Path of the Pilgrim

As a young man I would ask the question
where is this heaven 
reverend said it was like a cloud in the sky 
then I learned some science 
science said a cloud is molecules 
so does that make heaven a lie 
and if so why sit in a church 
in a position that hurts 
listen to stories absurd 
Nah, I was not having it 
I'd rather go hang with the savages 
my habitat, babylon's labyrinth 
imagining I'm livin so lavish 
established and smoking that cabbage 
trying to get high like that cloud in the sky
like this was my heaven 
but I was pretending afraid of the times ending
it was a quick sand hourglass good times, go fast 
in the past, I was attached i thought I had, to make it last 
so the, high's were high and the lows were low 
and the manic depression would come and then go 
I knew there was more, I chose to explore
so I hit the open road with my broken toes 
put the soles of my feet in the dirt 
and walked with the salt of the earth 
in all of my travels i have observed 
we all feel similar things but use different words 
the curse of this babel makes fanatical's battle 
over the intangible but that cloud is not graspable 
so science is factual, actual, literal 
religion is ritual, mystical 
and the myth is the map 
to find where your at 
upon your life path so 
where you stumble there lies your treasure 
you need the struggle to enjoy true pleasure 
I now have acceptance of both more than science can measure 
since the essence of heaven is a poetic expression 
word to the reverend, I've worked with the church
Now I know that cloud is my brain 
I'm the big bang explosion 
I walked out the ocean as that web footed mammal 
 I'm the camel, passin through the eye of the needle 
my purpose has service to people I'm working the land 
I'm a man who holds eternity in a grain of sand with the palm of my hand 
and my truth is, I'm a buddhist, 
I chose to look within my mind to find 
the divine design my face and spine is like space and time 
From time to time, I ride cloud nine and this is my heaven 
it's laughin with my lady 
watching my baby learn, how to crawl 
the call from my mom 
it's writing this song 
givin my life to a cause 
it's trying to do right when easy to be wrong 
it's the feeling incredible of 
eating the vegetable, I grew from the seed 
being a lover of shade not a hater of heat 
mother nature connected perspective complete 
my spirit, alive in this 
my lyrics, describing this 
translated enlightenment 
that cloud is a mirror so heaven, 
I hope you can find it...

Mother Earth Is Speaking (People's Climate March Performance)

 

I find truth in that ancient metaphor of the earth as a mother.

And in that way, through climate change

I believe that mother earth is speaking, she's says she's got a fever.

I used to doubt her, but now I believe her.

It can be the middle of winter, and I can be wearing a t-shirt,

like it's summer warm. The next day might be a snow storm.

So mother earth is speaking, she's says she's got a fever

And look how we've treated her.

We put fog in her eyes, paved and farmed her skin dry.

No wonder she earth quakes to shake the fracking pipelines of her back

That are acting like the needle of a misquito,
But yo, I too have drained the gas can

too many days I've been sittin' in a traffic jam,

surrounded by cars runnin, wondering,

how we ever gonna get our way out of this,
with trash on my floor, some of it non-recyclable

as our exhaust smoke lifts, chokes the air

where the tree's that breath carbon, get clearcut for profit.

as if our earth mother is a lifeless object,

as if we aren't part of a larger process, that belongs to the earth.

And in that way, as cells in her body,

unlimited economic growth,

is a cancer cell philosophy.

That is not the world I want to see. This is not the change that I want to be.

So mother earth is speaking. she's says she's got a fever.
Somebody get her a tissue, this is an issue. This is a challenge.

This is our opportunity. To be like the hero in the movie

that saves the day when you think it's the end.
Because the mother earth is speaking, she says she gots a fever, 

and even though the crises gets deeper, we cannot, give in, to cynicism.

The quickest way to make a difference is own simple livin,

then get in with where ya fit in and change the system.

We have to know, the status quo, it has to go. so.

when the people lead, then the leaders follow.

Today we organize, we act tomorrow.

The solutions exist, with the systems we shift, still we cannot buy our way out of this.

Be aware of politicians with corporate wallets.

that promote policies that would allow temperature to rise,

4, 5, even 6 degrees. It's already risen almost one, it's still rising,
stopping at 2 or 3 is the best we got.

If we want to survive. 

Because mother earth is speaking. She's says she got a fever.

It is time to relieve her. It is time to listen.
Our earth has given herself to us

like a mothers body to her baby

and through our growing years, for the milk

we've left her bite marked and scarred.

she will never be the same again.
But a mothers love is eternal and abundant.
Abundant enough for our need... just not for our greed.

It is time to help our earth mother recover.

(Group Sing/Chant) 

The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her.

Unite, my people, into one, into one.

So this is the song/poem I wrote for the Eugene People's Climate March, 9-21-14. I hope you like it and even more that it inspires you to take some form of action, or to push yourself to the next step in your mission to find harmony with and heal the earth.

Light A Candle (Dedicated to the Earth Lovers and Earth Activist)

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about climate change, the destruction that will occur because of it, and the importance of learning to live in harmony with the earth. I believe that this learning will be increasingly important as Industrial Civilization recklessly heads towards collapse (Can you believe the US state department recently declared that the Keystone pipeline would have a negligible impact upon the environment? If you believe that you might as well believe the earth is flat!)

I've been working with a group of Avant Gardeners and have been blessed enough to have their help transforming my traditional home into a urban homestead. In a sense, I feel like I'm going back to the land, as a child I was raised in the woods and I can't help but remembering my Mom who would sometimes read me Chief Seattle's great speech before bed, that speech, about being connected to the web of life, helped inspire this poem/song (I've been recording it into song with a friend and once the song is mixed, I will share with y'all).

Light A Candle

Hear my voice
Echo the elders
when they tell us
the earth is sacred
every pine needle
every grain of sand
I know the sap
that courses through the trees
like I know the blood
that flows through my veins
the flowers my sisters
the rivers my brothers
the air gives us breath
so how can a man
own the land
when he is not the weaver
but merely a strand
in the web of life
understand then
what we do to this web
we do to ourselves
so what will happen
when the last tree is logged
the bees are all gone
and the last salmon caught
it will be the end of living
the beginning of survival
so listen to these words
uttured by Chief Seattle
and don't curse darkness
instead light candles!

So How did this happen?
drilling, fracking,
can't drink the water that comes out the tap and
can't breathe the air
where they build a coal plant and
they build a pipeline
from the Tar Sands and
cut short the lifeline
of this planet
so lets examine
supply and demand when
keeping up with the Joneses
Equals eco-psychosis
because it's debt ridden
this capitalism is a system
of living based on infinite growth
on a finite globe
so we cut down the old growth
make paper cups, for us to use once
throw it away, make a mountain of trash
WE DONE WITH THAT
I hang with Avant Gardeners and Forest Defenders
and we remember our ancestors
and re-myth the message
for our progression
into the future
yes we use computers
don't buy new ones
every single year
so with this right here
we make mesocosmic moves
grow grass roots
through the city
occupy vacant lots
create eco villages
livin simply so others may
simply live
cuz, we don't wanna win
political battles
and we don't curse darkness
instead we light Candles!

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

And....THE ALBUM IS FINALLY OUT!!!

Well Hello there Friends, Fans, Family, and Strangers

The Album is Finally F'@CK*N Out! You can download it here, on a pay as you please basis.  (If you scroll halfway down the page you will find the link) I'm really happy to give the album away for free. But if you want to pay me, I will gladly take some money as I would like to do this as a career.

So if you don't know, here's a little back-story: Years ago while riding a train across the country and reading "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell I decided I wanted to make a hip hop concept album about the hero's journey.

