The Adventures of LitBoy: Bill Brent's Blog

Rock the vote.

LAVA HOLE PICTURES

Aloha!

Recently I visited the ongoing flow from Kilauea to the ocean near Kalapana. Approaching a lava flow is a humbling experience, and it is interesting to watch oneself and others to see where the humility (or outright fear, in some cases) kicks in, and how so. When you are treading on freshly cooled lava crust, fear is not an unreasonable reaction. The thin and brittle crust can break easily beneath your feet. Many consider it a walk (or a trespass, perhaps) upon sacred ground, which is why some folks bring an offering for Pele. In any case, a lava flow is a tremendous force to behold, which is why the officials often keep the curious at a distance.

If you visit a flow, take safety precautions. I recommend:

(1) shoes with good tread and no open toes;

(2) at least a pint of water per person, and maybe a snack;

(3) long pants (I do not recommend shorts, in case you slip and fall; sharp lava going into bare skin will cost you a visit to the hospital), and

(4) a poncho, in case it rains. Downpours can happen very suddenly on this part of Hawaii Island. Also, wet lava is very slippery.

(5) If there is any chance you will be out on the lava after dark, then take a flashlight (pref. the kind that straps to the head, available at Home Depot and Ace Hdwe.). I also highly recommend that you leave a blinking light with a good battery at a high elevation point near your vehicle, to help you find your way back. Some folks recommend marking the trail with glow sticks, although this can be expensive.

Most of all, I suggest that you be willing to turn back if you become anxious or otherwise feel that moving any closer to an active flow is a Bad Idea. There are steam vents and superheated rock, for starters, and you WILL feel the heat rising from either.

Presuming, however, that over 99% of you reading this post will never visit a lava flow for themselves, I took a few pictures. I hope you enjoy them. Please read my notes below about borrowing pictures from my site before you copy any of these for your own use. Mahalo!

Here is further info about the recent volcanic activity on Hawaii Island.

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.09.18, 12:25 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, just Send Me A Note. In your note, please indicate your desired contribution amount. I will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

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This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, Please Ask Me First. Higher resolution images are available, and sometimes additional unposted photos!

On mass delusion, part 2

HERE IS A FOLLOW-UP to LAST WEEK'S POST regarding the notion of IDEOLOGIES AS A CONTAGIOUS MENTAL DISEASE.

I have some thoughts I'd like to share on this topic, but I'm letting them form a bit further before I compose an essay, or simply list my thoughts in a more ordered fashion than below.

Central to this constellation of ideas, though, is my realization that if we can construe society as an addict, then we can also construe society itself as the drug. Social approval, for instance, and in particular: the need to at least appear to SOCIALLY CONFORM (use the drug) in order to be compensated (for example, get the funds that enable us to keep using the drug). In other words, late-stage capitalism is akin to late-stage drug use.

So what's the solution? Well, for starters, I've noticed more of my friends have been bartering lately for goods and services. (Here in Hawaii, it's fairly easy, since many folks can grow or raise food on the land they inhabit.)

We all drop in and drop out of the mass culture in various ways at various times. Heck, sometimes you have to OPT OUT, just to avoid the mass marketers. But there are other ways than simply removing yourself from lists. For instance, forming unpredictable, one-time tribes, such as GUERRILLA QUEER BAR in San Francisco circa Y2K, keeps the landscape freer, more spontaneous, and less of a target. As you can see by clicking on the link, Guerrilla Queer Bar is a great example of a meme that has spread, virus-like, to many other cities.

Any other ideas? Feel free to chime in.

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.09.09, 10:30 p.m. Hawaii time]

keywords: Society is an addict. Society is a drug. Conditional tribe, tribalism, pack behavior, spontaneous swarm.

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, just hit the "Post A Comment" button at the end of any post. In your comment, indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

On mass delusion

WOWSERS.

[backup link HERE]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.09.03, 9:40 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, just hit the "Post A Comment" button at the end of any post. In your comment, indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

Point this at your well-meaning friends.

This bit of comedy comes to us via YouTube and a friend's LiveJournal blog. About four minutes long. Maybe it's just me, but this is the funniest thing I have seen so far this week.

Go on, click it, baby. You know you want some.

[backup link: HERE]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.08.27, 8:05 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, just hit the "Post A Comment" button at the end of any post. In your comment, indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

EVERYBODY'S RIGHT

EVERYBODY'S RIGHT

Everybody's telling me just
how to make the grade
how I should behave
just what I should say

("Obey, OK?")

Everybody's sure that something's
goin' wrong with me
'cause I don't agree
with what I should be

(that's what they say)

You can have yourself a fight
but everybody's right
You can argue half the night
but everybody's right

whose corrective?
who's objective?
Oh, perspective's
so selective

Everybody's sweet and light
until you find the hitch
trips the same ol' switch
Throws 'em in a ditch!

