Bazooka!

Mario Bertolli sat there... pondering the meaning of this strange gift he received of a conductor's baton... which had arrived mysteriously, just a few days back.

“Things have been coming into my mind lately, and with startling clarity” Mario said to himself, as he sat there wondering on who sent this item to him, and why.

The last few days kept Mario busy enough that he didn't give it much thought... (This was just after his revelations on that “Staff Infection” issue... as that was much more salient to his immediate survival and was still eating at his brain).

So, the baton briefly faded from his mind. But only briefly, as now, Mario had some time to ponder, and every time that happened, the baton came rushing back to him!

He pondered... wondering... “How the hell could I make a living, 'reflecting' ?” Mario just couldn't see it. So he wondered.

Than like a subtle breeze, Mario found himself distracted for another brief moment and then did what he always did when his conscious mind was troubled or wandered. He would find a quiet place and either sit down or lay and close his eyes and say to his Conscious Mind, “Hey Mind, (Mario's conscious-mind), I want you to give this to my little-green-buddy (sub-conscious mind), and get back to me on what the two of you come up with” and he would breathe.

This technique Mario used often, allowed him to go on with his life by effectively freeing-up some space in his conscious-mind and giving it the job of working it all out with his unconscious-mind. It also has a side benefit of re-energizing him, no matter how hard any particular topic was for him on any given day.

You see, Mario knew a little secret about how these two minds worked together with what he called the great “Universal Mind”. This great Universal Mind to Mario, was something that kept his conscious and sub/UN-conscious-mind’s in check.

This great Universal Mind, (by you the reader), can be translated as one so sees fit, as this Mind is Universal.

Call it the Cosmos, call it Ether, call it a god or some higher power if you like, but to Mario it was all that and so much more! “It is Universal” was what he'd say, and that is all he could say to describe what he felt on the issue. Well, that and “gUM” which he would hum to himself quite often.

Now, Mario also knew enough about all the religions and theories out there on this planet, from Eastern thought to Western (with its arrogance and all...) from particular polities to extreme ideologies... from conspiracy theories to alien hypotheses... but to Mario... he surmised that all of them were tools for the use of what he called “The They's”. Tools used by this Power-Elite to control and manipulate the masses. Something these “The They's” could use to govern and control the plebeian masses.

And you will know this is true if you have ever been on the receiving end of the corporate understanding of normal thinking! You see, things are interconnected in a very complex web... or tapestry... And though Mario detests such metaphors, the weavers of society on this dot, in order to maintain control, sneak unnoticed deceptions into the butter, uncertain of what you know or who you really are. For if you, the reader, where to become liberated from these “The They's”, than you wouldn't stand for it. And that just won't do from their perspective.

In example: Ben Franklin's quote, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty." Senetor Ron Paul shortened the quote to, "Those that sacrifice security for liberty deserve neither." (A random YouTube quote... parroted... blah, blah... but it has great ramifications that threaten these “The They's”, as if the masses could understand the import of it beyond a theoretical. If they did, then the theoretical would become actionable and the system would crumble. Serious fear for these “The They's”, wouldn't you say? I mean, who'd ever take a job under such a construct? How would you earn your living if you didn't give up your essential liberties for the security of a promise of a paycheck or recognition for your contributions? The confusion of having to be honest and accountable is just too much for most!).

In short, the self-proclaimed authorities, (be they in business, government, academia, law or medicine), maintain their power through this deception to make certain that you never ever know who you actually are. For if you did, the game would be up and “The They's” would loose their hold on you. To them you are an expendable commodity.

Now, Mario knows this from all of his liberal arts training, his eclectic reading choices, his interdisciplinary choices of certain academic pursuits, and his access to a fare number of these tenured elites: Judges, Professors, Lawyers, Doctors, Officers, Professionals and the like. But mostly, he knows this from his experiences, failures and life lessons on the subtle system-wide oppressions of those that choose to think for themselves.

Mario is not of the herd mentality. And that has its issues as well, but we'll address that later...

Additionally, Mario is attuned to certain wavelength's that resonate with “gUM” in E,F, or G... similar to Ohm.... or Amen... or the deep, resonant sounds of sand in a dessert... And Mario uses this to get in tune with this resonance to allow his Conscious Mind to work with his Un/Sub-Conscious Mind and vibrate with the great Universal Mind.

