Just A Regular Guy's Blog

Wow. Yes we can.. Yes we Did!

2008-11-04T23:13:00.002-05:00

Just taking in the Obama victory. Not since Bill Clinton ran had I and so many of those of my age been so interested in an Election. The younger generation has stepped up this election. This election, like no other in recent years has pushed to make us as electors more aware of the topics that matter most to us as a society. Many of us have turned a blind eye to the workings of the political machine mainly because we didn't matter.

Obama has been able to put forth his goals for our country in such a way as to make us understand and feel truly connected with what makes our country the strongest nation in the world. Now as I watch Mccain speak. Amid a crowd that boo'd at every mention of Obama's name, Mccain stood strong and praised Obama for a well fought election. Extending his hand to Obama to find the necessary needs to embrace our difference as a country was sincere. I always believed Mccain ultimately wants what is best for this country. If he had been able to appeal to the struggling middle class just a bit more I may have voted for him myself. I feel in the years to come Mccain will be more an ally than an enemy in the governing of this country.

So if anyone reads this please leave me a comment to this post with your feelings of this election. Democrats and republicans alike.

[image courtesy of CNN.com]

Obama Wins. Congrats President Obama

2008-11-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. It has been quite a while since I've last blogged on here. I figured what better a time than now. As I type this with one hand the other is busily flipping through the various news stations trying to find the latest on the "Decision '08" front.

It seems once again my great state of Florida will be playing an all to familiar and pivotal role in this election. Though this year there is no Jeb Bush or hanging chads (as of yet).....

THIS JUST IN... with 81% of the precincts reporting Obama is predicted the Florida winner. I'm gonna flip around some more.

Now just in again as of 11pm OBAMA is the president!! Hail to the chief and congratulations to all on a hard fought election.

Cheers to all of us how voted for Obama and views. Lets hope this is the beginning of the rise of the hard working middle class, the beginning of a new hope for our educational system, the new beginning in gaining our independence on foreign oil. Tonight the streets run blue. A true victory for the American people.

284 electoral votes.

Bros for Life

2008-08-21T22:46:00.005-04:00

Think back to the days when the highest level of stress was trying to get through level 8-3 on Super Mario Brothers with your fire power intact so you could easily blast past bowser. Or sneaking out of your house to hang with the boys, hoping your parents or friends parents would hear you and your fat buddy try to roll out of your bedroom window. Hoping the cops wouldn't catch you and your friends as you all got trashed, running around drunk and stupid at the nearby elementary schools kick as playground at all hours of the night. If I only knew what stress meant back then or rather what it would mean to me now.

Gone are the days on nintendo marathons, under aged drinking and desperately trying to get a little touch and tickle with a girl who had no interest in me. Gone are the nights of drunken "philosophies of life" socials with my best friends on some dark unamed road in the bed of my buddies toyota. Simply put, gone is adolescents and capricious youth.

Now our adult days seem filled with mortgages, bills, daycare expenses, rising gas prices and trying to figure out what the hell the millage rate has to do with our property taxes. Instead of comparing sega scores we find ourselves comparing electric bills. Back road boozefests with your buddies, tends to now be downing a few beers in your recliner to help you sleep. Tinkering with the stereos in our first cars is now filled with dread of another car payment we may or may not be able to make. We used to stay up for 24 hours straight just to prove we could do it, now it happens because we sometimes can't avoid it. Now I would mow my parents lawn everyday, with a pair of scissors to avoid the stresses of my everyday job, back then I considered that work.

No time to be childish with children of our own. No time to be even slightly irresponsible with so many responsibilities weighing us down. No time to yourself with so many seeking time with you. Bullshit.

An old friend contacted me the other day. Friend is an understatement. Actually he is the guy I did all the above stuff with growing up. As many of us have, we lost touch somehow, somewhere down the line we just felt we needed each other less than we did back then. I suppose we grow into our Independence. I suppose we both just felt that we were both doing fine where ever we were in life and that's that. Bullshit. I've realized that I shouldn't ever loose touch with those who were and are important factors in my life. My buddy is having a tough go at it at the moment and I feel for him. Over the years I really only heard how good he was doing and didn't figure we had much in common anymore. My family is great, wife and kids and such, but my professional life has never been what I felt his was. Perhaps a bit envious. I now see that we are still the same inseparable goofballs we always were, just 900 miles apart. He'll get through this patch and come out fine. We just need to get back to our roots. We have to remember what made us the men we were before the we got to the point that we almost let life bring us down.

Fact of the matter brother, were still healthy and alive. Its up to us at this moment in time to live our lives how we want. We have to do what we got to do and keep on keeping on. We're to old to be continually dumped on by others. We're to smart to be continually taken advantage of. But were too young to give up and give in. Your still my brother from another mother and I can't help but feel your pain. I'm sorry I didn't do my part to enjoy with you the success you've had. I missed the buddy boat on that and I apologize. So in closing to anyone reading this, don't take life for granted. Don't pretend to know how somebody is doing without talking to them and most importantly don't loose touch. Don't loose touch with those important to you, don't loose touch with memories and don't loose touch of what is really important in life.

Riding The Waves

2008-07-29T22:35:00.004-04:00

An old wise man once told me, "Life is like the ocean. One wave after another of good bad and everything in between. Its the waves you decide to ride and for how long that makes the difference.". I've come to realize that the decision as to what waves to take are the easiest. By easiest I mean they are often the things forced upon us that we really have very little control over resisting. The pull, the gravity of some waves are often to strong to resist be it out of lack in confidence of a better set on the horizon or the fear of no waves left in our personal oceans. Not wanting to be set a drift in a motionless sea of dread we decide to take what rolls our way and ride it the best we can.

