Occupy Wall Street; Some Thoughts About

Here's some thoughts.

I watch the news. A lot. I've never been one of these "ignorance is bliss" types, although I've been jealous of those types for pretty much most of my life. I mine the news for information and ideas that I can use in my creative pursuits on a regular basis. This practice usually makes me depressed, cynical and pissy as a trailer park mom on child support payment day.

But I keep watching. The fucking news. Hoping and hoping that something will come along, that something will happen that is going to turn the country, if not the world, into the direction of progressive thought or at least something we can all agree on as common sense.

That day has come.

These Occupy Wall Street Protestors have earned my love in a way no blowjob ever could.

They may not have a leader. They may not have a centralized, cohesive, articulated or even well thought-out message, but, in the end, fuck you. They don't need one. This is not an organization we are dealing with. This is not a political party we are dealing with. This is not your fucking khakis!!!

This started just a couple weeks ago with twenty hippies in a park refusing to go home and now it's people screaming "FACSIST!" in cops faces.

I hear people on the news trying to compare them (or in some cases distance them) from the Tea Party movement.

The truth is this is the movement that ate the Tea Party. Or at least they ate the part of the Tea Party that mattered. The Tea Party got started by some right wing think tank with a good PR team that could mobilize people who were pissed off. At the end of the day those people were run, led and organized by Republicans.

the Occupation on the other hand is just chaos. It's everyone. It started with a few people with a broad, undefined message and now it's grown into God knows how many thousand or million people with a broad, undefined message.

And the part about their message being broad and undefined seems to be the cornerstone of the right wings criticism of them.

"Oh, typical liberal," they say. "You whine about a problem, but you don't propose any solution."

Which is obviously a bullshit counter argument. I mean, seriously, do you only complain about problems you have a solution to? Do you go see a doctor only when you know your diagnosis? Do you only take your car to the mechanic when you know what parts need to be replaced? No. Of course not. A person can be smart enough to notice a tumor without being dumb for not knowing how to deal with it.

And the tumor in this country right now comes down to a break down in equality.

Economic equality.

And when I use the words "economic equality" I don't mean what you probably think I mean.

Most people think that when I say "economic equality" I'm griping that some other guy has a lot of money and I don't. This is not the case.

Under the constitution of this great nation everyone is created equal. Remember that, because I'm going to get back to it in a second.

I make in the range of 25k per year. I'm comfortable with that being a single guy who doesn't own a car and lives in a shitty apartment. I'm also comfortable with the idea that other people make millions of dollars a year and live in massive fuck-off awesome mansions. Massive fuck-off awesome mansions sound nice, but I don't want to do what those people had to do to get to be millionares so I'm happy with my 30K a year job and modest apartment. Happiness is the key here. Me and the millionare are both free to persue that.

The problem originates at the point where the millionare gets to; lobby harder than I can, because he has more money; gets to advertise his political viewpoint further and wider because he has more money; gets to purchase campaigns (which is what the Citizens United ruling under the Supreme Court allowed them to do) simply becaucse he has more money; gets to say that the law does not appy to him because he has more money.

This is the state we live in. One voice no longer equals one vote. One voice equals a sound bite if that voice is lucky and in the right place and time when a camera is around and again only if that voice says what the network owners want to be heard.

A dollar, on the other hand, that equals a vote these days.

And that's a problem.

We don't hate the rich. Hugh Heffner is still cool. Let him keep his mansion. He earned it.

We hate the rich who exercise control. The ones whose desicions affect the rest of us, but avoid the consequences of those desicions. We hate those rich who tell us what we can and can't have regardless of the fact that we are equals to them under the constitution. We hate the rich assume a level of control that should be beyond the average citizen.

I've been telling my republican friends for years that capitalism should not be a game of survival of the fittest but instead a system where everyone thrives and only the most ambitious get to have the mega wealth. They all say, "Sorry, it's a game. There's winners and losers and the losers go hungry."

Ok, shithead. You wanted survival of the fittest. You got it. Welcome to the jungle. The rich are on the menu.

I'm back!

Hey. What up?

I've been asleep at the wheel of this blog for a while now. That happens. I'm going to try hard to correct that.

