1PunkMonk

No Such Thing As A Born-Again Straight Edge

2012-01-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

i do not drink. i do not smoke. Because i am a punk and i do not do these things i frequently get asked if i am straight edge. i answer no.

i have always laughed at those born-again Christians who claim to have re-gained their virginity. It is fucking hysterical. If you had sex, you are not a virgin. That is the very definition of the term. Life is a river that only flows one way. You do not get do-overs, re-do's, or Mulligans. What you have done you have done. Own it and learn from it... all of it.

i am experimental by nature. i enjoy the growth that occurs from trying new things. Alcohol and drugs have been a part of that in my past. The experiences i had and the lessons i learned about myself, the world, and perspectives are important parts of who i am today. i value them and do not regret them.

i have learned what i can from those chemicals and have no interest in further pursuing them. i like being sober all the time. i like being dangerous because my mind is working sharply at all times. i like that i am at a place in my life now where my maturity, knowledge, and experiences have given me a level of confidence that i did not have when i was younger so now i face adversities head on.

i hold sentimental fondness for the straight edge movement and have a lot of respect for it. i relate strongly with that movement and enjoy the company of straight edgers as i feel i have a lot in common with them. Out of respect for the straight edge movement, out of respect for my past experiences, and out of respect for myself, i choose not to place that label upon myself.

i believe that freedom is more important than my personal ideals in most situations (of course not all). i actually think that marijuana should be legalized. If it was i still would not use it but it is less harmful than alcohol (a legal drug) and many medications that people take on a daily basis.

i also am fine with other people doing harder drugs such as heroin. If they steal to support their habit or harm someone while under the influence then they have broken laws and should be treated accordingly, but the simple act of taking drugs is something i see as a personal choice. If you want to shoot up and hide away from the world in your living room... so be it.

Your life, your choice so long as you do not harm anyone else. People destroy themselves all the time from a broad variety of things. Should we make fast food illegal for obese people because they are killing themselves with it?

i am proud of the fact that i do not drink and that i do not take drugs, but i am also proud that it is MY choice. i absolutely hate when people tell me what to do so i respectfully want to allow others the freedom to make THEIR choice. If we can respect each other's right to make choices, imagine what other respect might follow.

Tears Shed

2011-12-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

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?

2011-11-21T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-31T21:20:00.000-04:00

I have been digging this:

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

Computer Selection: The Ultimate Guide To Mac vs PC

2011-10-24T22:40:00.002-04:00

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

2011-10-12T15:23:00.000-04:00

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)

2011-10-05T17:40:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

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?

2011-09-21T23:17:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-21T21:40:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-17T23:24:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-16T23:03:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-05T01:40:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-05T20:18:00.003-04:00

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

2011-04-27T19:29:00.003-04:00

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

2011-04-24T21:29:00.003-04:00

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).

For Phantom Skater

2011-03-28T22:18:00.003-04:00

As spring starts to sneak its way in i always feel a warming in my loins and a thawing of the skate region of my brain. i have been avoiding the skateparks lately though and i was not quite sure why until now. How could my drive to skateboard be closely matching the magnitude of my libido yet when i get to the park i cannot seem to bring myself to get out and skate?

i now realize that the very reason i love skateboarding so is also what has been causing me to avoid those flowing playgrounds built just for me. Skateboarding has always been something i do for myself. It is a very personal thing for me. Rolling around on that board i feel more 'right' than i do most of the time.

One of the many things that brought me to skating was that i did not need anyone else to do it. i did not need to gather up a team. i did not have to find an opponent. No one else's abilities or lack there of had any influence on my skating. Skateboarding is for me, by me, of me. No scores, no leagues, no parents, no fans. The rest of the world just fades into the background and disappears from thought as i glide smoothly around, bearings hissing.

Municipalities never seem to understand skateboarding. They think it is some fringe activity practiced by the very few. Cities and towns consistently build skateparks far too small for their communities. Skateparks are typically the most used parks in a given area. They are constantly inhabited from opening to close.

And this is my problem. i am an antisocial skate punk who rides my board as a release. A release from everyday problems. A release from work. A release from the chaos of a world much more screwed up than any of my aging joints battered from decades of skating. But i cannot quite find that release as easily at the local skateparks.

Maybe i am that dog that cannot pee if its walker is watching. Possibly i am like the narrator in Fight Club who cannot cry at therapy meetings when Marla is around. Standing, waiting for my turn to ride kills the momentum for me. Standing atop a crowded obstacle looking for the opportunity to drop in seems counter-productive to my attempt to escape the world. Standing, standing, standing, all that standing when i want to be rolling.

All those eyes watching, not because they care how i skate but because they need to watch to see where they can get their turn. Waiting your turn, being observed, social interaction... all this is what i am trying to escape from when i take out my board and cities have just figured out some way to force that all back into skating.

But i will not stop skating and i will never, ever think negatively of my skateboarding brothers (and sisters) down at the park. In order to keep skateboarding burning in my soul, however, i must find a different way.

Perhaps it is time for me to bring back a ritual i have not practiced in many years. Perhaps it is time to resume midnight skate sessions. At night while the rest of the population sleeps the world becomes yours for the taking. Hell, i am old now and may not be as able as i once was to run away from cops but i am in a little better a position to pay tickets than i was as a teenager.

i have found Animal Chin many times before. i think it is about time i start searching again.

Vegan Skate Shoes 2011

2011-03-21T18:32:00.003-04:00

i have been a vegan for quite some time now and a skateboarder for even longer. The toughest part of being a vegan skater is not procuring rations but rather the hunt for quality, animal-friendly skate sneakers.

To be honest i am not sure why. In my years of synthetic shoe wearing i have come to realize that the materials used to replace leather are far superior to leather. They hold up longer, do not stretch over time like leather, and do a better job of minor water resistance. So much so that most snowboard boots are made of synthetic leathers, so why are skate shoe materials too frequently stuck in the late 1980's?

Because i do this search annually and because i rarely find a simple path for this mission i have decided to pass along a summation of the fruits of my most recent labor to hopefully aide my fellow vegan skaters. Here are some pointers for the 2011 skateboard season to get you started, in no particular order.

Frequently i look to find skateboarders who themselves are vegans and then check out their pro model shoes. This has been extremely helpful over the years. For many years my best bet was Geoff Rowley and his signature shoes by Vans. i have worn his models more than any other over the years. This has changed recently. It seems that Geoff is no longer a vegan and that has impacted his shoe models. You can no longer assume that Rowley models by Vans are animal free. Vans however, does still make some of the popular synthetic Rowley lines such as the "Stripes" and clearly indicates which ones are synthetic in their online shop (where you can view models by athlete: Rowley).

Vans does have many canvas sneakers but in my opinion almost all of these do not give adequate support or protection for use skateboarding. They are more "skate lifestyle" shoes for casual use. Which brings me to the next vegan skater.

Ed Templeton is a long time vegan. In fact reading an interview of his is where i learned that Starbucks can make you a vegan hot chocolate (their coco is dairy free so they can make a hot chocolate with soy milk and you can enjoy, dairy-free). This has caused me to end my long term boycott of Starbucks. If they can support vegans i guess i can support them, from time to time at least.

Tangent aside, let us return to shoes. Ed's signature models are vegan friendly. He rides for Emerica. i have never skated a Templeton signature model because he typically (as is true of this year's model) uses canvas and as mentioned before i prefer something a bit more supportive and protective than canvas. If this is your thing though, enjoy!

With that being said, Emerica's site is HANDS DOWN the most vegan friendly skate shoe site around! With other skaters such as Andrew Reynolds on the team, who is a vegetarian (i believe) many of the models have at least one colorway that is synthetic (ex: the Jinx). Just go to the site, pick the model you like and check out the different color options. If you select one that is animal free (hint: usually the black options) it will say "THIS COLORWAY IS MADE OF ALL SYNTHETIC MATERIALS" in the description.

Recent additions on the vegan shoe front is Macbeth. They have a whole line dedicated to vegans and are clearly marked with a green V above the Macbeth M on the inner sole graphic. Last year i tried out their "Manchester" model. i thought they were very good looking and were quite comfortable but as they were made of canvas i found them less supportive than i would like (particularly for my bad knees) and they wore out a bit quick when skating. They are more along the lines of a converse All Star or Classic Old Skool Vans: very comfortable and appealing for "lifestyle shoes" but i prefer a little more for skating use.

This year it appears that they have experimented with some other synthetic materials for their vegan line, but i have not yet tried any of them. Their site is very supportive of vegan viewers with easy navigation to browse only the vegan lines. They do sponsor skateboarders such as Matt Hensley but these models use animal products.

Lastly comes my personal pick for this year: Fallen. My understanding is that Jamie Thomas is a vegan. When Fallen first started almost all (if not all) of their sneakers where made with synthetic materials. At that time i liked the original Jamie Thomas model so much that i went and bought a second pair right away so that when i wore the first pair out i would not have to go through all the research and searching that i typically go through to get my vegan-friendly skate sneaks. They held up better than any sneakers i have owned and gave impressive support right to the bitter end.

Over the years that has changed and animal hides have become dominant on their sneakers but they too do frequently have a synthetic colorway in many of their models, especially the Thomas models. When looking at the specifics for a given shoe style it will list materials including synthetic for the ones in which it is an option. The difficult part from their site, however, is that it doe not tell you which color is the synthetic. When clicking on the pictures for the given color options i could usually tell which was synthetic by appearance (hint: again usually black). i was able to confirm my assumptions by checking on Zappos, who not only carries Fallen but also list "synthetic" beside the color selection on the drag down menu of models.

i am extremely happy with my personal 2011 selection of the Fallen Chief and hope that i can help you in some way find the vegan skate shoe that is best for you. SKATE without the DIE!

Everything i Know i Learned From Star Wars

2011-02-24T00:05:00.003-05:00

When i was 8 years old Star Wars "Return of the Jedi" came out. i vividly remember seeing Princess Leia in her slave outfit, larger than life on that gigantic screen. Every cell in my 8 year old body wanted to do something to Princess Leia. What, i was not quite sure.

Although i had no idea what i would or was supposed to do with her i had this longing, this wanting to be in the physical presence of this beautiful women with these body parts that i had never seen quite this much of before. This was not something taught to me nor was it even something i was conscious of. It was something not thought but felt in my very soul. It was something screamed out from every strand of my DNA.

For longer than i can remember i have craved the attention of females. i have lusted after them, had relationships with them, and done absolutely stupid things for them. It may seem counter-intuitive but my own rampant heterosexuality is what helps me to understand homosexuality.

i never needed anyone to tell me that i liked girls. More than that, no one could ever tell me that i like boys. i have some of the best friends anyone could ask for. There are males that i consider brothers, who i would do anything for, who know me possibly even more in some regards than my wife. i have had a closeness with some of these male friends that some people do not experience with their spouses.

Never for even a second have i ever had thoughts of being physical with any of these males despite being emotionally close to them. There is nothing anyone (including these close friends) could say to me to make me be physically attracted to males. My sexual attraction to females is not a decision like my choice to not eat meat, and it is not something i learned like how to read sheet music. It is something ingrained in me. Something i have no control or say in.

Because i understand my own sexuality and where it comes from i know that it is not a choice. It is a part of who i am. Knowing what i know about me, i fail to understand why anyone could possibly think that homosexuals CHOSE to be that way.

Therefore, knowing how strong those feelings are in me, i feel absolutely horrible for anyone who feels they need to keep those desires hidden. More so, the thought makes me enraged. There are things in this world that are differences in opinion and there are things in this world that are just plain wrong. People being discriminated against because of sexual preference is just wrong.

Homosexuals deserve the same rights as everyone else because they are just like everyone else. If you think otherwise, are you sure you understand where your own sexual persuasion comes from?

America Idle

2011-02-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

i can't say i understand politics and i think it is because there is nothing to understand. It makes no sense. It seems to be just driven by GREED.

Our government can manage to establish that all television broadcasts need to be transmitted in digital, they can rule that phone companies have to allow users to carry over their phone numbers, yet when it comes to regulating carbon emissions they seize up like the talons of an owl who got zapped while perched on the power lines. Progress, progress, ... wait, hold on a second.

Whiles all the shit goes down at least our children will be able to watch it in HD. They can text OMG back and forth to one another as they curse the generations who came before them. The United States of America: where short term money rules the day. A country that claims it is trying to spread democracy in the middle east by starting wars but who panics when a country there actually tries to claim democracy for themselves.

The American government's motives are transparent but that does not make a difference if citizens cannot even care to look. Shhhh... i think American Idol is on.

You Got Any Blues?

2010-11-18T20:52:00.003-05:00

Light brown footwear and owl accessories cause my hands to unconsciously clench into fists. This has caused me to wax nostalgic about simpler times before my birth when mods and rockers would tear otherwise peaceful English coastal towns apart with destructive riots. That's when it hit me (the idea, not a rocker)... Punks vs Hipsters!

This problem must be solved as our forefathers solved so many problems before us, with violent riots that accomplish nothing. A punk and a hipster within eye line of each other is enough... then it is ON! i want to see ironic mustaches collected the same way indians collected scalps, the more skin attached the better. i want to see carabiner key chains torn off of belt loops and used as weapons against the owner. i want to see tears pouring out from behind gigantic Ray Bans as you pour their PBR's down the sewer.

These hipsters are not the counter-culture, they are vain fashion victims. In the 80's they would wear pink polo shirts with popped collars. In the 90's they would wear XXL clothes with Looney Toones characters on them.

Sure the hipsters greatly outnumber punks but come on... they are hipsters. One punk should be able to take on, what, like five hipsters? Will this solve the problem of this new neo-ironic plague? Absolutely not. But hey, it would feel good and there are so many empty storefronts these days due to our economic depression that a riot causing destruction to said storefronts would not in any way impact commerce.

Bring it on: Punks vs Hipsters!

So Do Washing Machines

2010-11-09T21:14:00.002-05:00

i was born to fight. Generations of Irish struggle with a little German thrown in to top it off. Fighting my way into this world i broke my mum's tailbone on the way out.

i remember the first time i was bullied. i came home from school and told my parents what happened. My da showed me how to make a fist, and my mum taught me the places you could hit anyone - no matter how big - that would stop them in their tracks. From that day on me, nor anyone around me, got bullied without a fight: either physical or mental.

