50 YEARS LATER AND THE MYSTERY STILL EXISTS

It's going to be 50 years since the JFK assassination and the mystery still exists. A special on reelz, that will be coming out in November, talks about the possibility of the murder having been an accident involving a secret service agent. While I find this fascinating I will not lie in that I find it morbid to say the least. Kennedy has been gone for nearly 50 years so any theories will stay just that, theories. My favorite is the possible part played by LBJ and his people.

The Kennedy assassination marked a dark and sad moment in American history, the end of innocence. Kennedy was the ray of hope for everything that was good from progress to a new direction in civil rights, one never previously traveled. Kennedy was a once in a lifetime shot, the charisma, youth and looks of a special man. Kennedy was the last president to have young children, he represented growth, something special and elegant.

Camelot is gone and there will never be another, never let it be forgot that there once was a place called Camelot. Let Camelot rest, let it stand out, a memory that could have been the best must once and for all be put to rest.

TWINKIES WILL KILL YOU

I am not writing this in order to give you a health update. Twinkies are a fucking killer, as I craved something while writing I decided to make a play for the twinkie. I opened the fucking thing and thought "Yes" the twinkie was mine. I felt like I would enjoy the little creme filled bastard within minutes. I thought my life was full and complete with this twinkie.

This is the point where the story gets real, the twinkie attempted to take revenge for the deaths of its twinkie brethren. I was slowly eating the twinkie when suddenly I began to choke. I panicked and reached for the water. I did not find the water and began to lose my balance and sight. I started coughing.

I decided to close my eyes and lower my head. As I coughed I decided to open up the fridge and reach for a water bottle. I got the bottle, opened it up and took a drink, I was still alive. This was something of a scary situation until my son made the back pounding safe. I decided to spare the twinkie and go on. I am still alive and I suggest if you want to keep that status as well, stay off the twinkie, because it will kill you.

CAFFEINE, A DRUG FOR NORMALCY

Caffeine is keeping me up at night and making me think about things that make no sense. I think about cartoons, wine, planes, trains, and automobiles. It's late and nothing makes a lot of sense I love caffeine almost as much as I love being able to breathe. Caffeine is to me what pot is to stoners trying to learn about life. Caffeine is absolutely fabulous and I enjoy it, I can't quit it. I have heard horrors about caffeine and yet I still love it , I think because it's getting late I am running on fumes.

I think caffeine is a drug of choice for normalcy. Everyone that doesn't do pot does caffeine and it's fine. I enjoy the rush in the night that helps me stay up just a little longer and feeling like I can produce an abnormal number of ideas on paper. Yes, caffeine is my love, my secret love, the one friend I go to in order to enjoy myself. I go to my drug of choice in order to stay up and live the life of a writer with odd hours, incredibly long thoughts and yes, an entry as a result.

79 COUNTS

The driver of the train that met a horrendous fate in Spain was charged with 79 counts of homicide. I can't imagine what this 52 year old man must be thinking, nor what the hell he was thinking when he took a corner too fast and demolished a high speed train along with so many lives. I don't know anything about Francisco Garzon, the driver, other than the fact that he had been working for the rails in Spain for over 30 years.

I can't say a lot other than how shocked I am that this happened. A lot of fingers have been pointed in directions other than the driver, still everything comes back to the driver. I wonder what this man was thinking that day, if he was thinking at all. While the dust is settling on this particular story, this man will likely fall into a world of emotional despair.

This man will have blood on his hands until the day he dies. There have been several injuries which include 22 people in critical condition and 48 still in the hospital. Maybe this tragedy could have avoided, perhaps it was destiny, but it doesn't matter. There have been 79 deaths and that cannot be changed, one man killed 79 others because he was having a bad day.

HILLARY

I have been hearing a lot about Hillary Clinton making a run in 2016. I am not one to really go into politics often but I will say this, I think Hillary's chances are not as great as people make them out to be. Hillary Clinton is a brilliant woman and it's clear she was not a run of the mill first lady. I admire her 1994 push for a universal healthcare plan as well as her 7 year US senate run. I think Hillary is one of the great first ladies, proving that a difference can be made in that spot, beyond a symbolic diplomatic role.

I don't think that with her history of recent health issues, and the much publicized Benghazi issue, Hillary can really make a strong showing for herself. I do believe that the right time would have been in 2008, I believe she had far more experience than Obama and was better suited to handle the economy. I think another issue that will really cripple Hillary Clinton's chances in 2016 will be her age. The last three US presidents elected have all been under 55. This country has yet to openly accept the possibility of a female president.

