Poconos Flea Market Finds

Growing up, my family would take an annual vacation to a lake house in the Poconos. We still continue the tradition, even now that my siblings & I have families of our own. This year, we had 13 people total staying in a house! Luckily my family get along really well, and we enjoy being together.

 Poconos Vacation 2016 

 One thing we enjoy doing every year is head to the Blue Ridge Flea Market on Sunday morning to check out the endless crap for sale. We chant "JUNK! JUNK JUNK!" as we prepare to search the vendor tables for hidden gems. We would always have a contest to see who could find the most outrageous, funny, or weird items. Now that I have kids, I'm usually preoccupied with finding Star Wars items for my son, or cute stuff for my daughter. 

This year I tried to capture some of the wacky things I saw for sale:

  

Operation AIPAC Fury

 Operation AIPAC Fury

“There are only two reasons why you should ever be asked to give your youngsters. One is defense of our homes. The other is the defense of our Bill of Rights and particularly the right to worship God as we see fit. Every other reason advanced for the murder of young men is a racket, pure and simple.”

“A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war, a few people make huge fortunes.”

 -War is a Racket - Major General Smedley D. Butler

 

The nature of war is based in humanity’s selfish & violent primitive tendencies, that manifest in divisions of nationalism, religion, and economic class. The senseless waste of lives, money, & energy is depressing to all of us who wish better for the world.

As it’s been said many times- the fact that we cannot provide universal healthcare, education, and other social resources for our citizens… but can spend billions upon billions of dollars to bomb the shit out of people on the other side of the world, shows just how fucked our national  priorities have become. 

I've been posting about Israel's sway over the United States' Middle East policy for a couple decades now. Looking back on my old posts, there was fear around 2006 that the Bush Administration was going to attack Iran due to Israel's influence. Of course, even Dubya's cabal of wackjobs wasn't as mindbogglingly stupid and completely insane as Trump, Inc.

Now, because Trump is so easily manipulated & willing to blow up the whole world to distract from the fact that he is a disgusting pedophile piece of shit, we are in an absolute global catastrophe. It's unbelievably frustrating to think how we've progressed in so many ways- but the greedy, power-hungry, fascist bullshit persists & is somehow getting worse. 

I worry about the incomprehensible madness that my kids & future generations are going to have to deal with if we don't figure out how to safeguard against the worst humanity has to offer, from the likes of Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, Musk, Theil, Karp, and so many others. Insatiable desire for money & lust for power over others is the common denominator of all these bastards. Money as a medium of exchange has its use, but we need to prioritize humanist values to really advance the human race in a positive way. We have to speak out and act responsibly now, to manifest a better future for ourselves & the human race.

The Nodfather

Don Snorleone is...

THE NODFATHER 

 "Make Him an Offer He Can't... Zzzzzz"

It's always projection... All the talk about "Sleepy Joe Biden," & now this stroked-out old fool is dozing off in multiple public, televised meetings.

I saw the moniker "The Nodfather", most popularly used by CA Gov. Gavin Newsome, & thought I would use my ultra-refined graphic design abilities to create a proper meme for it.

I take great pride in my political shitposts. Most people may not the notice the tiny puppeteer hand that I reduced, but it's a detail I couldn't ignore. I also almost posted this image completely in black & white, but then I went back to look at the original Godfather poster, & saw his red flower. So, I had to add the obvious splash of red on this one, too.

This mf'er is gonna sleepwalk us into a conflict in South America, international pariahship, & domestic economic disaster at the trajectory he's taking us. The worst of it is, that he's desperate to distract from the Epstein scandal, & the fact that he is a depraved lunatic who by all indicators abused underage girls. 

We are truly living in a bizarre, horrible joke of a timeline.

 

Neonna Loretta Micarelli - Monthly Smiles with Daddy: Year 1 (2023-2024)

 

My daughter Neonna recently had her 2nd birthday. She has been smiling since she was a newborn, & she brings a smile to the face of everyone she meets. I started taking pics of us every month to follow our happy journey, and this video documents her first year of smiles. 

 

Neonna is a bright, shiny soul who is full of light. We thought that after my son Paulie, who is a ball of energy, that maybe she would be the mellow one... yeah, that was some wishful thinking! Although she is definitely not as much of a maniac as my son, she is still a wild child in her own way.

Her first word was "Da-Da" 💖 & now she is starting to talk, pretending to have conversations in babble language on her play phone. She's a strong little girl, running around trying to keep up with her big brother, and also beating the crap out of him when he inevitably crosses the line and pisses her off. She's very active- she's dribbling soccer balls, has an impressive throwing arm, climbs on everything & loves swinging like a monkey on rings or the trapeze! 

She's also super-strong-minded, and is already a sassy force to be reckoned with. When she points her finger and says to me "No, Daddy!" I feel like I'm dealing with a teenager already. We gave her the nickname "Gromulus the Gremlin" for whenever she gets into goblin mode, which can be very crazy. She calls herself "Ya-Ya", which I guess is her trying to pronounce "Neonna". Everybody thinks it's hilarious & we all call her Ya-Ya now.

