Palmetto Phree Dumb's Musings

Another Rant Amout Illegals

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:45:00 +0000

A Quote from the above linked article:

Latino supporters are up in arms about the way [Oklahoma] now views illegal immigrants who have been here for many years.

So, the longer you are allowed to carry on breaking the law, the less the law should be enforced. By that logic, a bankrobber who pulls off one job should be arrested and thrown in jail, but one who has evaded capture fore years should have his actions condoned. Interesting.

Rat Race

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:28:00 +0000

I have been doing what I ought not do:

1. Blog when I need to work for the billable hour.
2. Read anything associated with La Diable (Oprah, to the uninitiated)

I was tricked into it from a link on CNN.Com. It's an op-ed piece by a single mom, writing for O Magazine. Sounds like me, right? OK-not me, but I do understand the feeling of Social ADD. Of being caught in the frenzy that attacks so many white collar professionals, no matter what their situations. I can't-am not allowed to-focus on anything. I am pulled all over, in many directions, never allowed to go straight ahead long enough to get anywhere.

You start on a project and get a call-better take care of that right away, will only take a sec, then someone asks you a question, you have to answer, then that email you were waiting for and the boss wants to see you and Billy stops by for a chat to see the new baby pics--you will not miss an opportunity to show them off--then it is time for that meeting and it is 3:00PM and you have been there for 6 hours and billed .1 hours. oh. my. plug in the iPod, crank it and get working.

Add to it the new daughter-prettiest thing ever shaped by the hand of God and the Bear-Cutest, roughest, tumblest little boy in the universe! Pressure to be The Dad. I have no dreams of being Super Dad, but I have a need to be there and to overcome my own shortfalls in parenting. I said I would not be that dad working 80hours a week and only seeing my kids 30 minutes every other day. I don't want that. To me, that would be failure. It's 5:30 I've now billed .4 hours. Go home or stay? I would like to say that my family is always priority #1, but If I am late some, will they fire me from the Dad Possition?

I have to provide, and I do OK. I don't want to be fired and I want to be better. I want to know that I have given it what I can and that I have been GREAT. I never want to be the best. I just want to be GREAT. I want to be the guy that everyone knows and they all trust my work and my word. I want to be well thought of on many levels. I feel a great amount of pressure right now to excel. I also feel that if I am going to excel, now is the time to do it. My window of opportunity is NOW. I must act. I want to give it all to my family, and this is the only way I know how.

Have I mentioned my High Blood Pressure yet? no joke. that's what a pressure cooker can do.

I have heard it called the rat race. I once had a roommate who had two pet rats. They were pretty cool, as far as rodents go. They would roll around in their plastic balls and sit in their cage. They died.

I don't know why they call it the "rat race." Rats don't race. They don't compete.

It is a race, a competition. To win what? Against whom? It is against Time and it is to be out of the race-I think I am competing for an end to the frustration and pressure.

I hav this idea that self-discipline is the way to go. Maybe. I get so little done because I am not disciplined and must be doing something wrong. Discipline to tell others to bugger off, to not let the exeternal tell me what to do. To control my life.

The only thing I should really control is whether or not I give it to God and let him control it. I cannot accomplish any more by working from sunrise to sunset than God will have me accomplish. He has provided and will. But it is hard. It is hard to let God control and to trust so that I don't play whack a mole with my day. On the days I let God tell me where to put my energy, I am so much happier and productive. He will handle the brushfires and the wildfires If I trust and listen.

The Rumors of The Death of this Blog Have Been Greatly Exadgerated

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:59:00 +0000

But that's OK. I am here. A lot has happened and continues to happen.

Lemme Sum Up:

Sweetpea will be with us any day now.
Bear is walking and being the wild bear he is.
I am in what the locals call "The ATL" or "el ATL" and loving my new job.
I am still taking people's homes from them. Perfect job for a hardhearted guy like me. And it is not my fault that you got a mortgage you should have known you can't pay. Now move out!
Currently trying to rent out our house in the LEX and to get by here in the ATL.
The pumpkin Spice Latte is not what it used to be

On that last point.--what gives? I don't know if they are putting less syrup in them or if my tastebuds are mutating, but the pumpkin spice latte, that KING of caffenated beverages--nay, the veritable Emporer of All Things Consumable!!-----just isn't as good as it once was. It tasted to me like your regular, run-of-the-mill latte.

I want to cry.

I almost did.

Its like that part of my youth is past me. In Pereladra, CS Lewis postulates that part of the pleasure of pleasure is the memory. I want to agree with him, but can't. I experienced something wonderful in the Pumpkinspice Latte. I remember it being so so good and I want it again. Memory is part of the pain.

As human I want to capture the Pumpkin Spice and have it always be as good as it once was. I want it year round and for it to always be as good as it once was. But cannot do this. Those things we always have are not those things we enjoy the most and are not the things we automatically put the most value on. This is the basis for economic theories and life. If I could always have the Pumpkinspice, I would eventually grow bored and not enjoy it or I would not like it but would not feel right if I didn't have it. It would control me and I would not have the pure innocent joy I once did. I would think I enjoyed it, but what I was really enjoying was only the temporary release from the fear of never getting it again.

