A Concerned Letter To Miley Cyrus

 

Dearest Miley, 

As we approach the middle of the week which is the last week of August 2013, I am plagued and have been plagued for the past couple of days of what some could possibly call a raunchy performance, your name still hasn’t slipped back into obscurity as it was for the last … oh I don’t know … how long. 

And even though you’re not the first “celebrity-type” person to have done something as raunchy as what you did, and I regretfully admit that you will not be the last person, we must deal with right now, in the present. And face our consequences for the past. 

I am reminded (personally) of an early episode of The Big Bang Theory. I believe it was Season One. I do not know if you (or if anyone reading this will actually) watch it, since I do not know whether or not you have the kind of time to watch these kinds of programs that are on television, but let me break down one particular scene that comes to mind. 

The horny yet innocent and still lovable character of Howard Wolowitz overhears that the cousin to his friend’s female neighbor is in town, and she’s just about as easy as Ramen noodles when it comes to amorous activities in the bedroom. So later after their dalliances, the girl makes her first on screen appearance and says “There’s my little engine that could!” Well, the reaction of one of the lovable scientists comes out to “There’s a beloved children’s book I’ll never read again.” 

Something similar happened after viewing your performance on the VMA’s this year.

I WILL NEVER EVER BE ABLE TO LOOK AT A TEDDY BEAR AS AN INNOCENT CHILD’S TOY AGAIN!

CHILDREN SLEEP WITH THOSE THINGS AT NIGHT FOR SECURITY AND PROTECTION FROM THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!!!!

And what you had done with those costumes of Teddy bears gallivanting on stage, has ruined the innocence of the Teddy bear for me, forever. I am an adult. I am not a parent, but I am an uncle, and now because of this… my nieces and nephews will never have the delight and joy of knowing what owning a Teddy bear is all about. At least not as a present from their uncle. And so when my nieces and nephews ask me why I shake in horror at one of those things today, the only thing that I  can do is wonder how to tell them. But I am paralyzed to do so, without doing so first in a therapist’s office with faceless dolls. 

And needless to say that cheering on a personally preferred sports team with a foam finger is now out of the question, indefinitely. How many uses did you intend on having to fulfill your heavily veiled masturbatory acts on stage to prove you are a woman and not a child? 

You have been in our living rooms, TV and movie screens for many years now. I have no idea what it could have possibly been like for you, being a nameless product of a giant company that brings up child stars and then spits them out when they are done with them. 

We, millions of Americans, and some of us being your fans, already understand your plight with your identity. Let me repeat that you are not the first one to have the stress of this problem. Not by a long shot, and you will not be the last. 

We all remember Britney when she went through her tragic meltdown. All in the pursuit of making a name for herself, attempting to step into the lights of adulthood and closing the chapter of her childhood. 

And you, no less, have similar stresses to deal with in order to make that happen. I don’t know if you recall or not, but we nearly lost Miss Spears to all of it. I would imagine that’s not the end result that you are or have been looking for.  

However, dry humping costumed Teddy bears, singing about illegal activities and substances at parties, and grinding Mr. Thicke isn’t the best way to go about making your transformation. 

The eyes of millions are still upon you. Now that you have reached the age of twenty, things are different in the world that you need to recognize. 

Chances are that you probably not going to completely strip away your past. You are who you are. And you will not be able to strip away the things that you say and do now, when you are thirty-five years old. The time to pay attention is NOW and in the PRESENT. 

There are just going to be many people who remember the child star that you had become right before our eyes, which propelled you to who and where you are today. 

And even those fans that have followed you through thick and thin through your teen years, there’s always going to be some younger sibling of those fans that will find you as a new and fresh approach in their lives. And they will toss you up there so high on that pedestal again that we’ll see nothing but the bottoms of your feet as you are forced to stand upon it. 

I read today, someone else who had posted their feelings and I quite agree that your life is far different from your faithful followers. If they were to do the things that you do, and act upon the things that you sing about, they will not be swept away by some fancy attorney who will come in and save the day. No! Instead they will be forced to face the music of their actions. Most of them either in jail, or with a criminal record that will plague them throughout their own personal adulthood, or the inevitable and difficult to think about option, death. Meanwhile, you are earning income off of their purchases that relate to you.

