Speculation Band Rock and Roll Jam

Hello rock and rollers, 

Check out this list of recordings I made on my android phone. The quality isn't the best but its true to the rock and roll spirit. I met a guy at the checkout line at work that wanted to jam with me and this is what we got out of it. I played guitar a bit and played drums a bit, apparently, I'm a drummer too now, and even occasional piano. I do it all, I can even sing while playing drums, super hard sometimes. 

The guitar bits with me on guitar are with Jim's Signature Eddie Van Halen guitar, which he says he got personally from Eddie himself. Well, him telling me that did make me play much better. Check out it. 

https://soundcorset.com/r/lIwPlA-HNs?fbclid=IwAR0MSTg4xQw-1o7RsW6Y2USTP-5mTBjuCOYNT4VJPtFyEAWRk-G-tzj03ag [Speculation band Orlando guitar and Mike on drums/spoken word, played with the signature EVH guitar]

https://soundcorset.com/r/xYrrAAMYzj?fbclid=IwAR2GV6OeZg9rdt3nQK2SqXzCmlykbxhz8u2hS11Lk6UfxnYu214wSsd3U8w [Speculation band Johnny B Goode Orlando drums Mike guitar/vocals]

https://soundcorset.com/r/Qz7I2VzWUL?fbclid=IwAR2-n7VOVIaCcyFZ07NmeFT6BFCMb_3avnsRmx-MekDSNOTtB6hj2GrjNbE [Speculation band metal Orlando guitar, Mike drums, with the EVH signature guitar]

https://soundcorset.com/r/9h-WEVEeqY?fbclid=IwAR16sa_MTa_bTMNB1QB4OHp_xNf_IdH4gM1G9pJ2HSx5p2I4JP-ewoQC4_g [Speculation band Mike guitar/vocals, Orlando drums]

https://soundcorset.com/r/AvXQoK6pCp?fbclid=IwAR2PtgQbUL340Bgs-VYF7Y7_yuAQqYSElWqpg2GZza82xaLT0cXOnzoBL_k [Orlando drum solo]

Keep on rocking in the free world! 

Live Jazz Performance! 2/24/22!

https://www.facebook.com/orlando.figueroa.3150/videos/503683607883879

Orlando Figueroa, Guitar

Jason Tomas, Alto Saxophone

Recorded on a brand new Fender Squier with better tuners on them, given to me for free from a customer at work, going through my Marshall avt 275 on the clean channel setting. This was recorded yesterday, 2/25/22. Enjoy, thanks for listening. 

John Lennon: It can't get much worse [Covid 2022]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was covid times during the second month of 2022. Here I thought I'd jot down some notes on what life's been like during this stage of the pandemic, two years running, with no end in sight. 

Okay, so for starters, if you haven't kept up to date on my writings about what retail grocery has been like, be sure to go back and read this most recent most on the subject, here. Thumbs up if you have a thing for the common working class man like myself. 

There's a deep sense of animosity at this point in the pandemic. Americans are more divisive than ever. Customers want to fight me at the checkout line for almost anything nowadays. My most trusted friends, family, and associates are all in the dull drums, saying that they're owed much more in this world. That their jobs, their social circles, their vast quality of "stuff," isn't good enough, and that things are quote, "shitty,". Well, to play up to the satire, "was their whole lives anything else but that?" 

But let's be kind. But no, seriously, none of the people I associate with have really been heavily impacted upon by the pandemic. Rather, almost all of them has flourished and seem to be in perfect health. Oh, fancy that! 

But there seems to be this endless dread going on everywhere around me. It's possible that these people simply aren't happy, they simply lack the capacity for happiness, or the satirist in me will sometimes go on to believe that it could simply be a ruse or charade, one meant to simply fit in and be conformist. Hey, everybody's miserable, I should pretend to be miserable like them to see if they like me more! Misery loves company! I'm a miserables! I like to believe I haven't lost my sense of humor out of these some 700 posts. 

Things are getting better all the time. My life is awash with high culture: music, books, nature, good health, good demeanor, and general happiness and well being. Now, I'm not a guy who's particularly rich in anything in particular, except possibly a capacity for happiness. So what's wrong with all these other people? Well you know what Sartre says about that. "Hell is other people."

Covid America has taken on a sly fake sardonic smile. Every customer at the checkout line has become a hooligan. Even some of my friends, coworkers, and associates have become hooligans. In a world where everybody says everything "sucks," or its "shitty," how can you stay cool and level headed when the world outside your house is super negative and shitty themselves? I think they're probably out to lunch [Frank Zappa]. 

In other news I've been reading Orlando Innamorato. A classic romance knight errantry story from Italy during the 16th century. I happened to read Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which is the sequel to Orlando Innamorato. I liked it so much I decided to back and read the first installment, written by Matteo Maria Boiardo. And tonight a customer from work is donating to me a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Oh, happy day! 

But now I've come to the end of this story. A new tale awaits in the next coming days. Watch this space, eight days a week! 

Dehumanizer [Retail Grocery]

Good early morning to you all. I've been on a bit of a hiatus in terms of writing but I'm ready to jump back into the saddle again. Here I'll go into some more details about what the retail grocery experience has been like lately, on the second month of 2022, with covid still rampaging throughout the lands. 

If you want to read about what it was like at work during the worst of times, make sure to read this post here. That was the worst of it. But things aren't perfect the way things are now either. 

A lot has changed in the world of retail grocery in the beginning of 2022. The place is being run less like a business-employee-bosses-customers routine and more of a sweatshop. Our union is fighting to get us employees a better contract. It remains to be seen if it will really be that much better, but it is guaranteed that our wages will get a slight boost. Modest progress. Slow hand clap.  

The departments and the front end department is being run by skeletal crews. Most of the time overtime is being rejected and refused and a lot of hours across the board have been cut severely, despite the fact that the store needs more help and needs more boots on the grounds to get the job done. 

Because of the fact that the departments are more and more being run with fewer and fewer people, the building has taken on the image of more of a sweatshop style environment. You have be very fast paced and not make too many mistakes. It's almost like Amazon or something now. Management demands it.

In the morning, the front end gets three people to work with until 10 am, and later at the evenings, say 8 pm or later, its being run in the same fashion. This has created a sweatshop environment where one employee is forced to take care of tens of dozens of customers singlehandedly, oftentimes with no baggers, so not only are they ringing up the orders, they're greeting the customers, cash handling, as well as bagging the items-whew! 

As if that wasn't enough, upper management seems to have taken up the stiff upper lip direction of managing workers. They're rude, they're pushy, they don't respond when you say hello, how are you, they're pushing employees to do more work during their eight hour shifts but insist on no overtime, they're in support of cutting hours, they don't give much leeway in terms of calling out sick for colds or covid, the list goes on and on. In a way, in short, I want to say that they've engendered a work environment where they try to dehumanize the employees, and sadly, from what I see from my coworkers, they've succeeded sometimes. 