Maybe Neonna will have a creative nature like me; she already points out & says colors and loves to draw (scribble). The thing that really blows my mind is how she already has a sense of humor, before she can really talk. How do kids know what is funny & how to be funny?? It's a weird thing, but amazing to observe. 

My wife and I feel so blessed to have this beautiful little girl in our life. We just look at her in awe, and ask each other how we created such a perfect being. I have continued this fun project into year 2, so I will post that video soon. 

Here is a link to the photo album, where I hope to continue to add pics of me & my sweet little pumpkin:

 Neonna Loretta Micarelli - Monthly Smiles with Daddy
by Paul Micarelli 

Pervs of a Feather

"Pervs of a Feather..."
by The Monkey Buddha 

Spurred on by all the current news stories about "The Epstein Files," I made this image of the connection between Donald Trump & Jeffrey Epstein, two depraved vultures who have preyed on countless victims, especially young girls. 

Anyone who knew anything about Trump's past and the reality of his character knew that he was a  scumbag, both in business & in his personal life. I'm not going to expound on the countless allegations & factual events demonstrating this point. The footage of him & Epstein together have been around forever, along with the abundance of other evidence of their association. Based on Epstein's known sex trafficking operations, that is more than enough proof of Trump's sleaziness. As a father of a little daughter, these disgusting freaks make me sick. Abusing innocent children in such a way is the most unforgivable crime one can commit.

So, after the former MAGA, but forever troll, Elon Musk posted about Trump being on Epstein's client list, the corporate news suddenly took notice of this otherwise already well-known relationship between the two wealthy degenerates.

Now, in a scramble to control the fallout from the media feeding frenzy, it looks like President Trump's personal lawyer, The fucking United States Dept. of Justice, is not-so-secretly coordinating with Epstein's former right-hand woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, in prison facing a twenty year sentence. Is Trump stupid & arrogant enough to offer some kind of pardon to Maxwell for her cooperation in exonerating Trump from the Epstein mess? I think we all know the unfortunate answer to that question.

Another stupid question is "Will this finally be the incident that brings down Donald J. Trump?" I've read conservative comments & forums where this attempted coverup of Trump's history with Epstein is finally cracking the wall of their denial keeping out the truth. However, I'm sure the good little bootlickers will get back in line as soon as they are given their marching orders from the right-wing propaganda machine. 

It's kind amazing that this asshole has been committing crime after crime, fraud after fraud, for decades & people still like him. Everyone with any sense already knew that he was a sexual predator and an immoral crook, but he just gets away with it all. People will probably be pissing on his grave before he sees any kind of justice for his misdeeds. I don't even believe in the Devil, but this guy must have some kind of pact going on with the forces of evil. He's definitely working on their behalf...

 

Trump Takes a Trip with the Mushroom Tip

So, I decided to convey the unthinkable... Donald Trump tripping on magic mushrooms. 

It seems more likely that the Moon would spontaneously turn into a giant mass of Swiss cheese before Trump would willingly partake in any psychedelic substance. However, I've predicted such completely ridiculous things as the Trump Bible™ & even the Trump Presidency™ itself, so there's a non-zero chance that I'm now spawning this into reality.

Anyway, let's take a hypothetical journey through Donnie's dome, as he experiences the mind-altering magic of the sacred shroom, & confronts all of his inner insanity...

A.I.-Driven Dystopia

 

 

Don't Ignore this Warning about AI

I've been watching the unbelievable advances in A.I. imagery & video, and it is completely beyond the human mind to grasp the implications of this emerging technology. 

As a parent, I have endless worries about my children's safety & what they will see as they travel through this temporal experience called Life. 

So, the video above really hit me when considering my kids, especially my daughter. It's based on the video If London Were Syria. 

It shows a girl growing up in a dystopian future, facing existential challenges to herself & to human society, as a whole. Institutions and social structures collapse as artificial intelligence takes control of computer systems running the world. The ending (where the woman, now with her own child, is being tracked by hunter/killer robots) is such a terrifyingly real possibility- now that the field of robotics has been weaponized globally with no real checks or regulations.

The mind reels at the horrifying possibilities when watching the latest robots or drone swarms. Then, the mind absolutely recoils when faced with the realization that these powerful advancements will be controlled by the most immoral & unscrupulous among us.

President-for-Life Elon Musk in 2088 - Supreme Chief Executive of the USX

 For the sake of my kids & all people, I just keep hoping that humanity's ability to solve problems outpaces our tendency to create them.

God-Tier Narcissist

 

TRUMP: God-Tier Narcissist
by The Monkey Buddha

This past December, I posted 2024 Election (& American Democracy?) Post-Mortem and I mentioned how Trump "has become basically a God-tier malignant narcissist, demanding the attention of every human consciousness on the planet."

I started thinking it would be funny to portray Trump as a malevolent cosmic deity, so I made the above image. TRUMP has achieved his final form! As his absurdly inflated sense of self-importance transcends time & space, his chaos energy lights the world aflame.

