Andys Adventures in the USA (and Canada)
Writings on Taoism
The wealth of your Self cannot be measured in pounds
True Love doesn't appear when you sleep around
Respect isn't gained just cos you gained ground
Open your heart and these things will be found
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
The woes of the World stem from preservation of self
The pursuit of riches in material wealth
but the Real Riches are already there in your heart
In the end you finish with what you start
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
The way of The Truth is not hard to find
You do nothing more than just clear your mind
The beauty of All is there to find
Give up yourself and let your light shine
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
Your material riches are just an illusion
Real Love is the title, contents and conclusion
If you chase the shadows you will miss the prize
In the race feel the Now and don't look behind
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
Be the Truth, don't live a lie
It's the only thing you take when you die
If you stay on the ground you will learn to fly
If you weigh yourself down you will fall from the sky
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
How can you learn when you cannot see?
How can you be happy if you cannot Be?
How can you run when you cannot stand?
Happiness and Truth walk in hand-in-hand
Andy 2002
Writings on Taoism
Forget what you've learnt, your knowledge is weak
Wisdom is spoken by He Who Does Not Speak
The Tao is the teaching that you cannot teach
True Wisdom that the Meek alone will reach
Andy 2002
Today I've been so busy with my own shit, and frankly too lazy to type anything of entertainment, that I've decided to leave it to my sexually overactive cousin Pete (By overactive I mean he acts as though he has sex a little too much but not actually ever with any women) to write the whole thing. He's proven himself to be a bit of a genius lately, despite having passed all his exams. Take it away Pete...
head
ahh...I attended an Abbey National Corporate Cocksucking Conference today at the Kensington Hilton and sat next to this gorgeous Hanna bird...
I soo wanted to stroke her. My head is splattered. I wanna get to know London more, get to know a dozen cultures and languages; I've been in love with languages for ages and have recently fallen in love with (my friend and his) culture and cultures in general. I wanna be a UN ambassador and mediate conflicts between places like Iran and Belfast, speaking rapid Irish to the bloke on my right and then turning head to Farsi to the bloke on my left and explaining to them that they both have a great clubbing scene and that is perhaps something that they could use as common ground and then save the world from the brink of war. And then donate a few years' income to helping end third world debt. Corporations are great, sometimes; today's Lessons in Head were great, cos instead of being wired up to Head Office's Indoctrination machine, we played games and role plays and did acting and shit and all 70 of us white menopausal women (39-61 years of age, average 2 children, 1.5 marriages, 2.3 homes, 2 mortgages, 3 savings accounts) danced to 'Reach' by S Club in the name of the holy Abbey National. It was great. The only thing I don't understand is how corporations can sit there drinking espresso coffee, the beans of which were handpicked by sexually abused slaves in Peru and Colombia, wearing leather suedes (me too) and fur coats (made from the real skin of tortured animals), discussing how to improve customer service so as to raise profits by the target 6.7% whilst millions of third-world citizens are worried about where their next fucking meal/cup of drinking water is coming from ro whether some fucknut is gonna rape them because he, through the misguidance of voodoo doctors, is under the impression that raping a young virgin female will cure him of HIV. Deepa, my beloved Malaysian sister says that if we all gave 10% of our earnings to help third world poverty, there would be none in several years' time. At this scabby rate, it's gonna take longer than it does for George Bush to fucking tell the time in a fucking watchmaker's. What the fuck am I gonna DO?
I have all this shit inside my head which has recently begun to grow even more exponentially (?) than usual. Not gonna waste your time shitting it all out, cos I need to sleep too, actually, but rush hour culture? Culturally diverse London/cultural integration/international social integration/environmental awareness/animal rights/human rights. Help! There's about 80 years left in my life, if I lay off the fags, weed, booze and get (more) sex (any at all will do nicely)...can it be done? Not sure, actually, no way, on my own, that's dumb, but what can I start/catalyse/what exisiting things can I boost/kickstart that will maybe make this dream (?) feasible?
peace
and love
I did offer him the chance to air his own opinion in the personals section and get me back for all the public abuse he has got from me over the last 2 weeks but he declined so I decided to do it myself...
Personals
Andy - You're a fucking cunt! Stop patronising me, you fucking bastard, actin like you're my fucking big brother or somethin you cock! Don't you think I've got enough of an inferiority complex because of my tiny manhood and the fact that I still haven't got laid yet!? Stop fucking taking the piss out of me just cos I'm going through puberty and hence have to copiously masturbate all the time and talk about girls - I bet you don't even know what it's like. cunt.
