DEFENSE MECHANISMS

Ok, Im on a thinking roll today.

My favorite book in high school was an old Psychology Textbook my Mom gave to me from her nursing classes. I read it cover to cover. In my High School Yearbook, my desired vocation was to become a Psychologist. There are so many schools of thought, Freudian, Gestalt, Jung Fundamentalism.

Then, I read the book The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky. My first dose of Existentialism. Crime and Punishment is still on my bookshelf today.

It was mind candy and I thought I had everything figured out until I read a book on Theoretical Physics and I realized that the universe is so vast, and that we are all so small, that nothing matters anyway. I had this recurring dream where I opened the front door and the Sun, full size was right there. It used to make me get this overwhelming resigned humbled sinking feeling, with an undescribeable calmness attached. I just did it to myself again, cool.

So back to psychology. According to Freud, we all have defense mechanisms to protect the ego. There are many, like Rationalization, Displacment, etc.

One of them, Sublimation, refers to diverting the stressful impulses into something exceptable. such as art, music, poetry. Its probably one of the most productive defense mechanisms in that something is created. But its not for everyone, you have to be creative to do it. Some of the greatest masterpieces were created due to Sublimation.

So consider this Blog as Sublimation Junction. Think Ill re name it!

Interesting People

Where did they go?

Interesting, clever, articulate suttle geniuses have disappeared. Ok, I'm primarily talking about the entertainment industry.

Every year, I start watching the MTV Video awards, only to switch it off eventually. Then I heard Lady Gaga had the meat suit so it re ran and I taped it figuring I could fast forward to see it. By the way, Gaga is one of those interesting people, not so suttle in appearance but talented creative and definately interesting. But Cher, time to hang it up baby, the outfit is nice, but didn't quite fit right, glad the jacket was on.

At first I thought.. maybe I'm finally getting old. But no, the stuff is crap. Juvenile, crass, idiotic crap. I blame the industry. Throw something up against the wall and see if it sticks, mass marketing but hey, someone is buying it. I think it started in Comedy. What's that say about the masses? Yeah, look around, listen. Where's the character man?

And how in the hell can you cast Leonardo Di Caprio as anything but a baby faced kid? Ok, well maybe thats an age thing.

I do have the answer; The interesting people are all underground. Subterranean, waiting for a renaissance following the "dumb down" movement. Indie lables for music, independent films, art galleries, internet distribution channels, social networks. There will be no more robot voiced punks, The Avant Garde shall rise!!!

But for now, I know where to find them, and thats good.

SYMBIOSIS

The Egyption Plover Bird, or otherwise known as the "Crocodile Bird" is a bird that performs dentistry on the mouths of crocodiles in Sub Saharan Africa. The crocodile doesn't eat the bird but rather opens it's mouth so the bird can climb in and eat leaches or other parasites from the croc's teeth.

Apparently, this has gone on for centuries and is recorded in historical records. I just have to wonder what happened to the first bird that tried this.

Crocodiles have brains the size of a golfball. The only reason I know this is I considered shooting one and looked in the Perfect Shot manual. It's a primordial brain that most reptiles have used primarily for survival. So, I think it's unlikely the croc saw a bird feeding on leeches and reasoned to open its mouth and invite the bird in.

On the other hand, the birds brain is small..... well a bird brain. The Plover lays it's eggs in the sand and actually incubates the eggs there as opposed to nesting on them. And when there is danger, the bird buries its young hatchlings in the sand as well.

And then there are Remoras attached to Sharks, the sharks let them hitch a ride but dont eat them. When the sharks feed, the Remoras get the pieces.

So what started the symbiosis with the bird and the croc. I suspect the first successful opportunistic bird was sitting on a branch when a croc opened its mouth, revealing a bunch of leaches. The bird swooped down and snatched the parasite and the croc 's brain sensed the good feeling. The bird then realized it hadn't been eaten and went back for seconds. Thus, a relationship was established. From there, the behavior was imprinted in the two animals and their offspring carried on the tradition.

But I suspect along the line, someone got chomped, somewhere. Had to happen.