Trails of Dust

Obama wins first battle

2008-11-04T00:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the good citizens of Dixville Notch, NH, Obama has won the first round of battles. Obama defeated McCain by a count of 15 - 6 in the first county to report it's vote in the country. Coupled with the loss of the Washington Redskins, the Republicans are not off to a good start.

Vote

2008-11-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I sure as hell am ready for something different. Of course I've been ready for the last 8 years. Let's hold our leaders accountable by voting for some new ones. Whoever your choice is just go out and vote.

Cousin Oliver?

2008-11-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does Republican Strategist Ed Rogers look mighty similar to Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch? Especially with his latest haircut and glasses (see video). Apologies to Robbie Rist.

Not One of Us

2008-10-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Jane Six Pack, aka Sarah Palin, was treated to a shopping spree courtesy of the RNC worth $150,000. Yes that is right one hundred, fifty thousand dollars. This is the same Jane Six Pack that claims to be just like the rest of real America. She claims she's not your average politician instead she's pretends to be your average hockey mom. Hmmm, that is one expensive wardrobe for a hockey mom.

Her trip to Neiman Marcus alone cost $75,000. Wow!!! The average American household doesn't even make $75,000 in one year. As a matter of fact that is almost $25,000 more than the average American household brings in a year. Let's put that in another perspective.

Have you heard of "Joe the Plumber" yet? Well the business he dreams of buying only made about $100,000 in 2007, not the $250,000 he told Obama he would make. That's $50,000 less than Sarah's campaign wardrobe. Joe the Plumber's house is worth $23,000 less than Palin's shopping spree. Gosh golly that is one expensive wardrobe.

Now I know what you might be thinking right now, Obama must have some expensive suits in his closet. Well Obama has been painted as an Elitist by the right, so that means he is entitled to wear that high priced suit while he sips lattes, eats arugala while reading the New York Times. But if you claim to be just your average Hockey Mom, you have to dress the part and buy your clothes at WalMart, K-Mart or Target like the rest of us.

Keep Your Fingers Out Of My Eye

2008-10-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

And keep your God out of my life.

What's worse than a waiter asking you if everything is OK when your mouth is full of food, is your dentist asking you questions while working inside your mouth. Yesterday my dentist decided to ask me if I was "voting for real change" while scrapping my teeth. I responded "no" because I usually vote for a third party candidate. He then preceded to ask me "how will you feel about having a Muslim as President?". I couldn't believe my ears but I sure as hell could feel my gums.

There is a lot of ignorance and intolerance going on these days with the upcoming election and it's starting to disgust me. So what if Obama was a Muslim? I don't care that would be his faith and his alone. This country and the rest of the world needs to stop obsessing over what God you believe or don't believe. Everyone has a right to discover God for themselves and hold that faith to themselves without making judgement against other people for finding comfort for your soul.

Frankly I would prefer a President that admits he doesn't even believe in a God. That would be someone I could trust to make frank and rational decisions. Most atheists value life more dearly than the most religious person. Why? Because an atheist doesn't believe in an afterlife and tries to make the best of this life.

So wake up America or better yet grow up and quit living in fear. Fear of death, fear of life and fear of other peoples Gods. And quit trying to put your God in my life.

Joe the Plumber

2008-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

From butt crack to national exposure on every major network.

At last night's Presidential debate, Joe the Plumber was mentioned 25 times! Wow, that dude got quite a bit of attention. McCain invoked his name 21 times and Obama 4 times. What kind of plumber pulls in more than $250,000 a year? If he is making that kind of money and can't afford the additional 3% that Obama will tax him at for making over $250k, than maybe he should plunge a few less toilets next year and come in under that amount.

$250,000 a year as a plumber, wow?!?!?!? Not bad for someone that sounds like they are a character straight out of a Frank Zappa song.

"Well, the toilet went crazy
Yesterday afternoon
The plumber he says
"Never flush a tampoon!"
This great information
Cost me half a week's pay
And the toilet blew up
Later on the next day ay-eee-ay
Blew up the next day WOO-OOO"
©Frank Zappa

In Honor of Richard Wright

2008-09-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

The music world lost a true talent today, Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of Pink Floyd.