That is the thing about bullies, they want to intimidate but do not look for fights so no matter how i ended up by the end of it, there was never a repeat bullying. If they know you will fight every time they will leave you be, you become too much of a hassle for them.

i realize that i never stopped anyone from being a bully, for i have no control over other people. What i did do, however, was stop those i know from being bullied and that is really the best i can do. Ultimately this even lead me to defending my siblings from the biggest bullies of all: my parents.

There are no shortage of bullies in the world, even as you grow old, so i have never had a retirement party from this black knight's calling. With age, though, this has come to take it's toll. Those who wish to intimidate and take advantage of others are truly a renewable resource. There is an endless supply. My energy is finite, my fists damaged, and my mind is showing it's wear.

i have been trying to be more selective in my stands, and today at work i had to take a stand. The problem is although i am highly skilled at turning it on, turning it off takes some time. Once i have done what i need to i really have to ride off into the sunset and spend time alone until the Hulk turns back into a man. Life rarely gives me this kind of time.

At tonight's game i got a bit worked up while sitting on the sidelines as a sub. A call was made against a player on the other team and they refused to acknowledge it. So i got vocal. A member of our team who happens to be our best player and also, at times, our most annoyingly bossy told me bluntly to calm down. Yelling at an angry person to calm down may be the most counter-productive option possible.

We went back and forth briefly with recommendations for one another on who should mind who's business. Infighting on a team is always a bad scene. It was a ridiculous mini-scene lasting less than a minute caused by three assholes: the other team's cheater, me, and my teammate. A brief occurrence but i am still frustrated by it now as i should be falling asleep.

It is just not worth it. Should people cheat? NO. Should people tell others what to do? NO. Should i let people i do not care about cause me to lose any sleep? NO.

i know the answers to all these question all too well, yet i still struggle. i watch those aging all around me become numb, complacent, and uninvolved. This scares me even more than the fear of looking like an asshole. i would far rather people think ill of me for caring too much than fade into a void of indifference.

If you see me with a machete in my hand do not worry, your limbs are safe. It just means that i am trying to forge a new path. One where i continue to care but where maybe some of the fight gets lost in the brush.

Departing

2010-11-08T20:05:00.004-05:00

About a year ago now at a family get together a few of us somehow got into a side conversation. One group, consisting most notably of my dad and my wife, felt that people are typically good and used the example of how when shit hits the fan there's usually people around willing to help. The other side, consisting most notably myself and my uncle, felt that people are genuinely selfish and that there are just enough of us good people around to help out when shit hits the fan.

Every day since i have become more and more convinced of my stance. So far our society has survived because that small percentage of empathetic people making up our population have been enough to get our species through those tough times. The majority just care about themselves.

The majority would have kept slavery, but the minority were able to abolish it. The majority would not have allowed women to vote, but the minority won that victory. i am proud to be a member of the empathetic yet strong minority. The day i find myself in the majority is the day i realize i have truly fucked up.

But now as our population rises above 6.5 billion i fear our numbers may be too small to compensate for the selfish majority. When same-sex marriage passes, the majority come in and repeal it. The idiotic democrats could not pass climate legislation when they had control and now with the current politicians-elect this seems a highly unlikely feat at best. In my opinion it is now too late at this point to avoid the worst of climate change effects.

But it is all OK because the iPad came out. Drug stores and banks are being built on every street corner. Christmas sales are starting far before black friday. Keep buying into the idea that an economy can perpetually grow.

People are trying to change the rules for people who deserve to be in jail while ignoring the child that is capable of changing the world.

As i sit hear typing, while in the background an ex-president lies with a smirk on his face about the things he did, i wonder if i am just destroying myself by trying to help people who do not want to be saved.

For now i think i need to insulate myself from the general selfish public by spending more time with people who care as i do. Maybe for just long enough to recharge my battery. Maybe for the rest of my life. Maybe go fuck yourself (thanks for that one Marky Mark).

October Refresh

2010-10-18T22:33:00.002-04:00

Yup... good olde creative October. Time to up the ante here on 1PunkMonk. New banner (not as in will turn into the hulk if angry) and some more regular updates. Low rent as usual. All pretty like is not very punk-like now is it.

Happy fall!

Tendons and Tenderness

2010-08-12T00:26:00.003-04:00

Anyone who has played soccer for long enough has inevitably twisted an ankle. When this happens the trick is to keep playing. Do not go down. Keep running, keep kicking, keep tackling, just do not sit down. Otherwise you will end up out for the game.

Yeah it hurts to keep playing on it but it will keep working as long as you keep moving. The human body is an amazing thing. Once the game is over, however, get yourself home as quick as possibly and get yourself somewhere comfortable QUICK with an ice pack handy. Once you come to rest your ankle will hurt like a muthafucker and instantly triple in size. From that moment on you are trapped wherever you may be. Lowering your foot or attempting to put any weight on it after that point and you will (to borrow from Walter) be entering a world of pain.

i recently realized that ankles are not the only things that behave in this fashion. My significant other is thankfully in a very healthy stretch after a hand full of tough years battling disease. i had no option but to keep running. Keep kicking. Keep tackling. i could not let the team down (not that their was a sub available anyway).

Although the season is not over that game is finished at least. Much like with my ankle i am paying the price of delaying the pain and like any swollen joint, i have lost the ability to function at one hundred percent. Not only did i not get myself somewhere comfortable quickly enough but i never applied ice. Because of this the healing process is taking longer than it would have if i had taken proper care of myself.

i have gotten very good over the years at wrapping ankles. i never really figured out how to tape up emotions for extra support. i may limp around for a bit but as long as i can rest it up a bit and take it easy i imagine i can get into fighting shape in time for the next big game.

United By Fate

2010-07-19T23:45:00.003-04:00

i love when those of us flying flags recognize one of our own. A random meet-up of complete strangers from the same tribe. i had a great little, mini-conversation at the grocery store with someone who could not refrain from acknowledging one of my more obscure flags. We are a small group and can not ignore one another if we happen to cross paths.

i had a similar experience on a plane the other day. It is nice to meet when we can, converse when opportune. It helps recharge our batteries.

Thank you. Hooligans for life!

Do Not Push

2010-07-19T22:51:00.002-04:00

To keep things balanced... we are watching you!

Yes, you with the backwards cap showing off your loyalty to the local baseball team. You with the cheesy t-shirt bearing the image of something "safe", referencing something the masses will recognize but will also insinuate that you "like to party". That t-shirt that you wear extra loose to help hide the gut that is slowly growing because since your college days the beer just seems to go straight to your spare tire.

Yes, you with the basketball shorts on. They are just polyester mini sweatpants you know. But i am sure they are comfortable for all that sitting on the couch you do. Or wait, perhaps you wear those new trendy checkered, plaid shorts. Yes, those stylish ones that your girl picked out for you. The ones all the ex-frat boys are wearing on the golf courses.

Yes, you with the overpriced sandals bought at your mall store of choice. Corona-chic? Again, your girl probably told you they looked good. You and your girl probably paired up pretty quick after college. You knew that without all the allure of the frat house girls stopping by may become pretty few and far between. She knew that every day after college she was going to get fatter and uglier and realized she needed to pair up while she still had some appeal.

Yes, you who walk most of your life on your wife's leash through grocery stores and shopping plazas. Then, suddenly when you are out with your "boys" you start thinking you have got a pair of balls, even though they are really still in your girl's purse. Yes, you.

We are watching you. We do not like to fight but be mindful, because we are not afraid to when need be, when the time comes. We have more experience at it than you do. We have had to, for we are always outnumbered by the mindless, brainwashed bullies such as yourself. We can take at least three times the beating you can. Do you have the stamina? We never stop.

We stand for something while you fall for everything. We are small in number but you always underestimate us. We are always there, you know who we are. We have tattoos you do not understand. We wear clothes that you think are stupid but will eventually end up wearing ten years later when the mall starts carrying imitations.

This is not a manifesto. This is not a warning. This is just a friendly reminder. The universe constantly strives to balance itself. We are not here to try and take over. We are here to ensure that balance.

We are watching you.

The Last Airbender

2010-07-05T22:21:00.005-04:00

"The Last Airbender" was a good movie and one i felt the need to defend from the unfortunate bad reviews of many a friend now that i finally got to see it today.

As a kid there were a great many movies that i loved. Some i own copies of today and watch on a regular basis (think Star Wars, Gleaming the Cube) while other were important to me as a child but are not necessarily as important to me in adulthood. This later group were still very important to me and i still talk of them fondly.

Three such movies from my childhood were "The Last Starfighter", "Flight of the Navigator", and "The Neverending Story". You will have no problem getting punks now in their adult years to wax, super-serious, intellectual about any one of these movies. If you are not familiar with these films bring them up at your own risk for these discussions could get deep quick with childhood anecdotes. Not for the unconverted.

These types of movies are extremely important. As a child you frequently feel helpless. Like you have no say. Alien in this adult world. It is important to have art that lets kids know that they are capable of having an impact on the world. It is important to let them know that they can change things, that they have power. It is necessary that they know they can work to make things better and that they play a vital role in our society.

Movies like those i mentioned let me imagine, let me believe that i, just a kid, had potential and could have an impact. They allowed me to imagine being the pilot of a spaceship and fighting to save the universe from evil. They allowed me to imagine that i may be the only one capable of flying a found UFO that no adult could figure our. They allowed me to believe that my imagination could save an alternate universe.

But why were these movies so important for me as a child? Because the heroes in all of these films were kids. i didn't have to wait until i grew older to blow up a Death Star. i did not have to be able to grow a beard and learn to wield a lightsaber to defeat evil. i could save the day as a kid.

What else was great about these movies? The actors were real kids. They could have been a kid in one of my classes or they could have even been me. i have never seen any of those actors in any other movie since those of my childhood. There have been actresses like Dakota Fanning and Kirsten Dunst who were incredibly talented child actresses who have great careers but they were clearly gifted at their trades and could never really be mistook for a fellow, run of the mill, elementary school classmate. So when i hear adults complaining of bad acting i think how they have missed the point. These are kids that kids can relate to. That is far more important than the need for top notch acting.

As an aside, try to watch any one of the Star Wars movies with new eyes. These are indeed my favorite movies but come on... there is not a single Star Wars film that does not contain copious amounts of absolutely horrific acting. It is OK, these films are still great.

So i say congratulations to M. Night Shyamalan for renewing my faith (much needed after "The Happening" which in concept should have been my favorite but was horribly executed). He realized the need to remind kids that they matter and giving this generation of children that affirmation and empowerment. This is something that this barrage of green monster, computer animation, garbage has missed completely. Empowering rather than insulting kid's intelligence.

Ten years from now maybe some punk band (whatever that may sound like then) will do a song about "The Last Airbender". And then i will play them my digitized version of New Found Glory's cover of "The Neverending Story" theme song.

People like to say "kids these days" all so frequently but then produce things for kids that just insults their intelligence. Thank you "The Last Airbender" for helping to remind children (and me) that kids can change the world. And just in time as i am losing my faith in adults' ability to do so.

Never Alone (Part 2)

2010-06-08T19:08:00.003-04:00

... the next day (despite this entry being nearly a month later)...

So, i was going to the grocery store. i have gotten into the habit of wearing headphones while grocery shopping as it makes the experience more enjoyable and less interrupted by complete strangers interacting with you. But alas, the random public fired a pre-emptive strike.

While at a stop light on route, with windows up due to the cooler evening temperatures, i look left to a perplexing event. A seemingly homeless man on a bike (bikes are currently all the rage within the homeless community of my area... and the hipsters too... oddly) stops at the front door of the KFC. He removes the elongated top off of the stretched Hershey-kiss style cigarette butt receptacle and starts fishing through it. i imagine he was looking for some "not fully smoked" butts thrown in during some customer's hasty rush to purchase one of KFC's buckets of death.

i did not observe him for long, as i find staring rude. i returned to my light waiting at one of the notoriously long red-ed chaotic triple intersections foolishly built based on early cow paths. But i kept thinking about this gentleman. That is a creative way of problem solving a desire for tobacco, if of course you do not mind the "putting you lips on someone else's filter" germ factor.

This got me thinking about the homeless and smoking. Based on people i know who smoke, the monthly cost of being a "regular" smoker is close to (if not more than) a car payment. That is no small amount of money. Yet, i have seen homeless smoking from time to time. Where do those cigarettes come from? Novel means like this KFC collection? Stolen? Possibly purchased?

Sure, many must be purchased. It is often assumed that because you are homeless you have no money at all. This is not always true. There are a great many reasons why an individual might be homeless. To lump everyone who is homeless into a singular category is a short-cut to thinking and usually just some excuse used to feel better about the reality that there are many people who are homeless in ours, the richest country in the world.

i was reminded of an anecdote told to me by a friend of a friend while we hung out at some social gathering. This friend's friend lived for some time in NYC. While living there, during his routine daily travels he regularly passed by a seemingly homeless man who stood on the corner asking for change. Finally one day, with some time to kill, he said to the man "I am going to grab some lunch, how would you like to join me... my treat?" The man said yes.

They sat together eating and talking for some time. Finally this friend's friend asked the man why he was homeless, hoping to get his story and better understand this person whom he walked by daily. "I have a home" the man said. "An apartment a few blocks from here."

"I'm an artist" the man continued. "I dedicate my life to only art and will not compromise that by working." He went on to explain that he spent part of his day asking for money and the rest of the day in the park creating art. He accrued enough money that way to afford rent... in New York City. i think of this story often to remind myself that it is a disservice to all involved when we make assumptions.

A long tangent you say? No, in fact there is an important purpose to this dictation of thought. This is one long ass red light. In the time between my last glance at the Kentucky Fried Chicken and the events to follow i went though all those ponderings. And those were long ponderings.

Suddenly out on my peripheral i notice the homeless man is on his bike in the middle of the lane to my right now, yelling at my car. To help elaborate on the yelling part remember that i had all my windows up and note that i typically listen to music way too loud. In this case it was the Dropkick Muphys live album blasting away.

This became one of those many moments when my desire to be polite and my street smarts had to do a quick negotiation in my head. They settled on turning off the music and slightly lowering the window closest to our new friend. So i lowered the window enough to show my openness to converse but not enough that he could stick any limbs into my car. Meanwhile i kept one eye on crossing traffic in case of a needed escape route.

"Boba Fett?" i hear him now say mid soliloquy (a reference to my geeky vanity license plate). "He's a BOUNTY HUNTER! Are you saying you're a bounty hunter?"

"No" i replied "just a Star Wars fan." Come on green light.

"We're not Jedi's you know" he continued "we're not Jedi's..."

