Passenger Seat

I was listening to this earlier on my iPhone. I really, truly, love this song. I can't put it into words. It's very simple and childlike. When I listen to the words, I fall back to a simpler time as a kid growing up in Florida. We would take these trips to Walt Disney World every couple of years for our vacation. I remember the long drive back home, late at night, after a long day in the Magic Kingdom. My sister Jennifer and I would lay down in the back of the parent's AMC station wagon and watch the starry night sky through the back window. I remember how good the cool summer breeze felt coming through the cracked windows. I recall falling asleep on the long drive home, trying to pick out Orion and the Big Dipper from a black-blue sky full of gems and rhinestones. I miss those days. I miss not having to worry about bills or making it to work on time. Everything seemed perfect.




I roll the window down
And then begin to breathe in
The darkest country road
And the strong scent of evergreen
From the passenger seat as you are driving me home.

Then looking upwards
I strain my eyes and try
To tell the difference between shooting stars and satellites
From the passenger seat as you are driving me home.

"do they collide?"
I ask and you smile.
With my feet on the dash
The world doesn't matter.

When you feel embarrassed then i'll be your pride
When you need directions then i'll be the guide
For all time.
For all time. 

The Fragile

Well, today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Trent Reznor's "The Fragile". This double album was way ahead of it's time sonically, although so was The Downward Spiral. What sets The Fragile apart is the composition of the songs. They are more detailed and intricate than anything on The Downward Spiral. There are moments of beauty, such as La Mer, well you can tell that the sun is peaking out from the dark places in Trent's soul. And of course, there are the angry screamers like No You Don't and Starfuckers, Inc that definitely reflect Trents aggro writing style. Overall, though. This was a really decent record, and one of the best prior to the Orwellian stuff he has gotten into lately with Year Zero. Trust me, Trent. We've already got Muse covering that. Leave it alone and go back to what you do best.

Pearl Jam - The Fixer: A personal interputation

I picked up the new Pearl Jam album, Backspacer, over the weekend. I have to admit I was a little bit worried that I may not be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Not because I expected a lesser effort from the band than they put out with their self-titled album, but because I've been on a Pearl Jam moratorium for a few years now. Pearl Jam was the one band that I shared with an ex I had dated for six years. We were both enthusiastic Jammers, attending some 13 shows around the country between 2000 and 2006. We went through a pretty brutal break up during the bands last tour. I guess I was worried that I would associate the new material with those memories and it would sap the enjoyment out of it.
The good news is that the whole album seems fresh to me and I don't feel even a twinge of emotional heartache when listening to it. By far, the earworm on the album is a rocker called "The Fixer". My take on the song is somewhat personal.
As men, it seems like we spend our entire lives attempting to fix things that are broken, like cars, computers, the right leg to the kitchen table, relationships. Do you see where I'm going here? I want to highlight relationships here. When there is a problem in a relationship, it is almost a natural instinct to try to 'fix' it. Example, a man forgets his wife's birthday. He attempts to 'fix' the problem by running out like a fool and buying her a bunch of roses. He didn't do it out of genuine love, but out of guilt. I was watching some God-awful daytime show like Maury the other day in which this guy had been caught cheating on his long time girlfriend. When he comes out on stage, he's a blabbering fool. He tearfully apologizes and gets down in that position, on one knee with the hand in the pocket. He proposes. She slaps him and runs off the stage. The curtain falls. What made this guy believe that proposing on the Maury Povitch Show after being called out for being unfaithful would be the perfect opportunity to ask this woman for her hand in marriage? Is the desire and need to fix things that break, like relationships, so strong that he didn't see the bad judgement he was making?
Women don't want things fixed. Well, not true, they do, but they also want to feel validated. They want to know that their anger isn't misguided or crazy. They want more than band-aids on a relationship that is hemmoraging. The sooner that us men understand that, the better we will all be.

Here's the lyrics:

Yeah, hey, hey
When somethings dark, let me shed a little light on it
When somethings cold, let me put a little fire on it
If somethings old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When somethings gone, I wanna fight to get it back again

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When somethings broke, I wanna put a bit of fixin on it
When somethings bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
If somethings low, I wanna put a little high on it
When somethings lost, I wanna fight to get it back again

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If theres no love, I wanna try to love again

I’ll say your prayers, I’ll take your side
I'll find us a way to make light
I'll dig your grave, we'll dance and sing
What's saved could be one last lifetime

hey, hey, hey
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

An Open Letter to Conservative America

Welcome to the day after.

