Amadeo Sogni

“Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil’s Dictionary

So I was watching clips of Bush addressing the Nation and I really realized something. The country deserves him. The more time I spend on the internet reading people’s comments and just listening to folks…this country probably deserves a moron in charge. They deserve someone who they’d drink beers with to make decisions that will have an effect on the lives of them and their children. As I listened to him he reminded me of all the strongly opinionated people with very few facts who try to make themselves sound more intelligent then they are. At the same time, as he stammered, “the market is interconnected”…I could see a legion of people at home going, “ohhhhh”. I’m no economist…but frankly when I hear Bush speak on the subject I start to feel like a genius. I realize what the American public truly wants is not to feel challenged. We are a nation of star quarterbacks who didn’t go to college. Prom queens who’ve gained weight and married someone who’s a loser. We’re a nation that hates Bill Gates success because he represents every geek and nerd that was looked down upon as a teenager and excluded and is now living the life we feel should be ours. While he was actually working we were screwing around and enjoying the fruits of fortune. Now we’re playing catch up. We work crappy ass jobs and the popularity of High School no longer applies. We’re not as in shape anymore. We were never very clever and since we were popular we didn’t have to have a personality. So now we are confronted with a President who is “folksy” (read: stupid and a poor speaker), a guy who shoots from the hip…he’s like the vengence on behalf of all of us. Well…maybe not us. I am really a Barack type of guy…I’ve never been homeless but I did watch my family work hard to provide. I didn’t fit…even amongst a bunch of kids of the same race. I’ve fought and worked hard to get where I am, but I understand that I’m still a subject of criticisim and hatred just because of other peoples preconceptions. Even more important…I’m at the point where I really don’t care. What does annoy me…is that a moron like Bush can be the peoples champion…and they deserve it…but it’s those same people that hate me for nothing and hinder the progress of the rest of us. So, Bush completes America and they deserve him and the nerds still have to suffer…along with the geeks and the people who don’t make up the majority. Whoa unto us all.

“Not for myself I make this prayer
But for this race of mine
That stretches forth from shadowed places
Dark hands for bread and wine”

Countee Cullen

So I went to the Governors Grants Conference on Monday. First I have to say…can we all stop with the themes? Jerry Macquire was a few years back so making the them “Show Me The Money”, while appropriate just kinda grates on my nerves. What’s worse is that was a pretty mild one compared to some that I’ve been to.

Anyway so inbetween writing down websites, figuring out who I can target for funding and going outside to smoke cloves, I actually did get some good information to share with all of you.

You can’t work in my field without keeping an eye on politics. Regime changes and new policies have an impact on where we will get money from and if we will be able to…not to mention how much money will actually be around. In addition to people from the state government we had a lot of people from the federal government.

First thing you would be interested to know:

Marcia Howard is the Director of Federal Fund Information for States…if you want to know what federal money goes to what state and how much you should call her…reporters I’m talking to you as well. Anyway she let us know that Sarah Palin (despite the record profits I keep hearing about from oil) has gotten more money for Alaska in recent years then any other state as received…save for two states in one year…Mississippi and Louisiana…I’ll let you figure out which year that was.

During lunch the Keynote speech was given by Ray Scheppach, Executive Director of the National Governors Association. He was a kind enough gent, but we all wondered if he sat at home staring at a picture of his family while holding a gun in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. Dude basically has been interacting with every Governer in the country for the last 20 years. He spoke about what we could expect on state levels depending on who was elected President. I’ll spare you the details and just say you have a choice…bad or worse. The issue is that states aren’t going to feel what’s happening now until after the election. He basically said that going by the policies they have outlined things would be bad for us under Barack Obama…and even worse under McCain. We can’t avoid what’s coming and even with fairly responsible approach we’ll still feel the pinch.

Having said that I came up with an idea that, the longer I think about it, could potentially set my career…until I can get it moving I ask you all to send donations…not to me…but to my girl. That way she can be my sugar mama and I can catch Pardon the Interruption in the Afternoon. Thank you for your support.

“What makes community organizing especially attractive is the faith it places in the ability of the poor to make decisions for themselves.”
Paul Wellstone

Dear Mrs. Palin…Fuck You….

