Tears Shed

i read an article where a former police chief was interviewed about the recent police handling of protests.  He made some interesting points that really have me concerned.  Points worth repeating and worth exploring.

The thing that really gets me worked up is that pepper spray and tazers are non-lethal weapons meant to be an alternative to cops using their guns.  In situations where shots would be fired cops now have the ability to use these tools to prevent serious injury or death.  Are protests a situation where, if pepper spray, tazers, and tear gas where not available, cops would be opening fire?  i'd hope not. So why are they so quick to pull out these weapons?

Because these weapons are considered non-lethal cops seem to have become Quick-draw McGraw.  If anything happens causing them to feel like they are not completely in control, cops are taking aggressive action to exert their will on others.  This philosophy which is prevalent throughout our country's police forces makes the options of peaceful protests or civil disobedience an impossibility.

Now this is a very dangerous thing.  When other forms of communication have been shut-down protests are the only way for people to have their voices heard.  When people's voices get taken away they frequently are left with no alternatives but their arms.

The unfortunate truth is that police forces are under the control of a very political system.  In recent years our political system has become ever more slave to money, corporations, and special interests.  Post 9-11 security spending has put military level equipment into the hands of our neighborhood police forces.  In a matter of speaking, those with money and influence have a new military at their disposal.  Not one sent overseas to procure their interests in foreign lands, but one sent out into our streets to make sure everyone behaves accordingly.

The only way a minority has ever been able to control the majority is through division.  Racism, sexism, etc, etc, etc have been crucial tools over the years to keep the majority of people divided.  Recently however, across our planet people of all walks of life have been uniting for the greater good of all.  This, of course, is a threat to ruling minorities everywhere.  What are they to do?

Well, when your usual divisive banter like stereotypes of spoiled, entitle, hipster-hippies, who need baths and to 'just get a job' do not seem to be quelling the uprising its time to send in your army.  Politicians call for police forces to 'maintain order' and a dangerous situation is created.

Suddenly you have members of the same majority forced to face-off along a line.  Armed men can be scary but numbers can easily be intimidating.  When small minds with weapons are forced to stand off against such huge and determined gatherings it is just a matter of time before one or a few of them find themselves far outside of their comfort zone.  And that is when the trouble really starts.

Suddenly an 'us vs them' situation is created and the powers that be get exactly what they want: division.  The message gets lost, people start choosing sides, unity is gone.  Peaceful protests give way to violent movements as the more moderate minded are driven away and the extremes step up in the void.

We all need to be very thoughtful and deliberate in our actions.  The more dangerous the items in your hand, the more consideration, care, and compassion we must exercise over our natures.  We are all responsible for our own actions, no matter what or who is telling us what to do.  Actions taken out of fear will only lead to more action, driven by even stronger emotions.

Yellow Or Grey?

Took a happy pill the other day,
went straight down my throat
no water
no swallowing
no nothing.
Does this mean
that i am so happy
that it just instantly
became one with my body,
or that i am such
a pit of sadness
that the pill
was sucked into my abyss
never to be seen again?
Either way
at least that
happy little fucker
didn't waste much of my time.
Meant i could
get on with
the rest of my day
that
much
quicker...

Tim Timebomb's Rock N Roll Theater

I have been digging this:



By Tim Armstrong with some very familiar faces.  Happy Halloween!

Computer Selection: The Ultimate Guide To Mac vs PC

Oh the joys of social media. Beyond the benefits of keeping in touch with friends frequently you have to wade through FML's, work complaints, and my favorite: tech questions. With comments like "I love my... and so should everyone else" or from those who have clearly drunk from the magic corporate Kool-Aide, i feel the need to offer a computer guide. Maybe at a later date i will expand it and write about cell phones, etc but for now i will just address computer selection.

Despite what your fanatical friend might say there is no one computer for everyone. Otherwise this would be a short entry simply with a computer name here _________. People are different with different needs and boy oh boy are computers different.  To make this as easy as possible I will compare computer selection to politics, two topics which are not polarizing in any way.

Mac versus PC?  Just like with politics they both suck.  They are just trying to get your money and are thinking more about getting you to choose them (again) the next time around than about actually taking care of your needs right now.  More often than not you end up selecting the lesser of two evils.  So here we go. (Comparisons have nothing to do with actual parties of the buyers)


Mac, The Republican
Like the Republican Party, Apple wants it's members to think the same, do things the same, and look the same. i do not mean this necessarily as an insult (well, to Republicans maybe). The system is closed.  If you want to use a computer and do not want to know or deal with how they work then Mac's are probably for you.  The reality is that everyone should be using computers in some capacity today and by not having much freedom of settings, etc Mac's are great for people who are worried about messing things up (because you probably can not).

Like Republicans work great with other republicans, Apple products work easily with other Apple products.  It is an exclusive club however and good luck trying to get them to play well with others.  Oh, and you need a bit more money if you want to be on this team.  Appearance is not the only thing that matters to Apple, money and power do too.


PC, The Democrat
Like the Democratic Party, PC's are trying to encompass an incredibly diverse spread of people. The system is open to anyone.  As we know though, with all that diversity and variation sometimes you can have compatibility issues with both Dem's and PC's alike.  The price of individuality?  Freedom for security? That freedom can be great if you know what you are doing but it also means you can royally screw things up as well.

When picking a PC you need to think like a lobbyist: you get what you pay for.  Throw down a little money (say Dell) and the politician/pc will not necessarily always do what you want it to.  The more money you spend (say Vaio) the happier you will be with how it works for you (yes, democrats work for lobbyist... sorry to burst your bubble).