As I get older and look back at some of the waves I've taken and feel the spray of the same old ones I'm still riding I find myself looking around... over the crest of the white capped spray to the following waves rolling and crashing behind. Could the next wave be my wave? If I jump off of this same tired wave, feeling the current below me as it nears the shore offering me less and less an enjoyable ride everyday, will I have the energy to paddle back to the new waves? Have to many of the waves of my life to date waterlogged me to a point of withering defeat?

Paddling back out in to the deep unfamiliar waters seems a scary but exhilarating proposition at this point of my life. Will those watching me from the shore understand my desire for a new ride, for a rebirth of sorts to the person I was and want to be again? If I decide to ditch this current comfortable but unsatisfying wave will I be swallowed up and drug down to the reef below by the next wave? I don't know. The not knowing, the uncertainties of life have always been the things that tied me to the familiar. I'm beginning to adjust my way of thinking. Maybe its because I just celebrated my aging on this planet another year. Maybe its that, after too many years of settling, too many years of watching my life and opportunities pass me by that I need to stop fearing the unknown and embrace the uncertainties of life. I've played the same wave game for long enough. I know every curl before it folds out in front of me. The water on this wave is no longer refreshing to my spirit.

So? What now? I suppose its time to tighten my trunks, plug my nose, find a low spot and head out to deeper waters. Uncertainty be damned. Cowabunga fellow wave riders may our next waves be the ones.

rest here

The Chase, 1st Annual After Party

2008-04-20T13:23:00.004-04:00

On behalf of "The Chase" I would like to thank all our fans who attended out "1st Annual After Party". Nearly 200 hundred people attended and we are thankful to each and every one of you.

Due to the higher than expected turn out we are considering hosting more of these BYOB events in the future. The crowd was amazing, the women were hot and the music was slamming. We appreciate that after an entire day of enjoying the SugarFest festivities you all wanted more fun. Without the fans and those just enjoying to party none of this would be worth doing.

For myself. It was my first show playing rhythm guitar with the band and thank you all for making it an amazing first gig for me. Be sure to check out our website for future dates and be sure to come party with us.

Visit us at www.thechasemusic.com

Cubs Can't Phigure out the Phillies

2008-04-12T21:58:00.004-04:00

The Chicago Cubs have the wheels rolling on the losing streak train and pulled into station #2. Hamel's great control and change up kept the Cubs guessing and set the tone for this game. For the second night in a row and unfortunately not only the second time this season that the Cubs starter couldn't get the job done early. Lily gave up 5 in less than 5 innings.

The Cubs offense never got going. Soriano went 1-4 and is only batting .176 for the season. In all the Cubs managed only 3 hits to Philadelphia's 11.

It's early though so Cub fans don't fret just yet. The Cubs will try to avoid a sweep tomorrow. Game time is 12:35 central time and televised on Chicago Sports Net.

Standings:

TEAM	W	L	%	GB
St. Louis	9	3	.750	-
Milwaukee	7	4	.636	1.5
Chicago	6	4	.600	2.0
Cincinnati	6	5	.545	2.5
Pittsburgh	4	6	.400	4.0
Houston	3	8	.273	5.5

Streaks: L1

Last 10: 6-4

Home: 3-3 Road: 3-1

Runs Scored: 52
Runs Against: 48

Oh yes... They deserve every penny... @#!?@

2008-04-12T00:00:00.004-04:00

"Parade Magazine" has put out there annual "What People Earn" edition for 2007.

Well, next year you will see me The Regular Guy on that list for I have bought my Florida Lottery ticket tonight and have all the confidence in the world that I will win this weekend. So Oprah, look out lady.

I guess you, and by you I mean us less than uber rich people out there, can't help but be a bit envious of the incomes some of these people rake in. There's Oprah, a women who has amassed her fortune simply by talking about crap that doesn't really matter to crowds of yentas and helps to further dilute our brain cells and free thinking abilities by forcing other people who force their views on you such as number 4 on the list Dr. Phil. We also have Tiger Woods, so he's the greatest golfer to play the game, has a super hot lady and is only in his 30's so freakin' what. I shoot in the low hundreds, have a hot lady and I'm in my 30's. Where the hell is my green jacket? How about Trouble? This is the dog of the former Leona Helmsley. Actually this dog deserves every penny it gets. You know how many years that dog had to pretend she liked licking that leathery makeup covered face. Well anyway below is a list and how much these hard working doctors, humanitarians, teachers and dedicated soldiers made. Oh wait... that's right sorry my mind slipped into my little "what should be state" for a second.

Oprah Winfrey: $260 million
Tiger Woods: $115 million
Steven Spielberg: $110 million
Dr. Phil McGraw: $90 million
50 Cent: $33 million
Gisele Bundchen: $33 million
Miley Cyrus: $18.2 million
Mary-Kate Olsen: $17 million
Ryan Seacrest: $12 million
Trouble (Leona Helmsley’s dog): $12 million
Eli Manning: $11.5 million
Katherine Heigl: $11 million
Jeff Foxworthy: $10 million
Jessica Alba: $9 million
Mariska Hargitay: $7 million
Carrie Underwood: $7 million
Scarlett Johansson: $5 million

Source... US Weekly

Use Firefox... Its in the stars

2008-04-11T23:37:00.004-04:00

"To the Moon IE!" Well its further than the moon, much further. How much further I have no clue but pretty damn far.

Leave it to the super geeks to take the fiery debate of web browsers beyond the forums and bulletin boards. In fact, the argument is now being tabled out of this universe. The above is variable star V838 Monocerotis of the constellation Monoceros. Again I have no idea how to better explain to you where in the hell you would have to focus your porch mounted Hubble telescopes to find this but its there. Some Hubble loving, Star Trek fantasizing, parents basement dwelling guy had the spare time in his social schedule to find the striking similarities between this wad of stars and the FireFox logo. And now I have found the time in my bustling social schedule to blog about it....... "Mom how about some pizza rolls down here for Christ sake."