There’s no savior for those whom you call your fans. All the while, you have just about everything set up for you. And still you struggle with the inappropriate actions of trying to separate yourself as a twenty year old woman living in pop culture. 

Finding your identity as an adult is not a crime. Nope, it surely isn’t. But with adulthood comes more responsibility than you ever had to bear before in your entire life. And that responsibility comes with the choices that you personally make. And with those choices come the consequences that you and only you will have to answer to. 

Your poor choice of doing what you did at the VMA has brought all of this attention of the world down upon you. And quite honestly, it was well deserved from your performance. So in that, I say BRAVO!!!!

But I do have some concerns that I would like to bring up at this time. 

Your wardrobe, it was a living nightmare. There comes a time to take stock and re-consider when you backside bits are dangling out and posing similarities to a specific protein that is within the American diet. Particularly during one late autumn holiday that is late on the calendar. I could call into question whether there was a malfunction or that is what you had intended? Only you can answer this. 

Secondly, is there by chance, any particular need to see a dentist or an oral surgeon? 

Good job of veiling your action of masturbation on National television!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the reason for it all, is NOT because you have some sort of or any combination of temporomandibular disorders. If that is the case, then you have my sympathies. As a person with a physical disability, I can some what relate to having to deal with pain and medical procedures.  

Yet your tongue had about, what I could count, four inches of residue. Nobody wants to see this. And I mean NOBODY!!! I’m not sure what you had to eat that day but whatever you consumed (whether legal or illegal) showed up quite plainly as you appear to rather enjoy having your tongue wag from between your teeth. For someone wanting to close the chapter on immaturity and childhood, a wagging tongue is not the way to go! 

So in conclusion, it is a real triumph to be the person that outshocks and outshines Lady Gaga. Not even Taylor Swift’s lip-readable “F” bomb came close to what you pulled off on stage. But then to think about it, is that something to be proud of? 

I just wonder about your poor parents. And I wondered if they even cared. I cannot even begin to imagine your plight, growing up as progeny of musical talent that was as hot as you are today just a few decades ago. I couldn’t even begin to dream to understand. 

I just know that I can draw another parallel with that as back in 1983 as a child, I did two television commercials that were ran statewide in the state of Arkansas. (You know the place!)

They were for raising funds to build a handicapped accessible swimming pool. And when I had finished recording those two commercials and weeks later when they began to appear on television, I had many teachers and professionals in my school asking me for an autograph. Of course they were being cute about it. 

My parents one day overheard me getting rude about it and assuming to charge them ten dollars for me to autograph a scrap piece of paper. My father came up to me and whipped the tar out of me for acting like I did, told me to apologize, and then sign the paper with grace, humility, and a little more self-pride. 

My autograph is worthless compared to yours, so I can’t even bring this up to point out how horrible your actions were, even though mine were horrible enough in their own right. 

In conclusion, I hope that by the consequences that you are currently suffering, that you will have a lesson to have learned throughout all of this. I will hope that next time, you will be wiser in deciding what to do in your career, and your personal life as well …. even though that is your business and not mine. 

But for now, the posts on Facebook will swell until the next big Hollywood SNAFU. And that will inevitably come as well. I just hope its not you, which will make it look like a continuation of this situation at the present. 

I will continue to post them because just like you with your fans, I mean something to the people who know me. And I wish for them to know and understand the horrible ends that are you are experiencing because of foolish choices and that those who know me and look up to me (for their own personal reasons, just as your fans look to you), that they may know what NOT to do in the future and use your experience as a lesson for their own lives and learn to make better choices and live better and healthier lives. 

Good luck, Miss Cyrus. And goodnight.

I Pissed Off Hollywood!

“If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that’s exactly what I did.”~ Gordon Ramsay

I don’t know how many of you watch this program or not. But I got stuck on it while watching late night re-runs of LAST season on Saturday nights.

So now the current season is rolling and its down to five contestants left standing.