I do think that republicans will face an uphill climb in 2016 simply because there is no visibly strong candidate out there. I will say this for republicans, 76' did not have a darker horse than Jimmy Carter and he beat Gerald Ford, granted that Ford was weakened by his pardon of Nixon as well as the loss of Nelson Rockefeller, who chose not to run on the Ford ticket. Right now 2016 will be determined by how the economy, job market, and healthcare legislation all look.

While I do think that a female president would help the US re-establish its credibility as the world's lead power, I am almost certain that it won't be Hillary. I could be wrong, however I don't care because in the end I don't think in terms of party lines, I think in terms of what's best, and lately nothing really seems to work.

MY FIRST BRUSH WITH INSANITY

You ever have a brush with insanity? I remember when I first met this particular aide of the mind. I was about 6 years old, the year was 1985. I use to love to watch cartoons on Sunday mornings. I was a morning person and the youngest in my home, so being up early was almost a requirement. I was really heavy into action cartoons but I had a soft spot for Warner Brothers classics. I remember one Sunday morning in 1985 very well because what I saw gave me the feeling that it was okay to think beyond normal, and into the insane.

The cartoon I saw was called Porky in Wackyland, that cartoon was a gem of insanity that saw Porky fly into some sort of crazy world in search of the one and only Do Do. I thought this was some cutting edge stuff. This world known as Wackyland was the first visual psychedelic world that was visual to society. This short was crafted in 1938 and it became something of a hit, with children and parents. The thing is that this cartoon was a serious step into surrealism.

Surrealism, to me, is something of a state of insanity. Visually speaking this cartoon was a trip to insanity for me. I did not understand this cartoon and I hated the fact that it had no anvils, pianos, that it had cartoony qualities whatsoever. Weeks later I would see things in clouds and come up with stories about the world in general. I was an oddball of sort because I could see more than He Man or other trendy characters.

I wondered if I was crazy for feeling this way, but I realized years later that I was not crazy. This cartoon introduced me to insanity, a friend and aide. When it's properly controlled and reigned in, insanity is a special friend. Thanks Porky, I owe you for that special day.

RADIO GA GA..........

I have heard people refer to radio as theatre of the mind. I wonder if the people that refer to radio as theater of the mind are talking about old time radio. Radio today is more like theater for the feeble minded. I was listening to a popular morning show here in Orlando, and honestly the people in that show managed to make me feel like my life was somehow a little less important as a result of listening.

Stars like the arrogant but brilliant Orson Welles are no longer around, there will never be another War of the Worlds broadcast. The radio doesn't make people think, it causes aneurisms due to how many fucking imbeciles are given a platform to speak. There are people that do try, but honestly the people that try are outnumbered by the imbeciles that can work a board. Video did not just kill the radio star, it raped its will to live and sodomized its talent beyond repair.

I thought satellite radio would improve things but honestly it made it worse. Satellite is a paid option, commercial free, for the highly limited to expose their incredibly poor ability. I am reminded of a song by Queen, Radio Ga Ga. Today all you hear in radio is shit and nothing else. Every station plays the same 18 track loop and helps create stars like young prostitute Selena Gomez. Sorry but I will not be hitting repeat, peat, peat, peat, I'll simply pop in an Elvis or Beatles CD.

IF YOU WILL STOP GIVING A SHIT, DON'T HAVE KIDS

I consider myself a level headed person but I can't tolerate punk kids. Today some little bastard parked his bike, with himself on it, in the middle of the parking lot, making it impossible for anyone to move without hitting him. Personally I decided to go around but my initial feeling was to plow the little fucker down. I thought for a second and realized I really only wanted to beat the shit out of the father and mother of this punk kid.

People seem to love to fuck and mix their seed until they create a child. It seems like parents give up the minute that they have the kid. The father leaves, the mother may be too busy giving it out, the couple may hate one another. I hate parents that decide that, because they can effectively mix fluids, they will have wonderful kids. Parents seem to give up fairly easily on their kids, producing reality show hoes and delinquents.

I feel I can speak with real authority in the matter simply because of the fact that my 17 year old knows the concept of limits very well. I would like to encourage people to use contraceptives and take a long look at themselves before having kids, the world doesn't need more assholes.

TOMMY CHONG IS PRETTY COOL, BUT STILL........

Tommy Chong is pretty cool, like an old stoner with miles of disjointed wisdom. I saw the TMZ video where he sort of backed his daughter's comments about Oprah. I think it's cool that in a laid back and half assed way he sort of agreed with his daughter while trying to keep her from being covered by the wrath of the mighty one. I don't know why there's heat between Oprah and Chong's daughter, to the extent that Rae Dawn Chong would say something so heated about Oprah.

