Time – I Don’t Have Time to Talk About Time!

March 10th, 2010

As I went to reply to a comment left for one of my blog posts, I realized that it has been far too long since I had anything I wanted to say that I was not too lazy to type up. Well, maybe ‘lazy’ is not the right word, I think a better word would be ‘busy’. It’s not that cute quips and observations don’t pop into my head, it’s just that lately when they do, I write a song. I have been working on this first CD with a growing intensity that is best described as ‘obsessive’. Ever since I realized what the theme of it would be, everything has started to fall into place and meaning is coming into focus. Now I am possessed and haunted daily with an urgent need to get this project finished. We currently have four more songs to record and mix. Then final mixing will happen after that. My head is constantly filled and spinning like a revolving door as new ideas pop into my head for everything from lyrics to liners notes and dedications. My secret muse has been talking a lot to me lately…

In fact, just yesterday I added another song to the music page player. It is called “Sometimes”. I am very excited about this song, the inspiration came very quickly for all of us, and for some reason it fell into place very easily and the result has quite a nice atmosphere, very sensual (even if I do say so myself). Please check it out, and feel free to comment on any of the music that is posted on my website. I appreciate all feedback.

We (the band) are planning a trip to what used to be Chaplin Studios (now Jim Henson Studios) to do our promo and CD liner photos. We will be doing that in late May, and I hope by then to have the CD pretty much done. It would be sooner, but there is this small issue of a “day job” that I still have to deal with. Oh, how I miss the days when I was only playing music for a living! But when my son came along, the benefits of working for a big engineering company seemed a better fit. But, I digress…

Okay, well I’m gonna have to wrap this post up now. It seems that I’m running out of time and need to get back to the tasks at hand. Well, until next time… I um, have the time….

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Are You Ready to Rumba? Jesse Cook Shreads Nylon.

January 26th, 2010

On the 15th of January I was a guest to guitarist Jesse Cook’s performance at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (SCPA). Although I may have lost count, this might have been the 7th time I’ve seen him and his band perform over the years starting in 2004.  As always, it was extremely enjoyable.

Although as Jesse will be the first to admit it, his music is “off the beaten path”, but that is part of its charm. Only part of the charm, because the other more important part of his music’s charm is that it is simply put, gorgeous and stimulating. Jesse creates a flamenco based guitar sound that is now best described as nuevo flamenco.

Jesse signing his "John Hancock"

Jesse signing the wall backstage at the SCPA.

His live show’s are well executed and informal in a fun way, largely to the credit of his excellent backing band comprised of the also extremely talented Nicolas Hernandez on guitar, Chris Church on violin (and some vocals), percussionist Chendy Leon, and bassist Dennis Mohammed.  It is original and captivating.

Not only is his music charming, but Jesse himself is equally charming and quite handsome in person. He has a quick wit that comes in handy during the segment of the show where he opens up the floor to questions from the audience.  From what I have witnessed over the years, anything can happen.  I’ve heard the boring questions like, “When are you coming back?”  To which Jesse responds, “But I’m here now!”  But then you never know when you’re gonna hear gems like, “Are you married?” and Jesse’s response with a sideways glance, “Well, that depends. Are you?” To which the audience roars with laughter.

Our signatures backstage at the SCPA.

Our signatures backstage at the SCPA.

If I were to have any desire for his live shows, it would be that on occasion he throw in more of the haunting and tender songs from earlier releases. In particular, I would just love to hear a version of “Into the Dark” from Jesse’s 1996 release entitled “Gravity”, or the romantic yet sad “Parasol” from his first effort, “Tempest”.  Also, not to forget his more traditional tribute to Vicente Amigo, “Quiero Amigo”, which on occasion I have heard him conjure. Although he labels himself a creator of “Rumba Ditties”, his incredible and understated strength lies in his most remarkable way of expressing sadness in breathtakingly beautiful melodies.

