Category Archives: Culture

I’m Taking Down The Tree

Culture, Family

My parents died in February 1975
It was a snowy night; yes – the classic car accident
Many questions were asked but they were no longer alive
I spent a lifetime pondering on what that tree really meant

With dead parents you really have nowhere to hide
And at just 12, your future is pretty hard to see
Feeling sorry for myself and wondering why they had died
The only thing I really knew – was I really really hated that tree

I am taking down the tree
I can’t keep holding it in
I am taking down the tree
It will be my greatest sin

As destiny had written it, my aunt ‘n’ uncle lived in That Town
For six long years the bus passed that dreadful tree
I learned it was an Alder, not something more renown
I vowed I would take an axe and have my ‘vengeful deed

Having a plan gave me focus, and being too young taught me patience
I was boastful of my plan, my friends kept asking “When?”
I couldn’t explain my hesitation, I answered them with silence
I learned a lot about trees those summers, and how commitments end

I’m taking down the tree
I can’t keep holding it in
I’m taking down the tree
It will be my greatest sin

I went to school on financial sympathy but plans lingered at home
A freshman now in February, a smoking Husqy now in hand
I stood before my antagonist to give back the pain I was loaned
The empty road cheered Husqy’s whine on Alder’s final stand

My face was right, I cut the whine so I could hear the crash
The tree, the Alder, no longer stood and now was just a stump
I cried, I wept, not quite satisfied, perhaps was I too rash?
But I knew that I was justified, no arbor jury could bump

I’m taking down the tree
I don’t have to hold it in
I’m taking down the tree
It was now my greatest sin

College days were now carefree, with obligations met
A girl, girlfriend, fiancee, wife; my life was moving fast
Our careers now moving, apartment to a house we could get
With love spilling over in a child, my parents, the tree – the past

But the tree was not gone, in the next town was our house
Trips to Nana n Papa’s forced a road I could not replace
But the stump was not dead, now covered with sprays of sprouts
Time ate my angry, but the tree – now a  bush, disgraced

I’ve taken down the tree
I’m no longer holding in
I’ve taken down the tree
It remains my greatest sin

One February day, beneath stark blues,  I told my son about my parents
I explained how it was to be a kid without them, leaving the pain implied
He looked down the road, with what I thought was avoidance
Finally he asked, “do you know which tree? do you know where they died?”

“This is the tree!” I pointed to the stump, but really a disgraced bush
My son walked to the bush and started breaking off branches
I joined him, as he shared in my anger; both of us it seemed to push
But his moves were more gentle, and he stayed my hand leaving one branch

I’m taking down the tree
I don’t have to hold it in
I’m taking down the tree
It was now my greatest sin

We stood at the harvest, a single tall branch above the stump’s plane
My son looked satisfied at the worked we had accomplished
“Why did you leave that one branch?” I asked, more complained
“You don’t want to kill it do you? It doesn’t deserve it”

I told him, “I’ve always hated that tree and what it did to me”
“Dad,” my son said, “the tree didn’t kill your parents
“and its still a living thing. I thought you loved the trees”
“I do,” I said, “just not this one.” Now my eyes in avoidance.

I’m taking down the tree
I have to hold it in
I’m taking down the tree
It was now my greatest sin

The afternoon with my son did not go as I had planned
I realized he had none of my angry, in fact he was confused
He was right, I had learned about trees and the woodland
I did enjoy the forest and in this understanding my angry diffused.

