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Disaster Girl
Kimberley Bianca
This paper situates the author's performance art practice, Disaster Girl, in the theoretical lens of ecomaterialism to analyse media art and praxis. Disaster Girl challenges audiences with remix, bricolage, and collaborative modes by confronting dystopia by juxtaposing political satire and environmental exigency. Three recent Disaster Girl projects, ranging from the written to the performative, are reviewed: A Camouflage Opera (2019), based on Kurtág: József Attila Fragments with soprano Judit Molnar; Bile for Bog Roll (2020), an audiovisual site-specific poetry performance; and Murphy's Law Or: (2020), a participatory archive and networked performance. These examples help examine authorship, agency, and control through Guattarian 'ecosophy', the cyclical nature of interrelated ecologies and anthropogenic degradation, and Anne Carson's 'circular reasoning', emotion and disorder becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Thus, Disaster Girl engages with relational, social, emotional, and material assemblages within the poetic realm.
Keywords: performance poetry; ecomaterialism; Capitalocene
https://www.axonjournal.com.au/sites/default/files/article_pdf/Axon-11-1-Kimberly%20Bianca.pdf
Who or what is Disaster Girl?
During an artist residency in 2011 at Culture Factory Polymer in Tallinn, Estonia, I directed a telematic participatory performance deconstructing Plato's and Thomas More's notions of Atlantis. In the three-month development phase, which involved repurposing objects in the former Soviet toy factory for props, residents started calling me 'disaster girl.' During the Stalker Festival of Tallinn in 2011, I stepped into The Zone, which, in Tarkovsky's film Stalker (1967), is a restricted site of a past disaster. In the Zone, the protagonists find the Room, a place that fulfils one's most profound desires. Reflecting on this experience and watching the film inspired me to establish Disaster Girl as a living protagonist in a dystopian speculative reality. My subsequent tour in Eastern Europe fractured my attraction to techno-utopianism to remedy political and environmental degradation. Consequently, Disaster Girl became an attempt to come to terms with utopian and dystopian ideologies, and a warning against the harmful influence of this thinking on promoting democracy.
The Disaster Girl aesthetic juxtaposes totalitarian industrialisation and disasters (intergalactic, earth-environmental, political, and personal). Like most cyberpunk and sci-fi narratives and concept art, protagonists usually resist the dominant regime, which often involves antifascism, anarchy, and environmentalism. Without resorting to parody, Disaster Girl challenges the audience by confronting them with mutiny as a form of satire. While Disaster Girl does not use symbols of nationalism for rhetorical effect, this confrontation is like that of the Slovenian retro avant-garde music group, Laibach, which has been said to 'absorb the mannerisms of the enemy, adopting all the seductive trappings and symbols of state power, and then they exaggerate everything to the edge of parody' (Wolfson 2003: n.p.). Alexei Monroe (2005) writes that Laibach's methodology is based upon the 'amplification or rendering audible of the hidden codes and internal contradictions of a series of artistic, musical, political, linguistic, and historical regimes' (35). The retro avant-garde approach is still relevant today as decision-makers still view conflicts from the lens of the Cold War. The influences of the Cold War still exist in media culture today. The hierarchies, polarisation, and aesthetics seem to be something media art still tries to challenge by critically reflecting on the increasingly detrimental state of globalisation. However, today, climate change has replaced the anxieties of nuclear war as the primary international concern, which follows a continuing interest in globalisation and the battle for resources, as well as notions of the Anthropocene. Similarly to Laibach, the German musical group Rammstein pushes against the alt-right and critiques European colonialism and American racism and nationalism (Blaser 2019) through over-the-top confrontational performances often misinterpreted as romanticising fascism.
Disaster Girl is an embodiment, not an alter-ego or alias. As a result, rather than detaching my body from Disaster Girl, I experiment with Australian performance artist Stelarc's concept that the body is obsolete. When Stelarc speaks of the 'obsolete body,' he means that 'technology is what defines the meaning of being human, it's part of being human … the body is biologically inadequate' (Atzori & Woolford 1995: n.p.). Interestingly, the examples I have provided are predominantly masculine, and so I advocate a queer reinvention of the standards of science fiction, industrial music and technology-based art. Disaster Girl could also be a quintessential Cyborg. Donna Haraway (2013) mentions, 'the main trouble with cyborgs, of course, is that they are the illegitimate offspring of militarism and patriarchal capitalism, not to mention state socialism'(176). Thus, Disaster Girl is not a hero or an archetype of an empowered woman by any means. She is a product of her environment, and this environment is not fiction, even if entering the speculative.
The speculative, dystopian narrative often represents the tipping point — dramatic literary styles to warn of eco-crises. The tipping point is often represented as the end of the world, owing to a desire to control nature. But these can generate feelings of despair in the public. While disasters can invoke the imagery of terror, the current situation in global health politics could be called disastrous, or at least use alarmist rhetoric based on a supposed, looming disaster. On the contrary, I propose that disaster can be liberating and can invoke community response. Nevertheless, I am constantly critiquing my approach with Disaster Girl with what Walter Benjamin (2008) says is an 'aestheticisation' of politics. Benjamin's proposed response is in framing everyday life as collectively and socially created art — praxis provides the necessary element to make this work — enacting values through my practice from conception through material processes to representation.
The Capitalocene
There is much debate on whether we should or should not be using the terminology of the Anthropocene, Capitalocene, etc. I support the notion that each term has its place depending on the field of study and the audience. Jason W Moore (2016) questions how the complexities of planetary crisis and global accumulation can be reconciled and outlines that the 'Capitalocene signifies capitalism as a way of organising nature — as a multispecies, situated, capitalist world-ecology' (6). For example, we have seen how the COVID-19 pandemic highlights how diseases become pandemics due to industrial reconfigurations of nature and ecological and socioeconomic injustices. Moore explains the Capitalocene is a system of power, profit, and reproduction in the web of life. Capital persists through the privatisation of commons, and then the common good is resold as private debt. The remainder is generated by the write-off of obsolete stock and waste disposal into the environment, which Sean Cubitt (2014) claims defers to another generation and market crisis. Waste is not an unintended consequence of consumerism since there would be no consumer capital without it — 'we live in the age of integral waste' (Cubitt 2014: 280). Since my artistic practice questions how capitalism and colonialism have destroyed ecosystems, I apply the Capitalocene as the source of injustice.
It takes a lot of material to realise the immaterial infrastructures around us. How media artefacts and materials affect the environment, where electronic components are made, their resources and use of energy, and the people producing our creative tools are considerably overlooked. The mining of the materials needed to produce technology artefacts is only increasing, and discarded consumer gadgets produce large amounts of electronic waste (e-waste). Up to 50 million tonnes of e-waste is made every year (Kumar, Holuszko and Espinosa 2017). Congruently, software processes and our digital products and labour run on physical hardware and energy consumption. They depend on this same natural resource extraction and manufacturing system, exposing how digital infrastructures are inherently material and exploitative of people and ecosystems. Rethinking media practices from an ecomaterialist perspective can challenge the institution of environmentalism. As proposed by Hunter Vaughan (2018), analysing media and praxis through the framework of ecomaterialism requires consideration that media practices have material impacts; material culture is the by-product of distribution and consumption; and the environment is the primary source of labour. Vaughan says ecomaterialism will refocus the various stages of 'cultural production, distribution, consumption and waste impact of our ecosystems and define our use of natural resources' (104) in the mode of ecological imperialism.
Ecomaterialism as a theoretical framework encourages media arts to produce more than environmentally-themed or representative work. Focusing on the collisions and intimacies between human and inhuman natures, ecomaterialism is also involved in ethical, social, and political predicaments of multiple becomings (Opperman 2018; Cohen & Duckertz 2015). Thus, while ecomedia art generates and probes critical discussions, it can lead to an applied aesthetic. Cox and Pezzullo (2015) differentiate 'aesthetics' as something to be enjoyed and judged by one's taste and 'applied aesthetics' as a by-product of technologies and materials used. Similarly, Vaughan (2018) argues that new media can express and represent ecological issues, yet the processes to make them have severe ecological repercussions. I would add that applied aesthetics goes beyond aesthetics, where media practitioners can strive for politically and ecologically informed reflexive practices — not just to position the use of technology into the role of art or media, but also the application of practice; how the practitioner involved in the making of messages explicitly frames their practice and enacts their values.
A Camouflage Opera (2019-2020)
A Camouflage Opera Opera (https://kimberleybianca.com/camouflage-opera), performed by Soprano Judit Molnar and Disaster Girl in November 2019 in Australia, was an adaption of Kurtág — Attila József Fragments. The work was further developed at the start of the pandemic, but future performances were cancelled as I had returned to the US.
Judit Molnar is an internationally acclaimed opera artist who is completing her PhD on the vocal compositions of György Kurtág, specifically those set to Hungarian texts to make this repertoire more accessible to new audiences. I coded the lyrics and score to do the scenography, sound design, and animated and recorded video content (https://kimberleybianca.com/fragments). I performed as Disaster Girl during the live performance with the audiovisual elements. The venue, The Commissariat Store in Brisbane, Australia, was also influential, as it was built by convict and Aboriginal slave labour. To date, it critically promotes colonial history through exhibitions and displays, which remained in the space during the performance. The work therefore also explores themes of deterritorialisation, colonialism, and genocide beyond the context of the original work, making it site-specific.