 To bring up slavery as a way to slam a person is pretty offensive. While Tommy Chong did a good job of covering that up in a diplomatic manner, the comment that Rae Dawn Chong comes at a pretty inappropriate time, given the level of tensions in the US  as far as race goes. I am not an Oprah fan because honestly, while she is a great example of success, she is not in the same zip code as Harriet Tubman, or Maya Angelou. Yes Oprah has become a queen in the media and more power to her, but a lot of people helped pave the way for her decades prior and many of them are still unknown.

I still say that using race is a tacky way to express how much you dislike a person. I am hispanic and I dislike some hispanic figures but I would never use racial slurs to express how much I dislike them. A good example is that fat shit that calls himself Pablo Escobar Jr. I would jump at the chance to intellectually slam that fucker, but I would never use a racial slur. Wow Tommy, you defended your daughter while still kinda using race a bit, gotta take it easy on the weed man.

GOODBYE DARRYL STRAWBERRY

My friend Darryl Strawberry could be controversial and narrow minded. Darryl was often difficult to deal with, while at the same time attempting to be sweet and easy to get along with. It was Darryl's nature to be accessible and normal, even though normalcy was never an option. Darryl transcended color, as life should never be about color, or even the texture and look we are afforded as living beings. Darryl grew differently than his peers and knew that he would be special, his towering nature made him a uniquely gifted being, put on this earth for a special purpose.

Today I find myself asking about Darryl's choices. Perhaps if Darryl had not been so self destructive he would still be a being among us. This life, this nature is so hard and difficult that the pressure gets around. Darryl's sensitive and sometimes gruff exterior overpowered the common sense that's simple to get but impossible to always employ. Darryl's violent nature would lead to so many difficult encounters.

One day Darryl would walk into a planet smoothie and find himself fighting a knife fight unarmed, and loudly. Darryl is dead now, a part of something greater, still sweet, and often impossible escape. Darryl is a vital part of the smoothie, one made by life. May you be blessed Darryl Strawberry, life was a difficult proposition from the beginning.

This is not about the ball player, it's about my pet strawberry named Darryl, which ended up in a smoothie I special ordered, pretty sure the ball player is still alive.

WHEN I DON'T ASK PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP

Have you ever dealt with a nosy person? Have you ever heard of someone you don't know giving opinions on your life? I have been a recipient of that a few times. I feel like bursting every time it happens, at least I did in the past. Today, whenever I hear unrequested opinions, I laugh simply because said opinions are an example of people's desires to live vicariously through others. Opinionated people are a lot like football dads, in that they all want to get their kids to do what they could not.

I have heard a million people say a million things and, as time passes, I find myself less annoyed by this occurrence. I do understand that it's human to have an opinion, I do think it's annoying to have more than one opinion on the same matter though. My reaction to this particular situation is simply to smile, nod, and think " I can't wait until a horny hippopotamus fucks you right up the ass." I know this is a little bit of a jerk attitude on my part but fuck it, life is short.

THE WISDOM OF AGE

I always had a problem relating to my grandfather. I never knew if he was angry, happy, or what his deal was. The fact is that as he got older he seemed to lose emotion, or the ability to express it. I would often times call him only to feel like I had pretty much wasted my time. As I grew and matured I realized that my grandfather was not really an asshole, he was just a wise old man. It's amazing how when you measure a wise ass to an old wise man there is a huge difference.

My grandfather had a quick sharp mind and was always on his toes. The one thing my grandfather held on to was his mind. I realized that, although he was never my idol, my grandfather knew that with the passage of time there was one weapon that could only improve, his mind. I understand that with age comes wisdom.

I rarely ever see an elderly individual that doesn't use his or her experience to a breathtaking advantage in life. We lose our legs, our muscular capacity, we even lose our looks, and yet it's impossible to lose our minds if we chose it as such. Yes we diminish capacity with age but the mind seems to get stronger in some respects. I will never really be a fan of my mom's father, my grandfather, but I will always respect him for the one lesson he taught me. With our age comes our greatest wisdom, should we accept it.

REMEMBER WHEN WRITERS ACTUALLY GAVE A SHIT

I was recently watching my Miami Vice DVD set and wondering what the hell happened to good television. When I was growing up writers actually tried hard to put out a good product. Yes, in the 80's and 90's there were a lot of shows that depended heavily on stale jokes and laugh tracks, but at least they tried. Today I switch channels thinking that TV is simply the prostitute you go to for the sweet release of death.