Linux, The Independent
Let's face it, if you are using Linux you know your stuff and do not need an over-simplified blog post telling you what computer to pick.  Like Independents though, Linux users can be a little holier-than-thou.

Just like democracy, computers are not perfect.  There is no perfect system, you just try to find something that works for you as best you can.  Like politics, however, people will constantly try to tell you that their choice is right.  Sometimes you lose (Bush or Windows Vista?) but so far we have never really won, although we seem to always hope the next one will be better (Obama or Google?).

Ultimately computers, like politicians, will get you excited about your choice for the first few days but soon enough you get frustrated and will be dreaming of the next one.

Donny Darko: I Think We Should Buy Him A Moped

There is much debate in the science community over whether time travel is possible or not.  If you approach the speed of light time is believed to slow down.  So if you travel at the speed of light for say fifty years you will not have aged, yet everything else will have progressed the fifty years.  Is this traveling into the future?  Does it count?  What is you travel faster than the speed of light?  Did that neutron recently pull this off?

There is also a scientific theorem posing that if you were to time travel, the universe would make it progressively more difficult, even impossible, to change anything.  This is the universe's way of ensuring that no impossible paradoxes ensue such as killing your Grandfather (if your Grandfather is dead how could you have ever been born to then kill him?).  There go your hopes of preventing World War II.

One of my favorite movies is Donny Darko (the director's cut of course, not the compromised initial edit).  This movie is infinitely debated all across the inter-webs and by stoned film students alike.  If you have a lot of time you are looking to waste do a search up and read away.  Unfortunately much of the debates focus on what is or is not possible and the symbolism behind every tiny detail. Why is that fat guy in the track suit staring at them? i find that most of the conversations centered around such things has caused people to completely miss the point.

This is not uncommon in science fiction movies.  In Star Wars (another one of my other favorites) i constantly see the same thing.  Could there be explosions in space? People pointing out incongruities between the original trilogy and the new trilogy.  Again, all missing the point.  If George Lucas and Richard Kelly wanted to establish scientific precedent they would be submitting to scientific journals not making movies.

Art, at it's finest, conveys emotion.  It helps you to feel less alone in the world.  Maybe others feel like i do.  Maybe others think like i do.  Art combines colors to make you feel sad. Art combines words to inspire you. Art combines images to make you feel at peace.

Donny Darko is the story of someone who is different.  Someone who thinks and acts differently than the average person.  By the end of the movie he has come to find peace in the fact that he was not meant to fit in to this world.  He also gets to see that although he may not fit in to this world he still has a significant impact on it and effects other peoples' lives, often for the better.  As someone who often feels different, i have found this movie very comforting.

Do not get caught up in the process.  It is a means to an end.  A method of conveying the intended message.  Thank you Donny Darko.

Oh, but all English teachers are like Drew Barrymore's character (or at least think they are).  That part is true.

The Top Ten Albums Of The Two Thousands (so far)

These are my picks for the top ten albums to have come out since 2000.  This is probably the only top ten to look quite like this, but that is why it is even more important that i come up with this.  To quote Rivers "if you don't like it, you can shove it... but you don't like it, you love it".

10. Postal Service "Give Up" - Death Cab singing over great electronica... how can this go wrong?  Who did not like this one though?  This inspired more than a few.

9. Taking Back Sunday "Where You Want To Be" - i was worried about the line-up change but boy did it deliver.  A genre classic which i still regularly skate and snowboard to.  They never really matched it again.

8. Dashboard Confessional "The Places You Have Some To Fear The Most" - Another genre defining classic.  Spawned a score of imitators not seen since 90's era Pearl Jam.  Acoustic with punk sensibility? i am in.

7. Fugazi "The Argument" - Unfortunately the last Fugazi album barely squeaks into the new millennium.  This one really gives "13 Songs" a run for it's money as the best Fugazi album.


6. Angels & Airwaves "I Empire" - Some grown-up atmospheric punk.  Rite of Spring has become one of my favorite songs, sneaking into many of my playlists.  Creating a new genre.

5. Dropkick Murphys "The Meanest Of Times" - Definitely their best album since Sing Load, Sing Proud.  The Kid's influence has been missed ever since.  A little bit of everything you like about DKM.  If they took a little more time in between each album they probably would all be this good.

4. Rise Against "Siren Songs Of The Counter Culture" - Like 90's hardcore amped up for the new millennium with good musicians.  Why has his throat not blown out? And a ballad?  Even hardcore kids cry sometimes... even hardcore kids cry.  Like TBS they never quite matched it again.


3. Rival Schools "United By Fate" - What would Walter do?  Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, Quicksand... now this.  i feel like i have been growing up with him and he never fails to deliver.

2. Thursday "No Devolution" - Most bands peak at some point (see many on this list) but occasionally there is a band that continues to amaze and grow.  Thursday have become my absolute favorite band.  i have been known to follow them like the Dead. All done on their own terms.  Always creative, always artistic, and always passionate.  Stay true!

1. Rancid "Let The Dominoes Fall" - AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE!  A graceful, mature punk album from elder-statesmen of the genre.  Ever since it came out it has remained a consistent regular in my listening cycle.  Finally a punk album for those of us who are getting old but not giving up on our ideals.

