Let's Learn to Draw Horse Heads

I've got to be honest with you, although I'm a fine artist, I've always had a hard time with horses.
It's hard enough learning to draw a human head from the side, but a horse head from the side, that stuff get's a bit complicated for me.
But, alas, my wife had an idea, and what kind of husband would I be if I didn't at least give it a shot.
Hell, she's my muse. I've got responsibilities, right?
So, here you go, the three steps I took to get this thing from idea to drawing...

P.S. As always, make sure you head over to my Facebook page and stop by my Istagram for more drawing, painting, doodles, and illustration...



Step 1: Sketch from reference

Step 2: Outline with Micron pens(while also correcting little details).

Step 3: Add minute details, as well as some more minor shading, add a little bit of color, and, finally, outline with a white-out pen.

Boredom, What's that?

I remember when I was a kid, especially near the end of elementary school and throughout middle school, how often I would get just plain bored.

The internet was a new thing, just barely out of the box for public use, cell phones were something that only the rich could afford(and were massive), and computer games were just advancing out of being text based only.

There was even one point, during one hot summer vacation, that I remember complaining to my mother that I was going to die of boredom.

She sighed, and told me to find something to do.

So, I went up to my room and read a couple of books, did some drawing, then had a superb idea.

I ran downstairs, to my dad, and asked him if I could use his magnifying glass. 

He got it for me, and I ran outside with a grin on my face.

Ants, of course, were the first victim of my magnifying glass, plus nice hot sun, escapades, but I grew bored with raining fire and brimstone down on those poor bastards, and started burning holes in sticks, leaves, and I even tried burning a hole through a rock(remember I was just a kid).

But, I got bored with that, and found myself in that place again. 

Then it struck me, 'I bet I could set some of that dry grass in the corner of the yard on fire, using this magnifying glass'. It seemed like a revelation to me. Why hadn't I thought of it before. If I could burn things with it, why could I go a step further and harness the power of fire.

I melted a corner of my shoe, scared the hell out of my parents, and scorched a good 3 foot by 3 foot section of the yard that day, and got grounded for few days.

But, I'd figured out how to make fire using a simple magnifying glass.

What's the moral of this story(other than don't play with fire or... You know the rest)?

I guess it's simple really. Parents, caregivers, grandparents, etc. let kids get bored sometimes.

Let them use their imaginations, their natural creativity. Too often these days, kids don't get the chance to experience these wonderful side effects of boredom. They're on their cell phones or tablets(or yours), playing on the computer, making their way through a video game, watching television(or a streaming video service), or they're crying, begging, or bugging you about wanting to do one of the above.

Don't give in. Let them be bored. It's good to be bored sometimes. It will inspire reading, imagination, creativity, and they'll learn to come up with natural solutions to that boredom.

You may have to run outside, grab a hose, and put out a fire in your own front yard, or the like, but in between those things(and because they'll learn valuable lessons from those things), but they'll also learn how to entertain themselves, and grow up to be much more complete. They'll surprise you with how creative they can be, knock you off your feet with stories they've come up with on their own, learn how to act(through pretend fighting a whole contingent of monsters or crowning themselves queens of their own imaginary kingdoms), and most importantly, you may find out that it's good for kids to really be kids sometimes.

Inspiration ?

Inspiration. This single thing, in many forms, drives us as human beings.
But, what is it exactly that drives inspiration in the modern world ?
There are so many different ideas, via words, pictures, songs...
Is that the source of the majority of modern inspiration ? Is it other
people that inspire more people, who inspire others ? Like a worldwide
pyramid scheme, aren't most of us leapfrogging off of others.
And, on the flip side of that, is there anything truly "original" left ?
That, of course, broadens out into how we think,  act, even feel.
How much of our lives are we living either purposely, or on accident,
a certain way because we're constantly,  consciously and unconsciously,
picking up on the things, and people, around us ?
Just some thought of mine(or are they?)
After reading this, and following me on Facebook HERE, I encourage
to look up a little research on this very topic in Mirror Nuerons.

Facebook Art

Facebook is a wonderful place for sharing everything really, but in this case I'm using it in the name of art.
I'm formally inviting you all to come check out my virtual studio. And, if you like what you see, I invite
you to, well, like my Facebook Art page.
Come one, come all, or something along that line.

All you have to do is click the picture above this post...or you could just click HERE

The Best Books

The best book, at least for me, are those that really draw you into the story. They make you care about the

characters, after they've made you believe the characters could, or have, existed.

Even if they are wizards, time travelers, dragons, three-headed aliens, dogs, or even time traveling wizards,

who fly on dragons, battling three-headed, alien dogs, you believe that they are real. Somehow, and

somewhere, they are more than just words on a page.

Every reader out there has read a book, at least once, that made them laugh out loud, cry, close the book

in frustration(just before opening it again a few minutes later), and every reader has been changed, in some

way, by a book they've read.

I don't care if you read romance, fantasy, horror, "classic" literature, or you're still jiving to Dr. Seuss. There

has been at least one moment, during that reading, that you've felt some small spark of emotion.

Many of us can even come to love books. I know that my wife and I have a hard time

going into a thrift store without leaving with at least a half a dozen books.