Right now there are a handful of shows that I give a crap about and I have to pay to watch them. When you think about how many channels there are on television, and what little quality is out there, it's impossible to believe the programming is so stale and crack whore like. I don't care for housewives, whores, celebrity self destruction, or anything on the air today.

Perhaps I am becoming old but at 34 I doubt that's the case. I think that I just can't stand the prostitution of the word reality and the constant lies made to look like regular life. I don't give a shit about pseudo celebrities that lack talent, I could care less about roundtables of nonsense, and I don't give a damn about Jessica Simpson. Someone please dust of the real writers and bring back quality programming please.

I WILL SLAP A NUN IN THE MOUTH

Did my tittle get your attention? I'm glad to know that you are easily shocked. I would never hit a nun in the mouth but the thought did cross my mind once. If you are wondering why, it's because a bitch nun hit me once when I was in fifth grade. I have such a vivid memory from that day, I will never forget it, in a way it was my first experience with a dominant female. Okay I know that sounds weird so let me step back for a second.

The nun, who shall remain nameless, was a huge bitch and by huge I mean she looked to be well over six feet tall. I knew this nun was the biggest, baddest man in Santa Monica Academy, located in Puerto Rico. The bitch was crazy and angry, an angry nun is a dangerous nun.

This particular nun had a look of disgust that was so damn horrible. I remember one day I was running to class and felt the power of her nearly demonic gaze stop me in my tracks. I often wondered if this woman was raised by coyotes in the forrest after her mother placed her in a cage and threw her out the circus truck's bed. I realized that it was impossible for coyotes to have raised her because, as I understood it, there were no coyotes in Puerto Rico. This woman was a force of evil that had risen from the depths of the Vatican. I knew my theory was off because the Vatican is located in Rome and the woman was Puerto Rican. I felt that an impending confrontation with this testosterone powered penguin was inevitable. One day my worst fears became a horrid reality, a reality I would not soon forget.

The nun, or Sister Adalwulf as I refer to her, chose her spot correctly. I did not want to go to service one day and that bitch sought me out. I was quick and ran through the corridors of Santa Monica, I knew I could ill afford to be caught by her. I ran to my classroom and could hear her big manly feet slowly plodding toward my location, it was like hearing my doom come near.

I hid behind a desk but to no avail as my young, very hot, female teacher had to point me out. I saw the sadness in Ms. Martinez, her porcelain like skin quivered as she understood that this form of betrayal destroyed any possible future hot for teacher encounters. The devil had caught up to me and it looked to give me a serious ass whooping. The sister dragged me with her manly strength and hit me twice with a ruler and referred to me as a heretic that needed to be exorcised.

I later moved to Florida but I never forgot my cup of coffee with the flames of hell. I was later told that the bitch was still alive. I am not surprised she is still alive since she is only 58 which,by Geraldo's count, is the new 38. My point is, I hate that stinking sack of crap and if nothing else I hope that she is slapped by the, god bless her.

WHY AM I STILL UP?

It's late and I am still up writing, I really have to question my sanity. I have a meeting in the morning and need to be sharp but I am so interested in other things at the moment. I wonder if night brings about hubris and makes people feel invincible. I am tired, I am thirsty, I know what my day will bring tomorrow but I just don't feel like letting that get to me. I am thinking of so many things and so many things I am thinking of make such little sense, even to me.

An hour ago I was thinking of what it must have been like to be David Sarnoff back when he was delivering flowers to the may mistresses of Marconi out in New York. Then I think back to previous hours and how thrilled I was with the latest installment of the HBO drama Newsroom and how cool it is that Jeff Daniels will likely have an iconic role to define his outstanding career. Here I am, it's late as fuck and I am still writing, and yet I don't know why.

This blog is such a medium for expression, often times I express raw emotion without any real attention to accuracy and I wonder how many mistakes I have made in the process of creating volume. I don't give a shit about what people think of my mistakes because this is my forum and yet I want reactions, I want to push buttons and get people talking. Yes I know what I'm saying because I read and read carefully but often times I write recklessly because I am fully invested. I look forward to numbers, ideas, reactions and I love when I have the opportunity to prove assholes wrong.

