Tag Archives: Brad OH

‘Overwhelmed’

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

Today, we have a special treat for all our fans here at Brad OH Inc. Through the savvy maneuverings of our legal department, we’ve come to be the sole owners of a number of songs by defunct Edmonton rock band ‘Basic Human Indecency’. Written by failed rock star Kai Konrad, these songs were never put to music, so really they’re little more than poems at this point—but that’s certainly not to say they’re without merit. We’ll be sharing these songs/ poems with you intermittently over the next few weeks. If there are any aspiring musicians perusing our site, feel free to use them in any way you like; just remember that sole legal ownership of these songs remains with Brad OH Inc.

Without further ado, we present to you today the intended lead single from the Basic Human Indecency album that never was: ‘Overwhelmed’.

Overwhelmed

I closed my eyes this morning

And tried to take it in

So many things around me now

All these images within

It’s like my world is crumbling

Glass marbles on the floor

Of a bigger world around it

And I’m waiting at the door

End of the beginning

Beginning of the end

Forget about your old sins now

There’s time to make amends

I remember thinking

That I knew it all

And I remember watching

All my foundations fall

Everyone is connected

In so many ways

And everything keeps changing

With the passing of the days

But nothings ever ending

The tape will always roll

And in the end all consequences’

Shall come to take their toll

They’re friends and enemies at once

And nobody can tell

They don’t have lies or self-deceit

Just a false pretense to sell

Their eyes flicker like candles

Bouncing between the walls

Anticipation in the heartbeat

And silence in the halls

With all the future waiting

A rumbling at the gate

Our minds all bent in circles now

And time will have to wait

Overwhelmed as I

Watch it all happen

Overwhelmed as I

Watch it all change

Overwhelmed cause I

Have no way to stop it

Overwhelmed cause I

Have no one to blame…

-Brad OH Inc.

Profits and Prophets

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

Words are powerful things. They are our chief means of communication—assuming you can move past all that ‘body-language’ mumbo-jumbo—and thus serve as our key to expressing all ideas, plans, and opinions about the world around us. They allow us to apply labels, transfer knowledge, and express complex concepts to one another—passing information along and allowing it to grow across generations.

Words are the building blocks of language. They afford to us the ability not only to share our thoughts with one another—but to comprehend them ourselves. They apply meaning and value in a world of chaos; functioning to give context and relevance to what may otherwise be inconceivable. In an earlier article, we’ve actually covered how intangible it is to consider a world ‘Without Words’.

Words have the ability to convey great and terrible concepts—elevating us above the mire, or dragging us to the depths of despair. In this strange world or ours, there are even words which are considered too heavy to be spoken, whether because they are revered as sacrosanct, or reviled as curses.

Lately, there are two words in particular which have been troubling me. They are phonetic-twins: identical save for their spelling, and their meanings too have become all too dangerously similar. These are ‘profit’, and ‘prophet’.

Profits refer to the net gains made by an institution: usually monetary. In times like these, with corporations pulling the reins of government, and the media touting the notion that true ‘freedom’ is for the marketplace alone, profits have become the apple to the wild horses trampling all good sense and civility from our society.

Citizen interests are sold out for profits. Veterans are left homeless for profits. People suffer and die without healthcare in defense of the all-mighty profit-margin. Profits, profits, profits. They’ve become the sole respectable merit, and the defining drive of a corporate machine racing driverless, determined only to see how far it can go, how long it can persist. It seeks profit, and any destruction caused in this pursuit is justified so long as it has no effect on the net-gains.

We’re often reminded of what is owed to us: this illusive promise of life, liberty, and happiness. Of course, we are further assured, money cannot buy happiness. So it’s up to us to find on our own…just keep your hands off the profits.

Prophets are those people considered to speak in place of god or any other deity—often via divine inspiration. Like our recent discussion on the ‘Insidious Threat of Legacy’, prophets often represent an increasing distance from the so-called source material, and too often become cited as justifications for acts of violence and other atrocities which can in no other way be reconciled with their foundational beliefs.

It’s as prevalent a threat today as it ever has been.

