A DANGEROUS MIND

Microsoft and Lies - Vista

2008-07-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

America’s obsession with material consumption misleads. How is one to find what is real when we are constantly bombarded with self-serving lies? It’s not easy.

Today, I discovered that my face and voice is being used in a viral video that sells Microsoft Vista. They did so without my explicit permission and under false pretenses.

Here's how it happened:

Last week I attended a focus session to get my opinion on computer operating systems. So far so good.

A hidden camera was recording the session, “…so that our unnamed clients can evaluate your responses”. I agreed.

Then they trotted out the product. It was something called Mojave. I was then shown a computer with Mojave installed on it. Certain features were pointed out to me by a client facilitator. They looked cool.

After I expressed my pleasure at the look of what SEEMED possible, I was informed that the operating system was in fact, Visa – and not Mojave – as I had been led to believe. I was pleasantly surprised. Then it was announced that the client was Microsoft. More surprise.

When I admitted that my impression of Vista had been changed, they asked me if they could use my image more broadly. I agreed without realizing that they would use it in a commercial. Had I known, I would have refused. But I did not know.

Now, when I saw that I was in a commercial, I was shocked. I did not give them permission to use me to sell their product. Additionally, my evaluation of their product was limited. My comments were about how the product SEEMED to be under VERY CONTROLLED conditions. I have no idea how reflective of the real product their demonstration was. I don't know, and I in no way endorse their product. But there I am, on the net, praising Vista.

I was duped by Microsoft. If they did it to me, and used my voice and image, what will they do to you as a buyer? It's a frightening thought. And that's why I will NEVER BUY A MICROSOFT OPERATING SYSTEM.

My point is that Truth is multi-dimensional. Our media twists and spins so much that finding what is real, versus what companies and governments want us to believe, is a very difficult task.

Sometimes we have to cut off the sources of lies to be quiet enough to locate what is real.

Trust the Truth you find within yourself. Question everything corporate America tells you. You’ll be saner and happier if you do.

And Microsoft, I’m calling my lawyer.

For those of you who want to see lies in action, here is the YouTube link:

http://www.crn.com/software/209900017

Proceed with caution.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Operation Integrity

2008-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today I read that there are few options for our next president regarding Iraq. That story was a sidebar to General Petraeus telling his boss what his boss wanted to hear.

Many options exist. There is even one with integrity. Here it is:

Ask The United Nations to send real 'peace keepers', and send our troops home. If the U.N. refuses, grant every Iraqi collaborator political asylum, and bring them to our country as we remove our troops. Not complicated. And as soon as we have removed every last American, and the Iraqis who collaborated with the invaders, offer a heartfelt apology to the Iraqi people. Then give the Iraq government enough money to rebuild - without Blackwater & Bechtel CIA types skimming off the profits.

Easy!

Rememer, generals will always support continued warring. It goes with the territory. Job security dictates that generals please to their Commander and Chief.

Petraeus was just playing Good General, sitting in George Bush's lap, licking his master's face.

It is not too late for our government to employ integrity. Is it?

- Arye Michael Bender -

On Charlton Heston

2008-04-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, I produced a TV piece about the American Film Institute for 'PM Magazine'. AFI arranged for our us to interview Mr. Heston on the sumptuous grounds of the Doheny Mansion, where AFI was then located. At ten AM, Charlton Heston jogged over to where we had set up. Due to the jog, he was not quite impeccably groomed, but in too much a hurry to do anything about it. While Steve Fox conducted the short interview, I couldn't take my eyes off the top of Mr. Heston's head.

Had to bite my tongue hard to keep from blurting out, "Moses wears a bad toupee!"

I still carry those tongue scars today.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Biting the Hand…

2008-04-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a problem and I admit it.   

It's a problem that sets me at odds with the current mindset of America, as well as my own financial well-being. It's advertising.  Yep, that ubiquitous, inescapable, lying pulse-beat of capitalism – Advertising.  

If advertising only did what it was originally designed for, to present a product of service of value, I’d have less trouble. But, fact is, almost all advertising is targeted at our unconscious minds, our emotional brains. And those programs that make us all ache to fill a false void by consuming mindlessly, are what is making our society insane.

We are bombarded constantly with words, images, and sounds directed at overriding free will. Most contemporary ads grab hold of our emotions then manipulate them mercilessly to achieve a not-so-hidden agenda. You know: To feed the need for greed.

Consciously, we all know how little truth is contained. But our thinking minds are bypassed. We are helpless to stop the commanding impulses. We get lost in a sea of lies, implanted deep inside. The more difficult it is to recognize and act on truth, the harder it is to live a sane life.

Politicians know this, and sell themselves as products by hitting our fear buttons. We end up with shabby, corrupt, hypocritical leaders, and wonder how it happened. There are now so many lies and scams and spins in our society, that we get overwhelmed. We give up trying to find the even a nub of truth. That's exactly where big business, and their in the pocket politicians, want us. When we’re overwhelmed and confused, the implanted impulses automatically take over. That's how the program works.  We all know why, don't we? To sell us what we really don't need sp that we feel better about ourselves and our place in the world. Then after we act on the impulse and buy, we feel empty again. Now what? The next impulse takes over, and it's ring around the rosey all over again.

I love my free will. Next to the breath of life, it may be God's greatest gift. While I do everything I can to keep my free will intact, it takes constant vigilance. That, in itself, is exhausting.

Don't get me wrong. I like living in this world, with all its twists, turns, and spins. But I don’t like inviting more unwanted stuff into my already wary head.  What's a human to do? 

Oh well... I'll stay as conscious as I can. ...It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. And yes, I know. Advertising surrounds this very blog. Maybe I need a really big gas-guzzler. Maybe a week in Vegas will make me feel ten years younger. Maybe we really need to elect John McCain to lead a hundred year war. Maybe I really do need to lose those fifteen pounds...