"Maybe someday though" i politely said as he seemed to not be ready to end the conversation started with my car.

"NO, NO, we CAN'T be Jedi's... no we can't... not Jedi's..." he continued as i suddenly noticed the light turning green.

"i got to go" i said "take it easy." My attempt at a courgel farewell.

"...not a Jedi" he mumbled to conclude his thought."May the force be with you!" he shouted as i slowly accelerated away.

While taking the corner i noticed the guy on the green crotch-rocket behind me laughing his ass off. What great entertainment we must have been as he waited at that painfully long light. All this random interaction and i had not even made it to the grocery store yet. Had my wife or someone else been in the car this never would have happened, but when i am just on my own this kind of thing becomes the norm. i am once again reminded that no matter how much i try i am never alone. Maybe that is not such a bad thing though.

May the force be with you too, my new friend.

Never Alone (part 1)

2010-05-16T21:03:00.006-04:00

i tend to need more alone time than the average person. Not quite to the extent that i aim to be a hemitic monk living on some mountaintop where every few years someone dares to hike up to ask a question... but maybe on some suburban hill. i need my friends and my time with them to get me through this chaotic world we live in. i could not survive without them.

But as i said, i do like my time alone. Wandering this world at times by myself does me some good. Often, however, i am reminded that we are never alone.

i am not sure exactly what it is about me but when i am out and about unaccompanied, people seem to feel the need to start talking to me. The following are just a couple of examples from the past few days. They are, however, not at all uncommon occurrences in my daily life. i should probably just cancel my cable agreement and walk around more often... it would be better entertainment, yet alarmingly unscripted.

i had been burning the candle at both ends, as i am frequent to do, so on the way home from work the other day i decided to stop and get a cup of coffee to help keep me going for the things i needed to do that evening. Fortunately, i live in a region of the country where Dunkin' Donuts are as commonplace as streetlights. There are a minimum of five that i can stop at on my way home without having to veer off course in the slightest. So into one i pulled.

When i walked in the only people there other than employees was a father and his young daughter in line ahead of me. i am not sure exactly what happens when one becomes a father but those new to the game seem to be in such a constant state of confusion that when it comes to seemingly simple tasks just slightly out of the norm, these otherwise intelligent men become stumbling, bumbling, movie characters. Picking out which donuts would make his dozen was on par with some high stress, international gameshow's final question. i was in no rush so i just watched in entertainment.

Then someone came in behind me. Normally i am quite observant of my surroundings but being so close to work i was hoping to avoid work-related accidental contact while out and about. So it was eyes forward and down.

Suddenly, the lady (noted from her voice, not by deviating from my set stare) started chatting up the little girl in front of me. That little girl looked up, looked scared, then went over and full on koala-hugged her dad's leg... holding on for dear life. At that point i became even more dedicated to my focus and stepped it up to completely restrict any neck movement so as not to make this woman think in any way i was up for engaging conversation.

Time slows down. Really dude? You can not pick twelve donuts? Donut flavors have not changed all that much in the last three decades. No surprises here. PICK! You are leaving the rest of us quite vulnerable here by trapping us in line.

Then i hear "I don't get it!" seemingly, based on the volume, directed at me.

Shite! Keep looking ahead. Pretend you did not hear. Come on man, pick your donuts already.

Then it comes. The poke, followed by "I don't get it." Donkey balls, i can not ignore it this time. i turn to see bleached out hair (well, except for the grown out roots), skin and bones in denim shorts, and baby balanced on hip. "I don't get it? Human?" she adds pointing to the tattoos on the back of my forearm.

"Human being" i respond, "because i am just a human being" referring to the tattoo just below my elbow.

"But what's that got to do with the sheep?"

"They are separate tattoos" i politely answered. "i am running out of arm space. The other tattoo is because i am a black sheep." Her eyes squinted and i could tell there was a lot of hard thinking going on. Oh man, what are you paying in laundry quarters? Hurry up, i am missing my opportunity to escape this dialog by ordering. Come on dude!

"Black sheep?" Thoughtful pause. "Like the strange one in your family?"

Sure, i will just go with this. "Yes, i am the different one in my family."

"Me too! I picked-up some coffee before I went to therapy but I left it on the roof of my car so now, the first thing after therapy I'm back getting some coffee..." and the machine-gun paced run-on sentence trailed off as i heard those sought after words "Who's next?"

"Small. Hazelnut. Black." Quick and efficient, as all orders should be. The choice was made before i even walked through the door.

Do not feel bad for the girl. Someone else from behind the counter came over and took her order before i even finished ordering mine and she quickly started talking his ear off instead. i would like to say that this is a unique event and that is why i am writing about it but that is not true. This kind of stuff happens to me any time i am in public alone. People just randomly start conversing with me as if we went to high school together and i try to be as polite as i can.

Never alone, and never bored.

what the fuck?

2010-05-12T21:00:00.003-04:00

i like swearing for the same reasons i like shaved heads and tattooes. It says 'you are not going to walk all over me'. It says 'you may win, but i am going to put up a fight'. Are you up for that?

It gives you the space you need in order to live, in order to breathe. We seem bombarded on a daily basis by things telling us what we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to look. That is aggressive. That is far far harder than my appearance could ever be.

We are all together on this spinning sphere of rock and water. Why do we allow that? Why do i have to do what i do to get the room i need to be me? i push back against it to free up real estate so that the sincere may find their way into my life.

So far it has worked out pretty good... i have got a little more room here, if you want in...

How To Dismantle A Tea Party

2010-04-28T22:07:00.007-04:00

...just get me to admit that i want honey in my tea...

There may be nothing i hate more in this world than lies. As the liar gets more stubborn and insistent in their repetition of lies an energy swells, grows inside of me getting stronger and more powerful. Emotion is a powerful thing, at times seeming an endless supply of power. Frequently as emotions increase in magnitude a haze can start to form within your mind causing a scattering of that power. In these moments actions can seem to take on a randomness not natural to our typical dispositions.

As i mark off the years in the non-constant of time i strive to harness that energy associated with strong emotion in those moments while practicing my ability to focus it. We do not really have control over how things make us feel, but we can work to control what we do with those feelings and with the strength that we can draw from them. i work on this on a weekly basis, some days being more successful than others. i do feel as though i am doing better more often than not, but again with the perception of feelings.

Is this more sith-like or jedi-like? Why have i gone on this long without getting to "Tea Parties"? Good questions.

The modern political back-lash movement self professing themselves as "Tea Partiers" is what i am discussing here with aims to explain deflation techniques. i have not yet mastered my emotions, so from here on out i will refer to them by their original chosen name before they decided to check it on google: "tea baggers". i find it simultaneously more fitting and more transparent in regards to my true feeling about them... in hopes of alleviating any possible reader confusion.

The "tea bagger" movement is overwhelmed by emotion, both in the driving of their actions and in the reactions to them. Logic must be used in handling both the "tea baggers'" emotions and in our own dealings with those individuals.

First off, how over the top fucked-up are their protests. Really now. Is that what you have got? First up, in this day and age hopping right to some sort of nazi reference is a short-cut to thinking. Throwing a magic marker Hitler mustache on a picture of Obama? That is as weak as that jack-off kid in your 8th grade class who was always screwing around and then called the teacher Hitler for yelling at him. Is that the maturity level that this country's politics is working at? Oh and racial slurs? Those can never be tolerated no matter how heated or emotional things have gotten. It is two-thousand-and-fucking-ten! Racism is sooo 20th century and needs to have died with the 2000 bug. Again to reiterate: RACISM IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE!

Now that i have gotten some of the pettiness out of the way lets get to the logical dismantling. Tour buses with custom decaling? Unless you are drooling on yourself this clearly advertises how this is a corporately backed muckraking exercise. They are typically organized and funded by deceptive branches of corporation's special interests. Keep this in mind and use it to help with perspective. Each of their typical statements can easily be more than countered, but disarmed (just be careful as they are typically and literally armed).

Cries of government getting too big, invading too much of our lives, and cries of socialism make me smirk as i try not to laugh aloud. Government spending too much money? Running up too much debt? Where the fuck was your bus for the 8 years of Bush Jr? Can you say "biggest debt ever" or are the tea bags in your mouth mumbling your words?

Here is my counter to these accusations: What did you have for breakfast this morning? Lunch? How did you arrive to this current destination? Interesting... it sounds like the government was with you at every step. The cost of the eggs you ate are kept artificially low with government subsidies. The meat you've eaten... also heavily subsidized to keep prices artificially low. The high fructose corn syrup in almost everything you have ingested so far today... that is right, once again heavily subsidized. Oh, and you came here in that huge bus that you so nicely labeled? Once again fueled by fossil fuels receiving gigantic government subsidies. By the way, the electricity supplied to your alarm clock which woke you up this morning, running the lights that illuminate your way and run all those other gadgets was made by what? Over 50% of our electricity in produced using coal which receives what? Yes little Johnny more government subsidies. The US government has been right there with you in your bedroom, kitchen, living room, and vehicle.

You really want smaller government and a smaller deficit? Lets drop all those subsidies. i am all for it. Watch as the price of meat, eggs, and milk increases so fast people who previously laughed at vegans and vegetarians will start giving up such products. Watch as gas and electricity prices give you whiplash. Suddenly things like solar panels for your home and hybrid or electric vehicles start paying for themselves within an incredibly short time. Alternative energy would drop the "alternative" over night becoming just how we do things. If the "tea baggers" adopt the 'cut subsidies' mantra i just might join them with my own mug of green tea, but in the mean time lets drop the hypocrisy.

i could go on and on with arguments but you probably would not get past this step as they would get consumed by emotion and resort to the continuous repetition of lies at a crescendoing volume. This, i am afraid, i still have not figured out how to counter. Yelling the truth back seems to make zero difference as they start to only hear what they want and you leave yourself unnecessarily drained.

In conclusion i would like to bring up how the idea of calling themselves the "Tea Party" is actually quite fitting of their movement. The Boston Tea Party was not carried out by some dedicated group of idealistic rebels. It was carried out by a bunch of racist, polluting, cowards. They all dressed up like Indians (native americans) so that the blame would be re-directed to the indians, which they hated. Boston harbor has been polluted ever since (as the locals joke). These misguided souls can not even gasp the realities of history, let alone the complicated world we live in.

i do not have a problem with people questioning government, in fact i think it is not only healthy but utterly necessary. Nor am i trying to defend the current administration. i openly acknowledge that this country is a collection of individuals, for better or for worse. i would be even more outraged if i thought that people were unable to question and criticize the government. My concern here is with the level of discourse. Not only do these "tea baggers" make themselves look horrible, but they makes the citizens of this country look infantile, ill-informed, and utterly un-respectable.

Be forthright and forthcoming in presenting your ideals, otherwise you risk the integrity of not only yourself but all those around you.

America, Part II

2010-03-31T21:19:00.004-04:00

i know i am usually ripping apart the country in which i live but i am allowed to. That is one of the great perks to living here. This is the country in which i live. It is where i turned a house into a home. It is where the people i care about the most also happen to reside.

Please do not faint, but this time i am writing in defense of America. Though i choose not to pledge allegiance to the flag and i do not get emotional nor cover my heart as the ridiculously long "Star Spangled Banner" is sung i am not sure i could live a lifetime in another country (or possibly i do not see another country handling a lifetime of me).

Sure, maybe this is a little fueled by the lingering buzz from the recent passing of the health care bill (something that is decades overdue) but if so, only slightly. This week i realized that on a day to day basis i truly am glad that i live here.

In realizing this, however, i also became acutely aware of why no one who is not American will ever be able to understand what it is that makes this country so great. It has taken me more than three decades to understand it myself.

America is not a country as much as it is a collection of individuals. This is simultaneously its greatest strength and the source of its greatest weakness.

It is not a country in the traditional sense with a national character or sense of self. Too much space and too many different types of people are found within its borders. A collection of individuals.

To get to this personal epiphany i found myself thinking about those who inspire me. My favorite musicians: American. My favorite artists: American. My favorite writers: American. Not to say i do not like works by those outside of my own country, because i do. That is what makes me want to travel, to see what inspired these other artists. But ultimately the art i cannot live without is done by Americans.

Skateboarding, punk rock, bebop jazz... these things could not have possibly started in any other country. Kerouac, Shepard Fairey, Minor Threat... could only happen in America. It is a unique place with a lot of room to be unique in.

This collection of individuals also stunts this country's potential. With all these varying personalities "unanimous" is seemingly impossible. EVERYTHING is polarized. The majority is frequently hard to identify, with seemingly infinite shades of grey containing subdivisions of subdivisions along any front. Most of the time we seem dysfunctional. All of the time we are unmanageable. But you cannot have one without the other.

i now realize that all of the things i hate about this country are the price i pay for all the things i love about this country. Just do not expect me to keep quiet about any of it.

Do i prefer a kick in the shin or a punch in the arm? Neither, fuck you!

2010-03-22T20:27:00.005-04:00

i am sick and tired. No, i am not referring to the virus currently making it's yearly spring visit leaving me mucus-y and unable to control my body temperature. i am sick and tired of compromise.

i realize that compromise is supposed to be part of growing up and getting along but too often, especially as of late, compromise is less win-win and more lose-lose. i am done with 'better than the alternative'. i need something to go RIGHT (and i am not talking about the political right).

Fuck a season of ties and being thankful we did not lose. i will gladly take a losing record if only it meant a few victories celebrated along the way. Fuck 'good enough'. It is not GOOD ENOUGH.

i may be getting older but i have no intentions of ever getting old. When did we lose that fire inside us? i am tired of talk. i want to see some action. i am not talking about chest-thumping bar fights, i am talking about following through with what you say and living by those ideals, those beliefs. If you are not prepared to sacrifice for your ideals than stop your fucking yammering.

No more of this half-in bullshite. i am willing to pay higher taxes if it means that all Americans can have health insurance. That is the way things work. i believe in it and i understand what is necessary to carry it out. There is no such thing as something for nothing. Look up the laws of thermodynamics (they do not care if you are a Republican or Communist, they still apply despite your political preferences).

You can not say you want to fight climate change yet still drive around with your over-sized combustion engine and sit at your dinning room table with a steak. Either follow up your flapping lips with lifestyle changes or fucking admit you are a selfish bastard (or cunt, i am an equal opportunity offender).

i do not give a shite about talking points. What is your motivation and what are you doing about it?

Y'up, lots of swears here. If you do not like it i have got finger for you too.

