Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

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The Thought, The Word, The Deed
for release 02-14-06
Washington D.C.


The Bible tells us that in the beginning there was the Word. But I'm here to say that before the Word, there is the Thought. I'm a writer, I should know about these things. The Word is a method of communication. Ideas are the source of words. Once the idea is there, the words are simple craftsmanship.

Gravity is an observable force, but we don't know it's mechanism. Newton can get bonked on the head by an apple and deduce that bodies have an attraction for one another without the slightest understanding of how it works. Are there gravity particles or gravity waves or a gravity field? How does it operate? Newton and Einstein and Kepler and Ptolemy puzzled over the problem and still we don't know how it works. We just know That it works. The same is true of words.

Perhaps words are an analogue, a metaphor, for gravitation. They are without mass but exert an observable force. We don't know how they work. But we know That they work. Words can make your heart soar or they can crush your heart. Words can change your life. They can convince you of almost anything. They can sell you products that you don't need. Words can convince you of sound ideas or preposterous ones. Words can fool you or point the way to the truth.

Words are symbols for ideas. The thought precedes the word and the deed follows it. I spend hours, days sometime, waiting for the thought. After the thought occurs, the words are easy. The deeds require more effort.

I watched a digest of the speeches delivered by the president and ex-presidents at the Coretta Scott King funeral service. Besides reminding me of the X-Presidents cartoon on Saturday Night LIve, the event prompted several observations. When presidents become ex-presidents, it's not exactly that they get super powers, but they do loosen up a bit. They get more gravity.

At the ceremony, George Bush Sr. was jovial and almost entertaining. He got laughs at a funeral. I think he would do well at stand-up comedy. He could revive Rodney Dangerfield's 'no respect' act.

President Carter's words are still thoughtful and clear and he commands more respect than he did when he was in office. He walks the walk more than any ex-president in my memory. His deeds follow the exact path of his words. That's why he has gravitas.

Bill Clinton was the most telegenic of the past presidents. He is looking resplendent with his white hair. He reminds me of Teddy Kennedy with charm. He gave the only speech that appeared to be extemporaneous straight talk from his heart. I never saw him refer to his notes. This is Clinton's genius as a speaker. The words naturally follow the thoughts. You never get the impression that he's reading something that somebody else wrote. It seems to come straight from his heart and his understanding of the subject.

I guess that's why Gdub is such a disappointment as an articulator of ideas. He had a tough act to follow. I must admit that he has improved since taking office. You improve at anything that you do every day. He has developed a strange style of delivery that is somewhere between robotic and swaggering and sophomoric. I can't watch and listen to him without a little voice in my head saying, "This guy is reading from a script that someone else wrote and he doesn't have a clue what he's saying. He's just an actor, and not a very good one. Or else he's simply a patent liar."

The Poet's Eye sees that what will doom this presidency, possibly soon, but surely in history, will be the discrepancy, no the canyon, nay the gulf, between thoughts and words and deeds. Their theory seems to be to tell you whatever they think you want to hear and then do as they goddamn please. The next time you witness actions that don't match up with rhetoric, ask yourself, "Why do I feel like I'm being lied to?"

Talk in everlasting words, and dedicate them all to
Me.
And I will give you all my life, I’m here if you
Should call to me.
You think that I don’t even mean a single word i
Say.
It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take
Your heart away
---Bee Gees

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Just think if Gerald Ford was there. He would have maybe added to George Bush Jr. with his hilarious falling down when he was President. But then again Coretta would not be all that happy when she looked down on it.
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Honda 70

The best portrayal on the screen I've seen of Thomas Jefferson was acted by Nick Nolte-- in "Jefferson in Paris" (1995):

http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink ... 853IE.html

Nolte combined a strong sense of self-absoption, obsession with "the scientific approach" to human and political affairs
( including the affair with Sally Hemmings) with an angular awkwardness--almost Gerry Ford-esque choreography.

What would we think if we could see Grover Cleveland or Millard Fillmore on tv today?

How "telegenic" would Cleveland have been? At nearly 300 pounds with his walrus moustache, not very.

