attempts upon attempts...

... to explain myself.

Runway Runaway

(March 2006)

Mannequin soldiers everywhere, display colors they deem to be true.

The fashion mob has their direct attention; gangsters of the new age.

Where 'look at me' personalities outweigh functional character and decency

And spirituality becomes confused with sexuality and a crass grip on privacy

They walk the streets as if on a Hollywood runway

Or a fox who's just picked the lock to the chicken coop.

Only care in the world is for what's coming squarely unto them.

And attention they'll get, and attention they crave.

But at the end of the day, at the end of their time

The attention accrued, ain't worth a nickel, never mind a dime.

A society moving at a breakneck speed

But there's still children here that can't read

Yet our models, our athletes, our icons

They're hooked on the high life, and our children, they're hooked on the greed

While occupants of the windowless tenement, they're flocking to the street

The Jones' are out in front, but I'm staying behind

We have no need for the white picket fence.

Throw it in the pot belly stove, let it burn us some warm love.

Take the tiny red sports cars, all lined up in a row

Push them off a cliff, and sell the scraps to the homeless

Now take a bow

attempts upon attempts...

... to explain myself.

Runway Runaway
(March 2006)

Mannequin soldiers everywhere, display colors they deem to be true.
The fashion mob has their direct attention; gangsters of the new age.
Where 'look at me' personalities outweigh functional character and decency
And spirituality becomes confused with sexuality and a crass grip on privacy

They walk the streets as if on a Hollywood runway
Or a fox who's just picked the lock to the chicken coop.
Only care in the world is for what's coming squarely unto them.
And attention they'll get, and attention they crave.
But at the end of the day, at the end of their time
The attention accrued, ain't worth a nickel, never mind a dime.

A society moving at a breakneck speed
But there's still children here that can't read
Yet our models, our athletes, our icons
They're hooked on the high life, and our children, they're hooked on the greed
While occupants of the windowless tenement, they're flocking to the street

The Jones' are out in front, but I'm staying behind
We have no need for the white picket fence.
Throw it in the pot belly stove, let it burn us some warm love.
Take the tiny red sports cars, all lined up in a row
Push them off a cliff, and sell the scraps to the homeless
Now take a bow

Is Al Gore back?

My job/ work consists of readying a large parcel of land on a daily basis so that the elite of our society can spend their leisure time. Leisure time. Leisure time... remember that phrase.

Two or more days a week I wear a respirator mask to accomplish my job. Yes, I risk my health, my future, my sanity, and my wellbeing so that the rich old men of our society can perpetuate their "good ol' boy" lifestyles. So... their leisure time depends heavily on my (or someone else) risking my own life. To me, something is wrong with that image. That picture is bleak- I need a change.

I don't know, maybe this ordeal is what I must endure in order to get to where my calling is. Maybe this is just part of my own personal "Piano Man" song. Shall I pursuse what it is I think I want, or shall it pursue me when I'm ready and the time is right?

Obviously those questions are left to be determined... in time I suppose.
Boiled down, what I'm saying is that I think I'm sort of at a crossroads of my life. As John Mayer would proclaim, I'm having a "quarter life crisis". Either way, it's tough... but as I alluded to Billy Joel above, it shall all work out in the end, we all need to flounder for a while in "career-life" before we find "it".

So where does Al Gore come in on this you ask? Ahh, well first let me apologize for temporarily leading you astray, but let me also explain.
Mr. Gore is making a comeback. He's always been a "people's politician" in my mind. Some would argue quite the opposite, and would attribute his loss in the 2000 presidential election to such things, but I chose to see him as a trailblazer and all around capable man (from the little I know). For the last 14 years he has been making speeches/ lectures having to do with global warming and climate change. Why he didn't make the issue a larger part of his presidential campaign is beyond the scope of my knowledge, and also irrelevant to this discussion.
On May 24, Gore is releasing a movie/ documentary called An Inconvenient Truth.
This movie takes on those exact issues and examines them in a way that relates (or should relate) to all American citizens. I know I'm amped about it, and I plan to go see it on release weekend.

Check these out:
Sundance Film Festival - An Inconvenient Truth
Google Video Trailer - An Inconvenient Truth
IMDb- An Inconvenient Truth
Open Source Radio - An Inconvenient Truth



So how does all this relate to my earlier thoughts on my job? Well, seeing as I do care about our planet, I do care about personal health and wellbeing of all, and I do enjoy outdoors/ environmental stuff, I just thought that I was leading a hypocryitcal life. My soapbox rants and utopian idealism are seemingly pushed aside for aspirations of "the great American dream" and the pursuit of health and wealth... well not exactly, but you know what I mean. Anyone who knows me will realize that my goals and dreams will not be discovered or lived out on a 12th hole fairway somewhere in South Hadley. Those dreams, I surmize, will be found within the political and emotional tensions of Mother Earth, The Conservation Movement, and Envoronmentalism... I think/ hope?

