Gagablog 54: "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga", 95.7 "The Party" Finally plays Applause for Denver, Pinnochio becomes a real boy

The book I have been working on for two years is called "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga" and I just watched Gaga's performance on GMA of "GAGA of OZ" and I know I have to focus on that and write it now, this is the perfect time because it is all coming true just as I have been predicting. I keep saying that I will have to suspend the Gagablog to focus on it, I've mentioned it in the last few editions I know, but seeing that performance where Gaga literally recreates Oz makes me realize I have to do it now, with no more delay. The main reason I'm writing this last edition, well 54 makes a "full deck" but I have to give credit to the 1st Denver pop radio station to finally play "Applause", 95.7 "The Party", and give credit to Gaga, myself, and the whole "Oz Magic" idea that I will be explaining fully in the book but this is a perfect, beautiful, loving, wonderful, magical,artful exmple of. I've been "waiting", for over a month it seems, for the radio to play "Applause" here - I'm ashamed I was not requesting it, I've never requested songs before that I remember, but I wanted to see if Denver could surprise me and be cool and play it as soon as possible, without any help - much of my recent gagablogs have included this angst that they play anything besides Applause, it just got more offesnive every day it went on, and showed how far behind "the times" Denver is - I always felt that way, culturally, we are kind of far away from the centers of creativity, which is ironic and probably changing quickly since we are on the forefront of legal weed. And it just reminds you of that whole "crowd mentality" that Applause is kind of a criticism of, that people can't decide for themselves if something is cool or good until other people tell them - that condition shows the lack of artistic sentiment in the community. But I came to an important magical realization, how I have been magically "holding us up" myself, not just by not requesting "Applause" on the radio, but by not requesting Applause for myself by really putting my best art out there. That is the whole magical "secret" I've been constantly talking about in this gagablog, how things are magically reflected between different levels of experience, personal, social, artistic, worldwide, and how we can use this to discover things and to work and play and make magic. When I say I want applause for myself, I mean it like Gaga means it, I want to get my art out there so people can connect with it, connect to art, to each other, to magic, to Gaga- and make them happy, make us all happy. Now I know "this is the time" because it is all coming together, but it was always the time and in one magical way I've been holding this whole transformation up. This is how the transformation is taking place for me in these last few days. I've had a vacation from work and finally edited a fantasy adventure book I wrote and finished 7 years ago, "Wendy the Witch School Drop Out". I'm finally ready to self-pulish it, getting over the last ideas I had to go through a publisher and get apporoval, support, the go-ahead. I never really tried that because weird things would happen with any option I ever actually considered. I've decided to do what I kind of wanted to all along, go with the merit of the book and word of mouth if it is really good, self-published through Createspace. Well, the day I finally got most of it edited was 9-17-13, and this was also the 1st day I heard Applause on the radio. It was a great day all around, and we were on our way to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday celebration and I turned the radio and heard the final notes of applause, just the sounds for the hand getsures. Even though I did not hear the whole song, it was a glorious moment to know they finally played it. It may be like a month or two late, but thanks to 95.7 "The Party" Denver finally entered The Future, and I knew that obsessively listening for it was no longer in vain. Radioplay has a special significance for me, as evidenced by the title of my new book. Since they "won" the contest with the other pop station, I now have loyalty for 95.7 - I'm still checking the other station but the longer they fall behind the less I will even give them a chance. This is the principle of Applause I need to learn for myself - I have to do it, really do the stuff I believe in and follow my dreams,if I expect it to be recognized and become real. It just "so happened" that they finally played "Applause" on the same day I finally finished most of my edits for a book I've held hidden for 7 years. Even if it was only 6 notes that I heard, it was great and fantastic encouragement - I heard the whole song the next day on "The Party", confirming my faith in them. The thing about "Applause" is that only just now, writing these things in this context and order, did I think about that as "Applause" for me, for working on my book, almost finishing it. But I always expected "Applause" on the radio to mean two important things, appreciation for Gaga that she deserves for being so awesome, but also applause for Denver, for the radio station, for us, for getting to appreciate it, for recognizing it. I think that is how Applause, in general, magically, always works two ways, and why perfromers even tell the crowd to give themselves a round of it. It certainly relates to how often Gaga credits her fans and gives them her spotlight - the whole thing is that of course you Applaud something you love, that effects you and empowers you an inspires you, but being the one who is there to Applaud is a special honor in itself, which is the applause for you, for the audience, and how anything that can create applause makes everyone involved better for it. This was a very direct message from Gaga in her interview portion of GMA, but let me come to that in the story as it happened to me, magically. The other way my life has been reflecting this whole transformation process is because I found a copy of "Pinnocchio" at the thrift store about a week or two ago - "some of us just like to read" and you have to read the real, whole story - it's awesome. Like Oz it is a lot richer than what people know from the movie version. The important point to make about it is that Pinnochio is always saying he will do good and promising the blue fairy and others who protect him, but keeps getting distracted or giving into temptations and transgressing, getting into all sorts of trouble that should teach him his lesson. All the time I am thinking "I am glad I am not like that, so much anyway" but at the end I realized how I really have been that bad, that naughty of a wooden-headed, heartless marionette. I just finished the book, I finished reading it the same night I finished editing my book, last night, the day after hearing "Applause" in full on "The Party". I also checked my email that day and saw that Gaga had performed "GAGA of OZ" and I was kind of awestruck, not ready to watch it, but pretty sure it meant "I can't wait any longer". And I realized this last night, at the end of "Pinnocchio". This was also, by the way, the day I got off my crutches and just have a boot on from breaking my foot. At the end of the story, and sorry for spoiling anything for those who haven't read it, Pinnocchio finally does what he says he will do instead of just saying he will. He finally is reunited with his father, Geppetto, and is taking care of him by working hard, both on a farm and making baskets. He finally is happy and secure, doing his duty, when he finds out that his blue fairy mother, who he thinks is dead (again) is actually alive and he works twice as hard, makes twice as many baskets, to help her get better, too. The result of all of this, when she gets better, he is rewarded by becoming a real boy and having a much better life. It all comes together for him, finally, and he has both father and mother after being lost from his father and only coming close to reuintiing with him, and finding his fairy mother again and again but not managing to be true to what she tells him and stay with her. It struck me that this was a parallel for my life, for that particular moment and day - this magical transformation. I realized that my finally getting my book out there after 7 years is like finally doing my duty - being reuinted with my father, the creative energy and spirit of inspiration, art and magic. And all along I have had my own vision of the Goddess, secret even to me, then she was revealed in Gaga and for the last 5 years I have had her, like the blue fairy mother, as a constant reminder and supporter and helper to do my real work, to make my art and write my books - i have been obsessed with ideas for "Oz Magic; from Radio to Gaga" for over two years but haven't written much of it down, just re-arranged it in my head adding ideas, because I say "I don't have time". But while I have always been saying I will create and make my art and wrting and songs reality, and saying I love and worship Gaga and want to follow her and be the best me I can be, realize my gifts, in her example, I have been like Pinnochio and only saying it over and over, not doing it. Now I have finally caught up to a duty to my own art that I have neglected for 7 years, and gotten my adventure book ready. That is like making 8 baskets that Pinnochio makes to support his father once he finds him and starts doing his duty. But I realize, after "GAGA of OZ" that it is like my fairy mother is in the hopsital - not that she is ailing,she seems in the finest form ever, but realizing that while I have always been saying I will honor how she inspires me and encourages me by making my art, I realize now is the time to actually do it, now is the time I have caught up to my normal duty, to write for the World, and found I can even honor the most magical and special duty of all to my fairymother with the azure hair who appears to help me in so many transformations, and that means working twice as hard on my art as finally doing my "regular" artistic dity, making 16 baskets a day instead of just 8, as Pinnochio did, even though he had only just started really making baskets a little earlier. So I woke up this morning knowing that, having gotten my "Wendy" book ready after 7 years, getting that "out of the way" from weighing on my mind and needing to be done, using my vacation time and being laid up with crutches to catch up to that duty, that all I had to do was write this gagablog and give "The Party" and everyone credit for Applause - this goes billions of times over for all you monsters tweeting it and requesting it and talking about it, trending it. All I had to do was write this, and publish my storybook while really starting on "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga." I knew I had to do it now, today, since having that realization last night that like Pinnocchio I can finally do my duty to my fairy mother, and also knowing via email that Gaga had performed something called "GAGA of OZ". We have really good kinds of bud right now and we were getting ready to write and my wife played the "Applause" video, out of the blue, though the song has been constantly stuck in my head for weeks and I love it. It had over 56 million views this morning, too - Applause to/for/from everyone! Then I asked her to go ahead and pull up "GAGA of OZ" and we watched it backward, the interview first then the performance, but I can't say enough how it was a dream come true, how it was everything I have been imagining, prediciting, and hoping for, like Gaga reaching out to me specifically and saying "Yes! You got it right, do it now, write!" It was the most amazing thing, most amazing coincidence, and so Gaga because even though I kind of knew, and really hoped it would really be something like that, she just fulfilled and blew away all my expectations and was perfect and amazing. Add I feel like I have been holding this secret how Gaga is making Oz real for all of us, waiting to write it in this book, and now I know that the time is really now, Gaga has taken us into the future and into Oz and it is just up to us to understand it and make it come true for more people. I know my role in this and always have but now is my time to act. This is how I will put my hands up and make them touch - not only by giving her my Applause, my artistic response, and showing I am with her, but by reaching out, creating things myself, touching the world with art that others might be inspired by and appluad themselves. When I actualy do my work instead of talking about it, I will become a Real Boy and have all I have been dreaming of. Now is the time to do it and I will conclude by saying that once again Gaga said it best, in her interview about "GAGA of OZ" on GMA, and the performance itself - it is all about using your talents, going for it and following your real dreams, "even if", especially if, those are to make art, to follow art on its magical Yellow Brick Road, the Glitter Way. Gaga tells us, passionately, that we can do this and is living the example of how it can be done - she is making this world a real Oz and we can all do parts to do that. My part is to explain it further in a book, and make art and songs about it, but the time for the book is now. I've always believed in myself, in Oz, in Gaga, in magic and art and love, and I'm ready to put it all together for others to read. Now the "GAGA of OZ" performance is like both a love letter of encouragement and a challenge to me - of course these magical ideas about Oz are true and are what Gaga is revealing, as I have always suspected, and she is saying "you are right, go for it!" or "meet me, show me your teeth!" - as she has always been saying but I've been a silly, a marionnette. And she is also saying "I'm making it so obvious that if you don't do it now, someone else will." I've been somewhat reluctant to even talk about this, to even name the book, for fear someone else would steal the idea and do it before I "had time." But now I know the time is now, I have to be working on this double-time because it is all coming true, Gaga is "taking" us to Oz, truly making us into our true selves, revealing our true, magical, Ozzite selves. It's time for me to stop predicting and start making it happen, in my way, so thank you for putting up with all this teasing preliminaries and my getting ditracted from my greatest duty for years, but now I'm ready to bring it all together and become a real boy. I see the magical parallel of the strange moment when Pinnocchio, the boy, wonders what became of the puppet he used to be, and Geppetto points out the wooden puppet propped up, its legs folded beneath it. That seems to be a parallel to two things in my room right now. One is my crutches I don't need anymore, that I used for the last time before having this transformation where I will really do my work. They are like the puppet I left behind, the old self who was lazy and only talking about it, not doing it nearly enough. The other thing that is like that puppet, my old self, left behind is this gagablog. Yes, it is a good record of who I was like Pinnochio is a good story about his troubles before he became real, just like the Wizard of Oz is a great story about getting to Oz the first time and making that transformation. But then, like Gaga made the dream come true with "GAGA of OZ", there is realizing we are there, the family is reuinited now that we've rescued the father by finally being dutiful and redicovered the fairy by finally living up to the love she gives us, and now it is just time to do it, to make the art out of the sure bliss of knowing we are supported and loved. And while much of it has been focused on Syria and wishing for a magical surprise that turned things around, I'm pleased to say that it may be late-seeming but actually happened, finally, hopefully. The reason I have to write "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga" is because there is the whole world of OZ, and other characters, in the 16 or 17 other books after "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". I have been living the magical priciples I've discoverd in them and then I have been seeing them fulfilled and realized in the world around me and lately especially in Gaga. I know we are all going to become more aware of it, Gaga is revealing it, but I know I have s epcial undertsnding from being focused on it so long. I know I have a way of bringing the ideas of Oz, art, technology, magic, and Gaga together in a way that will really help people and increase their enjoyment of this transformative time. Now is the time to do it and of course, as always, Gaga says it best and simplest in her interview, so please watch that and take it to heart - we can all live best, in Oz, if we live by following Art. It is magic, it is real and it becomes real when we believe and follow where it leads - this is the essence of what I call "Oz Magic". So far we are mostly afraid to live for art, for magic, because there is just a lack of love felt in the world, but Gaga shows us how to make up for that and show love more, too. I'm coining the term "Oz Magic" but I think it is something mystically created that has always existed, is basically the purest magic which is also love and art, and took on a special form through L. Frank Baum writing the Oz books - they were like a prediction or vision of something emerging, and Gaga is the actual emergence, though it will take place in all of us, all over the world, in our hearts. It's like love waking up all over the world, it is magic and it is real and it is all specially predicted and described by things in the Oz stories. I'm not even sure how much Gaga knows about the other stories of Oz, but it is all truly coming from the same place of fairy magic that has been true forever, though misunderstood in many different ways. I hope I can contribute that special part to increase understanding and show how this journey to Oz, Gagaism and being little monsters, is not only a legitimate spiritual path, since I got my degree in religions and can really see that aspet of it, but that it is one of the best paths that really connects things from all over the world and throughout human history because of the ability to include and encourage everything. Gaga really says it well and it is a key secret we need in the world, to honor diversity and encourage everyone to explore and go for their unique gifts, then when we are all doing the best of being who we really are, bravely without fear of judgement or meanness, we will really have the world that is perfect for having the best of everyone working together. I have always called this Oz and been waiting for us, using new technology like "magic" and rediscovering and using all other kinds of magic, that all of this will come together. I see now that, thanks to Gaga, the Oz part won't be a secret anymore and I love Oz so much I am so happy she will bring it back more than any spin-off movie, because people will look at it magically, artistically, and rediscover what I have been looking forward to talking about for years- and I know all of this will be making it come true more and more, until we are all truly in paradise, in Oz as I call it. I'm ready to go for it, to do my part, like "The Party" finally earned Applause for Denver and made us cool. I encourage everyone else to do their part too, to discover their true art and or magic and go for it, follow it. I will now take Gaga's advice, both general to everyone to go for it and what I feel is magically a personal signal to me, to really go for it, as the smell of delicious weed puntuates the air as my lover opens the jar as I type this. It's time to "make it real loud", to really go for it - and the way I misunderstood it before, "make it real - NOW!" is also true, and I'm going to really go for it, focus, and by becoming a real boy show the world how my belief is true, that Oz is real and we can live there, it can be here, and Gaga is the purest example of how. I love you so much, Gaga, and monsters, for making this all happen, for making all my dreams come true. I will now do my own part to make it real, and I hope it makes you happy, makes Gaga happy, and takes us to Oz, and earns the honor of Applause, helping connect us all with art, magic and love. Thank you, Gaga - as Dorothy, as the Witches, as the Apple Tree, as the Wizard, as Ozma (sssssshhhhh! all will be revealed!) - you create all the Applause and all this love is for you, it will all come together and transform the whole world just as you have transformed yourself by following it and show us how we can do the same. We love you, Gaga, thanks for making Oz real and we are with you, doing our parts to make the journey and make it real for the whole world, to reveal how full the world is of love and art and magic. Paws up, you showed us how to be brave, ignited the courage and love and intelligence we always but had left hidden, like the Wizard or Good Witch within us, and showed us how to be home, to ultimately make our home with you in Oz! (I need to finsih that Wizard of Oz themed Gaga song i wrote a year or so ago, right before I finally finsished "Made me a Monster" - I think it was a different attempt to finish it....)