But first I had a problem, I didn't know how to make music. So once home, I started to discipline myself, to wake up early and learn how to make music (Shout out to Sickamore who really helped me develop my flow).

So I started to make music and started telling my friends I would make an album. Then Occupy happened, and I took a year and a half to focus pretty much solely on activism. As Occupy Eugene slowed, I began to work on the album again.

Than my partner got pregnant and we began to buy a house. So once again the album was put on hold. After my son was born, I began to work on the album again. Finally finishing.

But then came mastering, what was supposed to be a month and a half process became a draining 7 month process.

But through all of these life events, I gained valuable insights, new friends, new flows, and I think the music reflects this. As I had to live my hero's journey in order to tell the stories and songs that would be my hero's journey.

This is my 'learning how to make music' album in a way. As you can hear me learning about music as I was creating it. It is a flawed album, but I'm deeply proud of it nonetheless. And I'm already working on a new batch of songs that I believe will reflect all the practice and skill refining that has happened since this album was finished 7 months ago.

I hope you listen, let me know what you think. I'll tell ya honestly, I'm a little nervous for the reviews and worried a little about people's responses. BUT, I do believe in the beauty of my dreams. I do believe in in staring at the face of my fear, and to take that mask off and reveal love.

Thank you for reading this blog. Please share with your friends.

Here is another place you can purchase my album:
http://plaedo.bandcamp.com/album/learning-adventures-in-love-and-revolution

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom....
-Plaedo

A review of "Jared Paul Live"

With a punk rock attitude, hip hop cadence, and the mentality of an activist, Jared Paul begins his first ever full length live spoken word album with "Class Warpath." Shouting "So it's 2012 and I'm still in the water, sharks swarm, but I'm never swimming for shore, let them come, let them come." A telling line about the territory covered on this album which could easily double as 'a Jared Paul's Greatest Hits" album. This is an album from a man, an artist and activist who has spent the past ten years criss-crossing the country on the independent grind, performing at poetry slams, festivals, protests, and bars. A man who along the way has built quite a reputation as a live performer. (I've seen him perform for crowds, from hundreds to a handful, no matter the amount of people in the audience he brings the same passion.)

Along the way, Jared Paul has gathered a few things. He has a mind full of statistics. Some might say statistics, shouldn't be in poetry! Still the stats are quite inciting, on  "ABC's for Radical's" we learn that, "There are over 900 billionaires in existence. Total their wealth and you got more money than the combined asset of every other working class person on earth." The poem puts a chilling case for why we need to change our ways or we will destroy our ability to live on this planet. This is a statistics spitting street poet, who is able, and willing, to say the poems that uncover those uncomfortable truths the decent society would rather sweep under the rug. This is not coffee table poetry.

Which isn't to say that this isn't a fun album. Jared Paul is not the spoken word Morrissey. The next poem is a 'Bike Riding Revenge Poem' that humorously and vividly recounts an incident with a taxi driver on a sunny afternoon. Actually this is more a story than a poem. And some of Jared Paul's best pieces are stories. I highly recommend "2008 RNC Arrest Story."

"Once I took a train..." And so it goes for this traveling artist slash activist. Numerous tracks are centered on his experiences on the road, there's road trips stressed by snowy roads, dirty hotels and bar performances, and from a train window there's a field of crosses that spurs a deep meditation. This deep meditation in "Salt Lake Crucifixion Blues" covers quite a lot of ground, it's an absorbing journey of a poem with a clever ending.

Other standouts pieces include,  "Lots Wife" with it's rhythmic and graphic poetry and "Pro Choice For Life" which begins with him existentially questioning "are things as bad as I seem to make them?", and ends with a portrait of a childhood violated in foster care. His answer is there.

And in the tradition of the Pete Seeger and all the great voices of the people, Jared Paul continues on. His live album, inspired by the great injustices of the day and travels on the road, is his greatest hits album, a telling end to a chapter in his story. I encourage you to listen to his album which can be found here: http://jaredpaulsfr.bandcamp.com/

Next up for Jared Paul, a book! Go here to learn more:  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jared-paul-book-campaign

Rites of Passage along the Journey (New Song)

Hello Good People,

For the Hero's Journey to start there needs to be a catalyst. Mythologists and Depth Psychologists such as Robert Bly and Michael Meade often stress how there needs to be an event that transforms the innocent into the orphan. It is a painful but necessary process for a person to reach individuation and to understand what their bliss is. In fact, many tribal cultures engage in a painful rites of passage ceremony to initiate teens into adulthood. Where a boy or girl must go through a process to realize their adult identity....

The seeds of this song were planted in Bellingham, Washington. I taught a spoken word poetry class at Options Alternative High School. My heart was touched by all the youth who shared their childhood scars in their poetry. From there I took a train to Los Angeles. In L.A. I spent a weekend performing poetry on street corners, selling my poetry chapbook. At night, I couldn't afford a hotel room, so I would stay up all night walking the streets and talking to street youth, I kept hearing similar stories of Childhood trauma. I heard many stories of childhood wounds that needed to be healed. After LA, I got on a train for Chicago. Along the way, I kept thinking of the youth who I had met and at some point a burst of words came, words that told my story and told their story. Words that were meant to help youth reach the other side of the initiation process (It is quite sad and a sign of how unhealthy our culture and society is, that we don't often practice serious rites of passage processes.)

Concerning the Orphan, Carol Pearson wrote, "His or her accomplishment is to move out of innocence and denial to learn that suffering, pain, scarcity, and death are an inevitable part of life...After the fall comes the long and sometimes slow climb back to learning to trust and to hope...The Orphans task eventually is to learn self-reliance...We return to Eden and Innocence understanding that it is safe to trust ourselves, others, and the universe."

I know personally it took me many years to heal these wounds, and on some level, the process of healing is ever-going. However, I know that many songs and poems inspired me along this part of my path, hopefully by telling my story I can help others on this part of their path, So hear it is!

Listen to Rites of Passage.

Also if you like the song, please donate to my Indie Go Go campaign, I have yet to raise enough money to realize the project.


Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Answering The Call to Adventure (New Song!)

Every Story must have a beginning. For the Journey to Start the hero must answer the call to adventure.  Thus my album, "Learning Adventures in Love and Revolution" begins with the song, "Morning Mantra." Allow me to explain...

I graduated from College with a general studies and philosophy degree at the end of 2008,  around the time Obama took office and the Recession set in. There were no jobs. And I didn't have a clue, what I wanted to do. I lived in Moscow, Idaho and had already tasted the 'big world out there' as I had spent some time living in Bangkok, Thailand a few years earlier. I knew that as much as I loved Moscow, I needed to get out of that town. I needed to explore...

So I took my meager savings, about 2000 dollars saved while working as a barista at a Food Co-op and I bought a cross country train ticket. I booked a little spoken word poetry tour, packed my bags and hit the road. The next few months were spent performing poetry at little coffee shops and on street corners, meditating in Philadelphia, Partying at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, hanging with Street Kids in Los Angeles, visiting family and sorting through generational baggage in Bellingham and Seattle Washington, washing my face in both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and exploring DMT and altered states of consciousness in between. Along the way, I was given a book, "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell.

This book made me realize, that I was on my Hero's Journey. Somewhere, Somehow, I got the idea that I wanted to tell my Hero's Journey in the form of a hip hop album. But first, I had to live that journey and I had to learn how to make music...

After I traveled the country for 3 months and visited 38 states, I came back to Moscow. I tried to live in Moscow. But I couldn't. I felt crazy. Something deep within was unsatisfied, I had the feeling that I needed to leave Moscow, it was spiritually a life or death situation.

