Silogistic Reasoning Is A Gift...Don't Spend It All On One Thing.

This post focuses on multiple points. They don't seem interconnected, but let me tell you that they most certainly are. How? you ask...well I'm not going to spoil it. If you figure it out, then you understand my methods of reasoning.

My first point is one for which I am torn between sides. I want to, and often do believe one, yet sometimes I can't help but think the other. What is love? WAIT! Before you sigh in disgust and skip this paragraph...hear me out, please! Sure...I've described it as a multitude of things. A bond between people, no matter what form their relationship may take. An emotion that you feel towards someone when you realise that you have a special relationship...yadda yadda. There is another idea for it that I've been considering for a while, but I haven't been able to voice it properly. It seems that this is where Mr. Maroney comes in...he tends to find the words to convey the same ideas and theories that I have. Without him, this Blog would not exist. "Love is an illusion...Its the sugar-coated version of lust. We feel the need to wrap our lust up in something to make it more palpable, and that's where we get the illusion of love." Don't believe us? Try it. If you honestly think you're in love, go to your significant other and kiss them. Once you've kissed them...on the mouth...sit back and think about it. Did you feel anything? Chances are you did. Some indescribable feeling occured with the contact. It has been described as many things, but for me, the most accurate is "an electric jolt". You get riled up...you want more. Some think that this is how you know you're in love. Whevenever you get that not-so-elusive "jolt", you're experience is telling you that you're "in love". Perhaps, but highly doubtful. I have a pretty strong argument that it's simply lust. That craving for more, that feeling that ran through you, it's just a pang of lust! Analyse it, if you have the capability to be honest with yourself, and maybe...just maybe you'll realise this. When you kiss someone, you generally don't want to stop...and given the chance, you most likely won't. You'll get closer, the rest of your senses experience a deadening, perhaps hands will wander as if of their own free will. Ever wondered why? Because your instincts are kicking in, and your sexual drives are telling you that you're diggin' this, and that you should go further. If you want more examples...or more information on this matter, dial 1-800-WHA-TEVS. Actually, just IM me. FoxGray02 for those of you that don't know.

Next Point! (I know, I took a bit more space than I thought with the last one)
Van Gogh's brother once said this of him "An artist is someone who is constantly seeking and never finding..." What an amazingly brilliant quote! (Beer from a bottle...Brilliant!) The same goes for Graffiti Writers (Yes Thomas, more Graf...suck it up.) Constantly seeking but never finding. That we are. Always trying to attain freedom to paint and get our name up. But in the society that rocks us, we have yet to find it. The day that Graffiti is made legal no matter where written, will be the first day of the downfall of authority...Which, in some sense would not be a good thing, and yet I'll continue to fight for it.

Last Point! Remember how I said that all living things are made up for the same four sugars? Not only that, but the Mitochondrian Deoxyribonucleic Ac!d in every single human is the EXACT same! Yes, that's right (not left)...your MTDNA is the same as mine. This has enabled scientists to trace us back to what they think is a single African woman. So if this is true, why do we have such a thing as racism? Why?! We're all brothas (and sistas) from the SAME PHR34K1N' MOTHA!

I'll never understand humans, but if I did...I'd be God.

Stylistic Differences: A Study of Dis-Ease

There is a serious problem with a man who beats his wife. Not only is it morally unacceptable, but it is also Counter-Evolutionary! The subjugation of women is completely stupid, and it's gone on for MILLENIAE! Simply read the "Da Vinci Code", it gives more than a few examples of such subjugation.
While there are all kinds of theories and factual causes for spouse-abuse and other acts of sexism, there are some that seem more common than others. One certain hypothesis was brought to my attention by none other than the infamous Mr. Maroney! His idea involves one of the most basic of instincts, humans' yearning for knowledge. However, before I explain this in depth...I'd like to bring up another theory from a modern great. Freud's concept of the "Penis-Envy". Sounds ridiculous...and in my opinion it is. Freud's theory claimed that Women envied Men for their power, and they saw this power to stem from the Penis, one of the few accoutrements that men have that women lack. Ergo, Frued claimed, women envied men because men had penises. What a load of crap. I, having a penis of my own (believe it or not...), know for a fact that this is definately, definately...not the case. I personally think that women have far more power than men, and for this men have subjugated them because they don't want to acknowledge this fact. Besides...there's very little to envy about having an extra appendage.