Gagablog 53 - No More Weapons! Peace and freedom - thanks Obama and Gaga!

I don't think I have ever wrtitten two Gagablogs on the same day - technically it is "tomorrow" now, 3:45 AM on 9-10-13. But I got ahead of myself and got some things wrong in the last edition, like the fact that congress has not voted on Syria yet, my friend misreported that to me, and want to try and say it all more simply, clearly, and quickly now. Of course Gaga always says it best, but I won't try to relate this much to Gaga, other than to say she is impossible to keep up with - this is part of the nature of being what I call "from the future", she has that connection to the ideal future we are enetering that shows us the way, and gives us glimpses of what it will be like all the time, like slipping back to that future, perfect time. But I think of myself as "from the future", too, or "from Oz" as I call it, though I spend too much time trying to talk about this stuff from this side instead of assuming anyone would understand based on Oz terms - but my new book should help with that, help others get the Oz understanding. My last edition was an attempt to compare the waiting for Artpop for the waiting for a decision on whether to take a military strike against Syria - the first, Artpop, is "inevitable" a magical destiny that will transform us. The second, the military strike, has been presented as "inevitable" or necessary in different ways but it is not, it is not "destiny" just a likely outcome of a course of events - but based on previous courses that we should have learned better from, not be eager to repeat. And this time of "waiting", before we "take action" is magically special, because we can avoid it. We can't avoid the transformation Artpop will provide to our culture and psyche -we need it, it's way due, and we are ready for it, to make the most of it, to live up to the full promise of Art - it wlll save the world. But there has to be a world to save - we can't blow ourselves up before Novemeber - we should not ever be ready or in a position to do this, but unfortunately we have been for far too long and have not outgrown that mentality - but we are about to. So all I am saying now to connect this to Gaga is that Artpop is coming out, we have already heard about half of the songs from it, and it is coming true, the cultural revolution Gaga is predicting. We can try to ignore it, or focus on less important things like Miley Twerking, but while Miley said she knew she would "make history" by doing that, she made some sort of effect on the history that is determinded by twitter, in the moment, but the actual Future will look back on the History of it as the 1st performance of Applause wonder at why society focused so much on Miley. But artpop is a transformation that we need, that is our fate, and it is exciting wating for it. By contrast, attacking Syria has been "in the cards" for years but so far had not been drawn, yet it really seemed to be at the very top of the deck this week. This whole time I've always advocated, worked magic, for a "special surprising event" that would provide a peaceful out to this whole situation, and anticipated that the solution could become a model for solving all problems in the world - all the while I think there was an idea hidden back there that governements and the UN could start acting responsibly, live up to their purpose. I think the new development that America, Russia, and apparently even now Syria agree that they should just give up their chemical weapons is such a "magical, surprising development" and it shows how far off-base we were that we did not have more faith, and make more progress, in this way before. I believe Obama that it was the foreseeable threat of military strikes that prompted this breakthrough, but I want to say that the "threat" is not the same thing as using force. The only thing I'm comparing to Gaga here is the inability to "keep up" with a story that is moving at light-speed - and anything like this moves that fast because it is catching us up from barbarism to the fast-track to paradise. Its like trying to keep up with Gaga - I have no idea what she is up to now, but throughout this gagablog I have tried to anticpate what she would do and mean and what significance that would have on world events. I do this from my own intuition more than really knowing what she is up to and all the statements she has made, because everyone I hear fits in with these ideas. I do this from the idea that we both are "coming from" and representing that same truth of a love world earthly paradise that is right around the corner for us, ready for us as soon as we are ready for it. It's a non-violent world, a world without violence. And it is not only possible, it is necessary, and it makes things easier to understand when we look at it as part of this path to the non-violent future. I can't wait to find out what Gaga is doing now, next, and make some more connections, but the connections I want to make now are between the use of force and weapons by nations and the use of force and weapons by individuals. Obama is using the threat of force appropriately, knowing it does not have the same or even as much power once the threat is carried out. The ability to use force should, at worst, be a possible "threat" - but I'm going to go completely non-violent here and hope people can follow it. The natural consequences of global warming are threats that we want to avoid, but they are real - we are really messing up the planet in a way that will come back and destroy us, bit by bit or in whole huge sections. This is a threat and one we need to respond to. If you are mean to your lover, you might end up breaking up -this is a threat we need to respond to. These threats are real - just like Artpop is real, a lesson we will learn that we desperately need. even if we ignore it, the lessons are there and will continue to come up until we benefit from them. This is the natural way of things - some things are bad and have bad natural consequences, some things are good and have goo,d glorious natural consequences. But then there is the threat of "unnatural" consequences, of violence. Violence is the tool fo the weak against the powerful. The weak use weapons and violence to affect things they don't have the natural power to control - this is why so much violence is the fault of men and why there is so much sexual violence and domestic abuse. Women are sexually in control, in power, naturally, and resenting that power men have resorted to violence, economics, and patriarchy to take power over sex for themselves. If someone is "right" or "just" then the truth will set them free and be proven to all eyes, but people resort to violence if they "can't wait" for that and insist they are right. It is as Jesus said, blessed are the poor and meek and peacemakers - because theirs is the true power, the greatest power there is, the power of love. We have gone on some perverted courses, humanity has, and nations in particular, but we are all basically doing the same thing, making the same mistake. Because there are things out of our control we have resorted to violence to try and control them, but it only works temporarily, and really does not work at all. The threat of force is not the best way to motivate people, appealing to good nature is. As I said many gagablogs ago, the best way to get someone to disarm is not to yell "Drop your gun or I'll shoot!" it is to say "look, I threw away my gun so you don't need yours." The idea is that we can't trust the other person, we can't be the one to throw down the gun first, because what if that person is "off", is not on the same page of decency, and decides to shoot you once you drop your gun? I mean, they have a gun, after all, what does that say about them? I can't put muy gun down until I know they will submit to my will, etc( but then again, why did I have agun in the first place?) I can't get over the statistic that the police in Germany, total, fired like 87 shots in one year, while American police can fire 87 shots into one "suspect." But the main reason I want to make this about guns is that is is the essential solution to Syria - disarm - but the princple applies to all weapons, at all levels, held by nations or individuals. We don't need weapons. The only idea why we even pretend we need weapons is to "deal with that one crazy person" who wouldn't throw their own gun down when you tell them they don't need it, show them they don't need it. But there are other ways to deal with that crazy person, just like there are other ways to deal with crazy governments. But it is the existance of the weapons in the first place that provide a huge measure of the craziness - would Assad have done some of these things to begin with if he did not "beleive" in the power of chemical weapons, to devestate, to terrorize? But of course using them could not work out as planned because it is no way to act. But the same is true of all weapons. While we still have the craziness of weapons, and how they make people crazy and make regimes crazy too, we might need to continue to have that "threat" in order to affect people who still believe in violence - but we should always be able to avoid having to actually carry it out, we are advanced enough for that. "Violence" the threat of violence, is only useful for scaring crazy people - but we don't even punish crazy people, we treat them. SO the first step is removing the waepons, and while I fully believe in leading by example and getting rid of our own weapons, as long as some weapons exist there will be people motivated by them. So not only should Syria turn over its weapons to be destroyed, we all should. Not just chemical weapons, all weapons. We don't neeed them, really and we never really did. They create the problems they claim to "solve" and we can get rid of them all without any negative consequences. Kang and Kodon won't invade if we don't have a big enough board with a big enough nail, I promise. If we can trust each other, and never imagince we will "Have to" kill each other, we will never be in that situation, and we will find other ways out of any conflict that seems like that sort of situation. I guess people have used weapons to defend themselves - but against whom? I love the story fo the Buddha giving up his body to the hungry tigress to feed her cubs, when others might think of "self-defense" in that situation. Chemical weapons aren't cool, they don't make anyone think you are cool, and if even having them makes you an asshole, using them makes you a super asshole -but you are already an asshole for having them. The same is true for guns - why do you need them? Are you really suck a jerk you expect to have to protect yourself with lethal force, or so greedy you think you have to protect your stuff that way? More deeply, what do you distrust so strongly about your fellow man that you want the power to kill him? Does that distrust and unsettled feeling about other humans make you the safe user/owner of a gun? If you want a gun because someone esle might be unstable and also have a gun, well, could n ot someone who is more stable than you percieve you, and your gun as an unstable person who might need to be defended against? It is just a mess of fear and inadequacy and it is wrong. A gun does not make you man, or a person, and if you aren't feeling enough like a person from interactions with other people then that is what you need to focus on, not being able to shoot them. The reason this comes up for me now is 3 recent news stories. A 3-year-old girl shot and killed herself in Yellowstone, the first gun death there since like 1978 - because no one needs guns in Yellowstone, I guess. But why do people need guns anywhere? A boy here in colorado shot and killed his best friend and mentor, a really pretty 18-year-old girl, when she jumped out of a closet to surprise him - he thought she was a burglar so of course he had to shoot her. And the news today is that George Zimmerman was threatening his estranged wife and her dad with a gun - and we have her paniced, fearful for their lives call to the police office, but she did not press charges when they arrived. This gets into so many isses, and I agree with Chris Matthews (former host of Up!, I think that is his name) that having a gun changes the dynamics of any altercation. Zimmerman has visited the gunmaker who made the gun he shot Trayvon with, and he has become a symbol of injustice and fear and the tragedy of guns, while Trayvon has become a civil rights symbol of justice and truth and goodness. Zimmerman threatening his wife with a gun is a very scary prospect in itself, simply for echoing what is the situation for what I believe are the majority of murders in this country, domestic violence, people murdering their spouses or girlfriends or boyfriends. But what makes it even worse are the Zimmerman specific details, that he was taunting them to approach the car, as if that would give him the right to shoot them. That is the lesson he learned from getting away with murdering Trayvon - he can murder anyone he gets his car close enough to. The truth is, he shouldn't have a gun. Syria shouldn't have chemical weapons. Not JUST because they are Syria, but no one should have chemcical weapons. And no one should have a gun. No one should have weapons at all, and the only use for them from now on is to give the worst ones to the most responsible people, to bring them to bear on others who still hold their little one, until they can all be collected and destroyed. That's right, crazies, we're gonna get your guns. Obama won't have to take them, the UN will collect - they'll send a bulletproof drone so don't even bother fighting back. But they will only do that to the most intractable crazies because everyone else will fllow the example and just give them up willingly. I've learned a few things from the news about this who mess - Lybia gave up their chemical and nuclear weapons program voluntarily, in response to pressure, but in order to rejoin the world community in good standing. We should expect all countries to follow suit, including America. Time to start disarming, not just nuclear and chemical weapons but everything. Its the way forward, the right thing to do, and we will haev such inceedible benefits from giving up war and violence that it will save the world. I also learned that a conservative editorialist in the Wall Street Jounral said that the whole affair is fullfilling Obama's clever plan to reduce AMerica's military strength and influence in the world. Of course he was scared by that, he is probably well connected, at least ideologically as a conservative, to the military industrial complex, but I was just like "right on! I hope so!" His wording in the editorial was that Obama's actions would reduce AMerican power more than his wildest dreams. The newsanchor on MSNBC reporting on it said it was laughable, like a satire of conserrvative criticism, but I can agreew ith it with full praise for Obama - while even that complaining editorial did not realize how true it really is, and certainly does nott appreciate how good it really is. It is time to stop being the world's policeman, not because we don't need some authority and rules in the world, but because we can trust the whole of humaity and diversity of nations to make that rule fair and just, we can do this all together. We don't need these guns to win, we are lovers - lets insist it's our life! I love how it was a "mistake" or mistatement from Secretary of State Kerry that opened up the possibilty for avoinding war - that magical turn I was playing for. I hope it works, that Assad disarms, that the whole thing goes to show Obama went about it the right way, and even that he will get authorization but be able to avoid using it. This will show the way to the ideal future, because we will have natural consequences we need to deal with as the whole worrld, together, such as global warming, and we can't waste time, resources and lives on problems we keep making for ourselves, enforcing our own consequences. We face big consequences for what we have already done, naturally, and we need to start working together. Weapons, from now on, should only be uysed to collect other weapons, and even for that there are better ways than force, than actually using force. We are finding one now, and I love it that a peaceful path is emerging despite all projections, and it shows the truth that those who are so eager for war are criticzing Obama when he apparently has plenty of power to decide but is holding that power over them to make something happen by motivating Syria instead of using power to force people to do things. It shows greater stregth to hold power back than to let it go, and can have much better effects, especially when it is the kind of power based on violence and fear. There is no ultimate reality to fear, love is the opposite of fear and it is real, fear only seems real and is a bad motivator - it gets things done sometimes but not by improving them. Buy contrast, love, seeking trust and goodness in each other, is real and will always prevail. We should know this and seek it out eagerly, and beware anytime we feel inclinned to violence -that is always a sign that we need better and more communication. Tolerating violence turns us all into Zimmermans, leading us to feel justified to kill others, which is never justified. We can start living up to these ideals and we will find that they get easier and easier, just as following Gaga becomes easier and easier the more you do it, becuase you realize how close we really are and always have been, how important that connection is and how insignificant the barriers are to it by comparison. Like I say in my song "Welcome to China": "the heart is an open door, all that's between us is 'you' and 'me'" I love you Gaga, thanks for showing us what we can be - I'm going on vacation soon and hope to return the favor to you, in my special way. Thanks, and thanks Obama - I got a little worried but I think its all going to work out, thanks to your skillful means as well as magical "accidents", and we will have more plowshares than we will know what to do with!

