A Mutant's Guide to Mutation
Chapter 5
Monsters in the Attic
Vice1
n. 1. An immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait
2. Habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices
3. A specific form of pernicious conduct, esp prostitution or sexual perversion
4. A failing or imperfection in character, conduct, etc. smoking is his only vice
5. (Medicine / Pathology) Pathol obsolete any physical defect or imperfection
6. A bad trick or disposition, as of horses, dogs, etc.
[via Old French from Latin vitium a defect]
Vice2
US (often), vise [vaɪs]
n. (Engineering / Tools) An appliance for holding an object while work is done upon it,
usually having a pair of jaws.
See: gambler, libertine, pervert, Mutant Art, Collective Arsenal, The Wandering Mutant,
Four headed Turtles
Let us begin by saying that this chapter was written as an homage to a writer that I greatly
respect. He wrote a column for a newspaper, his column was called "Flowers in the Attic." The name in itself was an homage to the title of the book with the same name, and his column was about the beauty and potential of the human race. The flowers in the attic of all human beings, flowers that only need a bit of light to shine on them in order to grow. This chapter, in good Wandering Mutant fashion, is about the complete opposite. It's called "Monsters in the Attic" and it is an honest look into the desires that fuel, and drive humanity on a day to day basis.
The monsters that lurk in the attics of the human mind, monsters that live in all our attics,
waiting for the same light to shine on them in order to grow.
Old friend, this one is for you.
In Chapter 4, under "We Are Just Snow," we presented you with the idea that most of us
are just people, neither good nor bad, and that most of us have a lot more in common with each other than we would care to admit. Vices are one of the many common denominators that link us all together, and perhaps the most obvious. Most people have several vices, the interesting ones in my opinion, but everyone has at least one. Whether they view it as such, or not, vice plays a major role in their lives. It is the hitchhiker, the passenger, the friend, and sometimes even the driver in their road of life.
So light up a smoke, pour yourself a drink, put on some light tunes and relax,
this could get messy but let's discuss it for a while.
Chapter 5
Monsters in the Attic
Vice1
n. 1. An immoral, wicked, or evil habit, action, or trait
2. Habitual or frequent indulgence in pernicious, immoral, or degrading practices
3. A specific form of pernicious conduct, esp prostitution or sexual perversion
4. A failing or imperfection in character, conduct, etc. smoking is his only vice
5. (Medicine / Pathology) Pathol obsolete any physical defect or imperfection
6. A bad trick or disposition, as of horses, dogs, etc.
[via Old French from Latin vitium a defect]
Vice2
US (often), vise [vaɪs]
n. (Engineering / Tools) An appliance for holding an object while work is done upon it,
usually having a pair of jaws.
See: gambler, libertine, pervert, Mutant Art, Collective Arsenal, The Wandering Mutant,
Four headed Turtles
Let us begin by saying that this chapter was written as an homage to a writer that I greatly
respect. He wrote a column for a newspaper, his column was called "Flowers in the Attic." The name in itself was an homage to the title of the book with the same name, and his column was about the beauty and potential of the human race. The flowers in the attic of all human beings, flowers that only need a bit of light to shine on them in order to grow. This chapter, in good Wandering Mutant fashion, is about the complete opposite. It's called "Monsters in the Attic" and it is an honest look into the desires that fuel, and drive humanity on a day to day basis.
The monsters that lurk in the attics of the human mind, monsters that live in all our attics,
waiting for the same light to shine on them in order to grow.
Old friend, this one is for you.
In Chapter 4, under "We Are Just Snow," we presented you with the idea that most of us
are just people, neither good nor bad, and that most of us have a lot more in common with each other than we would care to admit. Vices are one of the many common denominators that link us all together, and perhaps the most obvious. Most people have several vices, the interesting ones in my opinion, but everyone has at least one. Whether they view it as such, or not, vice plays a major role in their lives. It is the hitchhiker, the passenger, the friend, and sometimes even the driver in their road of life.
So light up a smoke, pour yourself a drink, put on some light tunes and relax,
this could get messy but let's discuss it for a while.
