My personal history includes many years involved with Alcoholics Anonymous, for a decade as the official “taper” for AA and Al-Anon conventions. It’s something I worked hard at, traveling around North America, and am proud of, though it’s tricky to “find the audience” to let people know these great recordings exist (because the audience is anonymous!). Now, I’m happy to announce some of these great recordings, very high-quality and easy to listen to, have found a home on Spotify. I have begun turning them into audiobooks! Continue reading “Alcoholics Anonymous and the Audiobook Revolution”
Sunshine, Rainbows and Kittens
What the world needs more of is niceness.
And I’ve been here spending all my energy pushing terrible, mean things. Continue reading “Sunshine, Rainbows and Kittens”
What the Devil Hates
Strategy Time
We should all do what the devil hates! We’re at war!
He’s annoying us, worrying us, more and more each day … him … the one we’re at war against.
To begin to see what he’s doing to us, we need to open our minds, because it’s an unconventional war. And if we can see what he’s doing to us, then the methods, instruments and weapons are revealed.
Otherwise, we sit here thinking we have no army; we’re not prepared for an unconventional war against Satan, an enemy that plays by no rules; we don’t know where we stand or what to do!
Should we organize?
Should we give up?
Should we wait until the devil makes his next move, then, again, as happens too frequently, feel ineffective, not even knowing if his small victories, bombings, deaths, twisting perception with lies … will have effects Continue reading “What the Devil Hates”
New Words, and Old Ones with New Uses
From the stupid is as stupid does book of wisdom …
NEW WORDS
… or Old Words with new importance!
TROLL
This one’s easy. It took me a LONG time to figure out what it meant. In a nutshell, it’s someone who doesn’t agree with you. It can be about blueberries, and your standoff will be dramatic and important. You don’t belong in the raspberry forum if you talk about blueberries. “Troll” is a perfect representation of the illusion that opposing opinions are bad. It’s a sin, and that kind of thinking will drive us further down the rabbit hole.
NARCISSIST
A narcissist is someone who loves himself. They tend to be aggressive and passive, leaving victims in their wake with no apparent remorse, and with constantly dwindling friendships. Up until a few years-ago, this word was Continue reading “New Words, and Old Ones with New Uses”
Vampires, Witches and Terrorists Will Reign over Halloween This Year (Cartoon News)
Alternative Reality is Here! Just Look!
Zooming In on Reality
Standards for audio and video technology, the stuff behind the scenes, deep inside the computer, are based on playback equipment capability, not recording equipment.
This odd, random observation joined another seemingly random observation in my brain today, as I was listening to myself sing a Bob Dylan song … on video!
In the song “Tangled Up in Blue,“ the lyrics say “All the people we used to know; they’re an illusion to me now!” The word “illusion” collided into my mind’s assembly of what would become this article.
The second random observation is life is nothing more than an illusion!
It’s as true as anything! Continue reading “Alternative Reality is Here! Just Look!”
Loaf of Bread
Loaf of Bread
(a poem)
Sliced bread ain’t that great
Certainly not the best thing I ever ate
Please allow me to elucidate
I know somethin’ better!
When she walks in the room I turn to butter
Better than just about anything ever
No loaf of bread could come near looking better
Especially when she’s in her white sweater
So she’s out in the sun and she’s perfectly toasted
And if I had some jelly and some coffee I roasted
We could clean up the cupboards and toss out the rotted
We could run on the beach ’till we’re totally wasted Continue reading “Loaf of Bread”
The Era of the New Word
The New Word Order
As if the English language didn’t have enough words. New ones keep popping up, forcing many of the unsavvy to go for the slang dictionary for guidance! They’re discovering new words, as well as words that lost favor sometime during the twenty-first century, when we were all busy worrying about normal, ordinary things like hurricanes, volcanoes, cave rescues and winning the lotto. Some of the most creative among us were inventing new words and finding new uses for old ones. Shamelessly, the word “narcissist” quietly became a top search term during the 2010’s, and within the next decade the world’s vocabulary became overrun with words like “racist,” “plague,” “alien” and even “armageddon!” Is it a sign of the times?