Kurtág took fragments from poems written between WWI and WWII and the socialist-communist coalition. Kurtág was extremely isolated under the Soviet Union, and after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he briefly went to Paris. When Kurtág was undergoing psychological treatment with Marianne Stein in Paris in 1957, he was encouraged to reduce his music to a fragment as a therapy to deal with his severe depression (Predota 2016). It wasn't until 1982 that Kurtág completed Attila József Fragments.
Attila József (1905-1937) was known as the 'proletariat poet' of Hungary, joining the illegal Communist Party of Hungary and writing works on socialism and democracy. However, Kurtág focused on József's more personal poetry and extracted lines from various poems of József's in this nature. József was mentally unstable, eventually committing suicide (although there are claims it was an accident) in 1937. József is speculated to have had various mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder (Slipp 2014). The fragments compiled by Kurtág in Attila József Fragments suggest József's infatuation with organic matter and nature and his body decomposing and becoming part of the earth. With the concept of decay, I mapped Felix Guattari's 'ecosophy' — the cyclical nature of interrelated ecology and advanced human-caused ecological degradation to compose three aesthetic themes: environmental, political, and personal decay, with the idea that life and death are not linear.
Guattari (2008) proposes three types of ecological praxis that lead to reframing and recomposition of the goals of emancipatory struggles. This praxis is between the environment, social relations, and human subjectivity. In The Three Ecologies, Guattari writes, 'subjectivity is able to install itself simultaneously in the realms of the environment, in the major social and institutional assemblages, and symmetrically in the landscapes and fantasies of the most intimate spheres of the individual' (45). Furthermore, the Deleuzoguattarian notion of deterritorialisation relates to the dissolution of the fundamental connection between cultural, social, and spatial or geographic areas. It represents a radical alteration of the interaction between our daily cultural experiences and our ideal arrangement as stable, local beings. From this perspective, insanity seems to come from an increase in deterritorialisation, and psychiatric institutions employ reterritorialisation tactics to address insanity. Interestingly, Horton (2018) suggests that Guattari's depression (Guattari committed suicide in 1992) drove him to develop ecosophy and that ecosophy was a solution for his own personal and social conflicts.
If we consider the fragments as points in a cyclical timeline, the media I video-projected on the walls are not breaks or intervals; they are the relations between the fragments. It was not a cohesion that I tried to deliver when making the sound design and visual content, but a mesh or webbing of the elements. I framed the approach with Guattari's ecosophical aesthetics and Nicolas Bourriaud's relational aesthetics, suggesting judging artworks based on the inter-human relations they represent, produce or prompt (Bourriaud 2002: 12). To create an extension of the solo soprano, the audiovisual samples performed between the fragments were created from my recordings of Molnar, with which I distorted, manipulated, and rearranged her voice. The space design employed bricolage, minimising the use of materials. Thus, I tried to evaluate this project through its relational and social assemblages.
Bile for Bog Roll (2020)
Bile for Bog Roll (https://kimberleybianca.com/bog-roll) was an audiovisual site-specific poetry performance in Boulder, Colorado, US. I had moved into a stationary motorhome/recreational vehicle (RV) on a suburban ranch at the start of the pandemic, and this became a safe space and a creative space. I created the content, performed poetry and recorded the work in isolation. At the beginning of Bile for Bog Roll were vocal samples taken from Facebook Live Videos with 24/7 streaming Catholic prayers. A soothing feminine voice looped and layered while people chatted in the comment sections. Mesmerised by this phenomenon and how beautiful it sounded, I imagined viewers worldwide believing they were in a kind of purgatory during the pandemic, and these videos provided some solace in a virtual community space. In Samuel Beckett's Endgame (1958), the characters are in the process of purgatory. My position living in this RV reminded me of the setting of Endgame. The RV became not just a room to live in to face my feelings of hopelessness and lack of helpfulness during the pandemic but a site of creative practice and the performance site. Endgame is about hopelessness. The characters are not waiting for anything other than death. They fear being reincarnated after death as they think the worst thing that can happen to them is to be born, and the next best thing that can happen to us is to be dying. Just as beginnings and endings are the same in Endgame, disorder and order can be viewed as the same, 'the end is in the beginning, and yet you go on' (69), leading to a cognitive loop, a loop of individual existence, and the loop of bodily processes such as bile.
Loops are integral in Bile for Bog Roll, conceptually, technically, and semiotically. The quotidian toilet paper roll (bog roll is slang for toilet paper in the UK and Australia) has become a symbolic object of mania during the COVID-19 pandemic. Toilet paper can be considered a loop. It is on a roll; when we run out, we replace it, and so on. The manufacturing process is also a loop. The frenzy and loop of toilet paper and other items we manufacture seemingly indefinitely are elements of our consistent and wasteful consumer culture. The performance technology applied algorithmic loops, which is a computational sequence that gets executed over and over. The graphics, bar the video of the toilet paper manufacturing, are 'seamless loops,' made unnoticed that they are looping. The beats are loops I made with both analogue and digital synthesisers.
Anne Carson (1995) discusses 'circular reasoning' as emotion becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. In this sense, my poetry could be considered a loop in my life. As a coping mechanism, I try to speculate the future of my life through my poetry. I write not only from experience but to psychologically determine and control my experiences. Hence, the pandemic provides an unexpected effect — it prompts Disaster Girl to get out of the loop, stop worrying, and form something new.
Allison Parrish's Articulations (2018) influenced me in writing and choosing the text for this work. While there was no overt computational process in the choice of my words, Parish puts words in disorder and erratic sequences. She uses Big Data sets and algorithms, sometimes intelligent ones, to compose poetry. Algorithms are a step-by-step solution to a given problem; they are determined, much like my attempt to determine my life through writing poetry. I also took guidance from Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook (1998) on free-verse, tone, and voice. However, I found that free verse was too much of a limiting rule that interrupted flow when translated to performance. Therefore, I improvised and extracted lines at a random glance while performing, not dissimilar to Parish's approach to algorithmic poetry. In performing the vocals, I was inspired by Carson's use of the term Aischrologia — obscenities and shouting for the vocals to challenge the gender norms of female voices. Therefore, I used distorted and pitch-changing effects on my live vocals. I did not want a soft, beautiful, or cute voice, and I was open to it being unintelligible.
Murphy's Law Or: How I Learned to Interrupt the Transition
Those with internet connections (approximately 40% of the global population do not) have rapidly merged into online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding ways to navigate physical limitations and develop creative communities. With online networking platforms, computer-supported collaborative workspaces, and video conferencing, the industries, workplaces, institutions, communities, and individuals have been engaging with a broader public than could be reached in person. Especially on Facebook and Twitch, people have been live-streaming or uploading their creative hobbies and playing gigs, sometimes crowdfunding them for financial reconciliation of lost employment. These motions may be hosted on corporate platforms, yet they instil the ethos of street performance and underground art spaces. They also provide a platform for 'non-artists' (or those not recognised by the institution of art).
Taking advantage of these platforms, Murphy's Law Or: (https://padlet.com/circuitboard/murphyslaw) was a participatory archive and series of networked performances that ran in late 2020. The full title, Murphy's Law Or: How I Learned to Interrupt the Transition, was collectively formed during the second performance. Participants uploaded media from their computer's trash bin to an online archive and joined by Zoom to project them onto the body of Disaster Girl.
The epigram, Murphy's Law, is a humorous but worthwhile speculation. Although the adage 'anything that can go wrong will go wrong' is negative, it conveys the practical impact of every situation. If there is more than one possible outcome of a situation, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way.
Murphy's Law Or: was triggered by the Doomsday Clock announcement in January 2020 that shows us we are at the riskiest part of history, owing to anthropogenic climate change, multiple wars, and increasingly advanced missile programs. The Doomsday Clock is a poetic construct, even if it uses statistical data to 'display the time.' It is currently 100 seconds to midnight.
The aesthetic interpretation of disaster need not be so prescriptive as The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has promoted with the Doomsday Clock. However, I would argue that the Doomsday Clock is an important poetic symbol in the media landscape despite its flaws. Since poetics is an appreciation of how conceptual and poetic elements come together as an aesthetic rather than a literal interpretation of the historical background of the subject matter (Culler 2017), the Doomsday Clock can trigger public engagement in issues of war, natural disaster, and epidemics. However, what the Doomsday Clock misses is how social and ecological disruptions become disruptions in personal biographies. With their pessimistic approach, cataclysmic scenarios can become deactivating or psychologically disturbing for people (Hoffman 2015). Additionally, concerns about the environment are not universal. They are specific and grounded. However, apocalyptic narratives tend to make environmental concerns a universal exigency.
Murphy's Law Or: implicitly asked — is it material now? I took advantage of how video projections can optically materialise digital artefacts (and digital transmission of them and people) beyond the flat screen and onto various surfaces with different depths. We (the participant performers) found that while the transmission is interrupted regarding the technology, what is in between people, interactions and elements, are transitions, not transmissions. It is a concept that opposes fatalism and conservatism. Maybe it seems like everything is bound to collapse and go wrong, especially with pandemics and personal empowerment. Still, I wanted to encourage seeing these moments as interruptions in transitioning — changes.