The main reason I've been away is...well, I don't really feel like I have much of an audience. I know that shit takes time, but it's still kind of discouraging to come to the realization that, apart from the friends and family who love you enough to listen to whatever stupid ass bullshit that comes out of your face, you're basically talking to yourself on here.

It was depressing enough that I gave up on the blog and sought an audience elsewhere.

And I found one at a place in Columbia Fucking Missouri of all places. A real live audience whose reactions I get to watch in real time. I'm no longer spewing madness into the void and hoping some one screams back.

This audience gathers on Tuesday night at a place called Eastside Tavern in Columbia, MO for an event dubbed The As Yet Unnamed Comedy Show. And it's fucking...well, honestly it's the reason I don't need anti-depressants anymore.

A rag tag group of talented amateur comics, gracious enough to add me to the set list of this open mic night event, allowed me to share their stage and now I have this feeling like a fog has lifted.

No, I'm not quiting the blog. I'm starting over. Or rather picking up where I left off.

It wasn't like I needed a reason to live before As Yet Unnamed Comedy Show. I was happy enough to just live for its own sake before, but now I know I have a reason for being here. This is what I want to do. And I can. And I can do it well.

I've performed stand-up comedy exactly seven times in my life now. Two of those times I would have been boo-ed off stage if I hadn't been too stubborn to give the pricks the satisfaction. On those occasions I just plowed through the rest of my set at light speed and said, "Thank you, goodnight." because fuck'em. I came to say my peace and I wasn't going to stop for a bunch of assholes who thought it was funnier to gang-heckle one guy than sit back and give him a chance. In retrospect I should have screamed at the top of my lungs, "OHHHH, YEAH!!! BIG BUNCH OF FUCKING MEN OUT IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT! SIT BACK BEHIND YOUR FRUITY YEAGER BOMBS AND SCREAM AT THE ONE GUY IN THE ROOM WHO HAD THE BALLS TO SIGN UP TO STAND UP HERE ALONE! LOOK AT THE BALLS ON YOU!"

But, fuck it, hindsight's 20/20 and success is the best revenge. And I got that revenge.

The last time I performed was this past Tuesday and I received the greatest response from an audience that I have ever heard. I'm fairly certain that some people laughed so hard they were a little bit scared of me. I truly believe I will never top that performance. That won't stop me trying though.

If you had been there and if you had seen me before that set and asked me how I felt I would have told you I was more scared than ever. More scared than the time I was in the car wreck, or the time in boxing class when I sparred a big ass guy named Viking or the time I was working at the mental hospital when the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity-size-of-a-refrigerator-ex-rapist wanted to beat my ass. Before going on stage I would have traded my fear of the spotlight for any or all of those other situations combined. Happily.

If you asked me the same question after I got off stage, I could have answered with one word.

Bulletproof.

Now I'm back.

And I'm here to bring the funny.

Please stand by.

Snarky Bastard Make Me Smile

I would totally hang out with this guy.

Link Love

Here are two reasons why I keep Warrenellis.com as my home page.

One; Anyone else here a Garth Ennis fan? If so, prepare to orgasm. If you're not a fan of Garth Ennis you need to get to work on that. Ennis is the genius comic book writer known for Preacher, The Boys, Crossed, Hitman, and defining runs on Hellblazer and The Punisher. I'll always love him as the guy who wrote that one book where the cannibal made a pair of underwear out of some guys face and wore them so that his balls hung out the mouth. Hmm...yeah, that was in Crossed.

Now Garth brings us this.

Note the words "written and directed by Garth Ennis"? Garth made a movie! A ZOMBIE MOVIE! If that's not enough awesome to leave you giggling with anticipation for hours then you are wrong, my friend.

STITCHED is set to premiere at the San Diego Comic Con July 21, but you can already order a your copy of the DVD. Full details here.

Moving on. Also found on Warren's site is this little bit of casual shenanigans. I'm not going into detail on this other than to say that it is an actual letter dated December, 1998 written by one of every one's heroes and it contains the line, "You are a computer salesman - I am fucking JAMES BOND." Just go read it.

