classic sidewalk poetry and graffiti, as it wasn’t officially sanctioned). After that, I’ve included photos of the sidewalk poems, my chalk-inspired pieces, and background information provided by Copilot on related poetic forms—found poems, concrete poems, sidewalk poems, blackout poems, and erasure poems—with links for further reading. I wrap up with a few final thoughts.
Enjoy!
Sidewalk Love Poems- Love on the Street
The other day
I came upon
The following sidewalk poem
On a street in Medford, Oregon.
My wife said
They had a fight.
I asked,
Do I need
To do sidewalk
Love poetry.
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
For you?
She said,
No need.
It is obvious
On your face
That you love me.
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Medford Sidewalk Love Poem (August 2025)
😍 Always
😍 True love
I love You
Twin Love
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Twin 😍 love
Come home
Twin Love
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Don’t give
up on us
Don’t Give Up On US
meant to be
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Meant to be
ment to be
For the Best You ever Had
For the Best You Had
I 👩❤️♥️♥️♥️👩 You
I miss you.
I love You
I love You
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
♥️♥️♥️
Come home
I miss you
Come Home
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Come Home
Bobo
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Jen 4 ever
sidewalk love poem1
My Sidewalk Love Poems
I was lost
And you found me.
You walked out.
of my dreams
And into my life—
And that made
All the difference
In the world.
My love is waiting,
Waiting for me
To return
From this trip.
She is the
most beautiful
Woman
in the world.
Have you seen her—
My Angela Lee?
Tell her I love her.
Tell her.
I will be home.
I am coming.
back to her.
Co-Pilot Backgrounder
📚 Found Poetry
Found poetry is created by rearranging existing texts—from books, articles, speeches, or even street signs—into poetic form. It’s like a literary college.
The poet doesn’t write original words but selects and reshapes existing ones.
Found poetry includes several sub-categories: blackout poetry, cut-up poetry, and erasure poetry.
🕶️ Blackout Poetry
Blackout poetry is made by blacking out words from a printed page (like a newspaper or book) to reveal a new poem.
Uses a black marker to obscure unwanted words.
The remaining visible words form the poem.
Often emphasizes visual design and minimalism.
Example:
Tyler Knott Gregson:
“In my solitude I became aware of lack.
Lie near me in the starlight, quiet and free.”
Sidewalk poetry is poetry displayed in public spaces, often on sidewalks, driveways, or parks. It’s designed to delight and surprise pedestrians.
Created with chalk or etched into concrete.
Often part of city art programs or community projects.
Combines literature and visual art, sometimes with illustrations or creative lettering.
Example:
From Saint Paul’s sidewalk poetry contest:
“Though I worry that everything I held true and firm as rock
Will crumble under my feet—
I can’t forget: no paper, pen, or marble engraved
Can change the fact of my heart…”
Sidewalk Poetry: Reflection, inspiration, public art
Tone:
Graffiti: Bold, rebellious, expressive
Sidewalk Poetry: Gentle, poetic, contemplative
Audience:
Graffiti: Urban passersby, subcultures
Sidewalk Poetry: General public, pedestrians
Final Thoughts
Note: The Medford sidewalk poems were chalk-marked on the street—not spray-painted—and likely not sanctioned by the city. So, they linger somewhere between sidewalk poetry and graffiti—a little rogue, a little romantic.
Whoever left them, I hope the message landed. And best of luck to the couple behind it. As an incurable romantic, I fully endorse this kind of public love. The world could use more of it. After all, love makes us bold—it makes us scribble mad sidewalk poems in the middle of the night.
Have you stumbled across a chalked confession or a poetic whisper on the pavement? Or maybe you’ve penned one yourself? Share your sightings, your verses, your stories. Let’s turn sidewalks into storyboards—one love poem at a time.
one of my favorite Bay Area punk bands is the Psychotic Pineapple. They were most active in the 80’s and 90’s but still play on occasion.
Here’s my poetic tribute to the band.
the Berkeley mad psychotic pineapple.
was an underground Berkeley icon.
The pineapple said, “Bad Luck comes in threes.”
Last night he smoked a joint and went for a walk.
the pineapple dude encountered a cat,
not just a cat but a cosmic black cat.
and the cat was riding on a dog,
and a mouse was riding on the cat,
and the pineapple was amused to see this,
I told him only in the SF Bay area,
thinking back to when I was eight.
and wished I had a cosmic cat.
I would have made such a cacophony.
the cosmic cat was still my secret friend.
The Burns Sonnet is a Shakespearian sonnet but it does not follow traditional meter or rhyme
The Psychotic Pineapple is a Bay Area punk band that was most active in the 70s and 80s, but still gets together occasionally to play music. They sometimes played sets with the Rubinoos another Bay Area band as they often played together. They only recorded one or two albums and were best known for their wild life performances. I saw them life once and it was one of the best concert I ever went to. The members of the band are all old friends I grew up with. They were particularly know for their art work and promotional posters which always featured a psychotic pineapple playing the guitar.
The Berkeley mad psychotic pineapple
An icon of the underground was he
With luck that came in threes, he’d dabble
In cosmic visions only he could see.
One night he smoked a joint and took a stroll,
Encountered there a cat of cosmic fame,
A dog did bear the cat within his role,
And on the cat, a mouse without a name.
The pineapple, amused by what he saw,
Reflected on the scenes of SF Bay,
It made him think about the cosmic law
Of how his friend, the cat, did come to stay.
Oh, cacophony of cosmic dreams,
The cosmic cat, my friend in starlit streams.
Some background info from Co-Pilot
I found some information about the band you’re referring to! They are known as Psycotic Pineapple. Here’s a brief overview:
Formation and Era: Psycotic Pineapple was formed in Berkeley, California, in the late 1970s. They were active during the late 1970s and had a reunion show in 20122.
Music Style: They blended satirical lyrics with quirky instrumentation, creating a unique and fun sound. Their music often included unexpected elements like violinists and saxophonists2.
Band Members: The band included John Seabury (also known as John C. Berry), Henricus Van Hoffman, Alexi Karlinski, and Dave C. Berry.
Albums and Performances: They only recorded one studio album but were known for their energetic live performances, where band members would often switch instruments mid-set.
For more detailed information, you can check out their Last.fm page or look for documentaries like “Where’s the Party?” which features footage from their shows.
Psycotic Pineapple
Biography
· Members
Alex Carlin
Dave Seabury
Henricus Holtman
John Seabury
Jon Rubin
Tommy Dunbar (1974 – present)
Psycotic Pineapple is a new wave/keyboard rock/punk band from L.A. California, who formed in Berkeley in the late 70s. The band was/is fronted by John Seabury, who creates really crazy “pynoman” art with a rockin’ pineapple man. Other members included Henricus Van Hoffman (lead saw, vocals), Alexi Karlinski (organ), and Dave C. Berry (drums). They’ve got his adventures detailed online in comics which probably represent the lifetime of the band. They released their only album “Where’s The Party” in 1980. Visit http://www.pynoman.com/ for more information.
Version 3, edited by gkerby on 4 August 2007, 12:38am
Psycotic Pineapple—a late 1970s garage punk band from the Berkeley area—only recorded one studio album, but memories of the players rotating and switching instruments onstage mid-set lived on with their fans. A series of intricate drawings rendered by bassist John C. Berry (spelled Seabury elsewhere) chronicling the wild antics of a fame-hungry and (dare I say) psychotic pineapple named Pynoman appeared on the band’s show flyers and album artwork. In addition to the core lineup, shows often featured violinists, saxophonists, and other unexpected elements to amass a full, energetic, and innovative sound for its time. Hit up YouTube for a documentary called Where’s the Party?, which depicts footage from a 1979 show intertwined with a 2012 reunion show and interviews with the original members, all grown up. –Michelle Kirk (Burger, burgerrecords@gmail.com, burgerrecords.com)
Psychotic Pineapple flyer
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Psycotic Pineapple were a hard to define East Bay band that often played the Keystone Berkeley. They blended satirical lyrics with quirky instrumentation to create a fun time. This flyer shows them playing a gig at the club with No Sisters, another band that played new wave and had a sense of humor. The silliness and fun early Bay Area punk bands had was lots of times set it apart from the more serious bands on the East Coast or L.A.
The Rubinoos
Another favorite band of my is the Rubinoos. The lead guitar player is a first grade classmate.
For some reason they have a big following in Spain and in Japan.
I have seen them live several times and have a number of their CD’s.
In November 1970, Tommy Dunbar and Jon Rubin formed the Rubinoos to play at a dance for Bay High School in Berkeley, California. Other founding members included Greg ‘Curly’ Keranen, Alex Carlin, Ralph Granich and Danny Wood. Inspired by siblings’ 45s and the Cruisin’ vintage radio recreations LP series, Jon Rubin and the Rubinoos played rock and roll oldies. Songs included covers of Chubby Checker, Bill Haley and the Comets, the Dovells, the Troggs, Little Eva, the Chiffons, and others.
Soon after the performance at Bay High School, where Rubin and Dunbar were enrolled, the original band dissolved. In May 1971, they shortened the name to the Rubinoos and reformed as a quartet with Donn Spindt on drums and Tom Carpender on bass. The group now focused on original material by Dunbar, in association with Rubin and others.
The band’s early development was assisted and inspired by the success of Earth Quake, whose lead guitarist and principal songwriter was Tommy Dunbar’s older brother, Robbie Dunbar. The Rubinoos often appeared as an opening act for Earth Quake in clubs, such as Berkeley’s Longbranch Saloon and the Keystone Berkeley.
After the expiration of their contract with A&M Records, Earth Quake, along with their manager, Matthew King Kaufman, founded Beserkley Records and started recruiting additional talent. This included Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and the Rubinoos.
In June 1973, Greg ‘Curly’ Keranen re-joined the group. In September 1974, they recorded a cover of the DeFranco Family‘s “Gorilla”, released as a single and included on the Beserkley Chartbusterscompilation album. The group also provided accompaniment for Jonathan Richman on two Chartbuster cuts, “The New Teller” and “Government Center.” Shortly after the release of “Chartbusters” Keranen left the Rubinoos to join Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. He was replaced by Royse Ader.
One ‘high point’ of the band’s early career included a performance at Bill Graham’s Winterland Auditorium, September 24, 1974, on a bill with the Jefferson Starship. At this concert, the Rubinoos were joined on stage by Jonathan Richman, who danced to their version of the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar“. This was greeted with intense booing and a pelting of unripe bananas by members of the audience. Their closer “The Pepsi Generation Theme Song” provoked an even more hostile reaction from the crowd.[2] However, the band was the first mentioned and main focus of all the reviews of the concert.
In 1977, Beserkley released The Rubinoos, the group’s eponymous debut album. It was well-reviewed and New York Rocker called it “The Best Pop Album of the Decade.” The single, a cover of Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now,” reached No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Beserkley’s first hit. The group appeared on American Bandstand (live), So It Goes (by video) and Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary television special in which they were cast as a garage band, performed a tribute to the newly deceased Elvis Presley and morphed into claymation figures. Along with these accomplishments, The Rubinoos had a number one single in Modesto, California, for 13 weeks, one of their concerts was raffled off to a high school by Burger King, and they appeared in Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine many times.
The group’s next album, Back to the Drawing Board (1979), featured the single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” which had been released in 1978 and received heavy airplay in England and Europe. In support of this album, the Rubinoos appeared on Rock Goes To College, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Pop and opened 56 shows for Elvis Costello on the U.S. portion of his 1979 Armed Funk tour.
Rubinoos 1978
In 1980 Royse Ader was replaced by Al Chan. The Rubinoos then recorded the demos for a third album which never came to fruition. These demos, released in the 1990s as Basement Tapes, engineered by well known audio guru, Dan Alexander, is still thought to be one of their best efforts. Spindt and Chan left the group in 1982 when Tommy and Jon decided to move to Los Angeles. In 1983, the group, now consisting of just Rubin and Dunbar, signed with Warner Bros. Records and released the Mini LP Party of Two, produced by Todd Rundgren. Party of Two yielded the single and cult classic music video “If I Had You Back,” which received heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. In 1984, they recorded the title song “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Breakdown” for the film Revenge of the Nerds.
The Rubinoos began a long sabbatical in 1985. In 1989, Dunbar, Spindt, Chan, and John Seabury formed the group Vox Pop and recorded an album of material, co produced by Dunbar and Dan Alexander at Alexanders Coast Recorders. Also in 1989, Jon Rubin joined the noted Los Angeles a cappella Doo Wop group the Mighty Echoes. During the 1990s, two compilation CDs, Basement Tapes and Garage Sale, were released. Their success led to the end of the Rubinoos sabbatical and a new album, Paleophonic (1999), produced by Kevin Gilbert. This album did not see the light of day until the Rubinoos’ performance, their first in seven years, at the 1999 International Pop Overthrow Festival in Los Angeles. The lineup at IPO featured Rubin, Dunbar, Chan and Spindt. In 2000 Tommy and Jon were hired to sing the Flo and Eddie parts of Frank Zappa‘s 200 Motels at three concerts with the Netherlands’ Philharmonic. In 2002, the Rubinoos toured Spain and Japan, released the all-covers Crimes Against Music (2002) and recorded the album Live in Japan (2004). In 2005, the group reunited with their original producer, Gary Phillips, to record Twist Pop Sin (2006). In 2007, Castle Communications issued the 63-song retrospective Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos. Also in 2007, the Rubinoos toured Japan and released a two CD compilation titled One Two That’s It. In 2009, the band toured Spain and released the compilation CD HodgePodge which featured one newly recorded track, a cover of the Hollies‘ classic, “Bus Stop.”
In July 2007, Dunbar and songwriter James Gangwer filed a lawsuit for infringement of copyright against singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne for her 2007 single “Girlfriend“; producer Dr. Luke, RCA Records, and Apple were also named as defendants in the suit.[3] Dunbar and Gangwer alleged that Lavigne plagiarized the Rubinoos’ 1979 single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”.[4] Lavigne denied these accusations and claimed that she had never even heard of the Rubinoos before.[3] In January 2008, an undisclosed settlement was reached between the two parties.[5] Dunbar and Gangwer later released a statement in which they claimed to “completely exonerate” Lavigne and Dr. Luke from any wrongdoing.[6]
The Rubinoos 1980
Music criticJohn M. Borack called Paleophonic No. 36 in his list of the best power pop albums of all time, praising its “trademark pitch-perfect harmonies”.[1]
In January 2010, the Rubinoos played their first kids show in support of their first all-ages CD, Biff-Boff-Boing. The CD is a mix of covers and new originals.
In May 2010, to coincide with their Spain/Italy tour, the Rubinoos released their first new original album in five years—Automatic Toaster, produced by Robbie Rist.
In 2015, to celebrate their 45th anniversary the band released the appropriately titled album 45. They continued to tour in Europe and Japan with a few sporadic dates in the US.
In 2018, the group signed with Yep Roc Records, their first exclusive record deal since the 1980s. Long-time fan and noted singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet was tapped to produce. The album, From Home, released in 2019, was recorded with the same technique as their first sessions, playing all at once in the same room, recorded to analog tape. This was done at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, formerly Wally Heider Studios, where the group made some of its first recordings.
With the onset of the Covid epidemic in 2020, the Rubinoos’ live performing schedule was put on hold for a couple of years. In June 2021, Yep Roc Records released a live to two track recording of the Rubinoos done in 1976 at CBS Folsom Street Studios in San Francisco, entitled The CBS Tapes. The album includes three never released original songs and eight rare covers. This was followed by a re-issue of the group’s eponymous first LP, The Rubinoos, which was a Record Store Day selection. In September 2021, the group scored a placement of their hit version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” on the Season Three premier of the Netflix hit comedy Sex Education.
In 2022, the band had their cult classic “Rock and Roll is Dead” used as end title music for the first episode of the HBO hit Irma Vep. In July, the Rubinoos resumed live performing, starting with a bang up show at the Oakland California Punk/Pop festival Mosswood Meltdown. The surge of Covid at the end of 2022 slowed live performing for a bit longer.
In 2023, Yep Roc Records re-issued the group’s second LP, Back to the Drawing Board, which was also a featured pick at Record Store Day. In October, the Rubinoos set out for Europe to headline the Caravaca Power Pop Festival and tour of Spain.
in 2024 the Rubinoos are scheduled to return to Europe for a multi-country tour and a summer tour of the East Coast of the United States.
Formation and Era: Dead Kennedys formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. They were active from 1978 to 1986 and then reformed in 20011.
Music Style: They are known for their punk rock and hardcore punk Their music often featured frenetic energy and provocative lyrics.
Notable Songs: Some of their most famous songs include “California Über Alles,” “Holiday in Cambodia,” and “Kill the Poor.”
Band Members: The original lineup included Jello Biafra (vocals), East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Flouride (bass), and Ted (drums). D.H. Peligro replaced Ted in 1981 and remained with the band until his death in 20221.
Albums: Their debut album, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” (1980), is considered a classic. They also released “In God We Trust, Inc.” (1981), “Plastic Surgery Disasters” (1982), “Frankenchrist” (1985), and “Bedtime for Democracy” (1986)1.
Legacy: Dead Kennedys are known for their political activism and satirical lyrics that addressed social and political issues. They have left a lasting impact on the punk rock genre2.
Some of their most popular albums include American Idiot (2004), which was a rock opera that resonated with a younger audience, and 21st Century Breakdown (2009), which achieved their best chart performance. They have won multiple Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 20152.