It really is a phenomenon to behold - an ego so out of control that it envelopes the entire worldwide social collective. Trump is the pure manifestation of greed, a hungry ghost with the insatiable need for more... money, power, admiration, and worldly status. This is bad enough when it's the President of the United States we're talking about, but when you combine his bottomless narcissism with the fact that he's an idiotic ASSHOLE, it results in the absolute shit-show that is currently unfolding.

The craziest thing to me about Trump having any influence at all is that he's always been a total doofus. Especially now that he's a demented old man who just rambles on & bitches & whines, what's the appeal? He is just cluelessly doing the bidding of anti-democratic forces, and clearly has no clue what he is talking about whenever pressed for more than his usual, "Best ever" or "Nobody's seen anything like it" bullshit. Why do so many people act like this guy is respectable, when he is truly irredeemable?

His incomprehensible, god-like powers of personal aggrandizement admittedly leave me in awe... a dreadful, horrified awe. At the end of the day, though, he is still just a man who will pass into dust like the rest of us. However, it is difficult to look at this ultimate 'alpha male' & not be left in awe of his god-tier existence.

Experience "Actual Reality"!

One of the reasons why the human race seems to be sliding deeper into a collective psychosis is because our individual minds have been hijacked by digital technology. Our devices and media have been designed to trigger all the addictive tendencies in our brains, and the result is an agitation on some level when this sensory input is removed. We feel the urge to open our phone back up, or go back to scrolling whatever feed had demanded our attention.

I am as big a fan of digital technology as anyone, but I also recognize the dangers & downfalls of its use. My remedy is to make sure that I devote time to putting the phone aside, and being present in whatever I am doing or experiencing at the moment. I've had the benefit of practicing mindfulness for many years through Zen meditation, yoga, and even my artwork. So, I am quite comfortable with just being, without the need for external distraction. Despite my desire to check my email or social media feeds, I'm able to put it aside and be sure to "stop & smell the roses". However, for people without that ability for a level of introspection or awareness, it can be so easy to just get continually sucked into the constant, never-ending stream of info & entertainment that's now at our fingertips.

This is why this video is so on point, reminding us that we have to utilize & appreciate our original sensory inputs, with the infinite universe of "Actual Reality" around us to experience:

The King of Bullshit

 

"The King of Bullshit"
by The Monkey Buddha

With President Donald Trump pushing the boundaries of his megalomania ever & ever farther, his social media accounts recently exclaimed "Long Live the King!" as he injects himself into New York's controversial 'congestion pricing' system.

I already generated the graphic above a couple weeks ago, but now it's even more appropriate in light of this recent news. The image was created from two renders by Stable Diffusion AI. I composited & retouched the resulting picture in Photoshop. The prompt was: trump sitting on a toilet throne with a poop emoji crown, surrounded by piles of gold and skulls

Trump truly is "The King of Bullshit"... and not just for the stream of unrepentant lies and utter toxicity that flows from his speech. He repulses me to my core, but I'm actually going to use this post to (sort-of) praise him for also exposing how much of our Reality™ is bullshit. 

Trump is truly a phenomenon, and without a doubt, the dominant global public figure of the beginning of the early 21st century. As I put it in my previous post: "He has become basically a God-tier malignant narcissist, demanding the attention of every human consciousness on the planet.".

The most significant thing that he has done, as The King of Bullshit, is to show that all of our public institutions and socio-political systems are ultimately bullshit. 

Our entire civilization is built on the most fragile foundation of gentleman's agreements & honor systems. What Trump has shown, is that unscrupulous people with no personal honor nor respect for these institutions can just tear everything apart. They can quickly dissolve these transient, imaginary creations that we call "society" & "government". As part of a relatively stable political framework for the last couple centuries, Americans have come to take our relatively well-functioning social order for granted. Trump has ripped open the curtain, and there's nothing behind our established institutions. It's all sunyata, emptiness...

Government is bullshit. It's made up of millions of actual civil servants, politicians, & military personnel, but it is really an abstract entity perpetuated by the systems & layers of bureaucracy that have been built up over decades. No matter how well things are run, it is all impermanent, & subject to being destroyed at any time. When you have a tyrannically-minded asshole like Trump & his fanatical sycophants ready to raze the established order, it has now been shown that the only thing holding everything together was the flimsy thread of "respect" that people continually hold for the government & it's principles. The checks & balances that the country's founders implemented simply do not exist if the parties do not exercise them. The Republican-majority Congress and the conservative Supreme Court have not asserted their authority in the governmental triad, and instead have let King Trump and his administration steamroll the entire system.

"The Law" & Its Enforcement are bullshit. Trump has proved this truth, time & time again. Law is another one of those things, hand-in-hand with government, that depends on people to respect & uphold it. If this is not enforced, then the whole thing is shown to be just a farce, a collective illusion that we agree to. The fact that Donald Trump escaped prosecution for the Jan 6th attempt to block the election certification, as well as his various fraudulent activities, AND became the fucking President of the United States shows that law is definitely not equally applied & can be completely subverted. He's shown that the courts are also bullshit, & they can either be politicized, corrupted, or stalled. As the Trump Administration churns out executive directives, organizations & states have begun to sue. People are looking to the courts to save us from the Trump/DOGE wrecking ball, but litigating against this administration's actions is like putting bandages on a decapitated head, the critical damage is done or unstoppable, & the country is fucked in the short term, for sure.