In Some Disordered Interior Geometries, Ada Smailbegović (2016) writes, 'What is the relationship between variability and change? Before change enters a field of observation, variability is compressed to a single point. Materiality is itinerant, and yet within it, one may discern the contours of the ideal' (n.p.). Performance theory often involves the performer's materiality and mortality to describe liveness. The appearance of liveness challenges the concept of liveness. There is the illusion that what is on the stage or in performance is live, especially when mediatised forms and artefacts are involved. In Liveness, Philip Auslander (2008) rejects the argument for ontological differences between live and mediatised forms. In other words, he challenges the assumption that the live event is real and the mediatised event is artificial, since the live event has always been a product of media technologies. A promising aspect I found was improvisation, which is accessible to anyone who has something to show or share without the commitment of making an artefact or media work.
Chaos, Control, Cooperation
Deleuze and Guattari (1992: 118) say that 'chaos is defined not so much by its disorder as by the infinite speed with which every form taking shape in it vanishes. It is a void.' Chaos theory has drawn the focus back to things that we once believed we knew and has shown us that existence and nature are more complicated than we ever expected. This brings me to decay and randomness in the material universe.
Decay is the only truly random process in our universe (Drosg 2007: 33). At least at the atomic level and above, it is the only randomness that we can observe directly. We cannot observe quantum randomness since observation itself changes the outcome (Weizmann Institute of Science 1998). Ultimately, all naturally occurring decay is mostly random. It cannot be known which chemical bond, which membrane or which cell will break next. Of course, as the structures that we observe become more massive, it becomes more apparent how or where they will fail. They are still random but more easily predictable with a reasonable amount of time (from a human perspective).
While decay itself is random, researchers are measuring the anthropogenic causes of accelerating environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is any disturbance to the earth's natural ecosystem. Humans disturb the environment by over-extraction of resources, pollution, clearing of vegetation and habitat for agriculture and infrastructure, and more. It is extreme enough that tens of thousands of scientists claim that human impact is accelerating a sixth mass extinction event. The insistence on using chaos to describe our misunderstanding of the material universe and that the earth will eventually perish blocks progress. The corporate greenwashing with how quickly their materials decay is also misleading. Thus, there are calls across the domains of art, humanities, and sciences for creating alternative structures for environmental science communication, modes that are accessible, participatory, and collaborative.
Media arts requires more than environmentally-themed art to generate and probe critical discussions while also making progressive changes. Media scholar Jennifer Machiorlatti (2010) suggests that people caught in the cycle of consumerism can learn from commons-based rather than consumption-based forms of cooperation and suggests that people can learn from an indigenous, non-hierarchical worldview. This material realm includes diverse human cultural beliefs and artefacts while challenging the coloniser's worldview hierarchy. This posits a cultural accomplishment dynamically connected to the relationships, practices, values, goals, identities, and worldviews of individuals, families, and communities.
Despite my aims to release control, my involvement in the three projects mentioned was beyond a co-performer or co-participant; I was still in control of the technology, coordination and moderating. However, collaborative and cooperative modes, including their power dynamics, still provide an exciting stage for examining authorship and agency. It starts to question who is in control? Whom do we want in control?
This paper documented a reflective process that drew on the interconnection of mind, society, and environment for three poetic performances leading into and during the COVID-19 pandemic. I attempted to embody digital infrastructures as material and respond to their environmental effects with these three projects. Through ecomaterial praxis, Disaster Girl attempts to scope out a relational, interactive, embodied intervention as a cultural response to environmental crises. The performances challenge the consumption of technological resources beyond environmental aesthetics and question the accountability of media and dominant creative industries within larger systemic contexts. Throughout the pandemic, I learned to be critical of environmental and health media communication and community response. To stop worrying and to instead be actionable and challenge my responses. Moreover, through that action, I have found a new positionality for Disaster Girl.
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Kimberley Bianca is a PhD candidate in Emergent Technologies and Media Arts Practices at The University of Colorado Boulder in the US. Her practice-based research includes community-based design and participatory performance. In 2019, she completed her master's thesis "Innovating Electrofringe: A Distributed Curatorial Platform for Electronic Art" at The University of New South Wales in Australia while directing the arts organisation and festival, Electrofringe. She has a BSc in Art and Technology from Saxion University in the Netherlands, where she co-developed the software-based public art project "KaleidOk: Visually Communicating Emotions from Spoken Word". Before academia, Kimberley freelanced in video production, participatory art, and workshop programs.
URL: https://www.axonjournal.com.au/issues/11-1/disaster-girl


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You are at:Home»Politics»Whatever Obama Says on Immigration, Just Assume the Opposite is True
Whatever Obama Says on Immigration, Just Assume the Opposite is True
By Bob Dane	 June 27, 2015 9 Comments
Among other roles, FAIR is a vigilant watchdog. Truth-checking each immigration claim made by the Obama administration keeps us busy, sometimes amused and always astonished.
After years of separating fact from fiction, we can conclude two things. First is that as the deceptions have become more dazzling and audacious, they have become easier to debunk with almost embarrassing ease. Secondly, we can advise with a high level of confidence that whenever Obama, or one of his officials, makes a statement regarding immigration, it's always prudent to assume that the exact opposite is more likely true.
Obama's earliest deceit was revealed, not by us, but simply by the passage of time and the president himself. During his first term, Obama promised to act on behalf of "kids who were brought here through no fault of their own," thus implying a limited amnesty for a small population. That claim was unabashedly exposed the moment Obama unilaterally ordered two massive amnesties covering not just "kids," but most illegal aliens up to age 30 and all of their parents. Those combined actions represent a wholesale amnesty for 6-8 million illegal aliens, more than half of all in the U.S.
Many other lies persist but require a bit of clear thinking to refute:
Illegal Border Crossings are Down
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson claims that illegal border crossings have dropped because apprehensions are down. While this may appear logical, upon analysis we can confirm this statement is a Pinocchio.
Apprehensions — those who the Border Patrol catch sneaking into the country illegally — are a poor measurement because for every illegal alien caught, about 3 or 4 more get through unnoticed so there are still hundreds of thousands entering every year. Apparently Secretary Johnson "forgot" that the Government Accountability Office recently said the number of apprehensions bears little relationship to effectiveness because agency officials do not compare these numbers with the amount of cross-border illegal activity.
Even Johnson's predecessor, Janet Napolitano, acknowledged that the number of apprehensions does not measure the number of people who illegally enter the U.S.
Finally and most importantly, apprehensions are also a poor measure because we know from insiders at the Border Patrol that they're not tending the border like they used to because their bosses are instructing them not to do their jobs.
Illegal Immigration is Dropping
Johnson suggests that illegal immigration has "dropped considerably since it peaked in 2000." This would also be known as a Pinocchio, in particular one with a nasal inflammation, but it's easy to refute. In 2000 there were 12.2 million illegal aliens in the U.S. Now there are 11.9 million illegal aliens in the U.S., hardly a "considerable drop." That is about the same number we've had for the last five years and it is 36% higher than it was 15 years ago.
We're Conducting Smart Worksite Enforcement
This particular deception dates back to April 2009 when then DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS would no longer conduct worksite enforcement in the form of surprise visits by ICE agents to determine if an employer was hiring illegal aliens. Instead, they said ICE would begin "more efficient and effective" paper audits of employer's I-9s. Not surprisingly, the numbers have been dropping. Our partners at the Center for Immigration Studies report that in 2012 there were 240 employer arrests. This year only 65 are projected.
We also learn – now years later — that DHS provides employers advance notice of an audit thus guaranteeing that unscrupulous employers will have plenty of time to clean house.
Removing Criminal Aliens
This is a growing and dangerous lie.
Over the past few years, the Obama administration made a non-consensual agreement with the American public saying that it would not waste resources removing illegal aliens whose "only crime is crossing the border illegally." Instead, the administration claimed it would, "focus on criminal aliens and national security threats."
Neither the American public nor Congress agreed to the new selective enforcement — Obama never asked — nonetheless it became DHS's priority. But now we learn 30,558 illegal aliens with criminal records were released onto the street last year including those with homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault and other serious offenses and convictions. Moreover, this year ICE has already released 10,246 criminal aliens.
So it was all a lie like a lot of what this administration says. Illegal aliens for the most part are not being removed and neither are many illegal aliens who have felony charges and convictions.
And that begs the question of the other category of illegal aliens…national security threats. The DHS Secretary's job is, above all else, to keep Americans safe. Given Johnson's chronic, fantastical and self-serving deceptions — characteristics which psychologists say are clinical indicators for a diagnosis of compulsive lying — combined with DHS's current practice of releasing criminal aliens, it's hard to believe he's doing much to identify and remove aliens who might be terrorist risks.
Deportations are Up
While this has been the biggest lie and the easiest to disprove, it has ironically been Obama's most effective and lingered the longest. The tide is changing however as the mainstream media — including even the New York Times and Los Angeles Times — has had to acknowledge the cold hard facts and stopped fueling the myth.