Before taking its current name in 1989, the band was named Blood Rage, then Sweet Children. They were part of the late 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. The band’s early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! Records, including their first album, 39/Smooth (1990). For most of the band’s career, they have been a power trio[3] with Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band’s second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). Though the albums Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997) and Warning (2000) did not match the success of Dookie, they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum status, while
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978.[1] The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.[2]
Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride, lead vocalist Jello Biafra, drummer Ted and rhythm guitarist 6025, 6025 left in 1979, and Ted left the following year after the band recorded their acclaimed first album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980). The band’s longest-serving drummer was D. H. Peligro, who replaced Ted in 1981 and remained until his death in 2022. Dead Kennedys recorded the EP In God We Trust Inc. (1981), followed by three more studio albums, Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982), Frankenchrist (1985), and Bedtime for Democracy (1986), the latter of which was recorded and released shortly after announcing their breakup in January 1986. Most of the band’s recordings were released on Alternative Tentacles, an independent record label founded by Biafra and East Bay Ray.
Following Dead Kennedys’ dissolution, Biafra continued to run Alternative Tentacles, and went on to collaborate and record with other artists, including D.O.A., NoMeansNo and his own bands Lard and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, as well as releasing several spoken word performances. In 2000 (upheld on appeal in 2003), Biafra lost an acrimonious legal case initiated by his former Dead Kennedys bandmates over songwriting credits and unpaid royalties. In 2001, the band reformed without Biafra; various singers have since been recruited for vocal duties. Although Dead Kennedys have continued to perform over the years, they have not released any more studio albums since Bedtime for Democracy.
Dead Kennedys’ lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing political figures and authority in general, as well as popular culture and even the punk movement itself. During their initial incarnation between 1978 and 1986, they attracted considerable controversy for their provocative lyrics and artwork. Several stores refused to stock their recordings, provoking debate about censorship in rock music; in the mid-1980s, vocalist and primary lyricist Jello Biafra became an active campaigner against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). This culminated in an obscenity trial between 1985 and 1986, which resulted in a hung jury and also hastened the band’s demise.
Dead Kennedys were formed in June 1978 in San Francisco, California, when East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) advertised for bandmates in the newspaper The Recycler, after seeing a ska-punk show at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco.[3] The original band lineup consisted of East Bay Ray on lead guitar, Klaus Flouride (Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, Jello Biafra (Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, Ted (Bruce Slesinger) on drums and 6025 (Carlos Cadona) on rhythm guitar. This lineup recorded their first demos. Their first live show was on July 19, 1978 at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California. They were the opening act on a bill that included DV8 and Negative Trend with The Offs headlining.[1]
Dead Kennedys played numerous shows at local venues afterward. Due to the provocative name of the band, they sometimes played under pseudonyms, including “The DK’s”, “The Sharks”, “The Creamsicles” and “The Pink Twinkies”. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote in November 1978, “Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called ‘The Dead Kennedys’, which will play at Mabuhay Gardens on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.” Despite mounting protests, the owner of Mabuhay declared, “I can’t cancel them NOW—there’s a contract. Not, apparently, the kind of contract some people have in mind.”[4] However, despite popular belief, the name was not meant to insult the Kennedy family, but according to Ray, “the assassinations were in much more poor taste than our band. We actually respect the Kennedy family. . . . When JFK was assassinated, when Martin Luther King was assassinated, when RFK was assassinated, the American Dream was assassinated. . . . Our name is actually homage to the American Dream.”[5]
6025 left the band in March 1979 under somewhat unclear circumstances, generally considered to be musical differences. In June, the band released their first single, “California Über Alles“, on Biafra and East Bay Ray’s independent label, Alternative Tentacles. The band followed with a poorly attended East Coast tour, being a new and fairly unknown band at the time, without a full album release.
In early 1980, they recorded and released the single “Holiday in Cambodia“. In June, the band recorded their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, released in September of that year on the UK label Cherry Red. The album reached number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. Since its initial release, it has been re-released by several other labels, including IRS, Alternative Tentacles, and Cleopatra. The newest reissue—the special 25th-anniversary edition—features the original artwork and a bonus 55-minute DVD documenting the making of the album as well as the band’s early years.[6]
On March 25, 1980, Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in an effort to give the event some “new wave credibility”, in the words of the organizers. The day of the performance was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit “California über alles”. The band became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra stopped the band—in a manner reminiscent of Elvis Costello’s Saturday Night Live appearance—and said, “Hold it! We’ve gotta prove that we’re adults now. We’re not a punk rock band, we’re a new wave band.” The band, all wearing white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song titled “Pull My Strings”, a barbed, satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry, which contained the lyrics, “Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?”. The song also referenced The Knack‘s song “My Sharona“. “Pull My Strings” was never recorded for a studio release, though the performance at the Bay Area Music Awards, which was one of only two times that the song was ever performed, was released on the band’s 1987 compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. In a 2017 interview about the show Klaus stated, “We did one other performance of it at The Mabuhay and that was the only other time we performed it… like within a week of the Bammies”[7] It’s unknown if this performance was ever recorded.
In January 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February 1981. His replacement was D. H. Peligro (Darren Henley). Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign to the major record label Polydor Records; Biafra stated that he was prepared to leave the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign to the label,[8] though East Bay Ray asserts that he recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor decided not to sign the band after they learned that Dead Kennedys’ next single was to be entitled “Too Drunk to Fuck“.
When “Too Drunk to Fuck” came out in May 1981 it caused controversy in the UK, as the BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30, which would necessitate its title being mentioned on Top of the Pops. It was never played, although it was simply called “‘Too Drunk’ by the Kennedys” by presenter Tony Blackburn.
In God We Trust, Inc., Plastic Surgery Disasters and Alternative Tentacles Records (1981–1985)
Dead Kennedys in 1983. From left: Klaus Flouride, Jello Biafra, D.H. Peligro, and East Bay Ray
After Peligro joined the band, the extended play In God We Trust, Inc. (1981) saw them move toward a more aggressive hardcore/thrash sound. In addition to the EP’s controversial artwork depicting a gold Christ figure on a cross of dollar bills, the lyrics contained Biafra’s most biting social and political commentary yet, and songs such as “Moral Majority“, “Nazi Punks Fuck Off!” and “We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now” placed Dead Kennedys as the spokesmen of social protest, while “Dog Bite”, a cover version of Rawhide and various joke introductions showed a much more whimsical side. In 1982, they released their second studio album, Plastic Surgery Disasters. The album’s cover features a withered starving African child’s hand being held and dwarfed by a white man’s hand, a picture that had won the World Press Photo award in 1980, taken in Karamoja district in Uganda by Mike Wells.
The band’s music had evolved considerably in a short time, moving away from hardcore formulae toward a more innovative jazz-informed style, featuring musicianship and dynamics far beyond other bands in the genre (thus effectively removing the music from that genre). By now the group had become a de facto political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right, Ronald Reagan and the idle rich. The band continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, and gained a large underground following. While they continued to play live shows during 1983 and 1984, they took a break from releasing new records to concentrate on the Alternative Tentacles record label, which would become synonymous with DIY alternative culture. The band continued to write and perform new material during this time, which would appear on their next album (some of these early performances can be seen in the DMPO’s on Broadway video, originally released by Dirk Dirksen and later reissued on Rhino).
The release of the album Frankenchrist in 1985 showed the band had grown in musical proficiency and lyrical maturity. While there were still a number of loud/fast songs, much of the music featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Around this time Klaus Flouride released the similarly experimental solo EP Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as “MTV Get Off The Air” and “Jock-O-Rama (Invasion of the Beef Patrol)” poking fun at mainstream America.
However, the controversy that erupted over H.R. Giger‘s Penis Landscape, included as an insert with the album, dwarfed the notoriety of its music. The artwork caused a furor with the newly formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the Wherehouse Records store in Los Angeles County.[9] The girl’s mother wrote letters of complaint to the California Attorney General and to Los Angeles prosecutors.[9] In June 1986, members of the band, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The store where the teen actually purchased the album was never named in the lawsuit.[9] The criminal charges focused on an illustration by H.R. Giger, titled “Work 219: Landscape XX” (also known as Penis Landscape). Included as a poster with the album, Penis Landscape depicts nine copulating penises and vaginas.[10]
Members of the band and others in the chain of distribution were charged with violating the California Penal Code[11] on a misdemeanor charge carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2,000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Susan Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics.[12] The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam Records), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying Frankenchrist to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.[9]
In August 1987, the case went to the jury with two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager).[9] However, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury, split 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal. District Attorneys Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by Judge Isacoff, Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles.[13] The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.
After the break up of the band, Jello Biafra brought up the court case on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Biafra was on the show with Tipper Gore as part of a panel discussion on the issues of “controversial music lyrics” and censorship.[14]
In addition to the obscenity lawsuit, the band became increasingly disillusioned with the underground scene as well. The hardcore scene, which had been a haven for free-thinking intellectuals and downtrodden nonconformists, was attracting a more violent audience that imposed an increasing level of brutality on other concertgoers and began to alienate many of the bands and individuals who had helped pioneer the movement in the early 1980s. In earlier years the band had criticized neo-Nazi skinheads for trying to ruin the punk scene, but just as big a problem was the popularity of increasingly macho hardcore bands, which brought the group (and their genre) an audience that had little to do with the ideas/ideals they stood for. Biafra penned new songs such as “Chickenshit Conformist” and “Anarchy for Sale” that articulated the band’s feelings about the “dumbing down” of punk rock. During the summer they recorded these for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy, which was released in November. The artwork, depicting a defaced Statue of Liberty overrun with Nazis, media, opportunists, Klan members, corrupt government officials, and religious zombies, echoed the idea that neither America itself or the punk scene were safe havens any more for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. The album contains a number of fast/short songs interspersed with jazz (“D.M.S.O.”), spoken word (“A Commercial”) and psychedelia (“Cesspools In Eden”).[citation needed]
The band decided to split up in January 1986, prior to the recording and release of Bedtime for Democracy, and played their last live show with the original lineup on 21 February.[15][16] Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Flouride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.
Reforming of new band line-up and death of Peligro (2001–present)
In 2001, Ray, Peligro, and Flouride reformed the Dead Kennedys, with former Dr. Know singer Brandon Cruz replacing Biafra on vocals. The band played under the name “DK Kennedys” for a few concerts, but later reverted to “Dead Kennedys” permanently. They played across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Russia. Brandon Cruz left the band in May 2003 and was replaced by Jeff Penalty. The band has released two live albums of archival performances on Manifesto Records: Mutiny on the Bay, compiled from various live shows including a recording from their last show with Biafra in 1986, and Live at the Deaf Club, a recording of a 1979 performance at the Deaf Club in San Francisco which was greeted with more enthusiasm.
On October 9, 2007, a best of album titled Milking the Sacred Cow was released. It includes two previously unreleased live versions of “Soup Is Good Food” and “Jock-O-Rama”, originally found on Frankenchrist.
Jeff Penalty left the band in March 2008 in what he describes as a “not amicable split.”[17] In a statement released, Jeff said that, following a series of disputes, the band had secretly recruited a new singer and played a gig in his neighbourhood, although he also stated he was “really proud of what we were able to accomplish with Dead Kennedys”.[17] He was replaced by former Wynona Riders singer Ron “Skip” Greer. D. H. Peligro also left the band to “take some personal time off”. He was replaced for a tour by Translator drummer Dave Scheff.[18]
On August 21, 2008, the band announced an extended break from touring due to the health-related issues of Flouride and Peligro. They stated their plans to collaborate on new projects. The band performed a gig in Santa Rosa, California in June 2009, with Peligro returning to the drum kit.[19]
In August 2010, Dead Kennedys announced plans for a short East Coast tour. The lineup assembled for this tour contained East Bay Ray, Peligro, Greer, and bassist Greg Reeves replacing Flouride, who was taking “personal time off” from the band.[20][21] The tour dates included performances in Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Portland, Maine and Hawaii.[22] The band has played a reworked version of their song “MTV Get Off the Air”, re-titled “MP3 Get Off the Web”, with lyrics criticizing music piracy during their October 16, 2010, concert at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.[23]
Dead Kennedys had world tours in 2013 and in 2014, the latter mostly in North American cities. In 2015 and 2016 they toured again, including South America, where they had not played since 2001.
In 2017, East Bay Ray revealed that the band and Jello Biafra had been approached by the Punk-oriented music festival Riot Fest about a potential reunion. While Ray and the rest of the band expressed interest in the concept, Biafra refused.[24]
On April 26, 2019, the group released DK40, a live compilation album celebrating 40 years since the band formed.[25]
On October 28, 2022, D.H. Peligro died from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl, although it was initially believed to have been from possible head trauma from a fall at his home that day.[26][27] Since Peligro’s death, the band has performed in the UK with Santi Guardiola and the United States with Steve Wilson (who had played in D.H.Peligro’s band Peligro before) filling in on drums.
In the late 1990s, former band members discovered they were being underpaid in terms of royalties from Alternative Tentacles. East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, and D. H. Peligro claimed that Jello Biafra had conspired to pay them lower royalty rates and then attempted to disguise the precise nature of the money owed. Biafra claimed that the failure to pay these royalties was an accounting mistake.[28][29]
In 1998, the other three members of the band sued Biafra over these allegedly unpaid royalties. A jury ruled in their favor in May 2000, finding Biafra and Alternative Tentacles “guilty of malice, oppression and fraud“.[30] Malice was defined for the jury as “conduct which is intended to cause injury or despicable conduct which is carried with a willful and conscious disregard for the rights of others”.[31] Biafra’s appeal was denied in June 2003; he had to pay the outstanding royalties as well as punitive damages,[32] and was forced to hand over the rights to the majority of Dead Kennedys’ back catalogue to the Decay Music partnership.[32][33]
This dispute caused minor waves within punk circles. Biafra claims that East Bay Ray had long expressed displeasure with Alternative Tentacles and with the amount of money he received from them, thus the original incentive for the discovery of the back payments. It was found out that Alternative Tentacles was paying Dead Kennedys less per CD than all the other bands, including Biafra himself, and not informing his other bandmates, which was the fraud. Biafra accused the band of wanting to license the famous Dead Kennedys song “Holiday in Cambodia” for use in a Levi’s jeans commercial, which the band denied.[34] However, an instrumental loop from “Holiday in Cambodia” was part of the 1981 black comedy feature film Neighbors, though it was not included on the soundtrack. The band maintains that the Levi’s story was completely fictitious and invented by Biafra to discredit them.[33]
Matters were stirred up even further when the three bandmates invited Jello Biafra to “bury the hatchet” in the form of a band reunion. Jello Biafra felt it was unprofessional because no one contacted him directly. In addition, Biafra was disdainful of the reunion, and having long expressed his disdain for nostalgia and rock reunion/oldies tours in particular, argued that the whole affair was motivated by greed.[34]
Several DVDs, re-issues, and live albums have been released since the departure of Biafra most recently on Manifesto Records. According to Biafra, the live albums are “cash-ins” on Dead Kennedys’ name and his music. Biafra also accused the releases of the new live material of having poor sound quality. Furthermore, he has stated he is not receiving any royalties from the sale of any Manifesto Records releases. Consequently, he has discouraged fans from buying any Dead Kennedy reissues. The other band members denied Biafra’s accusations regarding the live releases, and have defended the mixes as an effort of hard work. Biafra dismissed the new group as “the world’s greediest karaoke band.” Nevertheless, in 2003, Klaus Flouride said of performances without the band’s former frontman: “There hasn’t been a show yet that people didn’t really like.”[35]
Biafra further criticized them for advertising shows using his own image taken from the original 1980s incarnation of the band, which he labeled as false advertising. He attacked the reformed Dead Kennedys in a song called “Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)“, which appears on his second collaboration with sludge metal band the Melvins, Sieg Howdy!
Biafra told an audience at a speaking gig in Trenton, New Jersey, that the remaining Dead Kennedys have licensed their single “Too Drunk to Fuck” to be used in a rape scene in a Robert Rodriguez movie. The reference is to a lounge cover of the song, recorded by the band Nouvelle Vague, played during a scene in the Planet Terror segment of Grindhouse, although no rape takes place, and in fact the would-be rapist is killed by the would-be victim. The scene in Planet Terror has would-be rapist, “Rapist No. 1” (Quentin Tarantino) order one-legged stripper “Cherry Darlin” (Rose McGowan) to get up off the floor and dance. At this point Tarantino hits play on a cassette recorder and Nouvelle Vague’s cover of “Too Drunk To Fuck” plays. Biafra, disapproving of the situation, later wrote, “This is their lowest point since Levi’s… This goes against everything the Dead Kennedys stands for in spades… The terrified woman later ‘wins’ by killing Tarantino, but that excuse does not rescue this at all. I wrote every note of that song and this is not what it was meant for…. Some people will do anything for money. I can’t help but think back to how prudish Klaus Flouride was when he objected to H. R. Giger’s painting on the “Frankenchrist” (sic) poster, saying he couldn’t bear to show it to his parents. I’d sure love to be a fly on the wall when he tries to explain putting a song in a rape scene for money to his teenage daughter… The deal was pushed through by a new business manager the other three hired.”[36]
The reformed Dead Kennedys followed their court victory by releasing reissues of all Dead Kennedys albums (except Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, to which they did not have the rights until 2005), releasing several new archival concert DVDs, and licensing several songs to The Manchurian Candidate remake and the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game. East Bay Ray claims he received a fax from Alternative Tentacles purporting Biafra approved the licensing for the game.[37]
The band claims on their website that they still pay close attention to an anti-corporate ideology, despite performing on September 5, 2003, at a festival in Turkey that was sponsored by Coca-Cola, noting that they have since pulled out of a show in Los Angeles when they found that it was being sponsored by Coors. However, Biafra claims the previous licensing deals prove otherwise.[38]
Dead Kennedys have been described as one of the first hardcore punk bands.[39] They were noted for the harshness of their lyrics, which generally combined biting social satire while expressing a staunchly left-wing view of contemporary America.[40] Unlike other leftist punk bands who use more direct sloganeering, Dead Kennedys’ lyrics were often snide. For example, “Holiday in Cambodia” is a multi-layered satire targeting both yuppies and Cambodia’s recently deposed Khmer Rouge regime. Or, on “Jock-O-Rama”, featured on Frankenchrist, they mock southern small towns whose residents’ lives revolve around high school football.
