Let today be a celebration of romance & desire. Love is in question, I think we all know this. Love is flawed. Where as romance & desire are pure even in their chaos. Let us celebrate human frailty, and our ability to feel empathy for a soul we only get a glimpse of through our peripheral lenses. This year has been nothing but a challenge to my notions of sacrificing a part of myself for a strange other, yet I’ve never felt more resolute in my commitment to the romance of the universe, and the desire for my better half. Goodnight ya’ll. I love you.

If you want one of these hoodies just let me know, they’re $40.  And it’ll help out the band in further endeavors *wink smack pinch nudge wink wink* – Jacob Wayne

The empire is experiencing dire times. The emperor Xi?o n?odai dì (????) has been experiencing a severe drop in his approval ratings. Cities are besieged by crime and youth gangs listening to rebellious gu zheng music. A movement of disgruntled farmers have created a group called the Chai Tea Party and have fled to the far reaches of the countryside in order to avoid taxation or any participation in society whatsoever. On the southern border of the Empire cartels of barbarians sneak in their destructive drugs and raid the towns that are too small to be noticed by warlords in the region. Emperor Xi?o n?odai doesn’t know what to do! So he has ordered great thinkers from around the kingdom to a Rice Wine summit. Those advisors in attendance are a staunch Confucianist named Dà l?ozi (???), a short bespectacled man who is a Legalist like his father before him named Ji?ngyìng shén (???), and an aloof fellow named Bùj? (??). The advisors arrive at the palace and sit at a beautifully crafted table that the Emperor has been sitting at for quite some time. Once the Wine is poured into to each advisor’s respective cup Dà l?ozi is quick to make the first statement. His fist slams the table and instead of addressing the emperor directly glares directly at Bùj?. “We can no longer allow our people to waiver in life! Our society crumbles because it lacks structure and discipline. I’ve been talking to my wife about this and all the local children that are the friends of my offspring are running about as if life doesn’t matter! Well I’ll be the first to tell you that it does! The only way to truly be happy in life is to cultivate oneself into a man of virtue and and ethics. The people must know that this Emperor who we are so enriched to be in the presence of, is of the highest order and if we hope to achieve we must perpetuate loyalty to his words!” Bùj? furrows his brow at this, yet Dà l?ozi continues seeming not to notice. “It seems our people have forgotten that in order to properly interact with your fellow citizens goodness and altruism must be at the very core of your decision making process. I have a very basic outline that I have prepared for you Emperor if you would be so kind as to entertain it. I believe it is a universal truth that all men are born differently but with education and constant practice we can hope to come together in the spirit of the common good. We must let the people know of all the good you do here in the palace so they can have a shining example of how to conduct themselves from day to day. This plan I feel is the only way these rebellious children can get back to work. We must communicate to them the importance of ritual. So many of them spend their days doing nothing and disrespecting their superiors! We must not only allow them to have soil to toil, a tower to guard, or a family to raise, but also instill the value of these things. They must learn that a day to day activity that they could put their very self into makes it so you can appreciate the value of consistent good and serviceable behavior. This would also teach them loyalty. They’d learn to value their soil, their tower, and their home and thus see why commitment to these can make you a greater man. Of course this will not be easy to get started so we must create a system in which a person has someone to look up to and learn from, like I do with my family. We would of course start with you great emperor leading your people by your magnificent example. Then as I am a father I can instruct my sons to be as much like you as possible, to be good and hopefully one day have the same privilege to speak to the Emperor. This of course will require my wife to play the background while I dispose my knowledge, and my eldest son will need to assist me in educating his younger brothers, but this is the natural order of things in my home. If this is done well then my sons will be able to talk to the thugs in our community, and they will finally have an example where they can maintain loyalty with each other and community as a whole, and this will trickle down into adjacent communities and enrich the whole of society. You must be our great North Star Xi?o n?odai! Stay here in the palace and let us know what you wish of us and all shall be set right” At this Ji?ngyìng shén starts to cough, as he clears his throat and twiddles his thumbs it seems he has something to say on the matter that Dà l?ozi has brought forth. “I do not pretend to know the meaning of life or the nature of man, all I know is that the one thing our nation lacks is the sanctity of law for our laws have not been clearly defined. One cannot be good if they do not have a clear and defined knowledge of what you would like to them to do and what you would like them not to