Along with drummer Nick Mason, Wright was usually left on the sidelines when the spotlight was on Syd Barrett, Rogers Waters or David Gilmour. Wright keyboards and vocals added textures to every Pink Floyd album with the exception of the Final Cut.

In addition to Pink Floyd, Wright also release two solo albums and a collaboration with Dave Harris called Zee in 1984 while on hiatus from Floyd. In 2006, Wright toured with David Gilmour performing David's latest solo album, On An Island, as well as many Pink Floyd songs.

Pink Floyd's final concert with the four main members was performed at Live 8 in London on July 2, 2005. It is a sad loss indeed. Shine On!

In Honor of Peter Camejo

2008-09-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is indeed a sad loss. I voted for Peter each time he ran for Governor of California. He will be sorely missed.

From Ralph Nader:

Peter Miguel Camejo, a civil rights leader, socially responsible investment pioneer, and magnanimo caballero for third party politics in the US, peacefully passed away early Saturday morning at his home in Folsom, CA with his wife Morella at his side -- only days after completing his autobiography.

The 68-year-old justice fighter had been battling a reoccurrence of lymphoma cancer, and his condition had rapidly deteriorated over the past few days.

Peter was a student leader, civil rights advocate, leader in the socially responsible investment industry with his own investment firm, Progressive Asset Management, Inc., and author of books on investment and history including Racism, Revolution, Reaction, 1861-1877, The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction, California Under Corporate Rule, and his recent book, The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially.

Peter used his eloquence, sharp wit, and barnstorming bravado to blaze a trail for 21st century third party politics in the US. He was a third party candidate for state and national office, making three gubernatorial runs in California as a Green, including one in the 2002 election when he earned 5.3 percent of the vote. In the 2003 recall election, he debated Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis, and in the 2004 Presidential election, he was my running mate on our Independent Ticket.

Among the many causes Peter forcefully championed were a living wage, healthcare for all, and making the US the world leader in renewable energy. He was also a passionate advocate for electoral reform, pressing for proportional representation and instant run-off voting (allows voters to rank their top choices) in an effort to overturn the "200-year-old dysfunctional money-dominated winner take-all system that disrespects the will of the people."

Peter was a friend, colleague and politically courageous champion of the downtrodden and mistreated of the entire Western Hemisphere. Everyone who met Peter, talked with Peter, worked with Peter, or argued with Peter, will miss the passing of a great American.

Peter Camejo is survived by his wife Morella, his father Daniel, his daughter Alexandra, his son Victor, three brothers Antonio, Daniel, and Danny, and three grandchildren Andrew, Daniel, and Oliver.

When his autobiography (with the working title Northstar) is published, we will all be able to get a vivid sense of the great measure of Peter Camejo as a sentinel force for civil rights and civil liberties, and expander of democracy. His lifework will inspire the political and economic future for a long time.

Present or No Vote at All?

2008-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

John McCain's campaign has been making a big deal about Obama voting "present" 129 times while in the Illinois Senate. Yet McCain has missed more votes than any other Senator in the U.S. Senate. He's missed 407 or 63.8% of the votes and has only cast 231 votes. Obama has missed 290 or 45.5% of the votes and cast 348 votes coming in third for missing the most amount of votes in the Senate.

When you consider Obama cast almost 4,000 votes while in the IL Senate and voted "present" only 129 times, compared to McCain missing more votes than he cast, it seems highly hypocritical of his campaign. Throwing stones while living in glass houses is not very wise.

Open the Debates!

2008-09-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin's Introduction Speech

2008-09-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

A couple observations from an Independent (who's still not voting for either Coke or Pepsi, maybe that should be Bud Light or MGD) on last night.

