So, due to recent events, a friend and I are parting ways. It's a sad but good note. Nobody said life was going to be easy, but life certainly throws the curve balls.
Source: (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aA5bqeg-Yv0/maxresdefault.jpg / Copyright Disney Channel 2008-2015, all rights reserved.)
Clearing my mind, I'm going to focus on building a better self. I'm going to cross off things I've been meaning to do. Here's a list:
Fix several model steam locomotives I have.
Remotor several locomotives with bad/no motors.
Reassemble several steam locomotives, I recently purchased as parts.
Finish building two steam locomotives, I bought as projects.
Take up painting again.
Find a new camera, and start taking better photographs.
Make new friends.
Be more adventurous.
Visit old friends.
Do more writing.
Submit my writing.
Find cool restaurants.
Catch up on my favorite shows.
Maybe start a "Start-Up."
Build a rocket.
Fight a Mummy.
Climb up La Tour Eiffel.
Discover Something that has long thought, not to exist.
Give a Simian a shower.
Surf Tidal Waves.
Create Nano Bots.
Locate Frankenstein's brain.
Find a Dodo bird.
Paint a continent.
Drive my Aunt Debbie insane (she's the closest thing I have to a sister).
Make a Title Sequence.
And Much, MUCH MORE!!!
Okay so half of my list, mirrors the "Phineas and Ferb" theme song, but seriously, I am going to focus on my self, and make things happen! Now, does anybody have motors and/or parts for Rivarossi, Mantua, and/or Penn Line model trains?! (I'm Serious.)
The Chrysler PT Cruiser, originally meant to be a "Plymouth," came into the world in 2001, and left via Japan in 2010. An overly affordable "retro compact," its looks were cliche and the world fell in love with it. Sadly, even I was enamored with the funny machine, having a weakness for its woody variants. It wasn't until years later, when I learned from a Teacher, that they had terrible blind spots (she had experience from rental cars). It got me thinking...
A few years on, I had grown to love the great "Packard" marque. Inevitably, the 1941 Clipper model came up. Many say it was the "final straw" that broke Packard's luxury back (NEWSFLASH: It wasn't! Far. FAR, more stupid things did...). Something bugged me about the lines of the first Clippers though. I couldn't place my finger on it, until one day, walking down 3rd Avenue South, in Renton, I saw it... A well-done, retro-modified, Chrysler PT Cruiser. Then it hit me like a freight train on Houser Way: The PT Cruiser, is the Clipper of Chrysler! Just take a look below.
(1947 Packard Clipper shown. Photo by Wikipedia User Charles01)
(2006 to 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser shown. Photo is "Public Domain")
Ever since "Plymouth" went the way of Adam and Eve out of Eden (it has long been jokingly said that "God is a Plymouth driver" because of Genesis 3:24 and to a lesser extent, Jeremiah 32:37. I'll leave you all to look that one up yourselves!), Chrysler has devolved to this pile of cliches, even worse than ever before. They rely on a dismal and uninspired line-up, and hope to draw in people with their new "Pacifica Hybrid" minivans to go on sale next month, and the hallowed "300" name for "Ghetto Bentley" sedans. Here's a bright idea FIAT-Chrysler: Put your big muscle into a gentleman's suit! Make a "True" Chrysler, and take your big o'l Dodge Challenger, and make it into a "300 Coupe," with proper Luxury and Performance, like the original 1957 Chrysler 300-C (a car much hallowed as one of the progenitors of the "Muscle Car age"!), and while you're at it, consider some factory convertible variants, and sell your "Hellcats" as high-end crate engines? Some AMC guys out there, would LOVE to put a "Hellcat" into an AMX, Javelin, Matador, Ambassador, or heck, even a Gremlin, Packer, or Hornet hulk! I'd love to see a Hellcat, put into a Hudson Hornet "Hollywood Hardtop" from 1953 or 1954 personally, and see it conquer the "La Carrera Pan American," just once (Sorry Studebaker-fans; with all the racked-up wins by Studes, they might as well rename it "La Carrera Studebaker!" And I love Studes.).
