WHEN THE FRIEND YOU NEVER KNEW GOES AWAY

Some events in life you never expect, early death is usually one of those unexpected events. When a person facilitates their own death it just compounds the pain that much more. When I first read that Robin Williams had been found dead I simply dismissed it as a net hoax. I kept running into reputable sources that reported the same thing until I found myself accepting that he was dead.

The details behind his death were a shock to me but the fact that he was dead was the enormous shock that was impossible to reconcile. I wondered for a few hours why his death was having an effect on me. Robin Williams was human, a celebrity, but human and not necessarily immune to problems. I started really going back to when I first became aware of Robin Williams, the first thing I thought of was Popeye, his first lead role in 1980. The film Popeye was a visual feast although the story itself was not so captivating in real time. I thought some more and I arrived at Mork and Mindy. 

I was a huge fan of the show that made Robin Williams a star. I thought of Robin Williams as that alien that arrived on earth at the height of the disco craze and gave birth to a child that was in his 50's when he hatched from a giant egg. To me the show was an example of one man's sensational timing, frenetic energy, and amazing talent. Before I arrived at that trend of thought, I thought of Williams as a sort of friend.

When I was a kid I used to love watching Nick at Nite and my favorite show to watch was Mork and Mindy. Growing up I was sometimes a loner because I was shy and not originally from Florida. Mork was the kind of character that kids in that position could relate to. I understood the sensible side and celebrated that nonstop comedy. I watched the series many times over and always thought of that crazy spaceman as the friend that got me through some difficult growing pains. The spaceman is there but only in memory, we won't see him anymore.

I guess the best way to wrap this up by saying nanu nanu to our buddy. I hope that trip back to Ork is full of the wisdom, peace, laughter, patience, and lessons your brought to us. Good night friend I never knew, thanks for everything.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

When I first read some of Ernest Hemingway's work I was just a freshman in high school. I was taken by his life story more than his work. I thought that Hemingway was a cool guy, well traveled, and interested in life's grand pursuits. I began to read Hemingway's work more thoroughly and was taken by the very real quality of his characters, larger than life and yet incredibly flawed.

Hemingway was one of those guys that was straight up badass before badass was some stupid classification for punks with big mouths and guns. What I thought was great about Hemingway was the he was a man that believed in living hard and full. I think it's really the nature of writers like Hemingway that made literature in those years so great.

There was no fear, no politically correct bullshit, Hemingway and his contemporaries were all about truth. Hemingway had that unchecked depression which only made him all the more compelling. Mental health was not really considered important in those days so for Hemingway to stay as creative and powerful given his issues only made him a more mythical figure.

Hemingway was also an example of someone who could have benefited from treating his depression. I could only imagine Hemingway writing a book about Vietnam and the love power generation. I wonder what Hemingway and disco would have been like, given that the 70's was the me generation. Sadly none of that happened, we lost a genius and life went on. Still, it's not that bad to think of what might have been every now and then.

I AM ALEX JONES AND I AM A BIG PIECE OF SHIT!

I can't stand Alex Jones because he is the reason why the whole of America looks like a bunch of fucking idiots. Alex Jones is an idiot that does not understand the need for anti depressants when people   suffer from mental illness. We do not need another idiot with a major platform taking the ignorant majority and telling them "We are being attacked."

No one said we need to take guns off the streets but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere in the sand. The truth of the matter is that the whole "I have a right to guns mentality" is what's making this debate on gun control nearly impossible. It doesn't help that a moron starts screaming that democracy is being raped when government actually decides to do it's job by debating the issue.

When innocent people die in a theatre or little kids pay the ultimate price in their school it's too damn much. I once met a person that bought her mentally unstable and violent son a T-22  rifle. I don't care how well backed we are by the 2nd amendment I would not buy an unstable kid a water gun let alone a T-22. It's a matter of keeping an open mind and looking at the statistics properly. This is not a republican or democrat issue so if you are going to get offended please stop reading and go get some fudge to drown your sorrows.

Yes it's true that guns don't kill people but stupid people with access to them do. If we do not educate the masses on gun control and how it's not an infringement upon our rights but rather an attempt at minimizing incidents like the one at Sandy Hook. Let's take shit like Alex Jones and his theories out of the equation and let's be civilized in finding a way to protect ourselves without killing each other.