The original logo was created by Winston Smith. He later contributed artwork for the covers of In God We Trust, Inc., Plastic Surgery Disasters, Frankenchrist, Bedtime for Democracy, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death, the back cover of the “Kill the Poor” single and the Alternative Tentacles logo. When asked about the “DK” logo in an interview, Jello Biafra explained, “…I wanted to make sure it was something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place, and then I showed it to Winston Smith. He played around with it, came back with a bunch of designs that had the circle and slightly 3-D looking letters and he had ones with different patterns behind it. I liked the one with bricks, but ultimately I thought simple red behind it was the boldest and the best.”[41]
Byukchoji garden is a wonderful, beautiful botanical garden located in Paju County north of Seoul and not too far from the DMZ. It spans over 130,000 square meters and has a mixture of Eastern and western themed gardens divided into six thematic areas – Sensational, Mythical, Mindful, Breathtaking, Adventurous, and Freedom. There is a decent coffee shop, bakery and restaurant on site. There is also a nice art gallery showing pictures of famous botanical gardens from around the world and photos of the gardens taken by visitors.
There is also a garden shop with flowers and plants for sale. At the entrance gate, be sure to pick up the useful bilingual (Korean and English) guide map. It takes about an hour to walk around and truly appreciate the gardens. There is a very nice lotus pound in the center–the lotus flowers are in bloom in mid to late summer. The park is especially pretty in the Spring and Fall season.
Transportation options
To visit Byukchoji Garden from Seoul, you have several transportation options:
Note: to get there from Camp Humphreys take the GTX train from Pyeongtaek station, get off at Yongsan Station, got to Seoul station, then either take the subway or bus. The total trip should take about two hours. The park entry closes at 6 pm. The cost is quite modest, about 9,000 won (US$ 7) per person.
To get to First Garden using public transportation, you can follow these steps:
From Camp Humphreys take the GTX line from Pyeongtaek station to Yongsan Station, then take the subway to Seoul station, take the Airport Express train one stop to Bangkok station then the Gyeongi Jungang subway and get off at Unjeong station and take either the bus or taxi. Total travel time is about two hours. The park is open until 9 pm seven days a week and has several restaurant options on site.
Subway: Take the Gyeongi Jungang subway line and get off at Unjeong Station.
Alternatively, taking a taxi from Unjeong Station to First Garden is also a convenient option, especially if you’re traveling in a group of 3-4 people. The taxi fare is approximately 10,000 won1.
The cost is also 9,000 won or US$7).
For more information, see the following:
The Paju Byukchoji Gardens, also known as The Botanical Garden BCJ, is one of the famous breathtaking tourist attractions in South Korea, which was founded in 1965. This garden is located in the village of Changman-ri in Paju’s Gwangtan Township. The BCJ Gardens is spread over a vast 130,000 square meters with the polyphony of Eastern Gardens and Western Gardens as its main theme. This is also one of the K-Dreamland staples.
Apart from that, the Garden is sorted into 6 amazing themes: Sensational, Mythical, Mindful, Breathtaking, Adventurous, and Freedom. As the name suggests, each themed portion of the Garden gives you a blissful experience.
Sensational Tour
The Sensational part of the garden greets you first as soon as you enter the BCJ Botanical Garden. This part of the garden has the majestic Queen’s Garden, which is surrounded by Wildflowers, potted herbs, and shrubs that look dramatically beautiful. The pine tree-lined grove is also a beautiful display to savor your eyes.
Mythical Tour
As you go through the tree-lined lane, you will find the Mythical area that is enclosed in Marley Castle’s gilded gates of Paju Byukchoji Gardens. This area covers some of the ancient sculpture gardens of Greece and Italy. Also, you can find a few sculptures that are done in honor of the Greek God Apollo and Italian artist Michaelangelo.
Mindful Tour
Then comes the Mindful-themed area, which is mostly covered by green natural forested paths, you will also find a nicely constructed wooden bridge over a pond which is one of the attractions of this area. The most captivating thing is the Waterfall in this area, which will comfort your eyes and release the tension from your body with its enchanting presence.
Breathtaking Tour
Right after the Waterfall comes to the Breathtaking area, and as the name suggests, it is truly a breathtaking sight. The wooden walkway on the Byukchoji Pond is just an amazing scene and bridge to walk upon, with many flowers in the pond. Needless to say, this is the pinnacle of BCJ Gardens.
Adventurous Tour
The Adventurous area is quite an adventure for kids, as it mainly consists of a birch forest playground and other things which attract kids to play in; other than that, there isn’t much to explore here.
Freedom Tour
Moving on to the final themed area Freedom. This part of the garden is filled with flower-covered arches, grassy fields, and a road completely dedicated to the harmonious reunification of North and South Korea.
European and Asian-style gardens are the main attraction that brings people from various parts to have a look and enjoy the moment. The main highlight of these gardens is that it is good for kids and also for the people around the place to spend a good day with their loved ones. They also provide Wheelchair accessibility at the entrance for the disabled, which is a plus point.
Timings and Entry Fee
The Paju Byukchoji Gardens is open every day from 9 am-7 pm. To enjoy this beautiful garden at a slow pace, you need at least 3hrs, so make sure you are on time. And the tourists who arrive after 6 pm are basically out of luck as the ticket sales close at 6 pm. The adult ticket is 9.500 KRW.
European and Asian-style gardens are the main attraction that brings people from various parts to have a look and enjoy the moment. The main highlight of these gardens is that it is good for kids and also for the people around the place to spend a good day with their loved ones. They also provide Wheelchair accessibility at the entrance for the disabled, which is a plus point.
Timings and Entry Fee
The Paju Byukchoji Gardens is open every day from 9 am-7 pm. To enjoy this beautiful garden at a slow pace, you need at least 3hrs, so make sure you are on time. And the tourists who arrive after 6 pm are basically out of luck as the ticket sales close at 6 pm. The adult ticket is 9.500 KRW.
The fly on the wallpaper
In the CIA director’s office
Was not a real fly
He was an enemy spy drone
Secretly controlled remotely
Listening to all the secret conversations
Until the director smashed him
With a flyswatter
Then realized that it was a spy fly
He had dispatched to bug hell.
Sep 05, 2020 · Robot Bees are special types of insect drones that have been built in a Harvard robotics laboratory. Robot bees are designed after flies (not after bees) They are capable of partially untethered flight. The wingspan of robot bees is typically 3 cm, and they are therefore actually the tiniest robotic insect drone able to fly.
Association of the Living Dead
In India, several years ago
A man falsely claimed his brother
Was dead so he could inherit the family assets,
The dead brother had to fight
To be declared legally not dead
And contest the will.
“The Association of the Living Dead”
Became a movement
Of thousands of people.
For in India apparently,
It was a thing to declare
Your relative is dead.
I never thought
That the US would have
To form their own
“The Association of the Living Dead”
Until this week.
The cyber ninjas
In their infamous non-forensic audit
In the 2016 Arizona election
Claimed that hundreds of dead people
Had voted.
They gave their list of the alleged dead voters
To the attorney general
Who contacts all 300 dead people
Found that 299 of the 300 were in fact
Not dead and none of them knew
That unnamed political operative
Were claiming that they were dead.
The one dead voter was alive
when he voted early.
But died before election day
Thus making his vote not valid
But there was no fraud involved
As he was alive when he voted.
Perhaps they need to form
The “association of the living dead”
To fight for the right of the non-dead people
To continue to vote and receive other government benefits?
What a sad commentary
On the farcical nature
Of contemporary life
In these disunited States of America.
theassociationofthelivingdead is a real organization in India. see the following The AssociationoftheDead • Damn Interesting Following his own success, Lal Bihari the Living has continued his efforts to raise the dead in India’s badlands. At an official tally in 1999, the AssociationoftheDead had helped to resurrect roughly thirty …
Following his own success, Lal Bihari the Living has continued his efforts to raise the dead in India’s badlands. At an official tally in 1999, the AssociationoftheDead had helped to resurrect roughly thirty people by virtue of having their death certificates annulled, but of those thirty only four have had their lands restored.
The founder of the association is its president Lal Bihari, who was “dead” from 1976 to 1994 and used the word Mritak (dead) as prefix in his name during the period. He became so famous it inspired Indian film director Satish Kaushik who made a movie Kaagaz, starring Pankaj Tripathi, based on his life. It was released on ZEE5 in January …
I just had one of those Drive Way Moments, where I sit in my car outside of my house unable to kill the engine because I’d briefly lose power to the radio (which is why I always donate to my local NPR station). This one was about a man from the Indian province of Uttar Pradesh who had been dead for eighteen years and was getting really tired of it. The man, Lal Behari, was declared dead …
Uttar Pradesh Mritak Sangh, otherwise known as The AssociationoftheDead, is a group based in India that works to regain the rights of individuals who have been falsely declared legally dead.The region of Uttar Pradesh, a Northern province of India, is home to over 200 million people and is
ASSOCIATIONOFLIVINGDEAD! janaaastha.com. 6 month ago . Huge and populous country like India has thousands of associations or unions of different sections of people. But there is one in the biggest state of Uttar Pradesh and the name of the association … Read full news. Comment Liked by. Liked by. 0 /600 …
Aug 2, 2022Hundreds of hours of research by the Arizona attorney general’s Election Integrity Unit debunked claims that 282 deadArizonavoters cast a ballot in 2020, state attorney general Mark Brnovich revealed Monday. Brnovich responded to the state senate’s request for a criminal investigation into the alleged deadvoter fraud on Monday, telling …
Aug 2, 2022Arizona’s attorney general has refuted an audit firm’s claim that deadvoters cast 282 ballots in the 2020 election. … on Monday debunked a claim that hundreds of dead people voted in his state …
Aug 2, 2022Hundreds of hours of research by the Arizona attorney general’s Election Integrity Unit debunked claims that 282 deadArizonavoters cast a ballot in 2020, state attorney general Mark Brnovich …
Aug 1, 2022PHOENIX – Arizona’s Attorney General says hundreds of claims of dead people “voting” in the 2020 election were debunked after calls for an investigation by the Republican Arizona State Senate, and …
April 30 In Search of America 1975 – Hitch hiking Tales
Also published in On the Road Volume One Poet Magazine
When I was young and foolish
Broke and stubborn
I hitchhiked across the USA
Started in Salt Lake City
Where my greyhound bus pass
Was stolen
The station manager
Could have helped me
But refused to do so
Threaten to call the cops
When I grabbed my bags Without the stolen tags
I said
Go ahead
But I am so out of here
Wondered about Salt Lake City
Went to a bar
Found I had to buy my booze
Next door
And they would mix it for me
Had to order food too
After a bloody Mary
And a burger
I walked about town
Saw the Mormon Temple
Finally, about 3 pm
It was time to hit the road
Did not look back
Ended up in Cody Wyoming
Got a room shower
Steak beer
Using my rapidly depleted cash Spent 25 dollars
Money really went far
Back in those days
A band of professional
Communist agitators
Gave me a ride
To Des Moines
Lots of weed, booze
And politics later
Got off the road
Slept outside
Next day
A beautiful woman
Drove me to near Chicago
In a red mustang
Might have been
The girl in the song
Took it easy
Digging her vibe
She invited home
But was not sure
If her estranged husband
Would welcome me
So, I am being foolish
And inexperienced with women
Did not go to her place
And always regretted
That I had lost
My chance that day
Then on to Chicago
Several rides later
Visited friends
Hit the road again
A series of uneventful rides
With truckers
And others
And a week later
I ended in New York City
Slept along the way
In cars
In truck stops
In high way, rest stops
Always moving
Always going
Nonstop talking
And lots of free weed
And beer
And conversation
One more memorable ride
Occurred outside Albany
On my return to Chicago
A middle-age creepy looking man
Picked me up
In a brand-new Cadillac
He was he said a dynamite deliverer
For the Mafia
Went to various places
To blow up shit
He hated a lot of people
Particularly hippies from California
And Jewish people
Looking at me to confirm
That I was both
I told him that I lived in New York
And had never been to California
And although I might have looked Jewish
As I what was called back in the day
A “Jewfro”
I was not Jewish
Many years later I discovered
That I am indeed part Jewish
But then I did not know
And I felt a bit of strategic information
Might keep me alive
Then I realized that he was just jiving with me
And we relaxed
And he pulled out some weed
And beer
And we mellowed out
But I believe that he was with the mob
Perhaps not a dynamite dealer
A real made Italian made mafia member
By Chicago
I had enough
I called my Dad
Told him what had happened
Wanted a ticket home
And he sent me a ticket
And 500 dollars
And I went home
I told him I would tell him
My tales someday
But never did
I learned so much
About my fellow Americans
And the strange vibe
That was 1975
And now it is too late
But I wanted to finally
Tell the world
While reading Charles Bukowski’s poetry
On the metro ride home
Listening to Buddha bar music
On my oh-too-hip iPod
I begin to see myself as I was
Over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
A minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem
A wild young underemployed intellectual
Hanging out in dismal bars and dives all over Asia and California
Hanging with disreputable women and drunks and drinkers
And characters out of his kinds of haunts
A mad poet bard of the underground
A drunken poet in a drunken bum show
That nightly played in his head
Then one day I met the woman of my dreams
And went down a different path
A long slow path to respectability
And now 30 years later
I am no longer a wild man
I am still a poet at heart
But I am now also a bureaucrat
In a button-down suite
Doing the people’s business
Working for the Government
I’ve become the Man
Sometimes I wonder
Would I have been better off
Going down that other path
Would I have ended up
Somewhere else
Doing something else
Would I have been as happy
Would I have been as successful?
No answer satisfies
The longing in my heart
For that wild thing
That still lurks beneath
It’s a civilized cover
And I know that I am still
A mad poet at heart
Railing against the injustice of the world
As I work day by day in the belly of the great beast of State
I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
“Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night”
Playing out in my head and nightly dreams
In the true American Upper-class patrician tradition
I close the book and look out the window
Get off the train, and walk slowly home
And realize I had no choice
But to take the path that I’ve trodden on
And so I put aside my misgivings
And say goodbye to my “Bukowskian” desires
For another night of domestic contentment
Was it worth it all to take the conventional path
And not take the bohemian road to hell and back
I look at my wife and realize
I had no choice, had no choice
But to follow her to the ends of the earth
And beyond by her side
as we walked our path
Of shared destiny
Goodbye Charles Bukowski wherever you are
May I meet you in a bar in the next life
And figure out where we should have gone
I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee
I pound down the coffee
First thing I do every day as the dawning sun
Lights up my lonesome room
Yeah, but not just a simple cup of java Joe, but a Goddamn snarling sarcastic smarmy cup of coffee
I mean, – we are talking about an alcoholic, all speed ahead, always hot, always fresh, always there when I need it, angry, attitude talk to the hand Ztude, bad, bad assed, beats breaking, beatnik, bluesy, bitter, bitchy, bombs away, capitalistic, caffeinated up the ass, cinematic, communistic, Colombian grown, Costa Rican inspired, Cowabunga to the max, crazy assed, devilishly angelic, divine, divinely inspired, dyslexic, epic, extreme vetting, evil eye, expensive, erotic vision inducing, Ethiopian coffee house brewed, euphoric, freaky, freazoid, foxy, Frenched kissed, French brewed, funkified, foxy lady, graphic, GOD in my coffee, with Allah, Ganesh, Jesus, Kali, Buddha, Christians, Durga, Hindus, Mohamed, Jesus and Mo and their friend, the cosmic bar maid, Sai Babai, Shiva, Taoists, Zoroastrians, drinking my god damned coffee in Hell; growling, gnarly, happy, hard as ice, Hawaian blessed, high as a kite, hippie, hip, hipster, hip hoppy, hot as hell yet strangely sweet as heaven, jazzy, jealous, Kerouac approved, kick ass, kick my god damn ass to Tuesday, kick down the doors and take no prisoners, grown in the Vietnam highlands by ex-Vietcong, Guatemalan grown, kiss ass, illegal in every state, imported from all over the god damn world, insane, lovely, loony, lonely, lonesome, malodorous mean old rotten, motherfucking, nasty, narcotic, never whatever, never meh, never cold, not approved by the CIA, not approved by DHS, not approved for human consumption by the FDA, not your daddy’s sissified corporate cup of coffee, NOT DECAFE coffee, not your Denny’s truck driver weak as brown water cup of fake coffee, not your establishment friendly cup of coffee, Not your FBI coffee, Not FAKE Herbal coffee substitute, but a real cup of coffee, not your farmer brothers dinner crap, not made in America for Americans, not safe for work, not your Starbucks average expensive overpriced crappy corporate chain cup of coffee, Not pretentious, Not White House approved, not State Department safe, nuclear, Not Patriotic, operatic, Peets’s coffee approved, paranoid, pornographic, psychotic, pontific, politically aware, rapping, rhyming, right here, right now in River city, rock and roll up the Yazoo, sad, sadistic, sarcastic, sassy, satanic, schizoid, shitting, silly, sexy, smarmy, smelly, smooth, snarky, snarling, stupid, stinking, sweet as honey, sweat inducing, symphonic, Trump can’t handle this coffee, vengeful, Wagnerian, wicked, with nutmeg and cinnamon swirls, with a hint of stevia, with a hint of vanilla, with a hint of rum, with a hint of whisky, with a hint of cherry, with a hint of fruit overtones, with a hint of drugs spicing up the coffee, spendific, speeding, splendid, superior accept no substitutes, survived the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, the Afghan war, the first and Second Korean war, World War 11, the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on black people, the sexual revolution, Soulful as a summer’s night in MOTOWN- James Brown approved, TOP approved, Berkeley approved, the coffee that Jimmy Hendrix drank before he died, the coffee that Elvis drank on his last breakfast, the coffee that Barry White crooned as he drank his cup of coffee – and the coffee that made the white boy play stand up and play that funky music, the coffee that made Jonny B Goode play his guitar, and made Jonny bet the devil his soul after he drank his morning cup of righteous coffee and the coffee that make the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll, the coffee your mother warned you against drinking, the coffee that Napoleon drank when he became the Emperor of all Europe, the Coffee that Beethoven drank when he wrote the Ninth symphony, the coffee that Mozart drank as he wrote his last symphony, the coffee that Lincoln drank before he was killed, the Hemingway drank before he killed himself, the coffee that started the 60’s, and ended the 20th century, the coffee that Lenin drank as he plotted revolution, the coffee that Hitler and Stalin drank with FDR as they divided up the world after World War 11, the cup that JFK drank before he was blown away, the coffee Jerry drinks while driving in cars with random celebrities and political figures, the coffee that Jon Stewart drinks before he goes on an epic take down of some foolish politico, the cup of Arabic coffee that Sadaam drank the day he was executed, the coffee that GW and Cheney drank when they bombed Baghdad, the Indian cup of coffee that Bid Laden drank before 9-11 and just before the seals blew his ass to hell, the cup of coffee that Tiger Woods drank with his mistresses while playing a 3, 000 dollar round of golf at Sandy Lane golf course in Barbados, the last legal drug that does what drugs should do, the cup of coffee that Obama drank when he became President, Vietnamese, Vienna brew, wacky, whimsical, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, wild, weird, wonderful, WOW, Yabba dabba doo! Yada Yada yada Zappa’s favorite cup of cosmic coffee, and Zorro’s last cup of coffee, Good to the last drop rolled into one simple cup of hot coffee
As I pound down that first cup of coffee
And fire up my synaptic nerve endings with endless supplies
Of caffeine induced neuron enhancing chemicals
I face the dawning day with trepidation and mind-numbing fear
I turn on the TV and watch the smarmy newscasters in their perfect hair
Lying through their teeth about the great success the government is having Following the great leader’s latest pronouncements
I want to scream and shoot the TV and run outside Shouting
“Stop the world.
