Downtown Fayetteville and the Little Locomotive That Could

Recently I was booked for a “society gig” in Pinehurst, North Carolina. For those of you that aren’t familiar with this southern icon, it is a golfing resort. Nestled in the rolling sand hills of the piedmont, it is flanked by long leaf pine trees. Pinehurst has a unique look due to these trees. It also suffers from the same ills as Fayetteville when brown pine needles fall from the branches of the tress. They leave a mess on the streets. Pinehurst is an anomaly. It is one point of a triangle shared with Southern Pines and Aberdeen. The Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad connects Aberdeen to Fayetteville, and everyday their fleet of GP classed locomotives chug into the yard in Fayetteville. When traveling to Pinehurst via Plank Rd. on the fringe of Ft. Bragg, one never knows where the train will be. It, like most railroad track, is hidden. Likewise Ft. Bragg has an ammunition dump that is serviced by their spur that runs to Aberdeen from the station in downtown Fayetteville. The Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad shares their yard with the Norfolk Southern, which is a Fortune 500 company. A trunk line from their shared yard transects downtown Fayetteville and connects to the CSX-T Milan yard. It seems synonymously with White House political “spin,” no one involved in the downtown revitalization project wants to acknowledge its true colors. The historical block of Old Fayetteville, the one that borders our Market House, is in close proximity to this railroad activity. Downtown Fayetteville, like most turn-of-the-century American towns, is built around its railroad station. The unfortunate thing is the double railroad tracks that run through downtown Fayetteville are the mainline of the CSX-T. CSX-T is an acronym coined by former Secretary of the Federal Treasury John Snow which represents the Chessie System and Seaboard Coastline. The two merged to form the new congomerate with X meaning “unknown” much like “Generation X.” T stands for transportation. The CSX-T mainline runs parallel to interstate I-95 and covers the entire length of the East Coast. Conservatively a train uses the line every fifteen minutes. That makes Fayetteville more unique than any other city in North Carolina, because its downtown station is not for a quaint short line railroad. Major railroad traffic passes through Fayetteville 24/7. The system I just described is the support system for mass transited rail freight. Goods that are shipped to and from Fayetteville such as vegetable oil from Cargill and fuel for Ft. Bragg must be sorted in these yards. This is a dirty, busy, and time consuming process. Unfortunately no matter how you spin that reality, it can’t change the reality that Historic Downtown Fayetteville is part of this geography. One reason why domestic activity has never flourished downtown is because trains are running all day. Quiet lunches, refreshing happy hours, and recreational shopping are not coincident with the sorting of freight by hulking, heat-producing, diesel prime movers. We no longer live in a nostalgic era of steam where the chug of the engine and the toot of the whistle remind us of happier times. We live in an era of massive transportation and logistical technology. The railroads are in direct competition with trucking companies, and they are continually trying to find ways to dominate. One such solution to this healthy competition was the foray into Alternating Current Traction. Traction for those of you who don’t know is a term for pulling weight efficiently on the rails. Traditionally locomotives have been equipped with Direct Current traction motors that are built into the axles of the trucks. The diesel “prime mover” is not responsible for turning the wheels of the locomotive with linkage and gearing from its drive shaft. Instead the diesel engine produces vast amount of electricity by turning either a generator or an alternator. A generator is need for the production of DC power. An alternator is needed for AC traction motors. AC motors have no brushes like the alternator in your car, so theoretically they will not wear out. This was the major incentive to begin using AC traction motors instead of the traditional DC counterpart. Maintenance costs were prohibitively high with DC traction, so the railroads were looking for a more cost effective method of moving heavy freight. The rolling foothills of Appalachia provided a sizeable obstacle for the transportation of coal from the mines to the coal-fired power plants. AC traction was devised by Siemens, General Electric, and General Motors as a solution to this problem. Jointly there were able to produce a new breed of alternating current traction motor locomotives. In the process of designing these mega machines the scope of the traditional railroad locomotive grew. They, like their DC counterpart the C40-9W, bulged at the seems. The diesel prime mover got larger and more powerful, hence its capability to haul more freight with fewer locomotives in a “consist.” Two AC locomotives now could replace a string of traditional DC powered locomotives saving the railroads money. So far the effects of this new breed of locomotive have not been studied. Instead a situation has occurred that is not dissimilar to the Iraq War. The true nature of AC Traction has been covertly disguised. Business has continued as normal while a festering and infected pocket of puss has continued to form. This puss has manifested itself in various ways in the human race. Drug companies have capitalized on its existence by offering pharmaceutical solutions to created symptoms, while no one has even attempted to isolate the cause. It is due time that its ills become known to the mainstream, so its long lasting effects finally can be pinpointed and corrected. It is not unusual for a business community to want to flourish. It is unusual for a group to market something as something it is not. While a burgeoning and humanistic Downtown Fayetteville may seem pleasant, it will never come to pass until the ill effects of AC traction are exposed and conquered.

Freedom in America: Old Money vs. Old Skaters

Everyday living in Fayetteville, North Carolina I am rudely reminded of that “society.” Anytime unabashedly I embark on a pleasure seeking adventure, I immediately am reminded I do not live on my own playground. In fact I live precariously in the middle of property that is overtly private, policed by the state, and taxed by the government. The only thing making it free is that idea in my own head. It used to be we felt free in America. I never thought that as soon as my feet touched the curb at the street I was on Uncle Sam’s property. I never thought riding my bike to the 7/11 in summer when my tires touched they sidewalk they were on “private property.” Of course they were. You could consider government property private, but is it? Of course not. It is paid for by citizens’ tax dollars. Only elected officials with dementia powerful enough could construe government property private. Again the traditions of the Old South prevail. Those with money seem to think because they possess money they are in power. Downtown Fayetteville is a prime example of a confused and mislead business philosophy. It is both inclusive and exclusive. To whom it is what is what is in question. The Downtown Fayetteville Organization has been passing out incentives to attract merchants to the historical block of Old Fayetteville. Over the last three decades multiple attempts have been made to revitalize downtown Fayetteville. The city succeeded in “cleaning up” the 500th Block of Hay St. I’m not sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Suddenly all of those G.I.’s stationed at Ft. Bragg had no where to go to buy beer, hang out, and scope the few available loose women in Fayetteville. Back then I didn’t mind people calling Fayetteville Fayettnam, because with that title came the by products. There were strip clubs. There were bars. There was action. Life was teeming. There didn’t seem to be ghetto, gang, drug dealers anywhere. Old Money succeeded in cleaning up Fayettenam just like Rudy cleaned up Times Square. In marches Disney in all their glory. Broadway shows became Disneyized. Are we living American life in a cartoon? It sure feels like it. The mayor decided to make it illegal in that historical block of Old Fayetteville to ride any type of vehicle that didn’t have a motor and a license. Are you getting this? In a town that hosts the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, someone is saying you can’t ride a bicycle downtown. They are discouraging tourism to the very place they are trying to revitalize. St. Maarten Island in the Caribbean is a huge tourist destination. Cruise ships dock here every day and tourists walk the miles of pavement scouring the hundreds of shops. Often when I walk the streets no one is buying. There is a lot of activity, but no one is buying or selling. Isn’t the whole idea of commerce to buy and sell? If this is not happening than the dynamic or the environment is prohibitive. Someone is not making the buyer feel comfortable and safe enough to put their trust in a merchant selling a product. That is the failed model in Fayetteville. While urban areas continue to make Old Money simply because the masses at Ft. Bragg must be fed, more exclusive areas are shooting themselves in the foot. Making a value judgment that merchants only want customers who drive cars is a civil rights violation. Not only does this contradict every possible rational philosophy (clean air, exercise, pollution, etc.) it is a bigoted idea. It can be seen only from the eyes of merchants that are being exclusive in their practices. Why would anyone see fit to restrict the use of recreational vehicles, whether they were in a business district or not? Is it not possible to ride a bicycle to the movies? There is a movie theatre downtown. Is it not possible to ride roller blades to a restaurant? Is it not possible to ride a skateboard to a store to buy a jacket? It is not the place of merchants or mayors to make these decisions. These are inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and for Fayetteville merchants to be partner to any such ordinances is a gross violation of Fayetteville civil rights. “Sorry massah. Do I have permission to come into your store to buy some fucking mint julip? I can’t afford a car, so I just drive this a little here cart with my three wheeled bicycle.” Sorry Leroy. Suddenly you are a sub par citizen and your presence is not wanted in the downtown block of Fayetteville. It is true Fayetteville has a homeless problem. Most cities do. We have indigent criminals everywhere, but a reckless, short-sighted, bandaid aimed at out-of-work loiterers is the wrong approach. If the town could fill its 30 vacant police spots and begin to enforce its existing laws like our Federal Government, then we would have a better starting place.

The Tongue...

I forgot to mention in my previous post that aside from creating pitch changes from the formation of vowel sounds in the oral cavity, the tongue is responsible for articulation. Articulation is a fancy word for starting and stopping the notes. If the air moves in a consistent stream from the lungs pushed by the diaphragm, then some mechanism must be created to start and stop the notes. There are several methods for stopping the air but using the tongue is the most preferable. Obviously because singers use these same methods, the addition of a mouthpiece and horn is just an extension of the singing process. In that regard is seems appropriate to teach vocal production first, but that rarely happens in public music education. When playing the trumpet the tip of the tongue should touch the base of the top teeth right at the roof of the mouth when articulating a note. This is the best place to articulate the stream of air coming from your lungs, because it doesn't STOP the air. It merely 'flicks' it. If you did as I did all the way through college, then you without knowing stopped the air completely by placing the tongue IN BETWEEN the upper and lower teeth. To someone that does not know any better, then is a functional method. The down side is it inhibits a pure sostenuto sound. Sostenuto is a fancy word for full and sustained. If you continually stop the air by placing the tongue between the teeth, then your phrases of music will not be continuous thus lyrical. They instead will be interrupted. As a result your intonation will be bad. Simply put without a full bodied air stream moving all the time, you are unlikely to play in tune. It is possible to stop the air stream by closing the throat, and this is bad. The throat should not act as a sphincter. It should be open with little to no tension. The trick is to maintain muscular tension in the chops and pressure in the diaphragm while keeping the throat relaxed. Meanwhile the tongue has to move quickly to start and stop notes and help with range by creating vowel sounds. I have found the easiest way to do get these mechanisms working quickly and efficiently is to buzz the mouthpiece. The Bill Adam trumpet method prefers buzzing the leadpipe. His argument is you will never play the trumpet like a kazoo so begin warming up by blowing air through a big tube. My problem with that is I would rather NOT pick up the horn at all when I warm up. I am trying to get my mental faculties in order to begin playing the trumpet. Instead of blindly physically trying to play the hardest instrument at once, I like to move slowly in that direction by isolating each one of these mentioned mental processes. Picking up the mouthpiece makes me think about it and what it has to accomplish to aid me in playing the trumpet. It has to buzz with an airtight seal, and I should be able to control the pitch (or literally play the mouthpiece) by just using my facial muscles, tongue, and air. If you can all ready do this, then it becomes much easier to play the daunting horn. You have all ready, like a vocalist, learned to control the mechanism that can produce quality sound without a horn. You are all ready one step ahead. When you warm up if you spend a few minutes thinking about each of these muscle groups and their function and spend the necessary time warming up those processes necessary to control them, then you will be ready to pick up the horn and play.

