Viva la ilusion

Category: too much information

  • The World… and some stuff

    October 3rd
    doing dirty dishes downstairs
    i would like to make dinner but
    all the dishes are dirty

    Haiku the World

    Goodness gracious, world – it has been sometime since the last, hasn’t it? Let’s no pretend you didn’t miss me (or did you!). Well, there were some things in-between – here for a moment, but then gone in a flash. And, lots of other things have been happening here and throughout the world, as you may know. What can I say? October is here. A bit about my life.

    One small step, and an even smaller step now online. Last October, I challenged my brother to a Fun-a-day-esce situation, where we would each write one haiku a day. The result was a lot of haikus and a moment in time captured on paper. For some perspective, the blockquote at the beginning is the one I wrote exactly one year ago today. I enjoyed it immensely because for one reason it challenged me to write everyday, no matter how small. It was also done with a pen and notebook and there is something about it that seems easier and often more appealing. Although, of course – I later entered it into my computer keyboard. Ideally, someday this will be something beautiful.

    Of course, these may not actually be real haikus in the traditional sense of the term. Often lacking the natural frame of reference and perhaps even not abiding fully by 5-7-5. These haiku’s speak of a care for close attention, but are not afraid to break the rules and step across some boundaries. Jack Kerouac’s Book of Haikus also seems to follow a similar regard for the rules in some parts.

    October 4th
    some people are really friendly
    some other people are not so much
    they hide their feelings

    And on, and on…

    Anyways, time is quick here and I’ll keep this post short for now. For the future, perhaps I will stay in better touch here.

    Until then,

    Warmest greetings.

  • Fighting the Systems Within Us


    [image originally from here]

    You Say Fair, I Say Faire…

    Hello. So, it has been some time since I jotted down some thoughts here, so here goes nothing – what interesting things can I write to you of…

    Well, the spring time is finally here – and not a moment too soon. Not to wrangle you with the weather, as it seems all strangers do – or defeat you with the routine and common of everyday, but this past winter made me want to move to the Caribbean (dear readers, have an empty house there in need of a caretaker – why not invite me over for some sunshine?). Although, I think I could do without the tropical storms and hurricanes, or whatever, but I guess not everything is perfect… or is it? If everything was only that easy and dreamy.

    Actually, in all I’m pretty content with where I’m at. I think having the drama of all four seasons, just makes me appreciate everything a little bit more. Let’s take today for example: there is a raging wind outside (and I mean raging); earlier it was hailing the size of pebbles; then all of a sudden – the sun came out, everything became calm, and there was a big sigh of relief heard by all looking on. Now, it is back to being the kind of weather that makes one thinks one, two, three[1] many times before venturing outside (without ear muffs, remember those?).

    Ocean City, Swallowing

    Someone shouts in the street, “Go New York, go New York, GO…” Seriously, though lets go Knicks…

    Somewhat related to nicer weather and traveling… A few weekends ago, I made it down to New York City (NYC) for the 5th annual NYC Anarchist Book Fair and stuff. And, wow. It was actually a lot of fun and it was great to meet some new people and hang out with old friends. NYC is a strange place for me. The stereotype goes that people from “the City” are often so fast talking, quick, and perhaps unfriendly in this way, as to be impolite. Well, not to fall into this trap, but I actually found that everyone was super polite and friendly. Well… not everyone – driving still sucks, and of course – I wasn’t hanging out with the Wall Street crowd, but it still felt like a marked difference. And this isn’t even to talk about the anarchist book fair.

    If you want to listen to some of the workshops, skill shares, panels, and presentations from this past book fair, some of them are recorded here. You can also find the closing plenary with Ashanti Alston here, which is worth a listen if you missed it. You can also read the Basic Tech Security Recap from the 2011 NYC Anarchist Bookfair which recommends some Firefox add-ons and how to setup encrypted email to show off to your friends / co-workers.