I have come to accept that the golden age of the Pumpkin Spice has passed. It is over. All I can do is wait for the next great thing. And it's a good thing! At$5.00 a hit-this is not a cheap habit.

Performance enhancing scandals

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:04:00 +0000

For those of you who are completely unable to emotionally handle all the allegations and admitting of the use of performance enhancing drugs, I suggest you don't read this article.

Yes, it appears that Willie Nelson has been taking performance enhancing drugs. These drugs were used by Nelson and his band to gain and advantage over competitors in the song writing stage and in the stage performance stage. Nelson could not be reached for comment, but in the past he has never been afraid to flaunt his drug use, even appearing is such movies as Half-Baked as an aged, stoned-out-of-his-gourd-rock-n-roller. Now a source claims that the drugs found were for medicinal purposes, and the shrooms were for he secret spaghetti sauce he will be selling at a new chain of restaurants he's opening some time in 2008, Red Willie's.

The music industry has long been plagued with the use of performance enhancing substances by all parties involved, from performers to managers to roadies to even the fans. Sen. Hilary Clinton (D. New york) has vowed to form a committee to study the effects of these drugs on senators.

Where am I and What am I doing here?

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 12:24:00 +0000

or is it What am I and Where am I doing here?

I'm not sure.
I am sure that when I typed in "where am I and what am I doing here?" I found this image:

I am waiting to start work. This I know. I have been hired by a law firm to do foreclosure work and title work. Sounds great. Should learn a lot. I asked that if God didn't want me to get the job, that I wouldn't. Might sound silly or immature way to approach it at first, but I needed a job and felt that God understood how hard it would be for me to turn anything down. Especially something in one of the fields I wanted to practice in. He told me that would be OK. I got the job. It is where he wants me.

What now?

Well, I still have to finish my Rule 403 trial observances. God hase been really good to me and I have gotten them done quite quickly. I started three weeks ago with nuttin' and now I only have two criminal trials to watch.

I am praying for my new job. I want to do really well. I want to learn more quickly than they give me time for and I want to bring in more business than they expect. I am going to be only the second attorney at the office and my boss wants to double the firm every 12-18 months. good. If I do it right it means I could advance quickly in the company. 'doing it right' means learning as much as I can as quickly as I can about what ever it is I can. It also means bringing in business. I think the second may be more important. I don't believe I would be correct if I just sat back and let people come to me. Some attorneys do hand their client volume over to God. and He really blesses them. I don't feel I'm wired that way.

I want to be a networker. I want to contact people and have people that contact me. I feel this to be very important. I am currently in the process of testing this idea with God. Is this really who he wants me to be? Is this how he wants me to function? If so, I know that it will still come from Him. I know nothing-nothing...about what to do regarding networking. I know that I can talk to a lot of people, and, at least at first, most people like me. I think I could have been more successful in this in the past but I've been lazy about conections and people I've met. I can't do that any longer.

I have been reading a book called 'Never Eat Alone.' It is a self-help how to network guide. I usually don't like self-help books because the only person they help is the author getting your money. But I really like this one. What he says is really practical, sensible and he gives failrly detailed steps about what you have to do to get your network up and going. i'm really looking foward to this. I just pray that I don't get to absorbed in the business world and forget what I'm here for. I'm not afraid of success, and there are some christians who are. i just don't want to worship it or forget what the purpose is for any gift from God.

To that end, I have been trying to read about systematic theology lately. I found Burkholf's book online so I'm reading that. I think that could be a useful tool to examine what I really believe about Christ and God and where that comes from in the Bible. I need that now that I am a daddy. I have to teach my son about God, Jesus and the bible.
Wifey pointed out the other day, quite gently, but effectively, I need more explanations than I previously had. I have floated through my life and faith with this (not incorrect) idea that God is all powerful, sent his son to die and if we believe we are sinners and claim His promise of salvation as well as recognize him as Lord, we will be with Him. I have come to see that as not enough. There is more to be understood, and that explanation, while satisfactory to my heart, it not enough to explain to anyone else. Even now I feel the explaination to be inadequate---and it is! So, I must refine these ideas. It is a useful study aid to think "What am I going to teach my son?" And i think systematic theology is a tool that will help me to do that and to dig through scriptures. we'll see.

This, afterall, is FAR more important than any paying job I will ever have. I have so much to learn all the time. I guess that the fall has always been a time of new learning and this fall is no different.

101 ways to add insult to injury.