Okay, I'll have another Big Mac... And super-size the drink, please.  Now, where's that Hummer dealership?

 - Arye Michael Bender

Honesty in Politics

2008-04-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Enough of two-faced politicians!

I've decided that I'm only going to vote for a candidate without a face lift. If they can't put their real face forward, they've exposed something deep down below the surface. Something so basic, that we should not ignore what it reveals.

Look carefully at the profiles of all three major candidates. Check out how their necks and ears and other surface skin looks compared to their faces.

Can you guess who gets my vote?

... Who do you suppose that is?

... Could it be... oh, I don't know... could it be...

Barak Obama?

No contest...

Judge for yourself. Then vote accordingly.

- Arye Michael Bender -

War and Peace -- The Candidates

2008-03-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

Three Candidates:

John McCain: At least with McCain we KNOW he will pursue a never-ending occupation --translation: war-- in Iraq. Clear cut.

Barak Obama: He has courageously written and stated that he will end the war in Iraq. Clear cut.

A national election between those two would be a choice of peace over war. Thank the gods that the choice will be in our hands, as opposed to one made by the hidden gnomes.

Mrs. Clinton: Her words and actions have been unclear. Should she gain the nomination, we will have given away our chance to choose peace over war.

That too will have been our choice.

Either way, the next national election will show us who we really are as a nation. The optimist that resides deep inside me believes we'll do the right thing.

Time will tell.

Thank you Spike Lee.

- Arye Michael Bender -

War Love

2008-03-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

America's love of war goes back at least forty years, probably longer. Here is a short list of the most popular:

War on Poverty -- Lyndon Johnson

War on the Vietnamese People -- Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon

War on Crime -- Richard Nixon

War on Drugs -- Ronald Reagan, George Bush

War on Saddam Hussein -- George Bush I

War on Iraqi People -- George Bush II

You may note that the majority of our most recent wars would fall into the 'lost' column.

My suggestion is we fight the ultimate war.

America needs a WAR on WAR.

You can sign me right up.

TV Early Days

2008-03-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Something about the first uses of video tape...

April 28, 1958
Los Angeles

As The Times noted in November 1957, NBC planned to introduce videotaped programs with the switch to daylight saving time.

Although the time switch didn't occur until April 27 in 1958, we have already rolled the clocks ahead, so this seems to be a good time to focus on the technology that revolutionized television.

Arye Michael Bender (who worked under the name Leslie Michael Bender) worked at WBKB-TV in Chicago at a young age as mail room clerk, freelance publicity photographer and entrepreneur filmmaker. He attended Columbia College of Broadcasting while in high school in 1959. From 1960 to '63, he worked his way through college as a staff director for WSIU-TV in Carbondale, Ill. He began working with videotape at ABC in Los Angeles in 1963. He shares his recollections of the early days:

Got into editing when a microscope was added to the razor blade and mylar tape system.

At first, at ABC Hollywood, it was the old radio engineers that practiced the "art" of editing. This was because they had been working with audio tape in the late days of network radio. Engineers tend to be better at dealing with mechanical things than they are people and the arts.

The first show to expand editing into an attempted art was "The Ernie Kovacs Show." He was a pioneer in using the developing techniques of television to illuminate comedy -- in much the same way Buster Keaton did forty years before.

The editing was very stilted because the engineers believed that you edited on pauses, rather than action. Sixty years of the motion picture art of editing had been thrown out the window.

Ernie Kovacs had died in a grisly accident [1962--lrh] the year before I came to work for ABC. So editing was stopped in its tracks with his death, there being no one to explore what it could do.

I had just turned twenty-one when I was hired. I didn't connect the dots, so never mentioned my forays in Chicago television. I got the job because I had worked as a paid staff director at my college television station in Southern Illinois.

They purchased the two videotape machines used for the Adolf Eichmann trial in Israel, when the trial was over. My curiosity demanded that I learn all working TV positions, so I learned how to operate those pot metal and tube behemoths.

Since twenty year old would-be directors from the sticks were a dime a dozen, but people who could operate a VTR were still rare, I got hired.
I was assigned as the lowest level "engineer" in the tape room. It was called The Submarine because of the narrow passage ways between VTRs, that never saw daylight and was kept cold as a tomb to keep the tubes cool.

It was a strange and wonderful place.

At NBC in the era, they handled the aesthetics of tape editing with a unique approach.

They kinescoped the raw tape footage, then assigned the editing to a film editor.

Art Schneider was NBC's top West Coast editor. He cut the sixteen millimeter film in the traditional fashion, then an another engineer (I believe) was assigned the daunting and repetitive task of conforming the videotape with scissors and mylar.

Keep in mind that no image was on the tape itself, only vertical lines of electronic information. In order to see if the splices worked, the edited tape would have to be played back, one splice at a time, on those giant machines. Since the mylar splices would deteriorate quickly, only a very limited number of passes could be attempted.

Each time a master tape was physically handled to see image, damage was done. It was a very hair-raising process.

Political Analysts

2008-02-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

More screaming pundits playing media games. Fellow kiddies, make up your own minds based on whatever research you are compelled to digest, then vote from your soul. Anything else is filling up air and print time with the agendas of others.

And I really mean it! ... Now, won't you have some tea? It's camomile.

- Arye Michael Bender -

On American Healthcare

2008-01-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

Some thugs hold people at knifepoint for fifty bucks.

Others dress in gowns and get fifty thousand.

- Arye Michael Bender -

On American 'Democracy'

2008-01-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

Always vote substance over image.

Then pray that it wasn't only the image of substance you voted for.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Tongue Slippage

2008-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

Racist remarks don't slip past the tongue unless they are already in the mind.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Goes With The Territory

2008-01-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

All who read this (except for GWB, who doesn't read anyway) are members of the same race -- the human one.

As such, we all have the ability through empathy and compassion, to get into the heads of others. That includes men, women, blacks, grays, whites, aliens, etc.

