January 1987 Number24 HA!P!Prt NEW rtEAJR!?! So Who's Happy? December 24, 1986 In Roman days they called thts the Saturnalia: seven days of feasting, drinlctng, and general debauchery that raged, as Dylan Thomas w.ould have it, against thl dying of the ltght. What started out as prayerful suppltcatto1& to th, gods and godusses ended a week later in . an orgy of mindless dissipation, and things have not changed much in the intervening 20 centuries. Saturn was the grandfather of th, gods, and represented the limitations imposed by the physical, mor.tal world. As such he was the appropriatl deity to preside over a festival that commemorated, above all else, human frailty. The Judaeo-Christian version of the Midwinter/est has borrowed much of its imagery from ancient pagan rituals, but then it sho"1dn't take a great deal of insight to realize that the trappings of modern civilization are just that, trappings, and that th, primal impulses of humankind have been only marginally impeded by th, combined efforts of all the .. ___ shamans, witch doctors, priests, and theologians of _____ history. Whln we seek respite from our cares Religion and its modern stepsister, and woes through drinlc, drugs, overeating, or other science, ostensibly operate from a common premise, assassinations of our physical and mental. health, we one best expressed by the words attributed to Jesus confess to ourselves and the world at large that the of Nazareth: HYou shall know th, truth and the truth path of righteousness and/or reason, noble as it may shall make you free. H But both obscure as much as sound in principle, has failed in its· most vital, in they illuminate; science, by encouraging th, delusion fact, its only real purpose, that of leading us to that man can, by gaining sufficient knowledge, happinesss. become master of his own destiny, and religion, by maintaining that such a notion is vain and even HHappy New Year, H we fervently wish blasphemous. each other, but in the midst of the jollity people /cill, II, EBP-DA | www.eastbaypunkda.com 'II January 1987 LOOKOUT! Page2 maim, and debase themselves and others at a pace to happiness lies in finding just the right mixture of that, if anything, exceeds that of less festive times. involvement and detachment, of caring compassion To a dispassionate observer, the antics of a roomful of and enlightened self-interest, of love and not a little holiday revelers could be seen as the contorted lust, all heavily leavened with a hilarious sense of 't!rithings of souls trapped in the bowels of hell the absurd. itself; the shouts of laughter only a few decibels re"!ove� /�om. desperate screams, and the happy That's as close as I've been able to smzles zn zmmznent danger of freezing into tortured come to a formula for being happy, and sometimes it's grimaces. even worked for me. Whatever works for you, I wish you plenty of it. It would be easy to take a similarly sour view of any number of human activities thought to make life worthwhile or at least bearable; sex A LETTER TO MY READERS andlf?r love are obvious examples. But then it's possible to put the worst face on anything,· assuming· Youmight have noticed that this issue is fairly lale, that some form of human happiness ts attainable, is and there's a reason for that. In fact.it almostdidn't get done at all. and anyone getting any? up until afewdays ago. I WISready to announce thatit wouldbe the lastLOOKOUT. Whatchanged my� WIS going to thepostoffice aftercouple a of weeks away md finding it crammedwith 1eum . If freedom from pain and want were by thanking meformy efforts, praising meformy work, andencouraging itself enough to ensure happiness, there ought to be a meto keep it up. Iair number of contented people around at any given It'snot the first time my readers have savedme time. Likewise, if comfort and l,aury could deliver fromgiving up in fruslrationdespair. anii and I wmt to thankof all you on their promise, the streets of our cities should be who wroreto let meknow that Iwasactually reaching someoneout awash with smiling faces. But the joys of life are there. Butdespire my renewed energy enthusiasm., and I havedecided found, when at all, in small and unexpected places, tomake somechanges my in approach totheU)OKOUT, so.whileI haveyour atr.mUion., letme rellyou aboutthem. and what passes for pleasure ts, as often as not, only When I started thewss U)OKOUT,I atwhat a prelude to far greater pain. seemedto be a bit of a dead endmy in life. Tryingto recuperare from a disastrous loveaffair, sining alone ofon top a iemore mountain.out of Philosophers and priests, and the sight andnearly mindof everyoneI had once been closeto, and with a furUS of a thousand disciplines speak of things like worldof time to broodaboutthe dire stateof our· planet andthe inner peace and enlighte111Mnt and becoming one with perilously &agileit, lifefonnsinhabiting I used andxerox to the universe; here, they promise, lies the way to cry out stillthat I cared. andout toreach to what�called. happiness. Not so, say others; we can gain happiness ".