I wondered how I could learn so much from my own child
And realized that was his innocence, that I had long ago lost
While I cloaked this lost as wisdom, I swear Adulthood smiled
And in this, more then anything, I now comprehend my cost

I have taken down the tree
I don’t have to hold it in
I have taken down the tree
It is now my greatest sin

I dreamed about the Alder, stood before it’s enveloping brilliance
So bright I could only look at the ground and mangled trunk
“I know your anger, I too wept at your loss,” words into silence
“The argument, the deer; chain-reactions, past effects, had sunk”

“You are right on your loss, your innocence was too short,
Your son, he sees, as I had wished you could have seen as well
To honor your parents, I offer your pain this resort
Please honor them, remember them, in your son – there’s no farewell”

I have taken down the tree
I no longer hold it in
I have taken down the tree
Forgiveness for my greatest sin

In the morning the dream was there, like warm coffee and the sunrise
I found the shadows were lighter, heard my family awaken
Shivered remembering the Alder’s words but also I realize
The past had receded, like an extended crucifix on my demon

Now as we drive down the old troubling haunted road
We remark on the stump that still continues to grow
And sometime, when I have time, and as my life has mellowed
I sit on the stump, lean back on a young trunk – and look down that long road

I have taken down the tree
I no longer hold it in
A son resurrected a tree
Grace received – for my greatest sin

 

Adler Tree

Friday, Friday, Getting Down on Friday

Culture, Friday Fun, Music

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0

So have you heard the latest song to hate? Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’. If you haven’t seen it check it out. I didn’t see it until she appeared on Good Morning America to dispute critic’s claims she can’t really sing and she’s all auto-tune.

I was a little disappointed I was late to the feeding frenzy a couple weeks ago. I had not heard who Rebecca Black was – and I try to keep up on this music stuff. Not to be swayed by the critics, I found the origin video on youtube and judged for myself. If you know me, you know I say, if you don’t like something you’re not listening to it the right way. Initially its ok – the lyrics are lame, the chorus is catchy, the video starts out bad and really doesn’t get any better. Unfortunately the lyrics get worse and the video gets hokier. Then this aging rapper comes on…

The song has a catchy chorus in an annoying kind of way, the lyrics are horrible, the video is amateur and consistency doesn’t exist – but for an amateur video this is a huge leap – and that is the point. This is isn’t a record company video. This isn’t even an independent label. Well, it is but its a step below. Picture your high school doing a video class, this is just above that. This is Ark Music Factory.

The man behind Ark Music Factory is Patrice Wilson. He helps rich kids reach the dreams their money can buy. And we’re not talking Paris Hilton level rich, just ‘normal’ rich. For $2,000 – $4,000, he will write your kid a song and create a video. He’s a dream maker. But is he a star maker? No. That, honor goes to Daniel Tosh.

Huh? If you watch Rebecca Black’s video on Youtube, you will see “as see on Tosh.0” However, he didn’t feature it on his show – yet. By his posting it on his website, that caused the views to go from hundreds to millions. The first weekend I watched the video go from 12 million hits to 27 million. It is currently over 54 million.

Yes, its the most ‘thumbs down’ video I’ve ever seen. But I find it ironic that Miley Cyrus disses Rebecca (and Justin Bieber). Even with Disney and ‘million dollar studios’, I don’t think she sounds any better. Yes – her songs and videos are better but you get what you pay for.

So finally, is Rebecca and her family laughing all the way to the bank? Apparently Forbes got it wrong when they said she’s sold 2 million copies of ‘Friday’ (though I could not find the original article). According to Annie Lowery Rebecca should clear $40,000 (and probably closer to $50,000 now).

But some may say, “for that crappy song? you should should pay me!” and then you find out she’s donating her ‘Friday’ money to the relief effort in Japan. Really? Could she really be just a sweet kid – with rich parents – that made a video – that got a lucky break from Tosh.o – ignored death threats – and gave the money away? I guess we’ll find out when she releases her next song…

Devil of Detroit Street

Culture, Family

Have you heard this one? A family feud leads to a mother cyber-bullying the family of dying 7 year old girl. Worse then that, her and her husband taunt the child by driving around with a coffin in their truck, honking the horn and telling the kid “I can’t wait until you die.” This happened in Trenton, MI a suburb of Detroit and you can read the article here. And I haven’t mentioned the worst stuff.

