Double Platinum, 2-Disc Tribute: MJ's Top 10 & The Big 80s

With his departure, Michael Jackson leaves behind an enormously vast legacy to be remembered and dissected in countless future interviews on Music history and his life. He falls into the esteemed category alongside Elvis, Dylan, Hendrix, Cash, Lennon and McCartney, as people you can never leave out when talking about Rock & Roll's growth and dissemination to us, the masses.

MJ brought the seismic change in video design and creativity. All of his videos were the gold standard of the 1980's - where many, many others tried to dethrone the King of Pop on a weekly basis on MTV. His was a personality fit for the Big 80s: big hair, fashion (glove, parachute pants), big money (Wall Street obscene) and eccentricity to an art form (the monkey comes to mind.)

So what are MJ greatest hits, with video expertise included, or as an additional weight on the greatness of the track? (An opinion, not a musical verity.)

1. Billy Jean
2. Thriller
3. Beat It (Youtube)
4. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Youtube)
5. Bad
6. Dirty Diana
7. PYT
8. Smooth Criminal (Youtube)
9. Wanna To Be Startin' Something
10. Rock With You

Here's His entire catalog


The best of the rest in the 80's musical game that put out the best music and/or videos are:


Madonna - Vogue (technically, 1990, but we know it was made in 1989.)
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer from SO (guy was so freaky, Genesis cut him loose after he dressed up as a grape and couldn't get a mike next to his mouth.)
Genesis - Land of Confusion (Reagan at his best.)
Pink Floyd - The Wall - the groundbreakers for the weird. Amongst the All-time in sales next to Thriller.
Metallica - One - a hellish existence on video. Really the best heavy metal band.
Bon Jovi - Dead or Alive - a karokee favorite.
The Police - Wrapped Around Your Finger. You were expecting Every Breath You Take?
Prince - Little Red Corvette. With Madonna, amongst the next legends to be mourned.
Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf. They could put out vids.
Aerosmith (featuring Run DMC) - Walk This Way. (Collaboration classic.)

SO, that's the double platinum album. That MJ passed does not mean we should not treasure all the good he produced. There will be plenty of bad revisited by those prone to dwell on the worst.

FROM SO -Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer

WANT TO TOUCH THE HINEY!!!

Reprise of an old blog: The Ugly, The Bad and The Good (July 25, 2005)

The Ugly
With the recent Kenny Rogers’ Incident involving tossing cameras and abuse of the news media, I thought back to one of the worst incidents in baseball history, involving two HOF pitchers, a lifetime .250 hitting catcher and two bitter rivals in the Dodgers and Giants. (Left)


From the HOF archives
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937 in Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic), better known as Juan Marichal, was a Major League Baseball starting pitcher known for his high leg kick and dominating stuff, and his intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters' helmets.

The high-kicking Juan Marichal, AKA the 'Dominican Dandy' or 'Manito', already had pinpoint control of his curve, slider, screwball, and blinding fastball, all thrown with a variety of motions. Some commented he had 16 different pitches, throwing his 4 pitches from either an overhand, 3/4, sidearm or submarine deliveries. His lifetime stats:

Led League in wins 1963 and 1968
Led League in ERA 1969
All-Star in 1962-69, 71
Elected to Hall Of Fame in 1983

IP: 3507.1
W-L; 243-142
ERA: 2.89

But with all that success came the unfortunate incident most remembered in his elite career. It happened on August 22, 1965.

That day, Marichal faced Sandy Koufax at Candlestick Park in the heat of a tight pennant race. The Giants and Dodgers had come close to a brawl two days earlier over catcher's interference calls. Los Angeles's Maury Wills had allegedly tipped Tom Haller's mitt with his bat on purpose, and Marichal's best friend, Matty Alou, retaliated by tipping John Roseboro's face mask.

Roseboro nearly beaned Alou with his return throw to the mound. In the August 22 game, Marichal had flattened Maury Wills and Ron Fairly with pitches when Roseboro purportedly asked Koufax to hit Marichal. When Koufax refused, Roseboro's return throw came close to Marichal's head. Name-calling ensued, until Roseboro suddenly ripped off his mask and stood up. Marichal rapped the catcher on the head with his bat. What followed was one of the most violent brawls in major league history.

Willie Mays led away Roseboro, who had suffered a concussion, while Dodger Bob Miller tackled Marichal, Alou slugged Miller, and Tito Fuentes menaced the Dodgers with his bat. Roseboro sued Marichal, but eventually dropped the $110,000 suit.

