Bhukti

Mukti, the spiritual liberation of choice. Thou my life is almost over, the only thing I fear is the emotions of hate in my heart.
A positive force in cosmic stability has cured my hatred for religion. Saravati is another goddess I adore, for she is the awakener of happy and noble thoughts.
Mark Izzy Schurr
The above picture was Schurr Shot last year at Palomarin beach in Marin county.

Children

 Innocent eyes breed love and laughter. They harness wisdom and dispense imagination. Youths unfiltered emotions dwell in the adams of eternity,

Mark Izzy Schurr

Hindu Haven

The divine sword of justice lies amidst the far reaches of the cosmos. Durga’s sacred weapon of wonder lies hidden in the cosmic regions of destiny. True law and order have yet to be born, hence all the chaos and divide amongst us all.

Innumerable forms and an infinite variety of beliefs will one day breath live into wisdom and unite the kindly souls. Durga, the warrior goddess will annihilate devious demons and abolish all the emotions of greed and narcissism.  

Mark Izzy Schurr

“Beauty, Power & Grace; The Book of Hindu Goddesses” by Krishna Dharma and David Kinsley’s book, “Hindu Goddesses; Visions the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition” have unraveled an infinite array of word combinations that has sparked my imagination.

I no longer care no one understands me, nor that I have no real friends. I have no one to talk to and to share my emotions. Without the written word, I’d be completely lost and have no way of venting my joys and sorrows.

I have only acquaintances, some close, most just distance laughs and smiles. When someone wants to be around me, its’s always a surprise to me these days, and when people tell me things, or make plans, I tend to ignore them, because the last couple of years, when people make plans with me, they always cancel, so I understand, I am all alone.   

My great acting skills produce the façade of happiness, yet Hindu philosophy instills in me, there is no time for self-pity, so I embrace my creativity with photography and writing the occasional blog.

Mark Izzy Schurr

Library Book Reviewed

William Monroe Trotter, political leader and civil rights agitator was getting into heated political debates with adults when he was just 8-years-old.


Trotter graduated from Harvard University in 1895 and founded the Guardian newspaper in 1901. He met with President Woodrow Wilson on at least two occasions while Wilson was the U.S. president from 1913-1921. Trotter argued with President Wilson and accused him of catering to federal segregation. Trotter was bold on his stance for racial equality and for his time, that was extremely dangerous, but he was also highly respected.


Trotter was also not shy about criticizing the black elite which he was a part of. Black people who owned property were voting in Boston in 1780, more than 100 years before Trotter was born.

Trotter introduced generations of blacks to peacefully protest, the art of black activism, legislative wrangling, and civil disobedience. Lynching a black man a 100 years ago in the U.S. for a crime he may or may not have done without fear of the law by its perpetrators was as common as lies in todays White House.


Trotter was one of the first to advocate for the Dyer Bill in 1918. The Dryer Bill was eventually passed in 1919, which made it officially illegal to lynch someone anywhere in the U.S. Unarmed black people are now choked to death by cops.


“Black Radical; The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter,” released this year was an excellent library read. I learned some nice facts about Boston. The city of Boston for example had integrated schools as early as 1855.


Kerri K. Greenidge, historian, and director of program in American studies at Tufts University eloquently wrote the following about Trotter; ‘Trotter was an inspiration to the black working class, encouraging them to embrace blackness and all its complexities.’


In 1912, heavy weight boxing champion, Jack Johnson was prosecuted under the Mann Act for alleged white slavery. Johnson, a black man was married to a white woman, and back then, many states passed laws that would not recognize interracial marriages across state lines. This whole Trump thing and his stupid red hat; Make America Great Again? News flash, what was so great about lynching and potential jail time simply for being in love?


Trotter lobbied unsuccessfully to ban 1915s movie “Birth of A Nation” based on a KKK book, the “Clansman.” “Birth of A Nation” was a hit movie then, and many claims is rejuvenated the KKK.

Trotter accused national press of fanning the flames of white fear, which fuels more and more injustice to non-whites.


In 1910, Jack Johnson was arguable the most popular black man in the U.S. and maybe the world. Johnson was the heavy weight boxing champion from 1908-1915. On July 4, 1910, Johnson defeated James Jeffries, dubbed the great white hope in Reno, Nevada in front or 20,000 people. Former President Theodore Roosevelt called for congressional legislation to ban interstate distribution of the fight film.


Trotter was indeed a pioneer for civil rights and this book is for everyone, not just African Americans. Intriguing, and even horrible historical facts are in this book. A solid 3.5 star read.


Mark Izzy Schurr

A Modern Moron Book Review

A kaleidoscope of greed angers the deities of destruction, the wrath of Hindu goddesses, Kali and Durga, have the power to inspire their followers to carry out their vengeful judgements.  


Thrown from the heights of the of the Taj Mahal in India, and spiraling toward a certain death, before your spattered on the marbled floor of the luxurious structure.


A quarter of million dollars was serious loot in 1965, especially if it's divided only one way. James Holding’s 1960s “Career Man” is a timeless tale of a heist for the ages. The quest for a huge payday will never die out, especially in the genre of crime and suspense writing.


“Tales of Terror” was released in 1986 and contains 58 shorts stories chosen by Alfred Hitchcock, the so-called master of suspense. This book is great, because most of the stories are really good, and if you get bored, you can go onto another story that captures the imagination.


