Journey to the center of my mind...

oil, black gold that is.....

2006-05-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

We’ll there is only one more week left in the semester. It was the hardest one so far in my college career. Now summer is here and I can start to blog again with alllllll my free time.

As everyone knows the news the past few weeks as has been filled with talk of outrageous gas prices. Every year around this time the price goes up, but this year it seems that it is going to be higher than ever before. Now this doesn’t really affect me and my manual transmission jetta but it does affect just about everything else in this country. The prices are fast approaching three dollars and people are getting mad – or at least the news says so haha. How could people not get mad about it when every time they turn on their television all they hear is how bad they are getting ripped off with oil companies at record high profits and all the price gouging? So the American public is getting ripped off and they aren’t gonna take it anymore! What do they do to try and solve the problem? One suggestion was give everyone $100 as a gasoline rebate. That sounds like the dumbest idea I have ever heard. There is no quick fix to this problem. A change of lifestyle and the way our country operates is the only real solution. So today I took matters into my own hands and decided that I would ride my bike to school rather than drive. It’s about a 13 minute drive so I allowed myself an hour on bike. Well everything was going great and I was making good time until about half way through the trip I got a flat tire. Didn’t see that coming. So I walked the rest of the way and it took me about an hour and I was pretty winded when I got to work at the admissions office. Now I have to finish work then go to class and then walk home. How many people do you think are willing to do this everyday rather than drive their car? I don’t think that there is too many judging on the reaction I got from my co workers at the admissions office about my trip. They just kept asking me why I would do something like that. I guess they are all waiting for the $100 dollar rebate from uncle sam to fix their fuel problems. People can bitch and bitch about the price of gas as much as they want to but it is not going to change a thing but it will annoy me. I am all for the raise in price. Yes that is correct, all for the raise in price. Maybe if the price is $5.00 a gallon people will actually think about all the gas that they waste and stop driving cars bigger than a small house. I heard the other day that the state of California uses more gasoline than any other country in the world. I don’t know if that is true but I’m sure that they do use a whole lot of petrol. It’s not that people need to stop driving all together, it’s just that they need to think about when they use their car and limit it to only necessary trips. Look at all the other cars on the road when you drive somewhere. How many have more than one person in them besides family cars. So carpool and cut back on the trips to the grocery store from 4 times a week to 1. No one is going to do that. No one wants to. Why would you walk or stay home when you could drive? Why take the stairs when there is an elevator? How does the posi trac on a Plymouth work? Why are boobs good? Why is the sky blue? The only way that they will change is by hitting them where it hurts Americans the most – in their wallets. People can’t act like there is an endless supply of oil anymore. It is a real problem and something has got to give….maybe we can just combine the “oil problem” with the “immigrant problem” and let the immigrants that no one seems to care about just carry all the rich people around on their backs.

Spring Break 06' Follow up

2006-03-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Overall the trip to Orlando changed my life. It was so much stuff to think about in so little time. Even though I stayed there for four months last year it was still like culture shock all over again. The amount of money people have there is crazy, but still for every bench in the city there is at least two homeless people. The amount of homeless people is amazing. I guess they all move there because it’s warm or something. I spent some time one night talking to two different homeless people. The first one talked about just getting out of jail and how bad his jaw hurt. He didn’t really have much to say just tell me about his problems. I felt like he was just trying to scam me into giving him money so I did. I gave him three dollars. Who cares if he saves it up and buys alcohol or drugs, he obviously doesn’t know how to handle is problems anyway so I’ll help him out and let him forget about them for a bit. The next guy was from North Carolina and the first thing he asked me was for jumper cables. I said I didn’t have any then he asked me for money, then if I was religious. At least this guy had more of an approach. I told him I was religious and asked him what his faith was. He was a Baptist and I told him I was Roman Catholic and then we talked about how we both thought what religion a person is doesn’t matter but many people think that it does. It’s just important to have something to believe in, makes you feel good. Then we talked about the pressure you feel from people when you walk around the city. I told him I felt like it was a giant popularity contest with people you didn’t know and he agreed. He seemed like he had his head on straight because we talked about some pretty deep stuff in our short time walking around together. It just makes me wonder where I would be today if I wasn’t born with the opportunities I had. Being a white male, having presentable clothes, and a loving family gives me a much better chance to make it in society than my homeless friend but we are still essentially the same person. Just two animals in a jungle of skyscrapers and more lexus’ than you can count.
After the homeless experience came the experience of spending around 40 hours in a ford escort with my Grandma Ethel. I learned and forgot the story of every person in my family and every person in surrounding towns. I really enjoy talking to my Grandma because she always wants to hear what I have to say. Also because I get to hear what people think about after they retire. I asked her about the new prescription drug plans and how the affect her, if she ever saw any money from the lottery, and various questions I always wanted to ask a senior citizen. We talked about racial issues and homosexual issues and all kinds of issues and it’s great to hear her opinion because it is so different from the same crap I hear from everyone else. She is always willing to help people and I just don’t see much of that from other people. Overall it was good conversation and a bad drive.
The event that took the cake for the life changing spring break trip was witnessing a fatal car accident at the beginning of the return trip. It was pretty gruesome and I was the first to the scene. I had never even seen a small car crash before let alone something like this so the whole thing was new to me. It was so crazy that it was really happening. There was someone lying on the road dead and it wasn’t a movie. I sat and thought about the incident the entire ride home so it was pretty frustrating. If I would have not been paying attention, I would have been lying next to the kid. I thought about all the little grudges I hold against people and how meaningless they are. About all the stress I make about stupid things that mean absolutely nothing. How much of my focus everyday is given to negative things and things that really don’t matter no matter how much people try to tell me they do. I listen to people talk about all their problems and how they don’t know what to do everyday. The just get so wrapped up in their problems their lives just become their problems and the problems escalate. After watching that I just couldn’t understand how people have grudges with other family members or get mad when someone cuts them off in traffic. Why does that really matter? It will all be over in an instant for each and everyone of us. The way you stand with everyone at that moment will be the legacy you leave in the present realm. Was it a worthwhile time for you?
There were a few other factors that made spring break Orlando a time for a revolution in my being. All in all it really opened up my eyes to see the distortion of the American peoples’ reality. It’s like everyone has got it all backwards but they don’t understand and they never will. I guess all that matters is that I understand. Do you?
Peace in the east!