And, it is that same love of books that makes us cringe when we even imagine burning books.

But, enough of that talk. It makes me cringe to put those two words together.

So, what is your favorite book? Can you name just one? I know I can't.

I'm willing to take a swing at giving you my top three. And, if there are any of the three you haven't read,

I urge you to find the time to do so. And, no cheating here. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you know

the outline. But, once again, I urge you to read the book instead. Otherwise, you have no idea

what you're missing out on.

Alright, let's get this thing started...

• "It" by Stephen King 
• "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien
• "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Now, in no way is this list comprehensive. I would honestly need an entire separate blog to dedicate to my

love of books, another for the authors, and a few others for characters I've loved, places I would visit,

and villain's that make me truly cringe. 

You can find my book list on Shelfari HERE though, if you would like a glimpse inside my 

book obsession.

And, as I always try to leave you, my readers with a mission. I encourage you to make a list of your own, 

whether that be on Shelfari or in a notepad. It's a great way to look back at the books you've read, and 

find a book, or a hundred, that you'd love to read again or suggest to a friend.

Normal

What is normal person exactly?Let's turn to the Dictionary for a moment, and see how the word normal pertains to people...

A : of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development

B : free from mental disorder : sane

So, we've got a person who is sane (or free of any mental disorder), and/or a person who is of average intelligence or development.

I don't think I've ever met a person who doesn't suffer at least a minor mental disorder. And, because averages are constantly changing, I really have a hard time evaluating what "average" intelligence or development are.

Intelligence, to me, falls into a million different categories, and, having children of my own, I've seen that coming up with an "average" development is nearly impossible. Aren't we all a little different in our areas of intelligence and development?

So, we are forced to pick out who is "normal" based on what a group of "intelligent" people decide is normal intelligence and development?

I read somewhere once that Albert Einstein wasn't considered intelligent as a youth. But, look at what happened with him. He became the father of nuclear physics, and a historically renowned mathematician.

Now, does that mean that being normal isn't always better?

So why do we all strive, at some point in our lives, to be normal?

Look throughout history, and, in almost any area of expertise or achievement, you find someone who doesn't fall under the spectrum of this thing called normal.

You've got Albert Einstein, Nicola Tesla, Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da' Vinci just to name a few.

They were all "masters" in their fields, but were not necessarily considered normal. In fact they were, more often than not, considered mad, crazy, loose a few screws. 

On the other end of that spectrum, you've got serial killers(who are often extremely intelligent people), and the recent string of shooters, who are described as often being of high intelligence.

Now wait a minute here. We've got this list of people who were often considered eccentric, or crazy, on the list of "masters", and, on the list of people we consider crazy after they commit an act of extreme cruelty, we find people that were initially thought of as intelligent.

What's that say about the definition of normal? Does it mean that "normal" people are more likely to commit crimes, and eccentric people are more likely to achieve great success?

Just a thought. Isn't that what you're here for?

*The above definition of normal is from the online Mirriam-Webster Dictionary

Your Thing is...

Well, what is it? Playing guitar, doodling, writing, singing 80's hair band music, designing your own clothing...

If you don't know, take a moment and try to think of that one thing you can zone into.

Have you got it?

If you do, examine your thing for a moment(yes, you may giggle).

If no, well, stop right here, don't read any further just yet, do not collect two-hundred dollars.

Your reading this either way aren't you?

Well, there's nothing I can do about it, but remember, I gave fair warning. There are spoilers ahead.

The most well kept secret in life is this:

Finding that one thing that you can really get into is the greatest stress reliever in the world. It's better than any drug on the market(or off, for that matter), it will help treat sadness, loneliness, feeling of inadequacy, and, as long as it's not a dangerous thing, contains no negative side effects.

So, how can you tell when you've really found your thing? Well, I've put together a few things I believe are the building block of what a thing consists of below.

1. It does no real harm to you or anyone else. Of course, playing guitar causes some minor damage called calluses. But, hopefully those of you reading this have a fairly good grasp on what I mean by harm. I'm crossing my fingers here.
2. It's something you think about doing even in the middle of the busiest day of your life.
3. If it paid well enough, you'd do this thing for a living and be deliriously happy about it.
4. Your thing makes you happy, even if your not smiling while doing it.
5. You instantly feel the negative energy begin to flow out of you the instant your really zoned into your thing.
6. And, finally, when you're into your thing, time has no real meaning. Hours may go by without you noticing.  

Okay, for those of you whom I left to examine their thing, does it fit into the above list? Or, is there more to it for you? I'd love to hear from you, hear what your thing is and what words come to mind when you think of it. Or, maybe your not a word person, maybe your more visual. Than send me a picture of what relaxes you and helps you escape. You can leave your words in the comments section of this post, or e-mail me a picture at creativejoe83@gmail.com.

Social Therapy

Sometimes you just need someone, anyone, to talk to. But, what if you have nobody to in your life

willing to stop and listen. Maybe your family or friends are too busy, wouldn't understand, or, maybe,

you don't have any family or friends to talk to.

Then what?

That is where my theory in a phenomenon I've come to think of as "Social Therapy" comes into play.