Prom USA

2010-03-03T21:01:00.003-05:00

i believe i have come up with the the ultimate way to describe mainstream America. To those of you who are uniquely able to read English yet know nothing of the country i live in, i tell you it is just like a high school prom. Each activity of the evening echos the inner workings, unfortunately, of the United States of America.

First, couples dress in clothes they cannot afford. Clothes they absolutely have to have for that special occasion but after that evening they will no longer have any use for them. Then they climb into flashy automobiles they also cannot afford. Whether driving or driven the couples flock to restaurants were they overpay for unhealthy food served in excessive portions.

Then they head to the main event. Regardless of the setting, be it banquet hall or gymnasium, the sites are the same. Usually somewhat inebriated individuals gyrate and otherwise make fools of themselves calling it dancing to a soundtrack of songs which will all be forgotten within five years, provided either by DJ or horrible cover-band. As the evening goes on the gentlemen start shedding layers yet never end up showing as much skin as the females have since the beginning of the festivities.

As time moves on an election is held, based purely on looks and popularity. Royalty is crowned and the crowd's excitement level raises, if only for a brief time. Then comes the after-party as couples bounce from one party to another enjoying a final hurrah along the way showing off their outfits and vehicles to others who could not care less on the roads to their final destination of the evening.

After a last push of celebration come the cherry on top of the evening rituals. Couples sneak away from the watchful eyes of adults and others to aimlessly grope one another in the dark, peeling off the soon to be forgotten uniforms of the evening, and finally engage in amateur sex.

The next day in the loneliness of morning, individuals realize the regrettable behavior of the previous night. A fact never publicly admitted. For once the prom-goer meets back up with peers there is only talk of how wondrous their celebratory ways are.

P.O.N.R. (not to be confused with porn)

2010-02-17T21:49:00.003-05:00

The point of no return is a concept used across many disciplines. In aeronautics it is the point in a flight when turning around and going back would require more fuel than is left. Carrying on to the destination is the only option. In terms of climate change it is the ppm (parts per million) concentration of "greenhouse gases" that will ultimately make the planet inhospitable for the human race no matter what actions are taken.

This past week i crossed a personal point of no return. A love point of no return.

i have always thrived in solitary settings. Delusions of being the noble black knight traveling alone and saving those he comes across. Or the ronin samurai without a clan, leading a disciplined life and again, saving those he comes across. Or even the hermitic monk on the mountain with only the most worthy daring to climb up and seek my knowledge.

All alone i celebrate and feed off these delusions as i answer to no one... until this week. i had my whole itinerary planned out with daily drum practice, daily mini-half skate sessions, online video gaming, loud viewing of blue ray videos, reading to keep the mind sharp, and of course writing. This week, however, as i started living out my schedule something unexpected creeped in. This week the typical "missing" feelings i have when my love is away was replaced with "longing".

Try as i might to maintain my solo delusions i could not for very long stretches. i was constantly snapped out by emotions of feeling somehow less whole without my love. It has taken thirteen plus years but i have reached that point of no return. There is no going back. Dammit!

If only everyone could be so unlucky.

American Idols?

2010-02-11T19:20:00.003-05:00

Patagonia... Stonyfield Farms... these companies and many others who supposedly do so many great things for the environment cause such a bemusing reaction in me. They make me want to punch people. Ideally it seems that i would like to hit their respective founders but i get so worked up hitting almost anyone or anything would at least reduce some of the pressure, some of the rage.

Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, has not only made more environmentally friendly outdoor gear but has bought a country's worth of rain forest for preservation. Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms has made organic mainstream and started a green company rating system which has caused large companies, such as McDonalds and Apple, to take more environmentally minded actions in order to raise their incredibly low initial ratings.

So why do such friends of the environment make me want to punch people? Because it is bullshit. It is transparent.

These are not people who put the environment first. It is money first, greed first, and maybe environment second or somewhere trailing closely behind. The only way to make the ludicrous amounts of money that these bolt of men make is to put profit dead center in your sights. Money is the goal and the environment is brought along for the ride.

Are they doing good for the environment? Yes, very much so. Is the good they do proportional to or on an equal level to the greed they propagate? Not even close. Now in no way am i trying to bring them down to the strata of an Al Capone type who gives massive amounts of money to the church as some attempt to buy their way out of sin. Nor am i crying "greenwash" as i do believe that they are not just doing so to improve their public perception. i feel these types do indeed care about the environment.

The problem is intent. Look at the the laundry list of environmental problems we have. Break them down to the common denominators and you get two things as the root cause of all environmental problems: population and greed. There are too many people requiring too many resources. These businesses need this cycle to propagate in order to maintain their profit levels.

i love punk music and what it stands for. Although it may not be the highest skilled form of music, nor does it necessarily require the most intricate level of instrumental knowledge, but what punk may lack in technique it more than makes up for in integrity and unrelenting ideals. Those who put their ideals first and figure they will manage somehow to scrape enough money together to survive are the ones who inspire me. Not these business moguls who happen to have interests in the planet on which we live.

i am not saying these men need to be hung out to dry, just publicly punched. They are not role models or exemplars and should not be celebrated as such. The world needs to stop looking to the United States for leadership in fighting climate change. Money is the motivation here. That is the true transparency, the look behind the curtain, that so many choose to ignore. Choose your idols wisely. Hint: Simon will not help you in this search.

Official Day Of Counter Culture

2010-02-03T22:47:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite days of the year is coming up... Super Bowl Sunday (am i allowed to say that?). No... come on... stay with me here. It has nothing to do with "their" football (they do not play REAL football, throwball maybe, or burly-guy-foreplay even). You see, Super Bowl Sunday is the one day of the year that i am virtually guaranteed, for a few hours at least, that the douchebags of the country will be locked away somewhere safely inside and the streets are mine to roam!

i may be many things but i am not a selfish man. i would like to share my annual hours of joy with others. To that extent i am anointing this coming Sunday: February Seventh in the year Two Thousand and Ten Anno Domini, as the first Day Of Counter Culture!

All you fellow members of various counter cultures deserve your day of celebration. Just seeing each other out during these hours is enough to warrant a head nod of passing acknowledgement towards one another. For whomever is out at that aforementioned time clearly cannot be a douche. Feel that shared inner warmth that comes from knowing that you are not alone. Savor the camaraderie that makes you wish "if only every day could be like the Day Of Counter Culture".

Every holiday has its own traditions, which often evolve and develop over many years time. These traditions have to start somewhere though so it is in this vein i shall introduce the tradition of Pile Making on the Day Of Counter Culture. Wherever you go to enjoy and celebrate your own personal counter culture make a pile of some sort.

Going to a location where the sea meets the land? Stack some rocks. Going to the library or a bookstore? Pick five of your favorites and stack them up somewhere of note: on top of the card catalog, at the end of the magazine racks. Going out to get a donut? Buy a couple extra and stack them on top of the newspaper vending machine. Vegan? While enjoying this time in the grocery store, judgement free, pick out five of your favorite packaged treats and stack them in the middle of an isle in the meat department. Pile up snow, stack skateboards and ollie them, pile styling shoes... whatever moves you.

If you decide to go the tattoo route might i recommend getting tattoos up your arm or down your leg. Please avoid getting "stacked" tattoo, one over the other, for as the images add up and cover up they loose their distinction hence looking more like a fucted up Rorschach ink blot.

Chaos you say. What about those poor folk stuck working on this fine holiday who will have to un-stack our piles? Have no fear. So few people are out at this time that these employees will not have much else to do and as we all know time seems to slow down at work when we have nothing to do. You are doing them a favor by helping them pass the time.

So my fellow counter culturalists, spread the word and have a joyous and merry (happy even) Day Of Counter Culture! Feel free to share accounts of your own Pile Making celebration.

2010

2010-01-30T17:48:00.004-05:00

Y'up, it has been a while but that is a good sign. It means i have been too busy living.

Before attacking this new year in type i figured i would pay homage to the best of moments, and the best of experiences from olde 2009. In no particular order... free versed.

Sunny Day Real Estate in concert. Never have i been in a more die hard and dedicated crowd. A crescendo of a show with the band feeding off the crowd.

Christmas in Ireland. All you imagine it would be. Just what i needed. It has made me a better person... thank you again Ireland (and you know who).

Vegan donuts. Two words that should appear together more often.

Skating Burnside. As intense as you think it would be. Worth waking up early for.

Favorite band in favorite venue with favorite girl.

My love's gut fixed.

Halfpipe in garage. It does not matter how much work may stress me out... pulling into the garage and seeing that calling me can always bring a smile to my tired face.

Seeing my brother in love.

Attending my first scooter rally. Riding in a buzzing pack that size is addictive... and oh so fun.

Where The Wild Things Are. A great and beautiful movie. Dare i say even better than the book?

It really seemed like two or three years crammed into one but these will be the parts i remember the most. All right 2010... lets see what we can do.

General Admission

2009-12-09T22:16:00.003-05:00

If only the world was more like the floor of a punk show.

Sometimes things in the pit can get a little out of control, a little hectic. Too much going on, people doing what they should not, folks losing perspective of their surroundings. Lately life has been feeling a lot like this.

At the show i know what to do. i know how to get myself a little space. i spread my steel-toed stance to shoulder width apart. Start with some leans. If more is warranted more is given. An increased force on me is countered with the exertion of greater force.

An escalation taken to the necessary levels of the situation at hand. Some elbows. Next, arms alternating high thrusted elbows to fully extended fists. Maybe 'the helicopter' with arms swinging in circles as i pogo. If extreme situations call for it then the classic crouched over, high-knees, high-elbows gets brought out with the occasional boot-stomp, kick-out thrown into the rhythm.

Always get my space. Always get my relief.

But unfortunately life is not a punk show. i am struggling to get some space, to get some air. The world is not allowing me the room i currently need.

All along the punk floor there are no apologies and everyone understands. But this is not standing room only, this is society so consider this my 'sorry' to anyone who catches an elbow in the near future. i am just trying to work myself up a little room.

All i Want For Christmas

2009-11-29T20:45:00.004-05:00

*Have not seen one in a while? Hey, i did one a day for a month in October. i needed rest.*

With all this family time surrounding thanksgiving there was bound to be plenty of fodder for moments of enlightenment, or at least exemplars to rant about. Over this extended holiday weekend too much family, too much television, too much reading, and just plain too much thinking (with a little tattoo planning thrown in) brought about one reoccurring theme: the human race - inherently good or inherently bad?

This all started with a conversation i was drawn into with members of my extended family. When asked i expressed my belief that given the opportunity, a majority of people will do bad things for selfish reasons every time. You can not count on people to do the right thing. i apparently think like my uncles. My own father was the most empassioned counter. He felt that most people are good and listed off occasions were people were taking care of their neighbors and offering generous aide.

i clarified my statement by elaborating on my specific choice of the word "majority". i do not feel that ALL people are bad. In fact i continued on to express how our very society exists and is able to continue on all due to that absolutely amazing minority of "good" people. You can not count on people to help you out, however, truly good people seem to end up where they are needed most. It is an incredibly overwhelming phenomenon. That "good" minority just seem to take care of us all, without comment, almost always without thanks, they do what they do. They are not represented in government, in media, or in any formal way. i find it infinitely beautiful and one of the few redeeming qualities of the human race.

i think i swayed the discussion as everyone started conjuring up situations where the right person seemed to end up where they were needed as i quietly left the room. i overheard the conversations even evolve into mention of careers where these type of people frequently end up working. Careers where kind services are performed. Careers, unfortunately, that also do not pay particularly well. Of course these people do what they do for a reason, for an ideal and that keeps them doing what they do while the other greedy majority take advantage of this passion and keep the wages low. i am sure you can list 5 such careers without much thought at all.

Driving from one family event to another i was sideswiped on the highway. As i finally came to rest in the highway median i watched the car that had hit me go into oncoming traffic sending numerous cars to scatter before it finally went off the road itself. Unfortunately the driver of the causing car must have had a medical issue and was most likely not conscious through the whole ordeal. Only one car pulled over to help. At least ten cars had to struggle to avoid the vehicle driving on the highway in the opposite direction and countless others travelled by our two vehicles damaged on the edges of the highway. One pulled over to help.

And what do you think this character, this good Samaritan was like? Of course he was kind, and gentle in nature, and the nicest random person you could expect to meet. Several times he expressed regret that he could not help out more than he had. Inspirational.

Did this happen to me because of the conversation i had or as punishment for my commentary on humanity? No. This happened because this stuff happens every day. People acted how they acted because this is how they act every day. (it did clearly support my hypothesis though... just saying)

We are lucky to have that kind minority!

As Copenhagen rapidly approaches and this planet's leaders get together for a couple of weeks to come up with a plan to save our species from our current climate crisis i keep thinking about what got us into this situation. Billions of people on a daily basis making the selfish choice, the easy choice, the wrong choice. The vehicle you choose to drive, the food you choose to eat, the products you choose to buy. This has caused us to go beyond the tipping point of climate change and has put the human race in a situation of best case suffering and worst case extinction.

Maybe seeing this and studying this on a daily basis caused me to say what i did at that family get together. Maybe it was just living on this planet for over 3 decades. Maybe it was because i am a punk monk. But no matter the reasons, i have seem beautiful things in the life of this planet including at times in the human race and i want to see those things continue on and to be able to continue to come about long after i take my last breath.

i hope, i pray, i wish that there will be enough "good" people at those meetings in Copenhagen to save us all. What a Christmas present that would be.

