tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28215100933585458242024-02-20T10:55:02.832-08:00MC FÜBBmentWalk with me...MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-52297220051079504512020-12-19T06:02:00.002-08:002020-12-22T17:10:17.603-08:002020<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Adieu</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to a bastard of a year</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">whose father was no father at all</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">but a diaper they attempted to clean with a
dishrag</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">and strapped to a mannequin </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">with the voicebox of a 10-year-old</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">whose mother did not protect him—</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">was perhaps unable to do so—</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">from the ills of the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Farewell</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to another year of black throats crushed,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">suffocated for all to see,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">of faces scraped against concrete,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">shot in their beds or left to rot in cells,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">but also of those who balled their fists,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">refused to be silent and took to streets,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">who organized behind the scenes,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">took to the ballot boxes and screamed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Good riddance</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to hordes of gnashing teeth between gingivitis-laden
gums,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Whopper guts and confederate flags,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Boogaloo boys with happy trigger fingers</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">who comforted themselves with silky lies,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">who bathed their skin in the oils of dead
whale calves </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">and toasted Coors Lights as they downed
their fill</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">of fascist tripe, Mussolinian entrails,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">and thought they did it all in the name of
the Lord.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Goodbye (but not quite yet)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to strangers seen as threats (more than
usually),</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">whose very breath, a dangerous vector,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to third-world-country mills of polypropylene
masks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">that some viewed as signs of oppression,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">that some clung to in hopes of staying
safe,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">that some scoffed at while their grandparents
died,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">that became an indicator of whose gaze
extended beyond</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">the clippings of their own toenails</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">and whose was mired in solipsism that could
not permit</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">of empathy to break their autistic
fever-dreams. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">(and hopefully) A tentative hello</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to commutes to work that no longer need to
exist,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to painfully waking up to social
responsibility,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to digging our leaders’ heads out of the
oil-sands,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to clean drinking water in Flint and on
indigenous reserves,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to no longer tolerating that which can be
changed,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">to forgoing our opiates in the name of
tears</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">that need to shed aloud.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2gGQn7pWfPT-FcHy_O1TklNTb0RxIjLzW0GHbPn-Z93Lg0yj00uIIMCWe7enfb7k2z1hOwF-OGxtUnPu2jMB3_RJS93spIhmk_XBHNn981yyysSVm7RUgaX3uwzj7QNdhE94B8eyQa4/s700/2514.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2gGQn7pWfPT-FcHy_O1TklNTb0RxIjLzW0GHbPn-Z93Lg0yj00uIIMCWe7enfb7k2z1hOwF-OGxtUnPu2jMB3_RJS93spIhmk_XBHNn981yyysSVm7RUgaX3uwzj7QNdhE94B8eyQa4/s320/2514.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-71631173443255708122020-06-01T10:44:00.000-07:002020-06-02T09:49:20.114-07:00Black Lives Matter<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6Jd69nLQX8mJP9RTTVnJDLRpjaVQ2n_DLQv_fUiA8SPFo54nf6fS-BvMZ5twIj_rhOcEAw6s1Y0rUGdELH1UnOY7Xm9FEW9rWGsvCO6fif7xMJLy81Tjhjne9b-vLirJzRQvZU-XndU/s1600/George+floys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6Jd69nLQX8mJP9RTTVnJDLRpjaVQ2n_DLQv_fUiA8SPFo54nf6fS-BvMZ5twIj_rhOcEAw6s1Y0rUGdELH1UnOY7Xm9FEW9rWGsvCO6fif7xMJLy81Tjhjne9b-vLirJzRQvZU-XndU/s400/George+floys.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As I sit
here comfortably in my home in one of the more affluent regions of the planet, I
nonetheless experience a combination of sadness, anger, disgust, and fear in response
to what is happening in the world. Particularly, I feel overwhelming sadness for
Black people in the United States, not just for the recent murder of George
Floyd by the police, but for what his death represents: literally centuries of
oppression, persecution, and murder of Black people in America. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As I peer
down at my hands, my fingers typing away, I am aware that the pigmentation in
my skin would fit with the label of “white” or “Caucasian,” and I question if I
should even be speaking on recent events. On the one hand, I’d rather boost the
messages of leaders within the Black community (which I do whenever I see the
opportunity) than add my own voice. On the other hand, I am bombarded with messages
that say “silence is complicity,” and being a descendant of Holocaust survivors
(only two generations removed), I feel the need to write in order to express <i>something</i>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq-p3eqZIvD6y_fxi9rCU1NfodhAJ2JDmFL8IVrDV87yDac8LbBrGjdUatTQRyB6HoYkNFyAvwS_7FGriOs1HzwCE6Htrj-fw-MPMNgvovvo3jwhlixlRSP8INGbxfAhkvatHUJ244XU/s1600/elie+wiesel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq-p3eqZIvD6y_fxi9rCU1NfodhAJ2JDmFL8IVrDV87yDac8LbBrGjdUatTQRyB6HoYkNFyAvwS_7FGriOs1HzwCE6Htrj-fw-MPMNgvovvo3jwhlixlRSP8INGbxfAhkvatHUJ244XU/s400/elie+wiesel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I fully
allow myself to contemplate the horror that is racism, that a human being could
be reduced to an object of scorn because of the coding of their skin pigmentation
by nothing more than genetic chance, and that this is the basis upon which they
could be murdered, I am deeply horrified. I am at first filled with immense
sadness, because although I am not a person of colour, I am a human being that can
empathize with other human beings. I don’t know what it’s like to be the target
of anti-Black racism, but I do know what it’s like to have hatred unfairly
projected upon me and as a result be a target of violence. It’s a horrible,
terrible, and potentially traumatic experience. What I don’t know is what it’s
like to live with the threat of that sort of violence every single day because
of my appearance. Not having that experience on a daily basis is part of what
is meant by the term “white privilege.” And the fact that there are literally
millions of people living society every single day with this experience fills
me with despair.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After the sadness
comes the anger. I am enraged that we live in a world in which we allow these
events to happen. I say “we” because we truly are one species, one human race,
and as such we bear a collective responsibility for our fates. The reality of
our interconnectedness becomes clearer to me with each passing day. I am angry
that those in positions of power do not put fixing this problem at the top of
their list of priorities. Not only that, but in the year 2020, the president of
the United States literally repeats the same phrases as those used by racist politicians
and police chiefs in Jim Crow South in the 1960’s – and he doesn’t seem to see
anything wrong with it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAXz14Ey7FeIsvRBme-gIh_089ErwNT7kniZCIk63TwubzCWsmI_u0uW3bsM1W7C3KDdXLS8k0e1AyrulXA77E6poZ0DMvLEVHUhf7oV4gw06NOnOCYBH-E2HqwWZDQYwKsjrqqjidrU/s1600/trumptweet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAXz14Ey7FeIsvRBme-gIh_089ErwNT7kniZCIk63TwubzCWsmI_u0uW3bsM1W7C3KDdXLS8k0e1AyrulXA77E6poZ0DMvLEVHUhf7oV4gw06NOnOCYBH-E2HqwWZDQYwKsjrqqjidrU/s1600/trumptweet.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The anti-Black
racists have not disappeared. The KKK has not disappeared. They are employed in
government, the media, the military, and police departments. Instead of openly
calling black people “n*ggers,” they call them “thugs” – this is the new codeword
that they think they can get away with. It is not a priority for them to
address the systemic issues that perpetuate racism because in order to do so
they would have to own the darkness within them – the darkness that they have
projected onto Black people. This darkness is what Carl Jung called “the shadow”
– and for racists, it involves the rejection of feared (and possibly traumatized)
aspects of their own humanity. This suppression results in their fear, rage,
and disgust (which would be more appropriately directed at the racist parts of
themselves) being ignorantly projected onto people of colour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>
</div>
<hr />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<h4>
"A man who is unconscious of himself acts in a blind, instinctive way
and is in addition fooled by all the illusions that arise when he sees
everything that he is not conscious of in himself coming to meet him
from outside as projections upon his neighbour."</h4>
<center>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">-Carl Jung, “The Philosophical Tree” (1945). In<i> CW 13: Alchemical Studies</i>. P.335 </span></center>
<hr />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After the
sadness and anger, comes the disgust and the fear. I am disgusted when I see
pictures and videos of white cops killing unarmed Black men with impunity while
bystanders watch and film. I am afraid at the lack of political will and conviction
among elected officials to draw a firm line in the sand and declare that these
atrocities are not allowed to happen anymore. And I can’t help but feel
helpless. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How am I
supposed to make a difference in all of this? Does sitting here typing out my
thoughts and feelings and then posting it online actually do anything? Will
anyone who needs to read this actually read this and if they do will it make
even the tiniest bit of difference in addressing the enormity of the problem of
anti-Black racism? The cynical side of me says, “probably not,” and the truth
is I have no idea. Maybe this is just an attempt to help myself process what I
am seeing and reading about online. Maybe it’s an attempt to address the assertion
that “silence is complicity” and add my voice to the growing number of people
who refuse to stay silent. Maybe it’s an attempt to heed the wisdom of calls to
