Watch and listen to Cory, he brings the low down facts, and with the no-shit delivery. Bravo, and cheers
I picked up his latest book of fiction in hardback, Radicalized – highly recommended contemporary hair-shaving fiction.
Author: flyagaric23
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Cory Doctorow: re:publica 2019
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The Adventures Of Boris (The Dog)
The adventures of Boris have been on my mind for a few months now. I finally got around to putting em’ into a rough storyboard or working draft (cleaned up a bit).
Other episodes will follow. Perhaps a compilation of episodes, and/or physical items will emerge depending on feedback. Excuse me as I experiment with a conservative inspired promotional campaign to raise awareness about Boris.
#BorisTheDog
#TheAdventuresOfBorishttps://www.patreon.com/stevefly
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Self Deprecation: High Art Of Self Discovery Missing From Political Debate
While thinking about this thing that’s been bugging me lately, I reached for Lenny Bruce. This thing is a question concerning the “P.C agenda” and a part of the surge of people saying whatever comes into their heads, without thinking twice, that’s not alright babe. Backed up by political celebrities.
To those who like Boris, and who like his species of unfiltered commentary on contemporary life, you should get hip to Lenny Bruce, a comedic philosopher who kinda’ invented the genre of offensive performance art by daring to tell the truth. On the back cover, there’s a blurb that for me, gets at the root of the difference between good funny intelligent comedy, and idiotic, cheap, political coercion.“Lenny Bruce has in effect composed a social document…He searches for truth with pick-axe and rapier, saying the unsayable, sparing nothing and no one, including himself”–Library Journal.
There, right at the end. “Sparing nothing and no one, Including himself”. That’s the difference with Boris, and most other politicians, leaders, royals, CEO’s, they rarely turn their wit on themselves. Self-deprecating humour, there’s a thing that not many well known public figures can do. It’s all one way, e.g comparing Muslim women to letter-boxes. To mean, the day Boris comes out and calls himself a fool and a clown, and any other politician for that matter, although he kind of takes the biscuit within UK politics in 2019, is the day I could consider defending his right to speak about things he does not like or understand.
I’d go further, and propose that a sense of self-deprecating humour, along with other kinds of sense of humour, are suspiciously absent the further you head out toward the edge of any political party. See Nigel Farage, who’s about as funny as an improvised roadside bomb.
Listen and read Lenny Bruce and get your own house in order first. Note to self 😉I almost forgot to finish my story, while thinking of all this, I opened the Lenny Bruce autobiography somewhat randomly and found this quote:
“When I talk on the stage, people often have the impression that I make things up as I go along. This isn’t true. I know a lot of things I want to say; I’m just not sure exactly when I will say them. This process of allowing one subject spontaneously to associate itself with another is equivalent to James Joyce’s stream of consciousness.”–Lenny Bruce, How To Talk Dirty And Influence People, CHapter 10, pg. 92.
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No deal brexit logic and a weed deal analogy
No deal Brexit logic and a weed deal analogy: If you want some weed, as you have none, and you meet a potential seller, and begin to negotiate based on your tough conditions (half price, best quality, and on condition the dealer will give you a receipt) walking away from such negotiations is NOT a strong position. “jog on, joker”. You will end up with no weed and an increasing amount of dealers thinking that you are deluded, self-righteous or worse. Why are YOU exceptional? With this attitude, you will end up weedless and most probably socially annexed.
#Brexit
#NoDealThanks to James O’ Brien for inspiring this analogy.
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Peter Sutcliffe For Tory Number 10 Spot?
“Boris Johnson pushed for UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the midst of a bombing campaign in Yemen blamed for the deaths of dozens of civilians, newly released emails show.”–Independent, June 12th, 2019.
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I’LL REMEMBER APRIL – VINYL SELECTION
Steve The Fly is playing great music this week by Eddie Jefferson, Ella Fitzgerald, Kenny ‘Pancho’ Hagood, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, The Swingers, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Louis Armstrong.
The John Sinclair Foundation Presents
I’LL REMEMBER APRIL
FLY BY NIGHT 313
Steve The Fly, Fly Agaric 23 Studio, Amsterdam, May 22, 2019 [19322]Eddie Jefferson: Parker’s Mood
Ella Fitzgerald: April In Paris
Kenny ‘Pancho’ Hagood: I’ll Remember April
Miles Davis: I’ll Remember April
Thelonious Monk: Honeysuckle Rose
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: Can’t We Be Friends
The Swingers: Love Makes The World Go Round
Kenny ‘Pancho’ Hagood: But Beautiful
Eddie Jefferson: Soft And Furry
Sun Ra: I’m So Glad You Love Me
John Coltrane: What’s New?
Thelonious Monk: Played Twice
Louis Armstrong: La Vie En RoseA JOINT PRODUCTION
Produced by Steve “The Fly” Pratt for Radio Free Amsterdam
Post-production, editing & annotation by John Sinclair
Executive Producer: Steve Pratt© 2019 Steve Pratt. Used with permission.