Throughout the night they had nice visuals up on their backdrop: the flowing American flag, Mt. Rushmore, Yosemite, and the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, AK (I hiked to it in June and it was one of the most majestic sites I have ever seen). But why on earth when Carly Fiorina was speaking about creating and keeping jobs in America did they have a picture of two loaded cargo ships in a port on the backdrop? The first image to come to my mind was NOT those ships are loaded with American made goods destined for some foreign port. Instead I'm sure those ships were loaded with items that were once produced here in America and are now stamped "Made in China". That image conjured up feelings of why we are losing jobs here and not making me feel all warm and fuzzy like the other images. Not a very smart image to place on the backdrop at that moment in time.

As for Sarah Palin's speech, she did a great job delivering a well versed and scripted speech attacking Obama. Knowing her background of being a Communications major and former sportscaster I expected that going in. Unlike Bush, she can read a teleprompter (yes I know so can Obama but at least he writes a majority of his own speeches). For the Republican base, she hit the proverbial home run. However if they are trying to sway undecided voters or win over the Hillary supporters, she struck out. By the end of her speech I felt like I didn't know her as a person any better and was left cold. It felt like one big negative attack on Obama. I will admit I was out of town for Bidden's speech and didn't get to watch it but we know Bidden for the most part. This was Sarah's chance to shine and win over some undecideds.

Case in point, Michelle Obama's speech. I really didn't like her or care for her one bit. But her speech on the opening night changed my impressions of her. With all the controversy surrounding Sarah Palin, you would think they would have used a better approach for introducing her to the undecideds. Because let's face it McCain is not going to win this election with just the solid base of the right, he needs to win over some Independents and Democrats. So it was a great speech for the solid base but left this Independent with a negative impression.

Let's Have a Real Debate

2008-08-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again and if you didn't know any better you would be lead to believe that you only have two choices: Coke or Pepsi, Red or Blue, Black or White, Old or Young, Democrat or Republican. Look a little deeper my friends you have more choices than what MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC, MySpace, etc. tell you. I don't know about you but I'm tired of the taste that Classic Coke and Black Cherry Pepsi leave in my mouth. But it looks like we've got another election year and the debates will only be open to Coke and Pepsi, er I mean McCain and Obama.

I've been registered as an Independent, or Declined to State here in California, for the most part since 1986. I believe there was one year when I switched to Democrat but quickly switched back to DTS after receiving one too many phones calls asking for money. Voting for a candidate outside the two party system is not foreign to me and it shouldn't be to you.

I'm throwing away my vote you tell? Not really, you are by not voting your conscience and only voting for the lesser of two evils. When all we ever vote for is the lesser of two evils than evil is all we will ever have. Still not convinced?

We are lucky if 45% of registered voters even show up to vote. What about the other 55% of the registered voters that don't bother to vote? Are they tired of the only to choices they think they have, so they don't bother to leave the house? What would happen if only 50% of the 55% decided to vote but vote for a third party party candidate? Now that would be real "change" and not some feel good phrase coined for the election.

But the Dems and Repubs along with their corporate puppet-masters will never allow us to see the other candidates that are running for president this year. Whether you are on the right or the left, in the center and just not sure there are choices other than Coke or Pepsi. See for yourself, here is a list of all the parties and their candidates running for president.

Unfortunately none of the other candidates stand a chance of making it to the debates this year. In the past the televised presidential debates were organized by the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan group. But in 1987, the Commission on Presidential Debates took over the televised debates. The CPD is a private bi-partisan group headed by former chairmen of the Democratic and Republican Parties. With corporate control of the media (there is no liberal media) and the creation of the CPD, third party candidates don't stand a chance of ever participating in the televised or any other debates.

What do they fear by allowing other parties to participate in the debates? You mean someone on the right that can't stand McCain might find a candidate that shares their views? Or someone on the left might realize that Obama is not as liberal as they thought? It's time to open the debates and let the people know we have more choices.

