© 2009 Stan Spire
When I watch the BBC TeeVee news on the local Public BS station, I don’t want the same crap you get from the typical American network “news.” I want to know about the important things in the world like what’s happening with the Dead End Wars (Iraq & Afghanistan, AKA Vietnam II & Vietnam III).
I don’t want fluff, especially entertainment “news.” So what do I get the other day? Twenty minutes straight of the BBC speculating whether or not Michael Jackson, the King Of Crap, was dead. The same shots shown over and over again outside the hospital where it’s been rumored – NOT confirmed – that he had been delivered by a meat wagon.
Is he dead? Let’s talk this to person who knows jackshit about Jackson. “I heard he died but I hope he didn’t, but I can’t confirm it, oh my…”
On and on this fucking crap went. I left the TeeVee on in the background like a radio while I did other things, waiting for some NEWS to come on. After twenty minutes of NOTHING I shut off the TeeVee. What did it was some twit girl on the phone with the BBC saying we all should light a candle for poor Michael, he might be dead, but I hope he isn’t…
Meanwhile soldiers are wounded, dying, in the Dead End Wars while the BBC goes on with prattle about some overrated androgynous mutant.
Moon walk to hell, BBC.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Stan Spire Situation
© Stan Spire 2009
My philosophy: If you can’t join them, beat them.
In a previous post, “The Stan Spire Story,” I briefly explained what lead me here to this blog. But the main reason why I’m using this as an outlet is because no one in the mainstream media – either fiction or non-fiction concerns – thought my stuff was worthy. I failed to break the mainstream barrier.
Now I’m in the position to criticize the problems I see with corporate entertainment and news (or anything else that irks me). Sour grapes? Read my stuff and you can decide if I’m on or off target.
I mentioned in “The Stan Spire Story” that I used to have over 300 followers via email subscriptions. Now I’m reduced to a fraction of that with hits at this blog.
Putting aside my ego, I mulled over what caused the drastic drop and this one point reared its ugly little head:
Maybe the mystery surrounding me is too intimidating. It scares people away!
Ergo the last couple of posts about whom (or what) I am.
After all, it’s all about having a My Space personality, isn’t it? (Even if it’s a fake one.)
A few more details:
I’m at the bottom end of the economic scale. Not starving but not making a ton of money either. No car or home. Just treading water.
I’m someone who played the employment game and got screwed over repeatedly. Underpaid, overworked – the usual. My work history is divided between underemployment and unemployment. At this point I’m been forced to take early retirement; limited income.
I don’t expect anything to be handed to me. When it is, it’s usually pain and bullshit.
Besides the lowly status of no job, I live alone. Don’t get me going about the social scene here in Pits-burgh, NY. As for family – I have a vague recollection of what that term means.
Bitter?
What do you think?
My philosophy: If you can’t join them, beat them.
In a previous post, “The Stan Spire Story,” I briefly explained what lead me here to this blog. But the main reason why I’m using this as an outlet is because no one in the mainstream media – either fiction or non-fiction concerns – thought my stuff was worthy. I failed to break the mainstream barrier.
Now I’m in the position to criticize the problems I see with corporate entertainment and news (or anything else that irks me). Sour grapes? Read my stuff and you can decide if I’m on or off target.
I mentioned in “The Stan Spire Story” that I used to have over 300 followers via email subscriptions. Now I’m reduced to a fraction of that with hits at this blog.
Putting aside my ego, I mulled over what caused the drastic drop and this one point reared its ugly little head:
Maybe the mystery surrounding me is too intimidating. It scares people away!
Ergo the last couple of posts about whom (or what) I am.
After all, it’s all about having a My Space personality, isn’t it? (Even if it’s a fake one.)
A few more details:
I’m at the bottom end of the economic scale. Not starving but not making a ton of money either. No car or home. Just treading water.
I’m someone who played the employment game and got screwed over repeatedly. Underpaid, overworked – the usual. My work history is divided between underemployment and unemployment. At this point I’m been forced to take early retirement; limited income.
I don’t expect anything to be handed to me. When it is, it’s usually pain and bullshit.
Besides the lowly status of no job, I live alone. Don’t get me going about the social scene here in Pits-burgh, NY. As for family – I have a vague recollection of what that term means.
Bitter?
What do you think?
The Stan Spire Story
© Stan Spire 2009
What’s my story?
The germ: a one-page double-sided zine called “Anti-Press.” A satirical reaction to the local daily (news)paper. Published anonymously. The Plattsburgh daily paper never printed signed editorials, so why couldn’t I hide behind anonymity? I even used the editorial “we.”