30

2009-11-01T19:50:00.003-05:00

spring like temps
on all hallow's eve
where the warm wind removes
the few remaining leaves
they spin around
on the ground
making appropriately
spooky sounds
in the town that defines the scene

girls don their
slutty costumes
because just for one night
they are all allowed to
you can be
who you are
push up bra
painted scar
in the town that defines the scene

29

2009-11-01T19:36:00.003-05:00

the nuclear promise was
nothing but a lie

the weapon to end wars
just started a whole bunch more

a new way to make energy
turned into the most dangerous waste

we're a bunch of bald monkeys
running an unending arms race

28

2009-10-28T20:59:00.003-04:00

my soul's still
when i'm rolling on a board

the sound of spinning bearings
silences all sound

there's absolutely no point
and no one keeps score

i don't care if i land it
or just fall to the ground

27

2009-10-28T20:30:00.003-04:00

i'm tired of my heart
and my fists

i get too worked up
over meaningless shit

but until other people
begin to stand up

i'll be the one saying
enough is enough
...
i've seen too much
with these blue eyes

i'm tired of watching kids
sent off to die

they're not fighting for oil
or someone's freedom fries

they are fighting,
just trying to stay alive
...
the storms come
and then the storms go

while the rich watch on tv
the poor lose their homes

politicians will delay
until judgement day

but they don't know
that it was yesterday
...
to take pills
or cry myself to sleep

am i strong willed
or am i just as weak

i suppose either way
you can say what you say

'cause i'm stuck with myself
at the end of the day

26

2009-10-28T20:09:00.002-04:00

fuck baby boomers
those selfish over-consumers

the Beatles were a pop boy-band
the Beetle was a shitty tin can

you're economy rapers
10 years from wearing diapers

i don't care if you sit in your shit
because i'm sick and tired of dealing with it

you had your boom and you had your bang
and you'll all move to Florida when you're old and lame

but you'll be perched on your retirement home's rooves in your baseball hats and jeans
as the melting glaciers make Florida look like 2005 New Orleans

25

2009-10-25T21:48:00.002-04:00

all things
yield to love

both hell below
and heaven above

the depths of space
and the limits of time

the future ahead
and the past behind

after my breath is gone
and my cells are undone

me and my love
will still be as one

24

2009-10-25T21:39:00.003-04:00

your pathetic attempt to imitate
beat poetry to sell jeans
does not impress me

soda companies pretending
that people jumping into fountains are original
has not sold me

your use of underground iconography
to sell sneakers
will not work on me

the counter-culture has
and always will
remain free

23

2009-10-25T21:18:00.003-04:00

the heels shift your weight
just right
causing your lower back
to arch so,
forcing your ample breasts
and firm buttocks
to both thrust upward

your pale skin
working to highlight
your jet black hair
and supple lips
painted bright red

each step a graceful stretch
as your entire body undulates,
hips swaying with the precision
of a pendulum
hair bobbing at your shoulders
as you go

your eyes almost make me want to believe
that what they are saying
is the truth...

...and then you opened your mouth
all that practice and poise
all that seduction
gone in a sentence

22

2009-10-25T20:56:00.003-04:00

why should i have to pretend
to be happy when a cop hands me a ticket?

why should i have to pretend
that i have ANY respect for my boss?

why should i have to pretend
that i don't like to swear?

why should i have to pretend
that i am not horny 90% of the time?

why should i have to pretend
that weed is bad but beer is good?

why should i have to pretend
that adulthood is any less fucked-up than childhood?

why should i have to pretend
that you are not an asshole?

why should i have to pretend
that i don't like to make-pretend anymore?

21

2009-10-21T22:13:00.004-04:00

my eyes suddenly lose the ability to focus. although this would be great for viewing those ridiculous 3D optical illusion pictures that they used to sell in malls everywhere during the 90's this does not fair well for visual based human navigation. light sources cause spots in my vision as if someone had just woken me up with a bright flashlight. i try to keep myself calm but i know what inevitably is to come. no this is not a stroke. if it were then doctors would know what to do about this. but they don't. i try to relax. if i can i close my eyes. after an hour of more of this short circuit in my optical function phase 2 sets in. part of my face goes numb. as with Novocaine i feel that everyone must see the effects of my lazy face but upon looking in the mirror i realize that there are no outward signs. i suffer alone. undetected. the numbness eventually spreads to one of my arms. motion in the arm becomes sensationless and labored as if i had fallen asleep on it. more scary than the lack of sensation is the knowledge of what is to come. feeling always returns before the onset of the excruciating mind pains. headaches so bad i can not even tell where exactly they are coming from in my skull. even my teeth and ear canals seem to hurt. nothing can be done except a shutdown hoping that things will return to normal when i finally reboot.

20

2009-10-21T22:06:00.003-04:00

sometimes i need to be reminded
sometimes we all need to be reminded
that we all really want the same things

to feel like we belong
to feel like we are not alone
to feel like others feel like we do

but too often
everyday things get in the way
everyday desires get in the way

without artists to remind us who we are
i fear would would quickly forget
and lose ourselves forever

19

2009-10-19T22:05:00.003-04:00

yard owners of the world UNITE
follow your dog walking neighbors home
mark the locations on google earth
and get out the raisin bran

as that fiber works it's magic
review your map markings
and pay your neighbors a visit,
make no effort to clean up after yourself

18

2009-10-18T22:50:00.002-04:00

once we are freed from greed we will be able to figure out how to survive
cast off the shackles and regret of debt and we will remember what it's like to be alive

17

2009-10-18T21:55:00.002-04:00

as my heart rate rises time seems to slow down
my senses heighten and i become more aware of everything around me
i don't even feel my fists clenching, they just do
my left foot slowly slides forward and my hips rotate
always maintaining my balance, my shoulders counter in the opposite direction
my brow lowers as my chin dips towards my chest
i can sense every system in my body and how it is functioning
a final diagnostic check before shutting down the pain receptors
i am ready for whatever you have got
we have not been a society long enough to counter our genetics
my escape from that shit-town was not long enough ago to complete my deprogramming
who can possibly believe we are not animals

16

2009-10-18T21:29:00.003-04:00

ode to new hampshire
white trash capital of the world

where 80's metal reigns supreme
and there are big bangs on every girl

feel free to yell out the car window
at anyone not like yourself

the state where bud light and slim jims
can be bought off any convenience store shelf

make sure to lock your car
because in new hampshire they still steal stereos

there is a huge aftermarket value particularly
for ones that fit in bitchin' camaroes

make sure to look as tough as you can
because that's what it takes to be a new hampshire man

live free or die in the granite state
where fireworks are legal but strippers only show their cans

15

2009-10-15T20:13:00.002-04:00

www.blogactionday.org

350 ppm
the maximum level of CO2 that allows the human race to be sustainable

over 370 ppm
the level we are currently at, which means we need to not only stop but go back

1 degree Celsius
raise in Earth's temperature over the last century

1 degree Celsius
believed temperature increase above current which will result in human extinction

1
pissed off muthafucker because people are not stepping up

1 day a week
giving up meat would help greatly

2 degrees
lowering your thermostat by this much would help

1 time a month
frequency with which you should check your tires to maintain better gas mileage
(and get a more fuel efficient vehicle you fuck)

90 %
of the Earth's species have died during mass extinction events of the past...

... life on Earth will go on... the question is do you want humans to be a part of that?

14

2009-10-14T21:24:00.003-04:00

being cool has never been my aim
i'm not even sure if i have a good handle on what is cool and what is not
but those that i see trying oh so very hard
leave me feeling more disappointed than disgusted

we all have different priorities in life
but such insincere goals leave a hollow feeling in my soul
it's not that i think less of those who follow cool
i just find myself less impressed as the conversations progress

am i cursed to follow in Goodman Brown's shoes
i suppose better that than Paris Hilton's beds
but the problem is more in my head than the shopping mall's halls
for my friends are my friends whether hip or not, cool or the death of

13

2009-10-14T21:17:00.003-04:00

vengeful viruses
waging their attack on my body

flip-flop between freezing
and heating the room like a furnace

13 hours of sleep
2 days worth of calories ingested

random mumbles
as i fall in and out of consciousness

my intimidated immune system
fights the good fight

if only i could sleep through the night...

12

2009-10-14T21:16:00.001-04:00

politics is a chess game
played on a sinking ship

11

2009-10-11T22:58:00.002-04:00

a child's eyes never lie
there's honesty in every giggle, every sigh

the sincerity of youth
they know no faux, only truth

so the next time someone says "you're acting like a kid"
i'll say "thank you, i wish that more did"

10

2009-10-11T22:46:00.002-04:00

some die having only pursued stuff
while some live their life for love

when you spend all your time looking for things that shine
then year after year that is all that you will find

but when you take the time to be a true friend
you will be surrounded by loved ones in the end

let the rich have their money for i need it not
because i am overwhelmed by all that i have got

9

2009-10-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

the key to
doing what you want
is not asking permission

it's always easier
to apologise afterward
that it is to be told NO beforehand

if you are going to do it anyway
don't put someone in the awkward position
of knowing what you are about to do

no one needs permission
to be themselves
or to do the right thing

living this way, frequently you will find
that people will respect what you do
even if they have to reprimand you publicly

8

2009-10-08T22:53:00.003-04:00

oh wood...
who gives me
the board i roll on

oh wood...
who gives me
the air i breathe

oh wood...
who gives me
the roof over my head

oh wood...
who gives me
shade on a warm summer day

oh wood...
who gives me
pleasure when... oh wait... wrong type of wood

7

2009-10-08T22:43:00.002-04:00

fuck people who don't sub
self-centered, selfish folks
who probably don't get enough love

you're sucking wind
you cocky twat
if you sat for a bit we might just win

but if you had any self-awareness at all
you'd be playing your position
instead of blindly chasing the ball

6

2009-10-06T21:42:00.003-04:00

depression
contagious?

am i a danger
to those i love?

am i a carrier
exposing those closest to me
to the demons beneath my skin?

like the female samurai poison tasters
who can never know the touch of another
because of the built-up of poisons
running through their veins

should i live the solitary life
of a ronin without a clan
or that of a reclusive monk
high on some mountain top?

perhaps, like all of the above
i should strive to ensure
that my contributions outnumber
my detriments...

5

2009-10-05T19:39:00.003-04:00

i am a shopping cart cowboy
wrangling herds of trolleys
from corral to bay
rounding up all stragglers

with squinted eyes and lowered brow
in the blazing summer sun
i guide long chains up the gentle slope
slowly re-organizing the bay to get a few more seconds of A/C

bundled up in blizzards of snow
the string of carriages drops to 5 or less
as the tiny tractionless wheels
more slide than roll in the inches of slush

a mostly solitary job in the asphalt jungle
occasionally making a run through the front end
to relocate pesky hand baskets back to their doorway home
or helping the overwhelmed load up their cars

my job is not finished until the last shopper is home
and come morn' all my work will be undone
but no matter the conditions i must carry on
because everybody needs groceries

4

2009-10-04T21:03:00.002-04:00

haiku are so weak
but i have nothing left now
to give to this poem

fall's sun has left me
energy has gone as well
5 will be better

3

2009-10-04T20:57:00.002-04:00

aching muscles
and sore bones
from chasing balls
and fixing homes

i fear if i stop
to catch my breathe
i will be caught by
my old friend death

2

2009-10-04T20:50:00.003-04:00

"old friends"
become
"old" friends

more lines
more pounds
same smiles

after 5 minutes
all is as it was
and we are young again

1

2009-10-01T21:03:00.002-04:00

some of us are just built
to keep the water moving

to keep things from getting stagnant
so that those
who are better than us
might come along
and accomplish great things

i kick my legs
and flail my arms
every day

i will not apologize
if i splash water in your eyes

One A Day

2009-09-30T21:44:00.004-04:00

October was Kerouac's favorite month and he always tried to make it back east for this most beautiful of fall months.

i am going to try something different for October. i have purposefully kept poems and rants separate but equal for both have their own forum, but as a writing exercise i have decided to attempt to write a short poem for every day of October. i am not so naive as to think that i will actually find enough time in every day to get to this site in order to post it every day but i intend to get one in to account for every day of the month.

i am not promising quality here, just quantity. Those that get too long may become reading fodder rather than Punk Monk posting. i will attempt to be brief with each... spontaneous and fucked-up.

Ready, set, ...

Hard Cover Or Paperback?

2009-09-25T22:43:00.003-04:00

Oh the lies we are told throughout our childhoods. Santa Claus? Easter Bunny? Tooth fairy? Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me? There's no such thing as a stupid question? All lies told to me. All lies i have since found untrue. Lies told to make you believe something that the speaker themselves did not believe.

Once i unearthed the truth to a handful of these as a small child i started on my path of never just taking any adult's word on faith. These lies just made me driven to search out the truth for myself. Based on people's reactions to talking heads on the television, however, it would appear only a handful of us have learned this lesson.

My point today is to dispel one of the lies told to us over and over again as children: you can't judge a book by its cover. This is a pile of bullshit mounding up both thick and high. This lie is a scapegoat, a substitute for thinking. It is wrong from so many angles but told time and time again to make the speaker feel better about themselves.

Sure, i understand the simplest of intents surrounding the phrase. Do not judge people based on what they have. Do not judge people based on what they can afford. Well say that then (even though you do not mean it). This is lip service and hypocrisy.

How many time were you told this as a child one day then told the next day to go put your church clothes on? Or told the next day that there is no way in hell you are leaving the house dressed like that? But don't judge a book by its cover.

If you should not judge a book by its cover why have i always felt the need to wear a tie and jacket to job interviews? Why do i have a suit for weddings and funerals? Why do i have to wear a long sleeve shirt when going through airport security to hide my tattoos?

Aside from the obvious hypocrisy though, this is still a horrible lesson. You are judged by the decisions you make. Every decision you make says something about you. The car you choose to drive, the words you choose to speak, the actions you choose to carry out, and yes, the clothes you choose to wear. You can (and are) making a stand for or against something, or some ideal, with every decision you make.

But not everybody can afford the clothes they want to wear so we should not be judgemental of poor people... blah blah blah blah. i call foul! On any budget, with any resources, you can pull off your own look. The possible exception is if you are trying to look rich. In that case you are just fucked. Sorry. Set some better goals for yourself next time.

For reasons that still escape me to this day i have been asked to participate in fundraising fashion shows twice in my life. This was a bad idea from jump street. Maybe it was some attempt to get me to dress up, to see what i would look like if i fit into some concept of normal. Nice try but if my mum could not pull that off in a lifetime how was some fundraiser going to make it happen in a night?

On both occasions i had to go to some here one decade, gone the next retail clothing chain found in malls all across America. Trapped in these cubes overwhelmed by perfumed scents and industrial lighting surely i would get beaten into normalcy. Wrong.

On both occasions i somehow managed to find a collection of garments to wear that was not all that far a deviation from my own everyday look. Not quite what i would wear on a daily basis but surely far from what they were hoping to see me in. This became quite apparent by the looks on the organizers' faces at both event. i will technically call that a win and a 2-0 record to date.

For most of my life you could tell i was a skate punk by looking at me. Although in recent years i have had the luxury of being able to shop at skate shops and online this was not the norm for the first possibly two decades of my existence. During trips with mum to buy clothes i was stuck in the confines of Bradlees, malls, Salvation Army's, and neighborhood hand-me-downs at various times throughout my chldhood as the financial foundations of my family altered as i grew.