Anyways, getting back to Maroney's hypothesis...
Mr. Maroney thinks that Men have subjugated women for a variety of reasons, which is true, but that a universal cause...albeit subconscious and locked away...is something that he calls "Gestation Envy". Women have the ability to bear a child, give birth to that child, and sustain it from their own body! During the 9 months leading up to the birth...what can we men do? Watch. Watch...watch...watch. THAT'S IT!!
Humans are an extremely complicated species...and one of the most infuriating qualities that we have is curiosity. Damn curiosity...not only does it kill cats, but it makes us learn more and therefore enslave our youth into a pseudo-intelligent system called "Education". I'll spare you from that rant again as it has already been covered. It does however, make us want to know everything! Think about it...we are gluttons for knowledge. We've gone as far as outer space for knowledge! The bottom of the ocean, the top of Mt. Everest, all the way down to sub-atomic particles! But...there is one thing that will never be known to the likes of the male population. What is it like to have the gift of birth? Seriously. What is it like to know that something is living inside of you, that you created it, that you are "God" to this entity? That is something that I will never know...and while most men will not admit it, but I know that because I am human and therefore, whether I want to be or not, I am curious. I'm not a father, and I don't plan to be for a very long time...but that doesn't mean I can't be curious!

On a final note...I would like to point out a fact. Men have subjugated women for thousands of years, and look at the world today. Poverty, Hunger, Disease (not Dis-Ease), and nuclear weapons (which are ironically shaped like penises...). We made a serious mistake. All living things, be it humans to plants to hamsters...are all the same thing. We're all made up of the same four ingredients. All our DNA is made up of the same four sugars...it's simply the recipe, or how it's put together. Why do we do such a thing? The human race may be considered the most intelligent species on this planet...but it is possible to be Intelligent, yet dumb where it counts. We are the best example.

(C) 2006 Sean Slater (Thanks Maroney!) All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs Justified.

Diatribes

Authentic Human communication is constantly drowned beneath the deafening racket of an inhumane and insane multinational corporate system. This system dominates our collective reality. Behind every advertisement – a baton; behind every “new and improved” product – a canister of teargas; behind every T.V. show- a tank; behind every newspaper – a prison cell; and behind every textbook – a graveyard. The classroom, the chat room, the bedroom, the church, the psychiatrists couch, the cash register, the answering machine, the office, the bar, the jail- these are all spaces in which we are confronted with our incapacity to speak.

But perhaps the most glaring expression of our voice-less-ness is in the streets.

The streets speak the language of money, and so our official options are either to speak this language as well, or shut our fucking mouths.

Street writers are among those whose expression enjoys more than just the system’s options.

We are street writers. We are not particularly special. We will explore our freedom. You wouldn’t know that we are street writers if you met us.

We are a lot like you. We are just people with anger, and passion, and hope, and vision, just like you. We create graffiti as a means of speaking and acting towards a free society; the kind of society that you, and me, and us could actually live in together. We only know so much, but our work is excited to share our truth. We are sharing this publication with you because if you want to create graffiti as well, we would like you to do an excellent job. If you are going to create graffiti, we hope that it is brilliant, bold, strategically done, and enjoyable!

Though I'm Young And Cynical, It's Not My Only Crime...

I feel comfortable in the dark.

Sure, darkness has it's discrepancies. Many people are afraid of the dark because it contains surprises, cloaks things. But I feel secure, because I know that I'm one of the things it contains, that it cloaks. I suppose it's not so much the hiding aspect, but the fact that I'm not as visible...meaning that I'm less likely to be seen, and therefore judged accordingly. Darkness impairs visual sense, and perhaps that's what we need...to have our sight hindered, ergo we won't rely on it as much.

