John Prine Tonight!!!

I am VERY excited about seeing music legend John Prine tonight. I'll give a concert update sometime next week. If you haven't heard John Prine, go get some of his music! Now!

Bizkit The Sleepwalking Dog

Here is some humor for the week. This is incredible.

NYC Official: Ban Japanese 'Rape' Video Game

Associated Press - Anti-violence advocates in New York City are taking a stand against a video game in which players stalk and rape a mother and her two daughters.

Amazon and eBay have already banned the sale of the game, called RapeLay. But City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Monday that the game is available from other online sellers.

One of them, called jbdoujinshop.ecrater.com, says in an e-mail it has taken the game off its site as of Monday.

Quinn and the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault called on all U.S. video game distributors to refrain from selling Rapelay.

RapeLay is made by a company called Illusion, based in Yokohama, Japan.

The company has not immediately responded to an e-mail seeking comment.

WTH!?!?!?!

FBI Rescues Children From Prostitution

WASHINGTON — The FBI has rescued more than 45 suspected teenage prostitutes, some as young as 13, in a nationwide sweep to remove kids from the illegal sex trade and punish their accused pimps.

Over a three-night initiative called Operation Cross Country, federal agents working with local law enforcement also arrested more than 50 alleged pimps, according to preliminary bureau data.

The teenage prostitutes found in the investigation ranged in age from 13 to 17.

It is amazing to think that this abomination occurs around the world, much less in the United States! I recently had a conversation with a 12 year old who couldn't believe that children are forced into prostitution. It was news to him and he was shocked and disgusted by it. Wouldn't it be great if we could raise a generation of young men and women who were determined to be involved in putting a stop to this absurdity?

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on Grownups and Numbers

"When you tell [the grownups] that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you,

'What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?'

Instead, they demand:

'How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?'

Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

If you were to say to the grown-ups:

'I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,'

they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them:

'I saw a house that cost 100,000 francs'

Then they would exclaim: 'Oh, what a pretty house that is!'"

Healing Through Writing...

I recently read this quote in an article by novelist Wally Lamb:

Michelangelo, the 16th-century artistic genius, once said this about his work: "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."...you and I are damaged angels-in-waiting who have the potential to sculpt our best selves with the aid of paper and pen.

Apart from being a novelist (and a good one at that - my wife's favorite!), Wally Lamb teaches writing to a group of female inmates at a high-security prison. He asserts that writing our past history and confronting emotional issues can help the healing process immensely. There is power in writing our own stories.

I've never really thought it necessary to write my memoirs at age 25 until reading this article. You can read the article in its entirety here.

Stimulus Bill A Sorry Spectacle

NEW YORK (CNN) -- "What a joke. Your Congress has voted to spend almost $790 billion of your money on a stimulus package that not a single member of either chamber has read.

The 1,073-page document wasn't posted on the government's Web site until after 10 p.m. the day before the vote to pass it was taken. I don't care if you're Evelyn Wood, you can't read almost 1,100 pages of the lawyer talk that makes up all legislation in eight or 10 hours.

The criminal part of this boondoggle is divided into two parts. The first is the Democrats promised to post the bill a full 48 hours before the vote was taken to allow members of the public to see what they were getting for their money. Both parties voted unanimously to do this ... and they lied."




Wow. This really saddens me. When will the American people wake up? I believe we should all be calling our elected officials and giving them a piece of our minds. That's what I'm going to do anyways. Is this really going to work? You can read the the rest of Jack Cafferty's commentary here.

Taken

I saw Taken this past Friday evening. Well worth the outrageous cost of a movie these days...

A Life-Changing Event

I thought that I would share a life changing event that I still remember very clearly to this day. It requires a little bit of background information.