Although i may not have gotten to wear exactly what i wanted to (as much a result of my mother's strong hand as anything else) i still did find way in the compromise to display my ideals and interests. Even today i see that ingenuity in kids expressing themselves no matter the amount of money available to them. Making statements with a roll, an untuck, a decision to button or not button something, a lacing pattern or positioning of a sneaker tongue, the twist of a hat, a rip, a tare, a safety pin, or the use of a sharpie.

What you choose to wear and how you choose to wear it tells a lot about the decisions you make. That guy in the convertible BMW with frosted tips is making a statement. That women at the ice cream stand wearing sweatpants is making a statement. That guy in the muscle shirt wearing a gold chain is making a statement.

We may not all be able to look exactly the way we would like to. In fact most of us cannot for various reasons but the clothing choices we make (even the compromised ones) are like little flags we hold up showing which side we stand with.

Sure people can always surprise you and of course it is unhealthy to only spend time with people exactly like yourself, but we are lying to ourselves when we say you can't judge a book by its cover. Your clothing is an opportunity to express yourself and it shows the types of decisions you make.

Besides, when was the last time anyone walked through a bookstore and just randomly started picking up books and reading their first few pages to decide which one to buy? That dust jacket grabbed your attention you fucking liar, and then you read the BACK COVER. i am sure my back cover got read today, how about yours?

Gay Marriage And Vegans On Scooters: Redneck Horror Film Or Sarah Palin's Nightmare

2009-08-16T23:35:00.005-04:00

Sometimes the best argument is choosing not to have the argument. Unless, of course 'the argument' is referring to the Fugazi album and then you should listen as much as possible.

i have found my argument for the environment lately lying somewhere between my rant in support of gay marriage and a random vegan girl on a scooter. In a brief conversation with said scooterist we both realized that we had both been vegans for 10 years now. This got me looking back over my last 16 meat free years. Reminiscing if you will.

The biggest surprise-difficulty i had in my early years of vegetarianism was dealing with non-vegetarians. This in fact turned out to be a tougher thing than actually finding meat-free edibles. i became a vegetarian primarily out of empathy. If it was possible to live a healthy lifestyle without having to kill another living animal i figured we were both better off for it. i did not realize that this almost simple "live and let live" type of reasoning would anger so many people. i did not, nor do i now, preach vegetarianism or veganism. It is a choice i made for myself. i am happy to talk about it when people inquire but i had never thought i would have to defend against quite aggressive arguing about my very personal choice.

Back then i quickly realized how much healthier my new lifestyle was and how much better it was for the environment and these were much easier arguments to make as they were factual rather than the moral ideal i had for making the choice in the first place. i would return people's arguments for years, the most stubborn of which were family members. i would have to respond to the exact same arguments EVERY YEAR around the large Thanksgiving dinner table. i became very unthankful for that holiday.

Despite memorizing all those facts and figures, despite reciting all those well respected minds over the generations who have made the same decision that i had; those who had baited me into the arguments seemed to just get angrier and angrier and seemed to listen less and less as they began to yell more and more. In my early days of a meat-free lifestyle my heart was not a good enough reason for them and i soon after discovered that facts were just as wasted on these deniers.

Oddly enough, since becoming a vegan i still have some who are genuinely interested who inquire and ask questions but almost no one ever attempts to bait me into arguments. i wonder if vegetarians are seen as gentler and weaker foes to these people where vegans may seem more militant to them and appear as a more difficult target to try and bully. Maybe it is just because i am no longer a kid. Maybe it is the ever increasing number of visible tattoos that wards them off.

These haunting memories have been swirling in my head as i have been watching sound-bites from anti-gay activists who i realized had the same look on their face as those who repeatedly would bait me into violent arguments about my eating habits. Days later again i saw that same look on the faces of people screaming out against medical insurance for all. This got me thinking even more, not about avoiding television news broadcasts (which would probably be better for my health) but about something else.

The scientist in me is always looking for the common denominator. Newton looking for that explanation of why all things fell to the ground. Einstein looked for that one beautiful equation that would explain all of science. i looked for that common denominator for that "look".

Over the next few days i scanned over video stored in the gray matter locked up behind my skull. i tried to scan my life's memories for times where i had seen that look in others before. Until now i had not realized just how many times i had seen that exact look. i saw it in every racist comment i have heard others mutter. i saw it on big tobacco executives claiming cigarettes were fine for so many years. i continue to see it in the eyes of those who deny climate change.

That look of contempt. That look of elitism. That look of anger bordering on hatred at the though of you even questioning their belief. As if i had committed some heinous sin against God Almighty in possibly even commenting something contrary to their mind set.

That look of an impenetrable wall with no door, window, or even slight crack through which a new idea could squeak through.

And in that moment i discovered my new argument for the environment: there is no argument. i plan on never arguing for the environment from this moment forward. i would not argue with someone whether blacks should be forced to sit on the back of the bus because the simple fact that they are trying to argue the idea means that they are not allowing room to change their mind, they are just trying to force their beliefs onto someone else. i am happy to converse and discuss the environment with anyone but i will no longer argue. Arguing is simply one side attempting to violently force their ideals onto the other side.

When it comes to the environment the facts are there. They are sound. They are the truth. Those looking for the truth will always have my ear and my time. i will help them in any way that i can. Those who seek to obscure or cloud the truth will no longer bait me. They will belittle and bully while looking for personal weaknesses to hammer away at and i choose not to participate in their destructive game. While millions appear to enjoy watching the talking heads do just that i fully acknowledge just how counter-productive the action is. With all that yelling their is nobody listening and i implore all those out there who are environmentally minded to resist the urge to engage in these arguments and to resist the urge to respond to their baiting whether it be in town hall meetings or Internet post threads. To respond is on some level to legitimize their lies.

Do not be foolish in thinking that this is a sign that i am any less determined to do what i can or that i am any less determined to take strong actions. i just want you to realize that when i choose to raise my voice it will not be to enter into an argument with you but rather to inform you that this discussion is over. The truth is the truth no matter what people may choose to believe. To argue is simply a waste of time and that is exactly what those who argue are intent on doing: waste time.

Useless Wooden Toys Are More Powerful Than Guns

2009-08-12T22:18:00.002-04:00

Once again, skateboarding saves lives. It did mine.

How many heads?

2009-08-09T21:31:00.004-04:00

Star Wars, 80's horror movies, and night terrors yet the most disturbing creatures ever imagined seem to still come from ancient texts. We are talking about some truly fucked up shite in writings that have somehow become staples of our civilization.

While reading the other day i had to look up a creature referenced that i had not heard of before. It turned out to be one of two monsters that guarded either side of a channel in the Mediterranean see. i will spare the wholly unnatural creature created in this ancient folklore but if you locked me in a haunted house with a sheet of LSD and projected Freaks on loop in the kitchen and i could not have come up with any creature remotely as messed up and truly disturbing as that.

Have you ever actually ever sat down and read Revelations in the best selling book of all time, the Bible? Seven headed monsters eating children from the womb? What the fuck was going on in our early civilizations?

i remember a few years back being disturbed by the movie Hostel. That movie, however, is not nearly and mind-warping as the stories recorded form Greek, Latin, and Biblical times, yet these stories are not rated and are made readily available to people of all ages.

Although, possibly i have this all wrong. Maybe humans from antiquity lacked the creativity to devise stories how man-made machines would produce pollution that ended the human race and instead opted for the hybrid-creatures with multiple dog heads. i am not sure which way i would rather go out. It depends if i had a golden clock-work owl robot to guide my way or not.

i may not sleep for a few nights now. Thanks ancient texts.

Married?

2009-07-23T20:43:00.003-04:00

Yes Donger, married.

i too am one of those people absolutely irate over the gay marriage issue right now, although not for the same reasons as the religious zealots and Fox News talking heads. i have completely lost all tolerance for the intolerant of this country... strike that, THE WORLD. If you are going to get pissed off get pissed off big. Yes i do realize this seems oxymoronical, smart ass, follow along though. (Maybe it is time to start handing out a few O.U.P.'s) Gay rights are civil rights that are too long overdue (as are happy rights if you think about it).

i could easily take the bait of those who claim it would "lessen" the sanctity of marriage by discussing in extreme depth how marriage has been lessened by heterosexuals but arguing that something is no longer good and then saying everyone should have the right to do it would be quite counter-productive. "Hey, this tastes like shit... try some!" Also, i am not a large mouthed bass.

Stupidmuthafuckers who bring up the whole "next they'll want to marry their dogs" should instantly have their tongues and reproductive organs removed instantly using the same methods used to de-beak chickens raised for their food (look it up if you are uninformed). Part of being informed is knowing when to not bother having discussions with people who have no sense of logic. You just end up losing brain cells in the process.

Nor do i feel the need to express my personal experiences and beliefs about marriage or in any way discuss my sexual preferences. It has nothing at all to do with the real issue here.

Homosexuals deserve the same rights to marry as heterosexuals. It is that simple, that crisp, that clear. If someone says to you that African Americans should still be able to be kept as slaves do you enter into a discussion with them? NO! You tell them to shut the fuck up. In fact, there are many instances in recent history where such hateful racist statements have been deemed acceptable grounds for a physical response of self-defense under some hate law interpretations.

As angry as this intolerance has made me it is, in fact, not what actually pushed me over the edge into a near rage over this issue. i have lived too long and have become too jaded to think that ignorance could be wiped from our country. Instead it is the spinelessness of politicians which has finally caused my revving into the red zone (play appropriate TOP GUN soundtrack anthem here).

i happen to live in one of those states where gay marriage has passed. One might think: hooray, one battle won. Not quite grasshopper. Before it has even had time to be enacted it is almost inevitably going to be put to a public vote, as has happened in almost every other state who has passed this. In a typically weak, Pontius Pilate like move to wash their hands clean of the subject, the elected officials are not doing their jobs of ensuring and preserving our freedoms as dictated by their roles in our country's government.

If the decision of freeing the slaves was put to a vote in this country at the time it was enacted those who were allowed to vote would most assuredly have voted against it. If giving women the right to vote was voted upon at the time of it's enactment by those allowed to vote it most assuredly would not have passed. On a closer and possibly more applicable note, if the right for interracial marriage was voted upon by those allowed to vote at the time of it's enactment it too would most assuredly not have passed.

All these examples and many, many more just like them were situations where politicians stood up and said that this is the right thing to do. In this land of equality, not just for the many but for everyone, these rights needed to be granted. It is what made this country what it was. That is right, what it was.

The United States of America is supposed to be the land of the free. i have been disappointed in my country and my flag for far too long and i think it is time to start reclaiming MY country, MY land of the free. Maybe it is time to start sewing American Flag patches alongside my punk and skateboarding patches and start helping to reclaim and redefine this land of the free.

Freedom does not mean majority rule. No matter what your no-necked coach/social studies teacher may have conveyed to you i assure you. Freedom means all kinds are allowed to live and all kinds are given the same rights no matter racial, sexual, religious, or genetic differences.

Somewhere along the way we have allowed freedom to attach itself to voting and/or a "majority knows what is right" kind of mentality. That was never the intent in either the Constitution or the Bill Of Rights. If the United States wants to regain it's role as a world leader it needs to reclaim what made it the envy of all of our ancestors who struggled so to get here. They did not leave their home countries behind because this was the land of the cheap box stores. They did not leave their relatives behind because this was the home of the Whopper. They endured hardships so that their children could be raised in the land of the free, where they would all have an equal chance at pursuing happiness.

Pick-up truck driving muthafuckers who want to yell "freedom isn't free" to me right now can start lining up to suck farts out of my asshole. An army fighting on foreign lands for political reasons is not what is going to ensure freedom in this country. Freedom and safety (or security) are not attached terms either and should not ever be used interchangeably. If we really want to be the land of the free we need to start drawing the line in the sand here at home and start ensuring the freedoms of the citizens of this country that are far overdue.

People in this country who are in love deserve to have every right afforded to them. The hate of a majority or minority can never be allowed to overrule such rights. Freedom and love are not just hippie-dippie terms for bumper stickers, they are the only things that count in a society.

Wishing Him Well

2009-07-21T22:01:00.001-04:00

In case you have not heard already.

My Sound Is Math

2009-07-13T23:21:00.003-04:00

As a geek i can tend to find solace, at times, in numbers. i have done just that over the weekend. Here is a map of how i got there before i further elaborate on my calculations. A little set up if you will.

i have been very appreciative as of late realizing just how good it is to be me this summer. There have been some great experiences so far and several are still planned, not accounting for any surprise greatness which may lie ahead. One category of planned enjoyment this summer involves shows coming to my general area of the country.

My ladyfriend and i decided last year to cut back on our number of shows attended as we tighten our belts during these turbulent economic times. We agreed to only see special and unique shows that we could not stand to miss. i have indeed turned down quite a few shows but man this summer has some real hum-dingers i could not afford NOT to see.

Rise Against and Rancid (after one had a mediocre album the other put out a career best), Rival Schools back together and opening up for someone, and the return of all original Sunny Day Real Estate band members... good summer to be me.

Still no math? It is coming.

i got thinking about which show i was looking forward to the most with all these amazing tickets sitting in my desk drawer. Rise Against and Rancid: two great live bands i have seen before. i really am partial to Rise Against's last guitarist but know they put on consistently good performances, seeming to get better every time i see them. Rancid too is a solid live show and i am sooo addicted to their new album. Both bands, however, have seen considerable success over the years so although the show should be great it is inevitable that there will be some "goofers" at the show either becoming fans through Guitar Hero or other such sources. Still very excited though and i am quite happy that both bands are able to make a comfortable living making great music.

Next in chronological order comes the Rival Schools show. These tickets will go down as one of the best birthday presents i have ever received. i made peace with the idea that Walter had moved on to other projects when out of nowhere came these tickets... SWEET! i will most likely buy one of each type of merch at the show. The weakness, however, is they are opening up for Eagles of Death Metal. i do not like death metal, serious or ironically used. i will be leaving that show early and have made peace with it not being a Rival Schools headline show. This is indeed the set that i am looking forward to seeing the most this year... that is right: this year.

Lastly comes the return of Sunny Day Real Estate in their original line-up. Diary is one of the best albums to come out of the 90's and is responsible for truly defining a new genre. Y'up, emotional hardcore was really defined by this album more than any other single album. You want to argue it with me? Go ahead, you do not stand a chance.

Now as excited as i am about this incredible show i still am more excited about seeing Rival Schools live. But there is something extremely special i feel when thinking about this specific concert. It is truly a Sunny Day Real Estate show. They are not opening up for another band. The people who go are going, are going to see them. Not someone else. Even more unique is that Sunny Day Real Estate have never seen the successes of bands like Rise Against or Rancid. The people going to this show are going to just be true Sunny Day Real Estate fans.

