This is a great example of a “Concept” song. It has a narrative and a structure to it that can be followed without being given notes.

Clerks where they could only film in the convenient store at night when the place was closed so the”Savages” put gum in the lock of the security shutters. This allows them to act as if there was daylight. So they had to make sure the front door was never in the camera shot.

“Tradition and heritage are all dead people’s baggage.

Stop carrying it. Move Forward.”

Doug Stanhope, Track 4

Oslo: Burning the Bridge to Nowhere

A co-worker of mine leaves copies of Rolling Stone magazine in the break room. It has been about 15-20 years since I was a regular reader of that magazine. I do not have any really opinion about it either. It is just something to read to kill time while on break or lunch. However, compared to the local daily paper it has a little more substance to it. The back of each issue lists the top 20 album sales for the week. I looked over the list and most of the music I have never heard of. If this is a measure of where one place’s in comparison to modern music then I am way out of place. The thing is twenty years earlier and for reason now “unknown” I had the desire to investigate more of that music. Today, I just don’t care about most of music for the masses. A car payment and a mortgage did an effective job of taking up a good portion of my “entertainment dollars”. The other thing is I have developed better “filters” to either tune in or tune out music. There is also another chart on that page that lists the Top 10 songs from a decade or two earlier. I remember those popular songs and most of them are no longer played. I have come to the conclusion that most pop culture items, in this case music, is not made to last. There is not a vehicle that is more inefficient and does not carry good distances when it comes to mileage than “The Bandwagon”. So do not waste a lot of effort trying to “hitch on to it”. (Thoughts like this are why I could never go into “marketing” as a full time job.)

Art in its various mediums is basically an effort by “mortals” hoping by chance they might stumble on to “immortality”. This must be accomplished within certain frame of time which is a value unknown by the particular artist. In other words, the sun only shines so long. I began to think about this when the band R.E.M. called it end to their group after 30 years. It is also another “marker in time” when the major music groups that endured from when you discovered them in your youth come to their end. I heard it mentioned it was because of poor album sales. They may not have been selling like they did in the late 80′s and the 90′s. It does not mean they were putting out bad albums. I think they were still creating some good music and the last two albums showed no letting up. However, it was their call to make no matter how I felt. R.E.M. was one of the bands I found in high school that I was a “secret fan” of then. The crowd I was with at the was “Heavy Metal Only!” This band got me going into other music because back then “alternative music” and the mass population had not been introduced to either other at that point. I remember buying R.E.M.’s Green album while at the same time buying Never Surrender by Triumph. (Although that was not my biggest purchase of diverse music at the same time. That would be Strays by Jane’s Addiction along with Songs of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle.) The Internet did change how music was distributed. Album sales are no longer a good measurement of music’s popularity and quality. Radio is now program to be “boring and repetitive” with a condense playlist. Most bands now publish the number of Twitter followers they have rather than how many actually album copies they sold. It is also a shift by not only technology but generational one too. Internet streaming and digital storage means you no longer have to hold an actually physical copy. It is now more about the “experience” of the art. Remember making mixed tapes in the 80′s and early 90′s? I am a bit nostalgic for that “passion” in creating them. But I do not miss how much actual manual labor was involved in the process.