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel isn't there? Of course. Although this industry seems to have been dehumanized and turned into a sweatshop by upper management and their meandering response to the pandemic, for me, the job has only become better. 

You see, I've become simpatico with lots of customers and while I've walked the Earth I've engendered reciprocity, made friends, and influenced people. Its not even about the money. Its about making friends and influencing people. Hard lesson. But well earned and deserved. 

Covid cases are down at the store but there's always at least a good six to seven cases on the board. Meaning there aren't too many new ones but there are still a few infections still getting into the store. Got to be safe and be careful. 

Customers have become especially unruly and offensive with ignoring the mask mandate and being pushy, aggressive, and rude. 

A long time customer is donating to me a Fender Stratocaster. Even if it really was the worst of times, it doesn't get any better than that. The satire here is that we're living during a modern plague, and its still the best years of our lives. 

queue Dehumanizer by Black Sabbath

Autumn Leaves [in the key of A major]

 

So this is what you call sushi?

Autumn is upon us! This is one of my favorite times of years because it represents the changing of the seasons, the Four Seasons, like the famous Vivaldi piece. This is a good time of year. It always reminds me of childhood and growing up in the Midwest. Memorial Day and this tie dye shirt I always wore. It represents to me schooling, learning, coldness, newer and more crisp air around me. It's also my birthday at the end of the month. 

At this point in the pandemic if you haven't become used to quarantine and haven't found a new way to live within this new paradigm, then you're very far behind. It's a time of healing, renewal, learning, growth, spiritually, mentally, physically, all of it, it's kind of a big deal! Get with the program if you haven't heard that the bird is the word.  

I've become entranced in my own activity. Although I have friends and hang out with them, it is really only within myself that I feel the Muse at its strongest and best. The muse is simply what keeps you going in your life. What do you really enjoy? Do that thing a lot. And find other things like it. And so on until you find what you find fulfilling in life. It could take 10,000 hours, it could take forever, or it might never happen if you don't search for your own meaning. 

I've been playing a lot of jazz guitar and have found some improvement in the jazz playing genre. A steep learning curve was simply just playing different chord voicings over the same chords as substitutions. Nothing fancy but it keeps the beat going and sounds super straight ahead. In a guitar/saxophone only duo it works really well and keeps us grounded within the saxophone solos. 

I've been reading a lot as well. My goal for this year on Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/56122996-og-space] was to read 50 books, but a las, it's getting nearer and nearer the end of the year and right now I'm only at 34 books. We'll see what happens. I recently finished reading Ulysses by James Joyce and right now I'm reading Plato Dialogues selections, an old copy from an old man, a customer I met at work. He gave me his copy of this Plato book [as well as my copy of Ulysses, which I specifically asked him for], it's from 1927, the Modern Student's Library, Philosophy Series. I've been getting a lot out of the book and I've been spending time ruminating on the various ideas within the dialogues. Sitting beneath the warmth of the fire.  

I've also been eating very well but also making sure to eat and live in a healthy way. Food has been one of the best things in the world to me [lol] and I've been very lucky to live in California where the cuisine is literally everything and anything I want, reasonably within affordable price ranges. 

Another great place for food was Chicago, I used to love Chicago hot dogs, polish sausages, hot Italian beef sandwiches, and pizza Chicago style with real bulk sausage instead of diced sausage. It makes a big difference folks. 

Last night I had a superb meal at our favorite Korean restaurant, I had the ginseng chicken in hot broth. You add salt to the broth for flavor or you can eat it as is, which is pretty bland, but very delicious. Not only that but a customer gave me a Persian dish the other day at work and I ate it for my lunch. It was small pastries with meat inside them, they reminded me of pate, which my great Aunt used to make when I was a youngster. The stories within food is incredible and it'll keep you inspired till the end of time. 

Keep hitting those high notes! 

Merry Christmas! [Eve]

Greetings everyone, 

It's the holiday season. Christmas is here in eight hours. I've already an enjoyable day. I woke up early around 10 am and went for a walk. I proceeded to come home and play the acoustic guitar on my balcony. Then I played some overwatch and started reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a very good book! I've decided to take some time to write another work/life update regarding the holiday season and covid. 

The market has been tough this holiday season. The morale of the workers' is the lowest it's ever been in my eight year career. Employees are getting fed up and some of them have quit and/or gotten fired. There's been another one or two isolated incidents of covid but it hasn't spread, or at least, we haven't been told that it's spread. Disconcerting to say the least. 

As regard to my health, I get my temperature checked daily by my father [although the managers at the store should be checking employee temperatures as well but they aren't doing it] and I've never had too high a temperature nor developed any covid symptoms. I guess I should count my blessings. Some of my friends weren't so lucky. Especially the ones that work in retail and/or warehouse work and management. 

My whole goal when going into work now is too completely relax and not overreact to anything or anyone. It's sort of like a Zen mediation attitude to working retail. Every bad interaction can be cancelled out by realizing that there is neither praise nor blame attached. The things the Buddha taught.  

The customers at my store this year have been very tough on the workers. I've had a lot of complaints from customers simply because I'm an employee standing near them. They want to complain to the store director or supervisor but they're also content to let out their anger on just any old employee, that may or may not help them as a response. To be alive in the bitter sea. 

In terms of my music and keyboard playing I'm still at it very often. I've also been reading a lot too. In a short period I've read Plato's Republic, Writings by Aristotle, Ovid's Metamorphosis, War and Peace, and this book about Johannes Kepler called Kepler by John Banville, the best living writer from Ireland. In addition, I have a couple heroes of the storm pc game teams that I play with, and I still play overwatch and team fortress 2. I've even been studying Spanish for a month now. All in a day's work! 

I've been working so much yet somehow I'm still getting a lot done in all my free time. My favorite new activity has been going out on long morning walks and even night walks. During the day, I like to go to the park and read a book sitting on the bench in front of the duck pond. Sometimes I get up and stare at the shimmer of the water's reflection, the shimmer staring back at me. 

Merry Christmas 

On the 9th day of Christmas

The holidays are here. And the time is right to start shopping for Christmas gifts for your friends, family, loved ones, and acquaintances. It goes without saying that this Christmas is going to be a lot different. Hell, even Thanksgiving this year seemed to lose some of its intrinsic holiday value. However, I am firm believer in Christmas and the holidays. It's a happy time, so be happy! Some people have it rough this time of year so remember to be extra kind to everybody you come across. You must never underestimate the power you have in your word with others.  

Work has been slow. Hours have been cut across the board but my hours have been consistent. It's like a ghost town over there at night now. Nights used to be as busy at the day time shifts but now that quarantine and curfew is in effect, there's hardly anybody that comes by at night now. The work has become a lot easier simply because there's nothing to do, because there's no customers to help. This is why management cut hours.

