March 2005 - In Like a Lion
RayzRealm (c) March, 2005

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Tuesday March 1

March comes in like a lion
and leaves like a heard of stampeding buffalo

winter storm 05 a view from RayzRealm

The view from outside the front door at RayzRealm

Welcome to Spring in the New American Century New England, where it's always nuclear Winter. Three weeks until Spring begins and it's more like January, with temps 15-20 degrees below normal and an almost weekly dose of the above. Snow blower sales should increase during June, July and August as the Cape becomes a Winter wonderland during the Summer months, unless the lower Cape is 100 feet under water.

Spring is supposed to be just around the corner, Photo by Michael Roberts Photography which corner it is nobody knows, at least here in New England. As the old saying goes, if you don't like New England weather, wait a few minutes and it will change. So far since late October, if you didn't like the early snow that arrived, just wait a few and there will be more snow.We have seen 2-3 storms a week all Winter of varying intensities. It has not let up one iota since late Fall and at the rate we're going, The National seashore dunes on the lower Cape will be the Summer hot spot for downhill skiing this coming July and tourists can cross country ski or dog sled along Commercial Street in Provincetown as they shop and dine at the many restaurants and shops. The picture to your right is your humble host modeling the latest in Cape beach wear for Summer 2005.

If you listen to the wing nut apocalyptic fundie crowd, they're all praising de Lawd for pouring out his wrath on New England and California with never ending rain, snow, floods, mud slides and snow banks the size of Mt. Everest. The end is near and one of the many signs is the weather getting whacked out.

Since de Lawd confers daily with our beloved emperor, he tells W to piss on the Kyoto Accord and to thumb his nose at those commie pinko (probably homo) doom sayers who claim that man's greedy meddling and besmirching of the environment is bringing on our own demise. Mother Earth has been sick and she's taken a high colonic, trying to purge her system of all the toxins that modern society belches and farts into the air.

Here's the first March installment of articles scrounged from around various alternative news sites during the past few weeks for some light bed time reading on a cold snowy night.

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Friday March 4

This planet's not big enough for the two of us,
it's either you or me hombre, on the count of 3, draw....1.....2.....

Let's see there are roughly about what...uhhh, 7 or 8 billion people on the planet today, give or take a few hundred million? It seems no matter where you run to on the globe, you'll either see other people, or run into someone you've met before.

I remember less congested times when you could drive along a deserted stretch of road and if you had to pee, you could pull over to the side of the road, just unzip and relieve yourself, then go on your merry way. Today if you are traveling that same stretch of asphalt, and your bladder tells you to stop or else, as soon as you stop the car and get out, a caravan of assorted traffic will drive by form both directions, and where there was some foliage for cover, you'll be staring into someone's back yard.

The Internet has made the world seem much smaller, since a growing portion of humanity is now "wired" and online. I've run into people who's paths I've crossed over 20 years ago in online chat rooms, or from random visitors to RayzRealm, who realized "I know this jerk" and sent mail.

I've been a denizen of BBS systems, chat and other online forums since the early 80's and in many people are looking to get laid, plain and simple! Meeting people and getting a nagging itch scratched has never been easier, you don't have to get all dressed up, shower, shave, put on makeup, or drive to the local pickup bar to meet someone. It's as easy as calling out for pizza or Chinese takeout, delivered to your door all hot and steamy, but don't forget to count the silverware in the morning.

And that's not all! as an added bonus you might meet and hook up with someone from some remote unheard of place and pick up a new and exciting STD that's never been seen in the civilized world before.

The web, and blogging, has made it so easy to get the 411 on public figures too. I hope this whole Jeff Gannon, Guckert or whatever the GOP whore's real name is gets blown wide open. If this were Clinton, Faux would be televising the burning at the stake impeachment 24x7. Bit fear not, God's Own Party has a way of making anything that is critical to the Empire go away,

Today in the news, millions of bloggers who are
critical of Bush administration's policies
vanished into thin air, some religious experts
claim that they have been raptured. Resident Bush
declined any direct statements, a White house
propaganda specialist did state, "praise God"

I could never run for public office and get elected for a number of reasons. I inhaled during the 60's. joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War, after serving proudly in the Navy for 4 years, hung out and was seen numerous, artsy sensitive type people who hang out in bistros and vacation in dens of sin such as Provincetown, Fire Island as well as other "Axis of Evil" hot spots.