I am not really into political correctness, in fact I challenge that ridiculous and hypocritical norm which we enforce because honestly it's nothing more than fear, a blanket for the cowardly. It's late and I am opening up to perfect strangers because I am secure in my own feelings and opinions, I will agree, disagree, and stand up when it's necessary. I will attack people not for the sake of the attack but simply because I live in reality. It's late, I'm tired and open, and I will say whatever the hell I want to say.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE PATIENT IN LIFE

I am a writer and that means I'm, by nature, awkward, moody, prone to anger, and sometimes arrogant  given my own feelings on life. My experience, my background, and my nature often times put me in a spot where it's difficult to see certain things. I may write a political entry, an entertainment entry, or an entry about life itself. What I write often depends on my mood, but chances are that as I go I will miss a thing or two. One thing that I learned while working on my MFA was to be patient.

As a writer I wanted perfection, the white elephant that does not exist, except for in fairy tales. I wanted so bad to write a perfect screenplay that some times I would drink myself blind with frustration. During a drunken attempt at perfection I decided to take a nap. When I woke up some twelve hours later I looked at my computer screen and I had one word on my screen, patience.

I realized that I was not happy because I was so impatient. I was reminded of all the conversations that I had with people not only in school but throughout my life. Everyone from my father, to my brothers, to everyone I ever met that succeeded, had real patience. Patience is that one virtue that you can always gain if you are willing to open your eyes for a quick second. There is something about patience that just  makes success and life in general, that much better.

Patience is not easy to come by and sometimes it's nearly impossible to get. I don't consider myself a fully patient individual yet but I am getting there. I am surrounded by people I don't always agree with, techniques I don't like, and views I want to wipe my ass with, but I am somehow able to bypass that and look at the long term. The word long frustrates everyone because it implies wait, suffering, and a lot of headaches that are impossible to handle.

In life nothing you do will ever be perfect, but learn to wait, learn to be patient and ultimately the payoff will come around.

I LOVE PSEUDO INTELLECTUALS

To me reading is a joy, because it often times allows me the luxury of learning things I was not previously aware of. I like to learn from people whom I feel have something to teach me, and I think almost everyone has something of a lesson they can teach others. I want to emphasize almost, because there is always a group of people that have nothing but shit to impart. I am sure you are likely wondering what I am talking about, and I shall now expound.

There are often times people who think that their opinion is the only one that counts. I am talking of course about people that love to talk about the lack of reality in reality, the true ills of ambition, the prostitution of society by technology, the ills of modern medicine, and the necessity to bathe naked in the cleansing waters of a dirty, amoeba filled lake. If you don't get the sarcasm then you are one of them, a pseudo intellectual.

I find it easy to spot pseudo intellectuals, they look at you in a manner that spells their indifferent superiority and superior lack of real confidence. A pseudo intellectual will likely mix Nietzche with Sheldon Cooper and talk about atheism being a manner of scientific belief on the gods of science. Yes I love the pseudo intellectuals because they entertain me. A pseudo intellectual will find over 100 explanations to one lie, and over 100 answers to a yes or no question. A pseudo intellectual is a lot like stepping on dog shit, you know you hate it but somehow it makes you laugh.

A lot of times pseudo intellectuals come about as the result of youth without experience or praise without real merit. College, books, retention without understanding, and bullshit, will never give you practical intellect or common sense. True gifts do not come from unproven ideas, and nonsense, and certainly have no relation to veganism and under arm hair. I am not saying that vegans are pseudo intellectuals but I am stating that a lot of pseudo intellectuals are vegans. Perhaps I am tired of every hippy wannabe assuming that they know life when truly the know very little about a whole lot.

The world needs clowns and fools and who better to entertain us than the pseudo intellectuals who, like clowns, are truly just sad individuals crying soulful, interior tears stemming from fear.

SOMEONE SHOULD SHUT THE FUCK UP

I like to think of myself as middle of the road in many aspects. I think that most of the time I try to employ common sense when formulating my views. There is the occasion when my feelings will overwhelm my senses and ultimately lead me to that feeling of "damn it" and so on. There is one particular person whose views always piss me off though, a fucking jackass by the name of Geraldo something or other. Let me give you the run down on Geraldo, in case you haven't heard of him, or harbored feelings of hatred for him.

Geraldo Rivera is a hit or miss reporter, talk show host, war correspondent that calls himself a conservative and yet has been a complete jackass for nearly forty years. This is a man that accuses people of racism consistently and yet he himself has been making an ass of himself talking about the Martin/ Zimmerman case as FOX's legal correspondent. I am not going out and saying that Rivera is a moron, I am simply stating he acts like one.

Personally I think this guy is a joke and half. This is a man that wanted the anchor chair in NBC and thought that the book "Exposing Myself" would not be a bad idea. I am hispanic but to be honest I don't see this loud mouth fucker as a credit to the race, if anything I see him as a self entitled faker with little to no credibility. Personally I don't think he knows what the hell he is. This fucker wants to be taken seriously but he tweets a picture of himself almost naked taking about how 70 is the new 50. In case you don't think that's a bit of a joke, please, remember Al Capone's vault. Yes people, Geraldo is the guy that made a huge deal about a vault that he felt had untold treasures and instead it led him to years in the trash talk circuit.

For years Geraldo Rivera has been making an ass of himself and honestly he is as sickening as the Kardashians. Let me say this, I propose Geraldo get on the Ryan Seacrest Productions bandwagon and develop something. I see it now, "Gearaldo does the San Fernando Valley" I don't care who is offended by this and I could give a shit what a potential Geraldo fan might say. The fact is that Geraldo needs to start taking some Metamucil and get the fuck off the air. Geraldo, you are no Cronkite, you are not even Eric Sevareid after all your "brave" trips to Iraq you can't even call yourself an equal to Donahue. Please Geraldo, shut the fuck up and take what little dignity you have and go home.

SOME SHIT REALLY BAFFLES ME

I think of roller coasters as a great way to release stress. Personally I love to ride coasters like the hulk, dueling dragons and so on. When something happens in a coaster you realize that they can be as dangerous as any other form of mechanical transport or entertainment. I short, coasters can be a dangerous proposition, but fuck it because life is short. I read in the news that a woman fell off a roller coaster in Six Flags Over Texas. What baffles me is that the park is acting like this was some freak accident. The roller coaster has had some history of malfunction, recently anyway.

Parks that bank their ticket sales on thrill rides really need look at their rides closely. This ride in Texas is known as " The Texas Giant" and just last year, according to reports, left riders stranded atop its 14 story peak. If something like this happened just last year, why in the hell was the ride not shut down for an extended period and properly inspected? If you look at the facts in this incident, it all reeks of improper maintenance. The woman that was killed was complaining that her harness was not properly secured.

You don't have to be an engineer specializing in coasters to know when a harness is loose. I remember riding the hulk and complaining about the same thing to an attendant, the difference is, the ride was not released until al harnesses were secured properly. Six Flags may have closed the ride now but it opened itself to a long, litigation and negative PR, nightmare. I think that this situation could have been avoided with a proper employment of safety protocols. It's baffling that a staple of american fun is now going to be associated with the neglect of safety and the death of an innocent person merely looking to have some clean fun.

XANADU

I always wondered what Xanadu meant, as a kid I remember hearing my sister do the whole Olivia Newton John thing when the film came out in theaters. I wondered what Xanadu was, what it meant, what it stood for, I really wondered. Today I started to think about Xanadu again and wonder. Xanadu is a place, the summer capital of Kublai Kahn's Yuan empire. I really wondered, what is about Xanadu?

Growing up in Central Florida I recall a place called Xanadu, the home of the future. Xanadu was made of styrofoam on ballons. The interior was sort of like a Ray Bradbury story, with lot's of computers and looking like a freaking garlic clove full of weird carpeting. Xanadu seems to stan for the ideal state of mind. I wonder sometimes if Xanadu has a bit of an atheist air to it.

I like the idea of Xanadu, a state of mind that can only take you to an area of your mind, a spot of the universe where calm is the ultimate achievement. Xanadu is that state of mind that moves you forward, the part of the soul that just can't be touched. We all long for Xanadu, for that peace and happiness, it doesn't require a set of beliefs. Xanadu is uncomplicated, fun, it's an adventre, the place in our hearts where we need no gods or monsters.

Let's all go to Xanadu and abandon the real world.

OKAY THEN, LET'S CALL IT CORRECTLY

I guess that tennis and basketball are now officially the same sport. I saw an article about the legendary Wilt Chamberlain's record of 33 straight wins with the Lakers being broken. I was shocked to see that because basketball season ended with the Heat winning the tittle again. I clicked on the link to the article and it was a tennis team that beat the record. What I found interesting is the fact that the sport is tennis and not basketball. I love tennis and I think it's a great sport but I don't see how a record established in tennis is the same as a record established in basketball.

To keep an undefeated streak that long is a feat in any sport but to compare the two in an article doesn't really make sense. Tennis and basketball are different sports with different rules. A tennis match can go as long as a basketball game and longer and usually has two opposing players following a strict set of rules. Basketball is a team sport with a lot heavier physical involvement and a regular season of 82 games not including the playoffs. The Washington Kastles are a World Team Tennis league and, considering how difficult tennis can be, they deserve their props for achieving that but the comparison is still a bit of a long shot.