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:04:00 +0000

The Smoking Gun has an example of the insensitivity of corporations. I couldn't believe it when I read that Northwest Airlines has in its firing package (I think that is a bit odd, myself. you get fired you get fired. No real need to have it explained to you in brochure format. I wonder how many employees salaries it costs to print those things.) So they have these firing packages and in it they were going to include a list of "101 ways to save money". You can see the list there. Now, I realize that the firing packages are a good idea. It tells people what their options are, what will happen to any stock options, any 401(K) plans, etc. But it is down right insulting to tell the now jobless former employees that "if you see something in the trash you like, don't be ashamed to take it". So, go ahead, dumpster dive. it's ok. Other tips include thrift store shopping, seeking out hand-me-downs from friends, and shorter showers. Hey, why not forget the showers altogether if you're just going to become one of the unwashed masses now that Northwest doesn't want to employ you any longer. Why not also hand out army surplus jackets and rickety shopping carts. Maybe a map of all the soup kitchens in the area. A facebook of all the soft touches so they will know who to target with their panhandling. Hey, there's an idea! A how to guide for panhandling.

sheesh. what's wrong with these people.

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 13:18:00 +0000

Cindy Sheehan has decided to go on a hunger strike.

Big Whoop. What exactly is that supposed to tell me. I already knew this was something she felt strongly about. I don't agree with her, but I am aware that she's not ok with the goings on in Iraq. So, I wish her well, and maybe this will do more for her than Rosie's Chub Club.

Another thing--people are getting all fired up over the 2,500 soldiers killed in Iraq and thousands of Iraqis. Yeah, one death is bad...but let's get some perspective. In World War I, 15 MILLION were killed. In World War II, 66 MILLION were killed. The Russians alone lost 22 MILLION. The Vietnam war claimed over 2 MILLION.

I do question the wisdom of the initial invasion. I thought at the time it was a bit early, but maybe not. We had this crazy dictator who had attacked his neighbors before, saying he had nuclear weapons. I think that he really believed he did and his scientists were just lying to him. The UN kept trying to go in there and 'inspect' and he kicked them out 16 times. Sixteen!!! How long can we let a threat like that go and only punish him by 'talking.' and I hear all these whines about what about the iraqi people? We don't want to kill innocents. Yeah, we don't, but at the same time the president of the United States is not there to protect the innocent Iraqis. He is there to protect Americans. There was a plausible threat, and a leader who would do nothing to give us assurances that the threat was not real. We could not be entirely sure what he would do. No, there were no WMDs, but from a risk management point of view, the right thing was done.

Now our troops are there and we cannot leave. If we do there will be a power vacuum and who knows what will happen to the iraqis on the weaker side of that struggle.

so Cindy, good luck on your diet, and I hope you can fit into your size 4s by the end of the summer.

Life or Death

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:42:00 +0000

Your Life Depends on Clicking This Link!!

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 03:21:00 +0000

Alot of people come down here and live for a few years and think they are South Carolinians. They then begin to adopt the South Carolina Flag.

They fly it on their porches, wear it on their belts, it's on their flip flops. It is a beautiful and symbolic flag. I bet that if you ask them about it, most could tell you that the crescent comes from the crescent worn on the hats of the revolutionaries; and the palmetto tree represents the first major battle of the revolutionary war that was won thanks to the soft trunks of the palmetto trees that absorbed the cannon balls of the british gun boats. They may also say this was designed by Moultrie after the revolutionary war. There they are wrong. The flag they designed by Moultrie looked like this:And the crescent on the blue background was the South Carolina flag, until 1861. In 1860 a red flag with crescent and a star and two ends was flown in Charleston when secession was announced and spread throughout the state.

The state leaders saw the need to adopt a flag that was different from the state flag flown while in the union. They looked back to the last revolution and the heroes of South Carolina. They identified themselves with those revolutionaries of a previous age. That was when they adopted the Palmetto tree.

South Carolina's flag of the revolution still flies high above the capital. People get angry about the confederate flag and forget the meaning of the flag on the straps of their beach sandles. It doesn't mean hate. It doesn't mean slavery. It means Pride, Freedom, and a certain independent spirit we still have.

Bonnie Blue Flag Lyrics

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:44:00 +0000

LYRICS to the Bonnie Blue Flag

We are a band of brothers,
Native to the soil
Fighting for the property
We gained by honest toil.
And when our rights were threatened,
The cry rose near and far;
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star!

chorus:
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights, Hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star!

As long as the Union
Was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and brethren,
kind were we, and just;
But now, when Northern treachery
Attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue flag
That bears a single star.

First gallant South Carolina
Nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama
And took her by the hand;
Next, quickly, Mississippi,
Georgia, and Florida,
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue flag
That bears a single star.

Ye men of valor gather round
The banner of the right,
Texas and fair Louisiana
Join us in the fight;
Davis, our loved President,
And Stephens statesmen are;
Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.

And here's to brave Virginia,
The Old Dominion State.
With the young Confederacy
At length has linked her fate.
Impelled by her example,
Now other States prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue flag
That bears a single star.

Then here's to our Confederacy,
Strong we are and brave,
Like patriots of old we'll fight,
Our heritage to save.
And rather than submit to shame,
To die we would prefer
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue flag
That bears a single star.

Then cheer, boys, cheer,
Raise a joyous shout
For Arkansas and North Carolina
Now have both gone out;
And let another rousing cheer
For Tennessee be given
The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag
Has grown to be eleven!