A myriad of things happen in the midst of darkness. The best way to realise them is to listen. The creak of a staircase. A muffled moan. The death rattle of a paint can emptying its contents. The fluttering of a newspaper. A crunch of feet on gravel. Powerful images...brought on by your auditory sense. You won't see them, but you know they are taking place. Right infront of your ears.

There is something uniquely essential about darkness. It provides us with a time of peace, if you let it. The world is gone, and all that is left is your thoughts. Concentration and the organisation of emotions becomes your sole purpose and you ar the taskmaster. Subsuming the darkness is quite an experience. Wrapping yourself in the blanket and basking in the apathetic anonymity...there's nothing quite like it. The sun recedes and everything is coloured in shades of grey. Don't get the wrong idea. The lack of light isn't an absensce of romance. The dark is extremely sensual.
The hairs on the back of your neck go haywire, you become overtly sensitive, and yet your motions lack grace and fluidity. Adrenaline is running, but not being put to productive use. The creation of graffiti happens after the sun goes down. The by-products of graffiti (web sites, magazines, videos, etc.) can never re-create the pure action and intent. After all, when the sun comes up, graffiti is beyond documentation.

(C) 2006 Sean Slater (Thanks StockCap!) All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs Justified.

I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor...

What was counter-culture is now over-the-counter culture.
Keep in mind that deviance is just another marketing tool. All forms of disconnection from society get sold back through shared notions of transgressive activity. A hidden community may quest for recognition of truth, but only in a rarefied, uncoded atmosphere can human truths be found. (Thank You, StockCap)

"We were different, just like all the other kids." - Greg Graffin

Can anyone pick up on a common theme between these two snippets? They both further their own points. There's no such thing as originality. There's no such thing as "normal" either...but it's practically impossible to be "Different". Take a look around you! Grassroots movements have turned into corporate entities, subcultures into the "In-Thing"...it's bloody ridiculous. The original "Punk" and "Goth" movements have been raped and defiled to the point where there are all kinds of store-chains that specialise in products dedicated to the respective "Scenes". The Punk movement especially is more of a mentality than anything. Sure, your majority of self-proclaimed punks dress with an anti-fashion style, with their studded wrist bands, ripped up jeans, band t-shirt...Wait, this sounds like most of the Caucasian population of my High-School. OH YEAH! I forgot...It's nothing more than a fashion style! You don't need to think on your own to wear a jacket with spikes and patches, or to wear a plaid. If a description such as the above fits you, you may now call yourself a Punk, right Vangie? I was lucky that my Middle School only had a few people who dressed as such, and almost all of them were true to the mentality. However, that's not the case with the rest of the world. In the opposite sense, look at my aquaintance, Greg Graffin. He's a 40-something year old single parent and has a phD on the end of his name, but he is more of a punk than half of North America will EVER be combined. He came on stage for Bad Religion's "The Empire Strikes First" tour in a purple dress shirt and black jeans...but every person who had a mohawk or a pair of combat boots on would bow down to him if he so asked them to.

But enough about Punk. The "Emo scene", was essentially just a thing that started in California...quiet people who felt they were more in touch with their feelings decided to make wimpy music (No offense...). Now it's become a huge phenomenon! Whether you wear jeans tight enough to force a man to tape his package to his leg, or if you're wearing a shirt that is small enough that it shows your nipple ring (there's seriously a guy with that style going on at M.E.L.)...or if you're on the opposite style of the spectrum, making fun of this so called "movement"...it's still affecting you in some form. It drives me to distraction (and rants worth Blogging)when I have someone point at my Coverse All-Stars and says "Man, those are so Scene! I think they're hott." WHAT THE HELL IS SCENE?! It's a NOUN! THE SCENE, A SCENE, ETC. ETC. It's not a phr34k1n' Adjective! Get it right, and stop calling me SCENE!! It's pronounced "SHAWN" (What an abominable spelling...)!