So I moved to Seattle, Washington. Upon arriving in Seattle, I was quite isolated. In retrospect this was good for me, and upon further studies I realized that all Hero's Journey's include a period of isolation or separation from the known.

When living in Seattle, I would wake up every morning, do 10 minutes of yoga, say 22 positive affirmations in the mirror, than practice music for a few hours before I would go explore Seattle looking for jobs and opportunity.

The following song represents that era to me. In fact, this song was written in Seattle (making it one of the oldest songs on the album.) It is a song that represents answering the call to adventure, the quest for enlightenment, and an unknown white trash alien turned activist and family man MC walking through the city, inspired to make a change. And while it is not my favorite song, nor the obvious hit single, it is where the album needs to start: So here it is, track 1, Morning Mantra. I invite you to come with me on this journey...

This song is also the first song I have paid to be mixed and mastered with donations to my indie go go campaign from people like you. 

Click here to donate.

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Learning Adventures In Love and Revolution (the album)

Hello My friends,

As I write this I smile because we have just lived through the infamous December 21st, 2012. The changing of the Mayan calendar, interpreted by some to mean the end of the world. Now it is just 13 minutes past December 21st but the world has not yet ended. People on the otherside of the world realized this hours ago. But then again, I didn't really think the world was going to end and neither do you. On a side note, did anyone actually think the world was going to end. Like, the world, In physical reality. This seemed to be a perception found only in the media. The only apocalypse that might be happening, is experienced by the monocultural monopoly of mythology. From the warnings of global warming changing our behaviors and attitude towards the environment to technology transforming the way we interact to each other, to travel mixing and meshing culture and mythology, this seems to be how the world is changing to me. Most of you would probably agree. A friend of a friend said it best, when he said, "It will be business as usual, just on a more spiritual plane." To which I would add, and 'that does not mean there won't be turbulance'. Beyond that, I think this is an opportunity for change. Even if this change cannot be scientifically measured the belief in change can create a potential for success. And to return to the Maya, from what I've read the Mayan interpreted this date to signify the changing of an era based on astrological observations. So it was an end of one era which necessitated the beginning of another.

I wonder if their interpretation was made under a full moon. Because December 21st, 2012 was a weird date for me. Holding Vegan Liver props for a Staged Play. Performing new musical material at a Solstice Party as a man in a wheel chair runs over my feet and i trip on cords, to yule ceremonies burning fire and singing songs on the corner downtown across the the street from friends protesting with tents at the local free speech plaza. I came home tired and smiling.

Thus, as I write this newly born into the post December 21st reality, I am going to use this 'changing of the era's' meme as an opportunity to live on a more spiritual plane. To be more patient, aware in the moment, to ever better love my family and support them in the ways they need support. To be more disciplined and to be more humble. To gently stamp my carbon foot print as I  dance to the rhythms of nature. To stay true to these words. To realize my dreams.

As one manifestation of the realization of my dreams, I am excited to announce that I will be releasing my first album, "Learning Adventures in Love and Revolution" on March 1st. This album is a tapestry of stories and symbols that weave a coming of age journey. Specifically it's my journey through love and revolution. Each song represents a archetype and learning lesson in a journey towards, and now i feel pretentious typing this but, enlightenment. The ultimate and for me, the seemingly neverending quest. Travelled by a alien white trash turned hippie hop family man activist MC. A true Master of Ceremony who Moves a Crowd with a Message to Communicate. Sonically it is a fusion of golden era hip hop with funk, spoken word and tribal music.

It has also been a journey to make the album, which seeds were sprouted in the spring of my post college life. I graduated a month after the great recession hit and reacted by taking my 2,000 dollars in savings and spending it on a train trip around the country, performing poetry mostly for free, and visiting friends. After meditation sessions, odd nights out with street kids, psychedelic explorations, visiting family putting the fun in dysfunctional, unknowingly arriving in New Orleans just in time for Mardi Gras, and many hours on trains, while reading Kahlil Gilbran and Joseph Campbel I started to conceptualize an album. But first I had to live the album, and learn enough about music and recording to make the album.

So it is an album inspired by break up's and make up's with my partner, unemployment and losing repeatedly at the Seattle Poetry Slam, recording verses endlessly as my friend, the producer Sickamore Sounds, had me practice my craft of rapping. It is inspired by working as a gardner for a shaman cutting flowers and rapping as beez buzz boxed. It is inspired by becoming a father. It is inspired by learning about commitment with my partner and by disciplining myself to be as conscious and positive and productive as I can be. It is inspired by finding community. It is inspired by Occupy and a year and a half of passionate activism. It is inspired by KRS-One, Joseph Campbell, A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against the Machine, Michael Meade, K'naan, Atmosphere and Aceyalone, Brother Ali, and Jay Z, Noam Chomsky, Gandhi, Cornell West, Bob Dylan, Saul Williams, Andrea Gibson, Hafez, James Brown, that random person on the corner, my friends, my family, the news, and the great life spirit- you can call it whatever you want.

So why is the album not going to be released til March 1st? Well, There is still work to be done. I have 90% of the vocals recorded and most of the songs are in the final stages of mixing and mastering. The album artwork is done but the organization of materials is not complete. I still have to pay for the album to be manufactured. Also, I want to put polished premium intention in to the album release event. I spent a few years, learning about and practicing music, and a year recording this album, Now I need to learn how to perform it. Also, I have a good amount of performance experience, but new material, especially material I cherish, needs to be developed on stage before it can get the proper performance it deserves. Also, I need to find the tribe of people who like my music. I am pretty well known as a performer in local activist circles but I believe that this material should be heard by many different kinds of people. So I will spend the next two months performing at various venues, developing the material on stage, and blogging and vlogging (video's), sharing each step as I finish the journey of releasing my album.

Thank you for reading this.
Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

PS. Learning Adventures In Love and Revolution, coming soon..:)

Flu Season is here and I've found a War Worth Fighting

I used to think that I was a pacifist. I've given speeches and wrote poems about the travesties and casualties of war. I've cried while thinking of martyred pacifists like John Lennon and Mahatma Gandhi. I've held signs decrying gas tanks filled with blood and screamed 'Peace' while marching with protestors in the streets.

No More. I'm no longer a pacifist. This does not mean that I support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nor do I think we should go to war with Iran or Syria, or anywhere else targeted by the military industrial complex. Quite the contrary, I do not support the Vietnam War, any imperialist war, or even the war on drugs. Bluntly spoken, I think all of these wars are the result of greedy weapons makers hustling ignorant and aggressive do-gooders into fighting each other.

However, I do support meaningful war. In fact, I'm writing this article from within a war-zone. Fore some kind of bacteria or virus, some kind of invading enemy is wreaking havoc on my body- runny nose, fever, sore throat, aching muscles, fatigue, war is hell.

But do not despair my comrades. For this is a war I am intent on winning. In fact, I have been making significant gains to restore health and order to the holy land I live in. And in case you get bombarded with symptoms of a similar sickness. I want to share my strategies for survival so that we may both be victorious over these enemy invaders.

First off: secure the perimeters and contain the enemy. Stay inside, we don't want to encourage enemy advances by sneeze spreading them through our collective territory. Also cleanse your hands of the enemy in hot soapy water. Next in order: Recruit and support the troops. Vitamin C will act as a vehicle for propaganda encouraging the production of white blood cell soldiers. Once we have recruited the troops, we need to hype them into a frenzy. Zinc will do this as studies have shown that zinc increases white blood cell production and encourages the cells to fight more aggressively. Now, it is time to deploy one of our secret weapons: Vitamin E, which enhances the production of B-Cells, the immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria. Finally we need to maximize the amount of energy that the bacteria fighting white blood cells have, go to bed. Sleep. Rest.