The Ripe Seattle Busker

2008-08-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

While wandering back to our Seattle hotel last Saturday night after hanging out with the Vapor Brothers crew, we were approached by an elderly gentleman. Armed with a mini-plastic water jug strapped around his neck the gentleman introduced himself. He was honest and gentle, as he explained that he lived in a tent nearby, didn't do drugs but had an occasional beer and that he was "ripe". He also stated that he writes a new song each day of the year and would like to perform a new reggae song for us. Now whether or not he was telling us the truth, he sure was right about smelling "ripe".

But it was late on a beautiful night and a we were having a good time, so why not stop for a minute and hear his song. He launched into a grooving beat on the bottom of his water jug and shortly after started to sing. The man had rhythm and a soulful voice that was full of life. I thought to myself as he sang his song that I should grab my camera and take a picture but I got so wrapped up in his music, I didn't want to do anything that would break the rhythm he had going. As I write this I really regret not getting a picture or better yet rolling some video on the camera as he performed.

The song was definitely not a reggae tune but it was one of the best new tunes I've heard in a long time. And better than 99% of the crap I had to suffer through as I finished out my last few years working for Sony BMG Music. This was music from the soul with some heart from a ripe, toothless, homeless guy. Not some over produced, underage beauty that couldn't write a song to save their life.

As we parted ways with the Seattle busker, we were all humming and strumming the rhythm that stuck in our heads. There is magic in the air at times and this was one of them.

The Infinite Number

2008-08-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to celebrating this day for a long time now. And no it's not because the Olympics have kicked off in China.

When I was 8 years old, I played soccer in one of the little league teams. If I remember correctly my position was half back and my number was 8. It was at the point in my life that I decided 8 was my favorite number.

It's a beautiful number, round, no corners, symmetrical, and runs in an infinite loop. If art could be found in a number, that number would be 8.

I was born on February (the second month) 16th, 16/2=8, in a year that ends in 8. When I realized that at my early age, it sealed the deal for 8 being my favorite number. Even though I can't really remember exactly what I was doing at the age of 8, I have a memory of it being my favorite age at the time.

This morning I woke and I didn't occur to me until after I finished but I exercised while watching a video of my all time favorite band, Genesis. After I got out of the shower I put on my current favorite boxer shorts. While in Skagway, AK, my beautiful wife and I picked out some new boxers for me. On the backside of my boxers there is a bear, a moose, and a raccoon sitting in a bubbling hot spring with a sign next to it reading "Beware of Natural Gas". Yes I am easily amused.

After donning my boxers, I put on a shirt of one of my favorite places in the world, Bryce Canyon National Park. It's an orange shirt that is very reminiscent of the rocks and hoodoos found throughout the park. Being Friday, I always do laundry on Fridays, I set up a random playlist of my favorite band, Genesis, to stream throughout the house, before going outside to do the laundry.

Tonight, my beautiful wife and I will eat at our favorite restaurant, Miraku, in Walnut Creek, CA. Miraku has some of the best sushi in the Bay Area in addition to our all time favorite waitress Coco. After dinner I will settle down with my favorite person and drink our favorite night time drink, Guavaberry Liquor.

So as you can tell it is a day of favorites for me and a day to celebrate my favorites. So I wish you well in where ever your journey takes you today.

Happy 08/08/08

The Principle of the Moment

2008-08-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

The American Dream: get married, buy a house (preferably with a white picket fence), settle down and have 2.5 children. Or so they tell me.

That may have been the case when family values were more than a slogan to get elected and our government didn't have the big dick of corporations stuffed down it's throat. I remember watching TV shows from the 50's that featured the happy family. Dad smoked a pipe, worked 9-5 and was home in time for an early dinner. Mom didn't have to work and was able to stay home, raise the kids and cook Dad that early dinner. And the kids would play outside, not having to worry about getting shot or kidnapped. Gee that seemed like such a swell time to live.

Or how about during the early 70's? Sexual freedom and plenty of damn good drugs. The average CEO only made 40% more than the workers below him (not 400-500% more, remember that so-called trickle down theory I was bitching about before). Heck, even Nixon seemed like the Beav compared to Bush. Wire tapping the DNC, seems like child's play, after the lies and war profiteering we've witnessed with Iraq.

