Intergalactic Baseball Bat!

Nina Simone - Sinnerman full lenght

2013-10-31T11:26:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/v/Bn5tiuZU4JI?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=JoJfCq1rcfFCMEoZptA2FQ&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&feature=share

Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Short

2013-10-26T00:22:00.001-05:00

Captain America The Winter Soldier trailer UK -- Official Marvel | HD**Or "I'm to Sexy for my S.H.I.E.L.D.

2013-10-25T12:02:00.001-05:00

INCEPTION and the doors of Perception

2010-07-24T03:29:00.000-05:00

I realize that I have not just had a good ol’ fashioned throw-down of a writing session in a little over a year. To say I was busy would be an understatement. I’ve been deployed in Basrah, Iraq; working in a CSH (that’s Combat Support Hospital for those not in the know). I was deployed with the 204th ASMC out of Minnesota. These guys were a blessing to be deployed with and the unit is filled with a grand assortment of some of the most intelligent, most friendly, most awesomely evolved people I have meet in this long strange trip of a life that I have. Who, by the sheer crapshoot that is “Volunteering for a Deployment” I ended up serving with them; much to my good fortune! They are a high speed unit filled with geniuses, geeks, and visionaries. Men and Women who are as varied in occupation and temperament as the world is round, they have inspired me to better things and a year in “The Sandbox” with them was a blessing. If I had to go through 31 mortar-attacks with ANYONE I’m glad it was these people I will write more of them later, the people I met and the adventures I had in a separate work. It will be a black comedy; filled with gallows humor. In a CSH and perfect strangers are trying to blow you up: you do what it takes to get by. You find a coping skill.

My coping skill was to embrace the madness that surrounded me: laugh in the face of danger, fart in its general direction, and to touch, move and inspire as many people as I could. That and I played a LOT of Dungeons & Dragons (3.5 Edition…1: because I am old-school enough to remember 2nd edition which rocked. And 2: because 4th Edition sucks sweaty balls; 4th Edition takes the “High” out of “High Fantasy”…But I digress).

The great thing is that we all made it home.

Jesus! Almost as if on que, one of my favorite songs of all time pops up on my playlist as I write this; and my heart swells with joy and sentiment as I hear the opening piano of that old Motley Crue song “Home Sweet Home” . Classic; I love it when the Universe pulls one of its’ sweet kismets on me; lets me know I am “switched on” and in tune. I seem to have been blessed with an affinity for synchronicities and coincidences, a lot of the greatest thinkers and philosophers would say that there are no coincidences. I will not confirm or deny the phenomenon known as Synchronicity; but I do know what I know and what I have experienced. And I thank Lady Fortune for smiling on me.

The strangest and one of the most fascinating things I’ve experienced is the “Time Dilatation” that occurs on a trans-continental flight. No I’m not going into Einstein. But I think that its groovy to leave one country, fly to 4 different countries, and land in the U.S. on the same day you left. Pretty trippy, I guess that a Trans-Atlantic flight is the closest I’ll ever get to hyperspace travel; because if you are familiar with science fiction even a little it was like we were experiencing the effects of Hyperspace. I tend to think about stuff like that, I remember the first flight “across the pond”. On the way from the states to the Kuwait on July ‘09, they were playing the recent “Star Trek” Movie: I mused at the irony of watching a movie that was mainly about Hyperspace and time travel while experiencing the effects of hyperspace and time travel.

But time is relative to the observer; our lives are made up of our experiences and perceptions, which lead me to an interesting, thought provoking, jewel of a movie called INCEPTION.

“Inception” is a 007 movie on Acid. A thrilling heist movie in the tradition of Ocean’s 11, but the crime occurs in the dream state. The prize, the booty for these dream thieves is information, an idea, a pin number, a password, or in this case a random series of numbers that is the combination to a safe. It is a phenomenon that most people in the movie think is only a myth. It gives the term “Operation Mind Crime” a whole new meaning; who remembers the old album by Queensryche?

Christopher Nolan has outdone himself.

It begins with a disoriented man washed up on a distant shore. He is taken at gunpoint to a mansion. There he sees on old gentleman who seems to be just as confused as he is. Our waterlogged hero seems to be trying desperately to get the old man to remember something; and what is more slippery and gossamer than a dream? Meanwhile the old man is perusing the only item of importance that has captured his attention: a spinning top.

The top is a totem to let you know you are dreaming. We all have our totems. That piece of reality that we hold on to and it’s very important to the film.

Enter Cobb. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is what is known as an Extractor; someone who enters your dreams and extracts information. Due to unfortunate circumstances he is on the run from the United States and can never go home again. Unless he can find a way to make all of his alleged transgressions in the U.S. “go away”. That is his main concern as he and his “Point-Man” Arthur (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) begin the tale by trying to con a powerful man named Saito (Ken Watanabe). This gets screwed up royally by the appearance of a beautiful projection named Mal. Mal (Marion Cotillard) is the physical representation of his guilt; and the fact that Mal just happens to be his ex- wife really doesn’t help his case.

When a person realizes that there is a foreign mind invading their psychic space their subconscious mind attacks the invader(s) much like antibodies attack a sickness. Projections are the people you always see in the background in your dreams, mostly in populated areas: dream cities if you will. When things go to shit in a dream the only way to wake up is a bullet to the brain (in the dreamscape) it’s one of the many things called a “Kick” or a way to wake up. This can also be activated by the sensation of falling, which we have all experienced in dreamtime.

You would think Saito would be pissed, But instead he tries to hire them implant an idea into the head of a young industrialist Fischer; played by Cillian Murphy. Cobb has to impose his mind; his will upon Fisher’s and make him believe whatever idea they wish. In this instance, the idea is for Fischer to bust up his dying father’s company. Do this and Saito will make it so that he can go back to the states with a clean slate.

It is indeed an offer he can’t refuse. But first he has to assemble a team. He already has his partner Arthur. He needs an Architect to “design” the dream world that Fischer; the “Mark” as any victim of a con-game is called, to move and act in. The Mark is stuck in this controlled mental maze created by the Architect. He seeks help from his father in law and mentor (Michael Caine) who introduces him to Ariadne; played by Ellen Page. Ariadne’s name is a direct homage to the Ariadne from the Greek Myth of the Minotaur: She helps Theseus navigate the maze to slay the Minotaur. The Minotaur is a beast of Cobb’s own making.

Ariadne is the only person who after sneaking into Cobb’s dreams, knows how deep the rabbit hole goes and just how wounded he is: wounds, pain and madness all personified in the mysterious of Mal and the children that he may never see again. She knows the ugly truth. No….Cobb did not kill his wife… (That would be too conventional for this film and a cop-out) Cobb did something much worse to her. Something she can never forgive him for and he won’t forgive himself for. If Cobb cannot keep his subconscious under control the whole mission is screwed.