The Media is bullshit. Trump, being the King of Bullshit & master media manipulator, has shown how dishonest & sensationalized the news media has become. "Sane-washing" became a term during the 2024 election campaign to describe how the media & journalists simply don't call out Trump on his insane bullshit. It's agonizing to watch talking heads try to come terms with or spin the constant flood of belligerent stupidity & craziness. There are still fact-checkers in the news (much to the dismay of the MAGA faithful), but more people should just point out that Trump is a total ignoramus & often has no clue what the hell he's talking about. "The Weave", yeah sure,... it's called BULLSHIT.

Consensus Reality is bullshit. That's right- there is no such thing as an agreed reality, especially in the realm of politics. Political divisions have always been a major force in any society throughout history. However, the influence of social media and digital information have drastically affected perceptions of reality through misinformation, propaganda, and fictions. The devastating effectiveness lies with their distribution to the individual & collective consciousness, via the algorithms determining the content viewed based on an individual's psychological profile. We still have verifiable physical facts, but people may still not accept your measuring system or your descriptions even if they are supposed to be rooted in so-called objective reality. As Robert Anton Wilson described, we are living in our own "reality tunnels," and although there are certainly shared experiences among us, everyone is literally in their own world. When I go into the comments on Fox News articles, it is often like entering Bizarro World. The more MAGA the news source, the more disconnected from reality it seems to be. Trump himself, channeling 1984's Big Brother, has demanded that "what you're seeing... is not what's happening".

So here were are, Donald Trump, The King of Bullshit, is enshittifying the country, the world, & everything he touches, like the reverse King Midas. He is an narcissistic old fool sitting on an imagined throne, just as temporary as all the established institutions that he's exposing as a giant pile of bullshit.

 

RIP iPhone 6s

I recently finally traded in my 8 year old iPhone 6s, for a current model 16. 

My 6s served me very well for all those years, & I was really trying to keep it going until the proverbial wheels fell off. It was only within the last 6 months that the battery life became very short (had to keep it plugged in a lot), & I began noticing a lag in performance. I had 128 GB of storage, the most you could get at the time, & I had just recently come close to maxing it out. My new phone has 512GB, so it should let me add 10's of thousands of more pics/video in the coming years. 

Eventually, A.I. will likely allow us to reconstruct (perhaps in VR) whole scenes or even chapters from our life based on our accumulated digital photo libraries. Anyway, I'll save my tech predictions for another post...

It's crazy how attached we've become to our technology, especially smartphones. I'll have a mini panic attack in the car if I think I left it at home. I have always felt that my computers & phone devices were extensions of my nervous system, tools to extend my consciousness & abilities. 

Sometimes, I'll look at the phone & think what a mystifying creation it is... It's almost like magic when you closely consider the complexities of it's engineering & functionality. We carry around this light screen that allows us to communicate & even share thoughts like a form of telepathy, create or appreciate art, capture moments in time, and navigate our reality, while also giving us access to the sum of all human knowledge right in our hand. It's unbelievable!

Now, with the addictive nature of gaming & social media, our devices have become "attention prisons" of endless scrolling and clicking. Our brain is completely hooked on the interaction with the screen. It's not all brain-numbing nonsense, but the craving for the interaction of the mind with the digital devices is a psychological imperative that is too strong for most people to resist.

I try to intentionally disconnect from my phone- to read a book, pay attention to the taste of my food, play with my kids, enjoy the rare moments of silence, a chance to talk to my wife without the little gremlins hounding us (also rare nowadays), or just be present in whatever I'm doing. I have a meditative mindset, and try to maintain a sense of conscious awareness in each moment. The phone is an almost irresistible temptation, but it's vitally important to take time & experience the sensorium of "real life". 

We also try to limit the kids' screen time, because we realize how addictive it is. I see kids glued to their phones, but then so are adults now. I want to help my kids to be able to be aware & mentally resilient enough to experience life directly, by disengaging from electronic media periodically.

So, as I continue on with newer & better hardware, our technology is evolving within our lifetimes, as biology as evolved through the millennia. It's truly an amazing time to be alive as so much change & novelty is taking place in our world. With how crazy things are, I just hope humanity can keep going & not destroy itself before we reach a more stable stage of species development. My phone delivers me all kinds of news that makes me nervous about our chances, but I have to stay optimistic, for the sake of my children the human race as a whole.

2024 Election (& American Democracy?) Post-Mortem

President A$$hole - I still can't believe this graphic that I made way back in 2016 came true...
back when it was just a political fever dream, too fucking absurd to possibly be real.

It's been about a month since the 2024 U.S. Election, & I've taken some time to step away from posting on this blog, as well as from social media. I haven't been online much recently anyway, as I try to be fully present in the off-line (aka. "real") world with my wife and two little children when I am not working. 