-thec:oumles s c:onfused. accused.misused,strungout ones and worse.•• " only inasmuch as we share it with our fellow My life's stillharder thinIwouldlike it to be, creatures, and that can best be done by transforming desperar&lylonely at times,with andfilled frustration how at little seem I the world into a better place. ableto accomplish. But my problems uemostly in my head. and minusc:ulecompared to those facedby vastnumbers of theworld's But in attempting that task we invite people. Tbmughwriting andplaying music mdmeeting hundreds of frustration and madness, claim the mystics and othersdoing similar things. I've been ableto findmy innersttmigth and $J)iritualists, to whom the material world is merely to learnrm that neither alonehelpless. nor Yes, inthe face of alllogical an illusion. Everything we touch, everything we feel indicat.ions to thecontrary, rm stillfilled with hopes and dreamsfor the future, andfve Ihopethat beenable to impiresome of you to feel the and see, even our bodies themselves do not really same. exist; they are the elaborate projections of the one What all thisis leadingup tois thatWOKOUT the infinite mind which we all share. To try and have an willno longerregular bea monthly publication. Instead, it willcome effect on the imaginary outer world is like swimming out wheneverI have something to say. There's no tellingright now in quicksand. howoften that willbe, though it's reasonable to suspectthat it will be less oftenthin it has been. [hope todo sometravelling, and ofmore One would assume, then, that those mr. energywill be going intomy band. my work with things likethe GilmanSireet Warehouse Project, friendsfamily. md andmy own places where such a philosophy predominates, India, peaceof mmd. But theLOOKOUT will not disappear; it's meant far too most notable among them, would be among the muchIO me and, appamuly. to otherpeople, to let it die. happiest on this otherwise star-crossed planet. Perhaps people do starve more contentedly there, but What this meansforcumnt subscribers: you'llstill '!'Y western mi� will not allow me to accept that this receivehowever many issues remain onyoursubscription;it justm ight take a littlelonger. If thisis not satisfactory,just wrire tome md111 is the way things should be. Indeed, the happiest I nmmdwhatever money you havecoming. Therewill alsobe achange have ever been is when I have succeeded in having an foranyone wishingto subscn'bein the future.most Because issues impact, however small, on the world around me. fromnow on will.like this one. have morepages thin the traditional 10, Whether to persuade someone to fall in love with me, printing and postage costs willbe higher. So startingnow, or to teach a child a new word or how to use a pair of subscriptions willbe Sl.00 an issue,regardless of how few or many chopsticks, or to be told that my writing has changed you order. Letme stress, this affectdoesmtt current subscribers. And, the way a person thinks, these are the tiny victories IS always.the U)OKOUT will beavailable freevarious at locations in that have given me strength to continue through the MendocinoCounty md theSan Francisco Bay Area. So let me say again, thanks forall your support and years. response. andIhopethat with lesspressure fromdeadlines andself­ imposedexpectations, theU)OKOUT will continue togrow and become Happiness? I don't claim to know what even better.please, And don't forget to let me knowwhat you. think. that is, anymore than I have discovered the meaning of love, or truth, or freedom, nor any of the other Yourediror pal, and shining stars to which we casually hitch our Lawrence destinies. I do know, or at least suspect, that the way EBP-DA | www.eastbaypunkda.com January 1987 LOOKOUT! Page3 U© U[J={}� !L@@f%@{!)Jll pillarsupon which civilization itself, and all the environment wiU foulup life forthe tree-taller Lawrence, blessings that flow therefrom, rest? as well and encourages the woodworkers to Fortunately the malcontented and participate in the process of change. A Saw an article byyou in Joe Britz's From Rathouse maladjusted misfits who make up your tiny boycottof redwood products has been put in zine Ta/es the called "Low constituency are an ever-diminishing effect, thelnl8mational Indian Treaty Council Society· and thought your point about minority. All indications are that most young is participating in our rallies, and lawsuits people in the scene becoming so blase people today are returning to traditional againstvarious offenders are being drawn up about corpor;i.te takeovers happening within values.