Random Stuff I Posted on LJ, part one – Chant Hare Krishna
A few years ago, I kept a blog on Live Journal. In fact, I still cross post many of my entries there. During that time, I posted many things I wrote for sitproperly.com, daily happenings and other realizations. I also posted a whole MESS of random weirdness. From Chant Hare Krishna reminders to messed up little comic strips. From recipes to wacky Ebay finds.
And in a pointless attempt to consolidate my online life, I present for you a new six(ish) part series: Random Stuff I Posted on LJ! During 2004 -2006, the ISKCON & Beyond on LJ was pretty big. It was a nice community where everyone generally got along. These folks were solely responsible for keeping me in practice. They were encouraging, supportive, helpful and just wonderful people.
In turn, I graced them with one of my only good qualities: Randomness.
I have a love for the surreal.
And so my first installment of RSIPLJ gives you… Chant Hare Krishna!
We all need to be reminded sometimes to chant. Our mind wanders, our life ebbs and flows like the tidal waters of tiny inlets near an ocean and generally we’re human (or mostly).
So when I came across this patch on Ebay, I was tickled to near leaving the body.
This came out of the punk scene in the waning years of the Krishnacore period. Isn’t is marvelous?
Now, some folks don’t get it. And that’s ok. We are all different, unique parts and parcels. However, it inspired me. A lot. I followed suit. I walked in the footsteps, so to speak. I did what I do best… I took it too far. But the key is – I did it randomly!
My first exercise into this fold was not a Chant Hare Krishna parody. It was a parody of “Andre the Giant Has a Posse.”
I’m not exactly sure where it came from. Again, it’s random. But I felt that while Andre the Giant may indeed have a posse, Srila Prabhupada’s was better.
Indeed.
And then I got to thinking of other parodies that I could do. But then I stopped thinking about that and started working on a short “comic strip” parody of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, aptly titled “Bhakta Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” (that’s coming soon, don’t you worry).
My parody of that involved Bhakta Cowboy Curtis, in the end… well, I don’t want to give away the exciting conclusion… but in the end, Bhakta Cowboy Curtis strikes a memorable pose from which anyone at all could derive “Chant Hare Krishna.”
But for those who couldn’t…
I wanted to do a bigger version, but I think I used this for my LJ Icon. Other icons followed…
The right one is from the famous Lost TV show. The left one is from the famous Christian Chick Tracts that feature God as a faceless dude in a robe sitting on a rather expensive toilet.
Then it hit me. We are fallen jivas. We fell down from the spiritual sky because we wanted to be Krishna. We wanted to be the meanest, the prettiest, the baddest mofo low downs around this town. In short… we wanted to be “da mastah.” And what better embodiment of that original sin than Shonuff the Shogun of Harlem?
Shonuff thought he was the meanest, the prettiest, the baddest mofo low down around this town. He thought *he* was Da Mastah! But, actually, it was not the famous Shonuff, the Shogun of Harlem who was Da Master. Oh no. Da Master is the Holy Name! So, dear Shonuff, please take this Holy Name and chant! Your life will be sublime!
Now, there was no way to really out do my Shonuff parody. And I’ll admit, my final few forays into this genre are weak and predictable. I thought I’d use a tried and true symbol of true randomness. Next up… the famous “Indian dude on a motorcycle.” Let’s give it up for him!
It didn’t go over as well as I had hoped. Too predictably random? I mean, who hasn’t used the old “Indian dude on a motorcycle” before?
And like everything that went on for far too long, there was a Christmas Special. I had reservations about doing it. I mean, a parody of my own parody? This could signal the end of the world. You know, real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from their graves. Cats and dog living together… mass hysteria!
But I digress to bring you the famous It’s a Very Chant Hare Krishna Christmas:
That is when I knew it was over. At that moment, I knew that parody had become parody. That random had become predictable.
And so with one final blow, one final kick in the crotch to all things keeping us from chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, I squeaked out one more… and “forever” hung up my sandals.
That’s right, I finished with an icon. Weren’t expecting that, huh? Didn’t think so.
And thank you for somehow making it to the end of the first installment of Random Stuff I Posted On LJ Part One. Stay in school, say “no” to drugs, Chant Hare Krishna and Staaaaaaaaaaaay Demented!