--- Vice ---
To illuminate on the subject at hand I would like to point out that, like most things, social acceptance makes no difference on the morality of an action, or the outcome of any endeavor. It only makes the deed tolerable or repulsive depending on social acceptance. Meaning, social acceptance, or intolerance, of certain behaviors is a matter of geography, not a matter of morality. Nodding off after shooting up heroin in an opium den is perfectly acceptable, even expected, but short of Pablo Escobar being your employer, doing the same at your boss's Christmas party might get you some scornful looks. You follow?
Vices are all around us, the find us, define us, bind us. Vices are at the core of our nature and behavior, whether it be sex, food, dieting; caffeine, weed, reality tv; work, religion, exercise; smoking, love, violence; rage, happiness, depression; healthy living, depravity, spirituality; knowledge, ignorance, art; music, movies, pornography; sleep, the sauce, or the hand; it is vice, whatever form it takes, that gives our existence meaning, structure, and distraction. They make us happy and provides us with the necessary patterns that
keep us sane.
All things when done repeatedly, or done to extremes, become vices. Vices are but ritualized actions and behaviors that we use as balancing rods while walking on life's shaking rope. They are focus points in the horizons of our minds that keep us walking straight, and keep us from falling into the great abyss of meaninglessness ... and boredom.
keep us sane.
All things when done repeatedly, or done to extremes, become vices. Vices are but ritualized actions and behaviors that we use as balancing rods while walking on life's shaking rope. They are focus points in the horizons of our minds that keep us walking straight, and keep us from falling into the great abyss of meaninglessness ... and boredom.
--- A Brief History of Boredom ---
It is a known fact that, other than sex, alcohol is the most common and widely accepted of all vices. Some people don't just enjoy it, they dedicate their lives to it, and find art in the process of making it. But were you aware that we are not the only ones who enjoy the relief from the pains of living through the use of the ripening vine? Primates, as well as other mammals enjoy it. Primates, creatures with absolute freedom to do whatever they wish with almost no sense of guilt, find it necessary to unwind. They fling feces when upset, have open and free sexual escapades of whatever kind they choose with no backlash from their peers; they eat whatever they want, sleep whenever they feel like it, and basically enjoy the kind of TRUE freedom few of us will ever experience in our lifetimes; yet they themselves are just as bored as we, and enjoy a break from reality just as much as we do. |
The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis proposes that human attraction to ethanol may have a genetic basis due to the high dependence of the primate ancestor of Homo sapiens to fruit as a food source. Ethanol naturally occurs in ripe and overripe fruit and consequently early
primates developed a genetically based attraction to the substance.
This hypothesis was originally proposed by Dr. Robert Dudley of the University of California
at Berkeley and was the subject of a symposium at the meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Dudley believes that while most addictive substances have a relatively short history of use, ethanol attraction may have a long evolutionarily based history. He believes that fruit ethanol may have been a significant source of energy and that the smell of the ripening fruit would help primates locate it. Ethanol is a relatively light molecule and diffuses rapidly in a natural environment. Primates are known to have a higher olfactory sensitivity to alcohol than other mammals. The once-beneficial attraction to ethanol may
underlie human tendencies for alcohol use.
primates developed a genetically based attraction to the substance.
This hypothesis was originally proposed by Dr. Robert Dudley of the University of California
at Berkeley and was the subject of a symposium at the meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Dudley believes that while most addictive substances have a relatively short history of use, ethanol attraction may have a long evolutionarily based history. He believes that fruit ethanol may have been a significant source of energy and that the smell of the ripening fruit would help primates locate it. Ethanol is a relatively light molecule and diffuses rapidly in a natural environment. Primates are known to have a higher olfactory sensitivity to alcohol than other mammals. The once-beneficial attraction to ethanol may
underlie human tendencies for alcohol use.
The nature of our existence is the greatest
of all mysteries, but what is most mysterious is the boredom that comes with existing altogether. Thousands of years have passed since we left the jungles behind, thousands of years of architectural and technological advances, thousands of years of supposed evolution ... and we are just as bored with life as our not so distant cousins. We are bored, undeniably, and perpetually bored. Life is said to be a gift, but we do everything in our power to ignore it, and we try to put it out of our minds like a forgotten ugly Cosby sweater we received once
for Christmas. We throw it in the dark of the attic because we never wanted to
wear it in the first place.