Review: Blink 182 - Neighborhoods

It cannot all be Black Flag and Minor Threat.  Otherwise i might end up curb-stomping the guy in the express line in front of me with twenty seven items. We are complex creatures, with many emotions and need many styles in our musical libraries.  Sometimes i really need the up-beat undertones and tempo of California punk.

i have thoroughly enjoyed Blink 182 for some time now, ever since seeing them in their earlier days when they opened up for Primus.  Just a few days in i am really having a good time with their new album "Neighborhoods". Instantly i can hear track influences sounding much more reminiscent of  Boxcar Racer and Angels & Airwaves (two bands i like even more than Blink).  There are greater variations in tempo and expanded use of synth sounds.  This should come as no surprise however, as when you listen through their albums in order this has clearly been the direction they have been heading in.  And this is a good thing.



Too often, especially within the punk genre, bands seem to get stuck in a position where they seem to be making the same album over and over again where you could put their catalog on shuffle and have difficulty telling songs from one album to the next.  This is clearly not the case with Blink.  Ever since the addition of Travis (indisputably the best drummer from the punk genre and arguably one of the top drummers overall in any sound) the musical skill set has been improving within the band.  Although their music is still easily accessible for any teenager, their evolving sound and pushing of themselves has kept it fun and interesting for those of us aging along with them.  i am sure they can still sing about Mother's Day but there are also increasingly mature moments in their music now.

"Heart's All Gone" is very reminiscent of older Blink 182 material if that is what you are looking for but the initial stand outs for me are "Snake Charmer", the very AVA sounding "Ghost On The Dance Floor", and of course their first single a very Boxcar sounding "Up All Night".  The members' time away on other projects has definitely added to the evolution of the sound of Blink 182.  Making it all the better in my opinion.  If this is their last album it would make a fittingly strong finally for a band that has brought a lot of musical joy to me. If not, i look forward to seeing how they will push their sound in the future.

Where Is My Mind?

For a very long time now i have been afraid of going crazy, or losing my mind.  Not an explosion of losing my shit and going on some destructive or violent rampage but an implosion.  Collapsing completely into myself to such an extent that i can no longer function in this society.

i find fear to be an awful thing.  Give me depression, give me anger - i can deal with them.  In fact i am quite good at them.  i do not need to go into joy or love or peace, anyone can deal with them.  If i was feeling those feelings i would not be writing here.  Instead i would be off enjoying them.  We do not need to relieve ourselves of happiness, we hold on to it.

But fear... fear grabs ahold of the most vulnerable corners of our souls. It can pull the legs right out from under us and strip away in an instant the confidence it took years to build up.  Fear leaves you with only two choices: run or fight.

i have never been good at running so i am left to the latter.  But how do you fight going crazy?  To quote Rage Against The Machine and hundreds before them, you have to know your enemy.  So i have decided to explore crazy.

What is crazy? In one country eating bugs is crazy while in another street vendors sell them on sticks as snacks.  Is putting metal hoops around your neck to stretch it out crazy?  Depends where you live, in some places it is customary.  Is sitting in your car, stopped in traffic for hours every day for your commute to work crazy?  Well, i bet we can all say yes to that last one but many still do just that every single day.

Crazy just seems to be almost any deviation from what is considered local social norms.  So i am afraid of falling into a state where i no longer can maintain what society expects of me? i am afraid i may lose the ability to make other people feel more comfortable?  i am afraid i might forget all the rules of behavior?

What is causing me to feel like i am going crazy is my daily attempts to try and not act crazy.  Now that is fucking crazy. Calling this a catch 22 does not even begin to explain this bizarre feedback loop of logic. So how do i fight this?  How do i step outside of this circle?

i have decided that i need to do something crazy on a much more frequent basis.  Not fight crazy with crazy or "act" crazy like those pathetic characters in cheesy commercials who think they are original by jumping into a fountain on a hot summer day.  No, i need to do things that are more true to myself even if they may be perceived as crazy.  i need to speak my mind more often.  i need to express my feelings more often. i need to say no to things that i do not really want to do more often.

In our society these things have become crazy, but i find myself wondering if i could possibly do anything more human.  Sure, others may think of me as a bit crazy ( i am sure many already do) but i will feel much less like i may actually go crazy.  So, in order to face my fears i need to stay true.  True to who i am.  True to what i believe.

i think in order to stay sane we need to all be a little more crazy.

1000 Push

1PunkMonk is at almost 1000 reads.  Help spread the word of this tiny blog by pressing the StumbleUpon button, Google +1, or via Facebook re-post.  Thank you for reading.

A Fire Inside

We all have fires inside.  They burn within us, driving us.  They propel us forward like steam locomotives.

Lately i have felt my teacher flame starting to burn out.  i am quite disturbed by this, as i am not quite ready to stop teaching just yet.  i also promised myself that i would move on rather than burn out as so many teachers have before me.  So i was left to come up with a third path, for this year at least.

With the flame that i have left i am going to light things on fire!  i will use that remaining spark to ignite all that i can so that even after my flame has gone out i will still be able to see my way by the light of the fires that surround me.

Vegan Skate Shoes 2011: Fall Update

Well, i really put the Fallen Chief's vegan black/white edition through the ringer and i needed a new pair of sneakers for the fall.  The Chief's are one of my favorite sneakers i have worn in a long time and i almost just ordered up another pair but decided i should look things over again as the fall lines are now out.