"In the Morning when you rise
Do you think of me and how you left me crying
Are you thinking of telephones and managers
And where you got to be at noon
You are living a reality I left years ago
It quite nearly killed me
In the long run it will make you cry
Make you crazy and old before your time
And the difference between me and you
I won't argue right or wrong
But I have time to cry my baby
You don't have to cry"

- CSN

Spring Break 06'

2006-03-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Everything is going good so far. The car made it down alright, just had it cleaned getting ready to take a ride. Have alot to talk about more to come when I have more time. Going on a TRIP tomorrow so I'll have much much more to talk about. Peace from the south....

The Women's Movement...

2006-03-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Well it’s that time of year again. Mardi gras just ended and it’s the beginning of lent. Mardi gras is a time where people everywhere party and have a good time for a week before they start their Lenten routine. Somewhere along the line, plastic beads became part of the mix. My personal interpretation of the system is you find a girl, you offer her some beads, and she lifts up her shirt as a payment for the plastic beads. I have no problem at all with looking at women’s breasts; let me just state that first. I do have a problem however with young women running around drunk and half naked (I’m just giving my thoughts on the topic which in no way are related to my actions in any particular situation). Many girls are half naked all the time already in their everyday attire, just because “it’s the style”. But what do you really expect to happen when you are around thousands of drunk men and you are drunk as well and taking your clothes off? Or is that just part of the fun? What type of image are you trying to send out about yourself? Taking clothes off is usually the first part in the stages of becoming intimate with a partner. So when these guys see a girl taking their shirt off that must be what she wants to do right? I mean it is bad enough that everyone there is getting wasted, but why do people need to start taking their clothes off? Can someone just answer that for me?

I listen to girls bitch and cry about not being treated equal everyday. When I see stuff like this is just shows me that these girls don’t want to be treated equal. I mean it’s stated and proven fact that men think about sex a lot. A whole lot. So these girls are trying to get the guys attention by using the thing that they can’t refuse. Why would they ever try to get a partner by actually talking and trying to impress them by using something else? They don’t know how to attract a guy any other way then advertising themselves as sex objects, by the way they dress and act when they get drunk. Do they really actually think that the guys are even looking at the women as human beings? They just see a pair of boobs and a body of a female. There is no actual person or personality with them. It might as well be a blow up doll.

This whole thing obviously isn’t directed to all women. I have a great respect for women, I just don’t have respect for women who don’t have respect for women. Women have worked so hard to gain the rights that they have today. They gained freedoms for the future generations and they use their freedom to run around drinking and taking their clothes off for random men. The images we see of these events stick with people, create a lasting impression of our generation.

Women are in no way treated as equal in society. Because they aren’t. They can be treated as equal in the workplace. They have come so far in such a short time, and will continue to progress into the future. Think about what your grandma did for a living and think about what your going to do/does or your girlfriend is going to do/does. But this is about more than the work place, this is about the real world. If men and women were equal, there wouldn’t be men and women we would just be a unisex animal. I wouldn’t have a purpose if it wasn’t for women, basically they are what I live for, I don’t know how much more respect I can give than that. Each sex has distinct characteristics and a certain role that needs to be carried out. Hence the term PARTNERS. Work together as a team. I don’t want some girl on my team that is running around taking her clothes off is all I’m tryin to say…can you dig it? I would really like to hear from some women, maybe even a flashing veteran and get an explanation for these shenanigans…..

P.S. That’s Susan B. Anthony in those pictures hiding that girls womanly tools….Wonder if she ever went to burbon st.?

P.S.S. My writing skills are still improving and I know it is easy for messages to get lost in my ramblings. I want to make clear that this is no way a generalization of all females or intended to hurt anyone s feelings. Sorry to the girl in the picture if it's you, but face it your already all over the internet anyways, you come up for first for "mardi gras flasher" image search on google. You should be proud....

My Superband....

2006-02-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

In my personal opinion, Led Zeppelin is the greatest band of all time. They arn't my favorite, or the best musically, but all of the members' styles fit together better than anyone else. If I was able to pick musicians out of any time and put them together to make a new band, I think I would be able to top Zeppelin. I would create the greatest supergroup of all time (even better than Traffic)...

Robert Plant - Lead Vocals

I would put Plant as the frontman. He put's everything he has to give when he sings a song, you would never get the feeling that he is thinking about something else when he sings a song. He also add's so much to the group being able to master the skill of using the voice as an instrument....