All of these "Cliche Problems" and the reliance of Jeep and Ram sales to support FCA, and the "Crossover Craze" that makes me ill, has led to the neglect of the American Motorists. We the consumers are being corralled into a mess where we must fit a mould and be happy with it. NO. Like "Field of Dreams," "...If you build it, they will come!" Chrysler, like Packard, used to be "Engineering Greatness." Now, Packard's gone (with no one solid "scapegoat" to blame), and soon, FCA may be gone too, with Jeep left to soldier on, like an "International Harvester" or "REO" or "Diamond T," with the scary possibility of the "Willys Aero" or "Willys Americar" name coming back, as a (GASP!), a rebadged Suzuki, Mitsubishi, or (DOUBLE-GASP!!), a Chinese Car (THE HORROR!!!).
Back on the comparison, it was shocking, that these two cars, decades a part, were literally fulfillment of similar roles, of premium, mass market cars. and it's undeniable, their styling is almost identical (maybe a better comparison, would be the Packard Station Sedan and Convertible Victoria models of 1948 through 1950, with Clipper panels, instead of being "Pregnant Elephants"). As I walked down the street, I lamented the fact that Packard was gone, long before my time- yes, but gone none the less. I lamented that the sibling rivalry of the "Leland Kids" (Cadillac and Lincoln were both founded by the same man- Henry M. Leland), was nothing more than a joke today. And I lamented, that Walter P. Chrysler's hard work, reinventing the "Good Maxwell" cars in his own image, will vanish in years to come... Oh how I wish they built the Atlantic and the Imperial of 2006, like I wish Packard had said "Cost Be Damned! Let's build some 'Rolls-Royce' expensive luxury cars again!" earlier than 1953, when the Caribbean came out, and Cadillac came out with the Eldorado...
So, as those who know me, you know my Faith- NOT RELIGION, is one of my strengths. A huge bur has lodged itself in my saddle, and I can’t take the high road any longer. I want you who claim the Name of the Lord, and think real hard, real, real hard, about what kind of person you are in Christ. If a Homeless Man, came a knocking at your Church’s door, would you have the nerve, and let him in, out of the cold, for the length of the sermon, and not judge him? Now ask, is your Church the kind, that would accept people from the “wrong side of the tracks”? I bet ten cents, your church community wouldn’t, let alone, entertain the idea.
Anything can be a religion! Even eating a Ham Sandwich on a Tuesday, can be a “Religion.” “Religion” is legalistic, ritualistic, pious, and bigot loaded. And yes, I may sound like I’m complaining, but I’m calling out the facts. Jesus didn’t come, so that we could quibble among ourselves about who’s “way” is right. John 3:16- Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” God gave us choice to follow him, or not. Man now mocks what Man has created, and Man created Mockery, out of what God had said and done. We’re too focused on what “not” to do. I’ve heard children ask “how” when their parents tell them to be good, after they’d been chewed out repeatedly for what they’re NOT to do. My point being, I’m sick! I’m sick of how people lump Christians into the same boat. I’m sick, of thinking that Christians are the Banes of Existence. Christians aren’t Banes. It’s MAN’s constructs and Mockery of God himself, to be “Holier than Thou,” and I’m sick, disgusted, plain downright angry at all of those who claim Jesus’ name in “Religion” Karl Marx was right, “Religion is the Opium of the People!” I will say this now,
“Faith- the act of believing, practicing what you believe, as a lifestyle, is happy liberation from bondage.”