Now the Fallen Cheif's have been on my feet since the day i got them except for sleeping and showers and they are still very supportive and wearable.  They held up very well, i just have gotten them so dirty (the one down side to the current good-looking trend of white rubber connecting soul to shoe) and there are some small holes and rips from activities beyond which any sneaker should be asked to endure.  This all heavily swayed me towards the Fallen fall line.

i am currently about a week into a pair on Fallen Lotus (the charcoal/black are vegan friendly with mostly synthetic uppers except for small canvas patches).  They seem to be a perfect Harmony (edition) of some recent favorites of mine.  As posted in my original Vegan skate shoe post of this year i really enjoyed the styling and feel of the Macbeth Manchesters but unfortunately they lacked the padding and support i prefer in a skate sneaker.  i still wear them for leisure activities but the Fallen Lotus seem to be a great combination of the aesthetic and comfort of the Macbeth's with the support and durability of the Chief's.

So far the Lotus are doing great by me.  They have broken in quickly and are extremely grippy and flexible.  Either way, i am just pleased that these companies are helping to provide so many quality options for vegan skaters.

What Jesus Would Not Do

i am frequently angered by people who do not even understand the beliefs they claim drive their lives.  Most frequently, especially recently, supposed Christians are becoming an ever painful thorn in my paw.  i am not sure they actually have read the book they so frequently quote.

Jesus's best friend was a prostitute and his apostles were working class men.  Why the fuck do people like Michelle Bachmann think the Jesus of the Bible would ever be on their side?  These hateful and ignorant people of privilege are the exact type of people that the entirety of the New Testament cries out against.  The real question that should be imprinted on the wristbands of anal sex having christian teenagers is WWJTARP: what would Jesus think about rich politicians?

(As a side note for those not in the know, Christian teens are notorious for having anal sex so that they can preserve their virginity for marriage, except when there are wine coolers involved)

And these same politicians shunning the tax of the wealthy?  Jesus was all about giving up worldly possessions and helping those less fortunate than you.  Where exactly does that fit into the sustained tax relief for the richest Americans during one of the toughest financial periods in recent history?  An air-conditioned tent in Iowa is about the farthest thing possible from the sermon on the mount.

In fact, Jesus spoke out against the religion of his birth (the Jewish Faith) and did not intend to have a religion started based on him (similar to Buddha).  These politicians are justifying their behavior based on a second or third tiered form of Christianity and a school yard telephone game interpretation of the Bible.

It is time to start calling these people out publicly.  Know what the fuck you are talking about before shit starts ejaculating from your mouth.  i know more about your religion than you do, and you claim it as the basis for your life.

This kind of thing can no longer be allowed to slide.  There is far too much at stake to allow these absolutely ignorant politicians any opportunity to have a say in our lives.  Oh and Sarah Palin, Jesus would not own a gun... i can guarantee that.

BURN

Buddhist monks light themselves on fire in protest, punk monks light the world on fire in protest.

It is nothing new that i have difficulty understanding the minds of a majority of human beings but lately i find myself wondering if i belong to some separate species form most of the populous. The older i get, the more i search out the truth, the more estranged from our society i feel i become.

In the past few weeks a series of flames has caught my attention.  A Buddhist monk lit himself on fire in protest of China's occupation of Tibet and the Chinese government's interference with the decisions surrounding the next incarnation of the Dalai Llama. Also, rioters across England have been lighting, well, almost anything they can on fire.  At some level i believe i  understand both of these actions, it is the public reaction to both that i am completely confused about.

For years now all i have been hearing is people complaining about the governments across our planet.  How there has been such corruption of power, how politicians have been funneling wealth to the elite, and how the majority of people are not in any way represented or thought of by those is our governments.  Across boarders and countless languages the sentiment seems to be the same.

i continuously hear people exclaiming how we should be taking to the streets and how we should not stand for this.  But when these combustive events take place with humans doing just that the armchair revolutionaries dismiss these rebels as 'crazy' or 'extremists'.  Were these rants calling for action merely fueled by alcohol or were they just talking shit while the teacher was down the hall?

Apparently drawing a Hitler moustache on a portrait of the president and parading down the street wearing a tri-cornered hat and a holstered gun is OK because in reality that is all lip-service.  Those in power positions are not at all intimidated by these actions.  The politicians know that they are just a bunch of crying, spoiled babies and that ultimately those mental midget just want to be home in time to watch prime time television while snacking on high fructose corn syrup from Wallmart.  Give them a little coddling here and there and the crocodile tears will dry up and the big kids can go back to what they were doing.

But when people start lighting shit on fire, then folks start getting scared.

These are not words or idle temper tantrums, these are actions.  More so, these are actions that can not be ignored.  This is not just waves of air which you can block from your ears.  This is the destruction of the physical, the things you value far too much.  In these cases the method of destruction is fire - something out of control, burning, illuminating.  It is an attempt to shed some light on our world to the masses whom seem to be blinded in the shadows of daily life.

The Buddhist monk knows that the body is just a perceived sense of self and holding many back from doing what they know is right.  The English rioters know that people's greedy attachment to things - their cars, stores, merchandise - keeps them from doing what they know is right.  When words no longer work, sometimes we must attempt to destroy those barricades which seem to be stopping us from taking proper action.

These flames should be melting the wax from over our eyes allowing us to see more clearly what we know we should do.  These should be pilot lights, igniting fires inside each and every one of us.  This is your life, are you going to take ownership of it?

Instead of lighting gasoline on fire to propel us in vehicles to the local shopping center we should be lighting the world on fire and illuminating the value of our lives.  We all deserve better, and it is up to us to get it.

Don't Need A Miracle - i Make My Own

It has been a while but i am seeing a string of shows by a single band over a couple of nights this week.  If you have not done this i highly recommend it.