action from far greater people than myself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fDtXoNRV3wlK4YFf207oBKN_02HRnm45Z-TnxHY21UAVwwjSDtI8ebrxeg_KxJyHpAoEx37pXD5ZQ1xDQH-5lOeWxJ-OHA8PNTr8MwJ0_lY96nzxyBizXAwy8RWatiniFFBaL1P96Vk/s1600/mlk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fDtXoNRV3wlK4YFf207oBKN_02HRnm45Z-TnxHY21UAVwwjSDtI8ebrxeg_KxJyHpAoEx37pXD5ZQ1xDQH-5lOeWxJ-OHA8PNTr8MwJ0_lY96nzxyBizXAwy8RWatiniFFBaL1P96Vk/s320/mlk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Regardless,
I can think, I can feel, I can write – and so I write. When and where I see
opportunities to speak out or to act, I will do so. To whatever extent
possible, I will do my best to be part of the solution and not part of the
problem. Black Lives Matter. Taking a stand for the basic human rights of all
human beings matters. Let’s all of us, please, take these turbulent days as
opportunities to make this world better than it’s been thus far. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx_5r7BhYnGtIcn52I6CEyIy2GAeGHjvwROtMzaCtAMZc4zi_Lpp9q1vtdLN3grvu-5mnijOjqk9vXe3biGc6iYe7VZUJZFl7it8Gi3MUxgZkbJfAyaWx31dzf39h_3Q-H2b5OgU7jYs/s1600/lazarus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="387" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx_5r7BhYnGtIcn52I6CEyIy2GAeGHjvwROtMzaCtAMZc4zi_Lpp9q1vtdLN3grvu-5mnijOjqk9vXe3biGc6iYe7VZUJZFl7it8Gi3MUxgZkbJfAyaWx31dzf39h_3Q-H2b5OgU7jYs/s320/lazarus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
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<![endif]-->MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-70796259216424154052017-12-06T21:54:00.000-08:002017-12-06T21:54:40.708-08:00Insomnia PoemPerhaps a natural consequence of giving too much of myself<br />to too many people on a given day,<br />that later shift in the middle of the week <br />that just shits all over the routine I try to build for myself,<br />leading to that extra mid-day coffee that I justify because it’s going to be a later night—<br />leading to a much later night than it would have been—<br />practicing the progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, controlled breathing skills<br />that I recommend to so many clients,<br />until I get up to make some tea (which will wake me later I’m sure when I finally do get to sleep)<br />and realize I haven’t written anything poetic or horribly self-expressive<br />in a very long time,<br />and I have a moment of poet-ception as I write this line<br />and feel almost bad for the reader for getting him/her/themselves into this mess,<br /><br />but maybe you’re already in a mess<br />and it’s comforting to know that you’re<br />not the only one.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_HHZ9E6ysXqtd2dHffQ-xd0-C8QZvcNa0FfLqEySqO83uJrHYno1utAcmldO8RuTkit8gWzfQNlUMcNUkjHpAqJbSmJWIIdRJrn3pzVHYPcGe4YXKFfISB-X8LmoMFs2C30uGPtdh8A/s1600/giphy-facebook_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_HHZ9E6ysXqtd2dHffQ-xd0-C8QZvcNa0FfLqEySqO83uJrHYno1utAcmldO8RuTkit8gWzfQNlUMcNUkjHpAqJbSmJWIIdRJrn3pzVHYPcGe4YXKFfISB-X8LmoMFs2C30uGPtdh8A/s320/giphy-facebook_s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-50368991633145359002016-12-01T06:58:00.000-08:002016-12-01T07:01:26.667-08:00FÜBB Unlimited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ji5LPkYML5w81bmBr__-XrMqwj5b1JZbDRGMQiyd2NkFhPYHJn-pMEAwUxzTqg9GGbM6V5YVZzbQRG6c2pCts6MUowkLxvx4mEx4efCNkVZnkQkODkoQAwy3DsiNztB9njKyanTCbzc/s1600/CoverImage3+Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ji5LPkYML5w81bmBr__-XrMqwj5b1JZbDRGMQiyd2NkFhPYHJn-pMEAwUxzTqg9GGbM6V5YVZzbQRG6c2pCts6MUowkLxvx4mEx4efCNkVZnkQkODkoQAwy3DsiNztB9njKyanTCbzc/s400/CoverImage3+Final.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">December 1, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Toronto, ON) – Just in time for the
holidays, seasoned Toronto hip hop artist <b>MC
FÜBB </b>(pronounced “emcee foob”) is proud to announce the release of his new
EP: <b><i>FÜBB
Unlimited</i></b>.<b><i> </i></b>The seven track album is produced exclusively by Toronto beatmaker
<b>Justunlimited</b>, with guest artist features
by Mississauga emcee <b>Es </b>(Toronto
Independent Music Awards 2015 winner for “Best Urban Artist”), KRS-ONE cosigned
emcee <b>Bad Newz</b>, and <b>DJ Xplisit </b>(“Toronto’s Craziest
Beatboxing DJ”). Being his fifth official non-mixtape album released since his
debut EP <b><i>Foundations</i></b> back in 2009, <b><i>FÜBB Unlimited </i></b>is a testament to the
persistence and tenacity of an artist committed to improving his craft and
developing an extensive body of work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Here are MC FÜBB’s own words on his new
project:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">On the surface, the reason for the title of this album is
straightforward (MC FÜBB + Justunlimited = FÜBB Unlimited). It’s about an
emcee/poet and a producer/beat-maker combining their talents to make something
that neither of them could have created on their own – music created through
the efforts of their synergy. It’s a work of art that can be enjoyed by
listeners today and will remain available for future generations to come, long
after we are no longer here to make new music. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">On a deeper level, creating this EP has given me pause to reflect on
my career as a hip hop artist; a lot has changed in my life since I started
taking my rapping seriously over seven years ago. In recent years, I’ve drifted
away from my fixation on the dream of “making it” as an artist in the music
business and toward a life that is fulfilling in a broader sense: the kind of
life where I can be fulfilled and “make it” in a variety of different ways. But
despite a recalibration of the priorities in my life, I continue to heed the
call of the pen and pad, the microphone and the recording booth. Regardless of
what else I’m up to in my life, I feel the need to express myself creatively
and to transform my raw experience into something tangible that can stand the
test of time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Perhaps it’s a way that we, as artists, try to cheat death – a way
to overcome the existential dread that comes with the realization that our time
on this earth is limited. Against the backdrop of the infinite, we are flashes
in the pan of existence. But in the context of the lives we touch through our
words and actions – be it through the structures we build, walls we tear down,
or works of art we create – we have a chance to leave a legacy behind after we
die. In that sense, the potential difference that our lives can make is truly
unlimited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">My hope is that listeners’ lives are impacted by our
music for the better, if even just for a moment, as they take in this new EP. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">FÜBB Unlimited </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">can be accessed
directly at this link:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="https://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/f-bb-unlimited">https://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/f-bb-unlimited</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
and here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/mcfubb/sets/fubb-unlimited">https://soundcloud.com/mcfubb/sets/fubb-unlimited</a><br />
<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-65955304373648580882016-11-21T18:49:00.000-08:002016-11-21T18:49:14.541-08:00An Open Letter to Professor Peterson from a Former Student<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
For context: <a href="http://thevarsity.ca/2016/11/21/the-explainer-timeline-of-the-jordan-peterson-controversy/">http://thevarsity.ca/2016/11/21/the-explainer-timeline-of-the-jordan-peterson-controversy/</a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Professor Peterson,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I am a former of student of yours – I took the “Personality and its Transformations” and “Maps of Meaning” courses that you taught at the University of Toronto during my undergraduate years, where I double majored in psychology and philosophy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I am writing this letter to you directly, but also publishing it publicly in the hopes that it furthers the advancement of the current conversation/controversy that you are surrounded in at this time. I am doing this for three reasons: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>I hope to provide you with some thoughts for self-reflection about the issues at hand, not because I am sure that you need assistance in your process of self-reflection or because I am sure that reading this letter will benefit you, but because I genuinely want to be helpful;</li>
<li>I want to aid in my own process of reflection and to help contextualize my own thoughts and feelings on these matters (and I thank you for validating my proclivity for using the written word for such purposes during my time as your student); and</li>
<li>I hope to provide some food for thought for others who are currently following the recent controversy (especially those who seem to follow you unquestioningly with the passion of zealots).</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I distinctly remember a moment during one of your Maps of Meaning lectures years ago wherein a student raised his hand and asked a question: “Why are you teaching us all of this?” Your answer rings loud and clear to me in my memory: “I want you to be free of ideological possession.” Your thesis has stuck with me to this day because I find it cogently and concisely sums up a major reason why seemingly rational and normal human beings can seem to become the embodiments of evil, something we have seen (and continue to see) far too often throughout the course of history. It helped me to make a little more sense out of the unfathomability of my own ancestry: my grandparents were survivors of Nazi concentration camps. It has helped me to more clearly recognize and appreciate the strength with which underlying assumptions about the world – call them ideologies, schemas, or unconscious beliefs – shape the realities of individuals, families, communities, and societies as a whole. I say all of this because I want to be clear that I value and largely agree with your cautions about the dangers of being “ideologically possessed”; I hold you in high regard as one of the more insightful and thought-provoking professors I had during my undergraduate years at U of T.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I appreciate the extent to which you acknowledge the fallibility of human beings, particularly their blind-spots: their biases, their emotional reasoning, and their logical fallacies. It was a point you made again at the debate this past Saturday morning as you were pitted against (what seemed to be) two interlocutors who did not share your fears and concerns about the insidious motives lurking behind bill C-16 and the “social justice warrior” agenda to silence those whose views do not conform with theirs. To some who have been following this unfolding drama, you have been painted as a hate-monger, an ignorant bigot, and the prototypical “privileged white male professor sitting in his ivory tower.” To others, you are seen as a courageous martyr, a warrior for truth and freedom, and a brilliant psychologist/professor who is being fundamentally misunderstood by a naïve world. I would argue that those who view you at either end of such an extreme spectrum are, to borrow your phrase, ideologically possessed by polarized, overly simplified perspectives, the origins of which and the reasons for I will not begin to speculate here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
