So, I just randomly searched "Autonomous - No One's Listening" (That's the title of our first ablum, for the new folks.  I recommend getting a copy, it's will make you sexier...   at least to me).

I discovered that our album is being sold on several websites, none of which have ever contacted us, or vice versa.  Great!  Truthfully, at this stage of the game, I'm happy for the exposer.  But, it's a little scary.  Two of the sites were in Europe.  As far as I know, the album should only be available on Itunes and CD baby.

Well paying for music is a joke anyway, it's not like it hard work creating it.  And really, if we didn't have things like art and music in our lives, who cares? 

- a side note: through this search I discovered a video about "Autonomous" robots that are currently working in a Zappos wharehouse.  Srcoll down the page and check it out http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/retailrobots/  It seems surreal, I don't know why, but I was waiting for someone to say' "Just Kidding, gottcha!"  I do love robots, until they create the Singer/Songer-Writer Bot. 

There isn't enough fiction in the world. 

Halloween is a good start. 

I shall be "Teen Wolf."  Or, if I can acquire a Tri-wheel, I will ride around as Danny from "The Shining" 

REDRUM...    mmm, ok.  But, can you squeeze a lime in there?

REDRUM...  I said, ok.  Yes, I'll have one. 

Let's talk about Michael Jackson, not specifically, but of the situation his death created. Many people are upset by the memorials and tributes to his life, feeling that we should not celebrate the life of an assumed child molester. I for one, feel this is a very myopic view. Yes, his recent history is questionable at best, but in my mind it is separate from the art he created.

This is an interesting tendency: once someone has done a "Bad" thing we tend to change our prospective of the past so it will be colored in the light of our current knowledge. In that scenario a murderer would be considered guilty before birth of a crime he wouldn't commit until decades later. This is a great error that is made constantly; we no longer allow ourselves pleasant memories from the past if the present or future isn't as rosy. Boyfriends weren't always cheaters, politicians MAY not have always been crooks, and musicians and athletes weren't always criminals.

Aside from that, let's say an artist's work emerged at the exact same time as he was found to be a killer, do we deny ourselves enjoyment of his work? Is his work guilty too? What if the same situation occurred with a doctor who discovered a cure for cancer, should we discard the knowledge gained? That would be what I would call "Black and White" ignorance. It's the inability to see and appreciate "good" within a frame work "bad". Purity only exists before greater scrutiny, look closer and you will always see a combination of various parts. And -not to poke the bear - sometimes it is those impurities that can be the spark of creativity. Either way, let's keep as much as we can of the good things in our past, present, and future.

The Cliche is: "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."  In Michael's case, the baby is anything off Thriller or the earlier Jackson 5.  The bath water is anything that happened around 1995 and on.  Damn, he was good.

I put out the fires that threaten me most and choke on the smoke as all else burns.  

Disconcertng at first...   and now familiar.








 

Don't close the curtain while you're doing something stupid, let the world see.  We need the entertainment.  Fill in the personal information section in your facebook profile, and put in the dirty details.  I for one, like to pick the fuzz out of the back of the hair dryer, oh yeah baby, I'm craaaaaazzy.  Seriously, fear not the judgement of others, says me.  I love eccentricities, so long as I can admire them from a safe distance...   like through my cable connection.  

It's been a while so let's catch up.

I'm good.  I've been honing my skills at accomplishing very little and yet working constantly.  I'm quite pleased with my success.

And you?  You know, if what you're about to say doesn't directly involve me, I don't see how it's worth mentioning.  Don't be so selfish.

The End.

(O.k. so I've sat here looking at this last sentence for a while...  The End.  Endings are a creation of man, only within our finite vision do things begin and end.  Wow, that's deep.  Give me a cookie.)

 

First, don't honk your horn unless it will save your life or you literally need to wake someone up who is asleep at the light.  I only believe in Karma for the comfort of knowing that these excessive horn honkers will possibly be by run over by a truck... 

that didn't honk.  So sweet, the irony.

Let's see, the polar bears are slowly dying off.  Apparently that's partially my fault and I'd like to apologize.  