Wars are waged in the name of prophets. Buildings are toppled in reverence to prophets. Ongoing conflicts over which prophet is to be trusted and which to be eschewed continue to enable the endless global uncertainty to which we are all subject.

Profits, and prophets—they aren’t so different in the end.

Both represent the false ideals of a misguided population. A life led in reverence only to that which can be gained; a sacrifice of ideals in order to defend the sanctity of a decaying value structure. Many religious communities seem to have turned away from worship of their actual gods, and are defined now by strict adherence to the prophets who have interpreted them. So too the governments of the world—who have turned away from their true purpose of protecting their state and citizens—wooed by the unscrupulous practices of corporate lobbyists who promise to redefine the national priorities.

How can these threats be rectified? If profits are not the only sufficient motivator for directing the course of society, and if prophets have proven an insufficient source of moral guidance, then where are we to turn?

If the value of profit is in what it can accomplish, and the value of prophets is in the ideals they represent, then perhaps chasing these equally-listless sources is the wrong approach entirely. Here at Brad OH Inc., we would encourage everyone to take some time to consider the foundation beneath each of these—and that is value.

What really matters to you? If you had all the profits in the world at your disposal, what would you make of them? If you could speak as a prophet to the people, what wisdom might you impart? If you are honest with yourselves, we believe you’ll find the answers are not so dissimilar. More importantly, and herein lies the essence of the issue—you may find that both profits and prophets are red-herrings, distracting us from what true happiness might already be available to us, if only we can disavow ourselves of these tired and misaligned notions.

-Brad OH Inc.

Brad OH Inc.: Resolving Issues on Demand!

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cropped-blogbanner1.jpgNow calm down. You haven’t gotten lost. We’ve redesigned the site a little, hoping to better meet the needs of our readers. One of the main motivations of this was to provide better access to the ‘Comment’ button, which you’ll now find represented by a speech-bubble directly to the right of the article title on the main blog page, or a text box at the bottom of the specific article page. You can use it right now to let us know what you think of the new look! This change is just a small example of our commitment to our dear readers, but that’s certainly not the full extent of it…

Here at Brad OH Inc., we’ve covered a lot of different topics over the years, and unquestionably solved a lot of important issues. With the ‘Under the Green Desk Lamp’ category, we’ve explored our deepest understandings of life and meaning through ‘The Metaphorical Imperative’, and also written a formal apology to our (potentially…) evil twin ‘Jeremy’.

The ‘Purely Speculation’ banner covers our exploration of all things political. Here, we’ve discussed the ‘Concept of Society’, and also did an in-depth expose on how current political trends have broader ‘Global Implications’.

Finally, our ‘Requisite Things’ topic has been used to forward our own Corporate agenda, with topics ranging from ‘Corporate Religion’ to the importance of ‘Corporate Security’.

That’s a pretty broad spread of topics we’ve put to rest, but what we here at Brad OH Inc. have been wondering is, what do you want? That’s right, today we’re reaching out to our readers, polling opinion to better understand what’s most in demand. Do you want to see more of any particular article type? Or maybe more of our ‘Single Serving Stories’? Well, for a limited time only, we’re open to your suggestions.

We have a lot of potential topics coming down the pipeline, along with some surprises totally unrelated. But being the caring and commercially motivated Corporation we are, we thought it only prudent to turn it over to you, our dear readers.

What type of article do you prefer? What key happenings would you like us to resolve for you and the rest of the world? If you have any general topic, or even a specific issue you’d like to see the infallible brain-trust at Brad OH Inc. elucidate, then leave your input in the comments via the link above. You never know…we just might answer!

-Brad OH Inc.

The Golden Goddess

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

They’re still out there. Oh, make no mistake about it; we still have our Gods and Goddesses.

It’s not religion I’m talking about. Not per se.

This is about the real Gods. The ones which move behind the scenes, the ones we actually look up to.

Gods and Goddesses abound in a place like this.

Made in his image—and all that.

I saw her with my own eyes: the Golden Goddess.