This song was sung at the beginning of the war for Southern Independence. It represents the feeling of those going out to fight. The flag was never officially adopted, but I think that makes it better. The Confederacy was beaten, but The South still lives.

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Wed, 31 May 2006 21:35:00 +0000

I have travelled out of the country a half dozen times in the last 11 years. Not a lot, but greater than average for an American. I went to the wilderness of Canada when I was 15. I spent a month in Angers, France at 17, 10 days in London, England at 18, 6 months in Rennes, Britany (France) when I was 20, I was in Normandy 8 months straddling my 23rd birthday and finally I spend a month in London in May of 2004. I love Europe. I want to always return. It rests in my memory as a cool, relaxing place where I can drink coffee in the shadow of Notre Dame de Paris, visit the site of the beginning of the Holocaust, read a book in a park formerly only designated for kings. Talk to many strangers or to no one. But everytime I go, I look foward to returning home. Not to the United states of America, but to South Carolina.
I love this state. I love the south. Unfortunately I was largely ignorant of the past of the state, and I still am. But I'm not dead yet! I learn constantly about this state and it's history and I find myself getting really passionate about it. I am not normally a passionate man. BUT the more I learn the more worked up I get.
About what? you may ask...well, cronologically speaking, the first thing is the War of Northern Aggression. Or, if you prefer, the War Between the States, or The Great Unpleasentness of the Nineteenth Century. Whatever, you know what I'm talking about. I used to balk at people who said the war wasn't about slavery. I was ignorant. Yeah, ok, it was a part of it. The south was scared to free the slaves. Freed slaves were known to lead BLOODY revolts.
That aside, how do you think the succession came about? Every state that succeeded did so only after a popular vote. This did constitute only White males who owned land, but that was the same voting class in the north. So the voters decided they did not want to be a part of the United States. They wanted the federal goverrnment to peacefully hand over the military installations in their territories. Lincoln said no, continued to send more troops to the forts, forcing the south to stop it or have the rest of the world believe they were not truly independent. The fired. Lincoln knew exactly what he was doing. Then the north INVADED the south.
More recently I am upset at the new invasion of yankees and southerners who welcome them, obsequeously trying to please them because they have money. And the yankees come in and think they can 'fix' the south. It ain't perfect, but don't you dare tell me that you come down here and think you can fix it. Why did you leave the north if it was so perfect? Don't you realize you're going to just mess up the south like you did the north. If you want to fix it, GO HOME! You are not from the south if you moved down here with your husband and 3 brats 20 years ago. You are an alien. I'm still learning, exploring what it means to be southern.

William Faulkner wrote:

“For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago....

William Faulkner, Intruder In The Dust”

I'm a bit late, but that feeling stirs in me more all the time.

The flag at the top is the Bonnie Blue Flag and was the first unofficial flag of the Confederacy. It was never officially adopted, but was common, in different forms, and still persists. It is better than the Southern Cross, that is so commonly seen, especially at the grounds of South Carolina's capital. It is a symbol of the spirit of the true south.

I'm still not sure what the true south is. It's not hate or racism. I'm sure I've met some African-Americans that are a southern as anyone.

It's got pride, and honor, and civility, and treating others like they have value whether or not they do. It's about doing the right thing. It's about holding on the the past for the value of the past. But it's not close-minded. You don't need to embrace everything just because it's new and different. Just because something is easier, doesn't make it better. It's about the soil, and feeling connected to it. It's also about sweet tea and collards and family. It's about believe that there could be no better place on earth to be born, raised, married, and to raise your own family.

maybe.

anyone out there?

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 18 May 2006 00:45:00 +0000

I did attempt to blog, but it got eaten so I decided to wait a while. I'm supposed to be studying now, but I'm not. This year has been one of change, challenge, excitement, and lots of other stuff. getting married, buying a house, graduating law school, having a baby, taking the bar, finding a job...lots of stuff. It's one of the toughest times, and blogging doesn't fit much into the equation. Even wifey has slacked off on her blogging. NO ONE is blogging. I feel even more issolated than ever. And I have felt issolated. I guess you can only do so much in a day, and now that I'm in another town than I was, no one is around. I read blogs from my former life, but it seems more and more distant and more an more alien. I'm married now. I'm different. I guess. What's to become of that old life? Will it fade? It's gone. It's in the past. The future is not just coming, it's not just knocking at the door. It has presented it's card and is waiting in the parlor. For me.

Seems to me that getting married means you have to give your life a few years to readjust. Right now, I miss people. It's funny because I'm around people all day, but it's in class, and there is no real communication, except for about the class. I keep planning on calling up some guys to go and get lunch or whatever. But I never seem to have the time. Study. That's it. and spend time with wifey. there is no time for anything else. My relationship with God is even more distant than it way. adjustments.

I go through and I read these blogs of people I used to seen on a daily basis. I'm not a thought in their lives any more. It kind of hurts that I am so fungible...or worse frivolous. Then I think. I'm thinking of a me v. them mentality. little ol' me and big ol' THEM. As if 'others' are a single organism with great power to reach out. Nothing but individuals. Like me. with problems, and worries, and concerns, and new people constantly in their lives.