My mate went to the States and all I got was this lousy yank talking about London...
Quantumgirl I'd like your knickers soon
The fairies again told me to write this tune
You don't like London what is wrong with you?
Maybe it's cos you see it by the moon
London by day's a magnificent sight
Open your mouth, inhale and take a bite
The smog, aint it great? Not as bad in Delhi
Hell yeah my city is dirty and smelly
It's those smells and sounds that make her great
It's a delicate blend of sights and taste
The free and easy access to science and art
London my love, my life and my heart
Andy 2002
V – This is a follow-up to the spontaneous outburst on Britney Spears that I mailed you in a previous life. Today, I have perhaps written the single most amazing work of my life. But you may never see it.
Horrific Attack on Britney Spears part 2
Now I know why Eminem’s so pissed
That Britney Spears is a talentless bitch
I could write her shit when I take a wizz
I’m doin it now and she’s in showbiz
”So other than that why’s she get your goat?”
Cos with that bitch it aint about songs but blowin your load
The kids all love her cos she looks like a slag
like a teenybop, underage, pop-idol wank mag
That Barbie-doll bitch don’t deserve a deal
she can’t fuckin sing and her tits aint real
ask to “do it again” and I just might pass
Britney Spears can kiss my arse
Andy 2002
Smug...
Really this column is just an excuse to write the personals at this end which, thanks to all the wicked stories I been gettin from you bitches, has got to be one of the funniest ever. I've decided to do an extra long personals section today just to piss someone off as well. You know who you are.
So just to make it worthwhile as a column, I'll take a very British approach and start by talking about the weather for a bit to fool you into thinking I'm actually writing a column and not just slagging you off.
Yes I know how much you guys love it when I talk about the weather over here (and here was me slating someone for saying the same thing to everyone...) but how can I not talk about it when the Sun is out every day, the sand is bone dry and the beaches are this nice?! It's damn good weather, outside is perhaps hmm 27 or 28 degrees but with no cloud cover it's a hazard walking outside most days.
I mean even with my yellow-asbestos, sunburn-proof skin even I run the grave risk of getting a very good tan indeed. Hell I go out for about half an hour a day in a T-shirt and shorts then I have to go back indoors cos if I stay out too long I'll turn as brown as a poo.
...and on that note, now onto the menu of the day
Personals
Cez - How dare you choose Chile over America? Bitch! Anyone would think you fancy Rick more than me! What has he got that I haven't other than his long red beard and being your boyfriend? Sulk sulk sulk. You have every reason to be panaroid as well, not because of what I said, but because you're probably gonna realise just how much you fancy me when you finally do track down the gay porn pictures I took and posted on the web.
Lou - Cheers for the mail bitch always a pleasure to here from you and I'll make it extra special funny so your sister breaks her waters early. You and Trish know a thing or two about cults, got any tips where to find them? I doubt I've got enough time this time around though to be fair, but I'll pay em a flyin visit (ha! Flyin' visit! Cult! Geddit?!) when I'm passin through in my spaceship. Don't forget to check out the archives as well because I've been writing so much that this thingy has had to archive it, but if you get through the 20,000 odd (yes that's 20,000 odd as opposed to 20,000-odd) words then take a look at my mate Matt's blogspot on http://spinningchairs.blogspot.com and pay particular attention to the one about James Rough which is legendary writing in my humble opinion.
Matt -
You yourself are a flawed genius, much like the internationally renowned impotence commercial star, Pele
Moola - I've decided to add value to your investment by NOT printing it up on this website today. Or ever. It's yours and just for you to keep. Use the force bro. Oh yeah I wouldn't have touched Rebecca with a twelve foot prong! That look though! I actually fell off my chair!
Ants - I'm not gonna give you a personal this time just to piss you off.
Slit - I will try and tape the kung fu ladies-only volleyball if it comes on again - it was SO fucking amazing that I don't think you can truly say you've lived until you have seen this. I don't think you realise quite what I mean when I say this. It was the single most amazing thing I've seen from watching TV ever. This is the reason the TV was invented.
V - I'm afraid I don't believe that the wart-biter bush cricket exists because it is FAR too funny and anything with a funny name is doomed to extinction as has been proven time and again in history. Take for example the Dodo and the Euplocephallus and all the other phalluses that lived in the Triassic period and I think you will find that your department is actually playing a very cruel joke on you.
