Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Circle Quest 0º-180º (or The Hunt For Red October part1)


   Once again I'm going to bite off way more than I can chew, and in true Western tradition, I've chosen the 'Big Gulp' or the 'Venti' over the 'demitasse' approach.  Are we about to see a flood of red cascade through world markets this month? Has that hall of mirrors labyrinth known as derivative debt finally led investors to seek a practical 'way out'? Why invest in something which is merely a reflection of something true, when one can own the real thing? If the Eurozone goes down, I can tell you the boys at Goldman Sachs and the other major institutions of financial wizardry, will be the first to seize control of the lifeboats. Unfortunately, or fortunately, this post is not a financial investors guide but perhaps a speculative precursor to the upcoming revelations as to the levels of deception which holographically permeates our world.

Submersible Metaphor
Smoke and mirrors have been the tools used to confuse the masses and delude them into believing the left/right narratives. It is done in politics, business, and all other intertwining aspects of human culture in order to gain the upper hand. Now I feel that we are on the verge of a veritable apocalypse (which simply put means 'revealing') one of truth and the practical application of deception in our world.  Like the submarine the 'Red October', the agenda moves with purpose, silently and stealthily, towards an end, which appears to be an inevitable global catastrophe.

One traditional method of jumpstarting economic recovery is to start a war!

Rick Santorum, Republican Presidential candidate exclaimed, in a recent 'leaders debate', that Iran was responsible for more deaths of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hey Rick, if your government had not sent your servicemen to the middle-east in the first place they never would have been exposed to those 'Evil Iranians', or as Ron Paul then correctly pointed out, had the US not overthrown the Iranian government in 1953 and imposed the Shah, the blowback of the 1979 Iranian revolution would have never happened.  Surely American intelligence would have known before the Iraq war, that any aggression in the region would provoke a response from a nation that has so much at stake as to what happens in their own backyard. The US would not act any differently if the situation was in it's own backyard (Cuba?) The same will happen too if an attack on Iran ever materializes, because it's likely the Chinese and/or Russians will come to the aid of Iran or Pakistan should they ever have the need to defend against a US aggression.  Senator Linsey Graham is now calling for an American assault on Pakistan, which most definitely would draw their close ally China into the conflict…well, that's the way the egg rolls!

After the immense carnage of such conflicts,  Mr.Santorum or Mr.Graham can get up on their podiums and try to frighten us once again for political gain, by beating their drums of war in blaming Russia or China for their support of Islamic fundamentalists, (remember 'Tom Hanks War' where the US funded the Mujahedeen fighters in the Afghan/Soviet conflict in the1980's?) two can play that game. 

Who ultimately will benefit from these wars though? The arms makers/ traders, the shareholders and those corporations involved in the rebuilding of war zones of course (like Halliburton or the BinLaden family of Saudi Arabia), and those caught in the bloody middle will once again be the gentle folk just trying to live their lives.

A Sizeable Slice Of Pi
Our 'allies' the Saudis, have just sentenced a woman to ten lashes for breaking it's repressive and discriminatory law against women drivers, yet the rhetoric from our elected officials about which 'evil regimes' should be toppled continues, whilst the moral whines from our leaders fall conspicuously silent to outrageous assaults on basic human dignity when perpetrated by regimes whose countries resources are peddled to us like crack for cash, or lobbied for under the guises of ''campaign contributions'.

Saudi-Western relations are that of a dysfunctional co-dependant. It's a relationship where the narcissist and co-dependant actually feed off and ultimately exhaust one another through their various methods of dysfunction.

Where's Obama, Harper, Merkel, Cameron or Napoleon Sarkozy on these injustices? Where any puppet would be, I suppose, on strings unable to comment on anything that runs counter it's own economic interest. Their moral crusades take place when there is economic gain to be had from a political transformation. Our leaders sat on their hands during the Egyptian and Tunisian crises, are mute on Bahrain's revolution, or the barbaric assaults on the people of Gaza, yet continue to wage war in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen only because in those regions it's interests are at stake, and it becomes important to them that the outcome their campaign contributors wish to see take place does. 