All products must evolve with the times. However when the people behind them announced changes their audience (customers) react with “Outrage and threats”. Netflix change their fee structures and may lose some content for streaming. I like the service for now but it does not mean I am “indentured” to them for life. I started with AOL which was the biggest and best at one point. Busy signals and price hikes made me change. Facebook changed their page layout in how you interact with it. I read a lot of people on there who were “pissed off and ready to quit”. None of them did. In fact, most of them still are posting with the same frequency they always did. MySpace did not update their interface and look what happened to them. The interface is going to change. The phone was a great new communication tool for the time. So does that mean they were to stop with the “rotary dial” as the way to operate it? Remember when you had to actually get up and change the dial on the TV to get to another station? (Actually given the “overweight” problem this might be a good thing to return to for some form of exercise.) So see what is actually happening before you go into some sort “self righteous outrage rant.” Make the change if necessary but stay off the soap box. Here is my example. I used to like to get my Sunday morning coffee and breakfast sandwich from a popular local “north of the border” chain outlet. I began to hate navigating their parking lots. I hated waiting in lines that consisted of only ONE person in front of me. Ordering a simple cup of black coffee only to get it with cream and sugar. A gift card (that came with a receipt) that the manager could not fix and was told I had to take it back. I began to dread their places. And by the way their corporation does NOT monitor their Facebook page so do not go there looking for customer service. I could have written a complaint letter and would have probably received a bunch of coupons to their establishments. So the message would have been, “The next time you come here. Your Poor Customer Service Experience is ON US.” I did not tell others not to go there. I just “Un-liked” their Facebook page and went somewhere else. “High Vocal Outrage” does not carry across the masses as far as you think it might. Besides enough “smart” customers walking away from them will make them change or die out.

There is no such thing as the “Status Quo”. Calling out for its “defense” is like saying you are willing “to take a bullet for the Easter Bunny.” It is feels good to sound “Very brave and moral” when you really do not to actually prove anything. Nostalgia is powerful but can be very draining thing to hold on to. Any form of social interaction will never make 100% of the people “happy”. That’s on them. Not you. And not me either.


I know I am arguing against “Nostalgia”. But I have to admit I am not immune to its effect. I got pissed when Miley Cyrus covered Smells Like Teen Spirit. She is “pop culture candy”. Twinkies have a longer shelf than her and more substance. That song was an anthem for “the disenfranchised” not for someone who comes from privilege. It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since the release of Nevermind by Nirvana. It was an album than change the cultural landscape when it comes to music.

Here is a link to Alan Cross talking about this album and why it mattered.

1991 was the year the big rock albums came from Metallica, Guns n’ Roses and do not forget Jane’s Addiction or Soundgarden.

I remember when I first heard this album. And Smells Like Teen Spirit was not the first song I ever heard from them. The album was being played on the local college station. It was Breed and it grabbed by the attention of my ears’ immediately. I had to get this album and bought at the local chain “Cavages” (And they have been out of business for almost 20 years now.) I bought the album and at the check-out. The young woman working the counter said, “There is something going on with this. It is the fourth copy I have already sold and we opened 30 minutes ago.” Smells Like Teen Spirit was just getting MTV play the same week and commercial radio was not far behind.

There most likely will never be a music album that will cause a major cultural shift like this. This is the album that knocked Michael Jackson out of Number 1 on the sales chart. And after this his music for the most part would never have the mass impact that it did in the 80′s. (Plus he became more of “circus act” in his own life.)

I still play this album today although on an MP3 player. The format may be different. But the music has endured so far.

That may change.

Then again it might not.

I cannot predict a future. I surely did not predict this one.

But I can at least guarantee this.

The Status Quo will still be elusive.

And politicians will still be promising to deliver it.


“Once you start laying back on your resume. The more you hear a country talking about their history. The more likely they’re not doing a fucking thing anymore. You always have to progress as a society. As a people. As a species. Egypt they created the pyramids. Fantastic! What have you done since then? Nothing?”

                                                Doug Stanhope, Track 7

It is has been a long and very hot week here. It is has been a rough week to attempt any form of writing. I work in a “hot box” all day and I came home feeling very “spent”. I was going to take my laptop to the local library to work in their air conditioning but it is only opened for about an hour after my job ends. And I always thought working on a laptop in a coffee shop seem to be pretentious and cliché. Plus, the last thing after a long day at work I need to do is load up on caffeine.

So I spent this morning in the yard just reading a book. I also listened to Eddie Vedder’s music from the soundtrack to Into the Wild. It is one of the best albums for music when it comes to mediating about things. Sometimes quiet meditation (although the ear buds are in) can be a good thing. Not every thought needs to be spoken out loud.