2015 YTD 117,181
The administration periodically paints a rosy picture of how tough they are on immigration so that they can claim "mission accomplished; let's enact amnesty and forget about deporting those already here." As such, we'll continue debunking the Obama administration's endless minor omissions and major whoppers but in meantime we stand by our initial advice; assuming the opposite of whatever you hear coming from the Obama administration regarding immigration will enhance accuracy.
Previous ArticleWill the Supreme Court Uphold Immigration Policy by Executive Fiat Next?
Next Article I am an Immigrant and I Work for FAIR
Bob Dane
Bob Dane, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)'s Executive Director, has been with FAIR since 2006. His deep belief is that immigration is the most transformational determinant of where we are heading as a nation and that our policies must be reformed in the public interest. Over many years on thousands of radio, TV and print interviews, Bob has made the case that unless immigration is regulated and sensibly reduced, it will be difficult for America to reduce unemployment, increase wages, improve health care and education and heighten national security. Prior to joining FAIR, Bob spent twenty years in network radio, marketing and communications after an earlier career in policy and budgeting within the Reagan Administration. Bob has a degree from George Mason University in Public Administration and Management.
Two-Thirds of Americans Disapprove of Biden's Immigration and Border Policies, Finds New Quinnipiac Poll
Losing the Middle: Independents Give President Biden Failing Marks on Immigration
New Poll: Biden Receives Low Marks on Immigration
Herman on July 5, 2015 2:22 pm
King O portrays himself as a leading a rough life early on. Doesn't mention inheriting half a mil $ from granny. His best pals in his teens were self avowed communists (check out Frank D.), socialists and anti-colonialists, all America haters. His college pals and later were terrorists (check out Bill A.) and other folks who sought to destroy America. He campaigned that he would destroy the America we knew ("fundamentally transform America"). Still he got voted in. Sometimes I wonder if the voters in this country are so stupid that they deserve to be servants of the great King (I got a pen). Now he largely spends his time (when not golfing) trying to insure that enough people can be imported from tyrannical and socialist countries that have no real concept of liberty and freedom, that they will give the Democrat party such a huge majority that they will hold control over us forever. Of course it is against the law for the criminal invaders flooding across our borders to vote, but then it is against the law for them to come across the border. The laws don't apply to them and they know it, especially when King O tells the immigration officers that they will be fired if they enforce the laws. As this article mentions, even when they break the laws here and get caught the authorities turn them loose to continue to prey on us.
I know there are many like me who love this country and wonder what we can do to get control again. We the People are going to have to get more involved, be more vocal, tell the politicians to do what is right, uphold the constitution as they promised. We have to support organizations like FAIR and the NRA. The NRA??????? Check it out, they are abused and lied about constantly by the major media but the number one priority of the NRA is to protect the constitution. They protect the second amendment. We need to protect all the constitution and all the amendments. God bless the U.S.A.
Jackie on July 4, 2015 5:43 pm
Here I am petitioning my city council to end their recently enacted "sanctuary city" ordinances and Obama et al is rolling out the welcome mat. I'm so sick of the subterfuge. My city council claims that we are to be a "welcoming" city. We are doing the "non-biased policing" (code for sanctuary city) for the sake of those poor souls who were trafficked here. So now we have a surge in human trafficking. Well, duh. We here in my city cannot get rid of the illegal aliens, not even the murderers. We have several of those languishing in our jails and we can't even ask their immigration status. We can't ask immigration status for welfare, food stamps, section 8 housing, medical care (state sponsored insurance that the taxpayers pay for) etc. If you are a praying person, pray that my repeal of sanctuary city ordinances is successful in November. Maybe we can start a movement across the nation.
David Smith on July 3, 2015 2:57 pm
How can you tell when Obama is lying? His lips are moving.
Karine on July 3, 2015 8:21 pm
Well so much For transparency – Hope and Faith he ran his campaign on .. I stopped listening when bush was in Office 2 years – I stopped with Obama when he was halfway though his campaign. Too bad so many followed him like sheep to the slaughter. The only way we get change in the country is when we vote INDEPENDENT . there is not much difference between the courrent two parties. Corrupt to the core .. As for Obama – he is just another example of Chicago Politics ….
Not Politically Correct on July 4, 2015 11:51 am
When he lies he speaks his native language.
john on July 3, 2015 11:41 am
Obama is Evil simple as that. The devil and evil men are experts at lying and deceiving and use many tools (including the media) to help them to do just that. He MUST be impeached before he gets his 3rd and maybe even a 4th term in office…
Leland on June 27, 2015 5:03 pm
His administration and allies are always the first to charge that attempts to check voter registration lists are aimed at "suppression" of votes. But look up the name Alice Palmer. She was the previous holder of the state senate seat that became his first political office. Elections in Illinois require nomination by petition. Apparently unknown to the candidates, their signature gatherers did not do a very good job and he challenged the petitions of not only Palmer but the two others and they were all removed from the ballot except him. But's it's do as I say, not do as I do.
Leland on July 1, 2015 4:11 pm
Here's what Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass had to say about that situation, including cases where voters were thrown off for printing their names instead of writing them in cursive:
"He may have gotten his start registering thousands of voters. But in that first race he made sure voters had just one choice."
But none of that went along with the media line that the Messiah had arrived.
softwarengineer on June 27, 2015 11:49 am
Obama tells It Like It Is
His viewpoint of reality that is.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I'm torn between these two studded heels. I've been watching the Jeffrey Campell 'Burbs' on Solestruck for quite some time. I think they have been a hugely popular style. They are esentially Burberry rip-offs but i'm not mad at that. They are dead ringers for the original and the price is up my alley; even more so now that they're on sale for $79! My size is strangely enough … still available! I logged on tonight to claim my prize. At the same time, I decided to catch up on Aldo's selection. I usually don't have the patience for that website. The design isn't the most efficient or intuitive at all. What in the world does City Fashion or Career Classics really mean? Can you just point to the platforms? the peep toes? the booties?
Anyway, once I finally found the search link, I typed "stud" in as I've been annoying obsessive about studded clothing and accessories. I'm determined to find the perfect studded shoe and handbag to pull together simple, basic outfits. I couldn't take my eyes off of the 'Smeal' platform heel. What I like a little bit more is that it's sexier, more feminine. The stud detail is daintier; circle and diamond beading, rhinestones. Definitely Balmain inspired. It's zippered at the back though, not fastened or adjustable like Jeffrey's at a buckle so that fit could be hit or miss. And, at $125, It will cost me a bit more which is definitely a consideration. I'll have to check it out in store soon. I might have to hold out on Jeffrey for a bit. Hopefully I have enough time to make up my mind.


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How Does Bluetooth Speaker Work?
Tech India Today, 8 months ago 0 6 min read 254
Bluetooth is a standard short-range wireless technology to receive and transfer media and other types of files. In the last few years, Bluetooth technology became one of the most popular options for connectivity as it is used to listen to music to data transfer.
The Bluetooth speaker receives the digital audio file without a cable with Bluetooth protocol in this fantastic technology.
Then converts the files to analogue audio and converts the same as the regular speaker does. Then it needs to pair with the devices and play the music and all done.
1. What Is Bluetooth Technology?
2. How Does a Bluetooth Speaker Work?
3. The Best Bluetooth Speaker
4. How Tikitune Works
5. Top Features of Tiki Tunes
6. Is Tiki Tunes a Scam?
Bluetooth is a wireless technology developed to exchange data from device to device within a short distance. To transmit data, it uses the short-wavelength ultra-high-frequency radio wave protocol. You can use a microwave radio frequency spectrum in the 2.402 GHz to 2.480GHz range to transmit digital data.
Let's see the list of the applications that are using Bluetooth technology in their application.
Controls the communication system through mobile and Bluetooth-compatible cars.
Contact between the mobile and intelligent lock to unlock the doors.
Establish connection amongst the Bluetooth devices.
Data streams from Bluetooth-enabled fitness devices to smartphones.
Connects two industrial ethernet networks.
A Bluetooth speaker works just like a traditional speaker. The only difference is that it works wirelessly, and typical speakers work with hard-wired signals. On the other hand, Bluetooth speakers use radio signals to receive the audio files. There is a built-in amplifier that receives the audio signal.
To function correctly, the Bluetooth speaker has to be paired with the devices. When the devices are connected, the digital audio device forms a Piconet to send the audio signals effectively. However, the intelligent Bluetooth speaker has the option to operate with a voice command.
When the digital audio signal is received, it must go through two key elements. First, the received audio signal must be converted into an analogue audio signal. There is a built-in digital to audio signal feature to convert the signal. Then the converted signal is sent through a power amplifier.
Once the signal is passed through the driver, now it is the driver's task to produce sound waves. That is how we hear the sound via the Bluetooth speakers.
Many brands introduced different types of Bluetooth speakers, but according to Nerdknowbetter, the Tikitunes Bluetooth speaker is the best. Since it has been launched, its user reviews are still positive. Its features and structure are excellent, which is different from the other wireless speakers.