Okay so you can't sleep. Your miserable-It feels like the enemy has got you by the throat and has stuffed your nose with snot. Gargle some salt water to combat the enemy in the throat. The salt water via osmosis will dehydrate the bacteria causing the throat swelling to diminish. Highly acidic drinks such as apple cider vinegar and lemon juice will also be hostile to bacteria in the throat. Now to de-snot the sinuses, stand over a pot of boiling water, throw some lavender and cloves into the water, these are decongestants. Then burn out the enemy with cayenne pepper and drop some garlic bombs on those parasitic party-poopers. It hurts, I know. Make the pain feel good. Imagine the enemies burning to death. To calm the fires in your mouth, pour some honey into your throat. You deserve some sweetness. Plus, honey is anti-bacterial and great for soothing sore throats.

While you have the honey out. Why not make some tea? Steep echinacea, ginger, cinnamon stick, chamomile and thyme for 15 minutes. Then add some lemon and honey. The echinecea is heavy artillery as the ginger soothes the pain and the cinnamon fortifies the immune system. Try sleeping again, this time elevate your head to reduce pressure on your sinuses. Remember, rest is best.

IF YOU STILL CAN'T SLEEP, TRY MAKING LOVE. Yes, that's right, get your 'hippie' on and 'make love, not war.' Studies have shown that men and women who make love at least once a week have higher levels of immune-system molecules called immunoglobulin A, which wall off mucous membranes from invaders-than celibate individuals. As an added benefit, the sweet friction of physical exertion may cause enough fatigue for you to finally sleep.

And if you must fight dirty and use cough syrup, as they say, 'all is fair in love and war'.

Get some rest and then make a big batch of homemade chicken noodle soup to pave the road to recovery. Most importantly, do not lose faith, one day Peace Shall Come.

To Vote for Stein or Johnson and What is the Role of the Federal Government in Our Lives?

Hello,

So I've been thinking...

I have a question I want to ask you. What should the role of the Federal Government be in our lives?  I'm thinking about who I want to vote for President. So far I'm leaning towards Gary Johnson, although I still might vote for Jill Stein as I greatly respect her and her ideas. (And for the record, out of the candidates who are likely to win, I would much rather have Obama than Romney. I loathe Romney and his one percenter fat cat big banker backers.)

Johnson represent libertarian philosophy which minimizes the place of the federal government in our lives. It says that people can take care of themselves better than the government and that the flow of the free market is best when it comes to managing our economy. Here is a link to his website to learn more about him and his ideas: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/

Stein on the other hand, wants a 'green new deal' sort of a FDR approach which says the federal government is 'of, by, and for the people." With a Stein approach we can think of the government as our helper, our protector, and most importantly, 'we the people' make up the government. We are all part of the government. Here is a link to her website to learn more about her and her ideas: http://www.jillstein.org/

So we have two distinct directions, and I'm not sure which way I want to go. In ways, I feel like this debate is playing out on national level, as Obama and Romney both represent more mainstream and muddy watered down versions of the same ideas that Jill Stein and Gary Johnson represent.

I'm reminded by the words of Martin Luther King Jr who said,

"Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the Kingdom of Brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of Communism nor the antithesis of capitalism but in a higher synthesis."

But unfortunately, no candidate running represents this type of synthesis between two idealogically opposed directions for our country. And when it comes to voting, I can only cast one vote for one candidate.

What do you think?

An Experiment in Fundraising

Hello Y'all,


It is nice to reconnect with y'all via this blog. Thank you for reading this. So, what have I been up to lately? Getting ready to MC the Community Alliance of Lane County Cornocopia Celebration. Also I will be performing at Occupy Eugene's One Year Anniversary! Progress is being made on my album. I met with a friend last week who is designing the album cover. Also stayed up til 3 on Friday night and 1 am last night mixing songs and working on beats.

But what I want to tell you about now, is my experiment in grant writing. As some of you might now, I have been collaborating in the creation of the Eugene Philanthropy Network. Our idea is this: we as the people need to take care of each other. In an era of budget cuts and social deterioration, we hope to build a framework within Eugene that creates a resilient community.

Our first action is one October 15th as we have organized a project to fix some potholes in sidewalks of the Whiteaker District, and if time and energy are permitting, we will also do some guerilla gardening on this day. Why fix potholes? Well we have been told that the Whiteaker neighborhood council has applied for a grant three times to try to get money to fix some potholes. Every time they have been denied, so we as concerned citizens are choosing to take matters into our own hands...

Also, we are building a bicycle generator and that is the topic of this blog. Below is a document that I wrote last week and sent off for a 500 dollar grant to help build this bicycle, I wrote the document in MS Publisher which doesn't convert to this blog easily so I have saved the file as a JPG which makes it black and white instead of color :(  Nonetheless, I'm excited for this opportunity to build a mobile media machine. Please contact me if you have any questions, thoughts, or if you would like to contribute. We also will be launching an indie go go campaign so stay tuned.

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Summer Scrawlings (Notes from the Diary)

Hello Beautiful People,

I must apologize for not writing my blogs as avidly as I used to. What can I say? Summer is busy when you live in the rainforest. Us from the Northwest, we spend 8 months a year indoors, staring through rain splattered window panes. Then summer arrives and we just wanna go outside. Go to Festivals, go camping, go fruit picking, go swimming, go, go, go.


Speaking of life on the Go. Doesn't it seem like life is moving faster now than it ever has before? I don't know anybody who is bored anymore. That seems like a fad from the 90's. that we have left behind. Nobody talks about slackers anymore. slackers are like dinosaurs.

And how do we integrate with life moving so rapidly. It seems like every month, every week, every day, presents us with life changes and challenges. Learning lessons, and growth. Numerous times throughout the summer I have gotten ideas for writing blog entries. But alas, before I have time to process the learning adventures that would constitute a blog entry, I am presented with more profound experiences to try to process.

Therefore, as the summer winds down, and in an hour break between work and parenting, I am flipping through my diary and finding fragmented writings from the summer to present here and now (and I promise that within a week, I while present a more formalized and well thought out blog.)

(Sometime Early May)
- "Lately I've been thinking about feelings. Yes, I am a thinker. But life is asking me to feel. Yesterday I went to a workshop. The workshop was on gift economics. I came expecting to dive through numbers and statistics, theories and proofs. Instead, the instructor asked us to hold hands with strangers and share stories. It was kind of new agey, kind of fluffly, but undeniably a powerful experience. It's as if, in order to change the world, first we must change our hearts.
That's all good, but when you are a thinker like me. That is challenging. Matters of the heart come hard to me.  I must admit, I would rather not dive into the deep waters of feelings, but it has become unavoidable. As I lay in bed tonight and talked to my partner, she shared who inner fears and hopes. After many minutes, she finally asked me, "How do you feel?" It was extremely hard for me to tell her, that I do not feel comfortable sharing my feelings with anyone, especially someone I know and love. (For some reason it is often easier for me to share my feelings with a stranger than someone I know.) The truth is, I know that this is not the healthiest way to live. In order to live in the new world, the world we are creating, I must learn to feel, to open my heart and share the most beautiful and ugly truths that I have. And this process is going to be hard, I know, but in order to create a better world, I must learn to have the courage to change. So I'm thinking about feelings. How can I express myself? With you, with my friends, and especially with my partner?"