For those of you who haven't tried Firefox give it a try. It loads and caches far more efficiently than Internet Explorer and in my opinion is even better than Apple's Safari.

Get it here FireFox

Cubs Streak Ends @ 5

2008-04-11T23:15:00.003-04:00

Friday night the Chicago Cubs (6-4) saw their winning streak snapped at 5 by the Philadelphia Phillies. We also saw Fukudome's first start at center field.

Lee and Ramirez went yard in back to back fashion in the first. Lee is off to a good start this season. His power is on pace with his National League batting championship season in '05 when he hit 46 yard balls. Soriano add a solo blast in the 5th. But this was not enough to over come a poor outing by Big Z Carlos Zambrano.

"He didn't really throw the ball all that well," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said of the right-hander, who was able to get out of a first-inning jam. "He wasn't overpowering tonight."

"I was feeling OK," Zambrano said. "Something was wrong with my fastball today."

Zambrano gave up 5 runs while striking out six and walking one.

Up next: Lilly (0-1) faces Hamels (1-1) on a game that will be televised on WGN at 7:05 est.

For the complete box check out cubs.com.

"Rock of Love" for Daisy

2008-04-10T22:58:00.002-04:00

Her name is Daisy De La Hoya, and yes she is related to Boxer Oscar De La Hoya. She's his niece actually. Apparently she used to be in some goth glam band or something but that doesn't really matter now does it.

Basically she was one of the hottest women on this season. But if you think that all "Rock of Love" is about is stripper types and what not showing their undying affection for Bret Michaels... well your right. But who am I to judge? Don't we all want to find a meaningful, trusting, life long heart felt relationship with our hottest groupie?

Of the two who remain Bret would be a fool not to pick Daisy. The few weeks it lasts would probably be quite a few couple of weeks for Bret.

Baseball Season @ Last!!

2008-04-10T22:28:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone. It has been quite a while since I posted last. Sometimes real life just gets so hectic. Things you did at one time to unwind just don't have a chance to come out.

Alas, the MLB season has started and thankfully my Cubbies are off to a good start. I know some find baseball and sports in general a bore. For me kicking back and watching a ball game is an ultimate form of relaxation therapy.

Tonight the Chicago Cubs finished a sweep of the Pirates (always nice to see). Sorry Betsy... ha ha ha. I'm going to try and recap the Cubs games quickly and easily for those who care.

Rich Hill had a shaky start tonight giving up 5 runs in 3 innings while striking out 3. His location was off from the start. When he found the strikezone the Pirates ate it up.

John Lieber, resigned by the Cubs this season seems to be settling into his role as the long reliever of the staff with ease. His 4+ exceptional innings kept the Cubs in the game. Stretching only 5 hits over his extended nights work, doing exactly what this staff expects of him.

The shinning star of the game has to be Geovany Soto (catcher). This young catcher continues to impress. Going 4 for 5 and needing only a triple to hit for the cycle.

This season the Cubs will be looking to the younger diamonds in the rough to continue playing strong. Geovany Soto, Ryan Theriot, Felix Pie and newly aquired Reed Johnson among others will be the key to the Cubs success. When the key players such as Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez have off nights these guys need to continue to drive the team through.

Check out the wrap up courtesy of Cubs.com and "Go Cubbies"

We Love You Grandma

2008-01-28T01:47:00.000-05:00

Last week our family lost a very strong and important person. Our Mother, Wife, Grandmother, aunt, Sister, great grandmother and great friend to many Mary Myers passed away after battling her illness with great courage and strength.

My family and myself made the trip from Florida to Chicago for the services and to join the rest of the family in remembering her. She was an incredible woman. She raised 9 children, helped raise 22 grandchildren and their children.

I remember my grandma Myers for her compassion, strength and her velvet soft sense of caring. Her voice always had such a calming effect on me. She was my mothers mother and I see so much of her in my Mother. She was always there for you, no matter what you came to here with she never turned her family or friends away from a caring ear or helpful wisdom.

It was an extremely stressful week indeed. I have never in my life had a solid week of such extreme points of highs and lows. My cousins Ricky, Tyson, Nick, myself and My brother are all within 6 years in age of each other. We all grew up together, we truly feel like brothers. We found strength in ourselves. We realized that her passing wasn't just something to hang our heads down and mourn for. She would never have wanted that from us. Instead she brought us all together again as she always did to remember what is most important in life. Family. Though we live great distances from each other, as we all arrived at that ever familiar and always unchanged home perched like a childhood dream place on a very snow covered Victoria lane we all felt like we were home. We embraced, cried, hugged, remembered and laughed.

Grandma Myers knew that her large loving family would take her passing very hard. But for us, the older grandchildren, we knew she wanted to get us together to remember who we were and what it was that she enjoyed and loved most about life. She loved her children and husband. When we found ourselves laughing this weekend we never felt bad about it. Grandma always got a great sense of happiness seeing us all playing together. She is who helped make us the men and women we are today. We just felt that crying everyday all day would be such a waste of her spirit. Its amazing that we could in such a time of sadness we could feel her pushing us to laugh and remember that we aren't a family that spent a lot of time dwelling on the lows of life rather we relish in excess the highs.

This week brought to me such a sense of clarity of what life is and should be. We all need to realize that this life is what we make it. If we make our lives miserable they will be just that. If you choose to take the things in your life and make them positive, or take the steps to eliminate what makes you unhappy your life will feel more complete.

Grandma we all love you. We thank you for the countless sacrifices you have made for us and thank you for the things you have taught us to better live our lives. I will never forget you or what you meant to me. Nor will I forget the valuable lesson I learned this past week. That is that life is what you make it. I have always heard that cliche but until this week it never meant much to me.