How fucking cool is that crowd going to be? Really! If your are me (and you probably are not, but you could be as i am sure someone has pulled off human cloning in some secret lab somewhere) this is going to be a pretty comfortable group of people to spend an evening in a room with. The asshole factor at this show should me near nill.

This is how the math began. Our planet is horribly overpopulated with approximately 6.9 billion people. No matter what your particular interest or set of interests at least 1% of the population must share at least similar types of interests. In selecting 1% i figured that this is a safely conservative percentage to go with.

Without getting into a full dissertation explaining the 1% it seems fairly safe to say that 1% of the population shares much in common with you from interests, to illnesses, to beleifs and ideals. That is approximately 69 million people. 69 million! Even if i just look at the country i live in with about 307 million people that still leaves 1% just over 3 million people. That is right, in my own country there are that many people who have similar interests or feelings or troubles.

Fuck... i am really not as alone as i might feel at times. Now that 1% may not be enough to take over the world and although they could potentially change things it is improbable on a large scale. But i was not intending on masterminding a coup (at least not this weekend). i was just helped in finding a little more peace with the aid of math. None of us are all that alone in this world.

Whenever i bump into someone i believe may be a part of my 1% i am going to try and enjoy it for all it is worth. i will keep an eye out for them like pennies on the ground, previously overlooked and unnoticed.

No Retractions For My Reactions

2009-07-12T23:43:00.003-04:00

That last one felt good but seems uselessly unproductive. i will work on another soon as so it does not linger around like one of those celebrity death stories.

That previous sentence's word choices brought about the thought of a horribly rancid smell. Yuck!

Up until recently i had mostly thought of Rancid as a noun (the band) until a non-punk listening friend reminded me of it's use as an adjective. Now i am dedicated to using it in it's adjective form more frequently, possibly while listening to the band.

Celebrity Deaths: The New Reality Television

2009-07-12T22:25:00.003-04:00

Apparently dropping cable for the summer was not enough. i was quite enjoying the ability to just scan through a handful of stations to see if anything worth watching was on and then turning the TV off if nothing was on those few channels. Although a few home shopping channels somehow survived the cut i am markedly happier not having to ever skip though those cable news channels. They ALL regularly over-sensationalize some story (and they all seem to always pick the same story... intriguing) and cover it for an entirely inappropriate length of time. i have always found it to be down right badgering.

Unfortunately lately, even with the removal of myself from the cable news world i am again feeling utterly badgered by the media. No, the paparazzi are not digging through my garbage or taking pictures of me and my ladyfriend as we leave the movie theater. i am referring to the death of Michael Jackson.

Soon after his death i decided i would not rant about him. i would not rant about him being a broken human being likely due to his abuse as a child. i would not rant about his being a child molester (yeah he was not found guilty but neither was OJ). i would not rant about his medically altered appearance/transformation. Whatever beefs and problems i may have had no longer matter. He is dead. He is no longer causing problems, he is no longer experiencing problems. Picking a fight with a corpse is pointlessly one sided and unfair.

Picking a fight with a ghost however is a completely different story. How would that work? i could not throw punches but do ghosts have feelings to hurt? Where could i get my hands on a proton gun like the Ghostbusters? Would i have to sign a waiver stating that i promised not to cross streams?

Michael Jackson is not my problem right now. The media coverage of his death is. As i am attempting to mature and become a better person i am trying to be more patient, more meditative, attempting to let things go, allowing things to just run their course. This just will not fucking go away though!

i have tried very hard but tonight i finally reached my tipping point. i have avoided the TV. i have skipped viewing online news sites (figuring someone would tell me if we entered a third war... or are we up to three already? i keep losing track). But today while grocery shopping it happened. While rolling (yes rolling, one foot on shopping cart/trolley the other kicking) down the chip/magazine isle i snuck a peak to see if anything good was in the new issue of Thrasher Magazine. It was as if i was wondering through an amusement park's Hall of Mirrors and ol' MJ himself were standing right behind me. His face was EVERYWHERE.

The week of his death: to be expected. The week after his death: sure, this was their last chance - last opportunity to use him to continue selling magazines. i figured they would milk it but how many weeks do we have to endure? Magazines with nothing to do with music or celebrities still have him on the cover.

A few years back, some of you may remember the days and weeks following September eleventh. We were told "United We Stand", light a candle and put it on your front steps, then go back to shopping at the mall otherwise the terrorist will win.

Here we are WEEKS after the death of a pop star (that is right: a pop star, no matter how much you fucking liked him as an artists he was still JUST A POP STAR) and it is still getting more media attention than this same number of weeks after the United States was attacked by a terrorist plot.

At this point anyone who views the media as a credible source for knowledge deserves to have their head examined... no, strike that. Save the money of getting their heads examined (as these are tough financial times and all) for i can tell you, expensive scan free, that their heads are empty. Buying and watching this shite only encourages the media, but of course this would not still be going on if people did not continue to eat this shite up and spend ridiculous amounts of money along the way.

The odder of my Irish American relatives have always seemed oddly overjoyed at the prospect of going to funerals. It appears that the rest of America has (hopefully only temporarily) caught this same odd personality tick. Maybe it is just society using one of it's artist to live out their emotions once again. With the globe in a financial pit, our planet's environment degrading, and seemingly endless wars people were possibly looking for an excuse to vent their grief, their sadness. Were they all just grasping for some unifying tragedy to express themselves through?

Ah fuck it. We are not a bunch of two year olds. Quite your fucking whining. When it comes to serious issues everyone claims ADD. Now all of a sudden these same people have been focused on one issue for weeks on end. This is just like a fucking baseball game: excruciating to witness and having no set time limit. Was that lightning? Lets end this game.

Dying Is Easy, Maturing Is Not

2009-07-06T00:06:00.005-04:00

On a recent trip visiting two of the world's skateboarding meccas i found a shirt that i wanted to buy, but alas i did not. Yes it was in my size and yes it was the only appropriate color for a punk monk: black. The allure of the t-shirt was the slogan which was also its problem.

The shirt in question read "Live Fast - Die Young". A classic saying in both the punk and skateboarding movements. This shirt was found on the final leg of my ten day journey. i had seen a lot and lived a lot over the previous few days. As with my typical methods of operation i had maintained a net sense of balance over the duration of the vacation from a series of extremes. Some incredibly amazing experiences (possibly making their way onto lifetime top ten lists) and some incredibly low experiences (forcing me to learn hardened lessons that i had most likely learned before yet seem to have forgotten if only momentarily).

i indeed had felt like i was living fast, which is what brought on the initial strong desire to purchase said t-shirt. It was the latter half of the saying that brought my almost impulse purchase to a screeching halt as if the front wheel of my skateboard had hit a pebble in the road while bombing down a San Franciscan hill. As i had been reminded on several occasions whilst on that trip i knew in my gut (which is not as firm and muscular as it once was) that i was no longer capable of dying young.

To clarify, no i was not bitten by a vampire stewardess while flying to my destination hence making me immortal and like olde Ponce De Leon i had not found the fountain of youth. i cannot die young because i am no longer young. Sure i am just a kid compared to the one hundred year olds that nutbag Willard Scott gives shout outs to and i do think of myself as young at heart but were a meteor to come crashing through my roof right now and strike me deceased i am certain the obituary written would not include the saying "died young".

Although Einstein may have informed us that time is not constant i am indeed growing older (as i am not moving anywhere near the speed of light). Therefore i must acknowledge the limitations of my age, if even just to lash out fighting against them.

i will not give up skateboarding and i will not give up listening to punk music no matter how old i get. Call me immature but both seem to be getting easier to do as of recent for us aging punk monks. Having to wake up early for work has made me realize that there is a part of the day that occurs after 2 am but before noon. In fact, getting to a skate spot in the morning usually means you get to skate it all by yourself, as luck would have it.

And as far as listening to punk music, well it just so happens that aging punkers are making some of their best music aimed at their own generation and are not all just trying to get new teenage fans. i cannot stop listening to the new Rancid record (yes record, they did indeed sell it on vinyl). It shows, dare i say, maturity in both musicianship and lyric while at a pace that contends with punk tempo of any era or generation. An addictive listen.

With bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Rival Schools doing reunion tours this is not a bad summer to be an aging punk monk. Although i no longer can die young i do intend on living fast for as long as i am able to breathe and hopefully that will be for many more years.

New Look Now With Only 75% The Angst

2009-07-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

Finally changed it about. With new look i am also hoping to get back into regular updates as this should turn out to be quite the summer for it. Living life is more important though so i shall not make any promises.

Wait for it... wait for it...

2009-06-07T21:16:00.002-04:00

A new and revised 1punkmonk will be coming soon!

In the meantime do yourself a favor and listen to the new Rancid album. Speaking of meantime, i think i need to go listen to some Helmet right now.

Super Heroes And 100 Days

2009-04-26T21:17:00.003-04:00

The public loves super heroes, especially when times are tough. Most of the classics where born in the era of WWII. Once again we find the public enamored with the recent big screen incarnations of our favorite comics. But what does this mean for us?

There are two types of people in life, no matter the situation: the spectators and the participants. Both are greatly attracted to super heroes. The participants enjoy the characters as inspiration. What if? If only! They envision themselves in the lead character's role. They wish they had the strength, the power to save others... to save us. They need these stories to carry on for daily we are all reminded of our own limits. They are motivated by these tales to keep going forward, to keep fighting the good fight, because sometimes (just sometimes) one person CAN make a difference.

As a participant gets older they realize, more and more with time, that the general populous are spectators and require the strength of the few participants to carry us forward. They can be re-energized with tales of these super heroes or they can slowly devolve into spectators.

But the spectators, too, need these super hero characters. When sitting and drinking while watching baseball (or American football depending on the time of year) is no longer enough to distract them from the woes of the world they need their super heroes. They know that they are not going to actually DO anything that may help out the greater good so they need to be coddled by the super hero tale letting them know that someone much greater than themselves will indeed come and save them at the last minute.

That person indeed needs to be super as the spectator does so enjoy tearing down the common man, especially if that common man makes the spectator uneasy because that person DOES STUFF. What do all these super heroes have in common? They all work out side of the system. The general populace does not have faith that cops, soldiers, or politicians can save them. This way the spectators can still believe that they will be saved while still being able to enjoy ridiculing those they have selected or hired to run things or keep the peace.

Meanwhile, this also entertains the participants because they know that most of the politicians, cops, and soldiers are the same spectators they are surrounded by in everyday life. They frequently see themselves as outsiders themselves.

So as we are bombarded by political assessments of the Obama administration as it nears it's first 100 days and as we are approaching the release of the next Wolverine feature film i am forced to think of super hero tales. Judging a president's first 100 days fits into our super hero parameters as mentioned above. One side expects our elected super hero to solve all our problems within 100 days (if this was possible presidential terms would last 100 days instead of four years) while the other knows that this is impossible and ecstatically awaits the inevitable passing of this useless time marker to resume mocking said elected super hero official.

i guess i am left with no choice but to start bombarding myself with Gama radiation in hopes of becoming the super hero we all so desperately need as i have nowhere near enough money to be the next Batman or Ironman. Also, we do need another green super hero... pun intended.

Fuck Media For Your Own Sanity

2009-04-19T21:07:00.003-04:00

As a child i had a Snoopy pillowcase that said "Happiness is...". Even as a child i knew how true that pillowcase was. At that young age i knew that what brought happiness was different for each individual. i knew that what made me happy was different than what made my friend, my fellow superhero, my partner in crime, my dog - happy. That little patch of sun-warmed floor did not bring me the same joy i could see on his fur-lined face.

i knew that the special edition, pre-Empire release, mail-order Boba Fett action figure which changed my life did not bring the same amount of happiness to my parents (except that they were probably overjoyed that i would stop asking if it was here yet every time the mailman came to the house). No, indeed what brings happiness to each of us is very personal and unique.

What makes us unhappy, however, seems to be quite common and similar no matter who you are. One such thing is news media. More powerful than any dose of prescription grade happy pills is the simple act of removing the news media from your life. A pie plate full of rhinoceros dung to the face would be less depressing than watching any of the 24-hour news stations.

The collapse of the newspaper industry as it has grown utterly out of date has been helpful to this end but television just seems to feed into itself like some endlessly ear piercing feedback loop from an amp turned up to eleven. One station makes a ridiculous statement and then all the other stations carry a story about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the day and age of the internet. If you are reading this you are indeed connected. It would be nearly impossible for one to drive in any direction for more than 5 minutes without finding some connection to the internet. You may even have it on your own cellphone.

Now, picture your favorite talking head of choice from that station you go to for those breaking news stories. Now, tell me how one day he/she/it seems to be your source of financial news, the next your source of political news, and the next your source of environmental news? That must be one smart muthafucker. Actually, they are just regurgitating some talking point given to them and then coming up with some opinion based on that fraction of a second of thought time.

All information seen, heard, or read form these news corporations is funneled through the filter of a handful of the same people at each outlet. Rarely do they have any particular knowledge of the things that they still feel comfortable reporting on each and every day. So, who is the bigger idiot: them of the people listening to them?

Again, back to the joys of the internet. Get on and get your information, not from some well lit pile of make-up and hairspray but from the actual source. Want information on the environment, go to an environmental site, or a leading scientist's site, or better yet, actually look up legitimate papers published in scientific journals on the subject in question. A little better than your daily reporter now wearing cargo shorts on the latest "green week" programing.

Financial information? Look up the stocks, check on the company's latest earnings, mission statements, and future plans all online. Do not trust some idiot with a bat and sound effects.

Politics? Good luck, they all lie anyway so if you find a source of truth somewhere you let me know.

Fuck the news media. Just like with all fucking, you will find yourself much more relaxed and calm afterwards. You will probably find yourself wanting to do it more often in the future as well. Find happiness. Less news, more piece of mind.

The Crystal Method Knew What They Were Talking About

2009-04-08T22:26:00.002-04:00

America built up Obama, and now i am just waiting to see how long it takes them to tear him down. It is what the country loves to do, more than anything else... even more than shopping and gorging themselves on fast food. He is a smart guy though, and i am sure he knows this simple fact and will act accordingly.