James Madison was the shortest President-- five feet four inches, barely. And barely 100 pounds. He wouldn't have reached Bill Clinton's shoulder.

( an interesting website)

http://www.shortsupport.org/cgi/whowho_ ... ection=ASC

The way Presidents ( and everyone else) looks these days is important, particularly if he or she is seen regularly on television.

In the re-make of "The Manchurian Candidate", Meryl Streep, in late middle age, plays a Hillary Clinton type. Her performance, as usual, is very good, and she shows a real willingness to display her age.

But Marlene Dietrich didn't, along with many other screen idols.

Nice observations, LR.


--Z

ZW - William Howard Taft he was 300 pounds and had a moustache. Then again Teddy Roosevelt he had a moustache as well. They were the last of the facial hair Presidents. Have you seen "Amistad"???? Sir Anthony Hopkins played John Quincy Adams. There was another British actor who played an American President. But I can't remember which President it was in that movie. Hopkins also played Nixon too. I did see him in that movie and I thought it was quite good in my opinon.
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BMW F800S

Peter Falk in The Balcony gave the greatest political speech I have heard. I think they will do just fine this fall. Between 9/11 and the gay marriage issues they got plenty of ammunition.

Good One Clay.

The scary part is Bush is smarter than Kerry. That is if you believe in IQ scores.

How do you think of an idea without words? Interesting thought. Images I suppose.

i'm not sure what to say here, but i know it will come, because i will start typing and then my words will pretend to have had thoughts behind them.

which in fact is my point. words are not the communicator of thoughts. words, in many cases, particularly when spoken or written quickly, are the thought. often, before the words, the thought is so abstract that it is merely a drive, something which compels us to start typing or start talking. we do often speak before we think.

when someone speaks before thinking, two things become clear. 1, the person's intelligence becomes clear. one's off-the-cuff remarks can expose one's inner intelligence. it takes brains to put a sentence together, to compose a thought with words on the fly. if one's quick remarks are dumb, it's not because he didnt have time to compose them, it's because he's a moron. or, 2., the person's intentions become clear. it's one thing to identify what one wants to say, then what one feels one should say, then how to say what one means within the confines of how it will be interpreted. but with casual remarks, or very personal remarks, not from notes or composed speeches, we see one's inner soul. that soul, when revealed to be dark and creepy, cant be fixed with a recomposition of words, altho thats often attempted.

clinton's speech can be seen as compassionate less because he meant it to be so and more because he felt compassion. bush's speech can be seen as shallow less because he doesnt understand how to portray intelligence and more because he's simply not intelligent.

i prefer to see a person's uncomposed remarks. i prefer writing that comes off as less strained, where the writer appears invisible to the reader. in the written word, that takes a lot of effort, and of course well developed thoughts can be finely articulated via the craft of good writing. but what that good writing portrays is an ease that we want to see from people in everyday conversation, those remarks and comments and statements which are by necessity not composed, not thought-thru, before rendering them to the page.

carter has class which leads to thoughtful phrases, composed or not. clinton has compassion which leads to heartfelft phrases, composed or not. bush jr is a fucking moron, which leads to idiodic phrases, composed or not.

i wrote this off the top of my head.

i'm not sure what to say here, but i know it will come, because i will start typing and then my words will pretend to have had thoughts behind them

jesus h christ firsty that was beautiful.
Yes I am the great pretender.

Just a cut and paste and ramble to follow. It don't mean nothing, you know how monkey brains love to connect the dots.

If you believe in IQ scores Bush is smarter than Kerry, 121 I think that is called bright normal. I think Bush is something else, I think he is a death lizard from outer space. Vonnegut calls him a psychopath a man born without a conscience.

I like the word reify a lot. I think it applies to IQ.

Paste
"Einstein also said that behind every great theory there is a simple physical picture that even lay people can understand. In fact, he said, if a theory does not have a simple underlying picture, then the theory is probably worthless. The important thing is the physical picture; math is nothing but bookkeeping."


http://www.mu6.com/einstein.html

Thinking about Einstein and his thought experiments. He visualized gravity as warping space. Did he see the image or think the words?

