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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Market
Image by Boogies with Fish
www.messersmith.name/wordpress/2010/04/15/a-funny-thing-h...
In reality, nothing at all funny happened on the way to the market this morning. I was just stuck for a title. In fact, my blood was set on a slow boil. I hate it that there's only one reasonable path by which I can reach the market. I could go out of my way to get there, but I just don't have the time nor am I inclined to do so.
Therefore, every time I go to the market, I have to pass monsters such as this slug who calls himself a human: If you click to enlarge and you can read Tok Pisin, you will see that he claims that his "medicine" can cure, among a host of other diseases, HIV/AIDS and TB. He is selling tickets to the graveyard and suckers so uneducated and steeped in the nonsense that if it's "traditional" then it must be good are buying those tickets and climbing aboard the Death PMV.
I'm not even going to bother to go into all the reasons why this is so wrong. You either know it or you don't.
Here's another guy who will kill you for a few bucks: I shouldn't even bother blurring their faces, because they should be publicly shamed. However, a new windscreen for my car is more than I can afford to risk to expose their identities. Anybody can find out easily who they are. Just go to the market.
I know that it's useless for me to nag about this. Nobody but me seems to care. Nobody cares that these people kill more humans in PNG than all of the criminals and silly tribal warfare put together. And, they do it for money.
Okay, that's enough rage for the moment. Let's move on to something happier. I shot this panorama and Zoomified it for you so that you can see the details:As you can see, if you're familiar with the market, there are several new morota roofed buildings to make shady places for the vendors. This is one of the few genuine improvements which I have seen in Madang for some time. Everything else is falling apart. In another decade the whole town will go back to bush if we don't get competent governance.
Before we leave the market I'll show you The Soap Lady: She makes her soap at home. It must be pretty good soap, because she always seems to have a brisk business. I very much admire this kind of spirit. Many people could do much better than they are if they would only search out ideas which can provide a modest, but steady income and forget about the "get rich" schemes that never work. I hope she gets rich selling soap, but I don't think that that is in the cards. If she puts food on the table for her family by the work of her own hands she will be doing better than most.
I can't leave today without showing you The Deadly Wires: This is about a third of all of them that I had to sort out the other day. The red bottle is metal polish for my Harley, which I never seem to have time to ride. I want to sell it, but Eunie won't let me.
Oh, one more thing. Talking about the market got me hungry. I want to show you what I call The Blue Cheese Sea Squirt (Eudistoma gilboviride): Doesn't that look tasty?
We All Fall Down Like Toy Soldiers
Image by Trevor Manternach
R.I.P. Proof.
"Step by step, heart to heart, left right left
We all fall down...
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart, left right left
We all fall down like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win
But the battle wages on for toy soldiers
[Verse 1]
I'm supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure
Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
I am never supposed to show it, my crew ain't supposed to know it
Even if it means goin' toe to toe with a Benzino it don't matter
I'd never drag them in battles that I can handle unless I absolutely have to
I'm supposed to set an example
I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em
If some shit ever just pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em
Now Ja said "I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it"
There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it
I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it
It was crazy, this shit be way beyond some Jay-z and Nas shit
And even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it
I spent too much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted
And I'm so caught in it I almost feel I'm the one who caused it
This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, it's not why I got in it
That was never my object for someone to get killed
Why would I wanna destroy something I help build
It wasn't my intentions, my intentions was good
I went through my whole career without ever mentionin' suge
Now it's just out of respect for not runnin' my mouth
And talkin' about something that I knew nothing about
Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef
So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth
While he's all over t.v. down talkin' a man who literally saved my life
Like fuck it i understand this is business
And this shit just isn't none of my business
But still knowin' this shit could pop off at any minute cuz
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
There used to be a time when you could just say a rhyme
And wouldn't have to worry about one of your people dyin'
But now it's elevated cuz once you put someone's kids in it
The shit gets escalated, it ain't just words no more is it?
It's a different ball game, callin' names and you ain't just rappin'
We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin'
Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him
And asked him not to start it he wasn't gonna go after him
Until Ja started yappin' in magazines how we stabbed him
Fuck it 50 smash 'em, mash 'em and let him have it
Meanwhile my attention is pullin' in other directions
Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk
Has an erection for me and thinks that I'll be his ressurection
Tries to blow the dust off his mic and make a new record
But now he's fucked the game up cuz one of the ways I came up
Was through that publication the same one that made me famous
Now the owner of it has got a grudge against me for nothin'
Well fuck it, that mutherfucker can get it too, fuck him then
But I'm so busy being pissed off I don't stop to think
That we just inherited 50's beef with Murder Inc.
And he's inherited mine which is fine ain't like either of us mind
We still have soldiers that's on the front line
That's willing to die for us as soon as we give the orders
Never to extort us, strictly to show they support us
We'll maybe shout 'em out in a rap or up in a chorus
To show them we love 'em back and let 'em know how important it is
To have Runyan Avenue soldiers up in our corners
Their loyalty to us is worth more than any award is
But I ain't tryna have none of my people hurt and murdered
There ain't words that I can't think of a perfecter way to word it
Then to just say that I love ya'll too much to see the virdict
I'll walk away from it all before I let it go any further
But don't get it twisted, it's not a plea that I'm coppin'
I'm just willin' to be the bigger man
If ya'll can quit poppin' off at your jaws with the knockin'
Cuz frankly I'm sick of talkin'
I'm not gonna let someone elses coffin rest on my conscience cuz
[Chorus]"
Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers
