It’s been cold here in Colorado. Really freaking cold. Really. Today the high was 16 degrees. 16.
And now:

Awesome. The weather and my cold ass have nothing to do with the rest of this post.

In the past week, I’ve had hundreds of hits for “abs.” Either people are feeling the Thanksgiving Day guilt and they’re trying to skim off some gluttonous pounds or they really do want rock hard abs like mine. Wait, I’ve never said that about myself. What I have said is that I’m an ab whore.

It isn’t as though I think tight abs will make me faster (Oh please, please, please make me run faster!), for me, it’s just about strengthening the core. I have incorporated ab workouts throughout my running career and have found, through experience and research, that a stable core will help prevent injury and further support the overall movement of my legs. Running and ab exercises go nicely together*. Like a wink and a smile. Peanut butter and jelly. Bisquits and gravy. Rum and Coke. Cocain and waffles. Chinese food and chocolate pudding.

So, here’s a post about some of my ab workouts and sites that I refer to when looking to add some variety into my regimen.

As a general rule, I like to do an ab workout every other day. I won’t necessarily do the same routine each time, because I want to target certain areas, but some type of core routine is a must. Here are some exercises that I circulate through:

Plank and Side Plank

Abdominal Ball Routines: Basic Crunches and Alternating Crunches (I’ll often incorporate weights into both of these routines.)

Some basics, like Bicycles, Vertical Leg Crunches (Cherry-Pickers), and Reverse Crunch

Standing Ab Crunches and Standing Oblique Crunches (with weights)
I couldn’t find any images or video to support this exercise. Or, maybe they’re out there, but not beyond the first two Google pages. Stand with feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold weights on shoulders. Lift up one knee and bring toward tummy as your upper body is crunching toward your raised knee. Straighten out and repeat with other leg. The oblique crunch is the same concept except twisting. Left knee to right elbow. Straighten. Right knee to left elbow.

Some good articles:

Why You Need Great Abs: The importance of core strength for the runner

The Abs Plan

*Obviously, watching what you eat will also help in efforts to slim the tummy. And I don’t mean watching it go into your mouth! Considering calories and replacing certain foods you eat with BETTER foods is a great idea. For me, lots of fruits and veggies. Skim milk. Chicken. Etc. Not revolutionary. This is nothing new that you haven’t already heard or read. I cut back significantly on sweets when I’m marathon training, which is SO AMAZINGLY DIFFICULT. I have several sweet teeth. Love me some ice cream. I’m all over Ben and Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns.

Also, running a half marathon on Saturday. Using it as a training run, so don’t expect anything amazing to come of it. Potential marathon at the end of March. 15 weeks-ish. E and I thought this would be a good way to officially begin the marathon training. We’ve had plenty of great base miles, what with coaching. I’m feeling really antsy to start marathon training, especially because of my recent 5k that went so swimmingly. Speaking of which, the results were updated.

44/538 overall
8/337 overall female
1/52 in my age group (20-29)

I don’t think I get a replacement 1st place medal for the current 2nd place AG medal that is hanging on the wall. Oh well.

In a casino, the odds are stacked against gamblers; the House is going to come out on top, at the end of the day, overall. There are some winners, here and there, but there are many more losers so the casino makes the most money.

Informants are hired to look and act like regular gamblers, in an effort to keep tabs on the regular folks who are gambling. If someone regularly beats the House, and amasses a considerable amount of wealth, the casino is alerted and the goon squad is dispatched to find out why–and possibly (forcibly) eject the person from the premises. Their business model is based on the idea that the House is the only one that should be making any serious money.

It’s the same with government and politics. With electronic voting machines, scare tactics, back-pocket media and an ignorant Electorate the odds are stacked against The People.

Any time a “third” option or activist group mounts a serious challenge to the Establishment Parties (RepubliCrats), the attack-dog media outlets go to work to discredit the candidate and cast doubt in the minds of voters: “It’s a wasted vote,” “People who associate with that group must be hate-filled or racist,” or “If you don’t vote for our candidate the [other "major" Party candidate] will win!” It’s all about dividing, conquering and advancing agendas through compromise and fear–and making sure no alternative can gain any type of ground to upset the balance.

And don’t get me started on the widespread ballot access laws, reporting mandates, contribution caps, etc. that seriously hinder any “third party” upstarts, but don’t really do much to hinder the “major” Parties who are already large and powerful. To me, it’s akin to the lopsided tax on the Southern states that led to the Civil War.

Infiltrating one of the other Parties– to try and win an election, based solely on the fact that some (idiots) blindly push an “R” or “D” button at the polls, without even knowing who the candidates are–will get you nowhere, either, because those Parties carefully vet their members and candidates. If you don’t play along with the Good Ol’ Boy game, you will never even make it through the nomination process. (Ron Paul is a good example of how these groups will cannibalize their own, if their agendas are threatened.)

By now, you’ve probably heard reports and seen evidence of vote tampering on electronic voting machines–everything from vote totals being switched, artificially casting votes for one candidate based upon the votes received by the opposition, etc. There is even video footage of a chimp hacking one of the machines. To put it all in perspective, Russian dictator Josef Stalin once said, “It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.”

With all of those things stacked against you–those who want real change and real freedom–why do you continue to try and work within the system to try and change it?

I guess it’s like playing the lottery, even though a player is more likely to be struck by lightning–twice–than win the jackpot.

And the local government council meetings, where “public input” is permitted–but usually at no more than 2 or 3 minutes per person–are just dog and pony shows, too. Listening to the citizens is just a formality to most of these people, and necessary to keep you thinking that you actually have a voice in government proceedings, so you don’t rebel.

I’ve seen too many meetings where citizens packed the house, and overwhelmingly disapproved of a certain measure that was up for a vote, only to watch their local officials completely ignore the voices of the People and approve it, anyway. It was almost comical to watch these officials pay little attention to what the People had to say, knowing how they were going to vote before the first person even stepped up to the mic.

Threats to vote them out don’t work, because they know that most people don’t even know what’s going on with their government and will vote to re-elect them–and if that fails, there’s always those wonderful, programmable, electronic voting machines…

Stop putting your faith and energy into a system that is rigged to keep outsiders from succeeding. Don’t be fooled by the illusion.

It’s time to remove all compliance and support for this corrupt, freedom-destroying Establishment. Doing so is the only way we’re ever going to get things moving back in the right direction.

That’s some real “hope and change.”

(Related article: http://anarchistpov.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/reality-check/ )

Was it it’s finest this Thanksgiving weekend.

Not sure if you have ever been here; but, there is a large city in the middle of Arkansas. It’s our capital. It’s name is Little Rock.

In this city they call Little Rock, it is full of drivers. Full of BAD drivers. Usually this community likes to drive five (5) miles under the speed limit. They also like to take up most of the road when lost. It’s fun.

But Little Rock is not the only bad driving community. In fact, on our way home from Little Rock we took the interstate. On the interstate everyone has the PRIVELAGE of driving 70 miles per hour (some drive a lot more).

On this night, it was pouring heavy rain with high winds. Very dangerous weather to be driving in. That is why I do not understand why anyone would be tailing and texting while they drive. Why would you drive so incompetently? I’m not sure if how well you know me; but, if you drive like an idiot, I will treat you like an idiot. Please, don’t be a stupid driver.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.

At a recent school meeting that E and I weren’t paying any attention to, I was discussing the hilarity that is the site, I Can Has Cheezburger. She had no clue what I was talking/laughing about, and I was just made to look even sillier when I couldn’t access the site due to the district’s “web blocker.” So, later, I sent her the link, only to have this one sent back to me.

Then, I found MORE photos!

I’m scared.

And, then I find out, WTF, there is an iPhone app for Kitty Wigs! I promptly downloaded THAT awesomeness! I don’t need a cat to have a little fun with iPhone photos, wigs, and the like.

B.Ri.

My bro, Buddy Gregg.

And, yours truly.

Trust me. Get the iPhone app. The $.99 is worth AT LEAST 10 minutes of your wasted time.

You’re welcome.

Unorthodox Intro: So, I think it’s safe to say that today I have a case of the Mondays. I woke up this morning in a good mood… then I got out of bed. For some reason my neck has been hurting me for the past 2 weeks. Then I was late to work. Oh well. I promised you a witty complaint, so here it is.

My job is very blunt, my title is not. I get to call and threaten grown adults for money and have the pleasure of putting families out of their homes and onto the streets. Yes, I am in charge of collections and evictions. All of it.

All day, I hear my co-workers complain about their job and listen to them talk about how hard it is and how they want to be praised when they do something right. I get it, I know how tedious their job can be. But, it’s mostly computer generated and they also have the pleasure of getting out of the office whenever. And on occasion… they have to answer the phone. Doesn’t that sound hard? I would be crying if I had their job. Did I mention vacation time whenever they want it?

While they are on paid vacation… I am not. I am here, being cussed at, yelled at, lied to, and threatened on a day-to-day basis. I then also get to receive and handle the money that these angry tenants bring into me. Oh, and when lunch time comes around… they all go at the same time and leave me here during the busiest part of the day.

I am surprised I am not depressed.

Happy Thanksgiving.

When I first started blogging on February 28, 2009, I never thought I’d be so uncelebrated well received into the blogging community.  Now, after 8.5 months, and eight HUNDREDS  of consistent readers, I know I’ve hit my prime.  And it feels good.  Fantastic.  To celebrate this surely forgetful commemorative occasion, the 100’s of Carpeviam.  A list of 10 things, under 10 topics, all about my blog (and in no particular order).

10 favorite posts

1. Tit for tat bubble wrapped in pot*
2. Day 1:  I’m as bloated as Rush Limbaugh’s ego.
3. Boston Marathon-Perspectives and Ruminations
4. Boston Marathon-Full Race Report
5. My “bad ass” weekend
6. Pacific Northwest Part III
7. Bolder Boulder 10k Race Report
8. Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.*
9. The House of the Devil Review
10. Paranormal Activity Review

10 least favorite posts (yeah, I’m sure since I’ve confirmed that these are my “least” favorite, you’ll surely click on the links)

1. As pure as the driven snow…but you drifted
2. When I’ve got nothing else, you get this
3. Friday Fail:  Cereal Killer
4. 4th of July:  Independence from conscience.  America’s excuse to over-indulge.
5. Thursday Mish Mash
6. I’m back!  Temporarily.  Here’s a brief recap of the week.
7. Just breathe.  Just sleep.  Just get it together.
8. Egads!  They keep getting faster!
9. Phone it in Friday
10. Good wine is a good familiar creature

10 favorite photos

10 favorite post comments (this was too hard, and I had too many comments to sort through, so I chose them at random)

1. “Welcome to the club. “  Xenia
2. “My hero.”  Tantris
3. “…i think we met spiritually during the race many times over!” Doc
4. “Insomnia is the worst. I find that drinking Scotch right before you go to bed usually helps.” Cowboy Hazel
5. “I just love your writing style, really makes me want to read your posts but not see this movie.”  Margaret
6. “I love those two sonicare minutes & sometimes can drag it out for FOUR minutes.” JoyRuN
7. “*Ahem*! The first will be the long-promised @$$ pix, right?  Then you’ll have an @$$-some blog. Way better than awesome.  Unless you were lying about yer @$$.  Or your new camera.”  GQH
8. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! YAY FOR YOU! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! Maybe someday we can get together and randomly punch buttons and twist dials together on our cameras, ha yeah.”  Chloe
9. “Yes, I love that you, the chick, are the fast and deadly one in the relationship.”  M2M
10. “I don’t like any melons either, which is why I never buy the fruit cups…always full of melons with maybe 2 strawberries. Ridiculous.”  Roisin

1. Snickerdoodles
2. Eggnog pancakes
3. Peach Pie with Creme Fraiche and Streusal
4. Rum Cake (secret recipe)
5. Crawfish Pie
6. Shrimp Etouffee
7. Oatmeal Caramelitas
8. Samoa girl scout cookies
9. Chocolate Chip Cookies
10. Peanut butter/oatmeal/chocolate cookies

10 favorite post reviews (okay, some of these are kind of a stretch)

1. Side effects may include upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, difficulty breathing, dizziness, or swelling.  All in the name of vanity.
2. The House of the Devil Review
3. Paranormal Activity Review
4. Coaching, running, and a Nuun review (keep your habit on)
5. A change in race distances + RANT & RAVE
6. Werewolfing would give me something to do when insomnia struck on the night of a full moon
7. Watchmen don’t watch chick flicks
8. I got chills, they’re multiplying
9. 4th of July:  Independence from conscience.  America’s excuse to over-indulge.
10. Colorado wine country…Napa’s “wannabe”

10 posts that have caused me extra research

1. Determine Nation
2. Like The Bloop*, except on land, and the fact that it doesn’t really sound like The Bloop
3. Shopping for a half
4. Friday Fail:  Cereal Killer
5. Billie Jean is not my lover.  But, if she were hot, she could definitely have K’s son.  I mean, someone’s got to.  And, death in threes.
6. Werewolfing would give me something to do when insomnia struck on the night of a full moon
7. Bring home the bacon!
8. Wicked pissah…or, whatever the hell they say in Boston
9. Between the miles
10. Pacific Northwest Part I

