The Mirage

I see it there, I see the tops of it's gleaming parapets over the next rise

It's bright lights gleaming seductively, calling to me, just a few more steps

Sometimes I think I can make out the name, a fuzzy H maybe is that a P I think I see an S too

My lungs burn with the effort

My legs on fire, jellied by my constant trudging

I'm this close though, I can swear I hear the hustle and bustle

Mr Softee tilting address

The sounds of summer, giddy children

Dogs are barking, cars humming and life continuing on

my windburned face and sun baked visage an unnoticed stranger

I'm on the road not yellow bricks but blistering asphalt

but that's progress. First it was dirt, then gravel and now pitch

already I imagine the errands I am about to run

first I need to find a comfy seat with some good food

a tasty beverage to kick the dust bunnies out of my dehydrated throat

You know a new pair of shoes would be nice

as trust worthy as my current foot wear has been it is just as travel weary as I

I can make out the sign better now

I almost thought it read peace but no

It reads happiness and I am almost

the wind blows dust into my face and I sneeze violently

my eyes close and my head starts ringing

I wipe and open my eyes ready to continue my joyful thoughts

only to see

to see

a ghost town laid out in front of me

I still hear the sounds, I even have the smell of some good pie in my nose

but the town I am on the road for is no longer happiness

happiness it seems is still in the distance

this town is despair

I look around me, blink a few times, even shake my head in case it is a trick

My feet still ache

the jello attached to them wobble slowly forward

and my lungs belch dusty pain

but I do not have time for despair

I started this walk to happiness and dammit happiness is where I am going to be

I don't know what you heard about me

But ya can't get a

I'm not actually listening to PIMP by fiddy but it is going through my mind right now. New year, same ol me, same attitude, same stable convictions, and damn sure the same guy who used to run his mouth a lot on this here blog. Things I don't do though are New years resolutions, I mean if you ask me I can whip up a list of things and CALL them new years resolutions but they are really just plans that I already had in the works. I am not downing anybody who makes new years resolution, I have plenty of friends who do and they seem to be pretty good at keeping up with them.

My thing is since I do tend to thing to much I always go along with the whole "if plan a-d or whatever letter I got to didn't work let's start with the next one." I feel that each new year is a new chapter in your old book, not a completely new book and as such I were to completely start over I would get lost. I mean how the hell did I get to where I currently am? Am I lost, or am I late for some appointment, how did the last book end? So yeah new chapter and whats up with this chapter hmm let's see

Further along the path

Like any endeavor in life you have to have milestones, land marks, routes, goals and the ability to reroute yourself if an obstacle pops up. Well I have reached one of my goals. While I know I often lament over the fact that "Google Analytics" doesn't always satisfactorily count all my hits, it does count a fair enough share of them for me to gauge progress as I go along. Even if my blogs internal stats give me say 5-10 hits for the day if I see a 2 hit from analytics, I know there were definitely some hits that day.

Now yes I am saying that versus blogger/blogspots internal stats Google Analytics tends to give me 1/4 - 1/3 recognition, which I'm sure for most of my fellow bloggers would be maddening, but is shows me some things that the internal stats don't. Like how long people were on the site, how many pages they visited, what search terms brought you to my page, what pages you found me through. This may seem a little anal, but as a semi social, mostly daily journal/perspective blogger its nice to know which subjects and the amount of detail included in the subjects is appreciated. It seems I get a lot of visits when I blog about the trailers before various movies, and a few hits on my movie reviews. Sometimes I get hits on sporting event blogs, I got quite a few hits after the storm that precursored the flooding down here in the midsouth.

2 years in the making

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Back after a few technical difficulties

This morning has been a comedy of errors, it's just turning into one of those days. Hopefully I can pull off getting to Best Buy later, Newbs need to be shot. Especially blood shot bleary eyed newbs who stayed up all night waiting to pick up a copy of a game they could have A pre ordered and B waited til later on today to crack open.