Gagablog 52: Artpop? Peacespell, Magical day, 9-9-13

How do I know this is an extra-magical day? I've just been expecting it since it is a cool date, 9-9. I know I'm not the only one who thinks of things this way, I honestly think we all do, in some ways, it's a natural human trait. Magical people think of it even more, that is, if you are more aware of thinking of special dates you are more inclined to get into or understand magic. I know Gaga plans things around the significance of dates, I don't know too many examples though I bet there are many – I seem to recall I had some chaos magicians staying with me around the time Born This Way came out, and it seems like it was released on 5-23, which they said was the most particular chaos date, the numbers 5 and 23, specifically. But I might not be remembering that right, I just don't want to bother checking. That Elie Goulding song is on the radio, which I really like...but why isn't it Applause? Denver!!.... I seem to recall that Artpop is scheduled to drop 11-11-13, another obvious magical date to anyone with eyes or that sort of thing. Oh, ha ha, I'm laughing at myself from a couple of years ago.... I guess I should explain, divulge, that I have only ever always been anticipating and trying to manifest a world-transforming change – that is what I have essentially been all about, all my life, since I was a kid anyway, which is why I almost immediately recognized Gaga as my “savior” - my example, and one I could hold up to the whole world, as the example that anyone could follow to help us all enter paradise, on earth. I would call her my own personal Jesus after that depeche mode song (and I do on youtube, google “youllis” and also check out my first song for her “Savior Mom” and others) and she is that personal, but also for everyone, obviously. Well, for everyone who can handle her, love her, accept her and the love of all people that she represents. What I want to say here is the world will change, it has been preparing for this transformation for years, decades, but there is a specific point, a specific date, at which it will magically transform: you could say it is “today” and maybe for you it is, in fact It most certainly IS “today”, because whatever day it occurs will be a “today” when it happens, just like every day is. While I am certain of the power of certain dates, just as we can look back on certain dates in history and say “everything changed” in some sense, at some point in time it is That Day. 11-11-13 will certainly be a day in which everything changes, in social, art, revolution sense, but it could also be that most magical day when everything changes in a whole new way. I think of the magical significance of that number 11, and 11-11, the significance so many people have felt when they see it on a digital clock, for instance, and I think it has some meaning in starseed lore or something. To me, I think of the Tarot, and how in so many images there are columns – like on the High Priestess card in the traditional Rider-Waite deck. These columns represent a gateway, a transformation. I want to avoid the longest ramble, again, in this gagablog, and I think I missed one of the main things I wanted to say in the last one, but maybe it fits better here. Um, monsters? Do you remember how it felt, how you felt, before Applause came out? The anticipation, the waiting? A while ago,, the longing of knowing it would be a while, imagining the seasons between yourself and the new Gaga songs? Even that is a good feeling, a special feeling. Another special feeling is the anticipation of a new release right before it comes out. Lana Del Rey's “Summertime Sadness” is on the radio again, and I'm glad to hear it, I can see why see is such a favorite among monsters I know on facebook, she has a sweet voice, it reminds me of The Smiths “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” But why isn't it Applause? Oh, Denver, poor Denver – rich as can be in weed and mountains, so no complaints, but really, Denver? No “Applause”? And now they are calling “Headband” quote “brand new music”? Why? It makes me mad in a way that makes me laugh at myself – I am assuming they get plenty of requests for “Applause” but I'm really ready to hear it....for the First Time....on Denver Radio. There's like two big pop stations here, neither of them have ever played it as far as I can tell, I should check the play lists – but it's a race to be the first and it started like, 2 or three weeks ago or more? I mean, Really! Denver! And I changed and am hearing “cooler than me” - it's like everything Old is WAY older since it isn't Applause and everything new does not seem new since it is not Applause It makes me mad in a way that makes me laugh at myself and I just want to request it – but also look forward to one of these stations winning the race and being the coolest, but so far, no luck for them or me. My point is that it is special to be waiting for something like that, anticipating it, and as Gaga shows for all of her events and performances, the excitement leading up to it is incredible, it really is one of the most powerful and exciting feelings, the hours and moments leading up to whatever Gaga is about to do next, and then the power of experiencing her perform is infinitely greater than that, even, it makes you feel so overwhelmed and overcome and connected to that same feeling in other people, in people around the world – you can just feel the level of excitement and a place in it, and it is an amazing harmonious experience. You don't usually feel that overcome with excitement, I know I completely lose any composure I have when I even think about meeting Gaga, I don't even feel like a person anymore, much less like “myself”, but I feel the huge rush of energy and connection to others feeling the same way. It is like a psychedelic experience of getting beyond the personal ego, but without any of the possible scariness of feeling out of place, it feels completely natural to feel this way around Gaga, or watching her perform, even on youtube. We watched a video of her the other day and it will be the subject of my next gagablog – she gave us all chills. I'm sure it is a well-known performance, but we had never seen it before and it had the same effect on us that it did on Howard Stern, on everyone. Well, as special as it is to wait for something, sometimes that in itself is scary, sometimes the thing you are waiting for it not good. Rihanna's “Stay” is on, and I still debate if I should youtube my own, changed version – “stay away” - but this does take a scary turn, and before it does, I want to say how sweet it was that on Animal Crossing my lovely phone fortune hotline was “today your favorite artist will release a new song” on the day of Swinefest.... when I think how magical that is, Animal Crossing is so peaceful. The thing I never managed to say in the last Gagablogs, I don't think, was how important it is that Obama sent the decision to attack Syria to congress. I have been hoping and pondering what possible solution there could be for Syria ever since the protests began and the war started there, it has taken place in many of the latest gagablogs I've written, and of course I am focused on a magical solution – see my youtube video “Violence” a spell to end all violence. I guess the idea is that a change of heart can come from either side of a conflict and they can feel ashamed for resorting o violence and seek to make tings better. I know this can happen and I've been hoping, intending, writing, and working my magic to find some clever, surprising, peaceful end to this. And it may just be bigger than this, it may ultimately be a test for the UN to live up to its purpose and really change world dynamics. Because the truth is there are many who profit from America being the world's policeman, they make money from it or gain power by being able to influence America's military decisions and use it to their own advantage. If the UN can become the worlds policeman so that America does not “have to” so that America can stop acting like it, then things can get much better because “enforcement” won't be as likely subject to these certain forces. Haha , I want to brag about “figuring this out” to everyone in the house, we are all caring people and want an end to the tragedies in Syria and also want to avoid getting into some sort of World War 3, but what I was originally getting at is that this is a magical time before a “gateway”, just like waiting for Applause was a magical time before a gateway we passed through, into a whole new world, and waiting for 11-11-13 will be anther period before a gateway. “Get Lucky” is a pretty good song and I decided to finish typing this while it is on instead of going downstairs, on crutches, telling everyone what I'm thinking and possibly organizing the ideas better – it's a nice song, over now, and and old Ice Cube song is on, “Check yourself before you wreck yourself” - and it is good, too, but why aren't either of them Applause? My point is we are waiting on the “before” side of another magical gateway, the decision to attack Syria, supposedly taking place today or tomorrow, and waiting before the magical gateway of actually attacking Syria. I hope you can tell from the way I am typing this, from the way I am comparing these things, that “magical gateway” does not always mean a good thing, a positive future for going through that gate, and we don't have to go through certain major transformations, certain such gates. OK, going to pick up some weed, be right back to finish this. Well, I had a few more minutes, tried to finish this, and ended up erasing what I was saying...basically, everything, every event, is a magical gate, some bigger and more transformational than others. The best ones, the really good ones, like 11-11-13, art pop, we will certainly go through, altogether, a worldwide change, they are destiny, the best opportunity for the best change – and even these we all go through in our own ways, of course monsters will be the most affected by the release of Artpop but the whole world will feel the magical ripples of this glorious, wonderful event. A worse event, by contrast, is the horror of war. It is something we do not have to go through, despite forces that seem to be taking us that way. Since writing a “similar” paragraph to this, we were smoking the last bowl I had in anticipation of getting more (one “difference” in the original paragraph is I started with saying how nice it is to feel so reliable about the period before the magical gateway of getting more weed, when you really expect it will happen, as we do now in CO since it is legal, and sometimes caused anxiety when it wasn't, and especially in GA where they were always more oppressive about it. ) and I learned that the congress voted against military action. I can't claim I knew this, but it fits in with the plan I was just discovering, how Obama has used their hatred of him, be it racist or ideological or paid-for by companies whose interests he threatens, but he is using their hatred against them. Getting republicans to vote against war? That is quite a trick! And if it looks morally week on their part and morally strong for Obama to come out the way he did, well that is appropriate. I'm not saying the Syrian people should be sacrificed to make a point in American politics. The problem is that America formed the mujaheddin in Afghanistan to fight Russian occupation there when the Soviet Union invaded there, and American money armed the resistance - there's a movie about it, Charlie Williams War or something - and also fostered this violent, terrorist aberration of “Islam”. Having done that, and so many other things, we are faced with repercussions of that, the continuation of those same evil forces. But if we can't own up to how our own process, our own flaws as a nation, created so many of these problems in the first place, if we continue to fight and deny responsibility and just try to destroy the ones who have been affected by our mistakes – it's like we treat the whole world like Bush treated New Orleans in hurricane Katrina – put everyone in a superdome and if they die there will be no one to complain. What kind of attitude it that? We need to take responsibility and get as many people involved to take the most responsible action. I hope that this was all skillful means by Obama, he used the right-wing being so outraged at everything he did, and the media's appetite for outrage, to pull a trick on us. Now, this won't really be true if, now that the vote is through, Obama wants to “flex his muscles” and go through with a strike, just to show what the fuck he can do and end war in Syria, but maybe start it in other places. But I just had the insight, before knowing how the congress voted, that he was planning on a “no” vote, that he was planning on looking like the one out for war, just to keep the republicans divided and have the moral high ground, but he does not truly believe that it should be up to America to act unilaterally in these situations – and even though that is the threat, that he can go through with a strike whether approved or not, he is using that as a way to keep pressure until the UN can act, and in the meantime if the Assad regime is emboldened, it only makes more evidence against them internationally. I do believe they will be completely isolated if we don't attack, I also suspect that other reports could be true, that is is a rebel faction that mishandled a chemical weapon, as AL Jazeera and others have reported, or I suspect they were attacked and it went off, and that is why America has evidence of rockets going to the area. But in the usual rush to war, the details can't come out. It may turn out that Assad used the chemical weapons and we can actually galvanize all international pressure, once proven, to end the atrocity and also end anyone elses capacity to do that or similar acts. It is too bad that, if that is the solution, it is taking so long and seems like it will take even longer, but if it does and we finally get it right, and get the UN working right, then we can work on being able to do it faster and more responsively in the future, once we believe it can actually be done. I am truly hoping that Obama is tricking everyone and is not about to order a strike on his own, but will be glad to look like the “wavering clown” who can't make a conclusive decision if that draws the attention to him, while the whole process allows a new solution for war to actually be used, I supposed for one of the first times. Once we believe in the UN, in its ability to act justly and in its power to actually do what needs to be done, I'm sure we will find ways to fix other problems there. The beautiful trick of Obama is that the people who profit from war always want war, it is their business, but in this case he could be setting the precedent to allow the UN to take over, just as he is setting the precedent for government to make decisions together and have checks and balances on what is often controlled by military and corporations, or wealthy, shady individuals. I truly think Obama has a respect for the constitution that, while he knows the presidency has developed the power to have its own wars without the congress declaring them, he is trying to restore the spirit of democratic government where the people have more control over such important issues. This is especially important after we were misled into such awful war by Bush, but that was only the extreme of a terrible trend that had been developing for decades. Obama's decision could open a new pathway for us, one that considers peace again and again before resorting to war. I don't think Obama loses any power by holding attacks as a threat instead of actually carrying them out – even as I write that, my friend came upstairs with the news that Putin made the deal that if Syria hands over all chemical weapons there won't be an attack, and Obama has agreed to this. Still waiting for Assad's response, that next magical gateway all on this same magical day, but I am hoping he has the best response and agrees and we move towards peaceful resolution, especially after taking that option off the table. Assad himself seemed to imply that the only threat of chemical weapons being used is if they were stolen – but why have them at all if you are too civilized to use them? Just so no one else will want anyone bad enough to use them to unthrone you? That does not make any sense, but the same logic ultimately applies to any kind of weapon, chemical or not – why have them? If the only reason to have a weapon is expecting to use it, aren't you avoiding the chance to come up with non-violent alternatives, especially when you consider that the time you consider using violence is when you are threatened and aren't thinking well – a girl here in CO was shot by her friend, and killed, when she jumped out of a closet to surprise him as a joke. Why did he even have a gun? There aren't even many robberies in CO, hardly. But when surprised, he killed her, It was an accident, but one that didn't need to happen. Let's hope that an attack on Syria is not an accident that does not need to happen, or if it is that we can avoid it! That is the beauty of finding any way to contemplate violence before doing it, because ultimately violence is never the answer. If the Assad regime had used the threat of its military power, instead of actually using it, against protest, it would have some legitimacy, but it lost it by killing people. We can be the “bigger” party and look for a better solution than violence. I think Obama may have played this cleverly, a real genius ploy, to take on the mantle of War in order to make people question war who never usually do, to let the congress take power back it used to have but has lost, but ultimately to empower the American people to feel like they have influence. How does that work? We see all the polls, and hear analysis of it, but public opinion does not actually decide things, just influences them. Having all the discussion and debate about Syria, and having the traditional threat of military response but now with the public suspicious and weary of war, and congress split for once along non-partisan lines, we have a very unique opportunity for debate that makes everyone feel more empowered. It is very different than the Bush wars, by either Bush, or even the many times Clinton used the military, when we were basically just told how it was all going to go down. I really think this is the gateway that will lead to more citizen involvement and community decisions, including the world community coming together for the best good of all. I think this is being proven by Russia showing a path that all should be able to agree upon, while all along we have been calling them, or they have been, the main power opposing action against Syria. But this proves my point that we can have trust in human nature, in the Syrian people to form a better government and for other governments to act in accord with growing sense of global community and responsibility. Another magical thing about today is protests that were held worldwide to send a message to Russia to change their homophobic laws, or was that yesterday? But you can see how from all sides we are coming together in more and more ways and being responsible to each other. It is wonderful, if sad, that we are learning to work together in the face of the use of terrible weapons, when really we need to be able to work together to address the global issue of climate change and would have needed to do this even if we had ended war before. But the truth is we can end war, all war, and from then on we can stop military spending and pursuits and use our money and ingenuity toward better, more adventurous and beneficial ends. I'm hoping Obama's handling of Syria has managed to kick this new dynamic of working together into action, with consensus and taking all opinions into account. I'm hoping that it will lead to a world of peace, ultimately, as I have been predicting throughout this blog – the way we solve Syria can be the way we realize we can end all war. It is a major transformation, and will take a little time, but we may find we have much speedier progress than we ever imagined, once we finally start going in a completely non-warlike direction and see how good that can make thing, how much progress we have and happiness we achieve. So I was glad to see Gaga's performance of Applause from the VMAs since I missed them then watch Kerry say that we were going to continue seeking diplomatic solutions, and get the people involved, at te same time that he was making the strongest case for war. I don't think Obama “left him out there” as pundits suggest, I think he filled that role so Obama would not have to seem hawkish, which is the right way to be. I also don't think there is any merit to the idea that Obama's credibility is challenged by not striking immediately, or by asking congress to vote, because this is based on the idea that when he said “red line” he meant “you use chemical weapons and we will attack.” In fact, if you listen to what Obama said, he was saying that he was not considering military force but if chemical weapons were used it would be crossing a red line that would “change his calculus”, meaning change what he was considering. It does not force him to act a certain way, just says the options change if those weapons are used. Anyone who suggests Obama has to make good on a threat or something to save credibility are just mistaken and have some issue or are caught up in that bully mentality of might makes right. Gaga shows us and tells us that right makes right- “I don't need these 14k guns to win I’m a woman I insist its my right” I’m so glad she is here, doing such wonderful art, and it gives me such hope for the future, for what we are all becoming, and it is such a wonderful example I want to follow to do my part to get us there. I'm so respectful and appreciative of leaders who are strong enough to change things and make things happen without force. Syria will always go down as a great tragedy but maybe as the last great self-inflicted tragedy of humanity and maybe the silver lining is we can learn a way to continue to work together to solve all the worlds problems and then advance into a glorious future as united humanity. Like when Gaga was at the bottom and only had her denim jacket and bedazzler, and she had to learn to trust herself; we really seem, hopefully “seemed” now that this magical day has provided a break and change of course, on the verge of potential catastrophe. If we came back from the brink of that, but it required some powerful moments where people really considered and decided to trust some other people to do the right thing, well, like Gaga realizing she had to trust in herself, and the power it gave her to teach us all how to believe in ourselves, this belief in people, in ourselves and in others, is what will save the world. And I'm really glad to see the transformation taking place, even if it has seemed scary at times. Now I'm going to end this and smoke a bowl of this wonderful Grape Ape weed I just got more of, with all my magic and intention for a peaceful solution in Syria, for Assad to turn over all chemical weapons and set the standard for the world to take these, and eventually all weapons, out of the picture. I' so excited for Artpop, for the music, the way Gaga presents it, and for the cultural revolution it will enact and the magical transformation it will accomplish, and I'm also very pleased for the pathway to peace that will be coinciding with it, hopefully. She just said the new jar smells so good it smells like Holy Elixir so I guess its time to start it.

