The Sky is Falling!

When’s the last time you ever read or heard anything positive from the mainstream press, your local TV news station, or talk radio? I’d imagine that it’s been nothing but doom and gloom, the ever present cumulous black cloud hovering above you, the country, and the world in general just wildly spewing forth its vitriolic evil karma upon the enlightened few, or waiting to pounce unexpectedly on the great unwashed masses continuing on with their simple lives filled with never ending drudgery and turmoil – or so you would think is the case.

Think about the following topics:

Global warming
The environment
Immigration
The war on terror
Iraq
Iran
Islam
Heathcare
The price of oil
The economy
Outsourcing
The Bush administration
Congress
The supreme court
Government spending
Taxes
The latest high profile rape/murder/insensitivity, etc.

I think you get the gist. Did ANY of these topics elicit a positive reaction, or was yours one of general loathing, wariness, despair, and frustration? I’m not commenting specifically one way or the other, I’m just interested in the reaction to the general topic itself. The thing is, there is ALWAYS another side to the story, if not more. I’m not suggesting for one second that you should only view events through politically filtered lenses polarized to the positive or negative, just be open to the concept that there are many facets to an issue, even though they might be polar opposite to your default point of view.

Just for fun, go ahead and do some research on your own about how good the economy actually is doing (especially compared to the 90’s), the low unemployment rate, the good things that are happening in Iraq (hint: read the blogs from actual soldiers serving in Iraq, not the from pundits armchair quarterbacking from their tenured positions in ivory crusted academic towers). Don’t stop with just these topics. Keep on going. Look underneath, from behind, as well as under the media’s spotlight. Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain. My guess is that the truth lies comfortably somewhere between the extremes. It’s your responsibility to decipher the elusive boundaries of fact, fiction, and opinion.

The cynical side of me thinks that the majority of the negativity in the news today is driven by an agenda, either on purpose, out of ignorance, or apathy. Bad news sells papers and advertising. The Chicken Little’s of the world get the research funding. Think about that, too.

It’s not always that bad.

Be Prepared

The 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake. I wonder how many people are ready to weather such a catastrophic event? I’ve heard that well over 90% of people have NOTHING prepared in the way of emergency planning or supplies. Based on that, I’d also bet that these people would also be the first ones to complain that the government isn’t doing enough to help or are not doing it at a satisfactory pace (Katrina, anyone?). Heaven forbid that you should do something to help yourself (I’m insanely guilty of this as well!). Personally, I’m fortunate enough to be married to someone who has a decent head on her shoulders (amongst many other fine things above and below her shoulders). She at least has common sense enough to prepare for something to happen. Although our emergency kit isn’t complete, we’re well on our way, and are motivated to finishing the task. PLEASE do yourself and your family a favor and organize your emergency kits. It doesn’t take much. There are many websites out there to help you get prepared, but here’s a fabulous place to start - http://www.72hours.org/

Illegal is as illegal does...

We’ve just uploaded some new samples on the MUSIC page, Nightfall and Premonition. Make sure to check them out! Not enough time to comment thoroughly on current events, so for now let me remind you of a word that has been INTENTIONALLY omitted from the mainstream press’s coverage – ILLEGAL – now, that wasn’t so difficult was it? It’s as simple as that, nothing more, nothing less.

Whole lotta Shamblin' goin' on

A good friend of ours has just got his band’s new website up and running. They’re called The Shamblers. A good way to describe them could be a folksy, soulful, coffeehouse kind of ensemble. Think a little Dave Matthews, a little Bob Dylan, with a sprinkle of Susan Vega or Tracy Chapman. I’ve added a link to his site here and to our LINKS page. Please check them out.

Which aisle can I find the greener grass?

My private coach on the gravy train is starting show visible signs of neglect. The seats are worn, the air is stale, and the carpet needs replacing. The $64k question is whether I should remodel or trade it in for a cheaper seat in the back with the rest of the passengers. Whatever happens, it won’t be a painless affair for the conductor. Time to make a few lists.

Is your metaphorical glass half-empty or half-full? Dr. Evil’s glass is broken.

As far as I’m concerned, there is no fu*king glass...

From the deepest recesses of my foul, decrepit soul, I firmly believe that this country (especially) and humankind as we know it is traveling along a negative parabolic trajectory towards the abyss. I might be so inclined to say that we’re in an exponential spiral downwards. I’m not spewing random thoughts wantonly in hyperbolic abandon. I am serious.

Think about it:

[1] Our government will NEVER reduce either in its size or its intrusiveness;
[2] Our rights, **guaranteed** by our Constitution, will always be usurped more and more, never increased or maintained. Our rights are only reduced, chipped away bit by bit;
[3] The rate of taxation and the “rape” - um, the redistribution of wealth will NEVER decrease;
[4] The grand experiment, that is the United States of America is a failure, albeit a fine concept. Great in theory, but not in execution. History will confirm that money, greed, and government got in the way;
[5] Our capitalist society is being transformed, dollar by dollar, law by law, into a socialist model, never to reverse its rate or direction of conversion; By the way – historically, socialism is a FAILED economic model – you damned hippy baby boomers should have realized that by now; But my 401(k) is doing swell...
[6] People look TO the government for the solution, rather than realizing that it is the IMPEDIMENT to any solution;
[7] The opiate of the masses still clouds the intellect of the citizenry;
[8] Meaningless drivel such as American Idol, Oprah, and liberalism continues to rot the core of our culture;
[9] Not to sound too nostalgic, but I can’t imagine any of my hypthetical offspring growing up in the same environment I did. I’m not talking teaching the world to sing in perfect harmony bullshit, but general safety and security. The simple fact that I could run off by myself or with my friends for the day, and as long as I was back by dinner, my parents didn’t worry about me. Call me naïve, but the world has taken more than a few steps backwards. Although, who are WE to judge the lifestyle choices of our resident pedophiles (teachers, government officials, lawyers)?
[10] On a similar vein, I don’t want to procreate. News flash – I’m not the only one.
[11] [insert personal pet peeve/rant here], rinse and repeat...

My faith in the human condition wanes day by day. Observe the contemporary whining of the adolescent temper tantrums of the French students. Should we really care what the hell they (the college students) think anyway? Yeah, yeah, “they are our future”, but face it – they don’t know jack squat about jack shit. They are only rancid skulls full of horsepucky, indoctrinated by an isolated elite intellectual class, who know nothing of reality and unaffected by the foils of the real world. Why we give them the time of day only cynically sells newsprint and newsbytes.

Observe also the depravity throughtout history of what our fellow humans will do to each other, either in the name of a religious or secular "god". Beheadings, burning at the stake, political correctness, diversity, and "You don't believe/think the same way I do, so therefore you should be drawn and quartered. Whatever, nevermind, Who won the college basketball tournament?

Our planet will continue long after humankind splits its last corrosive breath. Funny how this ecosystem survived millions of years of ice ages, flooding, shifts of the tectonic plates, man, famine, petulance, Jerry Springer, and Jurassic flatulence, only to flip its middle finger to the passing of time - taunting, “Is that all you’ve got?”

All I know is that when I cease to exist, who gives a shit? I’m dead already.