The age of Unbridled Anarchism

What is it with so many people these days anyway?

At a downtown intersection the signs clearly state NO TURNS BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M. MON-FRI
...yet, at around noontime or 1:00 P.M. or so I'll see one asshole turning right and another turning left, even with a plethora of pedestrians crossing.  Not to mention the signs are supplemented by additional ones with those cartoon arrows inside a circle with a slash across them.

...and idiots who play basketball on public sidewalks, tossing the ball back and forth across the street to each other---on a major boulevard, with heavy motor vehicle traffic.
What's the deal?  Not enough parks in the city to play in?

...and idiot skateboarders who cruise down the middle of the main drags, tying up traffic.


I remember when I was hitchhiking all over the country back in 1979, how vigilant the merchants and restaurants were toward loitering.
One night I was "stranded" at a Denny's in a Los Angeles suburb off the Interstate (maybe I-5 or I-405), trying to nurse a cup of coffee for as long as I could.
After a couple of hours or so the waitress at the counter---not a manager, but the waitress, mind you----went all "gestapo" on me and warned me that "we don't allow loitering here" and that I'd better get on my way.
...and she was NOT very friendly about it either.  In fact she was militant, menacing, and a bit threatening and intimidating.
One note:  Back then this was actually quite the norm, not the exception.  Especially if you looked like a "bum" or "no-count" type.

                                 My "Liberal" Side 
I have my own set of arguments for favoring the concept of Socialized Medicine.

For starters: Freedom of choice

Buying a television, or a car, or a laptop, tablet, or a new phone is one thing.  They're nice things to have.  However, one isn't going to die or succumb to illness or bad health if they do without such things.  They're mere objects of desire, not essentials.

On the other hand, an infection, a major illness or affliction, an abscessed tooth are things that HAVE TO be dealt with, PERIOD!!!  NO MATTER WHAT!!!!
They're not a matter of "desire" or free choice or whimsy.  If not taken care of these problems will or could jeopardize not only one's overall physical health but could also lead to potential life-threatening situations.

Health matters are not something to be toyed with by obsessions with the ethos of financial, political, or social protocols.
They should be kept separate from the "marketplace" mindset normally applied to the realm of consumer products and services.  They should be viewed and regarded as necessities unconditionally provided to all.

                      My "Conservative" Side
As insensitive as it may sound I'm all for cracking down on the influx of illegals randomly coming into the U.S..

Okay, sure, along the way there's bound to be a good number of individuals who get hurt in the process of enforcing the immigration and entry laws, among them those who's only crime was when they entered U.S. territory.

And how are those in charge of these operations to tell the difference between actual legitimate families and unscrupulous types with ulterior motives who may (for example) use abandoned children as decoys to pass off as their own sons or daughters for the purposes of entering to engage in illicit activities?

And, being so overwhelmed by all these desperate souls perpetually pouring into our territory by the score, spurred on by all manners of false promises of the U.S. as a "land of salvation", just WHAT kind of accommodations CAN be provided for tens of thousands who seemingly flood in all at one time?

Also...
What about the social climate of THIS country, the U.S.?
And if any one of us, who are adversely affected by the trends currently transpiring here due to our financial or social standing being low-scale, should wish to escape OUR desperate situation, what should WE do?  Stow away on a merchant ship, maybe headed to New Zealand (or wherever else)?
And does one not think the local constabularies in those places might be all too glad to "bust a few 'illegal' heads" upon discovering their unauthorized presence?

                                                   Absurdity  5
What is it with these drivers who stop at a STOP sign, wait for all of 1/10 of a second if there's no cross traffic, then proceed through the intersection
...even if there's a pedestrian stepping out to cross the street?

Newsflash guys:  A STOP sign means you have to wait for the coast to be completely clear before you continue on.  Not just of other vehicles, but also of persons on foot (or on bicycle) as well.

And, speaking of bicyclists:  Shouldn't some of you bicyclists out there be just as obliged to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk as the motorists are?  Just wondering.





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Song Analysis: God Bless The Child

This song was co-written (and first recorded) by Billie Holiday and later became a non-single hit (never released on a 45-RPM) for the group Blood Sweat and Tears.

The phrase "God bless the child who's got his own" refers not to offspring who have children of their own, but, rather, to the son (or daughter) who has been successful in establishing a life of their own---one who has his own home, who's able to earn their own money and take care of their own finances, one who's been successful at establishing a niche or trade of their own or has succeeded at being able to make a living at a common profession or occupation.
That "child who's got his own".

The child who never gets himself together, or figures out how to "game the system" to his advantage, and is still in need of help and handouts into and during adulthood is looked upon as being a burden to not only his parents but to the society he lives in as well.