The Luckiest Monster and "Brittany Code" (glee refrence), Love

Ok, there are a lot of ways that I am not the luckiest little monster – I've never met Gaga, never been to a show, I don't think Gaga has had any personal awareness of my existence. She tweets and talks with plenty of people, has the closest affection for the fans lucky enough to meet her – one girl Jess who is my facebook friend has pictures of meeting her on numerous occasions, including one where her face is pressed right above Gaga's bra – and I am really jealous of monsters who have those connections and contacts with Gaga, but more I'm happy for them and hope and believe I will meet her and get to hang out with her, too. But I'm pretty sure she does not know who I am – I like to think she would contact me if she saw anything I did for her, and just I have not come into her personal awareness. Magical and spiritual and artistic awareness, yes, I know that she somehow mystically knows who I am, we are after the same art and magic. I “even” have this idea that much of the new album / performance at the iTunes festival was like a love letter to me, personally, even if she doesn't know who I am – the love she has for that perfect someone out there that she hasn't met yet ( she even said recently that the luckiest little monsters are the ones she hasn't met yet ) but I also expect other people feel this exact same way, that she is perfect for them, too and that she was and is singing to them. And of course she is singing to each and every one of us, as her audience and fans whom she loves, but you know what I mean, that special mystical feeling that she is singing “just” to you, in a way, that you - or hopefully me, what am I talking about! Ha ha – are the one she has been secretly waiting for, and now she is singing about wanting to meet you. Gaga did say she loves to hear our songs – I did not even have the intuition that she has heard mine yet but just thinking about it now, as if my songs were some of the ones she meant when she said she loved hearing them – well, it gives me butterflies – Oh! There is a rainbow outside, see if I can get a pic and be right back.... It was gone, but I first saw it while driving home and then turned onto my street, driving straight towards it, just as Gaga went into the key change “seen all the signs from above” line of “Fashion of His Love”.And the whole drive I was already composing this in my head, thinking about how lucky I am. At the time, realizing that the fact that I live a block from the easiest N/S corridor in the dankest city in America in itself is really sweet, just a very pleasant perk – the street part, with just a nice park between. But the Denver part, the Emerald City, well, it is just paradise here for weed, and I guess the scene keeps improving accordingly even though it kind of emerged from a cultural shithole, or at least vacuum. Still, that is fertile soil and rich empty space like a canvass to paint a wonderful cultural mural on, and with the great weed laws and stores and growers set up here, I think we will always be on the forefront of the weed liberation revolution and draw more cool people out here to improve our art and music and politics and culture in general. And of course I am really lucky for all the things in my personal life, from my family and work to my talents and some things I've already done but mostly for what I am about to do, working on and up to. But this was going to be the shortest gagablog ever, ha ha, so I'll get to the point. I believe in Gaga and all she does is come more and more true for me. It is the glorious fulfillment of magical faith and love, and love and trust in art as the Truth. This is why I try to say things about what Gaga will do before I hear or see them– I have some psychic and foresight gifts anyway, but with Gaga there is more than that. I still have not seen the whole iTunes show because it kept freezing and I had to keep refreshing it, chopping it up and missing crucial parts of the things she said between songs as well as lines of lyrics – I was really upset with iTunes, grateful for the show in the 1st place but resentful that I had to get all their software 1st to watch it instead of them just providing an easy link with an ad or something, then for it not to work well – especially after Gaga had almost cried at the GMA interview when she said the reason she did not want her songs leaked is because she wanted everyone to see the visual at the same time, the first time we heard the music and words – it makes sense to me, she talks about how we communicate with each other, and with her, through images and the images are an integral part of the art. But iTunes did not do Gaga justice, and I joked to hide my pain that I would have gotten a better slideshow from Twitter, since it was frozen every second. And I know it sounds lame to some people to hear it caused me pain to miss seeing the full, video, flowing performance and hear all the words, see all the expressions, everything, at the same time as all the other little monsters that were lucky enough to see it live – but of course even more had to work or go to school or missed it for whatever reason and had to watch it later - and I still get to watch it later and it be new to me, my own unique experience with her, and I like that, magically, for other reasons, too. But I was really mad that they messed it up, just because I know Gaga would prefer if more of us could see it all together. Still, I could tell how amazing the show was and I know it will be a big deal when I do watch it, probably soon. The whole basis of my belief in magic is (as Homer says “sorry Lisa, can't change the future”) that everything works together in magical ways and shows magical connections. They may usually be so complex or weird you can't notice them or would not likely do so, but of course people have things that happen to them they feel are “magical”,no matter how “seriously” they mean the term. And the thing about Gaga is she is magical, and I believe its the same kind of magical belief I have always had – I feel like I can prove the power and truthfulness of it by making comparisons or predicting things about what she will do or mean with new art. At least to anyone sympathetic to enough of these ideas. The main idea is that magic is everywhere, but somethings are so magical it stops being subtle or surprising and is constant, powerful, and to be expected instead. We are all capable of going to this magical state, like going over the rainbow to the magical fairyland of Oz – my book will be all about this. But Gaga is already there, and I have always sensed her to be true in the same way I sense anything to be true – something sure that comes true, the sure feeling of love when it is strong, the truth of beauty in nature and art. It really is Art at the heart of it all, Art is the core of magic, because while magical connections exist between everything Art makes special connections that can become the most powerful magic possible. I know that Gaga will always say it better than I do, in lyrics or an interview, and the best I will do is craft some useful exposition in which to quote her to prove a point, and while plenty of monsters know far more about what she has said, they are much better and more thorough in researching her, everything I have heard from her confirms and deepens my belief - “my religion is you” truly applies to how I feel about Gaga, because she is the form in which I see all my dreams and magical beliefs come true - and not just as a witness to her greatness, but like the rainbow that appeared as she sang the line “sign from above” it creates special magic in my life – and this is how I join her in the core of magic: even as a fan, paying attention to her would make more magical things happen in your life – I met a girl in Animal Crossing who likes Gaga but isn't crazy about her like me, I told her about my magical belief and tried to send her a letter in the game, and the next time I talked with her she said she got a free perfume in the mail from a company she shops with, a loyalty gift, and it was designed by Mark somebody (?) and he is connected to Gaga, either designs for her or she wears the same scent, some magical connection she felt like mentioning to me since she knew I love Gaga.. Next Simpsons is on, everyone is here to blaze one, be right back. Like I said, I trust that Gaga will say it better, and that many other monsters know much more of what she says than I do, but I know I have always felt the same spirit of truth and see it manifest the most in Gaga, because she is making the most powerful art and music and to me these are the things that form the future, they create the world. I see her as proving all of this to be true, and I can just watch and listen like everyone else and be satisfied that it is manifesting what I have always wanted, but I want to be involved, I want to make art that inspires Gaga the same way she has inspired me. That is why it is the core of magic, too, that runs through everything. Just like the girl who noticed something magical about getting that perfume just after meeting someone with magical belief in Gaga, just that little level of exposure, it increases the belief in magic. I have always believed in magic, years before Gaga emerged, but believing in it and seeing it come true through her, but most importantly how that makes me 'get involved” myself, well, you can feel that it is the heart of magic, of love – Art. Gaga will give us plenty of examples and it will get easier and easier to talk about art, love, magic, but even now when it is hard and my “shortest edition” is probably painfully long, well I have to go for it anyway because Gaga pleases me so much and inspires me so much (“Let him go Lou, this time he's not following his nose, he's following his heart.'- Wiggum “Sometimes I don't remember why you're chief, but I remember now!(sobbing)” Lou, in the background as I write this “That'll do snake, that'll doo” -Willie) I just can't resist. Well, this is as good a place as any to wrap this up. I'm mostly pleased to have everything so good, I love living in this weed paradise where the best dank is only 200/oz, delivered, and about to get cheaper and in stores everywhere, I love my lover and family, I love how my lover understands my love of Gaga as well as anyone, I guess, and would not min if Gaga wanted to borrow me whenever she wanted, I love how my art and music and writing are finally coming together, magically – as is my magic, come to think of it! Everything seems good to me, really like heaven as Artpop is coming out more and more and the world is getting magically and culturally better in response to it, along with it - it's “the Brittany Code” on Glee, now.... I think that proves my point. I was a little wrong about Miley/what's his name, rObin – she said he planned it, I still haven't seen it to decide for myself, I should not have taken the blogger's word that he looked uncomfortable before watching it myself, but I guess I wanted to see something “bad” or embarrassing happen to him – and that proves my point that even then, writing about trying not to, I still gave in to overshadowing and negativity -after all, Gaga said not to be negative about any artist, including Thicke. But I was also proven right that Gaga said we should not criticize Miley, she said pretty much what I knew she would say, as she always does, just better than I could imagine – but this is how art and magic come true, even wen you believe in them – like smoking weed, it's always good in a new, surprising way. I really love Gaga, she means so much to me, it is so hard to stay focused and keep it simple – I suppose I should focus more on her and Love/ART/magic and not worry about anything else quite as much as I do. I am lucky now, having broken my foot, that I could get medical care and I am now on crutches with a boot. I'm glad I can still work, and I have a vacation for ten days after this workweek, and I could feel bad that I can't run around as much while on vacation, or that it is a little cumbersome, but the truth is I was already planning and hoping to spend most of my free time working on writing, songs, art, all sorts of creative stuff – including publishing my book “Wendy the Witch School Drop Out” that I finished 7 years ago when I got this job and just have not been able to get back to publishing it ever since, and I'm going to write my book that I have been composing in my head for at least two years, a non-fiction book about Oz Magic, Gaga, technology, art, chaos, the future, and sex. I think I will put the gagablog on hiatus, mostly while working on that, but I wanted to make a short into/conclusion to it here, sorry if it was not that great. But I am reminded of Gaga when she was hurt and could only write and compose, and I hope that is how I will deal with this too – I never imagined I would be excited to break a bone. But I'm glad it really does more to force me to focus on my creative work, really creative stuff not just writing to get it out of my system because I have not done it enough for so long - but I love anything I do that focuses on Gaga, and I think I can get even more focused, more into my heart and the best art, I know it takes all of my skill as well as grace and magical improvement to do a picture of her, or song for her, with justice to her love and beauty- but I'm ready for it. Fondue for two just ended in which Brittany is using “the code” - it's that sort of thing, this Gaga at the core of everything, the artpop revolution (the song during commercial on glee sang “revolution” at the same time I wrote that, exactly) that I wanted to describe as turning something inside out – like (now a s'tick revolution” from maybelline) like a garment, a sequined dress. If reality, now, is like a sequined dress, turned inside out, so all we see is the threads and seams and batting and knots, etc, and its not too pretty, well Gaga is reaching down, to the bottom and pulling it to the top, and turning it inside out, revealing the true, paradise reality that has been hidden underneath, the glorious sequined dress now that it catches and reflects the light in millions of ways and tints. It is the same spirit you could call “The Holy Spirit”, that is finally renewing fuller goodness in the Catholic Church and the whole world through Pope Francis and “his” style. You could call it Buddha, because it is, too; well it is one. But I call it Gaga, it's easier for me, and like I said, since she says it the best, and as we hear more and share more of what we understand, and all come to understand love and magic and art better, it will be easier and easier for more and more people to understand these best and most wonderful “secrets” of life. I can't wait to explore more and apologize for getting so far ahead of myself. I need to make art, write, and focus, use all this magic for the best purpose. If this is the first time you've read the Gagablog I encourage and warn you about reading more- it's really long. This IS a short one. But skim over, click it randomly, see what you get- it is written magically, randomly, chaotically, with that sort of magic in mind, so it should work well that way. Or start at the “bottom” the first one, and read through chronologically – reading up (since more recent are placed above others in this format). I thought about, for the hell of it, publishing it after inverting it, to read as it was written, instead of backward. But the theories about “schizophrenia”, magic, seeing the future and seeing the current state from a future perspective, even as the commercial says “look both ways”, well, that works well for it being 'backward” in time, too. I'm just hoping this can work some magical way for you, just as it does for me, even if it does not “work” so well as magical writing. Maybe I will have gotten the wild, random, monster of typing out of my system so I can focus more on the Gaga art and songs and Gaga/Oz/magic book. I hope you enjoy them all, or a taste of any of them, and I hope they will be shared enough to eventually be shared with Gaga, so she can share my love for her the same way I’ve shared her love for us, for me, even if she does not know me yet. And even if we don't meet her, she inspires so many of us, hopefully we can find others who are inspired by her, too, and are our own personal Gagas, as I am lucky enough to have in my special, magical, witchy lover. They just did a “song about rainbows” intro on Glee, I should go out on that. Gaga, I love you!Monsters, Paws Up! More, and making more, and incredible, sense soon! Thanks! Oh, and as the Brittany Code episode that has been the background for this is wrapping up, she is giving a speech about how she never believed in herself before the Glee club. I was going to publish this and realized I had to add that I feel the same way – it is the love Gaga gives us that makes us feel so safe with each other to be supportive, and other little monsters are trhe most supportive people I have ever met, by far – it is like our family resemblence: love, support, encouragement, creativity, uniquness is what unites us – I love you all and especially you, Gaga, really especially you, I love uyou so much and your real hair is so beautiful, I need to be the best artist I can be to make a love letter to you as beautiful as Artpop is to all of us, to reflect my sequin of that love back to you, and I dream of meeting you, maybe in the Hall of Fame they are singing about – but I love you, I don't care where, ll see you here in the Emerald City or wherever you are, it will be all the more heaven to be there with you.