Cobb also needs a “Forger”; someone who can change his or her form to any image they wish. In this case he plays Fischer’s Godfather; someone they know Fischer can trust unconditionally and will listen to. He also has one of the simplest, yet coolest lines in the movie that sums up the human condition today:

…”you dream too small”.

Cobb also enlists the help of the “Chemist” Yusuf: (Dileep Rao) to concoct the drugs to put the team under and in the dream state; something a little more powerful than mushrooms and Disco Lemonade. With the band all together, totems in hand Cobb and company track down and isolate Fischer. The best way to do this you ask? Trans-continental flight. On an airline that Saito, just happens to own. The “Dream Team” seats themselves on the same flight, they dose Fischer, and the fun begins.

So you have Batman’s Alfred, The false Ra’s al Ghul, Cobra Commander, the Guy from Titanic, and the Girl from “Juno” trying to mind-fuck The Scarecrow.

Genius.

There are different levels of dreaming. The reality we know the real world (or…is it)? Beyond that is dream; which in Christopher Nolan’s beautifully crafted film occurs in layers. Once they all enter Fischer’s dream it’s a rainy city. The populace almost immediately attacks them; Fischer’s mind is “militarized”: he is trained in the art of psychic self defense: I guess that being rich and powerful makes education in such matters easily accessed. When in doubt, improvise: during a car chase right out of “The French Connection” Cobb and crew decide to take him deeper into sleep. On this lower level; which appears to be a posh hotel, Cobb comes to Fischer and tells him that he is with the security company that trained him. He also attempts to convince him that his Godfather betrayed him. He realizes that after many failed tries to get him to break into his own subconscious to get the information they need. To do this they even have to go deeper. But the deeper they go, the more dangerous it is gets because they are closer to Limbo: a shared state of consciousness….Where Mal just happens to hang out.

Fischer’s mind on this level is a fortress in the snow; Cobb and crew have to literally storm the castle of Fischer’s mind …with his help. Fischer is then taken; rather painfully by Mal. Cobb knows exactly where she took him. It’s the place she wants to bring him back to, to “be with her”. There she smacks him upside the head with truth and makes him question his own reality.

I refuse to tell you anymore because like any great film it must be experienced. And like any great filmmaker, any great conductor Nolan keeps the film rolling and keeps you questioning until the very end; he raises a question that was raised in a movie I saw years ago: “Waking Life”.

Waking life is a film that questions reality in relation to dream via a series of random conversations. In one scene a two lovers lie in bed and discuss why it is that you can go to sleep at say 11: 11 pm, fall into a dream that has twist and turns, is extremely visceral, and seems to last for hours. And you wake up only to find that 3 or 4 minutes have past. Chris Nolan takes this and weaves a symphony as events in the dreamscape are happening simultaneously. On one level there is the world we think of as “our reality” the waking world. On another there is a car chase where Yusuf is driving off a bridge into water to achieve the “kick” to wake the team up. Another level where Arthur is fighting off Projections in a topsy-turvy Hotel (the gravity is affected on this level because of the slow free fall on the level above), the snow battle in the cold fortress that is Fischer’s mind. And the twisting, roaring chaos of Limbo below all occurring simultaneously at different rates of speed; in the waking world 5 minutes is 10 years in Limbo, this symphony all comes crashing together on those distant shores of Limbo. And like any deep dream sometimes we can wake up and not really be awake.

Like any truly great film it leaves the question open for you to ask, to discuss, to form your own opinions. And in a country where we like our movies vapid and our plots spoon-fed to us, Inception is the most refreshing film I’ve seen in a long, long time because it doesn’t let you off easy with an ending wrapped up in a neat little bow. And in my humble opinion, that’s what good filmmaking is.

And the top spins.

Well, its late. I’m sleepy, and I have many dreams awaiting me.

That is….if I am not dreaming already.

See you on the Flipside of Infinity.

Countdown to Deletion

2009-05-25T02:29:00.000-05:00

To start this essay off by stating that the world is changing would be a colossal cliché. Humankind, since first fashioning rocks and sticks into rudimentary tools has been in a constant state of flux. A steady incline of technological growth and evolution which has no sign of stopping any time soon; bringing to fore wonders that would have been seen by our earliest ancestors as nothing short of magic.

This very moment I am writing an essay on a machine that is smaller than, but more powerful than the computers that took a few daring individuals to the moon forty years ago. This is why I chose the topic of basic computing and Internet Technology skills as something that I think is a skill that; even in these enlightened times, many people have not mastered or even explored out of fear or lack of opportunity. There are many third world countries where people have never seen a computer, the children who are born in these countries are already at a disadvantage because of poverty, war, lack of education; the technological gaps are astounding. We may think it’s quaint to think of civilizations that have not changed for thousands of years. But, in my opinion these societies could benefit greatly from even the most rudimentary knowledge of what this great machine can do for them. Beyond the lucky few who escape that kind of poverty, and in some cases oppression, how many of those people return to their homelands to educate those left behind. And that is the great consequence of not having this skill: to be left behind, to be blocked from certain careers, education and the quality of life these things provide.

I see this as not just a growing trend abroad, but here in the United States as well. I can recall several times while waiting in the self-checkout lane in a grocery store, and observing an older person having trouble comprehending a rudimentary technology that many of us take for granted today. I always try to assist this person; if the check-out attendant is busy. The attendant; usually between 18 to 25 years of age, always sighs and huffs when helping out this elderly person and it bothers me. It makes me wonder what we can do about it. The current generation, in my opinion, not very patient with the quickly disappearing World War Two Generation: Some would call this the “Greatest Generation”. If that is true then I think we owe it to them to at least show them how to use a computer, how to email their families, friends, and loved ones.

I remember the first time I showed my Father my laptop. It had a web cam and we talked to my best friend from across the country. My Father was born in 1919 and is still alive and cantankerous as ever. He lives in the Bayou down in Louisiana and with respect to him I did not expect his reaction: It blew his mind.

“Well, son” he said puffing on the same old wooden pipe he’s had since the 1970’s “You always wanted to be Captain Kirk”. He was referring to my adoration of Star Trek and being able to say “Hello” to someone on “View-Screen” as he put it. I was glad that I had taught him some basic computing skills because that next year Hurricane Katrina destroyed south Louisiana. I had no way of getting in touch with my parents and had no choice but to watch the news, in some hopeless hope that I would gain some knowledge of their location, If they had lived. All communications networks were down for weeks. I was in contact with my siblings, but they had not heard a thing either. I did not get word from anyone until one morning; six weeks after Katrina, I received an instant message that said:

“WE R OK, W MOVED TO HOUMA LOISIANNA 3 WEEKS BEFORE STORM ALL WE GOT WAS WATERDAMAGE”

Through my tears I wrote him back, thanking the heavens above, and not caring that my Dad did not know that writing in all caps on the internet is the equivalent of shouting, I was just glad my parents were alive. They sent me their new address and phone number. If I had not taught my parents about this “Star-Trek Gadget” as they called it, who knows when I would have found out.