(Sometime in June)
-So recently on Facebook, I saw a post that said, "People need to wake up." Below it someone commented, "I'm awake, now what?" I would like to create a list, probably through google docs in which numerous people can contribute, and we can compile a huge list with resources for making the world a better place. Would this help? Sometimes I feel like all the answer have been written, we just need to turn thoughts into actions. But how do we organize actions, large scale actions, when so much of modern life is dis-empowering to the individual?



(Late June, I was asked to perform at Oregon Country Faire. This experience presented numerous thoughts and learning lessons.)
-Manifesting is real. There is a power to create your destiny. The first time I went to Oregon Country Faire, I stood in the audience and watched an MC and I said to myself, "Next Year, I'm going to be on that stage rapping. I don't know how I will make this happen, I don't know anyone in town, yet this is going to happen."
Now, one year later, I find myself getting ready to go on that stage, and I'm grateful, and I'm scared, and I'm excited, and....

-Hello, so my name is Plaedo and I'm here to make the world a better place, and yes, I will say that with a smile on my face because I'm a philosopher of play. And I think, if we can take the energy from these festivals, the community, the playfullness, the love, and infuse that spirit into the everyday reality we all share, we can change the world...
...We've all had pain, and we all know that pain does not feel particularly good. Therefore we can look at others experiencing pain and we can imagine their pain based upon our experience. And from this shared experience of pain, we find the well springs of compassion, which is the key to healing ourselves, our relationships and the world...
...Today's revolutionaries look like you and me. (They probably look more like you than me.) They are in our schools, they start businesses, they are even found in our government. THey look at the world and say I believe in a world way better than this one. And everyday they work towards this goal through countless small gifts of service and acts of courage. For whenever someone gives a gift of service, and helps a stranger or speaks out against a corporate or government imposed injustice, it sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, crossing each other, they build currents that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice. I know, that many of you are working towards sustainability, justice, and compassion, and of course fun. So I thank you, all of you, the everyday hero's..."

(So I performed at Oregon Country Faire, a dream come true, but It wasn't my best performance.)
-How the Fuck could I have Fucked Up This Performance! FUCK! I'm usually so on top of my game! FUCK, I can't believe I forgot some lyrics to one of my oldest most performed songs. I suck...

-The seasons of the soul have changed, it is now time to try to adapt. Yet it's hard, been questioning my life recently. Like, why was I born? Life is such a challenge, it's exhausting. Why do I have this need for love and approval from others. Life would be so much easier if I didn't worry about performing and sharing my soul via art. Yet I can't not do art. What The Fuck? It's a compulsion, an addiction, words keep coming. I have to keep writing, keep performing, even if it causes myself pain. This is my predicament. This is my story, and of course, nobody can abandon their story. Well, I guess they can through suicide. And I've taken pills, I've tried to kill myself and got scared, because years ago I watched this Robin Williams movie "What Dreams May Come" and the person who committed suicide was sent to purgatory. So that's what keeps me alive? A silly superstition from a movie. Well, that and my family. Each day I come home from my unsatisfying job and they greet me with smiles and love, when you are depressed, it is almost unbearable. But, GOD I LOVE THEM. I guess, I must keep living and loving. And I must continue performing...

(In July, I started to reflect upon the past year, and the fact that Occupy Eugene as a movement, as an organization, was dieing. This was a serious grieving period for me. As I spent the previous year intensely involved in the Occupy uprising, and now the wave was receding back into the waters of life. I was asked to write an intro for a photography book about Occupy. I wrote the following essay for the book (although this essay will not be published in the book. I ended up writing another essay and you will have to get the book to read that essay:) )
 

-Flipping through the faces in these pages, I see a group of individuals who had been living their lives strangers to each other. A group of individuals, who cared about the world, who wanted justice, who could see where the system was broken, who dreamt of another, better world. Despite our commonalities, we were strangers nonetheless.

And then Occupy came. What started as a call for solidarity from Occupy Wall-Street, erupted into a national protest. Filling a void within each of us that became, occupied. In Eugene an assortment of the 99 percent gathered to answered this call. First there was an assembly where we practiced non-hierarchical consensus building. Nobody could anticipate, nor did we try to anticipate, what would come out of all of this. All we really knew was that we were ready for change and that we were going to have a march.

And so we marched 2,000 strong serpentining through the streets. Then with gusto and conviction, Occupy Eugene's protest camp was built. We had our protest camp for only 68 days, but for those of us who lived it, it was possibly the busiest, most exciting time of our lives. In that disproportionate flash of time we organized, protested, argued with each other, shared ideas over meals, educated ourselves, raised awareness about issues, talked to the media, negotiated with police, and publicly attempted to create our grandest vision for a better world with an extremely humble reality. Through all of this, strangers were linked into allies, unlikely friendships were formed, romantic relationships were realized, and a community was born.
Looking through these pages I see the hope, pain, possibility, and passion that has united us in this righteous adventure. Through Occupy Eugene many people realized that they were not alone, many people found roles in a community, many found dignity within themselves. Many found empowerment to succeed and support to cope with failure. And many, learned that their calling was elsewhere and moved on. Nevertheless, it is through the power of community that Occupy Eugene has been able to evolve into an organization and into a culture. As I write this and Occupy Eugene approaches it's one year anniversary, Occupy Eugene moves courageously into the future and continues to work for social, spiritual, and economic justice.

Regardless of what the future holds for Occupy Eugene, regardless of Occupy Eugene's effectiveness as a force for systemic change, the undeniable and incalculable, power of the community that formed around Occupy Eugene will ripple for many years to come. For many of the people photographed in this book, that sense of community has made their world a better place.

(And now it seems like the process of life and death has completed. As Summer ends and fall starts. I'm ready to lay Occupy as it was to rest, I'm ready to continue pursuing my artistic ambitions. I'm ready to feel, to use my heart as a compass, to change costumes and continue to do community organizing, and I'm ready to finish my album and start booking more shows. I have recently gotten a new job, which is actually more of a profession. I will be doing sales for Brew Dr. Kombucha. This pays better and offers better hours. I think it will supplement my art nicely. I have begun to learn computer programming and I look forward to helping Kindista (research Kindista it's an awesome tool to facilitate the emerging gift economy.) In the next few weeks I will be rolling out a marketing campaign to promote my new album. Thank you for reading these summer scrawlings. Stay tuned for more details on my journey. I Love You.)

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo 

My Birthday Wish ;)

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

It is with the deepest pleasure I write these words... I will be performing at the Oregon Country Faire! I hope you can come see me at the Spirit Tower at 3 PM, and at the Rabbit Hole at 1:30.

Just one year ago, I stood in the crowd at Oregon Country Faire and watched MC's perform on stage and I thought to myself, 'Next year I will be on stage.'

I had yet to perform in Eugene. I had no fans and was unknown to the community. And Oregon Country Faire is a one-of-a-kind freak flag flying, fire dancin, Ren Faire on acid listening to bands influenced by the Grateful Dead, hoola hoopin, whoopin, whootin, hollorin, vendors bringin dollars in, dancin, livin, lovin, laughin, affaire. An Institution. A Right of Passage. A classic festival in the tribal survival.
My chances were slim.

So I stayed up late practicing. I woke up early to practice. I worked for minimum wage and saved my tip money in a piggy bank to buy equipment. I went back to work, made plans on my lunch break. I had my plans fail.

Yet through the grace of God and good luck, I serendipitously slipped into a situation far more sweet than I could have ever imagined.

Part of this success is due to my hard work, but I would be lying if I didn't get credit to all these angels who invested time, money, and most importantly belief, into me. So I thank those people. I thank you who are reading this.