gagabog 50: Overshadowing, Light Breaks Through

 

This could be the most complicated gagablog yet – (*PLEASE skip to the last paragraph, the summary, added the following morning to the original writing on 8-29-13, to save time) it might only be possible to understand it as an attempt to describe something about magic, I mean, it might not be possible to understand it in any other way. So it might force the type of magical understanding that I have been going for throughout the gagablog. I decided to call it “overshadowing” and address some things about Gaga's VMA performance, though I haven't seen it yet, about the relationships between lovers and the war in Syria, and about Oz.

My upcoming book is about Oz/Gaga/magic/technology, and I would say this is the last edition of the gagablog before I focus on that, but I'm currently listening to the remix of The Edge of Glory, from the BTW remix album I just got in the mail – that was the one edition I titled and never came back to write yet. But aside from that epilogue I want to wrap things up here. I certainly want to end the war in Syria with a peaceful solution, not one that leads to WW3, and this has been a theme to this gagablog for years. And for far longer, decades, I have wanted to heal the rift between men and women, do my part to figure something secret about that out. In my mind these are two ends of the spectrum that includes all suffering on this planet, the rift between and within individuals at “one end”and war at the “other” - but all other problems fall between these. And I think all our problems spring from the same source, that rift between people and especially male/female, and the most extreme of these continues to be war – that's the furthest complication of this same problem from the actual root cause. But it is also the root cause of all other problems, the most prominent ones that figure in are rights and justice, greed and poverty, and pollution and health, from disease to global warming. I can see how all of these arise from this same rift between people, but the most extreme one is war, the one we can make go away first, even though it seems the toughest, then quickly fix the others, is war. And of course we could get rid of war the way we should – our leaders could work to resolve differences and come up with solutions that don't involve violence, but that is what they should do when unfortunately they have shown time and again their willingness to send others to war. If we have any special love or respect for underdog rebels it could be based on the idea that at least they risk their own lives to fight more often, but we should respond to our better natures and say it is time that we stop giving respect to anyone who would rule by violence. Unfortunately the current news is that America is sending more warships to the region and possibly preparing for punitive strikes, not aimed to remove Assad from power but to diminish their military abilities and punish them for using chemical weapons., so goes the claim. I say this is unfortunate for a number of reasons, but of course if this is what it takes to end the situation, then maybe it has to happen and maybe should have happened long ago – but I can only say it is what “should” happen if it would prevent greater violence and not lead to larger war, and in that case all I can say is I hope the attack is well done with the least loss of life possible and the least repercussions. I do have some idea that completely removing the regime's air and missile capabilities in one strike, which maybe I am duped into thinking it would be pretty easy for the US military to do, would effectively end the situation before anything more dramatic could happen, and leave the regime begging for any sort of deal.

But I don't promote violence and see this is a last ditch attempt to avoid that resolution and certainly to avoid an outcome similar to that but with far worse results, like a broader war. And when I say “attempt”, I mean magical attempt – I know no one reads this so it is more an appeal to the universe, or a prayer, but with the dimension of trying to “purely magically” change the course of the world. And what am I really trying to change, how do I expect this to happen? As I said, I think war and such massive violence is one end of a spectrum of difficulty caused by humanity, and at the other end is something about a rift in intimate personal relationships. I know I was responsible for great anguish and suffering in my love relationship with my wife, but also within myself – I cause that suffering and can see how I cause it and why. And my only “defense” for doing it is that it is a mistake, a mistake I make in trying to be closer to her, or trying to be true to my real self when there are parts I have been neglecting (“meet me, meet me” over and over at the beginning of this Electric Chapel remix) How does that compare with Syria, for instance? Can it be said that one side, in its way, is trying to be closer to the other, to make the country whole – but maybe is making mistakes based on its insecurity?

What am I really trying to say here? Am I complaining that my relationship troubles are bad enough that I should be comparing us to Syria? No – things are really good between us, actually, but I have recently made the same mistakes over again and caused more unnecessary pain, all out of my own insecurity or fear of losing the relationship, ironically over initially my own insecurity but then creating the only condition that actually threatens our relationship, my anger when we are “negotiating” whatever my issue is - and it usually comes back to my insecurity. In some ways I feel like Assad, in some ways I feel like the rebels – I feel like my sentiment can be compared to them, my desperation and willingness to violence in these situations, in my case the violence of getting angry or desperate and yelling, but I think it is the same basic emotion that makes people, men, continue this war. I truly think all of these issues arise out of the rift between men and women, or between the masculine and feminine within two people in a relationship or within one person, but of course they have arisen with the force of culture and governments behind them into different structures which collapse in their own unique and sometimes fantastic ways. But within all of that is the same rift between men and women – for all the widespread violence in Syria it is almost entirely men who are responsible for it, women were only responsible for the initial stages of nonviolent protest that sparked off all that has happened since - but the part of the women was and continues to be nonviolent. I believe in some way of healing the rift between woman/man and finding a new discovery or setting a new example that can heal the world. In a way it is talking about the mystery of love, but at first focusing on some of the darkest, twisted parts, the problems, before allowing the light and best of love break through, and knowing it will break through, trusting in that to make us bravely face the bad, is the only way, otherwise the bad can be so awful-seeming it makes us reach terrible conclusions instead – we are trying to save the relationship, or country, by dealing with something but end up destroying it instead, in our “passion” or whatever, but it's destroyed, we ruined it. We have to find the way to avoid that.

What does this have to do with Gaga, with Oz? It is the principle of overshadowing – I want to write the Edge of Glory edition right now as that remix plays – its just about going all out, to the extreme, for what you believe, in this case Gaga, and how you can go completely nuts with it, to the most mystical and psychadelic and meditative and ecstatic extremes, how you should do that, how that is what it is all about – but I will get to that in detail in that edition. Here is the principle of overhsadowing as I just devised it this morning: when I am upset about something that seems like my wife does not care enough about me or our relationship, and in getting upset about that I end up acting terribly and actually causing a scene that is a threat to our happiness, where previously it was really in my head, well, that is a big mistake. I should not go down that desperate, violent path. And the thing I have plenty of evidence of is that it is a mistake, I always understand it afterwards when I calm down and think more rationally – and it helps to get something out in the open and addressed, that is an important part of how I can calm down and stop feeling insecure, but there are other ways to get to that needed communication without throwing a fit. I know this, and I should have enough experience to keep me from going through that again, but I have not fully learned my lesson. The lesson is overshadowing. It is a dark shadow that I am facing, my own insecurity, that makes me worry and act out in the first place, but this creates a far darker shadow, upsetting my wife. And this threatens the darkest shadow of all, my greatest fear, losing our relationship, separating from her – and again, the only thing that could really make that happen is me acting awful out of my own worrying about it, when there was really nothing to worry about. This is essentially the rift between male female or between lovers, the rift of love, and the source of all problems. Some people deal with that rift much more easily or expertly than I do, they are more confident or have some more established or traditional roles in their relationships. I think many people deal with it in unhealthy ways, including many of those traditional forms, and these ways give rise to greater complications – oppressing women is, I think, the basic source of all complications and suffering on the planet. But we all have that rift, however we deal with it, and I can't really look down on Assad for instance for something I imagine he might have of a sexual problem and how that contributes to him wanting to cling to power when I myself have some sort of issue that still makes me whiny and upset at times. I can say this, when things are good between my wife and I, and has thankfully been the case for much of recent times, I sometimes think of Syria and what is going wrong there, what could be done. When we have an argument, the place really isn't on my mind – it has been overshadowed, in my experience, by something “even worse” - from my perspective. Of course if my wife and I were in Syria we would not be arguing about these things, those concerns would be overshadowed by fear for our safety and future.

And if I learned my lesson, I would let my fear of actually losing my wife due to being an asshole to her overshadow my fear that something that just happened might indicate she does not love me as much as I wish and let that start me down that dark path. Now, when I think about how that compares to Syria, what should they think should overshadow whatever is bothering them now?

I guess I don't know all the original complaints in Syria, one of them was surely that the people did not have enough power in choosing their leadership – an issue we struggle with in our own special way in America, too. But soon the issue became government oppression and killing of its people in response to the protests. This overshadowed even the original concerns, and though it might “just” be an overt manifestation of the same problems that have been underlying the unrest, as more and more people are killed that in itself becomes the reason for the fighting. In comparison, I might be upset at my wife over one little thing then I complain about it, don't like her response, and in the argument that ensues you can't really say it all “came out” of that one complaint, that was just the trigger that brought it up but at some point in an argument, and at most points in a heated argument, you aren't even arguing about the original issue anymore, you are arguing about the very fact that you are arguing – though that can sustain itself for a surprising and terrifyingly long time. If it was a more productive conversation where we weren't saying increasingly mean things and reacting to those, if it actually stayed focused on the orinignal issue without getting “overshadowed” and more negative, we would call it a debate or disussion, not an argument. The sign of an argumentis the increasing, escalating negativity, and this is the process of overshadowing - one thing gets overshadowed by soemthing worse. And in arguments in a relationship, you put each other through saying mean things to one another because you know, or hope, or are testing that the love will shine through at the end of it and resolve everything. In a civil war, you fight and destroy things based on the idea that the side that prevails will be the best caretaker of the country after the fighting is all over. After saying it so simply it is easy to see there is a flaw in this reasoning – why let control and protection fall to the one who is most successful at violence? And the reason that flaw is easy to see when looking at people perpetuating war, but hard to see when it is me myself perpetuating an argument, is because of all the “build-up” between personal relationships and war: you can notice that whole spectrum by thinking about that difference and how it is hard to notice when it is “too close” but easy to see how utterly ridiculous the idea is of “fighting” to resolve conflict, when it a whole nation of people. But the question is equally ridiculous when asked of two lovers in a fight: why test love with meanness?

