Sunday, August 31, 2008

the vice presidential republican pick: IMHO it changes the picture. a lot. or it could change the picture. according to the modernpeasant hypothese whoever of the 4 players can come across in the debates and the video ad$ as a human, talking as most of us used to be able to talk, straight to the point, no political garbage, will win the election.

an example of this sort of speech is barney smith, citizen, who i happened to catch at the democratic extravaganza and who you might have seen to if you were not watching the corporate buzz machines.

the republican vice-presidential candidate may be capable of this. maybe not. but if she is,, the republicans might win.

notice that this has nothing to do with the endless punditry and expert opinion of the army of talking heads telling the us what to think. they are as out of touch as the political oligarchs.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

i carted objects to the garbage this morning, taking a break every now and then to read category 7, a real pot boiler about presidential politics and weather used as a weapon by a crazed billionaire who creates hurricanes. big ones, hence the title. he aims it for the ancient by today's standards nuclear station near new york

then i drove to town to see the big libowski by the coen bothers at the library. it was ok, but obviously and i don't care how carefully the brothers coen storyboard their movies this is a make something up about the 60's, dope smoking, and collide it with the 90's affair. the coens were just having fun, winging it. i got a few chuckles out of it but it was nowhere near the quality of barton fink or raising arizona. drove home and began transfering files from one hard drive to another etc trying to create some kind of workflow that... works.

some directories being moved right now for the next 7 hours. i'm proud of myself that i finally approached this rat hole. by september i might have a rube goldberg assembly of obsolete equipment i can work with.

tomorrow i'll stick around the house and fill many empty frames with pictures. if nothing else i'll take them to the arts and crafts fair at greenlife next saturday and see what happens.

sometime mid september i'm going to camp out at linville gorge and climb hawk's bill.

last weekend in september camp out in surry county w/ a lot of good people. maybe i'll be able to play wildwood flower on the dobro by then. unfortunately i'll miss the bloapalooza here in town where i could get a little crazy with the blog people i haven't seen in awhile.

soon after visit the meher baba center.

and what do i do in between these hypothetical trips? brood, pace, watch the rabbit in the backyard who has been strangely silent about all this.

Friday, August 29, 2008

"the news has been canceled" - randi rhodes

if you watch television news to be informed, be aware that the corporate machine doesn't even pretend anymore. propaganda in it's most glossy deceptive form. throw the damn thing away and take a look around. walk downtown. visit a biker bar. ride a bicycle around the walmart parking lot and make faces at the surveillance cameras. sit under a tree - if you can find one. talk to someone about how the guy standing on the off-ramp with the sign "will work etc...." is really making big bucks. flip houses. dig a hole and then fill it up. do anything but watch the news.

or let the corporate television news fill your head with convenient and lethal lies. after all, it's a free country. right?


obama used this word last night. more than once. i think it says it all. i shot photo this morning, front of my truck.

Thursday, August 28, 2008


modern life. more, better, faster.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

DSC08604e.jpg

didn't watch the dem convention last night. too tired, early to bed. but this morning realized there was another reason: too much like a high-school popularity contest, or a cartoon of the same. cliques, circles, gossip. i'll vote and work for obama simply because i don't think he is a crook.

how much is the corporate state - USA - worth? how much of that is in the hands of institutions? or, put another way, what is the amount of square footage owned by the corporate state? how much by the people? notice i said "owned", not permitted to use.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

DSC09563E.jpg

wet rainy day. thanks.

doc appt this morning. apparently walked the streets pf denver so much i picked up blister on foot, didn't notice it and no big deal but for those of us w/ type I diabetes this can develope into big problem. need to check on truck also, may have heater core leak. hope it's a rubber hose, replacing the core is not something i want to do.

if you can stand it read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. spells out exactly what the world we are living in is and why. briefly, the corporate state. profit matters and is real. you and i are we the people and we don't matter. grossly anti-life and not an accident.

of course a dummy like me asks profits for who? why?

answer: pure naked power.

don't want to read? try The Shock Doctrine Short Film | Naomi Klein

Monday, August 25, 2008


the democratic convention: what will it share w/ the olympics extravaganza? probably a lot in terms of the electronic bread and circuses state of the art. i hope more than that.

the olympics was a corporate-state presentation, a la Albert Speer.