Now, none of this should be threatening to anyone in any way... And if for some reason, (any reason at all), if you the reader feel uncomfortable with any of this at any point, please, stop. Put this down, throw it out, burn it or what ever you want. Mario's feelings won't be hurt, though he may be a bit saddened that you too, wouldn't want the calm he has found. C 'est la vie. Mario still has a long way to go and is no Messiah. He's just a traveler on a blue dot in a vast sea, seeking clarity and calm.

For Mario, his journey is a form of relaxation and calm. Some call it meditation, some call it prayer. Some visualize some higher power, and some seek the ether or the void.

Mario just focuses on his breathing.

“Inhale to the count of 4. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Exhale... 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and relax” he says to himself. And after about four or so of these repetitions, Mario inhales and tenses his entire body... from his toes to head and then to the tips of his fingers... then exhales again... and releases the tension to “8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...” then repeats the entire process until his Conscious Mind starts to feed his Un/Sub-Conscious Mind.

This is where his mind explodes with a million this or that's all of which distract him from his job of just breathing.

All the while, as this is happening, Mario struggles to not focus on that dialogue, but rather, just on his breathing. And he has gotten pretty good at it, too! He can focus now up to about the number 2! And that is a great accomplishment indeed! (If you don't believe it, try it! Getting past 1 is harder than you might think!).

Anyway, the point here is that Mario is in control of his personal mind, more so than many. Mario is calmer and clearer and better for it. He approaches things with a certain pause, a certain calm, that if you've seen it in others, you sort of wonder how they found it! This is how Mario did.

Sadly though, this same calm that Mario has, has a few side effects. Things like confidence, honesty, empathy, and enthusiasm.

“Well that's not so bad” you say?

Well, your right, it isn't.

Yet somehow, by Mario's mere presence, there is a double edged sword that he must carry... To some, he is the light in the room... to others he is a curiosity, to still others, a threat to their very existence. (Sort of like, by Mario being in the room, their moral corruptions, fears and weaknesses may be exposed and open them up to some imagined humiliation!).

I know, right?

Odd.

But for Mario, this happens all too often.

“If these folks only knew” Mario would think to himself, “they'd be freed from all of this suffering that causes them to act so peculiarly...” Mostly, Mario would exhale, smile, and walk away. For to entertain entanglement with these negative forces was just too draining for Mario. Besides, he could only get to 2! And those folks need the 8-10 crowd to help them... But that is off the topic for now, so let's get back to Mario.

It was after one of these sessions that Mario performed, with the sole intention of offering up the baton to his Sub/UN-Conscious for exploration, when it dawned on him that he had completely forgotten about the baton!

I know, right?!

Well, lucky for him, his Conscious and Sub/UN-Conscious play well in the sandbox of his mind and took the essential liberty of getting it up and in there to be tossed about until it either needed more information or came back to him with an answer.

And either way, the process was put into effect and time must pass until it is needed. At which point, they will offer up a solution, and then Mario will have to weigh it against his internal ethical compass and see if he agrees with it and believes that the “gUM” would approve.

At first, Mario was a bit wobbly on his feet with this process, but over time, he gained an inner-ear of sorts and finally got his balance. (Though he still stumbles every so often).

On several occasions, he misread what his little green buddy gave back to his conscious mind and didn't consider “gUM” 's potential response. “gUM” let Mario wallow in it, too! For if “gUM” didn't, then Mario wouldn’t have gotten the lesson.

Either way, those painful experiences are gifts. Mario has made drastic improvements which have made Mario feel a bit grander than he aught to have felt, but he'll get that lesson when it is needed.

Perhaps the baton is the tool with which to do it?

We shall see.

Till next time,

Cheers

Staff Infection

The following work of fiction is a story about Mario Bertolli, A.K.A. "The Maestro" presented and written by Mr.E.

This is his baton:

It arrived via post, only moments ago.

Mario opened it and took it outside to his picnic table to admire it and wonder on who sent this and why.

You see, at this point, Mario had no knowledge of music and no need for such a strange thing as this in his life.

He was perturbed by the gift which was further accentuated by the chill of Fall setting in... when a crack in the fabric of reality caught Mario's eye...

"Spider-Spit splits this glass of reality", Mario thinks to himself. "How odd is it that we humans can't create from water and spit, anything nearly as strong or beautiful as this?"

Mario's hands and feet were cold. The season was changing and as with all change, there are moments of reflection that happen. Especially when it is accompanied by an odd gift.

