Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Seen It All Before


Seen It All Before
Amos Lee

go ahead baby
run away again
growing tired of chasing you
i know you only have time
to love me
you've got nothing better to do

who's bold enough to believe
even love or war..
both just leave you busted
and broken down
wanting more..

baby, i've seen it all before
know that i've seen it all before
know that i've seen it all before
i aint gonna be your fool any more

i can hear my heart pounding
oh but i just can't decide
stuck between the depths of my fears
and peaks of my pride

baby, i've seen it all before
know that i've seen it all before
you know that i've seen it all before
i aint gonna be your fool any more

seen your tricks,
and i've seen your trade offs
i've seen your evil ways
i've seen everything,
your twisted smile
conveys


i aint gonna be your fool baby (7x)
any more..

Monday, January 30, 2006

everything is free, as long as you do what they tell you


soul suckers
Amos Lee

Did you believe them
when they told you they discovered you
And that everything is free
as long as you do what
they tell you to
You think it's true?

But nothing could be further from the truth, my love


Did you even listen
when they told you to change your name?
No, no body wants honesty
when lookin at a perfect frame
play the game

Nothing could be further from the truth
my love..
And nothing is more powerful than beauty in a wicked world
play it girl,
play it girl,

play it girl

Does it make you feel good
when they tell you what you want to hear?
And after they suck all your soul
well that's when they'll disappear
Disappear
disappear forever..

Like a prince in your little fairy tale
And you will find
one day you put your soul on sale

Nothing could be further from the truth
my love..
And nothing is more powerful than beauty in a wicked world

Sunday, January 29, 2006

I Am At Ease In The Arms Of A Woman










Arms of a Woman

Amos Lee

I am at ease in the arms of a woman
although now most of my days are spent alone
a thousand miles from the place I was born
But when she wakes me she takes me back home

Now most days I spend like a child
who’s afraid of ghosts in the night
I know there ain’t nothing out there
I’m still afraid to turn on the light

I am at ease in the arms of a woman
although now most of my days are spent alone
a thousand miles from the place I was born
but when she wakes me she takes me back home

A thousand miles from the place I was born
But when she wakes me she takes me back home

I am at ease in the arms of a woman
although now most of my days are spent alone
a thousand miles from the place I was born
when she wakes me she takes me
Yeah, when she wake me she takes me
Yeah, when she wake me she takes me back home

When she wake me she takes me back home

Friday, January 27, 2006

Insomniacs Of The World, Unite !






Where's there a lounge open (in Denver!) at 2:15am, when you need one?

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Catch-22


From Wikipedia:

Catch-22 is a critique of bureaucracy in general. The phrase "catch-22" has come into common use to mean a cyclical conundrum, or "no-win situation" based on its meaning in the book as described below. A catch-22 situation is also inherently self-defeating: the very act of performing it prevents it from happening.

Within the book, "catch-22" is a military rule, the circular logic of which most notably prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions:

One may only be excused from flying bombing missions on the grounds of insanity;
One must assert one's insanity to be excused on this basis;

One who requests to be excused is presumably in fear for his life. This is taken to be proof of his sanity, and he is therefore obliged to continue flying missions;

One who is truly insane presumably would not make the request. He therefore would continue flying missions, even though as an insane person he could of course be excused from them simply by asking.

As in the above example, much of Heller's prose in Catch-22 is circular and repetitive, exemplifying in its form the structure of a catch-22. Heller revels in the use of paradox.


As with Joseph Heller's book and title phrase, which has now entered into the mainstream of the English language, I too feel as if I am caught up in a Catch-22 situation. A class in which I was to register this semester, considered semi-"required" as part of my current program, was dropped due to lack of enrollment. So, I asked those in charge what my options might be, as this class will not be offered again for about another 1-2 years, which would mean that it would take me an additional 1-2 years to graduate if I wait to take it in the future, than if I had just been able to take it now. No advice was immediately forthcoming on the matter, although I did receive some empathy and sympathy regarding my predicament.

Now, the semester has started, and I still have not been given any advice or direction as to what my options might be, and so I registered for several possible "replacement" classes, which might take the place of the cancelled one. As I was getting no direction whatsoever, I decided to get things going by taking the initiative and registering for a few "possibilities" in terms of classes. Then, though, I hear later through the grapevine that the classes which I had selected as "possibilities" probably would not fulfill departmental requirements. Yet, still no one has advised me on what my options might be, despite my attempts to gain such advice, and including attempts to make the proper contacts with the proper persons to gain such advice. Meanwhile, time begins to run out, as it gets ever closer to the end of class registration.