Kinda comes with the species.

It only takes a willingness to see the world through another's eyes.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Governing Disapproval

2007-12-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today it was revealed by a major pollster that the front runners for both major political parties rate higher for disapproval than approval. If true, those ratings reflect the hidden damage of the last seven years.

The current administration has added what may be a permanent stain on an already dishonorable profession, politics.

It will take at least one future administration motivated by ideals rather than greed to restore some degree of veracity to our government.

Without ideals, America may be doomed.

- Arye Michael Bender -

New Lie in Town

2007-09-16T22:22:00.001-07:00

A brand new phrase has entered the American consciousness.

In the last few weeks, I've seen it in print almost as often as 'weapons of mass destruction' was used in the propaganda run-up to invasion. It smacks of government double-speak, a language to which we are becoming far too accustomed.

The words are: "Global climate change is just a natural, cyclical process. There is nothing we can do about it."

The phrase has just enough truth to it to be a useful excuse to maintain our throwaway greed at full throttle. After all, what can we do to overcome a natural planetary process? So have another Chivas Regal, fill up the SUV, and let's head down to the mall, and consume everything in site before it's too late. Hurry on down!

But this so-called, 'natural, cyclical process of climate change' has an odd correlation that just won't go away. It seems the cycle of warming just happened to startup right as the Industrial Revolution was building up its head of steam.
Simply be a coincidence?

That's not the only thing that smells funny about that new phrase. There's timing.

Seems that those words got a big push right after the long Buschco denial that global warming even existed. Remember that? Unfortunately for Bush and chronies, too many disloyal scientists -worldwide- somehow got the word out. Even made the American press. Imagine that!

Now of course, Bush is even denying that he ever used denial. So we have a new tune instead.

The song goes: "It's a natural, cyclical process. Nothing we can do about it."

Kinda like: "Weapons of Mass Destruction"... I mean," Regime change".... I mean, "Bringing down an evil dictator" ... I mean, "Teach 'em democracy"... I mean, "To keep a civil war from tearing them apart...

It's the same old song, even if the lyrics have been changed - to protect the, um... innocent.
And then there's the stench. Can you smell it? Probably just natural acid rain, ...but something sure smells rotten in Washington.

Oh, you say... it's just the normal political-denial cycle? And there's nothing we can do about it?

END OF SEMI-HUMOROUS PART. BEGINNING OF SERIOUS PITCH...

Don't believe the lie. We CAN help restore our planet to a natural balance, the kind that benefits all living things -- especially our children.

We ARE a crucial part of the Earth's eco system. Let's stop despoiling it and ourselves. Let's reclaim our responsibility, along with our heritage. If we don't, there may be no heritage left.

Please, do not ignore the signs.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Fairness - A Waning American Quality

2007-09-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

I worked in television under the Fairness Doctrine, and I miss it dearly.

While the FCC Fairness Doctrine was flawed, it did offer the opportunity for diverse viewpoints. Now that it is receding into a dim past, a certain amount of civility has disappeared along with it.

The result is the further coarsening of our culture, as well as a polarization of media. These changes have less to do with the multiplication of new outlets, and more to do with the FCC climbing into bed with the big media, and the resulting Faustian bargain that has robbed us of a freer press.

The rewards to the giants were in the multi-billion dollar range, and are on going.

The resulting media ownership bonanza came at a price, which the networks gladly paid. The price was an unwritten, unspoken form of censorship, which most often surfaces as self-censorship. Reporters, news writers, and editors know what cannot be printed, so rarely bother wasting their time with stories or points of view that won't make the cut.

Not so long ago, coverage of a war in Vietnam created a groundswell of opposition so strong, that the American government was forced to enter into peace talks, eventually ending the war.

Not so long ago, an independent press pursued the investigation of the Watergate breakin and coverup to the point that a sitting president could do nothing but resign, or face certain impeachment.

Those days of a press fairness are now a distant memory. Network profit centers have risen faster than property values in a gold rush. Publications have consolidated ownership in ways unheard of thirty years ago, and the ideas being fed to our culture have coarsened under system control.

'Embedded journalism' in a euphemism for censorship. An earlier, better informed America, would never have allowed such a theft of press freedom.

The devil's bargain worked.

And we citizens are paying the price daily.

Arye Michael Bender

Let's Just Bomb Everybody -- Preemptively, of course

2007-09-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

General Jack D. Ripper has invaded another blog, mongering fear and hate for just about everyone our government distrusts. I suspect he is one of those CIA-type trolls who haunt the internet attempting God-knows-what. He'd like us to go after Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and numerous others. With so many target, the solution couldn't be more simple.

The following is meant to simplify his life, and possibly ours.

Terrorists know no borders.

We gotta get them before they get us.

They are hiding everywhere, just like the Commies before them. Probably under someone's bed in just about every country in the world, except maybe Israel.

So, let's just bomb them all! And not give any of them a chance to hurt us again. That way, we won't have to worry about overpopulation, global climate change, or an oil shortage.

Gee, if we no longer have to share the world's resources with anyone else, we can get Hummer production up again in no time. Detroit, you'll be back on top in no time!

We just might have to be careful about the air, though. Pesky stuff, that radioactive fallout.

But come to think of it, that too could work for us. I bet fallout only kill the lefties, fags, and atheists. After all, We The People (who govern), will all be comfortable in our underground, air conditioned bunkers, supplied with a thousand years of Twinkies. Hell, we could have a party.

Yeah, that's the ticket. Preemptive nuclear strikes. And Israel, you're too Jewish anyway. May as well clean out you folks too.

Damn shame that Neutron Bomb ain't ready yet.

(Apologies to Terry Southern & Stanley Kubrick)

- Arye Michael Bender

Awakenings

2007-08-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Little by little, we Americans are awakening. One at a time.