Z - Isn't it about time you got out of B+B and started going to B+Bs in O to the Zee? You know what I mean, I'm not being mean, just don't want you wasting away on the banking scene.
Yeah baby looks like we got the full A-Z here! Man I'm good...
Andy 2002
You're skilled manipulation of the English language, is like the dextrous and silky passing down at the Valley
And like Alan Curbishley's Charlton Athletic Football Club from South London
The stuttering and posturing of your prose is always in abundance
But keep on writing because practice will in time lead to perfection
Never mind if you require pills to maintain an erection
You are a great humour writer but perhaps in search of direction
I look forward with baited breath to a compilation of your collection
Personals
Ants - Here's your fucking personal you cunt! You can kiss my arse you piece of shit! Is this what you wanted? Well you've got it you miserable waste of space. You're so ugly, face like my arsehole it's no wonder you're now self-employed! I wouldn't let you clean my toilets, as you'd only pull the handle off and lock yourself in! I know what you mean by self-employed anyway – it’s what I call myself too, cos I haven’t got a girlfriend either! What the fuck do you mean you're catering for loads of people!?! You have one guest round and fucking burn the one thing you're cooking you bloody imbecile! As for coming round your house when I get back you can shove your new speakers up your arse (or give them to me - you know you want to) cos it's you I'm really gonna come and see. And I'll probably kill you.
There that's made up for all the abuse you didn't receive before hasn't it?
Microsoft
I’ve become obsessed with Bill Gates. Anyone who knows me knows how long it takes me to read a book because I have an attention span like a strobe light – it turns off and on quickly and doesn’t last that long. I take books and read about 3 at a time but at a speed that takes as long as it takes most people to read 10 books. Twice. I’m too busy having fun to sit down and read ok! I guess that’s why I done so shit in uni, because I can’t be expected to sit and read one book all day. I would have done better if I took 3 degrees over 10 years at the same time I guess.
I’ve been reading Gates’ sorta-biography in which he predicts the future Nostradamus-style. I could only afford the 1996 edition though, so I’m actually reading about what’s already happened in the past but in the future tense, an experience similar to reading that paedophiles work, Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the fantastic 2001 then went to Sri Lanka to abuse children. Allegedly. The guy was a physicist and a great writer but not all physicists have ALL his attributes although I’ll confess to having 2 of his talents. No officer it’s Bags you want to put the handcuffs on. I’m an innocent man.
Mister William H. Gates III is a comedian. He doesn’t intend to be a funny man, after all he is a techie and physically unable to aspire to these things (Yes this is a crack aimed at Big H, C++ and Moola) but is nonetheless very amusing in his own way. In the same way that Mr Clarke brings shame to all physicists, Mr Gates should have you boys hanging your heads in shame. Okay then maybe it’s not exactly the same way…
Billy grew up in Seattle, where he met Paul Allen, with whom he later co-founded Microsoft and he fondly recalls that the two had much in common:
”I was fortunate. I grew up in a family that encouraged children to ask questions. And I was lucky in my early teens to become friends with Paul Allen. Soon after I’d met Paul, we had a conversation about gasoline. I’d been curious about it, and I wanted to know exactly how it was that gasoline could power a car. I’d found a book on the subject, but it was confusing. Gasoline was one of the subjects Paul understood, and he explained it to me in a way that made it interesting and understandable. You could say that my curiosity about gasoline fuelled our friendship.”
I don’t know about you but I’m rolling around clutching my sides! I may be a master of most forms of comedy, but this guy is the undisputed king of geekstick humour. The way he built it up making it sound innocently like a story of his life, you never even saw the killer line on the horizon until he had dropped it. He doesn’t emphasise the punchline either with an exclamation mark, which a lesser man would, he just drops it casually and nonchalantly as if the delivery of the killer blow was as natural to him as programming in byte code. This man is an absolute comedy genius a fact that should have brought him fame long before whatever it was that finally did. Erm Windows or something wasn’t it?
If you still need convincing of this mans humoural integrity, and intrinsic and natural flair for geekstick humour, turn to page 12 in which he describes the time he found himself in a classroom full of girls where he was the only guy:
”It was hard to tear myself away from the machine”
Need I say more? I think I will anyway! Having delivered this sucker punch, Gates has you in his sights and when you turn over to page 14 he takes off the gloves and knocks you clean out with the following:
”We [Paul and he of course] did figure out a way to use the little chip to power a machine that could analyse information counted by traffic monitors on city streets. Many municipalities measured traffic flow by stringing a rubber hose over a selected street. When a car crossed the hose, it punched a paper tape inside a metal box at the end of the hose. We saw that we could use the 8008 to process these tapes, to print out statistics and graphs. We called our first company “Traf-O-Data”. We thought the name was sheer poetry.”