Now we've got bullshit manufactured wars: The War on Drugs, The War on Terror. No one will ever win either war. Man has been using drugs and committing acts of terror ever since man figured out how to pick up a stick and bash it over his brothers head. Cheery, I know.

I guess I'm just a little bitter than almost my entire paycheck went towards the mortgage of a house that is now worth 37% less than what we paid for it. I tried doing the right thing, I got married and bought a house. Only I should not have bought my first house in 2005. I feel for my fellow Americans who are not as well off as I am. I'm blessed to have a great family, good friends and a job that I like.

And a news report has just come in that there was a murder-suicide in my small little town. My thoughts go out to the family and I will shut up and enjoy my time.

No Monkeying Around for Rush

2008-08-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

If Rush's 2001 release, Vapor Trails, was one little victory for the band than their 2007 release Snakes & Arrows is one major victory. I know it's a bit late in the game for a review but too bad, I love this record and I'm going to blog about it.

Last May, JL and I checked out Rush at the Concord Pavilion (sorry I don't think I can ever bear calling it the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord). Going into the show I knew they were playing 9 songs off their latest album, so I got my hands on a copy of the CD and spent the 2 weeks leading up to the show listening to nothing but that album.

At first Snakes & Arrows sounded like the last few Rush albums and I will leave it at that. But after several runs through the album it really started to grab me and the volume on the stereo would slowly increase. With each listen, every song started to take on it's own identity. The opening track "Far Cry" was the first song to sink in and take it's grip on me. The music and the lyrics are made for driving around with the volume turned up and this old man rarely does that these days. My ears have taken a beaten from 30 years of going to concerts with no ear protection.

Now granted the music isn't quite as complex or lengthy as the band's classic 70's period but it still rocks and has some great layers of sound and textures. And the lyrics are the big selling point for me. Neil has matured to an even greater level than his previous lyrics, writing about inner and outer turmoils in the world. There is light and darkness all rolled into one here. Thirty years from now these lyrics will be just as classic lyrics as his earlier lyrics.

After 3 months this CD is still in my car disc player and gets spun every day. The songs are catchy and will get even catchier with each listen. So for those of you classic Rush fans that are curious but haven't gave Snakes and Arrows a chance do your self a favor and listen to this album! It is easily their best album as a whole since Grace Under Pressure.

A Taste of Skagway

2008-08-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight my beautiful wife and I shared a little taste of Skagway.

Last month we celebrated our third wedding anniversary, along with my parents and my brother, his wife and daughter, with a 10 day cruise. The cruise was a roundtrip out of San Francisco that took us to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, AK as well as Victoria, BC. We had no clue as to what to expect in each port. All four cities were beautiful and unique in their own special way.

We were particularly fond of Skagway, a tiny town tucked away amongst giant snow covered mountains. It pretty much rained the entire time we where there but that did little to dampen our spirits. A restored town from the 1800's with plenty of unique shopping and dining. One of our favorite things to do while in a new town is to hunt down the local ice-cream shop. Not the one selling Dryers, but the one with it's own local made ice cream.

In Skagway that shop turned out to be the Alaskan Fudge Company. A family owned and operated company, not one of the cruise ship operated superstores. They had tasty ice cream and waffle cones that were made on the spot. I couldn't be any happier to have a double scoop of Huckleberry Heaven on a waffle cone fresh off the press. We also picked up a 1/4 pound of Inside Passage fudge. A sweet creamy delight of milk chocolate stuffed with peanut butter.

The inside passage managed to survive the rest of the cruise and made it back home to our refrigerator. Tonight the decorative box with the little sliver of fudge came out and we had our last taste of Skagway. Until we find our way back to the little town in the mountains.

To Stand or Not To Stand

2008-08-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

As a result of Yes canceling their 40th Anniversary summer tour, I ended up taking my beautiful wife to see UB40 last night at the Robert Mondavi Winery. We headed up to the Napa Valley earlier that day and hit several wineries. It was a very hot summer day in Napa and wine wasn't quite hitting the spot. Wanting a change from wine we stopped by the Silverado Brewing Company for some fresh, cold beers and dinner. Silverado Brewing Company has an outstanding Oatmeal Stout that has just the right balance of chocolate and coffee flavors.