You see, America loves the underdog and sees themselves as underdogs no matter how much that is not the case. Americans need things to get bad (or at least seem bad) so they can get a fix of their drug of choice: HOPE. Hope is necessary for the underdog. It keeps them going. It keeps them fighting. Go ahead, start chanting your favorite "Rudy, Rudy" or "Rocky, Rocky" or whatever underdog movie icon you hold so dear and watch time and time again.

Americans love hope because it is the belief that thing can and will get better, things can and will be all right. The thing is hope does not actually require you to do anything. It is all the sugar high without the nutrition. Americans do not want to change, in fact they do not want to do much of anything. They still want that good feeling though and hope delivers just that.

Obama is going to have to sneak the necessary changes in without people really being aware that they are changing. Like those gummy fruit lunch snacks you find in the chip isle that contain 100% of your daily vitamin C. They sell because they really are just candy but you got a little of what you need thrown in there.

I pray that he can pull it off, although if he does it the way i think he needs too i will not even realize that he has pulled it off. i will just wake up one day and notice that he snuck it in there.

Wall of Death

2009-03-30T21:07:00.004-04:00

Y'up, day late... anyway...

i realized today that everything is like the pit. You see, punk and punk influenced music is an outlet for aggression. The pit was an area that you could just let go: dance, pogo, slam, do the smurf, whatever your heart desired. Sometimes you would get hit and sometimes you would hit someone. You were not trying to hit them specifically and they were not trying to hit you specifically so all was good. They were just there like you. It was an outlet, there were understood yet unwritten behaviors and protocols, and the bumps and bruises felt almost better than the flailing you did yourself.

Like all things that start out good, it got into the wrong hands and would never be the same. The jocks saw it, the frat boys saw it, and suddenly Neanderthals were hopping in and taking aim turning it into gym class with a substitute teacher. i do not remember getting "slimed" by some 'dude's' sweat when it was just us punk kids.

Capitalism, communism, socialism, you name it. i am sure they all started out with the best of intentions and probably all worked well at first, when everyone was playing by the understood yet unwritten behaviors and protocols. Eventually, as it seems with all things, they each fell into the wrong hands and never were the same afterwards.

Figuring out how to keep things out of the wrong hands is more worthwhile a goal than coming up with a great idea to begin with. If only someone could figure that one out.

WWIII: Us Vs Climate

2009-03-22T21:17:00.004-04:00

Americans never take action until it is almost too late. Why should climate change be any different?

i could use all kinds of historical referrences to prove my point but alas, wether it be our failed school systems or short attention spans i shall opt for a commonly known reference: WWII. Yes that topic that gives high school history teachers a hardon. That event from our world's past that has helped to keep the History Channel on the air.

There is still even a time honored Hollywood tradition where they must release a pre-deturmined number of Nazi-themed movies a year. Even Tom Cruise, who worships an alien, has some WWII knowledge. Anti-depressants are a scam, but alien penal collonies reality? Whatever you say Tommy boy.

Back to our point though. As the rest of the world seemed at war with the Axis powers (Germany, Italia, Japan) the U.S. was content to remain crying into their milkless cereal bowls using a depression and nationalism as excuses for not getting involved.

But a cocky Japan forced the hand of U.S.A. (not sure what they were thinking waking a sleeping giant). We all know the rest so i will spare the redundancy. Now every time a European upsets an American the inevitable comeback "without us you'd be speaking German right now" gets muttered and then the average American wonders why most Europeans do not have the highest opinion of U.S. culture.

In an attempt to possibly re-live the events of the past the U. S. of A. seem to need something equally as extreme and tragic to make them pay attention to climate change, which threatens the world in far more dire ways than WWII ever could have. $4 a gallon gas shurely did next to nothing to wake the sleeping giant. Oh, wait, how about Katrina? There was some awareness that was raised but as a country the U.S. was easily distracted by Rock Band and other trivial things. Many areas of the gulf coast still are desimated as America's short attention span has moved on to worrying about all those filthy rich people who are losing money in the stock market. Forget about those left without homes.

So conveniently America uses a depression as an excuse for not tackeling a problem that is once again facing all of us. Unlike WWII action taken now will still not stop things from getting worse over the next few decades, and by the time something happens that finally grabs their attention we may have passed a point were it is too late.

Why not take some strong and decisive steps, if for no other reason than so that a decade from now Americans, drunk and lounging around on resort beaches can shout "without us, you'd be under water right now".

Social Commentary Sundays

2009-03-22T21:04:00.003-04:00

Yup, i haven't been doing much here on 1 Punk Monk but i am aiming to re-adjust starting here and now.

Sundays will now be known as "Social Commentary Sundays"... so as you return to the grind of work on Mondays you will be able to look forward to a new 1 Punk Monk entry. Happy Monday all, just try not to punch anyone out upon your return to work as i have not gotten the O.U.P. passed by congress yet. But come on, wouldn't that make work that much more fun.

Outdoor Kid

2009-02-18T20:36:00.004-05:00

Most of our core beliefs and personality traits are easily traced back to our early childhood. As a child i was an "outdoor kid" much like how people deem their cats outdoor or indoor cats. i remember waking up in the morning, being fed, then being slid out the door.

In these modern times i may have been labeled a "free-range" kid. Whatever you choose to stamp on my forehead, this upbringing had a significant impact on who i have become. All that time on the grass, under trees, watching squirrels & snakes, birds & bugs; gave me a healthy appreciation for the environment and life in general. i observed all those little living things while i myself was just a little living thing. i feel a bond with all life and that influences many of my daily decisions.

Being an "outdoor kid" also meant i was not under constant parental supervision (that instead came as i grew older oddly enough). i was only as safe as i kept myself. To this day i rarely wear a helmet during activities requiring such equipment, but it taught me to safely push my limits while being reasonable about what i could pull off. Throw a helmet on someone and they think they are invincible. Constantly watch someone and they will learn to do what you want them too. No helmet, no watchful eyes, and you end up with a kid who is independent yet grounded. That or you end up with no kid... survival of the fittest i guess in this overpopulated world of ours.

For better or for worse i am glad i was an "outdoor kid". If i go even most of a day without getting outside i start clawing at the walls, but i am self-motivated, self-aware, and driven by an interconnected feeling of being part of LIFE.

While "indoor kids" may invent great yet safe things like iPods and Blackberries "outdoor kids" invent stuff like skateboarding and punk rock. i worry that as we over sanitize our youth and child-proof the planet that future generations may miss out on "outdoor kid's" contributions that help balance things out.

Maybe we will not even survive long enough to ever see if that happens.

Nine Minutes

2009-01-26T21:24:00.003-05:00

As i move towards trying to rant less i shall continue to dwell of the mundane and explore it more fully. As string theory attempts to find some unifying set of explanations for what is observed on the micro-scale versus the almost opposing observations on the macro-scale i will attempt to unite the 1 Punk Monk theology by simultaneous study of the larger issues (as frequently ranted upon in the past) and the often overlooked and seemingly meaningless daily activities.

At the very least this will be an exercise in writing.

Today's study: the snooze button

i set my alarm for approximately half an hour earlier than i intend on getting out of bed. The elongated snooze button on the front of my slim, black, iPod ready alarm clock will delay the further play of the previous night's song selection by nine minutes. i would have preferred a more metrically chosen 10 minute increment (as i would have chosen Apple to have selected better quality keyboards) but as i had nothing to do with the design of said alarm clock i must settle with the odd imperial-ish nine minute increment.

So thirty minutes before my intended time of exit from the horizontal plane into the vertical my alarm first sounds. Depending on the previous night's mood it could be anything ranging from Mingus to Minor Threat. i wish that there was a way to surprise myself but as few people have ever been successful at surprising me i find i cannot manage to surprise myself either.

The disproportionately stretched out oval bar design for snooze buttons across the globe must have come from extensive research. That first attempt at awakening seems to only slightly trigger the most basic of primordial brain functions as thoughtless motor patterns thrust my otherwise still limp hand onto the thankfully large target of said snooze button.

My brain now has nine minutes to fully reboot.

With the exception of the least amount of arm muscles possible, my body (including eye lids) remains completely in it's full-on sleep state. After the initial nine minute period the iPod begins to glow and several fractions of a second later the music starts to fill the quiet void once again.

This time my brain has regained function enough to take control of my eyelids long enough to sneak a peak at the time now displayed by the clock's cool-glowing, back lit, LCD screen. The subconsciously driven arm flails again and stops the music. This brief glance gives my brain enough information to determine the level of motivation needed.

If brain succeeded in rebooting within the first snooze increment all is well as we are only nine minutes into scheduled half hour of sleep-depressurization. Had something gone wrong and the reverse pendulum arm fell yet again before the mind went online an immediate warning would have gone out to all body sectors warning of hitting the eighteen minute mark without full system protocol achieved.

More often than not the brain hits it's appropriate mark and the body acknowledges with a groan and a roll spring loading the next checkpoint as it falls back into it's slumber. As we enter the eighteenth minute the song plays again. This time muscle memory alone will not be enough to get the hand over to the snooze button. This time the body must roll itself back over to allow the arm proper reach to alarm clock. The requires more of the body to wake and coordinate to achieve the ultimate goal of a return to sleep. This also allows the brain more time in passing to observe the time displayed and allows more body part to be awake enough to receive commands.

Snooze has reset, brain has regained some more control, much of body still enjoys nine more minutes of rest now collapsed onto it's stomach.

The twenty seventh minute mark is met. Music resumes. This is it. A mear three minutes remains until the covers must come off and the day must start. The body cries out in protest as the music continues on, it's mumblings muffled in the pillow. In one fluid motion the body rolls onto it's back while simultaneously casting off the covers. The loss of the blanket womb combined with the cooler bedroom air kick-starts the driving motion needed to get the souls of the feet to the floor.

As the legs push the torso up against the hug of gravity the now more dexterous fingers find the significantly smaller alarm off button, while the opposite arm reaches for the light switch. Within a scrunched up face the pupils adjust to the new light and the body concludes it's graceful, gradual gradient into the beginning of the day.

Somewhere between here and twelve o'clock i finally reach my fully awake state.

There is always a bigger fish...

2009-01-06T23:03:00.003-05:00

Ah... as things seen to be difficult and there are easy things to rant about (like new climate change findings, our economy, blah blah blah) i choose to be utterly ridiculous. This is going to be my new way of dealing with difficult times/situations, i am going to strive to be ridiculous.

My proposition is as follows. If the improperly named, pissing in the shower, humping the quarterback American pastime of football can have a series of fantasy leagues then i am going to start my own fantasy series: Fantasy Fight Club. Yes, a Fantasy Fight Club. i have even come up with my first round selection: Liam Neeson.

Go ahead and select who you want, they will not stand a chance. William Shatner, he will get his rug swept. Abe Lincoln, your reach will mean nothing. Arnold Swartzenwhatever, he is now a politician. Politicians are all compromised. There is no crying in baseball and no compromise in fighting. Forget it Govenator.

First off, my boy Liam played Michael Collins. If you can free most of the island of Ireland from the British Army you can free any single man from his consciousness. He created the fukin' IRA, what has your pick got?

The deal sealer: Jedi Master. He taught Obi-won everything he knows. Even when "killed" he figured out a way to come back and communicate with Yoda. When you have the Jedi Push Abe's reach means jack. He will Jedi Mind Trick your selection into punching themselves in the head. With or without the olde lightsaber he will still clear the ring.

i can understand if no one else wants to participate due to my crushing first round pick but go ahead, see if you can find someone better fit for a Fantasy Fight Club.

We have got to do something to entertain ourselves until Danny Boyle does a comic book comedy flick.

No Kissing

2008-12-29T23:01:00.003-05:00

Danny Boyle has done it again. He decided to do horror and nailed it with "28 Days Later". He looked to Science Fiction and hit the bull's eye with "Sunshine". Now he has attempted Bollywood style and once again made a great movie with "Slumdog Millionaire".

If you have not seen these movies please do yourself a favor and check them out. The last is currently in theaters now. It is the kind of movie we all need right now.

Get out there this new year and enjoy yourself as much as you can.

Post Script

2008-12-18T16:26:00.006-05:00

There was a recent article where a writer tried to rip apart the Toyota Prius (and not to subtly Obama too). Oddly enough i only considered writing back a comment for a moment and quickly lost any knee-jerk reaction i had. Maybe it is that i am growing older (and hopefully wiser) and realize when a situation is an argument with a person who will not change their mind as oppose to what is a discussion where there is something to be learned by either side. Maybe it is just the pill i swallowed last night.

For quite a few years after becoming a vegetarian i got into arguments when people attacked my decision. i took the bait and thought i could explain my reasons for making the decision and might even help them see what it was that i saw. i thought i could teach them what i learned.

After several years i became more self-assured in my choice and realized that the people who where aggressively attacking my choice where just defensive about their own choice. Those who attacked me the most were the ones who felt the most threatened by my choice. Those who felt guilty because they could not adequately justify their own choice to themselves let alone to me. These are also the people who will never change because they care not for facts or logic. They do what they do because it is what they have always done.

Maybe after five years with my hybrid i have finally reached that same epiphany i had as a vegetarian. Maybe i am getting too old to want to join in on comment threads that last three pages or more.

Most likely, however, as i age i have started to realize that idiots are no longer worth my time. Every day that i wake up i am another day closer to my death. Every day that i wake up means i have one less day to do all the things i want to do. One less day to accomplish all the things i want to accomplish. Any time wasted on idiots is time i no longer have for myself to do what i need to do, to do what i want to do.

Newspapers are a dead institution. People will hold on to them for some time to come the way people hold on to old typewriters; out of a sense of romance. The institution is outdated and it knows it. Newspapers are now doing whatever they can to get people's attention so they can try to claim readership so they can try to get advertising dollars. They are nothing more than useless typeface crammed between ads. A waste of time and an unnecessary bait for me to take. Anyone who still thinks that they are relevant is not worth debating.

So i am not mad about the article, but i do feel myself getting saddened by such misinformation. i thought we were better than that. i thought we could evolve faster than that. i thought we could change. Maybe it is me who is the idiot.

PS ...if i had written a response it would have gone like this:

"...eventually the Earth changed and became less conducive to supporting the dinosaurs. A small, four legged, relatively new creature found, however, that it was well equipped for the changing conditions. i am sure the dinosaurs growled at, poked at, and even ate many of these earliest of mammals right up until the point were there were no longer any dinosaurs left to growl, poke, or eat.

We all know who survived in the end; the smaller, more efficient of the two. i only wish that the inadequate, overcompensators in our current society saw that proverbial asteroid that is screeching our way."

PPS maybe i should just skateboard everywhere...