After Trump was declared the winner of the election, I've had no desire to go on my social media feed to see the gloating of the slavish MAGA devotees, nor the lamenting of all the sane people who realize what a total disaster this is gonna be, yet again. It was bad enough seeing the dialogue in online comment sections - especially the dumbass Trumpers ecstatic over choosing the most corrupt, sleazy, & ego-maniacal fool imaginable to lead the country. Thinking Donald Trump is anything but a criminal buffoon, forget being worthy of the Presidency, is the weirdest shit ever.

However... here we are!!! At this point, there's been little to no public accusations of any low-key election shenanigans by Team Trump, which wouldn't surprise me (because every Trump accusation is usually a confession). In any case, the fact that the race was close at all just shows how heavily propagandized the population truly is. From the manipulative social media algorithms, to the right wing radio shows, to the Fox News 24/7 outrage machine with it's brain-scrambling influence on the public... we are seeing just how little factual information & critical thinking is directing public opinion. By constantly normalizing Trump's insanity and gross antics, even the "mainstream media" gave Trump power. He has become basically a God-tier malignant narcissist, demanding the attention of every human consciousness on the planet.

So how did we get here??? Kamala Harris was a decent enough candidate- a smart, accomplished politician with a history in law enforcement. She seemed friendly and charismatic enough, and ran circles around Trump in their only debate, baiting his fragile ego effortlessly throughout. Of course, red hats parroted their side's media talking heads, who complained about stupid shit like her laugh or claimed she had no experience, despite her long history as a public servant. They did everything to discredit her & amplify her flaws through their powerful echo chamber... all while cheering on a completely irredeemable scumbag like Trump.

I think the problem clearly started with Joe Biden deciding to run again for another term, & NOT stepping aside to allow the Democratic party to hold a primary. Although Joe Biden has been a very effective President who scored some major accomplishments, his stubborn clinging to the office royally screwed the Democratic party, and ultimately the country (& the world). Biden's debate with Trump was an absolute fucking debacle, & cemented in many people's minds that Biden was not fit to lead. Unfortunately, Trump getting rhetorically gutted by Harris in their debate did not have the same effect on the Golden Turd. In the public's mind, if Biden has been this bad & Kamala has helped cover for him, then why should we trust her either? However, all of Trump's horrible qualities & behaviors were continually just given a pass. As political commentator Van Jones stated, "He gets to be lawless, she has to be flawless." It was just frustrating as hell to watch unfold throughout the campaign. As it became clear that many were buying into Trump's authoritarian bullshit, I thought this meme summed up the feeling toward the end pretty well:

So, the Trump campaign is now transitioning into another Presidential term, with the Republicans in control of the government, even if by razor-thin margins in Congress. I have been watching everything unfold over the last month, and it has been as much of a Trumpian shit-show as anyone with a cluster of functioning brain cells could have predicted.

Trump is assembling a real-life "Legion of Doom" for his cabinet, made up of only the most loyal & unqualified swamp creatures, whose only goal is to destroy the Federal Government. The primary qualification is fealty to TRUMP, not the Constitution or the American people. This in and of itself is an obscene way to go about choosing government officials. Beyond being willing to unflinchingly kiss Trump's ass, the other main requirement seems to be to hate or be totally unfit to lead the department you will be in charge of.

These sycophantic candidates, even Trump really, are just puppets for the monied interests behind the scenes.  They want to decimate all public services & assets, in order for private companies to swoop in and feast on the remains- to the detriment of the American population, at large:

• Matt Gaetz, the real-life Butthead, as Attorney General??? What??? This was absolute madness, & a bridge too far, so he got kicked to the curb. However, it showed just what a psycho circus we are in for...

• Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary??? A service member with no strategic military experience or management on the monstrous scale of The Pentagon... Oh, and he's a misogynist alcoholic who you didn't vet for disqualifying info? Great idea, to pick a guy you see on Fox News to be in charge of our entire military.

• RFK for Health Secretary? I agree with his general outlook that we need to find natural paths to healthiness, but this is another pick that is just wacky.

• Tulsi Gabbard to lead our intelligence agencies? A lot of literal red flags there.

• Linda McMahon as Secretary of Ed?? Are we really gonna have a WWE executive running Public Education?

• Kash Patel, FBI Director??? A man with an actual enemies list, whose blind devotion to his leader would lead him to attempt to use federal law enforcement as a personal Trump police force???

• & on & on & on...

* Of course the billion-dollar elephant in the room is the wannabe Shadow President, Elon Musk. The richest man in the world basically bought his way into direct control of the federal government. He and fellow super-wealthy, super-douchey Vivek Ramaswamy are tasked with heading a fucking meme agency, "DOGE," to recommend slashing away at the government- which is good in theory, but starting of course with the services that the most vulnerable in our society rely on; Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. .It's just open corruption, and it's amazing to see how brazen it all is. The Right, which endlessly cries about the shadowy influence of wealthy Democratic donors, such as their eternal boogieman George Soros, suddenly is totally ok with a billionaire, having vested interests in government contracts, being the main public consultant for the incoming President... because it's their guy. The hypocrisy is astounding. 