This is just one example from personal experience on how the lack of knowledge and lack of access to basic IT technology affects the poor, and the elderly. The computer skills that I have were learned through friends, and good old trial and error, of course I had access to a computer, which surprisingly in these United States, some people do not.

As I stated before; there is no sign that Humanity’s Technological Evolution is going to come grinding to a halt anytime soon. It is one of the reasons why I chose to return to school after so many years absent: If you do not change, grow, and evolve: which I think is the nature of Humankind at its most finite essence; then you will be left behind, confused, baffled and bewildered as the world passes you by. The individual that this happens to will only have the same option that the dinosaurs had: Extinction, or since this is an essay on Technology a more appropriate term would be: Deletion.

President Obama Turns Lemons to Lemonade

2009-05-17T18:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, so its not Water to Wine. But Lemonade was good for what he was given; which were a bunch of bitter lemons.

Although I think he should have added some Vodka and a bit of Blue Curraco and made an Electric Lemonade, Which has been around longer but not as groovy as Disco Lemonade. But if he wanted to: I bet he could....He's that cool folks.

All talk of Sex and Candy and the people who love both aside. I am writing about President Obama's Arizona State University commencement speech. I'm attending college online at University of Phoenix. In class today(COM 140) we had to pick a persuasive speech that moved us, give our opinion on whether or not it would be effective if were only the written word. And site links: If there were any.

Being an Arizona Resident I wrote about the President's Address to the graduating class of ASU.

This follows below:

I think that the most important way to sway someone; be they a multitude or a single entity, is geniality. It’s like my mother used to say “you can attract more bees with honey than with buttermilk”. This axiom is true in public speaking and in life.

The example I will cite is Barrack Obama’s Arizona State University Commencement. This means a lot to me because I am from Arizona and I know that ASU had said a few weeks ago that President Obama does not deserve an honorary Degree because; in their eyes, his “body of work” was not sufficient enough for the standards of ASU. I saw it live at my gym on wide screen; It was broadcast live on all the local channels. Although a lot of this was possibly “sour grapes” from a Red-State that is still singing the Blues because their candidate lost. President Obama walked into the lion’s den, much like the biblical Daniel, and swayed the crowd to love him. You may ask “how”: by poking fun of the scandal itself. By making light of what, to a lot of people, an unforgivable slight.

While watching this, I heard people around me, moved by his words: several of these were currently ASU students. I heard one guy say that he was “ashamed of the school and its stupidity”. President Obama said:

“I come to embrace the notion that I haven’t done enough in my life. I heartily concur. I come to confirm that one’s title, even a title like president of the United States, says very little about how well one’s life has been led — and that no matter how much you’ve done, or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to do, always more to learn and always more to achieve”.

Effectively turning the lemons served him into

Lemonade, and winning over the Graduating Class,

Faculty, and possibly Arizonians who would not have

gone to see him otherwise, through the rhythm of his

speaking and his body language: such as the way that

he always holds his hands open which I find to be

symbolic of his openness. I think that while the speech

was beautifly written. Its audiance would have missed

out by not being there in that moment. I think that the

President's handling of a touchy situation should make

ASU Faculty, the 2009 graduating class, and a lot of

Arizonians...take a long, hard look in the mirror.

To see more follow the links below to see

the entire speech and witness a master orator in

action:

Origins of Swagger, Star Trek, and the Reset Button

2009-05-12T05:02:00.000-05:00

Yes. Swagger. It’s a GOOD thing.

I’m talking about a world of hip, cool, confidence. I am talking about how life can be good if you allow it. Is the world sunshine, unicorns, and baby farts all the time? No, in fact if you buy into the fear factory major network news, you would think that the world is just the opposite.

That’s why I get my news from Comedy Central. Yes, you can get more truth from fake news than you can from the “real news”. Stewart and Colbert: a one two punch of brainy snark. I love it.

Speaking of a dynamic duo who have captured my heart. Kirk and Spock! Star Trek is back and it rocks!!!!Here there be spoilers kids; but it is so worth it to go see it. J.J. Abrams brought the funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk! And it flies out of the screen and upside your head at warp speed. He even threw in a bit of Alias. (1^st Season: Red Matter) J.J. Abrams is so bad~assed he can rip HIMSELF off. Ballsy. This makes him have almost as much Swagger as Obama; the hippest President ever.

I was raised on Star Trek. As a kid I used to ride my bike home after school; hoping I made it by 3:30 PM. I would always make it just in time to take off into space with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Yes, I’ve seen all 79 original episodes, the equality optimistic Next Generation, the low- tech and slightly edgier DS9, the Uber-Teched, far-flung Voyager and the short lived Enterprise. On that, talk about taking a good thing and driving it to hell, Enterprise; despite some cool moments, sucked like a newly born black hole. Yes I am a Geek: and we shall inherit the Earth.

But this one brought something to Trek Universe that we have not seen in years: Swagger! And I tell you, Kirk and Spock swabbed the decks in Human and Vulcan testosterone. Bones was beautifully neurotic, brimming with anxiety and possibly Southern Comfort. Hey, Bones likes to sit under a tree and have a Mint Julep every now and then. (So do I ) We even find out why he got the nickname Bones. And Uhura was a cunning linguist; Hey Spock thought so, and the unexpected romance between her and Spock gave both their characters a rich depth: the expert in alien languages can ignite the cold fires of repressed Vulcan passion, reminding him that he is part Human.

Even the ORIGINAL Spock thinks not only was it not only logical for the hardcore Trekkies to see the new movie but you are a dickhead if you don’t, and he’s right!

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Time-travel, alternate-realities, swashbuckling action, Red-Shirts dying in stupid ways, Twice the Spock! These are a few of my favorite things. In Wrath of Khan Kirk told the tale of how he sabotaged the unbeatable Kobayashi Maru scenario. He told this tale while chomping on an apple; cocksure smirk and all. In this one they actually show the Kobayashi Maru that Kirk cheated on while strutting around eating an apple. Genius. Kirk is no stranger to forbidden fruit; when I say he made out with green-girls I’m not talking about vegans. Chris Pine is worthy to fill the star-filled shoes of the Mighty Shatner.

Spock raises issue with this because “Cadet Kirk! You DICK! I designed that scenario myself! Its unbeatable”! Okay he didn’t say it like THAT but it was the first time these two men met. Each having a quality the other lacks in some ways. Snarky quips back and forth with each other. Ahhhhh. Burning hatred…the start of a beautiful friendship.

