The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.5 – Jung

On February 27, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Image result for mandala jung

Everybody was silent.

“Who turned on the TV?” The doctor asked.

No one responded.

“That’s funny,” I said pulling out my phone, “that formation, what did they call it…Amazon…and then the name of that famous thing in England…uh…”

“Stonehenge,” Lucas responded.

“Yeah,” I plugged the name into my phone.

“Hm, well there it is.” I remarked. “Looks just like the thing in Sam’s picture….”

I passed the phone around.

Everybody’s face registered recognition besides the faces of our three guests.

Graham’s response was strongest. He seemed to exult at seeing it only to return to the offputting laconic haughtiness of the past few hours.

“Sam’s picture?” Fabre asked.

“Yeah, it’s actually why we came to town.”

“Huh…?”

“Well, part of our project here is the use of hallucinogens, chants, and archetypal imagery. We’re studying the potentialities of what Jung called the collective unconscious. Earlier this afternoon we’d been engaged in ‘fire stoking’ which is a sort of call and response according to a certain Pythagorean ratio while loaded on mushrooms and absinthe.”

“Far out man…” Doc Pierce quipped.

“…Anyway, generally, one of us is moved to some form of expression. In this iteration, Sam was the one that had felt the pull. He sketched out some kinda weird jungle scene with this jaguar lying on a stone near a megalith that looks like the one we just saw. Normally, we would record the event and match its contents with others derived from the ‘stoking’ method. We search for things like continuity and coherency. You’d be surprised at how intelligible and teasing these things are…” My eyes got a little distant.

“So…”

“Well, so this time we couldn’t record anything, cause the moment old lanky Hoyt over there got a gander at it he spazzed out. And well…you know the rest…”

Our guests took a while to process the information.

“I’d like to see the picture.”

“It’s in the den.” I said rising to fetch it.

Before I made my way down the stairs I rounded back to the kitchen.

Just as I’d thought…

There was Jesse’s gun. It was a revolver. Smith and Wesson model 66 with four .357 magnum bullets in the chambers. You could definitely take down a pig with this. The big gun is what had given me that off feeling after my first trip to the kitchen. I picked it up and took it with me on my journey down to the den.

There it was, still laying on the table beside the couches we were sitting on.

I picked it up and turned on the overhead light comparing the stone formation to the one on my phone. They were similar, but the one in the picture was a bit more polished and the pattern seemed more evocative, the jaguar was really well drawn…

As I re-entered the sitting room I emptied the chambers and gave Jesse back his gun.

“I don’t know you from Adam so I ain’t takin’ any chances… but I’m no thief so here’s your piece.”

The bumpkin reacquired his arms with a quiet gratitude.

“Here’s the picture,” I said handing it to the Doctor. “Uncanny isn’t it?”

The Doctor examined the picture minutely and then looked over at Sam.

“You’re a great artist, this is a fantastic sketch.” He remarked as he passed the picture to the officer.

Sam beamed with undisguised pride.

“That is so strange! It is very much like that thing on TV we just saw…” Officer Fabre very nearly shouted, “To have that play just now, was it a tape or an internet clip, I did see that commercial….who turned on the TV….?”

None of us knew the answer.

“So what was this you were saying about Jung?” Doc Pearce inquired.

1.1 (Intro) The Sketch of Sam Monroe

1.2 The Cajun Prayer

1.3 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter One: The Cambridge Gable Scene (‘Gator is Waitin’)

1.4 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.4 – The Cambridge Gable Scene – (Horticulture)

1.5 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.5: ‘To Luckadoo Cove’

1.6 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.6 – ‘Is there anybody out there…’

1.7 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.7: ‘Jesse’

1.8 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.8: ‘Lungful of Bees’

1.9 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.9 – ‘Precedent’

2.0 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.0 -Calvinist Neuroses

2.1 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.1 – Mirage

2.2 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.2 – Estate Planning

2.3 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.3 – High Tech Summons

2.4 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.4 – Amazon Stonehenge

Image Credit: https://fractalenlightenment.com/14683/life/carl-jungs-psychological-diagnosis-using-mandalas

TFJ Vlogs – Return to the Parlor

On February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn Environment, Philosophy, Psychology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Brief talk on methods to stay put when you need to, hidden costs, and the need to revive parlor culture. As we automate and populate we are going to need art and culture more and more and more…

http://www.victorianpride.com/history.html

Goldfish (Poem)

