Tuesday, March 15, 2011

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Back in the last century I used to spend Summers out in the country, a guest, whether wanted or not, to a host of relatives. One particular Uncle was the owner of not only an Atari game system, but also a Video Player. Among his collection were timeless classics recorded directly off the TV and on rainy days it was a cool world to be in.
One of my favourite films when I was a kid was, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. It might not rank in many all-time favourite lists for the movie-buff among us, but even to this day, I watch it at least twice a year. I do that with films sometimes.

Indeed the World has moved on from such primitive technology, but I think it's fair to say the world is still a mad, mad, mad, mad old place.
Regular readers know I have a fondness for the bizarre at times, and have discovered absurdity provides a 'structure' to a lot of the thinking I seem to do, especially when it comes to forming ideas about what to write about.
Having spent nearly three months entirely commenting on the disgraceful way we have let Ireland slip from our grasp, absurdity, at every juncture, was the first word I sought when looking to sum up the travesty that has been allowed to happen here in a short context. I promised I'd move away from politics here so I won't mention that another €25 billion may be needed to put in our saving graces, the great institutions of banking. Did you ever feel like a saddle?

We don't have to look to far to see the frailty of human existence on the Planet today. The devastation of the Japanese earthquake and the resulting tsunami would be more than enough for any race of people to bear, but add in the panic involved in being in an area where nuclear reactors are threatening to melt and dangerous levels of radiation threaten the very air that should be free for us all to breath, it begins to touch on a Hollywood screenplay from the mind of some apocalyptic addict.
It says a lot about people with power, and the lengths they will go to provide energy systems to us, energies that hold no sentiment for people but have the ability to wipe us out forever if we go to far with it.
Branches of science, for all it's worth, may very well be the thing that eventually sees us off as a civilisation. Greed and mad men who continually plot to destroy something so beautiful as the planet. Conditional reasoning's, we may never truly understand.

Take Ireland with it's 'important' people walking around having played the cards that bankrupted us, still living the high life and apparently not going to be held accountable, and the ordinary Joe-soap slopping out in the 'Joy' for not paying a fine.
I'm sure parenting is something some among us are doing. What I'd like to know, is how or what way do you explain things like that to children, while trying to guide them in the right way. It's difficult to figure out sometimes.

Meltdown of another kind also takes up large segments of the mainstream news feeds. Seems actor, fellow seeker of the truth and all round Mr. Bizarre, Charlie Sheen is going solo, having signed up for Twitter and gathering two million followers in a matter of days. Talk about adding fuel to a fire.
He announced two live shows to follow up on his online 'rants' which have people wondering about his state of mind. They sold out in minutes. To me, it's just Charlie Sheen being Charlie Sheen. 'Activism' is in his blood, his Father is noted for it.
If it doesn't work out and he decides to go back on the box, it will be Charlie having a mental breakdown, much will be written about the man and little of the condition. It's how the media works in contemporary society.
I get the feeling Sheen is tired of the mainstream for the time being and his 'tour' should be, as they say in Galway, Mad!

Certainly doesn't take away from the encounter I have being having this past week.
Still weak of will, I find myself at times outside my back door sucking on a cigarette. Above, a marauding tree, still bare, offers a pleasant view on a clear night. But crows, trying to sing, as the early hours make their way toward the dawn somehow just doesn't fit in with the peace the night can bring.
They seem to be joined by other wannabes of flight and equally void of vocals. Very strange indeed.

I've always liked my comedy dark, strange beings interest me, and science, which I hated as a student, now is an area of fascination at times.
Some of the complexities of people, life and existence can be found within some of its current finding and introducing elements of dark humour and 'strange beings' into some of my writing, has definitely added to the pleasure of being in its practice. It's certainly filled the gap left by a mis-spent youth, a lot of the twenties and the early days of thirties.

What can I say, in a mad world, it's was hard to let go at times. Though testing at times, it's easier when I don' take life so seriously. That's easier said than done in a mad world, but I read this last night (below) on Facebook, and it's good to know that even in that mad world, people of greater, more profound, but very simple thinking still dwell among us. That's always good to know.

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered -

"Man....... Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

Now ain't that the truth, Charlie!

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