Community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest and compel others to join them. While organizing describes any activity involving people interacting with one another in a formal manner, much community organizing is in the pursuit of a common agenda. Many groups seek populist goals and the ideal of participatory democracy.

Here are some community organizers you may be familiar with:

Martin Luther King Jr.
William Wallace
Paul Revere, John Adams, John Hancock and the Sons of Liberty
The Goddamn FOUNDING FATHERS OF THIS COUNTRY
The Newsboys of 1899

Shut your dumb ass up. Community Organizer do that work that people like you and McCain come and take pictures in front of for publicity. Community organizers thwarted you as mayor when you tried to fire that Librarian. I pray you get eaten by a polar bear…that is all.

I haven’t seen alot of mention about it…well not as much as I should have, but Julius Carry died on the 19th. He played in several movies and several television shows. However, we will honor him mainly for one role….SHO’NUFF. Bow your heads and kiss some Converse in rememberance.

Sho’nuff: Get up, Leroy. I got somethin’ real fo’ yo’ ass in these hands.

Theater Patron: Why don’t you sit down and shut up? Sho’nuff: What? Why don’t I sit down and what?
Theater Patron: I said why don’t you sit down and shut up?
Sho’nuff: Why don’t anybody who wants me to sit down and shut up come down here and make me? Why don’t any fifty of you who want me to sit down and shut up come down here just for the fun of it?

Sho’nuff: I AM the Shogun of Harlem!

Good article about Mr. Carry and Sho’nuff.

“Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. “
Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil’s Dictionary

Hey kids. I thought I’d talk about something else that’s been on my mind for a while. While I am a law abiding citizen there are some forms of crime that I admire. Cat burglary and Cons are easily two of my favorite crimes. See If I want to commit armed robbery…it’s pretty easy. Just about anyone can accomplish this. A Con artist, however, is so much more beautiful at work. Just think of it. Instead of taking your money by force…I’m going to convince you to give it to me and I’ll make you think that you’re actually winning in the situation. That is until you realize you are a sucker and I have all your money. I’m certain most of us get the feeling that politics is basically a con. Consider the profession that breeds many politicians…the law. Rather lawyers becom politicans. People who have been trained to interpret and turn facts until they suit that person’s ideal desire. While some cases may have a more set outcome based on the facts, others are worked simple from two different points of view based around the same set of facts until one either plants doubt or instills confidence in order to bring about an outcome they desire. As much as people hate lawyers, I’d rather thin the herds of politicians. Mind you, my biggest issue with politicians is…us. Even a Con man has a hard time beating someone who is rational and observant, remember the saying, “If it’s too good to be true…”.

To the point then: The Hegelian Dialectic is the invention of artificial extremes (”thesis'’ and “antithesis'’) which superficially conflict with each other, and the synthesis from that conflict of a goal, which is made to appear to be the product of consensus. Or a shorter summary, is promoting two opposing forces with your end goal being what results from their struggle. Or for a better example….it’s modern politics. The names have changed but it’s the same principle. We used to focus on Republican and Democrat, now the shift is increasingly towards Conservative and Liberal. The thing is this…both are just opposing sides of the same arguments pushed to extremes. It becomes most clear when we talk about wedge issues. Issues that are used and thrown out to polarize various groups in effort to bring out as many voters as possible. The thing is the wedge issue isn’t the goal of the person who puts it into play. They have used a form of propaganda to energize a conflict…the fallout being a goal beyond the inital vote. I’ve thought about it more because it’s clear in recent events. 9/11 and the lead up to Iraq is perfectly explained in the above quote by Hermann Goering. However, it’s more prevelant in our politics. Two sides crashing against each other neither truly forwarding their cause. The thing is to see who profits. I see alot of debates over politics and policy. Debates that become heated and often seem to only be debates for the sake of the thrill. The back and forth has no ending. Thus one synthesis is stagnation. Meanwhile the world keeps turning. The debaters just anchor it they don’t determine the direction. Which is even more ironic. When you consider most wedge issues tehy rarely have an effect on one group. Pro Life vs. Pro Choice…if a woman is Pro Life what effect does legalized abortion have on her? If 50% of marriages end in divorce…does giving gays the right to marry really have a negative effect on marriage? Does teh effect change when you rename it something else? These two issues are actually pushed forth by one of the oldest wedge issues…religion. So the question becomes, with the back and forth who profits? Hell, just follow the money.