On this day in particular, Mario was struggling with his current situation as an "Introduce-r" for a particular product offering that solves a particular need in a specific industry.

What the product is, is not the issue. It is a good product and it solves a problem and that is really all there is to know about it. Mario is proud to re-present it. To be it's "Introduce-r".

The problem for Mario is that as an "Introduce-r", he is on straight commission. And to be on straight commission is a very tenuous place to be. For example, Mario knew that he could sell things. He is very personable and everyone likes him. He could sell potato chips and be successful, or he could sell ships!

Now, Mario's reasoning is such that to sell chips is to make many, many small sales to many, many people and even though his margins were reasonable, there's all of that customer support that's needed beyond all of those calls to actually sell it. To Mario, that was too tedious to have to deal with, so he thought it better to sell ships. "One big ship would be as much effort as a billion bags of chips", he reasoned. And he may be right. But he doesn't sell chips or ships and this is all metaphor, yet it still applies in Mario's mind.

And this isn't even the problem for Mario. You see Mario's problem lies in the relationship he has as an "Introduce-r" for one of the countless Cool Unique New Things corporations that exist on this little blue dot.

And from the perspective of the corporation, Mario is a no-cost, expendable and unappreciated asset. "I cost you no thing" he sadly recalls saying once, to one of the higher-ups in the corporation. And it is this that has him frustrated.

And it was on this day, when the spider-spit sparkled and the gift of a conductor's baton arrived, that it all fell into place for him.

You see, Mario had done a considerable amount of work for the corporation. He introduced and sold many solutions. And through all of it, he made just barely enough to stay above water. Mario told himself that it was "the nature of the game". He'd get his, eventually. Challenge here was, this eventually was a long time coming.

You see, the nature of Mario's product is such that a concept such as this, took a considerable amount of conducting to communicate, sell, complete and deliver. And Mario didn't get his, until it was delivered and the check cleared.

And the typical cycle that that took, took too, too long.

"Maybe that was what the gift was for", he thought. Perhaps he could conduct better to get a better outcome? Who knows... but what Mario finds is far from anything you the reader would ever expect.

Any way, the nature of taking a concept into a product to solve a particular problem is a tedious process, and the corporation itself, really only has a concept, too, as well as some resources that Mario lacks. Things like credit, or assets, or access to monies. And to assemble all of the fabricators and manufacturers of all the various components, along with their assembly, testing and then shipping entails a seemingly endless stream of idiots, the first and most prominent in Mario's eyes, is the corporation. But Mario feels some need to be aligned with this corporation for various reasons. Namely, that he has no interest is the minutia that makes concepts reality.

Another is, Mario lives a bit outside of the norm. He doesn't do things the way most people do things. He doesn't subscribe to the norm. To Mario, the norm is abnormal. The third is, this concept is not rocket science and is really only a collection of component pieces assembled in such a way that it solves a particular problem. Another still, is Mario lacks credibility in his own mind firstly, and in the eyes of his peers, friends, family and potential customers.

Mario is unique. Too unique perhaps...

But somehow, Mario gets by.

And Mario is proud. Too proud perhaps.

And Mario is cool with Mario. Too cool perhaps.

And Mario could care less what the world thought of him as long as he could live out his life, his way.

And to many folks, Mario was a kook.

To those folks, Mario would say "go piss up a rope..." and mostly, they'd laugh and dismiss Mario.

Mario was fine with that.

What bothered Mario most, was when Mario figured out some odd this or that, which bugged him or made him feel as though he was being taken advantage of...

You see Mario was an honest man, a caring man, and a kind man. And this blue dot was not a place for such a man.

Sadly, this blue dot operates on a principle that might makes right.

It operates, (at least in Mario's country), on the concept that a corporation is an individual as well. And though a corporation is comprised of individuals, the corporation itself is a soulless entity. Its only job is to return a profit to its investors, limit liability and comply with the laws of the land.

And Mario learned this from a documentary called "The Corporation" and found resonance with it, as you may, too.

Mario knows, (as I am sure you do too), that all ideas are parroted and borrowed from some where's else, just like Mario's corporations' product offering... it is a collection of various pieces assembled in such a way that it solves a problem or answers a question.

None of it is unique or special, novel or new... it is a collective bucket of mix-n-matches rearranged to suit one's own needs, adjusted and readjusted as needed.