I mean yeah I want my scalps too, I want to be involved in all the C4 exploding, bullet firing goodness. But in my wise old age I know past probably a short learning curve it's an update of an older game, a new installment not the first coming of a brand new epic. The HUD probably hasn't changed much, nor the reticle, a few of the weapons have probably changed and the accessories but again short learning curve.

So it ain gametime for me yet, I still got work today(though work is taking forever to really get started) it's like we've been knocked out of our normal orbit and it's kinda wierding us all out. Not really a huge amount to say mainly because I gotta hit the "office" just want to do my usual morning update, hello and how ya doin.

To all my international visitors *Wave*, hey nice to meet ya hope you enjoy the ramblings of this crazy American. To all my fellow americans, HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS

Sorry I couldn't help it I haven't called a single cowboy fan friend or relative to gloat but I have been holding it in so long. Yes Wade Phillips is gone from the cowboys and I may blog more in depth about that later but for now this was just a quick release of pent up gloating. I don't gloat often(unless we spanked them in a game then yes I will gloat, it's sports that is a valid and time honored part of fandom: the trash talk), but in this case hey it is slightly warranted, you know with the whole "COWBOYS super bowl champs the rest of yall can just pack it in" talk we have to endure at the start of EVERY season.

Its Hump day, the course has been altered but the sea stays the same

Its Wednesday November 3rd 2010. If you lean liberally as I do right now you are licking your wounds. You are wondering what you could have done more of, where you didn't get the message out and why has the system forsaken you.

Now that I've given you that moment to lament, look at what day it is. Yup its hump day, the day you have to push through to get over the hump and make it to the weekend. It is also the day we MUST learn from our mistakes. We got into mudslinging contests with people who were under the misconception that we were scared to get dirty. Problem is we then proved them right by trying to stay above the fray.

This CAN NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. We fooled ourselves we acted like we didn't see what it was gonna take for us to keep moving this country forward. Is the taste bitter enough in your mouth yet? As much as I am a Marvellite when asked how I see america I will always say batman. Some say superman, but we are not invinceable save for one element, we are not all powerful and we are not from some alien world being mild mannered until a crisis comes along.

We are not spiderman, we do not get beaten down in the beginning only to go back think up a solution, whip up a new specific batch of web fluid and head out to kick some tuckus. We don't have a its all on us comples either, that if we don't hold on no one else will. Nah sorry spidey is a little too sensitive to be america.
What about wolverine, well one he's Canadian so um no. But two at least for the moment we are no longer "the best we are at what we do". 30 years ago I might have conceded that, now I can't we've allowed ourselves to become complacent, preachy, whiny and self righteous. Huh? I don't understand right.

Why we(America) are batman: We prepare for any eventuality and have a million tools, gadgets, vehicles, uniforms and connections/outlets from which to attack an issue. But we are hard liners, we will do what it takes to get the job done but in our ideology we are absolute. This is OUR COUNTRY, keep your problems out of it or we will deal with them expediently and how we see fit. You may think us extreme at times but the methods will work, whether the outcome is the one you would have sought is not our concern.
What we do is our solemn duty for those who came before us. Maybe when we lost them we were not strong enough, wise enough or resourceful enough BUT NEXT TIME we got something for you. You may not beat us but you may be able to distract us and get away. If you do we will raze everything in our path to find you and exact our revenge. Allies, friends, associates, dependents we have a job, the job is everything, NOTHING stops us in completing our job. We have contingency plans in case we are delayed or incapacitated.

If we ask for help it had better either be prompt or else we will go on without it.

Right now Democrats are being too much bruce wayne and not enough Dark Knight. We are being to friendly with those who possibly may have a similar goal, but its focus is sharper and more defined to a certain end. We have only be playin even with them instead of 3 steps ahead. That now has to change. They run a portion of the legislature. Time to see exactly how badly they want to double down.

