So, Kylie Minogue has breast cancer. Jason Priestly just got married. Britney Spears has her own reality tv show. Michael Jackson's accuser demands cheetos. Brad's reason for leaving Jen are complex. Robin Williams sues an impersonator. The Hilton chick does something again. Madonna went to India to get a special medicine to help her have a baby.

These are the top headlines for the day. What isn't in the headlines is how a group of illegal immigrants rallied in Maryland, and the police were there to make sure they felt comfortable instead of enforcing the law. (Note: that link will become a new article in one week)

This world is stupid. How do people of no great relevance become more important than important civil matters? We're going to hell in a hand-basket full of pop culture waste.

Why is Robert Blake still in the news? He was on a tv show thirty years ago that isn't even in reruns right now. Put him on the Surreal Life and maybe I'll care for a second who he is.

Why is the Michael Jackson trial getting more media coverage that the trial of Sabrina Harmon? Do you even know who that is? Already forgot, didn't you. Look it up. It's a trial that might actually affect the US's standing in the world.

But of course why should we really pay attention to anything important in the news when "respected" news outlets print shady sources that turn out to be false, refuse to retract, and cause massive riots in countries that already are not fond of the US. Way to go, guys! The next bombing's thanks to you I guess!
And then Fox news in Mexico makes remarks about blacks. The comment was that Mexicans work the jobs that blacks don't want in the United States. Why is that offensive to blacks? "Blacks are pickier than Mexicans when it comes to jobs" is an offensive thought?

These are the times when I see the bumper sticker "Kill 'Em All, and Let God Sort 'Em Out" and I say, "Amen!"

Live. Love. Later.

Oscar Brahnam.

To most that name means nothing. To me, the the person means nothing to me. I don't know who it is. I have no idea when he lived, when he died, if he's even dead, and what he did with his life.

I remember several years ago, I lived in a small area. I would say "small town", but it wasn't really a town or a community. There was a small gas station with two pumps and a dinner, and that was about as much as we had in this town. Not even a four-way stop.
At the time I worked in the closest town (Camden, SC) which was about 20-30 minutes away depending on the weather and the condition of the roads. Also, depending on if I got stuck behind some slow 80 year old on some of the winding roads. I use to drive out there at least four times a week. It was just a part time job in a crappy music store. Not much ever happened. I had innumerable "girl-friends", most of whom I don't remember their names if I even knew it at the time. There was nothing to do and we all just tried to kill as much time as we could.

On the way to work there was an old, run-down corner store with boarded windows and doors and a parking-lot with cracked gravel making way for weeds to grow through. The name on the board on-top of the building was "OSCAR BRAHNAM..." I could never read what it was after his name due to time and weather. But I always saw "OSCAR BRAHNAM" and always wondered who this man was who had this dead monument to his name out in the middle of no where.

This man lived, probably had kids, knew people, affected people's lives, and had a store. And even after all of that might've possibly ended for him, he still affected me by just having a name.
His name has stuck with me, almost haunted me in ways, burned onto my brain like a brand. The name is one I'll never forget, and I'm horrible with names. At the time I was making-out with girl who I could barely remember what they looked like let alone their name. Yet this man, with his ancient store and sign has stuck with my memory and made me wonder for the past five years, who is Oscar Brahnam.

Goodbye, Oscar Brahnam.

I've heard people talk about "reverse racism" and I think it's a bunch of crap. All reverse racism is would be someone liking someone just because of their race. It's a crutch to make racism from "African-Americans" or whoever feels generally violated by racism feel not as bad or wrong and makes it almost righteous indignation. Reverse racism makes it sound justified in some way.
Racism is racism whether it's black on white, white on black, or everyone against the Mexicans. It's just ignorance represented in arrogance.

Live. Love. Later.

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything
without losing your temper or your self-confidence.
- Robert Frost

I thought was a very good quote. It's something to think about if nothing else.

Also, remember the song "Standing Outside a Broken Phonebooth With Money in My Hand" by the Primative Radio Gods? I heard that yesterday. How random of a song. It was a good song too. Not great, but good.

Live. Love. Later.

Humans have the distinct flaw of feeling guilty for that which they cannot help, and not guilty for the many sins which they can help.

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects

Have you looked at the few screen shots out for this game so far. This could really be an amazing visual game. And the Marvel fighting games are always done really well too. Unlike the one DC fighting game where Batman or Aquaman could beat up Superman. That still doesn't make any sense to me.

Also, I'm really looking forward to FFXII, and hoping it isn't like FFX2 or FF Tactics. I know a lot of people like those games, but they aren't really what I look for in an RPG.

After 3 months of searching off-line for an expansion pack for my 64, I finally found one the other day for $15. I immediately started to play Perfect Dark. Great game. Next I'll be playing Majora's Mask.

I'm going camping this weekend, and I really hope tomorrow is sunny enough to dry the ground after the big storm that is suppose to hit today. All I want to do is sit next to a fire, drink some beer, talk with by old buddies from High School, listen to some music, and maybe eat some burnt beans.

Live. Love. Later.

I was in Wal-Mart last night getting a tire on my car fixed, shopping for camping supplies, getting some beer, looking at guns, and buying the latest DVD and CD. Isn't that store great. I had to stop by the little boys room to do my business.