It is, after all, up to each of us to open our eyes, minds, and spirit to see reality as it exists, in each moment. Then, with consciousness and compassion, create our next shared moment in a more responsive way.

The core of why I write is to explore what I see as I awaken.

We are becoming more aware of what's been going on during our slumber, and are beginning to reclaim the soul of our country. I have no particular belief system to peddle, only the knowledge that in awareness we all make a difference.

A recent mini-fad has been for something called, "The Secret." It is a compilation of ancient teachings packaged for the America of greed. While offering a workable technique, it misses on compassion and responsibility. Add those two qualities to the mix, and the universe continues to expand in resources. Lose those qualities, and our universe seems to contract. When the contraction occurs, fear of scarcity arises. Fear, manipulated, always allows for fascism.

We all know what happened to the major fascist states of the Twentieth Century. They were destroyed.

How our future unfolds is up to each one of us.

The America that once was, both admirable and evil, no longer exists. It was a rapid extinction. The empire is crumbling -- as all empires must. What gets created in its wake, can be magnificent or more hateful.

Again, it is up to us. Politics follows, never leads. We citizens need to lead our leaders. If each one of us awakens and steps out of the darkness, oh what light we will see.

I'm betting on the light. And forgiving even the most hateful of us, our recent thug leaders.

That last sentence is probably the most difficult for me. But if I don't forgive, then I'm a hypocrite. Since I detest hypocrisy, I have no choice but acknowledge reality in each moment, and to forgive. The forgiveness must extend even to myself, for the part I have played in projecting the reality we've been recently experiencing.

So you see, my system folds right back onto itself.

Works for me.

What about you?...

-Arye Michael Bender

Goodwill Towards Men?

2007-08-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

When the term 'goodwill towards men' is presented, it refers to Mankind, not simply the male gender.

Thousands of years of male superiority have resulted as a basic misunderstanding of the word 'Mankind'. I'll save the illusion of male superiority for another time.

Today I am dealing with a much thornier issue. Today I am wondering about what happened to the idea of goodwill toward man?

We hear the goodwill phrase sung and spoken a great deal around Christmas time. In the holiday context, it is used to huckster us into consuming more, and buying gifts that won't embarrass us.

When the holiday passes, the ideal disappears altogether.ca

I'm writing about how much religions use their picture of God to justify bloodshed, worldwide. The killing America is perpetuating RIGHT NOW. Murder is the diametric opposite of goodwill. And war is bad will taken to its worst extreme. Yet, we justify slaughter in the name of God on a daily basis.

In another conversation earlier today, I was taken by the vitriol directed at those we label as our enemies. Their names change from era to era, but we always call them Godless first, then justify their mass slaughter in the name of our God.

On another blog, the subject of Hitler came up. He was called an insane, evil atheist. You know the rap. We were fighting for God, against the evil, Godless, Hitler. I have little real knowledge of Hitler's personal belief system, but I do know he slammed shots of speed daily, and countless millions suffered as a result of his diabolical actions.

But consider this: The slogan,'Gott Mit Uns' was embossed on German military belts buckles in W.W.II. It translates as, God is with us.

How do you explain it?

Point is: 'God' is always on every side in every battle, even though 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' is a universally quoted commandment, even for atheists.

My explanation is that those who want to kill always find justification for their actions, most often through the personification of 'God.'

Those who don't want to kill are reviled as 'peaceniks'.

Whatever became of Goodwill Towards Men?

The oft reviled, Arye Michael Bender. Thank God!

The Virgin Tina - A Sad Tale in Bad Rhyme

2007-08-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Some doggerel, both sad and true:

I love the virgin Tina
We walk round the marina
cross the bay from Alameda

That Tina is a virgin
was not by choice or notion

She's a bitch very rare
Coming as she did, from Animal Care

She was abandoned and mixed
And Animal Care insisted:
She must be fixed!

But that's only their version.

Now, here's how I became a virgin
At the hands of an evil surgeon

His name is Doctor Tom Lieu
As he felt compelled to do
with his knife, and for life
he permanently fixed me too.

Left me with a big aversion
to Tom lieu, the evil surgeon
Now Tina and I together
forever will be -- a virgin.

The unbroken, Arye Michael Bender, as told to Tina-the-Beast -- a virgin

Spies in the Sky

2007-08-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Nineteen Eighty-Four was the year I co-produced and directed the award-winning special, 'Big Brother Is Here'.

It was for the ABC owned and operated stations. At that time, the feds provided footage of a car's license plate shot from an orbiting satellite. The numbers could be easily read. They let us know that the gov actually possessed more sophisticated cameras that could read the face of a quarter from the same altitude. We couldn't show it because it was then classified.

That was twenty-three years ago. Even if spy satellites have had no improvement since, what does that say about the spying effectiveness of the CIA and other secret gov societies today?

You bet they're watching. They're watching US!

And you can also bet (although you'd be betting against yourself) that they can see more than you'd like.

Feel safer now?

- Arye Michael Bender -

It Can't Happen Here?

2007-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today Mick LaSalle, in his San Francisco column,wrote:

The insidiousness of fascism is the way it gives its slaves the illusion of power. Say, you're standing there in Nuremberg, a speck in the crowd, listening to Hitler give a speech. You don't see yourself as a speck. You hardly see yourself as one of the crowd. Your point of identification is Hitler. He is you, writ large, and you think he is going to do all the wonderful things that you want to do. You see him as the embodiment of your power, rather than yourself as the embodiment of his. That's the Fascist sleight of hand. A couple of days ago we found out that the government is now going to turning its spy satellites on U.S. territory. Of course, they're after international criminals. They may start using it for "domestic law enforcement." You know, we're going to be safe now.

Anyone remember the phrase: 'We're fingerprinting you -- FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION'? Well, they're spying on us FOR OUR OWN PROTECTION.

No doubt our German counterparts of decades ago were eager to point out the transgressions of other nations, while ignoring their own. I much more understand what happened in the Germany of the mid 1930s than ever before, by watching our responses to the changes in America.