I was looking at my garden for this year. It is growing a bit different than in past years. The tomatoes are growing taller than before. The corn not so well. I used a different seed type of seed this year. Plus the squirrels ripped out some in their early stages so I start again. The squirrels had never done this in previous years. The Plastic Owl was bought to scare them away. However, they attack the corn again. I did find a deterrent that seems to work. Crushed garlic, old socks and coffee grounds. If this doesn’t work I am going to get a pistol with a silencer.

As I was having my meditating moment, I realize this garden in a way was like writing. An idea needs to the right conditions to grow. But even with them it may not happen. Somehow, I have to find the balance between the two and realize that state with always be fluctuating. Just have to look at the current conditions and make adjustments from there.

And then I stumbled into this idea in my readings which I am going to paraphrase.

Be expectant without having expectations.

I swear I did not read that from a Chinese Fortune Cookie.

I know I have written a few posts (maybe too many) about my own short comings on staying focused when it comes to writing. It is also a by-product of my circumstances. I am attempting to do something that no one in my immediate circle is attempting to do. Or even understands. So I guess I just throw that feeling out into the vast span of the Internet in hopes someday some bits of communication may come back someday. Call this my own personal SETI experiment. And I am going to leave it at this for now.

I keep a copy of the book Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury in my backpack. Everyone needs a coach to refer from time to time. It is hard to always have some on hand. So it nice to be able to refer to someone. The first essay in the book titled the “The Joy of Writing” he tells about how he finds joy in what others don’t understand. He states how he can’t worry about that because he feels compelled to write about it.

An Internet search engine is another way to find material to help me.

I stumbled upon this article that sums up Ray Bradbury’s tips for writing.

How to Feed Your Muse: 7 Writing Tips From Ray Bradbury

I stopped by the local bookstore to browse the titles. I do this to add to my reading list for the local library. I am trying to only buy books I can see myself referring to in the future. I have also been trying to read more from my To Be Read pile. It is cheaper economical alternative. And it is about time I got around to reading them.

I made this observation though. The store had racks of discount books outside in front of the store. They were those obscure book titles nobody wanted and they are heavily discounted at this point. And the rack is unsecured. This is what I think their reasoning for this may be. “Look if we can get you to pay something for these books. That would be great. But if you grab one and run. We’re not going to chase after you.”

 I have been trying to organize unwanted books and other things to E-Bay. But right now with that is a project on hold due to the fact there are a few things more pressing for me to get done. And the sooner. The better.

A few months ago, Ben over at the blog “Dead End Follies” published a list of books he was going to challenge himself to read. He wanted to read The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer but he could not find an affordable copy of the book. I had a copy of that book that has sat in my TBR pile for about 15 years. I started to read it but it was too dense for me to tackle at the time. I think it was too ambitious at the time to read along with all of my other college requirements. I am going to save the story of why I picked up this particular book for another time. So I decided I would pass the book along to him. I guess the book was meant more for him than it was for me. Also I hate it when people buy books just to leave them on a shelf to try impressing people. They want to give some false representation of “intelligence” they really do not possess at all .I try find out a lot about a people by their bookcase along with their CD and DVD shelves.

Besides if you have something that someone else needs then pass it along. Is that item whatever it might be worth holding on to just to collect dust in your place? It is become more about how you apply what you have in your possession both physically and mentally. That is what the comment section, the e-mail link, Twitter feed, Facebook, etc is there for you to reply to and get the conversation started. Tools were meant to be used. Thoughts and ideas are meant to be shared.