Democrats in the house need to start suggesting bills and holding town halls. Every teeny, tiny, insignificant constituent concern needs to start becoming their main talking point. MSNBC better be on speed dial and CNN too. Go on fox from time to time and berate their hosts. Become a face to the people in your district and around the country. Make the republicans have to govern, make them proved that 100% of the american public is their concern not just the top 2%. And the senate is going to have to grow a backbone. As a few key blue dogs are gone it is now time to unify the party and say "the american people want results, they want to see them, they want to know the process upon which we reached them, and they want to know we fear for our jobs". No the republicans can't just throw anybody up against you, but they can smear you on TV they have proven to be wizards at that.

It is time to have a mudball waiting for them so you can throw back. You want to dirty fine, let's get dirty let's see how dirty you are willing to get for America. Their constituents are being fed by fake emotion, and false messaging. Show the true concern and urgency and shine a light on the messaging. The more we expose the loony, unhinged, specious side of some of these arguments we have lost, not because we lacked the facts but because we tried to have a political conversation with a liar. WE tried to explain away their lies instead of making them prove it.

We made them show us the money this campaign season and it took bucket loads to knock of the ones they did. And that's a good thing, because now there is a real, tangible cost in their mind of how much that job cost them. They will either govern wisely and we all benefit or else they will continue their pattern of intimidation and disruption and have spent 7 figures for a 2 or 6 year job. That's hard to swallow for someone SUPPOSEDLY business savvy ya feel me.

Make taking the house from us worth every penny, force them to work the bill on every level and make sure every T is crossed and I dotted. Because remember that energy they road is was ANTI incumbent and at the time each house had D next to it. And they beat us up 24/7 for that, well now its time to go ahead and remind America how hard it is to govern regardless who is power. When you lead extremists the first person in danger is always you because sooner or later their irrational desires will become demands.

And they have shown the lengths they are willing to go to get what they want. GOOD, I want that fire under tea party elected candidates buns because it means the ranting and the raving they did again us will be pointed at them now. Right at them, and if you think they hate democrats, remember how they were treating "Rhino's" oh they will have a field day.

Yeah its a good day, may have a few lumps, bumps and bruises but my legs still work and I can still see my destination on the horizon. Who's coming to join me

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Managing you reality

Seeing a recent story in the news I realize something. As much as we all think living our dreams and making it is great seeing what happens to some of the folks who make it, I guess the nicest way I can put it is money doesn't breed happiness it breeds stress.  Huh Prime what the hell are you talking about. Okay I'm sure by now you have heard about Katt Williams arrest(hmm the CNN story has even more news about it so I'm gonna follow up on that in a later paragraph), and prior to his arrest Katt had been having some problems for which he checked himself into therapy. Now Katt is a comedian(oh you though I was gonna link you to death on his name nah, I might link you to a video later but this ain just about katt williams so bear with me), for most of us you would say man a comedian their life must be a chuckle a minute they must never have a single problem. To which I say, wait what have you never heard of richard prior (yes that is the google search page if you don't know who rich is take a day and get fully acquainted cause you seriously missed out)? As brilliant as Richard Pryor was, as many people list him as an inspiration(see also Red Foxx especially when it comes to handling your own money), Richard's addiction to cocaine almost ended his life (the famous 1980 free basing incident).

If I get off of comedians and say go to actors Heath ledger comes to mind, or River Phoenix , John Belushi (comedic actor yes but actor none the less) I loved every last one of these guys work. Each of them in their own special way brought characters to life that made you sit and watch and you appreciated it because they brought something special to you, and you never could forget it. If I wanna go to the living Winona Ryder

her issues with shop lifting for a while. It got me to thinking(I was gonna do more and I still might but now that I have to do the html long form I am gonna be a little lazy) I mean these people have the lives that most of us wish we had. They are entertainers, famous stars, they have the money, the cars, the fame, the clothes(some that they just walk the hell out with sorry winona I still love you), the houses what most of us would say man if I had that my life would be set.  And yet most of the people on this list went through issues that most of us struggle with day to day.