(then how they'll bitch)

Everybody's bark and bite
but everybody's right
Everybody's so uptight
but everybody's right

say it's my fault
say it's my loss
say it till you're
mental floss

[NOTE: Today's lyric is from a song by Bill Brent. If you want to re-use any portion of this for public consumption, please ask for permission first from me, Bill Brent. Just send me an email via "Post A Comment" below. This is a moderated-comment blog, so your comment won't post publicly if it's not meant for public viewing.]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.08.25, 2:25 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, please email a reply to this post. Indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

Why the Shaka is Better than the Wave

...'cuz when you're walking in Hawaii with a freshly gathered piece of fruit in your hand, it's a lot easier to acknowledge someone with a SHAKA than with a wave.

That happens a lot here.

In fact, it happened to me on my walk today.

An avocado and guava, in case you're curious about today's finds. No camera right now to show you the evidence, but trust me, they're choice.

[NOTE: Today's bit of artwork illustrating the "shaka," roughly the Hawaiian version of the hand wave, was kyped from another blog. (I was going to give an artist with a lovely image posted on the Web some free publicity and possibly some sales, but I would have needed her written permission to repost her image, and neither you nor I, gentle reader, have time for that.) So there's a dandy explanation of the shaka HERE. Whether the story is apocryphal or indeed true as claimed, I like the logic of my version anyhow.]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.08.19, 8:35 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, please email a reply to this post. Indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

RIDE THE HAWAIIAN RAINBOW

Aloha, y'all. I just wanted to let you know about this lovely Internet station that plays a lot of what I call "smooth" Hawaiian music during the daytime hours here in Hawaii. (Most likely, that would mean afternoons and early evenings in the Continental USA.)

So what is it about HawaiianRainbow.com that rocks my world? Think tasty, 1940s-style instrumental combos, doing Hawaiian rather than jazz or pop in the classic sense of pop music (Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, etc.) Does that make sense? All done with Hawaiian instruments, but in that small-orchestral style of elegant, complex chording, precisely harmonized vocals, all with a healthy seasoning of chromaticism. (My inner music geek is showing, heh ... my inner chef, too.)

Anyway, I was introduced recently to this station by a kind soul who has granted me a window seat overlooking some elegant bits of Hawaiian culture. So to him, I say "mahalo nui" (thank you much) and dedicate this post.

HAWAIIAN RAINBOW also plays more traditional Hawaiian music, in what I would call a folk or indigenous style. I've heard that sound on the station late in the evening, which would be early morning for most of you in the Continental USA.

Enjoy, and if y'all have any comments or feedback to share, perhaps your own music stations and particular shows online that YOU enjoy, then shout it out by clicking on "POST A COMMENT" below, and share the joy.

Note: My photo here is from the series I took at the April 11 ho'ike (in essence, a show or exhibition) from the 44th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, April 8 to April 14, 2007. This is an image of 'auana, as performed by the Japanese ensemble, Halau O Mehanaokala. 'Auana is a modern, song-accompanied hula, so I thought it was a good visual fit for the smooth, elegant music at Hawaiian Rainbow.

(By the way, I have many more lovely pictures here for you to enjoy — to see them all, just click the "hula" category tab in the sidebar to the left.)

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.08.17, 9:30 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, please email a reply to this post. Indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

DEATH HAIKU

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the vision of timelessness

all in a rush now

the blink of infinity

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.07.30, 5:30 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a culture-oriented site, focusing mainly on literary art and current events. If you enjoy this blog, and you wish to support its continued existence, please email a reply to this post. Indicate your desired contribution amount. The moderator will then reply with an invoice you can use to contribute via PayPal. Your name and contribution amount are confidential and NOT posted to the blog. Your three-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and the annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually LitBoy posts your contribution on the very next blog post.

Unless otherwise indicated, all original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

More than wind in sails

How can we reduce our dependence on foreign oil?

The Pickens Plan video, 4 mins. 49 secs.

In part:

"This can all be accomplished in less than ten years, if you have the right leadership. And everybody in this country has to cooperate. We have to get on the same team, we have to march in the same direction."

Which is basically the recipe for revolution. As Marvin Harris states in "Return of the Witch" (an essay from his book, Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture (1974), "You can't make a revolution if everybody does his own thing. To make a revolution, everybody has to do the same thing."

So we have to find a way to make this revolution patriotic. As all-American as BOWLING, perhaps! Seriously. Having the right leadership will help, but we all have to cooperate with the switch to cleaner, increasingly domestic fuel sources. In our minds, many of us are using outdated models from the 1970s when we hear the word "revolution." So, instead of thinking, "scary, big, different," please note that this energy revolution is pro-culture, not counter-culture. I mean, c'mon, folks, at the video link above, we're watching T. Boone Pickens at a chalkboard.

We're all the culture now. There is no us versus them. We can't afford the tab for that.

For further info, check out this easy-to-follow analysis.

[backup link]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.07.27, 5:40 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $200.00 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars and my annual goal of $200. Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.