One golden rule is to never mess with the bureaucracy; let it just do its own thing, or it might well roll over on you. What does one do though when it has gone all deaf, dumb and blind; just spinning and spinning and spinning, all circular motion without purpose; at least with regard to my needing to get the required "official stamps of approval", yet without any apparent recourse to officials, stamps, or "approvals"? Instead of reading Kafka novels, somehow I've now fallen into one.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Is This Man The Anti-Christ ?






Yes,Phil Donahue might very well be the Anti-Christ, foretold in the New Testament of the Bible, in the Book of Revelations. At least that's what my mother's neighbor thinks. In a discussion one day over just general subjects, including some issues of religion, the topic of who might be the Anti-Christ came up, and if he might already be in the world today. My Mom's neighbor said that she in fact already knew who the Anti-Christ was. My mother stood there and waited; for the revelation of that sinister figure who runs the world, and who is the very embodiment of all evil. So when she found out that it turns out that Phil Donahue, a longtime TV talk show host, is the son of Beelzebub himself, she was stunned, flabbergasted. She also had to bite down on her bottom lip, extremely hard, in order to maintain a straight face and not burst out laughing over how ridiculous that was. Her neighbor though, was quite serious about this; Phil Donahue is the spawn of The Horned Beast, The Vile One, that old wicked, slippery serpent. We're not sure how this neighbor got her information, although she is an active church goer; we believe she was given this revelation via her attendance at her church.

I've got to admit though, I did used to enjoy watching his talk shows on television. If this is really true, what does that make Jay Leno and David Letterman? Are daytime talk show hosts less evil than those who rule over the night? I cannot say, for I am but a simple man, to whom such things are not revealed. Although now Conan O'Brien, with that flaming red hair and always hopping about; I could see where he very well could be the unseemly spawn of Satan. Tony Danza though? No, I'll never believe that he could be a part of this sinister cabal of iniquity; TV hosts as candidates for the position of the Beast himself. He's way too nice of a guy.

Poor Little Fellow


ONE-EYED CAT HAD MEDICAL CONDITION

By TERRENCE PETTY, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 11, 9:59 PM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. - A photo of a one-eyed kitten named Cy drew more than a little skepticism when it turned up on various Web sites, but medical authorities have a name for the bizarre condition.

"Holoprosencephaly" causes facial deformities, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the
National Institutes of Health. In the worst cases, a single eye is located where the nose should be, according to the institute's Web site.

Traci Allen says the kitten she named Cy, short for Cyclops, was born the night of Dec. 28 with the single eye and no nose.

"You don't expect to see something like that," the 35-year-old Allen said by telephone from her home in Redmond in central Oregon.

Allen said she stayed up all night with the deformed kitten on her recliner, feeding Cy a liquid formula through a syringe. She says she cared for the kitten the next day as well, until it died that evening.

Allen had taken digital pictures that she provided to The Associated Press. Some bloggers have questioned the authenticity of the photo distributed on Jan. 6.

AP regional photo editor Tom Stathis said he took extensive steps to confirm the one-eyed cat was not a hoax. Stathis had Allen ship him the memory card that was in her camera. On the card were a number of pictures — including holiday snapshots, and four pictures of a one-eyed kitten. The kitten pictures showed the animal from different perspectives.

Fabricating those images in sequence and in the camera's original picture format, from the varying perspectives, would have been virtually impossible, Stathis said.

Meanwhile, Cy the one-eyed cat may be dead, but it has not left the building.

Allen said she's keeping the cat's corpse in her freezer for now, in case scientists would like it for research.

She said one thing's for certain: "I'm not going to put it on eBay."


When I first came across this story, I thought, "how funny that is", but then as I actually read through the article, I felt incredibly sad about this little fellow. Could he see out of his one big eye, in the brief time that he was here upon the Earth? Did his condition cause him any pain? Was he comforted in his final moments, by his "mother", who held on to him closely? It may sound funny, but I really hope that he felt loved for a time, in the short little while that he was here amongst us. I hope that in heaven, he chases birds and butterflies to his heart's content, with two beautiful, restored, cat's eyes.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Tom Cruise, Meet...Tom Cruise !