The German people were no more evil than there modern day counterparts. Their culture, as does ours, blinded them from seeing the truth. And that was all before television!

Only a truly informed and awakened people can push back the shadow darkening our door.

The universal antidote to darkness is light.

Let us light the way, so it won’t happen here.

Better hurry ..Not too much time left.

The still somewhat free, Arye Michael Bender

The King's Waist, A Minuscule Footnote to Elvis History

2007-08-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

This is about my connection to Elvis' waist.

Remember those macrame guitar strap - and belt- the just-beginning-to-bloat Elvis wore?

A friend of mine, Joel Nakeu Awai, designed and knotted them for the performer. While I had no particular interest in Presley, I tied most of the knots on Elvis' belt.

We used to laugh, not too disparagingly, at The King's blue-black, monochrome hair dye job. To us, the emperor had no clothes -- only a macrame belt.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Free Will (Like Groucho)

2007-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Free Will is both a reality and a necessity.

I can't imagine a God only interested in preprogrammed robots. How boring that would be --for all involved-- if we were nothing more than marionettes being jerked around by a dull-witted God. Creator and created would quickly lose interest. Wouldn't you?

We are challenged to think and act, not simply to react in predigested ways. It is what we do with the conditions of our lives, seemingly good and bad, that builds character. Watching the variations of how we grow, I believe, provides 'That-Which-Has-Created-Us' endless pleasure. And when we grow, endorphins reward us by feeling oh so good. I envision God's own pleasure centers lighting up too.

It is my personal contention that eventually we all get 'It', no matter how hateful a roll we may play, or how pious we appear. I believe with every fiber of my being that Enlightenment is the goal everyone reaches. Eventually no one is left behind, regardless of outer appearance.

All paths eventually get us to the place beyond space and time that exists inside each of us.

I could be wrong now... But I most certainly don't think so. And I require no one to agree with me, or subscribe to the beliefs of any particular group.

Like Groucho, I wouldn't join any group that would have me for a member.

Exercising Free Will is the ultimate expression of personal responsibility. I am not only responsible for my thoughts, but for my actions as well.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

What about you?

Arye Michael Bender

Pounds For Flesh

2007-08-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

"An American life is NOT worth more than an Iraqi

A cop's life is NOT worth more than a criminal's

And a transgender's is worth no less!"

— The original gendered, Arye Michael Bender

Forgiveness for Bush Junior

2007-08-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

The always sage, Baba Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) during the time of Watergate, said that he admired Richard Milhaus Nixon.

When I asked why, he replied: In this great cosmic dance, imagine the courage of The Being inside Nixon, acting to draw out all the hate from so many.

Same could be said for Bush.

So I offer compassion and forgiveness...

Just won't vote to elect another one.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Rove, 'The Architect'

2007-08-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Today, the once mighty -- but now thin, throw away tabloid -- The San Francisco Examiner, ran a story about Karl Rove. Its headline: 'The Architect Has Left the White House.'

Well, the 'architect' may have left the building, but the structure is still being eaten away by termites and roaches. Rove single-handedly made Nixon's dirty tricks look small time by comparison.

His departure will not end his special tactics. Another Rove will eventually step up to the plate. Rove simply reflects our acceptance of something truly ugly. And that ugliness extends to both power parties.

So here are my questions:

Why do we Americans easily allow electing a leader to what we once hyped as 'the most powerful job in the world,' to be a filthy business?

Why do we expect mud slinging, accusations (always true on both sides) of special interests, and dirty tricks?

Why do we cheer it on as if we were watching gladiators and lions tear each other apart?

We even call it political theater! Then sit back and complain about the integrity lacking in our leaders.

Could the fault not be in our political stars, dear Brutus? Could the fault be in ourselves?

Any thoughts?

Arye Michael Bender

Cold Turkey, or How I Gave Up Smoking

2007-08-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Once was a three-pack-a-day man.

Back then I smoked so much that my fingers were yellow and I huffed climbing stairs. Not a pretty sight.

I know what you're thinking, so don't say it!

Thirty some years ago, I was kinda experimental. You know the Hippie Era and all. I had a small production company, Great Steam & Electric Film, and was making mini-docs (coined the phrase actually) for Dick Clark on ABC.

Between pictures while experimenting with various states of altered mind, I came upon a book on fasting. You know, some guru about the wonders of going without food for extended periods. That, I think, was after my three weeks of Scientology, but before Transcendental Meditation.

The book intrigued me. I decided to go for fasting. Wanted to see what it would do to my already addled and even then, dangerous mind.

So I made the commitment that, no matter what, I'd do a minimum of six days. All without food. Any food. It wasn't a limited fast either. You know, like eliminating monkey brains or something like that from your diet. No, this was a TOTAL FAST. It meant NOTHING BUT WATER could pass beyond my lips. To make it worse, I told all my friends and film partner, Ron Bacon, what I was about to do. Just in case I wanted to chicken out, so I'd be too embarrassed. Self-delusion works.

The ordeal began.

About an hour in, I reached for my usual Camel. But she was too big to fit in my mouth --- (old joke). Then in shock, I realized my six day pledge included cigarettes. Oh the horror! That was not one of my happier moments.

Well, being the focused cuss I am, I refused to give up. (Please think 'disciplined' rather than 'boorishly stubborn').

Shortly demons began their siren call. I closed my ears. They wouldn't stop. I shut my eyes. They appeared on the backs of my eyelids. I tried not thinking about elephants. Then I saw myself eating one.

Funny thing is that the cravings for food masked those for smoke. Food is after all, a necessity. Somehow by hook, crook and denial, I made it through the first day. And I realized, I'd gone twenty-four without smoking, by God.

At the end of the third day I was too weak to get out of bed, so although I stopped working, I stuck with the discipline. I think it was fear of derision that kept me going.