It looks like a tiki torch with soft ambient light. A 2000mAh battery is installed that can run up to 6 to 10 hours. Tikitunes is water and dustproof that makes it unique compared to the rest of the speakers.
It is a portable speaker that is compatible with all Android, Apple, and Windows devices. There are functional buttons on top of the speaker to operate it. Here are the steps about how to use the tiki tunes speaker?
Place the speaker less than 30 feet away.
Press the middle button on top of the speaker.
Pair the speaker with the smartphone.
Once the connection is set up, you can play music.
Tiki tunes is an award-winning stereo music player with some extraordinary features. It is a perfect speaker for indoor and outdoor environments. To know the mind-blowing features of the tiki tunes, let's have a look at their features.
a. Clear Sound Quality
Though the speaker is tiny, it has the remarkable ability to produce the most transparent and audible sound. Its punchy bass creates a musical dancing environment that changes the person's mode. It provides high-quality sound that is available only in high-range speakers.
b. Ambient Light
Ambient light is an uncommon and extraordinary feature that is not available with any other wireless speakers. However, tiki tunes have the built-in ambient light that creates a party environment in the house or garden. Its light is soft and changes to many colours, which are perfect for nighttime music.
c. Compact
It is small in size and weighs only 14oz which is easy to carry inside the bags. Tikitunes is designed with water and dust protection. That means you can use it while you are in the swimming pool. And the music continues, no fear if it gets into the water.
d. Easy to Use
It works with the phone's Bluetooth connection. Just connect the device and play the music. Ttikitunes supports Android, Apple, and Windows devices that are a maximum of 30 feet away. You can keep the phone inside the home, take the speaker outside to the backyard, and control your playlists with the speaker's buttons.
e. Multi Speaker
Tikitunes has multi-speaker functions that amazingly connect multi speakers at the same time. That means you can connect five speakers to make a party in the house. This feature is not available with most wireless speakers.
f. Where Can I Buy Tiki Tunes?
If you decide to buy one of these speakers, you can buy it from gettikitunes.io.com. If you purchase it from the tiki tune website, you can return the product in case of dissatisfaction.
The company provides a one-year warranty and 30 days money-back guarantee. The pack includes a charger, a speaker, and a user manual. However, you can purchase from eBay and Amazon wherever you like.
Well, as per my experience, it is not a scam. I have been using the speaker for a year, and it still works as a fresh one. It does what it says. I have enjoyed it most in the bad weather as it is waterproof. Already I have two of them, and they give a good performance.
The device is controllable from 30 feet away. I recommend you to try one of them, and you will be pleased with the speaker. I don't think it is a scam. The best way to test it is to try one of them. On top of that, it has a great user review.
Final Statement
Tikitunes is the most relaxed wireless speaker that will delight you. Crystal clear sound and ambient light is the exceptional quality of the speaker. Its excellent battery life and fast charging make it most beneficial and comfortable to use.
Though the device is water and weatherproof, be careful not to use it near the electric field, under direct sunlight, and underwater.
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Detroit's Iconic Fisher Building Up For Auction
"Detroit's largest art object" is up for sale, and it's not part of a collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
It's the Fisher Building, a National Historic Landmark, and it's on the auction block — the online auction block, that is.
You could purchase one of Detroit's most iconic buildings online at Auction.com June 22-24.
The bank foreclosed on the 29-story art deco building recently and now some real estate experts are calling it a rare opportunity to get a piece of history at a bargain basement price.
The story of the Fisher Building begins in the late 19th century. The seven Fisher Brothers built carriages for horses, then, bodies for cars. General Motors bought out the Fishers in 1919 for $200 million, or about $2.7 billion in today's dollars. The Fishers used some of that money for civic causes, and some to build a palace to honor their legacy. They chose Detroit's most-prolific architect, Albert Kahn, to build it.
"So the Fisher brothers reach out to him, they say, we're going to give you a blank check. In return, we want the most beautiful building in the world," says Ryan Hooper with "Pure Detroit," a group that gives tours of the Fisher Building.
The New York League of Architects said the goal was achieved: They declared the Fisher the most beautiful building of 1928, largely because of the three-story arcade.
"We're talking about these art deco chandeliers hanging above us, this beautiful frescoed ceiling above us," Hooper says, pointing up at the ceiling
"The exterior of the building, it's marble clad, making it the largest marble clad commercial building in the world. Inside you have over 52 different types of marble, all different colors coming from all different parts of the world," he says.
And 430 tons of bronze to really put it over the top — some of which is on the lobby elevators.
"It's a cast bronze door, marble frame," Hooper says, admiring the elevator. "It's kind of mind blowing when you think about it."
These were once the fastest elevators in the world, Hooper says.
There's also a 2,000-seat theater inside the building. And all of this can be yours.
"I think the property has the potential to trade in the $20 million to $30 million dollar range," says A.J. Weiner, the managing director for the real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle's Detroit office.
Keep in mind, the Fisher Brothers originally put $140 million in today's dollars, into the property. In Chicago or New York City, a building of this size and grandeur could sell for perhaps $500 million, Weiner says.
This week's auction also includes the neighboring 10-story art deco "Albert Kahn Building" and two parking garages.
But would buying the building be throwing good money after bad?
"I think it's throwing good money after great," Weiner says.
That's contingent on a few things though. This neighborhood, called "New Center," was once among the wealthiest commercial areas on earth. General Motors had its world headquarters here. Detroit boosters say it's the next commercial part of Detroit that's ready to take off.
Jim Bieri, with Stokas Bieri Real Estate in Detroit, says if the neighborhood can come back around, the Fisher Building's price tag would be really low.
"It's shocking because it is a magnificent architectural gem," says Bieri.
He says beautiful, historic buildings like the Fisher can attract more tenants and fetch high rents. But, he adds, people don't work in the marbled lobby.
"I haven't ridden the elevators much lately, but I'm told they don't operate like the used to," says Bieri. "I just know that when they get into a building like that, if you haven't been taking care of it, there's just issue after issue from electric to HVAC."
Tour guide Ryan Hooper took me to the vacant 19th floor. Occupancy rates in the Fisher Building have dwindled in recent years. The carpeting needs replacing, as does the plumbing and the bathrooms. Overall, it's drab.
It could cost a new owner $60 million to fix up the Fisher Building, perhaps double the purchase price. And it will also require an act of faith by any new owner that this neighborhood can indeed come back, and new businesses will want to move into the building.


Does the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PRM) provide balanced park programming to all of its city residents? Last year, 1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez was not certain it did.
In the summer of 2017, Gonzalez expressed dissatisfaction with what she considered an imbalance of park programming, noting that there were more "contract classes" scheduled in parks on the eastern side of the city than in the west. Contract classes are those in which instructors pay a fee to PRM to host activities in city parks.
Gonzalez asked the department why College Estates Park, located in East Long Beach, hosted 50 hours of weekly contract class programming in summer 2017, while Cesar Chavez Park in Downtown Long Beach had zero hours of weekly contract class programming. At the meeting, then-PRM Director Marie Knight noted that, while her department tried to interest class instructors in underutilized parks, instructors chose which parks they preferred to contract with.
Gonzalez, sponsored by Vice Mayor Dee Andrews and Councilmembers Roberto Uranga and Rex Richardson, requested that PRM deliver a report on how hours and funds of PRM programming are divided up across the city.
In January of this year, PRM released a report that addressed each of the councilmembers' concerns about city parks. Among them: hours and funding expended in each park location, the basis of prioritization for free and funded programming in each area, overall suggestions for more equitable programming, and suggestions on policies and processes that could be reviewed.
City council pushed their review of this report to February 20, which was Knight's last day on the job before transitioning to director of community services for the City of Huntington Beach. According to Parks & Recreation Commissioner David Zanatta, Knight was undaunted. "She was committed, and she and the department did a thorough job," Zanatta told the Business Journal.
In its report, PRM articulated that it offers two kinds of programming: free programs (such as afterschool programming, movies in the park, youth sports and recreational swimming) and fee-based programs (contract classes, day camps, adult sports and some aquatics and nature center programs).
PRM explained that the department experienced significant budget cuts during the Great Recession and again from 2010 to 2012. In response, PRM prioritized free programming to areas it determined to be most in need: the southwest, west, central and northern areas of the city. To achieve this goal, it reduced and eliminated programs in the east and southeast areas of the city. A regional approach was adopted, the report states, that concentrated limited resources to where a "greater economy of scale existed from a staffing perspective." The report further elaborated on its methods, explaining that certain council districts received less of PRM's free programming due to those districts having fewer facilities to host them in.
Approximately 66% of PRM's free programming was offered in the southwest, west, central and northern areas of Long Beach, according to the report, where the majority of its indoor facility space is located. There are certain council districts that received less of the free programming that was offered, "but those districts have less facilities in which to offer them," the report explained.
PRM's total funding for programming was reported as $6,380,463, which included more than 65 full-time and 661 part-time staff, plus supplies, marketing and program-related costs. About 64% of this investment was spent on programming in the city's southwest, west, central and northern areas of the city.