This photo I believe was from the "Ben Stiller Show", where comedian Ben Stiller showed up on the set of filming for "Mission Impossible", dressed as a "stuntman" for Tom, while Tom was filming. I saw this episode, which was quite funny, because at one point they were just standing side by side during a break in filming, kind of bored, hanging around, both of them with hands on their hips, when Tom turns to take in Ben again (on the left, just in case!)and then bursts out laughing in that kind of Tom Cruise, nervous, weird kind of laughter. So Ben of course, breaks out in the EXACT same weird nervous laughter, doing everything Tom was doing, the big toothy grin, clutching the stomach, bending over in laughter, straightening out, stopping, staring at each other, then everything starting all over again. It really was hilarious. And Ben wouldn't stop copying him, which you could tell only made Tom more nervous, as he was trying to laugh all the weirdness away.

Oh, if only weirdness could just be laughed away, though. I betcha that Katie was in her pajamas then, eating a bowl of cereal and finishing up watching the Power Puff Girls, when this came on her TV. How could she have known what was to come? There was still time, back then. Now, well it seems like it could be another, "Mission Impossible", at this point. Stay tuned though, I'd say the weirdness has only just begun...

Friday, January 06, 2006

I Wanna Get Next To You



I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU
Rose Royce

Sittin' here in this chair waitin' on you
Ah baby, to see things my way
But not a word do you say
You won't even look my way
Girl, I'm spending my dimes, wasting
My time, talking till I'm black and blue
Ah, can't you see I wanna get next to you

Dreams of you and I go sailing by
Whenever your eyes meet mine
(You're so fine)
And girl you make me feel so insecure
You're so beautiful and pure,
Why must you be unkind
(And tell me I'm not your kind, blowin my mind)
Girl, my, my money is low and I know
That I can't take you to the
Fancy places you might wanna go
Still I wanna get next to you
I wanna get next to you

Girl, you can bend me, shake me, make me
Whatever it takes to please you
I'm willing to do
'Cause you're my dream come true
And I wanna get next to you

I wanna get next to you
I wanna make you mine (for all the time)
I wanna get next to you
I promise I'll never make you blue
I wanna get next to you
I wanna get next to you



This guy at the above banner has one great site! He's got all the great old school songs, which you can play off of his page. He also has this great retrospective photo tour of NYC, especially the Latino areas of the city. I haven't heard this song in so long! Oh, man!

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Monkey Business








The actor Nick Nolte, on a break from filming...




I don't know why I was thinking about this again the other day, but it is just one of those things that kind of stays with you once it has come to you, and then just pops up in your head again from time to time. I remembered again seeing a documentary quite awhile back now, about some monkeys; I think they were chimpanzees, in their forest or jungle habitat. There was a band of them together, and they were foraging about, when one of them found an old tin gas can in some overgrowth, and he started to begin to roll it about. He began rolling it along, batting it back and forth as he rolled it up and down between the rest of the troop. The other monkeys watched very intently, and became increasingly frightened at the new found power of their fellow member, who himself began to shriek ever louder, beating his chest as he now banged more and more intensely and thunderously upon the can, realizing the tremendous fear and awe he was now inspiring. It seems that he became the new leader of the frightened, awed little group.

As an anthropologist in training, we believe that modern man and the apes both descend from a common ancestor, way back in the far reaches of time, which makes man, who himself is a primate, a distant cousin to the modern apes with whom we share this ancestry. The sci-fi writer, Robert Anton Wilson, has at the beginning of one of his novels a short section describing primate behavior, and how monkeys do things like throwing their “you know what” at each other in order to show their anger or dissatisfaction with one another. Wilson believes that such behavior is also exhibited by humans, such as when they use scatological language in referring to each other in less than flattering ways. It's basically just a verbal way of doing what monkeys do. Wilson states that one difference now though, is that we have also made that “waste” to be today of a nuclear variety, and it is now this nuclear “waste”, in the form of missiles, which we wish to throw at each other in the present, given all of our "advances" in modern technology. In other words, it's really just the same 'ol shit, but now in a new day. The point of all of this is that, even as things change, they still also tend to remain the same in many ways, and human behavior tends really not to stray so far from its roots and beginnings in many ways.

So, because of that documentary I saw several years back now, whenever I now see or hear a person bellowing, or otherwise bloviating, about how they are in charge, or how they know everything, and we therefore must listen to them, be they a teacher, a president, a professor, a manager, a TV preacher, a rabbi, imam, or mullah, a self-help guru, the guy at the corner market, a real estate agent, or really just about anyone else who makes a claim of some sort of exclusive leadership over others, and I then see such others cowering fearfully, or maybe just taking in things that really don't seem to make much sense; accepting authority because it is loud or seemingly “in charge” of the situation, I simply now just say to myself, “Oh well, he's just banging on the gas can, once again”, and I just have a little laugh over it all.