Jesse is a hard worker and he never fails to take the time after each performance to stay after and meet with his “die hard” fans.  He will talk casually and sign autographs, and even reminisce with those of us who have taken the less traveled path with him over the years. As a special treat after this show, we (Jesse, the band, and us fellow musician die-hards) all got to sign the backstage wall of the newly remodeled SCPA, as is the tradition for all the artists that perform there. I want to thank Troy Gray for providing the photos.

His latest release entitled “Rumba Foundation” is one of his best to date. It is at once sensual, fun and energetic, while at times tinged with melancholy. I highly recommend this talented performer and songwriter’s guitar based music for your collection.

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Posted in Entertainment, Music & Art, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Where Can I Get Klub Soda at this Hour?

January 17th, 2010

I finally have a REAL website for my own self-indulgent purpose of music and blog promotion, along with other fun stuff. It’s a place to accumulate and communicate my musical musings. I’ve been trying to think about what I would call my band, and finally it hit me right between the www and the dot.com. Why not call us Klub Soda? So there it is and here it is: Klub Soda.

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I Call Bullshit on ShitMyDadSays

January 7th, 2010

Today over one million people follow ShitMyDadSays on Twitter.  Justin Halpern’s first tweet happened in August of 2009 and by November, he had a book contract with Harper Collins and a deal with CBS to write and executive produce a TV show. At the time of writing, he has made only 90 tweets, he follows only Levar Burton, and he tweets no one, at least he does not “RT” anyone. These are the primary ways an “unknown” would start to gain follow-ship. Someone has to KNOW your tweets exist! These deals were made when Justin had far less than 90 tweets. So the question is, “How does someone who follows no one, tweets no one, and has less than 70 tweets, get a book deal and a contract with CBS?

Well it’s easy to understand if you learn a few hidden truths about Twitter. If you have a Twitter account, you may recall that when you signed on for the first time to start an account, you were given a list of “Twenty Twits” they suggested for you to follow that you can opt out on. Many people starting accounts don’t even notice that, or don’t care, and accept the assigned Twitter accounts to follow. That is how all these so called celebrities get there HUGE follow-ships. Many of their followers did not even decide to follow in the first place.

Circled are what appears to be new followers. Follow the arrow - notice NO TWEETS!

SCREEN SHOTS OF SHITMYDADSAYS FOLLOWERS LIST: Circled are what appears to be new accounts. Follow the arrow - notice NO TWEETS! Oh, and LOOK - Justin follows only Levar Burton!

I encountered this while helping Brent Spiner track his one-millionth follower. He wanted to know when his millionth follower came on board and I watched as the numbers turned over and the followers were added to the list. I refreshed my browser page and saw a steady stream of followers being added ranging from porn-bots to what appeared to be fake Twitter accounts. I took screen shot after screen shot, and recorded the event. One striking thing I noticed was that most of the new followers were new accounts, and some Twitter accounts appeared to be generated just to increase follow count – they looked… well… fake.

In previous posts Brent made, he was wondering why the heck some followers would complain about the volume of his tweets and he was annoyed that they would “announce” that they were un-following (which I agree is quite rude!). This understandably flabbergasted him, but I know the answer, it is because these people did not really choose to follow him in the first place and they perhaps were relatively new to Twitter.

Levar Burton is compelled to give ShitMyDadSays a plug! Very interesting!

What does this have to do with ShitMyDadSays? Well, I would not at all be surprised if the developers of Twitter turned a fast buck by assisting a network in creating what “appears” to be a Twitter phenomenon. They could have made a kick-back for adding ShitMyDadSays onto follow lists for new accounts. In fact, if you are one of those people who had this happen in August and September of 2009, I would love to know about it. I’m not claiming this is fact, I’m just suggesting that it is conceivable.