Or maybe i'll find my calling selling music behind the counter of a Newbury Comics somewhere...

Is Al Gore back?

My job/ work consists of readying a large parcel of land on a daily basis so that the elite of our society can spend their leisure time. Leisure time. Leisure time... remember that phrase.

Two or more days a week I wear a respirator mask to accomplish my job. Yes, I risk my health, my future, my sanity, and my wellbeing so that the rich old men of our society can perpetuate their "good ol' boy" lifestyles. So... their leisure time depends heavily on my (or someone else) risking my own life. To me, something is wrong with that image. That picture is bleak- I need a change.

I don't know, maybe this ordeal is what I must endure in order to get to where my calling is. Maybe this is just part of my own personal "Piano Man" song. Shall I pursuse what it is I think I want, or shall it pursue me when I'm ready and the time is right?

Obviously those questions are left to be determined... in time I suppose.
Boiled down, what I'm saying is that I think I'm sort of at a crossroads of my life. As John Mayer would proclaim, I'm having a "quarter life crisis". Either way, it's tough... but as I alluded to Billy Joel above, it shall all work out in the end, we all need to flounder for a while in "career-life" before we find "it".

So where does Al Gore come in on this you ask? Ahh, well first let me apologize for temporarily leading you astray, but let me also explain.
Mr. Gore is making a comeback. He's always been a "people's politician" in my mind. Some would argue quite the opposite, and would attribute his loss in the 2000 presidential election to such things, but I chose to see him as a trailblazer and all around capable man (from the little I know). For the last 14 years he has been making speeches/ lectures having to do with global warming and climate change. Why he didn't make the issue a larger part of his presidential campaign is beyond the scope of my knowledge, and also irrelevant to this discussion.
On May 24, Gore is releasing a movie/ documentary called An Inconvenient Truth.
This movie takes on those exact issues and examines them in a way that relates (or should relate) to all American citizens. I know I'm amped about it, and I plan to go see it on release weekend.

Check these out:
Sundance Film Festival - An Inconvenient Truth
Google Video Trailer - An Inconvenient Truth
IMDb- An Inconvenient Truth
Open Source Radio - An Inconvenient Truth



So how does all this relate to my earlier thoughts on my job? Well, seeing as I do care about our planet, I do care about personal health and wellbeing of all, and I do enjoy outdoors/ environmental stuff, I just thought that I was leading a hypocryitcal life. My soapbox rants and utopian idealism are seemingly pushed aside for aspirations of "the great American dream" and the pursuit of health and wealth... well not exactly, but you know what I mean. Anyone who knows me will realize that my goals and dreams will not be discovered or lived out on a 12th hole fairway somewhere in South Hadley. Those dreams, I surmize, will be found within the political and emotional tensions of Mother Earth, The Conservation Movement, and Envoronmentalism... I think/ hope?

Or maybe i'll find my calling selling music behind the counter of a Newbury Comics somewhere...

I'm Going To Patent the Patent!

Would that be possible? -to patent the process of patenting? I'm sure someone's tried it by now, or maybe it's written in patent law that the whole process of patenting cannot be patented. Hmmm...I wonder?
Anyway, the whole reason why I'm curious about all this is because it seems lately there has been an absurd amount of patent wars. Almost like the United States has been notorious in recent years of being overly litigious (ie. woman sues McDonalds after being burned by hot coffee); it seems we're now becoming (in the business world) overly patent hungry. Lately it seems every time I read a tech article or listen to a tech based news channel or podcast, that some corporation is battling with another company over who patented what, who owes whom how much, or who has the rights to the patent, etc, etc...
These are just a few of the more recent examples I can think of:
(ask yourself this: how rediculous do these sound?)

- Philips Electronics has recently filed for a patent that would allow them to restrict the skipping/ forwarding of commercials during playback of recorded programming. It seems they also would want to restrict persons from changing channels during playback of recorded commercials as well. Hmmm... seem sketchy? I think so!

- Burst.com has filed a suit against Apple Corporation, claming that they have infringed on Burst's patent on downloading media content "faster than real-time". For example, from what I understand, Burst claims they have the patent on the downloading of a 1 hour show in less time than one hour. So cable television delivers their shows to you in real-time, whereas Burst patented the "less than real-time" delivery of that same show. Make sense? Did I just get confusing?? Check it out for youself here!

- Here is a sort of uplifting/ sad story about a man named Geoff Goodfellow, who supposedly invented and patented the idea of wireless email long before it was possible or even dreamed up. He won't ever profit from the idea, and seems quite ok with that notion. Good for him, it seems he has a wider view of the world than most people, and doesn't feel the need to be patent crazy.

- this one really pisses me off: Netflix, the internet movie ordering company, has sued Blockbuster for creating its own online movie ordering system. They (Netflix) claims that they hold the patent of online queueing and mailing/ delivering of movies. WOW, I can't believe that a general idea like this can even be patented. Seems strange to me...