I think many people believe in me because I have based my career off of performing socially, politically, and spiritually uplifting speeches, poems, and songs for free in our community, mainly with Occupy but also with other activist organizations. It is my pleasure and my purpose to do this. Now an abundance of opportunities are being presented. Gigs are popping up in unexpected places, over the summer I will be performing with artist and helping teach workshops for youth around our community. And I feel  it is time to elevate my projects up a notch. To go to the next level.

So I'm going to keep practicing, keep improving. And I humbly ask you to help me. In order to succeed and to give back to the community more effectively, I need the right equipment. I need a PA system. A good one small enough to move around easily and large enough to do justice to the type of music I make, electronic tribal hop music.

Will you pretty please with sugar-on-top help me by donating, any amount, whatever you can. Click on the link below to be connected to my paypal account: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=bOUdiHv2xdoIqd0pzFmbmKMYpmzeoIQjswvCVfmSDIpxcBuKEjswOQA7pwW&dispatch=50a222a57771920b6a3d7b606239e4d529b525e0b7e69bf0224adecfb0124e9b61f737ba21b08198e9983d83a3c97b9636fcf51157e8c7b2

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Joyous Activism on the Streets and Plaedo Weaving His Thread through the World Wide Web

Hello Beautiful Awesome Amazing Cool People,

 So it's been a while since I posted a blog. But it's not because I have been neglecting my Learning Adventures in Love and Revolution. Quite the opposite in fact, I have been in the studio, my lab, my basement my spaceship. I have a blog titled "Thinking about Feelings" That I hope to publish next week. Big things are on the horizon. The learning adventures are in all likelihood going to become increasingly more profound and intense. Are ya ready? I think I am? There's no turning back...

Spring is here, summer is coming. It is once again the time for festivities, fun, friends, and joyous activism. Here in Eugene, we are re-starting the Kesey Square Revival, a project to create open space in the downtown square of Eugene, Oregon. Our goal, is to create culture, to allow for art and friendships to be created and cultivated. So Every Friday from noonish to darkish, come on down and hang out. In relation to this project is the Merry Pranksters Re-incarnated (working name), and our goal with this project is to go out and participate in joyous acts of rebellion- street theater, poetry, direct actions, flash mobs, guerilla gardening, acts of service, chalk art, performance arts, and other ideas that I have yet to be thought up. We will go out to unconventional and populated places- the mall, campuses, government offices, city hall, the bus station, bars, and other yet undiscovered places and shake up the status quo for that is the only way for a ego or collective conscious to grow. We hope that this community building, that this culture of service and love becomes more and more effective. It is time to broaden the tactics that Occupy uses in our movement.

 I will also be participating with Garden Goat and others in Eugene to help raise awareness about Garden Goat getting their instruments stolen by the OLCC, which we call the Fun Police. Click here to read the story. Well We can't let the fun police ruin the party. A rock band entertains, that is their job, they use instruments to do their job. Imagine a cop trying to do their job without a gun or a trash collector doing their job without a garbage truck. So we are going out tonight to have fun, drink spirits, and find inspiration to demand justice. Garden Goat, like other independent musicians, work hard and save for a long time for their equipment and we can't let them lose their instruments because they were hired to play a party that might or might not be illegal. I encourage fellow Eugenians to make it out tonight to the first Fundraiser for Garden Goat. Click Here for more details.

There are also many cool artistic developments in my own personal career. Lets start with the big news, I got featured and placed on the cover of Punk Globe Zine. A well respected Zine that has been around since 1977. The interview was fantastic and I encourage y'all to read it by clicking HERE And in other news, I have been working hard on both my album, which will be out in August (official album announcement will be coming shortly) and developing my website. Here is a link to my website.

I'm so excited for all of these developments. This is going to be epic, it's going to be like 1968, except with the wisdom learned from 1968. Anyway, I hope you check out my online projects and my music. And if our paths cross on the street, I hope we can kick it for a bit, maybe trade a rhyme or two.

 Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

We Our Part of Martin Luther King's Dream- A speech given January 14th 2011.

(Context: Sonic Boom Productions Organized a Martin Luther King Jr tribute, Occupy Eugene Fundraiser, a documentary showing and a rave, all in one event. On facebook there was a robust discussion about the legitimacy of the event. Some had argued that the event was a disgrace to Martin Luther King Jr. While others had argued that Martin Luther King was a symbol of peace and love, and peace and love were some of the idealized goal found in rave culture. Meanwhile, I just wanted to do two things: try to speak with the passion and cadence of MLK, and somehow connect all of the diverse elements of the event into a nice little speech. This is what I performed.)

Hello Beautiful people,

So tonight, we have a tribute to Martin Luther King, a Occupy Eugene Fundraiser, A documentary showing, and a rave. All here, all tonight. And the event is called, “We Have A Dream.”

Martin Luther King had a Dream, we all know that. But what I'm here to tell you is we are a part of his dream. Look at the world we live in: top selling hip hop rapper, Eminem is white. While our president, Barack Obama is black. We have integrated so much since the 50's. Just think, when Martin Luther King said he had a dream, black people couldn't even sit in the same part of a restaurant as white people. An African American's couldn't sit at the front of a bus, or even look a white person in the eyes without risk of being hung in his yard. We've came a long way, Since then. Now white people and black people can get married, Latino's and native American's can get married. Yes we've come a long way, indeed.

But we got a long way to go...Look around, there aren't many black faces at this tribute to Martin Luther King. Somewhere in this town, a group of African Americans are probably sitting in a room that probably doesn't have many white faces, and they are probably having their own tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. At the last Eugene city council meeting an african american professor spoke before the council asking to not be profiled, to not be followed home by the police, to not be stereotyped. 

So We got a long way to go, since change comes slow. Martin Luther King had a dream, and we are attempting to fulfill his dream. Have y'all heard of the Poor People's Campaign? In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King and a group of fellow activist, began organizing the poor people's campaign which was designed to address the issues of economic justice and housing for the poor in the united states. So they created a list of demands called the Economic Bill of Rights. Their plan was to get a group of protestors to gather in Washington DC and demand that President Lyndon Johnson and Congress help the poor get jobs, health care, and decent homes. (And when I think about the recent debates over health care and the surge in foreclosed homes, I am reminded that change comes slow.)

Sadly, before this march actually happened, Martin Luther King Jr was tragically assassinated. May he rest in peace and may we have a moment of silence to honor him.

But even though Martin Luther King was assassinated, the people marched on. They camped on the lawn of the national mall. They set up tents and shacks and it was wet and cold, and miserable, yet they occupied for six weeks chanting "I Am Somebody". Yes they occupied Washington D.C. And now we are occupying cities across the united states.

And tonight we are occupying a dance floor. Now some say this rave is a disgrace to Martin Luther King. That he wouldn't condone a rave. And that maybe true, I don't know about that. But I do know, that Martin Luther King was a believer in community. And tonight a community will be born as the people on the dance floor learn to work together.  If this is a movement, we have to be able to move together. As Emma Goldman once said, “If I can't Dance I don't Want to Be A Part of Your Revolution.” Tonight lets share a groove and fill our tank of love so that we may be loving servants to society. For Martin Luther King believed:

"If you want to be important-wonderful. If you want to be recognized-wonderful. If you want to be great-wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."

So tonight we dance. Tomorrow we rest. And on Monday. On Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday, we serve. Fore if we want to truly honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, we should partake in the MLK National Day of Service. In this community, every year, we are provided a plethora of opportunities to serve. Go google 'National Day of Service, Eugene Oregon', look in the Eugene Weekly calendar, look at the University of Oregon website. Find an opportunity, and on Monday, Serve.