As human beings we have a myriad of emotions and it is important to have a diverse musical taste so that your song catalog can compliment your moods.  i enjoy the Grateful Dead (American Beauty is a great record) and i have seen Phish many times but these are not the bands that i have followed for multiple days on tour.  No, my passions have taken me on a bit of a different path.

Punk is the music of my soul and the bands i have laid down money to see for multiple night runs of their tour fall into the various sub-genres of punk rock.  Although we may have smelt as bad as hippies at times that is where the similarities end.  No one stands outside of punk shows with their index finger in the air hoping someone will have an extra ticket that they are looking to just give away.  We are self sufficient and expect the same of those around us.  Looking for such a handout would result in others holding up a slightly different finger for you at the very least and possibly the sharing of the rest of their fingers (completely clenched) with your face.

No one is going to sell grilled cheese (the vegans would beat you), glass pipes (the straight edgers would beat you), or jewelry (everyone else would beat you) outside of a punk show.  The most you will see is modestly priced t-shirts, patches, or pins.  Inflated concert ticket or merchandise prices would mean you have given in to the norms of the industry and have compromised your ideals. Both types of fans, however, frequently have altercations with local police outside of concerts.

At a punk show you will not see some kid with dreadlocks climbing out of daddy's old Mercedes or smoke pouring out of a broken down Volkswagen product.  No, you will see eight kids jump out of a fucked-up Civic that one of them bought working two jobs.  It is all duct tapped together, has an old boombox for a sound system, and is fueled with the tip money earned from delivering pizza.  The occupants themselves fueled by the best food a gas station has to offer.

These are the types of people i prefer to spend my time with.  Sincere, driven, and crazy.  Why though, do i recommend following a band for multiple stops of their tour at some point in your life?  Think about how after seeing one of your favorite bands perform you yell to a friend, over the ringing in your ears "that was great, i can't wait to see them again!"  Well, with a little forethought you can do just that.

Added to the thrill and anticipation of the show, for the second day you are also excitedly asking yourself: Will they play the same set?  What will tonight's show's energy be like?  Will the audience be better?  Worse?  What kind of a snack selection will the gas station near tonight's show have?  Will that asshole i punched last night be at tonight's show?

i am getting older but there are still bands out there that inspire me enough to hall my aging carcass across state lines, over multiple days to see for additional tour dates.  Those days spent with friends, packed into cars following bands like Quicksand are fond memories i cherish to this day.  i am forever grateful that there is still inspiring music being made and that i still have amazing people in my life to share it with.  This should be an exciting week.

Climate Change (Global Warming) in 2011 - Simplified

i have grown tied of the lies claiming there is a "Global Warming Debate".  There is no debate.  It is known science.  The scientists who study this, however, regularly have their characters attacked by the greedy who have much to lose from a move away from fossil fuels.  i cannot assume that all Americans are scientifically literate and news outlets can no longer be trusted to dispense information as they are more interested in entertainment as of late.  For that reason i offer the following post, an attempt to share my scientific knowledge in a language intended for an audience of varying scientific knowledge.


The Earth is warming up.  As the average temperature of our planet continues to increase the signs of this change are becoming harder and harder to ignore.  Too frequently we see the suffering of our fellow human beings yet are able to detach ourselves from the horror as we watch safely on our couches and read in the safety of our homes.  But these troubles are lurking ever closer to our doorstep and we are surrounded by the calling cards of Climate Change.


Are these natural disasters actually traceable back to our Earth's warming?  Indeed, and the concepts are not difficult to understand.  First, let us look at our Earth's temperature.  When you go to the doctor's office, after they have taken your weight, blood pressure, and pulse they take your temperature.  Your core body temperature is an extremely important piece of information in assessing your overall health and it is the same for the Earth.


The temperature the doctor is looking to assess is your body's core temperature.  The temperature of your fingers, toes, and nose vary greatly depending on many factors but your body's core temperature should remain relatively constant: 98.6 degrees F.  An increase or decrease of that temperature by just a few degrees puts your health and survival in danger.


Our planet too has a temperature.  Although the temperature outside your home may fluctuate dramatically throughout the day and throughout the year (as your finger's temperature does with your body) the Earth itself has an average temperature.  Much like with your body's temperature, a change in the Earth's average temperature in either direction puts humankind's health and survival in danger.


In the last few decades we have seen the Earth's temperature increase.  We are all quite aware of the symptoms of own body's fever when we get sick but what are the symptoms when our planet develops a "fever"?


A majority of the Earth's surface is covered with water so let us look at the effects of heating on water.  In order to clarify some of these ideas let us envision a more day to day example. To prepare for the big game tomorrow i think we need to make ourselves a spaghetti dinner.  The first step to preparing our dinner is filling a pot with water and putting it on the stove. What happens as we heat the water?  It starts to turn into a vapor (boil).


On a planetary level the heating is causing an increase in the rate of evaporation (liquid turning to vapor).  This means very different things depending on where you are.  As our planet is mostly covered with water this increase in evaporation has resulted in their currently being about four percent more moisture in the atmosphere compared to the "average" we are used to.  So what does that increase in moisture in the air mean?  More precipitation. 


Now let us return to our spaghetti.  More heat added to our pot of water for a longer duration of time results in more steam filling our kitchen.  Thankfully most of us have vents over our stoves we can turn on to keep our windows from fogging up.  That fog on the windows is the water vapor condensing back into its liquid form as it cools on the window.  In our atmosphere, the evaporated water cools as it rises and we get clouds.  As more water is put into clouds, more water falls back to Earth (eventually).