So as I sit her in this hotel room in Morrow, Atlanta, stranded after our vehicles transmission left us 900 miles from home I feel content. I'm not sure how upset my boss will be when I am able to get back to work, hopefully he will understand. All I can think of now is getting back to my life, my wife and 2 boys who couldn't make the trip with us and beginning a new chapter of my life with the compassion, sensitivity, caring, understanding and positive outlook of life that my grandmother had in my heart.

Thank you Grandma, I will always love you, miss you and thank you for the life lessons you taught me in the past and continue to show me in your passing. Gone but never forgotten:

If you knew my grandmother and would like to extend your sympathies or share your memories please visit Mary Alice Myershere and share with the family.

Johnny Depp Reaches Out

2008-01-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

I ran across this story today and found it very interesting. It seems that in all the hustle and bustle of Hollywood some actors still find a way to show that they do care about real people and real causes. I imagine you all are getting as sick of all the Britney Spears crap and all the stars and their baby watches as I am. Lohan's rehab, OJ is back in jail as is Keifer. Miss Paris is still spending money and flashing her naughty bits all over town and yes Amy Winehouse has lost her bee hive. Among all this over indulgent, spoiled and ego driven wrecks one guy has put his money and idle time toward really awarding acts.

Johnny Depp it seems has quietly donated over a million bucks to the children's hospital that helped his daughter while she was suffering from a kidney ailment. Not only did he donate the money, on the down low mind you, but he also had his "Captain Jack Sparrow" outfit sent in from hollywood, dressed in full make up and spent time down at the hospital reading stories to the children. How amazing a gesture is this. I have always liked and respected Depp for his style and ability but this takes him to a whole nother level. The fact that he did this on his own, not making his publicist put it out there for all to see he was doing it makes it even better.

Others of his industry and stature should take note. Buying new Mercede's benz's everyday, bouncing from island party spot to island party spot may get you into the gossip rags but truly humanitarian efforts will get you respected by those who make them all this money. Us little people.

Deal or No Deal? Whatever!

2008-01-15T00:10:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I know it has been a while since I last posted but with the holidays and what not.... ok no excuses. Anyway, I'm back. Last night I was watching the TV show Deal or No Deal.
Now I usually enjoy watching the show at first but end up being completely pissed at the greed displayed by its players. I almost sigh in exasperated delight when these greedy bastards walk away with a measly $500 dollars. I know its a game but why gamble away an offer of a 100k or better? I suppose I'm just not the gambling type. Offer me $80,000 in the first round and I'm out. To most even the lowest offers from the "banker" would ease their lives tremendously but I suppose that wouldn't make for good television would it. All I'm saying is it is a game of luck, in its truest form. I suppose its also a great example of the power of greed.

In closing if my wife ever becomes a contestant on that show. When she looks over to me for encouragement as one of her 3 supporters... when I say take the deal she better close that little lid and come home with some money for poppa.

Atheism is not Satinism

2007-12-20T13:50:00.000-05:00

My parents came from somewhat religious families. They went to church on Sunday and both went to catholic schools. They were raised to read the bible and know the ways of the church.

My childhood was different. There were brief periods when my parents felt church was the answer. We would attend for a few weeks and then leave our pews to go cold for a bit. My parents always raised my brother, sister and myself to simply be good people. They didn’t need to instill the fear of God into us to make their point of living life to its fullest and being good to our fellow man. My parents still have faith; it helps them in tough times. For them their faith in God is what steers them, even though they do not attend church regularly now they still believe. Religion is a very personal thing. I’ve never put down those who believe what they do; I hope to not be put down for not believing the things I don’t.

As for me, well being allowed to grow and learn from life the things I could I have developed quite a different mindset in regards to religion and its place in my life. I have always avoided discussing religion with people because my views always seemed to clash with those in the discussion. It will probably shock my parents if they read this, to discover that I find myself to have a more atheists’ view of life. I have never been able to grasp religion the way the religious do. To say I didn’t believe in God and be in my family probably wouldn’t go over well, initially at least. What I get from the bible and its stories were many valuable moral tales. In my life I put into practice many of the things I have learned in the bible, the things that help me be a better person. The commandments for the most part are a very good basic set of moral standards and very reasonable to follow. It’s the sin and sacrifice that I never really got. Perhaps its my love of science, my desire to be a free thinker or my openness of spirit that keeps me from believing that this world we live in was created by one being, and all things in my life are set in motion and dictated by the man upstairs. I once read something that really put into words the way I felt about religion,” If we are to teach creationism in place of evolution in schools, are also to teach the stork theory in place of human development when teaching where babies come from?” I don’t remember who said that but it struck a chord with me. I compiled a list of some other more famed people and their atheist and agnostic views. P.S. I kind of screwed something up when composing this post so after you hit the read more link, scroll down to find the list. Oops.