"Them that's got shall have, them that's not shall lose".  
That's because societies always reward the successful and abandon the failures and "nobodies" (who are unable or unwilling to contribute to the "general good").
In other words, those who already have what they need society further helps out and assists, while those who actually need a helping hand and backing end up being trashed and forsaken.
The references to The Bible are quite appropriate, as the only thing that's changed since Biblical times are advances in medicine and technology
...human nature still remains pretty much the same.

Song Analysis: Norwegian Wood

Take a second look at this Beatles classic, and see the somewhat sinister mindset behind the lyrics.

Guy meets girl.  She takes him home to her place---obviously a very classy residence.  She invites him to stay overnight.  After a night of lengthy conversation she mentions she "has to get up early to go to work" and offers him the option of sleeping in the bathtub (due to the fact her place wan't furnished.  He had to sit "on the rug", remember?)

The next day he wakes up, having slept off his drunken state (from "drinking her wine").
Miffed at having been invited by a gorgeous lady to stay the night with her at her place with the anticipation of getting laid, only to get little more than mildly drunk and a chance to shoot the shit with her for a few hours, then spend the rest of the night by himself with her in the next room, he exacts his revenge on her by setting the place on fire just before he departs and heads back on his own
...exclaiming, ever-so-facetiously, "Isn't it good?  Norwegian wood."

                                                         Absurdity  4 
...circa 2002:
location:  Columbus Ohio ...

The tenant who lived across from me in the apartment building I reside in (at the time) thought she smelled natural gas coming from the basement of the building and called the gas company.

After checking the basement and, apparently finding nothing out of order, the gas company apparently sent the landlord a bill for their services
...after which the landlord must have come down hard on the tenant who called, warning her to never do anything like that again.

So, next time she thinks she "smells gas" the best thing for her to do is just mind her own business and simply let things go on as usual.
Makes sense.  Even if there IS a gas leak just "forget about it" and "let things go on like they always do".  The landlord will find out about it soon enough anyway---like if the whole building should blow up
...then he'd have no choice but to pay the situation some mind.

                                     We Are All Cultists (revisited)
While walking around the other day a group of college girls were walking towards me, going the other direction.

How do I know they were college girls?  Simple.  By the way they were dressed, the fact they were walking in a small designated group, their manner of speech, the way they sported a look-alike physical appearance and mannerism.

Most people are not individuals who have their own distinct mannerisms, speech habits, or mode of dress.  They tend to identify with certain groups or factions.  They adapt themselves to the modes of whichever ones they're attached to.

You have the "bro" cult:  the obsessive "male bonding" and assigned "male interests".  And the cocky "gangster" style of speech and mannerisms.

And the "inner-city" cult:  when someone mentions that "they don't mind being around black people so long as they don't start 'acting black'" there is something to that observation, racist connotations or not.

And the "white trash" cult:  uncouth mannerisms, hair-trigger militant demeanor, fashion-impaired wardrobes and sloppy grooming, the worst taste in music, and chronic drug addiction that rivals even the "inner-city" cult.

Intelligentsia cult:  super suave in mannerism, resting their laurels (and entire worth as human beings) on the vast amounts of memorized knowledge (mostly clinical and literal in nature) they've accrued incrementally via academic pursuits and instructions.  Tend to take for granted they're part of a "super breed" of humanity, superior to the "common folk".

Suburbanite cult: Professional types;  obsessed with the secular realm---money, material possessions (especially trendy ones), respectable social status.  Tending towards silent discrimination against "lessers" and "undesirables", dominating personalities and attitudes, tendency towards assuming a "secondary authority" over everything around them.

LGBT cult:  base their life primarily on their sexual identities and preferences.

I could go on and on, but you get the essential idea.  Just about every faction and subculture can be considered a cult, because of how the individuals who subscribe to them shape their whole being around trying to "be a part of" them.

                                            Musing For Today

I had an acquaintance mention once that algebra was initially created for the purpose of explaining the off-beat and disruptive aspects of life.

That basic arithmetic---addition and subtraction, multiplication and division---represent when things are functioning normally---unobstructed and allowed to go their own way, unimpeded.

But that, in the real world, there are always those elements that come around interfering with and sabotaging other elements, throwing the ecosystem of whatever they interfere with off-kilter, creating results that baffle those who still rely on basic casual observations and a sense of logic to understand the world around them.

That those who understand advanced mathematics, like algebra and trigonometry, are better able to understand the multi-layers of causations working together to produce the effects they do, thus also comprehending the way even the most perplexing is actually also quite logical once one is able to figure out all the ripple effects of somewhat discordant and dysfunctional elements interacting with one another.

Since my aptitude for math is somewhat zilch I have no way of confirming whether or not my acquaintance's conjectures actually pan out.