“One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person. “
William Feather (1908 - 1976)

Oh yes, I’m sure someone saw that title and is already writing an entire dissertation in my comment section. For the rest of you who actually read what follows thanks for using your internet hate machine for the love. Mind you my only beef with feminism is I hate all of the -isms and -ists. Environmentalists, Feminists, Africanists and so forth. I think when we get caught up on one issue or how anything relates to that one isse we collectively fail. Who really gives a shit about saving trees and whales when people don’t care enough to save each other…hell, plenty of people aren’t even trying to save themselves. So every person who runs around chanting and protesting in reference to one issue is losing. Everything is connected and if you aren’t trying to help everyone evolve then you’re just scooping buckets of water from a hell-bound boat.
To the topic at hand:

Feminisim is before it’s time and outdated. Yes that’s a paradox. Society may be ready for certain ideas…but it isn’t always ready for the of the fallout from those ideas. In some ways society moves forward, but certain things that have been with us for a centuries can’t be shaken off in a few decades. It doesn’t work like that. Additionally, people who call themselves feminists need to really examine all the sub-groups that fall under that title and what the general goal actually is…Equality. What comes with equality is not entirely welcome by many who have received it. In the framework of equality comes a lot of hardship and struggle. In addition it means taking on new problems that are more difficult to navigate due to simple unfamiliarity. One of the biggest things that comes to mind is marriage. Why would that be difficult? I’ll start from something very simple and work my way up. The average age of marriage differs by about 3 - 5 years between men and women. Women have always tended to marry younger then men. Traditionally at a certain age, unmarried women were looked at as heading towards old maidship (I don’t care if it’s not a word). Lately, I’ve seen a lot of women freaking out about their prospects for marriage (especially black women). The reasons for such a dim perspective aren’t hard to grasp for me anyway. It’s partially old thinking in a new world combined with new thinking in an old system. Consider that at one time the average age for a woman to be married was 24. The average ages for men to be married are normally 3 -4 years older then women. So if now instead of a woman just looking for a suitable husband, she goes to college, graduate school and starts a career, it’s kind of easy to imagine the average age of marriage increasing. The issue here is a lot of women aren’t thinking along these lines. I hear a lot of women who aren’t even 24 discussing their bleak outlook for marriage. In addition to this…the average woman is looking for a man of equal or higher education and income to settle down with. So this also pushes the average age for men up. The real problem here is one thing changed a lot faster then the other and people weren’t ready for it. Ramifications. Not to mention that the whole country shifted from manufacturing so now more people need to go to school in order to earn a decent wage.

I start thinking of it like the immigration issue. People are complaining about Mexicans taking jobs and so forth, but has anyone really considered what would happen if we could deport those here and prevent any others from coming it? What would really happen with a lot of the jobs that they have? I’d imagine alot wouldn’t be filled, food prices would go up and other things would happen I’m not even considering. Same thing with PETA, what would happen if people did all of the things they wanted? What business would be affected, would a nation of vegans be overrun with wild cattle?

Really, I think my main issue is the same one I have with feminist lobbyists over certain issues…like the military. Lobbyists may push for a certain change…but they aren’t in alignment with women who are actually in the military. I’m already wary of of people who lobby in general. Like the NRA…they seem to lobby against anything that they percieve as any change (that they haven’t pushed for) in gun laws. Like here they don’t want the city to make it mandatory that you report a stolen gun within 48 hours. Hard for me to understand.

Anyway I think these ramifications are things society in general is feeling, but hasn’t really acknowledged all of the causes. Something that was the social norm for a long time has changed in a much shorter period and there are severe growing pains that go along with it. The real issue is that it has been made a singular issue. Nothing exists in a void in this world. It’s important to consider that everything will affect something else. Scientists learn this when their discoveries are applied in violent ways that they hadn’t intended. What also intrigues me is that the place in which we now stand is actually more favorable to radical feminists. Those who would be willing to do away with men can find more traction in current environment to live close to their vision unlike those who simply want equality and don’t view men as an adversary or threat. The problem with feminism is that it has moved very fast and, not even mentioning men, women as a whole haven’t had time to adjust. What would those mothers of decades ago who dreamed that their daughters would be able to pursue a career that was out of their own reach say now to young women who have fulfilled an education and career, but question how and if they will be able to pursue the creation of a family?