10 blogs that I read most often

1. Chloe Conspiracy
2. Xenia
3. The Loose Moose
4. Runner’s Rambles
5. Cowboy Hazel
6. The Beat of My Noisy Heart
7. Running Bull
8. Cake Wrecks
9. Doc Laminator
10. The Bloggess

10 funny/strange search engine terms used to find my blog (one day, I’m going to post a list of the top 10 search engine terms and see how many hits I get)

1. i’m sweating like a pedophile at recess
2. take my ass
3. vomiting diarrhea and loss of voice
4. i am not a number i am a free man sample
5. i know craig ferguson maybe this time
6. cleavage (img or dsc)
7. ass to mouth
8. samoan girl
9. dinosaurs shoes
10. night of the giving head sample

10 most viewed posts

1. I may actually like the Merry Ol’ Land of Oz. I could join the Lollipop Guild!
2. Like The Bloop*, except on land, and the fact that it doesn’t sound like The Bloop
3. There once was a man from Nantucket
4. Pacific Northwest Part II
5. Who is carpeviam?
6. Treadmills:  my arch nemesis
7. Palisade Peach Pie Perfection.  That’s some damn fine alliteration, if I’ve ever seen it.
8. Two Minutes to Boston:  Marathon training update
9. Yeah, I’m an ab whore.  And, some running stuff.
10. Free sample Wednesday!  Don’t be hoodwinked.  I’m not really giving out free samples.  Yet.

I received this note yesterday from a co-worker and found it to be quite ironic. Though “think green” could just be a direct reference to the green frog, in our current state of mind, “think green” actually refers to our current state of living, in that we reverse the way we think about waste. For many, this comes in the form of paper waste.

So…
a) the note asks the author to “think green”
b) paper was wasted for a “thanks”
c) two pieces of paper ended up being stuck together

How ironical. AND WHAT A WASTE OF PAPER!

As a runner, there are certain things that can be expected during a long run:

1. The sunrise (if up early enough)
2. Hydration and fuel
3. Wolf calls
4. Belabored breathing
5. People honking their car horns
6. Dogs barking
7. Tired muscles
8. Blisters
9. Greetings to fellow runners and passers-by
10. Knee pain

But also as a runner, there are things that might occur on a long run, that are NOT expected:

1. Muscle cramping
2. Nimrag loses satellite reception or battery dies
3. Grabbing the wrong flavor GU, but consuming it anyway
4. Getting sprayed by water/slush/snow as cars whiz by
5. iShuffle going dead
6. Witnessing a rollover car accident
7. Urgency to urinate or worse
8. Realizing your planned route is shorter than desired
9. Feelings of nausea
10. Getting hit by a car

While I’ve experienced all of these things at some point, it’s number 10, that I’d like to discuss.  Up until today, I had only heard rumors about runners getting hit by cars.  And I only know 1 person, B-Ri, who has been hit by a car whilst running.  Granted, it’s also worthy noting that he’s been hit by a car 4 different times that he’s been running. 

Anyway, I was out on a 12 mile long run today.  A simple out-and-back  that I was making up as I ran along.  I don’t typically stay to the streets and sidewalks, as they’re hard on my knees, but today was different.  Due to last nights 8 inch snowfall, I decided to avoid the unclear trails and run on the shoveled sidewalks and streets.  I knew I’d have the occasional snowy patch to run through, but it was better than a full 12 miles of snow (which I’ve done before and let me tell you, IT’S HARD!).  During mile 7, I was crossing a street that required drivers to slow down as they approaced the intersection, come to a complete stop, look both ways for oncoming traffic or pedestrians, and then upon seeing a clear right-of-way, proceed slowly into the intersection.  LITTLE BLUE SUBARU DID NONE OF THESE THINGS.  Luckily, I was paying attention.  When I saw LBS approaching the intersection, I was expecting him to slow down, but when he didn’t, I put out my hand.  He continued to roll through the stop sign, causing me to place my hand on his hood, side step as much as I was able to and hope for the best.  He still hit my leg.  I was fine though, and continued on to the sidewalk across the intersection.  And do you know that LBS DIDN’T EVEN STOP to see if I was okay?  HE WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE INTERSECTION AND CONTINUED DRIVING.  What a fuckass.  I was more pissed off than anything.  So, now I join the ranks of “I was hit by a car when running.”  

In hindsight, I wish I had made a bigger spectacle of the ordeal.  If it hadn’t been so icy, slushy, and wet, it would have been fun to “fall” to the ground, grabbing my leg to see if he’d have stopped.  He probably wouldn’t have.  I settled instead for hitting his hood with my hand and a string of explitives.  This still felt good. 

I told a handful of friends what happened, and after making sure I was okay, C said, “And that’ll teach ya for running when only the clinically insane go outside!”

To confirm that theory, depite the car, the snow, the ice, and wearing my YakTrax, I still managed to run the 12 miles at an 8:10 pace.

Ok, today is a better time now, than ever to let you know whats going on in my life in a weird super natural way.

I still have to write my blog about my Kalalau trip and all the supernatural things that took place out there, but this is a post to that in the sense that its all starting to make sense and come together however the 143 thing has been with me my entire life.

The Start…

When I was young child I started to notice that every time I looked at a clock, watch, odometer or anything that had digital time on it, I would almost ALWAYS see it. I was starting to really trip me out and up until last summer none of it made sense so I just took it as a “143 means (I love you) so its just a constant reminder that Im always loved or thought of”… you know, the little things that make the big differences in life.

Well…

I went to Kalalau in the jungle and met a guy who lived in the jungle and he started to blow my mind and explain things to me on a very real foundational simplified level on what people think are just “odd circumstances” and “strange coincidences” and I learned more than ever that nothing in life is a coincidence. Fate is a crazy thing and being able to read and understand signs in your life is a huge advantage in knowing that you are indeed on the right path.

As i started to understand more and more that the things I was putting out into the universe were all happening for me, I started to see more and more of these “signs” if you will that my life was on a path that was aligning with the things that god wanted for me, the universe, and me for me. As i started to eliminate all the things that were holding me back from my path and I started accepting my path and stopped resisting it so much, everything started to unfold in rapid succession as it is even more so today.

All of my other blogs that are coming and will be linked here (Kalalau, Ukraine, Guanaja) will help alot of this make sense but for now. I want to show you something that you cant make up…

I have been writing and traveling to get this new record done and when I set it in stone that I wasnt going to procrastinate anything any longer and just keep moving forward with it I really started to make itself scarily apparent. I would wake up, its 143, i would go to bed its 143, the signs on the road 143, the odometer 143, my phone 143 all just too much.