The West, both the perpetrators of crimes and their subservient allies who sit by and watch in silence, have lost any moral high ground it may have had a long time ago.  Beginning with the introduction by the US government of venereal diseases to Guatemalans in the late forties, to the manufactured Gulf of Tonkin incident, to the lies on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the 'Downing Street Memo' and the ensuing crimes at Abu Graib.

All nations are one nation in the new globalist reality, and unfortunately the alter of worship for the 'power elite', and those who do their bidding, is laminated with money.

UPDATE: Good News!The Saudi Arabian King has overturned a ruling to lash the woman driver.

My next pit stop concerns global Intelligence organizations, who work with one another on behalf of an agenda that none of us, nor most of it's participants for that matter, are even aware of. The way this is accomplished is through the process of 'compartmentalization' (the majority of CIA operatives are now contractors). Anyone who has ever worked for a company and had a position higher than those on the lower levels knows there is information they are privy to, that those below them do not know. It is therefore logical to conclude that in the fourth-dimensional realms of the intelligence community, ones superiors have knowledge that contractors are prohibited from ever knowing. We can infer how something must be, by looking at what isn't, without ever knowing the actual details of any method of operation firsthand.

OK, that's it for the first 180º, on October 1st  I will post part two (180º to 360º)
Update: here's the link to Circle Quest 180º-270º(or The Hunt For Red October part2)
If you're enjoying this series, part three (270º-360º) will be posted in a few days.

Dirty CT   September 2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Gender Wars and the Montreal Comiccon


  I ventured out to the Montreal Comiccon this past weekend, on a pilgrimage to see my boyhood hero Adam West (the only true Batman), and also to see Spiderman creator Stan Lee speak, and watch him shout out his battle cry "Excelsior!!!" That was all very nice but, what I wasn't expecting to see were the plethora of beautiful women dressed up in skintight clothing, posing as various 'super-heroines'. Of course, a cynic would say "they're just there to satiate the wet dream fantasies of the disempowered geek males"….to which I would say: "yes, and your point is???

 PD Cafargo, my 'Escape From The Abyss' co-editor, while looking for reviews of the Comiccon on the net, came across a review by a woman who made note of what she termed 'lecherous old men' taking pictures of scantily clad women. I feel this outdated and reactive judgement of male behaviour is actually the result of a form of 'self-hate' which then manifests as a deep seeded resentment of the 'males of our species'. Learning this information touched a nerve with me, as I can remember several instances throughout my life where I was either accused of being 'sexist' or had witnessed this parochial mindset in action.

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Latex Clad 'Super-Vixen'
When I was attending university, there was a 'topless' protest by women down a busy Montreal street (unfortunately I was unable to support this protest due to a softball game I had that day) These shirtless and braless women were demonstrating against the injustice and double standard which exists regarding toplessness in public spaces. The following week an article was published in the school paper reporting on this protest, accompanied by a photograph showing crowds of men watching the demonstration. The caption of this photo read "dozens of lecherous guys" Is not the whole purpose of a demonstration to have your fellow citizens  witness ones discontent about a perceived societal injustice? Yet , the message conveyed in that report's judgement was: for a male, to show concern or solidarity with this cause is considered to be 'lecherous'…well, the irony is that it's this same kind of mindset which regulates these double standards regarding public toplessness in the first place, and answers the question of why it's 'against th' law'.

Years later I was walking through an upscale commercial district not far from home.
In the window of an avant-garde crafts store was a professional printed photograph of four or five very attractive and completely naked women. My friend Rob and I followed the guidance of our hormonal impulses and proceeded to examine the photograph up-close. We were commenting to one another, and disagreeing, about our preferences in body types of the women in the picture. At that point we were verbally assaulted by an older women who commented to us "those are PEOPLE you know, not OBJECTS" (as if I didn't know) and then rambled on some more, sternly condemning our activity. My friend reeled back in laughter, not unlike a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, while I just stood there bewildered. 