Then there was the photographer friend I knew on the Cape who did a tasteful nude photo shoot yours truly about 25 years ago, that was shown in some SoHo gallery.

And of course there's the 20+ years of ranting around the net I've done, the last 11 or so being on my web site.

I was never a high profile social figure, mostly a face in the crowd, who very few people on the planet would recognize, but the biggest reason I could never run for public office in the New American Century, is that I'm not "born again", have never voted ReThuglican, have a unique ability to see through and block any bullshit, lies and propaganda. And since I am a working class, rent poor stiff who will never live long enough to see 6 figures let alone the 7 to 9 figure net worth....well everybody knows that only the rich, powerful and famous make it into the public eye.

I would take a wild guess that a majority of consenting age adults who are living in the good ole US of A, have lived checkered pasts.

As I recall from Sunday school as well as all the other religious programming I've been on the receiving end of, some day humanity will have one final curtain call and all of humanity will get too see every sin, blooper and embarrassing moment they ever had shown in a colossal celestial cineplex, for the rest of humanity to view. It will be like taking part in American Idol, but instead of Simon, God, Jesus, the angels, archangels will be sitting in the judge's seats.

I know my performance will get me sent packing, but it will be mighty interesting to see who else gets voted into the void, where there will be a gnashing of teeth for all eternity.

Someone pass the popcorn.....

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Monday March 7

"Can you hear me now?.....Good!

I know I've ranted in this journal many a time about cell phone zombies. I signed up with AT&T about 4 years ago for cell service, mostly to carry the evil gadget around (turned off) in case of emergencies and for long distance service at home. One problem was that I could not get a useable signal from inside my apartment, a 2 family wood frame house with no hills or other obstructions. I could get a fairly decent signal if I walked down to the end of my street. The thought of walking down the street in a raging blizzard to make a call from my cell didn't really appeal to me much, so I hardly ever used it at all. I had been hemming and hawing for a couple of years about switching services.

A lot of people I have talked with like Verizon and since my default land line carrier is Verizon (had good service from them so far) Rob and I took a trot over to Cambridgeside Galleria Saturday to the Verizon store and found out I could switch with no penalty (was out of contract with AT&T), so made the switch over, same coverage, anytime/weekends for same price, plus I got a lot of extra features free. I selected a new LG phone, about 1/3 the size of my old cell phone, with better battery life, tons more features and a built in spy camera....neat.

Once I figured out how to use it (took a while to find how to add new numbers and even to turn it on and off) took it out for a field test, and so far wherever I've roamed around get a good solid signal and was told that I come through clearer now.

Oh my! does this mean I will be walking the streets with my new cell velcro'd to my ear, calling everyone, "can you hear me now?...good! I just walked by Pottery Barn and the Gap and think I'll stop at Starbucks for a double latte." Could that zoned out far away zombie look that so many cell phone users show be far away? Will I be doomed to brain tumors and radiation burns on the side of my head from cell phone over use? Stay tuned, but I doubt it. I'll probably use it more on weekends and after hours to keep long distance costs down, plus I can now pay 1 bill instead of two separate ones.

While I was at the galleria, decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and picked up a Linksys 4 port cable router, so that I can hopefully work from home if need be and not be doomed to using dial up to log into work.

We were at a social gathering Saturday night where the host was showing us his new toy, a tiny plastic thing that looked like a butterfly clipped on to the side of his notebook PC. Seems Verizon has some new wireless "take it anywhere" BB Internet service where you can surf the web anywhere, but it is not cheap.....my my technology is getting mind boggling, and this coming from an old vacuum tube era techno junkie.