Ha!!!!! If I hadn’t warned you would you have seen that comin’?! I think not! Again, his control of the reader is impeccable, pretending to struggle to hold their attention with seemingly mundane writing whilst actually building up to a dambusting climax is awesome.
But it seems that all geniuses are flawed (except me of course) as we have seen with the writer of 2001 whose flaw was that he was a physicist.
Gates’ genius will perhaps never be appreciated because of his major flaws i.e. he is a megalomaniac and a programmer, but for the briefest of moments I implore you to step back and take Mr Gates into your heart and see that beneath the Microsoft empire lies the greatest comedian the world has ever known.
Shee-yat! My wordmachine is on fire today!
So get on your knees bitches and pray for my ass
I don’t wanna lose it, it was built to last
It’s only this >.< big but it’s pretty cute
And without it how the hell am I gonna poo?
Cheers in advance and this one’s for you
Song of the day number 2
Kid from the other side
I’m the one kid you know from the other side of the tracks
I should be looking forward but I keep looking back
I’m running away but I’m still holding on
And one of these days I’m gonna be gone
Now I’m not on this side and I’m not on yours
Your riches seem to me like distant shores
If I’m on neither platform I must be on the tracks
And when the train comes along I’m gonna go *Splat*
But death to me is real and to you is fake
Up in your tower watchin Ricki Lake
No-one Ever Really Dies, you believe it’s true
But one day, Mr Death’s gonna jump on you
Andy 2002
Jay this is for you bro cos I know you love the lyrics…
The Masked Avenger - Guided Missile part 2
Hey mister Warwick-boy it’s me again
Mister Andy Hoang and my poison pen
Like your mummy in the morning I’m your wake up call
Aint it bout time you stopped going to school?
First lecture of the day is in PLT
Ah fuck it no, it’s now in your room on your PC
It’s course A77 on Integrity
And the PhD, professor is Me
Now listen up, and listen good
You in the back take off your hood
Take that wank mag out of your book
Like Yoda says, Take notes you should
You got a lot to learn, I got time to burn
I could teach all day til the sun goes down
I SAID OUT THE BOOK MR HARRISON!
I’ma keep on teaching when you shoot your sperm
Feel better now? Then lets begin
I’m tryin to save your ass from a life of sin
I want to get you out fore you lock yourself in
So shut the fuck up and start listenin
You know I’m the King and you’re listenin to me
“So what the hell is this ‘Integrity?’
Will it bring me prosperity?
A place in the sun, lots of girls and weed?
Is it gonna pay for all my seeds?
Does it matter Sir if I can hardly read?
Do you take payment in cash or deeds?”
You can hardly read? There’s a Warwick First
They don’t care if you’re the best if you’re not the worst
If you got the cash then we got the bills
Never mind about those little things called skillz
If you’re middle class then just flash the cash
And get the fuck away if you are trailer trash
But that’s it you see, that’s Integrity
It’s acceptin me for just being me
There’s more to a man than you can see
There’s more to life than what you read
Money and riches aint all you need
Dem girls, dat dope and all dat weed
The place in the sun of which you speak
Don’t look like your holiday home in Crete
“What you talking bout man? Aint that all there is?
Fast cars, fast girls and all dat wiz
I’ve got it all and if I aint then I’ll get it
Courtesy of daddy’s little platinum credit”
There are greater riches “Bullshit there isn’t”
but you’ll never see em til you’re truly wizened
I wear these clothes get the bus to school
But through your closed eyes you can’t see that I’m richer than you
”Hmmm maybe there’s somethin, I’ma listen up
Stop playin round with all my balls and stuff
My right hand is sore but I can write with my left
Maybe there is still a chance of life before death”
Take off your mask and just be yourself
The respect of your Friends is worth more than your wealth
The ability to turn your eyes up to the sky
Will give you life even after you die
The balls in your court now, not just in your hand
It’s time to let go, time to be a man
Time to embrace the Truth, be one with the Land
See me after the class if you don’t understand
Andy 2002
Maturity
Man. People talk about some mundane shit. For fucks sake, don't you get bored talking about the same subject like "How they pronounce the word, 'basket' in Leeds" all the fucking time? You know who you are and virtually everyone reading this knows who you are because the experience of this topic has been replicated with them too, although the word may have been changed to advantage, arsehole or garage. Nobody cares.