The lengthy report concluded by addressing the council's request for overall suggestions for more equitable citywide programming. "The data clearly demonstrates that the majority of the city's investment for park programming, as well as capital improvement investment, is made in the areas of Long Beach that are of the greatest need," the report stated. It further elaborated that multiple classes have been offered over the years, "particularly in the southwest and western areas of the city," but had been cancelled due to a lack of registration. PRM continued to look for ways to focus offerings in these areas, it said. One example was by asking new contract class instructors to start their relationship with the city by offering classes in these underutilized areas.
Despite PRM's thorough analysis of its programming, Gonzalez declared a motion for the department to return to the council in four to six months with "a more profound report." Eight councilmembers voted yes, with Andrews abstaining.
STEPS, Gonzalez continued, "is a park system for all" that "has already seen amazing results and many more to come." Gonzalez's top example included a near tripling of contract classes offered on the west side.
Other results of the STEPS program for FY 19 include one-time allocations from the general fund of $100,000 for additional senior programming; $200,000 to continue Be Safe programming at new parks; and $40,000 to enhance PRM volunteer operations.
Overall, Zanatta considered the new PRM plan a good thing for the department. "We got funding from the mayor's office and the budget oversight committee allocated funds in this year's coming budget to actually begin the process of a new strategic plan – which we haven't had in 15 or 16 years," he said.


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Canadian Cancer Survivor Network/Act/CCSN Election Campaigns/2021 Election Campaigns/Nova Scotia 2021 Election Campaign/Nova Scotia Liberal Party Response
Dear Candidate/Party,
Please respond to these important questions.
Our question is, if elected, what action will your government take to ensure that all Nova Scotians are guaranteed safe and timely access to essential cancer care?
Your response will be circulated to cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors in Nova Scotia and included on our website at www.survivornet.ca. Links to your responses will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Response from candidate:
The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network,
Thank you for your email and for the important work the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network does for cancer patients, survivors and their families. We know how important timely access to cancer care is and the Nova Scotia Liberal Party is dedicated to supporting patients, their families and the healthcare teams that provide care. Please see below for answers to your questions.
The Liberal government is committed to providing Nova Scotians with the cancer care and support they need closer to home, with investments totalling $18 million for ongoing supports in cancer care.
The Liberal Government has invested more than $4 billion in spending for new hospitals, emergency care centres, and community health centres that will completely transform the way healthcare is delivered in Nova Scotia. These represent the largest healthcare redevelopment projects in the province's history, which when completed will provide patients across the province with state-of-the-art facilities and the quality of care they need and deserve when and where they need it.
The Halifax Infirmary expansion includes a Cancer Care centre with radiation therapy and ambulatory cancer clinics, an inpatient centre with new operating rooms, critical care beds, inpatient beds, diagnostic services and renal dialysis. It is expected to be completed by 2026. We also intend to invest nearly $1 million annually to enhance cancer care in Southwestern Nova Scotia. This will cover additional staff, medical supplies, and other supports for patients. Investments span across Nova Scotia, also including a brand new and improved cancer centre in the CBRM Redevelopment Project. The CBRM cancer centre will provide a more comfortable, supportive centre focused on patients and their families. Technology and additional supports under one roof will enhance the quality of care for patients, closer to home, and reduce the number of visits throughout treatment.
While there is still more work to do, these investments will make an impact on patients across Nova Scotia. We are committed to working through the backlog created by the Covid 19 pandemic to ensure timely access to cancer care.
Doctor recruitment and retention is a top priority for the Rankin government. In 2021, our government committed $12.2 million for physician training at Dalhousie Medical School, including an additional $1.2 million to continue funding 16 new seats for a total of $2.7 million this year. We commit to establishing a Primary Care Council and will invest $1 million annually to establish a new community-based integration program with dedicated funding to support local groups, who have the proven expertise, networks, and resources to welcome and support new doctors and their families.
We will also launch the Office of Physician Recruitment and Retention with an initial $5 million budget, effectively doubling Nova Scotia's investment in physician recruitment. Additionally, we will invest an additional $6 million to support virtual care clinics for Nova Scotians currently on the waitlist by expanding the VirtualCare NS program to all four health zones in Nova Scotia.
The Liberal Party is committed to continuing to make strategic, targeted investments to increase access to health and cancer care and provide optimal patient care. We thank you for your continued dedication and the work you do to ensure the quality of life for patients, survivors, and their families.
Nova Scotia Liberal Party


text:
don't listen to me.
Tag Archives: writing
Shot again
July 25, 2014 By Andres Dietz-Chavez in Dreams, Short Stories Tags: dreaming, dreams, short story, writing	Leave a comment
He didn't recall hearing a shot, nor actually feeling the bullet enter his chest, but he knew now. It had hit somewhere around his heart; obviously not his heart considering he was still alive, but it burned slightly and that made him uneasy. He got up and walked a few paces, testing his strength and the stength of the pain, trying to determine whether or not he could actually continue living. It appeared that he could, so his first inclination was to try and ignore the wound and go about his day normally. But he couldn't really ignore the bullet hole. It was there, somewhere beside that most important organ, shifting around restlessly with his every movement, like an uncouth thought, a deprived desire that one tries to suppress in the back of their mind. It would kill him, this round, he was certain of it. At least if he did not seek help. But he nonethless delayed in reaching out to someone and alerting them to his peril. If someone had asked him why, afterwards, he wouldn't have been able to explain. It was just something he did, perhaps born of his stubborness and his hope that maybe, if he ignored it, everything would be OK. But it wasn't going to be OK. The wound became more and more apparent to him, leeching his life from him in minute steps. It was inexorable and he could feel its progression, its gradual movement from life to half-life and then to quarter-life. And then he knew it was time. Not for his family's sake but for his own, because his imminent death began to frighten him. He was too young, only twenty-five, and he did not want to cease living. He wanted to move. It did not matter if he wasn't moving in any particular direction, he just wanted to be able to move, to be free to feel the non-kinetic trials of life. He wanted to one day feel powerful and like a man, not a dead corpse that had tragically succumbed to its own obstinateness and stupidity. So he finally called his parents, warned them: "Parents, I die. Please save me." They began to take the necessary steps to save him. They traveled to distant locations, full of hope, and reassured him that they would bring that hope to him. They made phone calls and spoke urgently. But their actions were slow. He called them again, and again, and again, but they ceased to answer. They were busy saving him, too busy to listen to his pleas. And for the first time the young man felt terror. It was a terror unlike he had ever felt before, one that caressed his face with a macabre sweetness and filled him with emotion. He tried phoning again, but no answer. He could feel the wound consuming him, swallowing him whole and threatening to leave nothing of him. He slouched back against the wall of the mansion, crying to himself: "I don't want to die. Please don't let me die." Only the wound spoke back: "Tough shit stupid boy. You had your chance." And it continued to swallow him, happily spreading its fear and its animal nature into the young man's brain, fluttering his heart so greatly that he thought it might catch the bullet and end it sooner. He was on the verge of panic: "I don't want to die." He called again but his parents were still to distant, still too preoccupied. He thought of his sister, and of his mother and father, of how they loved him and he them. Of how he was dying alone in this luxurious setting, a strong young body brought to naught. He coudn't move now, his body limp and useless. Only the wound pulsated, continued to swallow. And as it finally sucked the last few breaths of his terrified life, he slumped forward and disappeared.
July 22, 2014 By Andres Dietz-Chavez in Rambling Tags: writing	Leave a comment
Every day of my yearlong stay here has been full of daydreams. They carry me from my waking moments into the streets, through the tunnels and back up into the buildings. These are fantasies that enrich and enliven my life, much like I imagine the real experience would. They are my constant companions, my voice, my words, accented by the world and all it encompasses.
I don't write. Not nearly as much as I should. I wonder why this is, although I no longer despair. My lack of authorship is not a point of contention for me, as it once was. Instead I go about my life in a contended state, not oblivious, but slightly numbed. I still wonder, though.
In the moments where I yank myself free of my dreams, I begin to ask, why? Why have I not written? And then, there it is. That specter of an urge, that yearning to throw myself away into the abyss of language and exploration. I remember the promise in my dreams, that hint of the tangible, freed from the momentary experience of my mind. I am finally taken away, carried along by an unseen current that grows in strength and vitality, lapping up whatever it can touch and pulling it into the currents that make up its body. Life is born, form appropriated, made to conform to a new rhythm, meaning contorted and examined, losing and gaining, burning and cooling. This sudden movement is like a spark or a glimmer that rebounds off every undulating crest, reaching up and then diving below. The current itself builds, it swells, splits and becomes two streams, one calm perhaps, the other roaring, maybe. In the distance I can see them converging, and as I roll along, my eyes set at their juncture, my mind becomes lucid and brave. I can see the world, or a world, and I smile a smile that spans their flowing.
It is here that I first reach for my oars and begin to dip them into the current. But it is here as well that I find myself dammed in, as suddenly as the current arose, and I am left knocking up against that sudden structure. I set my oars aside and lie back, stare up into the sky and watch the birds and feel the breeze. I hear the water, a placid body now, lapping against my small vessel, and I slip back into dreams.
