Life, Death, the Universe & Tip Jars

This apron, and many others like it, are offered on my merch sites like zazzle.

It’s all about the tips and the tip jars, when you’re working 14 hours a day on minimum wage and you’re serving scalding hot coffee to a table-full of wiseguy cheapskates at 3 am in the morning.

It’s tempting to have an accident with the coffee, but you don’t — you remain calm and carry on, serving the coffee without spilling a drop, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do during the “Evil Times Ahead, Please slow down to 35 MPH until the speed barriers have been crossed”.

So I figure that we’ve got a couple of months to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives before the trucks come to take us away — and I have a plan.

I have a way to survive the coming economic crunch, and it all has to do with who actually has money in a time of extreme crisis, and what do they spend it on?

People who have a lot of money spend money protecting their money.

That includes tax breaks, which are the candy of the filthy rich, who are the only people who will be able to afford what I’m suggesting here:

Bit coins and NFTs are going to be really big during this next administration, largely because restrictions will be taken away if, indeed, there ever were any.

I have a bank full of NFTs on opensea, and you’re welcome to buy them for wholesale prices for resale, but you’ll have to make a market first, before you lay in a supply of merch.

I also have literally a ton of fine art in storage, from our days as a recognized fine art gallery and auction house, and they can be used for museum donations because they’re important enough to create interest, and they will appraise well, which is the idea, if you’re donating art to an institution.

This includes original Rembrandt, Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miro, Gauguin, and many more easily recognizable names, all stored in temperature and humidity controlled environments.

In addition, I have available several museum-grade ancient Roman, Greek and Pre-Columbian antiquities that can be used in the same way, as donations to receiving institutions, who would be only too glad to get them for their collections and your name could live as the name of that collection.

More than that, I have rare copper pennies. These apparently worthless Lincoln Cent coins  can be sold at auction or used to move around in dangerous spaces, with large amounts of wealth upon your person in the form of ordinary-looking copper coins, but totally invisible to inspection except by a coin expert — there are very few of them in government office — because they are copper. It’s just a penny. But what a penny!

I also have fine jewelry, high-end fashions, great looking display units and more, all from the gallery.

There’s more in that storage unit, but we’ll talk turkey at the Thanksgiving Workshop.

Now, you need to calm down. Trump won’t be in actual power until January 20, unless he and his cronies in Congress decide to jump the gun, which I don’t think will happen, for just a couple of days difference.

However, after that time, you have to calculate how long it’s going to be before they come to get you and take you away to a labor camp, like I told you 45 years ago in Slime Wars.

Oh, well, easy come, easy go.

So as far as your battle plans go, just assume that things will be pretty much the same as they have been, except there will be soldiers on every street corner, which is not an altogether bad idea, considering how violent people can get over nothing.

By “nothing”, I mean a thing like a Cabbage Patch doll, gas at the service station, or the latest breakfast food from my former commanding officers, General Mills, General Tire and General Motors — all of whom retired from service in the United States Army many years ago.

I’ve rambled quite a bit here, but there’s a lot to get across before the Great Wall descends upon us and all communication is banned, which will happen, depend on it.

At that time, there are other forms of communication that open up, not the least of which is Morse Code by the squeeze of the hand or the bat of an eyelid. Believe me on this — I’ve been up the line a lot of times, and it always happens.

Keep in mind the new economy — the stuff that sells today won’t sell tomorrow, with the possible exception of toilet paper and paper towels — and be aware of the use of the items I mentioned at the top of this article as the new currency — dollars won’t have the same value, and all coins and bills in the coming years will have Trump’s face on it somewhere or other.

Funny? Sure, it’s funny, until you try to spend that hundred dollar bill you’ve got in a shoe box under the bed.

Making you turn that bill in for new money will put you on the books in the system, and it will inevitably keep you in the system as long as anything can be pulled out of you.

I can point to several sources for merch, if you have trouble finding the right items, and by the way, the easiest to sell are the fashions, if you have the right brands, and they’re real — most of the merch today is fake, be careful.

I plan to go over some of those things that will become like money at our morning meetings. It takes getting used to, like trading beads for cattle, chickens or people.

Don’t mind all that crap — maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be chosen as an involuntary organ donor for one of those rich guys who buy supreme court justices and your organs.

I know it’s an unpleasant thought, but you really need to take steps before you end up on the operating table or worse.

Those steps include how to exist in a nasty invasive regime, which is easy if you start now. If you wait too long, you won’t be able to insert yourself into the game.

Believe me, I know — I foresee millions of hopeless and starving people behind barbed wire, and I hope you aren’t one of them.