While sitting in the stale I look at the graffiti on the walls, because that's what you do when you're sitting in stalls. The general insights on these walls are amazing, along with the homo-erotic sexual deals splattered across the walls (JUST GIVE A DATE!)

While sitting there I saw someone had etched into the side "WAL MART SUKKS." Far be it from me to exploit the grammatical and spelling errors in this philosophical phrase, but one thing did pop into my mind: Shouldn't that be written on the bathroom stalls of K-Mart? Shouldn't the appropriate phrase here be "K MART SUKKS"? Then all sorts of things popped into my mind, while other things popped out of the other end (I know you wanted that imagery, so I gave it to you).

What should the graffiti in a Target be? Should it be discussions on French philosophies, or should it be an argument for the plight of French stereotypes in America? Or would they just correctly spell "sucks" when talking about another store?

Would a good graffiti in Wal-Mart be "MARTHA SUKKS" or would that be appropriate for K-Mart as well?

Also, does anyone ever actually call those numbers for a "good time"? And does anyone really show up to the dates they give?

These are the questions of the universe which are probably better left unanswered.

Live. Love. Later.

If I had to pick a hand full of CDs to listen on an island while waiting on life to pass me by and death to catch me, I believe I could narrow down my selection to 5 CDs.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth would be, in no particular order:
1 - Led Zeppelin - II
2 - Radiohead - The Bends
3 - Angie Aparo - The American
4 - REM - Monster

The fifth use to always be U2 - Joshua Tree. Well not any more.

My fifth CD is now Muse - Absolution. What an incredible piece of music. It is the best album on 2004, and probably the best CD of the new millennium so far.

Everything about this album is great. Start to finish, it's a journey you don't want to end. You want to keep listening to it. You want to listen to the tracks again. You want to listen to it in your car, on your home stereo, and with head-phones on. Every experience listening to the CD is the same yet different. I get excited listening to this album. It's the reason God created music. It's like my life the past years has lead me to the point where I can listen to this album.

Think about Ours, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, classic music, and just rock in general. If you like any of those, there really is no reason why not to love this music. I haven't been this excited about an album since listening to the American for the first time, and before then the first time I listened to The Bends all the way through.

This is an album to download, buy, steal; just listen to it!

On a side note: Life is crazy. It's been hectic the past few weeks. I'm taking the time I should be using to work to write this because I really wanted to get my thought on Muse out there. I've been listening to it for about a month straight now, and I have to say something about it. Hopefully life will quiet down someday soon and I can start writing regularly again. But no promises. I'm sure no one is really that sad.

Last night I played Mario Bros 3 for about 5 minutes. It was the longest I've played video games in the past month. That's how hectic life is. I don't have time for video games. But I still remember how to get every flute in Mario Bros 3. What a great game.

Live. Love. Later.

There is this strange and not-so-new fad among people. Especially between one friend and another. It's the absence of this thing called "truth". People seem to be scared of this concept and in place of it accept attitudes that ignore problems and uncomfortable thoughts. There is a barrier between people. A zone of space that is taboo to cross.
This zone keeps the people that love each other at distance, and keeps people from a true understand and love of one another. It's easy to love someone despite of their flaws; it is difficult to love someone who points out your flaws.
People who point out in their friends concerns and areas of growth are often turned away for the simple fact that no one likes to realize that people see them as a flawed being.
Get over it. Everyone is, and everyone knows you are too.
No one likes to be wrong. Everyone wants to be correct. Why do you think there are so many different philosophies out there. A new philosopher will come along and prove one guy wrong just to be known as the guy to do that. But I have a sneaking idea in the back of my mind that everyone is wrong more than everyone is right.
But to get back to the main point, your friends are someone who know the evil that you do, love despite of that evil, and want you to be a better person than that evil that consumes your life. If someone is concerned that you have a problem in, let say, drinking, listen to that person. Open your ears to their argument and take it with a grain of salt. If one person thinks you have a problem with something like drinking, more than one person thinks you have a problem with drinking.
There are always other concerns and care someone could come up with, but that generally tends to be the one that's most visible.
And if you are the one attempting to direct your friend from a wayward activity, remember that you've been in there shoes, and if you haven't, I'm sure it isn't difficult to image being in their shoes. Picture someone pointing out one of your many vices and confronting you with that. Picture the defensiveness you would be backed into, the anger you'd feel, and the fear of vulnerability.

Sorry, for the lesson, boys and girls. It just came to me out of nowhere. And sorry this is not the album review I promised I would post next. You can point that out to me as my own flaw which I need to fix.

Y'all keep 'em straight up, a'ight.

Out of all the CDs I had given people to choose from, the clear winner seemed to be NIN. Sadly, it seemed most people hadn't heard of the other bands. Then, a little poster who read the whole post, gave me a really good reason to review Muse's Absolution.

I decided, because I'm just the great of a guy, to listen to both Muse and NIN and give you all a comparison review. Telling you why someone might like one over the other one and vice versa.

Well, I started by listening to Muse, and in all honestly, I haven't gotten around to NIN yet. Not because I'm lazy, but Muse is that freakin' great and I don't want to take the CD out.

So you'll be getting a review of Absolution this weekend at some point, and in the future, maybe I'll do a NIN review for y'all.

Sorry, but I think you'll enjoy my Muse review, and I'm sure you'll love the CD.

Stay tuned...