Until then, I didn’t even know I was looking for her. But passing through the supermarket, spending money to fill the void, she appeared before me at the magazine rack.

Hair flowing like spun gold, tussling over bronzed shoulders and cascading down a back arched with the pernicious poise of a predatory cat.

Her eyes shone like emeralds, gleaming with wanton hunger, and the eyebrows above were perfectly symmetrical, curved and inviting.

Her suggestive look left no room for misinterpretation.

It was only a passing glance. Then she was everywhere.

Every passing girl had touches of her within them.

All painted up in their revelations.

All decorated in their sacred garbs.

All repeating their hallowed sacraments.

All falling short.

Every man seeks her, and every woman strives to be her.

There are Gods as well.

Bound with muscles and tall as pillars, they call with different voices but similar promises. They tell you about things you’ll never achieve.

Paradise withheld—but almost attainable to the most prudent and savvy.

It’s something to strive for. At least in lieu of anything real.

They have bodies like humans, but more so. Digitally retouched beyond earthly proportions; sexual beyond human expectation.

Sex sells. It’s the most paid and prayed for thing there is.

And once you’ve known a Goddess, no earthly being comes close.

It’s happened to us all.

We chase our Goddesses, hoping to become a God.

We spend our money in pursuit of the holy ideal.

We withhold our affections for hope that our own Goddess is just around the corner—hold out, have faith.

You’ll never have one. You’ll never become one. They aren’t of this world. But for each deficit you find, you know there’s a solution down the next aisle.

Then another deficit, another product.

Flex your muscles alone in your room, hold them up to his.

Dye your hair.

Skip your meal—avoid temptation.

Push your breasts up in the mirror and let your proud shoulders fall along with them.

It can drive you mad.

But you’d have to be mad…to believe these things are real.

Yet you can’t risk giving up the chase. The rest are all so active, so close.

You can’t fall behind.

The next choice you make could get you to the Promised Land.

Who knows?

Why not?

What else is there to do?

Just keep your faith.

Just keep chasing the dream.

Just keep spending.

Maybe you’ll find her.

Maybe you’ll be him.

Maybe if you keep focussing on them, you’ll never have to see yourself.

-Brad OH Inc.

The Insidious Threat of Legacy

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

Every once in a while, something great happens. No, we’re not referring to the recently passed two year anniversary of the opening of Brad OH Inc., although we do appreciate the thought. Rather, we’re talking about the game changers—people and ideas which come along on rare occasions and totally revolutionize the way we look at the world.

This can occur in any of myriad realms of accomplishment or character. Political leaders, such as Mahatma Ghandi, religious figures such as Christ or Allah, even examples of high celebrity character—such as that of ‘The Ironman’ Lou Gehrig or ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen.

These bastions of reason and decency act as shining examples for the rest of us, and their exceptional accomplishments often enter the public consciousness in a caricaturized and—arguably—dangerous form. I’m talking of course about the concept of legacy.

When certain ideas or people reach a status significant for their effects to become lionized amongst the general public, a legacy is created. A legacy refers to an ongoing tradition; something handed down from the past, one generation to the next.

For the purposes of this article, religion is an effective tool to discuss the dangers of legacy. Avoiding arguments of merit or believability for the time being, it’s held that the teachings of Christ were passed down, and formed a legacy known as Christianity. This happened, according to religious accounts, because the divine nature of Christ allowed for him to give us teachings of truth deep enough to forever change the way people interacted and treated each other. Most of these teachings, taken in the proper context, certainly do provide valuable insights into human understanding and the ideals of human behaviour.

Unfortunately, when a person, or more importantly an idea, enters the realm of legacy, the source of the related actions or beliefs takes on a dramatic and irreparable change. This involves the motivation behind the belief.

Whether we look to religion, historical role-models, or political idealists, the initial movement is always based on current circumstances, and motivated by—arguably—noble and relevant values. However once a thing becomes legacy, the motivation for following it is divorced of the initial values, and is tied rather to a sense of hero-worship. This turns general ideas into absolute truths—often with long lists of rules and potentially terrible consequences. This is seen in the formation of religions, governments, rabid fanbases, etc., and is a dangerous precedent.