Yep. How does a guy, that is supposedly merely regurgitating things his father says get a contract with CBS plus a book deal based on less than 70 tweets? After all, HE IS NOT THE GUY COMING UP WITH IT!  Hell, anyone can type stuff other people say!  And how does a guy follow no one, tweet no one, and get over one million followers? It’s easy if Twitter is paid $ by said network to promote him by adding his Twitter account to a suggested list of people to follow. Wait, there’s more! Recall that Justin follows only one person on Twitter: Levar Burton who is one of ShitMyDadSays over one-million followers, and who at time of writing just 8 short hours ago, shamelessly tweeted a nomination for @shitmydadsays for a Shorty Award… hmmm. Not only that, Burton, who has ties to CBS,  began promoting ShitMyDadSays’ tweets over four months ago!  Justin certainly had some help with his accumulation of followers, perhaps in more than one way. I am not making any accusations against Levar Burton, I am merely pointing out a truth. I wonder, for whom did Justin work  while living in Los Angeles, and why did he leave that job? He certainly left in a hurry since he could not retrieve all of his personal documents off his work computer. WHO is that friend that suggested he use Twitter as a journal of his dad’s quips?  Just wondering….

Why should we care really? I’ll tell you why. This is shameful misrepresentation and hype.  At the very least, it is a publicity stunt, at worst it is lies perpetrated upon us by the media – a falsehood sold as an ordinary-guy-does-good-public-interest-phenomenon. One of the nagging supposed truths about all of this is that Justin is an ordinarly guy, it is his father that comes up with the gems. If this is true, then what qualifies Justin to get these television and book contracts? There is a lot more to this story than meets the tweets. It is this writer’s opinion that what lies at the heart of this story is just one more example of how the truth is distorted and lies are packaged and sold to the consuming public. I have reached one major conclusion: There is very little integrity in entertainment media, oh… and there is no Santa Claus either!

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Posted in Blogging and Web Servers, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Social Networking, Society | 6 Comments »

Blog Soda for Big Shots

January 7th, 2010

Getting this Blog set up was an activity that slightly resembled pulling a hen’s teeth. Even if they actually had teeth, I assure you they would not want them pulled and it would be an arduous task indeed. Which is why I say it resembled participating in the extraction of the teeth of a feathered female of the fowl variety and is not EXACTLY like said activity, because we all know they don’t actually have said incisors (thank goodness), and that would make the task IMPOSSIBLE!

But as is evident in the words staring at you in the face, the task was not impossible,  just… just tedious. It was tedious only because at times no matter how smart I think I am, something gets by me only because it is so obvious and simple that it would never even occur to me to be the possible answer.

I researched several different Blogging Software to be installed on my host server. I finally decided to try “Wordpress”. So of course being the pragmatic individual I sometimes am known to be, I go to their website and download it and follow (ahem!) the instructions entitled “Famous 5 Minute Install,” describing how I am to unzip the software and then ftp it up to my website. Configure this file here, access this file there, and Ouila! I should be up, logging in as the admin and running. But NOT SO FAST! Error 404 this, Error 505 that! So I go to the support forum and do not see any similar installation queries. In fact the problems and the answers are beyond the scope of my current experience and I most likely at this point resembled a deer in headlights.

So just about at the end of my tolerances for ineptitude (especially my own), I do what any website admin would (should) do and I logged into my control panel. There staring at me in the face [Da Da Dummmm!] is the option to install Wordpress.  Thank you JustHost.com you rock!

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Planning for Old Age

January 7th, 2010
Data the High Android

This will be me in my "Declining Years", feeling no pain.

Ah, the salad days….

I’m considering the possibilities. Maybe go back to school? Make new friends? No, no good. I know! What about starting a new addiction? Hmmm. Yes, that sounds good. Maybe old age is the time to try all those drugs I’ve been putting off. Like take Heroin for instance. I haven’t tried that one yet, maybe because I was afraid I might like it. But once old age is upon me, why not? What have I got to lose? I think I’m going to start my Heroin fund today, and save for my later addiction, it’s always good to plan for the future. After all, If I’m lucky enough to have managed to live so long that I’m outliving all my friends and family, why not have a monkey on my back? He could be someone to keep me company in my (rapidly) declining years. What a way to go!