Playing Da Trumpet

Many people do not realize the instrument of the trumpet is the most difficult to master. I know this first hand because I began playing trumpet in the sixth grade band. Playing the trumpet, or any brass instrument, requires that you have an embrochure. An embrochure, although it sounds like a fancy word, is just a term to describe a hermetic seal between your lips and the mouthpiece. It is essential in playing a brass instrument to have an air tight seal between the lips and the metal mouthpiece. This is a bit of an anomaly because in order to produces a sound on the trumpet you must blow air and buzz the lips. The muscles that result from an airtight placement of the mouthpiece on the lips are what become the embrochure. Endurance or stamina in playing a brass instrument, or rather the ability to play for extended periods of time, is a product of musculature. These muscles directly around the lips (or chops) are what must grow strong to be able to hold that airtight seal. An airtight seal will not be produced without an “active” embrochure. That means an individual must “form” an embrochure in some way. In the art of playing trumpet they are a multitude of embrochure approaches, and that is what makes playing the trumpet difficult. Depending upon the make up of your facial muscles, the jaw, the alignment of teeth, and the shape of the inner oral cavity and tongue, each approach will be different. It is best not to get caught up in the red tape of which to use by figuring it out quickly what your approach will be. Examples such as the “smile” (pulling the corners of the mouth upward in a smile), and pulling the chin downward are two common techniques. I use neither. The easiest way to come to your correct embrochure is to find the easiest way to create a fairly flat and uniform “shelf” upon which to place the mouthpiece. This could take a few tries in the mirror. Doing this will help isolate the various muscles in the “chops” and allow you to gain control over them. In this way playing the trumpet is akin to being very expressive in acting, because many of the facial muscles could and should be used. First try making silly faces in the mirror. Smile, frown, wiggle your ears, and raise your eyebrows. The better you get at moving these muscles in various directions and how quickly will determine how good of a trumpet player you will become. I did not learn this in college. My embrochure basically relates to the “pucker,” because I have an overbite. That means the angle of the mouthpiece is tilted downward slightly, because the bottom jaw and teeth are further in than the upper teeth. There is nothing wrong with this. Few people have perfectly aligned upper and lower teeth. Depending on the relationship of the top to bottom teeth, your angle will result. If you have a lower bite, then the mouthpiece will angle up somewhat. When I form my embrochure I am doing two things. I am pushing both the top and bottom lips out in a pucker and pulling the muscles on top of the mouth up and the muscles on the bottom of the mouth down. This creates a flat muscular plane upon which the lips sit. Pushing the lips out creates substance or a thick body for which the mouthpiece to rest. Over time the mouthpiece will find its place on these chops, and it is possible that slight creases will form to accommodate the edges of the mouthpiece. Most professional trumpet players (like Miles Davis) have permanent calluses formed on their lips. This is normal. What is not normal is the method taught while I was in high school, which was the Doc Severinsen method of “no pressure.” How will you ever create an airtight seal without some degree of pressure? This confused me to no end in trying to learn how to play the horn. Stamina is the underlying strength of these muscles. The more quickly you isolate the appropriate muscles, begin to use them, and develop strength in them is how quickly you will gain endurance, or the ability to play for extended periods of time.
Before ending this entry I will name the other muscles groups that are used in playing the trumpet. The entire weight of the horn should be held in the LEFT hand. If that means having the pinky ring on the leadpipe removed, then do it. ( I did this when I discovered all through college I left my pinky in this ring giving me a sloppy third valve) Never again! Hold the horn in the left hand and bring it up to the chops and hold it there with force. That means the muscles in your left hand should be strong. Don’t let the horn “rest” in the cradle of your left hand. Hold it firmly. You be the boss of the horn. If you are going to be pushing on it, it needs to be held firmly. A relative amount of pressure should be pushed into the chops or lips. You should be able to feel the mouthpiece well. Act like you are kissing your best beau. Get in contact with the mouthpiece. Caress it. Move the muscles in your face and lips. The idea that the embrochure is some stationary concrete block is absurd. It should be malleable, flexible, and strong. To achieve certain styles in playing you must manipulate the embrochure. No one ever told me this either. You can not execute a lip trill unless… Well I will take that back. There are some trumpet players that can do this by only moving the position of the tongue to create vowel sounds within the oral cavity. The stream of air is constant, but they vary the pitch by going from an open vowel sound to a closed one. “Ah” is open, because the tongue is low and flat in the mouth. “Ee” is closed because the tongue is high and flat. The way you control the “amount” of air going into the horn is by creating the vowel sounds with your tongue. The speed or velocity of the air should be constant. I can’t do this, but with the aid of the chops am getting closer to creating a good lip trill. To finger the valves the pinky should never be in the ring on the lead pipe. You have three fingers for three valves. The right elbow should be held approximately 45 degrees below the height of the valves like a good military salute. It should be able to move freely up and down as the valves are pushed. To use only the fingers to move the valves with the hand held stationary is also ludicrioius. The finger muscles are freed if they are allowed to extend all the way down to the elbow. The wrist on the other hand should be held firmly straight and level with the arm and hand. A limp wrist will not provide the muscular power needed to slam the valves down quickly enough to produce precise note beginnings. The lungs and the diaphragm are the remaining set of muscles that must be used. Like the facial embrochure the diaphragm itself has an embrocure. They are the muscles in your abdomen you would tense to take a punch in the belly. The muscles surrounding the diaphragm must be strong to pressurize the air moving through the lungs to the mouthpiece. It is crucial this air is plentiful requiring strong lungs and moving quickly and evenly produced by pressurization with the diaphragm. Strengthening these muscles is just like going to the gym to do ab work. There are a variety of opinions on how to use these muscles, and I will approach that next time. Peace out and enjoy working on the craft of playing the trumpet.

Iraq...Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

That 70’s Show has been offering a realistic depiction of life in America in the l970’s. The question is, “Is this still a valid model of life for the mainstream?” Since it is well known the mainstream in America has become obscured, would it be problematic to view American life in a decade almost thirty years ago as valid and relevant to our own? Could it be that in certain ways that way of life could be more quintessential to American culture? The disappearance of the mainstream is important to the future of America. When asked the question, “What are the ties that bind a country together,” what will the answers be? If America has always been a “melting pot” of different immigrating nationalities, how did the country arrive at a mainstream to begin with? Could it be that television helped mold that image? Someone decided. Was it small businesses? Was it domestic life? Was it churches? Was it the public schools? Was it the government, or was it media? Could it be that media in the Golden Era of Film and Television was art, and its portrayals of American life were projections of the dreams of foreign immigrants? The good business model has always been, “Plan your work and work your plan.” America could be viewed as a product as such, because representing the vast array of virgin territory some model had to be used. As in the case of the movie “Dances with Wolves” or “Lord of the Flies,” would man sink to the lowest common denominator of civility if faced with a vacuum of cultural humanity? Do we as human beings have it within us to rise above the primitive existence of cave men and create culture? The obvious answer is yes, because the history of the world is dotted with cultures that serve as evidence. The ancient Greeks, the Mayan Indians, and the Egyptians all left artifacts that documented stellar intellectual achievement. This proves that the human mind is capable, as in Eastern religions, to continue to learn and grow despite primitive living conditions. That proves that the human being is the liaison of evolution. It is up to us to carry the torch of existence. What seems to be curtailing this evolution? The obvious answer again is war. When the human race is overwhelmed with the need for violence for self defense, it becomes an all encompassing existence. It becomes hard to justify greater artistic and intellectual achievement when we are operating at the base level of civilization. Although it may seem an unworthy analogy, skating died quite a few deaths in the history of America. If one looks at the chronology of political events in America, they seem to coincide with the “crash” of pop culture activities. It is hard to justify recreation and pleasure at a time when so many in the world are living in squalor, fear, violence, and political unrest. The arts by definition must have a stable infrastructure upon which to grow and thrive. Without that they can exist, but there is no vehicle to present them to the mainstream. Society becomes so disparate with basic human survival they are unable to absorb a common feeling representing the good of humanity. Media in this way can be advantageous to society if the responsibility is taken. That responsibility is to take a heightened social standing concerning life in America. That means leadership. While everyone may not view “Leave it to Beaver,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” and “I Love Lucy” as models of American life, at the time they were produced they were representative of a mainstream way of life. The country of America had not become so polarized so not to be able to depict some kind of domestic life. It could be said these shows and their depictions of American life lead the country. There was a time in television history when writing for TV was an art form. Artists used its medium as the most sophisticated and expedient way to reach mainstream America. Viewed in such perspective television became the media representing the pulse of the nation. At that time the social conscience of the nation never was compromised. Media was highly regulated and its content was edited for the good of the nation. How was that done? The standards of historical civilization simply were applied to the programming. Did these shows represent solid American values? At that time the ideals of the nations had not become both abandoned and extreme. The words in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution said it all. There was not a question about the roots of America. There was no debate. Everyone living in America believed in and attempted to abide by the laws of our land as delegated by these documents. It is unfortunate over time a conscious attempt has been made to undermine these principals of life and government. Lawmakers have continued to humiliate the Constitution instead legislating power for themselves over policy for the good of the people. This is corruption, and no nation is immune to it. We, like every other older nation, must deal with corruption. To keep the ideals of America in place justice by the people needs to be carried out swiftly and keenly. The problems must be located and the personnel eliminated from the formula of government. In the last week the ensuing presidential political campaign made fair strides in doing this. For the first time in six years a conscious effort was made actually to understand what is happening in Iraq without spin. General David Patraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq, gave testimony for both the House of Representatives and Congress. Here he was questioned without the intervention of the White House. With the presidential election looming in November of 2008, presidential hopefuls finally are becoming aware this is the “basket of eggs” they will inherit upon being elected president. It stands to reason trying to effect change now will make for a smoother and easier transition of power into the White House. It was good to see actual intellectual commentary on the state of affairs in Iraq. An understanding of the challenges related to sects, government, security, and infrastructure is becoming more streamlined. This is the only way an exit strategy can be formed. What is interesting is the question of fundamental premise of the War in Iraq. Why would the Bush White House think so highly of the Iraqi people? Could it be President Bush feels guilt for his blundering of a nation? Does he look at his post-Rumsfeld mine field and feel remorse for having destroyed a foreign country? If this were the case it seems fitting ex-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should be offered to the Iraqi people as the sacrificial lamb. It was his departure from traditional military strategy that childishly and selfishly pinpointed the Iraqi infrastructure and systematically destroyed it as a way of circumventing immediate loss of American life. Was he wise enough to know that an insurgency would develop and the lives of almost four thousand soldiers would be on the hands of someone else? Is this why he resigned? He, like Mike Nifong in an a politically motivated campaign tainted with delusions of grandeur, sat in a room in the dark and masterminded a plan to sneak into Iraq and cut their umbilicus. He had no plans to see the enemy eye to eye. He had to plans to be involved with the revolution that resulted. Selfishly and without regard for human decency and evolution this man created chaos for millions. It would be nice to think it was for this reason President Bush seeks to support the Iraqi people. This man was one of his deputies, and it is his responsibility. It is also true George Bush comes from an oil family. The next question presidential candidates must ask is, “How many American civilian contractors are there in Iraq, and who are they? What are their jobs, and what are they attempting to accomplish?” Again it would be nice to think similarly to post World War ll, America prospered by rebuilding the very nations we destroyed. Tooling which was used for warfare easily was modified and American contractors help rebuild Europe. Is this what is happening in Iraq? No one seems to be asking that question. Is spin at play again? Is there and has there been a covert mission in Iraq? Until these question are answered America will never be the same. Our culture will continue to dissolve and corruption in government will fester. It would be nice if an internal system of checks and balances would right this wrong, but revolutions do seem to purge huge pockets of political puss.

