Friday, February 24, 2017

Willie Baronet's Homeless Sign Art

Credit: Willie Baronet from weareallhomeless.blogspot.com



Willie Baronet is an artist and advertising professor from Texas who creates art displays made from cardboard signs that he buys from homeless people across the United States. He believes each sign tells a unique story about the person holding it and says some "read like perverse poetry."

Willie humanizes the dehumanized of society by offering homeless people respect through conversation and the gift of being heard (along with some much needed money).

He teaches us to be more human.

He teaches us that it's wrong to pretend homeless people are invisible.

He teaches us that reaching out to people who make us uncomfortable is enriching.

He teaches us to listen to the stories of others.

And he teaches us that a little courage can change the world.

Visit Willie's Blog here.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Words We Keep Hearing In The News ...

probably a good idea to pay attention. 


aristocracy
[ar-uh-stok-ruh-see]
noun,
1. a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility.
2. a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class.
3. government by those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
4. a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
5. any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.

authoritarian
[uh-thawr-i-tair-ee-uh n]
adjective
1. favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom:
authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
2. of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
3. exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others. 

democracy
[dih-mok-ruh-see]
noun,
1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2. a state having such a form of government:
3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4. political or social equality.
5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

dictatorship
[dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-]
noun,
1. a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.   
2. absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.
3. the office or position held by a dictator. 

fascism
[fash-iz-uh m]
noun,
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.
3. (initial capital letter) a political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43. 

oligarchy
[ol-i-gahr-kee]
noun,
1. a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
2. a state or organization so ruled.
3. the persons or class so ruling. 

totalitarian
[toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh n]
adjective,
1. of or relating to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.
2.exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.
noun,
3. an adherent of totalitarianism

xenophobia
[zen-uh-foh-bee-uh, zee-nuh-]
noun
1. fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.
Xenophobia and nationalism can be seen as a reaction to the rise of globalization.
2. fear or dislike of the customs, dress, etc., of people who are culturally different from oneself.

 
Thanks for the definitions, Dictionary.com

Friday, February 3, 2017

Fuck the Clock

If you Google "fuck the clock" over 40 million hits come up. Everything from song lyrics to coffee mugs to posters, but the first time I saw that phrase was on a tee shirt Patti Smith wore. She was a poet way way back when I was a teen and, at the time, I didn't understand the profoundness of her messages. I thought she was just trying to shock the masses with her unconventionality, along with not shaving her armpits and not caring if her hair was combed. I grew up on her music, but only understood her lyrics later in life ... after I actually had a fully functioning frontal lobe and some life experience that let me sample the sentiments she sang about.

Patti Smith just being her cool self.
Now that I've passed middle age, I understand fuck the clock more clearly, having lived a life of watching the clock and trying to always be somewhere for someone at a certain time. Having spend hours of my life (probably years, really) sitting in traffic, setting alarm clocks, stressing over getting to work on time, getting my boy to school before the final bell, punching out on time, remembering to punch back in from lunch, not being late for a medical appointment (or else lose your spot and have to pay for wasting someone else's precious time). I've missed family vacations, birthday parties, visits with friends, tranquil time reading a book, just doing what I want to do, because I had to get up early for work or drag myself out of bed for a night shift. Waking to the blasting sound of an alarm clock is part of my daily life, because there is always something to do or somewhere to be, and being on time has become society's marker of how responsible I am.

I have forsaken happiness and time I could have spent with people who actually love me (or at least like me) to fulfill obligations and be on time for employers who would really take little notice to me suddenly disappearing forever. I once walked into a job interview that an employer scheduled for 9AM, despite it being a night shift job, only to have my potential boss smirk and tell me she only scheduled the interview for that time to see if I could manage to be punctual at rush hour. (To make it on time, I left my house extra early that morning and sat in traffic on the bridge for an hour getting into the city -- just like she knew I would). Punctuality speaks volumes to power tripping bosses. Course, some employers are more generous and give you a seven minute window before you're actually considered late -- a bone for the dogs.

I'm looking forward to fucking the clock when I retire.