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Posted in Humor, Life | 2 Comments »

A Resume for the First 50 Years

January 7th, 2010

So here I am at a pivotal moment in life – turning 50 years old. As it goes with aging and time in general, it just seems the more you move through it, the faster it goes. It gives one pause and reason to take some time to reflect on what have I done thus far with the time allotted me. So I decided to make a “shopping list” of my life’s highlights. Let’s just think of it as my Lifetime Resume.

Been to Every State in the ….USA…. Except For:….

  • Wisconsin
  • Minnesota
  • Alaska

Can’t think of any others

Countries I’ve visited:….

  • USA
  • Mexico
  • Canada
  • England
  • Wales
  • Germany
  • Switzerland
  • Austria
  • Lichtenstein

Lived in these places:….

  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Detroit, MI
  • New Orleans, LA
  • Scottsdale, AZ
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Houston,TX.
  • Rock Springs, WY
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Wilmington, NC
  • Tucson, AZ
  • On the road all over the USA traveling by van

Highlights….

  • Won first place in a High School Talent Show even though no one knew who the hell I was (I was rather shy)
  • The first time I rode a horse on my own at the age of 11, I preceded to get my wrist broken, and it did not stop me from becoming an accomplished rider
  • Started playing the guitar at around 13 years of age
  • Learned to sing despite the fact that my mother encouraged me (once) not too J
  • On two separate occasions, I hiked to the bottom of the ..Grand Canyon.. and camped, then camped half way back up to the rim.
  • Hiked to the top of the highest peak in Arizona, Mount Humphreys and signed the Register
  • Dated a Major League Baseball Player, a pitcher, from the San Francisco Giants
  • Actually made a decent living playing music for over 10 years
  • Saw and photographed Bill Clinton at a Campaign Rally during his initial Presidential Run in Las Vegas
  • Witnessed and Photographed the Plane Wreckage of Ricky Nelson outside Texarkana, TX
  • Had one son who is also cursed with the need to play music
  • · Studied two forms of Martial Arts; I attained the level of green belt and was training for my brown belt in Shaolin Kenpo Karate and used to compete in tournaments in North and South Carolina, I have numerous trophies to show for it; I also studied Aidido in Tucson for a while
  • Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Math with a minor in Physics
  • Worked for the US Department of Agriculture and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture for two summers as a Gypsy Moth Trapper
  • Attended graduate school at the U of A in geophysics and math
  • Part of a Geophysics team at U of A that discovered and mapped a new fault in China. Co-authored a Geophysics Journal article about the new fault and attended presentation of findings in San Francisco at a Geophysics Conference.
  • Have worked as an engineer for a Prominent Defense Contractor for over 10 years now
  • Gave a technical talk at West Point.. to Military and Defense Contractor Weenies and was nominated for the Barchi Prize
  • Pulled a drowned woman up from the bottom of a pool, pullled her out of the pool and successfully resuscitated her. If not for me she would have died then and there. She lived on to watch her grand kids grow up.
  • Have dislocated both of my shoulders riding a different one of my horses each time
  • Competed at Barrel Racing, Team Penning, and Ranch Sorting – I never thought I would participate in a sport that involved cows!
  • Have had more pets than I can count:
  • Have managed to live at the same address with many of the aforementioned critters in Tucson for going on 8 years now – some kind of record for me – Not only am I a Gypsy at Heart, but now I am a Gypsy at Home.
  • · Proofreader for SWANK magazine in 2008 – Yes, I corrected Ron Jeremy and Mary Carey’s grammar for supplementary income.
  • Created a piece of computer art, an avatar for Brent Spiner’s Twitter page, that actually makes me laugh with joy when I look at it (Thanks to Raytheon for paying me to learn how to do that kind of sfuff!). It gave me the opportunity to “pay it back”.
  • Have managed to find a handful of friends in my life that when I think of them, it can bring an instant tear to my eyes. I need to tell them who they are to me.
  • Pet’s I’ve shared a home with:
    • Birds
    • Lizards
    • Snakes
    • Rats
    • Mice
    • Gerbils
    • Hamsters
    • A Black Widow Spider named “Snoff”
    • Tarantulas
    • Dogs
    • Cats
    • Horses
    • Chickens
    • Goats