If it is below freezing as these clouds release their moisture we of course get snow.  This past winter we saw exactly that.  Record breaking snow events and more states experiencing the white stuff, as there was more moisture in the air to go around.  As the temperatures rose and we moved out of winter all that excess moisture was still being put in and transported through our atmosphere.  The larger and more moisture rich spring storms resulted in some of the worst flooding seen in the Mississippi watershed.


Increased evaporation over the oceans and large water sources is one thing but what about the increased evaporation's effect on land?  Let us jump ahead a few steps of our dinner preparation and say we have cooked the pasta and have now strained it and returned our ready to eat spaghetti to the pot.  From time to time i accidentally forget to turn off the stove before i go over to the sink to drain the water.  My occasional mistake, however, works well here for our environmental discussion.


If like me you have ever returned your pot of drained pasta to a still heating element you have seen what that heat does to the moisture rich starchy strands.  Just as that spaghetti dries out (and sticks to the pot making a mess to clean up) our planet's soil dries out with the additional heat and evaporation.


Many of those parts of our country that are not inundated with water from flooding are experiencing record droughts.  The increased evaporation is drying out the soil and shrinking local water sources.  Heavily wooded areas experiencing these dry conditions create a very dangerous situation.  This year we have witnessed record wild fires across many parts of the country.  The increase in evaporation rate has meant extremely different thing to different areas but the net result has not been pleasant for most regions.


Now i have been using the United States in my examples because that is where i live and because historically we have been the largest contributors of air pollution (hence making us the most responsible for our current conditions).  These floods and droughts however, have been occurring all over the planet.


So far i have just been talking about the vaporization of water but what about the water not evaporating?  Back to the beginning of our dinner making adventure, let us think about the water before it boiled.  When you are hungry and ready to eat, the time it takes for the water to boil can seem like an eternity.  What is happening in our painfully slow pot is the water absorbing the energy of the heat from the stove as it raises in temperature.  Think about all the energy that the water in our pot needs before it can warm even a few degrees.


Now imagine that out spaghetti pot is the size of the Gulf of Mexico.  The water in the gulf is two degrees warmer than "normal".  The energy needed to raise its temperature even that subtle amount is quite large.  All that energy is stored right there in the gulf, in that large amount of water.


A quick, oversimplified summation of what causes tornadoes in the Midwestern United States is a convergence of cooler air coming down from Canada, warmer moist air coming from off the Gulf of Mexico, and the weather patterns sweeping across our country in a general west to east pattern during the spring months.  All that extra energy currently stored up in the now warmer gulf waters makes a more dramatic difference in this weather convergence.  We have seen just that with this year's horrific tornado season.


As you move away from spring tropical storms start to form in the warmer oceans waters of the summer.  After we all witnessed Katrina i feel no need to explain the effect that the warmer gulf waters have on hurricanes passing over them.  We all unfortunately learned that science lesson a few years ago.


With this knot in my stomach i no longer feel like eating the imaginary spaghetti we have been cooking.  Although our example dinner may be imaginary the fact that our planet is warming is NOT imaginary.  


The fact that the Earth's temperature is rising should not raise questions of validity as we have all taken our own temperatures when sick and should understand that temperature measurement is not some complex and difficult scientific achievement.  The effects of our planet's warming should not raise questions of validity as we have all heated water up and should understand that the effects of heating water and evaporation are not some difficult and poorly understood scientific concept.  There is no debate, this is what is happening.  It is not some far off future, it has already begun.


There is no longer room for you to pretend it does not exist.  You cannot put your fingers in your ears and hum away because it is not happening somewhere else, it is happening here in your country.  The solutions have all been presented to you.  If you need a refresher a simple Internet search will lead you to infinite options (a review of some of my previous entries would work as well).


So what are you going to do about it?

One Day Thirty Day Movie Challenge

A friend of mine has been doing the Thirty Day Music Challenge.  i have had great fun checking out the day's entry and accompanying video.  Looks like fun but boy is that a long commitment.  Then, i stumbled upon the Thirty Day Movie Challenge.


It has peaked my interest, but thirty days... fuck that.  i am going to expedite things and do it all in one sitting.  By day five i would have moved on to something else.  Besides, who wants to keep track of me for thirty days?  Tomorrow my choices would probably be different but here is today. i will try not to answer Star Wars for every question.


So here goes: The Thirty ONE Day Movie Challenge


Day 01- The best movie you saw during the last year
Tron: Legacy - Yeah, bitch all you want but i am so getting a light cycle, and it was not a great year for movies.


Day 02 – The most underrated movie
Cabin Boy - i'm betting you never even saw it.  David Letterman cameos as a sock-monkey salesman and there is a flying cupcake that spits tobacco.  i bet no other movie has that.  "These pipes are CLEAN!"


Day 03 – A movie that makes you really happy
Pineapple Express - No matter how anxious, bummed, or sick i am this movie cheers me up and makes me laugh.  James Franko's character very possibly could be based on a good friend of mine. "Safety first, then teamwork".


Day 04 – A movie that makes you sad
Return to Paradise - The last ten minutes of that movie more than makes up for the mediocre rest of the movie and it makes me cry every time.  Big Fish was a close one though.


Day 05 – Favorite love story in a movie
The Princess and the Warrior - Brought to you from the folks who did Run Lola Run.  This movie is amazing where a man is saved by a girl who loves him... just like me (only not in German).  Final song by Penguin Cafe Orchestra is the most beautiful song ever.