As for myself, in accordance with my own humanistic beliefs, I view you as a man who is striving to stand up for what he believes is right. I see a man who earnestly believes that there is danger lurking in the shadows and is trying his best to shine light on it in order to prevent its influence and reach from growing. And I see a man who feels that he has his back against the wall, who is afraid of what is happening in the world around him, and even more afraid of what may be coming down the road. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
As I think back at all of the knowledge I gleaned from you in your lectures and writing, all of the insights and perspectives you shared with myself and my fellow class-mates, I also recall certain off-hand comments you made to us at times. Some that I can still hear echoing in my memory include: “If you believe that, then you’re an idiot!” and “If you think that, then you’re just plain wrong.” I recall these comments now not simply for their (perhaps?) inadvertent crassness and their (unintentionally?) entertaining shock-value. I recall them because within the tone and the very nature of the content of these statements, I can’t help but find an inherent arrogance – a definitive, dismissive quality of cocksureness that is, I think, unbecoming of a man who claims to recognize the uncertainty, fallibility, and tenuous nature of the human mind’s grasp on reality. I recall these statements because I have seen/heard them again in some of your recent statements, lectures, and debates regarding the issues surrounding Bill C-16. I point them out to you now because I think they may be symptomatic of one of the reasons that you find yourself in the position that you’re currently in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rather than make psychoanalytic assumptions about you, I would like to pose you a series of questions – ones that I have been wondering in light of recent events:<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
Is it possible for any human being, including yourself, to be fully free of biases, mental blind-spots, and underlying assumptions that may be erroneous? Is it possible for any human being, including yourself, to be completely “free of ideological possession” of one sort or another? Is there such a thing as a “completely analyzed analyst,” one who can view certain phenomena which such a degree of objectivity that he/she/they/[insert preferred gender pronoun here] are free of the grips of the unconscious? Can anyone truly see so clearly that they have broken free of the inherently subjective nature of human consciousness itself? If I had to venture a guess, I imagine that your answer to these questions would be: “probably not.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I implore you then, Dr. Peterson, to ask yourself how you can justify presenting yourself as being so sure as to the rightness of the stance you have taken recently regarding Bill C-16 and the issue of transgender rights? Is it not possible that the decades you have spent researching totalitarian regimes and their ideological underpinnings, your own education and theoretical orientations as a psychologist, your own personal upbringing, history, and life experiences have led you to see things in a certain way? Is it not possible that given your own beliefs, your own findings based on your extensive study of various texts and academic research, that you have nurtured in yourself a bias to assimilate your perceptions of events and personal experiences to fit a particular worldview? Is it not possible that in your attempts to make sense of what seems to be an often dangerous and unpredictable world composed largely of irrational and idiotic human beings, you have oversimplified your views on the nature of good and evil, right and wrong, freedom and oppression?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">
I ask you these questions not because I am sure that you’re wrong about what you believe to be the truth in these matters. I ask, rather, in the hopes that you will not take your sense of rightness as proof that you are, in fact, right – no matter how logical, rational, intuitive, or well-informed your arguments seem to be. I remember you cautioning myself and my fellow students against putting too much stock the in veracity of rationalization – the most valid of arguments does not guarantee its soundness. The human faculty of reason can justify just about any position, provided that certain premises remain beyond the reach of scrutiny and thorough questioning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For what it’s worth, here are some of my brief reflections on recent events:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that you’ve made some harmful overgeneralizations about the people who are advocating for the rights of transgendered people. In labelling the entire cause of transgender rights as a front for “PC authoritarians,” “Marxists,” and the “radical/fringe left,” you have also (perhaps inadvertently) called into question the validity of the cause itself. This sort of “guilt by association” reasoning, which you may or may not actually espouse, is communicated to those who look up to you: students who listen to your lectures, watch your videos, and hang on to your every word. I do not doubt the existence of the “radical leftist” people of whom you speak (I encountered my fair share of them during my undergraduate years), and I agree when you say that they are likely not representative of the trans-rights movement as a whole. However, by focusing so exclusively on them and what you imagine their motives and influence to be regarding bill C-16, you have framed the issue of transgender rights in a very particular way – one that I believe suits your own motives, beliefs, and worldviews much more than the actual spirit and letter of the law itself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
You, yourself, have been accused of fostering intolerance and fomenting aggression towards transgendered people on campus, largely because certain ill-informed, neo-Nazi types seem to gravitate toward your messages and use them as fuel for their own intolerance. Would it be fair to say that because such people have been drawn to your rallies, people who wave the banner of “free speech” over their heads as justification for their own transphobia and hatred, that your motives must secretly be steeped in neo-Nazi ideologies? Of course not. But when you frame issues a certain way based on your own preconceptions about the world (which we all inherently do), you are likely to start mistaking shadows for actual monsters. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is much more I could write, but I realize that this letter has already become quite lengthy and that both time and attention are precious, limited resources in our world. I would like to end with one final point: I don’t believe that there is such a thing as absolute freedom. The freedom of speech that we enjoy must be tempered by our own sense of responsibility for what we say. As a psychologist sworn to a code of ethics which includes a responsibility to society at large and as a professor at a prominent academic institution, this responsibility is amplified for you. If the way in which you frame your arguments and exercise your right to free speech does, in fact, lead to ostracism from your colleagues, anger from minority communities, and the increased boldness of racists, misogynists, and bigots, then you have a duty to very seriously examine the impact of your words and actions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
I would be happy to discuss these matters further with you, if that is something you would like to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
Best wishes,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
Daniel Farb</div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com86tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-8444795073729992572015-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:002015-11-14T09:36:02.822-08:00On the Recent Events in Paris<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jerome Delay—AP</span></span></td></tr>
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What
happened yesterday in Paris is a tragedy. The loss of human life is always a
tragedy. The murdering of innocent people is an unqualifiedly terrible thing. <span id="goog_331007821"></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Many people's instant reaction will be anger - this is
normal and justified. However, if we react and form judgments solely from that
anger, we are bound to perpetuate a global cycle of violence that has plagued
humankind since time immemorial. We need to take the time to calm ourselves, to
regulate our emotions, and then to think and make choices that will transform
the landscape of how we respond to such terrible acts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When something awful happens that doesn't fit our current
worldview, our minds demand an explanation. Such gruesome acts of
human-on-human violence, especially when they happen in a modern, “Western,”
urban centre like Paris, do not fit most people's view of how the world is
supposed to be. It shakes the foundational beliefs that we operate with in
order to function in the world – beliefs regarding our safety, the progress of
human civilization, and justice. Because of this discomfort, this
anxiety-producing cognitive dissonance, we need demand quick answers. We need
quick, simple, understandable explanations to contain the anomaly of human
carnage that we have just witnessed or read about. And to this demand, we all
too often rely on others – the media, our friends and family, etc. – to offer
us easily digestible accounts of what happened.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is
where language serves a vital function for us. We rely on words: terrorism,
evil, Islamic fundamentalism, psychopaths, radicals, etc. These words are
powerful because they denote and contain within them an entire range of
complicated human problems. Most vitally for us, they act as containers for our
anger, our rage, and our disbelief at the cruelty we are capable of as human
beings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When we
resort to these labels, we form conclusions that allow us to distance ourselves
from the anxiety and difficult questions that we may otherwise have to face
when we learn of such horrendous events. We <i>other</i>
the individuals responsible for these heinous acts: <i>terrorists, savages, madmen, barbarians</i>,<i> </i>etc. In essence, we contain the anomaly within subgroups of people
– <i>other</i> people – that we insist we do
not and could never belong to. This becomes even more destructive when we overgeneralize
based on these labels: Islamic fundamentalism becomes “the Muslim world,” “Arabs,”
“Muslims,” “Islam,” etc. Some of us become racists and bigots who feel
justified in our reasoning. We become as rigidly attached to our own fundamentalist
beliefs as those who belong to the target groups that we dehumanize and demonize
(if you really want a sampling of the kind of ignorance and racism I’m
referring to, just read the comment sections of news articles and YouTube
videos covering these incidents on the internet. Also, bring a barf bag).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB7EoONMySQTVxt2mLfoH8JPqlfM8z9BuidVNfYmqvQgVL5h48OyyFJ5hvAspaRNrqVQ_PuZPZGWfLE2VPzE3yWVG4oOJr0OMEqSvfKXnjHeEL0LyVKie1n0RV4kcSpypfViunILdOa0/s1600/stop-the-mosque-at-ground-zero-rally-july-2010-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB7EoONMySQTVxt2mLfoH8JPqlfM8z9BuidVNfYmqvQgVL5h48OyyFJ5hvAspaRNrqVQ_PuZPZGWfLE2VPzE3yWVG4oOJr0OMEqSvfKXnjHeEL0LyVKie1n0RV4kcSpypfViunILdOa0/s400/stop-the-mosque-at-ground-zero-rally-july-2010-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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By relying
on these mental heuristics, these labels and stereotypes, we don’t need to
fully confront our own difficult emotions that have been stirred up by the
news. We don’t need to think and ask important questions about these events
(e.g. why do these things keep on happening over and over again in our world?).