The article was released last week and Jennifer Petkov, The Devil of Detroit Street, has already apologized for what she has done. What is impressive is, again, the cyber-response against this woman and her family. Facebook pages have gone up and come down already. Death threats, job threat and school threats to this woman’s family members. ‘They’ have organized a rally for the dying child and her family on October 23rd.

What strikes me is the indecency of what this woman has done. So if the internet not existed, would she have apologized? Had other news agencies not picked up this story would the world even know about this? Had I not selected ‘ABC News’ for my igoogle portal, would I even be aware of this story? And if you hadn’t gone to my webpage, would you be aware of this story? But should this story even exist?

This story hits me personally due to my own story. When my parents died in February of 1975, we were out of school for that week. The following Monday my brothers and sisters and I went back to school. The sixth graders lined up outside on the concrete stairway to a main entrance to the school on that freezing February morning. Patches of ice had formed in the alcove and boys, being boys, began sliding on these patches of ice. Sliding turned into pushing. And, inevitably, someone got hurt. I had pushed a boy who slipped, fell and hit his head on the iron railing. He was obviously in a lot of pain, and he struck back – verbally – “Too bad what happened to your old lady.”

You could hear the hush of the other kids. I could hear the frozen words echo, “to your old lady”  in my head. The doors opened and the sixth graders filed inside. The boy I pushed didn’t cry but we could see he was trying not to. I didn’t cry, but I had fight not to. Over thirty years now, those frozen words still echo, and I still fight against crying.

Eight words and thirty year seems like a long time to hold on to something. How long do you hang on to seeing your dying daughter’s face over cross bones or your dead wife’s face hugging the Grim Reaper last?

A sixth grade boy hurt by another sixth boy’s poor judgement can lash out with evil spiteful words but its a reaction to pain – and he’s only 13 years old. A mother Photoshops a dead wife/mother’s face with the Grim Reaper and posts it on Facebook? This neighbor taunts a dying 7 year old girl – “I can’t wait until you die.”

The Devil’s husband Scott says his wife’s “brutal honesty” has caused his family to “not get along with a lot of people.” “Brutal honesty”? Is there some truth that this woman is speaking that this dying child needs to hear? Is there some lesson this family needs to be taught? Isn’t the death in a family reason enough to back off of your feud? Doesn’t watching a second death unfold in the same family cause you to pause? to reflect on what’s really going on? You can only wonder how people justify their bad behavior to themselves.

The internet has gotten hold of her story and backlash, as you can imagine, has been harsh, immediate and quick. They have give the spending spree at a toy store. They are organized a rally for her.

And the Devil? She’s been arrested for trying run a neighbor over with her car, and has two of her own kids taken away.  You can call that Karma, Justice or God’s Will. But Kathleen Edward will never forget the words and the actions of that devil – even if she could live until she was 50, or even a 100, trust me.

The “I.D. Ten T.” Error

Culture, Family, Tech

” I.D. Ten T.” This is one of my favorite tech jokes. The premise is that two helpdesk people conversing on the phone, one is remote, the other is with the end user.

“Yep, it’s an I.D. Ten T. error” the tech with the end user will tell the second. Written out, the error code becomes – “I D 10 T” (or if you still don’t see it – ‘IDIOT’).

You all know a tech support person. They may not work as a tech support person, but in your life, they are the person you call when your computer (assuming a PC here) isn’t doing what it should – or at least what you think it should be doing. I play that role with many people I know. There are many evenings spent discussing computers problems or stops after work, or on the weekends to look at, install, uninstall, tweak, backup, restore, repair, reply, burn, download, delete, diagnose, quarantine and, sometimes, confirm a piece of hardware will be moving on to the next electronic recycling program…

“End Users”, the people using the software, are constantly ridiculed within the tech industry. Working in the tech industry, I am amazed on the lack of understanding of Windows by both technical and non-technical people.