NL president Warren Giles suspended Marichal for eight games and fined him $1,750. He also forbid Marichal from traveling to Los Angeles for the final Giants-Dodgers series of the season.
Marichal, not to be outdone, had another memorable game:

On July 2, 1963 , he went the distance beating the winningest HOF lefthander in Warren Spahn and the Braves 1-0 in 16 innings. Warren pitched only 15 1/3 innings in the loss!

The Bad
John Roseboro was a 'good' left-hand hitting catcher in an era that had the likes of Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Joe Torre, Tim McCarver, Bill Freehan and Elston Howard around catching.

According to Bill James, he is considered the 27th best catcher in MLB history. Though his .249 BA is not considered HOF worthy, two points should be made:

1) The 1960's was the worst offensive era for ALL hitters due to the mound height and strike zone expansion in 1963
2) Dodger Stadium was not a friendly hitter's ballpark like the ones today in Denver, Arlington and Houston, among others. Dodger stadium has always been a negative park for hitting homeruns, especially at night.

So, to properly rate Roseboro, we could do it in a better time (the 1990's or present day), and his offensive numbers would be much, much better. Also, his 'real' numbers assisted quite a bit given the scarcity of runs in the 1960's.

His defensive skills and game calling probably rate him a top 10-15 catcher all-time. (Caught Drysdale, Koufax, Sutton, Osteen, and Podres which ranks up there among the best pitching staffs all-time.)

All and all, he could have been a HOF catcher with a little more pop at the plate and not playing in the most restrictive era for hitters.

The Good
Sandy (Sanford) Koufax. The name is synonymous with great pitching. His lifetime stats:
Led League in wins 1963, 65-66
Led League in era 1962-66
Led League in strikeouts 1961, 63, 65-66
All-Star in 1961-66
Most Valuable Player Award in 1963
Hall Of Fame in 1972
IP: 2324
W-L: 165-87
ERA: 2.76
In World Series play
IP: 57
W-L: 4-3
ERA: 0.95
Books and articles about Sandy Koufax

His first few seasons in the ‘Bigs’ were not successful, but showed enough promise, given his wildness (sometimes overstated, sometimes understated) and the fact he didn’t get much support from manager, Walter Alston, in pitching out of jams.

But for 6 years, 1961-1966, he pitched better than ANYONE ever dreamed imaginable. Yogi Berra said in 1963, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five."

His legacy was cut short by a circulatory ailment that caused swelling in his arm unlike anything you would hear of in modern sports. With the right medical (and managerial) advice given, he could have pitched many years more. And what would have been? As it turned out, he made the HOF in 1972, six years after retiring.

Not bad, Lefty. Not bad at all.
Sandy Pitching in splendor - watch those curves!

R.I.P.: Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon & The golden TV era

I wish I had the appropriate words to express what is necessarily a difficult time for those who love and adored Farrah Fawcett , Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson. Their life was apart of Americana; they were a memorable part of the art form that was the ubiquitous TV land.

As members of the Greatest Generation and the Boomers fade out into just the lasting individual memories, outlandish laughs and smiles, and quirky classic videos and sounds, it brings to mind how quick it all goes away.

The fame and fortunes - Ed McMahon was in foreclosure and Michael Jackson was nearly broke- the looks and usual health - Fawcett inspiring battle against cancer decimated her - can be taken so fast. So fast.

Most remember Christopher Reeve's struggles and strength after his paralysis. And it is a reminder how uncertain it all is: life.

We can wake up, plan stuff, get the family involved (or no) and take the day by the horns. Then, it finally happens - a tragedy - and we don't wake up anymore. Others, such as Fawcett knew the odds were stacked against her - and yet she fought well - and acquired the greatest gift: The value of the time and friends and love, while here.

The hardest lesson will ever learn is the end of life - as we finally learn the secrets to it all - we have to take that lesson to beyond and to those we all ready missed.

Those of us left behind have the ubiquitous TV, a mountain climb, a clear sandy beach, a perfect corn field, a hustling and bustling downtown, a mountain lake, or a song, to remind us of you, the departed.

So here's a song for them all:
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

Good Bye Friends.