Distribution was a problem. A restaurant owner told me “No more.” He had employees of the Plattsburgh paper as customers and didn’t want to offend them. Later his spineless weasel wrote a column for the paper. Just a coincidence, eh?
After two print issues I was going to give up. I took the material I had and published them online in newsgroups, just to get it out there.
Then Morbus of disobey.com came along. He liked my stuff and offered to publish it at his site. “Anti-Press” became “Anti-Press Ezine” (APE for short). At one point I had over 300 email subscribers.
An online magazine wanted to interview me about my ezine and online publishing. But the reporter told me that her editor wouldn’t accept “Anti-Press” as a name; I needed a more legit appellation.
Some anagrammatic magic and “Anti-Press” became “Stan Spire.” By this time I had dropped the editorial “we.” Too confusing. Some readers thought I had a staff working for me.
Morbus decided to take his site in a different direction. So I moved on to blogging: Anti-Express Express (to keep the APE abbreviation). Then I got tired of the APE business and wanted to focus more on myself as an individual character. Ergo, this blog.
“Character” is the key word. Besides personality, it also refers to persona. My online role. Alter ego, if you will.
As Stan Spire I can say what I want without the self-censoring forced upon me by public contact in meat space. And while some details in my posts might be a little vague, the essential truth is still there.
So here I am, like it or not.
What’s my story?
The germ: a one-page double-sided zine called “Anti-Press.” A satirical reaction to the local daily (news)paper. Published anonymously. The Plattsburgh daily paper never printed signed editorials, so why couldn’t I hide behind anonymity? I even used the editorial “we.”
Distribution was a problem. A restaurant owner told me “No more.” He had employees of the Plattsburgh paper as customers and didn’t want to offend them. Later his spineless weasel wrote a column for the paper. Just a coincidence, eh?
After two print issues I was going to give up. I took the material I had and published them online in newsgroups, just to get it out there.
Then Morbus of disobey.com came along. He liked my stuff and offered to publish it at his site. “Anti-Press” became “Anti-Press Ezine” (APE for short). At one point I had over 300 email subscribers.
An online magazine wanted to interview me about my ezine and online publishing. But the reporter told me that her editor wouldn’t accept “Anti-Press” as a name; I needed a more legit appellation.
Some anagrammatic magic and “Anti-Press” became “Stan Spire.” By this time I had dropped the editorial “we.” Too confusing. Some readers thought I had a staff working for me.
Morbus decided to take his site in a different direction. So I moved on to blogging: Anti-Express Express (to keep the APE abbreviation). Then I got tired of the APE business and wanted to focus more on myself as an individual character. Ergo, this blog.
“Character” is the key word. Besides personality, it also refers to persona. My online role. Alter ego, if you will.
As Stan Spire I can say what I want without the self-censoring forced upon me by public contact in meat space. And while some details in my posts might be a little vague, the essential truth is still there.
So here I am, like it or not.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Nutts To Mutts!
© Stan Spire 2009
Plattsburgh’s leading (news)paper, The Daily Fishwrap, is still publishing the braindead comic strip Mutts. Check out my cartoon series, Nutts, featuring my characters Leftie and Rightie. Compare my effort to Mutts. The answer is obvious: my cartoon should be in the paper instead of Mutts. Why? Because it’s funnier (which ain’t saying much for it).
If the display is too small, then click on each one for a larger view.
And if your mother is a saint, just tell her it’s about two talking walnuts.
Plattsburgh’s leading (news)paper, The Daily Fishwrap, is still publishing the braindead comic strip Mutts. Check out my cartoon series, Nutts, featuring my characters Leftie and Rightie. Compare my effort to Mutts. The answer is obvious: my cartoon should be in the paper instead of Mutts. Why? Because it’s funnier (which ain’t saying much for it).
If the display is too small, then click on each one for a larger view.
And if your mother is a saint, just tell her it’s about two talking walnuts.
The Bright Side
© Stan Spire 2009
It’s one of those stupid memories – a trivial incident – that for some reason never fades away even after many years pass.
One sunny day I’m with some co-workers during lunchtime. We’re walking from a restaurant when I start to cross the street to the other side shaded by buildings. One co-worker objects, makes everyone to follow him.
He looks at me and says: “I want to stay on the sunny side of the street.” There was an extra meaning in his words. He didn’t like certain aspects of my personality that came through from working at the same shithole job.
I never dwelt on the negative. But I never ignored it either.
The other day an item in the newspaper triggered that stupid memory. The critical co-worker’s name was in the public record section. He was around the same age as me according to the obit.
That says a lot for walking on the sunny side of the street all the time.