To clear up Katt's issue from the first paragraph if by what I am reading Cnn is saying it appears Katt found himself a 5 star hater. It appears Katt(whether because dude figures they about to make some dough together on a project currently filming, Katt's new Dvd Pimpadelic is out in stores by the way I need to pick it up myself) was staying there with permission but argued with an assistant, and the assistant decided to make a phone call to the police and have him arrested. That at least explains why he was smiling in his mug shot, you may have gotten him for the evening but you just lost your job(or got a brand new one that requires knee pads, some may find that little aside in poor taste but if a guy had done it I would say the same thing because pulling a stunt like that your either on the street or suckin something to keep ya job). Now yes we all run into folks who think they are the boss when the boss ain there, I don't care what job your are in or where you are there is always somebody trying to throw their weight around to make themself feel good. Just don't involve the cops in it because if it is found to be a fraudulent charge you'll be the one wearing bracelets next. But even so Katt has been said to be exhausted as of late(which was the cause of him checkin in for therapy) so for all that money he has he has a lot more responsibility and it appears a lot more stress(though I 'm sure he prefers that money and stress to being a regular 9-5 person like the rest of us watching him on TV, DVD, or the silver screen).

That has me thinking, as we come up with these dreams, and (hopefully) make moves towards them have we truly planned out what the first step after we have reach our initial mountain top is going to be? I mean honestly a lot of what I see when I see some of these stars and their issues is the fact that besides doing what they love they're kinda just like me and you. Okay I'm here now what, I got all this money like I have always dreamed of having let me live every last second like tomorrow it will be gone. Which if you think about it is kind of foolish. I mean if all of us only get 15 minutes of fame, why blow the spoils of that 15 minutes during it. Why not set ourselves up to while maybe not living like kings not having to ever get a more mundane job again shall we say. Think about all those one hit wonders, one album wonders out there you see them basking in the B40B's(look it up eminems second album Steve berman just in case you're lazy) living it up only to be back in the hood trying to find a way to get back in the lime light(no I refuse to stoop so low as to bring up a certain stage rushing incident). They had all this money flashed in front of their eyes and never thought hmmm maybe I should put this away somewhere so that when I'm no longer hot they aren't coming to repo my entire life.

And you've heard about it, you've seen some of the people it happened to 2 years ago there were living the life rims spinning, diamons shining, showing you they grill and now all the sudden they're trying to hide their posessions because either it wasn't fully paid off yet or else they on their way to the pawn shop so they can eat tonight. Which should never happen, money in hand is money in hand and it doesn't have to make you lose your mind. If you have a dream to become famous(rapper, singer, actor, athlete, Tv personality, comedian, DJ, Chef whatever) also make a plan for your life past the flashing lights. Because when those lights get turned off at the end of the day, and you are locked behind that door that is who is gonna have to be there for you if it all goes wrong. If people no longer find you entertaining(for a minute, folks disappear all the time only to resurface later john travolta anyone), if your jumper is broke, your knee blows out, your character isn't popular, they don't like your last song. The person who you really are is who is gonna have to figure out how to keep going from day to day. Hell even people who are hot for years can have money problems, so instead of spending it all early(first contract, first album, first season whatever I can kinda forgive if you wanna just blow some of that go ahead) put some of it away so that if your rainy day comes and it turns out to be a hurricane washing away what you thought you had, you aren't completely gone.

Not only that but have a back up plan along with your dream, so that if it stalls for a second you are still moving forward maybe you aren't running or flying but you're walking one step at a time. My dad told me a long time ago that if because everything isn't going perfect that you only focus on the negatives going on around you, you will miss an opportunity to enjoy some good occurrences. I almost called them minor, but they might not be minor, you may have had the time of your life and forgot about how good it felt to just be you. Ever notice that when you get a chance to let your hair down, loosen ya shirt buttons, kick off your shoes and just walk around being you how much better the world feels. When you aren't worried about your or anybody else's expectations it's just you and your surroundings for a minute enjoying just being. I'm not saying get stuck there but take a moment to enjoy the hard work that got you there, and if need be sit back assess where you are and get ready for the next leg of the journey.

Cause if you wake up tomorrow, whew you have another chance at a whole new adventure.