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Friday March 11

Just say NO!....or YO! Call me spooky

We had the equivalent of a Winter hurricane during the begriming of the week, that dumped an addition 6-10" of snow here, and another storm coming tonight adding a few more inches by tomorrow. At least the second storm (so they're saying) will head further North where this crap belongs, Temperatures have been running 20-30 degrees below normal and the weatherman said last night, things are regressing instead of improving the closer we get tot Spring, which supposedly arrives early next week. Enough already!

I've always had this very sensitive and annoying sixth sense about people, places and events that at times bugs the hell out of me and those around, but the vast majority of the time, it's right on. It's been mentioned a number of times in this journal, and has not lessened over the years. It's not so much a clear message like "if you cross the street now, you will get hit by a bus" as it is a vague idiot light that keeps flashing "check karma".

I do have to say whenever I obeyed this small quiet inner voice, it saved my bacon many a time, steered me away from danger and many an emotional coyote. On the other hand when like most other fools, I rushed in, I almost always paid some consequence.

I wish I knew where my inner transmitter is located, because I would almost certainly shut it down. I've heard countless times, usually via a third party that there is something very attractive, but also scary and repulsive about me all at the same time. I have studied and had a keen interest in human nature, that borders on a passion, so have also developed an ability to read between the lines when interacting with others; sort of like a built in wireless polygraph machine. People very seldom look me in the eye when I'm talking and interacting with them, even loved one's and S.O.'s. Over the years a number of friends claim there is something very intimidating about me that they can't quite pinpoint.

My late dear friend and partner in crime Paul said a number of times, "how did you know that? Did you make some sort of pact with the devil or something? I'm going to nickname you spooky." Long ago I visited a couple of "genuine" psychic sensitives, who independently (with no input or queues from me) knew way too much about obscure facts from my past. They also all mentioned I had a gift or "shining" and should develop it more.

It's also sort of funny that when I have talked on the phone with someone I have not met yet or am about to meet, they almost always make the following comment, "god you have the sexiest voice", and I'll chuckle, "yeah I hear that quite a lot, but don't see it myself." In the cases where I have met the person on the other end of the line, the look of disappointment was unmistakable. Maybe I was meant to man a phone sex chat line, or become the recorded voice of some telecom service, "welcome to<...>, what state? what city? are your wearing any underwear?" I enjoy chatting with retail clerks (or is that customer assistant technicians), and always get asked if I work in TV or radio." I guess I have good FM radio voice; yeah I did campus radio and DJ'd back in my more youthful frisky days.

Rob's been around for the duration of Winter (back and forth from the Cape), and I do enjoy his company immensely. It still seems strange having the companionship of someone I really enjoy sharing my time and pace with; being very close in age, backgrounds, etc.

Another weekend is almost here, more snow, cold, online mischief, etc.

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Wednesday March 23

"I want a new drug! - Huey Lewis

I saw my doctor last week and once again he rotated one of the alleged "life saving" drugs I've been taking due to accumulated toxic side effects from one of the old favorites I've been on for 7 years. I have come to realize that most Western medicine is toxic to begin with. The witches brew of pharmaceuticals I take are often referred to as "nukes" which makes me wonder if a key ingredient is depleted uranium or plutonium.

I've mentioned a number of times that back in 1985 I was told, no assured, that I had a year, maybe 2, and if I was lucky, 3 years to live. Well that was over 20 years ago and as fate would have it never had to start an all Amurikan regimen of prescription poisons until 7 years ago, and what delightful medications they are, with all sorts of life challenging side effects of their own. In America, if the disease don't getcha, and you have insurance and/or can afford the prescribed mistreatments, the treatment will sooner or later do you in.

Some of the more common side effects from these drug combinations are damage to the liver, pancreas, kidneys, stomach and heart, which of course are all organs we don't really need to survive anyway, so the doctors prescribe more drugs to counteract the side effects of the first drugs, which have their own set of side effects. Some other side effects are possible grotesque changes in body morphology. Then there are the more exotic side effects like spontaneous human combustion, werewolfism, vampirism, morphing into other life forms and voting republican.