Just wondering.

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Since I have been in the working world I’ve had some very great lessons in what not to do with your company or organization. I have extensive and detailed notes. So evey now and again I look at the people I know and think if I had a company who would I hire and how would I use them?

1969 - Office Manager/Human Resources - So I figure who would be better then to handle your employees, the general day to day and quash disputes then a married mother of two with a sense of humor? I figure you need the right mix of compassion and the ability to see through bullshit. Who has that better then someone who deals with two young boys and people in the hospitality industry.

Dallas Penn - Public Relations - This one was easy. Not only does Dally (Yes Outsiders) have the wordplay to work prospective clients, but he also sends out the dopeness that makes you feel appreciated. Hell if he hadn’t sent some of the stuff he did, I might not have been motivated to pick up the G.I. Joe action figures I picked up. Plus he stay fresh so clients will stay caught up on his gear while he’s reeling them in.

Catherinette - Personal Assistant - I have learned that an assistant, receptionist, secretary is one of the most important people that an organization can have. They are the face of your company to alot of people and they know where all the bodies are buried. If you want to be able to get a people in any organization make sure they like you. On the other side of things this is the person that insulates you from assholes. I need someone funny for this position so I can have laughs about how upset they get when people can’t reach me.

Stuff Black People Hate - D.O.A. (Destroyer of Assholes) - I realized, after seeing crass supervisors, that even they could have a place at a company. See I don’t like ignorant people. What I do enjoy is telling them off letting them know that they should never come around again. This is what that position is all about. If the assistant keeps people away from me. This person is like my Darth Vader. I send them to destroy those I hate. Money has the appropriate grasp of words in expressing his hatred of things to serve my purposes well.

Luke Cage - Security- I know what some of you are thinking. You think I just went and got a big guy. Wrong. My interactions with bouncers have helped me realize that even a big guy is not a deterrent. See most bouncers are jerks who want to fight. So instead of stopping a problem they make it worse so they can have fun. The best bouncer I ever met was cool guy who would actually talk to people. The same thing happens with cops. When a cop comes at you like a person it’s easy to deal with them. When they come at you like an authority who you must obey it makes you…well me at least not want to do whatever they are saying. This way I get a big guy who’s cool, but still able to articulate themselves.

Interview Time:

If I hired you for a position at Amadeo Enterprises, what would you apply for and why should I hire you?

“The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted.”
Martha Graham (1894 - 1991)

So I’ve been considering exercise. Not like, “hmmm…maybe I will”, but more of what I want to do. You see, I have a fear. I’m scared of having bourgeois muscles. A mentor introduced this concept to me many years ago. If you’re physically fit your body becomes capable of a lot of things. However there is a difference in the body of a person that just works out and someone who works. For example, if you ever see someone who’s so muscle bound they can’t straighten their arms…that’s Bourgeois muscles. As oppossed to someone who looks like this:

I like to use the term “Country Cut”. A strong person who isn’t bulging everywhere and isn’t chiseled…but could hamstring an Ox, whoop your ass and eat a thanksgiving dinner and then go back and work somewhere. These are the cats who gained their physique from work, not a regimen. These are the cats that you really want to have your back…the type that openhanded slap someone and take a layer of skin off cause their hands are calloused. These dudes maybe able to bench press alot, but they also have flexibility. That’s what I’m trying to get to. I’m going to run…but I’ll try to focus on more core exercises and rely on weights a little less then in the past. I realize that the times I was most fit were from action that wasn’t geared towards getting fit. Working in a warehouse, riding my bike instead of catching the bus. Mind you I could go get a warehouse job…but I wouldn’t like the check. I actually thought about buying a bike…but haven’t made up my mind. Riding a bike to work would be cool…save that it’s all uphill on the way home and it wouldn’t mesh for days I wake up late. I almost want to do a Rocky IV thing where I go to snow woods and cut down trees and run in the snow and what not. I could learn to do wood carvings at the same time. When I think of the ultimate in this category it’s always Bruce Lee. With a shirt on dude looks like he’s a skinny ass little guy. But his cuts are the tale of someone who’s done crazy exercise and has pushed his body to limits. The thing is I don’t think he’s done much with weights. His body retained it’s form, it just moved to the peak possibility of that form. I usually wonder how much could he bench press. The thing is most of his form comes from doing. Like those old Kung Fu movies or even Karate Kid…no one says…go hit the gym. They give you some weird ass task that ends 2 months later with you being strong as hell.