Saying the Unsayable
December 9, 2013 By Andres Dietz-Chavez in Rambling Tags: art, being, expression, feeling, language, music, writing	Leave a comment
I went to a reading a few weeks ago. It was like all the others I had been to: hosted in a bookish environment, warmed by the soft glowing of incandescent lights, a crowd of expectant and well-mannered yuppies conversing briskly and self-righteously in neatly arranged seats. As the night wore on and reader after reader took to the podium, each after an elegiac introduction from an appropriately writerly looking fellow, I became increasingly irate. Partly because the writing I was being presented with was flat, dead, devoid of spirit or passion. Partly because the readers were so obviously reveling in their supposed grandeur, basking in the afterglow of their new award, a token from self-professed curators of quality writing. But mostly because there was no truth, or honesty, or raw expression in anything that was being read. It made me shift in my seat and look at the multitude of books lining the walls, each with their perfectly manicured covers, melting into the exposed brick and aged wood of the shelving on which they sat.
Something changed in me that night though. Still reeling from my reintroduction to the spirit of punk, the blatant artifice and self-importance of it all finally became clear to me. I suddenly wanted to stand and yell, "this is crap!" I wanted to heckle and to be heckled, to tell them their writing was worthless and that they could do better, to challenge them, force them to consider their self-involvement frankly, not on paper or in the safety of a carefully moderated forum but in the moment, through the spitting and anger that is unadulterated, impassioned life. It was then that I realized I had finally made a crucial transition from disillusioned to merely dissatisfied, and so I left.
It is this conventionalism that I see all around me. It is part of our world and our psyche, and as I wandered the city one night with a classmate we could see it everywhere. We wandered because we found some freedom in unguided movement, not knowing what we would experience or how it would affect us. We eventually stopped and sat down but not because we were tired, or because we were in a particularly nice place, or because it was necessary, but simply because we wanted to. We talked about civil pretense and how it was so blatantly before and around us. We agreed that people were content, satisfied with what they had and did. My classmate spoke of how the more conventional laborers, white and blue, were simply going through the motions. To us such a life was one without merit, which was unfair of us to say, but what made it lack merit was that it was a lifestyle that required thought and action preordained by the customs of its predecessors, not by the creative, freeform feeling that is so romantically attributed to the artist.
What I see now is that this mindlessness, this lack of feeling, is also the character of the modern writer. It is a certain smug and self-enamored mindset. These are simple people who are unwilling or don't know how to dig beneath the facade, partly out of fear and partly out of blindness. Blindness to a more intimate state of being, of a more honest mode of communication, removed of pretense, released from convention. Thus they relinquish any drive to explore what they are feeling as it proves too difficult. And now we have embraced this defeatism and made it holy, made it the status quo, the measuring stick against which we compare ourselves and all of writing, and we cease to acknowledge what we are actually experiencing, no longer making an effort to understand what it is that we actually feel. We therefore cease to express and only create from the cud of the past.
People want to feel good, and as it stands the easiest way to achieve this is by pandering to what the norm is, remaining within the rubric that has already been set. We have learned that if we create what others like they will like it and us. It is an incredibly narcissistic system on both sides. The people create to feel admired and validated, to feel ingenious and visionary. This can only be given by the masses, for the masses, or at least our masses, is always right in our minds. And the masses also want to feel brilliant and better so they revel in the fact that they recognize another person's creation as genius.
It is a dissymbiotic relationship that has become a natural state of affairs when in fact it is simply a circular prison. I can think of no other analogy than two oxen who, released from their harnesses to the well, continue to walk in circles simply because the ox before it is doing the same. Still the issue here isn't so much what is being created, or what is being done, as it is the intent behind it, or within it, or beyond it. No one is releasing themselves from the standards. No one is truly taking the time to feel and allow themselves to organically translate that to their craft. They are always keeping within the bounds of "ennobled" precedents.
Intent is not however the same as the content of writing. Content could be best described as being the meaning, metaphor, narrative, or dissertation we do or do not include in our writing. That is not the issue. Content is present without question and is easily included. What I am getting to is that the feeling isn't there. Not just feeling though, for we all feel and write because of it. I'm thinking about the censorship we engage in in order to make what we're feeling "appropriate" or palatable to our audience.
Another analogy: A carpenter creates a bookshelf. It has a particular structure which can take a multitude of forms, none of which are right or wrong. It has a particular purpose, which is to hold books, but this purpose is flexible and it can contain almost anything. The carpenter will provide it with a particular aesthetic, lacquering the wood, sanding the edges and adding details. But then he might add small flourishes, details that somehow reflect not so much who he is but why he is, and why he does. These flourishes might be intentional or unintentional, like the accidental chip on a corner. What we see, what we enjoy experiencing, is the life current of its creator, the movement, his history and his intention, born of his experiences and psychology, whether known by him or not. This is what endears the bookshelf to us, not because it has a particular function, or purpose, or aesthetic. It is this that speaks to us.
This is what I wish to explore, understand, and most importantly feel. In other words not the writing itself but the process of writing. I have long been unable to understand why I've had this sentiment, or indeed what it is. I only know, or believe, that in some manner this is the best way to bring movement into writing.
So I think we should be focusing on how we create rather than what we create, and we should create not because we have been taught that it is right, or that it is meaningful. We should do so because it is in our nature, it is our expression of life, and to assume we do so for anything else is anathema to the nature of being. To lift directly from a previous piece I wrote, I find that the unwitting personal notes left behind in writing are far more true to form, and intriguing, than what is actually in the work. Whether it's fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, every letter, word, intonation, punctuation, formatting choice, all of it, is an extension of its creator. It's a subtle clue into the mental workings of another human being, someone just as mundane or inspired or dumb or smart as yourself, someone who has the same desire to express him or herself and to try to make sense of this crazy world. It's a way to get behind the civilized persona we all assume as we leave our homes and to see the raw, true essence of being. So I think that the only way to get the unadulterated truth is to read behind the lines.
I say this because I believe that what is truly being said is only said through the totality of the writing, not the manufactured words that we diligently select and use in our work, each one cleanly defined and with a particular function. It is the unseen current that assigns the meaning of the words, which is why reading between the lines, so to say, is so essential. This is not something that I believe a writer can purposefully include in their work, at least not with any honesty or truth. This is a quality born of the uncensored expression of the self, born of the organic, natural choices made while putting pen to paper. This almost appears to be a call to pure stream of conscious writing, which it is not. But our lives are fluid, constantly in motion, and by adhering to established protocols we are removing this fluidity from our own creations.
One can look at the writing of Pauline Kael or Manny Farber. A major criticism of my classmates was the meandering nature and florid language in the pieces they wrote. But I see their passion as being an attempt at surmounting the limitations of modern language and at expressing what they were actually feeling. They were driven by their mood, and in their drive to better understand and express what they were feeling they plowed forward in their writing. Being that feelings are so difficult to articulate accurately they followed each little clue that promised further elucidation, their passion then progressing in the manner that a wildfire does, finding matter which excites and fuels it, hitting upon a multitude of vaguely related topics, raging recklessly and sparks flying every which way, lighting new fires, each producing new crackles, new odors, new sights, each one as tantalizing as the last, adding to the flame, carrying the passion forward and making it more visceral, real, honest, consuming anything that proves to be associated. The passion does not so much know what it is doing, or why, it only continues to blaze because it is in its nature to do so, it somehow understands what it feels through the act of consumption, and in its attempt to more closely understand, or express, what it feels it continues to pounce upon whatever keeps its strength burning.
To those of us who stand and watch from outside their fervor and passion may seem incomprehensible, without direction and utterly destructive. We tend to view their nature as being self-centered or even arrogant, whose only purpose is the maintenance of their power. But it is not just the desire to hear or pander to oneself, it is also the desire to expand one's own mind, to understand and challenge the self, and in so doing understand and challenge the world. Again this is not necessarily a matter of deliberate, intellectual investigation of what it means to be but a latent desire, expressed through one's emotions and feelings, to better grasp the nature of one's existence.
In a way this is what I would consider movement through writing. It is a desperate attempt to surpass the physical limitations of writing and capture the actual essence of what one is feeling, something that is incredibly difficult to achieve for us writers, if not impossible. Music appears to be the most effective way of expressing the essence of what it means to feel, a point Dave Hickey made in saying that music is always at the forefront of expression. I have to agree with him, although grudgingly. I suppose this is true because music allows us to express a facet of being that we are not quite able to express through any other medium. It captures the immediacy of our emotions, thoughts, and actions, of how they exist largely apart from civilized predetermination or editing (all philosophical questions aside), and in a manner that most closely resembles who we are as beings, which more fixed and tactile forms of expression cannot do as they lack the vibrancy of motion. And motion, not necessarily kinetic motion, but motion is life.
While writing may not be able to capture the same fluidities of music that make it so useful as a means of expression, we have the tools to synthesize and articulate what everyone else simply feels. It is our job, as writers, to improve language in order to effectively communicate this motion. But to do this we must first learn what it means to feel, and learn to not fear and censor it. People don't trust words, they don't trust how those words exit them, feeling that somehow the language we have now is fixed, puzzle pieces that must be put together just so or else nothing will be expressed because anything vaguely uncomfortable must be incorrect and detestable. Let's over think and pose problems.
