crazy world

This world is just insane. People's reactions to it are almost as crazy. People take bad news and change differently. Some people flip out over any little problem. Others take everything in stride. I am the latter, 90% of the time. But when I struggled with how I should feel and move forward recently, some of you were very helpful. Others were dealing with their own problems that made me absolutely feel horrible for feeling bad about my situation. It's said all the time, but it's really true that someone always has it worse than you. Whether it be the end of a relationship, a divorce, betrayal, or the loss of a loved one, or just realizing that as individuals you are moving in different directions, there will always be someone in a worse situation. It never seems to happen to those that deserve it. But what we all need to remember, is that no matter what has been done to you, what you have lost, or what may have changed, that eventually we all have to push forward. Ultimately, you have to believe that the future will be better than the past. And you have to figure out how to make that happen. I've always been the one to handle things myself, to step up and deal with it, to NOT ask for help. Now, I want to be the one to make someone's life the best it can be. Better than it was. Better than they ever knew it could be. But I want someone who is as concerned and dedicated to doing the same for me. I'm going to demand that from my relationships in the future, both form myself and my partner. As much as I hope I find that, I hope all of you find what you need to make your life the best it can be as well. And as always, if there is anything I can do for any of you, just let me know.

What's wrong with our Government?

With all the stuff going on lately in our country and around the world a lot of people are asking, what's wrong with our government?  Did they skip economics classes during high school and college?  What about history classes?  Are the people in our government stupid?  Is this any better than the last 8 years?  The big question is, do any of the people we have voted into office really matter?  Well, I do think a lot of our politicians skipped economics, but the answer to the big question is, No... not really.  

I'm not disillusioned by Democracy.  I think it's great and amazing.  But as many of you have heard me say before, the two party system has outlived its usefulness and I see it more than ever right now.  Step outside of the mindset that your side is right for a moment, and look at this from an outsiders perspective.  You have two opposing sides.  There are a lot of people who have differing opinions but our style of government forces you to join one of these parties in order to be heard.  Even our voting requires this, most states you can only vote in a primary if you are the member of that party.  If you register independent, you don't get input into whom either of the two likely candidates for president will be.

This will continue until things eventually get bad enough that people revolt, forcing a change in government.  This is risky, it risks your safety, your security of not only yourself and your family and your finances, but the country and the government which would come out of such a revolution.  Things have to be really bad for people to take this sort of risk.  But until then we are on a set path of which the course cannot be changed beyond a nudge from one extreme to the other.  More on that later.  

All of this is nothing new, I've been talking about this for years, although I don't know if anyone cares or listens.  But it is in fact a truth.  This government is an antiquated system that was adapted as a way to deal with a massive voting public when, quite frankly, the ability to deal with the numbers of votes in a direct way was impossible.  Well, technology makes it possible now.  It can be done, we can support multiple parties, we can make every vote equally important.  But it won't happen, because those in power would lose their ability to stay in power, or to place those they support in a position to gain power.  Thus, the necessity for revolution if the system is ever to change.  It requires a massive investment to create a real multiple party system, or even to move away from parties altogether.  But again, this is nothing new.

What is new, what I realized today watching everything take place in our country today, is that our path is inevitable.  With the current system, there is little opportunity to change anything.  The fact of the matter is that one party will be (mostly) in power, if they do a decent job they will likely remain in power for 8 years.  If they are doing an exceptional job, they may even win again with a new candidate and their basic agenda will continue.  The other option is to suck and piss people off causing the perception to switch to the opposing party.  Most of the time, the latter will take place, because it is much easier to find fault than it is to be impressed by a person or group.  So, the balance of power will bounce back and forth with a mostly regular pattern.  This will inevitably cause constant investment to move in one direction, the investment to move back, which will ultimately leave us somewhere in the middle.  The problem is, it is the middle of two groups, not the middle of what the people as a whole want.

 

We had a long period of great prosperity which was allowed to happen by a lack of oversight.  We allowed the free market to rule, and instead of oversight our government contributed to inflating businesses in a way that is akin to steroids, which only lead to a larger fall when our financial muscles grew to an unsustainable mass.  So, now we have to jump in the most opposite direction possible.  But none of it matters, because now we cry socialism and if these policies are anything short of miraculous, we will once again cry for change and in the end be at the same place we started; a functioning country in constant flux that can't agree on a direction for an entire decade to save our life.  

Until there is a way to express our opinion outside of these two poles, nothing can change.  And as long as there are two accepted opposing opinions that have the power to keep any third parties down and out of the picture, that opinion cannot be heard beyond the complaints of our citizens.  No third party will become a player, because nobody believes it can... and they are right.  The system is created so that no other group can become a player, and culture and tradition only perpetuate this.  This has turned a great compromise that made Democracy work on a huge scale into a facade based on an ideal that is no longer really in place.

So, if you are glad to be moving away from the Texas gunslinger mentality in Washington, great.  Bask in it while it lasts.  If you are crying over the pending socialist movements in our country, don't worry... people will get tired of it sooner or later.  Perhaps this is in some ways the one advantage to this system, that having two directly opposing forces will avoid any major change to a negative extreme.  But that safety also prevents any real improvements from being made.