I'm joking about the last part, but the incident described above has occured...more than once. I'm not here to bash people, or say who can wear what...but really. The "In-Thing" is to be different. It just so happens that the people who want to be different have begun to outnumber those who don't, creating a brand new wave of "Normals". Wouldn't it just be nice if we could all just do what we wanted, wear what we wanted, listen to what we wanted...and not have to worry about being called Poseurs? I know I'm not one to talk, I used to think I was the best thing next to sliced bread and pockets on jeans. I was THE punk at Indian River...but only in my dress. I see now that I was being an idiot. I have no place to speak in a condescending manner of others...I'm guilty of the same crime as the next person. But I'd like to think that I've outgrown my stereotypes. In the infamous words of Greg Graffin: "Hooray for me, and Fuck you!"

The purpose of this post is...actually, I have no idea why I wrote it. Simply had an idea, and I wasn't able to express it as I would have liked to. Hopefully ya'll got the point. I have once again broken my formalities, I should get back to proper, clean posts...unless my readers prefer the more human and less perfectionistic rant. Tell me which.

(C) 2006 Sean Slater (Thanks StockCap and Greg) All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs Justified.

Ambiguity is not the same as Anonymity...what a shame.

Feel free to use and abuse the following form letter. Make adjustments and alterations as you see fit. Here at Buford Industries, we feel the system is best served by calculated gestures of non-acquiescence:

Dear [insert your favorite local anti-graffiti press officer],

As a vital member, participant and team player in the human relay race, I find your unsportsmanlike conduct quite peculiar. While I'm hard at play trying to hit one out of the park for the team, you're preoccupied with holding me back. This leaves me completely puzzled.

Surely a strategist like yourself can appreciate the finesse and swagger a dedicated individual like myself displays.

Anyhow, I realize the laws we are coerced into abiding by (both formally and informally) require a deadening of the soul. I do not question the accepted norms that infuse society with the mindset that property is greater and more important than human spirit.

So the great mystery is solved. Everyone can go home now. The universal link between social and political systems is finally unveiled. It's the glue that's been keeping the façade up all this time, right before our eyes:

Compliance.

Unfortunately, I am past due on the utilities and regretfully must remit payment this month. However, feel free to contact me via any non-accepted means of process and consumption for future billing inquiries.

Sincerely,
[signed nobody special]
Cliché 379.5 At the feast of ego, everyone leaves hungry.

- Buford Youthward (AKA StockCap) From the Byline.

How To Spot A Writer...

Graffiti: The Art Of Words

For most people the first thing that comes to their mind when they hear or see the word “Graffiti” is vandalism. They think of profane words and racial slurs scribbled in bathroom stalls and illegible names painted in downtown back-alleys. This is the unfortunate truth. Graffiti is not an ugly word. It is not considered a “Swear Word”, nor do we refer to it as the “G-Word”. As a technical definition, Graffiti is as follows: graffiti pl. (from Italian graffiare, "to scratch")
1. A scribbling on an ancient wall, as in Pompeii
2. A drawing or writing scratched on a wall or other surface
In fact, Graffiti isn’t actually Graffiti. It is Writing. “Graffiti” is the social term that was developed in the 1970’s for the culture. For years, it was referred to simply as “Writing”, and the people who took part in such acts were known as “Writers” (They still are today).
It wasn’t until much later that news articles surfaced, referring to their writing as "graffiti," and that the terminology latched itself onto the movement as the social name for it, as well as stigmatizing it into an abominable controversy.