On February 25, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Image result for car sales

They think they’re strong

I see them every day

Through their shielding windows

On their foggy way

Little tiny minnows

Behind some moving glass

Never stung by arrows
Laughing as you pass

In their bowls

They feel pretty kinglike

These edges of their life don’t feel like controls
Fed and sated yea they have waited to never have to hike

And here they are

Going so far

Each one a star

With its very own motorcar!
Going, going so far, yet enthroned kingly seated

And they know they swear they know they’re strong

Never greeted
By suspicion of maybe… wrong

Go along get along so its meeted
From one bowl to the next
How fancy are your limits, lets put them on

Just shoot me a text

Afore the last bowl at the dealership’s gone…

The Dangers of Hipsterism

On February 24, 2018February 24, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

20180218_165411 — Sweatpants and Alpine Jackets

If you don’t watch the biggies like Game of Thrones – and anything with that much support is just too mainstream for your latte-stained beard to handle, you run the risk of accidentally plagiarising (sic).

Ok, this is a really ‘tongue in cheek’ post but as I do research for my book: Sketch of Sam Monroe, which you can read for free, as I write and post it, provided you’re old and mature enough to handle adult themes. I can’t help but keep stumbling onto references to a show called Stranger Things.

Like here: (Post by A-Train Sports)

“Remember Stranger Things? Eleven’s mom was supposedly one of the MKUltra patients.

*Should be noted that the involvement of these men in the Nazi Party was wide-ranging, some were forced to work for Hitler, others were the voluntary card-carrying Nazi Party members.”

Just a few seconds ago.

There is also a really weird indie film on YouTube

which mentions ‘The Montauk Boys.’ Funnily enough, the Montauk Boys thing seems to play into Stranger Things as well according to some post I don’t remember.

Sure, drawing from a similar cultural well isn’t really plagiarism. But it still chafes my Chucks!

…I’m literally drinking craft beer right now….and I am ashamed….

20180223_195026

TFJ Vlogs – DOPE! – Stop Saying Dopamine…

On February 22, 2018February 22, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn Philosophy, Psychology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

One of the biggest problems in society is oversimplification. With better tech and more information we’re doing it more and quicker than ever before – with ‘sciencey’ words like ‘Dopamine.’

While Dopamine is a real neurotransmitter, the way that it’s implicated in absolutely everything is indicative of the trend of dangerous and annoying reductionist psychobabble.

The article referenced: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/women-who-stray/201701/no-dopamine-is-not-addictive

Post. Grunge. Punks. – Band Geeks – Part Two (Webcomic)

On February 22, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

PGP - Band Geeks 2

Part One – Post. Grunge. Punks. – ‘Band Geek’ (Webcomic)

Since I’m using a mouse to draw and am pressed for time here’s a typed up transcript of the dialogue. I think I’m going to draw with pen and paper until I get a Graphics Tablet. Thanks for stopping by.

Suit Guy: And in this pocket is a pair of tickets, the sickest of merch!

Suburban Badass: Hey bruh, a ticket, a band can’t live off of ticket sales.

Suit Guy: Uh, so we’re just gonna be Yuppies and compare the virtues of our spending habits?

Suburban Badass: Yuppie?! You’re the one wearing a suit!

Suit Guy: Facepalm!

The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.4 – Amazon Stonehenge

On February 22, 2018February 22, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I looked around to see who was holding the remote. Nobody seemed to be.

I looked at the screen. It was a repeat of the ten o’clock news.

At the end of the broadcast for this particular township, there was a quirky little segment called: “News of the Weird.”

That’s what was playing now.

“Well, Alison,” the anchor said, “you know that maps can be deceiving?”

“Whaddaya mean Pete?”

“Well, maps are just projections, they’re abstractions from reality suited for purposes like navigation, and often times affected by the place that map makers call home.”

“Yeah, so…”

“So, did you know that Brazil is actually pretty much the same size as the United States?”

“Well, I know it’s big, I think it’s the biggest country in South America.”

“That’s right! It takes up half the continent’s land area. To give you an idea of just how big that is, the United States is 9,833,517 sq km, while Brazil is about 8,515,770 sq km.”

“Wow, that’s pretty close.”

