Beats Antique: Revival

If you're not familiar with Beats Antique, you should be.





How's that for succinct?

Occupying a World Gone Mad (and Scarlet)

That's what it feels like these days...that our country has gone crazy. that the whole damned planet's gone a little askew. I don't know that that's a bad thing, really. People are finally fed up enough with the way things have been operating for far too long to actually stand up and say so.

Unfortunately, standing up and saying so comes at a cost...and a painful one.

 This is America in action at the moment.

And this is only one example of the abuse of authority, there are many more out there. I have friends who have been beaten and bloodied by the authorities for no valid reason. 

***Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests.^[1] The right to freedom of association is recognized as a human right, a political freedom and a civil liberty.
Freedom of assembly and freedom of association may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom of joining an association. Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labor rights and the Constitution of the United States, is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association.^{[2][not in citation given]}
The United States constitution explicitly provides for 'the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances'" in the First Amendment.***

They say "get a job" and "take a bath, hippie." It's a convenient and easy way to write us off, to belittle us. They say we're looking for a handout, that we don't want to work for anything. That we're mooches or something.

I'm here to say otherwise. Just pulling from the list of people I PERSONALLY know who are involved in the Occupy movement, I can say that there are: Emergency room doctors, university professors, veterans, students, therapists, nurses, my mom,  9-to-5ers, artists, teachers, health-workers, minimum-wagers, above-minimum-wagers.  We bathe. We have families. Those who are lucky have jobs (and homes)...though not all of us do, and that's part of what we're pissed off about.

And NO, we DON'T need to have a list of demands of what we want to see change. Those lists will appear from some parts, surely, because there are those among us inclined to make lists (and that's good)....but they won't speak for the entirety of us. Sometimes, it's enough to just say "I'm over the status-quo" and to voice your displeasure.



Especially when it's said en masse.

Still bizzy bizzy bizzy...but getting less so!

Just like the title says, it's still been a bit of a whirlwind here in The Dirty South (AKA "Atlanta"...or "Hotlanta")...right after my parents left, Charlie's mom came down to stay for a bit, since Charlie's sister, LeeAnne (who also works with us) had surgery on her leg...and then our land-mates, Junebug and Dashboard came for a Halloween stay.

But (also like the title says) it's slowed down a bit. This is the first weekend where we had no visitors, had nothing we HAD to do...quite nice! We "celebrated" this yesterday by having a "date day" where we did absolutely nothing besides lay in bed and watch bad TV (OMG, some of it was reallyreallyreally trashy. I suffer from an unfortunate addiction to TruTV.) and cuddle all day. Didn't even really get up until 4pm. Perfect.

The night before, friday, some friends of ours had an aerial-play night at their place, and we went and did...well...aerial stuff!

Charlie stretching his back....


It's true, we're swingers...


Trapezes are fun...


Despite bringing my canvases and paints with me, I haven't been doing much with them this time. Even though we have a suite here, with a seperate bedroom and all, the layout of the living room is odd, and not really condusive to setting up an art space...but I have been utilizing my camera a bit. That counts as something, right? Specifically, I've been adding to my Found Shoe photos.



I don't know why they fascinate me, but they do.





I guess I just think it's/they're weird.



Not as weird as some of the street signs here, though.

Still Here...and a Giveaway!

It's true...I've been horrible at updating lately! What can I say, except it's been a busy past month. Shifting the "base of operations" to Atlanta, Georgia for the next 3-4 months, lots of trips back and forth home to close up shop, some medical stuff (good news is: no cancer!) and an extended visit from my parents (who leave on this coming monday...finally! Love them, but it's been a whirlwind of activity, on top of regular work)

So, hopefully things will be settling back down soon, and I can make a "real" return...but until then, y'all should stop by http://shoprachelrene.blogspot.com/ and get in on the giveaway she's having! I've pimped her products to y'all before...for good reason. They're excellent quality. Simple as that. I've used them exclusively for about 3 years now, and have had ZERO complaints with them. And they're handmade...of course. And if it matters to you, they're also vegan.

Go forth...enter to win!

Octopuses And Squidses

Has anyone else noticed the prevalence of octopus/squid imagery/artwork lately? It seems like in recent years, they've really taken off in popularity. Kind of curious what that's all about. Is it a self-creating fad, a case of "monkey see, monkey do?" Are dark gods of the deep mind-controlling us, preparing humanity for their arrival? Whatever the case may be, I'm okay with it.

There's some rather...interesting use of said cephalopods at this link here.....
http://www.daikichiamano.com/

Back Again....and Zombies vs Unicorns!

Yup, it's true, I deleted my entire previous blog after numerous years (okay, 3 or 4) solely because Google wouldn't let me change my primary email address. All that content (okay, all that random babbling) gone...like the wind.

SNIP. (that's the sound of strings being cut)

C'est La and all that jazz.

Truth is, I was ready for an overhaul, some renewed energy, etc.

And what better way to find new energy than some Zombies vs Unicorns? What's that, you ask? Well, it's a blog-hop hosted by the ever-kooky Amy over here...
 http://butterscape.blogspot.com/p/unicorns-vs-zombies.html
(and yes, I know it's officially called Unicorns vs Zombies but since I'm on the Zombie Team, I figure it's okay to switch it up a bit.)

Stop over and check out some of the fun she has going on there. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You may poop yourself. Probably no poop....but you never know.


Speaking of renewed energy (and the fact that I'm back to living in hotels again, after a year off of work) I'm also now on Twitter here... https://twitter.com/#!/judahsleep ...which promises to probably be  really inane. Seriously, I've only been using it to pass time while waiting for slacker co-workers to finish their part of the job. Which means I'm there a lot. Saying a whole lot of nothing. But occasionally something of interest beyond the most base observations may pop up. Like politics. Or art. Or stuff.


Well, there you go, my entrance back into BlogLand.


Oh yeah...Zombie Doll!

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

The power of mainstream media is frightening. The ability to cover up entire political actions in the hands of corporations. I have yet to see a SINGLE mention of Occupy Wall Street in the news, despite it being eight days in now.

                                Despite the multiple recorded abuses of power and police violence.

 The thing is, as frightening as the power of mainstream media can be...the TRUE power now lies in the hands of each and every one of us. We can no longer be kept silent, and our voices are legion.

It is THEY who should be afraid. The peasants are pissed off and storming the castle, as much as they'd like to pretend otherwise.

For those unfamiliar with what is happening,  a quick visit over here will help... https://occupywallst.org/article/A-Message-From-Occupied-Wall-Street-Day-Eight