Flea - Bass Guitar

Is there really even a question about who to put a bass? Some of the way early RHCP stuff like "If you want me to stay", then all the way to the hit "Aeroplane", and "Walkabout" off the same album are some of my favorites. It's just fun to hear and so unique...

Ray Manzarek - Organ/Keys

By far the most influential rock organ player ever. I understand that he plays bass parts as well as organ parts in the doors songs, but I still think he would be able to adapt into something even better focusing on just one instrument. His style is so dark yet funky and upbeat....

Jeff Beck - Lead Guitar

What a great guitar player? I am not that fond of the direction his newer material took, but all the way back to the Wired album is where it's at. He would be able to complement flea nicely and play some rock and even more of that funky stuff...

Bud Gaugh - Drummer

I was originally going to put Steve Miller Band drummer, Tim Davis in my band to keep the beat but I think that Bud is the way to go. He keeps his unique style and when he plays a funky R and B sounding beat I think that Flea would be able to go to work.

So that's my supergroup. I know that each of these members are tied to a distinct sound and in reality I think that there would be too many creative differences. But I can just imagine what it would be like, Just imagine some funky reggae sounding beat, then just this ridiculious bass line falls in. Dark feeling rock organ keeping the rhythm, and Beck doing his own thing. Then Plant comes in. As creator of the group I would make sure that Plant wouldn't take the group on a depressing path with the lyrics. I would keep everything happy, no talk of women, money, or time. Each is so creative in what they do, it would just be a trip (literally) to hear. What a band....

"In the Morning when you rise. Do you think of me and how you left me crying. Are you thinking of telephones and managers, and where you got to be at noon? You are living a reality I left years ago. It quite nearly killed me. In the long run it will make you cry. Make you crazy and old before your time. And the difference between me and you, I won't argue right or wrong, But I have time to cry my baby"

- CSN

The University of PHILosophy

2006-02-10T10:48:00.000-08:00

I’m back from my hiatus. I just felt like I should take a break for a while. Apologies to my everyday readers….I mean reader :) ….

First of all I must state that I do not support the education system in anyway and this is a biased opinion.

I hate school, I have my whole life. Everyone does, I know. But anytime school is in session I get an awful feeling in my stomach until I am on break again. If I think about it to much it makes me want to vomit. I starting finding ways to get out of school in kindergarten.

I think that my entire education could have been condensed from the 15 years it consumed of my life to a good 5 to 8 years of actual instruction. Teachers have hard jobs and they can only do so much, only so fast, with the number of kids they have to teach. I just think the whole concept of it is flawed. But let me move beyond the public school system to higher education where the real problems start.

You have to go to college if you want to get a specific job. Everyone wants to go to college so they can buy their house in a suburb and drive a nice car and so forthnot taking into concideration that they might not be smart enough so they should think about a different option. Basically, go to college to get where you need to go with your life. So I am in college. I see the way the college system works first hand, and I fell that there is too much money to be made for a proper education. Many students I know have limited interest in their field of study beyond the classroom. How can this ever create an effective work force? While attending a college class, listening to things of no relevance to the class, I came up with the idea of an alternative system to prepare students for their career.

So my institution will be set up like this. I would have all different types of majors and programs, as a normal college or university would have. I will have 4 consecutive semesters of in class work and basic information on the subject. Only core classes related to the job. At the end of the fourth semester a test will be given to make sure the student is ready. If the test is passed, the students will then proceed to the next phase. They will be placed in a job situation, internship if you will. The interns will not be paid, and there are no grades anymore. The students go because they want to learn about the job they will do. So they have 2 semesters at the same job followed by 2 more semesters at another job. They then graduate.

People learn how to do their jobs when they get their job. They don’t learn that in college. I have learned so much in college, but ¾ of it is unrelated to my field. It is all things that I was forced to learn about. I understand the idea of a well rounded education, but I think it defeats the purpose of going to college in the first place.

There will only be a limited number of students accepted to my college. Maybe 1,000. This will make everyone want to go to it because it is so hard to get into. Then I will get all of the smart kids. Then successful businesses will see how smart the kids are, and want them for their business. Kind of like a draft for professional sports. The students will be better prepared then students from normal colleges, and the students will have it made in the shade because they have such a good business on their resume. This will all provide for better workers at specific jobs creating a better work place.

MONEY IN THE BANK! ----- but wait, the college is free! No student loans, no computer lab fees, nothing. Just a good time of learning not being educated…

Now 3 LOCATIONS!

PICK YOUR SEASON!

I’m accepting applications now…..

SONGS

Small Faces - Itchycoo Park (what a great song!)
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
The Police - Message In A Bottle
Cream - Badge
ELP - Karn Evil 9: First Impression

What can you do?

2006-01-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

So I’m sure that everyone has seen Osama’s new release at the top of the Media’s charts. I don’t like to talk about stuff like this on my blog because most of the time my idea’s get lost my ramblings, and people who don’t know me don’t know that I have some crazy ideas from time to time that involve no logical thinking. But I have been thinking about this so much that I have too.