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Any ways, for those of you who don’t watch, there’s an eclectic collection of home cooks left remaining. Including a vegetarian and a single mother from up north who believes her shit don’t stink.

The way it works is that teams are picked and the team with the worst service goes to cook for their lives to stay in the competition called the “Pressure Test.” And the cook with the worst dish from that is eliminated.

Don’t get me wrong. Those who survive this far are awesome cooks and know what they are doing. But to see the vegetarian struggle and the other one with her nose lifted up in the air…. its just painful to watch.

And of course the contestant with her nose in the air was on the losing team and was having problems during the entire program. I mean, it was SAD!! She needed to go. It was obvious that she hit her plateau. 

The Pressure Test was Calamari.

But they canned the vegetarian (for the second time in the contest) and kept the mouthy, frustrated contestant.

So then I rolled on over to Twitter to see what was happening after the show went off the air. And I noticed that one of the judges on Twitter asked who everyone thought should be going home.

So I added my two sense about the frustrated home cook from the north with her souring attitude and snarky ways and her foul language. I mean, its really unbecoming of ANY woman to be like that.

Plus the additional fact that her cooking service throughout the episode was horrible.

And you wanna know what I got in return??? 

Oh you are going to love this!! I promise you, its beyond classic.

Yep. A Tweet about how decisions are made.

OHHHH I LOST IT!! I LAUGHED SO HARD!! And yes, I’m going to block out the name of that judge because I don’t want no Hollywood whining in my area.

“Whether you like it or not….” HORSESHIT, brother!! It was a move by the judges to keep her in the competition so that she could possibly be in the Final Two. Gimmicks, I tell ya!!

Of COURSE if it was by attitude… she would have been thrown out a very long time ago because she talked back to a judge when she received some negative criticism. If it was by attitude, this contest would be OVER.

Gimme a break!!!

But its always nice to know that I’ve ruffled feathers in Hollywood. Poor, poor Hollywood.

A Renewed Faith

“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.”~  Anaïs Nin

Even though I am not well, I am going to write this story to you because I feel that you need to know about it.

Today is Food Pantry day and as I waited patiently for my turn to go in and then immediately get home, I overheard this woman who (according to herself) is in her 80’s visiting with a neighbor.

She works with this neighbor as sort of a payee. Helping to sort out bills, rent, and the like.

She wasn’t around for very long and then as I was sitting in the hallway, she makes a mention right in front of me that she’s about to get married in the next few days. So the next time we see her, she will be a wife.

It was also mentioned by her that she didn’t really “see it coming” and even after being content of being a widow for the past 34 years, she’s going to take the vows again in her life.  

To be in her 80’s and doing this, really does renew my own faith in what love can do. Love can triumph. Love will persevere.

It a nation where it seems as if love doesn’t seem to be at the front of every day lives, this story slips in and changes everything that I had ever thought I knew about love.

 

 

 

 

Odd Death #01 – Peg Entwistle

Peg Entwistle 1908-1932

“I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.”~ Peg Entwistle

I’ve been looking at various videos on YouTube and reading articles on the Internet about the famous criminal duo, Bonnie & Clyde.

But one thing just led to another, which led to another, which lead to me gazing upon “celebrity grave sites” and ending up in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver, California.

And it didn’t stop there.

I came across one of the most unusual “celebrity deaths” that I had ever heard of in my lifetime.

Peg Entwistle was an actress from Wales. She was most known for her work on Broadway, and had been in only ONE film, which was released after her strange and unusual suicide.

Hollywood “celebrities” all die in unusual manners of all kinds. Suicides, overdoses, victims of murder, and etc.

This particular suicide of Entwistle was curious to me. 

The quote at the beginning of this blog post was her suicide note. And so she climbed a ladder along the infamous Hollywood sign.

As she had done so, she climbed up the “H” on the sign and then jumped.

I attempted to research the sign. Most of us already know that it had been originally “HOLLYWOOD LAND” and it was simply changed to “HOLLYWOOD” in the end. The sign is apparently 45 feet (13.7 meters) high. So Entwistle fell to her death from AT LEAST that high. I couldn’t find any other information about her death other than the coroner’s note of cause of death was multiple fractures to her pelvis.