After a few beers, we headed over to the winery for the concert. We arrived about an hour before the show and staked out a spot towards the back of the lawn. The Robert Mondavi Winery is a nice intimate place to see a concert. As we entered the winery we were offered free bottled water, this was a nice touch. Between the opening act and UB40, the winery was sampling one of their white and red wines along with an assortment of tasty cheeses. The 2005 Merlot was by far the best wine we sampled all day.

Prior to the opening act, we ended up finding a spot on the wall that was a bit more comfortable than the lawn. Turns out that one of the wineries security guys was sitting next to us. I overheard his friend talking about how they made everyone sit down at the concert last weekend. This made me flash back to the last time we saw UB40 at the Wente Winery in Livermore, CA (when you have a hit with a cover of "Red, Red Wine" you are probably sought after by many wineries).

At last year's UB40 concert, the crowd was very subdued and sat for the first 30 minutes. The band took notice of this and made a few comments. Soon a few of the fans up front got to their feet and started dancing. It wasn't long before security came by and asked the dancing fans to sit down. UB40's guitar player complained that it took them this long to get the crowd on it's feet and now they are being told to sit down. He wasn't very pleased. By the end of the night, with most peoples dinner digested and the wine kicking in, the place was up and dancing. After this flashback I wondered if we would have a repeat of last year.

Pretty much as soon as UB40 hit the stage, people were popping up throughout the crowd and moving to the music. They were swiftly met by the security motioning them to sit down. To make matters worse, I had the overzealous security guy next to me shouting "down in front". When you are trying to listen to music, shouting "down in front" in much more obnoxious than having someone dance in front of you. It wasn't long before UB40's guitarist told the people in front to "stand up and dance, they won't make you sit down". Word must have travelled from the band to security because soon they were moving through the crowd telling fans to stand up and dance.

Needless to say, joe security next to me was pissed about this and started bitching to his friends. A few more songs into the show and the guitar player said, "if you can't see than stand up and dance. we're a dance band, we're a dance band". I silently smiled inside and was glad to hear him say this.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't even standing but I know that UB40 is a dance band and nothing pleases a band more than to have the crowd grooving to their music and giving back some energy. If I was at a Yanni concert, I could understand wanting people to sit but this is party music. Many bands would prefer to have the audience on it's feet and dancing rather than sitting back like stumps watching the band. Maybe at a Pink Floyd concert but not at UB40.

It didn't take long for practically the entire audience to get up on the feet and moving to the sounds. Even the two couples in their late 60's, who originally tried to get security to make the people in front of them sit down, were dancing like teenagers by the end of the night. Remember if you get confused, listen to the music play.

You Have More Than Two Choices

2008-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I meet up with a few friends for drinks at a bar and to celebrate the 40th birthday of a dear friend. At some point the topic of conversation turned to Obama and what we thought about him.

My parents are both Democrats and I grew up leaning to the left. The older I got the more liberal I became. Nothing like hitting puberty in the era of Reaganomics (sorry but trickle down economics was bullshit and nothing ever trickled down, it only stayed at the top). Since I first registered to vote in 1986, I registered as "Decline to State", that's Independent in California. I've always had a deep distrust in both parties and it grows everyday. Let's face it both parties are deeply rooted in the corporate purse and like it or not, we have become a Facist country (corporate control of the government, sorry but that is what has happened). The once so called "liberal" media is really nothing more than a few giant spin corporations controlling almost every aspect of mainstream media. Everyday I read word for the word in my local newspaper the same exact article I read the night before on one of the major news network websites. And now back to Obama.