The next three days passed in a haze of bizarre food images -- like copulating a rare roast beef -- and longing to devour anything, and I mean any thing, dead, alive, or in purgatory. In one dream I think I ate an entire double-humped, spitting camel, in another a full turkey, cold.

The rest of the time, I drifted in and out of consciousness. When I finally awoke, I actually had survived the full six days. Amazing what being in a Taurus body can do.

As I carefully weaned myself to juices, I realized I'd done six days hard time without tobacco. My system was therefore cleansed of nicotine, along with numerous unspeakable toxins.

I emerged ten pounds lighter and tobacco free. My yellow fingers returned to their normal pallor, and I smelled like oranges. I was empowered. Knowledge that I could survive even my most basic urges, gave me a strength that has remained with me to this day.

Kinda enjoyed the phantasmagoria of my food-starved mind, too.

Haven't looked back since.

And like so many other reformed addicts, today I am absolutely intolerant of all smokers. If you smoke, you don't get inside my door, or past my lips either.

As they say on infomercials; If I Did It, You Can Too.

The smokeless Arye Michael Bender

Forgiveness - Part Two: A Higher Level

2007-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Taking forgiveness to a another level...

I trying to coax God into forgiving everyone. Everyone -- including the one's who refuse to extend forgiveness to anyone, even themselves.

This means I am forced to forgive the Bush administration, ax murderers, the Ku Klux Klan, the military/industrial complex, and all those who are secretly praying for God's wrath on Earth.

Didn't say I have to like any of them, just forgive them.

Because I really disfavor hypocrisy, I am forced into practicing forgiveness myself. After all, I can't ask God to do what I am unwilling to do. Can I?

A shame too. Righteous indignation can be so much fun.

Yes, I'm also asking Allah to drop the end of days stuff. I mean, think of the mess our children would have to go through. You know; dead bodies, fire from the sky, locusts and boils. The children aren't the ones gleefully anticipating blood, bombs, and destruction from all directions. So why should they inherit such nasty stuff?

All prophecies become self-fulfilling. When I try to personify God (a fool's errand), all I can see is love, not hate. And yes, I am willing to even give up hating hatred myself. Damn it!

I'm kinda pitching instantaneous enlightenment. For all of us. Even including the slugs with their fingers anxiously poised on the button of destruction. God let's all things be. And He-She-It also has the power to forgive and enlighten. How about a peaceful space alien landing? Or something spectacular that gets all our attention, worldwide.

I'm all for the creation of a new garden. We can all do the planting and pruning. Or we can all put on a show, out in the barn... You know, something fun for God. Would love to entertain for the heavenly guffaws it could bring.

Allah, God, Christ, That-Which-Has-No-Name, Nature, Spirit, etc., ...Are you listening?

And yes, I forgive you if you're not.

On Forgiveness -- Part One

2007-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

While laughter is the elixir of life, forgiveness is a passport to happiness. No kidding. (Well, I could be kidding. But then I'd have to laugh and produce more of the elixir).

Prosperity follows forgiveness. Not necessarily more stuff, but a greater sense of well-being, a greater sense of harmony, and yes, easier access to what we need.

Notice I didn't say 'desire.' Sorta like the old Rolling Stones song, 'You can't always get what you want, but you get what you need.' Mick and the boys sure had something when they wrote that. You get what you need.

Now forgiveness does imply no superiority. It's more like we're all in this together. After all, of us hasn't done something we'd rather forget? He without sin may cast,,, Not so fast, Mr. Author!

And forgiveness is to be granted to ourselves. Especially, but not limited to ourselves. To use this tool properly, we must ask ourselves for forgiveness, AND GRANT IT.

No blame, shame, or regret; but a clear statement of what we seek the forgiveness for. And not to forget. Remembering -free of blame- is the ticket. When we forgive ourselves and remember why, we learn from the past. And if we learn, it wasn't a mistake. It was the process of evolution at work.

If we do not forgive, then shame, guilt, and regret follow. Those emotions devolve into self-loathing and pity. A self-loathing person is someone with poison coursing through their own bloodstream. Eventually the poison does harm -to others and ourselves.

Forgiveness practiced needn't be a Ned Flanders, goody-goody thing either. It doesn't make anyone holier than anyone else, but it sure makes life more pleasant. Forgiveness detoxifies and opens the way for more satisfaction and creativity.

At least it works for me.

Oh and yes, please forgive me for the above.

Thanks.

On exercise

2007-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've avoided it all my life.

I'm never out of shape because I've never been in shape.

— The trim, Arye Michael Bender

Never Marry A Virgin

2007-08-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

He loved The Virgin Mary.
They shared a house
out on the prairie.
He begged, "After we marry???"
She replied, "Only very rarely."

- Arye Michael Bender -

Intellectual Property

2007-08-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

I've got the only deed on my intellect. And I'm not letting in any squatters.

Who'd want to buy a used mind anyway?...

... How much do you say you have to spend?

The agentless, Arye Michael Bender

Middle East Peace

2007-08-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

Because we Jews shuffled so easily into Third Reich ovens, our next generation -in what was then Palestine- adopted the opposite extreme. We became belligerent.

The winners of WWII carved up the world map and wrenched Israel from Palestine, creating inevitable conflict. America bestowed its blessing only on Israel, and continues to do so.

The stage was set in 1948, and a drama of destruction has been playing to a full house ever since.

If America were to take a neutral stance, it might influence a more peaceful outcome.

Impassioned neutrality favors peace, not war. Slaughter is a result of war, not peace.

Arye Michael Bender

Suicide and The Beast

2007-08-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Dark forces of the universe conspired against me.

Not that long ago. Four more surgeries. All required to repair problems of each earlier cut, left me with all the side effects of the first, second and third. On the last one, the evil surgeon Tom Lieu eviscerated my manhood entirely. Doctors and the IRS. My fixed income, broken.

