the first lines of manifesto

I think I've actually written several manifestos in my life. Ya, I take myself way to seriously, and each time they turn out a little different. I remember in one I swore before God and angels that I would never own a fancy car, or a mini-van. That I would always be a punk rocker. That's funny, cuz I never really was a punk rocker, I just though I looked like one for about three years. And because I inherited some Dead Kennedy tapes from my aunt. From then on I would spend all my allowance on spike bracelets and music I thought a punk should own. After my time in the Dominican Republic (two years as a mormon missionary) I mellowed out a bit and gave up art as a career option and started in on anthropology. I don't think I will ever give up on the idea of creating art, I just didn't want to have to make money doing it. This whole barefoot anthropology thing came to me in a Nancy Scheper-Hughs article assigned to me in a theory class. She suggested that anthropologists might consider actually caring for those with whom they work. It turns out I don't actually want to make money doing anything, so living like a peasant is quite appealing to me, without all the socio-political disadvantages of course ( I am a romantic remember). There's always exploitation in time clocks no matter who is punching them so why not live without them, pretty simple I thought. So below are some points on which life may seem less mysterious and perilous. Not even close to what I have in scores of moleskin journals, but its a start.

anyways here goes:

1. I want to write, no matter how horrible or boring or serious I get.

2. I want to photograph, my soul has never been as warm as it has been looking into the eyes of a brand new photograph which I created with the help of technology (which I grudgingly thank at times).

3. I want to live beautifully, and as E.F. Schumacher believes Small is Beautiful. So whatever that means I hope I can make it happen, though I am notoriously distracted by large tracks of land in the country and Spanish architecture.

4. Music

5. I was born Mormon, but I struggle with organized religion like a cow thrown in a lake. But if I can just live as closely to the Sermon on the Mount as possible I think I'll be ok. (Tolstoy and Vonnegut may agree).

6. I want to be able to call my community a village, for whatever romantic reasons, community appeals to me, all though I am hopelessly misanthropic, I hope its just a phase, it's been one of my longer ones I hate to admit, and I'm pretty sure I can trace its roots back to a period of Kurt Cobain worship that hit just after puberty.

to be continued...