“That’s right, and you can bet that such a big area, most of which is shrouded in thick rainforest holds many mysteries and surprises.”

“I don’t doubt it, Pete. So I guess you musta fished something wild from the info stream?”

“I sure did. Take a look at this,”

The screen cut to an aerial video above some canopy, in the midst of which was a field, and in the field were some rocks. At the periphery, we could see the faint line of a river.

“You see Alison, yin, and yang, do happen, there is a little of the bad in the good and the good in the bad… deforestation in all its destructiveness may have just presented the best case for its cessation.”

“O yea, how so?”

“What we’re looking at here is the northeast of Brazil, in the state of Amapá, more specifically the municipality of Calçoene. Here, a farmer who was clearing land for grazing stumbled upon those rocks you see.”

“What’s so special about those rocks?”

“Well, they’re what’s known as megaliths, giant blocks of geology arranged by ancient man for mysterious purposes. This particular arrangement is very peculiar and along with other evidence is revolutionizing the way that we look at ancient cultures. It has been dubbed the Stonehenge of the Amazon since part of the formation seems to align with the sun during the winter solstice.”

“Wow, that’s wild!”

“At 2.1 million square miles, The Amazon Rainforest, and its surroundings are sure to hold much wilder things. Perhaps this discovery will spur us to be more cautious with this irreplaceable natural wonder.”

“Let’s hope so! That’s all for tonight’s news of the weird.”

A pharmaceutical ad began running.

Image Source (and a great story)

Suggested Further Reading

Since the ‘post as you write’ way of doing things has certain options that ‘nonlive’ publications don’t, I’ll insert a reading suggestion for a really fantastic bit of long-form journalism: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/09/19/the-lost-city-of-z

That story will definitely factor into The Sketch of Sam Monroe as it unfolds.

Apologies to anyone who may have been annoyed by this break in continuity.

The link was important and meritorious enough to warrant the risk of being tacky.

1.1 (Intro) The Sketch of Sam Monroe

1.2 The Cajun Prayer

1.3 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter One: The Cambridge Gable Scene (‘Gator is Waitin’)

1.4 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.4 – The Cambridge Gable Scene – (Horticulture)

1.5 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.5: ‘To Luckadoo Cove’

1.6 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.6 – ‘Is there anybody out there…’

1.7 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.7: ‘Jesse’

1.8 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.8: ‘Lungful of Bees’

1.9 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 1.9 – ‘Precedent’

2.0 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.0 -Calvinist Neuroses

2.1 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.1 – Mirage

2.2 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.2 – Estate Planning

2.3 The Sketch of Sam Monroe – Chapter 2.3 – High Tech Summons

Ill – (Poem)

On February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Image result for memento mori

Headache clarity

Ah this strain…

Remember my mortality

In each shooting pain

Despite all of my measures
Surfeit of food and strength of limb

I can’t hold on to earthly treasures

Febrile is the feeling of the burning skin
This twelve stone frame

Never felt so thin

Though I’m not dying and not lame

There is much education in this

Expectations are for fools
Now I know I’ll never miss
For I’ve released anticipations odd and sterile rules

To find the clarity of pain
Bearer of a wisdom most profound
Of which it’s impossible to speak of plain

For it’s in the ground

Soil from which we sprang
And at times heard little peals of bells
Yes when they rang
Recalled the measure of our wells

So it is that clarity
Has made me see
That till death art is daily
There is no greater free

Image Credit: http://www.faena.com/aleph/articles/memento-mori-remember-that-you-too-will-die/

TFJ Vlogs – Vero Nihil Verius – Ten Commandments of Philosophy

On February 21, 2018 By Alex V. WeirIn Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Nothing truer than the truth.

I was in a philosophical mood after writing this little essay: https://fractaljournal.com/2018/02/21/tfjs-philosophy-and-method-series-generalities-and-specifics/

Which led me to recall…

An excerpt from an introductory philosophy textbook of yore.

Ten Commandments of Philosophy

1. Allow the spirit of wonder to flourish in your breast.

2. Doubt every claim you encounter until the evidence convinces you of its truth.

3. Love the truth.

4. Divide and Conquer

5. Collect and Construct

6. Conjecture and Refute

7. Revise and rebuild

8. Seek simplicity

9. Live the truth

10. Live the Good!

http://www.fractaljournal.com

The Fractal Journal

Month: February 2018