Ken Kesey eulogized renowned rock promoter, and ruthless businessman Bill Graham (Uncle Bobo), on stage with the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Colliseum on Halloween night in 1991. He made a statement that night that has stuck with me as one of my cardinal rules of the road: “In any given situation, there are always going to be more dumb people than smart people.”
I like to call this Kesey’s Postulate, which I find even more useful than Occam’s Razor (the dictum that the simplest explanation for an occurrence is usually correct). Kesey’s Postulate explains Pampers being elected, the media, two terms of George Bush, someone getting killed in a stampede at a Wal-mart on Black Friday, the state of our economy, the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, Nazi Germany, the pet rock, robot eggs, Paulie Shore, the perennial return of the McRib sandwich, MSNBC…
So, what do we do when faced with such rampant stupidity? Embrace the warrior thought. Tell the truth…out there…millions have no idea what the hell is going on. Or, as Diamond Tiger at Logistics Monster has suggested: STOP PREACHING TO THE CHOIR!
It's time to fulfill the notion of the Jeffersonian Coalition. Time to act on the 50% Solution.
Time to gather and make some good shit happen for a change to replace the bullshit that keeps getting passed out.
I have embedded the 2nd set of the Dead’s Halloween ’91 so you can hear Kesey’s tribute to Buffalo Bill. I’d say listen to the entire set, but if you want to get to the heart of the matter, click the right arrow five times to hear Kesey’s Dark Star. Bill gave us a place to come and find our own truths, to tap into energy greater than ourselves. Kesey, that crazy, half-cocked warrior, knew it. Now he’s gone too.
We are facing a great mountain of bullshit. How resolved are you really to do the work that needs to be done to fix this? Are you going to take the wild ride, or eat a McRib? The choice is yours.
Buffalo Bill's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death
-- e.e. Cummings
I have embedded the 2nd set of the Dead’s Halloween ’91 so you can hear Kesey’s tribute to Buffalo Bill. I’d say listen to the entire set, but if you want to get to the heart of the matter, click the right arrow five times to hear Kesey’s Dark Star. Bill gave us a place to come and find our own truths, to tap into energy greater than ourselves. Kesey, that crazy, half-cocked warrior, knew it. Now he’s gone too.
We are facing a great mountain of bullshit. How resolved are you really to do the work that needs to be done to fix this? Are you going to take the wild ride, or eat a McRib? The choice is yours.
Buffalo Bill's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death
-- e.e. Cummings
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4 comments:
I was going to post this just now on the Confluence, but I feel too exposed there, so I will share it here re: our families and how we are doing:
Hi, shtuey. This is the 4th Thanksgiving without my husband. The first two were just plain weird. The last two have been low key, subdued, waiting for the next shoe to drop. I still make an enormous feast, but it is just for my son and I and the animals. It's amazing how death seems to push people out of your life, besides the actual person lost, of course. Had an ok visit with my mommy, though.
btw- the first year we were together we listened to the live Dead New Year's Eve concert on the radio- I think it was from the Oakland Coliseum, too. Good music to drift to sleep by.
Thank you for sharing that lililam. This can be a rough time for people. It's hard to walk through a season that's supposed to be filled with joy and not be reminded of those that are no longer with us on this plane. But it's also a time to make new memories, and enhance relationships we still have. It doesn't lessen the loss, but it keeps the chain growing, and keeps it from breaking.
Love ya sis!
Oh, I forgot to add, when I posted the first comment, the word verification was "bless"- I thought that was pretty cool. Thanks, shtuey.
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