It is a biblical day. I think we're circiling the drain at this point.

As Shakespeare once said:
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

W is at it again.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt 7:15-23)

Revelation chapter 6, verse 1

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

Amazingly, I’m pretty open about religion. I finished off my church life in the most dogmatic of faiths. If backed into a corner, I would call myself a Christian, but I’ve also long believed all the answers aren’t as black and white as the church would have you believe. Plus I don’t trust any organization that would tell an AIDS ravaged nation not to use condoms. That gets my radar up.

Well yesterday, I stumbled across an interesting show on the History Channel about past life regression.

It got me thinking about the possibility of past lives. I’ve had at least a couple of de-ja-vu occasions in life and I’ve been places that just felt like home. I’d imagine we are all capable of, to borrow a Disney phrase, Imagineering a past life. In fact the show didn’t exactly present this as fact or fiction. It remained pretty neutral. It simple put people under hypnosis and gathered facts about past lives. Then they researched the info and fond amazingly that many details held up against historic documents.

I’ve always been curious about this. I have a strong affinity for the Jewish people and I hate everything German (including you Hasselhoff!) so perhaps I was in Eastern Europe around the 40s. If the opportunity arises to work with a qualified hypnotherapist, I’d be game for seeing what sort of story comes out of my mouth. Until then I’ll steer clear of scat videos and Volkswagens just to be safe.

Some weeks just sort of drift by and others leave their mark.

I think this week will be the latter. Come the weekend, I’m off to Tampa to visit my grandpa. He’s the last of the grandparents and he’s getting a stint put in next week for an arterial blockage in his neck. It probably wouldn’t be a big deal for a 45 year old.

I guess when it all said and done, he is at total peace. More so than most of the folks I know. I’m sure some of that comes from a life as a minister. He has what appears to be an unwavering faith and what the rest of us consider an end, would just be another chapter to him. 87 years is a good run. I guess the part that scares me is this means the next time someone in my family dies, it will likely be my parent’s generation.

I also envy his faith. Nothing stirs it. If I had to face the reality of death in my life, I no longer feel like I know where I stand. I could revert back to the things I held so strongly in my youth. I could just look at it as the end and see nothing but opportunity for the short time I have left. I just wonder what it must be like to know you’re getting major surgery at that age. That sort of sentence for an 87 year old looks less like an ellipses and more like an exclamation point.

I’m tuned in to KEXP this morning. If you love music and haven’t gotten hip to this station, then do yourself a favor and check it out. The morning guy, John, is pretty well playing stuff I love. I’d wonder if he was in my personal CD collection if it wasn’t for the fact he’ll occasionally pop in a song I haven’t heard.

So it got me thinking how much I love radio. I genuinely truly love radio. If I won the lottery, I’d buy a radio station and staff it with all my old hombres from the college radio days. Not only did we have a blast (while walking the line and sometimes crossing right over it) but we managed to discover some good music along the way. What they don’t tell you in college as a Communication major is the real world is vastly different.

I was lucky enough to get a radio job. It took me nearly 3 years of harassing people in the industry, but eventually I got on the over night shift as an on air DJ making minimum wage. The saddest part wasn’t that I had to work a second full time job to make ends meet. Nor was it the fact I never slept. The saddest part was I made it a lot “farther” than most people do in radio. The jobs and opportunity just aren’t there.

So after a year of not sleeping and living on cigarettes and coffee, I got tied of spinning Linkin Park and whatever other crap Clear Channel demanded I play. I walked away and I haven’t often looked back. That was until I heard KEXP and realized what radio can be. It can be a medium for hearing new and otherwise under represented music. It can be a place not over run with cheesy ads and morning zoos with half a dozen smart asses talking on top of each other.

I suppose I should pour a 40 out for the terrestrial radio because its days are numbered and given the current state of radio, the slow euthanasia is justified. Every once and a while I see an eyebrow twitch and wonder if she isn’t completely brain-dead after all.

I need a vacation


By vacation I mean somewhere exotic. At the very least somewhere I haven’t been. The last few years, the only time I get out of Florida is a week in New England around Christmas. Both places have their charms, but I really need to see the open road and something new. You can only see the same two places so many times. Plymouth Rock was a huge disappointment the first time I saw it, so it doesn’t exactly beg for multiple visits.


What I’m craving is something to take my breath away. Like the Grand Canyon or any suspension bridge in the state of New Mexico. These things are so massive that words and pictures fail to do them justice. Those are the experiences I crave. It seems on the east coast we’re limited to staring at the ocean. The ocean is beautiful and it does look awe inspiring from time to time. I just need something to remind me how petty my humble existence is. When you stare into the open mouth of a comet hole and realize the bottom is miles away, it puts stressing out about paying off your credit cards into perspective.

What color is my parachute?

So I suppose we all go through this crisis of faith in life. I can not find my path, but I have learned this much. Trust your gut.

Last weekend I went all the way down to Miami to attend an orientation for a PhD program I was accepted into. Somewhere around hour 5, I realized this isn’t what I want to do with my life. As I phrased it that day “this isn’t where I parked my car.”

I guess what irks me is I am 31 and still unable to hang a label around my neck. It’s cool to be this free floating unencumbered Renaissance man, but I need somewhere to hang my metaphysical hat on this journey called adulthood.

I did a BA in English, because I love to write. I did a masters in Computer Science because the English BA wasn’t exactly knocking down doors. Essentially, I have all the skills to be an unpaid blogger. Can you get a job in blogging? Maybe a gossip blog or some actual news?

So lets all have a prayer vigil for Paris Hilton. Why is this news? She did something dumb and now has to deal with the repercussions. I don’t know that she is a bad person. Just let this be a lesson to all the spoiled little girls with oversize glasses and purses stuffed with little dogs that no matter who you are, when you break the rules, there are consequences. I think our generation has forgotten that and someone like Paris Hilton should serve her time and try to be a positive example for her fans. Will she? Who knows?


There, that is celebrity gossip. Now can I have a paycheck?