I've been in deep quarantine mode. I play guitar, I play piano, I practice languages, I work, I play pc games, I write, and I read books. It's almost like [gasp!] being an artist/content creator is a full time vocation! [It really is.]  

I've been listening to a lot of the Italian Mozart operas; Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro. I was inspired by this book called Music in the Classical Period, of which I wrote a blog about, which you can read here.

I've been livestreaming my jazz jam sessions with my friend Jason Tomas, a terrific alto saxophone player. Check out our last performance here.

Although it's super difficult to meet new people during covid I've been talking to a lot of new people online, and I've met a very nice girl that I play Heroes of the Storm with. She's a web developer Cali girl, and she also knows Spanish and German. 

I've been teaching myself Spanish and bits of Italian, French, and German through the Google Translate app [to learn the spellings of the words] and YouTube [for the pronunciations and accents]. So far I've been learning for a month and it's unbelievable how much I've learned in such a short amount of time. It's almost like I've become a mini-polyglot already, but of course, to go from beginner to intermediate in Spanish is a lot harder than it seems so I'll stay humble and respect all cultures across the globe. 

Lastly, there's an overreliance on technology especially now in quarantine. I wrote my ideas on the subject. Check out this post entitled Luddites and Technocrats here.

The quarantine makes life simplistic because there's not much to do. Well, that doesn't mean you should sit down and watch Netflix/Hulu all night, or play video games every day of your life, or watch the news 24/7, or watch YouTube all day long, or movies all the time. Too much reliance of these things is bad, and the virtuous man/woman is a moderate man/woman. Remember to rely on the beauty of nature at least a little bit everyday. My closing statement is something similar, realize that the beauty of women is infinite. 

La vie est belle. Pace e benedizioni. Schöne Ferien. Feliz Navidad.  

Holiday Season Covid Edition pt.2

 

It was the best of times it was the worst of times. That's this time right now. November 17, 2020, during covid-19, quarantine, Biden's triumphiant victory, and 244,000 dead Americans. The shit done hit the fan. We have a president who lost the election but won't concede even though its been two weeks since he lost. The Republicans don't want to relinquish Trump and disavow him as a muy malo demagogue that has hurt the party and the country. It can't get much worse. 

However, one of the things one learns in Zen is that you don't need zen when things are going well. You need zen when things are going bad. What does that mean? It means that you train in the art of zen [relaxing, breathing, meditation, thinking clearly, not acting and overreacting to every little disturbance in your day, showing care and love, seeing the love in the universe around you] you must realize that you are doing it because you'll need it for the rainy days. The hard days where you feel like picking a fight with your friend or spouse, where you yell at your coworkers or berate them for various reasons, or more in my case, when a customer at your job is estupido! 

This is the time where you should learn about things like zen. Do you have faith? Do you believe in being and nothingness? Sein und Zeit [being and time]. That's okay to be an existentialist or an athiest, but realize that the people who go for Occam's Razor are very happy. So whatever it is you do or believe in, do it well. 

Thing are going surprisingly well for me at this late stage in the pandemic:

I started playing the piano. I started learning Spanish. I started learning words and phrases in other languages like French, Italian, German, Chinese, and Japanese. I've lost a little more weight. I've found the correct amounts of food intake I need each day, don't overeat anymore, and have found good success in losing weight as a result. My friendships are stronger than ever. My coworkers like me. My family bonds are strong. Other than the fact that I'm working retail during the world's biggest pandemic, my life, beau rêve [a beautiful dream]. 

I have my bad days like anyone else but 99% of my days are so good that there's not much I regret, stress about, or am deeply angered about. Although this is one of the worst times in American history, la vita è fottutamente bella [life is fucking good]. 

I'm still working on myself as a person, trying to better myself through educating myself via books, music, language, work, and relationship improvement ability, and what I've been doing is very pleasing, especially the guitar and piano playing. I even started singing songs. And I've been playing a lot more songs straight the whole way through rather than taking meandering guitar solos. If the bars ever open up again for open mics, I'll be a musician, a guitar player, singer, that's improved 100% from my previous live rock and jazz music performance skills. I can play and sing any song.

I'm also still working on my writing, hence this blog tonight. If there's any one last bit of energía positiva y buena voluntad [positive energy and goodwill], I would say now is the time to learn, relax, work on all the things you've ever wanted to work on, and totally zen out.

aprovecha todo tu potencial 

Feliz día de acción de gracias

A Super Spreader Event In My Town

To whom it may concern:

Tonight at my local retail grocery job, we had a what is called a super spreader event. Tonight was no average night. No sirree Bob. It was October 31, 2020. Halloween night. Halloween is a really big deal in LA of course. 

I clocked in at 7 pm and the front end was busy. Around 8 pm the managers were spending a lot of time outside trying to disperse a large crowd that was getting bigger and bigger. The crowd began gathering bigger and bigger. My estimate was that there were over 100 people [maybe more counting the ones going inside and outside the store], mostly millennials, standing around in the middle of the parking lot. They were huddled very close together, chatting among themselves. There were many young men and women who did not wear masks, guaranteeing this becoming a super spreader event. 

Now, I know that Halloween is a big deal in LA. And I know hot girls want to show off their costumes. And guys want to party but they can't have a real party. So they have a tail gate party outside of a grocery store. There are serious problems with this whole situation and I needed to jot down what happened tonight right away so you can get the information straight from the horse's mouth. 

My closing front end manager is a nice lady, a Filipino woman. But this was her first weekend closing and she could not deal with this situation. Don't get me wrong, I don't think any manager could've dispersed that crowd. She did everything she could. She called the cops and the cops came but they also did not and could not disperse this crowd. This crowd was determined to party all night in the store parking lot. They didn't leave until nearly after midnight. I've never seen anything like it. 

Another issue is the fact that many of these young people partying outside came inside the store not wearing masks. The manager told many of them to put on masks or leave but almost all of them snapped back at her with excuses for why they had to stay inside the store. One person said, "I lost my keys, I have to stay in here and look for them." 

The blatant disregard for human life was on full display here. The decline of the western male and female is on full tilt. Our millennials here in America are stupid as fuck. This is why Asia and Europe laughs at us. They would rather tailgate party, talk very loudly without wearing masks, while huddled close up together, than have a small get together and practice social distancing. 

America is in for a rude awakening. There's nothing but death and misery ahead in the coming months. It's going to be a dark winter. But at least we had a fun Halloween night, right?

Video Games Made Quarantine Better

Video games have made quarantine better. Like way, way, way, better. In the world of 2020, where covid-19 is running amok across every nation, every state, and every city, the world of video games has not only become more open and welcoming, but it's made life and quarantine better. 

I'm a pretty busy guy. I have a job, I read lots of books, I write a lot, I have friends and family to attend to, and I play guitar, bass, and piano. So I'm usually short on time most work days. However, the quarantine has really given us all a lot more time. Time to ourselves. In some of these moments I immerse myself in the world of PC video games, and the results are almost therapeutic. 