My doc tried swapping me on to what he said was a rather benign drug last Fall, which caused the cardiac symptoms and was causing my kidneys to shut down. After 3 visits to the E.R. and a battery of tests, everything returned to "normal" after stopping the medication, so it was back to the old familiar drug's toxicity.

I was not enthused about the script he wrote me last week, since this new one carries some "dire" warnings, which require the patient to carry a medical alert card with them regarding a rare, but fatal allergic reaction that can come on at any time. According to the drug company this reaction is "very" rare, but when I did my own research on a few non drug company run reputable web sites, these side effects and reactions are much more common than the drug maker claims (why am I not surprised). It's comforting to know that if I exhibit 2 or more of these side effects (which are also listed among the common non lethal ones) that within hours I could be dead, especially if I ever take this medication again. The list is long and includes rash, itching, fever, nausea, vomiting, trots, cramps, cough, sore throat, body ache, headache, etc. What's unsettling is these same side effects sound like many of the bugs that regularly make the rounds in society, so is it the flu, or something much worse?

I began taking the new med last week and as fate would have it, began itching and scratching like an old flea bitten hound dog. My body began to ache and I had a weird sensation of having my throat stuffed with cotton balls. I obeyed the warning card and called my doctor. The nurse called me back and said to keep taking the med, that it might just be my body adjusting to the new medication, but if the symptoms continue to get worse with each dose, stop taking it and get to the nearest E.R.....this is quite comforting.

And even if you don't have this rare allergy, if for some reason you miss a dose or your dosage changes, this same fatal reaction could occur where you never had one before. The bottom line is, no matter what I do, it seems like any move I make, must be made with extreme caution.

Since regulations on big pharma have been relaxed, they're freely peddling their wares in every magazine, news paper and on billboards "Ask you doctor if Gullibrex is right for you". It seems strange that the section of the ads that sing praise to the benefits of taking a certain medication are proudly printed in an easy to read 10-12 point font, but the section (some longer than the Dead Sea scrolls) are in a micro-font that you'd need a high powered magnifying glass to make out. And why don't they use terms to describe side effects that don't require a Harvard medical degree to interpret. If a side effect is sore throat, just say sore throat.

Some drug claims I've tested, "hallelujah, praise de Lawd"

A few months ago my doctor decided to check my testosterone levels since they were on the low side of normal a couple of years ago. I told him that I felt fine but had the drive of a neutered attack dog. Lo and behold I was about 4 quarts low on the blood test so he wrote me a trial script for Androgel, which comes in little packets that you rub into the skin once a day, that come with a dire warning

"Do NOT under any circumstances apply directly to genitals"

I decided not to test this claim and have been applying this glop once a day to the approved areas. The insert and data I've pulled from a number or reputable medical web sites do say it can take a couple of months to see results, and "praise de Lawd!" I'm begriming to get my Mojo back, plus sprouting some gray hairs on my chest as well as my long barren "treasure trail" re foliating with hair.

Like everything else, testosterone comes with it's own set of warnings besides not using it as a sexual lubricant; there is an increased risk of prostate cancer, which some documentation denies as fact.

Since there has been so much hype about Viagra and it's spin off's, I have taken a sample of this modern wonder a few times now and have to say "yes, Viagra works as claimed," and like all other patented "wonder drugs" comes with it's own set of warnings and side effects, of which I have had about 90% of the most common; headache, cotton mouth, raising hell with sinuses and everything in my field of vision being bathed in the prettiest neon blue hue. I have not seen the Virgin Mary or found the portal into a parallel universe while trying Viagra.

Hey I'm happy so long as the pharmaceutical companies are happy.

It's March 23 (supposedly Spring is here) and they're predicting another snow storm tonight, anywhere from 2 to 12" or more depending on storm track. Just a day or so ago, they were saying clear through the Easter weekend.

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Wednesday March 30

Well I survived the month of the lion and most of the snow is now gone...finally! We had rain this week which dumped 2-3" of precipitation and another 2-4" forecasted for the weekend. If this were snow, we'd be back up to our eyebrows here in the white stuff.