	"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." American President- Abraham Lincoln
	"All thinking men are atheists." Writer- Earnest Hemmingway
	"I'm glad some people have that faith. I don't have that faith. If there is a God, a caring God, then we have to figure he's done an extraordinary job of making a very cruel world." Musician- Dave Matthews
	"I wasn't raised Catholic, but I used to go to Mass with my friends, and I viewed the whole business as a lot of very enthralling hocus-pocus. There's a guy hanging upon the wall in the church, nailed to a cross and dripping blood, and everybody's blaming themselves for that man's torment, but I said to myself, 'Forget it. I had no hand in that evil. I have no original sin. There’s no blood of any sacred martyr on my hands. I pass on all of this." "I believe that all important matters have to be settled here, not in the clouds somewhere after we kick off." Musician- Billy Joel
	"Religion is just mind control." Comedian- George Carlin
	"If you want to get together in any exclusive situation and have people love you, fine- but to hang all this desperate sociology on the idea of The Cloud-Guy who has The Big Book, who knows if you've been bad or good- and CARES about any of it- to hang it all on that, folks, is the chimpanzee part of the brain working. " Musician- Frank Zappa
	"Faith means not wanting to know what is true." Freidrich Nietzsche
	"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes." Star Trek creator- Gene Roddenberry
	"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." Napoleon Bonaparte
	Driving through a Swiss city one day, Hitchcock suddenly pointed out of the car window and said, "That is the most frightening sight I have ever seen." His companion was surprised to see nothing more alarming that a priest in conversation with a little boy, his hand on the child's shoulder. "Run, little boy," cried Hitchcock, leaning out of the car. "Run for your life!" Writer/Director- Alfred Hitchcock
	"A man is accepted into a church for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows." Writer- Samuel Clemens
	"I can very well do without God both in my life and in my painting, but I cannot, suffering as I am, do without something which is greater than I am, which is my life, the power to create." Painter- Vincent Van Gogh
	"I turned to speak to God, About the world's despair; But to make bad matters worse, I found God wasn't there." "Forgive, O Lord, my little joke on Thee and I'll forgive Thy great big one on me." Writer- Robert Frost
	"Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis." "The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life." Sigmund Freud
	"I was very disturbed when Jesus found a demon in a guy, and he put the demon in a herd of pigs, then sent them off a cliff. What did the pigs do? I could never figure that out. It just seemed very un-Christian. Technically, I'm an agnostic, but I definitely believe in hell -- especially after watching the fall TV schedule." Simpsons Creator- Matt Groening
	Well I find myself with a strong spiritual need - in the past five years, particularly. And, certainly, it's acknowledged as an important part of recovery from addiction. Yet, it's hard for me to find an actual handle for it. I'm not saying that it's not helpful to think of having a real handle on the universe, your own personal point of attachment. But...I think it's crazy. But it's an insanity that keeps us sane. You might call a lot of these songs "spirituals for agnostics." Musician- James Taylor
	"Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning." Microsoft founder- Bill Gates
	Religion is important and patriotism is important, but religion and patriotism without a sense of humor, and you're in trouble. You know that's, that's why our enemy is so frightening, they have no humor. This is a group of people who wander the desert for thousands and thousands of years, and never ran into a knock-knock joke. You see, if these people had any humor at all, none of this would have happened because no one could have stood in front of them and said that if they killed themselves in the name of Allah, that they would immediately go to heaven and be met by 72 virgins. No one could have said that because everybody would have known that that's a punchline to a joke. Comedian- Lewis Black

Super Bad -vs- American Pie

2007-12-14T15:01:00.000-05:00

Today at lunch an interesting discussion was tabled. Which film did you like more, Super Bad or American Pie? It was a guys lunch some of us worked together and others elsewhere. Some at the table were from what would be considered in our particular area, affluent backgrounds, some were the frat boy types and jock types, and a few others were what I guess what you would call
socially middle of the road. Just to let you know I happen to be one of the socially middle of the road guys. Never into the college scene, my parents didn’t buy me a car when I was 15 or a house when I was 18. I didn’t play much high school ball, I did however play In the band. Forget that last bit.

What I learned from the innocent conversation was just how certain movies are made to target certain audiences. You know the way some people like horrors and some people like action movies? Or how some people like sentimental pics and others comedies. I found today how movies can generally split their viewers within a single genre. This genre was the sophomoric humor genre. Pitting two movies with similar storylines but with completely different ways of ending with same resolution. These two movies were Super Bad and American Pie. If you haven’t seen either of these movies then you probably aren’t the movie viewer who enjoys sophomoric humor pictures and this post won’t mean much to you, but I’m sure the same arguments made here can be applied to other genres as well.

American Pie
Jim (Biggs), Oz (Klein), Finch (Thomas) and Kevin (Nicholas) are four friends who make a pact that before they graduate they will all lose their virginity. The hard job now is how to reach that goal by prom night. Whilst Oz begins singing to grab attention and Kevin tries to persuade his girlfriend, Finch tries any easy route of spreading rumors and Jim fails miserably. Whether it is being caught on top of a pie or on the Internet, Jim always end up with his trusty sex advice from his father (Levy). Will they achieve their goal of getting laid by prom night? or will they learn something much different.

American Pie was a huge success in the theaters as well as in the home sales department. American Pie was a general coming of age movie playing upon one of the most dreaded and feared conquest of boys becoming men. This movie was funny, full of cheeky comedy and a fun plot. The characters in this movie, to keep on track with the idea of my post, were what I would categorize as the pretty kids. Jim (Jason Biggs) was a somewhat awkward kid, from a somewhat affluent household. For me he was the only character I could relate with on any level. Oz (Klein) was the sport star type who’s only real complication in life was overcoming his own ego and failing miserably at trying to be the sensitive jock type. Finch (Thomas), well his character was developed pretty poorly in my opinion. All I gathered from his character was that he was just a follower type that found himself accepted by his other outrageous friends. Kevin (Nicholas), filled the sensitive conflicted teen role, pretty well. Though his character, in my opinion was also developed poorly. Steve Stiffler (Scott), while the “Stiffmiester” was by far the funniest character in the movie, played excellently by Seann William Scott, I couldn’t connect with him. I have known plenty of people like him. Arrogant, womanizing and full of kindergarten humor, the life of the party. He was the guy, when I was in high school that annoyed me the most. At times you would be jealous of this guy and at other times you just hoped that girls didn’t think that you were anything like him.

I did enjoy this movie but when the credits rolled all I took away from this film was a few funny one liners and a few new jokes for my friends. When watching a “guys” movie I like sitting there and being reminiscent of what it was like when I was there. The camaraderie of adolescence, boys being boys, learning and sharing the times of your lives together. Movies like Stand By Me and Goonies did this for me. Though I never went body hunting with my friends or searching for the lost treasure of “One Eyed Willie” I could relate those films to adventures and mishaps my friends would have. Perhaps I looked for more in my friendships than girls and getting drunk on the weekend.

