Victory!

ABD, repeat after me, sing "Nah Nah Nah Nah!"

A Tribute to a lost companion...

To my other, now kidnapped, Christmas goose cup, I offer this:

Second Poem

Thank god I have an innocent eye for nature.

I was born to remember a song about love - on a hill a butterfly

makes a cup that I drink from, walking over a bridge of

flowers.

- Peter Orlovsky


You will be missed. But, it's better to burn out than it is to rust...

"Punk is whatever we make it to be"

D. Boon of the Minutemen - what a guy and what a sentiment! I wholeheartedly agree, as I've long believed that punk represents something beyond safety pinned earlobes, green mohawks, or leather jackets. And I'm not talking about the Sum 41/Green Day/I'm so punk rock because I look and sound the part kinda bands. Punk is an attitude, an F-off to the rest of the world for doing what it is you want to do the way you want to do it. And anybody can do it, if they do it with sincerity and passion. Not to get all philosophical about it, but, dammit, rock is dead so LONG LIVE PUNK!

One of my great regrets is the fact that the GSHA never produced a record. Even a gnarled tape of us banging pans on the rails, strumming badly tuned guitars, and singing angry versions of our favorite tunes to the people in front of the TA office - that would have been in your face and punk, as long as we had been cool enough not to worry that the people walking past might be tossing their Smoky's food at us! Why now, Mike? you may say. Why now that we all have gone on to grander and greater things? Can't a guy be wistful for the past? Now, somebody gimme a beat while I go sing "We've only Just Begun!" a la Iggy and Lou!

Immanentizing the eschaton...with a cork wheel

Years ago, I was introduced to the concept of Gombligernicampoikananity, which is a religious view based on the idea that someday a large cork wheel, like those used to polish glass (see picture), will descend from the heavens and devour 1/10 of the world's population. Now, while I subscribe to the Judeo-Christian tenets of religious observance, this particular ethos has always seemed to me like an appropriately dreadful belief, especially tailored for someone in graduate school. What happens if this occurs before I can turn in my assignments? Will the teachers believe me when I tell them that this is why I couldn't turn my paper in on time? Would such an event free me from having to go through the comprehensive exam gauntlet? Is this something to be brought on by the faithful here on earth? Or is it a more random event like a magic eight ball? If it weren't for my long held beliefs, this cork wheel deal would probably make me shudder with fear...

A recent trip to the Bean: a hot night on the porch with a tear in my beer....

(seen on the men's room wall at Cool Bean's, Knoxville, TN)

"... In the early days of World War 3, guerillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth."
(for Henrique)
Lest we forget...

Some musings about GSHA mythology...specifically the Taint fin

My bro-in-law hipped me to this picture, concerning "taints," and it got me to thinking about the image crucial to our beloved organization. I am talking, of course, about the legendary taint fin, first proposed (as I remember) by Danny Coy. He said something to the effect that he would enjoy having a shark-style fin on his taint. This suggestion quickly erupted into a major burst of creative outpourings, with people talking about illuminated taint fins that would show what mood their were in, special pants to accomodate a taint fin, taint fin smacking as a greeting, a theme song ("Tainted Love...smack,smack"), taint fin tatoos to express important images of each individual, ad infinitum. Even the ironing board sported a taint fin on the ouroboros. It was, indeed, a heady time.


Then came the purges and everything went to hell...

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to ROCK!!!!

Today is the fourth of July. As we all know, it is the birthday of that greatest of greatest people, the cartoonist Rube Goldberg. Goldberg is best remembered for his brilliant creations that showed how to accomplish simple tasks through extremely complex means (think breakfast machine from Pee Wee's Big Adventure). This contraption is for an orange juice squeezer.

Considering Goldberg's gift for weird combone-ations, here's a musical one that will get your toes a-tappin' and your neck a-noddin' and your rock a-rollin (even if their namesake is one of the most overrated and bloated bands of all time that stole 90% of their music...and this coming from a man who loves prog rock like Yes and ELP and Genesis! I realize the irony, but as an incredibly focused and determined music snob, I can make such sweeping categorizations all day long from my bully pulpit!)!

Anomie and me...there is no need to parade my problems

I've got that post-semester anxiety brewing. I want to be out and doing something that I can't put my finger on; I'm on the wrong side of every door. I want to read and enjoy fun books, but history has killed that ability in me. I want to see something that I've never seen, but I don't need or want to invest in chemical enlightenment (especially with the price of gas being what it is). I want to experience something I've never experienced, but I am low on funds and what funds I do possess have been earmarked for Mistress Clio, the bitch goddess of History. Fear not - I may sound like an angsty tweener, but I will not bore you with poems about my feelings and my desire to be understood!

So, I suppose that I will just have to leave you with a video that best expresses the deep dark feelings and desires and moods and passions that lurk beneath my troubled and fretting brow. Enjoy!

Great idea for new TV series!

It is rare that I pat myself on the back for my own brilliance. Indeed, I'm usually suprised at how dense I can be. However, while avoiding doing my work for school, I had the most amazingly intense fit of creative juicing since I was first inclined to start this stupid blog. What I have imagined is a new sci-fi adventure series that combines The Prisoner with V: The Miniseries. This idea has limitless possibilities, especially if set in Knoxville, using the Sunsphere as the new command post for the new Village, whatever that might end up being (we need a good session at the Bean to work out all the details). Here's the brilliant part: the show could be titled All Your Base Are Belong To Us! I'm anxious to hear from all you out there in the webosphere what you think. I think I'm onto something really special...

In honor of the GSHA!!!! (for B and H, especially)

Who can forget this, perhaps our favorite phrase of all time?

Ironing Board Header

In honor of the scare suffered worrying about the esteemed symbol of our long irrelevant (but wistfully lauded) organization, I have decided to change the blog header to one with a doff of the cap to the IRONING BOARD. This shows my emerging HTML skills and my serious need of a real hobby, like golf or bird-watching.

AQUATIC APES RULE!

CRY HAVOC!

THE IRONING BOARD LIVES!

(thanks to the heroic efforts of Rob Williams)

Shape of Things to Come...part 2

In solidarity to the lost IRONING BOARD, I shall give up something of my own that I have held near and dear for over seventeen years:

More on this development later...

Shape of Things to Come...

Vanity, vanity, all under the sun is meaningless and vanity!

The GSHA suffered a hard blow recently, with the loss of the IRONING BOARD, the potent symbol of our beloved organization. To be sure, the good book says that the pursuits of this world give us little respite from the drudgery and pain and suffering inherent in life. And, recognizing this, the loss of the ironing board means little.

However, does this mean that the banner should be forgotten? NO! What did it symbolize for us? Was it "raw power?" Was it "Death from Above?" Was it "Taint-fins?" Or even "anarcho-syndicalism?" NO! The ironing board was the symbol of our solidarity against the travails of a common experience, namely, the lack of sleep, pay, and positive reinforcement inherent in the graduate experience. We had a reason for being, albeit insane and of little actual influence on the world, but it gave us a way to rage against the dimming of the light!

To be sure, the GSHA is more a state of mind than an actual organization, despite what "The Man" would have us believe. That is why I propose some new symbols for our organization, ones that will carry us towards big and brighter things. I have some in the works and will share them post haste! Until then, GSHA Noster Patria!