I want to get off this fucking crazy planet”
The earth does not care a whit about my attitude
It merely shrugs and moves around the Sun
In its appointed daily run
And I sit down
The madness dissipated a bit
And enjoy my second cup
Of heaven and hell
In my morning cup of Joe
On the night of the blood-red super full moon
I sat in an evil, depraved godforsaken bar
Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
Washed down by endless rounds of whiskey
rum, tequila, vodka, soju, and of course beer
drinking with my buddies the Jack Daniels Gang
Drinking my way to Hell and beyond
Just as fast as I could
twenty damn drinks too sober
Just an unhinged lunatic
Dreaming of howling at the full moon
Watching the world walk by
Looking at all the fine-looking babes
Walking by the street
Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
Of endless wild libertine passions
When into the bar
That din of cosmic depravity
Walked the most beautiful women
In the Universe
So wild, so free
So wonderfully alive
I did not know what to do
As this vision of delight
Sauntered through the bar
In a skin-tight leather pant
Looked so fine
That my eyeballs hurt
And finally, I had to say something
So, I gathered up my manly courage
And walked up to her
And she looked at me
And instantly bewitched my soul
With a devilish grin
I lost all reason
And became a raving lunatic
Unhinged lunatic
Howling at the blood-red full moon
Foaming at the mouth
A wild, free werewolf
Howling at the lunatic light
Of the blood red blue full Moon
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Sadly, the gun carnage in America continues with no end in sight due to the total dysfunctional nature of American politics, the power of the NRA and the right-wing in the U.S., and the craven unwillingness of political leaders to do anything about gun violence. the recent case in Michigan is particularly egregious. Here then are some of my gun poems, the first are poems I wrote recently, the rest are poems I wrote a while back.
“Otherwise Engaged Journal “will publish my poem, “Enough of Your Useless Prayers” in January 2022. I will update this entry then with details and no doubt more gun poems, as the carnage will continue with no end in sight.
I often thought that there are solutions to this problem. First, we treat gun ownership like car ownership. Although the bill of rights applies none of the bills of rights are absolute, all have some limitations including freedom of speech, press, religion, etc. Why the 2nd amendment is the only exception is beyond me.
First, gun owners should be licensed to own and carry a gun. the license can only be denied to convicted criminals, those who have documented mental health hospitalization, and those charged with domestic violence, and those who otherwise fail the universal background checks. Anyone on the terrorist list or the “no-fly list” should not be allowed to buy a gun.
Only licensed dealers should be allowed to sell guns and ammo. The gun show exception should be ended, Internet sales should be subject to background sales, and selling or giving a gun to a relative or friend should also be regulated.
There should be an annual limit on gun sales – five weapons per year?
Now some may disagree with this, that is their right. But since 80 percent of Americans are in favor of at least these limits then congress should enact these provisions.
the licensing should be done at a state level but the information should be searchable by law enforcement personnel nationwide.
and existing laws that provided for more severe penalties for gun-related crime should be enforced.
I do not support open carry laws or concealed weapons permits, but I do feel we should have a nationwide standard that recognizes gun permits and allows people to transport unloaded guns in their vehicles across state lines, but not on public transit, trains, buses, or planes.
The bottom line is simply this – guns are dangerous instruments, but people have a limited right to own a gun for personal protection or hunting.
That’s enough preaching for now. Here are my gun poems starting with the recent to be published ” Enough of Your Useless Prayers”.
Most of my postings are now available on Anchor, Spotify, and Radio Blog as a podcast. Check it out and follow me on All poetry, Poetry Soup, Medium, Wattpad, Writing.com, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, And Tumblr, and sign up for alerts.
I thought that the NRA
Could not get any lower
But today they did.
They tweeted out
Their Mother’s Day message
A mom and her daughter
Holding military assault rifles.
With the caption
“Momma Did not Raise a victim”
The ad came out
On a weekend
That saw more than
seven mass shootings
All across the land,
The NRA has no shame
Blood is on their hands
Because of them.
We have not been able
To do anything at all
About the epidemic
Of gun violence.
That is killing
Far too many of us
Turning so many people
Into Gun Ghosts
Joining the corona ghost army.
Looking at that vile add
I said,
“Momma
may not have raised a victim
But she did raise a monster
NRA.
How evil
How despicable
Can you get?
Celebrating gun violence
On Mother’s Day?
Just Another Day in America
Turning on the dismal sad news
Every morning at dawn.
There is another grim story
To brighten my morning gloom.
The Latest story – a lone gunman
Opens fire at time square
At sunset.
Another deranged madman
With a gun and a grievance
Shooting up a crowd.
As tourists scream
And flee the scene.
Wondering if this is just
Another movie set
The scene went awry.
Unfortunately,
No, it is life and death
Live and in living color.
Just another Saturday night
Live in NYC
And across the land.
As another madman’s life
unravels before the world’s eyes
Live and in living color.
MUST WATCH TV SCREAMS MY TV THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR TV SET
The NRA and their hired goons
Go on air
Offering useless thoughts
And meaningless prayers.
Guns don’t kill people
Guns make us free
Guns are all American
Liberals want to take your guns
You need your AK 47
To blow away Bambi.
Or the thug BLM dude
Next door
Because Black Lives
Do not Matter to You.
The only solution
Are more guns for all
An armed society
Is a polite society.
Guns are the greatest gift
that America gave to the world
They are our friends
And protector
God bless our guns.
Just another day
In their violent gun-ridden
Gun paradise that is America
is its imperial decline.
The gun victims
Don’t hear their thoughts
And prayers.
As they are now dead.
Just another gun ghost
They join the thousands
Of gun ghosts
And the corona ghosts.
Their voices
Crying in the wind
No one cares anymore
Just too many of them.
Another Day in the NRA’s Paradise
Just another day in America
Land of the free
Home of the brave.
And guns
lots of guns
More guns for all
Cries the NRA.
Yes, another day
Another gun battles
Another white man
Who just wants to kill.
President Trump sends his condolences
Thanks to the law enforcement
For an incredible job, well done
it was horrible.
Hate has no place
In our country
And we will take of it
and do whatever we can do.
Offering useless fake condolences
Nothing but false words
Empty words.
Lots of things to do.
It is a mental illness problem
But he fails to mention
The words gun at all
Not at all.
And tomorrow and tomorrow
But he at least finally said
Hate has no role in-country
Nothing but prime BS
In my humble opinion
For he is the maestro
Of Hate
Even as a former president
Stirring up hate
Across the land.
He did not mention
White supremacy
His rhetoric had nothing
Nothing to do about
This at all.
And so tomorrow
I will turn on the TV
And we see nothing
Nothing had changed.
And the dead
Will remain dead
The guns will fire again
Nothing will be done.
Welcome to America
Land of the free
Home of the brave
And guns
lots of guns
More guns
Guns for all
God bless our guns.
Mr President, Your Words Matter.
Mr. President words matter
President Trump,
Words matter
Your words matter.
Your words of hate
Your words of division.
Your words
Calling fellow human beings
Scum, vermis, invaders,
Animals, thugs, criminals.
They matter a lot
Is it little wonder
That people listen
Give into the hate,
You spew forth.
And some deranged people
act on your call
For action.
Against the invaders
On the border
They march to the border
To kill the invaders.
Your words matter
Mr. President
And your false words
Of regret, fool no one.
The damage has been done
The hate has been spread
Just as you intended.
And you
Have the gall
To call yourself
a Christian.
You are the anti-Christ
The Bible warns us about
You are not a Christian
So please quit pretending
To be what you are not.
Please man up
Accept your responsibility
Set things right
apologize.
The dead though
Don’t need your useless prayers
They need action
They need leadership.
And you are the president
Please start acting
Like you give a damn.
And if you do so
Perhaps
You will find
People will follow you.
But please
Quit the words
Of hate
The words that hurt.
And quit calling immigrants
Invaders and vermin
They are human beings
They are deserving of respect.
This I ask of you
In Jesus’s name
Even though
I am not a Christian
Please, Donald Trump
Grow up.
And become a true leader
Of the people
And end the war of words
And constant hate.
Chief of Staff, You are Absurd
another gun
The president’s chief of staff
While the former guy
Was still President,
Said one day
It was absurd.
To suggest the president’s words
Had anything to do
With recent mass shootings.
Yet is it absurd,
To see the lengths
To which the president’s supporters.
Will twist and turn
Spinning away
The inconvenient truth.
President Trump
Is a racist bigot con man
Who somehow
Conned his way
To become president.
He calls immigrants
Criminals, vermin, animals
invaders
Infesting the country.
The El Paso shooter
said that he went to the border
To shoot the invaders
And said
That he was a big Trump fan.
It is not absurd
To connect these two huge dots
The president’s words
Has real-world consequences.
Yes Mr. Trump is a racist pig
And his supporters
Are being absurd
To suggest otherwise.
Guns kill people.
GUNS KILL PEOPLE GUNS KILL PEOPLE GUNS KILL PEOPLE
Guns do kill people
That is their Buddha-nature
Their Karmic fate.
It is not a mental illness
it is not video games
it is not a million other things.
It is simply this
A gun is a weapon
A weapon designed to kill people
That is what guns do.
Guns don’t care
They do as they are told
If you pull the trigger
They will kill the victim.
That is what guns do
It’s a gun thing.
That is why
In a civilized society
Like most of the world
Military assault weapons
Are locked up.
Yet in America
The land of the free
Home of the brave
Everyone and his cousin
Must have their gun.
Guns for everyone
Cries the NRA
That’s the solution.
The president
And his supporters
Deny the obvious,
Guns kill people
That’s all they do
It is a gun thing
You understand.
So, Mr. President
You can take your words
Your empty platitudes
Your empty soulless promises.
Straight to hell.
NRA, Please Stop Talking
Another day
Another mass shooting
Another incident.
Of domestic terrorism
Another gunman
Killing people.
Because just because
The NRA and their stooges
Come out
Flood the airways.
With their noxious
Poisonous weasel words.
The NRA says
Mass shootings
Are like the weather
You can’t control them.
You can’t predict them
And you can’t prevent them.
Just have to accept
It is all god’s will
Guns don’t kill people
If guns were outlawed
Only outlaws would have guns.
Only solution
Are more guns
For everyone.
An armed society
They say
Is a polite society.
Support for gun control
is socialist/communist/fascist/anti-American/anti-christian nonsense.
The beginning of tyranny
If only the Jews had guns
The holocaust would not have happened.
Jesus would want us all
To be armed with machine guns.
To protect us against the evildoers
It is the Christian thing to do
To blow away evildoers
With heavy arms.
In America
Land of the free
Home of the brave.
We can’t do anything
At all.
About the mass carnage
Unleashed by madmen with guns
Who walks among us
Searching for their next victims.
Any restriction of the right
To bear arms
Is tyranny at its worst.
The nanny state run amuck
Talking about gun control
After a tragic event is
Just not the appropriate time
We only need prayers
And meaningless thoughts.
Universal background checks
Too onerous,
Registering guns
Too burdensome.
Researching gun violence
Waste of taxpayer money.
Banning military-style assault weapons
Restricts my right to blow away
Bambi the deer
With an M16.
The NRA will keep talking
Talking and talking
Another and talking
Preventing anything
From being done.
And we will have another
Mass shooting event
Before the day is out.
So, my plead
This day
to the NRA
And their stooges,
Talk is cheap
Your comments
Are not helping.
If you can’t
Be a part of the solution,
Just stop talking
Please stop talking
And let the rest
Of us figure out
How to stop
The madness in the streets
And stop the carnage
So, NRA
PLEASE
SHUT UP
JUST
STOP
TALKING
NOW!
More Guns for Everyone in the World
(Drafted during the Trump Era, don’t know if this policy has been changed)
The NRA has decided
That the best solution
To the global problem
Of rampant violence
And crime everywhere,
Is for the rest of the world
To become like the U.S.
Where anyone can buy a gun
An armed society
Is a polite society.
The president is about to announce
A global campaign against gun control restrictions
As these restrictions are an undue burden
On the rights of the U.S.arms manufacture.
To sell their guns everywhere in the world.
As everyone wants what we have to sell
The best weapons in the world.
Instead of trying to limit the damage
That unrestricted gun sale
Have done to the U.S.
President, our great leader
Wants to sell more guns
Everywhere in the world.
And there are eager buyers
Lining up around the world
Eager to buy the best guns
The world has never seen.
We want to export
The gun madness
That has infected our society
Leaving behind so many dead bodies
So many gun ghosts.
The dead were not consulted
For they remain dead
They do not vote
They have no voice.
For the guns silenced
Then for good
Just as the guns intended
Just doing their gun thing.
Humanity has evolved
From stones to arrows
To guns
To nuclear, biological weapons.
And the U.S.
While proclaiming itself
a champion of human rights.
Remains nothing but a country
Of gun runners
Merchants of death
And destruction.
Trump Administration Advances Plan to Relax Gun-Export Rules
The Trump administration on Monday advanced a long-sought-after plan to relax export rules for American small arms, including semiautomatic rifles, handguns, and sniper rifles.
In a private briefing with members of Congress, State Department officials outlined a proposed rule change that would transfer oversight of gun exports to the Department of Commerce. The proposed rule will be published in the federal register later this week, where it will be subject to public comment for 45 days. While it is unlikely, Congress could block the change using powers under the congressional review act.
The shift, which was first proposed by the Obama administration in 2012, is championed by gunmakers who say it will make them more competitive in the international market. Critics argue an export policy that favors commercial interests could put the national security of the United States at risk or harm diplomatic efforts.
“Weakened congressional oversight of international small arms and munitions sales is extremely hazardous to global security,” said Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, a Democrat who serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in an emailed statement. “This decision is also politically tone-deaf as our nation reckons with a gun violence epidemic.”
A State Department spokesman said that the change would ease the regulatory burden on American gun makers and allow them to compete better globally.
Currently, the Department of State monitors exports of all weapons through the U.S. munitions list. Since 2002, the department has been required to notify Congress of overseas sales of firearms worth more than $1 million.
In 2016, the State Department alerted the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to a proposed sale of more than 26,000 rifles to the Philippines. Cardin at the time objected to arming the regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who had inaugurated a wave of thousands of extrajudicial killings as part of a crackdown on drugs. The weapons deal was canceled as a result.
The proposed rule change would transfer control over the sale of small arms to the commerce control list, and congress would no longer be notified of large purchases. Some arms control experts say reduced oversight could provide criminals, terrorists, or hostile states an opportunity to purchase American weapons.
Under Department of Commerce weapon-export rules, “companies aren’t required to provide as much information about brokers or shipping” as they must under State Department supervision, said Colby Goodman, who examines American weapons exports as director of the security assistance monitor program at the center for international policy in Washington.
“The world of firearms exports is full of questionable, dubious characters.”
The rule change has been long in the making. It was first proposed in 2012 by the Obama administration, but abandoned shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. At the time, the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security criticized the change because it could make it easier for transnational criminal organizations or terrorists to get American-made guns.
In September, Reuters reported that the Trump administration was interested in reviving the rule change to encourage more international arms sales. With the formal commencement of the public comment period, the preparation has become a policy reality.
In April, the Trump administration said it would now consider economic factors in addition to security when it comes to selling American weapons overseas.