A “Pop” White House Legislates Power Over Policy

Let’s assume women don’t like to fake orgasm. Why would we be satisfied with the current administration? “Pop” music exists because musicians are incapable or unwilling to deal with the real thing. A “pop” White House exists because politicians are incapable or unwilling to deal with real American issues. Instead they choose to live in a fantasy world easily spun with party tricks, slight of hand, illusion, misdirection, and allusions to the supernatural. All of these tools of a hypocritical, belligerent, antagonistic, and condescending White House have made for a Hitleresque experience in America.

A Tip o' the Hat to Paul Schaffer...

A tip of the hat to bandleader Paul Schaffer and his CBS Orchestra for consistently being the best band on television. Kudos to this hip and highly motivated group of dedicated musicians for keeping the tradition of "Old School" alive in the field of music. (Pop sucks!)

A World of Pop. Pop Goes the Weasel. Pop Corn. Soda Pop. Pop Star. All Poppy Cock.

When I first began playing music for money, I was startled there was a protocol to which you had to adhere. Society, the people for which we were playing had a routine. To be accepted as a part of this group even as an employee, you had to become part of its status quo. Because we were in the Old South its model was that of Slavery Era plantation life. There were the wealthy elite land owners, and there were the workers. The only difference was post Civil War the workers actually earned money for their labor. The social fabric of the group still consisted of elite and servants. As was customary in the Slavery Era, you had a choice of survival. You could choose to serve that white man and be happy about your freedom from slavery, or you could revolt against the Old Money. Most black folks probably found it easier to maintain a semblance of slavery-like behavior, because that was to what Massah was accustomed. Makes waves or try to upset the status quo and the Klan could be alerted. You would only make it harder on yourself to rebel against the norm, the norm being Old Money. This is a social class system, and it has many short comings. For monetary reasons it could be worthwhile to overlook the humiliation of being treated as a subordinate, but at the spiritual level it becomes much more complex issue. Would God smile at the image of black men being treated as inferior to white men? Would the founding fathers of this nation, the United States of America, smile upon the same image? “All men are created equal,” as the Declaration of Independence states. Although it may be assumed all men are created equal, that does not predispose man to specific delegated sets of behaviors and emotions. Freedom by definition is the privilege to do as one pleases with no control by others. That means spiritual freedom is a major component of freedom, but that is not being exercised readily in America. There is a common dynamic in our country that is being blasted at us day and night that represents nothing. It is stealth and elusive, but it is strong. Some interpret this force as a government of “fear and intimidation.” Conversely it appears to me our government itself is fearful. Fear is universal and like a disease can be contagious. Might it finally be true humans are tired of living in fear? When the tables are turned, when the terrorism is pinpointed, and when the masses unite to form the pursuit of a common good could it be fear finally becomes an unnecessary burden? Do we not have enough to worry about in the world today without living in fear of our neighbor? What is fear? Fear could be described as an emotional feeling of detachment from our own psyches. Where do we gain self-confidence? How do we live in peace and serenity? It is because our emotions provide us with a template that determines our reactions. When our emotions are being intentionally “tweaked” by some unknown force, then we become fearful simply because we do not know what it is that is creating the stimulus to cause our reaction. If we work hard to know what is causing our emotional reaction, it becomes easier to live a peaceful life of self-understanding. When we are being stimulated by a barrage of extraneous stimuli, we become confused and therefore fearful. America at the moment is providing too much emotional stimulus. The stimulus she is providing is not healthy. Everyday our sensibilities are being challenged by unknown forces, and those are not just terrorists. To qualify as human we must be open to new experiences and therefore emotional responses. The challenge is how not to live life in the little black box while keeping away the myriad of negative stimulus that exists in modern day America. Conservative could be thought of as blind and diligent allegiance to the past. Liberal could be seen as the Progressive Movement in American government. A balance must be found that confronts the problems of the future of the United States, but retains an allegiance to practices that have been beneficial to our country. Extremism should not enter the picture at all. Extreme allegiance to the “right” or the “left” has proven to be a mockery in our governmental system. How could a country become so polarized if it were not an allegiance to the model of the plantation south during the Slavery Era? What could be more polarized than the relationship between master and slave? What could cause more disparity in the human race than a false understanding that one ethnicity is superior to another? These tangible and remaining sentiments of the Old South are an embarrassment to our country. Believing that one particular social group is elite because of the money they earn is ludicrous. Likewise the spirituality or emotional sentiments maintained in this class cannot be representative of the mainstream in America, because the majority of Americans are not wealthy. An increasing number are becoming wealthy, but the majority should rule. It is a disservice that the freedom of expression is being constantly pummeled into that little black box. Metrosexuality and its submissive nature should be blasted into orbit along with the idea that government is going to actually take care of the people. Americans need to be strong, and that means rejecting the submissive suggestions of an inclusive television community. To prosper in America boundaries must be continually reshaped and broken. Acknowledging some unseen force or a highly visible force at work in media is somehow superior to our own opinions is to undermine the future of America. Because of the lack of support and interest in our pubic schools, no one is being taught how to question the status quo. We on the other hand feel an unconscious need to fit in and therefore be supportive of the leadership in our country. When that leadership fails us, because of consciousness we are placed between a rock and a hard place. How do we provide moral support to our country and attempt to build a community when the very infrastructure upon which that is built is corrupt? That is why faith in our government is important. When the population loses faith in government, media cannot provide the substitute. The purpose of media is to watchdog real life and provide entertainment. They are not equipped with the intellect, philosophy, or spirituality to lead a nation. Only artists are capable of this task, and a free-thinking, freely expressing artistic community should be nurtured and revered for the tasks they are able to accomplish. Leadership must come from somewhere, and what better place than a group of seeing, feeling, and open artists with their eyes and ears on the pulse of America. It’s too bad this deservedly elite group is being challenged everyday by the onslaught of pop sentimentality. We as the human race are meant to question, and for this reason the traditional formulas of media production need to be replaced with probing inquisitiveness about a happy state of enlightenment that can still exist in American society. It can only start with renewed faith in a renewed federal government.

Today’s Top Ten List of Hollywood’s Best Lays (Male)

A historical perspective of the BEST heterosexual "acting" in Hollywood history.

1. Chad Everett (Give than man a gold star for his performance with Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive)

2. Jeremy Irons (Something lead Dominique Swain to give than man a blowjob early in the morning... "I guess I'll have to show you everything...." Lolita says.)

3. Tim Matheson (Who else gets to snake the wife of the Dean in the movie "Animal House?")

4. Cary Grant ("Pardon me but I think you are sitting on my penis...)

5. Jimmy Stewart (Any good father without a job at Christmas time deserves a good lay)

6. Robert Mitchum (Although he was the villain in the original "Cape Fear," his performances across from Marilyn Monroe merit a place on this list. Could you handle America's most favorite sexpot?)

7. Peter Coyote (Do you like to role play in the bedroom? Peter is familiar with this behavior. Do you want to dress up as Ms. Nursey?)