I only play team based competitive games. I'm a big fan of Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch. In addition, I've played some 200 hours on Steam of Valve's Team Fortress 2. I always play the role of support healer, the character that stands back, avoids damage, and doesn't die often, healing the team and keeping them alive. This element of support [they call me Dr. Love] gives me a sense of cooperation, teamwork, and accomplishment that single player games can never provide. Because, as they say, we are all in this together. The best way to win a team-based competitive game [no matter what title it is] is through teamwork, experience, information, communication, and awareness. Ironically, these things are also needed to combat covid.  

The fantasy realities that these games provide gives the player an outlet. An outlet for their frustration, an outlet to escape from their work from home jobs or on site jobs, an outlet away from their friends, families, and coworkers. Aside from the occasional gamer trolls, it's a safe house. It's a happy place. And when I'm just chilling at home at the crib, that's where I want to be. 

Covid Versus Retail, Fall Edition

Hello all, 

Thought I'd jot down some general thoughts about what's been like working at the market during this point in the pandemic, this far into it. 

It's been a long time coming. This virus will not turn on the breaks. It will take more and more lives. Working retail at the market is getting more fatiguing. Sometimes it feels like the customers really don't give a shit about the workers anymore. Yes, there are still some customers who like and support us so called 'essential workers', but the vast majority are people who see us as beneath them. The only purpose we have is to serve them, in their eyes. 

Yeah, working retail during COVID has become very dark very fast. The stress can destroy you. If you have health problems the stress will hurt you even more. Not to mention you'll be so much more irritable. I've seen it in most of my friends and coworkers. The most important thing now is to keep your sanity, save your health, and find a way to live with or without happiness. Can you manage that? If not, you're in trouble.

In terms of health and safety, my job isn't doing so great. They stopped giving masks to employees because it was cutting into their cost. Which means that we have to provide our own masks out of our own pockets. In addition, most of the time, nothing is cleaned, leaving a never-ending smear of germs on nearly everything that's touched. God to honest truth, I'm shocked we haven't had a more serious COVID problem, although there was two cases in the beginning of the pandemic. 

Thing are taking a sinister turn with this virus and the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, [the election]. Do the things you love and really try to find a way to live, with or without happiness. The next three weeks are very important in terms of COVID and the state of this great lodestar state. Remember, this is a battle for the soul of this nation. If we lose, then everything that's good and righteous will be cast into the fire. Goodbye peaceful protesters, hello white supremacist militia groups. The voice of the American people will be heard. If they choose Trump again, and the COVID response remains lackluster, say goodbye to some of your loved ones. 

It doesn't get much worse than this. The Trump demagogue has become a true death cult. The brutal murder of George Floyd, the death of Herman Cain, the Rose Garden ceremony, and Trump Rallies confirm this.

Psycho Circus

It's October 4th, 2020. Trump got the virus three weeks before the Election. Welcome to the psycho circus [coincidentally also a great song and video by the rock band Kiss]. 

There's so much division and hate these days. And the 24/7 news cycle added with social media is not helping us, its hurting us as a people, all across the nation. The more people look at a screen the more their brain becomes deficient. My much younger friend, he's about 24, and I'm 31, told me today that he's Republican, and that it shouldn't matter what political affiliation he is, or who he's voting for, and that the world would be a much better place if everybody sat in a circle and hugged each other. Very much a hippie. I was shocked that he was Republican but of course it doesn't change anything to me. But for many other Democrats, it would become a symbol of contempt. 

It's easy to see why someone would dislike somebody for voting for Trump. It's much harder to actually defend Trump and defend the so-called "good," that he's done for the country. But my friend tried. He said he's a Republican because it's been that way in his family a long time. And that he likes Republican economic policies, and that Trump's done well with his economic policies. Oh boy, here we go. 

Instead of arguing I let him speak. It is what it is. He's a soft spoken, kind, caring man who unbeknownst to him has a way with women but the political spectrum he chooses is one that shows disregard for the other; the less fortunate, the poor, the black and brown peoples, the LGBT community, anyone who isn't white and Republican. It's very telling, revealing but I can look past it because he's a genuine great person. 

What I've come to learn is that Biden can't change the hearts and minds of these type of voters. As they say, Republicans fall in line and Democrats fall in love. He loves Kennedy, which was pretty cool, but who doesn't like Kennedy? Trump will get these voters because they're already Republican, probably their whole lives, even if the economic policies that they say are so great, is really nothing but redistribution of wealth from the poor to the richest, leading the richest people not to create jobs, but play the stock market for fun and make even more money. 

So no, Biden won't get these diehard Republican voters and he has a hell of a fight for this upcoming election. Trump is playing on the sympathy of the entire country to his benefit, even though the whole reason why so many Republicans have COVID right now is because of him and that Rose-bowl speech. Trump is also the reason why over 200,000 Americans have died due to COVID. We didn't have a smart plan. Trump botched it. If not because of the fact that he's a white supremacist and won't renounce white supremacy or even the Proud Boys [which should be an automatic disqualification for President by the way], or the fact that he said and did nothing when George Floyd was murdered for the entire world to see [a real leader would have condemned the cop], the fact that Trump got over 200,000 Americans killed because of a failed COVID plan should result in a loss of power and possible jail crimes for undermining American democracy [among other things]. 

So Trump got COVID. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. The clown show is over. Maybe RBG gets the last laugh in the Great Afterward. I share her mirth.

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus pt. 9: It can't get much worse

 

Lennon's return phrase to McCartney's "It's Getting Better All the Time," comes to mind right about now, "It Can't Get Much Worse". As of today there are currently over 200,000 Americans who have died due to corona virus, the novel virus. Just try to take that in. That's an immensely large number, but more importantly, we can't look at them as just numbers; rather those are men, women, and children who have died and will never come back. Seeing things from that angle, it really can't get much worse, but of course, it will. Brace yourselves. Winter is coming.

As far as work goes there's a lot to say. We aren't limiting the numbers of customers that come into the store so sometimes it gets super packed and we're stuck working on top of each other like sardines. The company took away our $2 emergency bonus pay and never reinstated it, BUT decided all they had to do to remedy this was by giving us $100 on our employee discount cards. The $100 was a nice touch but in actuality the $2 bonus pay was much more important, it held symbolic power, and the fact that the union could not and did not get it back is a harsh blow to retail workers, the so-called front line workers. 

The store is filthy. Nothing is clean. In the beginning of the pandemic management was going crazy having everything cleaned all the time. Now, some six months later, it's like they don't even care anymore. Why bother? The punch-in clock is never cleaned, door handles are never cleaned, the break room is a dirty mess, and on top of that most of the registers, and definitely the payment pads aren't wiped down at all, or at least not often, I've never seen it being done. It's just something I've come to expect over there. Unless I clean something myself, almost nobody else there will really be cleaning surfaces or any areas that are touched by multiple people. It's troublesome because I think customers would be very squeamish to the idea that the payment pads are never properly wiped, possibly spreading more and more germs between customers, a higher risk of COVID, at least theoretically.  

