Well, Kissinger won too . . .

“Because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups…So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do the same thing.”
— Philip K. Dick

Without intent, it seems I am only moved to make a journal entry when some luminary who has planted seeds in my mind garden dies, and so it is with J.G. Ballard, who lost his battle with prostate cancer recently. I was never what you would call a Ballardian, or even that well read in Ballard, having only managed to finish a few of his short stories in my time, while devouring Burroughs, Pynchon, PKD, RAW, and his fellow titan of the New Wave, Michael Moorcock. But something about Ballard always stuck with me, I guess you could say I came to adopt, consciously or not, a Ballardian lens to my reality scope. Sometimes depressing and often disturbing, Ballard's quasi-dystopian characters and settings challenged, and if you persevered, enlightened. His writing went beyond fiction, beyond philosophy - it was alchemy, a balm for the soul in a sick world. I can do no better than to quote Simon Sellars from [link]

"Ballard articulates clearly to me the implications of living in an age of total consumerism, of blanket surveillance, of enslavement designed as mass entertainment. But he also speaks to me of resistance through irony, immersion, ambivalence, imagination -- of remixing, recycling, remaking, remodelling.

His work embraces dystopian scenarios, including the archetypal non-space often characterised as a deadening feature of late capitalism. But this is not simply a call for nihilism. Ballard's characters are not disengaged from their world. Rather, they embody a sense of resistance that derives from full immersion, a therapeutic confrontation with the powers of darkness, whereby merging with dystopian alienation negates its power."

Godspeed, Mr. Ballard, and thanks for the roses in my mind garden.

Ricardo Montalban, born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino on November 25, 1920, died yesterday, at the age of 88. Like Patrick McGoohan, his talent far outstripped Hollywood's ability to cast him, and he became more well known for his kitschy TV appearances than his fine acting ability. Despite being typecast early on as the "Latin lover" and later being passed over for roles because of his involvement with the Screen Actor's Guild and his activism for Latino talent through the "Nosotros Foundation," which he founded in 1970, Ricardo was just too good to keep down, eventually landing the role as the iconic Mr. Roarke on the hit show "Fantasy Island." He would go on to appear in several other successful movies, including "Naked Gun" and the "Spy Kids" sequels. He continued working right up to the end, lending his voice to many roles, most notably as Señor Senior Sr. on "Kim Possible."

But it was role as Khan Noonian Singh that I will always cherish. If there was any role that highlighted how he could command the screen, it was this one. Khan was such an iconic bad guy that his influence transcended Star Trek itself. From the Wiki: "Khan is recognized as a great villain outside of the Star Trek series. The Associated Press called the character 'one of sci-fi's great villains.' In 2002, the Online Film Critics Society's 132 members voted Khan as the 10th Greatest Screen Villain of all time, the only Star Trek character to appear in the listing. In 2006, Emmy Magazine voted Khan 'TV's Most Out-Of-This-World Character', beating out other science-fiction characters such as The Doctor and Commander Adama. Editors wrote that 'Khan was so cool we would've bought a Chrysler Cordoba if he'd told us to,' referring to an ad campaign Montalban appeared in for Chrysler. The character also had a cultural impact outside of Star Trek fandom; a clip from The Wrath of Khan featuring Kirk screaming "Khaaan!" was one of pop culture appropriations that became a "popular fad" driving the success of the website YTMND."

Thank you for the memories, Ricardo. To quote Joachim, Khan's Number One from STII, "Yours...is...the superior..."

Patrick Joseph McGoohan (born March 19, 1928) escaped the Village on January 13, 2009. He was a rare combination of talent and conscience. His brainchild, The Prisoner, is perhaps the greatest television series ever produced, and it continues to fascinate and influence lowbrow and highbrow culture alike. AMC will be releasing a new Prisoner miniseries this year, and McGoohan was rumored to make a cameo appearance, but alas, it seems Number One had other plans.

Godspeed, Number Six. Thank you for showing us that we are all prisoners, and for showing us that it is the struggle to escape that makes us truly human. Be seeing you!

Thanks to via 's journal

1) Do you have the guts to answer these questions and post them as "The Controversial Survey?"

I wouldn't be posting if I didn't.

2) Would you do meth if it was legalized?

No. I only dig speed when I'm driving.

3) Abortion: for or against it?

Personally against it after the first 40 days, but ultimately it is the woman's decision.

4) Would our country fall with a woman President?

Seems the men have been doing a fine job of that already . . .

5) Do you support the death penalty?

Absolutely not.

6) Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?

Absolutely. The War on (Some) Drugs is a farce.

7) Are you for or against premarital sex?

For it. You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it, would you?

8) Do you believe in God?

I believe in nothing, not even nihilism. I'm not even sure I'm typing this, honestly.

9) Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?

Of course! That said, I believe it should be left to the states. If you want to live in the Theocratic State of Utah or some other community of prudes and moralists, move there!

10) A 12 year old girl has a baby, Then what?

I couldn't put it better than " . . . Find the father, cut his balls off, then put a lien on any income he has or ever will have to pay for raising the child... until they reach 18, or he dies, whichever happens first."

11) Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18?

Old enough to vote and die for the state, old enough to drink.

12) Should the war in Iraq be called off?

War?! What war? The "war" ended when we declared "Mission Accomplished." Everything since has been an occupation. Should we end the occupation? Well, the Iraqi's overwhelmingly want us to, but, you know, since when has their opinion counted for anything, or ours, for that matter?

13) Assisted suicide is illegal, do you agree?

Only in cases of terminal illness. I think that if a person is lucid and makes clear their wish to end their life (via a will, for example), that should be their right and they should be assisted by a doctor willing to perform the procedure. It should never be granted in cases of depression or other psychological conditions that could respond to treatment.

14) Do you believe in spanking your children?

Occasional spanking may be appropriate, but it should be used sparingly, if for no other reason than to maximize the effect. Just be sure to explain to them why they are being punished, and be sure to praise them when they deserve it.

15) Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?

Sure, what matters is the intent not the act itself. Some people wear flag designs as underwear! Anyway, the idea that a flag should be treated like some holy relic of a saint is a peculiarly American one.

16) A mother is declared innocent after murdering her 5 children?

Well, she couldn't have murdered them if she was found to be innocent, right? And if there was evidence she did it, then what was up with that jury? We're better off as a society with the presumption of innocence, in my opinion.

17 )Are you afraid others will judge you after reading some of your answers?

Afraid? Why would I be afraid? If they can't handle it, well, it's a free country, or so I've been told.