Time Travel #1

Why do I get myself into these kind of things? Every time things seem to be going great, something abrupt occurs. The girl in Paris in 1923, the wolf in the forest in god knows what year, Hitler in 1969 (yes, he is indeed still alive; these are the kind of “things” that I get myself into). The saddest part is, all I wanted was an authentic Cuban cigar from 1962. But with that came avoiding Fidel, going back to JFK’s birth, and ultimately ending up in Ireland in 1811? What’s peculiar is that every time I end up at another place in another time, I do not know how it will go down.  I could be in the middle of a pancake breakfast with a member of John Gotti’s mob, and all of a sudden I’ll feel my nerve get pinched and I’ll blink and now I’m in a farm in Nebraska. Everything sounds like a blur right now because, in fact, that’s exactly what it is. One is always prompted to ask the question, “why me?” and it is I that now proposes the question. Having the ability to go to all the different eras I’ve been is more a curse than a blessing. Sure, sometimes I will suddenly have a nice outfit on and money in my pocket, but that just as quickly disappear once I travel through to another place. Travel is a funny word for me to use in this situation, because usually one associates that word with a journey. My travels are never journeys. Instead, they are flashes. One place to the next without any warning, any preview, any vision, any idea. I just want to go back to the life I lived before all of this happened to me. I don’t know what caused this upon me; as far as I know I could simply be hallucinating. 1984 Britain was an alright place for me. I was safe and I had a life going. Now the future’s so unwritten. I had a glimpse of what’s to come when I went to the end of 1999 for about 30 minutes. Everything was burning, everyone was screaming, and it seemed as if an apocalypse was upon me. I saw a newspaper on the ground with the date December 31 on it, and the headline read “IT ALL ENDS TONIGHT”. A man came running up to me screaming belligerent gibberish that I really could not comprehend. And just like that, there was the feeling in the nerves, and I was on a desolate mountain in a place I did not recognize. Did the world actually end after 1999? Would I ever be able to see anything in the 2000s? I can only wonder…

-N.G.

Up In The Clouds

She gasped with excitement and shouted over the noise of the propeller: “The islands in the clouds are real!” Everything was so surreal; there were blue elephants skating on a rink in the clouds, demons rolling dice right next to them, and Billy Mays was riding a bicycle in endless circles. Tila Tequila still could not fathom what she was observing. The last thing she remembered was chugging something out of a bottle and realizing that it wasn’t alcohol but actually gasoline. She later woke up aboard a plane going somewhere known as “Azure Ecstasy”. Initially, Tila was very excited because she thought she was involved with something related to the drug commonly taken at raves. But after talking to a fellow passenger who went by the name of Paul, she realized that she had perished and was now on her way to the afterlife. “Am I dead?” Tila asked herself. The realization shocked her. She would now be playing mini golf with Nelson Mandela instead of taking shots with the cast of “Jersey Shore”. Tila did not know how to feel about everything or how to reason with herself that she was truly dead. She tried getting into Tupac’s party that he was hosting but was denied entry, as no one recognized her. She kept walking along what she discovered to be known as the Holy Road and bumped into a big man in a suit. The two began to converse after Tila asked him where she should go to get alcohol in her body. The man said his name was Al Capone. Soon enough he and Tila had become fast friends and they both jumped onto a unicorn that took them to the coolest club in all of Heaven. Tila was almost glad she accidentally drank that gasoline, as this life promised so much more to her than her previous one ever could.

-N.G.