The Trump administration has argued that the change would aid the domestic gun industry by cutting down on export regulation. American consumer sales of firearms have suffered since the 2016 election. After years of elevated sales in anticipation of possible new gun-control measures imposed by democratic lawmakers, domestic demand subsided as republicans took full control of the federal government.
– Alex yablon
In Virginia Beach
In a night of horrific scumbagery violence
Rarely seen in this jaded age of ours.
EVERYONE WAS GONE IN LESS THAN AN HOUR
In a spasm of horrific scumbagery violence
In just a few short minutes
Nothing more than that
In just a few moments
All 12 victims were murdered.
By a disgruntled employee
Everyone he knew was shot
And killed for no reason.
Caused by the demons
His soul was so infected
Murderous demonic voices
All in his head
Screaming kill them all kill them all
Screaming no stop violence in his head
All the time.
Causing him to start shooting.
Everyone he saw
Regardless of who they were
Or where they were
Everyone must die
Screamed the demonic
Voices in his head.
No one can be left alive
Everyone must die
All must die.
In his internal video game
Everyone must die
Regardless of who they were
Or where they were.
DEATH TO ALL HUMANS SCREAMED THE VOICES IN HIS HEAD
As he hunted his victims
Killing as many as he could.
Just another day
Gone wrong
All across America
In every town
Nowhere is safe anymore.
Virginia Beach Massacre Two
guns
Virginia Beach massacre
Just another night in America.
An active shooter
Unleashes a night of
Scumbagery violence
rarely seen.
In this jaded wild world
Gone in one hour.
In a spasm of horrific
scumbagery.
In just less
Than 30 short minutes
Nothing more than that.
In just a few
Short 30 moments
All the victims.
Were murdered while
At their daily work
Just at the Wrong place,
At the wrong time.
Act of a demotic
a deranged madman with a gun
Voices screaming kill.
The voices scream
DEATH
TO
ALL
HUMANS
The voices scream
Over and over
All must die now.
Just another night
In America
Home of the free
Land of the brave
And guns for all.
It’s a Gun Situation, Mr. President.
President Trump
You are wrong once again.
You said that the tragic events in Texas
And Las Vegas was not “gun situations”
But mental health problems.
And that in Texas
If there had been
Fewer gun controls
Fewer people.
Would have died
President Trump
I know you are a smart man
The smartest man in the world
According to you.
So please contemplate this fact
According to the latest findings
It is a gun situation.
The reason the U.S.
Is number one in gun deaths
Is because we are number one
in gun ownership.
We have so many gun deaths
Because we have so many guns
45% of the world’s guns.
And 33 percent of the world’s shooters
are Americans killing other Americans.
And most of them, the majority of them
Are white people killing other White people
Except for white Cops
They like to kill black and brown people
For some reason.
Rarely is it a black person
Or an Asian person
Or a female shooter.
No Islamic terrorists
Most are in fact
Self-proclaimed
White Supremacist Christians.
So, Mr. President
When will you come to your senses?
And do what 90 percent of the public wants
Enact nationwide effective gun controls?
And tell the NRA
They can take their
Blood money elsewhere.
When Mr. President
When will you act
When will you take charge?
And become a president of the people
Instead of the president of the NRA?
Comment: Sent this to President Trump who added me to his suckers email list – I was soon getting hundreds of emails a day from everyone including the NRA telling me that I was a valued member of team Trump and had to donate money to keep the socialist democrats from taking my guns away. End comment
I want to tell you something
The dead don’t want your prayers
the dead don’t care
That you pray for them
They are dead.
And you and your so-called Christian
Are to blame,
You refuse to do anything
Anything at all to stop the carnage
In our streets.
The U.S. is flooded with guns
And more are sold every day.
Millions of people
Don’t have health coverage
Millions are barely surviving
And your answer,
Our dear great compassionate speaker
Your answer
Is prayer works
Government action does not.
You act as if the gun violence
Plaguing our country
Was like the weather
Beyond our control,
So, here’s my prayer for you
and your colleagues
When you die
I pray that God
will send you
And your friends
Straight to hell
Where Satan and his demons
Will use you for target practice
That’s my prayer to you
And as you know
Prayer works.
Comment: Sent to Speaker Ryan who never responded, but he did not put me on his sucker email list. End Comment
I Don’t Get It
Mr. Speaker
I admit I don’t get it
how does prayer
stop gun violence?
Prayer did not work in Texas.
26 people were murdered
While praying.
God if he exists
Does not care
About the poor people
Who died in his church.
Because a mad man
Got a gun,
And no, they were not praying
To be delivered from death
No one deserves to die like this.
So, my prayer to you
Is simply this
Get off your rear end
Rally the country,
And do something
About gun violence.
That’s a prayer
I hope works.
Source document:
“Add house speaker Paul Ryan to the list of republicans offering only thoughts and prayers in the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting in a Texas church, because taking meaningful action is always off the table with him and his party.
Speaking with Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingram last night, Ryan reiterated that the victims and their families need more prayers because “prayer works.”
Prayer doesn’t work -Found Poem
26 people were murdered while praying. Even Christians ought to admit that prayer doesn’t make a damn bit of difference and their god will do whatever their god wants to do, even if it means letting people die in the church because a domestic abuser got his hands on a semi-automatic weapon.
Not that Ryan would ever say that.
Instead, he just blamed the “far secular left” for not getting it.
More guns than people found poem
We don’t have more automobiles
Than people in the United States of America.
We don’t have more televisions than people.
We don’t have more radios than people
We don’t have more cell phones than people.
What we do have is more guns than people.
Lots more guns
More guns than anywhere else
In the world
45% of all guns in fact
393 million firearms
A population of 326 million.
That means there are 120.5 firearms
For every 100 American citizens,
It’s a sad fact.
If every single person in the United States
Possessed a gun, including babies, elderly people, and the infirm
— even including those hospitalized and on their deathbeds
— there would still be 67 million guns left over.
Sixty-seven million.
The number of guns
Owned by civilians
Is an outrage,
A profanity,
a sign that this country
This supposed Christian
Peace-loving country
Has lost its collective mind.
But not to the national rifle association it isn’t
The NRA has taken the position
That what we need is more guns, not less.
They say that more guns equal less crime,
You need guns to defend yourself and your property,
These groups tell us.
If more people had more guns,
criminals would be less likely to commit crimes
Because they wouldn’t know who was armed
And locked ready for bear
Ready to defend themselves.
An armed society
is a peaceful polite society.
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun
Is a good guy with a gun”
Said NRA chief executive
Wayne Lapierre
After the Sandy Hook School Massacre
In Connecticut
Had killed 20 children
And six schoolteachers and staff
The good guy theory
Is their rationale
Behind arming teachers.
Arming teachers
Is the argument
They have for all.
The so-called
Open carry laws
That has been passed.
Not one of the 19 mass shootings this year
Was stopped by a good guy
With a gun.
The NRA
Said an armed civilian
Shot the bad guys.
With a gun
In Dayton
It took
66 shots to bring down the killer.
They fired 40 rounds.45 caliber ammunition,
16 rounds of 233-millimeter ammunition
And one shotgun round
It is madness
Every mass shooting
Proves how mad it is.
Can you imagine what
It must have been
Like in the epoch nightclub bar
In Dayton
Or on the street in Odessa?
Guns were going off
People all around you
Were hit wounded, dying
Bleeding everywhere
If you were carrying a gun a handgun,
What would you have done?
Hide get behind someone
Run?
That’s what I would do
That’s what people did
Dayton and Odessa.
These mass shootings
Are acts of terror.
People are terrorized
Sacred to death.
They are lucky
To be alive.
In a country with more guns
Than people
The good guys
With a gun,
Myth is obscene.
In a country with more guns than people,
the “good guy with a gun” myth
is an obscenity.
It’s a lie.
GUNS DON’T SAVE US THEY KILL US
Based on the following source article
“We don’t have more automobiles than people in the United States of America. We don’t have more televisions than people. We don’t have more radios than people. We don’t have more cell phones than people.
What we do have is more guns than people.
A recent report published by the small arms survey in Geneva, Switzerland, found that there are more than 393 million firearms owned by civilians in this country. We have a population of 326 million. That means there are 120.5 firearms for every 100 American citizens, according to the Washington Post. It’s a fact. If every single person in the United States possessed a gun, including babies, elderly people, and the infirm — even including those hospitalized and on their deathbeds — there would still be 67 million guns left over. Sixty-seven million.
The number of guns owned by civilians is an outrage, profanity, a sign that this country has lost its collective mind. But not to the national rifle association it isn’t. Not to the gun owners of America, another major gun lobby organization with over two million members, which is frequently critical of the NRA for being too soft on gun rights. These well-funded lobbies for gun manufacturers and gun owners have long taken the position that what we need is more guns, not fewer. They say that more guns equal less crime, despite FBI statistics that show conclusively that violent crime, and especially crimes involving firearms, is higher per capita in areas of the country with more guns.
You need guns to defend yourself and your property, these groups tell us. If more people had more guns, criminals would be less likely to commit crimes because they wouldn’t know who was armed and ready to defend themselves.
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun,” said NRA chief executive Wayne Lapierre after the sandy hook school massacre in Connecticut that killed 20 children and six school staff. He said the same thing again after the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, which left 17 students and faculty dead. It has become the NRA’s favorite myth.
The “good guy with a gun” theory is their rationale behind arming teachers. It’s the argument they have for all the so-called “open carry” laws that have been passed. At this point, 31 states allow people to openly carry firearms in public without a license. Another 15 allow open carry with some form of state-issued license. All 50 states allow people to carry concealed firearms with varying forms of restrictions and licensing. The idea is the more “good guys with a gun,” the better.
According to ABC News, “there have been at least 19 deadly mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2019.” There were two mass shootings last month on a single day, Aug. 3. The first, in El Paso, Texas, was at a Walmart. Twenty-two people were killed and 24 were wounded. That night in Dayton, Ohio, 10 people were killed and another 17 were wounded in a shooting that happened in less than 30 seconds. On Aug. 31, a shooter in Odessa, Texas, killed seven people and wounded 25, including three police officers.
Not one of the 19 mass shootings this year was stopped by a “good guy with a gun,” an armed civilian. Police shot the “bad guys with a gun” in Dayton and Odessa. In Dayton, it took them 66 shots to bring down the killer. They fired 40 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, 16 rounds of .233 millimeter ammunition, and one shotgun round. The killer took only 40 rounds to kill seven and wound 17 with his ar-15 style weapon. The alleged shooter in El Paso somehow evaded dozens of responding police officers before surrendering.
Both Texas and Ohio allow open carry of firearms without a license, and yet in neither place was there a civilian “good guy with a gun” to stop the carnage amid panic and chaos. An armed U.S. soldier with a concealed carry license in El Paso drew his weapon before deciding to shuttle fleeing children safely out of the shopping mall.
You have heard most of the arguments against these open carry laws. How will cops responding to an active shooter incident know who the shooter is, and who is just a passer-by carrying a gun? What’s going to happen in a crowded store like Walmart when there finally is a shootout between a killer and “good guys with guns?” Won’t a lot of innocent bystanders be being killed? If well-trained, heavily armed police can’t kill an active shooter with less than 66 bullets, how can we expect an armed teacher in a grade school to do it?
It’s madness. Every mass shooting proves how mad it is. Can you imagine what it must have been like in the El Paso Walmart, or outside the bar in Dayton, or on the street in Odessa? Guns were going off. People all around you were hit, wounded, dying, bleeding. Even if you were carrying a handgun, what would you have done?
Hide. Get behind something. Run. That’s what I would do. That’s what people did in El Paso, Dayton, and Odessa.
These mass shootings are acts of terror. People are terrorized, scared. They’re trying to stay alive.
In a country with more guns than people, the “good guy with a gun” myth is obscenity. It’s a lie. Guns don’t save us. They kill us.
More guns
guns
Every day more guns
gun deaths everywhere
more man men with guns
shooting everyone
you cannot escape.
So many deaths
you cannot count
five today
more tomorrow.
NRA cries
need more guns
guns for all.
More guns
More deaths
Guns.
When Will This Madness End?
Yet again we turn on the TV
And witness horrible scenes
Of unparalleled violence, hatred, and despair.
An old man consumed by his demons
Opens fire from a hotel room
Killing 58 people injuring hundreds.
In Las Vegas, Sin City
And the cry goes out throughout the land
Why yet again this tragedy?
The usual suspects are rounded up
It’s the culture, stupid, cry the conservative voices
Guns are the price of our freedom
Guns Don’t Kill People.
The only solution is more guns for everyone
The only solution for a bad guy with a gun
Is a good guy with a gun.
An armed society is a polite society.
No, it’s the guns, cry the liberal pundits
We must confiscate the guns.
Ban Assault weapons
And join the rest of the world
Where such carnage does not occur.
And we sit around and argue
Knowing that there will be the next time
And another time and repeatedly
Until the end of time.
What is the sickness in our souls
That allows for this hatred to fester so
Deep within the minds of our killers.
Nothing will change
Until we confront the evil
What lurks deep within each of us.
There will be another Las Vegas
Soon enough.
Dear Governor Abbot
You say you are a Christian
Yet you have the gall
to say the proper response
To the evil acts of the deranged gunman
Who shot up a church
Is to work closer with God.
And that evil people will find ways
To commit evil acts
And that there is nothing the government
Can do to stop this madness.
It is the price of our freedom
Why can’t you wake up
And see that you can lead
The way out of this madness?
Thousands of people die
Each year from guns in this country
Turning everyone into prisoners
Into their own homes
Afraid to walk outside.
For fear that a nut job
With a gun
Will blow them away
In Church, at the store
In traffic.
And you and your NRA friends
Think the answer
Is to arm everyone to the teeth.
And I wonder how Jesus
Would react to how
You have so misunderstood his message?
You Sir are not a Christian
And you Sir are going to not like
What God has to say to you
On Judgement Day.
Source document:
“We have evil that occurs in this world, whether it be a terrorist who uses a truck to mow down bikers in New York City, whether it be a terrorist who uses bombs or knives to stab people or another terrorist who use vehicles, whether it be in Nice, France, or any other place in the entire world, who mow down people.
And I’m going to use the words of the citizens of Sutherland Springs themselves, and that is, they want to work together for love to overcome evil, and you do that by working with God.”
Texas Governor: Fight Gun Massacres By ‘Working with God’
NOVEMBER 6, 2017, BY MICHAEL STONE
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott claims prayer and “working with God” is the only way to prevent mass shooting events like the recent church massacre in rural Texas.
In a deplorable bit of pandering, Abbott said that the proper response to Sunday’s shooting is to confront evil through prayer and forge “a stronger connection to God.”
Governor Abbott said:
We have evil that occurs in this world, whether it be a terrorist who uses a truck to mow down bikers in New York City, whether it be a terrorist who uses bombs or knives to stab people or another terrorist who use vehicles, whether it be in Nice, France, or any other place in the entire world, who mow down people.
And I’m going to use the words of the citizens of Sutherland Springs themselves, and that is, they want to work together for love to overcome evil, and you do that by working with God.
Most reasonable people reject Abbott’s impotent call to prayer and a “stronger connection to God.” In a statement concerning the recent Texas church massacre, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that action was required:
We have a solemn obligation to the victims of Sutherland Springs, Las Vegas, Orlando, Newtown, and the many tragic shootings that occur each day to respond not only with prayer and unwavering love but with action.
As for Governor Abbott, his position as a dangerous religious extremist is well established.
Last June Abbott signed into law legislation allowing publicly funded agencies to deny non-Christians the ability to adopt a child in need.
In addition, in a move meant to shame women who have abortions, the Republican governor of Texas ordered state health officials to add new abortion regulations that would require the burial or cremation of post-abortion fetal tissue.
Bottom line: Texas Governor Gregg Abbott is a dangerous religious extremist who believes the proper response to Sunday’s church massacre is prayer and other efforts to forge “a stronger connection to God.”
Comment: Poor Governor Abbot does not like me. I sent him a letter asking him to show me where I can find in the bible justification for forcing women to hold a funeral at their expense for a fetus and how can this be seen as a Christian companion thing to do? He never answered.
Yet again we turn on the TV
And witness horrible scenes
Of unparalleled violence, hatred, and despair.
An old man consumed by his demons
Opens fire from a hotel room
Killing 60 people injuring hundreds
In Las Vegas, Sin City.
And the cry goes out throughout the land
Why yet again this tragedy
The usual suspects are rounded up
It’s the culture, stupid cry the conservative voices
And there is nothing we can do.
It is like the weather
Bad shit happens
Guns are the price of our freedom.
Guns Don’t Kill People
The only solution is more guns for everyone
The only solution for a bad guy with a gun
Is a gun guy with a gun.
An armed society is a polite society
No, it’s the guns, cry the liberal pundits.
We must confiscate the guns
Ban Assault weapons
And join the rest of the world
Where such carnage does not occur.
And we sit around and argue
Knowing that there will be the next time
And another time and repeatedly
Until the end of time.
What is the sickness in our souls
That allows for this hatred to fester so
Deep within the minds of our killers
We are all responsible here.
The negligent parents
The overworked schools
The soulless corporate world.
That treats everyone
like disposable commodities
The lack of human connection
The TV and movie purveyors
Of pornographic violence.
Nothing will change
Until we conflict the evil
That lurks deep within each of us
There will be another Las Vegas
Soon enough.
Two weeks later the greatest mass shooting in a Church occurred in Texas
I have known Gary Noland since high school. He is a very talented composer, piano player, and cartoonist who lives in Portland. His music is eclectic with a snarky sarcastic tone to it, somewhat like listening to Frank Zappa’s classical music scores. His cartoons are very Robert Crumpian in spirit. Take a listen and let me know what you think.