Okay so Osama proposed his version of a truce -

"In response to the substance of the polls in the U.S., which indicate that Americans do not want to fight Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their land, we do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stick to.
"We are a nation that God banned from lying and stabbing others in the back. Hence, both parties of the truce will enjoy stability and security to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, which were destroyed by war.
"There is no problem in this solution, but it will prevent hundreds of billions from going to influential people and warlords in America -- those who supported Bush's electoral campaign. And from this, we can understand Bush and his gang's insistence on continuing the war,"

And America responded to this truce –

Spokesman Scott McClellan – “We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business.”

Rock on America. “…Put them out of business.”

Steps To Put them out of Business:

So okay we are going to put them out of business, we need to be able to have all means necessary to stop them so we have the Patriot Act to stop these evil men. So everyone starts freaking out about the Patriot Act, giving up the freedoms granted by being a citizen of our country. So we need an explanation of why the government is able to do anything they want to us – They released detailed justification for the spying they are doing.

Apparently, the Justice Department said that the president has the legal authority to approve the program because of the power given to him in the Constitution to protect the country as well as in the post-9/11 authorization to use military force passed by Congress. Sounds good. So with their legal authority they decided they should be able to eavesdrop without a court warrant on people in the United States, including American citizens, suspected of communicating with al Qaeda members overseas.

So okay that sounds alright, they will just check out the people who are “terrorists”. THIS IS THE BEST PART: last year the administration subpoenaed google to and requested 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period. I’m not going to lie I have checked out some weird stuff on google (don’t be perverted, I mean organizations web sties that the government would look down upon). It’s not that I’m a terrorist in anyway. I just like to see what everyone has to say, but through the wonders of the internet I don’t think that when the government looks at what I searched I would differ very much from one of these “terrorists”. Weird….. Now I understand that the reason google was subpoenaed in the first place was because the government needs the data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches as part of an effort to revive an Internet child protection law, but since they are putting terrorists out of business I think that they might be checking for some other stuff too.

I understand that there is so much more going on that just this, people are fighting and risking their lives. I am not ever trying to disrespect our soldiers. I am not an expert on any of this stuff either. This is just my interpretation of how all of this could in some way affect me personally. …..

“Paranoia strikes deepInto your life it will creep. It starts when you're always afraid. You step out of line, the man come and take you away. We better stop, hey, what's that soundEverybody look what's going down”
- Buffalo Springfield

Time. Is it really on your side?

2006-01-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

I’m always late. No matter how early I start to prepare to do something, other things happen to put me behind schedule. Time in general seems to always be more of a nuisance to me than it has ever helped me. Have you ever seen how long you could go without looking at a clock? Those are my favorite days. I wish everyday could be like that. No time = no stress. But seriously imagine a world without keeping track of time. People wouldn’t worry about getting old, they would just be able to accept the life cycle and enjoy what they could. You would never have to wake up to an alarm – EVER! I find days much easier when I don’t begin by being disturbed from my peaceful rest.

From my personal experience of being time-free for extended periods, timelessness creates the impression much longer days. I would eat when I felt like it, not because I thought it was time to eat. I left places and did things when I felt like it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s easy to get carried away and not do anything on your time-free days, but it’s important to remain responsible to experience the full benefits of living the time free lifestyle.

I understand that this concept is not easily conceivable when compared to the way society works now. Every thing is based on time. So everything would change if man would have never created this time. I think people would still be able to comprehend the order in which things happened to them, create somewhat of a memory, and live functional stress free lives.

Think about it…..

Songs

James Brown - "Make it Funky"

Neil Young - "Keep on Rockin in the Free World"

Ben Harper - "Burn One Down"

John Denver - "Sunshine on My Shoulder"

I love global warming!

2006-01-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Well, not really. I have been enjoying myself on the out of season warm days though. This winter I did not buy a season pass to Seven Springs (local ski resort) and I have still yet to go. That makes me sad, I miss snowboarding. It cost's so much and I don't like hobbies that cost money, such as golf etc. I went fishing on friday it was around 60 degrees out. It felt like early spring, I had that spring fever felling in my gut. It just made me think about how much more I can do when it's nice out. I have big plans for the warm months this year with Scotty boy, prepairing for the journey next year.

I still appriciate the cold days. A fresh snow fall would get me back into winter mode, but the days just keep being so nice sort of like a big tease. I just hope that the plants don't fall for the tease and start an early bloom. I feel guilty when I think about the 60 degree days in January, like I shouldn't be happy about the weather because it shouldn't be like that. Gotta keep that balance you know what im sayin? It's kind of scary because it really has been a dramatic change in the weather patterns the past few years. It might just be a coincidence though? El Nino or something. Well either way it's nice again today, and I am off to the woods with my dog. (Oh yea big ups to my people in Funkstown!)

Songs
Grateful Dead - "Early Morning Rain"
John Coletrane & Miles Davis - "On Green Dolphin Street"
Tony Joe White - "Poke Salad Annie"
John Lennon - "Watching the Wheels (acoustic)"
The Beatles - "Rocky Racoon"

Don't be a fool, stay in school !!!

2006-01-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Education is what keeps society running. Shows children how to interact together, make friends, and gain hobbies along with the knowledge part. This knowledge part depends so much on another person’s individual interpretation of what they have been taught. I am mainly talking about kindergarten – high school education here. The teachers rely on the text books for their class’s and their prior education. I am not criticizing teachers or anyone that has anything to do with education in anyway, my mother is a teacher : )

I started to think about this whole topic of knowledge and control over society in depth tonight after a conversation about a controversial topic. The other party in the discussion (who shall remain nameless) said that she has always seen “something” as bad because it was always presented to her in a negative fashion. She has no actual evidence for the opinion just what she learned. Makes sense, but what happens if it’s not really bad – not saying it is or isn’t – but if it isn’t, then it shows how much of this whole education system is based upon a certain group of people’s idea’s. These peoples’ ideas become every people’s ideas.