If given all the freedom in the universe, we as a society would still be bored,
and would still do anything to escape our reality.
of all mysteries, but what is most mysterious is the boredom that comes with existing altogether. Thousands of years have passed since we left the jungles behind, thousands of years of architectural and technological advances, thousands of years of supposed evolution ... and we are just as bored with life as our not so distant cousins. We are bored, undeniably, and perpetually bored. Life is said to be a gift, but we do everything in our power to ignore it, and we try to put it out of our minds like a forgotten ugly Cosby sweater we received once
for Christmas. We throw it in the dark of the attic because we never wanted to
wear it in the first place.
If given all the freedom in the universe, we as a society would still be bored,
and would still do anything to escape our reality.
--- Miami Vice ---
that annoyingly catchy abortion of a song. We get it man, part of it is in Spanish, way to think outside the box while still tightly clinging to the outside wall of said box. Good for you fresh prince of NOBODY gives a shit!
But I digress, I'm talking about the cream de la creme of AWESOME buddy cop dramas, the one and only Miami Vice. Miami Vice is an American television crime drama series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson (who's name ranks a 12 in the Richter scale of porn-star names, and is only superseded by "Dirk Diggler") and Philip Michael Thomas as James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs respectively. Two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. The series ran for five
seasons on NBC from 1984–1989.
This was a cutting edge show that featured current music and guest artists of the time, and created a fashion revolution that involved cheap, shoulder padded, semi-baggy suits, worn with a T-shirt under the jacket, and matching color slip-on shoes with no socks. A style known in those days as "italio casual," that nowadays we would classify as "retro dirtbag chic."
seasons on NBC from 1984–1989.
This was a cutting edge show that featured current music and guest artists of the time, and created a fashion revolution that involved cheap, shoulder padded, semi-baggy suits, worn with a T-shirt under the jacket, and matching color slip-on shoes with no socks. A style known in those days as "italio casual," that nowadays we would classify as "retro dirtbag chic."
Moreover, it inspired the creation of the classic south beach frozen cocktail "Miami Vice,"
a half and half mix of pina colada and daquari.
Here is the recipe:
1. Blend strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas, one at a time and according to taste. Place in separate containers after blending.
2. Using a tall glass, pour both mixes into the glass from opposite sides and at the same time. The drinks will separate cleanly in the glass.
3. Garnish with fresh strawberries skewered on straws and top with shredded coconut.
a half and half mix of pina colada and daquari.
Here is the recipe:
- 12 ounces frozen strawberry daiquiri concentrate
- 12 ounces frozen Pina Colada mix
- 151 rum
- strawberry
- coconut, shredded
1. Blend strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas, one at a time and according to taste. Place in separate containers after blending.
2. Using a tall glass, pour both mixes into the glass from opposite sides and at the same time. The drinks will separate cleanly in the glass.
3. Garnish with fresh strawberries skewered on straws and top with shredded coconut.
*** Editor's Note ***
You may be wondering, how does the show "Miami Vice"
tie in to what we were discussing? It doesn't! Not in the least. Shit was getting too real,
and we thought it'd be a nice break, so there you go.
You may be wondering, how does the show "Miami Vice"
tie in to what we were discussing? It doesn't! Not in the least. Shit was getting too real,
and we thought it'd be a nice break, so there you go.
--- Mutant Vice ---
Ask a Mutant what his vices are, and the answer
will probably be around the lines of "Whatta you got?"
The life of most Mutants openly revolve around VICE, traveling being the front runner of their addictions, but as mentioned before, the interesting ones tend to keep several vices on call in order to keep things spicy. Unlike most Settlers, Mutants are not ashamed of their vices.
Libertine - Perhaps one of my favorite words in the
english language is libertine, and it is the word that I believe best describes the relationships between Mutants and vice. A libertine is one devoid of most, or all, moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable. A person who ignores, or even spurns, accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines are freethinkers on matters of religion and spirituality. They are sensualists, viewing pleasure and experience as philosophy.