Not only have we had the same conversation 3 times (I was bored midway through the first time but was a little too polite to say - maybe if I did I wouldn't have had to suffer it again. Twice.), but you've had the same conversation with EVERYONE! The life of an accountant is embodied in you my boy.
When I choose my friends I have to choose carefully. Growing up with no money on a council estate makes you realise that you just can't afford to waste any investment, be it in time, money or energy and it makes you love what you have and disregard what you don't. I'm still poor, I'm still fighting and I believe I've made some wonderful choices and invested time wisely but you still make me wonder. My investment is normally rewarded with great returns but with you something is missing.
I keep an open mind, and my friends come from all walks of life, all backgrounds and classes as life can only be experienced in full colour if you don't look through a filter. Those I call friends I am Down For Life with, and I have high demands in return, but I'm not really hard to repay for my investment.
However, this is a concept that seems to be lost as personal wealth increases and depending on your standing in society. Some people, like Slit can keep it real, but it seems that in general, the richer you are the more important it becomes to hold on to your money over your friends and you become unable to forge the depths of friendship attained by the less well off. It becomes more difficult for you to comprehend the bond between 2 people, whose investment of time together on a more than superficial level has given them a seemingly psychic bond, because you are blinded by your desire for material accumulation and the investment of wealth.
You find it difficult to trust and I find it difficult to trust you because I can feel what you think.
Yes I am poor and I know you didn't ever expect to have a poor friend. Although you accept me now, it's because I am superbly adaptable and can fit seamlessly into your world but you could never hope to understand mine. Your regular friends own boats and their daddy's have houses in the south of France but, despite being so rich, you all keep tabs on who bought the last round. Tarik you owe me nothing, you never owe me anything. Put your wallet away, I'm not interested. Next round is mine.
Your mind is not able to take in that there is a whole world outside your box, a world of poverty and suffering. And that, by your sheer complacency, the fact that you walk around with your eyes closed, and by your every action you are actually part of the problem.
I have tried to stick up for you in the past because I defend my friends but everything they say is true. I've fought your corner because I've seen you grow up before my eyes and you've never been strong enough to fight that corner yourself. But you still have a lot of growing up to do.
Maturity is not about leading the rich race or fulfilling ambitions. Those things come through hard work and perseverance anyway and even the immature can do these things. It's not about the step into paying the bills yourself (which you haven't yet graduated to anyway) although that is a little closer.
Maturity is when you realise that you have responsibilities and move to take action to fulfil your duty, not just to yourself but also to others. You do not exist in this world alone and denial of the existence of the rest of the world and your responsibilities won't make them go away.
One strange thing about life is that the more you take the less you have but the more you give the more you get. You will not understand this at the moment though - you are too immature. You will always be immature until the day that you understand this and when you learn to let go. Then the world will be yours.
If you're reading this, ring me when I get back on 29th December because I want to see you. I stand by you because you're a good boy at heart, although not many people see it. One day you'll be a Man. Please don't keep letting your wealth close doors instead of opening them.
Fast cars
Hey mister Warwick-boy listen to me
There's a world beyond the bubble that you can't see
That world outside gave birth to me
Twice the man you'll ever be
Hell yeah you're rich, you were born rich, die rich
Silver spoon, boxing gloves, looks like you're ready to die bitch
You won't last a minute in the ring with my bitch
When Real Life hits you run to mummy and cry bitch
You got this far with an open chequebook
Fast cars, fast girls was the route that you took
Open your eyes to the pain take a hard look
and you'll see that I am the King and that you are a rook
Your queen will be mine, checkmate you lose
you might strut around in your Armani shoes
you spend daddy's money on the fags and booze
you go on thinkin' you can have what you choose
Integrity, is what you can't buy
Honesty, cos you need to lie
Friendship, and a place to cry
The Peoples love, until you die
These things are mine, I don't need to try
I don't need to pretend I'm anyone but I
I can walk through the streets with my head held high
The open window of my soul is through my eye
Andy 2002
Inverted racial experience part 2
I'm nothin special. But I know that when I get back it's me that everyone will pump for stories down the pub, my stories that will light up the night and I'll be the life and soul of the party.