Spock took it a bit personally; of course he would deny it to the bitter end because he has layers of emotional issues that he fights to avoid. He has Kirk put on Academic Probation of sorts…He could be expelled from Starfleet Academy, and it may go down on his permanent record. But that’s when all hell breaks loose out in space and they call all the cadets to hop on ships to go and help the fleet. Kirk is grounded because of his cheating. But, with the help of Bones injecting him with something to make him appear sick and stows him away as his patient; and the hilarity ensues.

As soon as Kirk appears on the ship the already fast -action speeds up to breakneck gallop. The thing that made Classic Trek stick out in our minds and stay in our collective conscious for so long is that bit of comedy that went with it. I believe the cast pulled it off without being cheesy.

Oh and another thing that makes it rock; four words: Simon Pegg as Scotty!

Bringing in old-school fans? Check. Bringing in Sci-Fi fans who may not have been into Trek but were curious? Check. Attracting everyone who is ready for a big, fat summer blockbuster that delivers something for everyone because when someone isn’t running and shooting, fighting, smarting off with snappy banter to one another …someone is making out. Check! It broke the Dark Knights opening weekend. The Origin story of the greatest team of all seen in a new interesting way was wonderful.

Sometimes a franchise is just like life; and if life is a game, a story that we actively play in, it’s ok to hit RESET! The Hulk got a reboot and it worked, BSG got a reboot and it worked! (I’m just now getting over my withdrawal) Our favorite Six-Foot- Bat got a reboot with Batman Begins. OH hell yeah Reboots can work.

Now if we can do something about Superman. Wait they did one in 2006; in my opinion they need to give that movie the same treatment they gave The Hulk. It was great to see the Last Son of Krypton flying around again but they really could have written a better story.

They are thinking about doing this; scrapping the Supes as deadbeat-dad bullshit, Supes gets back and she is with CYCLOPS? (and how does Cyclops get all the great women anyway? One-eyed mother fucker). Bullshit! Lois KNOWS who her Superman is! I say this not because I don’t like the kid in the story. I have nothing against Brandon Routh and his mighty package, or Brian Singer. But Dammit the best Superman movies were 1 and 2. The others just blew. Supes needs some Swagger. Plus, there is a nagging question that has bugged me for years since I read comics, and I am sure that lot of other people have thought about this. How can a man who is Super-Strong and invulnerable make love to a human female. Wouldn’t Lois just be putting her life in danger by getting her groove on with the Man of Steel. Well, I could spend pages and pages exploring the intricacies and probabilities of what would really happen if Kal-El gave Lois Lane his Kryptonian Kielbasa. But I can just show you in the picture below.

Screw; ain’t it?

Another movie that I really loved was the one that kicked off the summer: Wolverine. He’s the best there is at what he does; and what he does ain’t nice. I think that it was awesome not only did this movie rock. But it premiered on May 1^st. Beltane. For those of you who don’t know, Beltane is a celebration of Spring, A Pagan Sabbat; fucking awesome. You have arguably a wild primal force of nature with pointy hair that makes me think of Pan. Hugh Jackman, he sings, he dances slices, dices, and kicks ass, a worthy avatar for my one of my favorite deities. Yep folks, there is nothing like a good origin story. And this one raises the bar with the over the top action and beat-downs. See it. Wolverine is one of my favorite characters and Hugh Jackman is an inspiration to me because he is a true renaissance man who is comfortable in his skin, and can sing you a show tune…right before he breaks your jaw.

Do I have a Man-Crush on Hugh Jackman? No, I just love all things Australian.

Now Olivia Newton- John…..oh yeah ….have had a crush on her since childhood.

Well that’s all for now. See you on the flip-side of infinity.

Lady, That's My Skull: Nerd Libs

2009-04-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

Lady, That's My Skull: Nerd Libs

I found this blog and the sheer "nerd power" of it rocks. I'm digging it, check it out.

He had me at his name: "Sleestack".

Fear of a Blue Penis

2009-03-23T06:08:00.000-05:00

“It’s nothing but porn”!

“It was just awful”!

“I don’t get it”….

These were just a few of the comments I heard from the unwashed masses who had seen a movie that I: at the risk of totally dating myself; have been waiting 23 years to see. I am talking of course about the movie “Watchmen”. If you have been living under a rock for the past year it has been one of the most anticipated movies of the last year from the most celebrated Graphic Novels of all time.

Graphic Novel; before it was a graphic novel it was a 12 issue mini-series ; and I read each issue. It was 1986 and I was a kid going to Howards News stand. Back then DC Comics had just destroyed the Multiverse and was reconstituting its history. A few blocks away Marvel Comics was having a Secret War. I was looking for something new and fresh, I stumbled across Watchmen.

It was the first time I had ever read anything written by Alan Moore. I grew up dirt poor and could only afford a couple of comics a month. But the store owner knew I was a good kid and would let me sit there and read for hours. Watchmen got my attention from the beginning. And being a kid seeing super heroes swearing, killing, screwing and struggling with inner demons; totally changed the way that I looked at the superhero genre. It made me wonder “what if superheroes existed in the real world” ? Well for one, just to dress up in a costume, go out at night and kick the shit out of people you have got to be a pretty fucked up individual in the first place. And how do you cope mentally and emotionally with all the shit you see in the shadows of the city’s underbelly. And what would the government say. Would you be their agent, their blunt instrument? Would you hang up your tights if they passed a law banning all non-government sanction heroes, or would you keep fighting your “never ending battle” : basically becoming a fugitive.

Watchmen explores all of these issues in an alternative 1985 where Nixon is in his FIFTH term as President. And Superheroes are just as real and flawed as we are; our hopes, our dreams, our secret fetishes. We are in the midst of the cold war just as we were back then. But in the Watchmen universe we had a strategic advantage the Russians did not: A quantum superman named Dr. Manhattan.