Beautiful, is it not?
will probably be around the lines of "Whatta you got?"
The life of most Mutants openly revolve around VICE, traveling being the front runner of their addictions, but as mentioned before, the interesting ones tend to keep several vices on call in order to keep things spicy. Unlike most Settlers, Mutants are not ashamed of their vices.
Libertine - Perhaps one of my favorite words in the
english language is libertine, and it is the word that I believe best describes the relationships between Mutants and vice. A libertine is one devoid of most, or all, moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable. A person who ignores, or even spurns, accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines are freethinkers on matters of religion and spirituality. They are sensualists, viewing pleasure and experience as philosophy.
Beautiful, is it not?
| Mutants are libertines because Mutants love their vices, we wear them with pride, like scars on the bodies of warriors, or jewel incrusted crowns on the heads of kings. They tell our story without words, and protect us when need be. Clever Mutants develop a symbiotic relationship with their vices, the vice feeds from the mutant, and the mutant learns to use them as strengths, and derive character from them. Vices ... We live 'em, we love 'em, we want more of 'em!! |
--- Asleep at the Wheel ---
Great vice can create great character, and can just as easily destroy it. Like the sages of
old, we must be in control of the spirits we choose to conjure, otherwise they begin to control us. When this happens, catastrophe soon follows. Many have fallen to oblivion in the power struggle between the ego and one or more of these "spirits."
Now, going off the deep end once in a blue moon in my
eyes is normal. I'm not saying it's healthy or even excusable, but things get out of hand sometimes and there's no use in spilling booze for the homies and making a federal case out of it. However, when loosing control becomes the norm then it's time for you to face that
"something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
old, we must be in control of the spirits we choose to conjure, otherwise they begin to control us. When this happens, catastrophe soon follows. Many have fallen to oblivion in the power struggle between the ego and one or more of these "spirits."
Now, going off the deep end once in a blue moon in my
eyes is normal. I'm not saying it's healthy or even excusable, but things get out of hand sometimes and there's no use in spilling booze for the homies and making a federal case out of it. However, when loosing control becomes the norm then it's time for you to face that
"something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
I mean, who wants to be "that guy" at the bar? The age of technology has truly lifted the dick friend with the camera to great new heights, and social media makes everyone an asshole, so it's important to maintain a level of control over the little devils we choose to keep as familiars, otherwise you could end up looking like this guy for the whole world to see. Tool!! ==> ==> ==> |
Controlled Chaos is what you need to attain, absolute dominion over the gremlins running around your attic, and for that you need balance and self-awareness. Leave the inmates unchecked and they will run the asylum.
You think one vice is more decent than another? Think again. Just take a look at the people trying to force their religious beliefs down the throats of the masses, mindlessly rambling and completely belligerent. Stopping people on the streets, bothering them, and trying to sell them their brand of salvation; terrorizing, and shamelessly doing so. They also thought themselves decent people when it all began.
Are they so different from the drunkard who won't stop talking to you at the bar, even though you've made it clear that you want nothing to do with him? They both get angry when you tell them to piss off, but society views one as a drunk and a waste, the other as devoted, and even spiritual. In truth, they
are twin apples, fallen from the same rotten tree.
Take a good look ... Monsters!
are twin apples, fallen from the same rotten tree.
Take a good look ... Monsters!
How many marriages have been destroyed by an overworking husband? A behavior that is clearly harmful to himself and the ones around him, yet it's a behavior that is not only
accepted by westerners, but encouraged altogether.
Sex releases endorphins and increases the levels of dopamine in the brain, meditation and prayer do the same, being great at your job does the same. Anger and rage increases
adrenaline, so does cocaine and crystal meth, as well as the rush of danger. Weed helps to ignore, so does alcohol, so do video games, so does masturbation. And on, and on, we can go and pick apart all those little things we do, telling ourselves that it's not an issue,
that we are in control, that we are good people.
Repeating to ourselves, over and over again, "it's not a problem."
"Born in vice say it twice! ... At least twice."
accepted by westerners, but encouraged altogether.
