From Mr. T to Saudi shopping, this week has once again highlighted the tension between truly spiritual adornment and reductionistic materialism.  Below:  a somewhat more . . . abstract meditation on related themes.  

"Artificial Gods--Argo 8" is a video produced by a young Puerto Rican visual artist, and its subjects:  the appropriation of rap culture by white consumers and the emergence of "commercial Hip Hop that rocks only bling, cash, and hoes, with no real content."  It's avant garde & designed to shock, Daft Punk Gundam meets Spike Lee.  On YouTube one of the artist's bewildered fans comments, "It's pretty Yoko dude," but for some folks, that's a compliment.  

The plot in a nutshell:  "Hip Hop Raiden who took the Godly mantle of Hip Hop has been revived. Built as a machine to brainwash the masses with commercial Hip Hop, thus making it consumer friendly. Jesus White the reformed villain of this world, has taken it upon himself to kill Raiden, in a John Wayne like fashion."