Writer, Nedra Tyre’s 1963s “Killed by Kindness” is difficult to talk about without revealing the plot. It’s very clever tale of a husband and wife who after years of marriage tire of one another and plot an odious means to end their marriage. The ending is anything but predictable.


The cobblestone roads in Whitechapel, London in the late 1880s is where the serial killer Jack the Ripper slayed ladies of the night. Annie, as she called herself, decided to take the law into her own hands. 

Annie with her wolf whistle figure and scantily clad dress walked the late-night London streets alone with a large knife in her purse. Her goal was to meet Jack the Ripper, and lure him into a cheap motel, and instead of being another one of his victims, she’d be the one to slay the nefarious Ripper.


The sound of her heels echoed sharply against the cobbles, but it didn’t matter now, it was too late to end her quest to lure in Jack the Knife. The 1976 short story by Vincent McConnor, “The Whitechapel Wantons” was one of many great reads from this novel.


Jack Ritchie’s “ Kid Cardula” was the most original vampire story I’ve ever read. The story adheres to the basic stereotypes of a vampire, they indeed feed on the blood of the living, they cannot be out in the sunlight and are extraordinarily strong. Most of the time, vampires also do not reveal what they really are to humans unless they are killing or converting them.


“Kid Cardula” is the story of a small-time boxing manager eager and desperate to be the sole manager of top prize fighter. The manager does not freak out, nor get scared when he learns Kid Cardula is a vampire. Cardula, with his great strength easily defeats his opponents in the ring to earn money for him and his manager.


Cardula, the vampire boxer is not nearly as greedy as his manager and things begin to go astray, and the ending was very fitting to the story.  


A solid three star read for “Tales of Terror.”  


Mark Izzy Schurr

Modern Moron Book Review

The evil escapades of damable debaucheries and the diabolical ecstasy of certain folks are document in “Weird Tales; 32 Unearthed Terrors.”


The slash of the grim reapers scythe is welcoming under the reading lamps of sleeping suburba. “Weird Tales” is a book with a bizarre barrage of sinister and sometimes funny tales which enlightens the imagination, and feeds upon an addiction to reading.


The holy sepulcher of the mind omits the fear of death, and ignites infinite intrigue about vampires, the occult and a limitless array of dark vapors which seeps into the minds of writers and fans of horror fiction.


This 1988 book contains 32 short stories of terror, sorcery, fantasy, comedy, devil worship and sexual perversion that would make a porn star cringe. “Weird Tales” is a deranged delight to those who enjoy reading.


Some of the 32 stories in this book, I found absolutely boring, but the ones that seized my senses made this a 4.5 star read.


1942s “Masquerade” by Henry Kuttner started out to what I thought was going to be your typical story of a newlywed couple killed by vampires.

Rain comes down in torrents as forked lightning crackles across the sky as the young honeymooners head toward what looks like a deserted lunatic asylum, Kuttner wrote on the first page of his story “Masquerade.”


“Masquerade” is a humorous view of the supernatural. Honeymooners via great writing end up spending their first night of marriage in a hotel managed by a family that is more scary then welcoming. The grandfather of this family is the first one to greet the wedding couple, Rosamond, and Charlie.


Charlie immediately begins ribbing the old man by jokingly asking him if he and his family kill and eat their guests. The old man replies, “We are not cannibals, we just kill our guests and take their possessions. Stranded in a small town rumored to have vampires, the ominous hotel, and its employees, all from the same family offer little if any comfort to Charlie and Rosamond.


“Masquerade” was both spooky and funny, and I had a vivid picture of each and every character from this story while I was reading it. While turning the pages of this story, it felt as if I was watching a movie.


“Call Not Their Names,” a 1954 fable written by Everil Worrell captured my imagination simple by referring to karmatic debts and rewards ala Hindu style. 

She feared the intrusion of her dreams and the swelling tide of her subconscious. She angered Kali, the Hindu goddess of death because she had incurred a mortal debt, and it was time to pay. 

“Weird Tales” has embedded itself into my subconscious and I’m grateful for that. Long after the sun has been swallowed by the night, an off the wall story may strike fear in your heart, yet the weirdness of unexplored thoughts may fuel your aspirations.


A child latches onto to a teddy bear, a move from total dependence from the parents to independent selfhood. Eventually the child disregards the toy unless the toy has other plans! 1948s “The Professors Teddy Bear” by Theodore Sturgeon has stood the test of time. 

Dolls and toys that come to life and wreak havoc upon their owners is still flourishing in Hollywood in case you haven’t noticed. The Childs Play movies and Annabelle films come to mind right off the top of my head.


The novel “Weird Tales; the Magazine That Never Dies” contains more than 40 stories and makes for great reading for individuals who enjoy peculiar horror.


Out of body experiences hurl one mans soul into the paraffin flame of evil, and a morbid journey into the dark spheres of an uncharted existence. H.G. Wells 1925s “A Stolen Body” is one of many “Weird Tales” that begets a cool combination of words and has inspired me to write more.


Mark Izzy Schurr  

Government VIII

Engulfed in a midst of stammering nonsense and enshrined in the malevolent mayhem of injustice. Sedated by a barrage of babble emitting from the narcissistic nincompoop, the fat orange man. Defenders and bringers of the truth are hated by our president and many other prominent world leaders across the globe. The bone-saw of inequality has literally murdered the truth.       


Mark Izzy Schurr