"Speer was also directed to make plans to rebuild Berlin, which was to become the capital of a 'Greater Germany'—Welthauptstadt Germania. The first step in these plans was the Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Summer Olympics, designed by Werner March." the new corporate facism that has swept the world shares a fondness for the monumental carefully orhestrated context. only electronic.

asuming no october surprise, obama might prevail if he speaks directly and on a human, not monumental scale. wings it. makes a mis-step or two and shows a sense of humor about it. ditto biden (who the pundit world says might speak too much, let slip something real; let's hope so).

at the end of the extravaganza, sometime after the last pepsi ad, i think they both should invite the audience out for milk and cookies. a la andy kaufman. walk away from the pagent into human space. dellilo said "the future belongs to the crowds" and the mode of communication suffers from this.

both candidates need to step away from corporate institutional speak in order to win.

BTW the video that was up from last week doesn't seem to up any more, i get a "publishing is in progress" message today. maybe it is being redone, i certainly hope it is as sharp as the video featured on right sidebar ( a windy day) when it appears again.

Sunday, August 24, 2008



photo: place unknown but it looks like north carolina.


early sunday morning. i feel like the space shuttle after it's landed. slowly being towed towards oblivion.

i took a look at some of the other presentations of the wallpaper project and sure enough the video is a lot sharper than mine. including the standard opening that is used in all presentations. i'll have to find out why. too bad. the dvd version is sharper by an order of magnitude.

so the creative whim that has been my bizness for so long now may contract to fingerpaints. any old folks home worth a damn should have them on hand.

meanwhile i'm headed for the woods, a few days camping will do me good. it's hard to believe the whole summer has passed since my last outing.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

somewhere in colorado.

the video mentioned below can be seen at

The Wallpaper Project Presents "Modern Peasant" Project No. 30.5

this was literally a learning project, the first video i have done. some sort of compression must have been used, understandably, i don't think the resolution is as good as on a dvd. it is entirely made from a digital still camera and computer generated doo dads.

got back to denver last night, still in overdrive. i liked denver a lot more than 40 years ago which surprised me.

i liked yampa even better.

so now i regroup. a lot. finish filling every wooden frame i have and look for a place to hang them. somehow jump into the election, do what i can to blow away the smoke that obscures the process.

volunteer for hospice. throw out funiture - some of it anyway - casette tapes, zip disks.

go camping solo, a retreat of sorts.

move to fargo ND?

Friday, August 22, 2008

didn't quite make it out of town yesterday, but will today. then i'm going on retreat into the deep forest with a book and and when i get back throw myself into election. last night my work was included on the Wallpaper Project on URTV at 11:30.

here is the blurb:

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:This:Is:It::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:Tonight:@:11:30pm:URTV:::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:The Wallpaper Project:::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:presents ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:Project No.30.5::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:Chris_Wyly::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
This episode of "The Wallpaper Project" will be showcasing local(Asheville,NC) graphic artist Chris Parsons aka Chris Wyly. Though now retired - is working harder at living the life as an artist. You get the chance to see two short films:
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1) "The Way Home"
2) "Why the Wind Wonders"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Also you'll see a short slideshow featuring a sample of Chris's works of his paintings, photography, animation and self-manufactured music all under the pseudo name "Modern Peasant."
Works by Modern Peasant are sometimes labeled as abstract, dreamy and surrealistic. Judge for yourself. This is a true media one man show.
To obtain ore information about "Modern Peasant", Chris Wyly/Chris Pasons visit:
http//Modernpeasant.com
Wyly.Chris@gmail.com
828-281-0552
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
for those of you that can not witness TWP on URTV we have all our episodes up on Google Video
so just do a search for : The Wallpaper Project

Wednesday, August 20, 2008


deep in denver airport.

now back in nc. recovery day. aville by friday.

Monday, August 18, 2008


day of rest. photo above from bob's backyard. i am really exhausted, a rest day today while i gather my gear together for flight tomorrow.

travel definitely broadens the mind, but min e is already pretty damn broad. thinking - or dreaming - more and more of road trip in fall. but first a few weeks retreat camping out in wnc mountains.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

great visit to steamboat o0r more accurately phippsberg and oak creek. snow, hail, wind, sun, one of the finest fire circles i've sat around in a long time. dinner tonight w/ Angela's mom and husband. i've seen a lot of youngsters this trip, say under 5, and they almost all have spoken Spanish as well as english. que bueno.

friend minor and i cancelled Trip tuesday to red feather lake. surgery for him instead. diagnostic i believe.