Well, no kidding!!!!

Makes me wonder… if anyone else has attempted this, or actually committed suicide in the same way. And whether or not this is a viable research project???

So strange. I wonder WHY she chose to commit suicide in the first place. And WHY in the world jump off the HOLLYWOOD sign???

What’s the weirdest place or manner in which you have heard someone commit suicide??

Leave your answers in the comment section below.

Nocturnal Tourette’s Syndrome

“The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.”~George Washington

For many months now, I’ve been suffering through some significant neuropathy pains. Unfortunately now, its getting in the way of every day things. Including me playing sledge hockey.

So when a nurse came over the other day to ask how that pain was doing, I told her that I had self-diagnosed myself with Nocturnal Tourette’s Syndrome.

When she asked what that was, I told her that in the middle of the night when this neuropathy pain strikes and is strong enough to wake me up, I wake up screaming and cussing.

She wasn’t sure whether to take me serious or laugh. When I smiled at her, she broke out into laughter.

It is true though, I wake up screaming and crying out in so much profanity that I would take down the whole naval fleet in humiliation by comparison. And of course there is no such thing as Nocturnal Tourette’s Syndrome, but it was descriptive enough to get across to the nurse that I am suffering a lot of pain with this neuropathy. Particularly at night.

I personally suspect the REAL problem to be Carpal Tunnel.

But soon, very soon, I am going to find out just what’s going on and hopefully I can get some REAL sleep after a while.

 

10 August 2013: Dr. Froth’s Birthday Extravaganza

“You come pointing guns in the direction of my wife, my kids, damn it I’ll meet you at the door any time. And I’m sorry some of you guys got shot but uh hey, God will have to sort that out, won’t he?”~ David Koresh

Twas once again for the most excellent and moist birthday extravaganza of Dr. Froth. This year, drummer Mikey Lewis was also included in the celebrations.

My extended time in Houston however was slowly slipping away. With only ONE MORE show to attend and just a few hours of sleep, then I would be hitting the road to return home. And 99% of the time, when I am on that lonely road returning… I’m in tears.

However, I had to have a change in thinking as I just spent the night before with ECHO TEMPLE and was about to spend the evening with SIX MINUTE CENTURY. There’s not too many times in the world that I can say that I have done that.

Trying to “sleep in” at a hotel, in a bed that is unfamiliar, is almost impossible. Almost.

I finally woke up, my ears still ringing from all the sound and music the night before, and left there to lay with NO motivation whatsoever.

And then The Weather Channel caught my eye as they were talking about hurricanes. Now, hurricanes aren’t really my forté, of course tornadoes are, but ehh… I had a shit load of time to kill before the show.

And then there was some kind of Top 5 of all disastrous hurricanes of all time. 3 out of 5 hurricanes, I either had heard about or knew about when it happened. But of course, I couldn’t have known #1.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember all five of them. Hurricane Andrew started it off at #5 and then #2 was Hurricane Katrina. And really, for the number one spot, they only had two choices. The Great Storm of 1900 or Hurricane Sandy.

#1 was the Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston, Texas.

After that, there was a small documentary on that same storm in Galveston that happened on the 8th of September in the year 1900. And I actually found myself drawn into the program. Mainly because I know that SIX MINUTE CENTURY has a song about that storm that I enjoy hearing played live.

After all of that, my body decided to inform me that it was hungry. So I reluctantly went next door to the Harris County Smokehouse.  

I say that I was reluctant because in April, I went there for breakfast and just was not impressed at all. But this time, was for lunch. For whatever reason I had hoped that lunch would be better than breakfast.

Such consequences I received for hoping.

The image to the right here is what I ordered, taken with the cell phone. Can you guess what the heck it is??

Whatever your guess may be– you’re dead wrong. It was butt load of gravy!!!! And something underneath it.

I was just so disappointed in it all. I knew that they had some merchandise and I usually will buy a t-shirt or something but I refused to do it after having a SECOND disappointing meal. As a matter of fact, the image that you see here wasn’t too far off from what was left on the plate as I left it sitting there on the table, totally disgusted. I just moved away from the table and left it all there.