I have been thinking about the challenge of the Internet. You are going to come across a wide variety of topics. Most of the postings are there just for passive viewing. But from time to time you are going to come across websites where people are looking for answers to questions or problems. The challenge is taking a moment or two to respond. The future is going to those out their willing to participate with people. Many of these people will most likely never meet directly in person. We have experienced the “troll” on the Internet that person who cowardly hides behind a made up screen name with the sole purpose of being an asshole spewing ignorance. Secret identities only work in super hero comics. And those characters are trying to help humanity. The Internet Superhighway is going to eventually filter these trolls on to the off-ramp. Talk shit is going to accomplish nothing in a conversation. The Internet will someday filter these people out of the conversation because they are irrelevant.

The people who are willing to put their name to what they are putting out are going reap the benefits. Well most of the people. And let me declare this mandate. When it comes to publishing on the Internet pictures or video of your genitals (male or female) in action. PLEASE leave that to the professionals! Or to drunken amateurs who need to learn a life lesson. Doing the “act” in return for a free t-shirt is not an economic formula for success that will carry you through life. Another thing I want to mention. If you have ever posted your own “in action photos” (it does not count if you blacked out your face) then you cannot complain about privacy settings on social media websites.

I listened again to an old podcast from Keith and the Girl that featured a conversation with comedian Doug Stanhope. He said two things that stood out for me in regards to the Internet. “This is what the Internet will do. It is going to force people into places of honesty they don’t want to be in.” And “But the Internet is putting everyone on stage when it comes to social networking.” This episode ends with his story about how the Internet reunited him with a past “flame” aka Bobbie Barnett. She was not happy being the subject of one his most downloaded comedy bits. His response in the podcast episode was a bit tough yet funny. (Note: This segment in discussion starts at around 48:00 minute mark and the original comedy bit ends out the podcast)

In the end, you cannot take any of it with you. Whether that is a physical item or a mental thought. So when you can leave them behind

Besides, I would hate to have to go to this extreme with my site.

I think the hardest think I have to constantly remind myself about is that there is never the perfect time to do anything. Any moment offers an unforeseen challenge. But why in my case does it always involve a trip to a home improvement store to get what I need to fix something? “Home improvement”. There is an oxymoron. Maybe it should be called a “home triage” store.

It is just another form of Writer’s Block in my case.

I was watching the movie Orange County. It was an entertaining movie for what it was. The premise of the movie is a young man played by Colin Hanks decides after the death of friend to change his life. He finds a book on the beach and decides he too wants to be a writer. He figures he needs to go to Stanford to get his degree. The author of the book happens to also be a professor at that college. However, he comes from a family that is dysfunctional and just cannot seem to provide the support that he needs. And this is what leads to the comedy aspect of the movie. It seems to me that this movie could be semi-biographical in my case. Without the comedy.

There is this one scene that stuck with me. Spoiler Alert. The Colin Hanks character does get a chance to meet the professor who made him want to be a writer. Kevin Kline plays that professor.

 

I guess when you try rewiring your brain in order to be a better writer can be tricky. If not borderline aggravating. I am constantly looking at how things are. How they might be underneath. I am trying to draw links between ideas that may not exactly appear to be connected at all. Then put the idea out there in hopes that it may cause a conversation to happen. I am sure that all of my ideas may not be validated by another person. I do not care if the reader agrees 100% with what I am trying to put forth. I would even be willing to someone who is willing to put forth how I may be wrong. I just welcome the chance to engage in a conversation.  Responses such as “That’s nice.” “Interesting.” “Good point” are not enough to really spark conversation. Most of the time those type of responses mean the person really did not read into the posting. The “Curse” here the need to get feedback and at the same time not always believing in it when it comes. It is hard to get the right audience needed. But it would be hard to realize it when that audience is really there. It is really hard trying to determine who the audience is by dissecting web stat charts. It is almost an extremely masochistic act. But I cannot help it.

Lately, I have drawn to other works that tell the story of people who are trying to deal with the circumstances in which they live. I just finished watching the first season on the HBO show Treme. The latest TV show from creator David Simon. He does for the city of New Orleans what he did for the city of Baltimore in The Wire.