Surprisingly though, our store has only had about 3 or 4 cases confirmed. I believe there was a couple unconfirmed cases of employees/management who were exposed and might have been infected, and these individuals went into quarantine for two weeks and then promptly returned thereafter. So as dark as it seems, surprisingly not very many people have caught it at our store, and if they did catch it, it is believed they caught it out elsewhere, not while working at the store. So in that sense, although the fear and danger is hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles, in actuality, my chances of actually getting COVID from the store and dying from it is probably relatively small.

However, you're never truly safe while working retail. Some of my friends have caught COVID and they had strong reactions to it. One of them was bedridden for a week straight, forcing his friend to take care of him, and he caught the virus while helping him, although it was a more mild case. And another friend had a mild case of it, but said that his breathing was so heavily impacted, that sometimes when he was trying to sleep his breathing would almost stop. They believe they have anti-bodies now, and that perhaps they are immune, but now I'm wondering what are the true long term effects of the corona virus, for I see that in some of these people that they aren't quite the same after they've caught the virus. Perhaps it also does some long term neurological damage, because I see strong changes in personality and a stronger sense of irritability in them, as if they've lost a piece of themselves and will never get it back. I think that if you think you're going to die from this virus, and it impacts you much harder than just a mild case, it changes you for life.  

In terms of what the future brings, who knows for sure really. And anyone who says they know is lying to you or taking you for a fool's errand. Honestly, it's pure dystopia out here. Who needs to watch Handmaid's Tale TV show when we're actually living right through it with ICE abusing women in detention facilities, and the Trump administration fundamentally dismantling American democracy like the death-cult that they are. I guess right now in this particular blog I'm not too optimistic about the future. I think a vaccine is far down the line. Many, many, many more Americans will die from COVID during this time until there is a vaccine, and by the time the vaccine is available it will already have been too late because our numbers will probably already have reached near 400,000 by then, my rough estimate. 

If there is a silver lining it is the fact that things are so bad and so many bad things have happened under Trump's watch, that it is nearly impossible for him to recover from this: he botched corona virus and didn't respond to it in a way that could've saved more Americans [he downplayed it, resulting in much higher numbers of American deaths], George Floyd's murder brought the whole country together in a way that hasn't been seen since the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, he was impeached [at least on paper], he's torn asunder the Republican party and turned it into a laughing stock of cowardice, spineless idiocy, and Americans are just fed up of him with his lies and hate.  

So in fact even if it can't much worse, there's a hope that it will get better, and that hope is what keeps me going everyday. There's a lot to think about. At this moment the best thing we can do is be there for ourselves, our loved ones, and try to find a way to live, a new way to live, that isn't tied down by the constraints of dream jobs, lots of money, and other such desires. Staring at the face of death, into the abyss, it only appears to be staring back at us.

September Feels

September is my favorite month. Why? A lot of people I know seem to have birthdays in September, including my father, myself, and many kids I went to school with. I also like October because its the following month after, and my birthday is five days right before. I also just love the season of Fall, when the leaves fall off the trees, burning a red and orange color. I want to take the time here to jot down some general thoughts during this time period. 

There's a lot going on right now. Today was rushashuna so it was a busy day at work [luckily I worked a short late shift]. There's something about the Jewish holidays, and this one in particular that I find to have significant importance, at least for myself. Perhaps because it's near my birthday, but for some reason I always know when rushashuna is happening and I even have memories of this particular day in September going back to high school and middle school. 

Perhaps because some of my teachers were Jewish and they went out of their way to explain to us students the significance of this holiday, and what it meant to them. I'm definitely not a religious person by any means but I think it's important, and interesting that I put a certain significance to this particular Jewish holiday. I was in a cooking class back in high school, perhaps junior year when I first learned about rushashuna. The teacher was a short woman, I can still remember her plump white hands as she would show us how to bake cookies. Of course, the holiday has a significance like no other in the Jewish calendar, as it represents God's creation of the world. 

On top of that today the Notorious RBG [Ruth Bader Ginsburg] died at the age of 87. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg was definitely going to pass away soon as 87 is very old age and she had gone through multiple cancers and somehow still survived and lived to do much more good work, after a lifetime of work dedicated to equality and justice in America. She's an American hero, a legend that will never be forgotten. 

The problem though is that we're 40-something days before an election and now because of her death, the Republicans [led by McConnell] will probably fill her Supreme Court seat with a conservative judge. Yeah, because that's exactly what America needs right now, another conservative Supreme Court pick chosen by Trump, after they already got their rapist Supreme Court pick with Kavanaugh. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth that they got him, now they'll get another conservative pick? The only thing left to do is to make sure you all go out and vote, and vote Democrat because as Hillary Clinton said, "these people only care about power, not about what's good for the country, or the future." Well said indeed. 

On top of that we're all also dealing with COVID-19 still. America still has the highest deaths and the most infections. At this rate we're going to go over 200,000 deaths very soon. That is very scary. Nearly 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 when there is no reason that should've happened. We didn't do the testing. We closed and opened up too fast and too soon.

People aren't heeding the warnings and are still gathering and partying even though the pandemic is still going strong. We think we've already gone through the first wave but the fact of the matter is that we're still in the first wave. I seriously blame Trump's bad leadership for some of the deaths but the reality is that COVID would've decimated us either way, however, I do believe that Trump could have handled it better. We are Americans and we can handle the truth; instead Trump downplayed the virus and made his supporters think we were safe when we're all in danger. And for that, he should never be forgiven, lose the election, and be sent to jail for crimes against the State, some of which was addressed in the Impeachment Inquiry and the Mueller Report. 

Even more we have the 2020 Election coming up. A lot of Democrats, moderate left-wingers, and plain regular folks have been uneasy about this election. They were expecting Hillary to win in 2016 [what a blow to feminism that was] and now they see that they don't have a perfect or ideal candidate [Biden] so they're a little uneasy. I'm a little shaky on this election. This is the most important election in my lifetime so far. Democrats can't afford to blow it. 

However, I also realize that important life changing events have happened that have pretty much guaranteed that Trump will lose. Of course I don't know if its a guarantee but I believe these events are so important that they will make an impact, hopefully forcing Trump out of office this election. The events are as follows: The murder of George Floyd caught on video, the outrage of police/citizens killing and using extreme force against black and brown people, the mass protests for said outrage [where whites and blacks took to the streets even though they could've caught COVID], COVID-19 itself and its mismanagement by the Trump administration, and the Trump administration's misuse, mismanagement, and disruption of American democracy. These things are life changing for every American and they are so bad, so utterly terrible that I believe Trump can never recover from it. Let's certainly hope so. 