We already have our answers. The problem is <i>them</i>,
and we are not <i>one of them</i>, so the
solution is simple: continue to try to fight and kill them before they kill us so
that the rest of us can go on with our merry lives. Look at the example of
America’s response to 9/11. Nearly 3000 Americans were killed in the World
Trade Centre attacks. The response: all-out war against those who were
perceived to represent the reason for this attack. The results? To date, approximately
6,800 American soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and <i>hundreds of thousands</i> of Iraqis have
been killed, most of them civilians (actual numbers vary widely depending on
reporting sources). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But let’s
interrupt that process for a moment. Let’s take the time to calm ourselves
before we form our conclusions; to sit back, think, and ask ourselves the
important questions. Most importantly, why does this kind of shit keep
happening? I don’t claim to have all the answers for this question, but if you’re
willing to actually do some research, there are many who have written about
possible causes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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For a
brief review of terrorist incidents in France, here’s a Wikipedia page: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_France">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_France</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Note
that, like the history of most places on this planet, incidents of human terror
against other humans is not limited to recent times. You’ll also note that many
of the incidents that have happened in recent decades are attributes to “Islamists,”
“Jihadists,” or “Fundamentalists” of one kind or another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here
are just a few perspectives on how Muslim people in general have been received
in France:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32053906">http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32053906</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/french-ghettos-police-violence-and-racism/1214">http://www.globalresearch.ca/french-ghettos-police-violence-and-racism/1214</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038158/Muslims-caught-praying-streets-Paris-face-arrest-tough-new-law.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038158/Muslims-caught-praying-streets-Paris-face-arrest-tough-new-law.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://time.com/3659241/paris-terror-attack-muslim-islam/">http://time.com/3659241/paris-terror-attack-muslim-islam/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/234019-france-racism-jews-muslims/">https://www.rt.com/news/234019-france-racism-jews-muslims/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/british-muslim-school-children-suffering-a-backlash-of-abuse-following-paris-attacks-9999393.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/british-muslim-school-children-suffering-a-backlash-of-abuse-following-paris-attacks-9999393.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.meforum.org/338/islam-in-france-the-french-have-themselves-to">http://www.meforum.org/338/islam-in-france-the-french-have-themselves-to</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#Discrimination">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#Discrimination</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://socialistworker.org/2015/01/12/the-anti-muslim-backlash-in-france">http://socialistworker.org/2015/01/12/the-anti-muslim-backlash-in-france</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://time.com/3659241/paris-terror-attack-muslim-islam/">http://time.com/3659241/paris-terror-attack-muslim-islam/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Here’s a Wikipedia article about the history of racism in France: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_France">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_France</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AP/Laurent Cipriani</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;">The
point of these examples is not to “blame the victims” of yesterday’s events. The
purpose of this writing is not to </span><i style="line-height: 107%;">blame</i><span style="line-height: 107%;">
France for its own racism or history of Colonialism. These mass murders cannot
be justified. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be explained and
understood.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">France
is just one country representative of problems that have been replicated on a
global scale over and over again by different people and nations over history.
Localized events like this are microcosms for global events. The global history
and climate of oppression, of imperialism and colonialism, of exploitation,
inequity, and state-funded terror against entire countries is part of this
problem. The Paris attacks are a symptom of a divided world based on a history
of broken foreign policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are many in this world seething with anger and rage against the “Western world”
and all that it represents. We are the <i>other</i>
that is responsible for the death, destruction, and despair faced by millions
of people in the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the globe. In the eyes
of those who we brand as terrorists, <i>we
are the terrorists</i>. And if you look simply at casualty rates, maybe we are,
as many will label us, “the <i>real</i>
terrorists.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GIR9Bf_0SG9HuXu1cEOBVz3Jcu-WoITtqDpSi5sTttP0-a27puqrWyw6BCMmf2c3NtTLlt0zUhRngS495cVAGWSNs0CPqsAdbZcm1I-CkzUA0g9Hq34tvVdvGfHVRD1xlbJTwzM60uw/s1600/terrorism-militarism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GIR9Bf_0SG9HuXu1cEOBVz3Jcu-WoITtqDpSi5sTttP0-a27puqrWyw6BCMmf2c3NtTLlt0zUhRngS495cVAGWSNs0CPqsAdbZcm1I-CkzUA0g9Hq34tvVdvGfHVRD1xlbJTwzM60uw/s320/terrorism-militarism.PNG" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy Singer</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;">So
where does this leave us? How can we all respond differently to these events so
as to not perpetuate the same cycles of violence, death, and despair that continually
plague the human race? </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
<br />
I can only share with you my own reaction and process to hearing the news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When
I read the first headlines, I was alarmed, but not surprised. My worldview is
one in which I think that such events are commonplace and I’ve come to consider
them as horrendous but expected occurrences given the type of world we live in.
I got angry. I thought of all those people who were out living their lives and
were murdered while innocently doing so. But the anger quickly left me – I let
it go. And that’s when I felt the core emotion underneath my anger: sadness. I
feel deeply saddened by the recent events in Paris. I am sad that we do this to
one another over and over again. I am sad because I believe that in the grand
scheme of things, the world’s reactions to these attacks likely won’t result in
anything changing for the better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As
much as I am upset and saddened by the actions of the people who carried out
these attacks, as much as I want to hate them and demonize them for their
cruelty, I refuse to. I refuse to <i>other</i></span>
the people that did this. As I’ve mentioned, I think that this “othering”
process is a core part of the problem in how we treat each other as human
beings. But on a more fundamental, personal level, I cannot other these people
because I acknowledge that given the wrong set of circumstances, I could have
been one of them. Had any one of us been born into the environment that these
people were born into, been exposed to whatever experiences, horrors, and
ideologies these people were exposed to, we could have been them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all have the capacity to be monsters. We all also have
the capacity to be more than that. Those of us who are privileged enough to
have the relative peace, safety, security, and time to reflect have the
opportunity to consciously choose how we want to be in the world. We need to
exercise our responsibility to choose.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So today, despite my anger and sadness and fear, I choose
not to hate. I choose not to demonize the people who carried out these attacks.
I choose to strive to understand rather than to contain and separate myself
from the horror. I choose to write these words to help me process my own
experience, and hopefully make a difference in how you process yours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
What do you choose?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1c9NXZ-y6n21eLUpG60c3Zo_Bh7kq3Fe7fwPazs9o-EWTolCkEsw7o9KuYLOpAMdzy6ygvTEVgtpl0sXbF0r0FrVyOJkvkzdx_N6CxszvHUA5MVeJUI-PV5H5NQqZwOSGMBmGNdp9cs/s1600/toronto-sign-france.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1c9NXZ-y6n21eLUpG60c3Zo_Bh7kq3Fe7fwPazs9o-EWTolCkEsw7o9KuYLOpAMdzy6ygvTEVgtpl0sXbF0r0FrVyOJkvkzdx_N6CxszvHUA5MVeJUI-PV5H5NQqZwOSGMBmGNdp9cs/s400/toronto-sign-france.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Christopher Mulligan/CBC News</span></span></td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-31682480053679832792015-08-08T08:34:00.000-07:002015-08-08T08:44:23.329-07:00BareAs if today wasn't everything I have,<br />
memory trails encoded in neural webs,<br />
flashes of light across synapses<br />
illuminate moments,<br />
feelings, places, times<br />
I'd sooner forget.<br />
<br />
Dare I squander another hour,<br />
another minute of this<br />
flash-in-the-pan existence<br />
before my energy is again strewn<br />
across the expanse,<br />
the void,<br />
to drift nowhere,<br />
out of time?<br />
<br />
Dare I be afraid of speaking truth,<br />
of emotions, of consequences,<br />
to standing naked against the wind,<br />
to shivers and goosebumps on skin,<br />
dare I hide behind a gripping fa<span class="st">ç</span>ade of shame?<br />
<br />
No, no.<br />
I have cowered in the shadows,<br />
I have run from the now.<br />
I know fear<br />
and all of its companions;<br />
I've tasted the blandness<br />
of living suppression.<br />
<br />
I have learned all I can<br />
from the dark.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhR02V4SfgXVISzkVbvqAF1HGLl1pzwuBGvHLlPe0VUKhcfywSJuCEym3ZGZuK8HoZ7FeCHAfwqZp7s4znkL7h7HLTmuedpP63FTPxIlfyk4OJDwf-kwXXJ9jfr2OEXje3RfzYLotpaY/s1600/standing-in-the-storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhR02V4SfgXVISzkVbvqAF1HGLl1pzwuBGvHLlPe0VUKhcfywSJuCEym3ZGZuK8HoZ7FeCHAfwqZp7s4znkL7h7HLTmuedpP63FTPxIlfyk4OJDwf-kwXXJ9jfr2OEXje3RfzYLotpaY/s320/standing-in-the-storm.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-6972288006157720932015-08-08T08:29:00.002-07:002015-08-08T08:42:11.110-07:00SuppressionNeither pride nor shame can keep us,<br />
not for long,<br />
not from life,<br />
from emotions that speak our truth,<br />
that we hide behind hands,<br />
looking away as if we could avoid<br />
getting wet in an ocean,<br />
clinging to flotsam,<br />
planks of wood, anything<br />
to keep us from being immersed,<br />
from feeling too much,<br />
like worms that fear the dirt,<br />
bats that fear nightfall,<br />
as we walk around<br />
trying to suppress sneezes<br />
in dusty, pollen-filled air.<br />
<br />
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MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-37831260404700828282015-02-22T16:51:00.002-08:002015-02-22T17:01:16.754-08:00Eulogy for Zaidy John<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZr9JR1OKMX-aO5mmq9HtOzhhIMtTPbGXtoKYL-RI_Yb_8tNe14XP7FvCEuSedAgL_XL71tQBKijRRPUqB-j5WuoH5R0K1Ux_fuiVG0Et-z10RKl_lxKtqHbB6W3Qp1VqmGLf5acgi5Eg/s1600/Zaidy+John.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZr9JR1OKMX-aO5mmq9HtOzhhIMtTPbGXtoKYL-RI_Yb_8tNe14XP7FvCEuSedAgL_XL71tQBKijRRPUqB-j5WuoH5R0K1Ux_fuiVG0Et-z10RKl_lxKtqHbB6W3Qp1VqmGLf5acgi5Eg/s1600/Zaidy+John.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;"> John Sauber was always known to us grandchildren as Zaidy John. Zaidy John was a bit of a superhero to my brothers and me growing up. I remember being in awe of his physical fitness, nutritional expertise (thanks in large part to my Bubbie Blemah), and his strength – I have distinct memories of him lifting up my brother Jesse and I, one on each arm, and each of us clinging on to his rock-hard biceps. I remember many birthday cards and letters to overnight summer-camp written in his perfect, almost computer-like penmanship – evidence of the fact that he would have made a fine surgeon. Going over to Bubbie and Zaidy’s was always an exciting time – sharing in his love of cooking and baking, eating special but healthy foods, playing games, going swimming, sweating in the dry sauna, and playing with the weightlifting equipment in the gym in their building. Zaidy had a way of cupping the water in his hands in the swimming pool and squirting it up like a fountain. I also remember his trick of seemingly removing his thumb and putting it back on – even when I found out how he did it, I could never do it quite as well as he did. I remember once after going swimming with Zaidy and showering to get the chlorine smell off in the change-room, I realized that I had forgotten my dry change of clothes up in his condo; he showed me how to wrap my towel around myself so that we could walk back upstairs together without me having to put my wet bathing suit back on. It was the small, caring gestures like this, the little, consistent kindnesses that embody the warmth, love, and good humour that Zaidy John provided for us as grandchildren. There was warmth in his eyes and excitement in his voice whenever he greeted us, a feeling of playfulness and safety when he was around. He was a source of nurturance, reassurance, and a role-model for us in our younger years, a symbol of both strength and compassion, of both joyful living and responsibility. Through his levity, wit, and kindness, he conveyed a feeling of unconditional positive regard, giving us an example of who we might aspire to be in the world.