So…

Im in bed, and 143 pops up on right before im headed to the airport. I land, grab my bags, look down at my phone and it says… 143. I get picked up and start to tell my buddy about this really strange phenomenon happening in my life and he is like “yeah man thats crazy I wonder what it means” Well… We go to bed that night and I wake up the next morning to start tracking and…

Woke up to this...

Then… we start tracking and spend all day knocking out this song and making sure its as rocking as possible. We get offered to go enjoy a dinner at this spanish italian place called Barcelona, which by the way, has THE BEST food ever! When we pulled up, we threw all the quarters we had on us in the meter and…

The Meter

We hang out with this acter named Carmine and he out of nowhere is like “im gonna pay for everything, its all on me, i got a new big film coming out and I wanna take the tab” We were like… wow, this guy is very generous and awesome. So, my buddy at diner starts to tell Carmine “hey man, you need to hear this crazy thing thats happening to Danny… hes got the 143 number popping up everywhere and he cant make sense of it”, so I start to show everyone at the table all this snapshots I took of everytime I see this number sequence. Everyone at the table starts their own theories…”1+4+3=8 and 8 is the infinity sign” and many things of this sort.

The waiter comes up after our AMAZING dinner and hands us our bill and I just hear Carlos gasp and point at the bill and…

The Bill

Everyone at our table is looking at me like “WTF, this is SCARY, like seriously some David Copperfield type ish!” and I am pretty blown away as well. Never in one day have I experienced this many 143’s in succession. Carmines arms are covered in goosebumps and he is like “man this is really crazy, i cant even think straight” and I assure him that I have been dealing with this my whole life and nothing but amazing blessed things have followed even tho my life has been one that also had some really sad and unfortunate things that came as well, much like anyone i think.

We finish up our drinks and everyone walks away mind blown. We had to get back to the house for some finishing touches on the song So we walk in the house, get down into the studio, flip on the monitor and start running the tracks to hear it from the start. As im listening to the track I look down and Oh My God! The track is exactly 143 measures!!!! Look at this below…

Song Track Measures

Lastly… im laying in bed and playing Monopoly on my iPhone and sure enough…

Monopo143

I honestly dont know what the heck is going on… Its really crazy. If you have any thoughts or ideas, or whatever. I would sincerely appreciate it. All I know, is that is HAS to be a good thing because in the last month that this has all been coming in rapid succession I have got 2 offered for reality shows, a major business venture in China, 3 major producers on board to do this new record without a record deal! I dont know whats happening but whatever it is, its really good and as long as I keep seeing it… then life is going right on path!

Below are a FEW of the snapshots ive saved…

A Few Snapshots...

Two weeks ago, my athletes ran the cross country Regional race in hopes of State qualification. Our girls team, and one of our boys, qualified to run in the following weekend’s State race. However, due to an unexpected and massive snow storm, the course was covered with 18 inches of snow and thus postponed a week. This happened my Junior year of high school. A blizzard hit Colorado the Friday before the Saturday morning race. The majority of athletes were already in the race city and stuck in a hotel until Sunday! We came back the following week for the race. It’s really tough mentally to have another week of practice. You’re SO ready to race, and then you can’t! Another week to try to stay INJURY FREE! Minimize the risk!

On Friday, the five coaches picked up the kids after school and made our way 50 miles north, to Ft. Collins. We had a quick pre-run together (HOLY BUCKETS! These kids are SO ready to run! Fast pace and LOADS of energy!), went to the pre-sale for State shirt purchases, and off to Olive Garden to commit carbocide (name that movie!).

Back to the hotel for a pre-race pep talk. This is such an amazing group of kids. 7 of the 9 are underclassmen! And State is a new experience for the same number of them. They’re nervous. They’re excited. And they have SO MUCH POTENTIAL in the years to come since they are such a “young” team. It’s great to see them on the cusp of what they’ll become.

After the kids went to bed…

…a little puff-painting of the “coach” t-shirts the kids made for us. And some other adult type things that I won’t post pictures of, or refer to, because you should continue to think that the 5 of us are responsible coaches who would never do silly things when the kids go to bed.

The morning of the race, we ate breakfast at a nearby Egg and I. You could clearly see the kids nerves exhibited in their facial expressions, appetite, and general demeanor! Soon, it would all be over. We checked out of the hotel, drove to the course (held at Fossil Ridge High School, a course we had run earlier in the season), and our one boy, C, prepared for his 11am race.

Head coach, E, getting prepared, and just as nervous as the kids!

C toed the line, and seemed to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the field. 195 runners. What Freshman WOULDN’T be overwhelmed?!

C ran his own race, and ran it well, finishing within 12 seconds of his season PR! He will be very fun to watch over the next few years.

Time: 17:34
Place: 62/195

The winner of the boys race ran a 15:24! Holy 4.58-per-mile Batman!

The girls race was next. 1230pm. Another huge field, consisting of 172 runners and 23 full teams.

On the line…

Our lead runner, T, was quite determined in her overall placement. Last year, as a Junior, she placed 25th. We knew she could be top 10 this year and E had given her some pointers on who to hang with, when to pass, etc. It was wonderful to watch ALL the girls on the team run hard and enjoy the final race of the season. At the final 400m stretch, we watched T round the corner in 10th place! She got her medal. when she took the stand at the awards ceremony, and was only 4 seconds off of her personal PR! Her time: 19:08. Winning time: 18:17.

Our girls team was 14th of 23 teams. All of these girls have a great running career in their future. Since the majority are Freshmen, we anticipate their times dropping over the next few seasons. T will graduate and go on to run in college. She worked SO hard all of these years to drop her time! Way to go!

Overall, we are such proud coaches! State is like icing on the cake for a runner’s seaons. Regionals is really the race that counts, because it determines who moves on to State. It’s a great experience for these kids and it’s the 3rd year in a row that our girls team has qualified and competed at the State meet! That says a lot about head coach, E, and not so much about assistant coach, Carpeviam! Haha!

Great season and another in the bag!

the tightening of my chest reminds me im human,
the twisting of my stomach tells me im real,

dont forget to breath my mind says to my lungs assuring me, this too will pass.

a drop of time and an ounce of my heart will scream in this vessel that i call my body.
id slam the doors and bust things but im only good at breaking hearts lately.

chills form on the top of arms reminding me that this is what happens for being who you are,
you could change, but it wouldnt be you, and change may alter the future of who you are to become,

and THAT is what eats at the core at me. What if change was exactly what I needed. What if change brought forth a better person.

However what if change were a temporary visitor only to be put on by me for a short period of time until that visitor was no longer welcome in my body.

Ive never been fake to the sake of being fake. Ive always kept it real because thats who I am. I know ill probably be a lonely man and what is wierd is that feeling does not scare me. I dont live my life needing anything more than what I already have.

I do however live my life wanting the things I dont have. Its such a paradox and Im in a parallel.