Paste

"...there are monsters born in the world... monsters are variations from the accepted normal to a greater or a less degree. As a child may be born without an arm, so one may be born without kindness or the potential of conscience. A man who loses his arms in a accident has a great struggle to adjust himself to the lack, but one born without arms suffers only from people who find him strange. Having never had arms, he cannot miss them...to a monster the norm must seem monstrous, since everyone is normal to himself. To the inner monster it must seem even more obscure, since he has no visible thing to compare with others. To a man born without conscience, a soul-stricken man must seem ridiculous. To a criminal, honesty is foolish. You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous."
- An exerpt from East of Eden by John Steinbeck
ripped off from here
http://www.xanga.com/cornpuff

Bush has that got dam rotting corpse of 19 th century christian morality on his back. That is his cross to bear; he is looking for people to crucify on it. He has a moral monopoly what does he need a conscience for? It just gets in his way. We need a confident leader. No mistakes no doubts, a real crusader.

firsty - i take it you don't care much for Shakespeare..?

hm? i love shakespeare. i mean, i <3 shakepeare. shakespeare rules.

firsty - Re: "i prefer to see a person's uncomposed remarks. i prefer writing that comes off as less strained, where the writer appears invisible to the reader..." and that's what i based my reply on. it caught my eye cuz that's pretty much how i enjoy reading certain types of writing.

indeed.

i think shakespeare does that, to be honest. i think that on the surface, he's very hard to get into, but once you're in, you're really in and his writing, to me, seems very natural and fluid and full of energy and spontaneity. he used puns so liberally and without regard for anything except the moment of humor that in many ways he was like a cartoonist of today. just completely having at it with the language. he used long words because of their pace, because of where the beats fell, and he simply did it perfectly.

clinton's speech can be seen as compassionate less because he meant it to be so and more because he felt compassion. bush's speech can be seen as shallow less because he doesnt understand how to portray intelligence and more because he's simply not intelligent.

i wonder where compassin comes from
i know one does not have to be an intellectual to be compassionate
neither does intellect inherently contain the seeds of compassion
indeed
cleverness is the manipulation of reality to one's own advantage


if dumbya were impeached, his assets frozen
his bank accounts seized,
placed on ranch arrest in crawford
it would not matter
look back at his youthful scolding in texas when he got busted doing coke
the judge give him community service and he goes awol
then to harvard buz school
where he sat in the back with a spitoon
grinning like alfred e newman
"what me worry?"

compassion comes from wounding and being wounded
and wearing the pain away thru greif and despair
letting it envelope and consume until one becomes vapid void
i like the idea, or the sense, the emotional pull, that calls up words
and gives them energy

i am glad you mustered the gall to listen to the jawflapperz
it'z water under the bridge as far as i can tell
but sincerity is something i have to conjure up all the time
it comes from inner wellbeing
and long suffering
trauma and transformation
the great alchemy
grace and compassion
with a smile

Jim if I could feel compassion for Bush and Cheeney I would have to be Jesus Christ. I tried but I don't know where to begin. I wish I could love my enemies. You forgot to mention the DUI.

i wonder where compassin comes from
compassion comes from wounding and being wounded
and wearing the pain away thru greif and despair

I think that is true and well said old friend. But maybe some are born with it. I wonder about the Dalai Lama, is it nature or nurture?


This has nothing to do with anything just thinking about Vonnegut's psycopath comments, and Steinbeck's monsters. Genetic dice. What would have happened if Hitler was accepted to art school instead of rejected? Suppose St Paul had been way laid on his road to Damascus. SO the universe will end and start over eternal return, does it always work out the same. Will we be right back here on studio eight in another 14 billion years?
Or was the Grateful dead right, every time that wheel goes round bound to cover little more ground.
Have you ever looked someone in the eyes and got a chill feeling down your spine. The fellow in Baltimore who hit me with the 2 by 4, something realy crazy in his eyes, I should have never turned my back on him Homeboy worked in a prison, (Huntsville) he said he was in room with a prisioner and the hairs on the back of his neck started to raise up. They were just talking, nothing much going on the guy was not emotional, just a calm conversation. That got dam bell curve fascinates me. The one percenters out on the tail ends of the curve, the great hump of meat in the middle

dam dam dam
just say Hi Jack

Firsty I love both kinds of music, country and western. I love that piece you rambled off. But I would not have known that if you had not told me it was spontaneous. How do you know something is pain-stakingly crafted? Kerouac and his scroll or Plath and her craftsmanship. They are both a pleasure to read.