Michael Jackson's Bad (my favorite)

Affairs, Politics & Music: Gov. Mark Sanford & Rest Assured

Another Republican gets caught with his hand in the Affair cookie jar. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, an outspoken critic of the automotive bailout and potential 2012 Presidential candidate, had an affair of the heart - visiting Argentina to bid adieu to his "Don't cry for me Argentina" girlfriend. Yet, Sanford did:

"I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said in a bombshell news conference in
which the 49-year-old governor ruminated aloud with remarkable frankness on
God's law, moral absolutes and following one's heart. He said he spent the last
five days "crying in Argentina."

Such is the state of affairs in the Republican party.

Mark Foley (R-FL) was just a creepy idiot who must not have much understanding of technology and did not get out much. Newt Gingrich's (R-GA) had "long-term" affair with congressional aide Callista Bisek, who he married. (While this went on - Hypocrite Newt was castigating and impeaching ex-President Bill Clinton for the same thing...)

Much more recently, less than a fortnight ago, Senator John Ensign (R-NV) decided to keep it in-house, er, the affair. This governor at least got a nice vacation to Argentina, where, if he had much imagination, he would have blamed it all on Rio. (Leaving aside Rio's location in Brazil. But a liberal posited that Sanford was down there to talk to Hugo Chavez. So, who's loonier? (Don't answer.))

Which is why my Constitution Convention Idea must be a front burner topic. (Well, how bout back burner?) Americans, are you not tired of putting up with these morally vapid men & women? (No scandals yet from the fairer sex.)

I can say yes.

So here's my song that Mark Sanford was singing (crying) as he said:"The odyssey that we're all on in life is with regard to heart."

Rest Assured Treat Infamy - (Bittersweet Symphony inspired.)



Life does have its twists and turns.

A Second Constitutional Convention: Constitutional Reformation in the 21st Century

I hope that my desire to fix America does not mean that what I write and why I write it is called into question. We have a serious problem and serious solutions are needed. (Not the inane discussions on Letterman.)

I have proposed this in a document on DocStoc: Constitutional Reformation in the 21st Century.

It is my firm belief that we have to sit down for a prolonged period of time and figure out America. It can not be of a half-hearted, hen-pecked, small-victory design. It has to be a grand ideal, much like the dream and reality that is America.

So I hope you read the links and download the document. We need debate and the time has to be now.

Surpreme Comic Controversy: Palin v. Letterman v. A-Rod v. Roberts, 666 U.S. (2009)

It would nice if pols really understood comedy -or, er, the nature of the craft.

Letterman took to throwing around barbs at Sarah Palin's family, who will not got back to Alaska - and fight those pesky Ruskies. Now, picking on a 18-yr old unwed mother is a bit much. But who brought it on themselves?: Palin.

When you seek a grand stage, be prepare for the slips and jibes at yourself, family and anything you deem a cause, because that is what is going to happen. (Ask former Ms. California Carrie Prejean (above) about such attention via her less than stellar answer - granted, her free speech - but the consequences of such speech.)

For Dave's part (who I have not watched in God knows when), he backhanded an apology. He was not condoning the sexual deviance toward Palin's younger daughter. (He just didn't remember - or his writers got lazy - with her name. (The legal one.) But this is just fluffy way to retort on Palin's part.)

The biting lines from Yahoo! TV:

His Top Ten list featured "Highlights of Sarah Palin's Trip," and included: "Bought makeup at Bloomingdale's to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look."
But the diciest joke centered on the family attending a Yankees baseball game.
Letterman said "an awkward moment" occurred for Palin when, "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by (Yankee third baseman) Alex Rodriguez."

I actually feel more sorry for A-Rod, since the miserably-selling tell-all book of Selena Roberts was just a ultra-feminist taking any jabs at the man she could from the get go. (And his two-faced persona. Like we don't know successful & spoiled people have such flaws. Really - that is all the book was.)

This off-the-beaten-path detour comes because that author, Ms. Roberts, has shown a pattern of behavior in advocating on behalf of victim - the Duke Lacrosse case - without actually having the facts in evidence. As it turned out, the case was not supportable, and the men accused, were innocent. (They were Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans.)

Quick judgments are a pandemic of our society - feed forcefully by gerrymandering journalists they are more worried about being scooped, and sent to the dustbin of journalism, where hatching, at best, second-rate tripe about third-rate fame and frivolity. So they slant - taking hard stances, even when dead wrong, or just lack the sensitivity to actually do the story right.