If you think Christians are all the same, think again. The Christians you mostly meet, are all “Praise the Lord” on Sunday, and the most awful, rancid, putrid sinners, to walk God’s Earth! They are creatures of broken bondage, that either don’t realize, or fully realize, and keep breaking. Forgiveness isn’t a Ticket to keep acting the Same Rotten Way you Act! Forgiveness, is your reprieve, to change your life for the better, and never return to that mistake. You’ll make plenty mistakes in life- we’re creatures created from Sin. The Cross wasn’t so you can just carry on as you were. The Cross was Emancipation from Sin. The Cross, isn’t just Sunday, to give you a clean slate. The Cross is the price paid, so that you don’t have to wallow in spiritual destitution every single day of your life. Jesus came, so that the laws of the Old Testament, wouldn’t bound those Grafted into the Tree of Life. And at the same time, that same EMPTY Cross, is the symbol of the Faithful, to uphold the responsibility that is the Faith of Christianity. Theritualistic rules of the Old Testament, were made null and void by the cross, but that’s NO right to act like there’s a Golden Calf to Party around! Think about that for a second, just one blasted second.
“Religion is Getting in the Way of Relationship. That we don’t even know God’s Love, because we’re so busy beating up people, with the rules and what they can’t do. When people come to [religion] about what they can’t do, rather than what they can do.” - Kirk Franklin
I dare you to consider this:
“I want people to know about the beautiful life they can get, when they sign up. So to be able to do that, let’s focus on relationship, and feel that love, man. ” - Kirk Franklin
If there’s one thing I detest, it’s the “Pious Bigots,” that proclaim the name of Jesus, that proclaim the Faith of Christianity as Their “Religion,” that hurt people without any remorse and guilt, alienating those they hurt, from God’s love. Pious Bigots, hear me, you’re sorry sinners! You’ve hurt too many I care for. You’ve alienated those who I love. You’ve hurt too many that matter to me. You’ve even hurt me- by being inconsiderate, by Witch Hunting when I wanted to get Baptized! A young child, wanting to feel God’s love, and you put him on Trial, like it was Salem! Was there some bad rye bread that day or what? You hurt me, by bastardizing the closest I felt to God, and insulting me, and for what? Making a show of your Pastor Relative resources, a Big Show of your Religion? Good Riddance to your mess. You failed miserably anyway. You got what you sowed! You don’t represent Jesus, his teachings, his life, HIS LOVE! You are NO better than the bankers at the Temple, that Jesus ramshackled, in disgust! You’re worse! You make yourselves out as representing all Christians, everywhere! NEWSFLASH: YOU DON’T! You don’t represent me, or anyone, or anything, but the Hatred, that has permeated, embedded itself, like blasted Hipsters, ruining the message of the “Carpenter from Nazareth.” It’s disturbing and disgusting. You are leaches, sucking life out of the Faith, replacing it with the Opium- that is Religion. You’re a sorry lot.
And now, I’ll throw everybody for a loop- I FORGIVE YOU. Now, for the love of Creation, Repent. Do something consciously selfless, and Act what you believe, and read the New Testament for yourself! The Old Testament, is just Backstory! B-A-C-K-S-T-O-R-Y. Nobody’s held to it, but don’t disregard it. A good chunk is common sense in there (I.E.- Don’t have relations with your cousins!), but the parts about divorces, what to or not to eat, et cetera (wacky stuff, due to the primitive nature of the time) that stuff is either at discretion (food), and/or null and void. I forgive you Pious Bigots. I ask you to ask God for forgiveness, own up, change your life, and humble yourself. You as you stand, are a sorry sight. You waste the price that the Cross afforded all, even though you claim to know God’s Son. You don’t! You wouldn’t be Pious Bigots if you did. Jesus died, so we may live. You trash this opportunity, through “Religion” a vile product synthesized by Man, that has NOTHING to do with the Trinity! Repent you False Proclaiming Sinners. Jesus will forgive you. God will forgive you. You Pious Bigots, Repent. I forgive you. Jesus is waiting for you to ask it of him. He waits for your humility. He waits to make you a new creature in his image, his love, his stregnth. Are you game for that though? Only you can answer that one.
On that bombshell. I leave you for now. That’s my peace. I step off my soapbox, and retire for the evening. I now give you an encore presentation of Kirk Franklin everybody. Good Night, and God bless. In Jesus name, amen.