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A repressive society can be marked by various harsh social conditions that impact daily life. Here are some key themes and ideas we could explore further, either as songs or discussions in our zoom meetings. I’ll be using this list as a sort of “go to” themes for some of my songs.

I’ve been using hip-hop funk just because I like the sound of it and it’s appealing to many. So here’s a partial list that I use to remind myself of the various points to make when constructing a storytelling song, such as these will be.

I’ll share my list with you — feel free to borrow ideas from this list, but please don’t quote it directly. I’ll list some song titles that I’m likely to use — please don’t use them verbatim. They are there just for guidance in your own efforts.

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1. Surveillance and Loss of Privacy:

  • Constant Monitoring: The presence of cameras, wiretapping, and informants everywhere, leading to self-censorship and paranoia.
  • Double Lives: People developing “safe” public personas that differ from who they really are at home or with trusted friends.
  • Songs: “Eyes in the Sky,” “Whispered Lives,” “The Mask We Wear.”

2. Mistrust and Paranoia:

  • Community Fracture: Relationships are strained as trust becomes a rare commodity; anyone could be an informant.
  • Turning In Friends: People turning each other in to gain favor or simply to survive.
  • Songs: “Silent Betrayal,” “Neighbor’s Gaze,” “The Price of Trust.”

3. Suppression of Art and Expression:

  • Censorship: Art, literature, and music being censored, with only state-approved content allowed.
  • Underground Creativity: Secret gatherings where banned art, literature, and performances are shared.
  • Songs: “Canvas in Chains,” “Words Unwritten,” “Underground Symphony.”

4. Economic Control and Black Markets:

  • Limited Access: Restricted access to goods, services, and currency manipulation.
  • Bartering Systems: People turning to underground trade to survive or procure necessary items.
  • Songs: “Barter for Bread,” “Shadow Economy,” “Copper Coins and Secrets.”

5. Propaganda and Indoctrination:

  • State-Controlled Media: The airwaves and news outlets controlled by the government, twisting narratives and hiding truths.
  • False Heroes and Villains: Manufactured stories to manipulate public sentiment.
  • Songs: “Broadcast Lies,” “The Puppet’s Tale,” “Voices of the State.”

6. Forced Loyalty and Public Displays:

  • Mandatory Participation: Forced attendance at rallies and patriotic events to prove loyalty.
  • Fear of Dissent: Even the smallest sign of non-compliance could lead to punishment.
  • Songs: “March of the Loyal,” “Silent Salute,” “Flags and Fear.”

7. Isolation and Loneliness:

  • Feeling Alone: The fear of speaking freely can lead to intense isolation, even in a crowd.
  • The Underground Connection: People finding ways to form secret bonds and communities.
  • Songs: “Solitary Voices,” “Whispers in the Dark,” “Echoes of Hope.”

8. Restricted Movement:

  • Travel Bans: Limits on where people can go, both within and outside of the country.
  • Checkpoints and Curfews: Military or police-enforced restrictions.
  • Songs: “Checkpoint Blues,” “Curfew’s Call,” “Bound by the Border.”

9. Repression of Religion and Beliefs:

  • Banned Practices: Outlawing or heavily controlling religious practices.
  • Secret Gatherings: Faith being practiced in secret as an act of resistance.
  • Songs: “Silent Prayers,” “Hidden Faith,” “Sacred Shadows.”

10. Punitive Measures and Public Shaming:

  • Harsh Punishments: Public shaming, prison for dissenters, and visible punishments to instill fear.
  • Guilt by Association: Family and friends being targeted because of one’s actions or beliefs.
  • Songs: “Walls of Shame,” “The Watcher’s Gavel,” “Chain of Silence.”

11. Economic Disparities:

  • The Elite vs. The Masses: A stark divide between the ruling elite and the struggling general population.
  • Power Games: Wealthy individuals using influence to maintain power, while others suffer.
  • Songs: “Golden Towers, Broken Streets,” “The Few and the Many,” “Rich Man’s Game.”

12. Resistance Movements:

  • Acts of Defiance: Small acts of rebellion that symbolize hope and the fight for freedom.
  • Underground Leaders: Figures who rise to inspire and unite those who resist.
  • Songs: “The Hidden Flame,” “Quiet Rebellion,” “Rise from the Shadows.”

These themes can be developed into songs that tell individual stories or explore collective experiences. Each has the potential to resonate deeply, as they depict the universal struggle for dignity and freedom in the face of oppression.

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Ready to hop on board the Bardo bus? Hold on to your hat!

See You At The Top!!!

gorby