Dr. Manhattan, along with another government sanctioned character; the bloodthirsty Comedian, won the Vietnam War for the U.S. Hell according to the opening montage it was the Comedian who was the second shooter on the grassy knoll when JFK got capped. The Opening montage is a perfect lead in to this film and the sound track is driving and heartbreaking all at once. The rest of the heroes had either retired or gone underground. And this leads me to the title of this blog. As in the comics Dr. Manhattan is nude. As a man who lives in a quantum reality, there is no past, present or future; there is only as they say in Metaphysics “the now” . If you were a transcendent being , with no need for food, or water , if you could be in multiple places at once, do just about ANYTHING and was pretty much omnipotent and indestructible: would you really think about clothes? In the book the artist Dave Gibbons said in and interview that yes Manhattan was nude, but he tried to portray it in a tasteful , understated way. The movie previews may have unintentionally misled movie goers who were not familiar with the story: in the movie previews Manhattans blue vine was blurred out with CGI. So these people got a BIG surprise…especially since the first time we see the good Doctor in the film is when he is in a his “giant” form and we get full frontal of what would technically be 7 feet of dangling blue thunder. So…Maybe the Russians fear him so much because he’s packing his very own ICBM? (sorry, I’m a naughty boy and I couldn’t resist) Yes, it blows my mind about America. We can watch bloody movies about people killing and hurting each other. But God forbid we show two grown adults making love. God forbid we show ‘Gasp’! a PENIS. And I thought that Superman’s nick name was “Big Blue” J Anyway, no animals were hurt by the Dr. Manhattan’s mighty turquoise tube steak. Only a few male egos and maybe some “good girls” who were ashamed that they could not stop staring at it. Oh America…when will you catch up? It’s not the 50’s anymore, and the invisible man who lives in the sky won’t strike you down because you were ambushed by colossal, cobalt, cocks. And if that is all you were focusing on then you missed out on a beautiful, multilayered story that is comes at you through the screen like some Greek tragedy clad in spandex and leather. Not pulling any punches and bringing you characters that are as vulnerable as they are powerful. The ending was slightly different than in the comic; but with the same shocking effect that was satisfying for fan boys like me and the unwashed masses; still asking the question asked in the book: how far would you go to save the world, at what price.

I loved it. Too bad they couldn’t incorporate the pirate story “The Black Freighter” it was a story within the story about a pirate trying to make it back to his village to warn them of the coming Black Freighter that destroyed his ship and killed his crew. (I hear its coming out as a solo story on DVD) It reflected the all the sturm and drang of the main story. In the Graphic novel there was a little African-American boy outside of the newsstand reading this story throughout most of the graphic novel.

That little boy was me.

More Later . See you on the flipside of infinity

Romy

Friends are stranger than Fiction

2009-02-02T22:21:00.000-06:00

Things have been stranger than usual with me. I have not eaten meat in a week; which works for me because last year I had consciously tried to go vegetarian and crashed and burned several times. So I stopped trying. And in a very Zen-like way I have gotten farther without trying. It was gradual, setting my spiritual compass in a direction and eventually ending up where I’ve always needed to be. Like that old Supertramp song I took the long way home.

I think of the lessons of the desert. How you always have to prepare for the future; because the desert is harsh, unforgiving, and really doesn’t give a shit if you are down on supplies and destitute. There are predators here. Charlatans, scammers, tricksters, Jim Jones wannabes, false goddesses and the R.O.U.S’s (Rodents Of Unusual Size)…I have encountered each….and defeated them all.

But there are GOOD people here. People who I have love for and count as friends, allies, brothers and sisters. There’s Dan, Erin, and Wheeler. They were my friends, neighbors up in Flagstaff. I used to work with Dan and Erin at Monte V and Wheeler was roomies with Dan. We all lived next door to each other. Those crazy kids are in Hawaii now.The 4 of us used to discuss the universe and the nature of reality. The swashbuckling Jeff Dean; who is descended from Gypsies and Pirates, who introduced me to extraordinary worlds of creativity and gave me my first dose of Lovecraft. Paul and Tara Ferguson; who introduced me to Falcon Press and books by Israel Regardie ,Donald Michael Kraig, Robert Anton Wilsons philosophies. Paul is the Spock to my Kirk; logical where I’m impulsive. And showed me what REAL MAGICK was and that it is just like the Force: It is the wielder, not the power itself that shapes its purpose and that it all goes back to the wielders intention.

There’s big Fred who is almost a big a geek as I am; but you would not be able to tell because he is a huge, walking muscle of a man. Swander, who is like MacGyver, only a LOT more sarcastic. And he was there during one of my darkest times. And my current roommates, Jay and Jamie: They are a couple: The Gemini Twins I call them. (everyone gets a nickname) They make sure I don’t eat fatty foods and are as much my pet Gays as I am their Karen Walker of Will and Grace: because just like her I am usually drunk and full of pills.
And then there is my brother Brian. We are not blood relations but we may as well be. He has proven that he is my best friend time and again. The Batman to my Superman; the Dark Knight to my Last Son of Krypton , and Just like Batman, most people think he’s a dick, and to be quite honest, he kinda is. But just like Batman they respect him and his keen mind. (He is fucking scary with numbers). And since we both have our own special brand of madness. (A touch of Ordinary Madness is a prerequisite for all my friends) I get his madness and he gets mine. And we try save the world before Thursday, but just end up recreating it on Friday: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Thursday

There is another. She is in many ways a muse to me. She first introduced the concept of being vegetarian, educated me on animal cruelty, and lives on her own terms, she has been burned at the stake and rose like a Phoenix again and again. A woman who is ALMOST as knowledgeable about Old-School X-Men comics as I am; and she actually loves and GETS BSG. She writes a story that seduces you like the demon lover you have always wanted and always feared. If Kate Bush and Chrissie Hynde had a baby….it would be her. Hannah, thanks for being in my life.
That’s all for now, I have stories to write and alcohol to abuse.
See you on the flipside of the Galaxy.

Shift Happens

2008-11-12T01:37:00.000-06:00

You know I really don't understand this whole idea of Prop 8 in California and Prop 102 in Arizona passing.

Arizona's prop 102 passing is no surprise. As far as red states go this place is practically crimson, save for that beautiful patch of blue to the north: Flagstaff wasn't going to fall for the deceptive, hate filled propaganda that were the add campaigns of prop 102. Spun o' so slickly into wording that would mislead the average voter, or the average bear; being smarter than both that was not the case for me.

Ah Flagstaff, I miss you, a patch of cool blue in a sea of red. If it just wasn't so Goddamn cold up there I would probably live there. But I hate the cold, and no amount of lattes or snow bunnies will change that. But we would both have fun with them trying ;)

My dirty mind aside for now, back to my tirade. Cocinino County was also the only spot in the state that didn't fall for Mccain's bullshit. Again, the place with the most intelligent people in the state; Flagstaff ,are the only redemption for the rest of the Kool-aid drinkers. I am well aware that I am not the only liberal in Az outside of Flag. (sure seems that way at times) but I loved the way that Cocinino County just gave Mcsame the finger.

I think back to election day with all the "good wholesome families" out in front of polling sites in Phoenix protesting with their "say yes to marriage" signs. A mild annoyance, but these people had their children out protesting was the most disturbing thing for me. Children. Yeah, lets start the hatred and ignorance early. Indoctrinate them while they're young. Which is probably why most of Az is one of the most backward thinking, non-progressive culturally bereft places I have had the displeasure of living. Teaching your children hatred is WHY there is so much entrenched and institutionalized racism, sexism and homophobia (Yeah, I said it)These parents are also the same people who thought that Obama was a terrorist, Reagan-omics was a good thing, and the invisible man who lives in the sky hurls thunderbolts at everyone but them. I am SO glad that McCain lost. If he had won I was gonna say fuck this and go AWOL and would be on the next flight to Canada, or better yet Amsterdam. But Romy, these places are cold too you might say. But what I would loose in temperature I would gain in agriculture: puff on that for a bit.