Super Bad
Seth and Evan are best friends, inseparable, navigating the last weeks of high school. Usually shunned by the popular kids, Seth and Evan luck into an invitation to a party, and spend a long day, with the help of their nerdy friend Fogell, trying to score enough alcohol to lubricate the party and inebriate two girls, Jules and Becca, so they can kick-start their sex lives and go off to college with a summer full of experience and new skills. Their quest is complicated by Fogell's falling in with two inept cops who both slow and assist the plan. If they do get the liquor to the party, what then? Is sex the only rite of passage at hand?
Super Bad, as American Pie, was a general coming of age story. This film however, follows the path of the outcasts, nerds, or misfits however you want to categorize the kids who weren’t invited to all the parties. The kids who spent time hanging out with their friends in their basements. Laughing and enjoying each others company. The kids who were happy to be accepted by their friends and didn’t spend much of their time trying to be accepted by others who didn’t like them for who they were.

For me, Super Bad was one of those movies that I could connect with on such a deep level. I felt I wasSeth(Jonah Hill), and my best friend way back then was Even(Michael Cera). We spent countless hours hanging out together, talking about all the hot chicks we wanted to nail. Getting drunk together and laughing together until our eyes teared. Seth and Evan along with super geeky Fogell(Christopher Mintz-Plasse), in my opinion epitomize what it was to be the unpopular kids in high school. They didn’t allow their desire to “fit in” change the people they were. There characters were written brilliantly by Seth Rogan. Rogan drew on his own life experiences when writing this film. Only somebody who truly grew up as the uncomfortable youth could write a film that so eloquently displayed the trials and tribulations of growing up as such.
Super Bad definitely had its share of dick jokes and one liners that I now use on an everyday basis. Very rarely does a film come along that the “regular guy” can relate to. Super Bad does just this.

Summing up another long rambling post
After my little lunch last week I decided to ask around a bit more. I wanted to know if it was just a fluke, the way these certain groups viewed these two movies. What I found to my utter amazement was this. There is definitely a line that divides the coming of age teen comedy and that line is strongest between what I’ll call the haves and have nots. I have gotten, in every group of people I’ve asked about these 2 movies, the exact same response.

THE HAVES the popular kids in my little poll

Super Bad
- to long
- the characters were to geeky
- the chicks were not hot enough
- who cares about a couple of geeks and their problems
- to mushy (I found that on pretty surprising)
When asked if they would watch it again, all said no, and that they could hardly watch it the first time.

American Pie
- Hilarious
- That was them in the day
- The chicks were hot
- Stiffler ruled
- They wish they could go back in time and live even more like the characters did
When asked if they would ever watch the film again. Every single one of them has all three of the series on DVD.

THE HAVE NOTS the unpopular kids in my little poll, me included

Super Bad
- Felt like they had been there
- Remembered chasing that one certain girl
- Found themselves reminiscing of their own half witted antics
- Learned a lot of life lessons in those years
- Remembered exactly where they were when they got their first chance to score
When asked if they would ever watch the film again. Being a pretty recent dvd release, most already owned it or saw it in the theater and rented it again as soon as it came out.

American Pie

- Pretty funny I guess
- Those were the guys they could barely stand in school
- The chicks were hot (I suppose hot chicks know no bounds for guys)
- Stiffler was a funny asshole
- Why was the football dude so depressed
- Stffler’s mom should have been hotter
When asked if they would or have watched the movie again. Most have caught bits and pieces of it, since one of the three in the trilogy seem to air just about everyday on TBS but don’t search it out for their viewing pleasure.

I suppose I could have put my research efforts into something more worthwhile than the eternal debate of which movie was funnier. But hey, that’s what blogs are for. I just found this rift so socially important that I had to spend 2 hours of my night writing it. Well I’m off to indulge in my awkward habit of drawing,dicks okay, yes like man dicks. Peace out, chica, chica, yeah.

The New "Knight Rider"

2007-12-13T11:05:00.000-05:00

For all you Knight Rider fans out there prepare to be let down. If you don't remember Knight Rider from the '80s here's a recap. Awesome self controlled smart car complete with Atari game system, multiple monochrome monitors, turbo boost and its own built in attitude and voice. Driven my Micheal Knight, played by the suave lady killer David Hasselhoff. All under the guidance of a shadowy government agency sent to dispell evil doers and right societies wrongs, yada, yada, yada. If you were a boy growing up in the 80's Knight Rider was it. So, needless to say when I heard they were working on bringing the show back I got somewhat stoked. With the advances in technology and production advances this could be pretty good. Well it seems the show will just end up being a huge product placement extravaganza.

The cast are a bunch of "OC" cast offs, pretty primped model types. Gone is the Hoff. Granted he was about as corny an actor as you would find but he brought an every man feel to the role. As for the car, gone is the Pontiac Trans Am and in is the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR an amazing car yes, but a bit over the top.

I always found the subtleness of the sleek black Pontiac as the mystique to the show. Now we have this balls to the wall Shelby. Who's eye wouldn't this vehicle catch as it roars down the street. I'll probably still and try to catch at least the pilot, I'm just not holding my breath.

Theologian-in-Chief

2007-12-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

I was watching the news this morning and I heard this term for the first time "theologian-in-chief". It was brought up in a recent interview with a gentlman(sorry I don't remember who), he gave this as part of his response to the faith questions that are circling around republican candidate Mitt Romney. The gentleman in the interview could not have summed up the whole non important issue better. Basically he just asked, "since when do we elect a Theologian-in-Chief?" Absolutely brilliant.

Every election year that rolls around I find the issue of religion as the most bothersome to me. What does it really matter what religion a man is, or woman for that matter. Why should ones personal beliefs and practices play any role in deciding if that person is fit to run our country? I suppose if all wars were decided by, who could kneel in prayer for the longest period of time or how about, "the one who memorizes the most prayers, wins the control of all nuclear arms." As an American citizen who claims no formal organized religion, I already feel that my vote doesn't count.