Day 06 – Favorite made for TV movie
i'm switching this up to favorite movie made FROM tv - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.  i really liked the series and the movie really tied it all together nicely.


Day 07 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
N/A - i even figured out The Usual Suspects and Sixth Sense.  Although maybe Seven... yeah i will go with that.


Day 08 – A movie that you’ve seen countless times
Gleaming the Cube - As a kid, right up through college whenever i was home from school sick i would watch this movie.  Boondock Saints is up there as well.


Day 09 – A movie with the best soundtrack
Tron: Legacy - Yeah, Judgement Night had a good one as did The Crow and even recently Sucker Punch but Daft Punk doing the soundtrack for a computer world... come on, it is just too perfect


Day 10 – Favorite classic movie
What exactly is classic? i could say Star Wars is a classic but i think they are looking for older here.  i am a Hitchcock fan and almost went that route but instead, today, i think i will go with Harvey.  Who can resist a six foot rabbit as an imaginary friend?


Day 11 – A movie that changed your opinion about something
i'm going to go recent with this one too and say 27 Hours.  i had definite perceptions about the guy when the story first happened and was getting all that news coverage but the movie accounting of the book completely changed my mind about him... dramatically


Day 12 – A movie that you hate
Holy shit this could be a long list unto itself with the likes of Black Swan and Eyes Wide Shut but i am settling on Summer of Sam.  i like many of Spike Lee's movies but this one was horrible.  i saw it at a second run theater for a dollar and if i had Spike's address i would have driven to NYC and personally asked for my dollar back.  Not even Adrien Brody could save that one.


Day 13 – A movie that is a guilty pleasure
The Bill & Ted movies - i really like the both of them.


Day 14 – A movie that no one would expect you to love
Yeah, i do not think i have anything surprising... sorry


Day 15 – A character who you can relate to the most
Ah, of course a Star Wars reference here.  Although i can relate to Anakin's willingness to destroy the universe for the chance to save his love i have to pick Luke Skywalker.  No matter how delusional it may be i still think i can turn my parents away from the dark side.  That and i am pretty close to moving objects with my mind.


Day 16 – A movie that you used to love but now hate
Hate is a strong world but none of Sly Stallone's movies have really held up well with me.


Day 17 – A movie that disappointed you the most
The Ringer - Come on now, Johnny Knoxville pretending to be retarded and participating in the special olympics... that could have been one of the funniest movies of all time but they played it way to safe (especially considering the concept chosen) .


Day 18 – A movie that you wish more people would’ve seen
i really like the movie Sunshine and wish that more people had seen it.  The soundtrack is great too.


Day 19 – Favorite movie based on a book/comic/etc.
Spike Jones did an amazing job with Where the Wild Things Are. 


Day 20 – Favorite movie from your favorite actor/actress
Favorite actor is tough, tougher than the rest of these questions.  i am going with Ed Norton and American History X.


Day 21 – Favorite action movie
Fight Club - This had to make an appearance somewhere.  i went with action, but could have been in many others.


Day 22 – Favorite documentary
Dog Town and Z-Boys - Saw this with a friend in Boston and the theater was just a bunch of us older skaters.  Great movie and great crowd.


Day 23 – Favorite animation
Wall-E - No description necessary.  Ghost in the Shell is right up there though.


Day 24 – That one awesome movie idea that still hasn’t been done yet
Every few years there is a rumor about someone making a movie based on Kerouac's On The Road.  Not sure if it is a good idea but we will see.


Day 25 – The most hilarious movie you’ve ever seen
Almost went with Old School but ultimately have to go with The Other Guys.  i actually saw this in theaters twice, never before done for a comedy.


Day 26 – A movie that you love but everyone else hates
Constantine - i really like this movie but everyone else i know hates it and regularly ridicules me for it


Day 27 – A movie that you wish you had seen in theaters
There are many but i will pick two - Donny Darko (although i prefer the Director's Cut better) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide.  Both are favorites of mine that for whatever reason i do not think they were shown at theaters near me.


Day 28 – Favorite movie from your favorite director
Fight Club - David Fincher


Day 29 – A movie from your childhood
Come on... Star Wars!  The first movie i ever saw and a series that went through my whole childhood.


Day 30 – Your favorite movie of all time
Star Wars - No surprise but i love these movies and view them as a whole.  i easily could have put them down for many of these answers, especially most watched but i tried to spread movies out and have minimal repetition.  If you really want to push me, Empire Strikes Back is the best of the lot.

Block Head

i have never suffered from "writer's block" or really any type of creative loss.  Therefore i do not fully understand it, although i never really believed in the phenomena of "blacking out" and thought it was a myth like Santa Claus and honest politicians until a week of my life went missing one spring break.  Hell, watch me get a mental cramp before this entry is even done.

Although i may not ever suffer from a lack of opinion what i do suffer from is a lack of time.  Six life times would not be enough for all i dream of doing.  At least i never get board.

So with that i will try to be more diligent in Punk Monk entries once again.  i would like to say i will make it a priority but that would not be true.  There is a lot of living to be done and this is just a blog after all, there are millions of them out there.  As much as people would like to believe otherwise they are not very important.

You are what you do, not the shit you write on the internet.

In-sig-nif-i-cunt

Despite what your mom, little league coach, or ex-lover may have told you - you are not important. The world does not need your approval and the truth does not need you to believe it. Just because you were the seventh person to comment after an online article from your local newspaper does not mean anyone gives a shite about your opinion. Also, just because it is your opinion does not mean it is a fact.