Interesting People In My Life

• Clint Eastwood (Actor, Director, Producer, Composer and Musician) – Hung out with for two weeks during filming in ….Phoenix…. (Note: This guy was the bomb, what a fantastic, and nice man, I can’t say enough…), too many other great stories here…

• Sally Ride (First American Woman in Space) – Met at work at Raytheon in Tucson and had a small conversation about encouraging young girls and women to study Math and Science

• Frank Robinson (Baseball Hall of Famer) – Partied with Frank and some of the members of the Giants and the management, had a little too much of a “snoot-full”, Frank and one of the other managers drove me home, Frank drove my 65 mustang – Thanks Frank! It was a blast, from what I recall

• Bob Hope (Comedian, Actor) – At a golf course in Scottsdale

• Richard Dreyfuss (Actor) – Entertained at the Cambelback Sahara

• Dr. Richard Ireland (Famous Psychic, Minister) – This guy was amazing. Dylan’s dad Kevin, and I opened for him at the Camelback Sahara, he married us wearing his usual medical tape and 3 double-thick velvet blindfolds over his eyes in front of the audience that came to see his show. We opened for him first of course, and then got back on-stage to finish the night’s performance.

• Martin Milner (Actor) – Hung out with his son Andrew and his nephew (Sandy??) at his home in San Diego, I’m gonna leave the rest of the story a memory in my head

• Joe Cocker (Vocalist) – Met in ….Germany….

• Brian Wilson (Leader and Chief Songwriter for The Beach Boys) – Entertained in ….Kansas City.., ..MO….

• Steven Tyler (Vocalist for Aerosmith) – Entertained in ….Kansas City, MO

• Joe Perry (Guitarist for Aerosmith) – Entertained in Kansas City, MO

• Marina Sirtis (Actress) – Met in Las Vegas

• George Takai (Actor) – Met in Las Vegas

• Billy Jean King (Tennis Athlete) – Met in Scottsdale

• Wilt Chamberlin (Basketball Athlete) – Met in Scottsdale

• Bill Cosby (Actor, Comedian, Producer, Writer, Educator) – Met in Scottsdale

• Duane Eddy (Guitarist/Songwriter/Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famer) – friend

• Merle Haggard (Singer and Songwriter) – Met and Entertained Regularly

• Sondra Locke (Actress) – Hung out with for two weeks during filming in Phoenix

• Steve Wariner (Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter) – Met in Texarkana, TX at Dennies

• Tim Curry (Actor, Vocalist) – Met in Scottsdale

• Brent Spiner (Actor, Vocalist, Writer, Twitterer) – e-friend and other silly stuff

• Isaac Asimov (Writer and Scientist) – Short correspondence

• John Denver (Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist) – Corresponded With

• Jesse Cook (Flamenco/Jazz Guitarist and Songwriter) – Correspondence and several in person meetings over the years

• Nicolas Hernandez (Flamenco/Jazz/World Music Guitarist and Songwriter)– Friend

• Jack Elam (Character Actor) – Met in Scottsdale

• Debbie Reynolds (Actress, Singer, Dancer) – Met in Las Vegas

• Rip Taylor (Comedian) – Met in Las Vegas

• Ingrid Daubechies (Mathematician – Inventor of Wavelets) – Met while attending graduate school at the U of A

• Donald L. Turcotte (Famous Geophysicist and Mathematician,Textbook Author) – Met him at a Geophysics Conference in San Francisco that I attended as co-author on a paper.