Religion is a belief not a fact. Some people use religion as a crutch, some truly feel they need it to get through the trials of everyday life and some use it to force others into their beliefs. I have never put anyone down for believing what they believe in. What role will your God play in the next war. Will yours be the one who is for it, or against it. Will your God, seek vengeance or a peaceful resolve. Will your God let you choose for yourself how you want to live without fear of repercussion?

Let's see... Bush's religious beliefs helped propel us into a war. However just it may have seemed at first, most will now admit that the ulterior motives behind his decisions are now slowly seeping out of every soldiers war wounds, the patriotic and religious heaves at the start of the conflict, only a ruse to get us all on board. I wonder what the God he prays to tells him as he sleeps.

So maybe I'm picking on Bush. He is a very easy target. My point is just this. When has any world leader, our country or otherwise, ever made a world altering decision, in the name of "Their God" and the result be a favorable one. When was the last time a President ever addressed the nation to tell us all that, "I was at services today, and the lord told me that all the children of the world should get new cuddly puppies.". A stupid analogy I know. I just want to express the absurdity in placing o person's religions beliefs above their moral beliefs.

When cramming yourself into that little booth at election time, I can only wish that you find yourself voting for the person who offers the best solutions for the problems that truly plague our country now. Not what he sees when he looks to the skies for the answers. I hope you bother to educate yourself with these issues and not let your religion be your only guide as to who to elect. And finally, try believing in humanity and morality over Christianity. I'm not saying we should all be atheists. I guess I'm just urging us to not put all our eggs into one basket when judging the moral fiber of a person. A great leader does not have to be a great Christian. Just as those deemed as upstanding Christians should not be the only ones allowed to lead us.

Working for a Living=Working to Live

2007-12-12T00:03:00.000-05:00

Back in the good old days, a man was proud to be working for a living. He would meet the day with a feeling of pride as he put on his boots and headed out to put bread on his family’s table and feel a better man as he arrived home and ate that bread with his family. Back then cost of living was lower, ones pay could somewhat support their family and the American workforce flourished. Today with most companies "everyone is expendable" mentality. How are we as hard working men and women supposed to strive for a better life for our families?

I am at a point in my life now, married with 2 children and I have no way to provide for my family past the point of the necessities of life. I feel I am an intelligent person, having learned many trades in my life to date. All I seem to get for all my work and spent brain cells is, to be taken advantage of by employers. I am an accomplished graphic and web designer, musician, audio engineer and artist. I have enough automotive skills to keep me from going to a repair shop anytime my vehicle acts up. My knowledge and abilities in the area of inside and outside sales has brought the company I currently work for a 250% growth of revenue over the past 3 years. It’s the last point that hurts the most. I work so hard to keep somebody else’s business flourishing and all I get is a daily "what have you done for me lately" type of vibe. I currently have the title of General Manager, to some that may seem good but consider this; I am the only employee of the company, I serve as the sales man, graphic artist, production manager, fabricator and installer for a company that will make close to $300,000 this year. In a perfect world, an employer who has an employee such as myself would appreciate my services and loyalty, but in our society do you know what it gets me... a shitty 75 cent raise over a 2 year span.

Some would say to me that it’s my fault, my fault for sticking around such a situation. Just quite people tell me. If I thought it were truly that easy trust me I would walk out and never look back. The largest reason I suck it up every day, the largest reason for my decision to muddle through everyday in my apparent dead end career is quite simply my family. Would it be the right thing for me to do, just walking out, striking out on my own, taking my talents and strong work ethic for walk on the wild side of self-employment? For years the rational side of my brain has won, telling me "Don't be a jackass, just stop your whining and get your ass to work and be happy with whatever you can manage to bring home no matter how little. So what if this Christmas might suck for your kids, so what if your truck is broken down and you can't afford to fix it and so what if your blood pressure is high and your zest for life is low. At least your not unemployed."While this stick in the mud rational side of my brain has steered me to date, my laid back eager go gettem' side of my brain has been muscling in easing his way into the gooey gray matter of his tight assed straight laced rational neighbor and I got to tell you I'm beginning to like what I hear.

What does the go gettem' side of my brain have to say your ask? Well basically this, "Hey Eric, how's it going buddy (the laid back portion of my brain seems to sound a lot like Matthew McConaughey, how laid back is that), been working pretty hard lately there haven't ya? I'm just saying, now I wonder, why is it that you work so hard for somebody else, busting your ass day in and day out, by yourself no less, I mean totally solo buddy? Kind of seems to me that if your already busting your ass by yourself, kind of makes sense you should be doin' it for yourself. Hey, I know man, striking out on your own seems a heavy decision but figure it this way. Your talented, smart, good with people and know everything it takes to make a business succeed, am I right or am I right? Just look at it this way man, your young enough that if things don't work out the way you hoped, you just chalk it up to life experience and get another job making someone else rich and get by the way you did before. I think its time you put that ole' boy over there aside for a bit and listen to me. Just hear me brother, I'm the one in the back of your mind bangin' on his bongos and I'm naked man, no freer than that."

Perhaps some of you, after reading to this point may think I have a few screws loose. Maybe the problem is actually that I've lived my life to tightly. Clinging to that safety line like an umbilical chord, to afraid to break it off for fear of having to look for my next meal. Maybe now is the time to loosen some screws and see what falls out.

I feel that with this New Year, will be born a new me. I'm tired of working week to week, barely keeping my utilities on some weeks, having to tell my kids that we can't go to the movies or even rent one for that matter on the weekend. I'm simply tired of spinning my wheels in the murky muddy swamp of life. I will put my kids through college, my wife and I will be able to get out of this hole and put the stress of being broke behind us finally and money will not be between me and my family’s happiness. Some say that money is the root to all evils. Well let me tell you, living broke is pretty evil in its own right. I think I would like to try living with it for a while.