” Here go down those 1000 steps and get two buckets of water….500 times and wear these. “

Or one of my favorites:

“Hit this….when you break it you’re done…if you hand breaks…switch hands.”

Perhaps I’ll try to come up with a cross country, calisthenics program where I carry a dwarf holding twenty pound weights in a book bag and pick fights with latinos and islanders playing soccer, then I’ll steal the ball and let them chase me. Maybe.

WWWD:

“Hard to keep my edge up there with nothin’ more threatenin’ than bunny rabbits and bambis.”
Wolverine

“I’d rather piss in the wind than turn the other cheek, you get hit either way but at least it’s reciprocity.”
Amadeo

Sit at my feet oh seeker of knowledge and I will share with you these pearls of wisdom.

Make a plan, follow it and enjoy each step like an evil overlord. Most of us obsess about the end results. Not evil overlords. You’ve seen the movies and shows. When one step goes right those cats laugh and rejoice for like 15 minutes. They do think about the end, but they want to savor each and every step of the plan. Be an evil overlord.

Stress is everywhere so I find it best to break things down in to categories. I only have two: Useful and Entertaining. Either I learn something or I laugh at something and it’s that simple. Keep in mind I do have a sick sense of humor and can laugh at quite a lot…but hey it works for me.

I’d rather piss in the wind than turn the other cheek, you get hit either way but at least it’s reciprocity.

People who say numbers don’t lie have never been to a Casino.

People who don’t understand words, understand pain.

Pull people close with one hand and slap the shit out of them with the other.

I’m not arrogant…but if I don’t love me who will?

Make love like it’s the last thing you’ll ever do.

All women are beautiful if you look long enough.

Don’t be afraid of anything lower on the food chain…unless it’s poisonous.

All meetings should take 15 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with talking to yourself or answering…arguing is when something is wrong.

The only time to take hints are when:
You are the third wheel.
The hostages have your friend and there is gun they can’t see.
Someone with a gun yells at you to “pull your socks up”.

All people holding political office are public servants…treat them as such.

No….you can never hold my pen.

Nice guys do finish last…but all the other competition has burned out by then.

Children are little people…they are not all precious and wonderful, some of them are idiots and assholes in training.

Punch the guy who’s doing all the talking first.

Short Round: Indy, I love you. You’re my best friend!

Have you seen this boy?

Look into those innocent eyes and witness what Americans going over seas for pleasure has wrought. Child Labor? Pedophilia? Something worse? Who can say for sure. We do know that he was last seen as a driver for one Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. He also was taken along through an Indian Temple full of worshipers of Kali Ma…Thuggee cultists. No place for a young child…but that did not stop Dr. Jones. In this Temple Short Round was whipped, and used a slave labor. At one point Dr. Jones even struck Short Round while he was under the influence of the Thuggee “Black Blood”…probably Brandy. Short Round help to liberate the child slaves that were captured by the Thuggee. What did Short Round want? A chance to go to America. After Dr. Jones filled his head with American Baseball and the Yankees and hot dogs…where was Short Round in Dr. Jones subsequent adventures? He probably dropped him at the first orphange in Taiwan and went home. Perhaps Dr. Jones taught him more then just how to drive a car and help him escape from gunfights? Maybe if there had been a Goonies 2 Short Round would have shown up again. Yeah…the eccentric American Professor goes abroad, “befriends” an orphan, endangers his life and tosses him aside. Short Round…Be strong.