My prior life as a mildly successful television director, gone. Divorce swept away up last wife. Now she awaits my death ...so that she can marry a Catholic. A Catholic!

My current twenty-something transgender, prostitute, girlfriend decided that she needed to add addiction to the mix. And while I was recovering from another surgery to repair the unintended effects of the first four, sold everything of mine that wasn’t held down.

What was left of life’s quality was reduced to living in a one-room apartment in San Francisco’s notorious Tenderloin District. No tenderness. Armies of the angry homeless regularly stormed past my door. Each soldier shot me a knowing look. They knew it was simply a matter of time. Only the scent of urine and cheap wine kept me from enlisting.

And oh yes, I have a dog.

My doctor wrote a prescription for a service dog. I filled it at the local pound with a used beast. She was under three months and abandoned. And she was the only one who answered when I called out the name I’d prepared, Tina. Lucky it was a girl. She came right up to me, silently stared into my eyes, cocked her head, and smiled. This was Tina-the-Beast. No doubt.

So, we became friends. She moved into my space, which was so small that only one of us could breathe at a time. She usually let me go first. No room for puppy waste in that artless studio, Tina forced me to take frequent outside walks. She also insisted that everyone who wanted, could pet her, no matter how they looked -- or smelled.

Her approach, flawless. She’d go up to everyone, pause, sit, look the stranger in the eye, and grin - a big, bright-eyed, sparkling smile. Invariably, she got petted, and often fed. If a smile was returned, hers widened and her tail wagged in circles.

Many of the homeless were drawn to Tina. It was as if she knew that her contact would reconnect concrete dwellers to a larger world. There she was, on a daily basis, transmuting fear and loathing. Simply by being herself, the world was a bit more tolerable.

Well, enough about Tina. Back to me.

The manager of my building was threatening eviction unless I performed bizarre sexual favors. Wrong gender. More shabby and despicable things followed. My car was stolen, my apartment trashed, and legal moves to render me homeless were barreling forward. Perfect timing for the gov to reduce my already meager income by ten more percent.

My wits ended. One logical conclusion followed. If I could no longer live with at least some dignity, I was time to check out of Motel Hell. It was, after all, quite the reasonable thing to do.

I had already lived a fascinating time backstage at the magic show, but that life was gone. While I could produce and direct film and television reasonably well, I had no other skills. Disability made me unemployable. Little hope remained for getting up out of my condition. With no street smarts, homelessness was unacceptable.

My mind began exploring options for ending it. I couldn’t afford drugs, and hated the deceit of dealers, so sleeping pills were out. Nothing painful or undignified, so hanging was eliminated. Didn't want my remains found with my tongue drooping out the side of my mouth. My car was sitting in some chop shop, so carbon monoxide was beyond my grasp.

Eventually, I settled on snuffing out the oven pilot light and stuff my head inside. Seemed workable. And the irony of a Jew gassing himself in an oven, appealed to me.

So I shaved and showered. Even removed the excess hair from my testicles for a cleaner look. Fresh underwear, cologne, and a neatly pressed pair of slacks. I was ready. Looked and smelled pretty good, too.

The pilot light was under a greasy pan, but I didn’t want to get my hands dirty. It was easier to locate the flexible gas pipe and shut the valve. I did it, then waited thirty seconds and reopened it. I enjoyed the gentle, hissing sound as the sweet scent of cooking gas began to fill the oven. How easy this was.

As I was about to lay my head on an oven rack, who came padding up to me? Tina-the-Beast. She always followed me, wherever I went. Damn.

Tina-the-Beast lived an admirable life. Never had she lied, or cheated, or faked an orgasm. Not once! I had to think. While it was perfectly acceptable for me to end my life, it was not okay to end Tina’s.

I would not let Tina join me in the oven. Besides, it was a small oven with only room for one head. Fine I thought, she’d find crack under the front door and certainly survive. She might have to wait a few days before my corpse was found, but Tina had always been patient.

But I thought, there was a problem. Tina was bound to get hungry. No doubt she’d scarf down enough dry food to get through the first day, but then what? The gas was on, and I had to think fast.

Then a repulsive, but intriguing image, forced itself into my mind.

Like a juicy train wreck inside my brain, the mental picture attracted as much as it repelled me. I tried to picture something else, but the image refused go away. I couldn’t shake it. Closing my eyes only brought it into sharper focus. Like trying not to think of an elephant. All you get are elephants.

The mind picture was only natural.

You see Tina, left to her own devices, would have no choice to eat. Her animal instinct would compel her. And fresh meat wins hands down over stale kibbles and bits. She might try and resist, but at some point fresh, unbaked protein would be too much for her to overcome.

So there it was. Sweet, friendly, happy-go-lucky, smiling, Tina-the-Beast joyously feasting on my innards. I could see her muzzle bloody as she bit into my tasty intestines. Heart, liver, kidney all finding their way to her belly, as she gorged herself until she could consume no more. What a happy dog!

The incongruity of my gentle, best friend cannibalizing my carcass was so odd that all I couldn’t control myself. I tried to resist, but it didn’t work. The image was so ridiculous that a tsunami of laughter pushed up from my belly. Choking it down failed. It crashed up and out, past my mouth and rumbled through the apartment. As I tumbled over on the floor, convulsed with laughter, Tina joined in. There we were, the two of us. Me laughing so hard that I lost all strength. Tina, so happy that she ran around in circles.

And you have to know that true, deep, uncontrollable laughter absolutely extinguishes suicide. It makes you too weak to do anything.

You know it because I’m here writing this story.

And Tina-the-Beast is watching me type.

Smiling.

The Eternal Triangle

2007-08-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

The eternal triangle is: Create. Preserve. Destroy.

Each leg is essential for all things to exist in time.

This triangle is also a circle, endless in nature.

Each element leads to the next. The last paves way around to the first.

All three are equal in importance; although, I admit a preference for one.