Finally, I realize a lot of this is out of my control and must take care of myself. I spend most of my time reading. I read the news less these days but watch the news almost every day. I'm halfway through War and Peace by Tolstoy and am truly enjoying it. I find solace in the superb story telling of a great Russian writer such as Tolstoy. 

As each day goes by I realize that the material world is not for me; I spend less and less time on the computer and spend more time reading, writing, and playing the guitar. If I ever get anywhere in this world, it will be through those pursuits. Even if the world is burning outside, I know that inside myself, there is a spiritual place, a path resides therein, to make your way in the world, and out, where no evil can touch you.

August Update

Hello, everybody. I thought I'd write down a what's up post. I haven't been writing for some time now and perhaps just writing anything can get my back into the groove of things. So what's up?

I've been still doing my retail gig at the market. They took away our hazard pay after only 2 months but supposedly our union is trying to get it reinstated. I still can't believe that they took it away when COVID has only got worse. Keep in mind that the company is a million-dollar organization. How's that for a big fuck you to your employees? Jokes aside, I really do hope they reinstate the hazard pay. It's only an additional $2 an hour but every little bit helps. They also need to stop kicking their workers in the balls. 

Nevermind the fact that our chances of catching COVID are still super high there. Nobody cleans anything, not that I blame them. The customers are at a super high risk of catching COVID there too because nobody cleans anything. They could probably get it from touching the payment pinpad. The customers leave their masks and gloves in the carts for other customers to be surprised by when they grab the carts. Sometimes my community disgusts me. In a way, it's brought out the real me. You see, about 90% of the customers treat me like human garbage there, while maybe only about 10% treats me like a human being. I have to treat them accordingly if you get my drift.

For the last three months, I got switched to morning shifts. It was a big deal and I wasn't fond of it but I got used to it and enjoyed the free time at night to hang out with friends and family. Well, now I'm back to my usual night shift, which I've been doing for the last couple of years. It's not fun but I'm used to it. And after working mornings for the last couple of months, I actually miss the mornings, the morning coworkers, the better preparation, the extra help. Everything's easier during the morning and daytime when everybody is there. When you have a full staff to run things, you get a lot more done. At night our managers don't give us enough personnel to get everything done. So consequently, not much gets done. 

I've been using my nights to relax and smell the coffee. I'm trying to find a new way to live during COVID. It's very difficult and stressful at times. My job has become a lot more stressful and more of the customers are assholes all the time now. Them not being able to go out and party, on top of not having work, or having their kids at school, it's set them off. They're driving me and my coworkers crazy. This is not a good time for retail or any kind of store operation. If you have to go into a store, treat the workers really well. At the beginning of the pandemic, they were heroes, now the customers are treating them like shit. 

I spend most of my time reading books on my Kindle or on YouTube, where I can listen to my precious music, quite possibly the only thing keeping me going at the moment. My friends are there for me but they can't be there all the time. And I don't want to bother my family too much, I feel like I've been a burden to them. I realize I need to eventually spread my painted bird wings and fly out of the nest. Perhaps when this whole virus thing ends once and for all. 

I've been thinking about moving in somewhere with some roommates. Or with closer friends. Or perhaps joining a hippie commune somewhere? That would be like the ultimate hippie move and I would perhaps even be down to do it, provided my other plans in life don't work out the next few years or so. That would be so wild, born to be wild.

As you can tell, I've just been pretty stressed at the retail gig. But not only that. About a month or so ago, I sprained my right-hand pinkie, and playing the guitar isn't the same. It might be another month for it to completely heal IF it completely heals. If it doesn't heal, playing the guitar will never be the same. In a way, I've been super pissed ever since the day it happened, long story about that but I won't go into the excruciating details. But let's put it this way if you're a guitar player and you get a finger injury, the only thing you really have to say to everybody is, "go fuck yourself, fuck you." That sums it up perfectly.

But there's good news too. I've finished Livy's Early History of Rome and started reading Don Quixote again. Perhaps I'll finally get back to blogging about books again and albums. The whole lifestyle/rant blogging style has sort of run its course somewhat for the time being. Thanks for listening.

Enjoy your evening. 

The Summer of COVID

Hello, world.  

It's been quite some time since the last post, which was a great one if you missed it. I wrote a post entitled How the Beatles Saved Me During Corona, it was a super fun post. If you missed it you can check it out here.

However, this post is about the Summer of COVID. This has been the most unprecedented summer of my life. Nothing went as planned, there was no great vacation, nor will there be. I'm continuing to work in a retail environment where I can easily get COVID. The threat is always there no matter what I do at work. If I get it, I get it, as they say. 

The summer heat has been unrelenting. Even as I write this now at 10 pm on a Thursday night, the humidity outside would make you sweat like a pig. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 100 degrees. 

I think the main thing for me this summer has been to just find a way to live during COVID, maybe even reinventing myself a bit. For example, I started playing less video games and playing much more music, increasing my creative abilities. I've been playing both guitar and keyboard every day. 

In addition, I've been reading outside my usual literary genres. I started reading more history books, starting with the Greeks and Romans. I even got into a popular podcast called Mike Duncan's History of Rome. 

Let me go on a tangent about some of the history books. Let me be very clear; I think everyone should know at least a little bit about Greek and Roman history. Start with the literary classics like the Iliad, the Odysee, and the Aeneid, and then read Plutarch's Lives. I think those are all essential readings for anyone in the modern era. Why? Because everything about the Western world was already created with the Greeks and Romans. Understand them and you get a much better understanding of how the western world was formed, shaped, changed, yet in some ways stays the same. This is one of the most important lessons I learned from books. I did not learn this from school. It doesn't matter what your idealogy is; Conservatives already know this stuff, and Liberals learn it from liberal arts college courses. No matter how smart you think you are, if you don't know much about the Greeks and Romans, then you're not that smart. You add this history to your repertoire with lots of philosophy and BAM! you're already smarter than most of the people you'll come across. Don't let it go to your head.

But it's not always about learning something new. I've also reverted back to some of my old school ways. I started listening to more classic rock music of the 1960s; the Beatles, the Kinks, Cream, Hendrix, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, and more. What I found was that I was burning myself out on so much new music all the time and that I needed to listen to the classic music of my youth, rock music. I still love jazz and classical but now I save a little bit of time each day to kick out the jams. So while I recommend learning and doing new things to find a new way to live during the coronavirus, I also think going back to your inner self, really reflecting upon it, will reinvent and reinvigorate you as well. There's always a balance. 

Then there's the social distancing thing. While I've still been able to see some friends during COVID, I've mostly been staying at home with family. For a while, I met a lot of new friends that really liked me. But alas, I'm definitely a painted bird, and although I can pretend to fit in anywhere I go, in reality, wherever I go I'm a big target. I actually believe that even in my own inner circle, this is the truth. They're nothing like me and we don't really have much in common but our friendship is strong and keeps us going. It's actually pretty damn cool. So I guess what I've learned is that you should always strive for strong friendships but its always easy to tell who's worth keeping around and who's worth ditching. You might find that the harsh reality is that these people need you around them more than you need them. What do you do in that case? It's all up to you. 