This is the main message that I got out of the story about Jesus confronting the devil – he concludes by saying not to test the lord, thy god. I'm not saying I have learned to apply this lesson, if I had I would not argue, but I have always understood it to mean do not “test 'God'” and that “God is Love” so that means do not “test love” - meaning, do not set obstacles for love to overcome, do not make it more difficult to love, do all you can to encourage love and make it possible, because in addition to being the strongest power in the universe there is something fragile and delicate about love. The problem with an argument between lovers is it starts with something small, or maybe a “really big deal” but still nothing compared to the whole immensity of love, but that something small represents an absence or miscommunication of love, it represents that terrible rift. And it may in fact be tiny, it may only be a misunderstanding or it may all be in my head but it still gives a sample of and opens us up to that energy of the absence or breaking of love, to heartbreak and despair. In a civil war we get opened up to that awfulness by our family and friends and neighbors being killed with no justice. Opening up, being faced with that awfulness is just the triggering event, though, and it is the escalation phase where everything gets worse, overhsadowing the original problem and creating a badness that takes on a life of its own. In personal relationships that flare-up of a new, self-sustaining evil energy dies out again mostly after the two people reconcile – I use the terms “triggering”and “escalation” from my work with abused kids and have seen the cycle all the time, the kid gets upset, is taking it out on the caregiver, saying and doing all sorts of violent and cruel things to you, and you know it is not actually personal but rather something based on their childhood of abuse and neglect, and if you end up reacting to it as if it is personal it feeds into the energy and prolongs the outburst but if you can somehow avoid that then the outburst allows the child to release emotion and then a positive relationship can be restored – but in a way, subconsciously maybe, the child is trying to test the relationship you have, in most of these cases because they came from families that really failed them in major ways and you are the first person who is taking care of them that they are learning to trust, but wary of trust and trying to push you away.

This is the case anytime there is a problem – for me, it is a problem of insecurity and when it comes up and I feel like I don't get the loving response that I desire. When people protest nonviolently, they are hoping their concerns will be addressed. But when the government instead of showing concern kills them, well that quickly becomes the more pressing concern and can overshadow the peaceful beginnings. If all I really want is to get a kiss I feel like I missed, then it turns into an argument, then that is a problem, but we can expect to resolve it. If a kid at my work acts out and we respond to the action instead of the kid's underlying desire to feel loved and cared for, it prolongs the outburst. In that case the kid does not know there will be a good outcome, so many interactions with adults have ended up badly, and they can go all out in desperation and violence over what seems to be the smallest trigger, not being called first in line for instance. But the adults know that “everything will be okay” and can act accordingly – we weather the attacks and screams and slurs in order to model that. The person in power, Assad, should be able to do the same but obviously has some problems. And we have problems too when we let the attacks get to us – and these are kids so the attacks don't generally hurt that much physically and I feel rude suggesting that the same principle could be applied to Syrian rebels when their family has been murdered, to not let the attacks bother them. I feel less rude saying the Syrian government should not have acted so threatened and killed people in response to the non-violent protest in the first place, that was the worst move and the greatest “flaw”, as well as continuing and escalating the killing. But I should not get mad at my wife over a perceived unlovingness and should not continue to argue with her if that comes up, either. In one reading of the analogy, the governement is responsible for being the adult and weathering complaints without reacting violently, they, like the staff at my work, are the ones in power so they are responsible for how things go down. Another way to look at it is that the non-violent protestors have the greatest power, truth and justice on their side as proven by commitment to non-violent change and holding to the belief that this power is greater and will ultimately win out, like we know at our work that the kids will be able to accept being more cared for and give up their behavior that is based out of fear of not being cared for. When I'm not being immature in my love relationship I know that our love will see us through any difficulty and can trust in that and not get upset,not give in to how insecurity mkes me feel and fear the negative. This is truly the greatest power, trust in love and in the power of non-violent change, and the adults in the room are the ones who are committed to it – knowing that goodness can win out without violence, and that even violence does not require a violent response.

You can say it must be easy to remember that dealing with little kids, no matter how badly they behave because they are just little kids and they can't really hurt you physically for the most part. This is true, and remembering it is part of what enables us to deal with stuff that really would totally freak most people out, and maybe even cause them to respond to kid in a way they never would expect of themselves. But we get used to it, and even then you always feel that pull of negativity, and that is how I feel so certain of the nature of the power of overshadowing. Because your wisdom and better nature and training and everything are eroded by reacting to negative behavior negatively and it can happen to anyone, it drags you in and overshadows goodness. And this happens with me and my wife, whom I love dearly, but getting into something negative, getting a negative response, and then responding more negatively myself sets us in a spiral that is only saved by the fact that we are really in love – but again, that whole process is the only thing that really tests our love and the whole idea of testing love is wrong.

But it is something we all do – everything we do is in some way a test for love in the world, though most of these are really positive, like testing the water to get in – the things we do to get a response in the world, our work, our art, our helpfulness, friendship and contributions. But love we already have and are afraid of losing in some way, or feeling the lack of love that we need, these negative experiences are what tempt us to “test Love itself” in that way that Jesus warned us against. Fear is what makes us act in ways that ultimately manifest our fears, feeling that someone has been uncaring and feeling the need to test their caring, or in the case of rebels, feeling so disrespected they feel like the government does not value their lives at all, acting in response to that and finding that it really seems to be true and even worse than they thought. But of course it is not like the Syrian government detests its people out of some organic evilness, they are responding out of fear and demonizing the enemy to justify war – it happens on both sides of any violent conflict. And the essential principle at play that makes this possible is overshadowing, which is why that is the focus of this blog.

Overshadowing drags you in and just gets worse, and that can be “okay” in a relationship if you realize you love each other afterwards and make up and learn something from what was addressed. You can resolve any conflict with Love, as long as love is the goal and basis for everything -love is the ligh that will ultimately break through any darkness. That is supposedly the case when both warring factions “love” the country, but there obviously is not enough focus on love to avoid destroying it – just as, in any relationship, someone can get so off focus from love that it destroys the relationship, no matter what they say they feel. I feel like even though I say I have learned this lesson, I really need to apply it and not get mad when I feel like I am not being loved or appreciated, to just be patient. This is because I truly know that we are in love. In some relationships that is not the case, just as in some countries the government really does not care enough for the people, and in those cases people should be able to change the situation, the relationship or government, or get out. But there is also the possibility of a relationship that could be saved, or a country that could be preserved, and the greatest threat to that is the overshadowing process when problems come up. Even a country that is destroyed or a relationship that is ruined can provide a lesson to do it better next time, but wouldn't it be better to have a good break-up than a bad, or even learn the lesson about why it didn't work out and still be friends? If there is a lesson to be learned from Syria, or America, or Russia, or any country and the unique problems that country is currently having, isn't it better to somehow learn that lesson while there is still something left, instead of only having the example “look what happened to Syria” or “America” or, as we say now, “Rome”. Wouldn't it be better to change things and have living examples of success instead of dead warnings against failure? But this is the danger of overshadowing, letting negativity continue to take over until only the worst outcome is possible.

This is why I say any problem can be solved if both parties are committed to love, but saying you love your country means conducting yourself in a way that shows you want there to be something left of it. There are “adults in the room” in Syria, there are people there who are still committed to nonviolent change, and probably even more who are good and peaceful people but who have become overshadowed into violence. But the purely good ones left are not in power, and the two sides what are fighting for power are pretty violent, increasingly overshadowed – they aren't up to the challenge of resisting that pit. So, in theory, we rely on the adults at the UN, or in the most powerful countries, to help sort things out. But apparently their aren't enough adults to do things properly that way, either - you can't argue that they don't have enough power, it's the misapplication of power that is allowing this whole situation to continue.

In the case of two lovers fighting, between them hopefully at least one can get the focus back on love. In the case of working with abused kids, the kids may be stuck in the rift, feeling totally unloved and unloveable. Their behavior responding to being stuck in that rift where is seems there is no love can really have an effect even on an adult who knows better, an adult who has felt love in their own life and has the experience to know that even a “tough kid” can find it, too – but in the moment the negative behavior can make the adults feel that way some, too, can expose us to experiencing that terrible rift of fear ourselves and overshadow wisdom and calm. That negativity can overshadow our better nature and knowledge that love and goodness will win in the end, at least in the moment, and we can have a bad reaction to them, but ultimately the adult knowledge, the faith in goodness to win out and other good adults to give the kids good homes, that wins. Sometimes, in fact it is the most highly reccommended action at my work, it requires the adult to “switch out” with another adult who has not gotten so furstrated and upset that they are starting to react negatively – and often you keep switching back and forth, it is not like one person is better at being yelled at and attacked than another, it wears on both and starts to overshadow them, that is why the best solution in that case is to be able to leave the situation, shed the overshadowing stress and return to your better nature of calm, then absorb more fof the negativity while your co-worker does that process and gets calm enough to deal with the kid again. Eventually though continually addressing aggression with calmness the anger subsides, the actual problems are identified and discussed, and things get better. Calmness wins – always, in the end. But who wins in Syria? Is there faith that the “good” side will win, or is there a good side?

We have to try to see how even if they are only saying it, not acting like it, both warring sides want to preserve the country. In the same way that I really need to learn the lesson and stop threatening my own relationship by responding to paranoia that it is threatened, the warring parties need to realize that worse can happen than what they are currently afraid of and maybe they should chill out or change course completely. Of course, from the very beginning I was worried that this would turn into WW3, and a really bad outcome – we only just missed people's anticipation for the end of the world in 2012 and it is right in that neighborhood of Armageddon that I have been worried many people in America truly believe will be the battle that end the world and some of those people even seemed to be plotting that course in the Bush administration. But we did manage to avoid ending the world in those wars, and maybe we won't end the world in the next war, but also maybe if that is a possibility we should take extra care to keep that war from even starting.

I'm kind of afraid to even check the news, to find out that there is even further escalation today, that we carried out a missile strike or something – but I'm also hopeful that that did not happen. For one, my wife and brother and law have been here on the internet and probably would have mentioned it if there was big news. Anyway, last night I was racking my brain for some magical approach, even to formulate a desirable intended outcome for Syria, and just couldn't do it. I think it speaks to how ineffective the diplomats have seemed at anything other than continuing to prepare for war that we did not even think until this morning that one possibility could still be the “standard” diplomatic solution – but that is still possible.

All along my magical focus has been on manifesting some surprising event – and the best outcomes I recall were higher-up generals defecting and growing international pressure and support. Of course there have been various breakthroughs and setbacks of support for the Syrian people, but I knew I had not hit upon any real good solution. My wife is a great witch but did not want to get involved with me on such an unfocused spell, which is where we most often differ in magical practice - focus. I was still wondering about it today when I considered how I really would approach the situation according to what I call Gaga magic: how do the magical ideas in this gagablog apply to finding a real peaceful solution in Syria? Well, one of my contentions has been that world events can be magically connected to personal events and that the artistic and entertainment and liberating superevents that are pretty much everything Gaga does is a way of examining those connections and looking for magical clues. Gaga's work is always personal, to her, between her and her fans and to Art itself, but it is also a big deal and a world media event – which is why she is such a good example of magic itself and paying attention to “how she works” is so instructive about magic – in this case the magical priciple of uniting the “outer” (public/world event) and “inner” (private, personal, intimate experience of art) worlds.

She said very explicitly on her interview for GMA that she is showing transformation as a form of magic, and this will be a major theme of my upcoming book on Oz/Gaga/tech magic. I've been focused on how the “eventfulness” of her performances can be related to world events or events in my own life - I've always had a fondness for exploring that type of “coincidental” magic and this is another one of the main themes of the new book I'm writing. The reason I am writing this now is to address, and dispose of, a negative magical function that I don't think I will put in the book, this idea of overshadowing. It is all about dealing with the negative, the shadow – and this must be done. But just as in a relationship it is better to deal with the difficult things when you can be sure that love will be the outcome. Of course it usually works the other way and you deal with the difficult things when they have made things especially difficult, even to the point of making you question love. But we can get to where we know things will be good, and can be so sure of that that we are willing and able to face the tough stuff.

Governments should be secure enough in that as well, to honestly face the citizens complaints, and our government is as guilty as others, though maybe not with as awful consequences as in some cases. But we certainly have room for improvement, and could certainly stand for better examples and ideas for helping improve relationships. The biggest factor is having that security that you know the other party actually cares for you and not having to test that in the process.

When I thought this morning, “what is going on with Gaga and how does that relate to the current crisis in Syria?” I came up with the idea of overshadowing. I missed Gaga's performance on MTV's Video Music Awards, and I was really excited about it too, since I basically became super-devoted to her after her performance of Paparazzi at the VMA years ago. Even though I don't have MTV I would have tried to stream it live or whatever to take part in the event, but I just missed it, wasn't on the computer and did not hear people talking about it until the next day. And the “news” of the day was how Miley Cyrus's performance was so scandalous it even overshadowed Lady Gaga's intro performance. I detected a familiar theme, this overshadowing, and not in the same sense as an escalating conflict, but a similar principle – what drags us down, something “worse” happening and spoiling our chance at something “better”. Now I'm not here to say Miley is dragging us down or representing anything bad, I even want to praise her, but the whole “event” brings out this issue and it is an issue that Gaga addresses in the lyrics of “Applause” itself, ironically or magically enough.

It is the critics and media who decide what the most talked about part of an event is – these days it is also the activity on Twitter so it starts to reflect people's actual passions but it is still steered by the media. I'm not saying the media had a nefarious scheme to deflect attention away from Gaga, but I am saying that the way this works out is a familiar pattern of overshadowing and teaches us something about the problem of it and how to resist it – it is basically like the magnetic attraction of the negative, of absence, and could be analogous to a black hole, and love would be like light itself or stars in the analogy. You could say that whether Miley or Gaga got attention is really a trivial thing, especially when compared to war in Syria or even my own relationship issues. What I'm saying is that according to the theory of Gaga magic there is a relationship here, based on things happening at the same time. The way to explain that relationship, this time, takes the subtlest magical understanding, so I'm using it as the perfect opportunity to go for that which has been eluding me.