The dust will settle, skys will clear, and I will get settled is this stage of life just in time to move on to the next one.

Cheers.

suing satan

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 22:05:00 +0000

The following is a decision from a case called ex Rel Mayo v. Satan and his staff

WEBER, District Judge.
Plaintiff, alleging jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 241, 28 U.S.C. § 1343, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 prays for leave to file a complaint for violation of his civil rights *283 in forma pauperis. He alleges that Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff's downfall.
Plaintiff alleges that by reason of these acts Satan has deprived him of his constitutional rights.
We feel that the application to file and proceed in forma pauperis must be denied. Even if plaintiff's complaint reveals a prima facie recital of the infringement of the civil rights of a citizen of the United States, the Court has serious doubts that the complaint reveals a cause of action upon which relief can be granted by the court. We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district. The complaint contains no allegation of residence in this district. While the official reports disclose no case where this defendant has appeared as defendant there is an unofficial account of a trial in New Hampshire where this defendant filed an action of mortgage foreclosure as plaintiff. The defendant in that action was represented by the preeminent advocate of that day, and raised the defense that the plaintiff was a foreign prince with no standing to sue in an American Court. This defense was overcome by overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Whether or not this would raise an estoppel in the present case we are unable to determine at this time.
If such action were to be allowed we would also face the question of whether it may be maintained as a class action. It appears to meet the requirements of Fed.R. of Civ.P. 23 that the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, there are questions of law and fact common to the class, and the claims of the representative party is typical of the claims of the class. We cannot now determine if the representative party will fairly protect the interests of the class.
We note that the plaintiff has failed to include with his complaint the required form of instructions for the United States Marshal for directions as to service of process.
For the foregoing reasons we must exercise our discretion to refuse the prayer of plaintiff to proceed in forma pauperis.
It is ordered that the complaint be given a miscellaneous docket number and leave to proceed in forma pauperis be denied.
W.D.Pa., 1971
UNITED STATES v. SATAN AND HIS STAFF
54 F.R.D. 282

Lose yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:44:00 +0000

I hate to say it, but there are some Eminem songs I like. There is one I really like. I love the message of Lose Yourself. There are times that you only get one shot at something. You have to lose yourself in that one moment. God is there, but you have an obligation to give it all you have. Lose yourself in that moment. I also like the idea that there's one moment, but you might get other chances for one moment. You get one chance at each opportunity. When you do fail at that one chance, don't let the dream die, you have to keep trying for that next opportunity. To bad he's got such a potty mouth.

Album: 8 Mile Soundtrack (2002)
Song: Lose Yourself

Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted…One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti
He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out
He’s chokin, how everybody’s jokin now
The clock’s run out, time’s up over, bloah!
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy
Is he? No
He won’t have it , he knows his whole back city’s ropes
It don’t matter, he’s dope
He knows that, but he’s broke
He’s so stacked that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that’s when it’s
Back to the lab again yo
This whole rap shit
He better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him

Chorus X2

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

The soul’s escaping, through this hole that it’s gaping
This world is mine for the taking
Make me king, as we move toward a, new world order
A normal life is borin, but superstardom’s close to post mortar
It only grows harder, only grows hotter
He blows its all over, these hoes is all on him
Coast to coast shows, he’s know as the globetrotter
Lonely roads, God only knows
He’s grown farther from home, he’s no father
He goes home and barely knows his own daughter
But hold your nose cuz here goes the cold water
These ho's don’t want him no mo, he’s cold product
They moved on to the next schmoe who flows
He nose dove and sold nada
So the soap opera is told and unfolds
I suppose it’s old potna, but the beat goes on
Da da dum da dum da da

Chorus X2

No more games, I’ma change what you call rage
Tear this #$#%@#$% roof off like 2 dogs caged
I was playin in the beginnin, the mood all changed
I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhymin and stepwritin the next cypher
Best believe somebody’s payin the pied piper
All the pain inside amplified by the fact
That I can’t get by with my 9 to 5
And I can’t provide the right type of life for my family
Cuz man, these @#$#$ food stamps don’t buy diapers
And it’s no movie, there’s no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life
And these times are so hard and it’s getting even harder
Tryin to feed and water my seed, plus
Teeter totter, caught up between bein a father and a prima donna
Baby mama drama’s screamin on and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotomy
Has gotten me to the point, I’m like a snail
I’ve got to formulate a plot fore I end up in jail or shot
Success is my only @#$#$% option, failure’s not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer has got to go
I cannot grow old in Salem’s lot
So here I go is my shot.
Feet fail me not cuz maybe the only opportunity that I got

Chorus X2

You can do anything you set your mind to, man

Stressers and Learning to remember

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 22:15:00 +0000

A good friend of mine said that in life there are these things called "stressers." They are large life changes. Graduating, buying a home, getting married, having a baby, etc. Normally, he says, people like to space these things out. Not do them all in a year. Oh well, I'm not normal. I think I am where God wants me, but it's harder than ever imagined.