(A-Rod can be called a 'me' ballplayer. However, compared to many, many others, he is just vanilla - and was not worth the time Ms. Roberts spent in staking the claim to such a story. So, he did steroids? And then what? Did he beat up on others? How bad did he really treat his wife? Did his $252 million contract come without the owners being able to do their own background research, like you did, Ms. Roberts?)

Going back to Letterman, Palin jumped up like a mama bear to defend her cub. Too bad she did not teach her cub how to comport herself as the potential second family of the United States.

Palin on Today, Friday

The fact Letterman made a off-color joke is not a surprise. Reacting to it (as Palin did and has), with a lack of understanding who the really parties involved were: A-Rod and Bristol, is undoubtedly the bigger goof. Where she indeed VP, where were her sensitivities compel her to respond? And how much trouble could she have caused as a heartbeat away?

Like Selena Roberts found out, writing a tell-all about the richest baseball player does not guarantee success. In fact, it might be that quality of the analysis of baseball itself lacked. (It did.) True fans know that the game is not clean; or hasn't had its flaws and flawed players.

But both women can learn that you need your facts straight and presented in an entertaining manner, in order to succeed. And let stupid talk - slide, especially when posited by a two-bit talk show host that talks about your daughter, the older one, carelessly. (When that one is politically active and made a life-altering decision, and is being obviously watched for future goofs.)

The conservatives are just itching for a fight...about something, anything other than their policies.

The American Dream: What's Good For GM

Who would have believed 25 years ago, that GM and Chrysler (well, maybe not them) would see bankruptcy within 60 days of each other.

In 1984, GM was the 7th largest entity on the face of the Earth. With a global reach well before that term - globalization - really had the teeth it does today. Now dragging into court to say, "help me! help me!" But the signs of this failure were long in the making.

From the NYT:

Auto workers took in the news that G.M. would shutter plants in Michigan,
Indiana, Ohio and Delaware, and plants in Tennessee and elsewhere in Michigan
were put on standby.

President Obama, speaking at the White House, emphasized that investing
more billions of taxpayer dollars in G.M. was not something he wanted to do, but
something he felt the government had to do to avert a financial calamity that
would hurt millions of people.
“We are acting as reluctant shareholders,
because that is the only way to help G.M. succeed,” Mr. Obama said, asserting
that the government’s backing, coupled with the painful restructuring that the
once mighty company is undergoing, “will give this iconic American company a
chance to rise again.”

In its
bankruptcy petition, G.M. said it had $82.3 billion in assets and $172.8
billion in debts. Its largest creditors were the Wilmington
Trust Company, representing a group of bondholders holding $22.8 billion in
debts, and affiliates of the United
Auto Workers union, representing nearly $20.6 billion in employee
obligations.

Wow.

At one time the saying went: "What is good for GM is good for America." Well, it certainly took after the US in running up debt.

Lizzer & DocStoc: New Online Services with Pep, Next Step for me

My new baseball book cover

I still feel a bit lost in the malaise that is the Web 2.0 (or 2.2 or 3.0). I found useful these sites:

DocStoc provides a nice upload/download service that generates cash for all the documents you place online that are downloaded. ($.10 per download.) It offers many features - browsing items, html code insertions into blogs & homepages. It really is a slick site.

From their site:

Docstoc is the premier online community to find and share professional
documents. Docstoc provides the platform for users and businesses to upload and
share their documents with all the world, and serves as a vast repository of
documents in variety of categories including legal, business, financial,
technology, educational, and creative. All documents on docstoc can be easily
searched, previewed and downloaded for free.

Docstoc also provides technology through various APIs and Widgets to
help facilitate the sharing and promotion of documents across the web. The site
has popularized the use of embedding documents throughout the blogosphere and
mainstream media. You can learn more about embedding documents here: http://blog.docstoc.com/embed-documents-on-docstoc-into-your-blog-or-webiste.html

Lizzer seems a way to put Google, Blogger, Youtube, Docstoc on your websites. I haven't done much yet, just got the account yesterday, but I will attempt it later.

As time marches, I find myself hoping these services last beyond 2009.

I am no longer going to ignore promotion, SEO and other techniques to generate the almighty dollar. While it was nice to stay above the fray, trying to make engaging blogs and content, what I did not do was go out of my way to promo things I did do.

Somehow that was considered pure and free of deplorable shilling of my stuff. Well, those days are coming to a halt.