I also wanted to talk about money. In this time of COVID, I feel like there's nothing really to buy because you can't really go out and buy stuff without putting yourself more at risk, being in a large store with a lot of people, and also, just because you can't go out and do anything, so there's really nothing to spend money on. I have no desire for things, therefore I don't buy anything. I buy musical equipment and I want more guitars but really there's no point. I think we're finally almost reaching the climax where money doesn't really mean as much as it used to. I find this to be a good thing. Mainly because I'm not rich. I believe the economy will get much worse before it gets better. The fact of the matter is that the average American doesn't have $500 in their bank account for an emergency expense. That's scary. If we as a nation can't figure out things like affordable housing, rent, and affordable food, and affordable education, then the country will get much poorer. The rising inequality will eventually reach a breaking point until the inevitable worker's revolution. Possibly even during a liberal administration? 

In conclusion, it's just been one hellova summer. I don't think things will go back to normal anytime soon. Now is the best time to truly find another way to live. Whatever you do, do it well, and really love it because although we're all in this together, we're all forced into isolation. Some of you will sink and try to find comfort in other people all the time, but the real ones will create an interior life, away from the world, away from their friends, their families, and truly live. That's what I' talkin' about.

Breaking the Chains

Hello, ladies and gents. I haven't written in quite a while. This summer has been very intense. Mostly because of the coronavirus. I'm actually not even that busy and should've been reading and writing a lot more, but hey, sometimes it's hard to get in everything that you want to do in life. This is one of those times even though ironically most people are unemployed and sitting at home due to the virus. Meanwhile, the rest of us poor saps are working because we're essential workers. 

I've met a lot of new friends recently. They're all good chaps and they've really inspired me in a lot of ways. Through them, I've gained a lot more confidence in myself and have been pushing myself to be more outgoing socially. Through them, I realized that in a lot of ways I haven't seen myself in the way that I should, and that other friends, coworkers, and people sometimes drag me down for their own purposes. It was quite a realization. 

It made me see myself in a different light, a better light. I realize the need to stay humble in life but I also see the realization that sometimes you have to act like you're better simply because you are. It's difficult to explain in words. Famous people would get it. Successful people would get it. Well, now I get it. Took a long time to get through but I made it. Now, what do to with it? Only time will tell. 

Saying all that, I've also sort of unlocked new parts of myself within. This is where I go all metaphysical. In the past couple of weeks, maybe the last month or two, I've reached a sort of meta plane realization. I've gone back to my teenage roots even though I thought I've surpassed it and will never revisit it. I started playing guitar a lot more, started listening to only classic rock, and have been more outgoing socially with everybody I come in contact with. Because I read all the time, my conversation skills are the highest they've ever been, making me a hit pretty much anywhere I go. Although I'm half deaf and it's hard to listen to people I've learned to do it with extreme efficiency. My voice sounds cool and it's not as loud and overbearing as in the past, where I used to have trouble hearing myself. Life is good. 

Because I listen to so much music and really listen and focus hard on the music and lyrics, I've become a man of a thousand songs, literally. I plan on studying all my favorite classic rock music, really getting a feel for the songs, and writing my own songs in a somewhat similar vein in terms of harmony. I plan on getting back to recording music again soon. I'm still doing my jazz jam with the saxophone player Jason but I'm sort of losing interest in jazz. Mostly because I'm not really a jazz guitarist, but I'm talented enough to play it and fake it. But I'm no Wes Montgomery or Jim Hall, that's for sure. But I sure as hell will try. 

Finding yourself in the time of COVID feels different. Who am I really? It's a hard question that most people end up asking themselves their whole lives. I see myself as a painted bird, I have to choose my surroundings wisely or things will just not work out the way I'd like them to. 

That being said, the virus is still going strong, the protests are surging, and we have a Trump Gestapo in Portland but there is a silent majority working against Trump. I'm a big news junkie and read it every day, I recommend you all do the same. 
  
"I'm the last of the good old fashion steam train." 

A Midsummer Night

Hello, ladies and gents. Thought I'd jot down some ideas and thoughts on life right now. 

Life really isn't that great for most people these days. Myself included. There is so much strife and discord in our country right now, it's unbelievable. Even though I consume copious amounts of information regarding the news via online websites and periodicals, at some point you just think to yourself, "why is this happening?" Why indeed. 

A big factor in this gigantic disinformation campaign currently being disheveled to the masses is the fact that the White House is spreading it themselves. Yes, online news websites are biased, but can you really blame them when our President is doing it ten-fold? I think not. 

Not to mention the fact that COVID-19 is spreading faster and stronger by the day. It's really scary out there right now. No state is safe. No person is safe. None of your loved ones are safe and we should all do the things that are required in order to flatten the curve. Yes, we've heard these lines a lot, but I fear that people aren't hearing it. Sure, they're doing they're part but the fact of the matter is that perhaps without some severe draconian methods, like what the Chinese did, there will be no way to stop the spread of this virus, ultimately lasting years, and we won't have enough vaccines, if they ever even make one in a reasonable amount of time, soon.     

But this virus isn't just about deaths. It's about people. How are you doing these days? Most people aren't doing great. Most of them are unemployed and will continue to be unemployed. I'm getting super short shifts and low hours. I'm lucky because I'm decent in terms of finances but the vast majority of people are hurting.

I envision a future America not based on money at all because people simply won't have it, or won't have much of it. I believe the future isn't based on wealth, education, or employment, rather it will be based on finding a new way to live.

We simply haven't been able to live life the way that we are accustomed to anymore. That ship has sailed nearly six months ago. The answer, then, is to find a new meaning to our lives, that is important to us, and gives value to ourselves. 

This is probably the worst period of my young life and even saying that it still isn't that bad compared to say the Great Depression or wartime. Although it is much worse than the 2008 Recession, for comparison. 

I've had to limit most social interactions in person and a lot of my communication with other people has only been through online voice comms [headset mic] or through text messaging on apps. My one saving grace, although it is a double-edged sword, is my retail gig, literally the one place where I see other people and talk to people in person. Ironic, saying since the place isn't very safe and has already had a few cases of COVID. 

I go to work in an hour or so. I feel good about working there even during COVID. Sure, it isn't safe, but it's a good job for me because I get to help others and interact with people on a real level, nothing fake. I'm a people person. Interaction, baby. This summer has been kind of a bummer with the protests, the politics, the White House, the President, and the pandemic. I don't think we can curve this virus anytime soon, rather the answer lies in how we choose to live our lives. Are we going to become better, smarter individuals, or let the chaos engulf us?

My Last Words

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I don't mean to alarm anyone with a post entitled "My Last Words," no this isn't the end of the blog, nor is it a manifesto [although I'd love to write a manifesto one day]. Rather, this is a dialogue on a what-if. 