No one has to prove to you that Osama Bin Laden is dead. The people who kill people for a living know he is dead. The people who match DNA for a living know he is dead. Professionals are called professionals because they know what they are doing. When someone knows more than you do about something you need to accept that they know what the fuck they are doing and that they do not need to try and convince your ignorant ass what they know to be true.

Osama is dead. Obama is an American. We landed on the moon. Climate Change is happening. Dinosaurs and humans never co-existed. Evolution is reality. Just because you are not convinced does not mean that things are not true, it just means that you are an idiot.

We have beautiful pictures of the Earth yet there are still people who believe the Earth is flat because the Bible says so. Why would any rational person think that showing a gruesome picture of a shot Bin Laden would end the battle cries of the denier morons? The facts have never stood in their way before so why should we stoop to their level and publicly release the pictures?

Maybe he is hiding in Area 51 with Elvis. Stop eating retard-sandwiches.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Government became a necessity because of the worst of us, therefore we can not really expect that much good to come of it.

As human populations became larger there became a desire or need for a structure to help provide some insulation, some control, some protection from the lessors of our species. A system to create and enforce rules in an attempt to curb violence and theft. A system to protect groups from neighboring group attacks. A system to stabilize economies. A system expected to prevent the unknown from happening.

Among the thoughtful there is no need for systems, rules, or governments. The thoughtful examine the effects of their actions and behave accordingly. The thoughtful do not need laws to tell them that murder is wrong, that stealing is wrong, that attacking your neighbors is wrong. There is no need for the threat of an army, no need for economic interventions, for the thoughtful think about their actions and act accordingly.

All these things, these laws, these systems, these governments, were created because of those unwilling to think. Those driven by selfish desires. These structures were built to offer some protection or recourse for the actions of the self-centered. In this process however, decisions made to protect form the thoughtless allowed a society to increasingly believe that they themselves did not have to think as much because of their political creation.

Systems and laws were put in place and citizens of these governments increasingly began to have faith that these dogmatic ethos would take care of all situations resulting in more and more people moving away from a thoughtful way of life and relaxing into a more self-focused existence. This is true of all types of governments.

A self-focused existence quickly leads to thoughts and desires of power and riches. There may be no easier place to secure such things than though politics. Before long the governments have high concentrations of no-longer-thoughtful citizens filling their offices. Those who are not thoughtful are responsible for protecting the populous from those who are not thoughtful. It does not take much to realize why those who are thoughtful would not find politics a particularly appealing situation to enter into.

Inspired by Walter i might say that this explains the "why" but does not help justify "what for". Knowing what disease you are inflicted with only offers so much relief before you start to long for a solution, a treatment. In this self-focused society i find myself a thoughtful man trapped in that void between the diagnosis and the cure.

Heroes and Unicorns

Role modeling is a tricky thing, especially since i have never seen anyone win (despite what Charlie may claim with his tiger's blood). i had a conversation recently with my dad about his dying father. He said "well, he taught me what not to do". Although my dad had a long list of things 'not to do' he still never quite figured out how to be a father and has left me with more things 'not to do' than things 'to do'.

So now as i am growing into an age where i should be sliding into some kind of position as a role model for those younger than me i realize that my belief that there is no such thing as a hero has left me at a disadvantage when it comes to forming what a role model should be like. i find myself leaning towards the idea that like heroes and unicorns there is no such thing as a role model.

i have had many inspirations, in fact i count myself blessed in that department. In addition to the many artists that have served as inspiration like Kerouac and Rollins or the spiritual such as St Francis and the Dali Llama i have also had many moving inspirations from my personal life in the form of neighbors, teachers, friends, and lovers. All of these sources have taught me lessons and helped me figure out pieces of how to live, but even as a human portfolio of all these teachings i find more pages empty than filled.

So i look to "who has won", and i cannot find anybody in my life or throughout history. Gandhi peacefully achieved a country's freedom but only as a split entity. Michael Collins tried it violently only to get the same results. Everyone left work uncompleted or legacies later misinterpreted and bastardized (Jesus, Buddha).

How about times when "we won", where groups pulled off what one could not? The United States Civil War was won by the side fighting against slavery but today ignorant fucktards are still waving confederate flags, minorities (of all types including sexual preference) are still marginalized, and the United States has enslaved third world countries instead, to build their conveniences as slave labor so that we can live lives we cannot afford.

There are no heroes and there is no such thing as perfection. In fact, life itself may be the opposite of perfection. Life is a fluke, a beautiful accident that despite all odds remains persistent and flourishing. It is an imbalance of energies, a constant evolution, always in flux. But this is it's strength. Because it cannot reach that equilibrium all things are striving for, it is constantly in motion. That motion is what keeps life going. Like some hyperbolic graph always moving towards but never reaching it's goal axis line we must propel ourselves towards perfection but what makes us what we are is that inability to ever be able to reach perfection.

Perhaps the best role model is an imperfect one. If that is the case than i guess i am as well qualified as the next guy. i have won some and lost some but i have tried to live every minute of it as much as humanly possible. i suppose the lesson should be not to live life as anyone else has but to embrace life as many have tried to, and never stop moving or being moved.

The meaning of life is not perfection. Life is love. Love is painfully imperfect but worth every minute of it. Embrace every moment of it that you can and when it is lost be thankful for every brief fleeting instance of it you were able to squeeze out. Cry only in it's beauty, never in it's loss. Embrace your imperfection, because it shows that you are still alive (a-love).