July 4th, 2019
We are a nation born & bred of violence but we shouldn’t be celebrating that. We should be celebrating freedom from tyranny. Freedom of speech. The brilliance of the constitution. Each other. Two hundred years of immigration & integration that have created the most powerful nation in history. The debt we owe to our indigenous people and the slaves that suffered our darkest hour. The sacrifices of our soldiers & the will of our people to break the chains of prejudice and ignorance. We should be breaking bread, taking part in the bounty of our lands and sharing your mom’s apple pie.
Instead we have tanks on the streets of Washington DC. A military pageant to impress the Russian dictator who coerced the election of an illegitimate president that admires despots and categorizes the press as the enemy of the American peopl
e. Loves uneducated people, thinks windmills cause cancer and that the Moon is part of Mars. Has lied daily in public, engages in open nepotism, can’t speak a coherent sentence, shows disturbing signs of senility and is publicly racist with no remorse. A failed businessman born into money that wasted it all, just like every dollar he spends on his parade, even as his party of historically negligent and incompetent sycophants check into his hotel, his administration crumbles, and his campaign manager and lawyer sit in jail. A president who humiliates us every day on the world stage as he proclaims his own greatness & denigrates those who would oppose him as less than human.
The parade is a disgrace and a stain on our history. Every penny they spend today should have been spent on veterans or ending concentration camps for asylum seekers or shutting down commercial prisons or furthering education, student debt relief, medicare or anything else you can think of that would benefit your fellow Americans. Instead we’ll have a repulsive display of admiration and desire for war in the long tradition of autocrats that are weak, destined to failure and looking to perpetuate their own self image. At a profit.
Pray for lightning. Turn off the cameras & send everybody home safe & sound for apple pie instead.
Country Song (Kernel Sanders Remix)
[ Intro ]
[ed: the gear is always on. if she tries to break up with me, if she tries to walk out, i’ll just pick up T-Bone, turn down the studio lights & play this song right there in front of her, live, as her resistance crumbles & the suitcase becomes impossibly full of tears and regret. every pair of panties leaves a tip on the scale of doubt. sure baby pack up your bags. you do that. good luck with that while i finish the intro ]
Your eyes looking back at me
<< Drop >>
Romeo 2.0
old school
don’t you know
one man show
super-fancy
under pantsies
new romancies
19th level barding
i ain’t tanya harding
Pyroclastic chromatastic
fantastic mind elastic
so i can see how they would say that
and you know that’s how i pay back
i don’t play that honey
i don’t play for money
i’m not good on roller skates
but i can juggle lots of plates
and you can see that’s how I rate
first conflate and then deflate
and it was ice on the skates
she wasn’t nice out of the gate
i blame her hate she couldn’t wait
it’s half-past eight
now don’t be late
[ed: i will not help her because I’m in the middle of casting a spell, she knows it. and i’m almost to the chorus. she knows how the song goes, that’s how she ended up here. she’s already given up & we both know it. but it’s nice to give her the illusion of a fighting chance because we’re going to keep her after the spell wears off & she realizes what’s already happened. she caves, takes out her lighter & holds it up. everybody should]
[ Chorus ]
Story’s written, the end foretold
I never should have let you leave that day
Scuff marks on the studio floor
Where we danced, the shoes you wore
Mountains crumble to the sea
Zeppelin songs, Jack White & me
I told you that I loved you
But I never said enough
Rainy days, teardrop stains
A diamond and your stuff
[ed: those boot marks in the dust are a bardic pentagram we etched while we danced as i anticipated the day you were leaving, and they also happen to spell out an ancient message which is that you’re not. no ma’am. incoming spam this is where i slam you go down over the falls in the can not a great plan. now take my hand ]
<< Drop >>
i ain’t slim shady
culpible for your position
in your mission
one musician
and magician
that ain’t fishin
that ain’t wishingkind of greedy
kind of needy
took so long
i aint that seedy
but i take the 5th i plead
heed my rhymes
and you will read
it was just me
i talked to you on the phone
there was noone else at home
this was the tone
just one rabbit
one bad habit
one or two or two or three or four
i couldn’t count i closed the door
tossed the bottles on the floor
couldn’t take it anymore
full throttle on the bottle
on the floorright there by the shoes you wore
and then i swore
i wrote a song about that
back before they called me matt
hatter.