Okay, so we all know that COVID-19 is stronger than ever. Six months in, there's no end in sight. I'm still working at my retail gig I've worked for seven years now. There's no real protection from the virus there, and there are no limits on how many customers can be inside the store at any one time. At this current juncture, it isn't if I catch the virus, but when. And at that point, if I'm not so lucky, what then? 

In the event of premature death, here it is...my last words. 

I've lived a good life. In fact, I've already lived my dream. My dream was to live and work in California, enjoy the sun, and play guitar. I've already achieved that and have been very happy with my life in the last ten years or so.

The beginning was a lot rougher but you live and learn. Not everyone is dealt a good hand in life, rather, you are given what you are given and you are expected to learn to thrive no matter what. I would say I've done pretty well in life. I'm black, I'm not street, and have never been to jail.

My family played an important role throughout my life and still does. What I always underestimated in my life was the importance of my friends and acquaintances around me. Without them, I would have struggled much more in life. I would have suffered from loneliness. Thanks to my friends I've never really experienced loneliness.

In terms of goals and dreams, I'm not quite sure if that will still be happening under the pandemic. Sure, we could get better jobs and make a little more cash, but at what cost? I'm proud to be working during the pandemic and to have a job. My dreams of being a musician have been cast to the wind. I'll probably never play an open mic again, at least until COVID is over, which could be in years, who knows?

I have other goals that I work towards. Like my writing, for example. Let my writing speak for itself. The blog has been going strong for seven years and I've got nearly 700 posts, all on various subjects like music, novels, movies, games, ideas, and everyday life. I worked hard on writing fiction and I had a pipedream about becoming a fiction writer but at this point, I just do it for the hell of it. Publishers be damned.

I've had like one or two big epiphanies about life [that I wrote about on here in the back track] that really mellowed me out and made me see reality in a much different and better lens. Those were good and life-affirming. But the hardest thing to do is keep pushing through in life constantly when nobody is there rooting for you or fighting for you. That's when you truly see how alone you really are in this world despite the fact that we're all in this together.  

I believe that the only thing that is important now, during this crazy time period we're all living through, isn't cash, a fancy home, a fancy car, or a hot girlfriend or wife, rather, it's your ability to find a way to live through all this, in a happy, life-affirming manner. Or even just life-affirming. Everybody needs to go soul searching and see what they find, see what they need, see what they like, and dislike. And remember, nothing in this world is impossible.

In the immortal words of Jimi Hendrix, "With the power of soul, anything is possible." 

Reading List & Thoughts

Hello, everybody! 


I took a couple days in between posts but now I'm back. Life is good despite the fact that what we're all going through regarding COVID-19 is undeniably terrible and bleak. I figured I'd take some time to write about some of the books I've been reading. 

I just finished Plutarch's Lives a few days ago. Undeniably, one of the greatest works of literature of the Western canon. One of the greatest literary works I've ever read, without a doubt. Most literary and scholarly types would know Plutarch's Lives, but for those that don't know, Plutarch was an ancient Greek that wrote biographies, histories, of famous Greeks, then compared them to famous Romans, then showed how they were similar and how they were different. It was so good that it eventually became a part of the Western canon.  For nearly 2,000 years the book was widely read. Still, to this day.

Plutarch starts the 1400 page mammoth of historical biographies with Pericles [Greek] and Romulus [Roman], thus by starting with the founders of each nation, giving them a grand introduction, as they appear rather as myths or folklore, or gods rather than men. Giving them a grand legendary story, maybe not sticking to the facts, he gives us a great introduction to the series.  This introduction is perfect as it sets a foundation myth story that is foundational to any culture.

Although a lot of the book is military conquest facts and historical details, events, and dates, what actually makes Plutarch's work more interesting than mere historical biography is the fact that he's interested more so in the personality and virtues of the characters as opposed to the other stuff. Meaning, that, however, some of his historical details, events, and dates are actually wrong, sometimes going on some random tangent, stories that might portray the character in a certain light or different angle. 

Here are some takeaways from completing the work:

1) Everybody should know at least a little bit about Greek and Roman history.
2) Military history is an important element and should be looked at closely.
3) The virtues of world leaders should be taken into consideration when they're elected into office.
4) In order to be an effective leader, one needs to have lots of free time; thus, when he spends his leisure time, he should spend the time reading works of the western canon, and studying philosophy, thus so when he interacts with people in society, he has a kind and gentle nature. 
5) If you read and finished this book, congrats, as its a heavy book, full of the dry, difficult, Victorian-era one-page sentences [by way of the Dryden translation, which has been revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in the 19th century]. Yeah, there are many one page sentences in the Dryden translation I read, and yes, it was all very hard to keep track of, and yes I did have to reread lines, and yes it was painstakingly time-consuming, but in the end, it was worth it, because I enjoyed what I was reading, what I was learning, and although the process was a chore, in the end, it was worth it because I was passionate about Greek and Roman history, history in general, and adding another great Western canon book to my list of reads. 
6) Read this book! Even if you only read Pericles and Romulus, it would give you such a great introduction to the history of the Western world. It appears to be the case, that at least in terms of written history we can recall from, the Western world starts with the Greeks and Romans. Very important. Foundational.

For a while, I was reading Don Quixote too. I love the idea of a satire about chivalry and knights-errant. What is also interesting is that although most of the stories seem to be jokes, some of them appear to be quite serious and realistic, almost as if they actually happened. Some of it is so realistic that it almost had to have happened to actual people. Some of the events might have been real, others satirized, and what have you. I've been reading a 2013 translation by Edith Grossman, the only woman to ever translate it, and she wrote it in a modern way, giving it more appeal than its usual 1800s translations, which have in my opinion, more of the language of their time. With the Grossman translation, it appears that Don Quixote has been modernized in the best way possible. I plan on eventually finishing it sometime in the near future. Another classic on my list. 

Lastly, I have a book I just started reading tonight, a fantasy novel. It's called The Last Ringbearer by a Russian writer named by Krill Yeskov. I heard about this book through friends on Facebook. They were talking about Tolkien and someone mentioned that someone wrote a book from where Tolkien left off and put things more in the orc's perspective. I asked them what the book was called. I started reading it. While the idea seems like a fanfiction sort of thing, Yeskov is a serious guy, a paleontologist of all things, and if you want a good reason for why he wrote a sequel to the Lord of the Rings, look no further than here, https://www.salon.com/test2/2011/02/23/last_ringbearer_explanation/and although I can't say the guy is a great writer or a literary writer, his style fits the bill decently, and it's a quite a fun read, especially considering that Tolkien never really cared much for his orcs, and here, Yeskov gives them a lot of depth and personality. I've been meaning to read more fantasy, this will work.

Reading has been my one solace during the pandemic. I hope all of you have been reading good books or at the very least recent news articles. It's hard to find time in the day to read but if you make time, the reading will be well worth your time and effort. 

Stay safe.