In cities across North America, civic authorities detest graffiti and pour billions into Anti-Graffiti measures. On a quiet morning two months ago, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg took his paint roller and press corps to Williamsburg, a burgeoning node on the graffiti-writers' map that is now a target for intensified policing, punishment, and cleanup. "Even with limited resources, we are not going to walk away from the needs of this city," he said. "Graffiti poses a direct threat to the quality of life of all New Yorkers. It's not just an eyesore. It is an invitation to criminals and a message to citizens that we don't care."
The public eye sees graffiti as a plague, as shown by the above passage and the numerous businesses by the name of “Graffiti-Be-Gone” and the like. These businesses are created to paint over or “Buff” the unwanted forms of graffiti. Many of these businesses employ graffiti writers who have no problems ridding their city of the type of graffiti that gives the medium a bad name. These are the writers that are interested in the artistic aspect of graffiti. They originally started writing for the thrill induced by the idea of participating in an illegal activity, or to get their tag or “Blaze” name known. However, most popular writers are interested in the style and expressions used in graffiti. Much of the modern graffiti is written mainly for the sole purpose of getting the writer’s art seen. Some cities have even gone as far as putting up “Legal Walls”, or designated Graffiti Zones where writers can go out at any time of day and create pieces of art, provided they are not offensive, without being penalized. Many times, when construction sites are cordoned off with large plywood boards, local graffiti writers are invited to paint large “pieces”, short for Masterpiece, on the boards to make it visually pleasing. Many people see boards such as this, or see the same artwork done for galleries and enjoy it. They are amazed that such intricate works were created with a few cans of spray paint. It is unfortunate that their appreciation for the medium does not extend to those writers who cannot afford or do not have enough publicity to have their pieces placed in legitimate galleries. It is also disheartening that society encourages the well known writers to continue their escapades, yet it turns on writers who want nothing more than to practice and become as well known as others. Most people claim graffiti is vandalism, but when they see a legal piece of “Wildstyle” or a set of 3D bubble letters in an advertisement for a company they know, it is perfectly all right. It appears that the crime is not the art, but the area in which it is placed. It is a shame, because alleyways and parking lots would be much more pleasant to walk down if the colourful graffiti was left there, instead of being painted over with black and grey spots that are uglier than the graffiti ever could be.
The majority of graffiti is gang-related and leads to violent criminal activity. Anyone who knows anything about art, or has ever lived in a Canadian city knows that this is possibly the dumbest and most ill informed statement one could make. Yet in the mid nineties, this was the message being spread through the local media by police. The only people who stepped up to rebuke this claim were the masked graffiti writers. It was a case of the friendly local anchorman vs. the veiled vandal – there was no question who the public was going to believe. While gangs are known to mark their territory using spray paint, it is difficult to call it graffiti, and even harder to call it artistic. Once again, it generally involves the gang’s name on a fence; it takes no artistic talent or skill to write a name with a can of spray paint. It does, however, take practice, planning and a steady hand to create an enormous and immaculate mural that stretches the length of the side of a building.
Trains are another side of graffiti that are ignored by most. It is argued that modern graffiti has its roots in the New York Subway movement from the 1970’s. Once the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) began using a corrosive solvent to clean all the paint off the subway trains writers began painting intercontinental freight trains. If you drive past any train yard you will see numerous rail cars with graffiti on them. They range from simple monotone outlines to multicolour “burners”. Trains provide more of a challenge for writers in that it is rarely possible to drive up to a train yard, walk in, and illegally paint or “Bomb” a train with impunity. Therefore, trains are much more interesting for thrill-seekers and writers who want to get their pieces seen across the country. It also makes the trains at least a little more interesting for train spotters. Given the minimum maintenance standards of modern railroads many train cars and even some engines are so faded and rusted that they could benefit from a fresh coat of paint. So in a sense, writers are helping rail companies. However, once again the public is biased on this aspect of it. People see a train with graffiti on it, and they don’t give it a second thought. Yet when they see graffiti in a back alley or on the back of an industrial warehouse it’s automatically gang related and must be painted over or buffed immediately.
The bottom line is that graffiti is a combination of illicit activity as well as a pure and standalone art form. The true writer gets a thrill out of the action that goes directly against the law, but also is able to paint his or her piece and feel proud of it at the end of the night.

Disequilibrium...The Strained Peace Of Duality

This one is about Education. It has been pointed out to me that there is a problem with the current education system. I completely agree with Mr. Maroney on it. It takes us students from the age of like...eight, sticks us in a seat with a desk infront of us, forces a pencil into our right hand (I should've been a Leftie, were it not for my Kindergarten teacher...wretched hag) and crams information into our brains...(I swear, the only way it could be more violent is if they smashed it in our ears with a potato-masher...), and force us to regurgitate it onto a slim piece of paper with Circles to fill in with a No. 2 HB Pencil. Fascist pigs. This is not necessarily against the Teachers, although some of them are Nazis too...It's the universal idea that sticking the youth into schools will somehow make us the intelligent and upstanding individuals that people want to see. Don't make me laugh. How many times do I need to tell you people?! Nothing Worth Learning Can Be Taught. The most important thing I'm getting out of my school is an open mind...and that's from Mr. Maroney, who is so contrary to the school-board's ideas that you have to wonder how the hell he got hired! THATS IT!