I can hear sirens passing by right now and it feels like they couldnt be more dead on to how my heart feels right now. “emergency, emergency” it screams out.

…and just like that, its gone.

…and dont forget to breathe it says. dont forget to breath or youll kill 2 people, not just one.

What my body doesnt realize is that maybe a part of me has died and my heart is in a vegetative state where it pumps and runs through its motions because. Just because.

Noone will ever know me like i know me. Well, thats not true, one person knows me like i know me. I mean, noone on earth, will ever know me like i know me, and please (hold back your “well duh” statements) because im saying this off the cuff and it has a deeper meaning than a surface value sentence. I mean it like… it may be my fault why noone will ever know me like I know me, but even if i was completely honest, i dont think anyone would ever believe me.

I guess im just so complex that a normal human to human love is something i feel i give strongly but when i get into a relationship with a person it changes. Not for the better either. I am built to love every human i come in contact with and i dont mean a physical love. I mean a mental emotional love to where I care about everyone more than myself. I wanna know how you felt when this happened, and i wanna know why you did that and i want to know what it felt like to lose your father and so on and so on. I wanna feel with you and for you. I am working on this because I believe I can completely give all of me to one person, or maybe its about finding the person who can love you, take your love and not ask for more than you can give at any given moment. Just being satisfied with who you both are in every moment you share.

I think it is possible and i think every situation and person is unique.

I received this email not too long ago about a product review. Initially, I was SO EXCITED! Someone found my blog and thought that I was “INFLUENTIAL” enough to actually review a product and potentially coerce people into buying it! And then I read it…

Hi there,

Take care,
Amanda

First of all, there is nothing more convincing to me that I’ll loose weight than SPRINKLING a diet drug on my food. That’s just screaming “Slim!” And, wait, if you had actually READ MY BLOG, you would know that I don’t even HAVE weight-loss goals! I’m a RUNNER, (not a recumbent bicyclist!) of ALL distances, primarily of the 1/2 and full marathon variety.

And secondly, your comment, “as a busy [woman or mom] who has a lot on your plate,” is just UNCANNY! A LOT on your PLATE?! If that’s not subliminal, I don’t know what is! Very creative, you marketing genious!

Thirdly, as far as my “influential” voice goes, let it be known, that I am more than just influential; I’m revolutionary. Do you even know how many people read my blog? No? Well, it’s a lot. I think.

Destiny

This is the follow up to: http://dannycasler.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/let-it-be/ that was written last year…

So, its been awhile since I have updated my blog and I know alot of you read and subscribe to me, which to be honest, is very flattering. I found out alot more people read my blogs than I think I ever imagined. I am really not good with just talking to people about what I am going through or feeling so writing to myself allows me to feel like I am working through it with the intangible and invisible side of me thats listening to me. Does that make sense?

Anyhow…

I am almost home from 8 months straight of touring, almost 2 years of the road on and off and I have never been more excited to start some new chapters in my life. We are all so excited to see our families and loved ones. We have been on the road so hardcore and we almost lost touch of our friendships to one another and the reason we even like making music in the first place. Thats why we are taking a good 4-6 month break from everything. No making music, no touring, no being dudes slaving the roads to see you every night (even tho we do love seeing you all).

We are finally going to be selfish and enjoy OUR OWN lives verses the life that has led us neglecting our friends and families for years on end. The life that has had to hear about family and friends passing or nephews and nieces being born by phone, and the band being the farthest possible from those experiences.

Whats awesome is that you all love us enough to understand we need sometime to be normal dudes. I think the death of Catherine rocked us INCREDIBLY hard. I am still not over it. Which brings me to this blog.

A while back my grandmother, the strongest woman I have ever known was in the hospital, it was one thing after another and then next thing you know, she was dying. I was able to make it out to be by her bedside, but like my grandfather, i refused to be there for the passing. I dont think I can handle watching someone pass directly in front of me. Maybe im too hard on the exterior but just soft enough inside to where that may change me. Maybe I need that? I dont know.

Anyhow, we are leaving Arizona right now and while doing so, we were getting stuck at EVERY SINGLE stop light. Robby is pissed off yelling at the light and Stan is trying to convince Robby that a certain speed allows to make through all the light and Im laughing to myself because both are being ridiculous. We stop at Meeker and Grand and I look up and its the hospital my grandmother passed away at.

As we were stopped Strung Out was playing and these lyrics were blasting through the radio:

I will always be with you
I will always be watching

I dont think I allowed myself to grieve really since she passed. I have been non stop on the go with no time to really express emotion. The only time I cried was the day after she passed away, LUNA had arrived in my mail box. I woke up to it and I sat in my car, and I slid it into the player, turned the volume up, looked at the clock and it said 143. If you have read my other blogs, you know what this represents for me and my life since I was a child.

I started to cry uncontrollably. She helped us buy our first van, and supported us sooooo much, feeding us, housing us, and she died the day before she could even hear it. VERY VERY heartbreaking for me. I feel like being a musician is the most heartbreaking thing anyone can do, if you really, really consumed in your passion. You do experience the incredible heights of things like: Japan, Alaska, Mexico, fans, and all that. However, you sacrifice some of the most incredible moments that are essential to your growth in becoming a man or woman. Things like death, birth, love, marriage, children, all of these things your forced to miss to a large extent or be forced to sacrifice. That is what life is ALL about. Sacrificing.

This is where I have an incredible amount of faith in my spirituality and myself. I am aware that sacrifices were made for me, to be able to have the life I have and be blessed with a future that sometimes, i may not understand. I realize now more than ever that nothing is permanent but more importantly, the things you do now, will impact things later in your life and also that some things you put all your stock into were never intended to be your “money” maker and I dont mean money in the sense of physical money, i mean money, in true happiness and fulfillment.

Some of these things we put so much stock into, are simply stones that will step us up to our true purpose in life. That is where FAITH comes in. This is not only faith in the spiritual, you do not need to be religious or spiritual to have faith in something. Your faith, in whatever you choose to set it in, will be what gets you through the day, the month, the year and eventually your life.

Your faith in yourself is what will guide you to what will YOUR legacy. The story you leave behind so you are not another soul that just existed but rather an icon of living a full life and inspiring others to better and further succeed in their own lives.

Alot of people have lost touch with what it means to be there for someone other then themselves.

I am in the most self centered industries in the world and I have seen it more than anyone that money, fame, fans, power mean nothing. People who buy into this shit are sadly lacking the true meaning of life. In order to truly live, you must be stripped of everything that is of any value to you or you will live an illusion of what is temporarily important.

Money will not solve your problems, it will however help you arrive to them in style.