As most of us know, we rarely think of the right retort in moments of contention, for the mere fact that we've been caught off guard, and don't generally live our lives from a defensive position, nor could I figure out for that matter, what exactly I had done wrong. The fact was, we were simply admiring a photograph of four or five very attractive naked females placed by a person in a store window. One in which the four or five women in the photo were conscious of what they were doing (and quite probably well paid) and were unlikely drugged or coerced into posing naked for that photograph.

This kind of unconscious reactive and anger based denial of our primal impulses is an undercurrent in western culture, and probably other cultures too. It's possibly a residual effect of the repressive 'Victorian era', but most probably a reaction to the abuses and imbalances of our imposed and perpetuated patriarchal hierarchy. A hierarchy which often desecrates the feminine qualities in both men and women. It has a predisposition to vault those men and women who exemplify masculine qualities above others, and leaves those who have not mastered or question the importance of these qualities 'out to dry'. This Hierarchy is a system I often challenge in my posts, yet until it is properly recognized for what it is, and we understand to what degree most of us are complicit in it's perpetuation, it's unlikely we will positively change or evolve at a rate that many of us feel we should. 

I'm not one who enjoys pornography, and I find prostitution and strip clubs to be ghettos of despair. I will however not apologize for deriving sexual pleasure from gazing upon the majesty of a physically beautiful women. As an animal created by planet Earth, I claim my right to partake in the enjoyment of all aspects of it's natural splendour.  I see beauty everywhere, In actuality, I prefer clothed women to naked ones, a sense of style, to me, is far more exciting. I often find that some women who happen to be physically beautiful can seem less attractive the moment they open their mouths, and of course the opposite is true too, where women who appear average looking become more delicious the moment I taste her wit and behold her exquisite mind.

The Lovely Ms.Gray
 This brings me back to the Comiccon, and my photo of the latex clad 'super-vixen', This woman has been given a gift(s) and must thoroughly enjoy the act of being admired by men…GOOD!  (I'm sure Justin Bieber and Brad Pitt enjoy the attention and admiration they get from women too). Many women are gorgeous in their own right, yet their beauty can be at times interrupted by something as innocuous as a mildly 'Durante-esque' proboscis, just as another women's beauty can be detracted by the girth and sheer circumference of her highly gelatinous and monstrously oversized posterior. I'm not making a mean spirited mockery of physical imperfection, but merely pointing out how nobody is perfect, and how beauty, unlike morality, is relative.  My latex clad 'super-vixen' suffers from the imperfection of her self-imposed decision to have 'fake implants' surgically inserted into the fatty tissue of her breasts, and for the fact she is promoting the glorification of the patriarchal hierarchy in the glamourization of 'gun culture', yet I see her beauty despite her glaring imperfection(s).

 We are sexual beings, it's something to celebrate, yet the contempt many people have for those who dare express it and openly admire it, reveals to me more about the insecurities and frustrations of those passing judgement. 

 At the Comiccon, I also had the good fortune of meeting the legendary 'Sci-Fi Babe'  Erin Gray, of 'Buck Rogers' fame. After working up a bit of nerve, once again my partner in lechery Rob and I, introduced ourselves to Ms.Gray and confessed to her the important role she had played during our 'formative adolescent years'. She laughed and explained how she gets stopped 'all the time' by men our age, who admit to her being their "First". She even mentioned how six WOMEN recently approached her and admitted the same thing. What made, and still makes, Erin Gray so attractive is not only her 'rocket body' but her wit and friendly disposition…oh, and the fact she'd still look good wearing that metallic catsuit. Most importantly though, she's a friendly and vibrant person!  This is what I feel always separated her from say, the 'Charlies Angels girls', or the 'Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders', who at the time were pretty, but revealed to me very little in the way of character.

So until the next Comiccon there's always Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Diana Rigg (Emma Peel), and Linda Carter (Wonder Woman) for overgrown adolescents like me to look forward to objectifying..."Excelsior!!!"