Sure is! The most important thing is for all us older folks to get on board. The most dynamic and durable of the new words out there are not confusing acronyms or initialized shortenings … they’re our own words, words that have enjoyed a proud place in Webster’s dictionary, and now are being rejuvenated by anxious, bright young people, to describe the modern plight.
Be careful! If you fall into the wrong discussion forum on the world wide web, you may feel as if everyone is a gaslighting narcissist. Try to keep perspective while browsing, and please use my easy-to-understand guide, here:
List of Important and New Words
Gaslighting: Manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.
Narcissist: A person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of Continue reading “The Era of the New Word”
We Got Your Back (A Poem For 2021)
We Got Your Back
The capitol’s surrounded by eight foot fences
But nobody’s sure what they’re defendin’
My mama taught me to double check my sources
I got all day and I’m gonna dance on the tension
This world’s spinning in a field of black holes
Up high in the mountains it’s as perfect as gold
The view on my horse and that settin’ sun
My freedom’s the glimmer off the side of my gun
We love you nature, yea, we got your back
All them fossil fuels coming out our smokestacks
Some people say we’re gonna stop spinnin’ soon!
I got all day and I’m just gonna try and be cool Continue reading “We Got Your Back (A Poem For 2021)”
School Is Clothesed Because of the Sweater
This is what happens when they clothes schools.
Just some crazy stuff I found on the Interweb.
Stay warm, safe, healthy and smart, friends!
###
Mark Urso
mark@markursoblog.wpcomstaging.com
@A_Candle_Lit
Rules for Non-Radicals
Rules for Non-Radicals
by Mark Urso
- To “hate the haters back” is being complicit in someone else’s plan.
- Climate change is the biggest “fuck science” ever.
- If you believe there’s a fact checking industry, you deserve one.
- Facebook and Twitter promote hate.
- There’s no cure for the common cold or flu, but we all still go to work.
- Some people just believe the first version of any story.
- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House, gets drunk at work.
- The New York Times lies, then admits it, without breaking stride.
- Andrew Cuomo is a mass murderer.
- Time magazine exposed election fraud, but it was still somehow more like praising it Continue reading “Rules for Non-Radicals”
All Hail the Media! God Save the Sheep!
State of the State
The Prince of Darkness has nestled himself into your home.
He canceled Christmas, after setting fire to random public property in all his glory. He announced his arrival with stones, fireworks and baseball bats, forcing his way into homes where he’d never be welcome. He set up a castle, hired help and immediately set sights on the biggest house on the block.
He’s a monster with many arms. The passionate and still mighty arms of his foes wrangle in darkness, each attached Continue reading “All Hail the Media! God Save the Sheep!”
The Free World Supports Donald Trump, While The City That Never Sleeps … Sleeps!
Welcome to 2021 my friends!
You are not alone.
These posts speak for themselves!
As Americans watch a domestic Congressional election and anticipate someone being chosen as US President, the world is also on the edge, and crowds have been gathering to show support for Donald Trump. In many countries he’s considered a savior from an otherwise-inevitable fall to socialism and communism.
Thanks to Nicholas Clamorgan (@Nick_Clamorgan) for his post “The Free World supports @realDonaldTrump!” which is what led us Continue reading “The Free World Supports Donald Trump, While The City That Never Sleeps … Sleeps!”
The Vision of Division
The fabric of society is being unwoven by technology and lockdowns.
We already had smartphones to keep us from getting together with our friends; now we have lockdowns, too, and it could get worse. The impact on society is significant, and change is foreboding.
What’s real? What’s “normal?” Shall we be casual about it? I believe there are two ways of feeling out the world, and it’s always done through face-to-face contact. Some people are casual, others are skeptical. From the eyes of a young person, say a 20-something, the world is a place where smartphones always existed. That’s an extreme angle, but sociologically, the process of growing up for someone today is vastly different than when I was in my 20s, when we couldn’t get a paper airplane to fly right! Continue reading “The Vision of Division”