You are probably waking up right now and feeling that exact feeling of dread that I felt in 2000 and 2004. I don't envy you. But at least look for the silver lining. Now the Limbaughs, Hannitys and Savages have enough fodder to keep them employed for at least the next four years. Think of this as job security.

I've read a few very angry and hateful posts this morning on Multiply. I don't understand why some people take it so personally that in a democracy as the United States happens to be, their neighbor or friend or relative may have voted for 'that guy' instead of McCain. Perhaps they do not understand that when it comes down to it, there are much more important issues at hand than a so-called racist preacher, a washed-up former domestic 'terrorist', a birth certificate (which to my knowledge has still not been proven to be false), and other below the belt associations and accusations.

Shut down the propaganda mill. The whistle just blew and your shift is over.

I am a former Republican. I tend to vote fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I think less spending is needed. Not just at home but overseas and militarily. There is no justification to keep shoveling money into our defense department when technology has made warfare safer, cheaper and less dependent on physical manpower. In that line of thought, I also feel that while some government programs may be needed, it's necessary to dismantle and stop the ones that prove themselves to be failures. Otherwise, the taxpayer is not getting a significant return on his or her investment.

Then I began to realize that our Republican officials were actually worse than the Democrats they were always complaining about. After all, Bush didn't tax and spend. oh no. Bush BORROWED AND SPENT...thus enslaving future generations to pay back a massive deficit with interest to countries that do not espouse our concept of liberty. For six years, the Republican congress went right along with the Bush doctrine, increasing the government's credit limit on multiple occasions and allowing spending to go through the roof. For the first time in our nations history, pork barrel spending by Republicans actually outpaced the Dem's pork. Bush gave massive handouts as well to the pharmacuetical giants (under the guise of improving Medicare), Halliburton and other private corporations in a gulf war profit party, as well as tax cuts to the very oil industries that were sucking the American consumer dry at the pump. Of course, no spending spree would be complete without bailing out the fat cats on Wall Street after THEY shot themselves in their own greedy foot. And this is suppose to be the party of fiscal conservatism?

It is my viewpoint that this behavior is twenty times worse than spending tax dollars on social programs and the like. At least that money goes to Americans and gets spent by Americans, thus benefiting American businesses.

So here is your reality check. Your party has abandoned the ideals of conservatism and embraced the concept of fascist corporatism, dressing it up with family friendly, idealistic carrots such as ending abortion or stopping the impending onslaught of gay marriage. The neo-cons in office have set you down in front of their dog and pony show while the real money gets spent behind the scenes to further an agenda that has all but crippled our country. And if something goes wrong, such as the mortgage debacle or the incredibly high gas prices they blame the Democrats! Deflect blame! Point the other way! This approach had worked for a while, but I believe America finally caught on and hung the failed policies of Bush firmly around John McCain's neck.
So get it out of your system now.

Blame the liberal bias in the media.

Blame ACORN.

Blame the stupid neighbor who is a brainwashed sheep in your eyes.

Blame the racist preacher, the unrepentent domestic terrorist, or the leader of Nation of Islam.

Blame the Democrat-led 'do nothing' Congress.

Blame Hollywood.

Blame Obama's rejection of public funding.

Blame the CRA Act.

Blame the race card.

Blame the New York Times.

Blame George Soros and the "liberal elite".


Blame who you wish.

Just remember four fingers are pointing right back at you.

Cheney likely ordered 9/11 forgery, CIA official admits

A forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ordered on White House stationery and probably came from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a new transcript of a conversation with the Central Intelligence Agency's former Deputy Chief of Clandestine Operations Robert Richer posted Friday.

read more | digg story

82% of Americans Want Major Health Care Reform

The vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system, and 82 percent think it needs to be overhauled, a new survey found. "There is a broad view by the public that our health care system needs a full overhaul, either to be totally rebuilt or reformed."

read more | digg story

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