Most proponents of universal basic income attach their idea to an inevitable loss of employment from the general robotization of service jobs. With an entire working-class unemployable, providing a reliable source of income prevents more from falling into poverty, and ideally, frees these people to be creative. This concept of ‘free to create’ is so pernicious, as if being free of responsibility means one may contribute more to the world; as if the stress of any work prevents one from making art. It’s also funny too, considering many people see themselves as lacking any creative bone in their body. Two years of Covid lockdown, coupled with its initial financial cushion provided us a micro example of this UBI idealism. People did … Read More
Come & Go
You hear yourself say it, but you probably haven’t associated it with physics. ‘When one door closes, another door or window opens.’ Here, a vacuum is created, and matter goes to fill an empty space. Everything depends on physics. Regarding our personal lives, people come and people go. Trite and true. One can only hope, the next iteration is better than the last. The grandmother of a Chinese woman I know says, ‘whether in joy or in pain, learning to see it come and watch it leave, with the same steadiness of heart is the key to peace of mind.’ I told my friend, ‘This is another version of Stoicism.’ Things evolve through time, yet stay the same. These two aforementioned thoughts have been on … Read More
Exposure
Every thought and curiosity; every confession and self reflection; every crush and heartbreak; every daydream and plan-for and fantasy; every hate and shame. From whimsy to grand scheme, all had been transcribed meticulously into a journal. It held the culmination of the last year. It lived in a carryall during the day and beside the bed at night. And then just like that -in a snap, it got left behind on a bus. She would never see it again. She felt raw, like she had been folded inside-out. She cried for days. This was the most mortifying thing she could’ve imagined. ~~~ Amber’s phone is plugged into an outlet on the bathroom counter while she showers. There had been a … Read More
Memory is a Muse
Memories sit inside like coals that never lose heat. They live in every cell of our being. We carry them along and into our future. We try to separate our thoughts from their recall, ignoring the pull towards the experience; the person; the smell. We put them in frames, and stand outside of them as if they’re art. To see them as they truly were is to freeze time and prevent ourselves from moving on; to admit something about ourselves; to never survive. This is the trauma; the shame; the heartbreak; the loss; the tragedy. How we frame them is how we adapt and how we continue to carry on. The greatest thing about memories, though, is they can serve as a muse. Muse is the … Read More
Life of Kings
I wrote this song many years ago. I never published it with my EP or later as a single. The recent comments by a New York Times reporter regarding Obama’s birthday crowd being ‘sophisticated and vaccinated’ reminded me of some of the elitist lyrics. When I first imagined the song, I wanted it to have the energy of a big musical number set to Mozart-style chamber music. Had I had the production dollars, I would’ve put out the song in order to have an excuse for the music video; of course, I have it storyboarded already. My revived writing dedication has spilled over into music again, and I would very much like to go back in the studio: finish incomplete … Read More