LAHD, I CANTAYKETNOMWAH!

LEAVING FEAR BEHIND

Photograph (c) Bonny Finberg

Leaving Fear Behind (in Tibetan, Jigdrel) is a heroic film shot by Tibetans from inside Tibet, who longed to bring Tibetan voices to the Beijing Olympic Games. With the global spotlight on China as it rose to host the XXIX Olympics, Tibetans spoke of their plight and their heartfelt grievances against Chinese rule. Many of them were willing to sacrifice their lives, insisting their faces be shown in order to get this message to the Dalai Lama and all the world. The footage was smuggled out of Tibet under extraordinary circumstances. The filmmakers were detained soon after sending their tapes out, and remain in detention today.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8048230761996582635#

View my short film "I AM THE POISON" as part of the SEEKING KALI project.

http://seekingkali.blogspot.com/search/label/Bonnie%20Finberg

All the Rest Divine

(c) Bonny Finberg

If I Were a Hacker Pop Ups

You dream and the outside comes in,
so inseparable you forget
you can turn it off.

This is a Free Fly Zone.

Maximize.

You never know how long it will work.

Maybe you can stay longer.

Your phone is ringing.

Tomorrow you will have a dream about eyes. 

When you wake up you will remember something about water. 

Then you will plug in and see me. 

What is it you're looking at? 

(c) Bonny Finberg

SACRED HEART

Poor gorillas, poor,

and even the hated and miraculous,

whose tongues have children

whose feet water their plants,

and even the hated

vanished in the ground,

a song for disaster,

and all we do

recorded in the blood of roots,

and people who this is a song of love for,

a song of cruelty,

a song for those who come after

who believe that life conquers disaster,

and all we do recorded in the blood.

(c) Bonny Finberg

COHABITATION

(c) Bonny Finberg

ALVIN GREENE -- THE CHIPMUNK CANDIDATE?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxnTYPZOmK0

DEAR PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama,
  This is the thing i keep hearing/reading over and over from you:
 "...we are putting in place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was lacking, it will be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice."
  The fact is, accidents happen because they're "accidents." They are unexpected occurrences. Thus one always weighs risks against advantages when proceeding with questionable decisions. In the case of off shore drilling the potential, as so tragically clear from this catastrophe, is that we will poison the food and water supply to a degree that will end our very existence. What will it take to understand this? No amount of human regulation can prevent human error (at best) and human stupidity and greed (at its worst.) We, the citizens of the world must change our way of thinking about energy. Not only must we find new sources, but we absolutely must change our use and end taking resources for granted. We must see our own culpability when we drive SUVs, leave the water running, create synthetic products for consumption in all areas of our lives, and have the hubris and arrogance to think all our problems are caused by powers beyond our control like big oil companies and ineffective government (though these are definitely players.)
  Please reconsider allowing off-shore drilling in any form. Neither in deep nor shallow waters. This earth belongs to all of us. Maybe most people don't understand their own participation in its abuse and destruction. Maybe if the reality of oil's expense hits home, not only in dollars, but in the quality of life everyone is always so vocal in trying to protect, maybe if it's not so primary in keeping our lives in "order," people will have to come up with other means of doing so. It's a painful thing to consider. Perhaps we have to set priorities as to where oil will be utilized in order to sustain our lives. Nuclear medicine has been put to great use. Does that mean that every citizen should have it in their bathroom medicine cabinet?
  I live in a place that's heated by electric heaters which are expensive to run. I have taken to keeping the heat on only when necessary. Wearing a sweater if i have to keeps me comfortably warm. If electricity were cheaper in the city where i live, perhaps I'd keep the heat on more. But maybe not. In New York City I worked in a building that was so highly airconditioned in the summer that people ran electric heaters in their offices to keep warm. That was one office in one skyscraper in a city full of them. No matter how much we complained, the management was slow, if ever, to respond. Air conditioning is little used in most apartments in Paris. The buildings are built of thick stone and keep the apartments relatively cool in summer and warm in winter. Upgrading windows for better insulation is given a 30% stipend by the government. Still imperfect, it's a step in the right direction.
I think the United States has set the bar high for "quality of life." It seems as "developing countries" find an increased "quality of life" they find themselves following the U.S. model of waste, pollution and selfish consumption. We may have more regulations than they do at this point in time and can point our collective finger at them for being where we were maybe decades, or even a century, ago in terms of government oversight. However, this latest catastrophe underscores how ineffective so-called regulation and government oversight are in the face of global industry and corporate goals, even in our own "advanced" society.
  I was under the assumption that you understood these things when I listened to you speak in those inspiring days before the election; when I voted for you; when I stood with pride in Union Square Park that evening in November 2008, celebrating what people can accomplish when they come together. Please stand up and take the risks necessary to curtail these powerful interests. Take the risk of displeasing large amounts of U.S. citizens who will grump and gripe about losing their privileged lifestyle that cannot be sustained without destroying us all. Please do the job we sent you to Washington to do.
With all respect and hope for true change, Bonny Finberg

WALL SHADOWS

FLOOD

I’m sitting at a window, watching the street,
unable to awaken to the logic in a sentence,
the nightmare of your magnificence.
the beginning,
the middle,
the question at the end,
dangling, waiting for an explanation

Review of "DOPE" on A GATHERING OF TRIBES

My Review of "Dope" the 1968 Documentary by Diane Rochlin (Flame Schon) and Sheldon Rochlin

JOHN ZORN'S ALEPH TRIO PLAYS FOR WALLACE BERMAN

Performance at the Musée d'art et histoire du Judaisme
May 16, 2010 as part of the RADICAL JEWISH CULTURE:Scène New York.
John Zorn (saxophone), Trevor Dunn (contrebasse), Joey Baron (drums) play in front of Beat Generation artist Wallace Berman's first and only film, Aleph. Berman worked on the film from 1956-1966. He was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver in 1976, just before his 50th birthday.

“History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.” -Oscar Wilde

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNBEARABLES

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_358/literaryroles.html

The publication of this piece in the current Villager exposes the Unbearable's idea of creating Temporary Autonomous Zones void of self-interest or lust for celebrity as just a lot of elitist talk. John Bayles and his employer, The Villager, eager to make a buck, has them mooning the Literary World with their self-satisfied grins. Self-promotion is an understatement. Their portrait portrays a group of naval-contemplating wannabes playing to the cameras. Yes--step right up you bunch of self-declared a-holes. If that isn't a bit of pretentious humility, I don't know what is.
Respectfully,
Buffy Porker

Read my review of Patti Smith's "Just Kids" on A GATHERING OF TRIBES

http://www.tribes.org/web/2010/02/17/patti-smiths-just-kids-reviewed-by-bonny-finberg/

We Can Stay Local

“We can stay local—have crêpes or French food or fuck off—”
“I’d rather have crêpes or French food, then fuck off.”
“Or do that and get pissed.”
“Stay local, have French food. Can have a crêpe tomorrow—French food.”
“How do we get home?”
“We’re supposed to get a cab…or a bus.”
“The drug you just took—the drugs are part of your mind.”
“We have to find a way to get home.”

April 8, 2005, rue Ravignan, Paris