The standard heavenly light bathing them or those they’re speaking to. Those kinds of things don’t speak to me.
As much as the debauchery of the decorum of The Vatican disgusts me, there are parts of it that influence ideas I have for my own home. The splendid colors they use, the plush fabrics, and embroidery. The color scheme of Gold and Ox Blood is one of my favorites. And while velvet has been overused therefore can never be appreciated fully again, the idea of heavy thick ox blood curtains is aesthetically pleasing to no end.

I went to Catholic school for a few years, and I wonder if that has anything to do with it. But I’ve vague memories of having the same adoration before it. Going to the Loyola University Museum of Art they have a wonderful, albeit small at the time, collection of art both religious and not. I would like to go again, very soon.

You can and will see a lot of the aforementioned adoration on my Tumblr.

Filtering my words is a skill I am still perfecting. Learning how to say things without hurting people’s feelings is not as easy as one would think. Least not for me, and I’m not to sure why.

A running joke now, is the reminder that people do in fact have feelings. I know this, all facetiousness aside. But putting it into action is something that I can openly admit I am not great at.

In heavy rotation, is a short speech by Mumbia Abdul Jamal on an Immortal Technique Album. The Man is a Great Speaker.

The War vs Us All

I recently had a very heated conversation with my mom that sprung from witnessing Gayle King (Oprah’s BFF) getting her own television spot, or show, and her first interview was with Stedman (Oprah’s Beard) . My initial reaction was that of “Why?” … What has Gayle done to warrant a TV show. “Opinions are like assholes.” I’m sure she has one as according to my mother “She spent a lot of time in that circle *uses ominous hand motions* and may be privy to things and advice that people who used to watch Oprah may be interested in hearing.” … My reply? “Oprah did that, for 25 years. She took Donahue and Sally’s idea, their demographic and turned it into an empire, gracing us with what the celebrities are doing, and her version of “Oprah Knows Best” . Again, I asked her… how does this warrant another opinionated, yet useless, rich person known for coat tail dangling and NOT philanthropy, a television show. Do we not have enough of these supposedly intelligent people, supposedly helping people?

This conversation quickly spiraled into an argument about the image of America broadcast via what we allow on our television is giving the image to the rest of the world that we are in-fact, stupid & and have no problem allowing other stupid people a chance to broadcast their stupidity. I can only equate the Snooki’s and the Lindsay’s of the world with personified train-wrecks, one in which I too cannot look away.

But I do understand that deep underneath this morbid fascination with watching people’s demise, we’re encouraging an apathetic attitude towards things that should really solicit our undivided attention. This is when our discussion reached the point of become heated. My mother was not fan of the blanket term for my generation as Apathetic. To which I responded “Your friends are your age, they are other baby-boomers or older. You do not have friends between the ages of 18 and 30 who while a majority of them are very intelligent, very socially involved, and at least have the know how to turn off the tv and crack a fucking book instead of lining Ted Turners pockets. But for everyone ONE of these people there are FOUR who encourage fuckery like Teen-Mom and Jersey Shore goes to Italy. Or, dare I make us remember Pretty Wild Whores (things) …

If you haven’t noticed now I am very very cynical about things, especially when it comes to people my age. While they never manage to shock me (in both negative and positive ways) I find myself being more disappointed about what they brush off and allow than I am celebrating the successes we make that don’t involve being cast on BGC or ANTM.

Moving on.
My mothers response was simple that if I approach people by saying you are apathetic but here are the issues (which is I’m guessing how she was interpreting it) then I am automatically putting people in boxes which will in turn make them less likely to change of their own accord after some food for thought. What’s she failing to realize is the delivery of the word apathetic in the context of the situation. If someone was going to say hey, didn’t you see that? You’ve got gum on your shoe. Are you going to automatically think that person is calling you a blind idiot and then telling you you have gum on your shoes. I’d hope not.

But if I’m stating that the way society is its encouraging apathetic responses to truly serious matters and sensationalized amounts of attention on things and people who contribute very little if anything to the rest of humanity, this too is a not okay approach to sharing my opinion.

Though none was offered in how to convey, in ‘nicer’ terms that they are (here’s an attempt) losing interest in the things they should be concerned with most.

Closing up my argument I told her, I’ve nothing against Oprah or Gayle; I don’t know either of them. I never really watched Oprah except when I went to her show and was the only one wearing black on their “Spring/Green Living” episode (sue me). But I don’t think Gayle’s shadowed career as a supposed journalist (in like 1985) and her producing Oprah’s show warrants her opinion worthy of being heard, nor is it a great PR move to interview the mate of your more famous best friend if you are in-fact trying to step out from behind her shadow and now continue to ride her coattails. Friend or no friend, Oprah was her gravy boat.

I think witnessed enough shows and enough people hiding behind the guise of philanthropy and sympathy for the plights of the human condition. When they are simply collecting a check and bettering their name on the ‘suffering’ or unfortunate positions of other people whom they’ve nothing in common with besides basic neurological functions.

When people like Lady Gaga go out of their way to condescend to their fans (Mother Monster, come on now kids wake up) … and pretend that her put-on troubled artist of glamor is an exstenstion of the rebellion they feel their fans wanting to express and that they two were once in their shoes. It’s not a way to make us relate to you, we will never relate to someone who spends six thousand dollars on a pair of impractical high heels. That is just now how we are. We should relate to you because we understand you and ourselves through your music. Not through your thumping bass and auto-tune. Your outfits shouldn’t be the backbone of your talent.

My mother fell silent.