As I returned to my hotel room, I noticed that even more programs on hurricanes were happening on The Weather Channel. And eventually realized that they were celebrating Hurricane Week. I think it was in an all-out battle for ratings against the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Of which, I am selachophobic and you’ll NEVER find Me watching it. Even if you put a gun to my head… I will be instructing you to pull the damned trigger because its NOT happening.

But SHOWTIME was free. It was just really hit and miss though. The night before was “Saw” but it was on too late and I was about to crash.  

Saturday afternoon though offered a very strange film. I had missed the first few minutes of it but quickly caught on to its plot…. which wasn’t much at all.

A sort of horror film where the killer was flowing electricity. Strange stuff, I tell you!!!

By the time it ended, my brain was totally numb.

Then I crashed on the bed again for a quick nap. After that I was picked up to go to the show by Dr. & Mrs. Froth.

I had NO filter and NO hesitancy to inform them both that Harris County Smokehouse was a huge disappointment and that I would suggest never to go in there to eat.

After that, I gave my offerings to Frothtonomy’s Froktar. I had asked Dr. Froth what was going to be an acceptable offering. He said mangos.

Then I asked Mrs. Froth secretly what Dr. Froth’s food was. Even though I missed out on the mangos, I got the cheese which was not exactly cheap.

I then dropped over to Dr. Froth a gift card for him and his wife to eat at their favorite Applebee’s location. Told him “Happy Birthday!” and then we pressed on.

I suddenly began to wonder if the redheaded succubus was going to show up. She had said that she was not showing up for ECHO TEMPLE but was going to be there for SIX MINUTE CENTURY. But my curiosity, I kept to myself at that point. Not that her batting average was speaking volumes though.

Dr. Froth offered cheeseburgers because everyone was hungry. And it was a good choice since I walked out on my abortion of a lunch.

Swinging through the driveway, I had forgotten that Dr. Froth throws his voice and does “The Old Man” into the intercom.

When the employee repeated the order back and had it all correct, Dr. Froth said, “Oh Sweet Jesus, yes!” and then hilarity ensued.  

“Did you say you wanted a sweet tea too?” was heard over the intercom.

I lost it. I laughed until my sides were hurting.

We cruised down the road and Dr. Froth offered the latest tracks that was being recorded and mastered for the new album.

Being a VIP Centurion definitely has its perks!!!

We entered in and then I had found out that I was on the Guest List for the evening. So things were getting better and better.

The show was for sure a long hard fought battle as the bands that were to play that night kept changing. I was there behind the scenes when this band said NO and that band said YES, then said NO. It was all ridiculous.

But I think everything was a good fit in the end.

I asked Mrs. Froth if she was going to pull me out of danger if I got into trouble. And this woman cares enough about me to look me dead straight in the eye and threaten to kick my ass if I got into trouble. That’s love right there!!! Friends that care enough for you to slap you into next week for doing something that you already knew was stupid before you started doing it.

Since I knew that she was true to her word, I dared not tempt fate. And besides, the succubus NEVER showed. But it was to NO surprise to anyone.

ETERNAL ECHOES got on stage first. A three piece band who has been practicing and playing together for a while now. But they do not have a lead singer or anyone on vocals as of yet.

Dr. Froth and an artist interpretation of Willis.

They asked Dr. Froth to come on stage because they had a birthday gift for him. When he approached on stage, he was floored to find a wonderful piece of art work which went along with the Frothtonomy mythology. Willis, the pumpkin god.

Two young women worked on it together. And it looked great.

ETERNAL ECHOES would play on. And it was then that I watched lead singer for SIX MINUTE CENTURY and his beautiful wife to approach the stage area closer. After all, their son Aaron was the guitarist and the one making much of the announcements during their set.

They mentioned that they were looking for a lead singer for their band. And that this was their SECOND gig ever!!! And that they were hopeful to find someone able to do vocals.