8. Robert Conrad (Who could be a better "Macho Man" than the original Jim West?)

9. Ross Martin (Although Jim was the "Macho Man," Artemus's disguises were smart enough to gain the hearts of women.)

10. Michael Dunn (Although his legs were short, his fervor and determination with women were big.)

Today’s Top Ten List of Things Overheard in Fayettenam, North Carolina

1. “It’s More than a Mac and Cheese….” (What a drug dealer says about his contraband for sale in the hood.)

2. “Got Hum…?” (AC Traction back in action.)

3. “The BRAC Pack…” (It’s too bad it’s not Dean, Frank, and Sammy.)

4. “The Base Realignment Commission…” (A consortium consisting of the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and the Little Rascals who want to exchange first base for third in the game of baseball.)

5. “ Fifty-five Thousand and Counting…” (The number of military personnel at Fort Bragg before the realignment begins in 2008.)

6. “Would You Like Fries with Your Shake…?” (No explanation needed)

7. “Why Would We Carry Birkenstock Milanos…?” (The United States Army wears combat boots.)

8. “What Do You Mean my Harley has to pass the OBDll Emissions Test…?” (Neither do the semis, the dump trucks, the back hoes, the Hummers, or the C-130’s.)

9. “Do You Like My Custom Rims…?” (You can buy them at the same store you buy tactical warfare gear.)

1o. “That Megaphone on my Exhaust Pipe Doesn’t Enhance Performance…” (It just sound cool.)

The Four Brothers... (of saxophone)

The "New School"

Jay Beckenstein, Hans Teuber, Chris Potter, Tom Scott

The "Old School"

Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, Serge Chaloff, Stan Getz


P.S. It's kind of funny these guys look alike!

Today’s Top Ten List of American Fallacies

1. John F. Kennedy Jr., John Denver, and Steve Fossett are alive and well living comfortably in Rio de Janeiro

2. At the APEC Economic Summit in Sydney, Australia America’s “Prince of Darkness” was abducted by an Osama Bin Laden look alike and taken to a U.S. Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay.

2. General David Patraeus used his hearing before Congress on the progress of the Iraq War to announce he was coming out of the closet. He professed his support for past President Bill Clinton’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the U.S. military.

4. A buff Britney Spears kicked her drug habit cold turkey, married Seth Green at a Chuck E. Cheese Chapel, and doned frilly bloomers prior to her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.

5. Senator Larry Craig used his Iraqi hearing before Congress to announce his bisexuality, citing the need to frequent airport bathrooms due to the Senate Page Scandal.

6. A suicidal California gray whale exploded in a densely populated maritime region killing six United States Naval officers. The Shiite lead Makah Tribe immediately claimed responsibility for the terrorist act via a video posted on the You Tube website.

7. Mitt Romney’s campaign headquarters in Boston’s north end were burglarized over the weekend by his own political supporters. After a window was found ajar Romney feverishly announced the disappearance of his three-year-old autistic and permanently retarded step daughter.

7. David Beckham announced Sunday his was leaving Major League Soccor and the L.A. Galaxy and returning to England’s West End to act in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical “The Ozone over Allah.” When questioned about the career move, he replied, “Posh has always wanted to see me dance, and I have less chance of getting hurt.”

9. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff announced Monday he was off chemotherapy and his cancer was in remission. As a result he again will be changing jobs transferring to the district office of the Department of Jazz Preservation and Hurricane Reform in New Orleans, Louisiana.

10. Alberto Gonzales is alive and well and practicing law in Rio de Janiero.

Why Would Jesus Smile on Country/Pop Singers?

Television has been rendered a eunuch by its use of pop music. Pop music produced on the computer has rendered impotent the once vital human expression of music. Pop music is the quintessence of living in the little black box. It merrily gives up its masculinity for a cowardly and foolish good time. Why is this? It is obvious no one in the music industry has ever sat down an analyzed the rhythmic concept of pop music. Conversely “folks” just picked up the acoustic guitar and without ever thinking about what they were going to play, started to strum. If you were to take that strumming pattern, use it as MIDI data, and look at it graphically on a sequencer you would see it could not fit evenly over the quarter note pulse. The eighth notes are too close together. To get them to fit the time has to be both compressed and expanded each bar rather than falling into perfect time. You can make them fit over the quarter notes, but in doing so they hit both ahead of and behind the quarter note disguising it. If you don’t understand and innately know this “feel,” it can be incredibly difficult to articulate. That is because you must know the feel in your head and then make a cognitive decision how you are going to distort real time. (Like the gravity drive!) If you are a capable musician that has worked years to be able to play good time (the real definition of a good musician), then it is unlikely you are going to want to play a style that disguises it. Usually you want to show off your ability to play good time. Now pop musicians want to show off their bling, their threads, and their genitalia. Musicians that have become adept at playing pop music have to choose which place they are going to play. They can either play ahead with the first eighth note which creates excitement, or they can play behind which creates a laid back feel. It, like schizophrenia, doesn’t make sense. Most human beings want a singular emotional experience from their music, because if it is singular then that emotion can and should change. That is the job of the music and the musicians. Knowing how to do this effectively is the art of music. For anything to qualify AS MUSIC, this has to be recognized. As such pop music does not even qualify to be called music. It is masturbation in public. More successful pop music chooses as a majority to play on the front part of the beat. That could be considered “Dirty Pop.” The down side is once all the hoop la is over, it is inevitable the lazy part of the beat is still there. The current form of Jazz music that is being portrayed today is pop music. Musicians simply superimpose quarter notes triplets over this beat to match up rhythmically with this concept. Appropriately this pop concept offers these two choices of “superimposed” feeling, and jazz makes better use of them. It can take the laid back side and mislabel it Swing, or it can take the aggressive side and mislabel is Hot Jazz. It is all smoke and mirrors, because no matter how well they articulate the music, it is fake. It inherently does not posses the musical tools to be able to move the listeners emotions through the music. They must be moved by musicians creating a subversive emotion having nothing to do with the music itself. Musicians playing this game should be recognized as pop artists. They certainly do it well and it looks good. It is unfortunate it does not mean anything. Therefore it is jive. The traditional pulse of time that is used in every other style of legitimate music has been abandoned simply because someone decided strumming the guitar up and down with no training could translate into a bona fide musical style. Instinctually when the rest of the rhythm section began to play, they simply matched the rhythmic inflection of the strumming guitarist. In this case, and it is the case of pop music, no instrument in the rhythm section actually plays the time in a way a human being can feel it. The entire concept naively is like playing in a little black box. No one takes on the responsibility of playing the time. They just want to have a good time playing. Their time is defined by this black box, and the pop band plays comfortably inside it. Real music assumes the responsibility of playing the time. Although Igor Stravinsky said emotions could not be inherent in musical content, I disagree. Differing emotions are what define styles of music. Why is Hip/Hop Hip/Hop? Why is Rock Rock? Why is Smooth Jazz Smooth Jazz? It is because they are playing in different rhythmic concepts or beats that translate into feelings. Beats help create moods which really are diluted human emotions. Music at its best creates the feeling of itself by the music itself. That is why it is so powerful. Right now in America we are being short changed by our music. Television has chosen to use the MIDI programmer instead of live musicians. Even when they do use live musicians, like the cruise lines the music still is generated by a computer sequencer. Because the vocation of music performance has become less important to America because of Karioke and the Dee Jay, human ability to play live music has declined. Most of the small venues available for playing live music have evaporated. In the professional world there are only three remaining areas one can make a living in music. They are Broadway, the military, and the cruise ship industry. Why would have Disney have decided to cut something so vital as live music from its theme parks? Some unskilled and musically ignorant accountant decided there was no need to pay live musicians. In one fell swoop in America live music died, just like skateboarding did in the early l980’s. With the death of live music has come the obscuring of the mainstream, the emotional immaturity and dysfunction of our youth, and the loss of human evolution. Music’s ability to stir the emotions has always been its advantage. Why else would the American military use music to rally feelings of patriotism? It is because music is the most powerful method of changing the emotions, and that is necessary in human life. Without it we are nothing. We are sitting unmoving, unthinking, and unfeeling. Because television has adopted as its mascot pop music out of convenience, our traditional soapbox in America has been rendered sterile. Like a partial birth abortion the head of music is extracted, cracked open, and sucked dry before it even attempts to live. There will be no new children. There will be no new ideas. There will be no roused spirits. Life will remain in the little black box. It is appropriate David Lynch was wise enough to be able to describe this in 2001 by his film Mulholland Drive. He portrays the dream of Hollywood and the reality of Hollywood happening at the same time like pop music. An aspiring young actress goes to Hollywood to make it. Instead she ends up a lesbian prostitute living on the street. That is your life in the black box, because someone else is always in control. Whether it is the mob or the rich Jews, someone else is always in control. The only way to destroy this concept is with live music, and traditionally in America that is what has been done. Why are we different now? It is amazing to me how many Hollywood celebrities, “have been so blessed.” Why would Jesus smile on country pop singers?