If you stuck through this whole post, let me applaud you and thank you. I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. Drop me a comment, what are you doing or what have you done to resolve your current or past money and employment issues. Take care and Happy Holidays.

Whole lot of Ho, Ho, Ho's

2007-12-10T10:57:00.000-05:00

In Norther Ireland a group gathered in an attempt to break the Guiness World record for most people dressed like Santa in one place. The previous record was held by a group in Vegas with over 7000 participants. Organizers had hoped for at least 10,000 little helpers and were astounded when over 13,000 people showed up.

David Blane's New Trick

2007-12-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

David Blaine is planning his latest stunt - to break the word record for staying awake the longest.

The previous world record is 11 1/2 days.

David Blane explaines his latest stunt:

“It’s been tried before. In 1959, Peter Tripp stayed awake eight days, but it resulted in permanent brain damage. In 1964, 17-year-old Randy Gardner did it for a high school science project. He lasted 11½ days but recovered fully. No damage. A guy in London tried but fell short. Another did 19 hours but slept two hours each night, so that doesn’t count. Also he was seated in a rocking chair. If I do this thing, which you claim I’m doing, I’ll do it on my feet. Standing up.

After 36 hours of sleep deprivation it’s like being drunk, 72 hours and paranoia sets in, Day Four the mind goes into hallucinations and you’re dreaming while awake. The problem is there’s no way to know how to offset brain damage or to train for this because there isn’t sufficient research. I believe the first guy’s mistake was not being in great physical condition. Also he used stimulants to keep awake, which I assume did him in.

All that I do will be open and documented. My income’s going to the Brooke Medical Center, which helps kids, and my research to science. For instance, we already know dietary restriction is a retardation of aging and disease. When you overeat your body must work and it gets tired. If I eat medicinally, my body will be entire.

I’m dropping 30 pounds. I do two hours every day on the treadmill. I’m on a raw diet that includes brown rice. No red meat. No animal products besides cooked fish.”

Ain't Photo Booth Grand.

2007-12-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

Messing around with Apple's photo booth.

Go Speed Racer, Go!

2007-12-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a trailer for the new live motion "Speed Racer" film. If you were a fan of the cartoon than this might be somewhat enjoyable. If you are not familiar with the franchise in anyway, then for you, this movie will probably suck big time.

I've seen the cartoon, didn't much care for it. And after seeing this movie trailer I think I'd rather watch the cartoon I didn't much care for. But it seems fast passed and goofy enough for the kids to enjoy.

A little bit of Neil Young, goes a long way.

2007-12-07T01:17:00.000-05:00

Fueled by my post below I felt compelled to throw some more Neil Young up tonight. While he wasn't the greatest guitar player or lyricist, his music, for me seems to strike a certain tone. Enjoy and good night.

Brotherhood of "This Man".

2007-12-07T00:23:00.000-05:00

As the census bureau leads me to believe, 60% of you have a brother. If you find yourself in that 40% without, here's what your missing.

I am the oldest sibling of my family, 6 years older than my brother and 7 years older than my sister. Relationships between brothers is such a stark contrast to a brother sister relationship. As I got older, and my sister grew, I found myself becoming overly protective of her. If somebody did something to hurt her, though to this point only emotionally I was ready to draw blood on the evil doer. Don't get me wrong my sister is a great girl, funny, full of life and very level headed, but as an older brother I automatically take on the role of protector. With my younger brother its the same but different at the same time.

My brother we'll call him "Wad" is at times, to intense for his own good and at other times as juvenile as when I was 16 and he was 10. The relationship we share is really quite amazing. We share a certain bond that only brothers in the truest of senses can share. As I seem him grow and take on responsibilities I see alot of me and my parents in him. He is genuinely a unique person, which is what I think our parents always strived for us to be.
In our family I was always the responsible one, taking more from my mother's sensibilities than my fathers, my brother was deffinately my fathers son and my sister was a ready mix of both our parents. Our parents were unique in the way they let us grow into the people we would become. They didn't give us free reign by any means, but rather, they lets us enjoy and take from life what we could, just shy of being imprisoned by our poor choices. Our parents instilled certain morals and ideals in us and let us run with them, and I thank them for that.
Now back to my brotherhood topic. At this point of my life I can say that my little bro is, for all intense and purposes, the best friend that I have. I know that he'll always have my back and he knows I'll always have his. I have had good friends throughout my life but as with many friends you grow apart. I've seen friends merry for the wrong reasons, waste their lives away and many will be forever trapped inside a neverland from which they will never escape. Forever tied to endless partying, waking up on someone's couch only to find that they have been sleeping on that same couch for 15 years.
With my brother its different. Being raised as we were we have the same goals in life. We want the best for our families, we want the best for ourselves and we just basically want to be happy. I feel we find the key to our happiness within ourselves. We play music together, work on projects together, drink to much together and most importantly we laugh together. A family that plays together, stays together. I can honestly say that I have never laughed harder in my life than I have with "Wad". He turley helps keep me young.
As I see my own two sons playing and growing I wonder; Will they be as close as me and my brother? Will they be able to sustain their ties as they grow? When there 30 and 27 will they still be able to laugh together so hard that their heads ache? I can only hope so. I will do everything in my power to ensure that my sons realize the power of their relationship. A brother is the person that will listen to what you have to say with out being judgmental, will offer you some advice when your out of ideas and help you remember that your just here to live you life.
Some of you reading this my be only children and won't be able to truly grasp this post and for that I apologize for the rambling. But for those of you who know what I'm talking about, consider us the lucky ones.
Thanks little bro, "Keep on rockin' in the freeworld". What else is there to do?