Alienation aka "renting your time and skills"

[pan]

Marx was right. Not in his utopian eschatology that ensured a workers' paradise, but in his analysis of capitalism.

Just looked in my job search folder and realized that I have submitted 15 applications in the past month. The groovy hippie college down the road that prides itself upon valuing individuals, etc, has completely blown us off after the phone interview that was full of standard issue, cookie cutter questions and interviewers who seemed to be more annoyed that they had to take the time to do this than engage in any exchange with the professionals on the other end of the line.

Ms. Medusa and myself both applied to a J.C. in CA wine country. She got the call indicating that she was one of 13 culled to pay their own full expenses for an interview trip. I decided to come along an make a weekend out of it. Last night (in)human resources called to say that they had made a mistake and then disinvited her because it was me that they wanted to come.

Was shocked when the mail brought a courtesy letter acknowledging receipt of application materials from a U. "Common" courtesy in the hunt to find a renter of your time and skills is exceedingly rare these days.

It will only get worse as more layoffs and less job creation accelerates. Who is going to be the new Woody Guthrie?

[BO]

Thanks. I just wasted an hour reading the Poop Report. Not that it isn't one of my favorite subjects.

[BO]

BTW, Have you seen the VW Beatle that runs on poop?

Bio-Bug: Car run on human waste is launched
A car that runs on methane gas produced by human waste has been launched and its makers claim drivers cannot tell the difference. Link

Wonder how many miles per turd it gets? Oh wait, here's the answer to that question...

The Bio-Bug does 5.3 miles per cubic metre of biogas, which means that just one sewage works could power 95,400,000 miles per year saving 19,000 tonnes of CO2.

[pan]

Kind of puts a different spin on Herbie, the Love Bug's smile - that damn car had a shit-eatin' grin!

[waldopaper]

So I'm in a slather about what to do this sem. Traditional "rhetoric?" I'd rather be flayed alive. But still, it might be fun to explore the "rhetorical" polarization that seems now... even bigger than shit.

For example, you can compare stuff white people like to things Republicans hate... and why- looky! A lot of the same things!

Now novices and young students will waste hours looking at the comments and come up with the usual false dichotomy of "liberal" and "conservative," thereby missing the proper critical analysis: "Republicans" are not REALLY "white people! Get that meme out there, and it's GUARANTEED to stir up some shit!

I'm still trying to get my own blog together- http://waldopaper.wordpress.com/ -which has been rusting out in the yard for about a year.

Of course OTHER people, for example- the Russians- have problems of their own.

[pan]

I must be white.....I like some of those things too! Especially #116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore.

But.....one of my favorite experiences with the Blues was in a little club/restaurant in Oakland on the "bad" side of the Freeway that cut the town in two and I was one of only two White folks there.

The other was the first time I saw the Blues performed - Koko Taylor in a tiny little club in the Student Union at Iowa State U.

[waldopaper]

We have had some old friends... and some new friends... who have bothered to log-in. Looking in on us. I believe we are obliged to present what (we think) a "Reality-Based Community" really is. There's a lot of more-accessible far-superior stuff available about keeping/fed. warm/dry/hydrated/fed. What can we contribute beyond this?

[BO]

Well, seems nobody wants to rent BO's skills lately, so BO's been waging his own personal war on global warming. It's been so friggin' hot round here these last few days, that BO finally broke down and installed a totally non-ecological air conditioner in his bedroom after 26 years living in the same god damn passive solar designed house. It's been way harder trying to stay cool in the summers than warm in the winters as we keep breaking records for hot days. Feel like we're living in Arizona. We even have the fucking Mexicans.

[pan]

Seattle has always had a hot couple of weeks every summer. It seems like every time I visited my brother there is was near 100 F. He would always say "it never gets this hot" but I know better.

However, according to NASA, Jan-July are the hottest on record........ever.

[Cal]

Good one Stone. I've never quite adjusted to the disappointment of the Boomers basically blowing it. My life's driving 'myth' revolved around getting out there and making a difference - there was no question in my mind that we were going to get things fixed sort of forever ... I'm having to rework that into something more useful for this day and age.

What's TPTB stand for?

[pan]

Bageant's newest, Understanding America's Class System: Honk if You Love Caviar strongly suggests why Marx was wrong and there will be no revolution in industrialized nations. The revolution will not be televised.... because the mediated society won't revolt.


Just read John Reed's classic about the October Revolution Ten Days that Shook the World The optimism and naivete is striking in our pessimistic era of cynical manipulation.

[waldopaper]

glad to see yaz rampin up and dispersin' that most excellent Valedictorian speech, Stones!

Well... it ain't like a buncha us Boomers didn't TRY to get th message out. Guess we just freaked the Normals out a bit too much,,,

[pan]

Thanks for reminding me. Gotta get my LPs out of their boxes......Building a record cabinet was supposed to be one of my summer tasks.