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood Drag Queens

1. Danny Bonaduce in Drag- John Holmes

2. Maria Shriver in Drag- Peter Coyote

3. Carson Daily in Drag- Tiger Woods (pre Michael Jackson)

4. J.T. Walsh in Drag- Michael Jackson

5. Cuba Gooding Jr. in Drag (post Michael Jackson)- Sinbad

6. Julia Roberts in Drag- Hillary Swank

7. Peter Fonda in Drag- Robert Redford

8. Forest Whitaker in Drag- The GEICO Caveman

9. Kurt Russell in Drag- Arnold Schwarzenegger

10. Demi Moore in Drag- David Hassellhoff

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood's Best Lays (Women)

1. Linda Fiorentino

2. Phoebe Cates

3. Charlize Theron

4. Christina Applegate

5. Elisabeth Shue

6. Elizabeth Perkins

7. Jeanne Tripplehorn

8. Jennifer Love Hewitt

9. Betsy Russell

10. Halle Berry

Today’s Top Ten List of Hollywood’s Worst Lays

1. Jessica Alba

2. Scarlett Johansson

3. Jessica Biels

4. Pauly Shore

5. Adam Sandler

6. Courtney Love

7. John Stamos

8. Richard Simmons

9. Louis Ladehoff Jr.

10. Penelope Cruz

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood Drag Queens

1, Michael Bolton- Mutt Lange in Drag Fifteen Years Ago

2. Tavis Smiley- John Coltrane in Drag Twenty Years Ago

3. Art Garfunkel- John McEnroe in Drag TwentyYears Ago

4. Larry David- Steve Jobs in Drag Ten Years Ago

5. Rick Springfield- Dana Carvey in Drag Ten Years Ago

6. Jennifer Jason Lee- Angie Dickinson in Drag Twenty Years Ago

7. Helen Reddy- Jamie Lee Curtis in Drag Fifteen Years from Now

8. Stevie Nicks- Phoebe Cates in Drag Fifteen Years from Now

9. Matthew Modine- Scott Bakula in Drag Fifteen Years Ago

10. Jerry Seinfeld- Kevin Neiland in Drag Fifteen Years Ago

Today’s Top Ten List of Celebrity Drag Queens

1. Jay Leno- Rebecca Pidgeon in Drag Twenty Years from Now

2. Vili Fualaau (Pre-Rhinoplasty)- Aaron Neville in Drag Twenty Years Ago

3. Michael Jackson- Kam Fong in Drag Fifteen Years Ago

4. Bill Dunn (Dr. Rock, Trumpet in the Navy Cruisers Band)- Howard Dean Twenty Years Ago

5. Alex Trebek- Beatrice Arthur in Drag

6. Richard Gere- Harrison Ford in Drag Twenty Years Ago

7. Keanu Reeves- Denzel Washington in Drag Pre-Michael Jackson

8. Sinbad- Chris Tucker in Drag

9. Katherine Hepburn- Jane Fonda in Drag

10. Denise Richards- Michael Jackson Twenty Years Ago

Today’s Top Ten List of Celebrity True Identities


1. Rebecca Pidgeon- Kate McCann in Drag

2. Mary K. Letourneau- Elizabeth Shue in Drag

3. David Ogden Stiers- Natasha Henstridge in Drag Thirty Years from Now

4. Kelsey Grammer- Fred Thomson in Drag Fifteen Years Ago

5. I Robot- Britney Spears in Drag

6. Carson Daily- John Stamos in Drag

7. Sarah Morrow- Hillary Clinton in Drag Thirty Years Ago

8. Chris Potter- Anderson Cooper in Drag Twenty Years Ago

9. Ami James- Mark Pender in Drag

10. Jesus- Jimmy Herring

A Quiet Canvas Upon Which to Paint

What consequences does changing the human condition bring? We are all ready seeing it on a monumental scale in film production. Whereas films used to rely on emotional response to drive the drama, today it relies upon formula. True acting does not exist. Actors and actresses are phoning their parts in, because it has become passé to emote. It’s not cool to be emotional. The definition of cool is just that. Cool. Unemotional. To be cool there has to be an intellectual premise underneath meriting the cool displacement from the unhip. It’s to bad at the moment there is no artistic movement to back up Hollywood’s glam-cool imagery. That’s what the Fine Arts are supposed to do. They provide the real inspiration and substance for Hollywood’s imagery. Is there any “Cool Jazz” happening at the Baked Potato in L.A.? Why is “pop” singing still is in vogue? It is because “pop” embraces no feeling at all except happiness. No one can be happy all the time, and trying to force the public to feel preconceived happiness is a formula for depression. When people can’t actualize their true feelings, they become depressed. The American people are depressed, because they do not know what they are feeling. It is the job of the artist to provide this relief through the wisdom in music. Pavarotti didn’t get famous singing “pop.” Opera embraces emotion, because we as human beings need emotion to make us feel human. When we lose touch with the profile of common emotions that define the human race, we become confused. We are not robots. Film is dead because the venue that once provided the canvas upon which art could be created no longer exists. That venue was a blank, quiet, contemplative environment undisturbed by the pollution of American industry. We no longer have that. We live in the remnants and artifacts of Big Business that itself has a “cool” disdain for the American people’s true needs. Try going out, standing in the middle of a street, and thinking about something. Try to think abstractly. Try to think in advance of the current moment. Try to think in depth about something. Try to solve a problem or work out an emotional response. You can’t do it, and our students can’t do it in classrooms littered with causes of ADHD. The pace of the world fueled by frenetic TV has ruined the idea that something could be created in a quiet space. There are those that say the world has gotten too quiet. This is another fallacy, because all of us are tied together by great “sheets of sound” created by industry. While it may seem quiet at a particular moment, rest assured what you are hearing is not what God intended. He intended us to hear the sounds of birds and of a cool breeze rustling through the leaves on a tree. He intended us to hear the crickets and the muted barks of dogs. He intended us to hear the roar of water and the joyous laughter of children at play. He didn’t intend for us to hear Harley Davidson motorcycles, headers on pick up trucks, and thumping stereos playing bad Rap music. Those sounds may be a reflection of a country at war. You have to have courage to leave quiet space, and we fail at the attempt. We are too nervous, afraid, and panicky to allow a second to go by where we may feel something of which we are not in control. We are too used to feeling, “Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional,” as Brad Pitt describes the acronym F-I-N-E. Eastern religion is based upon this concept, but you have to have a pristine space to be able to practice it. With the Republican led movement to buy up America at large, there will be few places left to Mother Nature. Cleanse the mind of the worthless fodder of everyday life. That is the task at hand. That is what surfing does. That is what skating does. Sit on a grassy hill and meditate. Wait for good things to happen. Those good things should be enlightenment from our minds, except that our minds are being polluted with our bodies. Those with natural talent are blessed with an instinctive gift to create naturally. They actualize abstractly through their emotions. Industry as a whole carelessly has overtaken our environment not allowing us the canvas we need to paint the picture of life. Whether it be a drive-in theater, a burger joint, a soda fountain, or the local pub America needs these outlets for tactile release. Cyberspace cannot move the flesh and the emotions the way real life should. We will not become an enlightened nation until we learn to rely on our own minds. It is about rushing around, slaving nine to five, making dinner, dropping off the kids, and beginning to do it all over the next day. Who picked this lifestyle? Who said as Americans we have to do this? Is this what capitalism is all about? The Protestant Work Ethic? Working your fingers to the bone? There is enough money in the world for everyone, and it is a shame only the wealthy can afford to buy the amenities in life we used to be provided by Mother Nature. It seems game and television programmers have appointed themselves the keepers of the flame, yet they are failing on a massive scale.

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood Drag Queens

1. Steve Fossett in Drag- Brian Dennehy

2. Osama Bin Laden in Drag- Michael Richards

3. David Beckham in Drag- Tommy Lee

4. I, Robot in Drag- Posh Spice

5. Jesse James in Drag- Sandra Bullock

6. Jennifer Aniston in Drag- Maria Shriver

7. The Pillsbury Dough Boy in Drag- Glenn Beck

8. Rene Russo in Drag- Pierce Brosnan

9. Dwight Yoakam in Drag- Jay Boy Adams

10. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Drag- John F. Kennedy Jr.

Today's Top Ten List of Current American Fallacies

1. Michael Chertoff's Department of Homeland Security is a Useless Bureacracy...

While Chertoff's performance as head of FEMA during hurricane Katrina may not have been expedient, the United States has not seen another terrorist attack on our native soil since September 11, 2001.

2. Only the Maritime Industry Has Been Strengthened in Terms of National Security...

Anyone who flies knows the aviation industry effectively has tightened security. How can these precautions at airports (including confiscation of objects, gels, and liquids) be construed as non-existent?

3. Scientists shouldn't be worried about the huge cold spot found in the Cosmic Background Radiation field left
over from the Big Bang...

Anything a billion light years across that consists of "nothing" should be a concern

4. Scientists shouldn't be worried about Calvera, of the Magnificent Eight, recently discovered close to the earth...
Einstein proved neutron stars bend space time. Are we teetering on the Event Horizon until 2012?

5. A Reversal of Earth's Magnetic field is of no concern to the human race...

Isn't it a coincidence a graphic projection of earth's reversing magnetic field looks like the windings in an AC motor
or a huge mutated cancer cell?

6. Astronauts can't have sex in a diaper...

No further commentary needed.

7. JonBenet Ramsey, Natalie Hollaway, and Madeleine McCann are are living comfortably in Rio de Janero...

Let's hope Madeleine hasn't been shark food in Portugal.

8. John Mark Karr is living comfortably in Rio de Janero...

Conversely it is the citizens of Atlanta, Georgia that are concerned about Karr's marital history. His
first wives were fourteen and sixteen years old respectively when he married them, and he is engaged.

9. Norman Hsu is living comfortably in Rio de Janero...

It is unfortunate the democratic party didn't win the election in 2004, so his donations couldn't buy
him a presidential pardon for a felony theft indictment in l991. "Its a long road to Tipperary..."

10. "Scrubs" is a bad TV show...

It is refreshing to see something fresh, smart, and funny on television today.

Today's Top Ten List of Best Beers

1. Kirin- Japan

2. Banks- Barbados

3. Medalla Light- Puerto Rico

4. Heineken- The Netherlands

5. Ringes- Norway

6. TsingTao- China

7. Kalik- The Bahamas

8. Red Stripe- Jamaica

9. Presidente- Dominican Republic

10. Peroni- Italy

A Government of Fear and Intimidation. Are We Ready for Armageddon?

