Today…

Like millions of others, today I watched the news in horror to see that 33 people were killed by someone and I’m sure that like those other millions of people, the only question that burns in me is….

Why?

From what it sounds like, there is no easy answer for this. Perhaps we’ll never know the motive behind the senseless killing of these students.

The thing that baffled me other than the killings themselves was how all the major news outlets were clamoring to get as much insider information as they could to get the ratings boost they feel they deserve.

The television at the restaurant was tuned to Fox News (which is a contradiction in its purest form) and they kept showing the email address where people who were on campus could send pictures and video. It’s disheartening to see that tragedy is being broadcast for ratings no matter who is trampled over to get them.

I’m sorry, but I really have no desire to see the graphic details. I don’t want to know everything little thing that occurred. All I want to know is that measures are being taken to prevent further loss of life.

I’ve felt this way for a while now. The major turning point was the execution of Saddam Hussein. I was mortified that people couldn’t get enough of seeing him being hung. I know that he was not a well liked person, but is death really something that we need to have broadcast over the airwaves? Where do we benefit? What possible need do we have to witness death?

We don’t. We all know that we are going to die, but it’s just a matter of when we check out. Can we retain some sort of dignity when it comes to death or do we need to have it broadcast everywhere for all to see?

Vic Mackey…

I didn’t write about the FX Networks best show, The Shield.

I’ve followed this show intently over the past few years and it’s one of those shows that has consistently gotten better and better over time. It pulls no punches and I look forward to watching it every Tuesday night (whether or not my TV that likes to turn itself on and off every few minutes like its or not.)

The cast of this show is phenomenal and really got better when Forrest Whittaker hopped on board playing Vic Mackey’s arch nemesis, Jon Kavanaugh. His smarmy demeanor and just all around creepiness brought a new element to the show.

And let’s not talk about how Lem got done. That’s just fucked.

Make sure you catch it on Tuesday nights on FX.

Elevate In Madness…

For years, I followed Brooklyn’s masterminds Candiria. I saw them tons of times, bought a lot of merchandise and supported them in anyway I could.

For a few years, I dropped off but they released What Doesn’t Kill You while I was living in New York sometime back and it hit me especially hard. It was unlike anything they had ever done. It was melodic and to a degree, commercially acceptable, but retained all the elements that made them great to begin with.

But then they were quiet. There was word that they were working on a new album and that it was done, then all shit hit the fan and well, if you follow the band, you know the deal.

Kiss The Lie is the album that’s collecting dust on a shelf somewhere that could be the best album they’ve ever recorded, but unfortunately, it seems like no one will ever hear it. It’s a damned shame too because they spent years perfecting their style and what is presumably the final chapter of the band may never see the light of day.

Decibel Magazine wrote an really good article about the whole situation that you read right here.

I’d love to hear this album, I’d definitely buy it and support the band and the label, if it were ever given a proper release.

Uwe Boll – Total failure…

Who would be responsible for something completely unnerving and downright uncalled for?

This man, Uwe Boll. Chances are that if you like movies, you don’t recognize the name because he hasn’t made anything worth a shit at all. The only thing he’s done was to challenge critics that panned his flicks to a boxing match. That’s a pretty manly thing to do, but in his case, it’s a symptom of being a completely maniacal jerk off.

Chances are that he’s doing this just to piss people off and it’s going to work. The only positive about this is that studios will stop giving him a budget and we can have less failed movies based on video games.

Words that hit me tonight…

Tonight, some friends and I went to see Tim Barry play.

The show was awesome. I can’t recommend his stuff enough to you.

He said something that struck me in a way that I didn’t think of before. He was talking about working and he said that you should take more time and focus on life instead of focusing on working.

In three weeks, I’m turning the ripe age of 31 and I’ve had this constant internal struggle where I’ve been wondering what I’ve wanted to do for a career. What was I cut out for? Where do I want to be in a few years? Why am I wasting my life being a public servant?

Then tonight, it hit me after hearing what he said.

It’s not that I don’t have a career, it’s that I don’t fucking want one. Why do I want to spend the rest of my life doing something that I hate because I’ve been preprogrammed to believe that having a career means that I have status? Having status leads to being content? Being content is the key to happiness?

It’s not.

Life is what you make of it. If you worry your life away worrying about how far you can climb that corporate ladder, what’s the point?

There is no point.

Work less. Live more. Stop worrying about that big house and fancy cars and worry more about the world you’re inhabiting, you only get one shot at this. Make it count.

Ride fast, live slow.