My broker used to say this to me and he lived and still lives by this. I never found stock in this because my problems will never circle around money, and not because I do or dont have it. Just because I find no value in money. Ironic right.

Fame is fleeting.

This is very true. Your hot one minute, your not the next however if you put your stock in this you will be let down all the time. The only people you need to be famous for are your friends and family. They are the ones who at the end of the day will love you to the ends of the earth when all that has passed. They know who you really are. That is why we dont have fans, we have friends. Our relationship is much more personal than that. Fuck fame anyway, we dont want it.

Lastly, power. This is the biggest illusion of them all. That ONE person actually controls another person via their fame, money or level of success.

No one is more powerful than you are (unless your like me and have a faith in god). If your not, thats legit too, it still applies. You are your own man/woman. You decide your future, your outcome and in result, you will impact other peoples lives, either negatively or positively and how you choose to do that, will be your legacy.

The whole reason behind this blog was to express keeping your eyes open for the special signs in life.

The jaded people will tell you that they are “coincidences”. The people who believe and live with a positive mindset will always see signs that point the way.

Remember when we were kids and we had imaginations larger than life. Some kids had imaginary friends, some had incredible visions. I was all the above and then some.

The only difference between living with faith, or without it, is believing that it does not exist. As you get older, you start to forget whats really important in most cases, you lose your sense of imagination, you dull your happiness, you jade your eyes from truly seeing.

I think I will live forever with my mindset because I choose to. My physical body may not be here in 10, 30, 50, 100 years but my soul, my heart, and the way I will continue to impact others will always be what is left.

What will you leave behind?

(you dont need to answer, thats just for you to think about)

*expect a record coming from me in 2010, may it impact in ways I may not have previously*

“What are you up to, sweetheart?”

Pretty ordinary words, yet so exceptional in the situation we are in. He is on his knees, legs spread a bit for improved poise, wrists shifting gracefully in ropes behind his back. I am sitting on a chair in front of him, all bare except for my thoughts, silently sitting from such a long time, reflecting over issues bothering me of late. They are all coming at me from all the sides at once.

On his face, there’s that little knowing smile, obviously he senses that I am staring at him yet vacantly. He can’t in fact see that through that make-shift blindfold I have created using my wide hair band. I really gaze at him then, realizing how beautiful he looks in bondage, in MY bondage. How much seeing him, right there, calms me down, gets me into that happy, peaceful place.

And he asks again. Subtly Smilingly. Almost Provoking.
I see no need to reply. I’m just stroking his tresses which ever so softly falls over his forehead. This is the kind of touch I know that maddens him with desire… To touch me back; to be touched by me further more. Even deeper.

I take a hold of his hairs, pull him close, stealing soft kisses. The kind of kiss where he wants to respond yet I move before he can actually do so.

I kiss him tenderly on his forehead, on his chin, on his left shoulder, moving a bit closer, pulling his head back, exposing his throat, gently biting him there and then turning that into a soft kiss as well.

His lips parts slightly, heavy with want. Even though he is excited by now, he looks so relaxed, content where he is. Bondage is not a burden to him. He knows that I want him there – just like that. He also knows that further I would lead him where I fancy him to be, doing what I wish him to do.

Right here in this moment, this world of mine is perfect, unlike the other one outside. And its because of him, it’s because of us.

Guiding him by the grip on his hairs, I position his head down, between my spread legs. His warm breath tickling me slightly, turning me on even more.

Tonight, I am going to let him worship me, truly. For what I am to him. And he is going to bring me serenity in my otherwise flawed world.

Me and Him. Ying and yang. Perfect harmony. Bound so intimately as one. In love and lust. In pain and pleasure.

1.  “No, I don’t have a better idea; I just know that yours won’t work.”

2.  “Why? Because that’s just the way we’ve always done it [and not gotten anywhere].”

3.  “The anarchists are messing everything up!”

4.  “The Reformists are messing everything up!”

5.  “I’d love to help, but my daughter has piano lessons.”

6.  “Someone [else] needs to do something!”

7.  “You ought to do it this way. I would do it, myself, but I don’t have the time.”

8.  “You didn’t score high enough on the quiz; you’re not a real Libertarian.”

9.  “We met a lot of people wanting change and more freedom, so we had a meeting to get organized and plan some events.”

“That’s great! How many people attended?”

“Two.”

10.  “Hey, I do support the group; I go to the meetings to debate and vent my frustrations. It’s the officers who should take the lead and get things moving.”

11.  “He didn’t support my earlier proposal, so I’m going to vote against his–no matter how good it really is. Maybe next time he’ll see things my way.”

12.  “I don’t really know how to do stuff like that, so I’ll just leave it to someone else.”

13.  “I shouldn’t have to put a lot of work into this; people should naturally want freedom.”

14.  “I agree with 95% of what you just said, but I can’t support you because of this one little thing…”

15.  “If we make our message more agreeable with the mainstream voters [water it down], we’ll get more members [and exactly what kind of members will you be getting?]“

16.  “I don’t like his stance on [insert pet issue, here], so I’m going to send a blind-copy email out to the whole group/mailing list blasting his position and causing more division. That way, he won’t be able to respond to all the people I send it to and they’ll only see my side of the debate, so I’ll probably get my way.”

17.  “I’ll just sit at my computer and post one alert after another. Hopefully, someone will do something.”

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

If any of this sounds like you, YOU ARE A PROBLEM. Fix it.

Clarity

So I have been the biggest Jimmy Eat World fan forever. Clarity is a record that not only defined me as a musician but helped shape me in some ways as a man. I can listen to the record all the way though from start to finish without feeling that any part of the record was too much, or not enough. It is a record for me that sits in perfection and not many records fit that way in my life. A few that do from that era are The Get Up Kids – something to write home about / Saves The Day – through being cool / Lifetime – hello bastards / Face to Face – Dont Turn Away / Lagwagon – Trashed and a few others. Anyhow…
Clarity is a record that unlike these others I have felt the most array of emotion to. Ive laughed to it, cried to it, felt hope, despair and even feelings I wasnt sure I had within me. Pretty heavy actually.

So, I have always believed that if you put things out into the universe, it will provide. Alot of people think im nuts when I say this but having faith in something bigger than yourself is often hard to grasp. Actually, anything that most people cant see or feel in tangible form is often frightening or not worth investing time or thought into.

Well I have lived my life this way since I was very young kid, and it wasnt something instilled in me by my family. It was more something that I kinda saw through the invisible frequencies of the world so to speak. I have always felt a pretty gnarly sick sense with nature, life, emotion, connecting with people on a much deeper level than surface, even if we had just met for 5 minutes, it can become us feeling like we have known eachother our entire lives.