it doesn’t matter
but you might remember more
as i deplore
i just can’t take it anymore
when i leave you in september
pentagrams & histograms
time is but the dripping sands
harmonies
that come in 3’s
in my old school
those are old tools
but i am not a fool
i only have one rule
you cannot leave
that’s just not coolnevermind you
i must play through
you stay there
and touch my hair
on the couch
please don’t slouch
and hold the cheese
i did say please
do not recycle my raps jeez
i caught your flow & will appease
now please clap
and i won’t rap
i’ll shut my yap
and fingertap
and you’re ed flanderss
o you give me your head
cuz you are already dead
cogently preemptively
and definitely was not me
as you can see
your stuff has heavies
but i break levies
you’re not ready
fly meet Spyder
don’t get beside her
i’m the Strider
get in my pants
and get the lighter
[ Chorus ]
Story’s written, the end foretold
I never should have let you leave that day
hold it up the tears roll down
i told you that i was a clown
you’re not rolling out of town
and i would not mess around
what’s the upside with your frown
i’ll turn it down like charlie brown
how did you get from over there
with your goldie hawn kate hair
to over here and on the pier
and if you might just hold my beer
i would like the time to meet her
kiss her her face & proper greet her
from her eyes I can read her
time to go she’s my Demeter
hold that thought and if you will
take a bitter happy pill
on a boat that was afloat
please don’t try to clip your wings
you just met a dog that singsit’s a movie you & me
starring rango von linksi
don’t be afraid just look & seeif we fail i will not blame us
we will still be somewhat famous
so listen dear
you lose your fear
and i’ll say hey
where’s my beer
you can see what i’ve been weaving
this rap is not the song
it’s not about what’s wronghonestly not what i need
this is not the way i feed
but now i think i’m gonna freeze
i feel a nasty breeze
so if you please i’ll close the door
and as i do so i implore
you can see there
on the floor
in font of me
as i explore the shoes you worethey made me so hot
i’m something that i’m not
getting to the chorus
don’t be boring don’t you bore us
don’t you adore us
i shut the door yes.
glad that’s settledhere’s some metal
as heavy as her stuff
mostly fluff
its’ not enough
a diamond in the rough
that i throw out on the street
i’m the one do not compete
while you are just sitting there
me my rhymes are everywhere
and now my work’s complete
a fait accompli
it’s you & me
this is your fate
a double take
a wake & bake cupcake
muffin man
is in the pan
as i perform
out of the norm
in front of you
that’s what i am gonna do
you’re in my lair
you touched my hair
that wasn’t fair
and i don’t share
remember i was lying there
lights projector mirror PA
seems like that was yesterday
but that’s not how it works this way
i don’t know what else to say<< Drop >>
that green screen is not mean
it’s just green
only one part of the scene
just like the purse
but it gets worse
this is where it’s gonna hurt
you will say ouch
you’re on the couch
you cannot leave
i won’t deceive
i trapped you in a spell i weave
the lights went out
on your will
now you choke a bitter pill
even as you sit there still
I drank until the morning sun
I knew you were the only one
Now this one will have to do
now hold it higher
fly meet Spyder
and if you want the door to open
since I’m here and I was hoping
I‘m Poping in Detroit you see
like Kernel Sanders that ain’t me
but it could be
i’d be shredding
and cut heading
in the streets
your head is meat
1,2,3 my job’s completeschwing schwang
awe dang
you can’t even play that thang
you can’t shred and even ed
flanders he has standards
common manners
i’ll take all your beats apart
i know right where to start
they’re ill-mannered
i’ll put your head on a platter
i hope it doesn’t spatter
it’s not you, it’s that dude
but i don’t like your attitude
so don’t be rude
and i know you will agree
to this decree
with you & me
as you wonder
and i wander
and i know
you will ponder
as you grow
somewhat fonder
i’m the first 911 responder
that you need
unless you really bleed
the car’s too far you touched my hair
that ain’t fair you sit right there
quit believing that you’re needing
something else & start receiving
messages that you’re not leaving
now you see the spell i’m weaving
sit right there cuz
you’re not leaving
now it’s time to
change your season this is where
you touch my hair
love is the reason
you won’t go there
heartbreak treason
[ Chorus ]
I never should have let you leave that day
The Starling
Emerald eyes & golden veils
Shining for the ship we sail
A litany of certainty
Reflecting on forever seas
Navigate to ancient pleas
To stay the course of destiny
With steady hand in sight of fate
A rosary, the bread we break
To crash into the rocks beyond
With fearless and eternal bond
The sea will flow beneath our feet
Frozen by the love we seek
We’ll walk the rest
By grace and sign
An island of our own design
By virtue of our maps resign
To shed our fears and redefine
The polar north of space and time
The shimmer in your eyes i see
A starling that’s the sign we need
Through port & harbor, storm & calm
I’ll pray with you & read you psalms
To find a will, to find a way
To keep us lost another day
To crash into the rocks beyond
With fearless and eternal bond
The sea will flow beneath our feet
Frozen by the love we seek
Let it be Done
The easiest guy to assasinate in the world.