Also, I've been listening to Michelle Bachmann's inane cerebral palsy-esq face noise ever since some suit somewhere decided that there wasn't enough Palin in the world. Like most right thinking people, I tend to laugh uncontrollably and throw feces at her whenever she opens her mouth. This is awkward for me since I usually see her on TV, but that's another story. I was only just able to keep my steaming monkey turds to myself when I saw this bit on Jimmy Kimmel Live. I give you the Michelle Bachmann Story of American History complete with more Jabba the Hutt than they gave you in high school.

And finally, just because you need to see it again, technically this is a Bruno Mars video, but in my heart it's a Leonard Nimoy video because he is most definitely the coolest fucking thing about this song.

I don't know if anyone has heard me openly scream my massive love for Jon Stewart and all the people who work at the Daily Show. But here is an example of Jon and staff burning a new asshole in the forehead of hypocrisy.

The Daily Show - Fox News False Statements
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Laugh all you want. But be pissed. Jon makes his money from comedy. But comedy comes from truth. And the truth is we deserve better...from everything. Shit. It's a capitalist nation. that means we're paying for it. why can't we demand better?

White Power Milk: How the Internet is Fucking With Me.

I watched a Louis C.K. bit one time (on "Hilarious," oddly enough.) where he defined the word "hilarious" as something that is so funny it breaks your mind. I don't know if the following is all that funny, but the cracks in my brain creak when I think about it. Naturally, my first inclination was to share it with you. You're welcome.

Here is the link to something called White Power Milk. Keep reading, I'm going full circle on this one.

I'm going to explain White Power Milk to you not just to explain it to you, but also to get it straight in my own head while I still remember that I am a living sentient organism on a very fucked up little rock hurtling around an indifferent sun and not a cartoon character in a disturbing 4chan video who only ever shows up in a leash and leather mask. Okay, here goes.

Basically, you give the nice people at White Power Milk a lot of money ($100 for an ounce and a half or $130 for two ounces). Then you choose from a line up of "milk purifiers." A milk purifier, before you ask, is, in this case, defined as a rich, pretty girl from an affluent family who are (and we want to emphasize this because the WPM website does) WHITE!!! The girl of your choice will then be led, or carried on a bed of rose pedals and newly minted hundred dollar bill by a parade of castrated attendants one imagines, into the spa area where she disrobes and is bathed and oiled by a fellow hot, young, rich, WHITE girl. During this phase of the operation your designated purifier will pay special attention to mouth rinsing for reasons which will soon become...

No, lets just stop and think about the process up until now. Two hot girls bathing each other. That's all we really need to think about. If you are a mentally well adjusted human being you can stop reading right there and go about your day, completely whole as a person right?

No? Need to hear more? Alright, fucko, you asked for it.

After the bathing and the nakedness, the girl you chose from line-up of pictures that look like they came from a book of "before" photos a heroin rehab clinic keeps around for advertising purposes will go into a small room, take a swig of organic milk, gargle for 10-15 seconds and then spit into a container about the size of a shot glass. With that done the owner of the website mails you the tiny bottle of organic milk purified by rich WHITE girl backwash.

All that costs a hundred bucks. Pleasure doing business, dipshit, who's next?

Yeah, I know what you're thinking because I was thinking it too. There's no way that's real. White Power Milk cannot be a real thing. Then a quick glance at the site's FAQ section assured me that "Fuck you, yes! It's a real thing."

Really? REALLY??? This? Is a thing?

This guy is selling organic milk (in very, very tiny amounts) to stupid rich fucks under the notion that the mouths of rich, pretty, WHITE girls has some magical cleansing effect on an already, pretty much benign substance. One assumes that because all the girls are rich, pretty, WHITE college students that normal vectors for orally transmitted diseases are immediately stunted by how rich, pretty and WHITE these girls are. Because, you know, pretty WHITE girls in their early twenties who go to really expensive universities never catch those nasty peasant diseases, right? Right?

The only thing more ridiculous that this is a thing is that it's totally not a thing. Except for the part where it's actually a thing. Stay with me.