Again, AZ and Prop 102 I can understand. But CALIFORNIA?!? WTF!?! Prop 8 was the scariest thing to come out of Cali since they elected a fucking cyborg as their Governor. (I don't care how bad ass his movies were) The irony is they seem to care more about animals than people. To paraphrase one of my crushes Chrissie Hynde 'Don't get me Wrong' I do not believe in animal cruelty. In fact; a couple of weeks ago I went to PETA's website: http://www.peta.org/ . Fucked my shit ALL up. Shifted a few paradigms. Hey when evolving, shift happens. I started Master Cleanse and am slowly changing my diet. THAT'S how big a shift it was. That's another blog for another day. I think we need to evolve in our ideas of what is food and who is entitled to love.

The second one is easy. Everyone should be entitled to love and marry whoever. It is my humble opinion that we are the all singing all dancing crap of the world. Being the most sentient meat puppet with the most brain capacity we should be stewards of the Earth. That means that we need to allow for, to fight for the freedom of others. America last week proved that it can live up to its own hype and acknowledge that ALL men are created equal. Lets go a little further on that promise to be that shining city on the hill and make sure to remember that people also have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness....Everyone.

And as for African-Americans voting down Gay marriage. The Irony is jarring. Are we saying that there are not Gay Blacks. Are we, who were so long oppressed and told where we can go, where we can piss, who we can love; are we going to deny the rights of others. We, if ANYONE should know how it feels and fight to keep that from happening to anyone else, its US. No matter your orientation we all bleed the same. As an African-American (with a lot of other stuff) I am offended by the very notion that we would be against the Gay Rights in any way. Having taken shit all my life because my tan is better than yours I will fight for the rights of my brothers and sisters be they White, Black, Gay, Straight, Klingon or Betazoid. If I'm stuck on this giant mud ball I'm going to leave it a better place than when I found it.

Well. Tirade's over. I'll see you on the flip side of infinity.

Romy

Just 2 Words

2008-11-05T01:10:00.001-06:00

Don't have a lot of time but I just have two words for you...DONKEY PUNCH!!!!!!
Go Barack !!!!!!! Thank you for making history and congrats to the Democratic Party of America!
America finally lives up to its creed.

Controled Burn

2008-10-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh downtime.

I am looking forward to it. Technicaly I have been busting my bronze ass since Febuary 07. Its good to take a break....I didn't think so before, but now I feel the creative juices flowing again; I feel the muse and her gossemer embrace. She whispers in my ear things that no mortal can see. She takes me beyond the veil of this 3-D illusion and shows me other worlds, other people who need their stories told. And its all good. All love. And that old fire is back again. She does more for me than a woman of flesh and bone. Believe me...I am all about dirty,sweaty, slapping uglies. But with her its something more. I dance with her in a cosmic waltz, tripping over the light fantastic.

Controled burns are done in highly wooded areas to clear deadwood....Soulwise it means getting rid of what we don't need, comming to terms with what we thought we wanted. And now, having time enough at last. I remember that time is the fire in which we burn. And I light up like a Roman Candle as I bathe in her light.

Till next time my friends.

We've only got 120 Minuets to save the world!

2008-10-07T21:14:00.000-05:00

You know, after my rant last night....The very moment I hit "Post" on my blog; the universe decided to bitch slap me with the Indigo Girls video "Closer I am to Fine". (Syncronicity is Gods way of letting you know She's listening). Guess I deserved it.And I WAS watching 120minuets on VH1 Classic.(every Sunday night) The universes gentle reminder to focus on the Light and not the dark. "and the less I seek my source for some definitive...." You know the rest kids.
The Light. When people talk about The Light and the power therin....I can't help but think how much I hate that "airy-fairy" bullshit. My personal approach would be more proactive. First ...I'd need Marty McFly's Delorian. Oh yeah....Time Travel....thought ya knew.

Hmmmmm....Nope While the Delorian is flashy, and a classic to boot. I need a something a little more subtle. I got it! Quantum Leaping! Granted I tip my hat to Dr. Samuel Becket and his time-hopping holo-buddy Al. I would do things that would impact history. Like leap into the lead car of the paparatzi bastards who chased Princess Diana to her death; I would take the lead car and block the rest...and maybe she and Dodi would have gotten away.
I would try to save Michael Jackson from himself. I would go back to 1984, right before the Grammys and leap into someone he would listen to....Liz Taylor!

"Michael now Michael listen to me...You are taking Emanual Lewis and Brooke Shields to the Grammys...Now Micheal you know that its wrong to keep a child out past his bedtime...Leave him with his parents. Now that long, lean Calvin Cline jean wearing vixen is all over you. Try it ....it will change your life young man...and I noticed you looking at skin bleaching. Michael you are beautiful just the way you are...please dont do it. I (Liz ) would hug the would be king of pop. and say"you'll thank me in the 90's.

Next I have to be a little mean on this one. December 8,1980. Dakota hotel NYC. I leap into the doorman and grab that chubby little pissant Mark Chapman. Having already taken his weapon (foreknowlege rules) I would beat him within an inch of his miserable life, unload the pistol into the air, and call the cops...recomending a psychward because this guy said he was gonna kill John Lennon. Once John shows up I tell him to shine on. And then I leap.

Of course I am telling these stories as if I had control over where I leaped (Sam didn't) But if a person DID have control. Lets just say that The Saints would have won the Superbowl in 07. All my winnings going to charity...All of them ...realy :)

Existential Meltdown: Part Deux

2008-10-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

We have been programed for fear and hardwired for imprisonment in a dogmatic belief system with black iron bars that we can't even see. A system that tells us if we color outside the lines or think outside the box they placed us in. We can lookforward to burning and tourture and agony for all eternity.

Well smack my ass and call me Suzy! Now THAT'S Divine Love right there....Fuckin' sign me up right now!!

But whos to say that our picture of God is definitely different from most others One God many faces. I advise you to research and decide for yourself. Its the best way and you avoid the danger of giving your power away. Search for yourself.

That old Indigo Girls song just poped into my head "Closer I am to Fine"
The reason I have been wondering about such things is that I have been pondering the right to life. No this has nothing to do with a fetus. I'm talking about the power to take our own lives if we saw fit.

Tibetian monks have set themselves ablaze to protest Chinese occupation. Hell some people here in the U.S. set themselves on fire protesting this war. EMTs are getting a lot more DNR orders (do not recessutate) and are powerless to do anything about it.
People are leaving the planet in droves; wheather by accident or choice. I just wonder is it our place to stop them?