Don’t forget to use sunblock lotion, pal.
It’s one of those stupid memories – a trivial incident – that for some reason never fades away even after many years pass.
One sunny day I’m with some co-workers during lunchtime. We’re walking from a restaurant when I start to cross the street to the other side shaded by buildings. One co-worker objects, makes everyone to follow him.
He looks at me and says: “I want to stay on the sunny side of the street.” There was an extra meaning in his words. He didn’t like certain aspects of my personality that came through from working at the same shithole job.
I never dwelt on the negative. But I never ignored it either.
The other day an item in the newspaper triggered that stupid memory. The critical co-worker’s name was in the public record section. He was around the same age as me according to the obit.
That says a lot for walking on the sunny side of the street all the time.
Don’t forget to use sunblock lotion, pal.
Career Minded
© Stan Spire 2009
“You’re almost thirty years old and you don’t have a career yet?”
It was easy for the woman to pass judgment on me for circumstances beyond my control. She had a career; her husband had a career; what was wrong with me?
Time passes. Irony raises its ugly head.
Her husband is busted, ends up going off to prison.
Apparently he had a second career.
Career criminal.
“You’re almost thirty years old and you don’t have a career yet?”
It was easy for the woman to pass judgment on me for circumstances beyond my control. She had a career; her husband had a career; what was wrong with me?
Time passes. Irony raises its ugly head.
Her husband is busted, ends up going off to prison.
Apparently he had a second career.
Career criminal.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Ass Kicking Excellence
© Stan Spire 2009
“Excellence. We pride ourselves on our standards of excellence. But we don’t maintain excellence: we increase excellence to higher standards. We have excellent excellence.”
When I hear some official spokesman go on about his institution’s “excellence,” I know it ain’t to be found, especially within the New York State college system.
No matter where you go, the biggest or the tiniest, each college brags of its excellence. Every program, every degree, every employee, every student oozes excellence.
The local college, Plattsburgh University, always has some flak going on about PU’s so-called excellence. If that’s the case, then why does PU have a hard time getting its teaching program accredited?
And if PU four-year degrees are so great, why is it so hard for too many students to find decent jobs? After all, an excellent degree means that a graduate is recession-proof, he can be hired at any time.
There’s a journalism program at PU that is flooding the world with more graduates in a shrinking job market. Newspapers are cutting back, even folding. Well, it can be argued, at least these graduates have been trained in proper communication, how to relate on a professional level to others. Such a skill is important in any job.
Take a look at the last issue of the PU student newspaper, Cardinal Pointless (May 1, 2009). There’s an article entitled “Near-campus profs not bothered by PSUC students” (available online here). It about professors who don’t live in the student slum area in the center city; they don’t put up with the problems there, noise, destruction, theft, piss in your flowerpot, whatever.
A PU journalism professor is quoted. He used to live in New York City and from that experience he has learned how not to “radiate fear.” So Plattsburgh college students don’t bother him.
And to make a fine point – using such elegant journalistic language – he states:
“I can handle myself, if someone wants to come up and pick a fight I can kick them in the ass.”
“Excellence. We pride ourselves on our standards of excellence. But we don’t maintain excellence: we increase excellence to higher standards. We have excellent excellence.”
When I hear some official spokesman go on about his institution’s “excellence,” I know it ain’t to be found, especially within the New York State college system.
No matter where you go, the biggest or the tiniest, each college brags of its excellence. Every program, every degree, every employee, every student oozes excellence.
The local college, Plattsburgh University, always has some flak going on about PU’s so-called excellence. If that’s the case, then why does PU have a hard time getting its teaching program accredited?
And if PU four-year degrees are so great, why is it so hard for too many students to find decent jobs? After all, an excellent degree means that a graduate is recession-proof, he can be hired at any time.
There’s a journalism program at PU that is flooding the world with more graduates in a shrinking job market. Newspapers are cutting back, even folding. Well, it can be argued, at least these graduates have been trained in proper communication, how to relate on a professional level to others. Such a skill is important in any job.
Take a look at the last issue of the PU student newspaper, Cardinal Pointless (May 1, 2009). There’s an article entitled “Near-campus profs not bothered by PSUC students” (available online here). It about professors who don’t live in the student slum area in the center city; they don’t put up with the problems there, noise, destruction, theft, piss in your flowerpot, whatever.
A PU journalism professor is quoted. He used to live in New York City and from that experience he has learned how not to “radiate fear.” So Plattsburgh college students don’t bother him.
And to make a fine point – using such elegant journalistic language – he states:
“I can handle myself, if someone wants to come up and pick a fight I can kick them in the ass.”
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