A Formally Dressed Elderly Man Stands Near Trophies He Brought Back From A Hunting Expedition at 4° Leo is hinged on “the masculine will to conquer his animal nature and to impress his peers with his skill in performing the ancient traditional power rituals.” In some ways it’s quite similar to yesterday’s image of the middle-aged woman styling herself as a younger person. But instead of seeking to overcome the biology of age through one’s individual expression with their look, the older man herein wishes to overcome his own animal nature, symbolized by the hunter’s trophies. He is taking pride in showing them to those who would be impressed, that is to say other members of his presumably high-class culture, and male members at that.

Being formally dressed also hits home the notion of needing to impress, so the social importance of this image is foremost….

[I wrote the above days ago and then fell down a rabbit hole with work on the Afterglow Festival, which is a not-for-profit performance festival I founded in Provincetown. For some reason this year is really challenging. As the rich get richer they seem to want to hold onto their money all the more; and even those who actually live or own homes in Provincetown. I don’t know folks. It’s getting harder and harder to be a giver in this world. And yet it’s all the more reason to embody that spirit of generosity. Greed isn’t just some random vice of seven; it’s real; and it’s the root of all that’s wrong in this world from hunger and poverty to the prison (read: slavery) system to the disappearance of the arts from our schools and communities. I can’t change the world but I am trying to change my little corner of it which (if you Google dat shite) is “the birthplace of modern American theater. I’m beginning to feel a bit like Elizabeth I (an alchemist: a little known fact) slapping on that white make-up and “becoming” something other than who she was born as—morphing into the thoughtform of the virgin queen. Well it’s too late for me (on both fronts) but I’m not letting obstacles get in my way or make me give up. Quitting is for losahs.]

Now to catch up on where I was…..since the weekend when I started this, we saw that evil fucking douchebag dentist—I’m not even going to utter his name—kill that beloved Lion while we are in the sign of Leo. And now this symbol takes on a whole new meaning: This isn’t so much as overcoming ones animal nature but self-aggrandizing through the murder of fellow sentient beings. Perhaps the death of Cecile the lion isn’t less important than the murder, yes murder, of Sandra Bland—from social media you’d think Cecile’s death more the tragedy—but it surely isn’t less so. When we put people in jail for decades or life on meager charges does this not also constitute trophies for the people who own the privatized prison system.

Screw the fact I can’t raise enough money for a festival in P-town. Let’s focus on what’s really wrong with individuals in this country especially. So many of you are sick. Sick, sick, sick. Whether you’re buying a mansion in Provincetown in which you’ll spend one week a year, or you’re a “starving artist” whose self-obsession passes for performance art, you’re not giving, you’re taking. And frankly I’m nauseated even hearing about you. What is your trophy, then? Hmm? What natural spirit are you killing? Do you wake up and think what can I do to make things better? Or are you just looking for the next accolade to place on your Instagrammatical mantle piece.

Where’s my white pancake makeup?

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