inherently different

Kiss

I’m all for comebacks. When Tom Jones covered Prince’s Kiss years ago, he hadn’t been a relevant part of the music scene for decades. That song brought him back and introduced him to an entirely new audience.

I’m of the mindset that Tiger Woods will also find himself back on top in the near future. While many people enjoy seeing their icons brought down to earth, I’m always a sucker for stories of redemption. Maybe even Mel Gibson can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

I grew up in Southern California. For much of that time we lived in rural areas and fire flies were an infrequent surprise. The few times that we did see them flittering about, it was magical. This theme is in honor of the few times we did have an opportunity to see them come out and join us.

This theme is called “where are the fireflies.” You can download it here.

Nobody’s Listening

I used to dig into the news every day when I woke up. Whether it was pouring over the newspaper with a cup of coffee, or perusing the news sites on the web with a cup of coffee, I always kept on top of the latest local, national, sports, and political news. On occasion I would read entertainment news as it related to when a movie was being released or what books were being optioned by the studios.

At some point though, the news outlets began to put more value on sensational news items and that’s when I pretty lost the stomach for the mainstream news. I really don’t give a shit that Lindsay Lohan is going to jail. I really don’t give a shit that Mel Gibson got drunk and verbally abused his soon-to-be ex-wife/russian mail order whore.

In an age where we’re inundated with media options, its frightening to think that the news we’re being fed isn’t about top line news items like the clusterfuck wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or the ongoing ecological disaster in the gulf, but what the fuck a hasbeen starlet gets to eat for dinner tonight in the LA County Jail.

Black Coffee

When I was younger, I had absolutely no problem partaking in a variety of risky pursuits. Whether it was repelling off 400′ high pedestrian bridges, drinking until I pass out, or smoking enough to put a medicine man in a coma, I really didn’t think much about the consequences.

As I got older, the less those types of pursuits attracted me. While I’d like to say that the reason is that I’m wiser, the truth is that I just don’t recover as well. I’ve given up a lot of things that are not necessarily good for me, including drinking coffee. I’ve consumed caffeine in one or another for going on 30 years, but now it just plays havoc with my body. I still drink black tea and it has much less of an impact on me than coffee did. I have the energy without the crash or the extra acid in my stomach.

Though some days I can still feel the jones. Today I woke up craving a strong black coffee. I resisted, but the craving was so strong I could actually smell coffee brewing. Could have been the next door neighbors, but it could just as likely been my overactive imagination.

I was wondering why it took so long for the mass media to discover how many people who buy into the whole TEA PARTY agenda are actually racist. Unfortunately, the public shaming of one of their leaders simply drives the racists back underground… or into Arizona & Nevada where racism is part of their state constitution apparently.

I know a number of people will tell me that I’m not being fair, or that I’m lumping in the majority with a few fringe radicals within the organization, but I’m really trying to find a reason to think differently.

Here is the thing… you always have to question an agenda. I am sure that are a lot of people who are in the Tea Party strictly to try to push for conservative fiscal responsibility. But there are a GREAT many disenfranchised whites who see the opportunity to change status quo. MANY of them find the Tea Party very attractive especially when it  comes to things like illegal immigration. They see foreigners as the reason why the US is in dire straits. Most of them are less likely to see the truth, simply because so many of the Tea Party leaders make immigration a cornerstone of the movement. You can’t separate the immigration issue from the Tea Party because it is one of the reasons why so many people LOVE them. There are a lot of racists in the world and now they seem to be coming out of the woodwork. The problem is that groups like the Tea Party attract them so you will find more per capita within their ranks than you would in other organizations.

I’m not much for conspiracy theories, but the fact that the Tea Party came into existence only after Black man came into the highest office in the land is suspect. Things were worse for Republicans during the Clinton years, yet there wasn’t this huge outcry for “fiscal” responsibility or the existence (or the need) for a Tea Party movement. I do believe that there are some people who think they are joining an organization that has a purely economic agenda or that wants to wrestle control away from an ever infringing government… though when the Nazi party first came into existence I am pretty sure the majority of people who voted them into power believed they were simply looking to bring Germany back into economic solvency and lead them into a more prosperous future. Am I the only one that can see the current rhetoric about how the Tea Party is about patriotism?