You can contact Gary Noland at nolandgary5@gmail.com
BIO
Introducing Gary Noland’s Music
Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960 Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s. As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. Author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s.
As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits a Masters’ and a Ph.D. in Music Composition in 1989.
Gary’s catalog consists of hundreds of works, which include piano, vocal, chamber, experimental, and electronic pieces; full-length plays in verse, “chamber novels,” and other text pieces; as well as graphically notated scores. His award-winning chamber novel JAGDLIED for Narrator, Musicians, Pantomimists, Dancers & Culinary Artists was listed by one reviewer as the “Top Book of 2018.” Gary’s compositions have been performed and broadcast (including on NPR) in many locations throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He founded the Seventh Species concert series in San Francisco in 1990 and, for 23 years, produced well over 50 concerts of contemporary classical music on the West Coast. He is also a founding member of Cascadia Composers. Gary has taught music at Harvard, the University of Oregon, and Portland Community College. His musical scores are available from J.W. Pepper, RGM, Sheet Music Plus, and Freeland Publications. Six CDs of his compositions are available on the North Pacific Music label at: www.northpacificmusic.com. He has well over 300 videos of his music and narratives available for listening on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJt_eNyJqOZBErG9McQ51nA and numerous other sites on the Internet. composition lessons Lake Oswego Beaverton
The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs STATE-OF-THE-ART EAR EXERCISES for MUSICAL COGNOSCENTI Op. 119 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.
Featuring the composer and his five alter egos:
GARY LLOYD NOLAND: panda harmonium, malapropsichord, climaxophone, smorgasborgasmatron, bombasticordion, whoopeeboard, air cacophony or
GARY LLOYD NOLAND CHALLENGES MUSICAL CONVENTIONS, TRADITIONS, AND CUSTOMS
The distinction between music and noise is, I think, perfectly described by Physics.info. “Music and noise are both mixture
the music of sound waves of different frequencies. The component frequencies of music are discrete, separable, and rational, with a discernible dominant frequency. The component frequencies of noise are continuous and random with no discernible dominant frequency.” Hence, the further we delve into dissonant or even atonal music, the more likely it is to be perceived as noise. Ultimately the line between the two is very blurry, and writer Meghan Davis took this concept to task smartly, when she wrote: “Someone nearby is tapping their toe. Is this an irritating noise or a musical sound? As it turns out, the difference depends almost entirely upon the listener.” And that ultimately is the point, my friends. The beauty of sound is in the ears of the beholder.
So why this long premise on sonic contrasts? Well, when you engage with the music of an avant-garde composer, and dare I say, sound designer, such as Gary Lloyd Noland, there is no sitting on the fence. You either judge his album, “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119”, as ingeniously brilliant, or utter hogwash. If this hard and fast assumption sounds dramatically drastic, well then so does Noland’s classically inspired, post-modern sonic concoctions.
Gary Noland has boundless artistic spirit
Gary Lloyd Noland, who has received glowing critiques, has a boundless artistic spirit, and a seemingly endless technical and musical ambition. His compositions strive to challenge the listener to cast away conventions, traditions, customs, and any formal limitations their musical mindsets may have locked them into. The 18 tracks contained within this album will take you through sounds composed of multiple frequencies that are produced by instruments whose names alone will have your mind twisting into a loop.
Your ears will be teased, stroked, stretched, and surprised, by the featured players – Gary Lloyd Noland and his alter-egos: Orland Doy Gladly, Darnalod Olly Yang, Lon Gaylord Dylan, Dolly Gray Landon, and Arnold Day Longly. Even more surprising, are the names of the instrumentation used by the players. Among them, the pandaharmonium, squealharp, googah, unstitched concussion, stench horn, nose cello, and toilet brushes.
Now if you’re thinking of, outright dissonant bombast, think again. Because the album is awash with beautiful classical motifs filled with luscious melody and harmony. They’re simply interposed by varying flurries of atonal sounds which most people link to dissonance. If you could imagine an ensemble led by the combined minds of Richard Strauss, Frank Zappa, Brain Eno, and Luigi Russolo, you may just have the slightest idea of where Gary Lloyd Noland is going. And that’s practically everywhere.
Even the song titles themselves will make you sit up and take notice: “Murder Hornet Lullaby”, “Vaginavenger Vortex”, “Elevator Mucus”, “Only Drooly Grubbles” and “Larcabounger Zizz”, being just a selected few. That being said, Gary Lloyd Noland’s endearing eccentricities only really seem far more subversive to those stuck in the conventions of the mainstream jungle.
Warped Musical Sensibilities
Though Noland’s appeal comes from his warped musical sensibilities; most of the melodies and core structures contained within the album are fairly accessible, reflecting an alluring fondness for classical music. It’s just that his arrangements are far more unusual and idiosyncratic than your normal or garden variety of music. The infusion of Noland’s avant-garde sensibility and experimental spirit makes for a fascinating combination, and very much is, what sets him apart everyone else. And I mean, EVERYONE else.
This album is literally packed with ideas and sounds, as Gary Lloyd Noland ventures into a different avenue with every track. The instrumentals have distinctive identities, and they’re extremely palatable in even in their most unusual forms. In 2021, you will definitely find fewer challenging albums, and maybe even more challenging albums, but you will never find anything quite like “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119” anywhere else on this planet…maybe even in the entire universe for that matter!
—TUNEDLOUD!
WAYWARD AFFECTS & AFFLICTIONS
$17.00
The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs WAYWARD effects & AFFLICTIONS Op. 120 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND
Fever DREAMS Op. 118,
an Unequivocal Crustbucket List of Smexy and Sophistocratic Quarantunes for Perspicacious Connoisseurmudgeons, Trans melancholiac Insomniacs, Necromantic Misanthropes, Compulsive Transgress mists, and other Categorical Certifiable from the Psycho-Experimental Ward of Herr Doctor Noland’s Avantgarde-Boiled Cynic Clinic
“Gary Noland is one of those 21st Century composers seeking to forge a new aesthetic based on older models that do not traffic in serialism or minimalism. These dry, playful pieces pay homage to classical forms from various periods while gently satirizing them. Zany waltzes, ragtime riffs, chorales, toccatas, and much else romp and tear through these depictions of superheroes and villains from his ‘chamber novels’; other pieces spoof serial music (‘Ventured, nothing gained’) to grand operas (‘Meditative’) and Jewish guilt (‘Spikes’). The irreverent program closes with two serious, impressive, endlessly modulating memorials: one to George Rothberg, an allusive homage to an important neo-romantic who was himself a master of allusion; another to Jon Sutton, an artist Noland feels was wrongfully neglected by a corporate culture that promotes dreck and mediocrity, making it ‘possible to have a Brahms or Schubert next door and not even realize it. This is a culture that ‘confers towering soapboxes to impostors of all persuasions, all too often to the exclusion of first-rate minds who are less savvy about how to work the system to their advantage’.
North Pacific Music
Smaller labels like North Pacific Music represent a new way of working that system, a small means of saving what Noland regards as ‘an endangered (and fast becoming extinct) high culture’. I could do without the ugly cover art, but the piano sound is extremely vivid—and Noland plays his work with wit and conviction.”
—Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, July/August 2007
“Yesterday, the first day of the year [2004], I opened your CD package—and could hardly believe my ears when I listened to your Venge Art and 24 Postludes for Piano, Op. 72—how magnificent!! I will include most [of] your works in our local shows, especially in the Art Block program Sound Sculpture—a program for visual and sonic art.… I listen to all arriving music and [respond] seldom as excited as I did to your music.… Have a terrific 2004. You made mine with your inspiring music, talent, and creativity. Thank you.”
—Brita Heisman, Executive Producer, KAZU Local Programming, Pacific Grove, CA.
Royal Oil works Music
January 2006: “Royal Oil works Music” (electro-acoustic). Duration: ca. 75 minutes. Includes: “Prelude in E Minor” (Op. 34), “Serial Lullaby” (Op. 80, No. 1), “Spray Taint” (Op. 80, No. 2), “Dog Duo” (Op. 66), “Rag bones” (Op. 11), “Grey Malignant Banks” (Op. 80, No. 3) “My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue” (Op. 80, No. 4), “Royal Oil works Music” (Op. 80, No. 5) “Prelude & Zoo trot” (Op. 22), “Something Rotten” (Op. 80, No. 6) “Music is Dead” (Op. 53), “Treadmill” (Op. 37), “Deformed Fugue” (Op. 17), “Insurrection of the Office Slaves” (Op. 80, No. 7), “Psycho-Bacchanal” (Op. 80, No. 8). www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 024). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego
“We recently received a CD [Royal Oil works Music] of Gary Noland’s here at WOBC. I must say that upon previewing some of the tracks and reading the program notes that all of us have never laughed so hard in our lives. We usually don’t play music as arrogant and docile as Gary’s but the ironic-postmodern-naive-pretension that this CD showed made me reconsider. I would like to get in touch with M. Noland and arrange a telephone interview for one of our classical radio shows.”
… his attitude is not subtly disestablishmentarian, and you’d better enjoy it.… Some of the sounds are amusing, but the music is sort of deliberately annoying, both in sonority and in the mood—deliberately uninspired, almost to the point of inspiration. From Bach to rags to whatever, Noland seems determined to annoy as many people as he can, in an amusing way. He is an angry guy but witty.
If the idea of deliberate lack of originality purveyed in an atmosphere of political incorrectness appeals to you, here, in no uncertain terms, it is. Titles such as ‘Spray Taint’, ‘Dog Duo’, and ‘Insurrection of the Office Slaves’ give the mood, while the title tune [‘Royal Oil works Music’] is the real purpose of the Bush administration, as explained in the notes.…”
—David Moore, American Record Guide
Seriously Odd Classical Tongue in Check Electro-Acoustic
“Seriously odd classical… Tongue-in-cheek electro-acoustic combines baroque harpsichord and cheesy electronic sounds. Funny like Satie is funny – zany and irreverent. Lots of serialism … but the bizarre collage of styles and periods is brilliant. Oh, it’s also like PDQ Bach/Peter Schickele in some ways. Absurd liner notes! Baroque-sounding … Serialist electro-acoustic … very refreshing, given how “ivory tower” this type of music often is. Cheesy synths, electronic percussion, and trumpets … up tempo and funky. Baroque harpsichord with pop and world music sounds going on in off-kilter, almost random rhythms. WTF? Very cool …Waa Waa synth, fugue-like … Zany … Cecil Taylor piano over drum machine breakbeats … Close to Dual (Ed Chang and Doug Theriault – crazy dense guitar and laptop processing), with national anthem-like moments?? And bird song?? Zany … Slow serialist/romantic … prelude to baroque trills to Richian/rag arpeggios to a Chopin breakdown to a jazz ending. Phew. This rocks … Bogy woozy synth with jazz percussion and serialist randomness. Lots of noodling, er, electronic wanking? Upbeat … Staccato baroque fugue on electronic choral sounds and pipe organ sounds … funny … Rhythmically interesting … Fugue for harpsichord … Some free jazz freak-outs … Great title for this … Squeaky sounds with sax and choral synthesizer—like if you played the Handel theme from the film A Clockwork Orange, Sonny Rollins, Tchaikovsky, and, well, a psychotic serialist all at once.”
—KZSU FM90.3, Stanford, CA
“A look at the head-note will alert you to Gary Noland’s very personal way with words. Not for Noland the lures either of Olympian detachment or lower case “significance.” No, Noland is full-on and takes few linguistic prisoners. Similarly with the booklet artwork, Noland’s own, which is an example of crazed Robert Crumb à Africanize. And his music is much the same, Deformed Fugue, his 1977 piece for harpsichord summoning up pretty nicely his compositional stance. This is an elixir brewed of Couperin and Rameau, Scott Joplin, Bach, free funk, free Jazz (Cecil Taylor?), the Fugue, and an unholy alliance of straight sounding neo-classicism and its subsequent assault by the forces of percussive militancy.
Noland may be a romantic but doesn’t want you to know.
His Prelude is baroque-convincing though attended by some sour-is off notes he follows it with Serial Lullaby, a synthesizer-rich free funk piece that mocks its title. Spray Taint gives us assaulted baroque, the percussion blizzards full of jazz offbeat and whoop-bang noises (plus telephone rings and disco inferno). He subjects Ragtime to the same souring procedures as he does to his off-note harpsichord baroque and evokes a drugs fix (in My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue) with some haywire free form. He writes an American fanfare for the title track and subjects it to anti-Bush assault by bird song and drum blister.
Quixiotic Sense
His quixotic sense extends to opus numbers – the bowels of Op. 80 are scattered throughout the disc, and to instrumentation as well. I assume he makes all the noises, both pianistic and harpsichord synthesized and vocalized. He’s a veritable one-man band of off-kilter influences, the procedural repetition of which sometimes got me seriously down, though I did like his Swingle Sisters take-off on Music is Dead: A Paradox in Fugue.”
—Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International
24 Postludes for piano, Vol. 1
August 2004: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 72, Nos. 1–12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 72 minutes. North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 018). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego
REVIEWS/ENCOMIUMS
“As usual I have been fiendishly busy and during my last absence, our humidification system went bonkers, depositing condensation and mold all over the place so now I am trying to deal with that on top of my overload. Nonetheless, I have put on the postludes whenever I’ve been at the computer and found them up to your usual iconoclastic, stylistic potpourri standards of giddy humor, no holds barred soup to nuts and high spirits. They are balm to the grim state of mind in which I find myself.”
—Robert Levin, pianist (cadenza improviser extraordinaire), scholar, Professor of Music, Harvard University
“Many thanks for the CDs you sent me, which I have been listening to with great pleasure and fascination.… I am bowled over by the expertise of your music: you use certain elements from the 19th century and jazz, etc., and just at the moment when I am about to say, OK, what else is new? you do several things, such as speeding up, becoming wildly dissonant, modulating to a distant continent, stopping completely, and throwing some kind of total surprise. All of these things are possible, but you seem to know exactly when to do what and how much. I don’t know anybody else who can do it! And the brief electronic statements are spooky in the best and most extreme sense. They make my hair (what’s left of it) stand on end.…”
—Andrew Imbrue, composer, Pulitzer Prize finalist
“Mr. Noland’s Postludes are a collection of wild and crazy pieces for … piano. These are essentially parodying of various styles, set in a dizzying harmonic language that loops uncontrollably through a wide-ranging gamut of possible and impossible tonalities. He applies this procedure to the fugue, ragtime, German dances (Schubert), romantic waltzes (Richard Strauss seems to be a favorite), and virtuosic piano scherzos. There’s a Chinese polonaise, a whiff of pentatonic Debussy; and, like most composers after Berlioz, he can’t seem to keep his hands off the Dies Irae (though fortunately, the tongue is firmly in cheek). Both Peter Schickele and Conlon Nan arrow hover over the proceedings. I’d even throw in Mark Applebaum, another Californian … The opening fugue is dedicated to the late David Lewin, the prominent Harvard theorist. Lukas Foss gets a dedication, also (maybe his Baroque Variations had some sort of influence on Noland at some point).
The general effect is like watching wet paintings of 19th Century musical memorabilia drip into frazzled 21st Century oblivion. The comic-book grotesquerie that graces the jewel box pretty much says it all … these pieces are striking and entertaining … (Postlude 12, an interminable exercise in blues montage, is the most daunting.) The pieces all have funny titles … Mustaches on the Mona Lisa, but those can be interesting if you’re in the right frame of mind.”
—Allen Gimbel, American Record Guide
“Composer and pianist Gary Noland are into ‘ha-ha music’—that is, classical music played for laughs, a genre famously (or infamously, depending on your taste in humor) popularized by Peter Schickele, also known as P.D.Q. Bach. This collection of solo piano music, identified as postludes rather than the more traditional preludes designation, indicates that, despite occasionally forcing the musical jokes (and writing far too many tortured puns in his liner notes), Noland has both the writing and playing chops to compensate for his painful musical humor. Dedicated to the late music theorist David Lewin, ‘Philomathetique’ is a witty trope on the music of Richard Strauss, with characterful motives and abundant quick modulations. ‘Effete Singulations’ is a deft, splashy bit of ragtime, while ‘Pickthanks and Premediates’ is a light-hearted romp played at a dizzying tempo and ‘Psychonipptions’ (dedicated to composer Henry Martin) is a send-up of 20th Century French music. Overall, Postludes is a mixed bag, but when Noland focuses on playing the piano well rather than simply playing for laughs, his compelling artistry shines through.”
—Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine
“Gary—you continue to be one of the most original of the contributors to ‘The Classical Salon.’ And ‘Effete Singulations’ [Postlude #2] opens one of my ragtime shows.”
—David Rifkin, Host, “Classical Salon” and “The Ragtime Machine,” KUSF 90.3 FM, University of San Francisco.
24 Interludes for piano, Vol. 1
August 2004: “Twenty-Four Interludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 71, Nos. 1-12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 74 minutes. North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 019). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego
“… intriguing, irritating, … distinctive, inventive, … subversive, … [the music] is never what you expect. You hear all sorts of styles and influences—Beethoven, ragtime, Nan arrow, stride—often in very quick succession.… I had the strange feeling with many of these pieces [Interludes and Postludes] that, about halfway through, I had got fed up with them, but I was then sorry when they finished.… You can hardly be indifferent to Noland’s music and so I would urge you to try it. Despite my frequent irritation, I will certainly be returning to it and seeking out examples of Noland’s chamber works and multimedia compositions. Music aside, speaking as a cat-lover, I feel an instinctive sympathy with the composer depicted on the front cover of the Interludes fondly embracing his cat. Illogical? Well, yes; I think this music has got to me after all.”