I will tip my hat because tennis takes a great deal of skill and focus as does basketball, at least when you are playing seriously. I just think the headlines should read a bit differently next time because certain historic records can really only be broken by players and teams in the actual sport the record was set in. Way to go Washington Kastles!

WHAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN

After the verdict of not guilty came down I was angry as hell. I can't imagine another person walking free after committing a crime. The death of Trayvon Martin could have been avoided, and no one person can tell me otherwise. George Zimmerman had all the power to avoid what ended up happening but he did not. This is the last entry I plan to write on this subject but I hope it will be the most powerful one. The one right that was violated above all others was a kid's right to life. I don't know any details about Trayvon personally and I don't claim to, nor do I know any details about Zimmerman either.

When Trayvon Martin was killed, every single negative factor conspired in order to make that tragedy a real one. One man's boundless ignorance and hero complex along with other factors made that night a possibility. Was it right? Rhetorical question as anyone with common sense knows the answer to that. Trayvon should still be alive and Zimmerman should be in his house watching Observe and Report while thinking about the release of GTA 5. The way reality went, the ideal scenario is only the dream. There are calls to action with regards to justice, civil rights, and gun laws. This country has a sharp division on opinion.

What we as a civilized society should not allow is real civil unrest and violence to break out. It was one man's antagonistic nature that created this incident, let's not allow that same nature to permeate our society. What our past leaders taught us was that we can make a peaceful stand in order to effectively get our point across. Those leaders, men that gave their lives, would not allow inflammatory rhetoric to take over. Let's think logically and change the game in a civilized manner. Violence and anger will not bring back Trayvon, and they sure as hell won't change the fact that Zimmerman is free. A call to action and a proper display of fact will change a lot more. In 1963 one man spoke of a dream, if he were alive today he would probably speak peacefully about the wrongs in this situation and attempt to do something about it.

The more violence and inflammatory language we use, the less difference we will make. Until there is a real effort to bring about real justice, everyone screaming for justice will simply be a member of an unorganized mob. Violence and ignorance got us to this point, let's allow common sense and intelligence to bring us out of it.

WHEN YOU MESS WITH THE RECEPTACLE

When I was a small boy I was told never to mess with the receptacle, or else something terrible would happen to me. Out of all the lessons I learned, this was the biggest one. Life itself has a share of receptacles you don't mess with. The after effects are pretty horrid when you really think about it, simply put there are some things you just don't do. Perhaps George Zimmerman should have learned this lesson, if he had, he would not be forced to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

I'm not going into gun control, race, Trayvon, or any sort of particular issue outside of the 911 call. When someone tells you not to do something, why do it anyway? I wonder if as a kid Zimmerman ever considered sticking a butter knife in a receptacle. Let's face it, he went against what he was told and now full segments of the population hate his guts, with very good reason.

Does George think he will have the luxury of getting groceries without getting hassled? What about George's family? The fact is that this guy acted hastily and without applying any common sense whatsoever. I don't mess with the receptacle by minding my own business, not making judgements based on appearance, and not assuming that because someone is armed with skittles and a hood, he is going to rape grandma and steal her collectible plates.

George Zimmerman will have to answer to something far greater than the conscience he seems to lack. There is a cosmic electric current know as karma that will eventually collect and maybe it will do so in a manner that George isn't expecting. I don't want to hazard a speculation because in the end it's a situation where there are no winners, one kid lost his life for no reason whatsoever, a moron destroyed himself because he always wanted to be a police officer but was only effective in the Xbox, and you have two families that will never be the same again.

Way to mess with the receptacle asshole.

THE ABORTION OF JUSTICE

So he's innocent, and now every self professed "expert" under the sun has an opinion. The funny thing is that many people want to take it a few steps into pseudo legal eagle territory and justify the verdict.The whole self defense thing is being made into a "plausible" and proper defense that really sums up the essence of this case. I want to take this opportunity to call out serious bullshit. While everyone is entitled to their opinion I think it's idiotic to say that Zimmerman should have been found innocent. People want to say that "Hey George stood his ground, he defended himself from the big bad black kid." Was big bad Trayvon inside George's house? Was Trayvon harassing George in any way shaper or form? Did Trayvon threaten to kill George with the deadly Skittles he purchased some time before? 

Trayvon was a 17 year old unarmed kid walking down a neighborhood wearing a hood. George Zimmerman was a frustrated cop wannabe that found Trayvon's presence offensive and decided to call the police for no reason. The police said they would handle it and warned George Zimmerman not to go after Trayvon but George went after him anyway, he stalked him like prey. What did Zimmerman expect from the kid? Trayvon was a 17 year old kid and, like most teenagers going through a phase, he reacted by defending himself, ultimately though, Trayvon found himself begging for his life the minute he saw the gun. I think that Zimmerman could have just walked away, in fact Zimmerman could have simply just let Trayvon be since all the kid was doing was just walking. 