</span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Zaidy John didn’t have an easy life. In his late teens, he and his family were among the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews who fell victim to the Nazis in World War II. As my brothers and I grew older, Zaidy shared some of the horror stories of his past with us on several occasions. Over the years, I wrote poems inspired by what he told us, some of which I’ve included here:</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;">…after the war,/after being liberated from hell on earth,/Zaidy told me how he waited,/how every day he checked the lists,/hoping, yearning, anticipating/the reunion with his family.//</span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;">But that day never came.//I can only imagine the depression,/the despair and the loneliness/upon realizing that they were gone,/not knowing if, how, when, or where they died,/the uncertainty of whether or how/to move on, to start again,/to live./</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But somehow Zaidy John did live on. He survived, and he did much more than that. He immigrated to Canada, started a business, a family, and created a new life for himself. Our biological grandfather on our father’s side passed away before we were born, and so we never got a chance to know him. Through John’s marriage to our Bubbie Blemah later in his life, however, we were given the gift of having a paternal grandfather. By simply being who he was, Zaidy John taught us that family need not be determined by flesh and blood alone; he taught us that family is something we can choose to create through our word and our commitment, through our love and generosity. </span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He recalled to us on more than one occasion the warmth, love, and innocence of his childhood with his mother, father, and sister, and the subsequent tragedy of losing many of them in the Holocaust. Through being a part of our family, however, John also provided us with a vivid example of transcendence, the ability of the human spirit to turn towards love despite great reasons to fall into sorrow.</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My brother Jesse fondly recalls a road trip that he and John took to Pennsylvania one year for his grandchildren Daniel and Kyla’s bar and bat mitzvahs. As he recalls, Zaidy insisted on driving the whole way, and they even ended up in a pub late one night and eating junk food after a long day's drive. Jesse remembers this as a special trip and experience with John, and it holds a warm place in his heart.</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the fondest memories I have of my time with Zaidy are the fishing trips we went on together. I remember standing on a dock with Zaidy, going through various lures and baits in our tackle boxes, and casting out into the water together on a warm summer day. Neither of us caught anything off that dock, but it didn’t matter; I was utterly content to just be there, to be with him – fishing together with my Zaidy. Another time we were out on the lake together in a small boat and it started pouring rain – we got soaked on the way back in, but, again – it didn’t matter. We laughed about it and made the best of it. </span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Sometimes the past still comes up,”/he told me on our last fishing trip together./“It’s a part of me that will never go away.”//I’m grateful/that my Zaidy was courageous enough/to tell me what he went through.//I’m grateful that he was a survivor,/that he not only survived/but lived on after his real-life nightmare.//I’m grateful that he didn’t use going through hell/as an excuse not to try to create his own version of heaven on earth.//And I’m grateful that despite all the love he lost,/despite the pain of losing his entire family,/the memories, the dreams,/the questions without answers,/I’m grateful that he still loved,/that he still gave of himself,/that he refused to let his past/shape who he was in this world/and who he still is to me.</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">John’s resilient spirit persisted even as the challenges of illness and old age fell upon him. When my Bubbie Blemah began to develop Alzheimer’s dementia, my Zaidy was faced with another immense challenge in his life – he had to watch his partner and best friend slowly slip away, helpless at the mercy of an insidious disease. But even in his last several years, as his own health declined and my Bubbie’s mind deteriorated, he still loved and cared for her. Moments of genuine tenderness and affection were evident when we visited him; his love and devotion shone through all of the difficulties he was facing. His patience and compassion were more gifts that my Zaidy gave to the world.</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the past several years, I didn’t see Zaidy as much as I would have liked to. In my last visit with him at his home, I expressed my regret to him; I told him that I wished I had kept in better contact and been there for him more. He just looked at me and said: “the past is the past.” He told me that he understood that I was busy and living my life, which I know is what he wanted for me. Despite this, I still feel some regret. I think that I should have made more of an effort to make time for him, to call and visit more often, to repay him for the love and kindness that he showed me growing up. But I also realize now that Zaidy never placed those expectations on me. He always only wanted what was best for me and never asked me for anything in return. In some of the darkest and most difficult times in my life, he offered me support and encouragement; he let me know I was loved, that I would get through what I was going through, and he affirmed the strength that he saw in me. </span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today I am saddened not only because I’ve lost my Zaidy, a tremendous man and a source of unconditional love in my life, but also because I’ve lost the last living Holocaust survivor that I knew personally. I’ve lost one of my heroes. I feel a responsibility to carry his memory with me, both the legacy of family, kindness, and generosity that he instilled in me, and the history of adversity and hardship that he was forced to live through for the simple fact that he was born a Jew. John’s life reinforced in me the belief that discrimination and prejudice against our fellow human beings is fundamentally wrong and destructive, regardless of the basis upon which we discriminate. He was a living testament to the virtues of acceptance, tolerance, kindness, and the freedom that we all have to choose how we will face the adversities that life inevitably presents us. I’m grateful to have known my Zaidy John, and I will never forget.</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to close with a poem that I wrote for Zaidy several years ago. It’s called, “Change”:</span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschool" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I never understood/why your life was so hard/nor how you could go on/after all the pain you endured.//You lived through the Holocaust of World War II/and now you live through the holocaust/of your wife’s faltering mind.//You know, more than most,/how drastic change can be.//I don’t know why/someone as wonderful as you/should have so much hardship in his life,/but I’d be damned/if I didn’t know why/you are here today.//I remember/when you told my brothers and I/about living in the concentration camps./I remember a story you told us/about a father and son/who fought over the equal splitting/of a piece of bread/and I remember you telling us/that they did not survive.//I remember/and I listened/and I listen still/to every word you say.//Because, Zaidy,/you are one of the few people/in this world/that I can truly call/my hero.//I don’t know how/you found the strength/to move on after the war;/to change your mentality/from despair to determination.//I don’t know how/you find the patience and perseverance/to deal with Bubbie’s condition/day in and day out,/but I know that you do/and that is real courage.//I don’t care what blood/we do or do not share./you are my Zaidy,/I am your grandson,/and that will never change.//I thank God for knowing you/and I thank you for all you are,/all you do,/and all the love you share.//But most of all, I thank you for/finding the strength to live/and for being a beacon of light/in this seemingly darkening,/always changing world.//In the times that your light dims,/when you feel drained,/scared or uncertain,/I will be here for you.//Together/we will share our bread/and we will survive,/together.//I love you, Zaidy John,/and that will never change.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-6730419515982128842015-02-17T07:51:00.002-08:002015-02-17T07:53:47.032-08:00Fractured Relations - part two<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpFirst">
Convocation day.</div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
I invited both Mom and Dad,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
knowing it would be awkward<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
but not really caring;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
I wanted them both to be there,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
so they could both be proud of their
son.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Zaidy John came with Dad,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Mom came separately. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Afterwards,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
as we walked,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
I felt torn inside,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
wanting to address them both together<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
but not believing that I could.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Hugs and pictures for both,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
separately.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Zaidy John sat with Mom<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
as they talked, probably about <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Bubbie Blemah and her worsening
Alzheimer’s,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
and I talked with Dad,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
answering questions succinctly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
I sat there, feeling disoriented, and
watched us<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
as if from an outside perspective,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
perceiving a barrier between family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
as if some cruel hand had shattered the
rigid bonds<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
that once held us all together. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
“It’s funny how things turn out,”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
Mom said to me once,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
“Life is strange.”<br />
“It’s not strange or funny,”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
I replied,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
“it’s just the way it is.”<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
It’s just the way it is<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
and only God knows why.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
But my family didn’t die;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
it broke and then transformed,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
like roots breaking off a plant<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
and sprouting anew,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
like a love fractured at its core,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
fragments drifting apart into different
horizons,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
held together only by the sight<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
of fading memories<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpMiddle">
and living again in the breaths<o:p></o:p></div>
of altered lives.<br />
<div class="FUBBStylesOldschoolCxSpLast">
<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-61627932186067621772015-01-27T20:36:00.000-08:002015-01-27T20:38:40.559-08:0070 Years Later...How Should I Feel?Today marks 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet forces in World War II. As a third-generation survivor of the Holocaust, today I wonder: how am I supposed to feel?<br />
<br />
I inherited the history of my grandparents' survival. From a young age, I heard the horror-stories second-hand through my mother's words. As I grew, I became increasingly obsessed with the topic, this word, this <i>Holocaust</i>, and I read and learned as much as I could, trying to make sense of it all. I eventually heard the unfathomable tales distilled down to individual stories told to me by my grandparents; stories of unloading rotting corpses from cattle cars, sweeping up ashes of the dead from large crematoriums. Tales of being chased, persecuted, lied to, beaten and starved, of eating out of trash cans to survive and working through malnourishment and exhaustion to avoid being murdered. In the devastating poignancy and matter-of-factness of my grandparents' telling, I came to the only rational conclusion I could about the Holocaust: that there is no making sense of it. That human beings are capable of literally creating the nightmares that they imagine is not up for debate. History has proven too many times that people are capable of terrible things - and history continues to prove its point, over and over again.<br />