    Some funny things: a younger fellow came up to me with a Free State Project t-shirt and asked me basically to move there. The Free State Project, which I was previously unaware of is an idea to have a bunch of people to move to the State of New Hampshire. I couldn’t help but laughing a little bit (okay, a lot) and asking something like, “why not New York?” But, according to our free stater, I guess “a bunch of people are moving there soon” and there will probably be a pizza party as well. It reminds me of a funny question: why don’t a bunch of anarchists just move somewhere together? And some of the Vermont Free Republic before that imploded or whatever… But, then again maybe not, I just know that I’m not moving to New Hampshire…. ever. Why not make it more appealing, like some giant island in the Caribbean with lots of beaches?

    Moving on, there was a video projected on the church wall continually throughout the day which had someone burning a $100 bill with matches. It also had a part with a kid in a box trying to bust out or something… A random passerby was fascinated with this I think and asked me if I knew what it was… and I was like, very cleverly and witty, looks like a kid in a box or something.

    Hrmm…? More funny stuff? Nope. Other ideas, yes. Another time, perhaps.

    Cold has a thousand shapes and a thousand ways of moving in the world: on the sea it gallops like a troop of horses, on the countryside it falls like a swarm of locusts, in the cities like a knife-blade it slashes the streets and penetrates the chinks of unheated houses.

    What else can I say? It was a good time, a lot of quick conversations with many folks, and stuff. NYC is a huge place, it is somewhat overwhelming and seems pretty easy to get lost in, amongst all the hubbub.

    [1] Do you get my Che Guevara joke here? Is it sad that I made this as a footnote?

  • A Not So Top 10 for 2k10′


    how about swimming at the bottom of the lake? (ohhh, the irony! is that why people like the Weakerthans?)

    Why do you put LOVE so much in your titles? Or something like that…

    Hi. What moves you? Well… last year when I had a radio show and was much cooler I did a top five songs for the year that was quite hastily put together. So this year, radio show less, although with possible epic comeback on horizon, (a la Michael Jordan) and just as late, plus some more for extra ephemeral – a extremely brief look at the year in music for me, as in not all of this is from 2010 – but, still worthy of raging out to.

    Of note: Michael Vick may put himself as number one MVP, but then again maybe I would too… But, nah – not this year; although 2010 was a year of note in my small world of playing music together with friends. Can you imagine this? Maybe someday we will have vinyl to share with you. After all, still making vinyl records is probably the coolest. However, and I will put a big BUT here – my tops that I will share with you, are all for free on Internet as downloads, put there by respective musician, cause this is probably just as cool, or even cooler!!! (Please note levels of coolness used throughout post vs. Metallica. I mean come on, you have META in your name – and you’re gonna take on the Internet? [11 years late…])

    While I will not torture you will actually thinking this is something worth raging out to at the next portabella BBQ, it deserves mention. The Spook Rat album raised money for something that, after all is not so funny. Of related note, CrimethInc. ex-workers also released a Test Their Logik benefit album for legal support donations. One other music video of note to come out of that is this anonymous montage, put to Broken Social Scene’s song Meet Me in the Basement. Canada, eh?

    Moving on: It is not that I’m trying to relive last year, after all I never won the lotto – but Jeff Rowe was on the top five before as well. So this year, the -anti is upped and we’re moving him to number two. After all, we forgot to put him at number one because of Bikage – since people who write songs (or cover) with the word bike in title are usually pretty cool IMHO. ty (stereotype in advance).

    What else can you make fun of? This perhaps… Please Don’t Hang Out in Front of the House. This is a two volume free download of songs about hanging out in front of houses, punk rock shows, and good times (bad times). The thing that is lovable about this collection (volume #2) is Billy Wallace and the Virginia Blues playing A Gospel Song from a Living Room Show in Grand Rapids, MI. Maybe tonight? Well, and a lot more on it. Most of all the Mayflower acoustic “House Show is a Four Letter Word” and Another Breath acoutic “Choosen One”. Irony… you be the judge. Jeff Rowe Boat is on here as well, is this getting weird yet?

    Let us travel a little out of state and across teh[1] Internets:

    RVIVR – Dirty Water, LP, Life Moves, and derailer.

    Probably one of my all-time new favorites in terms of rockability (and yes, I just made up a new word). If you are going to check out just one, I recommend the LP because the song Animal Hands is how they say in the NYC word-of-the-year-two-years-ago – hella’ sketch. In a good way though.

