It is Good to See Hate Still Exists in This Country

So an article tonight caught my eye.  It is about a new billboard put up outside of a small town in Colorado.  Here it is:

 

I protect their right to say it, but this is the exact reason that we need to educate people.  This is why we liberals feel that spending money on education is an important thing.  This person/group that devised this piece of ignorant racist hate is why we want people to think and read and know what is actually happening in the world.

There are many things wrong with this opinion.

First of all, Obama has shown his birth certificate, but these people choose to ignore that.

Second of all, he is not Muslim, or even if he was, that would not mean a fucking thing people.

Third, even if Obama was a Muslim and even if he was not born in the US, then where is the connection to Ft. Hood there??

There are so many leaps in logic on this that it spun my head when I saw it.

They want people to believe that there is some huge cover-up or something going on, which they have NO PROOF of.  They have their wild and crazy speculations that do not hold water.  Anyone that can think about this for more than 5 seconds sees this.  I am surprised that this billboard was not written in crayon with the level of thought that we are dealing with.

This is what happens to ideas that are dying.  When an ideal is compromised, then the survival instinct kicks in.  Just like a person caught in a corner, they become desperate and lash out.  Their reason does not hold water, they do not have any kind of proof, they turn to ad hominem attacks and any other tool that is within reach.  Really this is just sad and pathetic.

Who contrives this?  Are they living in a bunker twirling their mustaches and hatching plans to take down anyone that is slightly different?

No...

These are follow people.  These are our neighbors and people that we work with.  It bothers me that some of these people are at heart good people that truly just do not understand or choose to stay ignorant for fear or security.  Bush scared so many people so badly that they think that everyone that is not white, christian, and rich are the enemy attempting to take down everything we believe in.

I pity these people.  If ignorance is bliss, then they must be in heaven, but I still pity them.  They are sad and as we evolve as a society they will find themselves more and more lost and lonely.  At least we, the people of character and empathy will be there to keep them company in their dark days.

I think I am going to stop now before I stoop to their level....

Musical Revolution

Music is a weird thing:  It can recall so many memories, fears, loves, and joys in a simple melody.  Bands come and go, but some stay around for a long time, others disappear leaving behind a legacy pressed in vinyl that people will listen to for many years to come.

For anyone that knows me, I am a huge fan of The Beatles, as many of us are.  They were hands down the greatest and most influential rock band and will continue to be for the future.  There is no sight of anyone taking them down.

Anyway, back in February there was a leaked version of the song "Revolution" that was almost 11 minutes long and seemed to fulfill the rumor of a version of the song that connected the song "Revolution1" and the sound scape of "Revolution 9", both found on what we call "The White Album".  I recently listened to this and was blown away.  First of all, if you need any evidence to the fact that The Beatles were the greatest, all you have to do is listen to "Revolution" and "A Day in the Life" and that should convince anyone.  Second, this was like hearing a brand new song by your favorite band.

Did you ever have that?  A band that you loved so much and could not wait for their new album or single to come out?  I know that feeling so well, mainly from when I was younger.  Now, I am far more patient and other things are important in life.  When I was in high school though, everyone came to me because I always had the newest music before anyone else and a trustworthy opinion on it, along with the meanings and references.  When I first heard this new Beatles version of "Revolution", called "Revolution 1, Take 20", I found that feeling all over again.  It was as if I was a kid, brimming with amazement at the newest release from my favorite band, which in those days were Tool, Nine Inch Nails, or Cake.

A melody is a simple thing.  If you are unaware of the parts of music, the melody is the tune, the thing that you hum when you have a song stuck in your head.  It is wonderful how we as people can find these associations, a simple thing like "ba-da-da-lalala" can find its way into the depth of what some people would consider a soul and transport you to a time or place, a feeling or range of feelings.  Sometimes when I hear certain songs I feel as if I am Billy Pilgrim becoming unstuck in time.

Please my dear readers, comment on your songs, where they take you emotionally, and the stories behind them.  Continue to rock on, and here is the link to that Beatles version if you want to check it out for yourself:
http://nevergetoutoftheboat.blogspot.com/2009/02/beatles.html

Meditations on Food and Sex

I love my food. 

Some of us really enjoy our food, others despise it, and others really do not care much about it.  Here is America we are taught a few different things from our parents depending on cultural differences.  There are two main viewpoints and some people get one, some get the other, while some people are torn and taught both.

1. Eat all your food.  There are starving kids in Africa that could live for a week off of what you throw away.
2. You ate too much.  You are fat.

Now, there is most definitely a major problem with obesity in this country.  There is also an issue with eating disorders.  On top of it, we are force fed the idea that your image means everything from the time we are young children.  This is where it all clashes.  What are we supposed to do?

To top the issue off even more is the prevalence of video games, computers, and of course television.  These are all things that keep us from getting off of our fat asses and taking a walk.  They also help with the fact that we do not really have to converse with people face to face anymore.  Intelligent conversation, the evil riot-starter is out the window as well.  As long as we are still happy watching that reality garbage, we no longer have to want things.  As long as we, bovine America, are being force-fed Doritos by some asshole with a bad toupee or some dysfunctional family with a million kids, then we will sit and be happy as Hindu cattle.

I know I know, television is not all bad.  I agree, it isn't, just most of it.  Advertising is one of the major culprits here.  If we do not have the best body, the coolest shoes, the nicest skin, the most awesome iProduct, then we are even bigger losers than we already feel like and, again, no one will want to have sex with us.

Is that what is all boils down to?  Sex?  We all know that sex sells in advertising and all that, but I am thinking that it is the heart of everything.  We are, for the most part, endowed with this very strong instinct to want to reproduce.  We are built to survive, but that survival instinct is really only in place to fuck.  I remember that time in high school, puberty, and those feelings that a young man gets.  I felt like I wanted to have sex with everything, not to mention that I could many many times in a row.  To a young guy, anything can make you want to.  It is so hard to get anything done when every math problem reminds you of sixty-nine, biology class reminds you of the female body parts, and when you are trying to do sports the cheerleaders are distracting ever move.  It is frustrating and overwhelming.

Sex.  We want to reproduce.  The smart people in marketing, those assholes that see everything as a dollar sign know this.  What are our fears and insecurities rooted in?  The fact that if we do not have a biggest tits, hardest penis, or most awesome car, then it is less likely that we will find a beautiful mate to reproduce with.  You will not be the alpha male and only get the sloppy seconds of of the alpha male.  You are a sub dominate example of a human and therefore do not get to mate with the people that will produce the smartest and most attractive offspring.

Is this what our ancestors meant for us?  Did they toil and fight for survival so that some smooth young prick can tell us what to eat, what to wear, and how to treat a woman? 

It all seems so unnatural. 

I do not offer much in the way of conclusions, just questions.  It just occurred to me that the cavemen are probably looking down on us and thinking that we are morons.  They may have worked harder than we do, but at least they had a purpose and something worth being proud of.  Voltaire famously stated that we much "cultivate our garden".  This is what we, as a society, seem to not be doing enough of.  We are too busy giving our children diabetes while destroying the planet.

I guess that at least we are multitasking this issue.  All I can think of is a drunken frat idiot yelling "I've got two beers!!"

On that note, I feel like asking Donald Sutherland if I can buy some pot from him.  =)