One other principle on this blue dot that Mario noticed, (and which is rarely talked about in polite society), is the deceptive nature of it all. Deception, as Mario has learned, is the greatest sin of sins.

Deception deceives and does things that make others do things that they would not do if they knew that they had been deceived.

This is where Mario is today.

An articulation of a realization of a deception.

And Mario is pissed that he did not catch it, for Mario is not a person that can't understand new things! Quite the opposite, in fact. Mario understands the doings of language better than most, as he has spent many a waking hour contemplating what words do!

Mario knows things.

And Mario does not subscribe to the norm. To him, it is abnormal, like we said above. Mario can read between the lines.

But, there is a problem with Mario's ability to see forward with his super-hero- read between the lines - skill-set. He, like most of us, can only see it once it has been done.Once time has past. Some call it common sense. And that too, is only common, once someone knows it... up until that time... it remains unknown... un-common.

Now, Mario has been doing a great deal of work with the corporation, and as each sale turned concept into reality, Mario had to wait for his pay-off. He'd sell the item... get the 50% down, (check made to the corporation), maybe get a few pennies to survive off of... and wait the supposed 8 weeks until the product was produced.

But the 8 weeks turned to twelve. 12 turned to sixteen... and the delivery added another week. Then the buyer took 30 days to pay and the check took 10 days to clear. So Mario added this all up and found that 26 weeks from the time of a sale was too long!

In addition, every set-back in production added time to Mario's date of getting paid... every delay extended Mario further.

And if Mario had only sold one unit, that would be frustrating enough, but since he sold many more and multiples of these units, each with its own unique set of variables, delays, set-backs and small piteousness of funds off of which to live, made this an accounting and collections nightmare!

"Who has paid, how much has been payed, what was owed, what was due, when would it be paid..." Phone call upon phone call... un-replied to emails and nothing in writing all made for a very stressful relationship between Mario and the corporation.

"Call you next Tuesday" the corporation would say when an inquiry of if any funds had posted, which was followed with a "See you next Thursday" and an over generous offer for some supposed training that was needed. They can "see you need training" and are willing to teach you until you're taught on the principles of how to sell more... after which, if you did well with your training, some unreasonable expectation of some return on their investment in the form of immediate sales in some unrealistic time-line is demanded, at which point they throw out there that perhaps you "can't understand new things" as you could never meet their demands in the first place.

The corporation calls this "normal thinking". The corporation asserts that you "can't understand normal thinking" and Mario thinks "Can you NOT talk? Just send me my check!" But it falls on deaf ears.

Mario feels defeated.

Mario waits.

Mario knew at the time he took the gig on that it was not ideal. Mario knew that in order for him to remain the unique person that he was, not having any resources outside of his personality and such, that Mario would have to make some concessions.

What Mario did not know then, was that he would subscribe to a prescription that he himself uttered, which set the whole ball in motion.

Mario should never have said "I cost you no thing". For it was this very utterance that made him the fool.

Mario knew that to become an "Introduce-r" for any one of the countless Cool Unique New Things corporations that exist on this little blue dot was to become ensnared in a game.

Mario knew that deception.

Mario is not a person that can't understand new things!

Mario knew he should have told 'em to "go piss up a rope" the moment the corporation said "Call you next Tuesday" or "See you next Thursday" on his money or when they offered to teach him until he was taught tight as a string and about to snap, or when they said "see you need training" or that he "couldn't understand new things".

Mario knew what marginalized meant. What the cost of unique was. What the price for non-norm behavior would be.

And Mario would keep his mouth shut.

Mario would survive.

Mario knew that Mario was not too keen on the corporate understanding of "normal thinking", and also that they were watching his every move, but Mario is only human, and prone to making foolish mistakes. With this at least, Mario was able to sleep soundly. Mario is no one's Boo-Boo Doll. Mario is a force!

And that in the grand scheme of things, the universe wouldn't hardly notice the insignificance of any of it, anyway.

For it is but one small story speck on one small blue dot in the grand cosmos and there are many more much more horrific examples which take up so much more of this small blue dot that are all but specks upon that dot and that that dot is but a small speck in any of it all anyway.

So, Mario is not all that concerned, just a bit irritated.

"It's as pretty as spider-spit" he'd say. "A new perception of reality".

"But this baton... that's something altogether different..." Mario thought. "What could it mean?"

And that is where we'll leave Mario today... contemplating an odd gift.

Till next time, Cheers