And beyond that, if we really want to fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, the dream that we are living, we must serve on more than one day. We must serve everyday. Everyday, we must wake up and ask ourselves, what “Am I doing to make the world a better place?”

Occupy City Hall-Celebration of Democracy (Morale Speech)

Context: so this was a little speech I wrote on the fly to present before our Occupy Eugene General Assembly in front of the city hall. On this date, we practiced our form of direct democracy and horizontal organization in front of the city hall, and then during the city hall meeting we came in and let our voices be heard on local issues.)

Hello Beautiful People,
Now I know it's cold outside tonight so I thank you.
Your willingness to brave the cold weather is proof that you care
about this world we all share.
Your presence here is proof that you are dedicated
to contributing to the creation of a better society.
When I went to my first General Assembly
and I saw a large group of people practicing
direct democracy and horizontal organization,
I knew this was a movement I would be proud to be a part of.
Because at our purest moments
we are a group of people
who work more for each other than for ourselves.
In an age, when most people can't afford health care,
in which many of the people who can afford health care,
spend hundreds of dollars a month on health care that doesn't cover
the ordinary normal situations in which most people see a doctor;
we seek to offer free medical services.
In an age, of rising tuition and unmanageable student debt,
we seek to offer an occupation education
Where you can get a GSD, a get shit done, degree from the school of hard knocks.
In an age, where neighbors are strangers, we offer free food and free friendship.
In an age of the Patriot Act and the NDAA, we celebrate free speech.
So I say, lets celebrate democracy, lets celebrate dissent,
lets celebrate the power of the majority
listening to the wisdom of the minority
Lets celebrate working together!
We can call it a declaration of interdependence.
And even if you disagree
with everything I just said.
I still thank you for being here
to participate in this process we call history...

Letter to the Eugene City Council...

(Context: This was taken from a letter I posted on my mayors facebook page, I was acting independently from Occupy Eugene, but compassionately for humanity.)

Ultimately for the function of a society to be healthy with it's democracy their must be a healthy dialogue between all the diverse elements of a society in order fully utilize the 'wisdom of the commons.'

So this debate is good. But for debate to truly happen both sides need to LISTEN. The disenfranchised of this country feel oppressed. And to a degree this perception is accurate. For example, when THE HOMELESS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING BUT DIDN'T GET TO SPEAK FOR TIME LIMIT REASONS. The official reasoning was that the city council was obeying standard procedures. Meanwhile The Occupy Eugene people wanted to express themselves. Neither 'side' is wrong, but there is a difference in interest.

The physical public occupation, in part, is an desperate attempt to get heard. For years many people in this 'democratic' society have felt marginalized and silenced, whether they are houseless and unable to find employment or they are a inspired activist wishing to save the world.

I remember, one night talking with a mixed group of activist and houseless Occupy Eugene members. We were sharing songs and stories. Crouched around a little fire, we were having fun. Sure, a drunk would come in every once in a while, at it's worst it would cause a fight, usually minor. Usually, the situation was tolerated and the drunk would be integrated as best as possible into the discussion. In the darkness of the cold wet winter we suffered together, committed to this cause of justice and our experiment with horizontal democracy. AND THAT FIRE WAS SO IMPORTANT. IT kept us warm, kept us circled together, it gave us light. This simple little fire, safe as a camp fire, was our most important resource.

And then 4 cops came with big flashlights, guns protruding from their hips. They asked us to put the fire out, again. Now the cops were not mean, but they were not friendly either. In fact, my experiences as an Occupy Eugene peace keeper made me sad in how hard it was to break through and be able to communicate with the cops on site as a person. Now, to the cops credit, they get approached by a lot of people who talk a lot of gibberish. Plus they are put in a position, as the face of authority, that is uncomfortable in a protest situation.

So in this situation, the cops came and put out our fire. And we were shocked. It literally froze us. And the cops knew they were inflicting pain, And I don't think they liked doing it. One cop even acknowledged how cold it was. Another cop was noticeably afraid.

And as the nights got colder, we saw more and more cops. The cops, employed to serve and protect. Were making sure that the site was safe (We Wondered that if the city must spend money we don't want on us, why don't they spend it on social workers and programs for the poor). And the nights passed and we got colder, instead of a fire, we got big fluerescent lights that beamed down on us all night. These lights were loud, and I remember one night, seeing a young couple, in their twenties and recently unemployed, a woman crying because the lights were blaring over them all night causing migraines into the lap of her powerless partner. And as people got less and less sleep, and as they suffered from coldness, they got more unstable. These conditions, sadly, do not lead to safety to say the least. Sadly, the calls of the peacekeepers could not be heard over the roar of the generators that powered the lights.

I mention these experiences, to inform the city council members, how important that safe little fire was. Now Imagine how emotional some Occupiers might be about losing not only their fire, but their home. 3 days before Christmas, nonetheless. For a second I ask you to imagine how you would feel if this happened to you. If you had to go back to hiding behind the bushes of public property, property you technically have an interest in as an American citizen, afraid you might be messed with by the police for having to pee.

Polling was a former police officer. He blocked the vote for the fire. He insulted the camp in the same public forum that the houseless and inspired activist were NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK AT. The city council took away the Occupation home. So the occupiers went to Polling's home (and Polling is just the face elected by our city to represent a certain perception.)((I also would like to specify that I was not at Polling's home on either location, although I am not ashamed to be affiliated in a loose way with that action.))

I sympathize with the city council. I understand the importance of rules. I know that they are very important in the running of a city, just as they are of a movement. I also acknowledge, that I do not understand completely where the city council is coming from in their actions.

But I do understand that it can be shocking to have a dialogue with someone who speaks differently, who sees things differently. When the way the other presents themselves can even appear disrespectful to you. Or maybe it's simply uncomfortable, maybe we rather look the other way when we see such pain and discomfort.

And as is tradition, when oppressed people feel silenced they become louder. Some say history repeats itself. I don't think so, I think it rhymes. And if we look at the times, we can hear the echoes of the civil rights movements and the anti-nuclear movement. It especially reminds me of the Serbian Optur movement. Actions like what has happened to Polling, are not new to world history. And if we study history, we can see that these actions do not go away until the people are heard.

Now I encourage you and hope you feel empowered to have a little better understanding of the protesters situation. Please listen to us, work with us. Truly work with us as peers, trust that we have good ideas. Many of us, just like most people in any group of society, intend to do the most good with the littlest harm. So please work with us as peers, and the more we are respected the more inspired we are to be respectful. Hopefully We can come together to not only work for the 99 percent, but rather the whole belly button club of humanity. And if that can happen, just imagine how effective democracy could be. It could be so effective, that their wouldn't need to be protest and all of it's ramifications.

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Occupy Eugene Is in Solidarity with Occupy L.A. (And all the Other Occupations)

Hello Good Brothers and Good Sisters,

As I settled into my chair after I long day at work I got a text from a comrade in Occupy L.A.

Enough relaxing. The text alerted me that Occupy L.A. is facing pressure to close from the 'authorities'.

So I got on the world wide web and read a little about what was going on
(here's a few pretty non-biased and good links for background info:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/28/us-usa-protests-westcoast-idUSTRE7AQ0PM20111128

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/1128/Occupy-LA-eviction-deadline-passes-and-protesters-file-suit-to-stay-put)

It turned out that another Occupation is facing pressure to disband and stop, a pressure we at Occupy Eugene feel as our December 15th deadline circles over our head like a vulture. So in LA, After a long night of protesters and police standing chest-out in an all night face-off; a night in which Occupy Los Angeles responded to their eviction with a party. I am very glad to read that the police have not pursued violence in their attempt to remove our brothers and sisters. Likewise, I'm very glad that our Occupy brothers and sisters have also chosen the path of non-violence (By the way, our Police officers are our 99 percenter brothers and sisters as well, let us not forget).

