Hakim Bey


A post on Kelly Sue's blog reminded me of some work by Hakim Bey, and got me to rereading some of his other work .

He has some interesting insights into how the uh.. modalities of consumption are set up in our society. Of note was this part from "For and Against Intrepretation"

Walter Benjamin has elucidated the process whereby the commodity is imbued with a "utopian trace" - that is, by the image of a promise: that this object-for-sale contains a kind of futurity or no-place-place where your consciousness will once more be valid, your experience real. If the product were not so advertized, you would not buy it - but if the product delivered its promise, you would stop buying other products - why go on spending money once realization is attained? - and thus cause the collapse of Capitalism. Money can only circulate freely in a realm of continual disappointment - the reproduction of scarcity is the production of wealth. I am only rich if others are poor - but money itself has no other end or goal than the total poverty of everything that is not "the Market." Having long ago capitalized all material being, the power of scarcity has had no choice but to commodify the image (and the imagination) as well - on the presumption that this is an ever-expanding market. Awareness must be privatized - thought must be appropriated, adulterated, alienated, packaged, labelled, advertized and sold back to consciousness. All creativity must be priced, and even the very process of resistance against this expropriation must be turned to profit ("Be a rebel - buy a Toyota!" - or "Image is nothing, taste is everything" as a slogan for some crappy softdrink). All informational media from education to advertizing are dedicated to detaching the image from any mooring in experienced life, floating it free, and rematerializing it in commodification.

Last 10 days in recap

I worked a lot. I'll post a sample page soon.

Dan hates Whitney Houston, to the point of shouting "Jesus Christ! Will someone shove a dick in her mouth or something?", in a Burger King, when one of her overblown vocalizations drowned out our conversation.

On another day, in that same Burger King, I was talking to Dan about how Hector had this song by some band that was mostly in Spanish but had a chorus of "Don't call me Gringo, you fucking Beaner". After I said this, I noticed that the lady behind us cleaning the tables apparently came from somewhere south of the border. I then proceeded to worry that she probably just heard the last part without my lead in, and is now probably going to spit in my Double Whopper next time I come in. Or I may be worrying about this too much.

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War is fun. I took the day off Saturday, and spent most of the day playing it. For some reason, commanding little groups of battle armored religious zealots is very enjoyable.

Went fishing with Xtop. Still caught nothing. I'm hoping if we try either the marina or where my grandfather used to take me fishing, our luck will change.

I fear we are just incompetent.

I made clary sage ale. (insert picture here later) Should be tasty.