It doesn't matter what his supporters (or anyone else) think anyway. Trump won, & he's only going to do whatever benefits "Trump World" now. Thank God we have a semi-functioning Congress (at the moment) to put a stop to some of these completely insane picks. As Donald sits like Jabba the Hutt at Mar-a-lago waiting for the lineup of shameless cronies willing to do his bidding... there's every indication, just from this nomination process, that this Trump administration is going to be pretty fucked up. He's going to do everything to concentrate all the power & wealth into the hands of himself & his personal interests. The only thing we can hope is that his extreme foolishness, intellectual laziness, & sheer incompetence continue to damper his craziest & most destructive efforts.

Is he really going to crush the American economy with reckless tariffs? Is he really going to sell off federal land & national assets to the highest bidder? Is he really going after political enemies & critics? You bet your ass he's gonna try. I'm thinking, "Should I not even write anything critical of this jackass anymore?" I mean, I have kids now. I'm not trying to fucking disappear into a Trump Re-Education Facility™!

Maybe there is some silver lining, in that this sort of cultural experience is necessary to help mankind move on from the more primal, selfish level of consciousness that Donald Trump & MAGA embody. Even if that is a more positive cosmic outlook on the situation, it's still going to generally suck for awhile. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not counting on it.

Fascist to the Core

In Trump We Trust
by The Monkey Buddha

In about a week, The United States of America faces it's ultimate test of our collective sanity, to date - The 2024 Presidential Election. Does the country elect an accomplished, competent career law enforcement officer & politician with a generally positive vision for the country in Kamala Harris... or do we re-elect a demented career con-man & criminal sociopath in Donald Trump, whose narcissistic desire for authoritarianism threatens the very existence of democracy?

In the past week, the widespread acceptance of calling this fascist fuck "a fascist" has finally taken hold of the national discourse. VP Harris herself has publicly agreed that the label fits his dictatorial tendencies. This recognition is mostly due to an interview with his longest-serving former chief of staff, retired Marine general John Kelly.

 CNN:
Trump’s Former Chief of Staff says
he fits ‘Fascist’ Definition and Prefers ‘Dictator Approach’ 

If you look at the actual definition of fascism, then yes, Donald Trump literally embodies it. From his bro-mances with murderous dictators, to calling top Democrats & anyone who opposes him "the enemy within", to his eagerness to use the military against non-combatant citizens, to his egotistical desire for the ostentatious trappings of power - Trump is a fascist, like a trout is a fish, by every meaning of the word.

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

However, Gen. Kelly is not, by any means, the only one who has called out Trump's ignorant & malevolent fascist nature. There Some quotes:

"The general definition of fascist” & “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government”.
-John Kelly: former general & Trump's chief of staff: 

 “FASCIST TO THE CORE” & was doing “great and irreparable harm”
-Mark Milley: retired US army general, served as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under Trump & Biden.

“Anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the constitution should never be president again.”
-Mike Pence- Trump's own VP, who was almost killed by Trump's insurrectionist mob on January 6th

Besides describing Trumps' fascist tendencies, other former staff have commented on his absolutely buffoonish ignorance:

"A moron" ...& a bit more generously, "His understanding of global events [and] his understanding of US history was really limited."
-Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of state

I think Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney & "fixer" had the most delightfully simple, yet holistic take on Trump's personality:
“A cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator and a conman.”

 Donald Trump is a truly despicable person, & is a cartoonishly gross amalgam of humanity's worst traits.

Anyone with any insight at all & an understanding of history can recognize what a unique danger Trump's idiocy & authoritarianism is to American institutions, as well as to the well-being of humanity, in general. He truly brings out the worst in the vocal minority of people who follow the obnoxious asshole.

In a redux of the infamous 1939 Nazi rally that was also held there, the MAGA faithful gathered tonight in Madison Square Garden in New York City, for a large gathering of racists, weirdos, & fools. There is no nice way to describe anyone who would go to such a grotesque event, revering one of the most revolting public figures imaginable.

AP:
Trump's Madison Square Garden Event Features Crude and Racist Insults

Although most people think that Trump is a horrible person, the sway he holds on his faithful admirers is truly mind-boggling. The dangers that his malicious charisma present to society have always been apparent to the clear-eyed among us. I've been defining as Trump a fascist for awhile now. Right after he was elected in 2016, I made this visual analysis of the authoritarian penchant for black, white, & red:

The Fascist Color Palette
by The Monkey Buddha

Hopefully my fellow U.S. citizens can keep this fascist creep away from The Presidency in November... & ever again. There's no way in hell that Trump is winning the popular vote (even though the polls have somehow had this race tied the whole time), but everyone already knows there is MAGA electoral fuckery afoot. Even if he does clearly lose again, Trump will obviously just claim everything is "rigged" yet again. I mean, he's already admitted that's his game plan!