My walk with God has been nearly nonexistent lately. I am under curshing amounts of stress that it's all I can do to not pull my hair out, literally. Trying to get out of a lease, trying to close on a home, pregant wife, move, study, find a job...you get the picture. I have been a basket-case.

The othernight at house church God took me by the shoulders and made me look him straight in the eye, so to speak.

There was a new guy there I had been introduced to the week before. I had heard he was a really 'good' guy. And good in its compeletly literal sense, not the ambiguous maybe he's really a jerk sense. I wanted to talk to him, but didn't get the chance. This week he was back and I felt compelled to get to know him. I don't know why. I know this sounds a little homosexuelle in today's world, but it's not. I wanted to know this guy. I think God wanted me to know this guy. I can say for sure God wanted me to talk to this guy at least this once. So wifey and I are standing in the kitchen and he's there, and I'm strying to strike up a conversation with no luck. I begin to feel this compulsion--and no other word would describe the feeling--to ask him how he became a christian. I normally would not presume to ask such a thing of someone I first met. But I knew he was a christian, and There was this feeling. And all three of us began to talk, and to glorify God with stories of what he's done. We talked for quite a while, all three of us. It was exactly what I was needing. It was God firmly reminding me of who He is and everything He can do. I was not giving Him any credit. I don't remember what else we talked about, but it was a very up lifting conversation, even though I think I did most of the talking. God was just reminding me of a lot of stuff.

The next morning I woke up...the day was stressful and I really didn't handle it well at all. I failed, repeatedly and was just as stressed as before. But today I determined to apply my newly remembered knowledge from church. And it was stressful, but I think I handled it better and am getting better at letting God do it.

I'm gonna be a Dad. Baby needs to grow up in a home where he parents trust God as a matter of reflex.

Trade in

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 18:14:00 +0000

There once was a man (this man) who had a wife (this wife)Who was, as any one can see, CrAzY in all sorts of ways. She unfortunately flipped one day and killed their children. The man was a member of the Church of Christ, so he stayed with her saying she's sick. She didn't know what she was doing. She needs help. But that only lasted a few years. Eventually, he got tired of his child-murdering wife being behind bars. Or maybe he really was tired of being married to the woman who killed his kids? Or maybe he was tired of being married to a woman who looked crazy. Or maybe he just got tired of being married to her. One day he divorced his psychotic wife, who was one of the most a-maternal people ever.

Now he is married to the new improved, not gonna kill children, probably the one the church found for him to marry wife. (this wife)

This one doesn't look so crazy, but who knows what evil lies in the hearts of the wives of this man?

What a JERK!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:06:00 +0000

click the title.

Q: What do you call a man who uses nothing more than a woman's word for birth control?

A: Father!

I know this is in detroit, and it's not likely that it'll go a whole lot farther than detroit, but still, it pisses me off. You contributed to life. You had sex with this woman. now deal with it. He needs to realize that legally, once a baby is born there is nothing in the legal system that takes more priority in our courts. Courts make some crazy rulings to protect kids. And they should! Not that I think this jerk should have anything to do with this kids life, but calling it roe v. wade for men shows how ignorant he is. I do not agree with Roe v. Wade on any level. Legally, it's one reason I love Scalia so much, but as it stands now, it is not the same. This idiot needs someone to tell him that RvW is based on a woman's right to do what she wants with her body. There's a lot in that sentence that sends chills down my back, but that's what it says. It's not about whether or not someone wants to be a mommy. He's not being asked to be a father. The legal system is saying that you willingly had sex with this woman, who got pregnant. because the kid has half your DNA you have to pay some of the bills. Yeah, it doesn't seem fair. But if it wasn't like that the kids would suffer. Sadly, there is still a difference in salary between men and women in the work place today. Most women can afford it, but it would be a struggle. Heck! It's gonna be a struggle with any child support this man is forced to pay. I hope the judge puts this jerk in his place.

Dog Story

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:14:00 +0000

I saw the headline of this article: Dog comes with House, according to Contract, and I thought it was going to be a cute funny story about some nut who wanted to get rid of a dog so made it so the dog went with the house.

Instead, I found a story about how an elderly couple was lonely, having out lived their friends and never having had kids. They got a dog, but the wife was sick with Alzheimers and the man couldn't take care of her by himself so they moved to a nursing home together. The nursing home didn't allow dogs. They left the dog at the house where friends and relatives would feed and take care of him, until it sold. They didn't want to just take the dog to the shelter, so they put a clause in the contract for sale that said the dog went with the house and the original owner could visit him. A young couple who had just gotten married within the last year are looking for their first home, and this is what they found.

