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Reality Sandwiches Issue 02 Vol 01
Reality Sandwiches
---------------------------------------------------------------
Issue Two Volume One
April 1995
IN THIS ISSUE
DEPARTMENTS
Notes from the Editor...........................Darth
FEATURES
Paradox and Probability: A Treaty on Self.......Johann von Intellectual
Fuzzbuster......................................Darth
Tread...........................................Darth
Night of Recollection...........................Rhinoceras on Crack
Untitled........................................Darth
Aspire..........................................Darth
Martyr..........................................Rhinoceras on Crack
Mirage..........................................Darth
TECHNICALITIES....Subscribtions, Back issues, etc.
--= DEPARTMENTS =--
Editor's notes...
Having made it through one issue, I'm cavalier enough to say that
RS will be around for a while. As it stands, we're waiting with baited
breath for the infamous "You guys are pretentious morons" feedback letter,
but as of now, we've managed to emerge unscathed.
The format of the zine, as you can see, has changed a bit. Which
brings me to my next point: If you, or anyone you know, would be interested
in writing regularly for RS, send me some samples of your work. This can
be anything: essays, editorials, poems, prose, fiction, rants, or whatever,
RS is pretty freeform. Send it to darth%porch@cjbbs.com with NEW WRITER
as its subject. If you have any ideas for departments, send those as
well...
This issue marks the debut of the world-renowned and generally
amazing Rhinoceras on Crack. In addition, the similarly famous author of
"Self Contained Cosmos", Jack Sensitive, is on sabbatical in Florence. He'll
return for the next issue, where he'll be doing a Lockean analysis of
Disney's "The Little Mermaid".
This issue is chock-full o' poetry - for better or worse... Next
issue should mark the beginning of record reviews, so....
Special heartfelt-sincere-awesome-smileyface thanks to anyone who
assisted in the output of this issue, actually, just one guy, we'll call
him "Cheese Boy". In all seriousity, the uploading, ads and whatnot are
appreciated. I salute you. This issue was a bit late in going out, but
we (we, of course, refers to the cold, impersonal machine that is Reality
Sandwiches) feel its for the better.
With that, I leave you to the zine...
- darth
--= FEATURES =--
Paradox and Probability: A Treaty on Self
-----------------------------------------
by Johann von Intellectual
The world in which one is forced to live is at best, absurd.
There is no rhyme scheme, no sub-structure, no particular plan to this
absurdism. Just the will to power of the individual. The state the
individual finds himself in is one of particular interest. Be damned
by doing nothing, thus condemning yourself, willfully or otherwise, to
a lifetime of misery and misfortune. Let us recall the situation of
Camus's antihero, Daru, in "The Guest". Follow orders and face retribution,
or disobey then and face uncertainty. Daru did not make the decision he
did for moral qualms, rather, to spare him the guilt and ramifications
centered around the act of deciding. Paradoxically, live a life
according to the strictures of the society at large. Or a third option,
live for yourself, a notion popular culture has labeled as hedonistic and
flat-out evil.
What is the evil in wanting to live a life for no other purpose
than for one's own well being? Is it in self-loathing and self-denial
that one becomes a better person? Resoundingly, the answer is no.
Contrary to the popularized Christian notion that all good stems from
charity, there is a more genuine good to be found in living a life of
self-indulgence. This should in no way be considered as anything more
than a treaty to further the cause of individual rights.
To borrow again from Camus, from "The Renegade". The sole
reason for the missionary's devotion to Christianity is the euphoria he
experiences in resisting insult and injustice done to him. Is it through
masochism that one can understand life? Must one suffer to be a true
believer? Would it not serve better if persons and so-called "faithful"
were to focus their efforts on bettering their lives in the present,
rather than sanctify themselves for an unrealistic future?
The question then becomes not 'what you do' but 'why you do it'.
The heart of the issue lies in this. Many things are done, seemingly
worthwhile and righteous, for the wrong reasons. As the Hindu parables
teach, "Action done for reaction is action left undone". That is, if
one does something other than for the substance of the action, the action
is not genuine. Then the notion of self-indulgence, a self-serving act,
becomes more reasonable. There can be no ulterior motives in doing something
purely for selfish reasons, thus it is more genuine in its foundation than
an action that is made to appear "righteous".
--------------------------------------------------------
Fuzzbuster
----------
by Ox E. Moron
Distorted reality,
Defense mechanism cynicism,
worse things could happen.
Unjustified anger, what's unjustified.
Desperate emptiness, student-body president.
Mass will be held today on the 40-yard line.
Sell-out, hey, it's a lot easier than thinking.
Warped, crazy alter ego, still won't change a thing.
Get on line, Christ for sale.
Assure them of your love to spare yourself their hate.
Come here to escape, to find you're at is core.
Even then somethings are left unsaid,
and even then too much has been said already.
Silence offers no comfort, even it's fallen into place.
Outside seems far away,
Looking in seemed real,
finding everything important and sacred,
is just an aspect to the hoax.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tread
-----
by Darth
I see them walking, single file.
Toe to toe, heel to heel.
One slips up,
he can't get back in the line.
Steady pace,
just like a death march,
no destination,
no goal,
nothing.
I'm left. Alone.
With my ideology.
------------------------------------------------------------
Night of Recollection
---------------------
by Rhinoceras on Crack
No passion
much prejudice
Love in a basement
along with James Taylor
Fortunately we can still discuss
the wrongdoing of these different
when the liars are out of the room.