This show starts 3 months after Hurricane Katrina and focuses on various people trying to rebuild their lives under those circumstances. I remember watching Katrina on TV at the time. I compared it to watching a modern day reenactment of a modern day Pompeii. We were watching a modern city being wiped off the map. I questioned if it was worth the cost of rebuilding. I think this thought process is a side effect of our vast sources of media. We get to “see” a lot of what is happening around the world at any given moment. The problem is we thinking “seeing” equates to “experiencing it”. This is why we also are hearing more and more from people in those dire circumstances are screaming louder ,”Unless you are here. You don’t know a thing!” Treme may not give us that direct experience. Great storytelling along with well defined yet complicated characters gives you a chance to pause and think. It draws you in. There was a lot about the culture of New Orleans that I have learned from this show. Just watch The Weather Channel every area of this country has its own issues. Extreme weather hits everyone. We have all watched the weather and have wondered to ourselves, “Why would anyone want to live there?” This series explores the reason of “Why”. It also has nice soundtrack of music from the city to listen along with.

Bad economic news is the never ending story. I have been hearing all my life. I have heard “We need to learn how to do more with less”. I have never seen this policy ever enacted on a grand scale across society as a whole. Just take a walk down any aisle in any store. Think back about a decade. And then realize. We have more things available to us than ever before. What I think the message should be steered towards is that of “We need to increase the efficient use of what we have.” However, the economic bad news has had the same effect as a bad weather storm. It has lead to many cities struggling to exist. Once again outsiders proclaim, “Given those circumstances. Why would anyone want to live there?” I came across this story a couple of weeks ago. The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan was listed as one of the most “in decline” cities in America. The people there started a grassroots effort to change their image. They got together to set a record for the “longest lip synched one take music video”. They did it with the song “American Pie” by Don McLean. Watch the video. It contains no edits. It is just one camera filming the action for the length of the song.

 

I think the song “American Pie” will always be part of the American Experience for years to come. It is a song about the belief in a dream. However, that dream is danger of falling apart in the current environment. However, in the end even with all of the uncertainty still at hand the dream persists. I think this song with return to some level of popularity in times of distressed economics. Along with uncertainty that seems to be heightened when the leaders involved seem to arguing more about ideology and trying to assign blame to the opposition. I just came up with another crazy idea. In the future, anyone running for office should have to act ONLY like a mime. That way they would be forced to perform action rather than just standing there talking on and on. It would be a nice change. Also I want to study the effects of all this non-stop political talk on global warming. All that hot air has to have an effect on something. What that is? I have no idea.

Bad weather. Bad economics. Welcome to Buffalo. Where I live.

 

It is a city that has more to it then chicken wings and losing Super Bowls. It has a lot interesting people that are for the most part nice and friendly. Unfortunately, on a whole we cannot elect any leader capable of moving the city forward. It is a city that seems stuck on nostalgia for time that is not coming back. It needs to redefined and adapt for a future. I hate hearing people complaining that it should be more like a big city (like NYC). It will never be that either. It needs to come to terms with who it is. It needs to take a lesson from what it takes to climb a mountain. You can see the top from down below. You see where you need to go to. However, you need to start at the bottom to go up. Everyone seems to take more time studying the top when they should take as much time studying the base where you start. The base is where the resources and support exist.

“Why would anyone live there?”

My relationship with this place and the people in it has changed over the years. Nostalgia can be a powerful feeling. However, the future has changed that nostalgia before it has even arrived. The hard part is coming to the realization that not everything grows together. Or at all. My needs and what is available on hand at that moment will most likely never be in total synch. Is it good? Is it bad? Or just what it is meant to be? Either way that may end up.

In a story, good character conflict can work towards a good story. Someday.

Besides, I have to start somewhere.

It has once again been way too long since I posted to this blog. It is has been a couple of weeks of annoyances and frustrations. And trying to attempt to put anything together for postings under this circumstances would have led to something that I would not like at all. It would have been a disservice to not only myself but anyone who takes the time to read this blog.