It is inescapable we are existing at the base level of civilization. We have yet to recover from 9/11. With that anniversary right around the corner there will be no present to be had. There will be no diamond necklace, bouquet of roses, or perfume to celebrate this day in history. Conversely we will be reminded that America’s security was breeched on her native soil for the first time since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Viewed in that perspective the War in Iraq seems justified. It’s too bad history has shown us there was no tangible connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda, the group that professed the attack. Instead we, like ex-District Attorney Mike Nifong, gullibly attempted to prosecute before the enemy had been proven guilty. Nifong got a fine and a day in jail. America got an unnecessary war and the responsibility of destroying a foreign country. All the propaganda cannot change those facts. There has been no nation-building. We did overthrow and prosecute an evil dictator who was punished with death. What consequences will the United States reap for our crime? That is what is fueling world unrest at the moment. How will America be held accountable for her unwarranted action against the country of Iraq? It is ironic and so similar to every other elite-created bubble of hype, we will not get the oil. Conversely history and ethics will prove we should be punished for our actions. It could be said we had the punishment first. 9/11 was the sacrifice, so we can call it even. The question is what to do next? There were no dire consequences when President Richard M. Nixon piloted an exit strategy from Viet Nam, except that one in every four servicemen had a drug habit. It seems the brutal murderous reality of war does merit an anodyne of some kind. Marijuana and heroin were the popular choices. Currently we in America have no such escape. Ronald Reagan proclaimed a holy war on Haight/Ashbury and the all but harmless to the country’s security Flower Power Hippie drug movement. At least then there was social idealism behind the drugs. Intelligent college students were using drugs as a means of escape from the cold reality of Viet Nam. Now you can go to prison for life for possessing too much marijuana. Is this not extreme seen in the chronology of history? Why did legislators see fit to attach such a severe form of punishment to a constitutionally protected right to the pursuit of happiness? This law is symptomatic of a movement in government that began attempting to legislate morality. Why would they do this? If the concept of separation of church and state were taken too literally, then the whole reason and need of religion would be rendered impotent. This movement continues to this day as major publications continue to spin traditional historical religious values. Morality is learned in the home and in church. The laws of America are meant to protect citizens, not punish them for making the wrong moral decisions. In essence laws that do such are punishing human beings for being human. This easily has dictated a socio-political movement that has suffocated human behavior. While the cleaning up of New York city’s Times Square is probably a good thing, without the experiences of vice the human being will be prevented from learning the difference between right and wrong. That is why God gave us a conscience. We have the innate ability through our emotional responses to learn what is right and wrong. This process relies upon our emotions. Somehow the extreme far right took over government and began to substitute intellect for instinct. Upon perusal that’s what the Republican party is good at. They are cold, calculating manipulators of fact and figure. That is the America we have today and we as a race of human beings are suffering. How can a human minority choose to negate a major component of God’s design? The history of Western Civilization documents that this component is a crucial part of human existence. Why else would the Arts be based upon it? To simply say, “We no longer are going to value this process” is complete blasphemy. Therefore the Republican party can be seen as evil in the eyes of God. The sterility in our American society has taken it toll on just about everything. Suicide rates are up. New diseases are emerging every day. People are dying because the core needs of the human being are no longer being met. We have been legislated a race of mindless soulless androids. Androids are easier to control when they neither think or feel. Television has been the major delegator of this propaganda. Its active choice of only presenting images of grossly stereotypical, preconceived, shells of a human beings has continued to brainwash a populace all ready ill equipped to deal with reality. It simply comes down to a matter of pollution, pollution on a grand scale. Our environment is polluted rendering us physically unable to function in the historical context of the human being, and our minds are being polluted by media and the government. Rightly so it seems we are destined for Armageddon.

A Tip o' the Hat....

We must give a tip of the hat to Powerflex 5. Who else knows that Powerflex 5 is a classic skateboard wheel Tony Alva rode in the 70's? Word up to L.A. Ink and Kat's in house ink man and band for standing up to the task of opening for a "TV" band. Your performance rocked!!! Surf Rock Rules! Nice job, but... better keep those tats up to par.

Today's Top Ten List of Real Television Identities

1. Caroline Kennedy in Drag- Radar O’Reilly

2. Charlie Rose in Drag- Willem Dafoe

3. David Letterman in Drag Twenty Years Ago- Radar O’Reilly

4. Elton John in Drag Twenty Years from Now- Paul Schaeffer

5. David Letterman in Drag Thirty Years Ago- Drew Carey

6. David Letterman in Drag Forty Years Ago- Kat Von D.

7. Danny DeVito in Drag Twenty Years Ago- Rudy Giuliani

8. Uma Thurman in Drag Ten Years from Now- Tina Fey

9. The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz in Drag- Larry David

10. A Geoduck- A Cuban Guy Screwing a Multitude of Teenage American Women on the Bang Brothers Network on the World Wide Web

Sir Robin Hood and Universal Health Care

As Barak Obama touts his wisdom from Hillary Clinton’s “failed universal health care attempt,” the American people must know the truth. Michael Moore and others have attempted to “expose” our system of health care in the United States. It is easy to understand. It is private and it is run by private companies. What else do you need to know? The current governmental regime is run largely by private companies, and it core purpose is to serve those interests. It has been obvious to the American people since President Bush took office the American people do not matter. Private businesses do. Wealth. Private wealth. In attempting to dismantle our privatized health care system, any politician is faced with probably the most daunting task in the country next to national security. That is taking wealth from the hands of the wealthy and placing it in the hands of the masses. The medical profession and all its tangents in the United States erroneously has become foul with the need for money. Why else would the health care of America’s citizens be taken over by useless and much hated HMO’s? Their only purpose is to pinch pennies for the rich. That is how the rich become rich. Ask anyone that deals with the wealthy and you will know they are some of the tightest people ever. Pinching pennies is one way to get rich. Just ask the federal government why they “deduct” money from you monthly check and keep it for you? Anyone knows it is because the federal government earns interest of YOUR money. Why should they be allowed to do this, under the guise you will get a refund after tax day? It is a way of appeasing the American people, just like sending checks for tax cuts. Instead of confronting the philosophy of the issues in a socio/political context, American business just goes for the jugular at the expense of Joe Schmoe. That is why attorneys go to school, become CEO’s, and run for office. Who is more qualified to dupe the American people than professionals that know the loopholes in the law? This issue is reaching a head as more Americans get sick and die. It is a common fact now that the health care system in the U.S. is far behind other countries. It probably is not because we are less capable than other medical establishments. It is because we are greedy in the name of Capitalism. America is where you can “get rich quick.” Those that get a taste of the medicine like it, so the ball rolls on. How we let our health care system become such a gargantuan bureaucracy is perplexing. It began with the inception of the H.M.O. Without going into it any politician that will attempt to dethrone HMO’s, traditional health insurance providers, private doctors, private hospitals, and DRUG COMPANIES is in for the fight of their lives. The reason why Hillary failed was because her “plan” was merely a memo jotted down on a scrap of paper, or so the papers said. To succeed at providing a universal health care system or socialized medicine is to go against everything America has ever stood for, because we are NOT a socialist country. We are a Republic with a Capitalist socio-economic system. That means people have to earn money privately to support themselves and their families. Devising a plan to convert the traditional privatized system of health care to one of government control is monumental. It will take considerable intellect to do so, something as complex as cracking DNA. To succeed at this task scholars and historians should begin NOW. If our government cannot handle the small tasks at hand, how will they every be able to manage universal health care? My guess is they won’t, not without it becoming a huge mess more cumbersome than the system we have now. What we should focus on is getting costs down by cutting out the middle men. HMO’s are unpopular, and if they are it is because they are providing a disservice to the American people. I like the idea of a family doctor with a little black bag. Pass a kidney stone, call the doc for a shot of Demerol. No need to involve an Emergency Room that is going to charge you $4,700.00 for two CT scans and a load of other unnecessary crap. Need an operation? Shop around to find what you want. People in America have been forced to do so, because HMO’s fail miserably at providing specialty care for acute and undiagnosed conditions. American’s have been traveling all over the country based on Web searches on GOOGLE to find solutions to their medical problems. Is this blasphemy or what? The internet provides better health care than our current system? It is a shame our citizens must travel thousands of miles to find adequate and affordable health care spending money on air travel. That has become the alternative, because even with the airfares the prices they find for operations in foreign countries are more affordable than what is offered in America. That suggests that a sizeable gap is developing in income brackets in the U.S. The wealthy are getting wealthier, and the poor are getting poorer. Universal health care is a large word and a popular issue that is meaningful to everyone. It’s just that it is going to take more than a memo to make it happen. Better get to work Barak.

Television

A recent study done in New Zealand confirmed that television watching in children had adverse consequences that stayed with them for life. The Kodaly and Suzuki methods of teaching music are aimed at naturally developing and instinctive methods of learning that easily apply to music. It has been asserted time and time again if a child listens to Mozart they somehow they will become more intelligent. There are no smoke and mirrors here. If one only takes the time to look at television and analyze with it really is, it would be easy to conclude it is not a good thing for our youth. That has not always been the case. In the Golden Age of Television programming was based upon real life. That was what made it poignant and interesting. Because no medium had ever had the ability to look into the homes of real people, seeing a reflection of your own life on the tube was a kick. Today television does not have this concept. Its music has no motifs. Its programming has no thematic material. There is nothing that ties television together into anything coherent. It somehow became a mish mash of extraneous programs that have translated into dysfunction in American society. If a child watches television for three house, what actually are they seeing? First programs have become truncated, and commercials invade the viewing space much more frequently than in the past. It’s like there is an inquisitive Big Brother constantly “looking in” on the viewer. This phenomenon has inundated American society, and it could be in a psychological form. Is it normal for your personal time to be interrupted constantly by an invading species? When you are attempting to carry on a conversation at school, does Big Business poke its ugly head in? When you are talking on the telephone, does a commercial rudely interrupt you? Someone has to sell the soap, because television is financed by advertising. Programming could not exist except on the public level without advertiser’s dollars. That should not give them the authority to dictate programming standards. These standards, if not regulated by the FCC, should be based upon the actual study of learning. To say a child will not learn when watching TV is ludicrous. When people are young their minds and hearts are open, and they deserve much more than they are being pummeled with on television. It could be said television alone sets the model for schizophrenic behavior, because there are few other situations except Wall Street that mimic such a disjointed approach to social interaction. Only when attempting to register for classes in college have I been exposed to such a situation where calm and intent thought was not effective. It was more like, “You better go out and take what your want,” like the cavemen did. Would Geico be insulted if we suggested their cavemen were so barbaric they must go out and hit their wives on the head with a club? When we attempt to watch television and a commercial interrupts that has no relationship to the programming, it is schizophrenic. Two distant and dissimilar moods juxtaposed upon one another is a formula for something, and maybe it is ADHD. In this manner television has become a barrage of extraneous situations with nothing tieing them together in concept. A young mind watching such a tirade could easily be influenced beginning to unconsciously feel it is normal behavior. Somehow the visceral nature of bombarding images classically conditions the mind into believing concentrating, thinking for oneself, or establishing a mood are inappropriate. Maybe the mind is duped into enjoying submission, because it relinquishes them of the responsibility of having actually to think about the programming content. Entertainment used to be effective like that. Good movies succeeded in reaching our emotions in a positive way with good message. If you think back few movies actually demanded you think about the plot. There was a magic formula consisting of theme related to emotional response that allowed the story to be carried out. Cognitive thought was replaced by an instinctual stream of consciousness. When dealt with in a sensitive and positive way, this was an effective means of both entertaining and enlightening people. Dealt with in a rude and unthoughful way, it will lower the behavior of man to that of the animals and that is what is happening. Producers of film and television are not wise enough to understand their roles. Instead has this media become only a conscious attempt to manipulate our youth into buying products? What about the Blockbuster? Did it not with all its engulfing glory earn the right to sell products because its message was positive as associated with the human race? People love Star Trek and Star Wars for what reasons? It is because the plot is based upon the human condition, and the products are meant as a means of service for our well adjustment in dealing with real life. Television today has lost this aesthetic, and its programming is nothing more than shallow immediate gratification. That every commercial producer on every station has resigned themselves to using “pop” music only in itself has limited television. It used to be the job of the program to bring a degree of intellect and humanity to viewers. If they fail, could it not be the job of commercials to pick up the slack? During the Nielson ratings it was evident commercials had the ability to both titillate and wax philosophic. For a short time only the commercials rose to a level of unprecidented artistry. They were clever and edgy much like their models in Europe. While advertiser’s dollars may not be able to sustain such creativity on a small scale, producers of mainstream television programming bear the responsibility of creating more than casual diversion. America relies upon television for unity, knowledge, and inspiration. Without live music, live composers, and live musicians to carry this message, TV is nothing more than a cheap video game.

