It's been a while...

... since my last blog, and when I think about why that is, here's what I come up with:

There are times when it is good to share your ideas, beliefs, opinions etc. with others; times when sharing those things feels like it could be beneficial to some -- not just sharing for the sake of expressing yourself in order to extract high opinions from others, but sharing in order to help someone other than yourself.

Then there are times when it doesn't feel right. Maybe this happens because you don't feel people would benefit from hearing what you have to say, or maybe it's because you aren't confident it what you have to say and need time to marinate on your thoughts in order to present them properly. Or maybe it happens because you simply don't have anything to say and want/need to be silent.

I'm not sure why I've been silent on this blog for a while, but since I'm writing this today, it seems as though the silence is over... at least for now.

And with that I'll transition into a thought that is very exciting to me:

Last night I got together with a friend of mine I hadn't seen in a while, and she took me to a bookstore called the Bodhi Tree here in Los Angeles. In addition to being a store of spiritual and metaphysical books, they also hold lectures and talks (most of them free) on a variety of topics. Last night was my first time there, and we walked in on a talk already in progress. The man was speaking about oneness, and the pervasiveness of love, and the importance of Now, and the limitation of definition and division, and lots of other things that came to him. The wonderful thing about the evening was not just the things he spoke about, but also the fact that the room was filled with people. Mind you, it wasn't that large of a room, but there were probably 50-60 people there, many of them with smiles on their faces, or their eyes closed in deep attention, or with their palms together and against their chin, mouth, nose and forehead.

The ideas and concepts that this man spoke of are not new. They have been around for centuries, and I am sure that he would be the first to tell you that. So it is not fantastical newness that is so special, but rather the fact that places like the Bodhi Tree exist, and people, in large numbers, are open and ready to receive these ideas.

More and more people all over the world are coming to these ideas and concepts in what appears to be a massive shift (and many believe a heightening) of consciousness. I am seeing examples of this everywhere -- my experience last night is one example, and another big example is the phenonmenon that we all experienced this last Tuesday morning.

The inauguration of Barack Obama was unprecidented on so many levels that you can't help but recognize a change in our human perspective. The sheer number of people involved in the ceremony, both in Washington itself and around the world in front of televisions, is impressive by itself, but when you include the overwhelming sense of joy and love that these people projected, you discover just how truly special this event is (I mean to say "is" and not "was" for the moment will live through history and remain important always). President Obama was calm, patient, unafraid, humble and determined to make a difference when he took the podium, and when an incoming U.S. president speaks of love in his inaugural speech... well, you know things are changing.

I'm not sure how many other people agree with me and feel that we are living in exciting times right now, and I don't know how many people are on board with the concepts of oneness and the Power of Now, but I suppose I don't have to know these things in order to stay excited and in the Now. Everyone receives the ideas/concepts/beliefs that they need in the time and fashion that they need, and trying to force it any other way strips the meaning from the experience.

That is the beauty of what is happening right now in our world: this massive, sweeping shift in consciousness has been slowly building up steam for years and years now, and it's been happening without a central figure beating a drum and waving a flag pronouncing the supremeness of the cause from the top of a self-righteous mountain. There is no team to join, no side to choose, no jersey to wear expressing how right your organization is, because there is no organization. We're very used to dividing up into groups and arguing for centuries how we're right and you're wrong, so this new movement is quite unfamiliar and unique to us. Maybe that's why it's so powerful, and maybe that's why it's working...

thezeitgeistmovement.com

I believe it is highly important that everyone watches these two films. Awareness is our greatest tool for change. Watch and listen with an open mind.

Zeitgeist:



Zeitgeist: Addendum

Leaf Blowers Suck... I Mean Blow

I live in an apartment. My apartment building is small. My apartment building is also close to other residential buildings. The owners of these buildings employ gardeners to maintain the landscaping. These gardeners use leaf blowers. Leaf blowers are loud.

Normally I might just whine a bit and then try to go back to sleep after being woken up by one of these monstrously loud contraptions, but this morning after it happened again I remembered that I have a blog and now I can share my idea to start a petition to ban leaf blowers worldwide.