Dr. Froth actually teased me about how I should go for it and be their lead singer. I asked Chuck Williams what he thought and he gave his blessing on it. So I am actually REALLY considering it. I just have to get moved down there first.

Nobody saw this coming. Even the members of ETERNAL ECHOES thought I was talking in jest.

Dr. Froth then climbed on stage. The next band was called DISCIPLES OF FROKTAR.

This was Dr. Froth’s solo effort that was swiftly put together by musicians coming from other bands (such as WELL OF SOULS) and joining forces to make one bad ass sounding group!!!

Nobody really knew what to expect. But nobody was disappointed either. This was a group of guys that got together and made it sound like they had been playing this material for years and years. Its the kind of instrumental group that I WOULD pay $75 or more for ticket to see them play.

In between songs, I screamed out “HAIL FROKTAR!” and poor Dr. Froth didn’t see it coming. He was sipping some water and when I shouted… I made him choke on the water.

Damn. Ugh, sorry brother!

He got up on a microphone and responded with “HAIL WILLIS!” and all was right with the world again. But I still felt like shit because I could have waited until he was finished drinking his water.

Lessons learned.

After that SIX MINUTE CENTURY got on stage and did what they had to do to melt everyone’s faces off.

At least the few people that were there. Trust me, I was totally pissed off about the fact that so few people were there. And it really irritated me to the point where I thought that once I returned home, I was going to jump on the soap box about it.

Evil Reign from San Antonio was after that. And I had hoped that they would not continue to announce where they were from, like the three piece band from the night before. That just got annoying. But Evil Reign, I bought a t-shirt and Dr. Froth got me a koozie. Awesome!!!

Then I realized that this was probably going to be my LAST show for SIX MINUTE CENTURY. Then it was announced that the new album would be released on the 15th of October of THIS year. And that they planned on having a release party on the 19th.

Later on, the family of Froth mentioned to me that they would take care of accommodations for me because I needed to be at that show. It was something that I just could not miss. So I will have at least one MORE show coming soon. Less than ten weeks from the time that I write this blog post.

When I got back to the hotel, there was no reason for me to go to sleep, since I was supposed to return for home at 7:55 AM. A couple of hours of sleep probably would have helped, but I just didn’t want to take the chance of absolutely crashing out and then sleeping in so late that I missed my bus ride home.

It would turn out to be almost an hour late arriving where I was and caused me to arrive home late about 20 minutes. Which was wild. The trip always started out a bit late, but would always gain back time. These drivers had to be smoking the gas pedal.

Sleep was to come at last after I made all contacts that I had to make once I got home. And again, I was reminded that outside of the show in October, this was going to be it. No more SIX MINUTE CENTURY shows for quite some time.

Its going to suck for sure.

But this last trip, I was glad to have made it. Even with the extra night, it was fantastic.

Dr. Froth’s Birthday Extravaganzas are ALWAYS a hit!!!!

 

 

 

9 August 2013: Family Ties With Echo Temple

“The family ties between hundreds of thousands of German families and their American relatives led many to think that America would never join a second war against Germany.”~Julius Streicher

The past weekend is going to definitely be memorable. And memorable in the most wonderful of ways.

Because I have been doing much better with kicking some nasty habits, I came into more money than usual. So this past weekend, was extended to include Friday night, as well to be able to see ECHO TEMPLE play live at Acadia Bar & Grill.

It was an unusual show for me since I was not with my friends there. I was virtually by myself. That’s if you don’t count the band ECHO TEMPLE or their families, at all.

I digress.

Although I just could not feel it for SIGNAL RISING and RAZOR DOVES. The bands who happened to be first and last for the evening. ECHO TEMPLE went on second, WELLBORN ROAD third.

But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I mean, I was there for most of the night.

I took my spot near the front of the stage when ECHO TEMPLE started to set up. I was being disrupted and distracted at that fact that there was a DOG inside the club. A dog… just walking around with a Corona bandana around its neck like it belonged there. I would see the dog throughout the entire night. I am guessing that it had to belong to one of the owners or something. It was still strange to see it.

One of the funniest moments of the evening was when the set lists were being passed out, guitarist John Wisser asked me if I wanted a program.