Kat's Tats

Who will ever know why Kat Von D decided to get breast implants? Was it the continual pressure from her waitress friend Pixie? Was it pressure from the producers to try to get Kat to look like every other Hollywood Bimbo on television? I have to say I was hugely disappointed to see "How much money she spent to look so cheap." Before (and probably still) Kat was like the girl next door. Her sexual appeal came from within because she is vulnerable. She is rebounding from a broken marriage, and that is what makes her appealing. She is approachable and down to earth on top of being an excellent artist, probably the best in the shop. Now, like Hollywood, there is something ELSE with which to contend. Cleavage. Boobs. Tits. How can you continue to treat her as a friend and the girl next door when there are those things there? Tits have become a power statement, and maybe that is what she wants. To me it is the antithesis of what L.A. Ink began to represent. It is also uncomfortable to see Pixie flirt with clients that like most are getting tatooed for very serious reasons. To reduce the level of the shop to Vally Girl mannerisms is a diservice. Tits are sexual, and although I'm sure Kat is sexual in the right private situation, they now have changed her image to that of every other biker pin up girl. Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine ruined women when they settled upon a stereotypical image of what was supposed to be sexy in the image of a nude woman. Frankly I don't find anything appealing about uneducated BIMBOS, whether they give rim jobs or not. Who cares if they have curves? It is not the shape of the body that creates sex appeal, it is the angst and unrest beneath the surface. Silly-headed blondes are not sexy, because they have no fire. Animal passion or hormonal energy helps create sexuality, and Kat has that. She tries desperately to keep it concealed during the show. Let's hope her good natured optimism is not shattered by a cold, selfish, and uncaring L.A. scene like Geraldine. Everyone has to grow up, but we can still hope that a woman can do it without turning into a hateful maneater. Love is an illusion and it sucks, but you can still maintain that naive, pure, and beautiful vulnerability. Don't be persudaded to go to the other side, Kat! Men need women like you!

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood Drag Queens

1. John Lithgow in Drag- Senator Larry Craig

2. President Bill Clinton in Drag- The Michelin Man

3. Becker in Drag- Shawnee Smith

4. David Bowie in Drag Twenty Years Ago- Craig Ferguson

5. Ice Cube in Drag Fifteen Years from Now- Oprah Winfrey

6. Michael McKean in Drag- Billy Bibbit

7. Becker in Drag- Tom Bergeron

8. Brigitte Nielsen in Drag Ten Years from Now- Dog the Bounty Hunter

9. Guy Pierce in Drag- Julia Roberts

10. Rue McClanahan in Drag Twenty Years Ago- James Broderick

Compromise in Sound, Compromise in Humanity

The Arts are important. The Arts are important because they rise above the superficial level of pop culture and guide the youth of America. That is why the Arts are more important than professional or amateur sports. Any school that eliminates the Arts from their curriculum is branding themselves a derelict sub-directive of the traditional educational system. Like has occurred many times in American history sub-directives have prevailed over traditional humanity. In most cases they are driven and represented by monetary greed. While once the Congress of the United States was looked upon as a millionaires club, this tenant of big business still seeks to strangle the life and intelligence out of our youth. In doing so this contingency may earn more capital on the short-term, but when their meager hearts fail who will be left to run the country? With conservatives so bent on preserving exclusive and affluent lifestyles, a void has been created that is not capable of taking over the reins of power. It can be construed this “head in the sand” approach to life comes from fear. It must be recognized the history of the United States is littered with Puritanism. Viewed in a perspective of religious freedom from England, it is appropriate a newly emerging America provided a safe harbor for these aspiring “free worshippers.” That is one positive thing America has stood for over the years. Those puritan influences on an emerging Progressive society can be seen as weaknesses. Conserving ideals that have come to be anachronistic surely will be the death of the country. At some point a decision must be made to push the human condition forward, and that cannot mean allowing the youth of America to bury their heads in the sand. It is probable they would cease from “hiding” from real life if the opportunities of “real’ life were offered to them. This is a needed and necessary right of passage to adulthood of which many of our youth are being deprived. If “Old Money” remains so selfish that it cannot relent, when will the torch be passed to the next generation? If we continue to neglect our public schools, dismantle America’s traditional job infrastructure, and patronize our youth with cell phones and X Boxes then surely in a few short years leadership and money will dissolve. Luckily we finally are seeing the concrete effects of this selfish greedy behavior in the housing market. Whether or not is will translate into another Great Depression is yet to be seen. A sigh of relief can be heard as God’s system of Checks and Balances arrows a reality check to what must be representative of America’s old trusts and corporate monopolies. The Progressive movement as represented by Civil Rights briefly emerged under Abraham Lincoln to be forced back into submission for seventy years. America can be seen as a continued fight between Old Money and progressive movements which seek to ensure the well-being and longevity of America’s citizens no matter what their economic status. Similarly programs enacted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his New Deal were ground breaking policies that sought to help the America people out of the economic throes of the Great Depression of the l930’s. Wouldn’t policies of that sort be more appropriate now than tax cuts for the rich? One easily can look to the political and social optimism of the l960’s Hippie drug culture for a model. There is nothing to look forward to with Conservatism. Basking in one’s own money is nothing but a black hole. Humanity is meant to experiment, grow, evolve, and find happiness through social practices within the scope of the human being. That Arts represent this whether if be early Folk Rock music, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hip Hop, or Jazz. That is why these forms of music are crucial to the future of America. They provide a model from history, a history that is rich and tangible for life in America. Media and government’s attempts to disguise, “spin,” and gloss over reality are nothing but callous efforts of self greed. Not allowing the spirit of this music to endure is what is hindering the congealing of America’s mainstream. Preconceived games shows concocted by self-serving and self-empowered youths are nothing but cock blocks to the real sentiments of Americans that need to be allowed to breathe and enlighten. The medium of television has become compromised, but the medium of the internet has not yet expanded enough to carry that full responsibility. How much longer will we have to wait for the proper media vehicle? FM Radio is compromised. Novice entrepreneurs cannot start their own satellite radio stations. It seems more feasible as in the movie Fight Club to level the playing field. Why not eliminate electronics completely and force Americans to truly experience human behavior again for the first time in decades? Movies would begin to rely upon reality rather than Render Man. Music would begin to rely upon musicality rather than MIDI. Information would be shielded from the threat of Big Brother allowing ink to permanently seal the fate of knowledge and history. All of these things may not have been so adversely effected IF one specific art form had not been so compromised by the MP3. While various art forms possess the ability to move appreciators, none of them can be as effective as the art of music. Why is that? Visual art has no tactile ability. Unless you reach out and touch the canvas, marble, or metal it is impossible to receive a tangible tactile message. Music uses our atmosphere to communicate its message. It is both heard and felt empowering music to lead nations. The MP3 effectively eliminated the “feeling” component of sound, because its creation is the antithesis of what musicians seek in good music. Compressing band width destroys music’s ability to move the emotions, because sound waves are what accomplish this task. Otoacoustic is the phenomenon of sound being represented by radio waves. When the ears hear live music, a mechanism in the inner ears translates that sound into electrical energy which is sent to the brain. The brain is sophisticated enough to decode the electrical message and respond to it as sound. The emergence of a deluge of electromagnetic waves in the atmostphere is troublesome for several reasons. It allows the transmission of aural sound through radio waves. This has been proven and patented. A device translates sound into the appropriate frequency radio waves for the brain to hear. The radio waves are transmitted onto the skin. As pollution is reaching a highpoint in the United States, now we as Americans are faced with the problem of having virtual symphonies of disperate and cacophonous sound from radio waves landing on our bodies. The dementia and confusion that has ensued easily can be documented by the chronology of offending diseases that have emerged in the last two decades. No one wants to recognize the sources. Tinnitus is caused by low frequency sound waves. There are people that have “sound repercussions” to radio frequency energy in their ears. They can actually hear radio waves by the sounds that are produced in their ears by the increased electrical energy. Synonymously phospenes are visual effects created in the eyes by increased electrical activity in the retina. Human emotion and its component understanding are at a low, because we as human beings are being bombarded with extraneous and unmeaningful stimulus via sound and electricity. We spend the majority of our time trying to interpret and respond to bullshit. This is why Americans have been driven to seclusion in their homes seeking shelter from the array of noise and electricity. In desperation we attempt to replace naturally occurring human emotion/electricity and sound with artificially produced media. The current regime producing this material is not up to the task of sustaining humanities’ needs. Only artists are capable of that, and their traditional means of communication has been blocked. Waves after wave of bullshit is pelting the American people via sound and electricity and we are the worse for it.