What the hell is the point of a leaf blower? It's supposed to move leaves, dirt and other debris out of certain areas and into others, but it really sucks (or blows, if you wanna throw in a pun) at doing so. How do I know?

1) Because the gardener spends about 20 minutes using the thing to clear less than 2,000 square feet of courtyard and walkway, and makes several passes in order to attempt to do so.
2) Because several times I have walked around the "grounds" of my small apartment building after the weekly assault on our eardrums and noticed *gasp* leaves, dirt and debris still intact in several places.

Here's how a leaf blower works: a very loud gas-powered motor strapped to your back propels a variable-speed fan (the faster the speed, the faster the motor, the louder it gets) through a plastic tube not unlike a vacuum cleaner that spits fast-moving air at stuff on the ground and sends it flying. The idea is that it's supposed to move it along the ground and out of the way, but what really happens is a large amount of it ends up in the air (which happens to really suck for allergy sufferers) and then back onto the ground about 20 seconds later. So you either double back and hit it again, or forget about it and chalk it up as collateral damage.

So if the damn thing don't work no good, why the hell are they being used?

Because people are lazy.

Ever heard of or seen one of these things? -------------------------------->







<--------- Or perhaps one of these?







Since when is it sooooo hard to use a damn broom? Seriously, let's get some scientists and physicists together, because I swear that a damn broom is a lot more efficient and effective than a leaf blower. Not only does it clean better, kick up less dirt and debris into the air, and work faster and more controlled, it doesn't run on gas and it's quiet!

You'd think that gardening companies would want to cut down on costs and not have to buy gas, but I guess they ran the numbers and figured that doing fast, sloppy work with the leaf blower makes it possible to take care of more clients in one day... or some crap like that... Nope, I'm sticking with complete laziness. Oh, and stupidity.

I don't even have to get into the whole "green" issue and environmental concerns -- I guess it's warranted in order to allow a lazy dude to stand there and point a hose while his job of cleaning up the ground is done poorly by a wasteful and obnoxious travesty of an invention.

So if you feel like signing my petition to ban leaf blowers, let me know. I think Obama will put it high on the priority list along with the economy and Iraq and stuff.

Next time I'll rant about the other gardener gem: watering the concrete ground.

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

This album has been out for a while, and I bought it a long time ago too, but it wasn't until recently that I started listening to it... and now I'm really into it.

I came across the Yahoo! Nissan Live Sets footage of the Foo Fighters, and after watching all the videos decided I needed to pull out, unwrap and actually listen to their newest album, which also happened to win the Grammy for Best Rock Album in '08 and Best Rock Performance for "The Pretender."

I've always dug the Foo, but I was a fan of songs more than albums. What I mean is I liked a handful of their songs, but wasn't on board with full album composition most of the time. You could say I'd be happier with a "best of" compilation than owning all their records. This changed with "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace."

The Grammy was well deserved. These guys are really tight -- evident both on the album and live in concert. I almost want to say they're approaching progressive rock, but they stay much closer to mainstream, which makes for just enough brainy or technical flare to set them apart from most other rock bands. There is a very solid level of musicianship and interactivity, and each player's parts compliment both the song and the hipness of the band. Songs like the single, "The Pretender," as well as my other rockin' favs, "Let It Die," "Long Road to Ruin" and "Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)," show their ability to shove you around with heavy guitars and screaming vocals. But they also show another side of the band, stepping away from their typical hard rock mainstay and into the realm of singer/songwriters with "Stranger Things Have Happened," "Statues," and especially "Home."

I think I might be a little late to the party about the Foo Fighters doing some lighter stuff, seeing as how they mention an acoustic tour they did during the Yahoo! performance, but I'm glad to see there is more than one side to these guys. They have certainly proved their muster on the hard rock front, and after watching/listening to acoustic versions of "Everlong," "My Hero," and their new album, it's obvious that they don't have to turn the gain up to 11 to make a song work.

