Lurid Carnival: take election woes in stride

The Talking Heads of American politics screech at a fever pitch. Each day brings more consternation at the Trump's outrageous declarations or the Ted Cruz sanctimony regarding God's presence right at his side. Fear not! Tom Wolfe called the sideshow of modern American life a "lurid carnival." He loved having a front row seat, as we all do, to the daily going-on of life in these United States.

The intense partisanship began in the era of Bill Clinton. A real self-made man, Bill rose from near trailer trash upbringing to a place in the Oval Office. Bill, disdained as "Slick Willie" by people resentful of his amazing rise to power. But Bill took the necessary steps-- several stints as governor of Arkansas, including a defeat in one of his runs for state office. The Comeback Kid had a predilection for hanky-panky and adultery. Somehow he survived those Achilles Heel character flaws and governed the nation with no small skill. He paid heed to Republican concerns for not giving handouts to the perennial welfare recipients. He and Hillary failed to enact health care reform. Otherwise he did well, handing a balanced budget and surplus off to George W. Bush. Then came 9/11 and economic catastrophe.

Al Gore chose not to run on the Clinton record. Al proved inept in his handling of the 2000 Election standoff with George W. Bush. Bush showed skill in his patience regarding the vote count and won the job. George W's disasters, so extreme and thorough, may have opened the door to the arrival of a first African-American president. Way to go George! The electorate, particularly the right wing, chooses to ignore the level of mess inherited by Barack Obama. Mr. Obama, they assert,  has made a  terrible mess of things. Really? Did they sleep through 2008 and the economic meltdown.

Things have been worse-- and it was not so long ago. "History is a thing of the past," as Marshall McLuhan predicted. Electronic communication has stunted our recall for anything beyond yesterday, or maybe as far back as 5 days ago. So the carnival rolls along... and the pundits scream.

There is lots of fun to be had in the Trump rise to prominence. Trump understands the new electronic environment better than the others. Political parties are dead. Backroom deals in smoke-filled rooms are gone forever. Now the whole thing is played for us, front and center on the television screen.

The fear we must all harbor-- does the Reality Show disintegrate in front of our eyes. "You're fired!" is the phrase we don't want to hear. Who gets hired? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, a socialist Bernie Sanders in the land of free enterprise!? The ratings all rise, until they fall. Meanwhile the band plays on.

TV Candidates Beware-- earnestness is fatal

TV demands sophistication and insouciance.

Words of advice for Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and company...

Way back in 1968, Marshall McLuhan explained that TV candidates must understand "the contemporary interface of all cultures" and should not "be deluded into any earnest regard for any one of them." 

The wise candidate shows insouciance (indifference) as a survival technique. Jeb Bush serves as a cautionary tale for wanting the job too much.

McLuhan warns against  getting in a huff about the immorality of it all... "The new changes are not moral but technological." 

Saturday Evening Post (August 10, 1968)      

All of the Candidates are Asleep         

By: Marshall McLuhan


Why should TV demand sophistication and insouciance? Simply because it is a depth medium for which earnestness is fatal. Depth requires perception on   many levels, and, therefore, an absence of single       purpose or direction. An all-at-once world, fashioned by electric information, demands a candidate full  of puns and expected nuances. Such a man is one     who knows so much about the contemporary interface of all cultures that he cannot possibly be deluded  into any earnest regard for any of them. The new       changes are not moral but technological.

Strolling Sacred Ground

Did you everything of your own neighborhood as sacred ground? Enjoy every day. Look at what's around you. Take it in. The sights, the sounds, the restaurants, parks and the sounds of kids playing in the playground. My neighborhood in Austin, Texas happens at the nexus of Burnet Road and North Loop Boulevard- hence the blog name North Loop Zone.

I discover a few new places and rediscovered some old familiar favorites in the last few days. My goal was mainly to walk. The temperature in Austin hovered around 50 degrees, perfect for strolling. I had noticed a little place on a cul-de-sac called Mediterranean Chef Cafe. (The address is 5908 Aurora Drive, and the little alcove street adjoins Koenig Lane, near McCallum High School.)

I had circled the area around Brentwood Park and decided to check the place out. Interesting, Mediterranean Chef Cafe is somewhere between a take-out place and a sit-down restaurant. A young couple ate humus at a nearby table. The place had a friendly vibe. Two managers assembled plastic to-go containers. The kitchen area totally visible had a friendly, unpretentious quality. A couple of cooks joked with each other, sliding their necks like Indian classical dancers to the music on the sound system. A young hipster greeted me with a friendly smile. I ordered the chicken gyro plate and a falafel sandwich to-go. He asked if I wanted jalapeños with the gyro plate! "That's a new option!" I thought. "Yes, sounds good. Put them on the side. When I got home I found the food to be delicious. Somehow the jalapeños worked! I liked the generous portions. Very good!

Today I decided to go to a familiar favorite-- Torchy's Tacos on Burnet. Torchy's has a great reputation in Austin and has exploded in popularity in this town. Torch's has set the place on fire. Hell, the place has been raved about on Zagat's:

What started as a trailer in South Austin is now “a bona fide institution” with locations across town serving up “addictive”, “inventive” tacos (fillings include fried avocado, jerk chicken and smoked beef brisket) alongside “to-die-for” queso; the no-frills outposts have a “laid-back feel” and “patio seating”; P.S. the “breakfast tacos are also delicious.


Yeah, so I went for the breakast tacos on corn tortillas. You get two corn tortillas with every taco order. I got Monk's Special and the Migas and a side of black beans. I mean this town is amazing for food. You could live on this meal! And the coffee tasted fresh, dare I say better than Starbuck's!
Okay so I had a good appetite and a couple of excellent, modestly priced dining experiences. But then I stopped at Savers, one of the local thrift shops in my neighborhood. This place is large, strong in the books department but has tons of second hand clothes as well. I found as inspiring book Pathways to the Spirit, 100 Ways to Bring the Sacred Into Daily Life (1999, Hyperion Books) by Susan Santucci.

Lots of amazing material in the book-- but I especially enjoyed chapter #23-- entitled "Treat Your Life With Reverence." Let me quote from page 46:


The very ground you stand upon is sacred. Sacred ground is wherever you dwell with awareness. Sacred ground is where you choose to be.

Sacred ground is in my own neighborhood-- and in your neighborhood too!