It has been a rainy spring here. And many of the home projects had to be put aside due to the weather. I was trying to write one night during a rain storm. It was raining hard and I went to check my basement to make sure the sump pump was working. I have had a couple of basement floods over the years. The basement was fine. However, the roof over the entrance way decided to spring a leak. The next day, I had to have a friend help try to repair where I thought the leak might be. And we had to do it while it was still raining. We thought we had it. A few hours later, when even more rain came the leak returned. I had to tarp the roof in a rainstorm. Let me warn you. Rain, a slippery roof, a plastic tarp along with the forces of gravity came close to making me test my health insurance coverage. The leak it turned out was caused by the roof vent not being broken and not sealed properly. The next joy was the fact it took over a week for me to be able to fix it properly. So every time it rained I was a “leak detection” duty. It was hard to focus on the writing when I was always on guard during the rains.

So let me throw a few more things out there.

Over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed the Adam Carolla podcasts. He can get on a “rant” that last a few minutes but in the end he brings to a great point. Comedian Bill Burr does the same thing with his podcast. Here is an episode when they teamed up.

I also need to rant. The rain has not been fun. It not only put a leak in my house. It is also caused a bunch of static to happen in my phone line. I had to wait to I got to work to call in to have a service call to fix the problem. My line went out on Saturday night. So this was Monday morning. I was told it would not be until at least Thursday before they could come out. And then it would be sometime between 9AM and 5PM. This is modern day customer service. “Customer service” has become an urban legend. It is a myth. I think I could find Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster a lot easier than I can find “service”. I think it would be easier to prove Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster actually exists. I also hate when the service rep tells me someone has to be their not necessarily myself and they could call me on my cell phone. I then I have to tell that person I have neither one of them in my immediate life. Then there is a brief pause. And I can hear the person thinking that I am a “pitiful borderline pathetic” person. But then again this person is in customer service which I know is providing me with the “illusion of service”. I know many who work in or have worked in customer service call centers. The next time, I see any of them I am going to have to asked them, “What the Fuck? Why do I call for customer service? If you are are just going to lie then I might as well call an adult hot-line for the same effect. I know they are lying to me to make me happy! And in the end I am going to have to handle the problem myself. But at least I can Guarantee! The job will be completed. And on time.” And by the way. It does not matter what company it is. I have never had a service tech make it to my house before 2:30PM. 

I did fix the roof. My hands were covered in tar. I would not been surprised at all if the my friend who helped the first came back. He hit me with a broken opened feather pillow. Snapped a quick photo. Posted with the title “The Evidence that Surprised No One.” Trust me. He is that type of person.

My ranting is done for now. I needed to get that out.

I am trying to get back to doing what I need to. But there are a few things I also need to complete. I will spare those details from this post.

I have been reading blog postings that kind of align with my condition.

Stephen Pressfield’s post “The Pain of Being Human”

Chris Guillebeau’s post “The Need for Change”

And last night I stumbled upon this segment from writer Sebastian Junger where he is coming to realization that his own desire and circumstances have changed.

Finally, it is nice to have a long weekend. It would be nice to spend sometime with a book, maybe a movie, the notepad along with some of my ideas. And see what happens from there.

Life chaotic still is in effect once again. It seems like everytime I started to write a post I got interrupted by something else that needed to take priority.

• I continued my yearly habit of putting off filing my income taxes until the week they were due. As I watched the person filling out the forms I realized that the whole thing is just a pervertef form of “3 Card Monte”. I also live in a country that worships places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City as places to have the opportunity to change their personal fortunes. And as along as places like this exist and state lottery scams (I mean games) then there will never be any real hope for real tax reform in this country. In other words, talk is cheap and you had better the game.
• I am being to see the consequences of “take out” eating. However, not in terms of health but in time. It leads to a “life on the run” lifestyle which is just another form of chaos. I wish I had the funds to pay for a personal assistant. Out source my life.
• My sewar line to the house needed to be cleaned and snaked out yet again. The best long term solution is out of my price range. And it would be tricky (aka expensive too) to cut down the pine tree that sits on top of the line. I like the shade and wind break it provides.