<br />
I came to another conclusion about the profound impact that my heritage had on me in my life: I'm alive because my grandparents survived. Had they not managed to beat the odds and survive the camps, if they hadn't then chosen to continue living their lives and create life despite the fact that the world had robbed them of them of the only lives they knew, then myself, my parents, my aunts and uncles, brothers and cousins, my nephews, and who knows how many countless generations to come would never have existed. We're alive because they survived.<br />
<br />
So today, knowing what I know about what happened, knowing that what happened seems to have made little difference in altering the course of history and preventing modern genocides from recurring, fearing that the only living survivor I personally know is nearing the end of his life and that within the next few decades there will be no first-generation Holocaust survivors left - how am I supposed to feel?<br />
<br />
I feel sadness and trepidation. I feel optimism and hope. I feel a bottomless despair and an insatiable yearning to make the world a better place in any way that I can.<br />
<br />
I don't think I'll ever fully come to peace or make sense of the existence of a place like Auschwitz. I don't think that what I write at this moment will offer me any relief, nor do I think I will necessarily provide any sense of life-affirming contextualization or resolution for the reader. But I guess it's better to feel something than to feel nothing - to care enough to read or write or simply remember than not to. It's worth feeling the pain of the millions of unlived lives for even just a moment if it makes us more grateful to live the lives we live today, if it makes us better parents, lovers and friends, or if it makes us think twice about how we treat the strangers we meet on the paths we traverse in our lives.<br />
<br />
Here's a song I wrote about the Holocaust at the age of 15:<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3654795306/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=e32c14/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=3929599388/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/blue-collar-worker-mixtape">Blue Collar Worker [Mixtape] by MC FÜBB</a></iframe>
<br />
<br />MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-11234091415789411792015-01-14T06:36:00.000-08:002015-01-14T06:47:20.493-08:00BeLonging<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: white;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: white;">January 13, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqBDWUEQFGH4gjbU0TVQV1fJ-v0MpZivo31kojuiKHu5L_LvZ3DOA98yHreShQbaShhb-c7_HJheajUUwtwa7JX0vmF6RN_vNoZ0xjEYUIve7qfAslU0h5c3nY5DBp0owLnS2nCnXsys/s1600/BeLonging+Cover8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqBDWUEQFGH4gjbU0TVQV1fJ-v0MpZivo31kojuiKHu5L_LvZ3DOA98yHreShQbaShhb-c7_HJheajUUwtwa7JX0vmF6RN_vNoZ0xjEYUIve7qfAslU0h5c3nY5DBp0owLnS2nCnXsys/s1600/BeLonging+Cover8.png" height="320" width="318" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"> “We all need to
belong, is that the wrong assumption?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">Will we always be longing for something?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;">–MC FÜBB<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><b>Toronto Hip Hop Artist MC FÜBB Releases New Project after
Two-Year Hiatus</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(Toronto, ON) – After a two-year hiatus since his last
official release (the critically acclaimed EP, the poet), Toronto hip hop
artist MC FÜBB has teamed up with producer/emcee Noyz to release their new
collaborative EP: BeLonging. Thematically centered around the fundamental human
need to belong, MC FÜBB weaves together notions of authenticity, creativity,
peace, and finding one’s place in the world as he raps over a rich instrumental
tapestry created by beat-smith Noyz. Featuring soulful vocals by Mike Devine on
“Belong” and the buzz single “Grace,” the end result is a cohesive, five-track
musical project that aims to strike emotional chords with listeners through
thought-provoking lyrics, inspiring melodies, and songs with high replay value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Here’s what Noyz has to say about the theme of new EP:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">“The title ‘BeLonging’ and the artwork is a reflection of
struggles that we all face. We don’t want to feel left out; we want a place
that feels like home, where we know we belong. However, within this longing, we
often miss out on the truth that we already do belong. We are all created from
the same materials and the same source, and as beings in this universe, the
feeling of belonging is something that should be natural and innate within all
of us. Finding and strengthening that connection is a lifelong journey.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">BeLonging isn’t the first time that FÜBB and Noyz have
worked together: in 2011, the two artists released In the Face of No Agreement
(aka ITFONA), a full length album exploring the theme of using hip hop as an
empowering vehicle for overcoming one’s internal obstacles. Noyz also produced
“Poetically Correct” on MC FÜBB’s EP the poet, and FÜBB featured on the song
“Keep Moving On” on Noyz’s album Degrees of Freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">A release party for the new EP will be held on Thursday,
February 5 at Studio Bar (824 Dundas Street West, Toronto), featuring
performances by MC FÜBB, Noyz, reggae/funk band The Responsables, music by DJ
Xplisit, and special guest appearances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Free streaming/download links to BeLonging:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/belonging-ep" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(includes instrumentals, acapellas, and clean versions of tracks
– DJs: Feel free to remix away!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/belonging-ep">https://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/belonging-ep</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/mcfubb/sets/belonging" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/mcfubb/sets/belonging">https://soundcloud.com/mcfubb/sets/belonging</a><span style="font-size: 13px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">For all media enquiries, please contact Daniel Farb at
mcfubb@gmail.com or call 647-201-9161.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">###<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Release Party + Show:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5ExmVdgdEIiz2uORkY7wHfqhd4y-s2_hyphenhyphen3ayOPIUS4MuMk-r5oLaaBlRUIoTJ1YxIRl-Ja_xoZgsFpok4OGIC07GrfXoFrxhjN8id8SxybpO5SP8zP7Om_c_DElqFAKKfpwurCFs0Oo/s1600/BeLongingFlyer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5ExmVdgdEIiz2uORkY7wHfqhd4y-s2_hyphenhyphen3ayOPIUS4MuMk-r5oLaaBlRUIoTJ1YxIRl-Ja_xoZgsFpok4OGIC07GrfXoFrxhjN8id8SxybpO5SP8zP7Om_c_DElqFAKKfpwurCFs0Oo/s1600/BeLongingFlyer.png" height="320" width="259" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Where: Studio Bar – 824 Dundas Street West, Toronto<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">When: February 5, 2015 – Doors at 8pm; show starts at 9pm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Come and celebrate the release of MC FÜBB and Noyz's new EP,
"BeLonging" (and a belated release celebration of MC FÜBB's previous
EP, "the poet")!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Featuring performances by: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">MC FÜBB<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(Hip hop emcee)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.mcfubb.com/">www.mcfubb.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Noyz<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(Hip hop emcee and producer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.noyzhiphop.com/">www.noyzhiphop.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">The Responsables <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(Live reggae/funk band)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/the-responsables">soundcloud.com/the-responsables</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Music supplied by DJ Xplisit <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">(Toronto's craziest beatboxing DJ!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.djxplisit.com/">www.djxplisit.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Tickets are $5 (+$1.29 Eventbrite fee) in advance via
Eventbrite: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/belonging-ep-release-party-tickets-15123761578">https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/belonging-ep-release-party-tickets-15123761578</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">$10 at the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">19+<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Cover includes a physical copy of the BeLonging EP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">For all media enquiries, please contact Daniel Farb at
mcfubb@gmail.com or call 647-201-9161.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">###</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2006127375/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=0f91ff/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://mcfubb.bandcamp.com/album/belonging-ep">BeLonging [EP] by MC FÜBB</a></iframe>
</div>MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-60841397637925127542014-11-08T10:06:00.001-08:002014-11-08T10:06:54.892-08:00Creation<div class="MsoNormal">
if I could just find a
place<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where I could just sit
back and create<o:p></o:p></div>
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and not worry about
fate<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d probably be
fulfilled beyond my wildest dreams, on the real<o:p></o:p></div>
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every wound I’d ever
received would probably start to heal<o:p></o:p></div>
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and I would never
worry again<o:p></o:p></div>
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never lack for a
friend<o:p></o:p></div>
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just the beat, the
microphone and my pen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
find utopia inside of
cornucopia of thoughts that I’m blessed with<o:p></o:p></div>
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questioning my purpose
would be out of the question<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
an infinite cypher in
session<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
creating with each
breath would be my only obsession<o:p></o:p></div>
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destiny constantly I’d
be manifesting <o:p></o:p></div>
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never losing sight of
my direction<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the course that I’m
etching like when stone meets the mason<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
breaking through the
walls that I’m facing<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eddie Bauer skating on
these tracks that I’m lacing<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
never compensating<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
my spiritual situation
is authentic creation<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta build something, heal something, feel
something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>creative pipeline I gotta drill something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta make something, take something, put at
stake something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>the sleeper inside, I gotta wake something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta choose something, prove something, gotta
move something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>to progress sometimes I gotta lose something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>tryna piece together what this life is about<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>looking forward to the day that I can figure it
out<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
tryna figure it out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
is this what living’s
about?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
does humility really
mean livin without?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or that just a
misinterpretation of the word<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to spend my life
chasing after paper seems so absurd<o:p></o:p></div>
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so how could I, why
would I,<o:p></o:p></div>
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live the only life I
have inauthentically, why should I?<o:p></o:p></div>
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appear as if we
belong, feeling like an outcast<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we end up in the same
place, who we tryna outlast?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to truly fit in, we
gotta fit with ourselves<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
if we refuse to face
our demons then we living in hell<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
you can act like you
don’t got ‘em but you lying to yourself<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ain’t nobody alive