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Poverty And Austerity: Some Drugs And Some People
Here we go again. The recent headlines in the UK, concerning drug use by some politicians is to me, a prime example of how ignorant, and strategically confusing the unholy alliance between party politics and party media can become.
First, stories about cocaine use by prominent Tory politicians, Michael Gove, the main story, followed by one or two about cannabis use. Both lumped together into one of the most misused and abused terms in the English language: drugs. Until the police break down the doors of Superdrug, the term will remain unfit for the purpose of clarity. Fit for exploiting that old damnbiguity.And so the confusion begins, sweet confusion for the divisive politics and media mayhem. And the lack of any sensible, meaningful statements on specific drugs and doses themselves, and/or the wider social, human picture. The fact, for example, that many drug problems are tied together with POVERTY is lost in the premature ejaculation of the chest beating purists. If you have enough money, enough lawyers, and enough private health care treatment, many dangerous drugs are simply a lifestyle choice, a social habit, with little to no danger of putting yourself, or those around you in danger. Depending on set, setting, and dose. Remember. This goes for both regional, national, and international cultures.
I don’t want to sound like a drug snob, my position is that all drugs in the right set and setting, and at different dosages can have positive uses, both medicinal and recreational medicines. However, personally speaking, I gravitate toward the mildly psychoactive drugs, those that have a long history of use by humans, and those drugs that are not controlled by intelligence cabals, and dealt by narcissistic arseholes. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.
To repeat, poverty and austerity, in combination with illegal drug use in an environment of prohibition and the money-mad wars on some people who use some drugs, fueled by the industrial prison complex, leads to problems. Personal and social. Those, such as some politicians, and some pop celebrities, and the journalists whose job it is to hold them to account, seem to me to inhabit a different world to the rest of us.
Meanwhile, as uncle Terence used to point out, the majority of humans are habitually dependent on sugar, meat and alcohol, although due to social norms, unaware of the fact it maybe a problem, until you remove the thing craved for.Know your poison, and poisoner. Stay safe. Smoke less, get higher.
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Hope – A Slice Of Life
HI,
This blog has been pretty formal and usually my posting of something readymade, or linked to some media or other. Here I’ll simply describe my day so far, and two events that gave me, and with luck will give you, some hope. (or extra courage of hopelessness, however you prefer?)
Friday night I lost my phone! You know the feeling? For me, in light of the fact that my phone is an unlocked old school Nokia, the paranoia grew as time passed and I could not find it. What if….what if….I let a few people know it was lost. And I could feel my guts tighten.
Yesterday, less than 24 hours after it was lost, my partner received a phone call from a dude who had the phone, and gave me a time and an address to pick it up (Today, about 1 hour ago, in Amsterdam North). I felt my shoulders relax and my head clear. Thank &%6£ for that. Although not in my hand yet, I felt high as a kite knowing I was either getting kidnapped at gunpoint or getting my phone back. My blind faith had been restored.
This morning while on the bus to the pickup point, we stopped and as we paused I saw 2 young girls with trash tweezers, or whatever you call those things you pick up rubbish with. They were laughing and picking up cigarette butts and paper, ejecting the items into the trash can. One girl had 60’s style coloured beads in her hair, and this made me think of the hippie stereotype, and also of extinction rebellion and Greta Thunburg. The younger generation recognizing the only way to make the change is doing it yourself, and then finding the others. I felt my heart warm up a few degrees, and smiled all the way to my stop.
I walked to the apartment and rang the bell,
“Gudder mid dag, yow spreken wit steve…I break into English…I’m here to pick up the phone.”The dude answered “Yes, hi” and he buzzed in the fly.
I walked up to a flight of steps and was greeted by a smiling young man, with my phone in his hand. I greeted him with smiles back, we shook hands.
“Wow, dude, that’s amazing, thank you so much, danku-vell, man.” I said.“My aunt found it on the bus, and she brought it back here. I saw a message about returning the phone, so called back.”
“Wow, your aunt, is she here so I can thank her?”
“No, she’s at Church” he said.
And we chatted for a small while, I gave him a free album download card and told him to come visit me at work some time, and to please pass on my sincere thanks to his aunt for picking up the phone.
Man, I was skipping back to the bus, phone in hand, sun shining, and with a inner sensation best described as new hope. This was humanity. Strangers doing good deeds for others, without care for who or what they are. His Church going aunt was my hero, and so I was temporarily and still am in the chicane of religious rapture. Yes, what a good women, and what a good lad.
A new world is possible. We must fight hatred with kindness. Love all the people. Give thanks. Give away free milkshakes. Thanks.
–Steve Fly
p.s In other news, there is great cause for concern across Europe today, as the far right galvanizes support and proposes a new party which will probably have the words freedom and democracy in it. Remain vigilant.
DEEP SCRATCH 