Simon's Blog

Herbert Marcuse was not excited about capitalism nor consumerism. In fact, he argues that those two things are problematic to the destruction of our democracy and our society as we know it. He says very clearly that advanced industrial society creates false needs and integrates individuals into systems of production, consumption, and advertising. In his One-Dimensional Man, Marcuse writes, "people recognize themselves in their commodities. They find their soul in their cars, stereos, homes, and become extensions of the commodities they buy. The affluent mass, he argues are controlled and manipulated without the ability for them to fight back. He goes further with views, stating that our political system has become bureaucratized and the power for critical reflection has declined. The working class is no longer a subversive force capable of revolutionary change. As a result, rather than looking to the workers as the revolutionary vanguard, Marcuse put his faith in an alliance betwe...

Hilma af Klint is hardly known possibly because of her ties to the spiritual and the occult. In 1880 when her younger sister Hermina died, Hilma began to focus her energies towards the spiritual. Her interest in abstraction and symbolism began to appear frequently in her paintings. She became interested in the Theosophy of Madame Blavatsky and the philosophy of Christian Rosencreutz. She belonged to the group of "The Five,” women inspired to connect with the "High Masters,” by way of séances. They opened each meeting with a prayer, followed by a meditation, a sermon, and an analysis of a passage from the New Testament. In this environment Hilda received instruction from an angel named Amaliel who gave her instructions for her famous “Paintings for the Temple.”  In her work with The Five, she created drawings with geometric shapes that conceptualized invisible forces in the inner and outer worlds. She explored world religions, atoms,...

My mother’s favorite birds are parrots and hummingbirds. Since she was very young, those two birds have always fascinated her; especially the hummingbird with its quickness and movement that seem to bend many laws of physics. When I last spoke with my mother, she wanted me to explore the crazy uniqueness of the hummingbird. I told her that I would research and explore the magic of the hummingbird, but that trying to capture its brilliance would be incomplete.   As I began my research, I came across creation myth by the Hopi and Zuni tribe about a brother and sister who are starving because of a drought and famine. The brother carves out a piece of wood into a bird to entertain his sister. When his sister tosses the bird into the air, it comes alive, turning into a hummingbird. It flies to the God of Fertility and begs for rain, and its request is given. It rains and crops begin to grow once again.   On a biological level, males tend to be smaller than females. T...

Emilia Tynes-Mensah did the same things other children did. She read the classics of Alexander Pushkin, listened to the symphonies of Peter Tchaikovsky, and heard the propaganda that life here was better than anywhere else. But in her home, she listened to American jazz, had thanksgiving celebrations and heard stories of the struggles facing blacks in America. Her father was among hundreds of blacks who traveled to the Soviet Union in the decades after the 1917 Russian Revolution. “My father didn’t know anything about this country. He didn’t know what to expect,” said Tynes-Mensah. “Everybody who came to the Soviet Union from America would tell them, ‘Please don’t forget to bring some records, Tynes-Mensah said. “He loved Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson. Most African Americans who came to Russia seeking a better life, desperate to flee the hardships in America at the time, were skilled foreign laborers and professionals. They were engineers, educators, entertainers, journ...

We have entered a time where communities across the globe are looking for other forms of government to sustain themselves economically, politically, and socially. Many feel that we have become submissive and dependent on governments, corporations, and institutions, giving away our autonomy that we once embraced. We are working many hours into the day and seeing less and less of our fruits of labor. Much of it given away helping to increase the wealth of a small minority. We have become slaves to a system that cares very little for our well-being. We need to modify the current system or design an entirely new one. An idea that many have come to embrace is the Solidarity Economy (SE) and refers to a range of economic activities aim to prioritize social profitability against financial profits. A key feature of this new economy is the participatory nature of governance in decision-making, consisting of activities prepared to transform communities.  Core Values of the SE ...

Thailand’s lantern festival Yi Peng is perhaps the most magical festival in the world. Many people launch lanterns called ‘Khom Fai ( โคมไฟ ) into the sky, which symbolizes letting go of misfortunes from the past and wishing for good in the future. Yi Peng is celebrated on the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, which falls in November. The best places to go and participate are Three Kings Monument, Nawarat Bridge, and Thapae Gate. Launching your lantern into the night sky is possibly the most exciting part of the Yi Peng festival. But launching the lantern by yourself is tricky, so it’s best to have a lantern release partner. Once you find a partner, one person should hold the paper and the other light the block at the base of the lantern. After you light it, be sure to hold it tightly as hot air will begin to fill the lantern and start to pull upwards. When your lantern starts to lift, you can gently release it into the night sky. Make sure to let the lan...

Since arriving to Thailand, the song “Space Oddity” by David Bowie has been playing non-stop in various clubs. In fact, every Tuesday night at My Secret Café in Chiangmai, a local band called Beer, Pound, and Dong does a very convincing version. Because I have come to enjoy the song, I decided to take a deep dive into further understanding the origins and its makings.  David Bowie wrote "Space Oddity," about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom, partly inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, while feeling isolated about this time in his career. The lyrics were not optimistic and highlighted the loneliness of being out in space and away from home. It is now considered one of Bowie's finest recordings and remains one of his most popular songs. Bowie’s former manager Kenneth Pitt, who died at the age of 96 knew they were on to something special from the first time he heard the song. Spencer Kaufman said, "The song was revolutionary for ...

How can you buy or sell the sky The warmth of the land The idea is strange to us  How can you buy them   Every part of this earth is sacred to my people They are holy in the memory and experience of my people The sap which courses through the trees Carries the memories of the red man   We are part of the earth And it’s part of us The perfumed flowers are our sisters The deer, the horse, the great eagle, are our brothers   This land is sacred to us This shining water is the blood of our ancestors If we sell you the land You must remember it is sacred You must teach your children that it is sacred   The rivers are our brothers and sisters They quench our thirst Give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother    The white man does not understand our ways He treats the earth and the sky  As things to be bought and sold His appetite will devour the earth    The air is precious to the red man For all things share the same breath The wh...