I've always had my doubts and unfortunately they were confirmed with his vote on the FISA Act. Not one of my friends was even aware of the FISA Act or how Obama voted on it. But at least he voted unlike McCain who can't even seem to show up and vote for anything these days. Don't we elect these guys to do a job and vote on the issues that will effect us? Instead they get into office and spend the next two years running an election campaign and missing a majority of the votes. It should be mandatory for every politician to cast a vote, not to abstain or miss out entirely. Do your job and represent us! And now back to Obama.

Once I explained the FISA Act and how Obama voted, my friends became as disappointed as I was when I first heard about his vote. And I then informed them that they have a choice and it's not just red or blue, Coke or Pepsi. Every election there are usually several third party candidates on the ballot. But because the corporate media doesn't want you to vote for someone they can't control, they ignore them entirely or scapegoat them like Nader in 2000 (remember Nader and Pat Buchanan were barred from participating in the debates because they supposedly would have no outcome or effect on the election. Plus Gore was a big pussy and should have demanded an entire recount of the state of Florida).

But don't I throw my vote away if I vote for someone that isn't Blue or Red?

Bullshit! That's what they want you to believe. Most people are so turned off by the system and their choices that they don't even bother to vote. Turnout of registered voters rarely exceeds 50% and usually it is much lower. That means over half the people that could vote don't. If a large percentage of the people that don't bother to vote actually turned up to vote for a third party candidate, we would see real "change" and there might actually be some "hope". But for now those words are part of some Pepsi feel good campaign.

You are throwing your vote away if you don't vote for the candidate that you truly believe in. I heard a quote once, I'm not sure who said it but I will leave you with it. "If all we ever vote for is the lesser of two evils, than evil is all we will ever have". Think about it.

Bill Bruford and the Ear Wax Clinic

2008-07-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Bill Bruford and earwax are usually few words you won't find together. One of my all-time favorite drummers is Bill Bruford (the legendary drummer for Yes, King Crimson, Genesis). Out of nowhere Mr. Bruford visited me in one of my dreams the other night. Now for someone that spent 20 years working in the music industry that might be expected.

Most often you may bump into your favorite drummer at the local music store teaching a drum clinic. However I was quite shocked to find that Mr. Bruford was giving a clinic on the proper technique of cleaning one’s ears. Bill was in the process of pouring baby oil into the ears of his students. How could I possibly refuse the chance to have one of my musical heroes pour baby oil in my ear, so I titled my head and received a few drops from the drummer. He then instructed the class to slightly shake our heads about to let the oil move around in the inner ear. Very strange indeed.

Earlier in the day, I had read online that a very good oil to use for cleaning one’s ears is Tea Tree Oil (and yes I was actually awake when I find that tidbit of info and not dreaming). In my dream I shifted from Mr. Bruford’s ear cleansing clinic to being at home with my lovely wife. We do have quite the stash of aromatherapy goods laying around the house (assorted incense, scented lotions, soy massage candles, oil diffusers, etc.) and we just so happen to have some Tea Tree Essential Oil (my brother-in-law loves to mix Tea Tree Oil with Peppermint Oil and diffuse it). So back to my dream I asked my wife to pour a few drops of the Tea Tree Oil in my ears to help loosen the wax and kill off any fungus or bacteria that may be lurking in there as the article I read suggested. For some reason she turned the bottle over and instead of placing some drops in my ear, she poured the entire contents of the bottle onto the floor. So much for the Tea Tree Essential Oil ear cleanse and so much for my dream as I awoke from it.

I rarely remember my dreams but when Bill Bruford is giving clinics on clearing wax from your ears, well I guess that’s one dream I won’t soon forget. Apologies to Mr. Bruford for having to play such a strange part in one of my dreams. Then again having clean ears probably helps you to hear his music that much better.

Welcome to the Rhythm

2008-07-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

From the primal beat to the vapor trail, my mind will ramble about much of nothing. But isn't that what life is all about? Pulling something out of nothing? A collective conscience of vibrating particles. Finding treasure in someone else's trash or recycling the byproduct of another wasted day. And still my mind wanders as it wonders what is around the next bend. Welcome to space, my vapor brothers and sisters, and to another beautiful day.