This next part will be hard to swallow for some, and no doubt easier for me considering my lack of investments.  The Stock Market:  when and why did we give gamblers control over the health of the world economy.  What would happen if the stock market did not exist?  Companies would rise and fall based on performance, current performance and not an "educated" guess on possible future performance.  What is actual value?  I see that the value of crude oil can change on a daily basis, often because the market had a "bad feeling."  Great.  No, nothing's wrong with that.  

I don't currently have an answer, greed is written in our DNA.  And, wanting more than what you have is not something I would condemn.  I will say one thing, it seems we've reached a stage in civilization where major changes need to occur and this is just the beginning.  Ah, one idea...  don't buy more than you need and try wanting things that aren't just objects.  An example, "I would like to honk my car horn less," or "I want to build a time machine so that I can travel back two weeks ago and sell my GM stock."  You know, something productive.

P.S. Can we not see through the political BS during elections?  First, John McCain is not George Bush.  And, Barack Obama is not a traitor or a terrorist.  And, Sarah Palin is not...   qualified to be VP.  And, Joe Biden is golden, apparently.  And, I am playing music tomorrow, like yesterday and today, it's a rough life.






 

First, sorry I've been MIA for a while.  I've been quite distracted by the...  ongoing-barrage-of-detail-oriented-and-questionably-meaningful-tasks-that-seem-to-fill-all-of-the-space-between-the-6-to-8-hour-segments-in-which-I-dream-about-the-detail-oriented-and-questionably-meaningful-tasks-that-I-do-during-the-day. 

Really, it's not that bad.  I can't remember most of it.

Sigh...

It's only been a few hours and I am clearly suffering from Olympic Withdraw.  You know the symptoms: lethargy, sadness, need for a solid pommel horse performance.  Well, the root of this mild depression is that I truly love watching others push themselves above and beyond "the limits."  When you immerse yourself in a community like that, your achievements pale in comparison.  And, I don't think it's a bad thing.  I move forward in the face of a challenge and stagnate as the leader.  Fortunately, you don't have to look far to find someone working harder than you, doing "it" better than you.  Then you make a decision:  Stay or Grow. 

It's truly amazing that the Olympics even take place.  Not to be overly negative, but I feel that society generally pushes everyone toward the middle.  And, we are more comfortable with others who reside there, possibly because we don't like to see the contrast.

None of the above is to suggest there aren't other places to find that inspiration; the meeting of talent, passion, and tremendous effort.  But, not on TV. 

...and so I will.

Lately it seems that no one is honest.  And, for good reason.  Words are taken as indelible facts and anyone that changes their mind is considered to be of weak moral fiber.  So, the connections between us are weak at best.  Not even those in an intimate relationship really know the complete status of the one they share a life with.  Can you not bare the truth, will it destroy you?  This feeling is ridiculous and without the pillars of our belief it would fall straight to the ground.  When did the things we say start carrying more weight than the things we do? I believe at one time those two were not at odds with each other, but then lying became a viable option to achieve what we wanted but did not deserve.  Now, even those who are strong can show no weakness due to the false bravado of those around them.  I don't need to point out examples of this, it's the prevailing method of interaction from politics to business and everything in-between.  "Good fences make good neighbors," it applies here, we are putting a fence between reality and perception.  What happens to the thing behind the fence?  The protection will grow stronger but not the thing protected. 

Yes, this can start here.  Though, there is a valid fear of being honest, some are held back by the judgement that is soon to follow.  A comparison to the unrealistic idea of what that person should be.  And, this "Judgement" is based on a concept that does not exist beyond our own minds.  We're so deep in this pattern that I'm not sure whether our own "gut" knows from where to take it's cue.  Instinct is something that is built upon conditioning and we have been trained from day one. 

So, this is the crack in the fence.  Nothing too big, I know the places that we're all coming from, we need protection from the truth. 

The truth is boring though, right?  Lies give us something to live for.

Or, at least it's most important character trait?

The ability to distinguish between what is truly beautiful and what is not. 

My guess is that most of our great artists, past and present, created many lackluster works between their infrequent masterpieces.  And it was their ability to perceive this quality difference that led them to become great.  Actually, mankind's ability to see contrast is the fundamental building block for all of our gained intelligence.  If all things are equal, then we are left blind.  Talent is the vision to see the weaknesses in even our greatest effort.