'What's the right thing to do?'

 This is more than just a question about a knob.

 On and off...

And everything in-between.

“Unsettling our settled assumptions…”

The ability to step out of my comfort zone is something I cherish very much. I also understand that even considering the possibility can be seen as somewhat of a privilege.  And I am fully aware that my concept of ‘comfort’ is a lot further from what most people find palatable.  

 Very simple and reasonably cheap.

Usually not in the way people expect.

Although life often requires much more than a binary mindset, there are times, however discomforting, that afford no privilege of simply thinking. 

"Mr. Ashborn"

There may be moments when it must either be ‘turned on’ or it gets turned ‘off’ - in a permanent sense – where the idea of ‘fairness’ does not come into play at all. Sometimes it’s hard to keep this in mind. 

 Quick!

On or Off...there is no try.

And then there’s this.

Fuckit! I’m going outside.

And some people got buttons.

 

Industrial Strength

Scenery

Beautiful...

Sandmen: Trading New Days for Old

Background ‘noise’ has a way of becoming invisible to the naked ear. 

Perhaps it’s hidden in the Muzak you don’t really know you’re listening to. 

For that middle-of-the-crossroad sound, smooth jazz works best for me.

Although…

Won't you stretch imagination for the moment and come with me
Let us hasten to a nation lying over the western sea 

Hide behind the cherry blossoms here's a sight that will please your eyes
There's a baby with a lady of Japan singing lullabies 

Although, walking over fine pale sands along forgotten miles of beach, the ‘richness’ of being allowed to be human (or at least try to be) has somehow ebbed.   

 

Which, at the moment, represents a delicate and distracted state not exclusive nor universal to any form of life. 

Under the rising tide in a current stream of wounded pride, fond memories are waxing nostalgic.

Like an echo of the song I hear the Japanese Sandman
Call new days near for all here's the Japanese 

Those who would have it another way seem to have forgotten ‘her’. 

Then you'll be a bit older in the dawn when you wake 

 

 

And you'll be a bit bolder with the new day you make

Not understanding, in a land of color blind ears and tone deaf eyes, I slept well beneath her naked beauty.

SiSSYFiGHTiNG

And Priscilla-proud of it too. 

Unforgettable Sissy Felicia - remember?

Flaming Sissy Smith

Sort of.

You see, this inescapable Web 2.0-ish stuff is pretty damn funny.
Most often in a bizarre way that will reach out and touch you.

And it stings.

Especially when that proverbial eleven-year-old mind pimp-slaps you with her keyboard at more mental Mbps than your little DSL of an ego can handle.

 Let's plagiarize here for a minute.

S[*]SSYF[*]GHT turned the usual tropes of gaming upside-down. Everyone was forced to be a girl, and the game playfully encouraged backstabbing, flame wars, and a ruthless mob mentality.

Wunsuponatyme there was an idea that kept buggin' me and wanted to be blogged about. A little bit of sentimental stuff about the 'put down',  the 'backstab', 'hair-pulling' and mindless mob going mental on itself kind of spectacle.

What was alluring for me is that the ancient piece of hardware, virtually a dial-up... that slower piece of high tech I was using at the time could actually be used to 'play the game' - a game that was much, much more than point and click, click, click....

A lot of the social dynamics of the game were familiar when I stared reading blogs, just a little more than two years ago.

Only, the SiSSY-game, game of almighty games, clearly states what the objective is:

S[*]SSYF[*]GHT is a game of social interaction and psychological strategy. Every player starts with 10 self-esteem points, and your goal is to reduce the self-esteem of the other players. If there are one or two girls left at the end of a round, they win.

For a short while, it was a fun experience and I did considerably well at being a rotten little bitch.

Governed

Faces of Grief

Denial

Anger

Bargaining 

Depression

Acceptance

Professional Courtesy

Professional Courtesy: Dr. Mercy's Last Words 

 

Hang on, just a minute...

Just in case you kind of stumbled here, by chance, this is the fifth and final part of a series within a series, within a... you ___ ___ _____ . Near the bottom.

Go ahead, click stuff, I'll wait. 

Now, that we're as close to being on the same page as we're probably going to ever be, here goes:

"Who the f*ck are you?"

Mirror...

mirror...

“For the people who are interested in what I happen to be doing, rarely does anyone express interest in who I may be, which is not really the point anyway. This might take a minute...look...” 

 

“So, what is the point?”

“The point is that none of this is systematic. No, none of this is systematic in a sophisticated sense of the word. There is nothing coercive going on - nothing deliberate along the following lines:

• The number of choices do not lead to the same conclusion

• Ideas and phrases are rarely repeated

• Information is not provided in a manner designed to dampen intelligence

• Anger and fear are not used to put a person in a heightened state

• …

It's important to be able to see the forest from the trees... so we are not being taken down one of two vary narrow paths at all.”

“No?”

“We end up having discussions while walking outside in daylight. The key here being an activity… an activity… any activity that requires constant and steady motion without it becoming hyp…not…ic…”

“I... see.”

“Urban areas are often too ‘busy’ for this type of exchange. There is simply too much going on that could emerge and suddenly pose a risk. In such an environment, the stress of continuous shifting of focus on what is near and far is too great; simultaneously pushing and pulling a person’s attention, the oscillation tends to distort the message(s).”

“So, now that we are walking along this open path, what is on your mind?”

“What’s on my mind? What’s on my mind is how we edit our realities. We edit our realities without thinking about it… without thinking about it to the point where we don’t see the possibilities. That is what's on my mind.”

“Hmmm…”

“I suspect that we’ve effectively 'reformed our thoughts' to the point where it takes something akin to a near-death experience to ‘wake up’. And that state of being awake only lasts for so long.” 

Credits

Written

by 

Will 

Top Animated Gif

by 

The Frenchman

Hypnotic Spiral Gif

by 

Mesmerizing Beast 

Still Photo

by

A Good Photographer

Pocket Watch

by

Dreamstime

Parabolic Mic

by

Mr. Gibson

The Last Thing You Remember

Is Feeling 

P e a c f u l 

and 

R e l a x e d