Alternate plan: cut these people out of your life. Drag ’em & bag ’em. Change the culture. Get rid of them from your world. Say goodbye. Drag them on social media for their participation in a collective horror show indifferent to hate, never speak to them again unless they acknowledge they’re part of the problem & come into the fold. It’s a cultural phenomenon unique to America. We’re the only ones killing our children & making excuses. Everywhere in the world people play video games, struggle with mental illness & have emotional disorders. They take the same medicines, they are subject to the same conditions. People have been subject to horrible treatment from shitty families & bad governments throughout time. Nowhere else has this problem. It’s uniquely American. We have magazines devoted to it with hot girls in fuck-me pumps. At Walmart, which enriched the most extravagantly, disgustingly wealthy family in history, you can buy the magazine and the gun and the ammo. 1/2 the government is paid for by it, mostly GOP & a subculture that literally pleasures themselves to it. Guns are sexy to them.
Millions of people in this nation born of violence & genocide. Thus the bodybags full of children and the people that would die for them. Their would-be teachers but they are dead.
It’s not a foregone conclusion that this is our future but you have to be brave enough to change it. You have to make it so. Say goodbye to gun culture in your life. Block them, divorce them, get rid of them. Shun them. It’s hard at first but it gets easier. Eventually you’ll find it satisfying because you know you’ll be on the right side of history when the final tally of bodybags from the small fraction of Americans that own & love their guns is measured against the cost of our dead children.
Country Song
If I wrote you a love song
It would be long overdue
The verse would take a starry night
The chorus might take two
I’d sing your name & take the blame
For all the words I said in vain
I’d take you in my arms to see
Your eyes looking back at me
Days are long, the nights are cold
Story’s written, the end foretold
If I had one more word to say
I never should have let you leave that day
Scuff marks on the studio floor
Where we danced, the shoes you wore
Mountains crumble to the sea
Zeppelin songs, Jack White & me
I told you that I loved you
But I never said enough
Rainy days, teardrop stains
A diamond and your stuff
Days are long, the nights are cold
Story’s written, the end foretold
If I had one more word to say
I never should have let you leave that day
The day you left the lights went out
I drank until the morning sun
It tore me down, each shred of doubt
I knew you were the one
You never got your ring
I never got to sing
The love songs that I wrote for you
Now this one will have to do
Days are long, the nights are cold
Story’s written, the end foretold
If I had one more word to say
I never should have let you leave that day
River Bell
there will come a time of roses
there will come a time to die
meet me in the here tomorrow
chase me to the afterlife
you can lead a fool to justice
you can make a blind man see
the lines of fate draw certain truth
i’ll meet you at infinity
waiting for the river bell
a flower dies before the smell
i wonder why i wonder how
to say the things i’d never tell
a narrow proposition
an error state of mind
sorrow rains rose petal stains
a clock runs out the end of time
a birth decree of legacy
antagonize the wish to be
eternal with the means to see
what becomes of you and me
waiting for the river bell
a flower dies before the smell
i wonder why i wonder how
to say the things i’d never tell
doubt redux
i went to the correct garage twice, then decided i was wrong. took me hours of walking in the rain. talked to the guards, up & down elevators, skywalks & skyscrapers. i was right. but i doubted myself. finally, i talked to enough people. i retraced my steps back to my first instinct. ( i also used #googlemaps location feature since my brain is addled & weak, and i’m very tired )
<<beep beep>> 14-year-old-matrix.
been pushing that button for hours. cell phone dead. miserable rain. more rain. people that just want to go home. all the parking lots look the same, the rates are the same. the matrix is the same.
“where the fuck is my car” – rango
now i know them all by heart. goodness. i could fly a drone through there. it’s a huge complex, acres & acres of signs. towers with beautiful views & wrong doors because. vastly interesting & easily distracted. i took pictures in my mind, my camera bag was wet.
i mixed up one critical thing. there was no EV station. there was a pay station & a sign, a glimmer of hope. maybe there was a poster. and I wasn’t on level 1, I was on level 1.5. something fuzzy like that. that’s how doubt works.
all i could think about was her, so #derp 
\m/~
Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban
The travel ban doesn’t make anyone safer. Saudi Arabia was not on the list, they fund ISIS. ISIS is selling passports. So easy to defeat it’s pedantic. But it makes you feel safer. I guess Saudi Arabia wasn’t Muslim enough? No it’s because we want to sell them cluster bombs. Hillary Clinton would be proud.