I think a big reason is a live my life with an open heart, i love and live openly, i do everything in life out of genuineness and never out of maliciousness. With those 2 simple structures I have found a life that has allowed me to live and travel the world, often for free, ive lived on couches as well as in mansions, ive had little to no money and alot of money all at once. My point that im getting at, is I always had faith that things would always be fine no matter what happened because it would be provided. Dont think for one moment that I sat around like a bum and didnt help push things along, there is a little effort on your part as well.

So back to Clarity. I have had the CD forever but I never had the vinyl. I have searched for it for years everytime I went into a vinyl store, and I could never find it. Well, on one of tours a girl named Kaleena came to our show with it in hand. Needless to say, she had been looking for it for me and found it and gave it to me as a gift. I was pretty much blown away and it has since been one of the best gifts I have ever been given. I dont know if you kids know, but vinyl kicks CD’s ass anyday everyday, all the time. Its the closest representation to the band actually being inside your living room.

So we did our tour and I took Clarity from town to town showing it off as if it were my child. I let people touch it, smell it, haha some actually did, and take pics with it. I was blown away by how many other people were touched by Clarity and bands especially, were ultra envious because alot of them have been trying to find this rare original vinyl.

I knew that Jimmy was going to be doing a 10 year reunion tour playing Clarity from front to back along with some songs from the other records. I knew that if I didnt get a ticket when I had the chance I may never ever get the chance to be apart of this history and for me, this is a moment that I know will be up there with the day when I have my children, get married etc. It means that much to me.

Well, I was traveling so much and I come to find out when I went to buy tickets that they were all sold out. I was pretty crushed and bummed about it. i asked around and noone had any access, no way in. I was screwed.

As I have always done when I needed help, support, wanted to love on people that were in need of someone to talk to or whatever. I threw it out there into outer space haha.

I got on Twitter, I got on Myspace and any other sites I have and I posted a bulliten.

Almost instantly my buddy Jeremy hit me back and it said:

JEREMYBURKE@dannycasler if you give me a ride to SD, I got you. I somehow got list spots.

I hit him up instantly telling him “Not yes, but hell yes”

The next few days were a lil shakey of wondering if the guest list would come through because with shows of that level guest list is always a little sketchy.

I text Jeremy and he said we got the “A ok” but we both know that its not for sure till its in your hands, so we say screw it, were driving to San Diego and were going for it.

I spend a few hours going through our band trailer rearranging gear to finally get the merch case open to find my perfect vinyl CLARITY album sitting in its safe and sound spot. It hasnt been out of the locked case in months.

In a rush to drive through GNARLY traffic to LA then ALL THE WAY down to San Diego, I put my CLARITY vinyl on my car and loaded everything inside my back seat. I dont know how this ever could have happened but I got in my drivers seat and I…. TOOK OFF WITH IT ON MY ROOF!!!

I sat through a few hours of traffic, grabbed Jeremy and on the way down, realized… I dont have my CLARITY vinyl. I went through all the possible solutions to the problem and even convinced myself that it was probably still on my kitchen table although I knew it wasnt but I wanted to believe it.

We get to my house and its nowhere to be found. Im pretty broken hearted. It has eluded me again! I had it and now its gone. So lame. I go door to door asking people if they had seen the Vinyl and to no avail, no one had. I know we need to drive like the wind if we want to see Jimmy so we decide to take off.

I turn on my brights and as were driving out to the freeway the CLARITY record is laying IN THE STREET!

It had been run over multiple times and there were rock imprints all throughout the cover and I knew in my heart the vinyl was broken.

We open it up delicately piece by piece to find that the vinyl was in perfect condition, not broke = LEGIT!

I was a lil bummed about the cover being all indented with rocks prints but then I thought, with my positive thinking, that this only adds character to an incredible album and it makes the night that much more special.

This is my first time seeing Jimmy Eat World so I am technically, about to lose my (new word) Vir-JIM-ity.

We arrive to the House of Blues. Get to the ticket counter for the moment of truth and Randy from Finch pulled through… We had our tickets and I cant even explain the feeling that shot through me. It was the most intense joy I have felt in a long time. Right as we walk in we see some of our friends… Nick & John from Over It/Runner Runner, Joe Marlett, sick producer, that I just met three nights ago while recording guest vocals on the new Delux record, Aileen who grew up in the same time as me, and does merch for a bunch of bands you love and thru that, I met some new friends. Matt & Matt from Relient K and a few others. I hate to sound like im name dropping, im not, i just get stoked that life brings all these new and old people consistently into my life. It makes me always feel like im still on the right path in life.

Well, not even 10 minutes in, the lights power on and Jimmy gets on stage to start the set with Table for Glasses and they continued on to play the entire record in succession. I had teary eyes at moments and relived the last 10 years of my life in so many moments in a matter of a set by a band that means so much to me. I screamed at the top of my lungs every word to every song. It was incredible to see and hear so many people just as passionate for this band as I. They also played some older and newer stuff which just added that much more “sweetness” to the evening. (like that one hehe)

The show ended after their encore leaving me wondering why everyone wasnt screaming for a double encore? I could have sat through another few hours of Jimmy but I guess they dont do double encores or maybe our crowd was so filled and content with what they got. Who knows.

The night ended with us celebrating our loss of virJIMity with lots of drinking and partying till 6am. I am now about to make my way back to LA and start making a plaque for my CLARITY vinyl along with my ticket, wrist band and more to place upon my wall. One day when I have a room big enough in my house, it will be dedicated with plaques of the of the bands that helped make me, me.

If you have never listened to CLARITY. I highly suggest you go get the album, sit down with it, read the lyrics to songs, and find a part of yourself in this record. Every song may not be for you, like it is for me, however I promise you there is a part of you somewhere in that album and when you find it, let it change you. Let it give you…. CLARITY.

The House of the Devil is, by far, one of the greatest horror films in years! YEARS!

Though it isn’t yet released on the big screen, it is available for viewing On Demand, which is how K and I watched it this past weekend.

Writer/Director Ti West was highly successful in creating a realistic throw back to a horror movie from the 1980’s. Such an era that triumphed in the horror genre. Case in point: MOST of them. For THotD: the clothing, the score, the camera lens/filter, the pacing, the atmosphere. Superb. This is why Drag Me to Hell, from 80’s horror director, Sam Raimi of The Evil Dead fame, was as fantastic as it was. Thank you Raimi for abandoning your other cinematic efforts to bring us what you’re REALLY good at: horror.

I’ve felt for some time now that modern horror films have grown tiring. The constant spooks and scares, blood and guts, though good for insta-frights and indulging our ADD generation, offer zero buildup and very little character development. Something I find crucial for creating a good horror film atmosphere. THotD, on the other hand, draws you in immediately, the suspense and dread gradually escalating, all the while making you sympathize with protagonist, Samantha, played by the exquisite Jocelin Donahue.

