Orange County is Rich

While purchasing a $1.50 box in an innocuous strip mall right off Bristol & Jamboree, I noticed how many suits are eating lunch at a place called Pascal’s Épicerie. Come to think of it, I always see the hottest women and fanciest cars when I have business in this strip mall full of salons and, inexplicably, a Coco’s. Well no shit, one direction down Jamboree straddles Irvine/Newport Beach and is lined with big tech office buildings. Every side street in the other direction leads to a host of gated communities full of homes worth $1.7 million (median). Jamboree passes two country clubs and a mere golf course by the time it hits Pacific Coast Highway.

About a mile away, down PCH and off Dover, my sister lives in the “ass end” of Newport. Her apartment complex is one of few vaguely affordable places in the area and attracts all the beach riffraff who aren’t quite white supremacist enough to move to Huntington Beach. Despite gainful employment as a lawyer (for the county), she has no chance of being able to afford a house or condo even in this ass end.

Grocery Shopping: 8/21 – 8/29

Ralphs – 8/21 – $34

Coupon Items:
2 x Tree Top Juice – $1.00 (retail: $6.00)
5 x Lean Cuisine Frozen Crap – $6.35 (retail: $15.00)
Jose Ole Frozen Skillet Meal – $2.99 (retail: $7.59)
Degree Deodorant – $0.50 (retail: $4.49)

Saul Willliams’ Verse from Sage Francis – Sea Lion

I’ve searched for the lyrics to Saul Williams’ verse from the extended version of Sage Francis’ song Sea Lion multiple times and have not found them, so I decided to do the internet a favor:

Oh God I think I’m dead
I can’t see outside my head
Brains and Bloods and cryptic gangmen,
czars and warlords breaking bread

(8/2) Trip Report, Pt. 2: OCD, Addiction, Authenticity

T + 70 minutes: Done puking and I head downstairs for a smoke. Usually I don’t throw up until I absolutely can’t stand the nausea, then everything is perfect afterwards. This time I try a new strategy of only holding out an hour and not prolonging the torture, but the plan backfires. I’m still sick. Moreover, I’ve convinced myself this trip is going to be worthless. My mind isn’t racing yet. There’s nothing left for the mushrooms to show me. Just gonna have to grind out the unpleasant effects and wait until I come down.

Staggering around in vague figure-eights in the backyard, I notice the dog eying me suspiciously. I’ve never put much stock in the “animals KNOW” theory, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests it. My behavior tonight has been far outside the norm. Animals react to behavior, and I’m in a suggestible state where everything seems different to begin with.

(8/2) Trip Report, Pt. 1: The Car Salesman

I’ve been working on this since 8/2 and decided to break it up into multiple parts so I could keep working instead of constantly getting distracted with edits. This is nominally a trip report in that I am reporting on a trip, but it is more a collection of druggy thoughts.

Something I link to a little further down is the text of a speech on the history of the non-medical use of drugs in the United States. It delves into the origins of drug illegalization, specifically marijuana, without any explicit commentary on what the status should be today. The history clearly points to a pack of lies, but that itself does not entail anything: you can be right for the wrong reasons, although being wrong is more likely. Pro or con, there is something to learn from this link, so here it is again. It’s mostly unrelated to what follows, but so damn interesting.

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“Shrooms are poison, that’s why they make you feel nauseous and hallucinate.” No, they aren’t. They’re just really hard for the human body to digest, which should also make you think. I’ve had these exact same thoughts before, I realize, as I look at pieces of barely digested mushroom float around the toilet in a mélange of juice and bile.

Thursday, 8/2/07 – 10:30pm. T + 60 minutes. Dose: 3.5 grams, Psilocybe cubensis, dried.

FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS WILL KILL YOU!!!

If you break one open and drink the delicious mercury within, it might. On the other hand, mercury use was once “thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health,” and we all know ancient peoples were far more in touch with the planet than we are today. Or you could go as mad as a hat-wearing Chinese emperor – it’s all in the cards. On April 16th, 2007, the reputable WorldNetDaily ran this EXCLUSIVE on the dangers of energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs. It was quickly picked up by Fox News! and other conservative media outlets.

“Those environmentalist pigfuckers,” I thought, blatantly plagiarizing, “endangering my health to push their hippy agenda.” It was a broken lamp that put me on this thread, and during a brief search for a replacement I came across startling information: General Electric is, allegedly, a major player in the push for adoption of CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps/lights). They must make them, or something. Sure they last longer, which will eventually reduce bulbmaker sales, but they cost so much more and I bet the profit margin is higher as well. Work in a few municipalities banning the sale of incandescents and that’s a profit explosion worth controlling the media for. GE is the principal owner of NBC Universal, responsible for the hit entertainment show the “NBC Nightly News”. No wonder I had to turn to Fox for my fair and balanced news.

A Diamond is Forever

That’s the line the De Beers cartel decided to sell to impressionable Americans starting in the late 1930s (the literal line itself, in 1947). Those shiny bits of carbon of artificial scarcity and fixed prices didn’t sell themselves – considering there was no long-term or widespread historical tradition of diamonds containing value or imparting status. Diamonds are no gold.

Recorded history of diamonds used in engagement/wedding rings takes us back over 500 years, a (true) fact pushed by the “history of the engagement ring” websites run by jewelers. No reference to the “standard” diamond engagement ring being a result of a De Beers advertising campaign, or that many other countries (including those that can afford diamonds) stick to simple gold bands or rings mounted with other gems. I’d wager most Americans believe the diamond engagement ring is dominant throughout most of Europe. For all the glorious background, read THIS PIECE from The Atlantic written by Edward Jay Epstein. I know… it’s long. The first few pages deal with the relevant engagement ring/ad campaign issues. Here is the brief.

Amway/Quixtar: Comment Analysis

A brief analysis/commentary on the comments I’ve received in regards to writing about Amway/Quixtar, which has resulted in 2,238 of my 3,277 total views. What I’ve learned about guiding traffic: use words like “evil” and “cult”, then comment and get an early pingback on a blog that will end up getting tens of thousands of hits.

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wow – now I read your original post and I see where you’re coming from. You’ve been educated by the Anti-MLM zealot school of circular reasoning -

I believe MLM is a pyramid therefore it has the characteristics and failings of a pyramid therefore it is a pyramid.

Comment by ibofightback | July 30, 2007

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August Expense Report; Month To Date

Unavoidables
Rent & Utilities: $605
Cell Phone: $62
Credit Cards: $61
Food & Toiletries: $174
Gas: $75
Transportation, Other: $16

Intellectual Tradition: A Truexian Shoutout

A quick conversation or single comment can change the way one looks at the world. “Wow, I never really thought about it that way,” is one of my favorite phrases to use and hear. This goes beyond acknowledgment of being right (or wrong); it is the simple joy of sharing ideas and learning how others view the world. There are two distinct ideas passed on to me by Dr. Truex that have greatly impacted my intellectual development and understanding of the world.