When we attribute any reason for acting to another person or set of ideals, the action becomes dogmatic, and the virtue behind it bleeds out and is lost. We become little more than automatons acting on limited and inflexible scripts.

Continuing with our example, the teachings of Christ centred primarily on peace, love, and the forgiveness of transgressions. These were noble values in their day, and could certainly stand for a resurgence in modern times. However, many followers of these teachings have lionized the source while failing entirely to grasp the values. This inevitably has led to infighting, grandiose claims, and the spread of a religion of peace at the edge of a blade. The ‘idea of the idea’ is worshipped, while the true ideals behind it are lost entirely.

Legacy is baggage—a crutch for people too concerned with their own aggrandizement to ever endeavour to discover truths of their own. It’s an insincere approach from the start, centred on the notion that having a great leader’s face on a t-shirt is sufficient to convey upon the wearer the same moral high-ground of their inspiration.

But it hasn’t really gotten us anywhere useful, has it. Everywhere we turn, we can hear one buffoon or another calling out for a return to this set of values, or this person’s teachings. Aside from very rare exceptions however, these revolutionaries are inescapably mired in their own hypocrisy, and the extent of their conviction begins and ends with reference to its source.

It’s a faulty mindset, and one that needs to change. Clinging to the successes of the past without understanding their genesis is a hopeless approach to fostering lasting change.

The great tragedy of humanity is that we continually give too much credit to the past, and too little to ourselves. If we want the world to be a better place, we need to stop seeking perfect solutions, and start living up to our ideals rather than just hoping for the right set of rules to follow. Too often we look to the example of others while turning a blind eye to the actions of ourselves. This is the fundamental danger of legacy, and this is why, with the dawning of this New Year, we here at Brad OH Inc. encourage everyone to worry a little less about who they want to be associated with, and much more about who they want to be.

-Brad OH Inc.

The Time for Giving

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cropped-blogbanner1.jpgWell, this week marked the third Christmas that we here at Brad OH Inc. have had the privilege of sharing with you all. As we sat back and pondered what we might do this year for our reader’s, our ruminations turned inevitably to our first year, when we gave you all the heartfelt gift of nothing.

It was a fine gesture indeed. Hacking through the materialistic façade of Christmas and the infernal rat-race it breeds, we cut to the chase by pointing out that because the most ideal exchange of gifts should result in relatively equal satisfaction for all (in terms of the relevance and value of the presents given and received), the surest way of achieving that was to give each other nothing. So that’s what we gave you, and we’re certain you were as happy to receive it as we were to give it.

But two years have passed since then, and just as Bob Dylan predicted, times have changed. Nothing just won’t do. Now, we know that if there’s one thing necessary to choosing the right gift, it’s a deep understanding of the recipient. So we thought we’d look back and work on figuring out what to give you by considering exactly who you are.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve covered a lot of heavy topics together: we’ve discussed the misled ideal of Job Creation, the Religious Rights of Corporations, a study of Police Responsibility, the inspiring notion of Corporate Suffrage, a question of the Decay of Language, and so very much more.

Looking back, it’s easy to feel a little down about the prospects ahead of us. In fact, we’ve heard it said on more than one occasion that the writings of Brad OH Inc. have a tendency towards the pessimistic.

I have to admit, our little Corporate hearts grew a bit heavy trying to figure out a suitable Christmas gift with such a resounding sense of doom and gloom pervading the air. After all, what do you give to people who’ve seen it all? What desire can exist in a person without hope?

We were about to give up and fall back on the age-old tradition of re-gifting. Nothing worked before, surely it would do again. But no, that just didn’t feel right.

Then we got to examining that key assumption—is Brad OH Inc. truly such a negative place? If so, it’s certainly never been our intention. It’s not our goal to tell anyone how to think, or what to feel. In truth, we can assure you that you’ll find no answers here. We only raise questions and provide opinions.

Our utmost hope is to encourage others to speak out. The cretins that run this world are a depraved and savage lot. The best of them are blithering cowards, the worst…well, they’re far worse to say the least.