When I was younger (12-16), my older brother Jonathan and I got hooked on hardcore and punk music. It wasn't as popular or accessible as it is today, which is probably what got us so hooked. We listened to bands that people had never heard before and the music itself was pretty "underground". We very much enjoyed being "different". We didn't listen to the music that everyone else listened to. Of course, with the music that we listened to came a pretty unique style. We had our ears pierced and gauged (you could stick your finger through the hole in my ear!) and our hair was long and in dreads, or short, bleached and spiked, or incredibly crazy. I had this hair cut that was pretty much a "reverse mullet" that was inspired by the Misfits. My bangs were about 5 inches long and the rest of my head was buzzed! Many people would say we looked like "freaks". And I guess we did.

Being "punk" meant that it wasn't cool to listen to popular music. I never listened to the radio. I never bought the CD's that everyone else had (okay, except for Brittany Spear's first album...I can't believe I just admitted that!). The crazy thing is, you could say that my siblings and I were raised to appreciate classical music.

And appreciate it we did. I played piano for four years while my brother played the cello and our sister played the viola. My favorite mornings were the ones that I would wake up to my mother playing J.S. Bach's cantatas and concertos. Looking back, I attribute my listening to hours of classical music as giving me the ear for music that I have.

And that is why my parents just couldn't understand why my brother and I enjoyed hardcore and punk. We just wanted to be different. We wanted to listen to things that nobody else was listening to.

One evening, I was doing my homework in our family room. My father was in the living room watching TV as he so often did. All of a sudden it occurred to me that he wasn't watching sports or the AMC channel that he usually watched. Instead, I heard an incredible sound. It was a band. Actually, it was The Band. I had to check it out. I knew from the moment that I heard that music that this was one of the best bands I had ever heard. I remember walking into the living room and asking my father what it was that he was watching. A&E was showing The Last Waltz which was the final performance of The Band. My father proceeded to tell me about a group of musicians who would forever change my life and how I listened to, played and appreciated music.

The Band is the best group of musicians that I have ever heard. I find it hard to put into words just how much of an impact that they have had on my appreciation for music. Over the next year, I came out of my punk phase and began to emerse myself in their music. Along the way I discovered musicians that I had heard about, but never actually heard. Musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Clapton, and of course, Bob Dylan. These musicians were heavily influenced by five men who made music come alive.

I'm not sure why that memory has remained etched in my mind after about 10 years. Since discovering The Band, I've developed a profound love for classic rock. I owe it to The Band. In my opinion, there is nothing better.

Except for Bach's cantatas and concertos.

Some Excellent Fuel!

Somewhat recently I've discovered that Saint Louis carries the best coffee - Dunkin' Donuts. I'm familiar with DD, as there are thousands of walk-in locations up and down the East Coast. Unfortunately there are none here in STL. But a local grocery store does carry the DD coffee. If you haven't tried DD coffee, you should. It beats that other place's stuff by a long shot. It is a bit expensive, which is why we can't purchase it every week, but that is okay by me. It makes having it that much more special. Do yourself a favor and grab some DD coffee next time you see it!

Getting It Right...But Oh, So Wrong...

Recently my wife and I attended the national prayer breakfast in Washington D.C. It was neat to see and hear President Obama speak. However, for a few reasons, I didn't particularly enjoy his speech. At one point, the President said this:

There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.

I wholeheartedly agree with this quote, even though many would argue what exactly is meant by the phrase "innocent human being". If by innocent, he means "has done no wrong", then we would have to further examine what is meant by the word "wrong". This of course is another subject for discussion altogether.

What has me so upset at this statement is the fact that it was made by someone who supports legislation for ending the life of both the unborn and born child. Not only does the President support legislation for partial birth abortion, but he supports legislation for refusing to give treatment to babies who are victims of failed abortions. This absurd and sickening practice is called "infanticide".

I do not see how someone who is fighting for an individual's right to extinguish the life of an unborn and born child can make the above statement with any sort of credibility as someone who believes what they are saying. The President's policy towards the lives of our unborn and born children is sickening.