Friday, May 11, 2012

Aladdin Theater


Aladdin Theater, originally uploaded by Erik Kurtz.

I've been taking pics from my walks based on the Walk There! 50 treks in and around Portland and Vancouver.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Wild, Crazy West

We here in the U.S. of A. (not necessarily standing for a$$holes) sure do love our Second Amendment. More than any other amendment we tend to view it absolutely. Any idiot should be able to get any type of gun and carry it into to a bar in Arizona. It's pretty well known that we've had a long romance with guns. We glamorize them in our pop culture and then the local news covers the daily destruction of gun violence without a hint of irony. Our politicians fail to do anything about it because the NRA is a very powerful lobby. And so we've grown numb to all the random gun violence that fills up the local news.

A sane country would think that now would be a good time to reform our gun laws instead of kicking granny off social security or getting involved in reproductive decisions, but the influence of money has no healthy relationship with sanity. The senseless killing of Trayvon has brought into focus the Stand Your Ground laws that pretty much okay shooting anyone who threatens you (in public!) Be careful about insulting someone in a Walmart parking lot. Walmart, through its involvement in the now notorious ALEC, helped push Stand Your Ground on the public without much controversy. Nothing moves guns out the door like lax gun laws and a constant dose of fear, fear, fear as a result of all the gun violence on a local and national level.

The gun lobby would like you believe that if everyone had a gun then we'd live in perfect harmony (because their logic has it that everyone would be too afraid to pull the trigger). If that logic appears to collide with reality, then the fallback argument is The Second Amendment is a God given right (because nothing gets the religious up in arms like inserting God into the discussion). In reality, The Second Amendment allows for a "well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state." The intention of the law is stated clearly. Guns must be well regulated for the security of a free state.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Space Odyssey 2012


If you're anything like me, you've been riveted to the television watching the Republican debates and wondering why you can't come up with brilliant ideas such as Moon Colonies. Newt Gringrich, nevermind his personal failings (forgiven by Jesus), is indeed one of the most intellectual thinkers of all ages. Channeling JFK, he wants to not only land a man on the moon, but he wants an entire colony there by 2020. Plus, a new Bay of Pigs, because the logical conclusion is that everything old is new again. See, if you begin thinking like Newt, the mind reels like an astronaut spinning backwards in time and space. Think of it as The Butterfly Effect in reverse.

Me with my subpar intellect and doldrum daydreams of getting a survival job cannot compete with the obvious genius of Newt. If I try logic on his level, I can only imagine an astronaut spinning against some Hollywood set of infinite space, and that's as far as my mind can reach before I get sleepy from overstimulation or exhausting time travel.

A moon colony, aside from the obvious perks for NASA – saving Florida from a future economy of mere orange juice and Dexter shootings – will also have trickle-down effects for NAPA. The auto parts store will carry all sorts of replacement parts for a DIY culture ready for space travel. And as everybody knows, aspiring astronauts tend to spend money lavishly – doughnuts on the way to the store, diamonds from Tiffany's – so it's a win for the economy all around. Even Mitt Romney can win, if he dare dream as big. (Paper clips will be a hot commodity in space.)

Also, the moon sounds like an ideal haven for Billionaires. They can take time out in an oxygen sealed container and count all their money as the copyrighted voice of Hal 2000 reminds that he wouldn't do that if he was you, Trump. This former jet set cum moon set can pay the help for the return trip ticket in cash from suitcases poured out on motel suite beds, so no worries. But to support such lunacy, we can even make it a matter of national interest to frack a pipeline to the moon that will allow these super wealthy job creators their illegal immigrant chefs a gas flame to stir fry all the organic produce made possible by the oil pipeline that generates enough power for the space garden and provides shade in the form of smog, as well.

Who knows, if there are enough Billionaires to exceed the population of D.C. we mere earthlings could even allow them to vote and be represented in Congress back on Earth. And all the necessary SuperSpaceyPACs that come with that responsibility. As Earth increasingly begins to look like Mordor, there will be no other option that to listen to, pardon the pun, lunatics. At least there will be some respite on The Moon. One can kick back in a Barcalounger and watch the End Times go down on satellite as well as the living room window. It's the inevitable final chapter to History. It's a win-win for CNN. And lunatics.