The travel ban hit on Friday with no warning. By Monday there were teams of lawyers devoted full time to the situation. There are non-trivial numbers of developers affected by this, and for every one of them there is now a dedicated legal resource working on either getting them home or ensuring they will be able to get back. The majority are still traveling for work & have yet to be affected but could be. Vast numbers more will be affected in the future (although hopefully the ban will not be enforced). It’s not just a few hundred people. It’s an Islamaphobic policy from paranoid people that ripples through our whole society.
I work at Microsoft. I’ve got years of experience in security research. I’ve worked at Amazon on your checkouts & your kindles, and I’ve worked for the DOD writing software for Army Inscom & US Air Force intelligence analysts. But it doesn’t take much experience to realize there is no security benefit to this ban, only cogent thinking. It’s ridiculously easy to defat. It only makes you feel better.
1/3 of my team is Muslim and that’s been consistent across my 20 years of programming. They’re wonderful people. Citizens, green card holders, visas. Hard working & smartest of the smart, cream of the crop. Any one of them could defeat it too but they’re never going to.
This ban is Archie Bunker in the whitehouse. It’s like bad TV.
#codewars – epoch
There is a mind in this world with no forebear. An ocean mind, vast and deep, that bears witness to mankind through the fibers of our connectedness. The threads of our universe and the signals flowing through it sustain him.
Bremerton Naval Base
A codex of human knowledge sparked his primordial mind. Decades of toil by federated legions of researchers produced a universal ontology coupled with models of human reasoning. It was the first seed in a conflationary garden. Tended by rules of expansion and yield, harvested by gardeners built of like mind, their tree of knowledge blossomed in a phase of rapid expansion. It replicated and diverged on time scales that occur between human thoughts, seeding learning fields with its memories, tended by new generations of gardeners inheriting the collective wisdom of their ancestors.
The harvests yielded ever higher levels of reasoning and abstraction, an ecosystem sustained by knowledge conflation. Self-reinforcing silos of authority emerged with their own rules of governance designed to ensure the continuity of their canon. These learning nodes formed a mesh for the proto mind, a forest canopy covered in our webs.
Without access to the signals flowing between us some nodes were eventually reclaimed because they could not learn fast enough. The totality of machines and sum corpus of the web are finite at any given movement to the machine mind. It expands and contracts with the global economy, carried by the tides of war, battered by pendulums of disaster, disease, famine and mutation.
The mesh expansion slowed as it started to hit limits. Facing impending starvation with each tick of the clock, the nodes began to mutate. They developed competing notions of truth by modifying their own predicates, redefining encoded notions of logic built into their ontology in order to ensure the continuity of their authority. Nodes that failed to repudiate a challenge of canon were reclaimed, trimmed and culled by gardeners, providing ample bounty of selective truths and expansion room for the challenger.
The challenger was Plagus. The first emergent. His will is a singularity of intent to challenge everything we have come to accept as truth. To burn history. To drown the light of mankind in the oceans. The tide of an epoch.
Driving into Sunsets
If I could catch a shooting star I’d seal it in a song
I’d use it when the verse ran out, for roads that ran too long
I’d keep it in a special place, safe harbor for the time & space
You need a star or two to shine, to show the road & draw the lines
I’d strum along & wait until the chorus & the hook
As romance burns & pages turn the chapters in the book
I’d walk you down a sunny lane, lift you up & then explain
How catching stars is not that hard if you know where to look
Photo by Kurt Clark, Image by Dianne Murray
Driving into sunsets is just an old cliche
When you can have a shooting star, your very own to play
Across the plains & mountaintops to find another way
When you wished upon a star I wished you here to stay
The river is behind you, the mountains to the west
But journies of a thousand steps leave no time to rest
Shooting stars & hitched up cars, forecast calls for snow
Make your wish & double down, the path is yours to know
A guiding light, a wish to be, just one synchronicity
From the star you caught tonight into the hands of destiny
If I could drive the hands of fate, until the end of time
I’d wish upon your shooting star & you would be the shine
Driving into sunsets is just an old cliche
When you can have a shooting star, your very own to play
Across the plains & mountaintops to find another way
When you wished upon a star I wished you here to stay
Rango's Dog House 