On the stand-up philosophy of Cioran

Erasmus had this to say:

"Nothing is more foolish than to talk of frivolous things seriously; but nothing is wittier than to make frivolities serve serious ends."

Back in Butte, again.

I snapped these white walls in Butte 2 weeks ago.

Butte continues as a backlot of existence

& nothingness. Awaiting its' next visit from Wim Wenders

or David Lynch or Shaun Penn.

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Movie Alert: INTO THE WILD.

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"Wollt Ihr den totalen Krieg?"

Ever since I read this quote ("Do you want total war?") somewhere, attributed to Hilter's propaganda adviser, Joseph Goebbels, I've been pondering this fine distinction between Total War and Absolute War.

Total War is essentially a war in which a state's political system, society and economy are mobilized to a massive degree for the continuation and expansion of the war effort.

Absolute War, would be a war that is free from the moderating effects imposed on it by politics and society.

Clausewitz, western philosophy's esteemed theorist of warfare, considered the concept an absurdity--since, a nation (a social and political economy) is required to underwrite a massive war machine.

However, Clausewitz was thinking about this 150 years before the birth of George Bush 2.0.

The Bush/Cheney regime would appear to be the first successful practioners of Absolute War in history. Their program is international in scope. Boundaries are less important than targets. Targets can be anyone and anything.

It is generally agreed that World Wars I & II were the first instances of Total War, incorporating civilians and the civilian infrastructure as part of the military's logistical support system.

Absolute War has taken this one step further. Now, civilians have been hired to do the actual killing. International law and the moderating influences of social custom? How quaint.

With Total War there was at least a sense of an Us versus a Them.

Absolute War is not so obvious and is most clearly embodied in the conduct of Herr Cheney: You may be his friend but that doesn't mean he won't shoot you in the face.

Our cat, Sid, on her way to giving me a high 5

She's got to learn to keep those claws

retracted, though, during this maneuver.

The Music that Destroyed the World

4 Hour Art Show

The room

The show

A selected image

Scott Walter made the table
and carved the stone

But, mostly

you had to be there

Helena Art Walk this Friday

For one night, this small space on Rodney St. will become

BEDROCK GALLERY.

The artists are: Lindy Miller, Kasey Bergum, (Nathan Mills--friend) and Scott Walter.

Yes, the space really is that narrow.

All the Pretty Horses along THE ROAD

Moonrise along the hi-way
North central Nevada

"Outside of matter, all is music; God Himself is a sonorous hallucination."

(Cioran)

Not Dead: I Went to Reno

Which is a little like
dying and going to heaven

And when in Nevada
one must stop at a rock shop

"old rock hounds never die
they just slowly petrify"