No vision
No wisdom
Hey, look at that friendly fella
Jolly and smily, like Santa Claus
because he's a lie
I have dreams of being
away from these people
with the few I really care about
and know that will never be
able to happen
because they have more than I do
I'm not pure and I'm not good
And I have no respect for those
who pretend to have feelings
but I look out for those who
really do.
Stubborn and bitter
makes me an asshole.
If I'm a crusader for a lost cause,
so be it
you still hear me loud and clear
how can you tell me that
the beauty I've found isn't?
You have no fucking idea
because you haven't writhed
Tolerance isn't my cure
for stupidity and hate, so
sorry if you're crying.
Go home to peace, I'll
show you reality, Mr. Proud-to-
be-Irish
Look at me, you got me so mad
I can't stop
I just want my beauty.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aspire
------
by Darth
Burning in sticky-floored coffeehouses with visions of apocalypse and
eternity,
Aching to be nourished from the steely juggernaut, unaware of our
presence,
Waiting to be swallowed and turned aside by the hip nouvelle technicians
of prose,
Crying for another opportunity, laced with strict intentions, plastered
with the imagery that was etched on our minds,
Searching for the companionship of solitude and the sick, insane cycle of
friendship,
Rearing back, and casting aside your hopes, your fears, your being for
no purpose,
Sacrificing whatever for what-never,
Hallucinating under the narcotic of neglect and worry, disguised as charm
and veiled by a smile,
Laughing, sickening and hard, echoing, resonating in my mind, knowing
it'll never be over,
Knowing that it will never stop,
Knowing it'll never be over.
------------------------------------------------------
Martyr
------
by Rhinoceras on Crack
Make a mistake
Tell the wrong person
The wrong person tells another wrong person
The other wrong people feel threatened and insecure
The other people find you
Beaten
Raped
Dead
And you still didn't make a difference.
----------------------------------------
Untitled
--------
by Darth
A man walks back and forth in a corridor, contemplating everything
but thinking about nothing. When he reaches the end of the corridor, he
spins on his heel and walks the other way. Between mortality and the other
there's humanity. "What have I done?", questions the man, "My greatest piece
is the most antithetical". The Artist continues his journey among
the unfeeling, trembling walls. His Purgatory lasts for decades, centuries,
and more, though time is not kept here. No mention is made of it. Nor the
denoument after which it crecendoes, where everything suddenly becomes
meaningless. Painless. After which laurels and achievements fade away until
even their memory has been distorted. And so, the man was approached by the
Other and was asked how he can continue when the perfection he strives to
achieve is not there. The man replies that it must be so, for it has been
for centuries. The Other reprimands the man, and leaves him. The man
slowly begins his walk back. He's in no great hurry.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mirage
------
by Darth
Imprisoned. A shattered wreckage of oversimplified expectations
and ideals,
Gradual Maelstrom, turmoil. Look up at your accusors
and find you know them already,
Everything that was known and cherished is eradicated,
to a void or Secacus.
Hollow peronas and rude characterizations replaced the wonder and
respect you once carried.
A nonexistant impression of whatever's left you carry where you once had
certainty and confidence.
Look up and see the walls of your reality being brought down brick
by brick, you helpless to protest.
Fading, soiled memories of aspirations and hopes that you've
let go of for your own good,
So that you can pretend that holy idealism and sacred trust will
be your friend.
And in desperation, empty. With nothing left to call genuine. Imperfect
to its foundation.
Nothing was real. Nothing is real. Nothing is all that is left.
----------------------------------------------------------------
--= TECHNICALITIES =--
REALITY SANDWICHES DISTRIBUTION SITES
For archives, new issues, and miscellaneous "stuff" check out these boards...
The Porch BBS - (201)-966-2848 ]--- Main Distro\Archive Site
(201)-966-8919
The Summit PCBoard - (908)-665-5992
Cyberia - (717)-840-1444
The Flight Deck - (908)-429-1544
VIA FTP
Reality Sandwiches back issues, new issues, etc. can be found at these FTP
sites:
ftp.etext.archive.umich.edu
ftp.world.std.com
ftp.etext.org
ftp.quartz.rutgers.edu
BACK ISSUES
Call the Porch BBS, and check out file area 73. That's dedicated to
Reality Sandwiches Back Issues, Archives, and the like. If this is
impossible, send email to darth%porch@cjbbs.com with REALITY BACK as
the subject line. Or ftp the files from one of the sites listed above -
RS archives follow a simple cataloging system (RS##, ##= issue number).
DISTRIBUTION: If you run a BBS, and want to become a distro site, send
email below.
TO SUBSCRIBE: Send Internet email to the address below, call the Porch
and leave email to Reality, or call the Porch and
leave a note to all in the main conference with
SUBSCRIBE REALITY as it's subject.
NEW ISSUES: Check the Porch BBS for the newest issues, subscriptions and
back issues. Leave a comment to the sysop saying you
logged on to get RS.
FEEDBACK: send Internet email to: Darth%porch@cjbbs.com
or call The Porch BBS and leave a message to Darth.
Your messages will be answered in a trendy 'Letters to
the Editor' section (How dreadfully cosmopolitan).
CLOSING COMMENTS: Next issue will be out by mid-June. A hearty thanks
to Paradox for his comments and nice ascii graphic...
'tis appreciated. If you have anything to contribute
whatsoever email it to me or attach it to a file
in a private message at the Porch. If it's worthwhile
<ahem> it'll be printed.
CONTACT:
Darth%porch@cjbbs.com ]== Main Email Address
Reality ]== Porch BBS Username