Dumb Blondes

There is this particular image in Hollywood. They could best be represented by “before” and “after” pics. Kate Hudson, before. Kate Hudson, after. Jody Foster, before. Jody Foster, after. Any of the current Hollywood “Brat Pak.” Flat blonde hair. Pasty face. Seemingly Soulless. A ridiculous smile plastered on. “Am I a Barbie Doll?” Barbie’s are more real than this. “Am I a Geisha?” Geishas probably give more head. “Am I a “Dumb Blonde?” That must be it! Damn. A recurrence of the Dumb Blonde. You are asking for it female gender. If you are trying to turn back the hands of times, then…. If you are trying to reverse the “Sexual Revolution…” Personally I don’t get it. Dumb Blondes? Why would formerly talented actresses take to acting and dressing like Bimbo’s? B-I-M-B-O… and Bimbo was her Name-O. I hate Bimbos. I have always hated Bimbos. Bimbos are dumb, and they think they are in control of you. I eat them up and spit them out. It disturbs me that a flock of actresses decided to toss their talent out the window and “take up drugs,” as Guy Luthan said in the movie Extreme Measures. He was a noted up-coming doctor, and Tri-Phase framed him with an ounce and a half of pharmaceutical cocaine planted in his apartment. Why would an established doctor do something so stupid? Why would these actresses being “acting” in such a mindless and soulless manner? Is it drugs? Is it money? What is it? Ask Kate Hudson as she played Dermot Mulroney’s wife in that Owen Wilson flick. That was a good representation of a Dumb Blonde. Jody Foster has gotten good at it too, as most of her recent flicks have transformed her into an angelic mist. Imagery. When did this begin to substitute for acting? It was refreshing to see Omar Shariff in Hidalgo. There was good acting in the picture. They are intense. They have mood swings. They feel something. Dumb Blondes don’t, and that is why they are uninteresting to watch on the big screen. Even the image is not that interesting. Flat, fried, straight, chopped blonde hair. Is it supposed to look powerful? The caked-on white make up could look Queen-like. Kat Von D is way more interesting to look at. Who came up with this image?

ART

There is only one thing that is going to cure American culture. We have digressed so far from our social history it may be amazing if we ever recover. There have always been two choices for the future. One is to relish history. The study of Western Civilization has always been a core component of education. Why suddenly would this just disappear? Why would centuries of evolution and wisdom suddenly be chucked into the wind? If society did decide systematically to banish history, what purpose would it serve other than to facilitate the empowering of the ignorant? Wipe out art and the entire world becomes a Wild West, a frontier open to domination by the fittest. The quickest gun, the most cunning Indian, or the most ruthless bandit can carry home the gold. Anarchy. The world cannot sustain with anarchy, but that is where it seems we are headed. Can we as a race afford to allow our world to devolve centuries? Only the study of civilization can provide the proper models, and that includes art. Would any of the winners of American Idol say Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, or Ives’s music was useless? Why would anyone say that? These composers are dealing with music within an aesthetic that seems to be disappearing from the mainstream along with the mainstream. That means we have become so mortared in our feeble habits there is no room for evolution. For a race to be enlightened they first must be open to the prospect of understanding new human experiences. We must say to ourselves, “I am open.” That means you must be strong enough to abandon your comfort zone of the TV set, the couch, and the kitchen. For our youth that means abandoning the computer, the cell phone, and the X-Box. Have we become so selfish and jaded we must rely on pre-programmed drama in substitution of real life? The only reason this can be is because our environment has become so polluted with bad experiences we are seeking solstice in the privacy of our own homes. The social experience that existed in the l980’s has become extinct, and like Logan’s Run we are bivouacking beneath a dome of artificially created comfort. Why are we allowing game programmers, film directors, and hackers to run our lives? Is anyone in America so well off that they wish things would stay like this? Did we just suddenly become ignorant, or has the frenetic pace of media brainwashed us into believing humanity is no longer important. Humanity exists in between conversation. When the noise and hoopla stop, when commercials stop hawking their ware, and when MIDI-based music stops polluting our ears is when the soul may breathe and evolve. It will not happen in America’s current state. Something has to change, and it could come from the White House. There used to be a time when artists were revered. Presidents would invite them to the White House to perform setting an example for an enlightened existence. We learn from artists, because they are supposed to be operating at a higher level both cognitively and affectively. Their emotional states are more resolved, they are more experienced with what life has dealt, so wisdom can be gained from their in depth understanding of the human condition. That is what artists are. They deal with the human condition. They do not pitch cheap diversion and entertainment. They do not create parties for crowds of people. Crowds may come because over time an artist’s effort may come to be known as keen and insightful. The second choice for society is to continue to hide in cyberspace, further isolating our human responses from real humanity.

Today's Top Ten List of Hollywood Drag Queens

1. James Franco in Drag- Lindsey Lohan

2. Owen Wilson in Drag- Paris Hilton

3. Dominique Swain in Drag- Amanda Bynes

4. Scarlett Johansson in Drag Fifty Years from Now- Annette Funicello

5. Charlene Tilton in Drag- Nicole Richie

6. Keith Richards in Drag Forty Years Ago- Jennifer Connelly

7. Jason Statham in Drag Ten Years Ago- Ami James

8. Paul Teutel Jr. in Drag- Christian Slater

9. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Drag Craig Ferguson and Willem Dafoe

10.David Letterman in Drag- Elton John

Commercial Blog Exploitation

A word up to the guys at Google. It seems some policy is in order for Blogger.com. Are blogs meant to be commercial websites promoting business? You should decide, because selling ads on a blog defeats that whole purpose of an individualss right to speak their mind sheltered from the manipulating hand of Big Brother. I was shocked to find blog after blog that are no more than FREE website hosts for products, namely PORN. Time to clean up Blogger, Google.

The Fallacy of the Lottery

The Lottery is the best example of a misled and duped American people. The second is the voucher system in education. The third is tax cuts, whereby checks are sent to people’s homes. Talk about giving candy to a baby. When Congress and the President become so adept at hedging their responsibilities, it becomes easier to pass out treats to the animals to keep them satisfied. When asking what the qualifications of the President should be, remember he/she is a policy maker who should represent the best interests of the people. If one is going to represent the millions of people that live in the United States now qualified as _______ -Americans, the president needs to be knowledgeable about social science. Simply put because America is a nation of immigrants (both legal and illegal), to help them live together in some semblance of harmony it will take an understanding of their proceeding cultures. That means the concept of Globalization (which at its root is an evil concept of world domination) must take a back seat to multiculturalism and diversity in the United States. Who ever thought one totalitarian sect deserved to rule the world at the expense of losing the unique cultural history of each and every country that differs from the United States? That is why we are sitting at the edge of a black hole, because money markets represent nothing. Moving money around is a childish wasteful game. Producing money is the key to Capitalism. Wall Street has been playing ring around the posy for years watching businesses outsource our needed manufacturing jobs to foreign countries with cheaper labor. This disservice to the American people and irresponsibility to our infrastructure is being disguised by token programs that attempt to put a band aid on the real problems facing Americans. Gambling is no substitute for job creation and sustenance. Allowing parents to choose their children’s school is no answer, because if all Americans are created equal then each student should be treated well and the same. Sending Americans checks drawn on an all ready overdrawn bank account is ludicrous just as is bankrolling a violent demolition of a foreign country. To lead the American people in a direction of whimsical fancy rather than investing in their futures is heinous. How can the President address the mainstream, a common philosophy of life, when Americans are segregated into categories based on their originating regions? It is ridiculous to label Americans anything other than American, because from her inception America has been a country of immigrants. We have been smart enough inherently to know whence people came. To put a qualification of “African” in front of American subverts patriotism, because confusion is the result. Should the African remain true to African ideals or should they be absorbed into the all ready existing philosophies of American life? While no Negro will voluntarily embrace the idea of slavery, luckily Abraham Lincoln saw fit to change that way of life. It is unfortunate thousands of American lives were sacrificed for this purpose. The black race living in America instead of asking, “What your country can do for you,” should remember the monumental sacrifice that has been made for their freedom. The next time a ghetto mom extends her hand and asks for a handout in the name of slavery, they should be asked if they are willing to fight for their country in Iraq. Still we are waiting to reap the rewards of 9/11, that monumental sacrifice of American life. Throwing bubble gum to the American people from the caboose of a train is passé. Our country needs real life solutions to social problems, and that will take a scientist and a politician. If the President is not familiar with the discipline of government, how can he lead? Just as a CEO could not lead a corporation with no knowledge of its product or service, the President cannot lead without the specific knowledge of what Americans are meant to do. School for children is a majority of their lives, and not to focus on the education of our youth is proving to be a grievous mistake. Passing the buck has become the normal practice in Washington, DC and it will no longer be acceptable.

The Three Most Un-Approachable Hollywood Actresses

1. Scarlett Johansson- Because she is screwing Woody Allen...

2. Jennifer Connelly- Because she is married and has her own kids...

3. Rachael McAdams- Because she really is Matt Damon in drag...

Today’s Top Ten List of the True Identities of Hollywood Actors and Actresses

Rachel McAdams- Matt Damon in Drag

James Cromwell- Conan O’Brien Thirty Years From Now

Steve McGarrett- Conan O’Brien Ten Years From Now

The Green Goblin- Conan O’Brien Today

Conan O’Brien Today- Max Weinberg

Max Weinberg- The Frito Bandito Thirty Years Ago

The Frito Bandito- Antonio Banderas Twenty Years Ago

Melanie Griffith- Scarlett Johansson Twenty Years From Now

Woody Allen- Scarlett Johansson Now

Kathleen Turner- Scarlett Johansson Thirty Years From Now