So – to avoid an “I-D-10-T” Error, here are my suggestions:

  1. Don’t say NOTHING works unless its true. “Nothing works” means you have a power issue – first step is make sure things are plugged in. If you can’t get into windows then something must work for you to know that.
  2. Errors are important, tell your techsupport person if you have received one. Machines aren’t great communicators but when they do its usually pretty important so its important to let them know there is an error BUT…
  3. Don’t read the entire error message – unless asked to do so, a brief summary is usually sufficient. But some people insist on reading all 15 lines of the error message (Exception: this did mess me up with Phil when he found some spyware  on mom’s computer and the installed malware was a print driver that was called “Absolutely Bogus Printer Driver“)
  4. If you think you may have clicked on something you shouldn’t have, admit it. We don’t care if you were at a porn site – we’ve all been to one or two of those sites – it could save us both hours of wasted time.
  5. Advice: DON’T click on anything you’re not sure who it’s from. Really! All the techies say it and that’s because its true. IF you click on something you shouldn’t and you’re faced with a decision (“Would you like to install?”) DO NOT click on a button – ANY button. Instead, use the red ‘X’ in the upper right corner. Despite what the buttons are labeled, both buttons mean ‘Yes, install your malware and mess up my computer’.
  6. BitTorrents (Peer-to-Peer, or P2P) are easy ways to get free stuff (mp3’s, movies, etc.) but they are not to be trusted. I know Limewire is a favorite among kids for music but be sure your spyware and virus are current and up to date. It’s like paying for your drinks with raw steak in a tiger’s cage. And you wonder why the kid gets mauled? A kid once told me that Limewire does not affect laptops. “Now I know why tigers eat their young!”
  7. Spyware and Viruses are two different things. ‘Current’ and ‘updated’ are two different things. You could, and should, have two different spyware protection programs. I recommend Spybot and Ad-Aware as free programs. Keep them ‘current’ – meaning you have the latest versions of the program. Also, keep them up to date – meaning they have the latest listing of malware programs to protect you from.
  8. For virus protection programs, most (and I think all) ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) provide free virus protection programs. No one wants you to get a virus. In fact, it means more work for all of us. We have Comcast for our ISP. They currently offer a free version of Norton. AT&T/Yahoo offer a free version of McAfee. You will need to log into your accounts to get them. If you need a different program, I recommend Avast! (fyi – do not use the CNET download button, its an ad!). Same rules – keep your program current – meaning the latest version of the software and keep your program up to date – meaning the latest version of virus definition patterns. First thing I will do you make your stuff is current and up to date.
  9. Backup your data! Yea, more stupid advice that no one listens to but believe me it will happen to you. I once lost a new data drive 6 months after I bought it. My brother lost his external drive when it fell off his desk. I use Syncback. However, this program is not free – its $30 and you can put it on up to 5 pc’s (that’s $6 a PC). Do it and someday you may thank me.
  10. Finally, if I do work on your computer, don’t call me up and complain about my work. I don’t charge for working on computers (though I have taken beer for work I’ve done). It worked when I left. If you do pay for support, keep in mind they will make sure it works. Sometimes that shortest distance is a complete reinstall (see #9). And if I leave a note in your startup folder that pops up every time you start your computer – that just means I like you.

Hardrock, Coco and Joe

Culture, Family

It’s hard to get the kids to understand how we watched TV. During the holidays we would rush home in time to watch Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. For an hour we were hypnotized by the stop-go animation of Rankin and Bass. After it was over we would be shooed off to bed and spend the next few weeks discussing what we saw with our friends, not to be repeated until the next year.

Another sign of Christmas were the short holiday cartoons on our local Garfield Goose show. There were three magical cartoons – Frosty The Snowman, Suzi Snowflake and The Three Little Dwarfs or more commonly known as ‘Hardrock, Coco and Joe’; of which we would sing endless at recess to our teachers’ chagrin.

