Library Etiquette (revisited)
Boundaries---the concept of putting the right thing in the right place at the right time.

It's about a wildlife refugee park putting physical barriers between the giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and the lions, tigers, crocodiles.

But human society eschews this kind of wisdom.
It goes by the inane mantra of "We must learn to get along with one another".  Which is shorthand for "No matter how much the other guy annoys you, harasses you, gets in your way or messes with you, don't ever respond, react, or say anything harsh to them---not even defensively.  Just suffer in silence and endure it all.  Be a 'respectful' little trooper".

Should you do otherwise, and that other person "takes offense" at whatever you do or say, you're done for.  Finished!!!
In this society it's a criminal act to do or say anything to "offend" another.   Whenever another person finds anything you do or say "offensive" they automatically acquire the authority of a Federal Marshal and have full license to penalize or destroy you as they see fit.
And the proper authorities are obliged to unconditionally take sides with them.   Especially if there are two or more of them and only one of you.

I'm at the library reading an interesting blog post.  Or trying to anyway.
And two clueless domineering twits, both grown men in their 30s who are apparently "the new owners of this property and everything's going to be done their way from here on in", are having a loud conversation while standing right behind me.   And it goes on and on and on and on unceasingly.  And I wait, hoping they'll head on out real soon.   But, more than an hour later, they're still at it (not once do either one of them finally lose their breath and pass out).

And I don't dare turn around and ask them  "Uhhhh ....Hey, uhhhh....There's a STARBUCKS a few blocks down the street if you two MUST insist on having a long-winded dialogue.  This is the library and some of us are trying to read.  It's not really the appropriate place for your type of behavior".

God knows, they're liable to go ballistic on me, tell me "Go fuck yourself!", attracting the attention of one of those useless lame-headed library staff members.

The dumbass staff member, then, will ask "What's the problem here?" in the usual whiney yuppie fashion, to which those two are most likely to ramble off hysterically and histrionically all sorts of hyperbole defamatory character-assassinations and malicious allegations about me.

The staff member, himself/herself an authority figure, would probably render a harsh extortive reprimand for my "disruptive" and "harassive" behavior.
Or, even worse, ask me to leave or even have me permanently banished form the library itself.

But that's the problem with being out anywhere in public anyway.   That most people aren't exactly the most gracious and well-bred specimens to run across.

 The "online shopping" coup d'etat continues ...
Have you ...
*Eaten out at a nice restaurant lately?
*Enjoyed a day at a posh shopping center---watching a movie, then afterwards grabbing a bite at one of the eateries on the premises, or having ice cream before heading into one of the bookstores or clothing shops?

Hopefully you're savoring these sensuous experiences as they're soon to become an anachronism as the popularity of online shopping continues to take over and envelop the whole shopping experience.

Which, for most of you, is no problem as you already do just about everything on/with your smartphone outside of eating, drinking, pissing, shitting, bathing, grooming and sleeping.
And you're most likely already ordering crap online to boot.

So this transition will not hurt you in any way.
However, there are those of us who do not have a smartphone and, in fact, cannot afford one ...nor the services and extras required to activate the functions and operations of one.

And, even if we did own a smartphone, we still wouldn't be comfortable with putting our account numbers online with the chronic breach of security issues so prevalent and seemingly insoluble.

And for people like us it's imperative the traditional physical stores, businesses, offices and shopping areas remain intact and continue as coexisting with the newfangled methods of commerce and material acquisitions.

Another factor:  When ordering either online, by phone, or by mail, one's burdened with having to be present upon delivery of said item, whether due to living in a secure residential building where residents and management need a key to the building just to even enter, or (in the case of those who live in houses) to prevent delivered items from being stolen from the porch or front walk by devious passer-bys.
And major companies and providers---like UPS, FedEx, the cable/satellite providers, the phone company---are not exactly known for their transparency or punctuality, or even for being able to establish any kind of timeline for making their deliveries.

Yet another factor:  Once online (and cashless) become bonafide "in vogue" there'll probably be a "minimum purchase" clause, wherein one cannot simply purchase a couple choice wanted/needed items.  They'll be forced to have to make a minimum $50 purchase per order.  Every transaction will be that of a "volume" nature.
They've already been doing this sort of thing in the REAL stores.  Selling "packages of 10" when you only need one or two of said items, but individual ones are no longer available for sale like in decades past.  Smaller items come in boxes of 50, or bags of 100, and the like.

In other words---online shopping is but a further erosion of our freedom-of-choice.

                                         Service (?) Industries
When did the ATM machines at CHASE do away with the option of handing out receipts with each cash withdrawal?

Not that I don't already calculate on paper how much I'll have in my account after each withdrawal beforehand.  I withdraw $100 each time, so it's a simple mater of basic grade-school arithmetic to keep track of my finances.
But having that receipt afterwards to confirm and coincide with my calculations would be reassuring just the same.