If someone wants out of the illusion, this game, whatever it is I say go for it...Unless you have kids. Then its your responsibility to stay in, what some would call "a world of Piss"

Hey kids Space/Time continuim fucking with your CHI? The Illusion of Duality getting you down. Sick and tired of being sick and tired on a Galactic Scale well heres what you do ...you GET THE FUCK OUT!!!! By plane, train, automoble,speeding bullet or auto-erotic-axphixiation. Heres some possibility for you...what if religion were all an illusion, one thats been going on for years and kept us in line and taken a shitload of money.......Just a thought.
Me, I'm staying around till 2012 . Going to a hell of a party and I must admit that I will get a kick out of the masses making asses of themselves by paniking and all :)

Right now I'm feeling like NEO after the e red pill. Kansas is goin bye-bye. Is the chair realy a chair or just molicules spinning so slowly that they appear solid.

Is that cat in the box dead?

And are we living in soul machines...or cages for our soul?

Existential Meltdown

2008-10-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

Sting sang of soul cages

Tori Amos sang that its an empty cage if you kill the bird

We kill each other over resources and religion, I think that it all started at the tower of Babel. The Christians have there version of the story. And the ancient Summarians have theirs . So who ya gonna believe the guys who wrote the tale who were from there. Or a guy who got together with other guys in Niciea and decided that all of these stories should be in the bible, and all agreed, That is until A certain King needed a divorce and demanded a re-write.

More Later

Syncronicity & DVR

2008-10-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

Syncronicity and DVR Current mood: artistic Category: Life

I was doing homework and watching tv. ( Yeah like you dont do it ) Not that Psych 101 was not interesting enough, I decided to breeze though the channels and I saw a familiar title on Ovation( an arts channel that I was unaware of until today): "Where the Buffalo Roam" Its A Biopic about Hunter S. Thompson and his rise to fame. Being a fan of the father of Gonzo and his long strange trips, I decided though the magic of DVR I can record this and watch it later, much like a leapord kills its prey and take it into a tree to eat at twilight. But being that it was 5pm it was close enougth to twilight for me. So I recorded it and cruised the cathode ray highway some more. On Comedy Central they were showing Futurama, the title of this episode was "Where the Buggalo Rome" Nothing to do with Hunter S; the episode was the one where Amy takes Kif to meet her parents on Mars, They are Buggalo ranchers. These are giant ladybugs. It makes me wonder if it was just coincidence OR do the programers watch Ovation and thought it would be a cool thing and see if anyone noticed( I like to think it was THAT) or the networks are owned by the same parent company. I thought this was pretty groovy and finished up my homework. I resumed watching Buffalo, Decided to check MySpace I noticed that one of my favorite people in THIS galaxy posted a new blog. Its called "Human Torches" The moment I clicked on the title A comercial came on talking about a movie coming on tomorrow night called "Day of Wrath" ...The first line of the ad the announcer pants with breathless abandon: ' a woman punished for her ideas' The screen flashes on an elderly woman being burned at the stake. Hannahs blog was about monks being put to death in the same manner. (Check out her site. She writes her own songs, and they are awesome). I would write more but I have a busy day tomorrow. Right now I am going to watch Battlestar Galactica and drift off to dreamland ....dreaming of Kara "Starbuck"Thrace. She Frakin rocks! Later....But sooner than you think.

Ordinary Madness

2008-10-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

Its been a long, strange trip........
Sorry I've been away so long. I've been on leave, recovering from my surgery. Since I was given industrial strength pain killers I have been asleep for the past ten or so days. The tumor was benign; something called a pleomorphic adenoma It pops up in the parotid gland. At the rate it was growing,my doctor said that it could very well go malignant if not extracted now. My doctor was awsome ,she was the most competent and caring physician I have ever met and took great care of me. My orders were to rest and far be it for me to argue with a Major ;)
So after resting up and having the coolest dreams, I'm back. I made my Top Secret Candied Yams for the Thanksgiving party I went to. I am not one to brag, but they're pretty bad-assed. They were a hit. It was good to just chill with friends.
But about those dreams.Mix one part pain killers with my strange psyche and you have a recipie for a dreamscape that would have Jung and Leary green with envy. Hell as trippy as it got out there I think I might have talked to them. Phillip K. Dick and Sidhardtha too. I have this thing called Synesthesia...simply put its the ultimate cross-wiring of the senses; When I taste something it translates into pictures, (its SO much fun with wine) numbers have colors. It can be realy groovy. So the world was a nice cool blue as I slept.
Somewhere in between contemplating the nature of reality and playing out superpowered fantasys: Yes ...THAT dream I will call "Uncanny X-League of America Unlimited" Followed by the sequel "Infinite Midlife Crisis on Infinite Earths" I realized just how blessed I was. All better just in time to watch D.C. comics destrory the universe...again.
The tumor that they took out kind of pops up unwaranted in most people. Its the perfect symbol for the "shit happens" rule, right there with airplane engine that falls into your house and the black fly in your chardonay. Diet may have a slight factor in it. I had quit smoking a while ago:3 years this Christmas. But I used to smoke at least two packs a day. Other bad habits are the amount of red meat I eat: A LOT.
The nature of life is to change, to grow, and if we are lucky learn something new and, I dare say it, evolve. The new is not neccessarily "bad" So I've decided to slowly ease myself into a Vegetarian diet. I did a little research and for my blood type I would benefit most from going green. And the good news is I don't miss out on 2 of my favorite things...Wine and Wheat beer. Hmmm, a nice Hefewizen does sound good right about now.
Lets see....going back to college for the first time in years, dodging a bullet, and the road of life in front of me....Time to Evolve.
Remember. The mystery is what makes it fun...and the unknown is nothing but a new adventure.
Later.@->--->--->-------------

Night of the Living Tumor

2008-10-07T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Gods watch out for fools....No one can attest to that more than I. And I have to view some things with a since of humor. If you don't, you just go crazy...crazy in a bad way. I felt the need to get this off my chest to come to terms with it. One more way to stare down fear and punch it in the face.

I have been stationed at Fort Sam Houston,TX for almost a year now, I love it there; Its one of the top Medical training facilities in the U.S. Its in the heart of San Antonio, a city I've had a wild love affair with. And I have been getting some of the best training in the world in the field of Patient Administration.

The only down side to San Antonio is all the allergens. I have been living in a desert environment for the last few years; so suddenly going from High Desert country to swampy Ft Benning,Ga (for Basic Training) to San Antonio, a place that could be classified as a rainforest. Needless to say it wrecked havoc on my sinuses. I was going to the doctor a lot for sinus infections.

Heres where my tale begins.