- TiVo, the makers/ developers of the popular set-top boxes that pause/ record/ fast forward/ save live television, is suing Dish Network, claiming they own the patent on pausing live television. Hmm, is there a familiar theme going on here??

This is all the examples I have for now, but let me just say this:
What gives? Why can no American corporation be happy with where it stands, or with the profits it is making? I know, I know... "The American Dream", "The Pursuit of Health, Wealth, and Happiness", "Manifest Destiny", "Socialism", "Communism", "Totalitarianism", etc, etc... you get my drift!
But come on, why must every company have their hand in every cookie jar in America (or the world for that matter)? Why can't we all get along? Is there a happy medium? What about the 'Greater Good' mentality of utilitarianism and community wellbeing? Is that too much to ask, or do we all have to thrust out our chests and say "that was me" whenever our own ideas are out in the public air?

...I'm tired...

I'm Going To Patent the Patent!

Would that be possible? -to patent the process of patenting? I'm sure someone's tried it by now, or maybe it's written in patent law that the whole process of patenting cannot be patented. Hmmm...I wonder?
Anyway, the whole reason why I'm curious about all this is because it seems lately there has been an absurd amount of patent wars. Almost like the United States has been notorious in recent years of being overly litigious (ie. woman sues McDonalds after being burned by hot coffee); it seems we're now becoming (in the business world) overly patent hungry. Lately it seems every time I read a tech article or listen to a tech based news channel or podcast, that some corporation is battling with another company over who patented what, who owes whom how much, or who has the rights to the patent, etc, etc...
These are just a few of the more recent examples I can think of:
(ask yourself this: how rediculous do these sound?)

- Philips Electronics has recently filed for a patent that would allow them to restrict the skipping/ forwarding of commercials during playback of recorded programming. It seems they also would want to restrict persons from changing channels during playback of recorded commercials as well. Hmmm... seem sketchy? I think so!

- Burst.com has filed a suit against Apple Corporation, claming that they have infringed on Burst's patent on downloading media content "faster than real-time". For example, from what I understand, Burst claims they have the patent on the downloading of a 1 hour show in less time than one hour. So cable television delivers their shows to you in real-time, whereas Burst patented the "less than real-time" delivery of that same show. Make sense? Did I just get confusing?? Check it out for youself here!

- Here is a sort of uplifting/ sad story about a man named Geoff Goodfellow, who supposedly invented and patented the idea of wireless email long before it was possible or even dreamed up. He won't ever profit from the idea, and seems quite ok with that notion. Good for him, it seems he has a wider view of the world than most people, and doesn't feel the need to be patent crazy.

- this one really pisses me off: Netflix, the internet movie ordering company, has sued Blockbuster for creating its own online movie ordering system. They (Netflix) claims that they hold the patent of online queueing and mailing/ delivering of movies. WOW, I can't believe that a general idea like this can even be patented. Seems strange to me...

- TiVo, the makers/ developers of the popular set-top boxes that pause/ record/ fast forward/ save live television, is suing Dish Network, claiming they own the patent on pausing live television. Hmm, is there a familiar theme going on here??

This is all the examples I have for now, but let me just say this:
What gives? Why can no American corporation be happy with where it stands, or with the profits it is making? I know, I know... "The American Dream", "The Pursuit of Health, Wealth, and Happiness", "Manifest Destiny", "Socialism", "Communism", "Totalitarianism", etc, etc... you get my drift!
But come on, why must every company have their hand in every cookie jar in America (or the world for that matter)? Why can't we all get along? Is there a happy medium? What about the 'Greater Good' mentality of utilitarianism and community wellbeing? Is that too much to ask, or do we all have to thrust out our chests and say "that was me" whenever our own ideas are out in the public air?

...I'm tired...

slow, slow, slow

not much to write about lately... i've been busy, i haven't had any huge topics i wanted to write about, and i just have kinda forgotten about my blogspace to be honest.

so whats new, lets see:

-back to summer work schedule, which means no time for life usually :-(
-em got a new job as a bank teller, which means smiley emily and more time for life :-)
-we got an hdtv and it rocks the world!
-the weather has been shitty- well shitty in terms of what spring should be
-my nephew is now 1 year old (yeah aidan, we love you)

other than that, not much has changed... stay tuned, as i'm bound to explode back on the scene with a scorching topic and out of this world commentary about some random thing!! haha
peace

slow, slow, slow

not much to write about lately... i've been busy, i haven't had any huge topics i wanted to write about, and i just have kinda forgotten about my blogspace to be honest.

so whats new, lets see:

-back to summer work schedule, which means no time for life usually :-(
-em got a new job as a bank teller, which means smiley emily and more time for life :-)
-we got an hdtv and it rocks the world!
-the weather has been shitty- well shitty in terms of what spring should be
-my nephew is now 1 year old (yeah aidan, we love you)

other than that, not much has changed... stay tuned, as i'm bound to explode back on the scene with a scorching topic and out of this world commentary about some random thing!! haha
peace