without some shadows on shelf<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
how much energy expended
tryna hide our shame<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and in the process we
look for someone else to blame<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
keep ourselves
hostage, closed up and cautious <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we’d rather save face
instead of cutting our losses<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta build something, heal something, tryna
feel something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>creative pipeline I gotta drill something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta make something, take something, put at
stake something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>the sleeper inside, I gotta wake something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>gotta choose something, prove something, gotta
move something,<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>to progress sometimes I gotta lose something<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>tryna piece together what this life is about<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>looking forward to the day that I can figure it
out<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
tryna move a mountain
– a shovel at a time<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that’s like every word
I write if I try to force the rhyme<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
if I impose my will on
the process<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sometimes creativity
gets lost it’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
so delicate<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
so elegant<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
move with the stream
of thought but still stay relevant<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a chemist that’s
compounding the elements<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
is it real? can you
feel it? maybe that is the evidence/<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
driven by a force of
benevolence<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
so how I could be
hesitant?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that’s the role the
ego play<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
diminish its
influence, listen to what the beat’ll say<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One thing I tell you
is we got to be free” like the Beatles say<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not the only one”
that’s what the dreamers say<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe ‘em, I seen
‘em – I am one too<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
you believe in, your
reasons – but I’m not you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I ain’t tryna,
convince you – but I stay true<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
long as I got a beat
and mic check one two, c’mon</div>
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<br /></div>
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MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-84315836751518815802014-11-08T09:03:00.001-08:002014-11-08T09:04:08.026-08:00She – part two<div class="MsoNormal">
She’s courageous and honest,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
compassionate and kind,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
she holds me in her heart even when it hurts,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
even when the alarms sound and tell her to run,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
she holds me in her arms<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
when I fall apart<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and lets me go when I need to make moves,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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We hold each other’s hope when we can’t hold our own – <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
there’s never a question, never a second thought –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
holding it close until whatever storm has passed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I carry her in my heart,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
usually without knowing it,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I carry her warmth, her support, her love<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
into my work, into my words,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
into my music and my life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I may falter, but I will not fall;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I may retract, but I will not run.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter the fatigue,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
no matter the fear,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
no matter the ecstasy<o:p></o:p></div>
or the calamity.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVQn_cFMrovEQpzAZPjz8zZvzF-ziZpz6CLoLTduqDjfCK3hT7IU7isC-nRJXmQfl5xaEaJJnXruzmY7nRs_00opPuEWDSI3ikL7qXHABIC0hUOuDNmQ_Q1AGCk4yFT9u8LRQml_cFYQ/s1600/art-love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVQn_cFMrovEQpzAZPjz8zZvzF-ziZpz6CLoLTduqDjfCK3hT7IU7isC-nRJXmQfl5xaEaJJnXruzmY7nRs_00opPuEWDSI3ikL7qXHABIC0hUOuDNmQ_Q1AGCk4yFT9u8LRQml_cFYQ/s1600/art-love.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-87330395075767772122014-11-05T21:24:00.001-08:002014-11-05T21:24:53.653-08:00Being OK with Not Being OK - Part 1 – Identifying What Is<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
There is a prevalent and almost ubiquitous social conversation around
solving problems and “getting results” in our society. Since our earliest
education in the school system we are given problems and instructed as to how
to solve them. Our intelligence is judged largely by our aptitude to problem
solve, to think critically, to come up with solutions. My university education
essentially trained me to think analytically, to form logical arguments and
back them up with evidence – to find solutions and make sure they were well
fortified. This type of thinking, this analytical thought process, is useful
for many tasks in this world; some of humanity’s highest achievements have come
as a result of using these problem solving faculties of ours. When it comes to
dealing with matters of spiritual growth and development, however, analytical
thought can be a great detriment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there’s any lesson I've learned
from my own experience in facing personal demons and overcoming obstacles within
myself it’s this: growth can be very painful. When dealing with matters of the
soul, especially when compounded with mental health issues (of which I am no
stranger), the terrain can often be treacherous and the path uncertain. The
experience of going through personal transformation can be confusing and
downright terrifying, and it almost never happens overnight. The reality is
that there is often a great deal of pain and suffering that goes with this
thing we call being human, whether it’s an undercurrent to our daily lives or
it sticks out right in our faces. And for those who are in the midst of acute
suffering for which there is no easily identifiable cause, no amount of
immediate, pragmatic, goal-oriented problem solving is going to make much of a
difference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is no formula for spiritual
growth and no guarantee when it comes to transformation. There are many systems
and schools of thought as to how the process of human growth and development
occur in one’s life, and there is much common wisdom to be found in the various
philosophies, religions, and cultures of the world. Each human being, however,
is unique. As much as we have in common with each other as a species and as
similar as some of us may appear to be, we all have a unique set of circumstances
that make us who and how we are. From our genetic codes to our upbringings to
our beliefs and convictions, no two people are exactly identical. We don’t go
through things in exactly the same ways, at precisely the same times, or for an
identical set of reasons. For this reason, while we may find solace in certain
ideas presented by others and compassion, understanding, and even empathy from
those we encounter, it is close to impossible for two people to ever fully <i>be in the world and experience reality</i> in
exactly the same way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of the day, when we are
experiencing the pains of our particular human existences, there will always be
some degree to which we are alone. This is not to say that there can’t be great
comfort in sharing our thoughts and feelings with others and connecting with
other people – great relief and joy can be derived from human interaction,
especially in times of emotional turmoil. My point is that there’s some part of
our experience that will always remain so inherently subjective that no amount
of conversation, analysis, or investigation will reveal it fully to the mind of
an observer. This is why it is so important for us as human beings to learn to
be in tune with ourselves as we truly are, in ways that only we can know ourselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyirY8itDeJXz07D3cSpjfEUaeaoyjSbtS0UVk7weK9tK4HovRDmt8byJnhd5su0qBMqKvV9JHAK_MJ25Rp4gdsOM04usSbypIXU_Y9lvgiZd0IM7B88lWAfH2_qSVGZEgqvvHSJFQ6c/s1600/introspection-look-inside-oneself-know-thyself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyirY8itDeJXz07D3cSpjfEUaeaoyjSbtS0UVk7weK9tK4HovRDmt8byJnhd5su0qBMqKvV9JHAK_MJ25Rp4gdsOM04usSbypIXU_Y9lvgiZd0IM7B88lWAfH2_qSVGZEgqvvHSJFQ6c/s1600/introspection-look-inside-oneself-know-thyself.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> So
brings us to the most important and greatest challenge of being human: to be OK
with those parts of ourselves that nobody else can truly know. It is possible,
although not realistically feasible, to acquire evidence from the external
world as to the goodness, validity, or “OK-ness” of almost every aspect of
ourselves. Others can tell us that we are good people, that we are worthwhile,
or make a list of our traits for us, but no external description or account can
fully encompass all that we truly are. The parts of ourselves that only we can
know intimately, provided we are thoroughly honest with ourselves and that we
have the sufficient insight into our own psyches, are beyond the purview of
anyone but ourselves. If we are to have a significant and lasting respite from
suffering, or even a chance at true fulfilment in life, we must learn ways to
be OK with our deepest depths – the secret parts of us that nobody else can
see.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first step in the process of
learning to be OK with ourselves is to identify that which is the cause of our
pain; we need to know what it is that we are not OK with. It could be
depression, anxiety, or some form of mental illness, or some kind of compulsive
behaviour, insecurity, or fear that we carry around and are unable to get rid
of. Regardless of what it is, the experiences or feelings that are causing us
to suffer must be identified and characterized in some way that makes sense to
us. For lack of a better term, <i>the
syndrome</i> that we possess within us that is the source of distress needs to
be distinguished and named. We need to be able to identify it as something that
is, at least for the moment, intrinsically linked to ourselves, but at the same
time is <i>something that is not us</i>. A
person with depression, for example, must be able to distinguish themselves
from their depression. It may be something that encroaches on every aspect of
their experience of life and has real, tangible consequences, but nonetheless
the person in their entirety cannot be said to <i>be the</i> <i>same as</i> their
depression. Said another way, the person must acknowledge that they have
depression, that the depression is linked to them, but they as a person are
nonetheless distinct from their depression.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It can be quite difficult to
distinguish oneself from the syndrome being experienced, especially when we are
talking about matters of the mind. When lost in the whirlwind of thoughts,
feelings, sensations, perceptions, and the like which make up our conscious
experience, especially when the totality of such experiences are intense,
confusing, or painful, it can be very hard to maintain a distinct sense of
selfhood. Perhaps the greatest danger is to identify too much with one
particular thought, feeling, internal voice, thought-pattern, or aspect of
experience such that it becomes indecipherable from one’s true self. It should
also be noted that the purpose of distinction of oneself from one’s experiences
is not to cut off or completely compartmentalize one’s experiences. In the same
way an arm or leg is part of us, our thoughts and feelings are part of us. It
would be strange, however, if one were to say, “I am my leg” in an indefinite
sense. The totality of what makes a person who they are cannot be restricted to
one particular experience or syndrome. It is when a person completely
identifies with one’s suffering as <i>who
they are </i>or wholly indistinct from themselves that the suffering becomes
unbearable. Conversely, if one perceives one’s experience of suffering as
completely outside their control, as if their syndrome has all the power to
continually inflict itself upon the sufferer, that hopelessness and despair may
also become a reality. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-22358570105479692562014-02-25T09:17:00.000-08:002014-02-25T09:17:14.625-08:00Late Shift Cypher #5 - Toronto-themed verses over "Still D.R.E." by Dr. DreI'm the second emcee spitting in this one...