Obvious point.....but it leads me back to this summer while working at Eagle Productions. I was post-writing a script for a documentary about the St. John’s River, which is a river in northeastern Florida that flows northward to Jacksonville and then eastward to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. When I heard that this was a north flowing river I stopped the movie in shock. My whole life I was taught that there were only two north flowing rivers in the world – The Nile and The Monongahela River. I live along the Mon, which starts in northern West Virginia and flows north into southwest Pennsylvania, where it joins the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. I asked a guy I was working with how many rivers were like this, and he told me that over a hundred of rivers went in a northern direction. I couldn’t believe it, I knew that I had learned this in school and had heard it from other people. I asked my sister and a few other people that went to the same school as me and sure enough they were just as surprised as I was to learn the news that the Mon isn’t JUST as special as we thought it once was.

Now this is just a simple fact, but it just amazes me that they have taught this in schools here for so long and it’s not true. Again no disrespect to the education quality of Cal High, but it was a bit shocking. It just really makes me wonder about everything that I did learn and how easy mistakes can happen. It makes me think about that cliché saying – believe it when you see it (experience it)!

“If I was to be educated, I would be a damn fool.” – Bob Marley

Metrosexual................

2006-01-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Last night was New Year's Eve and I was partyin it up with people that I went to highschool with at my buddy's house. There were a few other people there that I didn't know and didn't know me either, but most I knew from the past. It was a great time and there were no altercations of any kind. A- overall just because there was a ton of dudes there and about half as many females (when doesn't that happen though).

But anyways, to start my story right I have to jump back a few days to when I got my fro chopped off. It was time. I had a pretty bad mullet looking thing, so I figured I would get an actaul hair cut rather then just buzz it all off. Came out looking like a decent hair cut, but it really changed the way I look. From long hair in my eyes over my ears with a grizzly beard to being all close shaven and trimmed. I have been feeling selfconcious about it since it happend, just becasue I feel out of my element. So I was pretty much over it and accepted the fact until last night. I was talking to a girl that I knew from WAY back but hadn't seen since maybe 5th grade if I had to guess. But anyways somehow in the converstation it came about that she thought I was a metrosexual just by looking at me. Now everyone should know what this is by now - but just in case -

Metro-sexual - New York Times says he's a straight urban male who's willing, even eager, to embrace his feminine side. He's unafraid to be complimented on his clothing or mistaken for being gay. He stocks his medicine cabinet with prestige grooming products, maintains an impressive up-to-date wardrobe, and visits chic salons for a variety of men's esthetic services that include hairstyling, facials, manicures, and body hair removal.

I took offense to the comment. My whole "image" that I try to keep is the "image" of not having an image. I don't wear shirts with logo's or company's names displayed on them and when I do it's for somthing like a plumbing company. Last night I guess I kinda was dressed like one of these metro-sexual characters - had a button down shirt on with a green shirt underneath and blue jeans, all brown tennis shoes. But I know for a fact that the whole reason of the metro-sexual comment was because of this damn hair cut...

I hate to judge people by their looks without meeting them, but it's so hard. You can learn alot about a person just by looking at them. And don't try to tell me it's not true because it is. Everyone does it, its what human nature has evolved to. So I feel that it is important that I carry my apperance like my personality, so when people do this - judge me - they know what to expect. But now just because of this haircut.......this dirty damn hair cut. I will not be posting a pic of the haircut, just to avoid further riticule for my backstreet boyish looks...

Peace and lOve,
think about what you didn't like about this past year.
make this one better...sounds easy right?
06' is here

Some Music.....

2005-12-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

My friend bob got a handheld digital recorder for christmas. It's pretty good quality and we have been recording us playing for the past couple days. He posted it on the web....

http://www.putfile.com/bobbyho20

The one that says Filbob is the one that I'm in, hence the title. The rest are just him playing the bass. More to come so check for updates....

So this is Christmas

2005-12-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

It’s my 20th time experiencing the biggest holiday of the year, and each time when I start to see the lights and snow etc. I get in the holiday mood. But for some reason, this year I just couldn’t seem to evoke the same emotions. I thought it was because it was the first time my oldest sister wouldn’t be spending the day with the rest of the family, she has her own now. Or maybe because some of the family members who annually attend the Keefer family Christmas party weren’t here. I just couldn’t put my finger on the cause of me not feelin’ the spirit of Christmas.

I did my best to use different types of media as a catalyst to start my Holiday engine. I watched all the Christmas movie classics, and even tuned into the horrible universe of commercial radio to listen to the Christmas Jams. Nothin’ doin.

I talked to a few people about this and many said the same thing. Others gave me generic reasons such as I’m getting older or I understand the Santa mystery. But those things have been consistent for several years now. Then I had a talk about me not feeling like Christmas with my younger cousin, who is 12, about the same thing. She said the exact same thing. I really don’t get that at all. When your 12 is when you should be in the Christmas mode more than any other time right? I know for a fact that she was getting tons of crap that she wants, that’s what it’s all about right????