I guess because I see the full circle, a feeling that this could be me, I'm not that different. That's why this hits me. It actually makes me kinda sad. I don't think the parties involved think of it that way, but it is.

annonymous

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 21:41:00 +0000

I recieved my first annonymous comment a few entries ago. I don't know why, but I find it particularly offensive when someone comments annymously. Especially when they are rude, abrasive or demeaning, such as what happened on Lou's blog last week. This person was telling me how to be a christian parent. I know, I'm not a parent yet, but I will soon be. I do not feel it is necessary to purposefully expose my son to all of the impurities in this world so that we can talk about it and discuss how to deal with it. That will happen enough on it's own. It's akin to saying smoke this joint and lets discus how it makes you feel. I am really dealing with a lot of the stuff in my life right now. Why should X be there? Does it benefit me? Would it be something I'd sit down and talk to God about? Is this a film I'd sit in a room and watch with Him? Would He laugh at that joke. If I was telling Him about my day, would I be able to tell God this without guilt? The discussion doesn't begin with my son. It begins with God and I. Can someone tell me why is it not so bad for me to go and watch an R rated movie and a 5 year old can't. I can understand if it's something that might be scary or violent. But let's look at nudity and sex. A child would understand less about what he sees than an adult. Is it because we don't want the kids to get the wrong idea about healthy relationships? So why it is ok for adults to watch? If you think adult opinions are not influenced by things you see you are blind. Look around people. Advertising works. One way it works is if you see something enough you want it. Sex is everywhere in media. Porn wouldn't be the issue it is for Christian guys if it wasn't so pervasive. Try it: everytime there is a sexual joke, change the channel. Everytime there is a woman on a show who is dressed like a whore, turn it off. Sexual inuendo, avoid it. Don't throw up your hands and say you can't. You're right, you will not be able to completely avoid it. But make yourself aware of it. We are God's Temple. The Holy Spirit lives within us. Christ got VIOLENT to drive out the impurities from the temple of brick and stone. Why is it such a sin to get mad today? (thanks for the cross reference on the temples, callis.)
It is so wrong in today's culture, secular or christian, to call what's going on around us wrong. But it is.
Fro example: I am not a homophobe. I have had a few gay friends in my life that I really cherish. I would spend time with them, eat with them, whatever I would do with any other guy. But I hate same sex marriage and Brokeback Mountain. Both are not working to get equal rights. They are working to make the idea of homosexuality OK. It is not OK. There was a time in the not to distant past where an unmarried hertosexual couple having sex in a movie was equally as shocking. But now it is expected in most movies. It did not happen overnight. There was one movie. Everyone talked about that movie. A lot of people went, but not everyone. Then there was another movie. less of an event. More people went. "Oh, but it's necessary to tell the story." "It's true to life." "It's ART."
It's really not the nudity I have a beef with. It's the casual attitude towards sex and what is right.
God is where He has always been. Satan will go where he thinks he can win. He will seem to be so close to where you think you ought to be that it seems like no big deal. Then he's a little farther away. Well, I'm not as bad as satan so I must be OK. But look how far from God you are.

I will put in the Standard Christian clause about not being perfect. I'm not. Which I guess is why. If I know I cannot walk in a straight line and that sometimes I veer to the left or right, I want to be as far from the edge as I can so that the harm is minimized.
We've already fallen and been redeemed, but I don't see how teaching your kid to follow God so close he almost steps on God's heals, so to speak, is wrong and is not preparing him to deal with the world. Are God's teachings imperfect that they need to be supplemented with today's culture? Or is it that you're too afraid to give up things you enjoy for your kids?

No, I will do my best to ensure that my son will not be subjected to that sort of influence at my hand. It will happen on its own. I want it to shock him. Yeah, he might rebel, but I will do everything in my power to make him God's child.

Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 16:59:00 +0000

C.S. Lewis liked to be called Jack. I can only guess this is because his name was Clive Staples.

In Out of the Silent Planet Ransom, the protaganist, is taken to Mars. A dying but unfallen world. It's cool because there is no sin. Everything is as it should be. There are three types of 'people' on the planet, each with skills and abilities uique to them. One is the Hrosa. They are seal-like people who are earthy, and the poets. The create art. They are calm, and sweet, and enjoy life fully. "Jack" writes about a hunt for a shark-like fish. In this perfect world you'd suppose they go and hunt with no real fear. But that's not so. The danger is part of living. Nothing is safe. It is the danger that gives the hunt it's value. Definitely written by a man. No mother would subscribe to that idea. Another interesting idea is pleasure. The Hrosa say there is the experiencing of pleasure, and there is the rememberance of it. There might be something there.

Nostalgia got me going down this road. Memory of good times. I was listening to Encaustic today. I remember the first time I saw them in concert at New Broolyn Tavern in 2001. It was just after 9/11. I loved it. I still think it was one of their best performances. I'm really glad some of them are doing will in the music industry. But I'll never be able to go back. There's a lot of stuff like that now. But if you hang trying to stay in happy moments, then you die. Living things grow and change. Dead things stay the same.

Amie Mann said "condemning the future to death so it can match the past" and Laura Ingles Wilder said something like if you hold on to those things you love too hard, all you end up with is a hand full of ashes.

I can't stay where I was. If I did that then I wouldn't be where I am. And I'm so happy to be where I am. Married to a wonderful, loving woman who is carrying our baby boy. There is so much more to look foward to. I will remember fondly the Encaustic shows I went to for those brief years, but I would never go back. Gotta go foward.