Samantha, a 2nd year college student, is urgently seeking side jobs for quick cash. When she stumbles upon a babysitting ad on her college campus, Samantha reluctantly calls, though she “hates kids.” Through a series of events, and a very long, dark drive down a country road, friend Heather drops Samantha off at the residence. But not before meeting the odd older couple. And when I say odd, I really mean FREAKING CREEPY! And not before finding out that there really is no babysitting job, but another kind of job altogether. One worth $400 for 4 hours. With a promise to return at 12:30am, Heather hastily leaves the house. And we all know what happens when someone promises the protagonist that they’ll return to pick them up…WHAT?! YOU DON’T KNOW?! WATCH MORE HORROR MOVIES!

Fastforward: FREAKING CREEPY couple leaves house, Samantha wanders the house, she phones Heather (hmmm, no answer…), orders pizza, investigates house more thoroughly whilst jamming to great 80’s music. Wait, what was that brief camera pan that provided us a view of what was behind the guest room door upstairs?! One of the greatest perspectives in a horror movie is being able to see something that the protagonist can’t! Something that is just terribly wrong! And suddenly you are spiraling downward with Samantha in this whirlwind of scariness and desperately pleading with her, through the TV screen, to “LEAVE THE F*CKING HOUSE!”

But, it’s far too late now. FREAKING CREEPY couple has plans for Samantha. She is to be part of their next satanic ritual. Though already torn, the final 15 minutes of this film will rip you open completely, and as you frantically attempt to try and look away in order to sew yourself shut, you just CAN’T! And the powerful ending will continue to leave you unglued.

I give The House of the Devil 4 out of 5 stars.

Gulam Jamun?

- something indian male slaves have!

Wounder Pastry

- dominants should make the subs eat those each a day!

Clown in bondage

- childrens area in a park has so many hidden meanings!

Eric (@Akcantune, good look, bruh) brought this (http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/10/25/21997091.aspx) article to my attention. “New Morehouse College Policy Bans Sagging”. First, let me say that I DESPISE sagging jeans, slacks, khakis, sweats, and shorts. It looks tacky, and gives off the image that a man has no respect for himself or others. I do not appreciate having to see a man’s underwear, and if more men knew that in some areas, homosexuals are known to sag their pants purposely, they might not be as quick to sag theirs. This is not something that only black men do; I’ve seen plenty of white and latino males do the same. I HATE sagging. However, this new “Appropriate Attire Policy” does not just prohibit sagging. Wearing grills, du-rags, hats, “stunner” shades, hoods(I assume they mean hoodies), and pajamas to class will also be against the new policy. So will students wearing anything constituted as “female clothing”, which obviously is directed towards the gay students on campus. Morehouse President has instituted this policy with hopes of bringing back the “Renaissance Man”. Good luck with that, Mr. Franklin. College works like this: Most of the student population forks over thousands of dollars a year to an “institution of higher learning”. In exchange, students receive an education and are groomed to enter the “real world” after commencement(should they be lucky enough to make it that far). College students are seen as adults, virtually. Well, maybe young adults, as there are still rules and regulations that those on campus must adhere to. When a student doesn’t go to class, a professor does not call his/her parents. When a student does not do his/her work, again, parents aren’t involved. No extensions are given. Students are not babied; they are seen as social security numbers at most colleges and universities. President Franklin, if you have no plans to make attendance mandatory, or involve parents in campus life more…why dictate what kinds of clothes and accessories your students can wear? Granted, some believe that without all of the “gaudiness”, students can focus on what is really important, which would be their education, and how they represent themselves and their university. But shouldn’t you stress better study habits and work ethic? What about more involvement in student organizations? Or more contributions to the campus community? Will there be some sort of seminar advising students on how to properly dress for class, job interviews, work, or even a date? Although you consulted with the school’s gay rights organization before coming up with the ban against female clothing, weren’t you a little more than afraid of basically singling out that group of students on campus? I mean, I think it’s safe to say that a heterosexual male college student wouldn’t show up to class wearing a dress and pumps. And last time I checked, homosexual males do indeed wear grills and du-rags, so banning tunics(what the hell is a tunic, anyway?)would be a rule relegated to the gay community on campus. When I was an incoming college freshman, one of the things that I was excited about was that I could pretty much be able to wear what I wanted to class. I could wear a hat, hoodie, or even my big ass Columbia jacket, which I could not do in high school. True, I did not show up in pajamas or with a grill in my mouth, but seeing as how we were supposedly seen as “young adults”, I figured that if we wanted to show up looking like idiots, it would be fine. After all, WE paid to be educated, and not to be told what attire is appropriate or not in a CLASSROOM. Sagging? Get rid of it. Grills, hoodies, pajamas, and (for those brave males who dare to wear them to class) purses and pumps? I just don’t see how that TOTALLY adversely affects someone of being “well-spoken, well-read, well-traveled, well-dressed, and well-balanced”. Honestly, I think it creates an even bigger generation gap. I completely understand what President Franklin is trying to accomplish by adopting this policy. I’m just not sure it’s fair to place this kind of mandate on “young adults”. Let your students know that you don’t believe the way they express themselves is necessarily wrong; only that you wish(key word, wish)to show them a better way. Your institution is preparing young men to become husbands, fathers, and professional members of society. President Franklin, expose…don’t impose… P.S. I miss Karen!!! P.P.S. #shoutout to all of my brothers, no matter what race, that keep it classy…

Glenn Beck keeps harping on Ron Bloom, Obama’s Manufacturing Czar, who said that the free market system is nonsense and who agreed with Mao that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. I hate to say it, but the guy is right. His perspective is probably much different than mine, concerning the reasons why he feels it’s nonsense and what he would do to change it, but he’s right.

Socialists/Communists constantly try to get (ignorant) people to believe that what we currently have in the US is a free market or Capitalist system (See Michael Moore’s new movie for proof), but it’s not true. What we have is a socialist government (the majority of the federal budget is for social programs) and Corporatism–and Corporatism is very different from Capitalism.

Government destroyed the free market with such things as the Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause, business licensing, permits, fines, feees, regulations, ordinances, Affirmative Action, taxation/duties, sales restrictions, product bans, etc. There hasn’t been a “free market” in the US, for a very long time.

As for political power coming from the barrel of a gun, how else is political power (law and dictatorial Executive Orders) enFORCEd? Are fancy titles, like “Senator” or “Congressman” enough? How about their wealth? Good looks? No! The power of government is backed by guns and the people who wield them!

Do I support such power and enFORCEment? Absolutely not, but the fact remains that political power (government) is always backed by firepower.

Does that make you feel uneasy? Do something to change it!