I was reminded of this scene from the movie Almost Famous. 

The Internet in vast reach can bring back a memory when you least expect it too. And sadly, a lot of the time it is not for a good reason. The last year, has brought too many “abrupt” endings in my life. I would hear this time a friend who I had lost touch with over a decade ago has lost his life to cancer. Dave was the owner of a local record store where i bought many of albums from the 80′s until the mid 90′s from. As I look to my shelves of CD’s a good chunk of them came from his store. He could talk about any form of music and how it all related to each other. He would pull out records and make you listen to a particular song. Dave like to have talks that were a kin to “holding court”. He was the closest I ever came to a Lester Bangs type of a person in my life. He turned me on to a lot different styles of music. Sometimes the greatest influences ina life are their for the shortest time.

 And finally, I am liking podcasts more and more. They are more of a conversation then talking points that are their to sell product. They have a freedom to their talk that allows you to get into a topic. However, these are meant for the “brave, willing and open people”out there. It scares a lot of people out there who want their “point of view” only to be heard. And they backlash with censorship and speech codes. Annoying. They need to learn how to change the channel. So here are three to check out.

 The Adam Carolla Show 

 The Joe Rogan Experience (This links to the episode that turned me on to his podcast)

WTF with Marc Mar0n (Don’t always agree with him but I like that challenge)

Here is the latest weather forecast about the things I have playing in my mind.

Given the title of this post the ablum that is on my heavy rotation is the 1992 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell by Social Distortion.

I have been going over my notepad. Yet again. I like the ideas but I know I can make some crazy leaps with them. So the latest idea (not this post) has not had enough “prep time” as of now to be posted. Somethings need more time than others. However, this mentality does not stop me from being impatient in lines. Especially when I am trying to get something done on my lunch break.

I have been watching old TV shows on the Internet lately.

The first show is the British sitcom Spaced. It is kind of hard to sum up its premise. Especially in a way to make sense to most Americans. This show is more for people who like surrealism. And for me that is known as the “everyday”.

And speaking about surrealism. I have been watching The Man Show. The show that featured Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla with their take on the male point of view. It may be politically incorrect and that is what made it funny. Political incorrectness cuts through a lot of bullshit to get to the center of a story. You may not like that center. But that’s on you. I like how in the first show Jimmy Kimmel said that the show was meant as a way to stop the “Oprahization of America”. (And that term is on Wikipedia. Sadly.) Their show has been off the air for almost a decade and she now has a cable network. This has to be a sign of something. And it is not good.

And now to move on to the next part in this week’s mental stir fry.

I have been thinking about how people are more complex than you can imagine. This thought pattern is the result of what I have been reading (too much to mention at this time) and the ideas on the notepad. However, it is hard to put anyone clearly in the good or bad category. Unless that person is Hitler. (But that is an easy call.)

That thought pattern is part of my morning ritual. I get up and get the coffee going. I am pretty much on auto pilot during this crucial task. I also make sure my MP3 player is charged and downloaded with that day’s podcasts. During this time I do some websurfing to see what I may stumble upon. I do this because I did learn a lesson. DO NOT repsond to any e-mails before the coffee has kicked in. And wait an hour to reply after that. It saves a lot of misunderstandings and pissed off responses.

I came across this article about Jodie Foster and her latest movie that co-stars Mel Gibson. I think it underscores people’s relationships and their perceptions.

It is odd that Charlie Sheen is praised for his bad boy image and Mel Gibson is condemned for it. But that is America. Schizophrenic in its judgment.

I have to say I am intrigued by the movie. And I am not going to judge it either way until I see it. (And this approach means my application to any fundamentalist organization is officially “declined”.)