By the time I come back, I doubt I will have done much vastly of note, hell certainly nothin as funny as the Cow story or as exciting as the one about the Guy With the 2 Snakes because this is America and, despite how wacky and outlandish middle class England thinks this place is, it's got nothin on me. I've seen more eccentric shit in my mum's kitchen than you'll ever see here including the small bananas, which I used to show everyone who came round.
America's eccentricity doesn't even come close
Everyone down the boozer will nevertheless still want to listen to me, other peoples stories will have to wait in line and the whole night I will have you wrapped around my finger. And d'you wanna know why?
It's got nothing to do with the windows of opportunity I open for myself or the places I go or the life that I lead, because you could all easily recreate the same thing and the baton would still be mine to run with. It's down to only one thing...it's the way I tell 'em.
Take this for example. I'm sittin in Pho 79 writin my diary notes in one of those pads like wot I wrote your book in Suze/Vix, sittin opposite a small gang of beautiful Vietnamese girls drinking milkshakes and looking at me. I'm apparently very handsome in Vietnamese eyes but I won't let that go to my head. Much.
The place is loud and full of wonderfully colourful characters wherever I look. There's a white guy in here too, huddled quietly in the corner, but using chopsticks so he's obviously a Vietfan, a term I have only just now made up to describe people like Suzie, who go to Vietnam and never really leave. The ones who use forks are just day-trippers.
The chopsticks are pretty damn funny while I'm on the subject - The instructions on the outside of the packet are classic and I will print them here in all their full unedited glory for your amusement:
I'm getting used to seeing white people again. Perhaps it is part of my slow rehabilitation into society and an extension of the re-education program (bad political gag) I guess.
Of course, I guess you could say that I am now batting for the other side as well now (as opposed to batting for no sides as Slit once said. Cracker! I'll show you one day son!) in that, where you guys think that us chinks all look the same, I'm actually starting to see the complete opposite. No seriously, how the hell do you guys know which one is related to you? How do you pick out criminals in an identity parade? Does your girlfriend know you're shaggin her sister!?! Do you!!!!?!!!! Hey at least it's one happy sister.
As I walked home through the blazing Californian heat, I saw my first cockroach ever and I thought it was a little ironic given my travel history that the first cockroach should be in America, when I've lived in Ghana, India, Nepal and Thamesmead. It unnaturally hot outside for November and the bugger had croaked and was laying on it's back. Which was probably for the best.
D'you see what I mean now - I can even make a trip down the shops sound exciting. And so can you, if you just let yourself go. We live in a free society where freedom of expression is mostly unmetered, but it's not society that places constraints on our free expression but ourselves. The concept of rebelling against our society as such to gain freedom of expression is thus aiming at the wrong target, as we in the developed world are already free to do what we please. Who's gonna stop you? Shouting and waving placards at people who choose to be dull with their freedom does nothing to further our own personal liberation (although I must admit that I do enjoy waving my butt in their faces just for fun and of course they should be made aware of the damage that they are actively or passively inflicting on the poor and the environment by their actions) although I too feel the need to save the yawncorp employees from their self-imposed life of death. However, it is the route they have chosen and we should live and let live, because after all if they have nothing interesting to say then filing them away with all the rest to be forgotten in an office on the 7th floor of yawncorp HQ will be no big loss, and we can carry on living the life of the free while they suffer for their lack of self-expressive talent.
The pursuit of creative freedom should not be confused with the need to want to have your voice heard. True artistic freedom begins from within by liberating the self and the need for someone else’s approval, in fact every other need should be secondary to desire to cultivate your own art. If you enjoy singing, sing. But this does not mean be selfish. The Oak tree in the forest grows regardless of the other trees around him concentrating on his own self-development, but is selfless at the same time, playing host to the animals and the forest whilst growing magnificent. And when he dies he gives everything back to forest, to the earth from which he came, holding onto nothing. That is why he embodies the Tao.
Having your voice heard is a different subject altogether and results not from self-imposed marginalisation from society but from a synergetic interaction in which you find your niche, the place where people speak your language. Withdrawal from society because no-one is listening is like cutting off your dick to spite your girlfriend.
Many people spend their time and money in search of further wealth and riches and I have next to nothing. But I've got something far more valuable - a sense of humour. So ask yourself, down the pub, who would you rather spend your time on and it becomes clear who really holds the riches.
Andy - The poor boy who will have you in stitches
Andys Adventures in the USA (and Canada)