A quick google search turns up this article by Alex Miller, a blogger who is, apparently, far less research lazy than I am. He points out that the website is run by a guy named Nate Hill a performance artist responsible for...some other stuff I probably don't care about. The girls in the photos are members of some hipster band that doesn't realize the rest of us are happy 1986 is over.

Then there is the Terms & Conditions page of whitepowermilk.com. There we find some giveaways that this isn't a thing.

Stuff like; "Buyer understands that if the specific woman selected to gargle milk is unavailable for any reason at the time of order, a replacement from this website will be selected on the buyer's behalf."

And, " Buyer understands that a portion of the information on this website has been fictionalized. Keep out of reach of children and pets. Exact ingredients’ lists of products are known only to the product manufacturer. All sales are final."

My favorite line after the bit about certain information being fictionalized is this one; "White Power Milk is not sold or intended for human consumption."

To paraphrase the Terms & Conditions page in my own words, "Hi, I'm about to rip you off. But you're not going to sue me for ripping you off because I'm telling you that I'm ripping you off up front. But you're still going to give me money because I'm doing it in an artful, clever way. You're basically paying me for being really, really clever. Being clever is worth something, right? Especially since you are so very, very not clever."

Alright, so the whole thing is an art project. Nate Hill is doing what satirists have always done. Putting something stupid into the world to show the world how stupid it really is. I suppose, the point of this is something about capitalism and the objectification of women and racism is obviously going to be in the mixed bag of subtext somewhere.

IRRELEVANT TANGENT GO!

There's probably also a lesson about how my penis makes me a bad boy for finding all those girls and their mouths attractive. Because whether it's a conservative christian dipshit with a "God Hates Fags" sign on the side of the road or a liberal performance art dipshit with a clever website, domination always begins at the genital level. Anyone who says you're wrong for liking what you like is an obvious sociopath hellbent on ruling the world. As long as you aren't raping or harassing or hurting anyone (without their permission, of course. Some of you are kinkier than others) and as long as you aren't having sex with any kids, feel free to ignore any asshole who wants you on his particular anti-sex guilt trip. You're welcome.

IRRELEVANT TANGENT STOP!

So, what's the problem here? I mean, we've established that this White Power Milk thing isn't a thing. It's just one of those easily dismissible arty things that only pretentious douche bags would even pay attention to in the first place as a sad attempt to appear smart, right? Sanity is restored. Situation normal, all fucked up, right?

Wrong! You see, we haven't gotten to the really fucked up part. We haven't gotten to the part that widened the ever deepening fissures in my already crumbling psyche.

You see, even though White Power Milk is a translucent hoax\artfully constructed middle finger to society, they are still selling the milk.

I repeat. The milk, that's probably not milk, that was gargled by girls, who most likely never gargled it or did anything other than show up for the photo shoot that one time, is still on sale and two ounces of it will cost you more than I made waiting tables at the restaurant for eight hours on Friday night. And this art project designed to show how capitalism objectifies women by creating a fake service that provides a fraudulent product is actually collecting a very real paycheck for having objectified those women who didn't gargle the milk.

You see how I'm dizzy right now.

If you're a satirist and you create a bit of irony that eats itself; job well done. If you're going to sit there and eat your own irony as would a mental patient gleefully licking the feces off his own fingers like ice cream...well, I guess, job well done, asshole.

Photos That Put a Smile on My Face

Normal stupidity will begin shortly or when I fucking feel like it. In the meantime here are some shiny things to distract you.




I know at least one of you who remembers that photo; "Fuck you! I'm an anteater!" If not, google it.

Also, here's a pic from a protest at the Amona Outpost in West Bank. Found here at Cracked.

Grandma to Massive herd of riot cops; "Come get some!"

Finally, here's this. Why? Because AWWWW! That's why.

Super What...

In a couple of hours millions of Americans will plop down on couches that are already moaning under the weight of McDonald's saturated asses to enjoy this great nations most popular annual televised excuse for drinking.

Many of these people will be watching the Super Bowl, not out of appreciation for the sport, but because they get a mild giggle from the fucking commercials, which half of my graduating video production class could have easily bested in cleverness if not production value and still given change from a twenty. (Although, I have to admit that the trail for Cowboys & Aliens is somewhat boner inspiring. Probably more so than the finished film will be.)


Still, the rest of these fans, the ones not tuning in for the commercials, the ones who aren't watching the Super Bowl because it offers a chance to get a bunch of people over for an organized keg stand tournament, those people are tuning in because they like to watch...

I would just like to take a moment to remind these people; Ahem! FOOTBALL IS STILL NOT A MAN'S SPORT, DICKHEAD!

Allow me to clarify.

Football -- A grown up frat boy, whose body mass is thirty percent steroids, wearing a helmet and three inches of plastic armor while making six figures a year to play the game suddenly has to sit out a few games because he broke a pinkie in a freak hand job accident.

Then there's...

Rugby -- A chain-smoking ex-convict who grew up in a house made of corrugated tin next to toxic waste drainage ditch runs out on to a field with nothing to protect his bones but a heart filled with murder and a bad Cosby sweater. He and a bunch of other like minded individuals proceed to beat the hell out of each other over who gets the ball until one of them gets half their face headbutted off. The player who gets half his face headbutted off then has three minutes to collect the broken bits of cheek bone and staple them back onto his skull in a horrific mask that would make the average Batman villain vomit blood. That player then goes back onto the field to get a piece of the "bloody bastard" who headbutted him in the first place. All players are paid in beer and the tears of fallen enemies in accordance with ancient Klingon rules of Warfare.

So in summation, fuck this shit. I'm going back to bed.

Things I Can See From Under the Snowpocalypse

I've spent the last four days barricaded inside my apartment as my city and state were slowly buried under enough snow to lightly blanket a small moon. I'm happy to report that I managed to avoid the most horrific horrors inherent in shitty Missouri weather (i.e. people who need help shoveling their driveways.) Now that I've freed myself (mostly) from my white, fluffy prison let us see what the Internet has to offer by way of amusement.

Research uses quantum mechanics to melt glass at absolute zero
If you put the word "quantum" in front of anything I usually reply with either, "Der, guh, brain hurty" or "Wow. Could I use that to blow shit up?" This article on physorg.com got both reactions at the same time.

First ever aerial footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe released
Living in Media Saturation land, it's somehow comforting to know that we really haven't been everywhere and done it all. Unfortunately, these uncontacted Brazilian tribes are about to get done the same way "civilization" has been doing indigenous people since we showed up some five-hundred years ago as logging companies from the Peru side of the border are encroaching on their homelands. I recommend checking out the video as our first glimpse might be your last chance to see. Found via Hacker News

Of course, I have to include this because...well, obviously.


see more funny videos

Ohhhh!!!! While I'm here, has anyone seen Buried yet? No? You're in for a treat. Ryan Reynolds is trapped in a coffin, buried alive. That is the entire plot. Beautiful in its simplicity and terrifying in its execution. This could almost be described as the greatest 90 minute one man play ever, EVER, if not for the fact that the camera and voices on Reynold's cell phone act as characters in their own right. Here, have a trailer.


Which, for some reason the anti-piracy bastards won't allow me to embed here, so I'm just going to give you the link.

And Another Thing...

It seems I missed one.

This headline from Boing Boing was too good not to post.


"Google won't autocomplete "bittorrent" but will autocomplete "how to kidnap a child"

Things I Can See From Here

It happens every damn time. I come to the coffee shop to get some work done and I end up playing on the Internet. It's my crack. These are the highlights of my browsing session.

First off, yes I realize that this highlight reel to the Tamil film ROBOT, found at Warren Ellis's place, is not in English or even subtitled. Shut up. You don't need it to be. Just watch. If you don't hear your inner five-year-old giggling maniacally half way through, then...I don't know. You're a lost cause. Kill yourself.