A few people have noticed that I have not brought up cell phone zombies, yuppies, titanic SUV's or emperor Bush much. It's all been said before, over and over, and at this point I have pretty much given up on my beloved country, which lives on in my memory only.

I have made a few cosmetic changes to RaysRealm over the past week, making the navigation menus consistent across all pages, plus adding trite, meaningless little pictures at the top of each page.

Easter has come and gone, Jesus has risen once again from the dead. The Apocalypse is upon us during Bush's second reign of terror, which means the Rapture is close at hand, Jesus is coming back soon, look busy, get those hands out of your pockets and wipe that smirk off your face. It's gonna be all assholes and elbows, plagues and disasters, with lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth for the next 7 years. Remember the Mayan calendar runs out in 2012, the end of time will come, so go out and buy all the stuff you've always wanted, get royally laid as much as you can, get drunk, puke and fall down, then get up and do it all again while you still can.

Speaking of Easter and religion, just when I was begriming to think God had given people brains to think rationally with, we are being cast back into the dark ages by the far right religious zealots who have taken over the country and are well on their way to taking over the world. Who will win this senseless battle of ideologies for grabs, but I'll put my money on that "rocking, socking" creator of the universe himself G-O-D aka Jehovah, the great I AM, Yahweh, Jesus, the Alpha & Omega, President and CEO of the cosmos, the Big Guy himself.

According to our beloved leaders, our All American "Red, White and Blue" God kicks ass! he rocks, and all other gods are just pussy god's, all hat and no cattle. All you other tin whistle household gods had better leave town by sundown cause there's gonna be a cosmic shoot out at the OK Corral, and if God's spokesman Gee Dubya Boosh, has his way the bullets will start flying and brimstone flowing like cheap wine in a Tijuana cat house.

Actually the religious lunacy is reaching new heights (or depths), and if this trend continues, we'll be seeing witch burning, public torturing and the feeding or heretics, homosexuals, liberals, feminists and other riffraff to hungry lions every night on the Faux Nooze Channel...get those TIVO's fired up and a fresh tape in the VCR. It'll be good wholesome Christian family entertainment. And don't you ever forget, the sun revolves around the Earth, which is flat, the universe is only 6000 years old, fresh out of God's oven and on the kitchen window sill cooling.

Well damn it, Ahhhh am proud to come from a long line of fundie bigots, so can relax in the knowledge that MY God is the balls! he can kick your panty waisted god's ass any time.

But there is one fly in the ointment, that Jesus fella, you know, the son of God himself, the only chip off the creator's block. That shit stirring Jesus, who preached love, forgiveness, compassion, turning the other cheek, giving til it hurt and not asking anything in return. That same nuisance who healed the sick and fed the masses and hung out with the riffraff of his day. Yup, the same guy who the fundies of his day wanted silenced for good. I wonder how Jesus feels today about how his message has been twisted and perverted. One statement from the New Testament stands out, "and Jesus wept" I may no longer be a good Christian, or considered a Christian at all, but I still hold onto a childish hope that Jesus IS really the son'o God who cares more for us than anyone could ever imagine, and who on some day, will comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell,
spirituality is for those who have already been there.

As poor an effort as I make to follow in Jesus' footsteps, I long for a time when there will be justice, no more war, greed, lies and no more tears. I still hope that he is the God I learned about in Sunday school and not the one of the neocons and religious despots.

They say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" It seems that the highway crews have been putting in a lot of overtime during my life time, widening the highway in anticipation of the final rush hour, "gentlemen, start your engines and may God have mercy on us all."

Another month is shot in the ass, and have not turned into a brain eating zombie or werewolf from new medication side effects yet. Actually been too preoccupied to spend much time writing, since Rob's been making frequent extended visits during the Winter that would never end. Hopefully we will be shuttling back and forth into the foreseeable future and I'll be making semi-regular weekend treks down to that Sodom by the sea, PTown.

Here's an end of the month collection of articles I've book marked here and there during my daily foraging for non mainstream news, the sort of stories you won't see on Faux nooze channel. 

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Shalom, Ray