So last night I went to Church to celebrate the reason for the season. There were so many people there it was wonderful to see how many people were celebrating the birth of our savior – that is why they go right? It’s not just to justify their gift buying. Right? The church was so full my family and I sat in an annex where we couldn’t see and had to concentrate with full attention just to hear what was going on. We are all celebrating the religious holiday, which is why I get up each year at 8 to open my gifts. Isn’t it? Well I guess I will just ask them next week…. (Heavy Sarcasm). I’m not being hypocritical; I love to see a full church. It gives me hope that there are still some faithful Christians.

Or are there? Then it hit me. I mean it has been obvious to me, and it’s not too hard to figure out, but I guess this is the first time I really questioned it. Why are all these people celebrating the birth of Jesus, but they don’t even think that he was here. I don’t understand it, and I’m not saying that it’s wrong, but I would just like to hear some logic behind it. I have no problem with people practicing other faiths at all, or practicing no faith at all – but why are they celebrating a Christian Holiday? And there it is……..the reason for me not feelin’ the season.

These other people have created a new holiday and it’s beginning to overlap with my holiday. The reason I can’t feel the season is because I can’t find it mixed in with this new holiday I think I will call “Department Store Day” or maybe just “GIFT DAY”! I don’t know, I’ll work on the title later. But I can’t blame them. These commercial’s on television would make anyone feel guilty about not getting someone the perfect gift. I try to read the news paper and 100000 ad pages fall out. With people seeing all this crap to make them spend their money how could they not? I mean the papers and tv can’t even say Christmas and you tell me that all that stuff is for Christmas? And when people are constantly being bombarded with all of this crap about buying stupid shit, but not even being able to hear the word Christmas, let alone anyone giving any educated talk about the meaning of the Holiday - how could they continue to celebrate the meaning of the holiday?

I, myself have fallen victim to GIFT DAY this year. I admit it. I am surrounded by others who also celebrate gift day and I got sucked in. I have found the reason that my Christmas Cheer was lacking, and I am going to work to make it better for the rest of my Christmas’s.

Don’t get me wrong I still had a wonderful time with my family and got some pretty cool stuff. I got many new clothes, a new hat, my fishing license, a capo for my guitar, and some sweet hand made bear skin slippers. I wish that everyone could have a good of day as I did as a matter of fact. So I wish everyone a happy holiday, gift day or whatever it is that you celebrate......

PJ vs. STP

2005-12-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

Working at the Beer Distributor during Christmas break means spending free time at work. Everyone who works there is fairly similar in interests, so there is always stuff to talk about. Often I pose questions for us to argue about, and the other night was the infamous Pearl Jam vs. Stone Temple Pilots........

Stone Temple Pilots

Members: Scott Weiland, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo, Eric Kretz

Albums:

Core - September 29, 1992
Purple - June 7, 1994
Tiny Music....Songs from the Vatican Giftshop - March 5, 1996
No. 4 - October 26, 199
Shangri - La Dee Da - June 19, 2001
Thank You - November 11, 200

VS.

Pearl Jam

Members: Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron, Jeff Ament

Albums:

Ten - August 8, 1991
Vs. - September 19, 1993
Vitalogy - December 6, 1994
No Code - August 27, 1996
Yield - February 3, 1998
Live on Two Legs - September 24, 1998
Binaural - May 16, 2000
Riot Act - September 12, 200
Lost Dogs - September 11, 2003
Rearviewmirror - September 16, 2004

I think that the comparison itself isn't exactly that good, but whenever I ask people besides my friends (who love Pearl Jam); I usually get STP as the response to being the better band. Personally I have listened to Pearl Jam much, much, more than STP. I feel that might have something to do with my decision making it biased. But I think that people who like STP better never really actually listened to Pearl Jam in depth either. They just can't understand what Eddie Vetter is talking about, and only listen to the songs that made the radio. I am not an expert on either band, but, I do listen to more music than anyone else that I know. Pearl Jam has tracks such as the red dot untitled track on Yield, and "Soon Forget" on Binaural that just show that they are much more than the "GRUNGE" genre has to offer. I have never heard any tracks like this from STP and personally I think that there isn't that much variation in their songs, again I admit that I have not listened to them that much - but I have enough to create an educated opinion. I'm not saying that they are a bad band at all, they are also awesome, but Pearl Jam has so much more to offer, it’s more than just a band, and most people don't see that. They just see the few songs they can remember and skip the ones that they aren’t familiar with. I am also not saying that the Pearl Jam songs that were played on the radio were not good either, just less complex than their others. They have to make a few like that for people to get to know them, but their other songs have so much to them. I think LukeLagwalker said it best when he explained to me how Pearl Jam is like a classic rock band more than anything else, and I think it's true. My Pearl Jam albums will be ones that I definitely will play for my children some day to show them what good music was like in the 90's...

WINNER - PEARL JAM

I hope that someone has something good to argue about STP....

Songs:

Focus - Hocus Pocus

Jethro Tull - Skating Away

Jeff Beck - Scatter Brain

The Band - Chest Fever

Pat Benatar - Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Jackson Browne - Doctor My Eyes

Listen to the music...