Dirty CT  September 2011

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Urban Legends


TV Trinity

 Ten years has passed now since the death of Ernie Coombs, who as Mr.Dressup delighted young audiences for more than a generation. 

 On September 18th 2001 Mr.Coombs passed away from a stroke. Unfortunately, recognition of his death slipped through the cracks during that confusing and frightening time.

Menage a trois?


Watching Mr.Dressup as a child was a comforting and enjoyable activity, yet what would have been far more important to me as an adult was a source of great frustration during my formative youth.



One of these experiences is a very pleasant one though, it's one of watching Mr.Dressup entertain me with drawings and stories, and ever coaxing my imagination and stimulating my excitement for the world. The unpleasant memory came the day I turned on the tube to watch my daily episode which was preempted instead by a bunch of clowns in space suits bouncing around a barren rock babbling unintelligible communication transmissions punctuated by annoying beeps.


Ernie Coombs, along with judith Lawrence, an Australian immigrant puppeteer,
worked their magic daily for over a generation. Ms.Lawrence made the decision to 'phase out' casey and Finnigan when she decided to retire from the show, despite any confusing urban legends that may have surrounded their departure.
Folie A Deux?

The brilliance of Casey and Finnigan was the underlying 'Zen' quality to the paradox of their method of communication. Casey could speak, often quite elegantly without moving his mouth, and Finnigan had the ability to move his mouth despite being a "mute mutt".

"It's a beautiful day for some Tats"


 Mr.Dressup was an icon and a legend, as was Bob Homme (the Friendly Giant) along with his trusty companions 'Rusty the Rooster' and 'Jerome The Giraffe', were a kind of "one-two punch" of canadian kids programming. Speaking of 'Urban Legends' south of the border, the Americans had their own "one-two punch" that actually had urban legends attached. I'm speaking of course about Fred Rogers (a.k.a Mr.Rogers), and Bob Keeshan, also known as Captain Kangaroo.

 It turns out there was a story going around that Captain Kangaroo had saved the life of late actor Lee Marvin during the war, after Marvin had taken a bullet in the ass, a story which Mr.Marvin later flatly denied. The fable of Mr.Rogers goes, that the reason he had to wear long sleeve cardigans on his program was to hide some demonstrative arm tattoos acquired during his days in the navy…I'm laughing just thinking about that one!

 So there you have it...  The Four Hell Riders of the Kiddy Apocalypse. These men were friendly father figures in a less cynical age, one where nobody thought that a middle-aged man, who enjoyed dressing up, talking to puppets, or hanging out with children, was in any way 'strange'. 

Dirty CT  September 2011

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Deer In The Headlights, Confidence Men, And 72.85$ For Vegetables


 I used to enjoy visiting my local market, back in the days when markets were
markets, not the zombie changeling bourgeois emporiums they've become today.    I recently
went shopping (and probably for the last time) at my local market, the Atwater Market, which I now dub the 'Atwanker Market'  'cause only a wanker of epoch proportions would think about spending their hard earned rupees buying massively overpriced fruits and veggies.

"I'm trying to determine, if what I see in before me, poses in any way, a threat to my existence?"

 One woman in line in front of me had an assortment of exotic and not so exotic
fruits and vegetables positioned on the counter, enough to feed perhaps six hungry vegetarians or a Sasquatch on a high fibre diet.

Her purchase consisted of an assortment of exotic mushrooms, probably grown only on the roots of Bonzai Banyan trees from Madagascar, a dozen mini pearl lemons, no doubt a genetically altered byproduct of our space program, some strange looking martian lettuce, and an assortment of multi-coloured broccoli which must certainly make ones faeces turn a pale shade of aquamarine. This collection of food items barely fit into two grocery bags, total price 72.85$!!!  Later, when I tried to buy a dozen corn and was scared away by the 6.75$ tariff and levy, I was forced to settle for five ear of corn for a whopping THREE bucks... not six corn, FIVE!!!?