Kudos to the Foo Fighters -- I am now a full-fledged fan.

What a Weekend

This is where I spent my weekend:



I can't get over how incredible it was. It started as a trip down to the Lake Forest area to see my good friend Robin's band (The Pleasant Return) play, which was followed by some friends going with me to Laguna Beach for a night, which turned into none of us wanting to leave... ever. It's amazing what can happen when really good vibes are bouncing back and forth between people -- nonstop happiness and joy ensued, and it's nothing any of us planned on or expected to happen.

These kinds of experiences keep me reminded of how amazing life can be and what living in the Now is all about. It's hard to express the kind of bliss that occurs, but that just means it was genuine, profound and very special. It's one of those times when you wish it would never end, but I'm happy to have the memories and friendships that will continue to inspire and bring about new experiences.

Good friends, good times, good God.

Wow, I didn't realize Kanye West was so humble

Yahoo! posted a short little story this morning about an interview with Kanye West. Check it out and then come on back:

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/15348921

I was laughing my face off when I read it. Kanye has said and done some silly things before (his infamous outburst on live t.v. during hurricane Katrina; getting booed at Bonnaroo for going on 2 hours late at 4:30 am; adamantly complaining about not winning a Grammy in '06 and '07), but this has to take the cake.

The "voice of this generation???????" Really??? Now to me the really funny thing about this has nothing to do with whether or not the statement is remotely accurate. I'm sure there are lots of people on either side of that discussion, and I don't find it necessary to state my opinion about him as a producer/musician/performer (although if you ask me I'd be happy to tell you straight up).

The point here is that he proclaimed himself as such the "voice of this generation." *Ahem* One order of humble pie for Mr. West, please! This goes against a very basic understanding of manners that applies in even the most basic of social situations. You simply don't talk about yourself like that, unless you want to be viewed as egocentric or self-absorbed. And what's more, in the world of music, every single artist or band who has ever been widely influencial and/or had a massive affect on the society or culture at large (i.e. Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, James Brown, Michael Jackson, etc.) was dubbed as such by other people, not themselves. Sure, some of these influencial people were prone to be very self-confident and carried a bit of an ego, but they never assumed such a state as to proclaim their incredible importance to an entire generation while still in the middle of their career. I mean c'mon, the guy has only been around since 2001. Isn't there a statute of limitations on when you can become the "voice of this generation?"

Yeah, I know, hip-hop and rap artists have the reputation of being very forward and even obligatory with their egos and their confidence in themselves, but this is going a little too far. A word to the wise, Kanye: a really good way to ostracize both your fans and everyone else is to become really full of yourself. Someone who might have been considered musical and artistic can lose their positive luster when pompous attitudes and self-righteous behavior taint their persona.

Who knows... maybe he wants everyone to think he's a dick.

Rest in Peace, Mitch Mitchell

Today we lost the last living member of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. We lost Jimi in 1970, bassist Noel Redding in 2003, and now drummer Mother Goose, a.k.a. Mitch Mitchell.

I have to say, as a guitarist who is massively inspired by Hendrix, almost as influential as Jimi himself are the incredible musicians who played with him, and Mitch is definitely no exception to that. While many would argue that Jimi's years with the Band of Gypsys produced the more artistic and progressive music of his life, it is without doubt that the Experience was involved in the majority of Jimi's "hits," and therefore created the stardom for Jimi that allowed him to progress into the Band of Gypsys.

Mitchell played on so many of Jimi's massive songs: Foxey Lady, Manic Depression, Fire, Red House, Voodoo Chile, Crosstown Traffic, All Along the Watchtower... the list goes on. He played with Jimi for that historic performance at Woodstock, and he played on my favorite Hendrix record, "Axis: Bold as Love."

His bombastic style and rock-solid groove was the perfect match for Jimi's revolutionary sound. I simply can't imagine Hendrix without having Mitch Mitchell in the same thought. It's sad to see him go, but that doesn't stop the music from continuing to inspire.

Cheers, Mitch... you'll be missed.