As I left the reading in dissatisfaction a few weeks ago, I explained to a classmate that I was going to a bar, to which she asked why and I responded "because this is crap." At the bar we discussed whether my sentiments were in fact well-founded. I spoke to her of how I was disgusted by the politeness of the modern-day reading, of how I felt that sitting quietly while another read and gloated was a disservice to the reader and to the listener, that such readings would not create the challenges that would bring new forms of expression to life. To her, a Lebanese expatriate, the notion of a freeform literary arena, where everyone was free to express themselves, either at the podium or in the seat, would lead to chaos. Order was necessary, she maintained, so that the reader could finish the reading, at which point the floor could be opened to criticism, if so desired. In Lebanon attempts at artistic expression would routinely be drowned out by the wild calls of the faddish youth.
She was right and I had trouble justifying the creation of a spartan space where people could congregate to heckle and be heckled, to present themselves as best they could, defend themselves, and through the interaction of these dynamics discover what it was they were truly attempting to do, or say. It was my hope that such a venue would help us better understand what it meant to make writing something like what jazz is, or used to be I suppose. It was the only way I could imagine of capturing movement through writing.
I still want more from writing, even if I get lost in myself and forget what exactly it is that I have been wanting. And I still can't find a better way to say this then through the idea of capturing motion through writing. Not motion in writing, or writing as motion, or motion and writing. I want to capture motion through writing, in the manner that music does. Until that happens I will say that writing is dead. I'm not sure it's ever been alive. If not this than it is lying in a coma and we are not allowing it to wake up.
The irony here is, or maybe it's not irony, but in any case I have, in writing this piece, failed to do exactly what I am championing. I did not allow myself to go forward as was necessary, instead paining over the words and structures to try and express exactly what I was feeling. This last paragraph is more in line with who I am, and none of it is in the writing above. So I will leave you, dear reader, with this: the best, most honest, most accurate representation of how I feel as a member of this great society and engaging in this great art.
November 6, 2013 By Andres Dietz-Chavez in Rambling Tags: freedom, punk, writing	Leave a comment
Fiction is work. More work than it ought to be. The question then, is why is this so? Why the difficulties? For those who excel at a particular endeavor, for those who have a particular knack or propensity to engage in something successfully, why would it still be a struggle? Quite simply, in my case at least, it is because I am forcing something upon myself. I am imposing a standard model on what I want to do and attempting to write within its confines. Punk is what has brought this to light in my mind. It is what is allowing me to see that the true essence of who I am is born not in the contrived stories I pain over in order to please, but instead in the rambling essays that I choose to write as a means to air my grievances. Now I see that this fluid exposition of my being, in how I pour my every fiber into the words that are placed on the page, has to be translated to the fiction I create. I must dispense with creative control and allow for creative expression. I have a voice, I have a particular point of view, and regardless of its validity or intelligence I am going to scream it until your eardrums burst and you choose to thrash me with your belt. Because fuck you. And fuck me. But mostly you. I want, and always have wanted freedom. Freedom from myself, my self having been molded into a prison by the others, and now finally giving way to the beauty of irreverence. Others find genius in science, or music, or art. I find genius in writing. I am blinded by writing. Writing is my muse, my Aphrodite, my everything. I will never concede that there is anything more impactful, more profound, more true, than what writing is. Because writing is mine, and I am human and selfish, and what I know and adore is all that matters. No need to elaborate or elucidate. If you can't read between the lines then you don't belong. If you don't understand that reading between the lines is actually feeling, well now I'm explaining. This is just the beginning. I want more, and I will have more, and if others won't have it now then it'll be had later, even if I'm dead. I don't know what I'm doing. I only know that this is what I need.
Ain't No Jazz In Writing
October 26, 2013 By Andres Dietz-Chavez in Rambling Tags: Jazz, passion, writing	Leave a comment
He had nothing of the clerk in him and all writers need something of the pettiness of the clerk, the diligence of the proofreader.
How do I begin this? As always I don't know, but what I do know is that I have, for the first time in my life, been so affected by a piece of writing that it has started a fire in me. It starts with a claim by Geoff Dyer. He stated something that attempted to counter everything I have hoped for in writing, to discredit writing in such absolute terms as to make it obsolete. There is irony in this as, in the very same creation that holds this assertion, he has in a way disproven that exact claim. That claim is that somehow Jazz is greater than any other form of expression and that writing will forever be a petty endeavor, the product of contrived minds.
Geoff had come to my weekly seminar to discuss his book, But Beautiful, and field the usual questions, all polite and quotidian inquiries into the purpose and process of that seminal Jazz book. For the hour and a half before he joined us I had listened as the conversation revolved around the particular strengths of certain passages, the manner in which they had strengthened his supposed argument, and how evocative his writing style was. We were all enchanted by his writing; in how his fictive tale of the Jazz greats had managed to reach beyond the normal scope of criticism to capture the spirit of what the music was. People were happy.
But, despite the explicit purpose of the class being the analysis of the varying forms of criticism, I found myself stuck on one passage in particular that had little to do with what we were supposed to be examining. In the afterwards, almost an afterthought in fact, Geoff threw writing under the bus and stated that the only genius achievable was in Jazz. It was here that he made the aforementioned claim that writing is hindered by the necessity to edit and review, thus robbing it of any actual worth as a means to express the actual reality of being human.
I managed to build up the courage, in the awkward silence after a question had been satisfied, to ask him to elaborate on that passage. In his book he had used Mingus as an example, harping on how this beautifully belligerent man, whose music belted out of his every pore, was unable to transfer his genius to paper, arguing that the sole reason was because writing lacked the ability to capture that same purity of being as Jazz. To put it bluntly, this one example, this one passage, pissed me off. Pissed me off enough to make me underline the offending lines and scrawl "fuck you" beside it, as childish as that may sound.
And the response I got from Geoff when I asked him about that passage didn't quite change my sentiment. Even his physical reaction to my question left me wanting. I vaguely remember, as I struggled to formulate my question from my trembling words, his sly, almost arrogant grin as he realized what I was touching on. It seemed to me that this was something that had been asked before and that he didn't quite know how to defend it, and the answer I got about how Jazz's penchant for improvisation gave it the truthful quality that no other art form could reach sounded practiced, canned, without soul. Very quickly the subject then morphed into something else, not even a specter of what I had initially asked about.
Perhaps he had a genuine point in stating that Jazz's improvisation was what lent it the touch of humanity that no other art could hope for. But to my ears that argument was as superficial as my internal counterargument that, like the writer's process of revision, so did individual Jazz songs go through varying forms, moving from initial formulation to the "improvisation" of the varying band members. To me there was hardly any difference between the creative process of writing and Jazz. Nor did I believe that the soul that poured into Jazz was somehow more powerful, more honest, more immediate, than what a writer poured into their work.
Geoff's belief that writing was incapable of capturing the honesty of the human spirit, that in effect it had been dead on arrival, led me back to his claim that Jazz was also now dead. I would argue that the issue here isn't that Jazz, and writing, are dead, but rather that people have stopped believing that they can be reincarnated. Hell, it was even stated during the seminar that somewhere along the lines, as an individual becomes smothered in recognition and leveled by age, the pioneering spirit becomes weary and cautious, and therefore what new horizons lie ahead are masked by the clouds of complacency and comfort. This was part of what made me so mad. For so long I had been searching for a means to use my writing to capture what was actually fermenting within me, to find a way to push writing beyond the point at which it stood and take it to new forms of expression, and to not only be told that writing was dead, but to be told that writing was never alive to begin with, incensed me.
I suppose I also found myself aflame because I suddenly knew how to verbalize what I had been feeling and wanting for so long. Through Geoff's abject denouncement of the purity of writing via the lens of Jazz, I realized that I had the means to speak about what was burning within me. For the past few years I had been telling people that I wanted to capture movement through writing, an incredibly vague and meek attempt at describing what I felt writing could accomplish. And when I provided samples of attempts at this, at pure expressions of being, my supposed compatriots would simply give me horrified deer-in-the-headlights look. I felt demoralized, as if I was somehow not correctly aligned with the world and that what I was feeling was some form of dementia that I would have to learn to subdue. Even after arriving in New York City and beginning graduate classes the feeling lingered.
As I examined Geoff's book, though, I realized that what I was feeling was mirrored beautifully, almost perfectly, in the stories of the Jazz players he brought to life. It didn't make sense to me at first, at how I was apparently drawing a parallel between what these musicians experienced and what I yearned for, and then it hit me. But Beautiful isn't at all about Jazz or the Black American experience, it's about passion. It's about the raw passion that drove all of those great Jazzmen to pick up their instruments and quite literally blow the wind out of their own sails. It's about the nascent passion that burst forth in Geoff himself as he discovered their ecstasy and set him about writing his opus on Jazz. It was about the passion that kept me up until four in the morning mulling over a text because the author had tried telling me that writing couldn't ever have any Jazz in it.
So this is where I end. I have been set afire by writing that has both paradoxically denounced itself and yet has helped breath new life into the essence of what it assumed was only true to Jazz. I truly hope this great irony is not lost on Geoff.
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