Oh, and speaking of five-year-olds here's one with his own webcomic. AXE COP is the story of AXE COP, the COP with a motherfucking AXE, motherfucker! AXE COP began when 5 year old Malachai Nicholle invited his brother, 29 year old comic artist Ethan Nicolle, to play Axe Cop over a Christmas visit. The game turned into a webcomic that young Malachai still scripts while big brother Ethan draws. AXE COP is a subtle reminder that within the mind of every 5-year-old is a serial killer, a cocaine snorting chimpanzee and Quentin Tarantino. It's also undiluted awesomeness on the page. Watch AXE COP defeat a giant robot by hitting it in the head with a baby! See AXE COP fight aliens while riding a flying Tyrannosaurus Rex with Gatling gun arms. Just go read AXE COP. And buy all their crap.

************************************

I'm kinda weird in the respect that I like movies about a bunch of normal guys walking through hellish landscapes that try to kill them every ten steps or so. That said, I'm seein' this. Who's with me?

Finally, "How to Make a Trillion Dollars" is a short article on raptitude.com. It seemed to brighten my day a bit which isn't an easy trick. I can't wait to read more by this writer. He may not be a revolutionary philosopher but definitely a philosopher for the revolution.

"The Man does what he does because he doesn’t know any better — he’s an addict himself, with poor life skills."

GOP Eats It's Own for Not Hating Brown People

found via Foolocracy

The Republican Party takes another step down the long, shadowy back-woods trail to the land of bat-shit crazy. New Jersey Governor and apparent doughnut enthusiast Chris Christie has been the darling of the conservative side of the aisle since his election. There's even been talk of him running for President in 2012. Well, there was until Christie committed the cardinal Republican sin of liking a brown skinned dude.

While Republican politicians have a long history of liking brown skinned dudes, their traditional method of doing so involves a mildew stained motel room, a bottle of cheap tequila and a fully shaved, seventeen-year-old boy named Raoul.

Christie seems to have fucked up this long beloved GOP practice by actually appointing his brown skinned dude to the position of judge instead of simply taking him forcibly from behind on a soiled mattress and leaving twenty dollars on the bedside table.

Conservative commentator and former Bush aide Karl Rove was quoted on his Fox News as saying, "NOT LIKE THAT, YOU IDIOT! LIKE THIS! LIKE THIS!" Rove then proceeded to forcefully ram his half-hard member into the not entirely willing mouth of Paolo, a young Nicaraguan man in handcuffs kneeling before him on the studio floor. Paolo's eye's slowly began to well with tears as he tried to accommodate the former Bushie organ as it ground painfully against the back of his throat. Oh well, thought Paolo, at least his new Yankee trick paid better than the cartel cowboys in his home country.

What is it about Christie liking a brown skinned dude in an official, non-exploitative capacity that has the rest of the GOP in such an up roar?

This time the brown skinned dude in question is Sohail Mohammed, an Indian born Muslim. This seems to have pissed off some Conservatives, because, according to them, we're still not supposed to like people with names like Mohammed. And we're certainly not supposed to appoint them to be judges. To make matters worse for Christie, Mohammed is a man who has been working around the clock for years, in his capacity as a New Jersey lawyer, to bring the mainstream Muslim community into the fold of mainstream American society during a political climate where this is the least popular thing he could possibly do. So, from a non-racist, common sense perspective, Christie didn't just appoint a Muslim, he appointed a damn hero lawyer who happens to be Muslim. What was he thinking?

From Foolocracy;

"He [Mohammed] received credit for bringing trust and understanding between the Muslim community and law enforcement after 9/11. In the past, he has sought to bring the Muslim community deeper into integration with American society, including the organization of a law enforcement job fair at a mosque. Mohammed has also trained FBI agents about Islam and its culture. He also has been named a Super Lawyer in New Jersey every year since 2006. Super Lawyers are chosen by their peers and through independent research."

Hear that? Super Lawyer. I didn't make that up. No matter how you want to cut it Sohail Mohammed is one of the good guys. But, he's a Muslim. And now the GOP is willing to throw one of it's own under the bus for associating with him.

Remember back when they arrested that IT guy because he worked in the same office as a guy who had a cousin who might be in Al Qaeda and then shipped him off to another country to be tortured for several months? That shit was crazy right. Well, the guys who did that are still around, some are still in office and, in their minds, the rule of guilt by association applies absolutely.

Now the question is, should the sane among us feel better or worse knowing that even Republicans aren't immune to the retribution of the bat-shit insane?