—Roger Blackburn, Music Web International
“Gary Noland, a composer, and pianist with an impressive academic pedigree (including a Ph.D. from Harvard) and extensive performing experience, here presents an album of solo piano compositions, or ‘interludes.’ Actually, some of these pieces seem in no way transitory; instead, they present extended musical dialogues that call upon a host of musical styles and require the considerable technical facility to perform. Noland, a fleet-fingered, ebullient performer, is more than up to the task. Pastiche pieces like ‘Mumbo Gumbo’ and ‘Expresso Wagon’ evoke all manner of Romantic-era classical piano figurations; they gently lampoon some of the genre’s conventions, but always remain bright, witty, and engaging. ‘The Temptation of Saint Floyd’ also channels Romanticism, particularly the Strassman sort, demonstrating a more reflective demeanor and adding a dollop of schmaltz to the proceedings. ‘Push Button Fingers’ is prevailingly modern in construction, with syncopated rhythms and sprightly, angular runs creating a far more contemporary sound world. Noland’s work may be eclectic—sometimes even a bit goofy—but Interludes is cleverly constructed and consistently well performed.”
July 2002: “Gary Noland: Selected Music from VENGE ART.” Duration: 75 minutes. Cellist Hamilton Heifetz and pianist Victor Steinhardt playing “Fantasy in E Minor” for cello & piano (Op. 24), pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Humoresque” for piano (Op. 3) and the “Russell Street Rag” (Op. 5), Gary Noland performing three segments of “P*run*Music” (Op. 48), Violist Katherine Murdock and pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10), a computer-driven Disklavier performance of “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), The Onyx String Quartet playing “American Bozo Dance” (Op. 32, No. 8), and Guy Tyler conducting “Septet” (Op. 43) with clarinetist Carol Robe, alto saxophonist Tom Bergeron, French hornist Ellen Campbell, violinists Tawana Nagahara and Anthony Dyer, double-bassist Forrest Moyer, and pianist Art Maddox. Released by North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 012). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego
“Mr. Noland writes as a ‘time traveler’ in styles long abandoned by most composers as well as styles so new as to not have been imagined but by him. This he accomplishes naturally, convincingly, with originality and true passion. His command of all musical languages and his ability to traverse musical time is nothing less than remarkable. Listen!”
—Donald Martino, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
“Composer Gary Noland is possessed of a rich musical imagination, whose technique distills the achievements of Roger, Strauss, and Schoenberg but also refracts their post-romantic/expressionist tendencies through the lens of twenty-first-century post-modernism, American style. Moreover, he fits Stravinsky’s definition of a great composer: one who doesn’t merely steal but knows what to steal. This Noland does with wit and aplomb unique to the music of our time.”
—Ira Braes, pianist, musicologist, Professor of Music, The Hart School
“Gary Noland’s Venge Art is more than just a collection of music.…inspiring. He walks with assurance through the treacherous landscape of late tonality and early post-tonality (e.g., Strauss).…a gifted composer.”
May 2000: “Player less Pianos: Virtual Music for Pianos Virtual and Otherwise.” Seventh Species Composers Series Debut Recording, Limited Collector’s Edition (NPM LCE 007—North Pacific Music). A compilation recording of works by various composers. Includes Gary Noland’s “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), which was recorded on August 19, 1998, on a Disklavier at SPARK Studios in Emeryville. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego
Original Compositions by Gary Noland music CDs
1996: “Passion.” A compilation recording of works by composers Gary Noland, George Rothberg, Georges Enescu, Greg Steinke, and Jackie T. Gabel performed by violist Rozanne Weinberger and pianist Evelyne Lust. Includes Noland’s “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10). (NPM LD 003—North Pacific Music). Recorded September 1994 at MET Studio Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. In Schwann Catalog. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego
Hi there… You are getting this letter because you are a contributor to
the current issue of Down in the Dirt magazine (with writing or art), and
we wanted to let you know that the brand-new issue of Down in the Dirt was
just released! The new issue of the March 2021 issue Down in the Dirt is
v181, titled “Prayers and Bullets”!
Now, there are a bunch of ways you can see this issue online. You can go.
to the main scars page at http://scars.tv and see it not only in the text
listing but also as one of the cover images on the main page (right
frame). You can also go the home page of Down in the Dirt at http://scars.tv/dirt and click on the “see the current issue” link – and
you can even go to the link for ALL of the issues and see this issue
linked right at the top of the listing.
Currently, this issue is available not only online but also available as
the print issue for sale through all of the amazon channels throughout the
United States, the U.K., and Europe. Find it at http://scars.tv (at the
issue link, the links at this issues page AND the main page) – and the
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Amazon (though the scars site will only list it through the U.S. Amazon
links).
And if you look at any writing by any writer IN this issue in the writings
section of http://scars.tv at http://scars.tv/cgi-bin/framesmain.pl?writers you will see links to the
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Missing you missing me
Dreaming about you, do you dream the same
Will love you until end of time; will you remember me then?
If you’ve been around
If you’ve been around
As much as I have
Decades of memories
Fill up your brain’s hard drive
Remembering the dead
Misremembering the living
Seeing the past fly past
Everywhere you go
Thinking about things
You did and did not do
As your life begins to fade
Sinking into lost worlds past
Seeing the ghosts
Of all you knew
Whispering Soon you will
Be joining us
More Down in the Dirt news -Scars Publishes my work in new Anthology, Art House
Scars Publication has published my poem “Snarling Cup of Coffee” on their web page and in a new Anthology, “Art House” available now (January 2020)
Hi there from Scars Publications – we wanted to let you know that Scars Publications released a collection book of select poetry, flash fiction, and prose (and occasional artwork) from 2019 issues of cc&d magazine and Down in the Dirt magazine. Since your material was chosen from the past year of accepted materials for inclusion in this annual collection book anthology, we wanted to let you know about this brand new annual collection book is titled “Art House”!
Links to see all of chosen writers and artists (and the titles of their work) in “Art House”:
And at any time, you can find this book at Scars in MULTIPLE locations. Right now, it is linked on the main page at http://scars.tv, and it appears near the top of the list of choices on the books link, since 4 collection books will be released this week from Scars (the book link is one click away from the main page, or also directly at http://scars.tv/books/) as well as at the “CD Books Sale” link with new releases at the top of the listing (direct link http://scars.tv/sale/) at Scars!
Also, in two weeks’ time (because we have so much material from these collection books we cannot gurarantee they will be online by the end of this week 12/7/18, but we believe all listing will be in the writings section by 12/14/18), your writing in the writings section online will also have a link to this collection book, so people can find links to this collection book on your writing pages in the writings section of http://scars.tv (at http://scars.tv/cgi-bin/framesmain.pl?writers)...
How to Order
Links for ordering this collection book appears on all of the links above, and will also appear in the writings section too, so any of your writing in this collection book will also see a link to this collection book in the writings section too!
Currently these books are available from Amazon in the U.S. & Canada, the U.K., Europe, and even Japan. (The link above is for U.S. sales.)
Check out the Scars Publication book link to see what material of yours appears in these collection books, and if you’d like, order a copy today (I hear they make great Christmas gifts), and again, thank you for being a part of the Scars Publications community!
She invited home
But was not sure
If her estranged husband
Would welcome me
So, I am being foolish
And inexperienced with women
Did not go to her place
And always regretted
That I had lost
My chance that day
Then on to Chicago
Several rides later
Visited friends
Hit the road again
A series of uneventful rides
With truckers
And others
And a week later
ended in New York City
Slept along the way
In cars
In truck stops
In high way rest stops
Always moving
Always going
Non stop talking
And lots of free weed
And beer
And conversation
One more memorable ride
Occurred outside Albany
On my return to Chicago
A middle age creepy looking man
Picked me up
In a brand-new Cadillac
He was he said a dynamite deliverer
For the Mafia
Went to various places
To blow up shit
He hated a lot of people
Particularly hippies from California
And Jewish people
Looking at me to confirm
That I was both
I told him that I lived in New York
And had never been to California
And although I might have looked Jewish
As I what was called back in the day
A “Jewfro”
I was not Jewish
Many years later I discovered
That I am indeed part Jewish
But then I did not know
And I felt a bit of strategic information
Might keep me alive
Then I realized that he was just jiving with me
and we relaxed
And he pulled out some weed
And beer
And we mellowed out
But I believe that he really was with the mob
Perhaps not a dynamite dealer
A real made Italian made mafia member
By Chicago
I had enough
I called my Dad
Told him what had happened
Wanted a ticket home
And he sent me a ticket
And 500 dollars
And I went home
I told him I would tell him
My tales some day
But never did
I learned so much
About my fellow Americans
And the strange vibe
That was 1975
And now it is too late
But I wanted to finally
Tell the world
Of my hitchhiking tales
In search of America 1975
Also available in Print
This writing was accepted for publication
and in “Deep Woods”
Order this writing that appears
in the one-of-a-kind anthology The Flickering Light the Down in the Dirt Jan.-June 2019
issues & chapbooks collection book
(learn about this book, and order from Amazon online)get the 366 page
Jan.-June 2019 Down in the Dirt
issue & chapbooks 6″ x 9″ ISBN#
paperback book:
While reading Charles Bukowski poetry
On the metro ride home
Listening to Buddha bar music
On my oh too hip IPod
I begin to see myself as I was
Over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
A minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem
A wild young underemployed intellectual
Hanging out in dismal bars and dives all over Asia and California
Hanging with disreputable women and drunks and drinkers
And characters out of his kinds of haunts
A mad poet bard of the underground
A drunken poet in a drunken bum show
That nightly played in his head
Then one day I met the women of my dreams
And went down a different path
A long slow path to respectability
And now 30 years later
I am no longer a wild man
I am still a poet at heart
But I am now also a bureaucrat
In a button down suite
Doing the people’s business
Working for the Government
I’ve become the Man
Sometimes I wonder
Would I have been better off
Going down that another path
Would I have ended up
Somewhere else
Doing something else
Would I have been as happy
Would I have been as successful?
There is no answer that satisfies
The longing in my heart
For that wild thing
That still lurks beneath
It’s civilized cover
And I know that I am still
A mad poet at heart
Railing against the injustice of the world
As I work day by day in the belly of the great beast of State
I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
“Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night”
Playing out in my head and nightly dreams
In the true American Upper class patrician tradition
I close the book and look out the window
Get off the train, and walk slowly home
And realize I had no choice
But to take the path that I’ve trodden on
And so I put aside my misgivings
And say goodbye to my “Bukowskian”desires
For another night of domestic contentment
Was it worth it all to take the conventional path
And not take the bohemian road to hell and back
I look at my wife and realize
I had no choice, had no choice
But to follow her to the ends of the earth
And beyond by her side as we walked our path
Of shared destiny
Goodbye Charles Bukowski wherever you are
May I meet you in a bar in the next life
And figure out where we should have gone
Until then the drinks are on me.
Also Available in Print
Order this writing in the book
Negative Space
(the 2017 poetry, flash fiction
& art collection anthology)
get the 298 page poem,
flash fiction & art
collection anthology
as a 6″ x 9″ ISBN#
paperback book:
Unhinged Lunatic Howling at the Full Moon
man howling at the man
On the night of the blood red super full moon
I sat in an evil, depraved godforsaken bar
Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
Washed down by endless rounds of whiskey
rum, tequila, vodka, soju and of course beer
drinking with my buddies the Jack Daniels Gang
Drinking my way to Hell and beyond
Just as fast as I could
twenty damn drinks too sober
Just an unhinged lunatic
Dreaming of howling at the full moon
Watching the world walk by
Looking at all the fine-looking babes
Walking by the street
Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
Of endless wild libertine passions
When into the bar
That din of cosmic depravity
Walked the most beautiful women
In the Universe
So wild, so free
So wonderfully alive
I did not know what to do
As this vision of delight
Sauntered through the bar
In a skin-tight leather pant
Looked so fine
That my eyeballs hurt
And finally, I had to say something
So, I gathered up my manly courage
And walked up to her
And she looked at me
And instantly bewitched my soul
With a devilish grin
I lost all reason
And became a raving lunatic
Unhinged lunatic
Howling at the blood red full moon
I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee
I pound down the coffee
First thing I do every day as the dawning sun
Lights up my lonesome room
Yeah, but not just a simple cup of java Joe, but a God damn snarling sarcastic smarmy cup of coffee
I mean, – we are talking about an alcoholic, all speed ahead, always hot, always fresh, always there when I need it, angry, attitude talk to the hand Ztude, bad, bad assed, beats breaking, beatnik, bluesy, bitter, bitchy, bombs away, capitalistic, caffeinated up the ass, cinematic, communistic, Colombian grown, Costa Rican inspired, Cowabunga to the max, crazy assed, devilishly angelic, divine, divinely inspired, dyslexic, epic, extreme vetting, evil eye, expensive, erotic vision inducing, Ethiopian coffee house brewed, euphoric, freaky, freazoid, foxy, Frenched kissed, French brewed, funkified, foxy lady, graphic, GOD in my coffee, with Allah, Ganesh, Jesus, Kali, Buddha, Christians, Durga, Hindus, Mohamed, Jesus and Mo and their friend, the cosmic bar maid, Sai Babai, Shiva, Taoists, Zoroastrians, drinking my god damned coffee in Hell; growling, gnarly, happy, hard as ice, Hawaian blessed, high as a kite, hippie, hip, hipster, hip hoppy, hot as hell yet strangely sweet as heaven, jazzy, jealous, Kerouac approved, kick ass, kick my god damn ass to Tuesday, kick down the doors and take no prisoners, grown in the Vietnam highlands by ex-Vietcong, Guatemalan grown, kiss ass, illegal in every state, imported from all over the god damn world, insane, lovely, loony, lonely, lonesome, malodorous mean old rotten, motherfucking, nasty, narcotic, never whatever, never meh, never cold, not approved by the CIA, not approved by DHS, not approved for human consumption by the FDA, not your daddy’s sissified corporate cup of coffee, NOT DECAFE coffee, not your Denny’s truck driver weak as brown water cup of fake coffee, not your establishment friendly cup of coffee, Not your FBI coffee, Not FAKE Herbal coffee substitute, but a real cup of coffee, not your farmer brothers dinner crap, not made in America for Americans, not safe for work, not your Starbucks average expensive overpriced crappy corporate chain cup of coffee, Not pretentious, Not White House approved, not State Department safe, nuclear, Not Patriotic, operatic, Peets’s coffee approved, paranoid, pornographic, psychotic, pontific, politically aware, rapping, rhyming, right here, right now in River city, rock and roll up the Yazoo, sad, sadistic, sarcastic, sassy, satanic, schizoid, shitting, silly, sexy, smarmy, smelly, smooth, snarky, snarling, stupid, stinking, sweet as honey, sweat inducing, symphonic, Trump can’t handle this coffee, vengeful, Wagnerian, wicked, with nutmeg and cinnamon swirls, with a hint of stevia, with a hint of vanilla, with a hint of rum, with a hint of whisky, with a hint of cherry, with a hint of fruit overtones, with a hint of drugs spicing up the coffee, spendific, speeding, splendid, superior accept no substitutes, survived the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, the Afghan war, the first and Second Korean war, World War 11, the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on black people, the sexual revolution, Soulful as a summer’s night in MOTOWN- James Brown approved, TOP approved, Berkeley approved, the coffee that Jimmy Hendrix drank before he died, the coffee that Elvis drank on his last breakfast, the coffee that Barry White crooned as he drank his cup of coffee – and the coffee that made the white boy play stand up and play that funky music, the coffee that made Jonny B Goode play his guitar, and made Jonny bet the devil his soul after he drank his morning cup of righteous coffee and the coffee that make the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll, the coffee your mother warned you against drinking, the coffee that Napoleon drank when he became the Emperor of all Europe, the Coffee that Beethoven drank when he wrote the Ninth symphony, the coffee that Mozart drank as he wrote his last symphony, the coffee that Lincoln drank before he was killed, the Hemingway drank before he killed himself, the coffee that started the 60’s, and ended the 20th century, the coffee that Lenin drank as he plotted revolution, the coffee that Hitler and Stalin drank with FDR as they divided up the world after World War 11, the cup that JFK drank before he was blown away, the coffee Jerry drinks while driving in cars with random celebrities and political figures, the coffee that Jon Stewart drinks before he goes on an epic take down of some foolish politico, the cup of Arabic coffee that Sadaam drank the day he was executed, the coffee that GW and Cheney drank when they bombed Baghdad, the Indian cup of coffee that Bid Laden drank before 9-11 and just before the seals blew his ass to hell, the cup of coffee that Tiger Woods drank with his mistresses while playing a 3, 000 dollar round of golf at Sandy Lane golf course in Barbados, the last legal drug that does what drugs should do, the cup of coffee that Obama drank when he became President, Vietnamese, Vienna brew, wacky, whimsical, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, wild, weird, wonderful, WOW, Yabba dabba doo! Yada Yada yada Zappa’s favorite cup of cosmic coffee, and Zorro’s last cup of coffee, Good to the last drop rolled into one simple cup of hot coffee
As I pound down that first cup of coffee
And fire up my synaptic nerve endings with endless supplies
Of caffeine induced neuron enhancing chemicals
I face the dawning day with trepidation and mind-numbing fear
I turn on the TV and watch the smarmy newscasters in their perfect hair
Lying through their teeth about the great success the government is having Following the great leader’s latest pronouncements
I want to scream and shoot the TV and run out side Shouting “Stop the world.