But if that’s all we thought of the world, there wouldn’t be much use writing about it. If the zeitgeist of the world is set in stone, then hammering away about it on a keyboard would be little more than propaganda. We at Brad OH Inc. take these issues on because they are worthy of consideration, and because our readers—past, present, and future—are the best equipped to take these causes as their own.

Behind the rage and vitriol so inherent to the writings here at Brad OH Inc., it must be understood that there is great hope. We write because the people of this world are better than they act, and it’s up to each of them—of you—individually to turn that trend around. We believe this is possible, and will continue tirelessly to encourage the process.

So, what to get? After thinking back on all these topics, we feel it fair to say at least that we know our readers, and thus the recipients of these gifts. Our readers are crude bastards, hopeful and naive fools, artists who believe that honest self-expression is the only true art, hippy freaks who long for a return of peace and love, frustrated ideologues who are too stupid or stubborn to give up. Our readers are the bright and shining nutcases who are mad enough to imagine that the world can be better, and brave enough to stand behind this ideal even when it seems like a lost dream.

Sadly, this does mean you’ll be getting nothing again.

But this year, it comes with a caveat. It’s not about fairness, or ideal gift-exchange circumstances. It is, very purposefully, an intentional reminder. You already have everything you need.

Just don’t forget to use it.

-Brad OH Inc.

The Illusive Nature of Anger

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

Like bad weather, lying politicians, the drudgery of Monday’s, or the social benefits of Corporate ambition—anger seems to be a topic that just keeps coming around. And well it should. Anger is a powerful emotion…capable of souring relationships, perverting logic, and arousing violent and hurtful reactions in even the most respectable of people.

These days, it’s an especially prevalent feeling. There’s no end to reasonable excuses for a little bit of righteous anger. The ongoing injustices of police violence, the stripping away of rights, securities and freedoms, and the decay of our democratic processes are just the tip of the iceberg.

There is little cause for doubt—anger may be the defining emotion of our modern day.

But what I’ve really been wondering about specifically of late is that noun: emotion. Is anger really an emotion? Despite the ingrained teachings of our youth, my experiences recently have had me questioning this classification. Upon reflection, I’m inclined to believe that anger is not in fact an emotion, at least not an independent one.

More accurately, I think anger is most often a reaction. When we talk about anger, we’re most often describing a series of visible actions or results: screaming, violence, reduced reasoning skills—all of these are ubiquitous and familiar indicators of anger.

But what’s the root cause behind them?

I can think of very few—if any—examples of anger as the root cause of an anger reaction. More clearly, imagine if you will a situation in which someone might act in an angry way, with no other emotion besides anger being the cause. I don’t think this is a common occurrence. In fact, I’m not sure it happens at all.

At the root of any such anger reaction—you will consistently find other emotions acting behind the scenes. Fear, frustration, jealousy, insecurity, and guilt are just a few of the most common culprits.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, when we try to process emotions, the first and most important step is to accurately label what it is we are experiencing. When we can define and put into context what’s causing our reactions, we’re better able to process them in a rational way, and thus solve our problems.

But when we describe ourselves as ‘angry’, I would contend that we’re describing only our emotional reaction—not the root emotion. This means that while we can give due warning of the madness which we might soon engage in, we are doing very little to effectively process our experience.

Secondly, like any good biological system, emotions exist essentially to solve problems. Just as hunger tells us that it’s time to eat, or pain warns us to protect ourselves, emotions give us feedback on social or environmental situations, and heeding them is key to improving our station.

If we feel jealous, we might work to achieve the object of our desire. If we are lonely, we might reach out to others for support. But is we are simply angry—we find ourselves stuck. We know we might make a bad choice, and certainly we will view ourselves with a victim mentality, but little is done to change the situation. More often in fact, our actions when angry serve only to worsen our plight.

If we’re able to step back and examine the base causes of our anger, only then are we able to make progress towards improving our situation. People protesting police brutality and racist court rulings are angry, for certain, but owning that emotion alone will get us precisely nowhere. Behind this anger lies fear, betrayal, a sense of isolation and injustice, and most importantly I believe—disappointment.