 

So, this is definitely a crazy time here in America, & the rest of the world is watching us as if we are outta our goddamn minds (& rightfully so). Hopefully we can boot this physically, mentally, & morally decrepit man & his ideology into the garbage bin of history in a few days, even though his toxic influence will continue to stain our national identity for the foreseeable future.

Poconos 2024

 Micarelli Family Nature Photo
Paul, Neonna, Paulie, Loretta

This summer, we had our annual family vacation in the Poconos, Pa. We have been going there to one lake house or another for many, many years. As a kid, it was my parents, my brothers, sister, & me going on vacation asva family. As we got older, spouses & kids have also joined in the week of vacation relaxation. My son Paulie has been there once before, and this was my 1 yr. old daughter Neonna's first big trip. 

It's a whole new dimension now, going on family trips as a dad. It is such an amazing and utterly exhausting experience. Despite Loretta & I never feeling like we are able to truly relax & unwind, it is still a lot of fun. It's great to see my kids playing with their cousins, and everyone still enjoying time together. This year was special because Neonna had just begun to walk! She was taking a few steps in the week before we left, & she really starting getting around while up in the mountains. My son also first started walking during a week in the Poconos, so I was joking that "it must be the high altitude!"

Anyway, we spend a few days hanging out by the lake, boating, swimming, and sitting by campfires. We took Paulie & Neonna's first real hike, seen above. It's nice to be in nature and forget about responsibilities (besides the kids) for a bit. I'm glad we are exposing my kids to the beauty of the natural world & giving them that appreciation. Here's the photo album from the trip, & I'll post some below:

Micarelli Pocono Vacation 2024

 

 

 

 

 

WEIRD

 

WEIRD
by The Monkey Buddha
w/ Stable Diffusion

I made this graphic in the same spirit as Shepard Fairey's Obama "HOPE" image- but twisted and unsettling- like Donald Trump's entire persona. If you stare at it long enough, you are guaranteed to lose your sanity. I thought of it while seeing online comments on the current "WEIRD" meme about Trump & the MAGA faithful. 

The idea behind the viral nature of the label is that nobody has really called out Trump & Co.'s bizarre-ness, which has been obvious to most people all along. However, Trump & his followers have tried to gaslight everyone into believing that they are the "normal" way of being, when they are, in fact, the ones out of step with the consensus reality of the majority of people. Being "weird" is not a bad thing in itself (As an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life), but when the illusion of normality is used to subjugate others, it is a negative quality. The reality is that Trump is a conman, a serial liar, an asshole abusive narcissist, and yes, ...totally fucking WEIRD. The fact that other people are still supporting him politically & defending his insanity, however, is even WEIRDER. If it weren't for his wealthy background & notoriety, people would think this guy is just a strange but idiotic, nonsense-spewing jerk. 

Joe Biden was an effective President, but like I've posted before, his debate performance & public showing was a total disaster. Now that he has done the amazingly selfless thing & removed himself from the race, Kamala Harris has bust out of the gate and come out swinging, seriously bringing the fight to Trump & his campaign/legal fund. Now that Trump is the old & weak one, the flimsy public facade of Trump's normalcy is falling away. Everyone is seeing quite clearly how weird & totally unfit Trump and his people are for positions of power. 

Just today, Trump told the audience of the National Association of Black Journalists that "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." & regarding Kamala Harris, "Is she Indian or black? ...but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went -- she became a Black person." 

The fucking balls on the stupid sonuvabitch, I'll give him that... Absolute pure madness.

So, instead of trying to inspire people, this is meant to freak people out about the weirdness of Donald Trump's candidacy, & frankly his whole existence. 

______________________________

Since I made this graphic, the man who started the “MAGA is Weird” meme, Tim Walz, has been named the candidate for Vice-President. It’s an interesting phenomenon because the label frames Trump & his most faithful followers in a way that is difficult to argue against without sounding, well… weird.

Why? Because Trump & his people who have taken over the Republican party ARE totally weird. They always have been, but now the facade is falling away. The majority of Americans are seeing just how unfit such an ignorant, petty, narcissistic man is to lead really anything at all, no less the entire country, with all its complexities & nuance.

Being “weird” wouldn’t be a bad thing in itself- as an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life! Trump’s brand of weirdness is dangerous, though, because he doesn’t care about anyone or anything in society, other than what directly benefits him. It takes superhuman levels of bending reality in your mind to imagine Trump & Co. as “normal” by any definition.

Any 1 or 2 of his most disturbingly weird qualities would have been enough to completely sink a candidate in the past. Donald Trump is a maelstrom of constant weird bullshit, but somehow people have bought into his twisted image & admired it. It’s all so WEIRD.

• Slathering on orange clown makeup, & styling your hair in the most ridiculous way possible - WEIRD.

• Cheating on your wife who just gave birth to your infant son, by paying a porn star for sex - WEIRD (& scummy).

• Hugging American flags & dead supporters’ work gear - WEIRD.

• Publicly expressing, on multiple occasions, your sexual interest in your own daughter - WEIRD.

• Hanging with Jeffery Epstein - WEIRD.