Friday, August 15, 2008

denver. got into town around 7:30 yesterday, eric drove on to work. i walked up colfax st. had interesting talk with homeless couple, got lost, finally made it to minor and denise's. very pleasant day talking, conversing, sharing pieces of the puzzle of - let's face it - growing old in 'merica. will drive to cousin bob's in steamboat late today, back sunday, barbecue at angela's mom's sunday nite. with a little luck spend Monday going to red feather lake and trongpa's stupa which has assumed more and more importance in my head as i realized how many of my friends helped build it. tuzday back to rdu.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008


granddaughter lily in chatham county.

in denver. rode thru part of town yesterday, i could sort of feel the streets and local from 40 years ago or however long ago i lived here. trying to hook up w/ minor this afternoon and enjoy a dip into nonaccellerated competitive mode so scarce today. granddaughter grace is a delight, very calm and looking out thru big beautiful eyes. more in a minute/hour/day.

Monday, August 11, 2008

pretty sleepless nite. repacking and heading out tomorrow.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

made it to the triangle, not burmuda. regrouping this morning. lot of old friends in last night's dreams.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

ready set go. i'm out of here.

Friday, August 8, 2008

leaving in the morning for denver. probably post from time to time.

part of me feels like an anachronism; the other part is an anachronism.

the olympics - fascist spectacle, forget about communism.

the american presidential election: process turned cartoon.

profit. the only justification for anything, including life.

USA today story about how we could learn a thing or two from the discipline chinese cuture exhibits, ie sweatshops, labor camps, secret police. (but note: we still lead in number of citizens incarcerated.)

the republicans: government for the sake of theft.

law - watch cops some saturday night.

disneyland for the many, a nightmare for the few.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

if you don't see RSS feeds on the left reload page. i may have overloaded something. just finished talking w/ old friend minor in denver, we'll spend some time together next week. it's been awhile.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Earnest Harris: Obama Is A Joke

Earnest Harris: Obama Is A Joke:
"It was heard being used by Republican surrogates on several news shows in the last few days, from Joe Lieberman to Pat Buchanan. The message has been the same: Obama is a joke and if he and his supporters don't get the joke, it is further proof that he is taken way too seriously."



i got nothin to say except asheville's favorite son has a pretty good album out:

high and mighty - gov't mule

reminescent of early sly and robbie.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

god's country



my country

Topless Women, Kid Rock, Bikers, And John McCain:
"Following McCain's speech, country stars Kellie Pickler and Kid Rock will be taking the very same stage for their own live performances. Then at 12:30 a.m., there will be the semi-finals of the 'Miss Buffalo Chip Beauty Pageant,' this time featuring Hawaiian Tropic Models."

Monday, August 4, 2008


today's pictograph. indicates that, as a friend of mine said in his email, that my dancing shoes still have legs in them.

Sunday, August 3, 2008


spooky day. my training in the metaphysical ghettos of yore sure comes in handy. the outdoor temp with the solar wind factored in is about 145 degrees. indoors it feels like Bangkok in august.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

The Open Road - The Business and Politics of Open Source by Matt Asay - CNET News.com:

"As suggested above, the report finds that attacks are shifting from the operating system to Web applications...but not necessarily Web browsers, which are becoming more secure. Instead, attackers increasingly rely on 'automated toolkits, obfuscation, and the prevalence of unpatched browsers and plug-ins' to attack users' systems. Indeed, plug-ins represent 78 percent of public security exploits affecting browsers."

Homeland Security: We can seize laptops for an indefinite period :
"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has concocted a remarkable new policy: It reserves the right to seize for an indefinite period of time laptops taken across the border."

New worm targets Facebook, MySpace:
"When clicked on they prompt the recipient to download an executable file that purports to be the latest version of Flash Player. Instead, it is the worm itself, infecting yet another victim."

Friday, August 1, 2008

had an appt. for overdue oil change at 10:30 this morning. missed it because i had written down in my extensive and well oranized organizer no it is not a blackberry but a piece of paper 11:30. this is not an unusual occurence.

went to mad tea party yesterday afternoon. this is a daily happening at URTV asheville public acess tv. i handed over 2 DVDs to larry for inclusion in wallpaper project and hung around for awhile. excellent conversation context, reminds me in a way of those long extended conversations at harry's or the tempo room before the earth was cool.

when i left i glanced up at the monitor in the entrence which displays what is playing and was knocked out by what i saw. lot's of blue screening, effects galore, pretty neat.

intend to check out a prosumer video camera tomorrow just to see how it works. will begin first project for URTV and as usual let it take form as it will. i have in mind a semi animated 30 minutes of traffic.

so today is catch-up day, all of the maintenance chores that i have ignored during another production marathon. i think i am probably addicted to hyperfocus.

BTW i started this blog long ago to be a means of communicating w/ friends and family. never meant to be a world wide billboard of my thoughts or work. so i have no idea of number of hits etc. once in awhile i google modernpeasant and found a bunch of my pictures scattered here and there. but you gotta dig deep.