It also means the onus is completely on me to guess blindly where I stand with my checking account.  Anything conspiring or insidious going on behind my back can wind up being missed until it's too late.

I'll never understand modern-day services.  Why is it the customer, client, or patient has to do all the work themselves?  What qualifications do WE have?
Imagine taking a cab or catching a bus, and the driver has you, the passenger, take the wheel for them while they take a seat and relax and rest for the ride?
Doesn't make sense, does it?

               Update:  The ATMs are working normally once again.  Whatever the deal was I hope it's done and over with.

You're in a hurry.
You gotta make it in time for that special date.
While checking for messages on your SmartPhone you strike a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
But you can't stop now!
So you keep on going, figuring there are enough folks around someone else'll tend  to that pedestrian.
...but some wise-ass "crusader" has to record your license plate and post it online.
So now you're sitting in a jail cell, looking at a 5-year license suspension.
OF COURSE your insurance company sees fit to raise your rates---AGAIN!!!!
Plus they're now even threatening to drop you altogether.
So much for "customer loyalty" and "standing behind you".

At Entitlement Mutual we have a special Hit-and-Run Forgiveness policy just for those occasions when "life just doesn't come together quite right".

                                               Adage For Today
               The problem with the world is too many Bosses and not enough Servants and Companions

"My residential unit is my home, my dwelling place
...NOT 'a refuge for wayward insects who made a wrong turn and lost their way'."

...Says I ...
     ...and a can of RAID flying insect spray.

Song Analysis: Sitting

You know, analyzing a song someone else came up with is tantamount to being a graffiti artist.
One approaches a finished structure and adds their own elements to it.

An architect designs an adobe-style building made of stone, and you come along, deciding that what this plain-looking structure needs to liven it up is a mural of a forest during sunset---or a kaleidoscope of psychedelic colors.
Then, when those who designed and built this structure express outrage at the way someone "desecrated" their creation, you "can't understand why they don't appreciate your attempts at enhancing their otherwise bland-looking building".  You just don't get that the way the building looks on its own is what those who created and brought it into being wanted, and nothing else.

Analyzing someone else's song is a bit like that.
Like ...Who am I to try to interpret the meaning behind another person's statements?

But I'll make that attempt at this top-20 hit by singer/songwriter Steven "Cat Stevens" Georgiou ....
The way I figure it, it's an anthem of a young man who still hasn't figured out what he wants in life and lacks a sense of direction.
He has this great fear he'll lapse into a permanent state of social and intellectual atrophy if he isn't able to find a niche and a sense of purpose he can ground himself with.
In the final verse he also holds the world-at-large partially responsible for his dilemma by condemning the way it often puts up obstructions and obstacles which often hamper one's attempts at self-improvement.

                         What is the one common element these two songs have?
                                      (Besides both being R&B/pop hits?)

Say Man
Bo Diddley (1959)

Tramp
Otis (Redding) & Carla (Thomas) (1967)

CeleBirthdates

Steven "Cat Stevens" Georgiou turns 70 on July 21st

Bill Cosby, born July 12 1938, had a top-10 hit in 1967 with Little Ole Man, a novelty song based on a 1966 Stevie Wonder hit.
For all his accomplishments he'll now be best remembered for taking indecent liberties with various women.

Micheal P. "Mick" Jagger turns 74 on July 26th

Vikki Carr turns 76 on July 19th

Kim Carnes turns 72 on July 20th



                              Another site to check out:  www.lunaticsasylum.blogspot.com

                                 Invent-A-Law (revisited)
What is an "Invent-A-Law"?
It's a law written around favoritism, popular prejudices and dogmas, with revenue motives in mind, or with an attitude of "power-and-control" obsessiveness.

Sensible laws focus on the practical:  being against stealing, aggressive assault, vandalism, murder, making threats, and the like.
"Invent-A-Laws" are those that make criminal offenses out of either petty offenses or incidents better left to being resolved by diplomacy or brief penalties.

The U.S. is a country more concerned with creating "criminals" than with solving problems or with just simply punishing those obviously guilty of wrongdoings.

It's a country not capable of taking care of itself or of solving its own issues.
And when one cannot take proper care of themselves, or are beset by problems that are eternally Sisyphean by nature, one gets extremely frustrated, looking to lash out at any convenient target.

By "criminalizing" certain individuals society can then transform said individuals into ready-made "punching bags" and "whipping boys" and simply put the blame for all other sins onto those individuals, make THEM "pay for" all the other hardships its "system" has to endure.

That, essentially, is what our legal system is all about.  The concept our lawmakers cater to.

CeleBirthdates

Happy 77th to Richard "Ringo Starr" Starkey

...and Hugh "Huey Lewis" Cregg III turned 67 on Wednesday (the 5th)

                                                 Adage For Today
The U.S. ...a country where one can get arrested for Trespassing because they cut across private property trying to flee a group of muggers