do” Dà l?ozi begins to stroke his beard waiting for the catch, as Bùj? chuckles and fills up his cup with more wine. Ji?ngyìng shén notices this and stares at the cup for moment before continuing on his point “Emperor… we must find time to sit and write out your desires and thoughts into a well codified law so we can make it public to the people so they can understand what you expect of them. Once they are aware of what they can and cannot do they will know what they will be rewarded for and what they will be punished for. This will make it so you are strong in the eyes of your people once they know what you expect of them. We here at this table could not possible conceive what is true justice and what is not without your guiding hand Xi?o n?odai, this is why you must be sure to protect yourself from any sort of “misinterpretations” that some citizens will make once the code is made available to them. They may think that you are beholden to the same sort of scrutiny of law that they are, and as sitting at this table has made clear to me you are a far more mysterious and interesting being then they, and thus the creator of law, not subject to it. I can only see order coming through strict and rigid lawfulness amongst the citizens and for any of those who disobey? Swift and brutal retribution! I’m not so sure that this Confucianism and belief in the greater good is enough to ensure the safety and propagation of our great nation.” Suddenly a laugh pierces through the soft spoken words of Ji?ngyìng shén. Dà l?ozi, Ji?ngyìng shén, and the Emperor turn to look at Bùj? who had been quietly drinking his wine up until this point. Bùj? is twirling his cup on the table as he continues to chuckle. There is an awkward pause in the conversation as they observe Bùj?’s strange behavior. Bùj? slowly lifts his head and asks “Isn’t this absurd?” Ji?ngyìng shén becomes angered and red faced at such a question. Dà l?ozi roles his eyes and begins to tap the table furiously with his pointer finger. And Xi?o n?odai furrows his brow and with his first words of the summit says “go on…” at that that Bùj? stops twirling the cup and slowly spreads his hands across the table, is if he were showing them a map that only he could see. “What I mean to say Xi?o n?odai, is isn’t this table absurd?” ,”Look at how much work has gone into this table that we have arrived at in order to argue that which is unavoidable. Have we not all experienced dark times in our lives? Have you not seen the destruction in this land? We sit here before a tree that has been destroyed and discuss how we can avoid destruction. But you know as well as I, Xi?o n?odai, that there is no avoiding that which is, there is only being what is and embracing the constant up and down of the water that gave drink to this former tree, the man who chopped it down, and moister to this delicious wine you have provided us with… by the way? Where did you get it?” “You are wasting our Time sir! Arrive at your point” yells Dà l?ozi. “There is nothing but time to waste!” chuckles Bùj?. “At this time we drink wine, and soon soon will be now and we will do something else that is expected of us because it is our nature to do what is in our nature. Xi?o n?odai knows my intention is nothing but humility in the light of which ever conclusion you men arrive at. You care about the outcome of this discussion, where as I simply wish to be here listening to a conversation while I drink this delicious wine. Soon you men will decide what to do and I will not care, for I will want to do something else. Perhaps I will search for the stump that once was part of this table and sit upon it and ponder, look across the land and take in the movements, the destruction as well as the creation. And I will not be angered or be satisfied with these movements, I will simply be with them.” At this the summit reaches its first moment of silence, and the silence is loud. After a while the Emperor dismisses the advisors and stays at the table. He sits for a long while and slowly sips at his wine, thinking of nothing in particular. The issues of his nation seeming so distant and meaningless in the loud silence, he then for no other reason than feeling like he wants to calls for his closest friend, the Emperor’s scribe, and tells him to start writing down what is on his mind… “Law 1…..” Xi?o n?odai begins, The scribe with admiration and love for his friend, and emperor begins to write.

Here’s the first painting 2012, hopefully this turns into an interesting year.

So it seems we’ve stumbled upon a new year. There are all sorts of strange and exciting things going on this year that I can’t wait to share once they realize completion. First of which will be my first large public mural. This will be located at Why Sound in Logan, Utah. It is a great venue which has done great things not only for me in my artistic and musical pursuits but also for others in Cache Valley. I’ll be sure to document some of the process and give a unique perspective into my process and stumbling through a new experience. The second major thing I have going on this year is the recording of my band Fa Koshka’s first album. I’ll be sure to post details about that process as well, and I’ll also be doing a series of paintings that will accompany the new album. Other then that I’ll be doing my usual routine, painting, random galleries, and small presentations here and there. I’m excited for this new year and all the possibilities. Keep in touch!