Some Lists, Hopefully Culminating in a Topic

Currently
There is a war(invasion) on in Iraq.
People are plugged into mass online roleplay games.
In Japan, teenage girls are writing instant bestseller novels on their cellphones.
Genital mutilation is still being practiced in some countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Technology makes life easier and harder for some. ( Ipods, cell phones, ect: Both connect and cut off: cultural breadth but not depth. The art of personal connection is becoming more obscured)
We live in a capitalist system, and both healthcare and the public school systems, as well as the consumer mindset, could use some help.
There are more prisions than colleges in some states. Overpopulation becomes problematic.
Deforestation continues at a relentless pace. At this point, it is estimated that half of the world's mature growth rainforests have been irreparably lost.
This will all be irrelevant when the world dissappears suddenly in the near future as a result of the black hole the Swiss are coaxing out of their new particle accelerator.


Then, and Now, Whether or Not To
Give women the right to decide whether or not to have an abortion.
Decide once and for all that skin color shouldn't be a criteria for anything.
Let people marry who they love, regardless of gender.
Make talking on cellphones while driving against the law.
Continue to allow stem cell research.
Whether or not a person should be able to be sentenced to death for a crime.
Eat artificial sugar. Really, does it cause cancer or doesn't it?


And In My Own Little World Is
Classical ballet (and it's beautiful dark shadow: mainly Matthew Bourne)
Insects (especially moths and wasps)
Giant squid (Architeuthidae Dux)
Dolls ( ball-jointed and otherwise)
Marquis de Sade (and accouterments, ie. powdered wigs)
Vampires (fictional and actual)
Being a work of art (and occasionally making a fool of myself in public, ie. in costume.)
Trees and everything that has to do with them. (Especially Redwoods. Especially tree-climbing.)
Masquerading in different subjectivities. ( Jean Genet: The Maids )
Silhouette puppets (windows into simpler worlds)


Hope for the Future (Flowers)
When 3D printers are affordable to the average consumer.
When we have exhausted our fossil fuel capacity.
When the aliens make contact.
When wars are fought with giant mech-robot-suits instead of tanks and bombs. Or, when they are not fought at all, because people have evolved smarter.
When I am leader of a post-apocalyptic band of gypsy vigilantes.
When we have an(any)other president in office.
When fashion swings back in the other direction.
When human cloning is proven or disproven as possible.
When the first time traveller from the future makes an appearance.


And I Care....Why? Seriously:
I do not know about your sports teams at all.
I will not become a vegan over animal rights.
I refuse to even think about your current reality TV show obsession.
I absolutely cannot understand your obsession with (fashion) brand names.
I sometimes become apathetic about politicians and bureaucracy.
I will not seal and barricade myself inside my home at the first puff of breeze that portends a hurricane.
I will not cater to the latest fear trends - neither anthrax scares nor foreboding chainmail.


It Gets Bad
I see people feeding their infant children Coca-Cola, swept up in a fast-food rampage.
Reality television_______________exists.
Cultural ignorance and apathy abounds.
The current beauty standards are made of plastic.
Holidays are pure commercial hype.
Classes and races, especially here in Memphis TN, stand neatly on opposing sides of invisible lines.
SUVs are now fashionable. A Hummer dealership opened up a few blocks down from my Pompano Beach residence.
It is no longer cheaper to make your own clothing, since stores have started to regard sewing as a hobby/craft rather than a practical art.
Walmart is the #1 employer in the US next to the Federal Government.


But Sometimes, it is not ALL Bad
When small organizations that promote cross-cultural organization and understanding blossom. (See: http://www.racematters.org/jam.htm )
That people from different backgrounds are offered equal opportunities by law.
The internet. Also the availability of self-promotion: youtube? deviantart? It is easier to be heard.
Being able to be openly gay/bisexual/transgender without lynching, for the most part.
Programs that reach out and help other countries without selfish motives.
Some modern fashion: EGL in Japan, steampunk, goth and cyberpunk.