SUBTERFUGUE's LATEST

Brazilian digests North America. Makes music.Lenine, Jack Soul Brasileiro I love this beat. Apparently he listened to a Brazilian tune (maybe a Forro song?) performed over a hiphop beat, and was inspired to write Jack Soul Brasileiro. And the tune itself is a bit about that. Eu só ponho BEBOP no meu samba Quando o tio Sam Pegar no tamburim ... Quando ele entender Que o samba não é rumba I'll put bebop in my samba when ol uncle Sam picks up a tambourine ... When he learns that the samba is not the rumba

I've been stagnating and struggling with life drawing. Before the past couple weeks of struggle, when I was newly excited about picking this up again, an ex-girlfriend said to me, "Life drawing teaches us a lot about ourselves." It's funny how sometimes people accidentally say the right thing despite meaning something else. I haven't really engaged in much art since she and I were together, back in my 20's, decades ago. It's difficult picking this up again now as an old man. An old man who has loved and lived very little. Hopefully I'll get into a flow eventually.

This tax-season thank Elon Musk for making the slogan "taxation is theft" a reality. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continues to dismantle government agencies so that he can more efficiently line his pockets with public resources.

Culture is a performance, and it is all yours. Enjoy it. Get on that dance floor. Jump on that stage. Clap from the audience seats. Throw flowers. Write your own plays. We learn how to love, how to live, how to laugh, how to smile, how to sing, how to think and express ourselves from each other. We learn almost everything from each other's performances.

Performativity - Wikipedia

Performativity is the concept that language can function as a form of social action and have the effect of change.

Chuck Schumer probably stopped watching after Treebeard's speech here. There's another part of that Treebeard scene that is also topical to US politics: After talking with the other trees well into the night, Treebeard comes over to tell the hobbits, "We have decided that you are not orcs," instead of coming to a decision as to what to do about Saruman. Everything will burn if we continue to allow Chuck Schumer to lead the "resistance". He is openly cooperating with Trump and the Republicans instead of fighting for congress's right to control the purse strings. Email your senator and request Schumer be forced to stand down.

The people who bred golden retrievers were cruel. These dogs never get enough affection. Poor things probably never believe they are actually loved.

It was a beautiful story.Life Story -- Angie Stone Angie Stone passed this weekend. We listened to her music Saturday. We miss her.

Something that has both cracked me up and made me cry since childhood is that Jesus supposedly said, “I am the son of God,” and people took him literally. Then the idiots chose to believe he was the only child of God, and worship him as God. It’s really simple. God is the creator. God is love. Et cetera. Therefore we are all the children of God. I mean, Jesus Fucking Christ, the message is simple. The truth is also scary, because it reveals that you’re the responsible party.

Just as in 2016, people who show up to vote and not much else are freaking out about Trump and punching Left and down. Instead of talking about what they can do to stop the gutting of Federal agencies they want to relitigate the election and punish people for voting wrong. Meanwhile all kinds of orgs are leveling legal challenges at Musk's illegal DOGE agency. That's great. The Democrats could move with this momentum by organizing in a united block with activists, and federal employee unions to push back politically against the illegal actions the DOGE is taking, but nope. They prefer photo-ops, and claiming to be powerless. Weak liberals do a great job of ushering in Fascism with appeasement. That's one reason why they almost always punch Left instead of fight the real problem. Perhaps it's just a game to them. Unfortunately they don't realize that the game has changed, and all of us have skin in the one Musk is forcing on us. Maybe this time around more people will realize we are all on the same fucking team. There's the likes of Musk, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos etc... and the rest of us. We need to work together to beat those assholes. If nothing else, can we at least agree on beating Musk's stank out of our government?

Generative AI is like Tourette's syndrome. Someone else probably already wrote an article at The Onion, McSweeney’s, or The Baffler using this observation, but mine was inspired by a fellow passenger - literally. He shared the commute, and his pain with all of us. He probably did not want any of it, and neither did we.

Life is the gift you receive. You are the gift you give. Please open up.Be Yourself - Audioslave I avoided bands like Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine when I was younger because I hated macho bullshit. But in the past few years both Vernon Reid and "Fantastic Negrito" talked up Chris Cornell in social media and on stage. I've grown to appreciate Superunknown, the album with Black Hole Sun. I love the contrast of Superunknown's darkness with this track, apparently written during a brighter, healthier time in Chris Cornell's life. I accept the sappiness of it, and feel it deeply. I think this is because I'm coming out of a wintry depression too and feeling more hopeful for myself despite all the shit going on in the wider world.