Public Education does good, it teaches people the three R's. Read, Rite and 'Rithmetic. I once had a young student tell me that...Scares me to no end. How is that three R's...only one of them starts with an R for goodness' sake!
It kills people's curiosity. Not to mention, it makes people think within boxes. It constricts people's imaginations, tells them that Daydreaming is the Devil, and that scribbling stuff on a paper is more important than a proper social experience or your mental well-being. I saw it to the point of distraction in the States with the IB program. My (now Ex-) Girlfriend and her fellow IB students were and still are stressed to the point where simple things are harder to tackle for them than most people. I've seen it happen. And it forces people like them, and those close to them to have to walk on eggshells to make sure that they don't make a bad move and screw themselves over. It forces them to work to the point of exhaustion, killing their social life and their mental well-being...But they have a Damn good work ethic! What is the world coming to?!

The human race is in the middle of a crisis. We're killing ourselves...and not too slowly. And what is the education system doing to change this? Jack Squat! We've been teaching the same crap in rich countries' school's for Centuries...and look at the state of the world. Simple classification is so ingrained in our bodies and minds that it restricts us, and the education system only narrows it even further. We're in for it. We practically asked for it.

(C) 2006 Sean Slater (Thanks Maroney!) All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs justified.

Egocentrism

I have a question for you. One that takes more self-searching and questioning than you would think. The longer you ponder it, the less and less coherent your answer gets.

Why do we feel emotion?

I mean, I can understand regular senses. Sight- This is where I need to go. Sound- Oh, you're saying something. Touch- Hot Stove, Hmmm...OUCH! Smell- Mmmm...edible food. Taste- Yum! Definately edible.
But emotions...what purpose do they serve? Don't they just get in the way most of the time. The basis of all life is to reproduce and pass on your genes, and lust isn't an emotion...it's an instinctual drive, so that one's taken care of. So what are emotions really good for? Sure, we feel love, happiness, etc...but we also feel pain, loneliness, sadness, etc. And this idea brings me to another question...

Are emotions really worth it?

Sure, we feel love...and that's all fine and dandy, but is it worth all the extra emotions that accompany it? Nothing against love, not saying that it's Bad or anything...but looking at it from the rawest possible perspective...it's all simply emotions that don't really progress us anywhere. In fact, many people's psychological and social growth is stunted by love...be it that they want to think they're in love even though they have no idea what they're getting into, or that they were hurt by someone who they were in love with, and closed themselves off because of it.

Are all the good emotions, in life..not specifically love, worth the majority of the negative emotions we are constantly bombarded with and that we constantly emanate from ourselves? I don't know...and I don't think I'll ever have a concrete answer. But it's something I've been thinking about for a few days now...decided to put this whirlwind of memories and emotions, and my study of them to use, by making you think.
Sure, I rant, rave and complain...but at least I do it in a user-friendly way!

(C) 2006 Sean Slater (Thanks Maroney!) All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs Justified.

All Bets Are Off...

The piano has been drinking
My necktie is asleep
And the combo went back to New York
The jukebox has to take a leak
And the carpet needs a haircut
And the spotlight looks like a prison break
'Cause the telephone's out of cigarettes
And the balcony's on the make
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking...

And the menus are all freezing
And the lightman's blind in one eye
And he can't see out of the other
And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid
And he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking

'Cause the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler
Cream puff casper milk toast
And the owner is a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
'Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking...

And you can't find your waitress
With a Geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends
And you just can't get served
Without her
And the box-office is drooling
And the bar stools are on fire
And the newspapers were fooling
And the ash-trays have retired
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me...

- "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)(An Evening With Pete King)" by Tom Waits

Sensation & Objection...Love is nothing if it's no honest, so Scotty should know.

Holding to the belief that we know someone to the T, says more about us than anything about them...Remember that.