Gaga had an artistic message with her performance of Applause – I know because that is what she is like and because I saw one image of her from the performance, looking like a blank canvass to me. After missing the live broadcast I decided to save watching this performance to use it like a spell, anticipating watching it and it changing my world – so, watching it soon, but with the condition of having the awareness that watching it could coincide with a major breakthrough for peace, just when we need it. I also did not watch the Miley performance but got what I think is a good enough idea of it from all the descriptions and comments. I just think it shows our level of maturity as a society that whatever Gaga's message was, and I won't speculate beyond “artistic” since I haven't seen it, we don't really want to talk about it but would rather talk about Miley. We say that Miley's brazen sexual display is shocking to us and we can't stop talking about it, but it is only shocking because of the brazenness of it or because we think of her as young – which shouldn't be shocking at all since following the example of other Disney kid stars like Brittany it is completely predictable that she would shed the good little girl image. We say it makes us 'uncomfortable” as a society but this is the same society that seems pretty comfortable with teenage and younger girls with things written on the ass of their pants so that's kind of bullshit. What really makes us uncomfortable is acknowledging that we are not culturally and socially mature and sophisticated enough to have a conversation about art – its just above us, at least the mainstream.

Gaga is making art pop, mainstream, and doing so by transforming what the mainstream is. This means she is making the mainstream accept feminism, for instance, and female sexuality and even Miley twerking is a sign of progressing in that direction. It is thanks to Gaga, and Madonna and others as well, that Miley even thought to do that, but Gaga is doing even more than reviving sexuality and feminie power - though that is enough to save the world. She is also aware of the artistic potential, liberating creative power and creative people around the world, taking everything to a whole new level, a real cultural revolution, but you would have to pay a little attention to her to realize that instead of just dismissing her as “weird” - or, the one that really shows how messed up people can be trying to comform to a messed up society, when thye call her “ugly.” (its the same use of the word people have when they are racist and think all people of a certain race are “ugly”, and even the same things as homophobia- its their fear of their own attraction to people that makes people call others 'ugly' who just aren't) But it is really a testament to Gaga, and to her mission, that the media and public responded the way they did to the VMA show – because it all goes to prove Gaga's point and advance her mission at the same time, even if it seems like a “step back” instead: Gaga's ultimate mission may be to make everyone happy but this is to be understood as truly seeking to achieve an utmost ideal, including liberating people, art, and ideas and breaking down all sorts of barriers. She has the greatest vision for what we can be, and gave us a message of it in her performance of Applause – and all this writing, including what I'm doing now which was supposed to be editing and reducing the length of this (the next day from when I started, its now 8-30-13) but instead has me adding what I missed, here, all of this is me trying to prepare myself to watch it, much like I wrote my Judas blog to anticipate/ profess what it would be about to show how she lives up to my grandest artistic magical ideals. I'm already getting excited about watching it, and remembering another detail I had forgotten and anticipating how that makes my magical point – they say she piped in boos over the speaker system to begin her performance … maybe the artistic statement is how she changes that into Applause, transforms it, that kind of magic, but the Gaga magic it makes me think of is more cosmic, having to do with the whole nature of the event and how the world would receive it, immediately and in the eyes of history. Because Miley did get all the initial attention after this show – and it was a lot of boos, in a way, “ironically”, magically, according to Gaga's “plan” - not like she “made” Miley twerk or “made” the media or public aghast at it – she's not that kind of Goddess, controlling like that. But she is aware of the power and effect of her art, as well as aware of what we need in society, where we are at, currently, and how we need to grow so that we are all as repsonsive to art (and love and magic) as we can be, as we always could be, if we weren't held back by overshadowing. It is liberating the spirit, no less, and it is a kind of magic that she accomplishes through performance, and getting people's attention. I think she very well could have been aware and planned for Miley's “breakout” of lewdness and that informed the decision to play boos to start the performance – and it could have come from anything or not even happened, but I'm suggesting it either as deep magic, deep subconsciousness, or deep genius and saying those are all kind of the same thing, or closely connected. I think, knowing the way Gaga studies fame and pop culture, that she could have been very aware of these conditions for the VMA show- and just as likely or more likely was completely not thinking about any of this, but it is possible – that Miley would do something bold and America, the critics, “would not like it.” That's not hard to imagine anyway, and while Gaga probably never did think of it it could have influenced her subconsciously – and all of this stuff works that way, this is just an attempt at such reaching conjecture that if any of it makes sense it could show how art, magic, and the subconscious conspire together in this way.

If you don't want to give Gaga much credit, looking at the negative image of Gaga as a famewhore that only craves attention with no higher value, you could imagine that she might be jealous and resent being “overshadowed” by Miley. She could conclude, “well, I did overt sexuality and just wanted to move on and do more but if that is all the people want I will go back to overt sexuality only.” When my wife makes fun of my Gaga worship, looking at the possible negative, she might say I would like that, if all I care about Gaga for is as a sex symbol anyway. I see this all as the power of “overshadowing” and I do know that Gaga is sensitive and sometimes responds to the media and I do think it is possible that she could get somewhat caught up in the shadow and negative pull of being “overshadowed” - but that is something that could happen to her mood, just as sometimes something gets to me in my relationship or dealing with kids. I'm sure that Gaga feels not only secure enough in her own success but genuinely supportive of other artists that she would not resent Miley at all, but instead would be proud of her. In fact the most recent message I read from Gaga was an appeal to everyone to support all artists, to end all fan wars, etc. These themselves show “where we are at” as a society and where we need help, and the danger of overshadowing, as if we are so starved for artistic appreciation that we can't “afford” to love more than one artist. Now that I am reminded of this I realize how Gaga shows us the way to stay positive and avoid getting sucked into overshadowing, and it is in that letter to not be negative at all or engage in fan wars – or any other wars, of course. The principle is about feeling good enough about yourself, and realizing their truly is enough goodness to go around so that everyone can feel good about themselves, despite it being currently trapped. This is the cure for bullying, too – bullies, and anyone acting meanly, does not realize there is plenty of love to go around, they are stuck in a rift of feeling unloved and feel the only way to feel more loved is to make someone else feel less, and this is just the opposite of how it works. Gaga realizes this, and even she succumbs to sadness at times, even amidst all her success – that is the power of overshadowing, a little negative things has the power to overshadow great wonderful things if we give in to it. But even if we do, even the things that make us sad, there are lessons to to things better next time or to make us aware of something new we neeed to address. There is somehting good in anything bad if we have the love and security to see it through, and that is the key, knowing that is there so in the process of dealing with something bad we don't react more and more negatively, deeper into overshadowing. Even America being aghast at Miley's twerking, which really shows the problem of how the mainstream is so sexually juvenile, not really a problem with her, has some positive light to make it okay – someday we will probably laugh at ourselves for focusing so much on it and wonder why we didn't have more to say about Gaga, because by that time we will have a more artistically and sexually mature mainstream and wil be proud of our ability to relate to Gaga's Applause message – but if it is hidden for a little while by overshadowing hype of something baser that will just increase a certain secret power until it is revealed.

I'm the one who was just complaining about kids with words written on their butts so I certainly can see how negative outcomes from some things like scandalous performances can overshadow good things – indeed, most of the response to Miley seems to be negative right now. My mother-in-law called to say that she wasn't going watch it but had to see what all the hype was about an her response was “it was pure nasness. People are comparing it to Madonna but Madonna might have rubbed up against some stuff but never did anything as nasty as that.” But I want to look at the good in it and see what it means. First I have to echo something I read in an article or blog, that the great thing that Miley did with that performance was make Robin Thicke uncomfortable on stage with her. Again, I didn't see it but there is something like justice in that, that his current fame is built partly on his video of dancing sexually with girls a few years older than Miley, but she's technically legal – it was a case of something coming back to bite him, and maybe I was eager for that after hearing he proactively sued Marvin Gaye's estate for stealing one of his songs for his big hit “Blurred Lines” which the media wants to call the “song of the summer” and certainly has been on the radio every other song, at least here in Denver – he just seemed to have made a big egotistical mistake and gotten a lot of ill-will directed towards him. But mostly it sounds, to me, like some sort of table-turning, that his whole schtick is about having the traditional male power over women but Miley took control of the stage. That's the light breaking through, even after increasing darkness. He put a message out with his song Blurred Lines about persuading women to have sex with him, that has certain undertones that themselves overshadow any goodness in the song though there is goodness. But we weren't really talking about the issues that song raises, but we are talking about the issues it raises that Miley was twerking and grinding on a foam finger. To me this exemplifies the double-standard of sexism in society and the way it was never really scandalous for Robin Thicke to sing his song, any more than it is for so many other male songs with the same message – but it is scandalous for Miley to claim and own her own sexuality and use it for her own purposes, instead of just grinding on a guy because he wanted it, or knew you wanted it even if he was kind of acting like he didn't. But I imagine there wasn't really a cool way for him to act like he wasn't really into her – cool in the sense that of course he was into her but was playing it off, like with the models in his video – and of course there was no way to be cool about acting like he wanted her – “she's too young!” - though, again, maybe only a few years younger than the girls he is acting like he is properly entitled to in his video. This is an example of latant (I missed typing the b but it is blatant and latent, I guess) sexuality turning the tables on a power structure. Kind of like the women of Congo or some African country that ended a quarter-century civil war there by just saying they were tired of it and refusing to have sex with the men until they stopped the war, and they did. That took organization, too, and all those women are heroes, I should really look it up and give some credit to people involved or at least get the country right for sure. I end up mentioning it a lot because it is a fantastic example, and maybe the only example of it's kind on that scale, but its not like that is the only place that could happen, its not like those particular women have some super-special pussy that can end wars because the men can't do without it – we are all like that, we would all respond that way, it just takes people getting the idea and using it. It has to do with women reclaiming and using the power that is naturally theirs. It reminds me of the guest judge on SYTYCD who told one dancer “If I had your body I could end world hunger – there's nothing I couldn't do” -and I'm like, well, you have her body, you are a woman too – or if you really think there is an important “difference”, write down what your amazing brain could do if you just imagine the confidence or whatever you are lacking as if your brain had that body, then hand the instructions to the “girl who is so hot she can save the world.”

Turning the tables on a sexist power structure is essentially what Miley was doing and the extent that people have a problem with it just shows how far off our society is from the natural order where women have plenty of control over their own sexuality. What does it all have to do with Gaga? Well, she did her part and continues to do her part to help liberate people sexually. There is something very subtle but very powerful and important, an insidious type of overshadowing, that is revealed by examining this. And I know no one even considers this – no one except Gaga herself and little monsters even care to discuss what her message was from that night's performance, and I'm not even doing it here, since I didn't see it, but I'm talking about how that message got drowned out in the media and public perception of the whole event, and how this all shows the same nature of overshadowing that an escalating argument or conflict has, the dragging down element of negativity. It's not like Miley intended to steal the spotlight from Gaga or was part of some conspiracy, and it's not like anyone decided that we weren't ready to discuss whatever Gaga's message was – they maybe didn't even consider it. You could say it's just over their heads, art or whatever. I don't know what the message of Applause was but it wasn't just pure sexuality, and Gaga has been “accused” of that before as if it were a bad thing. Now that finger wanting to shame someone for sex is pointed at Miley, and making the pointers look foolish – though again, I haven't seen it, it could be absolutely awful and no one can say it is good on any level, but I kind of want to side with the idea that she can do whatever she wants and there is value to making people question what they find acceptable. But Gaga had some other message, about more than sex, about art, and we aren't talking about it. Partly because we just aren't ready to talk about it, we just aren't that cool, culturally, though of course the little monster community is I just have not been online to hear what they have been saying. And partly because of Miley Cyrus, but only because it reveals how juvenile we all are, the whole culture, that her performance was such an issue for us. But mostly it is the process of overhsadowing, the fac that we gravitate to a negative because it is easier to deal with than the more challenging, positive topics of love and magic and art.

In a more conspiratorial moment I would say that the whole thing was planned to steal the spotlight from Gaga and divert us from talking more about her message, but I believe there is an element of truth to that, as if the collective cosciousness's subconscious did not want us to talk about it, but would rather start the national conversation on twerking – mainly so we can mostly collectively express disdain at Miley, and all that entails – venting fears about feminism and sexuality in the same way that electing Obama seemed to open floodgates of racism as people acted like it was all the sudden their right to express their racist ideas because it coincided with something political they'd been brainwashed into extremism over. They did the same thing to Gaga and Madonna and still do, condemn them for expressing sexuality and encouraging sexual liberation when all the critics are doing is revealing their own hangups.

So the VMAs and fallout from it does a lot to show where we are at. I hope Gaga is in no way sucked into overshadowing, thinking that the hype about Miley somehow means her message got lost. I'm here to say that even before I have seen it I know that the whole event all serves to prove her message - and I'm cheating for having heard the song and seen the video and some quotes about it. But the line in applause about the critics saying whether something is right or wrong is what gets to the heart of all of this.

Gaga herself was influenced by seeing Brittany kiss Madonna at one of these affairs, and as Joe Calderone at another one told Brittany about it, but Brittany refused the kiss, which was just awkward and revealing and unfortunate on all sorts of levels, but again telling about where our society was at the time, the boundaries that Gaga was pushing in our ideas about accepting gender – it was cool and quirky in that decade for girls to kiss, Katy Perry launched a career with a song highlighting that quirkiness, though that seems old now that we are a little more mature and more accepting of love between people in all its natural manifestations. But a girl kissing a girl in drag was still a little too much, at that time, and the awkwardness of the moment says something about us all, at the time. You could see it on Brittany's face, “is it 'right' or 'wrong' to kiss her – how will thie be perceived?” and when she said she had “already done that before” she seemed to mean “kiss a girl”- I did that quirky thing already that society thinks is quirky, I checked that quirky category. And of course when Madonna kissed her it was mostly quirky, for shock value. But Jo told her how hot he thought she was, how he had pined for her and masturbated to her posters – it was not quirky, it was romantic, even love or infatuation, it was certainly passionate – not what she had done before. And of course she had not kissed Gaga before, just “a girl” - filled that category. And she had never kissed a girl in drag before – so when she said that it was like encapsulating the current mainstream view on all of this, and shows where the frontier was at that time. But this frontier keeps getting pushed further, the artists push it further against the resistance of critics and conservative and closed-minded society. The artsis generallymove us forward and the critics generally try to hold us back. These kind of events get a lot of critics attention because of their ability to shape collective opinion and therfore culture about things, and this is where I think it all relates to that line in Applause, is it right or is it wrong.