2005-12-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

I was always very interested in music, but never really interested in playing. I tried to play the trumpet in the middle school band and hated every second of that. Then I took piano lessons for about a month in my life, and that didn't work out eiether. Then last year my roomate and my friends always played at my house, and my interest in playing begain to grow. So over the summer, I was given the opportunity to try, when my sisters boyfriend bought me a guitar for my birthday. I love it and play as much as I can. It keeps my mind occupied and gives me somthing to do, and progress in. I played for 8 hours a day sometimes in the summer, and I spend alot of my free time playing now. I usually play with my friend bob and sometimes scott. We don't really ever try to cover songs because none of us know the same ones so we just pick some chords and jam. Here is some pics of us playing earlier in the week....

Bob on the left playing bass, and scott on the right playing his guitar.

Scott and I getting into it.

Bob getting down, or should I say up?

Maybe you will hear us someday...

What do you think?

2005-12-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting take on the situation in the middle east -

www.mediamonitors.net/markglenn1.html

Not saying that I agree with it, just saying its a very different way to look at it if your sick of hearing the same things over and over again in the news.

My All Time Favorite.......

2005-12-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

Classic Rock Songs. The past few days while typing papers I have been listening to alot of music and I decided to make a best of list. Here they are:

Van Morrison - "Jackie Willson Said" - 1972
Supertramp - "Bloody Well Right" - 1974
Neil Young - "Walk On" - 1974
Black Sabbath - "Symptom of the Universe" - 1975
Chicago - "Dialogue Part 1 and 2" - 1972
Joe Cocker - "Feeling Alright" - 1970
Bad Company - "Live for the Music" - 1976
CSNY - "Carry On" - 1970
Bob Dylan - "Down Along the Cove" - 1967
Grateful Dead - "Dancin' in the Streets" - 1977
The Band - "Chest Fever" - 1968
Led Zeppelin - "The Lemon Song" - ?
Steve Miller Band - "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma' - 1971
Fleetwood Mac - "Tusk" - 1971?
The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane" - 1970
John Lennon - "How Can You Sleep at Night" - 1971
Jimi Hendrix - "Castles Made of Sand" - ?
The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Thats Just a list of a few of my all time fav.'s. That would sure be one heck of a mix cd (that I would like to have hint hint Christmas hint hint Christmas hint hint). Two more finals and I will be back to full time bloggin'...

Taker easy!

It's been a while.....

2005-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

I havent given up on my blog. I know you all are missing my insight, but as usual my procrastination has caught up with me and I have been doing so much school and nothing else. I had an online class that required a 2 page paper each week and of course I didn't do any of them. Now I have 13 two page papers to write along with a documentary on the public library and other various tests. I will get it all done I always do, and I will be back to bloggin' in no time. Talk to everyone then!

My Flock and I

2005-11-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

After I finish school, I have no idea what is in my future except one thing - having my own flock of sheep. After becoming successful at whatever it is that I decide to do, I hope to be able to retire one day and purchase a small flock of sheep. In order to fullfill my lifelong quest of becoming a sheep herder, I must first own a large peice of land, and do much more research on the topic. I just think that it would be a very interesting thing to do, guiding sheep around and getting to know them. They would be my resposibility and I would have to use my abilities to protect the sheep and keep them together. It would also keep me very active in my old age, and give me somthing to think about besides the lottery or television. I would have no profit motive of raising the sheep for their wool or for their meat, just for their companionship.

Songs

Up on Cripple Creak - The Band
Nevermind - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
How Far is Heaven - Los Lonley Boys
My First Kiss at the Public Execution - The Blood Brothers

BUZZZZZ!

2005-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

All of my posts have been about pretty serious stuff so here is one that is rather humorous. A couple of months ago, while at work, I got stung by a bee on the inside of my lip. I was drinking a can of pop/soda and the bee flew into the can while I wasn't paying attention. I took a drink and heres what happend....

Good stuff, huh? It didn't hurt at all but as it kept getting bigger I started to worry. So I went to the Brownsville Hospital emergency room. I got there and they gave me a ton of papers to fill out so I just left. I guess that wasn't the most intelligent thing to do, but I didn't think anything bad was going to happen. I slept for like 15 hours after it happend, and I was all sore the next day. The hospital charged my insurance company $75 dollars for the visit that I really didn't make. 2 days later I was back to normal...

You make the call.

Songs

Love Rhymes With Hiddeous Car Wreck - The Blood Brothers
Vampires Will Never Hurt You - My Chemical Romance
Joline - The White Stripes
Time To Kill - The Band

