sheesus

Man, I have no idea how we've arrived at the place that we're sitting inside. wtf is casually tattooed on the inner finger of countless starving waifs right next to their moustachioed index fingers. Convicted felons are looked up to in every facet of entertainment be it sports, music, movies or television. Young children have mobile phones and portable computers before the age of 13, some before they reach double-digits. Stores of convenience reign supreme with lures of cheap prices and instant gratification. National newspapers publish yellow journalism articles in place of real pertinent news and no one so much as bats an eye at it. National acceptance comes at the delivery of reality television and anything beyond that realm is simply insignificant.
I know there are people moving and changing our world in many cases rapidly and with great strides. I am lucky to say that i actually personally know a few of these people that work in the shadows of celebrity, both thankless and penniless. i know that writing these silly words that no one will read means virtually nothing but I hope, I hope that it's not too presumptuous of me to think that there are others very similar to myself that think perhaps there is a better way and if we all focus a little bit of our energy towards the greater good we can solve some important problems. Perhaps we can actually think ahead and be proactive, maybe not simply worry about the next 4 years, but rather the long haul.
I have no idea why i am even writing these words. Tomorrow, some celebrity will do something ridiculous and our entire country will not only know about it, but have a strong opinion and spend large amounts of money to stay abreast of every single inane development.
There will come a time when the dumb stop ruling the smart. There has to be, or else there is no balance in the universe.

unfiltered

You know who I wish was my friend as a kid? Busta Rhymes, circa-Leaders of the New School era. How cool would that be? Me and Busta, doing everything together like real bosom buddies. We would walk down the street chewing bubble gum and yelling about everything. "This strawberry bubblicious is wild!" "We should head over to Chuck E. Cheese and high-five those fuzzy robot mice...they do the craziest things." Even the most mundane activities of the day would be amplified: "Look at this, U.S. economic scholars disagree with Noam Chomsky's latest view of the newly-revised NAFTA agreement. Now that is just wild. Those fools be trippin if they think Noam ain't got that shit on lock."
We would play a lot of basketball and boggle, run down to our neighborhood corner-store for cheese popcorn and Cherikee Red at least once a day, and never have to listen to anyone. Everyone would want us on their team for release. Kids at school would ask me why I didn't go to school... "...because Busta can't fit in the chairs and anyways we're too busy changing the future of hip-hop." "What's hip-hop?" they would say. "Nevermind."
When my Mom would call us in after the street lights came on, we would lay on the living room floor, eating fishsticks and doritos while we watched the 3 Stooges.

Man, that would have been something.

What is it I want to say? Sometimes I want to be the loudest one in the room but I have no direction to follow. I had a road map for a few years then decided to go freestyle. I like it, but sometimes it's easy to forget to keep moving. Now, however I feel suddenly gratified and self-affirmed. It's been awhile since I said, "be true to yourself." Now that I have, I remember where I stashed a lot of tools to guide me. Thanks Me.

camo

Feeling pretty stoked right now. I just got married to the loveliest girl a guy could dream of and I'm surrounded by a lot of great people. I am trying new things, not that I'm not adventurous, but new things that i never thought about before. Things like writing this blog without editing it before I post it. I often censor what I say to people because I don't want to offend them or make them feel uncomfortable. Well guess what? that's getting really old> I care less and less these days about offending people and more about doing what I want> which is great. I am starting to feel like I did when i was 6, I pursue the things that i am interested in with great fury and fervor. I like to play music, but I'm rarely in charge. That's going to change. Anyone want to start a band? Guess who your leader is.

Life, Love, and the pursuit of Vinyl

Wow, my second blog ever is here. I guess it's official that I am not amongst the multitudes of twitterers popping up in the world. I find the phenomenon interesting, that and the general idea of how quickly people seem to need information more and more. I am waiting for the end to arrive, when the masses get so sick of having entire encyclopedias available instantly, that the inevitable revolution ensues. I'm talking about carrier pigeons, messages sent via sailing vessels, and the resurgence of the pony express. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, so I automatically start saying things like, "Man, things are so messed up these days." or, "This wouldn't be happening twenty years ago." but I'm starting to think that the immediate dissemination of information around the globe plays a big role in the problems we're facing right now: Food shortages, energy expenses and fossil fuel depletion, environmental chaos and uncertainty, you name it. People are finding oil fields in their backyards and within weeks have cashed in and allowed drilling companies to install equipment and suck out the oil to be purchased by refineries instantly. The positive side is that as soon as problems crop up, there are people willing to take them head on and figure out alternatives and solutions. People have finally stopped calling me a hippy or a tree hugger for recycling or actually giving a shit about the environment because of the sheik color that's in everyone's mouths these days, which is also good. Because I am not a hippy. Some of my favorite things to do might classify me as a hippy like, riding my bike to work or being a vegetarian, but my outlook on the rest of the world doesn't match with the tie-dyed longhairs of old. I also get super-excited about cooking and even more so if there are ingredients right out of my garden, but I think self-sufficiency is a distinguished attribute, not a reaction against "the man." I recently learned how to bake bread and I have to be honest, it was the best bread I've ever had in my life, if not mostly because I made it myself. To me, there's a lot more romance in that than a loaf of white bread. Think about the convenience stores in our neighborhoods, the very name expresses our impatience and confusion of want versus need. What's really going to happen to someone if they don't get a coke asap, like yesterday? Nothing. Well, maybe they'll feel a little better from not having put a big sugar spike in their system, but they're gonna live. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to google data to settle arguments, but there has to be a certain limit. 

I've always been into records, (the vinyl kind, not medical or dental) but over the past year I've fallen in love with them all over again. The physical presence of holding a cover and staring at the artwork while I listen to an entire side at a time gives me a greater connection to the music. It hits me harder and everything else goes away. I think about records all the time now, sharing them with friends, borrowing theirs, finding gems at swap meets and garage sales or the motherload online score of an ad on craigslist from someone moving into a small place where they can't take their records and they only listen to their ipod anyways. Oh hell yeah. One thing is certain, I will never move into a place where I can't take my records. That's like giving away your dog because your new landlord doesn't allow pets. It's criminal. Honestly though, records stand for people that care about music more so than the average person, and I am one of those people. A total nerd about music of all kinds. I have to make concerted efforts to avoid the subject at social gatherings so as not to exclude people. It's that bad. I enjoy lots of things, but music is different and records are the best format to enjoy it other than live. I keep thinking about this Rahsan Roland Kirk record that I didn't buy the other day due to funds, but I am excited about it. I can't wait to go into the store and get it next week. I just think the whole process is more gratifying than buying a 15 second ringtone in three seconds.

To new beginnings

I've been putting this off for awhile now, thinking of every reason why I shouldn't just join the ranks. Now I've gone and done it. Honestly, I don't feel like what I have to say is any more important than anyone else, so this is just me being selfish I guess. I don't have firm plans for the structure of this, so let's just see what happens shall we? Off we go.