The world right now is an especially disappointing place, and it’s terribly rare to find examples of people—particularly those in power—living up to our expectations. Decency is something all but the most cynical of us were raised to expect. The basic decency of our fellow-humans might even feel like a natural right. But if so, it’s one long neglected.

And so as we watch banks get bailed out, workers forced into slave-like conditions for unlivable wages, the militarization of the police, and the complicit ignorance of the media, we may certainly feel angry. Perhaps even a good bit of rage. But it’s important to step back from this, and remember that there are many wheels turning behind the machinations of our fury.

We must expect better from people. But in the midst of our vehement objections, it is imperative that we remember its true cause. People, we believe, are fundamentally better than they are acting. No matter how angry this might make us, we must remember in the end to demand not an end to our anger alone, but a return to the days where we could rightly expect the best of each other.

-Brad OH Inc.

‘Of Pipers and Pigs’ Published on GonzoToday

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cropped-blogbanner1.jpgWell, we have some exciting new today for all our fans here at Brad OH Inc. One of our ‘Single Serving Stories’, ‘Pipers and Pigs’, is now up for viewing on the incredible new site, Gonzotoday!

A direct link to this publication can be found here: ‘Of Pipers and Pigs’ on GonzoToday.

Gonzotoday is a new group dedicated to the creation and celebration of new age Gonzo Journalism; carrying on the admirable tradition of the late great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson in bringing the world stories of heavy import and sincere meaning wrapped in the rage and vitriol inherent to writers with open eyes.

The site has a lot of fantastic work on offer, so be sure to visit at Gonzotoday.com.

One thing you’re sure to notice upon your visit to this publication of ‘Of Pipers and Pigs’ is the incredible new artwork, conceived and created by the divine talents of the staff over at GonzoToday.

This is a serious change from our standard fare. If you’ve taken the time to peruse our selection of ‘Single Serving Stories’ in the past, you’ve probably noticed that the cover art for each sits somewhere between childish-cute and insultingly unbearable. Well, it’s true—the pencil-necked nitwit we have working in the art department at the moment is something of a pariah around the office, and achieved his position only by merit of dubious references and claims of knowing Brad OH.

Needless to say, his contract negotiation skills far outshine his prowess in the art department, but with a little time, we’re certain that the Corporate Efficiency Streamlining process will forecast the end of this sad little dweeb in no time.

Ahem…

Anyways, that’s enough ranting for now. Today is a day to celebrate after all, and what better way of doing that than swinging by Gonzotoday and reading ‘Of Pipers and Pigs’, or any of the other fine pieces available there?

-Brad OH Inc.

A Formal Tour of Brad OH Inc.

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cropped-blogbanner1.jpgHello out there to our fine fans from everyone here at Brad OH Inc. Today, we thought we’d take the time to provide you with a formal tour of the place. After all, we know that fans of Brad OH Inc. hail from around the globe, and come from all walks of life and educational backgrounds. So if some of you can’t figure out how to use the navigation tools provided, or pale at the thought of exploring the page options on the top menu bar, we understand.

It’s our duty, as the responsible corporate entity we are, to ensure that even the simplest among you have the information necessary to get the most from your time here at Brad OH Inc.

Let’s start off with the (semi)weekly posts. Now, these posts, made most often each Sunday, are meant to be pretty straight-forward, and are even tagged under a variety of headings to allow a sense of the theme or topic right from the get-go. But that might be a little intellectually demanding for some of our less cerebral fans out there, so let’s just go ahead and outline the various post categories, and what exactly they are meant to represent:

(Note: You can click on the title of each category below to go straight to a list of all posts made in that category. This can also be done at any time via the little drop down menu directly to the right marked, ‘Post Categories’.)

Under the Green Desk Lamp:

‘Under the Green Desk Lamp’ is a regular feature here on Brad OH Inc. This category is the place for any sort of random musings to come off the reporting desks here at Brad OH Inc., and may cover such varied topics as philosophy, society, media, music, etc.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the articles of ‘Under the Green Desk Lamp’ are not necessarily the views and opinions of Brad OH Inc.