So, if you are old enough, feel free to see along – “Ol-die old lady o lady eye oh….”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDM6Bbt9WDY[/youtube]

We Need Historic Change

Culture, Politics

As we begin to see the biting winds of this economic whirlwind bear down on us we begin to cling to what is most important. Remember when I start my blog I said we do not want to see ‘historic’ changes – be it weather, economic or in our lives.

Ah, you caught it – sometimes ‘historic changes’ in our own lives are good – weddings, births, etc. and some are bad – deaths, accidents, etc. We want the good things and accept and grow around the bad things.

Of course we all want everyday to be 78 degrees, a slight breeze and sunny. But we take the rain, survive the cold and pray through the hurricanes. With the economy we take advantage of the good years, hunker down to weather the slow downs and tell stories of how bad it was during the last recession. Well, the times they are a changin’ – and they are changing in historic ways.

We are in another Vietnam with the Iraq War; we are trillions of dollars in debt; Wallstreet is sending our retirement years further away; and we are watching a recession (or depression?) develop before our eyes. These are historic events.

I am not a political person. I like technology, I like science, I like music. My friend Ralf is very current and much more politically aware then myself. Personally, I believe both major parties to be corrupt and a tragedy to democracy.

When W came on the scene Ralf said, “this guy is bad news.” My thought was, well of course he is, he’s a politician. I voted Libertarian, but Ralf was right. Our turn of the century Joe Six Pack with the White House address was pissing off foreign dignitaries repeatedly. We were beginning to see he really was just a regular guy and maybe he wasn’t presidential quality. Though when 9/11 happened, it was comforting to see ‘our father figure’ reflecting our anger and the injustice done to us as a nation. But then we again saw – he wasn’t presidential quality. The only way to lead is by example, and he led us into an unjustified war with Iraq and made-up WMD.

The next term Ralf begged me to vote against W. I could see we went to war under false pretenses. While I wasn’t a democrat, I could see Ralf was right – W couldn’t get another term. So I voted for John Kerry. And I was floored when W won a second term, many of us were. A month ago I saw a bump sticker that said “Jan 20, 2009 – The End of an Error.” Thank God for two term limits.

In this presidential election, we are faced with historic obstacles. Such obstacles demand a historic response. We need to elect the first Muslin president of these United States.   Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I find it incredible that there are people out there that a) still think Obama is Muslin and b) that it matters. Well, it matters as much as it would that he’s black.

As both candidate profess – we need a change. Logically, you must first decide, are you electing an individual that can actually cause change or are the presidential candidates merely figureheads in front of political machines? Personally, I believe the Bobblehead Theory – they will nod forever telling us yes to everything we want to hear. In this scenario, the only answer is to vote the Democratic party in and change the current machine that’s running. My personal plans is to vote out everyone who is in office or replace the previous party.

If you believe an individual truly can lead dispite their party affliation and think McCain is the Mavrick he proclaims to be, check out why William F. Buckley’s son Christopher, a long time Republican and until recently McCain supporter, is now supporting Obaman (thanks for the article Ralf). McCain has been very pointed with his critism of ACORN and “what may be one of the great voter frauds in history.” And there is some truth in that statement – some (thanks Jeff). And can anybody honestly say, Sara Palin was the best choice for VP from the Republicans? Especially when she doesn’t know what the vice president does (thanks Dave)?

Obama is currently ahead by 8 points, he has 277 electoral votes and now has reserved Grant Park in Chicago for his victory party. It appears we are on the verge of a historic presidential election. But before the Democrats get too full of themselves – realize once again our country is not run by one man, or woman. The current state of our country is more like thirty flaming bags of dogshit on the White House porch. And as much as Obama and the Democratic machine tries to stomp out those flames, there’s going to be dog shit everywhere. And believe me, its going to stink up more than just the White House. From what I heard, it was a historic turd Spot’s been taking for the last eight years.