<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/136582225&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true"></iframe>MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-88174224291342042522014-02-13T16:10:00.001-08:002014-02-13T16:11:14.260-08:00Verse over "Ni**as in Paris" InstrumentalHere's a little 16 I recorded as part of the Late Shift Cypher at <a href="http://www.euphonicsound.com/" target="_blank">Euphonic Sound Studio</a>. First time professionally recording something in over a year...<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134281266&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-32580470663645217462013-11-10T10:25:00.003-08:002013-11-10T10:26:08.285-08:00Integration<div class="MsoNormal">
I wear the garments of
past transgressions<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
over wounds that
festered<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but still somehow
healed,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
covering recent scabs
and scratches,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
battle-scars that I no
longer wear proudly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wear the garments
proudly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reminding me that love
permeates even madness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that even the oozing
of raged-filled thoughts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
can be halted, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that disparate parts
of oneself can be galvanized,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
inspired to converse,
to coalesce,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that even in what
appears as utter chaos<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
one can chart a
course,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
non-linear,
unpredictable,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but a course
nonetheless,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that the destination
of the present moment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
can be found even in a
mind distended<o:p></o:p></div>
across generations.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fractalartcontests.com/2007/showentry.php?entryid=305&return=winners" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2bZPTFLFbaO_a9UaYWHCQr2hw8e3-keGyU3un53iWINJrRRG53ifs6HyUXcYu7J_3Zrrh-P07UyuFtdKpO9h9VWLx4AJvGaOJoKlXi_EFepyxiOsIfnMyLilXjNZgP0_krfL-uzy6BQ/s320/ldx0wUEMupbz8o72dJBcjFFWMz4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-51231210845552010792013-09-05T09:23:00.002-07:002013-09-05T09:27:50.672-07:00Forge<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
a fluid mosaic</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
slapped onto a rusted
iron anvil,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
hammered down upon with
increasing ferocity, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but it does not bend,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it does not splash,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it does not so much as
move.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I try to make sense of
it all,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of the reasons why I’ve
done what I’ve done,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
seeking some sort of
underlying logic,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a noble, mysterious
truth,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or perhaps just
counterfactual justifications<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
overlapping simpler
explanations,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a steel rod<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that spends no time in
the forge<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
cannot be manipulated
by the blacksmith;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
perhaps it is the same
with any craft,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with even us artists,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who need time for
pressure to build<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
before we can have a
say<o:p></o:p></div>
in the how and when of
our creativity’s release<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdM-Y-FDPocE1qQ-Jmld2N2qGK5vRHNoITYUjQqKSxmfR2qf_tFKnWyFRx_-epC764992F4Px_-1JBjgPUcpbuhG_HiZZ8ucOKKgjCeY9wFeJabmgKyHLEaxY-W90caETjz91-QhPMEw/s1600/blacksmith-s-forge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdM-Y-FDPocE1qQ-Jmld2N2qGK5vRHNoITYUjQqKSxmfR2qf_tFKnWyFRx_-epC764992F4Px_-1JBjgPUcpbuhG_HiZZ8ucOKKgjCeY9wFeJabmgKyHLEaxY-W90caETjz91-QhPMEw/s320/blacksmith-s-forge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-5761703412191034782013-08-14T18:39:00.001-07:002013-08-14T18:41:04.199-07:00Stained Glass<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
through stained glass,
peering</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
shades and hues that
shift like the wind;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
seemingly arbitrary
directions to us,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
mathematically precise
according to<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
barometric laws,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
pressurized systems of
neural connections,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
more complicated than
Freudian hydraulics,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
simpler than an fMRI
scan<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
would have us believe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the greens sometimes
seem greener<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
when the sun shines
brighter,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
yet the lake feels
warmer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
after a cold rain<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in a realm where
logical formulas break down,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
only keeping relevance
insofar as they are applied <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in perfectly
appropriate fashion,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
impossible when
applied by imperfect creatures<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
trying to navigate the
ocean,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
trying in vain to
predict the currents of the wind<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bBDVmx6RJzOTBlhmqTfezNAciIX30unMBJXX8qB5CjcNbq_w_ajOqJqjC3nKtWQIVzO-v1OLeY-vfAhgYcZgp6sVkraPtwuUKm3A4ErP-4lsqd4Kc_iVFnTFyRt6eCp_CSSvr9CLl50/s1600/gallery_2569_1882_57565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bBDVmx6RJzOTBlhmqTfezNAciIX30unMBJXX8qB5CjcNbq_w_ajOqJqjC3nKtWQIVzO-v1OLeY-vfAhgYcZgp6sVkraPtwuUKm3A4ErP-4lsqd4Kc_iVFnTFyRt6eCp_CSSvr9CLl50/s1600/gallery_2569_1882_57565.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-32704224279434328522013-08-12T11:22:00.000-07:002013-08-12T11:22:22.117-07:00Creation<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
that I might have the
audacity to dream again,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
something a man said
about the audacity of hope<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
still echoes in my
head,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
something that the
people embraced<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but didn’t run too far
with<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
perhaps it was just a
seed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
cast into the wind,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to land on either fertile
soil<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
or solid rock,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a fate up to the
currents of the air<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that I might again
give form to the formless,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
mold from thoughts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
something that can be
heard, seen, felt,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
even if when cast into
the wind<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
it ends up being a
pebble <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
flung into the ocean<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
at least I’d make a
ripple,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
at least I’d move
matter,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
at least I’d do
something that could not otherwise<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
have been done<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that I might find the
will to create<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
again<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-16228580505291303052013-05-16T08:22:00.000-07:002013-05-16T08:22:03.601-07:00Another excerpt from my first draft..."<span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Some of us become obsessed with controlling every aspect of ourselves as
we strive for this distorted and impossible ideal of self-mastery. Adam and Eve
covering their naked bodies in the parable of the Garden of Eden is a mirror of
our modern sense of self-consciousness and our shame at the fact that we are, from
a scientific perspective, biological organisms. Our obsession with self-control
manifests itself in a sort of Freudian reaction-formation in regard to
ourselves; we consume ourselves with activities and methods of distancing
ourselves from whom and what we truly are. We cover our bodies with fashionable
clothes, put make-up on our faces, colour and style our hair, spend hours
body-building or tanning, or make sure we are seen with certain people, in
certain places, and under certain circumstances to raise our esteem in the eyes
of others. In essence, because we are so obsessed with controlling the
ultimately uncontrollable facts about ourselves, we do everything we can that </span><i style="text-indent: 36pt;">is</i><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"> within our control to compensate for
our sense of powerlessness. And in doing so, we disregard vital aspects of our
humanity and lose touch with our authentic selves."</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-36821085008804669302013-04-21T15:26:00.000-07:002013-04-21T15:29:20.684-07:00Inspirational Words: E. E. Cummings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ47QAB6Z6YRVTmirf5KIuIUEeBvlytEPe6-LWpHQ7i0gfBh_VLwArkBZaVRczBboNCM_mVUv-pYWdqarGq6fpOyKYnnYx5mDtCkJpjgKuopPjlT2o1NEPhWNepMkklfG-GEXUPQz-6Q/s1600/eecummings1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ47QAB6Z6YRVTmirf5KIuIUEeBvlytEPe6-LWpHQ7i0gfBh_VLwArkBZaVRczBboNCM_mVUv-pYWdqarGq6fpOyKYnnYx5mDtCkJpjgKuopPjlT2o1NEPhWNepMkklfG-GEXUPQz-6Q/s320/eecummings1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings" target="_blank">e. e. cummings</a> was and remains to be one of the most well-known American poets of the 20th century. In addition to writing thousands of poems, he was an essayist, author, painter, and a playwright. He's written some of the most beautiful arrangements of words in the English language and a few of them are below.<br />
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Read. Feel. Be inspired.<br />
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<br />MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-57953759819510993942013-04-03T13:54:00.004-07:002013-04-03T13:57:53.385-07:00So I'm writing a book...As I've shared with some of you, I'm currently in the process of writing a book, tentatively titled "The Other Side of People." This book will be an amalgamation and synthesis of the knowledge, wisdom, experiences, and information I have accumulated over my lifetime. I don't want to say much more at this point, as much of it has yet to be written, but here is an excerpt from part of the first chapter of the first draft that I'm working on:<br />
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<i>As human beings, we are not just biological organisms driven by
survival-based motivations and needs to achieve homeostasis in our bodies. Nor
are we merely vessels for thought, shells in which information is processed
like a computer. We are not only waves of emotion being thrown about by the
whims of external forces and internal pressures as we react to our
environments. We are a synthesis of all these things and a multitude of other
characteristics that make up the multifaceted existence and experience of being
human. Most of all, we are persons; gestalts which are greater than the sum of
the individual pieces of which we are composed and greater than the manner in which our parts are
arranged. </i></div>
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Stay posted for more updates.</div>
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MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821510093358545824.post-59181505991588683362013-03-15T09:08:00.000-07:002013-03-15T09:08:38.842-07:00CocoonNot everything that cocoons<br />
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becomes a butterfly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A butterfly needs to undergo complete metamorphosis<o:p></o:p></div>
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at a cellular level,<o:p></o:p></div>
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each part of it transforming, shifting, changing,<o:p></o:p></div>
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in a delicate process that, if disturbed<o:p></o:p></div>
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can result in death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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People often enter cocoons of their own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes it is necessary to cocoon,<o:p></o:p></div>
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to lose old ideas, beliefs, perspectives,<o:p></o:p></div>
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and gain new faculties and sensibilities;<o:p></o:p></div>
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to emerge with new possibilities for life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But not every caterpillar that enters a cocoon<o:p></o:p></div>
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sprouts the wings it needs to fly.<o:p></o:p></div>
MC FÜBBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04546194642401395114noreply@blogger.com0