Purely Speculation:

‘Purely Speculation’ is a series dedicated to facilitating conversation on key political issues. It’s an open forum for Brad OH Inc. contributors to voice their opinions on any matter associated with political direction–ranging from economic systems to globalization. Each article is meant to stand separately, and it’s the hope of everyone at Brad OH Inc. that these myriad opinions lead to some productive debate among the readers here at Brad OH Inc.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the articles of ‘Purely Speculation’ are not necessarily the views and opinions of Brad OH Inc.

Requisite Things:

‘Requisite Things’ covers all functional topics here at Brad OH Inc. (just like this one). This is an opportunity for all of us here at Brad OH Inc. to address the reader directly, without the fanciful obfuscations inherent to ‘creative liberty’ and ‘artistic license’.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the articles of ‘Requisite Things’ are the express property of, and directly reflect the views and opinions of everyone here at Brad OH Inc.

That covers the basic categories for our weekly posts, but there’s more than that on offer here at Brad OH Inc. Along the top of the blog, just under our stylish Corporate banner, you’ll see a menu with several different options on it. The first two (‘Home’ and ‘About Brad OH Inc.’) should be pretty self-explanatory. If not, we very much doubt we can help you in understanding, as any efforts on our part would inevitably be suffocated under the crippling weight of your own illiteracy.

As for the other two menu options, these will take you to separate pages within the Brad OH Inc. blog, each dedicated to some of the bigger projects coming down the pipe from the contributors here at Brad OH Inc.

They are as follows:

(Note: You can click on the title of each page below to go straight to that page.)

Novels:

This is where you will find the novels currently underway here at Brad OH Inc. While all are currently in various states of completion, you can read about the general premise at this time, as well as view the gorgeous cover art for each.

Single Serving Stories:

Brad OH Inc. is proud to be able to offer its fans quick, accessible reads. Who’s never arrived home from a long days work, looked at their dusty TV screen, their tired old I-pod, or their unaffectionate spouse and thought- ‘You know, what I need is a nice short story.’

Well, we heard you! This page is a place to keep track of all the short stories released here at Brad OH Inc. Feel free to browse, download, and share. Indeed, we live in a world of single serving meals, soaps, relationships and sincerity, so why not crack open a single serving story and enjoy yourself?

Each and every ‘Single Serving Story’ can be downloaded directly to your computer from the links provided at the end of the descriptions. This will take you to ‘SmashWords’, a free online publishing site. From there, you can choose your format and download completely free. We recommend PDF, but there are other options as well. All stories are completely free of charge.

Finally, a few other tools exist to help you get the most out of your time here at Brad OH Inc. On the right, directly under the ‘Post Categories’ drop-down explained above, you’ll find a couple of options to help you keep in touch with us here at Brad OH Inc.

Firstly, you can click to sign up to the blog. This option will provide e-mail notifications whenever a new post is made, ensuring you’ll never miss a story.

Secondly, you can opt to follow our official fan-page on Facebook, which will provide updates for all posts and happenings related to Brad OH Inc.

The Gravatar profile provides a bit more information on this writer, while the ‘My Books on Goodreads’ link provides access to the Goodreads profile for all published works from Brad OH Inc.

Well, that about sums it up folks—a comprehensive tour of everything we have on offer here at Brad OH Inc. Hopefully this helps you get the most out of your time here, because if your lack of understanding keeps you from realizing just what an excellent service we provide, then our product doesn’t grow, and that means we just aren’t doing our jobs. So familiarize yourself with the site, and spread the word—it is the first Central Commandment of the ‘Corporate Religion of Brad OH Inc.’, after all.

-Brad OH Inc.

The Trial of Puff the Magic Dragon

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Under the Green Desk Lamp…

Green Desklamp

Puff the Magic Dragon—Marijuana menace, or allegory for the temporal nature of youthful innocence? This is the topic we’ll be exploring here today at Brad OH Inc.