• Heather Robinson (Movie Producer, Writer) – Met in Tucson, Friend, correspondence, planned future Collaboration

• Ira Newborn (Music Composer for Film Soundtracks); Most notably “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “The Blues Brothers”, & MANY more  – Correspondence, future collaboration

• Melissa Gilbert (Actress) – Met in the checkout at the Piggly Wiggly in Knoxville, TN

• Louise Francesconi (President Raytheon Missile Systems – Now retired) – Met at a few of my friend’s parties, this woman is fun and funny as well as sharp as a tack

• Jon Voight (Actor) — Lunch at Nate ‘n Al’s Deli in Beverly Hills, CA

• Larry Klayman (Author and Political Activist) — Lunch at Nate ‘n Al Deli in Beverly Hills, CA

• Probably many others that have slipped through the cracks between my withered brain cells

• My friend Shannon, one of most incredible surprises in my life, and a beautiful twist of fate.

• Laurence, who remains an example of life’s unexpected turns for the better

• Kevin Baker, one of the three funniest people I know and have shared the planet with, and the father of my son

• My Father, Nicholas R. Pitha, a talented surgeon and a very funny, intelligent and wise guy

• My sister, Stephanie P. Shelby, who has an enthusiasm for life and a quick mind that I cannot begin to explain how much I admire

• My Mother, Mary Kay Pitha, a gorgeous, glamorous woman, who is not only full of humor and love, but who possesses an intelligence and insight that is rarely surpassed

• My brother, Christopher D. Pitha, one of the three funniest people in my life, and also one of the most clever and intelligent

• My son, Dylan K. Baker…. there are just no words….

• My Muse, the third of the three funniest people, someone who inspires me in mysterious ways, who shall remain a mystery to most, but is on this list twice

• There is one really cool one that I keep forgetting… it will come to me… it’s another “senior moment”

I think I will continue to add to this list as I recall more stuff.

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“F” Facebook!

December 19th, 2009

This is it. Fuck Facebook!

Wise up people, this is regimented gestapo. Everyone get your cookie-cutter profile in line and be sure to link your email address and let everyone know who you’re related to, what you are buying, and what comments you made on whose photos …. I’m deleting my account. We are led to believe that this is a way for family and friends to stay in touch. I say, this is a way for “Big Brother” to stay in control of the “Sheeple”, and help you to waste your time with silly activities like Mafia Wars. It keeps you out of trouble, you know – not paying attention and spending less time educating and improving yourself, and away from other activities like perhaps watching what is really going on with the man behind the curtain…. We’re told, “Oh MySpace is so last week!” Well MySpace is an INDIVIDUAL environment on each page that you go to. Not only is there is NO advantage to Facebook over MySpace, in fact there is less functionality. Facebook has ties to the CIA and has been used as evidence against people by insurance companies to not pay their claims. Be very suspicious! If you are going to continue with maintaining an account, be careful what you say and post.

I’m afraid I’m gonna have to step out of that line folks, that line and the one for getting my combination “Good Citizen, Fiscal Compliance, and Vaccination” Tattoo. My Facebook account will be gone soon. I’m leaving it open a little while longer so that folks can read my message (I posted this blog on Facebook too), but I’ve deleted all other content. Then soon….POOF! If you want to talk to me, listen to my music, see my photos, watch my videos, etc. You can do it the “old fashioned way” and see me in person, call my cell phone, find me on MySpace, or email me, hell you can even find me on YouTube and Twitter, but not on Facebook, at least not for very much longer.

I’m not the only one that feels this way, nor is my point of view without merit. Please take the time to read these articles:

Why You Should Beware of Facebook

Big Brother With a Smile

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Who Put the “Ho” in the Holidays?

December 16th, 2009

Back in October while in Beverly Hills, eating at Nate ‘n’ Al Deli, I had the pleasure of running into two very interesting people. They were sitting together discussing a book that one of them had propped conspicuously up against the booth divider at their table.  The book was titled in large letters: “Whores”. Well that is not an easy title to ignore, so I found myself compelled to investigate further.

John Voight, Larry Klayman, and Kim Sodano at Nate n’ Al in Beverly Hills.