I would like to contribute to this national dialogue. I do not speak for Occupy Eugene as I leader. Rather, I humbly speak as a member of Occupy Eugene. And as a member of Occupy Eugene I STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH OCCUPY LOS ANGELES AND ALL THE OCCUPATION'S ACROSS THIS GLOBE. AND MY HEART IS WARMED KNOWING THAT SO MANY OF OUR OCCUPY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALSO STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH EVERY OCCUPATION MOVEMENT ACROSS THE GLOBE.

For those of you that do not participate or understand the Occupy Movement. Allow me to simply state: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY. Occupy is a state of mind, an idea whose time has come. To all the cynics out there, please understand: WE ARE OCCUPYING FOR YOU.

WE ARE OCCUPYING FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, FREEDOM AND LOVE. WE SIMPLY WANT TO CREATE A FAIR PLAYING FIELD FOR OUR CHILDREN TO GROW UP WITHIN AND TO REACH THIER FULL POTENTIAL. SO WE OCCUPY. THIS IS OUR MOVEMENT, WE MIGHT HAVE TO EVOLVE TO KEEP MOVING, BUT WE WILL KEEP MOVING. I BELIEVE IF DR. MLK JR WERE ALIVE HE WOULD OCCUPY WITH US AND CHANT "WE SHALL OVERCOME!"

Let us not forget that it is our first Amendment right to peaceably assembly. Therefore, we occupy public spaces to keep our protest visible, it is our way of making sure that we don't forget about the problems of our system. It is our way to find solutions to the problems of the system. By occupying public places across the globe our ideas have permeated the public consciousness. That is why we are in the news everyday, more and more dialogue is being focused on unreasonable and unnecessary Economic Inequality.

The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa has stated "It is time for Occupy LA to move from focusing their efforts to hold a particular patch of park land to spreading the message of economic justice and restoration of balance to American society."

To which I reply: We are focusing on Economic Justice. By Occupying Wall Street, parks, Malls, foreclosed houses and Banks, we are bringing attention to those who have grossly distorted our system and profited of our pain and profited of the over-consumption of natural resources. May the Mayor of Los Angeles, and those who think like-minded everywhere realize that to truly restore balance to American society we need to address Economic Inequality on both the top and the bottom of the Economic Ladder.

The Occupy Movement has been attacked because our physical locations are filled with homeless people. Let us not forget, these are our brothers and sisters in the human family. These are good people, with bad habits. Yes they are prone to drug use and violence. These are people who have fallen through the cracks of our current broken system. These are the warriors of our tribe. Whether they understand it or not, their presence has the potential of improving the situations of our brothers and sisters who are one injury or illness away from being homeless themselves and/or our brothers and sisters who lost their 401K and worry about old age. They are the casualties of the outsourcing of labor and the erosion of our public school system. They are veterans, burned fuel of the military industrial complex. Their presence is bringing awareness to Economic inequality. Their existence speaks to the injustices of our current society. They can heal, they have potential, and talent to give. They are our brothers and sisters, they are US.

As it says on the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest to me. I lift my lamp beside thy golden door."

And if given the chance, we will work with the downtrodden and addicted, with our tents and buckets of water. We will work with this humble reality to realize a more just, compassionate, and sustainable system.

SO LET ME ONCE AGAIN CLEAR UP CONFUSION: THE OCCUPATION MOVEMENT IS NOT ENDING UNTIL THE SYSTEM IS FIXED. THE SOLUTIONS TO FIX THIS SYSTEM ARE ARISING ORGANICALLY AS WE HAVE NATIONAL DIALOGUES ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF OUR CONTEMPORARY SYSTEM. BY OCCUPYING PHYSICAL LOCATIONS WE ARE EMBODYING THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT.

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

A Message to Occupiers Everywhere- We will Endure

This was a speech I delivered to a stormy GA at Occupy Eugene recently. Most of my life I am a fool, but on occasion I am able to stir up some words of inspiration. This is one of those occasions, in which the movement moved me in a way that allowed God (or spirit, or nature, inspiration, whatever) to deliver some good words out of my mouth.

I got a call at work saying morale was extremely low. Fights had even broke out. On my way from work to the occupation some tears fell down my cheek and words started to come to my brain. At each red light I wrote down what I felt needed to be said.

At the site, We start each General Assembly with a Morale bit. I called everyone to come close and form a circle with their hand in the middle, and I began to read these words that were given to me.

(Mic Check)

We are individuals
Forming a family
married to a movement
The honeymoon is over
Morale has been low
That's okay
This is natural
we are being tested
because our challenge is great
greater yet, is the change
we are trying to make
Let us not forget
these problems have been around for a long time
It will take a long time to fix these problems
of economic and social injustice
of mistrust and disfunction
May we remember
that through strength and courage
faith and endurance
trust and love
their will be no challenge
we cannot overcome
may we remember
why we came
and that this movement
is bigger than you or I
It is bigger than occupy Eugene
It is a global movement
to change the world
and I'm not ready to quit
I believe we can change the world
I believe in you
Because if we can dream of a better world
and if we can believe in a better world
then we can achieve a better world

Never in my life had I felt so much energy flowing through me. There was a hard to describe current being built up in our hands as we read these words. Never in my life have I been so proud to be a part of something. Something so great, so admirable. I am so honored to contribute to a cause with a group of so many talented, focused, beautiful human beings. And through each of us doing our part, contributing our own flavor of genius, we will succeed.

Peace, Love, Joy, Wisdom...
-Plaedo

Occupy Eugene-Watching Democracy in Action

Hello Comrades,

Like many of you, as of late, I have been pre-occupied with revolution, protest, and rebellion. The movement that began on Wall Street (or should we say it began in The Arab Spring?, or even with the World Social Forum?, Latin America?, Seattle WTO protest?) Whatever, wherever, this movement began, at this point it's hard to deny that something exciting is happening globally. People from diverse backgrounds are uniting through a shared feeling that something isn't right. The people are tired of feeling powerless and are beginning to exert their influence.

Currently, there have been 972 Occupy (insert city name) protest in the United States over the past few weeks. I have been participating in the Occupy Eugene movement. And I must say, it is quite a beautiful thing to watch a large group of people learn to debate and come to a consensus with each other. Part of the fun is the challenge of learning to think collectively while respecting the diversity that exist within the group. And also to avoid falling into a group think mentality. In this process we have to have patience and extreme focus, for example at a recent Occupy Eugene general assembly it took our group almost an hour to come to a consensus decision that we would make decisions using a consensus model. That means that for a decision to be made, we have decided that we need at least 90 percent of the room on board. And how do we conduct this debate? Through a moderately elaborate system of hand gestures. (It becomes even more fun if you dance while doing the gestures.)

Now I don't know what will come out of this wave of protest that has spread across our country (and the globe). I could tell you my hopes: I hope that this protest leads to a transfer of power, that it breaks up the global oligarchy to allow for more people and ideas to play a role in creating a more ethical and sustainable society. I would like to believe that this is the case, and that maybe it even is the enactment of ancient Mayan prophesies. I would like to think this is the case, but I don't know.

ONe thing I can tell you though, is after experiencing the Occupy Movement. I know that a lot of people are learning how to be more empowered, and how to collaborate and become more democratic in their ways of being.

And that, if nothing else, is a reason to cheer the movement on.

In Solidarity,
-Plaedo