Usually those set lists are kept private or at the very least not talked about much. I just knew that my favorite song from ECHO TEMPLE “Witch” was going to be played at some point. But I still took the set list and then turned around and made the entire band autograph it. And that now makes the second item of band memorabilia that I have fully signed and autographed by the band.

Who’s Da Man???

I was also to secure a photograph of the entire band WITH me in it. I’m told that’s not been done too often. That its difficult to get everyone together. Especially since there’s FIVE of them in the band.

It was funny that guitarist John Wisser AND guitarist Sean Turcott had BOTH come up to me looking for a fist bump before they got started. So awesome!!!

Their set seemed to be shorter than what I remember. But nonetheless, I got “Witch” and as a matter of fact lead singer Tom Calandra dedicated the song to me, announced that came a long, long, long ways to get to the show and that the band knew I loved the song.

I reached up and gave thumbs up, but Tom grabbed me around the hand. I literally thought that he was going to pull me out of my wheelchair and drag me up on stage…. that would have been VERY BAD as I would only been able to lay there like a slug on stage. That’s just not attractive.

But I was thrilled that they would do that for me. It felt like I was fitting in with the band, or that they cared what their fans/listeners thought.

The band would hang out for the rest of the evening. And later it was stated that’s okay for me to hang out with the band. Even if I thought they were discussing band business. It was expressed that if whatever they were talking about was serious enough that they wouldn’t be talking about it in a club. But rather in private, so I shouldn’t have to be afraid to hang out with them and not join the conversation.

It was then that I realized I was not just a fan, but part of the ECHO TEMPLE family.

How much more awesome does this get???? First SIX MINUTE CENTURY. Now ECHO TEMPLE.

Wellborn Road got up on stage and practically melted my face off with their blinding style of lyrics and metal music. They are from College Station…. home of Texas A&M. What was interesting to note was that when the band started to play a group of people moved forward and stood there for the rest of the set. Looking like a wave of college students.  Holy Crap!! Everyone has their following! 

But I was impressed. I missed them when they opened for none other than ECHO TEMPLE back in March at the House Of Blues. I got to see them from beginning to end.

I got to talking to the lead singer for a little bit after promoter Rusty Conner made the original introduction. Before the guy knew it, I was wanting merchandise and as much as he could give it and as much as I could afford it.

I ended up with a couple of their CD’s, a t-shirt, and a download code. I wanted two shirts, but they didn’t have the size. They didn’t actually have the size that I was looking for to begin with and it proved that truly I am a size XXL in t-shirts. I had the Wellborn Road t-shirt on earlier and my belly was showing at the bottom. Unattractive.

We’ll see if Wellborn Road comes to my area now.

He saw the military tags around my neck and assumed. And a drunk did as well. Ended up getting a FREE drink from the drunk’s assumptions.

Meanwhile the dog kept walking back and forth, in and out of the club all night.

Then Razor Doves got on stage. Constantly announcing that they were from San Antonio. But I just couldn’t get into their vibe. I mean, I was clawing at the walls to get out of there!!!!

Razor Doves just isn’t for me. Neither is Signal Rising. Although Signal Rising had a cool looking t-shirt that I wanted, but nobody came to help me out in that. Who the hell am I supposed to give the money to???

All in all a wonderful night of music. A Prelude if you will… an appetizer for a second night of music that was to come.

Lessons In Irrefutibility

“This is truly a lesson in futility; man cannot be sure of anything more than his own existence, and even this is tenuous.”~ Author unknown

The image to the right is the basic building block to what started out as one lesson for one person and ended up being another lesson for many, and a warning for others.

I was in Houston for SIX MINUTE CENTURY this past weekend, and I promise to get to that blog post as soon as I can. But I felt that these lessons needed to be shared with you, the reader, first.

What you are viewing is a post of someone that I know who had said that they were going to the SIX MINUTE CENTURY show, but failed to arrive. Based on very few interactions with that person… this was looked at as an excuse as to why that person was absent.

