Beautiful People

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

So I don't normally advertise products in this forum or in general, but this is a great one. If you don't use it, you've probably seen or walked past it in Whole Foods, Fairway, or some other organics-centric market. I've used the almond (which sort of smells like marzipan) and lavender, but just bought the citrus orange this weekend which is delightful! The soap is totally biodegradable and vegetable-based, meaning it doesn't contain any animal fat/tallow. It's also certified fair trade and made with organic oils. It smells nice and clean and apparently has 18 basic uses, diluted and undiluted. They include body wash, mouthwash, laundry detergent, light house cleaning, a fruit and vegetable rinse, and deodorant. Simply put, it's good shit. Now my point, contrary to what it probably seems like so far, is not to encourage you to buy this soap. Here's my point: I bought a new variation of the soap ("flavor," as I like to incorrectly call it), over the weekend. For some reason, this was the first time I looked at the label. The website describes the labels as "Dr. Bronner's philosophy," and describes that philosophy as an "urgent message to realize our transcendent unity across religious and ethnic divides." But actually looking at the labels makes me think this dude was a complete nut, and then makes me question my decision to buy this soap. I'll still buy it, but shit these labels are weird.

The Old Guitarist

This is one of my favorite paintings. I like hanging it horizontally, so the old man's head is on the right side of the canvas. Picasso is one of many proofs to my theory about the unmistakable relationship between supreme creativity and our concept of insanity, framed by social and cultural definitions. I'll expound on that when I'm in a more motivated state of mind.

Yusef Komunyakaa

Not enough people know who this man is. In the '80s, he developed this brand of poetry that combined jazz rhythm/syncopation with modern, colloquial language and some ridiculous imagery. I'm going to resist the urge to bold and underline the lines that make my eyes pop open. Getcha mind blown:

Safe Subjects 

How can love heal

the mouth shut this way?

Say something worth breath.

Let is surface, recapitulate

how fat leeches press down gently

on the sex goddesses eyelids.

Let truth have its way with us

like a fishhook holds

to life, holds dearly to nothing

worth saying -- pull it out,

bringing with it hard facts,

knowledge that the fine underbone

of hope is also attached

to inner self, underneath it all.

Undress. No, don't be afraid

even to get Satan mixed up in this

acknowledgment of thorns:

meaning there's madness

in the sperm, in the egg,

fear breathing in its blood sac,

true accounts not so easily

written off the sad book.

Say something about pomegranates.

Say something about real love.

Yes, true love - more than

parted lips, than parted legs

in sorrow's darkroom of potash

& blues. Let the brain stumble

from its hiding place, from its cell block,

to the edge of oblivion

to come to itself, sharp-tongued

as a boar's grin in summer moss

where a vision rides the back

of God, at this masquerade.

Redemptive as a straight razor

against a jugular vein -

unacknowledged & unforgiven.

It's truth we're after here,

hurting for, out in the streets

where my brothers kill each other,

each other's daughters & guardian angels

in the opera of dead on arrival.

Say something that resuscitates

us, behind the masks, 

as we stumble off into neon lights

to loveless beds & a second skin

of loneliness. Something political as dust

& earthworms at work in the temple

of greed & mildew, where bowed lamps

cast down shadows like blueprints of graves.

Say something for us who can't believe

in the creed of nightshade.

Yes, say something to us dreamers

who decode the message of dirt

between ancient floor boards

as black widow spiders

lay translucent eggs

in the skull of a dead mole

under a dogwood in full bloom.

The Laughing Heart

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

-Charles Bukowski

In the desert

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter – bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

-Stephen Crane

Lil Mama Had a Swag Like Mine

Okay, this is going to be my last video post for a while, semi-promise. I usually hate covers, but I'm diggin' this one. What do you think?

UPDATE: (Click on the link, song starts around 2:18 -- embedded video is no longer available).