I hate music

No, not music in general.  You all know me better than that.  I hate how we have to work to find different, unique, quality music.  Sure, there are talented musicians out there.  Sure, there are good songwriters that we hear from.  But even when they come together, at best you are going to get a formulaic version of their style made for a hit, with one of a handful of subjects that make up EVERY top 40 song out there.

Partying

Girls

Breakups

Love

Money

Cars 

etc.

Not that there's anything wrong with this.  I know that certain formulas work, that's why they are used so much.  What I hate is, and what I'm realizing now, is I don't have the time to go out and find the other stuff I might want to listen to.  And new developments in the way we get our music just make it worse.

More and more, we are getting our music online.  That means less time spent listening to the other 12 songs from an album and more on the 2 that you got introduced to by the media.  That means you don't hear the unique, sometimes uncomfortable songs that will give you chills the first time you REALLY stop to listen to them.  And they don't even have to be the best quality tracks to get in your head, if such a band is even lucky enough to get a push from a label with the clout to get them into the mainstream media. 

Million Dollar Baby tackles the issue of Euthanasia and wins all kinds of awards.  More specifically taking the issue into your own hands and the difficulty of making that decision.  The movie industry supports exploring issues in their medium.  Music, pushes it aside, as it isn't profitable.  Part of that is our fault for what we buy, but I would love to have an outlet to get easier quicker access than listening to an endless supply of crap to find a gem. 

The song that got me thinking about this is a perfect example which parallel's the issue at the end of Clint Eastwood's film.  Stereomud who had a couple minor hits and whom I have never heard anyone reference in YEARS, had a song buried in their first major album called Old Man.  The music wasn't particularly technical, in fact the whole album at first glance is just another nu-metal rock in the pile.  But, this was just one of several songs they produced where the songs didn't have any power until you listened to the lyrics.  The same can be said for Hurt today, which is why I think I'm such a fan of both, although Hurt is musically and vocally spectacular in addition to having unique lyrical topics.  

Stereomud - Old Man

never before would he even thought it
take her life away
nothing could give her peace but leaving
careful what you say
he sees the pain
that no one else is seeing
he feels the pain
that no one else is feeling

now you've gone past the point
you can't take
now you've gone past the point
you can't stop all the suffering
stop all the pain

(old man stop the pain
now your life is stained) x2

had it been the other way around
there's nothing I would change here
for my sake, for her sake
hey, it's not a life I'm ending
hold on to nothing
i'll set you free

go to sleep softly and know this
i'm gonna take away the only thing you have left
because you can't speak to ask
i will send you on your way

it's the way it's gotta be
to set her free
take another shot old man
it's the way it's gotta be
you know what you are ending

Another interesting track from the album is Perfect Self, the title track actually.

If any of this had made a band or song spring to mind, by all means please share... I feel like I haven't heard anything of any substance musically in a long time.  And I need somewhere new to look.

Newest Cult Member

I've joined the cult, I'm one of the sheep, I just finished my kool-aid... I joined Twitter.

Sorry to disappoint you all...

http://www.twitter.com/clayeth

Just when you were totally disgusted with sports and athletes . . .

I know some of you despise sports right now.  Maybe you never were a fan, maybe you are just sick of the news of idiot athletes.  But just when I'd had enough of the steroids, steroid coverups, government wasting of assets on sports issues, legal accusations, idiotic self-shootings, suspensions, and just general worthless nature of our current athletes, I read a story that shocked me for a different reason.

University of Kentucky's Patrick Patterson, a big guy who doesn't suck, the most rare find for all NBA teams, has chosen NOT to enter the NBA draft after his Sophomore season at UK.  But that's not the surprising part.  So, what is it?  One of Patterson's reasons for returning to UK, is that “I have the chance to graduate in three years, which is important to me and my family,”  . . .  What?  I expected the other answers, likes the new coach, thinks he can improve his game and improve his chances for success in the NBA.  But one of his main reasons is not only graduating, but graduating in three years.  Something that seems to take most students, including myself, five years WITHOUT the commitments associated with playing for one of the most demanding college basketball teams in the country.  

Of course, that information was just a footnote, and will never be widely reported.  Good news is boring, it's the norm, it happens all the time.  Unfortunately, people won't stop talking about all the bad stuff.  I'm here for my life, to improve it and myself, to help those close to me, to be happy.  So, instead of listening to all the people talking about how much their life, job, boyfriend/girlfriend, country, economy, etc. suck; I'm going to continue focusing on what matters to me and cheering for a future fellow UK alum who obviously is more focused than myself and more mature than the man who coached him the last two years.  So, don't be surprised when I'm not concerned, or even care the next time that the next Swine Flu story dominates the news talking about the 20 people who died from it, not the thousands that got over it, or the tens of thousands that were never even diagnosed.  If you don't agree with me, go ahead and read your tabloids and watch the nightly news... just don't tell me about it.

My thoughts

Welcome, this is going to be a place for my thoughts.  Whatever crosses my mind.  I've never used the blogging features on Myspace much, but with a dedicated space of my own, I plan to keep this regular, so visit often.