Jon Voight, Larry Klayman, and Kim Sodano

Jon Voight, Larry Klayman, and Kim Sodano at Nate n' Al Deli.

I walked up and introduced myself and remarked on the book that had captured my attention. The two gentlemen I am referring to are Jon Voight, who many know as an extremely accomplished actor, and perhaps more younger people know as the father of Angelina Jolie. The other is Larry Klayman, the author of this book with the full title “Whores: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment”

According to the card he handed me, Larry has an office in Beverly Hills and another in Washington, DC.  But it appears that these days, he will be located in Washington more and more as he begins his next battle in his, what I would call noble fight, against corruption in our government.

It is my belief that we should be grateful to our military for what they do, and appreciate the personal sacrifices that they make to protect our country’s interest and safety.  But also, we need to be grateful to the other kinds of warriors that are looking out for all of our interests.  The

people looking to protect the freedom of the people of this country in it’s truest sense.  Those people, like Larry, who put themselves up against

Whores: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment

Whores: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment by Larry Klayman

personal attacks and ridicule in order to try to not only educate the people as to how our government is behaving badly, but to get down into the trenches and do battle with the actual officials that are perpetuating this bad behavior and policy.

I would like to encourage you to buy Larry’s book and read it. Not sure? Well let me direct you to an article that may drive my point home even clearer: “Beware Obama … he’s back!”

This is not about party lines. I am neither Democrat nor Republican. In fact, I believe we need to abandon the two party system.  It has only been two paths towards the same destination. I was extremely unhappy about the changes to and decline of our liberties during the Bush Administration. I’m afraid that more of the same is still encroaching upon us.

WE THE PEOPLE need to be and remain vigilant in protecting our freedom and liberty.  It is not just a job for others, it is our personal responsibility to ensure its protection. The first step, is to educate yourself to the truth. Do not remain ignorant to reality, do not turn a blind eye to the information that is readily available. Do not fall into the trap of discounting truth because it sounds like some “nutty conspiracy theory”. Folks, this is how big changes happen, for the good or the bad. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin at one time were likely considered on the fringe, and many folks probably wondered what all this nonsense about Revolution was about. Remember, ignoring Hitler would have never made him go away. Shit can and still DOES happen! Wake Up America!

“In the beginning of a change,the patriot is a scarce and brave man, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” – Mark Twain

“Fear not the path of truth, for the lack of people walking on it.” – Robert Kennedy

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Group Think – Going Through Life Eyes Half Open

February 4th, 2009

Did you ever hear this story:
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

Joshua Bell

Violinist Joshua Bell Playing in the Washington D.C. Metro Station.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

I think its something else though, something more, I believe that it’s a form of “Group Think”, many of us take our cues on what to appreciate from others, behaving like sheep-people or “sheeple”. Like wearing a pair of pants because you saw them on someone else who you think is cool, so therefore, the pants must be cool pants to wear…. Many of us let only the mass media tell us what music to like, what movies to watch, what books to read.  Most people don’t recognize something worthwhile if it has not been recommended by some “athority” or promoted by mass media marketing.  In this experiment, Joshua is perceived to be unknown and unimportant.  To test this, I would have added one more piece to this experiment.   Later the same day or the next day, I would have added a small audience around Joshua as he played, perhaps 5 then maybe 10 ordinary looking people to stand around listening. Then see what happens. My guess is that a larger and larger crowd would gather and people would actually start to notice the excellence of his performance. They would have allowed their minds and ears to open up to what was happening.  Why? Because Joshua’s playing would gain validation from the people already standing there listening, sending out the message that, “This is worth paying attention to, this is good stuff.”  The lesson here is that we all need to do more of our own thinking, evaluating, and rely less on the opinions of others to decide what is worthwhile. We need to open our eyes and our ears.  We could be missing out on great art and music when we ignore the artist or musician standing in front of us only because up to this point, he or she is “unknown”.  We need to remember to stop and smell the roses that grow on the outside of our pre-conceived flower box.  What do you think?

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