The Lottery - benefiting older Pennsylvanian's daily

2005-11-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

First I have to give a little background information of why in the world I would ever want to talk about the lottery. After transferring from Pitt Greensburgh to Cal U, I was able to land a sweet job at the local beer distributor. Now working at the beer distributor, Todd's Beer Distributor, is many many posts in itself but I'm gonna stick to the lottery today. After working my way up through the ranks over the past year and a half I am now a manager and operate the Lottery Machine and sell instant scratch off tickets to our loyal customers. It's sick how many times I play these people's numbers. The same people come in everyday and play the same exact numbers they have been playing for the past however many years. I know what to play for most people as soon as they walk in the door just from the routine of it. Before working here and experiencing the whole "system" first hand, I really didn't see the lottery as a problem. I figured people go in play a number they had in a dream or whatever and leave. Little did I know how involved people get. They bring in lists of numbers for day and night time drawings spending more money than I make in a day.
My first example customer comes in each day and never spends less than 70 dollars. This lady is probably in her mid to late 60's and the lottery is her life. She comes in at least 2 times a day to play numbers, and each day its the same stuff. I just think to myself about how hard this lady's husband must have worked in the mill or coal mine or whatever so he could have a happy retirement. Now his wife goes and spends more money than she could ever hope to win.
My next example is a guy, early 50's and very friendly guy. He plays numbers anywhere from 3 to 5 times a day. He keeps a book of every number that goes off each day and studies this book. He also carries a book titled "How to Win the Lottery". It was a slow day this past Sunday and this guy came in and I decide that I would try figure out his system and if it really worked. After talking to him and understanding what I could, he thinks that the government sends the answers to you in the serial numbers on the tickets and you just have to simply figure out the code. So he spends everyday figuring out the lottery. It is his entire life- the lottery. I could keep going on and giving more and more examples of people that are totally obsessed with this lottery.
Scratch off tickets are a little different than playing numbers. They generally have a younger following, but are much more addictive. They range from 20 bucks to only a buck and the more you spend the more you win. I have watched people play everyday for over a year and the most I have seen anyone win on a scratch off is 1,000 bucks and that was one time, to a lady who buys $50 a day. Most tickets just let you win enough money to throw it back in and buy more tickets. People rarely take the cash back, they always get more tickets.
Each time people play numbers or buy tickets I just want to grab them and say KEEP YOUR MONEY YOUR NOT GOING TO WIN. But theres always that chance. Someone has to win right? Well when there is people playing hundreds of dollars a day and working to figure out the system how lucky do you feel buying your single powerball ticket? Theres still a chance though I will give you that. The last time the powerball was up over 300 million that chance was 1 in 177 million or close to that. Think about those odds for a bit.....................................Okay. Well I mean it's these peoples money they earn it so they can spend it as they please, but I just don't see the reason here. These people are totally obsessed and that's exactly what the man is trying to do with his machine. He manipulates this game giving higher payouts with worse odds and colorful scratch off tickets whatever it takes just keep the money flowing in. Remember in gambling the house never looses. So I ask you all to please think about what your doing next time you say its only a buck and try on that big jackpot. You will never see that dollar again.

The songs were:

Strange Brew by Cream
Kozmic Blues by Janis Joplin
American Ghost Dance by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Estimated Profit by Grateful Dead
Bandages by Hot Hot Heat

Intelligent Design vs. Evolution

2005-11-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I have been reading a lot about the Intelligent Design vs. Evolution controversy that is happening and it continues to baffle me. In case you aren’t up to date, Dover Area School District, in Pennsylvania, decided it would be a good idea to introduce the idea of Intelligent Design to students offering them an alternative to the current teaching of evolution. So what’s the big deal? If it would have passed, teachers would read a statement before they teach the idea of evolution to their students that explains that it is only a theory and has many unexplained parts. Sounds good, there are gaps, read the statement. But to fill in these “gaps” in the theory, the idea of a creator or outside force is introduced. This “outside force” is not identified, and not labeled as a God of any particular religion. How could this broad statement be twisted into meaning much more than the words stated? Making it into a fight between spiritual beliefs and science beliefs. Two entirely different ways of thinking, one involving recorded evidence and what not, and one involving understanding abstract ideas and philosophy. There is no common ground here. People are searching for answers they will never find. There is no way to know the past for sure, and when you think you figured it out, someone will always be here to argue what you say. It is all in what you believe, and when you go to church your whole life and learn one thing, and then goes to school and learn something that conflicts the other information you’re getting it makes it a difficult topic. Separation of Church and State right? I don’t think so, but it can’t be avoided when talking about a topic that involves both. These are both legitimate theories, but there are millions of theories that are just as legitimate because they are THEORIES. It’s not set in stone making you pick this or that, it’s just presenting two of the most believed in, in most people’s eyes, theories of the present time. Then after you get this information you can decide yourself. Don’t let people decide for you especially when you have people like Pat Robertson saying:

“I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city…And don’t wonder why He hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for His help because he might not be there.”

If you believe this statement or not is up to you, I don’t want to tell you that it’s crazy or what to believe, but I just wanted to use it as an example of how extreme people can take this issue of just not understanding where we came from. People have been trying to figure out where we came from and what happened since whatever happened did happen.

It is such a broad topic it makes my stomach hurt while I’m sitting here trying to think of what to say. I could talk more about the arguments or whatever, but the point that I was trying to make in all of that rambling is that it is a very complex issue (Evolution vs. Intelligent Design), but the issue at hand reading the extremely broad statement is not complex at all until people start making assumptions. This was a pretty rough topic to pick for my first post, and I may have bit off more than I could chew by diving into it like that. I tried to gather my thoughts into an organized fashion the best I could, but I seem to find that many times when I do this, it doesn’t make sense to anyone but me. That’s all that matters through right? HAHA I wish.

By the way the songs I listened to while I wrote this were –
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright by Bob Dylan
Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles
Thank God I’m a Country Boy by John Denver

I think that I’m going to list this each time I post so everyone can know what kind of mood I’m in…

Welcome...

2005-11-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog. I was thinking about the time that I spend on the internet the other day, and most of it is spent looking at pointless sites and reading news. Everyone I work with is always checking their facebook site, but I'm not really into that scene so I figured I would give this a try. I guess we will see how it goes. As of now I have no set posting schedule but I will see what happens...