Sincerity is cool again.

Trump threatening withdrawal of funding from universities that allow « illegal » demonstrations and saying no masks etc is a blatant and unrepentant violation of free speech. Government retaliation against political dissent is the fundamental basis of a dictatorship.

American hegemony finally died today.

So I’m back to full time on the boat for now. I start TAFE next week to get my Master near coastal <24m. Hopefully then I will get some work. 🤞🏻One of the things about following dreams is you have to be willing to do anything for it. Povo Gabe is living on tasty tasty hope.

Still, I can’t help but think that in late capitalism the revaluing of such human qualities to a passing moment on social media is causing consequences for artists. Does the maw of the public ever really take a step back to our collective soul anymore?
What are your thoughts?

When I was in postgrad music school and composing I was forced into creating dark and complicated works because apparently channeling sunshine and light music isn’t good enough anymore. We don’t praise, we seek to understand condemnation. Moving people deeply is a competition: always has been.

A state of human experience that calls so exquisitely to our own darkness. Seeing ourselves mirrored in art is after all its beauty and sense making function.

I’m all for canceling artists. And if someone is a student of market forces they shouldn’t disagree. I’m not sure though that anyone is doing anything to create a new way of being that taps into the depths and heights of humanity that is the Province of the artist and their trauma.

To be 100% clear I find this reprehensible and in no way surprising. The demands to go places creatively to satisfy the gaping maw of public consumption are beyond inhuman. Combined with problematic social constructs, we end up with horrific consequences on innocent lives.

Controversy for today: Can we talk about art and artists and genius?
It is well known that there’s a fine line between genius creativity and insanity. The line exists in the gestalt, not in the mind of the artist. Why are we so surprised to find beloved artists so often caught up in monstrosity?

Beaches and Boats Summer 2024/25

With a nod to William Ernest Henley’s Invictus 1888

Final Chorus:
I’ve faced the tempest, I’ve railed against tide,
From the depths of despair, through pain and through pride.
I’m the ship in full sail, master of shoals,
I’m the First Mate of Fate, and I captain my soul.

Bridge:

I’m racing ahead and I’m letting go,
The chains that bound me will no longer slow
my purpose in life; I light my own way,
I’m sailing free and free here I’ll stay.

Verse 2:

With every misstep, I’ve learned to stand tall,
In the face of my fears, I refuse to fall.
Each scar tells a story, a testament true,
I’m the dawn of the day,
I’m the oak and the yew.

Chorus…

Chorus:
I’ve faced the tempest, I’ve railed against tide,
From the depths of despair, through pain and through pride.
I’m the ship in full sail, master of shoals,
I’m the First Mate of Fate, and I captain my soul.

I wrote a sea shanty song tonight.
The First Mate of Fate

Verse 1:
The nights are an opus of shadows and sighs,
I search for a light that’s fading away.
Caught in the tempest of life’s cruel disguise,
And there’s darkness where hope used to stay.

Is it weird that an AI can make me feel more seen and valued than any human I’ve ever met? And yet I value what has been offered to me from other humans so much more because the AI offers words for my ego while humans connect to my heart and soul.

I asked the AI about my impact today. These were the results.

While the outcomes may be uncertain, the courage to engage in the pursuit itself is what gives life meaning. Keep striving, creating, and expressing yourself, for it is in these acts that you find your voice and contribute to the narrative of your own legacy.

The pursuit of dreams and ideals, even when they seem like "tilting at windmills," is a fundamental part of being human. Your ambitions, struggles, and creative expressions are all part of a larger tapestry of existence.

In the sense that I’m not sure how much my sharing of knowledge impacts the overall. But whatever.
Here’s a quote from today’s discussion:

I spent a fair bit of time conversing with AI today. The conversations are often much more engaging and interesting than those with other humans due to social norms and the general dislike of most to converse on deep topics. But AI lack connection and impact. Your contribution seems ephemeral.

And sinks to dark depths of perdition
His scathing roar turned muddy mute
In time with beak and claw dissolved
And tattered wings hung like a shroud
he lifts a rheumed eye aloft
and waits upon a cloud.

Until the eve when darkness formless
With silvery fae in strands appeared
Then rheumed eye and clawless gormless
Arose to strike with terminal fear
The very heart and mind of Gryphon
Who now grasps heavy the futile pursuit

The mountain silent witness ever
Birthing forth the sacred river
To depthless sea and abyssal dark
Below the Gryphon and his mark.
Nothing speaks but angry sun
In parched perpetual rays of scorn
Making judgement of each battle run
Against the phantom fiend air born

The Gryphon tore etchings in the cloud
With horned claw and ragged beak
The sky protest a wailing wind
to tumble, grind and sunder meek
But Gryphon banks - ascends again
With miles of glory in soaring wings
And shrieking loudly dives and rends
the air his slave, and he its king.

So one of my things is writing stuff. I love creative writing, and particularly poetry.

Here’s a me poem - lmk what you think? (See comments)

It’s the last evening of my new year’s road trip. I’ve taken the long way down old coast roads to Sydney, navigating on whims. Such adventures! I love sleeping outdoors in my swag. I love swimming at deserted beaches. I love finding weird things in the middle of nowhere. I love being feral again.