• Acting like you’re the face of “Law & Order,” when you’ve been indicted & convicted of numerous crimes WEIRD.

• Rage-posting ALL CAPS jingoistic word salads in the early hours of the morning - WEIRD.

• Shamelessly pandering to Christians, when you embody the 7 deadly sins, check all the boxes for the anti-Christ, and constantly break the 10 Commandments - WEIRD.

• Can’t laugh or relate to good-natured humor - WEIRD.

• Unable to operate outside a ‘zero-sum-game’ mentality. Everything is either “the best” or “terrible”, everyone is either “nasty” or wonderful,” depending on how they cater to your ego - WEIRD.

• Willing to tear down American democracy & institutions for your own personal benefit - WEIRD.

• Don’t give one single damn about lying continuously, even about things that can easily be fact-checked - WEIRD.


The list could go on, & on, & on…


Are Kamala Harris & Tim Walz (and really everyone) weird in their own ways? Sure, but when you don’t reek of insecurity from rampant egotism, you can have a laugh about it instead of trying to deny it. 

 Share it far & wide - spread the weirdness!!!

Clematis Vine Flowering Cycle

My wife & I have a trellis in front of a cinder block wall shed, and several years ago I began trying to get clematis vines to grow on it.

We also planted a rose bush, so now it is a colorful Spring display of pinks & purples. 

Nature Photography
by Paul Micarelli

 

I love just looking at the infinite details of these beautiful plants. It's a wonderful feeling to take a deep breath, be present, & truly smell the roses.

 

This year I took some photos of the clematis flowers at different stages of blossoming. 

 It is kind of freaky about halfway through- the flower resembles a strange alien creature as it opens...

 

 

Techno Viking A.I. Goblin

 

Artificial Intelligence is doing something that was definitely NOT what most people would have thought the machines would be capable of - simulating & re-creating (at least visually) what people experience in psychedelic states. 

This trippy application of computer software gained prominence with the "Deep Dream" programs about 10 years ago. It generated hallucinogenic animations in which barely-recognizable imagery would cycle as weird textural features.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:
Deep Dream Images

Now, A.I. programs are just outputting the craziest, most mind-boggling imagery & video. We are breaking through to a singularity-type situation of infinite amounts of novel imagery, generated continuously. One thing I've been thinking about lately is how fusion power is developing in tandem with A.I.. Perhaps we will need a new power source to accommodate the massive amounts of clean energy that will be needed for emerging technologies in computing. It's fascinating how these interconnected innovations are evolving simultaneously.

I've posted about the possible outcomes of this paradigm-shattering technology, but I am just left in awe thinking about the implications. I don't even pretend to understand the coding & technology to produce this kind of software. It's basically Enochian magic, as far as I know. The biological human brain & society eventually won't be able to keep up with the madness that's about to ensue.

Check out this amazing A.I. alien goblin remix of the old "Techno Viking" video that had me dying:

When you partied a little bit too hard
and transcended into another dimension

I Spy A.I. Lies

I continue to be astounded at the developments in the field of artificial intelligence. It's partly amusing & partly horrific to see these insanely powerful tools developing so rapidly that the human race doesn't really know how to handle it.

The most disturbing aspect of A.I. (so far) is the ability to deceive people. We can no longer trust what we see or hear in digital or print media to represent objective reality. As a graphic designer, I've always been able to easily spot "Photoshopped" or digitally-altered images. Now, with more advanced A.I. renderings being so realistic, I don't trust anything I see anymore.

However, I can still often tell when images are produced by A.I. programs. Unfortunately, the general public is not as discerning as I may be. It's easy to see how people could get fooled by the amazing technologies out there, if they are used for deceptive purposes.

One recent example that has already achieved "meme" status is a Willy Wonka-themed event in Scotland that had families so upset that the cops were called. The organizer/promoter used A.I. generated imagery to evoke a magical "Wonka Wonderland" that definitely did not properly represent the lame reality of the actual event.

Parents lured to immersive Willy Wonka experience by AI ads show up to near-empty warehouse with no candy

The most iconic image to come out of the situation is the viscerally real "Sad Oompa Loompa Lady," who looks like she's cookin' up some Wonka Meth:

 

Another recent eaxmple of using A.I. technology, this time for for audio fakery, is the Joe Biden robo-call that used an A.I. generated simulation of Biden's voice to mislead Democratic primary voters:

Magician says political consultant hired him to create AI Biden robocall ahead of New Hampshire primary

We are in for a very wild ride into the future, as the implications of A.I being used for nefarious purposes becomes clear:

• Is that the actual voice of a politician, using a racial slur? 

• Did that celebrity really get caught in a compromising sexual situation? 

• Have we come into contact with extraterrestrial beings in the real world?

• Are soldiers of a particular nation truly committing war crimes?

We are already at the point where we will not be able to believe anything we see online. If we don't experience it directly with our own biological sensory organs, it could be a very convincing A.I. lie.

This is one of the aspects of artificial intelligence that people are totally not prepared to deal with... It will be interesting to see how we as a global society address these challenges and deceptions that we all will inevitably face.