To anyone who is doing well in this recession, I need new techniques to make money. Any suggested outlets?

I will likely spend next week on two things: reorganizing my online presence and research on a book.
I will post at best once a week.

What I think of Love: Question and Answer section

DR. K.C. posted about Love using a Biblical quote from – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

1. “Love is patient, love is kind.”


2. “It does not envy. It does not boast.”


3. “It is not proud. It is not rude.”


4. “It is not self-seeking.”


5. “It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”


6. “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.”

She adds her comments on each, then asks, "Love is there for you…it WILL find you when you least expect it. Believe…How do you define love?"

So here goes:

Love defined for me is in the enjoyments I have: music (currently, http://www.theairbornetoxicevent.com/videos), movies (Star Trek relaunch), books (baseball & biographies & history) and writing (when I don't get distracted.)

The interpersonal relationships are fraught with potholes, hairpin turns, drunk drivers while I've moved my cargo of feelings along an interstate that has too many greasy spoons packed with dirty customers, shrill waitresses and sloppy, ex-felon cooks. While it is easy to be ever the optimist - reading positive thinking books - the stark reality hits like a 110 degree sauna in 'Zona without any H-2-O to quench that thrist for the kind of relationship you described, biblically.

I've never experienced any of that - from anyone - in my life. Family members have been selfish since I was born. (I feel I was meant to be halved by my family.)

Since they did not teach non-toxic skills, I've had trouble. And because of that, I am my own best friend. (And that does sometimes get lonely.)

In the few meaningful relationships I've had, though I can take 100% the blame for whatever happened or fell apart, the other side had their choices too. And made them. (And apologizing never solved or salved it either.)

They likely haven't looked back much - I am forgettable enough, most days. When I do, hindsight has only pointed to my flaws and somehow forgiven theirs. (Which sucks, really.) But they did have flaws; just theirs don't matter, and mine did.

And while it is not our American society's fault, it has become more negative for those that are not interconnected well, or at all. The internet has helped (and hurt) certainly when it comes to finding a friend/acquaintance.

But that's the problem: the deeper connections we search for do not exist. Twittering won't solve this, except in some 1 in 100,000 dice throw.

People are too afraid all around. They stick to what they know. Getting to know anyone is a chore most avoid. (Oh, and for many, outward appearances, aka money & power, seem to be the attractor.) Once again, not a strong suit. Gotta play off-trump cards.

I am outgoing and have no problem talking to anyone about anything. But the presentation likely needs some zip and the package needs a better bow and wrapping. But then what? (I've posted my sit. before - no need to revisit.)

Point is: often, the people in need of such advice and uplift are not very likely to get such benefits. Maybe it's karma or poor timing, or something else more concrete, but firm is the wall standing in front of them.

I often think I'd like to talk to that loud ceiling guy (the man upstairs) and say, "why the f--k did you make this world so blessed screwed up? Why can't we all have enough of whatever - and quit fighting over land, people "we love", and You, for instance? What did I ever do to you? [Avoiding that whole killed your son topic.]"

In love, I think we've got no real choices. Some fall into it like being at a summer pool party where every bikini and swim trunk is packed with a great bod and everyone is smiling bigger than a beauty queen doing her spinderella walk.

If I find a woman EVER and we both LOVE each other - that would be like Noah sinking his ARC. A-Rod being a baseball 'saint.' The Donald being humble. Or Obama being able to balance the budget in 4 years, get us out of two (three) wars, and get us back to full employment. Or me getting on The NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list.

Shit like that doesn't happen.

Love (for me) is mirage in the Mohave and Miracles are still in the Bible.

New Rock Music Videos and a Leftover Copy: U2, The Airborne Toxic Event

The defining band of the 1980's EuroRock:U2
Magnificent by U2 (Live from the BBC on a ROOF!)



Heard this song for the first time two days ago, and said: "Damn! I gotta get something up on them." The Airborne Toxic Event has a 1st album out, #1 on the new artist chart, but they have been together for a while. Well, here's to a persistence and success!!! (Good Luck and don't F-ed it up!!!)
Sometime Around Midnight (May 1st Video on their site)

Lastly, it is strange to post something left from another user. Not really, the library offers these weird occurences often. So, because it seems harmless, because it is indicative of the times we live in, and it includes a British flav, I posted it. Not too personal - more conversational than anything. They obviously won't mind...