I've read up the candidates for the 2016 Presidential Race. If there were a court trial to decide the President, the one with the latest reasonable doubt would win, if they hadn't withdrawn their argument (candidacy) already. There hasn't been so much doubt, since we had two "Bonesman" running in 2004! At this point we need a Statesman- someone not worried about reelection, and more concerned about doing just and honest by all people in the United States of America.
Now I prose this question: Find me someone consistent from day one of their life, has humility, is just, who doesn't spew hate, doesn't sound idiotic, doesn't take $2 Million in "speaking fees" and not expect to have to "dole out favors," doesn't deny Marines' request for continued use a Douglas DC-3 airplane, doesn't take from "Pharmabro," and doesn't read "Green Eggs and Ham" in a Fed-shutdown Filibuster, then see where we stand?
Notice: Due to unintentional shaming of my Cousin, I revised this post. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Weight Shame, Religious Shame, Ethnic Shame, Race Shame, Sexuality Shame, the list goes on. Human-Beings are like a barrel of crabs- always trying to pull each other down. From Fat and Gay, to Skinny and Christian. From Asian, to Black, to White. The numbers of shame types, are like the number of grains of sand on a beach. Everybody falls victim at one point or another, to shaming someone else, to feel superior. NEWSFLASH: Under the skin, there is NO superior race! NO superior Sexuality! Nothing, nada, zip, zilch zero. We each have the right to believe as we want, we each have the right to weigh what we weigh- though it's better to find the happy medium of a "healthy" weight, than to be severely over or under. We each can take pride in the cultures we come from (positives, not negatives), and there are better things to do with your time, than go bagging on somebody else's problems! And NO, shaming you pets, is NOT a better use of your time, no matter how funny it is. This pretty sums up my feelings on the subject. Trust me, we all could learn from the drake:
And if you do it in real life, then that really, REALLY needs to be addressed. Think about the following:
Here's an example, of the two-sides of Shame: You are over-weight.
If you're personally ashamed, because of what the weight has done to your life, that is, not being able to lead the life you desire, then admitting your shame to yourself, is acceptable because you're acknowledging that you need to change directions in your life.
Now, let's look at the wrong way about this. If you are over-weight, and someone is ridiculing you for it, not yourself, based in fact, but someone else, based in opinion and disgust, then that's not okay. It's cancerous, it's putrid, it's disturbing, it's downright nasty.
If anything, we already carry around enough personal, internalized shame as it is, and we don't need any more. It's bad enough for kids to be shamed by parents, if it's truly uncalled for, like little kids being made to hold up signs, the pictures being posted to the Parent's Facebook account. Nothing is deleted from the internet. It will follow those kids for the rest of their lives, and long afterword too!
Shame, internally, it can be a wake-up call to rectify one's life. Shame, coming from people around you, whether you know them or not, can be the more destructive, than rage.
Those of you who know me in real life, know I'm not one to be fooled easily. Those of you who know me in real life, know I'm not one for illogical hear-say. And also, those of you who know me in real life, know I like classic American writers of the 20th Century such as Ray Bradbury, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Recently, I've been asking, and I've been receiving answers to those questions. When you ask questions, you learn, when you learn, you grow. Why are we fearful of "growing" ourselves to meet and exceed potential? Why do we fear that?
I write this because not since 1985, has the Doomsday clock been at 3 (Three) Minuets to Midnight, for a second year in a row. It seems between fashion, musical trends, and the world at large, we are repeating the 1980's. Heck! Even the Delorean DMC-12's heading back in production, and still no "proper" hoverboards:
I won't go into depth about what I've learned, what I've asked, what I've concluded- at large. Many put forth, to inform, but many a time, we brush them off for heretics. However, I will propose you the following to chew on, as it's startling when you think about it, even for the briefest of seconds...