People want to say that Trayvon was a problem child and threat as well as some sort of MMA expert that decided to ground and pound Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin was just a kid that was scared because he was being stalked by an armed man, simply because he was black and elected to wear a hood that night. To me what's most surprising is the fact that after screwing up with Casey Anthony, the state of Florida screwed up yet again. 

My step father, an attorney with over 46 years experience, half of it as a prosecutor, said himself this was open and shut. It doesn't take an attorney to see George Zimmerman was pursuing Trayvon well after being warned not to do so by police. The chase was racially motivated as Zimmerman can be heard saying " These a......s always get away with everything" and taking off to chase the kid. The fact that Zimmerman is half Hispanic, a fifteenth Polish, One quarter Romanian, and full on jackass, doesn't mean that he is not supposed to be a racist. Racism is not merely about color and nationality when you really think about it. 

I'm sure Trayvon's family will sue Zimmerman in civil court for wrongful death and probably win, but that will do nothing to bring about real justice. Trayvon Martin is dead and George Zimmerman is a free man that's being held up to the light as an example of a concerned citizen trying to stand his ground and act as a model of virtue. Yes, this is our justice system, an asshole with a record for domestic abuse is given a free pass while a kid is buried. What kind of peace can Trayvon have? The guy that killed him can walk on his grave if he choses to now. 

THE INVENTOR OF THE COMPUTER MOUSE

The inventor of the computer mouse, Doug Engelbart, has died at age 88. When I read the news of his death I began thinking about my childhood for some reason. I remember I used to spend weekends at a cousin's house, he had a Commodore Amiga and, with it, all the bells and whistles. I remember that when games were loaded we were not allowed to touch the mouse. The mouse was sensitive and served specific purposes, at least in terms of that computer.

I recall that I learned to respect the mouse as a result of what I was told that day by my cousin. Yes the mouse was simple, sensitive, and easy to use, but it seemed to signal that something better was on the horizon. I did not really think much about that until today. The mouse was one of those inventions that revolutionized an industry and created a necessity for a device that soon became part of almost every person's landscape.

It's sad to imagine that the inventor of the mouse did not really profit from his creation. I do feel that this is the kind of pioneer that should get highest praise because honestly, he was about change and not so much about what it could do to him. The mouse is now fading from view but it hasn't yet ceased to exist. I hope that people will make an effort to remember Engelbart as he was, a man of positive change.

WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER TODAY

Today is not just another important day, it's the most important day in the history of the US. July 4th is not a day for stepping out in ridiculous garb and scream while chewing on a corn dog. The 4th of July is a day that defines democracy, sacrifice, and real courage. Our founding fathers used their intelligence to craft a document that would take the 13 colonies and turn them into a singularly united power. No longer would the colonies fall under royal rule and have to live for the wishes of the queen. The revolutionary war was a way to say no more, the ultimate conflict for true democracy.

The democracy that we enjoy today was laid out nearly two and a half centuries ago. While many battles have been fought over that period, the ideal of democracy faced greatest jeopardy long ago. Today we fail to remember that history because it's long since passed, we weren't there, the books sometimes tell a different story. Our founding fathers were not gun toting morons, they were not perfect figures, but they agreed that we should all have the right to think as we wished.

Today is always a beautiful day, a day of unity of celebration for all. Everyone remember to celebrate that this country was built on the principle of hard work and sacrifice, from luxury to life, it's who we are. Symbols in this country are a beacon to what made it great then and what makes it great now. Celebrate your freedom, the sacrifice, and not just your day off.

THE MANDELA SAGA

As Nelson Mandela fights for his life it almost seems like his family is fighting to see who can get more attention. Nelson Mandela's grandson accused his brother of fathering a child with his ex wife during an illicit affair. While no one knows if this is true or not, I would venture to say it's not really the time to make claims of that nature. The Mandela family is not just a public family but it's the family of a figure that stands out for landmark achievements. For someone to go ahead and start a family feud during this period is an act of ignorance. I understand that Mandela's grandson is angered but still, is this the right time?

Chances are Mandela will not last much longer and it would be a shame if this is the last thing remembered as one of the world's great leaders fades away. The legacy of Nelson Mandela needs to be respected and not tarnished, let alone by his own family. I hope his grandson tries to put this soap opera aside for the time being and shows his grandfather's legacy the proper respect that it deserves.