Ham On Rye

      Author Charles Bukowski is one who does not censor himself whatsoever in his writings, which is most likely the reason I enjoy reading his material. I recently finished his novel "Ham On Rye", which is about a boy growing up during the late 1920s and all throughout the 1930s. The boy, Henry Chinaski, has traits one would relate to those of a loner. His family life is not good at all, and at times the book can be a bit depressing. However, you actually tend to forget the time period of the story at certain points, and that highlights Bukowski's creative strengths as an author. Although the novel does not have much of a plot (it follows a guy from his early childhood to his early adulthood), it is easy to read and every chapter keeps you wanting more. Henry Chinaski is the protagonist in numerous Bukowski works, so this story serves as a prequel to other works that take place later in Chinaski's life. If you do not enjoy or cannot handle extremely vulgar and inappropriate topics, then do not read this book. It deals with the many odd thoughts and ideas that come with growing up, and at times it can be quite intense. Regardless, I think it is great. Many have claimed that the book is Bukowski's autobiography of his life growing up, and that he just used different names for all of the characters. I do not doubt one bit that this is true, as Bukowski grew up in the same setting (Los Angeles) during the same time period as Henry does. Film icon James Franco and his younger brother Dave recently began work on a film based off of the book, and it is rumored to be titled "Bukowski". If James Franco is making a movie out of it, that should be enough assurance that this is a great book that is definitely worth the read if you can handle some of its content.

-N.G.

fountain (review?)

French-American artist Marcel Duchamp was a person who truly thought outside of the box. His 1917 work "Fountain" is one that received heavy backlash. Known as early Avant-Garde art, it is considered by some to be one of the most important works of the 20th century, yet others reject it and say it is meaningless. 

Here is a picture of the art:

Yes, that is a toilet urinal. Duchamp took it from the store, put his name on it, and declared it a work of art (which it is). The Society of Independent Artists rejected the work, even though they had claimed that they would accept anything if the fee was paid. This piece causes one to truly question, "what is art?" Art is everywhere. It isn't necessarily about what it looks like, but more what was in the artist's mind when creating their work. In my opinion, this is one of the most creative ideas to ever come out of the 20th century. It can cause one to think so much deeper than about going to the bathroom. What message was Duchamp attempting to send when he presented this? There have been a number of different interpretations regarding its true meaning and it still is not totally clear what he was trying to say. However, philosopher Stephen Hicks had an interesting theory: 

"The artist is a not great creator—Duchamp went shopping at a plumbing store. The artwork is not a special object—it was mass-produced in a factory. The experience of art is not exciting and ennobling—at best it is puzzling and mostly leaves one with a sense of distaste. But over and above that, Duchamp did not select just any ready-made object to display. In selecting the urinal, his message was clear: Art is something you piss on."

In all reality, this artwork could been seen as genius or pretentious. I think it is wonderful. It is an artistic idea unlike any other.

-N.G.

BAD BRAINS

   Washington, D.C.'s Bad Brains released their self-titled debut album in 1982. The album is a work of perfection. Not only does it have some of the best hardcore-punk that one will ever receive the pleasure of listening to, but it also includes some beautiful, relaxing reggae songs. From the opening track of "Sailin' On" to the finale (an included bonus track) "Jah Calling Dub", the entire album is a one of a kind experience. Bad Brains was an incredibly creative group, and this album remains one of my favorites of all time; it's certainly on my top 5. Not only was their music energizing and gratifying, but the words they spoke also were a part of something bigger. All of the members of Bad Brains were black, which was certainly interesting for a hardcore band, but this did not cause any problems. They were actually bringing more people together as being the outcasts for this scene. They sung about joining together, fighting for what was right, and finding inner wisdom. Due to the majority of people being "afraid" of hardcore music (and by "afraid" I mean afraid to experiment with one's tastes), Bad Brains is only famous within a specific community of people. That fame should carry on to everyone though. This album is so amazing to me, that it's a bit hard to describe the feeling I get from it. If you are in need of new music, or feel convinced that you would enjoy this music, then do not hesitate one bit to check this album out.

BEST TRACKS: "Attitude", "Banned In D.C.", "I", "Big Take Over", "Pay To Cum", "Right Brigade", "I Luv I Jah", "Jah Calling Dub"

-N.G.

Moon's Up

The sinning of us every single day

Is what keeps me sane

It's the roadblock in front of the Milky Way

Love and Hate collaborate 

Things never fail to be strange