I was being checked out by one of the Docs at the TMC (Troop Medical Center to you). The usual exam for allergys, checking the nose and throat yadda yadda yada. I thought I would just get told to take my antibiotics, drink water and drive on....
"Whats this"? the Doctor asked, he pointed to something under my left ear.
There was a small lump there...under the skin, a little larger than a dime...It was round like a pinball. I really didn't notice it before....With all the lovely PT I've been doing I had at that point lost sixty pounds. The Doc set up an appointment for a CT scan of my head and neck. He would not say what it could have been; in his profesionalism he did'nt want me to panic. But I've hung around hospitals enough to know what getting a CT scan could mean ...and what they were looking for.

Cancer.....

Commence panic mode!

I was told to go to BAMC (Brooke Army Medical Center: in the Army we have acronyms for everything) I sat in the waiting room, trying to still my mind and calm down. The solder sitting next to me had been to The Sandbox twice. She had had a lump removed from her breast a while back and was getting a scan to see if she was cancer free. Her eyes glittered like clear,blue dimonds. She told me that I was lucky that they found it on a random check up. And, IF I had Cancer it was not a death sentence. She was living proof; and by talking to her I knew this Warrior Woman had a strength and resolve to handle anything. She made me think of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War.

They called my name and I stood up, bidding my friend farewell.

"Remember Nietzsche". she said

" Nietzsche"?

"Yes" she smiled ... "what does not kill you, makes you stronger".

They called her name, she stood and shook my hand "Here goes everything". she said with a wry smile and a wink. She went one way down the hall and I went another. (And wherever you are I hope things turned out ok and thank you for being there)
I went down the hall for my tango with destiny. Hmmm, tango with destiny. Sounds like something you would see on the cover of one of those romance novels. Well Fabio wasn't at this party (thankfully).

I am short on time...and I will finish this later tonight.

Only Sometimes

2008-10-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

Ah love....
Sometimes I wonder what its all for. Only sometimes
I am a guy who has love and lost several times. Its a part of life, like the ebb and flow of the tides. Inevitably we all catch it;there is no escaping it, its insidious and bubbley, just like root beer. And if you drink enough root beer; according to a Cardassian taylor I once knew, you will get heartburn.
I know this from experiance. And the bubbles in my drink have been many. From posessive control freaks to shrinking violets. Junkies and Jezebells, far-right-wing-nuts to glassy-eyed cult babes. They have all sat at my table, I don't judge them; I'm past all that. Now I just feel sorry for them.
Sometimes I think that I don't need it. And I don't. I am too focused on what I want right now; school, carreer, retirement, my never ending quest to gain superpowers (Heat vision would be awsome and would be great for roasting smores) I am too busy to focus on a relationship now. My life right now is like a bullet train; It is only going one way. And the way I view it is you can be on this train or not, because it won't stop.
But then it would be nice to have someone to share your victories and even your defeats. To be by your side through good or ill. Someone to grow old with and drink margaritas with as you watch the sun set into twilight from the back porch. Someone who tells you when you are wrong, but they still have your back. Someone who helps you hide the bodies,and who will help you carve a soup bowl from the skull of your enemy.
Sorry about that last image...I have an inner Conan the Barbarian that likes to pop his horned head out every now and again. I digress. Because I am a busy man and the train won't stop, I don't have time enough for love (and I envy Lazerus Long) But sometimes....on very rare occasions....I wish someone were going my way.
.....but, for now, only sometimes.
Tune in next time..........

The leap home

2008-10-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I feel like the Quantum Leap guy.
You remember the show. Dr. Sam Beckett had a bad trip with a Quantum accellerator and finds himself leaping back and forth within his own lifetime; inhabiting another persons body or "space". He finds that he has to change history while he is there; 'to put right what was once made wrong', otherwise he is stuck there. Once the problem was solved and balace restored he would "leap" off to the next adventure, the next life, 'hoping the next leap would be the leap home'.
It kind of ups the antie on that whole Karma thing, and prooves that Scott Bacula is more effective than Superman any day.
Loved that show. It was good TV. Before the glut of reality shows with vapid, plastic twenty-somethings selling their souls for a buck and sucking in viewers like a Hoover from hell (He/She is a souless fuck but my God they're pretty) But thats another discussion. I recently found myself in limbo, wating for the next wave in my life and I found that stepping outside of myself and helping others helps me. I don't run around looking to save people; I've got enough shit to do on my own. The situations just tend to present themselves (usually when I am trying to get to my coffie, damnit) But I think that if you have a chance to change things for the better you should take it.
Later

I call Bullshit

2008-10-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

I will never cease to be amazed by peoples arrogance. I have met people with degrees and doctorates who know alot about very little; because maybe having a major in a paticular subject only seeks to narrow your scope. I think that the worlds problems all boil down to ego. We worry about how people view us and how we can make our mark and be individuals. The times-old quest for self actualization. Its why people try to buy things they will never own; like timeshares.
Its why people buy the latest self help book, Its why people follow gurus and give their power away to the wizard; never thinking once to pay attention to the jackass behind the curtain. Its why people go to seminars and listen to someone else tell them how to "live powerfully" and how to "get it" Well my friends, "IT" is bullshit served up with sparklies on top to make it look like shinola...but its still bullshit. Big fat corrupt corperate bullshit with a shiny happy psedo-enlightened face.
What I'm saying here folks is the only answers you are going to get about life, the universe, and everything is from within. Look to yourself : You have everything you need. Except for alcohol...I don't have that right now...I think I will go get some.
More later

When the Quantum Bomb Drops

2008-10-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

At times I used to wonder why we are here. If its the question that drives us, what will we do with the answer?

Well, we won't be exploring that in THIS blog. In fact, this is a blog about nothing.

We are sparks of infinite energy that burn brightly on borrowed time, strutting and fretting across the stage in a costume of flesh that is so convincing that we sometimes forget our true nature and think that our life here is all there is. Our whole lives is a search for meaning a reason to be here. Some find ith through religion, through service to others or more hedonistic pursuits. and in each case they are all right , because the truth is quite subjective.

I have since childhood questioned everything. Doesnt make me special, just curious. I think that our curiosity is what marks us as a species. We have explored nearly everything about ourselves and our world, even mapping the human genome to learn how to make a better "us".
Across the sea someone is smashing atoms together in hopes of cracking them open to see what goodies lie inside. And in this world where someday silicon itself may be obsolete I wonder whats next.

At the same time there are people who belive that the world is only 8,000 years old, that the creators of the Large Hadron Collider are going to destroy the Earth, and that all our problems would be solved by drinking a crude oil smoothie. There's an undeclared war on science and progress fueled by fear, masking itself as faith. It is our nature as humans to learn, change and evoulve. And we are at a crossroads and our greatest discoveries are yet to come, a quantum bomb of advancement. We can either choose to ride this wave or swim back to shore with out wetsuited tail between our legs. We will discuss that, love, life, comics, culture, science and the spirit. All these things interest me; and writing about them is the best way to learn and explore them. This is a blog about nothing. And in a quantum world that could mean that its about everything.

I hope to see you again soon.

Romy Astrovick