While still at Smith, Sylvia wrote furiously, her tattered, well-thumbed thesaurus constantly at her side,

I am in a hurry, I say to myself. I have to write the next chapter of the history of my future. A cop out. It is a hell of time for me to take freshman English again.

What the hell is a sentence fragment any way?

I pity the English majors here. I wish they could block me out. At the least I hope they ignore me.

done

LR, when you write a column, you use all of the tools that I was taught to use but forget. You introduce the piece with analogous paragraphs that hook the reader (they do me anyway), you use examples to back up your points of view and the conclusion isn’t the entire piece. In other words, you use words as effectively as anyone I’ve ever read (have you written a novel yet and why don’t I have a copy?).

I agreed with your descriptions of these people before I read them.

They all lied - they’re politicians, it’s their job.

I think the two most honest presidents we’ve had during my life time have been Carter and Ford. I think that attribute hurt each of them.

Clinton is like the two aforementioned guys in that he portrays honesty when he speaks. He’s talking to you when he speaks. A person might get the idea that he (or she) and Clinton were having a personal dialogue. Unfortunately, although he comes across as honest, I now look at him and just assume he's bullshitting. His comfortable speaking style makes it even more difficult for me to believe him.

And I’m not even referring to the Monica thing. Like Nixon, he did what every president has done. Like Nixon, he got caught.

It’s NAFTA. When he started leading the charge to lead employment into third world countries and create unemployment or at least under employment in this country, I knew he didn’t care about Americans or even those whom The Corporacracy now exploits.

George W. Bush doesn’t lie. I’m pretty sure of it. You see, I think you have to realize you’re saying something that’s not true in order to lie.

On 9/11/01, my wife said, “Bush did this.” There were no David Ray Griffin types popping out of the woodwork on September 11, 2001. I didn’t really agree with her at the time. I wasn’t adamantly opposed to the idea, but I didn’t agree. In fact, I was waiting for that great FDR/JFK type of rousing speech. I was ready to follow him into greatness. When the leader of a nation has that kind of opportunity for greatness, he or she usually doesn’t fuck it up. In order to accomplish the actual goal that is set by such an act, one almost can’t escape greatness. Bush could have been a world leader of world leaders. The words following the catastrophe could have been memorable for the right reasons.

The deed was done, the enemy was identified and I thought the whole world was going to join us. I thought bin Laden and crew would have been rounded up within days.

I know how controversial the “conspiracy theory” is, so I’m not trying to promote it here. However, some aspects of it are merely in the nature of Dubya's demeanor, especially his speech.

“He has developed a strange style of delivery that is somewhere between robotic and swaggering and sophomoric. I can't watch and listen to him without a little voice in my head saying, "This guy is reading from a script that someone else wrote and he doesn't have a clue what he's saying. He's just an actor, and not a very good one. Or else he's simply a patent liar."”

Bush is personable, albeit not articulate. He, more than any other person who’s held the title of President of the United States of America, is acting, as in thespian. I don’t really care what the IQ results say, he is no more President of the United States than you or I.

The managing partners of The Regime, Cheney, Rove, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, etc., chose Bush because he has name recognition and, quite frankly, because the “ordinary American” identifies with his shortcomings. I think the more people attack his war with the English language, the more other people want to defend him. He’s just a regular guy. He attracts empathy, just the way he’s supposed to.

I think it went something like this:

The managing partners of The Regime talked it over, approached him and said, “Hey Georgie, wanna play? We’ll let you be president.”

And he said, “Really? I can be president? Gee, thanks fellas.”

He is beyond a doubt the most dangerous human being to ever hold the title of President of the United States, not because of what he does and says, but because of what he isn’t - President of the United States.

To friendship,
Michael

“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government...” - Thomas Jefferson

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