Then there was the old hag, dripping in gold jewelry, who walked in and bought that last listless wedge of seedless watermelon, a quarter melon packaged as a 'half' (half of a half is a quarter..I guess?) price: 4.95$!!!  actual retail price: 0.95$!
This unscrupulous lady would have better served humanity had she decided to give her money to the foot stomping' toothless harmonica player busking for change out in the corridor.

It takes some nerve to charge these kinds of prices, but when faced with the desperate
reality of annihilation (in this case at the hands of the major chain grocery stores), humans have the capacity to project strength and confidence, as a measure of last resort,  in order to convey the image of prosperity and success.
We also see these kinds of desperate public relations stunts and distortions of reality with regard to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now Libya.

 Stories of the 'enemy' being 'on the run' to be replaced by inspiring slogans like those of 'hope and change', give one the impression that victory is at hand, but it's not, and the situation in those countries are in fact actually deteriorating rapidly.

When the entropic forces of economic collapse entrenched themselves in 2008, America's dubious elected officials, and ultra-dubious non-elected officials, once again elected to project confidence, no doubt to assuage fears. They claimed the 'fundamentals' of the U.S. economy were 'fundamentally sound'.  After the events of 9/11, Bush Jr. told everybody, with a folksy smile, to 'go shopping'. Now the Euro goose is just about cooked, yet the 'brainiacs' in the old country,  those 'Euromeisters' who once projected this type of confidence, are beginning to look like some kind of 'Eurodazed-Euro-Disneyed mouseketiers. 

 Once upon a time these champions of European Economic Un-emancipation looked not unlike a bunch of giddy sailors after a reefer binge on the reeperbahn. Now the leaders of Europe look more like the Jagermeister deer trapped in the headlights of a Trabi!  However they continue to proceed with a course of action which takes the form of outrageous breaches of their own 'Lisbon Treaty' by virtue of government bailouts to cover for reckless bank induced financial fraud.  Now these measures are putting pressure on Europe's most powerful economy, Germany, which threatens to derail even them,  like some inevitable financial ICE Rail disaster'!   I, and many others see this as a mathematical certainty, yet confidence among the elect continues to reign supreme! 

 It's one thing to project confidence when facing down a foe, another human in combat, or a weight watching Sasquatch, but to do so in the face of a financial meltdown, given the capricious economic indicators, serve no one's best interest except perhaps their corporate masters… oh, and also not unlike a nuclear meltdown, and the good folks at Fukushima serve nobody except themselves by choosing to project 'confidence'. Calmness is understandable, yes, but confidence???  Oh, and let's also not forget the arrogance of BP's Tony Hayward, remember when he tried to sooth us with his straight talk by downplaying the Deep Water Horizon gulf oil disaster of 2010?

 Confident people should always be looked upon with suspicion.  It's often an individual or group's way of communicating to you they have no idea WHAT the fuck is going on, or HOW in the hell they plan on solving it.  Yet we all too often 'buy into' the confidence trick, because nobody else seems to know what the fuck is going on either, except perhaps those marginal individuals whose voices are usually drowned out by the 'pundits' and 'intellectuals', and have resolved not to stick their head up their arses too, just so they can be on the same 'wavelength' as these people. The result of this is abuse, which usually comes in the form of a personal decision to remove oneself from the 'engine of ridicule' which dominates this type of maddening discourse, but I digress.

 It's also not unlike, how as children, when afraid, we would look up to our parents for guidance and strength…followed by a soft lullabye and a tuck back into bed.  As we got older though, we eventually came to the stark realization just how 'loony tune crackers' our parents had all been all along, and probably still are. 

This is what happens to the deer who gets trapped in the headlights, he's trying to make sense of what's coming, trying to gauge if what he's seeing is a threat, and what course of action he should take. The comic tragedy of this is, until he can figure out what's coming, and how it poses a threat to him, he will remain immobilized...  and once correct action becomes necessary, by then it will probably be too late!!!

Dirty CT   September 2011