Creation.

I'll let others tend to Preservation and Destruction. Not my cup of dish.

Arye Michael Bender

Sodomy, The New San Francisco Treat

2007-08-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sodomy

Once knew a sodomite
who plied his trade at night.
No matter how hard
he might try to fight,
He remained
a nightime sodomite

Arye Michael Bender, (not a practicing sodomite)

On Successful Propaganda

2007-08-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

Someone I know is about to go on a short vacation, and asked online for recommendations as to which city he might go to. The cities included Vienna, and Budapest.

He said: "In making these plans, I realized that the Cold War divide is very much still alive in my mind. Budapest and Vienna are only three hours away by car and were once, actually, part of the same country (or Empire), and yet I think of them as a world away. I think of Paris, Munich, Madrid, Lisbon, etc. as Europe -- but of Warsaw, say, as distinctly other, as Eastern Europe, i.e., Communist Europe.

I imagine this may be a function of age, and I do wonder if you readers in your twenties think of there even being a divide, a mental divide, between Eastern Europe and Europe proper."

His question illuminated just how pernicous propaganda, even ancient propaganda, can be. It seeps into our minds and hides in some deep, dark compartment. Every now and then It gets past our consciousness, and casts doubt and fear before us.

Happened to me when I traveled alone to Bucharest more than twenty years ago. Despite the fact that even then I trusted no authority, especially anything the government was espousing.

At some point, and for absolutely no reason, I began to feel uncomfortable. Fear pushed up, and I left the Romania much earlier than planned. I could see the process intellectually, but couldn't hold down the emotions, no matter how hard I tried. What a waste!

I tell 'ya the stuff sticks in there. Hitler knew It, Stalin knew It, and you-know-who certainly exploits it.

My guess is, all organized religions know it as well.

Funny how pre-programmed fear can trump reason. Even in a bozo who prides himself about being reasonable.

- Arye Michael Bender -

On Media

2007-08-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll write about the media's complicity on the so-called 'War on Terrorism' and how it came about. I am one of those who unwittingly helped dumb down America. Now I am writing about it as a form of Jewish penance.

Harlan Ellison called TV 'The Glass Teat' almost forty years ago. It is far worse.

The purpose of all television is to program us.

Period.

Doesn't matter what shows we watch, or how. Even if a show is intended to shock us into wakefulness, it can't. What is really bizarre is that the people who program the system themselves have long ago been programmed. It is all on automatic now, and the pre-programmed vision of reality keeps the program going. Sorta like robots building robots to sell to robots.

Think of the key metaphor of the original "Matrix." No one is at the switch. The system is reeling out of control, and the result is increasing chaos everywhere.

The solution is to wake up.

Nothing short of wakefulness will do. How to awaken is determined by individual path. Anyone who says they have the answer, doesn't.

That includes this poster.

The reason for the Brittney-Lindsay-Paris obsession of our media is to distract us while our freedoms are being hijacked.

Magicians call it 'misdirection'. It works.

And the band plays on...

The Wimp Theory

2007-08-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Have a wildly improbable, absolutely unprovable theory as to why we are at war. Wanna hear it?

Goes like this: Back when the first George Bush was running for prez, his opponent, Michael Dukakis called him 'a wimp.'

Bush was incensed. His response was right up there with Richard Nixon's, "I am NOT a crook!" Same line, different noun.

Anyway, Bush-the-First teased his old, CIA trained buddy, Sadaam H. into invading Kuwait. Hussein met with the American ambassador prior to the invasion, and was assured America would look the other way.

So Sadaam took the bait.

George, Sr., huffed, and puffed, and blew Saddam's house down in a nasty desert storm. "Ill show them all," thought Georgie, "I'll prove to the world that I am NOT a wimp."

His point proved, he withdrew into a thousand points of sand.

Flash forward a decade: Now, Junior was going to one-up Pop. After all, he had '9-11' and WMD to justify unspeakable acts.

He sure showed Daddy, didn't he.

Cosmic Masquerade

2007-08-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Satan is just God in a Devil suit.

—The devilish, Arye Michael Bender

Three D

2007-08-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

"Stereotypes of all kinds, are only for the smallest minds"

— The 4-D, Arye Michael Bender

Conscientious Objection

2007-08-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

"I'm not anti-war. Just pro peace"

— The very objective, Arye Michael Bender

All Generalizations

2007-08-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

"All generalizations are invalid!

...Including the one above"

— Arye Michael Bender

One Mental Giant To Another

2007-08-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, George W. Bush, Junior phoned slugger Barry Bonds to congratulate him on his home run record. While Bush did not publicly give his opinion on the steroid issue, he did confide to me the following:

"Never mind what we say in public [Nudge, Nudge...] Drugs are good for America - especially steroids. They keep people distracted, amp-up the aggression (good for recruiting later), and add to the criminal class (makes money for the prison business, and good for later recruiting too.)"

So all in all Barry, you're a great role model.

Arye Michael Bender

Foot and Mouth Disease

2007-08-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

The following recently appeared on the AP Wire:

Foot-and-mouth disease is so highly contagious — and such a threat to farm economies — that the United States won't allow researchers to work with the virus on the mainland. But in Britain, a lab making foot-and-mouth vaccines was located near herds of cattle and may have been the cause of a new outbreak.

(08-09) 10:54 PDT LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) --

Our president must have gotten his on an early London visit.

For Bush, the condition is uncurable.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Hypocrisy

2007-08-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

Have been wondering about the state of hypocrisy these days.

Sexual hypocrisy in particular. You know the kind conservative politicians, Fox pundits, and televangelists rail about. There's a lot of din out there.

I have a theory: Hypocrisy itself is a hidden thrill. You know, publicly damning others for what you secretly do yourself, and getting as close as possible to the edge of being found out, while denying your own acts loudly.

Must be an adrenalin rush!

Any thoughts?