If you've read, or seen "1984" by George Orwell, then you've heard of "New-Speak." The Goal of "New-Speak" was so that nobody would understand historical texts and documents, by the 2050's. Now think about this: Why isn't cursive being taught in schools? Why is the "digital signature" such an important thing now, over a "real-world signature"?
If you've read or seen "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, you know of "The Family," an interactive television show, where viewers were called "Cousins." Now consider this: Why are so many people concerned with "Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube Fame"? Why are game-shows like "The Price is Right," having whole weeks devoted to "Social Media"? Why did the now defunct "Current TV" have a show called "Bar Karma," in 2011, in which a "community" dictated what happened in the episodes? Why do we obsess over the likes of people who do so little to contribute to the betterment of humanity?
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Why is it, until recently, have the great geniuses, like Nikola Tesla, and his ideas, been hidden from humanity till recently? And why do we still call Marconi, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1943, declared Tesla,"The Father of Radio." Why is it Karl Benz, that is hailed as the "Father of the Automobile" when it was an Austrian named Siegfried Marcus, who in 1870, put a gasoline engine, on a four-wheeled cart, and drove it around town?
There are such things as "Known Unknowns," which is a status of where society knows something, but decides consciously "not acknowledge" the known fact/theory/idea, as if it were a bad penny. Ponder this: If there are so many things in this world, that add up to things we abhor as a society at large, why do we act as if they don't exist? Do we do it to preserve social norms and orders? And if so, who's responsible for the orders?
If anything, I can provide a simple and correct answer to these. There are such things known as "Open Secrets," in the world. For example, Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and Space X, has been widely known in recent news articles, for saying that the alleged "Apple Car," is an "Open Secret." Now what is an "Open Secret." It's a secret that's known as fact by the masses; a theory that comes to fruition. Now, back to the ones who created the "Social Order" of the here and now, you can do a search online, and find out things for yourself, of far-fetched sounding theories, that have facts- hard, undeniable facts, backing them up, then why haven't the powers that are mentioned, not try and remove these posts, essays, and the people who post these things to the internet, like in movies, "The X-Files," et cetera? They most likely used to, but now, these powers, have most likely found it easier, to stay in the shadows where we consciously don't look, and let those who try and expose them, just end up looking foolish like Chicken Little, until the moment the Fox or Wolf, decides to make a "Turducken." It's that foolishness, that discredits the person exposing, and we just continue on our merry way, forgetting all about the shadows, as we always have.
We are afraid to look in the dark, and for good reason- the dark holds too many atrocities, horrors, and worst of all, monsters- some of which, can get all the heart transplants they want, even if they were born, before we even went after Pancho Villa! It is up to us though, to fear only fear itself, and refute in the light, all that is done in the dark.
There's a reason that "The Allegory of the Cave" is more relevant than ever now; it's just a matter of not getting blinded by the rage, fear, and rhetoric around us. I don't plan anytime soon, caving into the dangers of single stories, like Chimamanda Adiche said in her famous Oxford, England TEDTalk in 2009. Even she was guilty of it, but she recognized it, and overcame it:
One) Ask. Trust your gut instinct and ask. If it doesn't feel right, trust your gut and ask.
Two) Read. Read things with structure, ideas, hope, and if fiction, a descent idea of what's right and wrong. Read all you can, and make good use of it in your lives.
Three)"Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you're going to drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories." - Ray Bradbury
Four) For the love of all creation, teach yourself, people in your life who can't, your kids, and encourage those with kids, to learn how to write in cursive. Handwriting is an ever important skill to have; it has been, it is still, and always shall be, the most important way we'll communicate. Don't let handwriting, especially cursive, go the way of the Stagecoach, the Steam Locomotive, and face-to-face communication is right now! Heck, stop the death of human interaction in the real world while you're at it too.
That's my soapbox for now. Here's a little alarm clock (below the awesome cartoon of two of my favorite characters!) in closing- I ask you really, really don't hit the snooze button on this one; you may accidentally hit the football instead!