I want to get off this fucking crazy planet”
The earth does not care a whit about my attitude
It merely shrugs and moves around the Sun
In its appointed daily run
And I sit down
The madness dissipating a bit
And enjoy my second cup
Of heaven and hell
In my morning cup of Joe
Order this writing that appears
in the one-of-a-kind anthology The Flickering Light the Down in the Dirt Jan.-June 2019
issues & chapbooks collection book(learn about this book, and order from Amazon online)
Enjoy the 2019 poetry & flash fiction (and select pieces of longer prose and artwork) collection anthology from Scars Publications, titled “Art House” of select poetry, flash fiction, prose & art in this one-of-a-kind annual 2019 anthology collection book, which contains select accepted writings chosen from 2019 issues of both cc&d magazine and Down in the Dirt magazine…
And now for something completely different. First, the theatrical
Napoleon Dynamite
For those of you who do not know, this is from one of my all-time favorite movies, “Napoleon Dynamite.”
You can see the comparison; the same hairstyle, but mine was darker and his hair was brown. Thanks to Matt Jacobson, who is part of my weekly Zoom sessions, which we have been having since May 2020. He is always finding great items, often embarrassing, that he shares with his zoom buddies. I thought that these were worthy of sharing on my blog and my FB page. It is a follow-up to my earlier posting on FB of the BOC photo below.
[1] https://en.wikipeNapoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, Sean Covel, and Jory Weitz, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the title character who befriends a new student who emigrated from Mexico and assists him with his class presidential campaign, but Napoleon’s uncle, with whom he does not get along, has temporarily moved in to look after him while his grandmother recovers from an injury in the hospital.
Heder was paid $1,000 for starring in the film but successfully negotiated to receive more after the film became a runaway success. The film was Hess’s first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca. Napoleon Dynamite was acquired at the Sundance Film Festival by Fox Searchlight Pictures,[2] who partnered up with MTV Films and Paramount Pictures for the release.[3] It was filmed in and near Franklin County, Idaho, in the summer of 2003. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. Most of the situations in the movie are loosely based on the life of Jared Hess. The film’s total worldwide gross revenue was $46,122,713.[4] The film has since developed a cult following[5][6] and was voted at number 14 on Bravo‘s 100 funniest movies.[7]
Reminds me of a true story. During today’s zoom meeting, my zoom buddies asked me to come up with a positive diplomatic story from back in the day rather than the various stories of death, and fraud that I had been sharing. Then Matt sent the item above and I remembered a true story. Here it is. Back in 2008-2009 when I served as the St Lucia officer in charge of the U.S- St. Lucia, I got to know the opposition leader in St Lucia, who later became Prime Minister after I left.
One day when we were clearing out office files, we found a picture of him with a 70’s” afro”. He was half black, half white, black father and white mother, I believe. At the time I knew him he was my age, and like me, had lost most of his youthful hair.
I also had a picture, perhaps the same picture of me with a “Jewfro”, which is what we called white boys with an “afro” back in the politically incorrect days of the ’70s. On a trip to St Lucia, I presented him with both pictures. He said he loved it and we became good buddies. He always took me out for a drink after that.
Oy … the musical comparisons continue…
——— heh•heh•heh tr°°°
The picture is from 1974, when I served as Student Body President at BHS. The girl who looks like Angela Davis is Joy McKinley, who served on the Board of Control which was the name of our student body student council.
famous musicians from Berkeley, California (Blog entry)
Am I Berkeley Enough?Famous Bands and Songs From Berkeley
He’s been known to sport a Cal Bears hat with an Oakland A’s jersey. He professes great love for the giant burritos at Gordo and Cancun taquerias. And he still gets his coffee at Peet’s — just not the one at the corner of Walnut and Vine streets.
Does all of that make David Wittman “Berkeley Enough”?
Wittman, a Berkeley native long living in Los Angeles, has been asking himself that question for years. His answer, thus far, has been anything but conclusive. So, the DJ/vocalist has turned the debate over to the online community — in the music video “Berkeley Enough,” which has become something of a water-cooler sensation in the Bay Area.
The tune is as intelligent as it hilarious, a well-crafted slice of satire that gently pokes fun while celebrating both his hometown and L.A. Watch the video once, and it’s easy to understand why the song’s title has become a kind of catchphrase in these parts — and why there is now a market for “Berkeley Enough?” T-shirts.
The catchy, comedic tune is a duet between Wittman, who is better known online as simply DJ Dave, and East Bay rapper LaeCharles Lawrence Jr. The ample humor comes from a back-and-forth between Lawrence, who contests that Wittman is no longer “Berkeley Enough,” and Wittman, deflecting those charges with varying degrees of success.
“DJ Dave, you’re not Berkeley Enough,” Lawrence says in the video.
“What you mean, dude?” DJ Dave responds, as a rhythmic rap starts to rev up:”I told you before, you know I still eat organic food.
“I might live in L.A., but I can still wear a Cal hat and (represent) the Bay.”
“I’m just trying to do L.A. with a Bay twist.
I ride my bike a lot and drive a Prius too.
I guess I can’t be down like you unless I drive a Subaru.”
Although written by and starring Wittman, “Berkeley Enough” is really a collaborative achievement that comes courtesy of Wittman’s Fog and Smog, a video arts collective that includes a number of former Bay Area talents now living in L.A.
Fog and Smog is less than a year old, but it’s already an online sensation. It’s produced four independent videos, all of which gently poke fun at West Coast culture. Together, they have totaled some 5 million views on YouTube and other sites.
It all started with “Whole Foods Parking Lot,” the first Smog and Fog video, which went viral within days of posting to YouTube.
“The reaction was really beyond our expectations,” Wittman says during a recent phone interview. “It got a million views in a week. It was crazy.”
That first video remains DJ Dave’s calling card — and he’s often introduced, even in Fog and Smog’s own videos, as “Dave from that Whole Foods song.” Yet, he seems even more passionate about “Berkeley Enough,” a tune that allowed him to explore his own mixed feelings about leaving the Bay Area for L.A.
Wittman, of course, is aware that many Northern Californians love to hate all things L.A. This video cleverly, yet far from viciously, plays into that intrastate rivalry — which, Wittman says, seems to matter far more to people in the Bay Area than to those in L.A.
“It is sort of a one-sided rivalry,” says Wittman, 37. “I’ve seen it from both sides for so many years now. L.A. is almost like the pretty older sister who just doesn’t even notice that someone is mad at her — like, ‘Huh? I wasn’t paying attention. How’s my hair?’
“Not to say that the Bay is the ugly-duckling little sister. (But) L.A., because of the nature of Hollywood, can be slightly self-involved and dismissive.”
Wittman, a vocalist, composer, DJ and drummer, graduated from Berkeley High School in 1992 and credits his continued passion for making music to his involvement in the school’s fabled jazz program. That’s why he decided to sell “Berkeley Enough?” T-shirts and donate the proceeds to the Berkeley High jazz program.
“It was just an inspiring thing to be around,” he says of the jazz program. “There was a lot of really high level playing that you had to measure up against. You had to work really hard to make it. I think that kind of motivation for kids is really valuable and amazing.”
After Berkeley High, Wittman ventured south to study at UCLA. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1996, but he had no real design to put his studies to use in the so-called “real world.”
“I actually kicked around for a little while, trying to figure out what to do,” he says. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be a bohemian DJ/drummer and figure out artistic stuff to do.’ But I didn’t do well without some sense of structure.”
He eventually landed a job doing musical scores for TV commercials and, 12 years later, he still works there. The job reignited his interest in music, leading him to again pick up the drumsticks and do some DJ work. He wrote the “Whole Foods Parking Lot” song on a lark and then decided to do a video for it. So, he linked up with some pals, many of whom also hailed from the Bay Area, and the video-arts collective Fog and Smog was born. The name, of course, is a nod to both the Bay Area (fog) and L.A. (smog).
Besides “Whole Foods” and “Berkeley Enough,” Fog and Smog has also generated clicks with DJ Dave’s come-on to a pretty “Yoga Girl” (sample lyric: “Well anyway I guess you better be going / The last thing I want to do is stop your Vinyasa from flowing”). Then there’s the plea, aimed at Mr. Android or Mrs. iPhone, to “Put Your Phone Down” (best lyric: “You’re in public man, you’re being kinda rude / Your text messages are not that important, dude!”). All of these videos boast a delicious, self-effacing humor.
“I think Fog and Smog’s videos resonate, because our fans are a very self-aware bunch who are happy to laugh at themselves if and when the comedy originates from a credible source,” says Fog and Smog’s George Woolley, a rapper and video director who graduated from Berkeley High in 1994. “We poke fun at social trends that we engage in ourselves, and I think that is very palpable in the lyrics and video aesthetic we strive for.”
The success of the YouTube videos even caught the attention of Hyundai, which hired Fog and Smog to do some clever car commercials. Wittman, however, isn’t giving up his day job — he says it’s still unclear if Fog and Smog can become a true moneymaker. He knows that the videos have tallied an impressive number of views online, but he’s also aware that Fog and Smog is hardly setting YouTube records.
“There is lots of stuff that gets more clicks,” he says. “Cats, man. You got to do something about a cat, because that (expletive) just blows up.”
berkeley maps
growing up in Berkeley
back in the day
we still were allowed
to free roam
and so I went
everywhere on foot
or bus
walking to Solano avenue
drinking coffee
at Peets coffee
eating Chinese food
in Berkeley’s china town
walking downtown
walking to CAL
eating top dog
experiencing the late 60’s
transforming Telegraph
and walking in the woods
in tilden park
high up in the hills
overlooking the bay area
674 Santa Rosa
my childhood home
for almost 10 years
was 674 Santa Rosa
Berkeley California
A five bedroom
adobe California home
on the side of a hill
at the bottom of the Berkeley hills
you entered on the top floor
across the street you entered
on the bottom floor
thus it was in the Berkeley Hills
the house had a large deck
with a perfect view
of the golden gate
we used to sit outside
watching the sunset
as we ate dinner
my Mom and Dad
would have their nightly cocktails
on the deck
before retreating inside
to continue
their nightly fights
and arguments
I grew up
downstairs
hearing their constant words
of hatred, dismay and outrage
my parents were the proverbial
odd couple
perhaps never should have married
but despite the hate
there was still some love
that kept them together
we had a red room
with a pool table
and I hung out there
with my friends
my mother tolerated my friends
most of the time
she would be somewhat sober
until after they left
and the madness came
over her
as she drank her whisky
and wine
the basement room
was added later
was my younger brother’s room
later was my room
whenever i visited
from college days
my old room lay abandoned
filled with books
thousands of books
that I had read
over the years
when she died
I should have taken
all the books
instead I took
about one hundred
just no space
for the books
of my childhood memories
National Poetry month day two prompt specific place poem 674 Santa Rosa Berkeley California
berkeley time travels
growing up in Berkeley
in the 70’s
one would be drawn
to Telegraph avenue
down the street from Cal
to a particular corner
Dwight way and Telegraph
catty corner to People’s park
a corner sacred to the hippie
vendors who were always there
down the street from Moe’s bookstore
I would often walk back
occasionally talk to the vendors
about the latest conspiracy theory
about the latest conspiracy theory
and the latest political gossip
as the vendors
loved to talk shit
as they sat on their seats
selling their t shirts
filled with anarchistic sayings
and political rage
against the machine of hate
they saw all around them
as the man tried to keep them down
that was Berkeley
my sacred homeland
stuck forever in 1969
This is a shout out to the many musicians in my home town, Berkeley, California which is as all people know, the center of the cosmos.
There have been so many great musicians who grew up there, many learning to play at Berkeley High school.Here are some of the famous groups – just to name a few
Two of my favorite Berkeley Songs, are by Fog and Smoke
That’s if for now. Please feel free to send in more Berkeley bands
and some more sent it thanks Kristen and Bob
Kristien Freedman
Great poetry! I didn’t see Lenny Pickett up there, also Michael Wolff, Jonny Otis, Steve Gaboury, I’m sure there are many more. We had a crazy talented school district in so many ways!
Thanks Jake, you could probably do another whole article about jazz musicians who attended Berkeley High School. Will Bernard, Charlie Hunter, Colin Hogan, Dave Ellis, Josh Jones, Robbie Kwok, Steven Bernstein ……
I love Korea public art. Due to a Korean law, building owners receive a sizeable tax deduction for displaying public art. As a result there has been a proliferation of public art all over the country. Some of it is quite good, some questionable, but most have a whimsical sense if not quirky sense of humor. I love walking about discovering public art in my daily walks across town. Here then are my favorite Korean public art pieces, followed by some articles on Korean Public Art. If any one has other examples they wish to share send them to me and I will update this article.
The Art
beer murals
Berkeley in Seoul Coffee Shop
Butterflies
Miscellaneous sculpture
Fish Mural Gyeopodae Beach
Hongdae Street Mural
Hongjae subway mural
Horse statue Gyeopodae Beach
Coffee motto
Mullae Street Art
Make A Wish
Halloween
Manakin
Baseball fans
Unseo Street Mural
Korean Bull
Blue River Demon
Roman Statues
KGB Vodka
more public art
these are taken from a mural at the Youngsan Army base of all places.
For more information look at the following articles
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it is looking for Seoul residents, including foreigners, to uncover public art in the city’s streets.
Compared to cities famous for iconic and popular landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty in Manhattan and the 3-ton bronze sculpture Charging Bull in Wall Street, Seoul is relatively less known for public art and its landmarks.
To build a city with more variety in culture, architecture and public art, Seoul City kicked off a project last year that allocated about 700 million won ($590,000) to construct public art and landmarks on par with those around the world.
“We hope Seoul will serve as an artistic city for tourists,” said Yoo Hyun-ju, an official from Seoul City’s design policy department.
(The Seoul Metropolitan Government)
The project “Arts on Seoul’s street found by citizens” invites anyone living in Seoul to participate in uncovering art in the city. It will run from Aug. 19 to Oct. 18.
Under 10 themes, participants are to find public art and landmarks in a group of 10, joined by field experts and art connoisseurs. Their promotions of Seoul’s public arts and introductions of iconic landmarks in the city can be viewed via Seoul City’s social media. After the list of public art is collected, there will be public vote in early November and the results of the most beautiful public art in Seoul will be displayed at Dongdaemun Design Plaza.
Those interested can sign up at http://sculture.seoul.go.kr/archives/73034. Applications will be accepted until Aug. 5. Foreign residents should send their name, age, gender, address, occupation and motivation for participating to jenifer@seoul.go.kr.
By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)
South Korea’s Public Art is Not for Art’s Sake
February 08, 2011 7:00 PM
________________________________________
Public art in Seoul, South Korea
In recent years, cities have seen sculptures, paintings and all manner of artistic installations sprout like mushrooms, both inside and outside of office buildings. Many critics think the attempt at urban improvement is not a pretty picture.
This is definitely not art for art’s sake. It is, rather, art for the law’s sake.
A South Korean law requires owners of large buildings to set aside one percent of construction costs for art.
But what qualifies as art? That is left up to design committees run by local governments.
Hong Kyoung-han, the chief editor of “Public Art” magazine, says the result of the 15-year-old law is disappointing.
“More than 90 percent of it is problematic. It has no relationship to the architecture and no form,” he said. “There is no artistic sense whatsoever. There are thousands of works of arts on display publicly in Seoul, yet most of them are viewed negatively.”
Many critics say they hesitate to regard as art the similar chunks of metal, human-shaped sculptures and reflective orbs plopped in front of most big buildings. So ubiquitous, they generate little notice from passersby.
A few are harder to ignore. A steel company paid nearly $1.5 million to famous sculptor Frank Stella to build “Amabel.” Some people have called for its removal, complaining that it quickly rusted.
Oh Se-hoon is the mayor of Seoul. He is a big booster of urban design and the city beautification campaign begun under his predecessor.
Mayor Oh says the one percent law initially deserved praise because it helped beautify cities. But, he says, the law is not achieving its aim.
“Because it is enforced by law, people install art out of obligation without any passion or an eye for true art,” he said. “Thus we end up with art that hardly can gain public acceptance.”
Magazine editor Hong, however, does not want to see government involvement disappear entirely.
“If we just leave it to the developers of buildings, we cannot expect to see much in the way of cutting-edge, high-level art,” he said. “And only a small number of building owners would put art on public display. So, for now, government participation is necessary.”
Oh presides over a city that, thanks to the law, has put on display 6,000 sculptures, 1,200 paintings, dozens of murals and hundreds of other items ranging from calligraphy to handicrafts.
“Great art in the right place gives citizens a sense of relief and relaxation,” he said. “These days I’m into fun designs which will give people a smile or make them laugh among the hustle and bustle of city life. I want to see art installed here that gives people peace of mind.”
To appease those who do not find peace of mind from the more questionable pieces of art, South Korea’s Culture Ministry wants a change of scene. It is proposing an art reform bill. Instead of placing art on their properties, owners could contribute a smaller amount of money to a public art fund.
Hongdae Graffiti Alley (홍대벽화거리)
The street art splashed across the sidewalks and walls of Hongdae adds to the energy of the vibrant ambiance of this favorite university neighborhood. Thought-provoking art leaves no space untouched. The messages in the works are deep. The pictures are gripping. The emotions of the artists are almost tangible. For some of the best murals, head to the alleyways surrounding Hongik University.
94 Wausan-ro, Seogang-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, +82-2-1330
Ihwa-dong Mural Village (이화벽화마을)
A steep walk up the slopes of Naskan Mountain in northern Seoul will take you to Ihwa Mural Village, one of the country’s most famous moon villages. In the span of just a few years, the area has transformed from shanty town to tourist attraction thanks to government-run beautification initiatives. Along the streets that wind through the still-dilapidated homes is a collection of art installations, sculptures, murals and signboards created by over seventy artists. Perhaps the most famous of the works include paintings of flowers and fish cascading down steep stairways and giant portraits splashed across concrete underpasses.
6-18 Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, +82-2-1330
Down in the Dirt Updates