The first lesson here can begin by seeing that the first thing deleted/censored out is my name. In other words, she tagged my name on Facebook. This post was originally on her own profile but since my name was tagged… it ended up being on mine as well.

Here’s the lesson: DON’T TAG PEOPLE IN RUN OF THE MILL, REGULAR DAILY FACEBOOK POSTS. You leave yourself wide open to the last SIX comments. The first was the person herself, offering what was revered to be another excuse on top of the one that was already provided. The second comment was that person’s friend offering their sympathy.

The rest was nothing but …. what I imagine….. was pure HELL for the original person who posted. Comment #3 began as a cautionary statement, and then the rest were simply brutal.

The following is a chain reaction to what  followed:

• A- Comments #4-7 were rough. Comment #8 would be the likely nail in the coffin.
• B- I deleted the original person who posted this mess from my Friends List on Facebook, when all I wanted was the truth out of them and I could not find it. With each trip that I took to Houston, I would tell this person that I would be there.. only to have her say “Oh cool. I’ll be there!” and then she not show up at all and then make excuses why she wasn’t there later… DAYS later, even after I had returned home.
• C- The original person would eventually delete the post. Then come to me in the Facebook inbox (where she should have went in the first place) and claimed innocence and wondered why these people were attacking, stating that their comments were very rude.
• D- The person blocked me on Facebook. I was not the one who blocked. But they did it.
• E- Nobody to my knowledge went after this person more than what you see in the image. Not on my side.
• F- This person had someone come after me and attack while defending HER.
• G- I had to block THAT attack from Facebook.
• H- This person went to the one who gave the cautionary comment, to try and plead her case only to find that this person that she was talking to was MY FRIEND and was going to back me up no matter what!!
• I- My realization that had escalated farther than what it should have. Which is my only regret.
• J- Thinking back, the image states that she was a different venue (different colors used to remove the names of venues) than where SIX MINUTE CENTURY was playing. And it didn’t make sense why she would be there.

Nobody is innocent in this situation. Her with her constant BS excuses as to why she didn’t show up to hang out or say hello or anything. But instead she went to my friend BELIEVING that I was “thinking” she and I were “more than friends” which was not true.

True, it would have been something that I would have welcomed, but I was wanting to spend time with her to get to know her.. and do it in person, and not over the Internet. You CANNOT HIDE when its in person. 

And I could have stopped it before it got out of hand. I could have removed the name tag from her post. But then again, I have NO control over what people were going to say. Not in the least.

Again, I am going to stress this lesson to EVERYONE:

DO NOT WILLY-NILLY TAG A PERSON’S NAME IN A FACEBOOK POST THAT YOU ARE WRITING. ESPECIALLY IF IT IS SOMEONE THAT YOU DO NOT REALLY KNOW.

Because of the tag on my name, she more or less asked for what she got, which was the comments that followed. She allowed it because by the name tagging, it created the opportunity for people to say what they did and of course it pissed her off.

And here’s a bonus lesson for those who are on Facebook or any other social networking websites and use them regularly.

If someone is having an argument or a fight….. keep your business to yourself.

The only reason why the people who commented on this doomed post was because they already knew about  the situation before today. A couple of them already frustrated that I was letting this woman get to me.

But when after I was blocked and the ‘war’ was over…. there was a man who came after me and was basically attempting to show that I was in the wrong 100% when he should have kept out of it.

Bulletpoint F.

The likelihood is that this woman went on a posting rampage AFTER blocking me…. seeking attention. And there it was, someone else thinking with their dicks instead of their brains.

I would most likely RETURN to a social equilibrium with this woman IF she were to apologize for giving the run-around. But that’s likely never to happen as she probably doesn’t see it this way at all. And even if she were to do so, I wouldn’t associate with her as much as I did before… which was barely at all to begin with.

So there’s really no HUGE loss here.

But allow this story to serve as lessons.  As if it were MY OWN cautionary tales for you all to soak in and absorb.

Don’t tell someone you are going to do it, if you have no intentions on doing it in the first place. Don’t lie. Don’t allow your personal emotions to get tangled. Learn that fire is always going to hurt no matter how many times you touch it. And learn when enough is enough.