Left Over Copy & Paste from the last user:

If it makes you feel any better, I have gone thru this many many times before
and I'm still getting by. Look on the bright side, now you can get a new
job....maybe even in Munich! Wouldn't that make a lot of people happy. Want to
go on Holiday? Do you get seasick? The Islands are LOVELY this time of year. On
a more somber note, I'm still waiting for a job for this season. It's quite late
in coming and I'm begining to think they are trying to tell me something.
Although it would NOT be in my best interest right now, I guess I could retire.
Hey, while you're looking for your job, keep an eye out for me too. If I do have
to retire I will still want to get a few more years of income. Of course, I
could just moore at the base of Tower Bridge and have dinner at Browns on a
regular bases. That's really not a bad thought.

Stiff upper lip and all
that rot

Love Ya

Da

Star Trek: The New Frontier, the New Franchise

Last night, Star Trek opened in Lansing, IL to a sparse crowd. I mean sparse...like 25 people. However, the area is not known for being receptive to this sort of movie.

J.J. Abrams has taken over the Enterprise (NCC-1701) and the franchise that is Star Trek. With that weighty responsibility (for the Trekkies) Abrams exploits the one fundamental ingredient in Sci-Fi that is the most malleable to all these adeventures: Time.

Copious amounts of stories can be written, and undone, with the modification of the space-time line. Change of events, change of results. Like rolling a 1,000,000 sided dice to get a different outcome.

The Enterprise crew is everyone from the original series launched in the 1960s. This is an origin story, at first, but soon sets up the future events for the new director of the course of the Enterprise's adventures.

Cast

John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
Ben Cross as Sarek
Bruce Greenwood as Capt. Christopher Pike
Simon Pegg as Scotty
Chris Pine as James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto as a young Spock
Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson
Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura
Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov
Eric Bana as villian Nero
Leonard Nimoy as Old Spock

Now, everything can be seen as far-fetched and difficult to understand in this origination story line. Roger Ebert, not always in his right mind, was playing his critiquing games on this classic. Which is always why it is annoying to please critics. They pick. They look for gaffs. They conjecture about what is wrong instead of what is RIGHT.

The cast pulled off an admirable job in framing this close enough to the 1960s characters while adding in the small amount of personal lives and new ticks that can be explored and elaborated on in future films.

And that is what I liked.

Technology is catching up to the Star Trek dream. Even the gritty scenes of the inside of the Enterprise seem a bit out of step with what is suppose to be happening in the 23rd century.

But it is the adventure of movies that makes a place like a Star Trek movie go where no movie has gone before...we hope.

Saturday Dance Vids: Unforgivable, Begging, My First, My Last, My Everything

I listen to Dance Factory a LOT out of the Chi. (That's Chicago for the uninitiated.)
Armin van Buuren feat. Jaren - Unforgivable


The mixes are pretty decent. Repetitive. Sometimes whacked. But overall, I can get my blood pumping while missing racoons, skunks, deers and whabbits. One has to, or else, the boring task will overwhelm you - not in thought - but in the fact, you can do more but have to settle (right now) for less.

I do that a LOT too. Settle. There comes a point where you have to risk comfortable mediocrity for unknown successes (or failures.) What do I want and more to the point, what do I value?

We value what we put the most efforts towards. What gets us up and hopeful, not what makes us sad and forgettable and dull.

But most always personal sacrifice and what we are willing to give up in life (family, friendships, status, etc.) is the the caveat to such dreams. Lately, I have pondered signficantly how much can I give up (in my unhappy life) to go elsewhere and do whatever. (Let's say write and eek out a living doing something mundane to pay rent and for food.)

Madcon Frankie Valli - Beggin (Remix)

It is not the basic will to do it. I have that much.

But it's the unknown. I have no real friends. And convicts that move to other places don't get hired easily. (In a deepc recession - likely worse.) Can I find a job and place to stay? Where I want to be?

I believe I have a modicum of ability, but it will take years to complete, or publish anything that could lead to better things. (Even then, it might just be a piped dream.)

But can I leave on a whim? Without resources? That's the deal with me.

While Chicago pumps out that music every night, I want to be in tropics, writing a Ludlum thriller, or John Meacham's American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, winner of the 2009 Pultizer Prize. Undoubtedly, they wanted something different too - at some point. They found subject matter and made it their first, their last, their everything.

You Are The First, My Last, My Everything (Barry White)