Different people form and shape and direct culture in different ways. Artists are at the frontier and critics have a lot to do with the way culture is shaped, too, but by choosing which artists to focus on and promote and which to ignore. And if critics had the talent and genius of artists they would be artists themselves but since they don't they content themselves with influencing culture around the artistic world. Since the average person does not identify as an artist, but can more easily identify with a critic simply by assuming they are both in the non-artist category, they are ready to accept a critic's view of something, someone who supposedly knows about art but is more like a “regular guy” to explain it to the other “regular guys”. Of course people have their own views of any art, that is what makes it art, it connects with people and they respond to it, but critics have an influence on whether someone sees or hears something in the first place - they decide if it is right or wrong. But of course their judgment is proven wrong about many things they scorn by the passage of history – 80's music is an example, but so is music of every decade. And when you think about how “scandalous” Madonna and Brittany's kiss was, well, by today's standards its pretty embarassing but that is where we were at the time, culturally, at least as the lesser directors of culture had positioned us. It does show improvement, but Birttany not kissing Jo Calderone a few years ago is another level of embarassment, and of course our horror today at Miley will seem silly in a few years. Of course it is the most conservative people who “simply must stop being so horrified” as the wealthy dowager said on the Simpsons after breaking another monocle. But critics who are supposedly familiar with art and culture should not give into pandering to the negative social elements of shaming and dismissing with disgust, especially when it comes to oppressed people, including all women. It really shows where we are still stuck that people get so uptight about black people demanding fair treatment under the law or women expressing sexuality and these still are big issues in 2013. It is up to artists to wrest the culture from the influence of the wealthy and conservative and the power of the media from reinforcing their stifling conservative values. They do a good job of it and it is up to us to form our own opinions as a responsible audience. Having said that, I really should conclude this and watch both videos. In the case of Miley, I can mostly hope that some of what I say seems true and that I don't want to come back and erase it all because her dance is just too embarassing for everyone – barring that I will feel happy. But when I watch the Gaga video I fully expect a magical transformation to occur, to me and to the whole world, and maybe the reason I missed it and spent all today writing this and doing other things and coming back to it, all day long, but have postponed watching it until now, is so all this buildup creates the biggest magical effect. *Now, the next day, in editing, my wife came up to see if anyone was broadcatsing the Obama address on Syria, but no one was, so I'm eager to check on all that has transpired, and do the magic of watching Gaga perform Applause for the first time for the best outcome, as soon as I finish this final “edit.”

In this way it shows the power of being overshadowed, the reason why Miley is being compared to Madonna and they really don't want to mention Gaga. I think they were mostly fully on board with promoting her to the extreme when she seemed to them to be another “mere” sex symbol, just weird. They never realized how much more there was to Gaga than that, but now they might not understand it or really realize it but they know it is there, and frankly it scares them. So ever since BTW they have been happy to not overpromote Gaga and even to dismiss her – I think karmically that is one reason I missed the VMA's this year. Even though I was planning to watch I still hold a grudge against MTV for slighting her from awards for BTW – I guess because she didn't perform there that year but it was just wrong to ignore her that way. The very fact that they omit her from the comparison of Miley to Madonna kind of is an honor to Gaga as more than “just” a sex symbol – though there are very good things about that and certainly Madonna used being a sex symbol to accomplish good things and hopefull Miley will too. But Gaga is undeniably more than that, and more and more the more you know of her, and it scares the culure-makers who can't get with it, though of course we will all be with it someday since, like all the greatest art, it shows us the way to the best future. So they try to ignore her, and some of them quite consciously, though others responding to that collective conscious subconscious that is just scared of growing and expanding its outlook. But its going to happen, and as Morrissey sings, “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get.” I saw a version of this with the wonderful Grateful Dead's legacy and image being dragged down by the Phish fad, this was a dismissive overshadowing that I thought had some careful orchestration by the Man, as much to shift the youths exposure to LSD to an exposure to XTC as to shift from a spiritually inspiring and instructive lyrical catalog and the community it inspired to some bullshit mockery instead. I also feel something like this happened with the popularization of the Wizard of Oz movie – though that in itself was great art - and dismissal of the book and other books about Oz, and even worse with further substandard retellings and twistings of the stories, with the exception of the Wiz which I just like for all sorts of reasons. But all the attention on Oz that refused to acknowledge or draw more from the actual original stories only watered down and diverted from the real message. I think there was intention behind this because the message is dangerous to the status quo, just as Gaga's is, and that is the real parallel that I will explore in the upcoming book, how both are part of this revolutionary spirit that shows us the future.

And what does it all have to do with Syria, or stopping fighting between lovers? It is that if we succumb to overshadowing, well the only thing that defeats darkness is greater darkness until the light comes. But if we aren't really going for the light enough, if we keep reacting to the bad, it keeps getting worse. Sometimes we need the threat of something worse to keep things in perspective and keep us from making mistakes and being mean to each other. It seems now that nothing could be worse to the people in Syria than what is going on, but some outcomes could be worse – it could start WW3 and really kill everybody, that would be worse. It could result in becoming like a suburb of Isreal and then they would be another Palestine having to worry about increasing Israeli settlements there - maybe they would like that better than the Assad regime? Ok, my cribchair international politics may be completely off on the possibility of that, but it popped into my mind this morning – as a possible outcome, presumably one they would not like, would the possibility of being ruled by Israel be enough to get the two sides to compromise, if not the threat of all out WW3? And I guess I don't mean that some Twilight Vampire could show them the “inevitable” future and cause them to change actions – maybe that is what the idea of the US sending 5 Destroyers there when it seems like one could blow up the whole country, show them some “inevitable” end – and I don't know that they aren't crazy or desperate enough to act violently even if you could somehow magically show to them the outcome of that action. But I'm not talking about people changing their mind because they finally realized what some outcomes could be, though that would be great. I certainly don't think you can convince enough people of a greater possible fear that can keep them from responding to their current greatest fear ever – and ultimately the only solution to fear is hope, the only cure to darkness is light. I certainly have trouble reminding myself of love when my lover and I are fighting, but then again the negativity goes away when we make up. But until the light comes, the only thing that will replace darkness is greater darkness. When we are lucky and loving we can pull through any darkness by believing in the light for ourselves, and hopefully the Syrian people can find the same, but it is so hard to imagine how they will make up after what they are putting each other through. We have to be able to show them a way, or maybe all forge a way together. If the UN is not living up to its purpose maybe there is a way it could, if we all insist it gets involved and stays involved as positively as possible in as many problems as it can find and we all support it enough to enable it to solve them. This is just the principle of living up to what we say and claim and not getting dragged down by overshadowing negativity. We all are easily guilty of complaining about our government, for the people by the people, supposedly, and some people even seem to complain about certain cultures being “good” at democracy, as if there could be cultural aptitude for it, or as if we are somehow really good at it and don't have our own unique cultural flaws that make democracy uniquely difficult here. The whole principle of the UN is that a right thing can be determined and acted upon and if we really pursued that idea we would have enough experience to be better at it, but the crisis in Syria shows how far we are from living up to our ideals. But it is also the challenge that is an opportunity to find out how we, as the whole world, really can effect change and provide lasting support to individual countries. It's a “crisitunity” as Homer says when Lisa tells him the Japanese word for “crisis” and “opportunity” is the same.

That's all we really need, an environment in which we feel we can safely work out differences – and we can solve any problem if we can ever get to feel safe enough to trust again that the light will come through. We just have to create those conditions, the ideal of the UN that we are still missing so many years later. This is the issue at every level of human conflict, giving into greater negativity, the overshadowing. But we are also missing that security and comfort in our own relationships, many of us are, and that contributes to the same feeling that we can't “do more” or that “larger issues” are out of our power to influence. It all feeds into the same system, but if we can feel good enough about our personal lives we can do more to help the world and if we can get warring factions to feel like there is just enough security and trust between them, or even common fear of occupation or worse, to actually work things out then it can actually happen – but it is hard to convince people that is possible in the middle of war which is supposedly why we formed a council, to deal with issues in a more adult manner. But we just aren't as mature as we'd like to think and we get dragged down into overshadowing – we get upset about a young lady twerking and also get upset about Syria, but just enough to wring our hands and feel we can't effect the situation. But we can by resisting the overshadowing that takes place in our own lives and always being focused on helping more love break through. I'm convinced that if anyone does this fully enough, interacting with everyone or even just to a new level with their own lover, they will cause a magical event that will end war. That's why I promote these ideas and why I expect watching Gaga's performance will coincide with a breaktrhough peaceful development in Syria – to test and prove this magical theory, not because I have an doubt, not that kind of test, but toeing the water kind and jumping in in order to invite others, to say, let's all do this magic, imagine the best ways to help, talk about things, do the ones we discover we can do practically and spell the rest to do it magically.

Gaga's performance is like that secret message that will come to light and change the whole game. I expect it to work that way, magically, and transform things – and I really want that to happen for its own sake but I also want it to show the power of Gaga and belief and art, even if it is a “little late”. I may add more, I know, its terribly long already and I will edit before I post this, even though the whole idea was to write something that could magically prevent war and do it today in case it was about to go the other way. But I expect the Gaga performance will be a clue, just as Paprazzi was a major clue for me about Gaga as a religious figure and BTW's 1^st performance was a clue to me about the (begiining of, still?) liberation of Egypt. I feel I will return to that topic as well since it is still ongoing and even seems to be repeating some of what was going on then, and I realize that whatever solution, no matter how surprising, happens in Syria there will need to be continued involvement by the international community to keep things from going bad again, and that means that like so many other places in the world, including America, we need more awareness and conversation about things. One of the main problems of how overshadowing effects us and keeps us feeling personally helpless in the face of national issues is it is something we avoid – we don't want to think about difficult things we might not find a solution to, or are mostly convinced we can't. But if we don't talk about things because we accept them as unsolvable problems then of course we cant solve them. This is the first step, and the main and only step, to overcoming the evil of overshadowing – know that the light is there, behind it all, waiting to break through and know that as long as we keep that belief we will break through any darkness – then we are brave enough to face any challenge an secure enough to solve it.

(*final thought, added the next morning) But, to sum up all of this, the key is to know the light is there waiting to break through, to know there is a good outcome, and use that knowledge to resist getting dragged further into overshadowing and negativity. In buddhism I guess this is like having the enlightenment to avoid getting sucked around the “wheel of becoming” I think it is called, that increasing overshadowing negativity which produces all suffering, and for a biblical refrence I guess it could be compared to the faith of Job and others knowing the goodness of God will come through enabling him to bear hardships. In Oz terms it is like discovering or accepting that everyone is under the protection of Ozma and there is nothing to worry about, though there are problems to deal with, usually caused by those who haven't accepted or realized the comfortable condition they are actually in. Of course we will face hardships and evil, but it is all about having an attitude that creates a secure, safe, loving enough space to know we can deal with any hardship and find a good solution. In relationships it comes from knowing you are truly in love and getting back to that even after enduring or putting your lover through negativity. At my work it comes from the staff knowing that the kids will learn enough and get comfortable enough with someone caring for them that they can live with a family and that a family will, eventually – I wish there were more of them and they were all well-prepared – come along and take them into their home. We know this, even if the kids don't or can't believe it or even conceive of it, but our sureness creates enough of that certainty of ultimate good that we can deal with a lot of negativity in the meantime. In the case of Gaga it comes from living her dream and having such great art and success that she can be fully encouraging to others, both other established artists and people who are just discovering that they are artists, or realizing that they “can be.” That is why she is so important to me, as an artist, is the world and current economic systems are set up against art, and love, in so many ways, hiding it and creating exclusive scenes and industries out of art, and Gaga is poised to turn that around. Her artpop revolution will return rightful power to artists by helping subvert the system of critic and industry control – it's been happening for decades and increased with the internet but Gaga is poised to make a transforming move and really revolutionize it. Instead of a world where there does not seem to be enough love, or love for art, to go around to support everyone's happiness or creativity, we will realize it was there all along just needed to be let loose and flow between us. Its a very grand and beneficial design that can really save the whole world and each of us individually from overshadowing – help everyone feel good enough about themselves, be happy enough, to face any problem and know it will come out okay. The fact that it is hard to translate that to the situation in Syria, or continuing injustice in America, shows how we have not lived up to our best vision of government – but it would be giving into overshadowing to conclude that we can't. Now I know there has been some address by Obama to the American people about Syria but I don't know what it is. I know Gaga performed Applause for the first time at the VMA but I have not seen it yet. I'm going to watch the video, fully expecting to be amazed, transformed, and “do my magic” to let the world be equally transformed. Then I will look up what is going on in World Events and find a special, magical hope reflecting this most powerful intent: to help everyone overcome negativity in their own lives and to help the great evils of the world today to not fall into greater evils but to find that light that always comes through, to hold on to the hope of peace and love enough to create a space for it to happen, then let it happen and go with it and never return again to the hatred. It's the same message as Gaga's latest letter to her little monsters, to not engage in any negativity, and if we can really truly do that, to the point of making a way of life about it, we will be able to foster those kind of spaces to help anyone or any country work out any problem, and we will gain confidence and skill in the art of happiness, ensuring our own and providing it to others, resisting overshadowing, so that we can get really good at it until we can face and solve any problem and free and teach others to do the same. Thanks Gaga, I love you!