Sex releases endorphins and increases the levels of dopamine in the brain, meditation and prayer do the same, being great at your job does the same. Anger and rage increases
adrenaline, so does cocaine and crystal meth, as well as the rush of danger. Weed helps to ignore, so does alcohol, so do video games, so does masturbation. And on, and on, we can go and pick apart all those little things we do, telling ourselves that it's not an issue,
that we are in control, that we are good people.
Repeating to ourselves, over and over again, "it's not a problem."
"Born in vice say it twice! ... At least twice."
--- The Road of Excess ---
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" Some people may view the over the top life of the artist, musician, eccentric genius, or writer as hedonistic, selfish, and unnecessarily chaotic. This may be true, but when the job requires creativity, nothing helps more than an overly used and somewhat offensive vice. Even if you don't agree with the lifestyle, you can't argue with the results. | |
The creative and the genius are always prone to vice, Albert Einstein was a renown
womanizer, Sigmun Freud was obsessed with sex and was a habitual cocaine user, Piccaso was a drunk and a sex fiend, Timothy Leary was a psychonaut psychologist, the list goes on and on.
Now, this isn't to say that if your a pathetic junky that means that
you are creative, and much less a genius, but historically speaking most geniuses were openly, and unapologetically in love with their vices. This is because, like most Mutants, they discovered that vices when used correctly, and sometimes to extremes, leave the mind to do what it does best, create. Vice, whatever brand it may be, can set the mind free, and this allows one to view the world from a different perspective. It is this outsider point of view that breeds brilliance. Music, art, poetry, philosophy, science, most of the world's greatest minds, and most talented creators, of all kinds, were viciously addicted to one thing or another. Even modern day quantum physics has some of its roots set on vice,
just read the history of String Theory.
womanizer, Sigmun Freud was obsessed with sex and was a habitual cocaine user, Piccaso was a drunk and a sex fiend, Timothy Leary was a psychonaut psychologist, the list goes on and on.
Now, this isn't to say that if your a pathetic junky that means that
you are creative, and much less a genius, but historically speaking most geniuses were openly, and unapologetically in love with their vices. This is because, like most Mutants, they discovered that vices when used correctly, and sometimes to extremes, leave the mind to do what it does best, create. Vice, whatever brand it may be, can set the mind free, and this allows one to view the world from a different perspective. It is this outsider point of view that breeds brilliance. Music, art, poetry, philosophy, science, most of the world's greatest minds, and most talented creators, of all kinds, were viciously addicted to one thing or another. Even modern day quantum physics has some of its roots set on vice,
just read the history of String Theory.
--- Whatever Your Poison ---
I do not view vices as a problem, in fact I believe the opposite. I'm not condoning criminal behavior, and by criminal I mean actions that hurt others, or better yet the unwilling, in the process. Vices are a personal matter, and they are part of us all; rituals that keep our minds focused and allow us to deal with the daily struggles, and help us to ignore the more substantial questions about our existence.
Cause who wants to think about that?
Vices are the angels and the demons on our shoulders, the monsters in the attics of our minds. They are with us because they have always been there. You can't loose them, you can only exchange them. In order to thrive you have to get them to work for you, and the trick is getting them to work together in harmony. And if you can pull this off, if you can find this balance, you will find the philosopher's stone, and the gold that the alchemist of antiquity spent their lives searching for.
What the religious call "Peace on Earth,"
but for the Mutant it's really just "Peace of Mind."
"The warrior who knows well the chinks in his armor, will always fight better
than the ones who ignore them"
The Wandering Mutant
Cause who wants to think about that?
Vices are the angels and the demons on our shoulders, the monsters in the attics of our minds. They are with us because they have always been there. You can't loose them, you can only exchange them. In order to thrive you have to get them to work for you, and the trick is getting them to work together in harmony. And if you can pull this off, if you can find this balance, you will find the philosopher's stone, and the gold that the alchemist of antiquity spent their lives searching for.
What the religious call "Peace on Earth,"
but for the Mutant it's really just "Peace of Mind."
"The warrior who knows well the chinks in his armor, will always fight better
than the ones who ignore them"
The Wandering Mutant