IT'S A BOY

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:14:00 +0000

I just wanted to beat wifey to it. We're having a Boy...gonna name it junior phreedumb. HAHA!

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 13:08:00 +0000

"For thus the Lord spoke to me with mightey power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people saying.

'you are not to say "It is a conspiracy!"
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
'It is the LORD of hosts who you shoud regard as holy.
'And He shall be your fear.
'And He shall be your dread.
'Then He shall become a sanctuary.'

Isaiah 8:11-14

Isaiah be trippin'...but wow, what I needed to hear. too often i fear what I'm told i need to fear. I don't fear God. "He's OK." "He loves us. " "No worries, mate." But it's kind of odd...

I once saw this little acted out lesson. You have three people: God, Christian, Devil (Could it be...SATAN?) they are standing shoulder to shoulder. The Christian is right next to God, and right in the middle of God and Satan. Well, Satan takes a step to the side and the Christian adjusts because s/he's ok, as long as s/he is inbetwixt God and Satan. This goes on for several steps until Christian realizes that s/he is far far away from God. Still in the middle, mind you, but no longer lext to God. I do this a lot. As long as I'm not doing up to a certain level of activity I'm OK. I'm not really thinking of what God would want me to do or what I should be doing, but as long as I'm not really right there with the 'Satan Standard' I'm Ok.

I guess I'm becoming more fundamentalist in my old age. But there is a kid coming into this world who I am going to be responsible for. I do not want this kid to take this world for the way things should be. The kid will watch no TV. Maybe some videos, but no commercials. I will not be going to the mall with him or her. I don't want P-nut to be thinking that abercrombie for kids is the way she should be dressing. I am not in control of the kids fate. But I can control what goes into p-nuts eyes and ears. If P-nut rejects that once s/he reaches a certain age, then that is betwixt p-nut and God. I pray now, but I will do my best to be God's tool to make P-nut's acceptance easier. Being in the world and not of it will not be easy for someone who has lived closely with it for so long.

movie latin

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:24:00 +0000

Ever wonder what is being said in TOMBSTONE when Johnny Ringo and Doc Holliday meet and begin speaking in latin? here it is....

Doc Holliday: In Vino Veritas.
[In wine is truth. - Meaning - "When I'm drinking, I speak my mind."]
Johnny Ringo: Age Quod Agis.
[Do what you do. - Meaning - "Do what you do best."]
Doc Holliday: Credat Judaeus Apella, Non Ego. The Jew Apella may believe it, not I.
[Meaning, "Oh I don't believe drinking is what I do best."]
Johnny Ringo: Eventus Stultorum Magister.
[Events are the teachers of fools. - Meaning - "Fools have to learn by experience."]
Doc Holliday: In Pace Requiescat.
[Rest In Peace - Meaning - "It's Your Funeral!"]

the face of muhammed

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 03:02:00 +0000

WWW.FACE-OF-MUHAMMED.BLOGSPOT.COM
Go and see the face of Muhammed. Go and see the new face that has launched a thousand moltav cocktails.

enough is enough or Battle of the Gods

noreply@blogger.com (Phree Dumb's Musings) — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 05:31:00 +0000

so, I'm probably the last one that you should listen to about anything too serious. I'm fairly ingnorant and not well versed in, well, anything. But this bog is about that...it's about me giving an uninformed opinon of things I'm way out of my depth to talk about. So, hear goes.

This islamic world is ticked off. apparently this danish newspaper published some satirical cartoons of Mohammed and now they're burning Danish emabassies. The odd thing is that more and more newspapers are publishing these cartoons. I think the world has had about enough of the muslims. They're like an unruly child. I think the western world is finally approaching a point where enough is enough. This could be a serious breaking point. Christians have for years suffered ridicule at the hands of others. It is not always welcomed with open arms but usually there is little done about it. whether that's because christians are too complacent or afraid of criticism or kind or blind or whatever, nothing gets burned. Yes, there were times when people were burned for non christian beliefs by christians.

BUT. BUT. What is interesting in this story is the reaction from the press. (save comments about attorcities committed in the name of Christ. Deus lo Vaut. It's not the point.) Usually anything this controversial that upsets a 'minority' group (it is still a minority in Europe) would be yanked immediately and followed by profuse appology and cowtowing. But it's not. After the race riots in paris, and all the suicide bombers, I think Europe is getting fed up. All we hear about from that area is them hating and killing each other and our soldiers. So something is published that pisses them off, and Europe does it again. It's like Europe might be looking for a fight. I doubt it, but the freedom of speech and freedom of expression are their Gods in Europe. The vast majority of westerners feel that the freedom to say what you want and to express yourself is teh most sacred treasure and the Muslims are trying to impose a limit from the outside. Mohammed v. Freedom of Speech. (oddly enough most Eurpoean countries have far greater limits on speech than the US) Europe won't accept it. It'll be interesting to see how far this goes. Will it go all the way to war? I doubt it. But it could.