    Hows about we fast forward to this year and take a look at this album that just came out last week or so by a band called Wolves and the Radio. I’m liking it all, but especially the song Kellegra which is the polar opposite image of the the underwater image at the beginning of this post. I’m looking out my window and thinking that it has been snowing here for about two months straight none-stop. It’s cool (ohh more irony!), but I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t miss being about to go Urban Scout and not freeze to death.

    If you like Wolves and the Radio you may also like some of their close cohorts Mayflower and Larcenist. They were also on last years list, but Larcenist will be releasing a new album soonish – and Mayflower probably sometime as well. So, by now you’re wondering… Did you just rewrite last years list because it seems awfully familiar? Answer: Why thank you for paying that much attention, I’m flattered!

    So my not so top 10 for 2k10′ turned out to be somewhat of a punk rock colosseum – perhaps 2011 will bring some change there, but we will just have to wait until next year (around this time, but two weeks later most likely). Here is to wishing the new year treats your ears kindly.

    [1] seriously, whoever did this to “the” is a terrible person

  • Falling in Love Again

    Oh, for you ever so serious and on time blog readers, it has been some time since I last posted anything. I’m still here and still alive, and still not turning my back on the things I love. Just sometimes, you know… life gets in the way of things and the day-to-day gets a little more complicated. This is a fact, but something I’m working on to refute and become much more awesome.

    That are some very inspiring projects out there in my eyes. And it is with great awe and inspiration that I follow them, if you will – in turn someday building off my own. Ready made projects? For sure. Ready to make my own projects happen? Ohhh, for sure (someday soon!).

    You may ask yourself now, why Rocinante are you writing this blog post? Well, to be honest – I’m not really sure myself, but I will digress. I live in a small city in the lovely eastern United States of America, with some friends, where we are doing being. This weekend, for the first time in a long time, I was able to doing being back home, to the place where I will forever call my home. It is a very special place and on top of that my dog lives here. Well, not really my dog, because I think the concept of “my” means owning something, and I definitely don’t own my dog. Although, he is pretty much the love of my life. Being at home, where I’ve grown up for the last twenty plus years or so [yes, I’m not too young, but not too old] makes me feel – well, wonderful.

    And this is not to say that my current residence isn’t wonderful, or as Tiqqun may say “the conditions are excellent” there – it is just full of distractions and realness that causes me to lose myself amongst the stuffiness. Being at home in the middle of the beautiful country – alone – well, this is something I can handle and build off of. Here my productivity soars like no other. A tip for all of you who are finding yourself distracted.

    So Internet world, why I’m I writing this? To be honest, I’m not really sure. But, feel like it may be a nice chance to comment on life. What have I been up too?

    One interesting little project that my brother and I (yes, my real brother – and not some “brother” friend if you will) embarked upon last month was that each day of October we wrote a haiku. I’ve been trying to write more, and my current work demands that I write a ton, but about things that I’m not necessarily interested in. So, writing just three lines everyday seems small, but in reality – it was great – and something I was able to do across the world with someone I love. After all, work brings us all to different spots in the world, although – I must say my goal is to stay here. Whatever that encompasses, it is not easy – but something that means the most to me. Anyways, I plan on putting all our haikus about our everyday life together into something beautiful. A very simple small project idea if you will.

    What book I’m I most excited about reading? It has to be The Strait by Fredy Perlman, which takes place in the Great Lakes region of North America. In all openness, this is where I’m from and live, and how amazingly surprised I was to open the book and find that Perlman, who also happens to be my favorite author of all time, writes about the little old city I live in currently. It just makes the book that much closer to home. Anyways, it is a big one – and I don’t foresee myself finishing it, or even starting it for sometime, with everything else going on – but when I do, the review will come as well.

    And much much more. Anyways, just a small little note to you dear reader. I realize not only do friends read this, but people I would not consider my friend as well. Although, I do realize – I’m not secret or really anonymous – people know who I am and I have made it this way. I’m not super secret and never intended to be such. My somewhat, but not really anonymous nature stems from other factors, mainly employment and what I do for a living (what you mean you don’t dumpster dive for money and food?!!!!!). So, with that – I will stop my somewhat personal rave and continue on the doing being that is my night here, falling in love again.

    Wishing friends the best. Saludos.