Since the song was recorded in 1963 by the folk group ‘Peter, Paul, and Mary’ it has been the subject of much heated debate. On the surface, the song tells the tale of a fictional dragon—Puff—and a little boy—Jackie Paper—who comes to visit him in the land of Honah-Lee. Together, the pals frolic about, experiencing wonderful childish adventures together and forming a lifelong bond.

According to critics however, this fun little song is more than it appears—for underneath the playful tune and heartfelt lyrics lingers a threat so insidious and vile, it threatens to shake the very foundations of our dear society.

That’s right; we’re talking about the reefer.

Now, here at Brad OH Inc. we aren’t inclined to pass judgement on anything which doesn’t directly harm people save by the enforcement of its restriction; but moral judgements are beside the point here. The question we seek to answer is exactly this: is ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ really a subversive allegory for drug use, or is it simply the story of innocence lost which it purports to be?

Let’s consider the evidence. Critics of the song claim that the words ‘Puff’ and ‘Paper’ are overt references to ‘puffing on a joint’—a marijuana cigarette rolled in, you guessed it, paper! Further, the ‘autumn mist’ referred to in the song is accepted as a clear reference to either marijuana smoke or a general drug-induced state. Finally, the word ‘dragon’ sounds a lot like ‘dragging’, a term for inhaling from a joint. Together, these observations are said to support the notion that the song is indeed a secret love song to the society-destroying problem of pot.

Pretty shaky evidence if you ask me, but let’s consider the other side of the coin for a minute. If this song isn’t about smoking pot, as can potentially be extrapolated from approximately four words contained within it, then just what the heck is it about?

Well, if we are to be so bold as to interpret the song literally—based on the entirety of the words in it and the story they form when put in order, then the song is about something much less dangerous—although perhaps a lot more scary.

‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ is, if taken literally, about the death of imagination. Throughout the majority of the song, Puff and his human friend Jackie experience countless adventures travelling around Honah-Lee. Near the end of the song however, the lyrics reveal a strange and terrible twist:

“Dragons live forever, but not so little boys,

Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys,

One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more,

And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.”

What has happened here, exactly? Well, if we are to take the lines as literal, then we are hearing about how the young Jackie Paper has outgrown his childish fantasies, and stopped daydreaming about the imaginary dragon of his youth. The rest of the song continues, telling about Puff’s overwhelming grief at having lost his friend, and retiring sadly into his cave.

If the song truly is about drugs however, these lines take on a far more sombre tone. Jackie Paper moving on from Puff—taken to mean his use of marijuana—and onto ‘other toys’ might imply Jackie falling into harder drugs; a harsh warning of the potential for marijuana to act as a ‘gateway drug’. The remainder of the song, this being the case, would describe, I suppose, how sad Puff/ Pot is that Jackie Paper no longer partakes.

It’s a strange image, to say the least.

So what are we to conclude? How shall we interpret these abysmal accusations? Is ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ a simple song about growing up, or a veiled glorification of Marijuana and other drugs?

Well, the evidence is circumstantial at best, and moreover seems to have been gleaned from the song with the pointed desperation of an addict crawling the carpet in search of dropped narcotics. Dim-witted word-associations form the thrust of the argument, with no attention paid to context, narrative, or stated intention (song writer Peter Yarrow has expressed repeatedly that the song was written with no hidden meanings).

But maybe that’s the point. There’s no shortage of irony in the fact that a song about the loss of innocence is plagued to this day by hair-brained nitwits trying to find illicit intentions behind something innocent and good. Rather, it’s the leitmotif of a society driven to find that darkness—raised to be suspicious of anything with pure intentions.

Puff is most certainly just a dragon. Sadly however, until people give up their steadfast determination to darken the world around them with hysterical hatred and paranoia, he will remain a dragon under self-imposed isolation, grieving for better times.

And what of these fiends so desperate for someone to vilify that they would make effigy of a beloved childhood image? Who can they pin their hopes on if not Puff, where can they find the satisfactions of conspiracy and blame they so desperately desire?

I don’t know. Go ask Alice…

-Brad OH Inc.