Now, I don't have any college degree's in therapy or psychology, but I have the one thing that

all of us gain throughout our lives, experience.

The majority of my working life has been spent in customer service. And, it is through my experiences

in this field, that I came to notice "Social Therapy".

So, you ask, what is social therapy?

It's simple really. It is what happens when people experience what I described at the beginning of this post.

Social Therapy is when people begin to overflow with memories, thoughts, ideas, emotions, life stresses,

and they have no one to turn to in their personal lives to share it all with.

For the most part, this form of therapy seems to occur mostly in the fifty and over crowd.

Now we've all heard tales of people pouring their hearts out to bartenders, sharing secrets with their hair

dresser, etc. But, what if it's something that isn't nearly that limited?

I believe social therapy can, and often does, occur in any environment where there is any sort of public

interaction.

I myself have heard many, many tales of childhood adventures, lost loved ones, divorces, marriages,

tales of hero's, and of villains. I've also received tons of advice on how to live life to your fullest.

Politics, religion, you name it. I've had debates, discussions, chats about just about everything with

my customers. And, surprisingly, I've never had any of it go south. It's always cordial and informative.

The people who talk to me just want to speak, to be heard, to share. They often aren't concerned

about agreeing or disagreeing, just about the interaction itself.

And, I've discovered, in a weird sort of way, social therapy ends up often not only helping them, but

making me open my eyes, re-think things I believe in, and open my eyes to things I'd never stopped

to think about on my own.

In sum, I don't believe "Social Therapy" is something that has ever been limited to one or two professions,

nor do I believe it's something unique to the time in which we live. It's most often in people we term "elderly",

I believe, because that's often the age when people are kind of forgotten about. And, I believe, social

therapy is healthy and enlightening to both parties, and carries with it the very building blocks of how

social of an animal  human beings really are.


*Image courtesy of "Ambro" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Nonsense

I've got to be honest with you. I like to sing in public. In fact, I like to sing while I'm at work.

Right now I'm jamming along with the likes of Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews, and Elvis singing about

sleigh bells ring, ting, tinglin, Frost the zombie snowman melting and coming back to life, and, of course,

Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer being ridiculed by his community, until Santa gives him an important job,

then suddenly the community is all, "Hey, you're alright."

Now, I'm not going to be headlining for a big act in Vegas anytime soon, nor have I yet schedules my

world tour, but my voice isn't too bad.

The thing is, right now, I'm a sales associate for a "big box" hardware store. That means I'm pretty much

always surrounded by co-workers, customers, managers, and the occasional dog.

And, while in the midst of all of these people, singing at a pretty good volume, I always find my mind

wandering over to that great, Broadway hit, "Mr. Cellophane", from the musical "Chicago".

Why?

Because, simply put, no one pays any attention to me, or how accurate I've gotten with my lyrics.

I like to think sometimes it's because my voice is so in tune with the music coming in over the overhead

speakers, that they can't tell the difference between my voice and Elvis's.

Yet, I'm learning, the longer I work in the environment of customer service, they don't actually mind

because I have become, for the most part, "Mr.Cellophane".

I've tested this theory again and again, when, while asking if people need help finding something, or if they're

finding what they're looking for, I almost always get a response that doesn't correspond with either

of those questions. I'll say, "Can I help you find something?" and they'll respond with, "Yes", then proceed

to walk in the opposite direction.

So, again, for the most part, they're answering me according to what they thought I would ask, rather than

what I actually asked.

In other words, I'm pretty sure that the majority of us, here in the U.S. at least, are suffering from a pretty

severe case of ADD(attention deficit disorder).

Now, this was, at first, a pretty big EUREKA moment for me.

The realization of this meant that non of us has any reason to really be shy, and be who we really are inside.

Not so much.

Because, as soon as you attempt to open the doors to that clown car, people will do the complete opposite

of what you'd expect them to do. You'll suddenly go from cellophane to a fluorescent orange sign,

with flashing light attached.

You're probably wondering at this point, "Where is he going with this?"

Well, here's your "Joe's Thought" for today. Jeez...

This world, while appearing to make at least some sense, does not actually contain any. And, the people

in this world will often act in surprisingly conflicting manners, while thinking, to themselves, that everything

they're doing or saying makes perfect sense, occasionally.

So, if you're like me, and you like to sing at work. People aren't going to notice, unless of course

you want them to ignore you. When they do notice you they'll either praise you or ridicule you, then they

will forget you, unless you do something to upset them, have a cool British accent, or have some

resemblance to a pop singer who is now playing in the top forty countdown.

That is all for now. I hope out of my nonsense, you gained some sense of what I mean, and it makes

sense to you. Because in a real sense, nothing makes much sense...

Speak Up

Go ahead, you know you want to. Isn't that the desire that lurks inside each and every one of 

us?

Nike, one of the largest sporting empires in the world, owns the tag line that we all

know so well, "Just Do It". They've been drilling into our brains through commercials,

ads, radio announcements, etc. for as long as I can remember.

One of the first things we're taught in school, and by parents the world over, is that

we should "be ourselves".

I mean, how many times have psychologists repeated to people how important it is to

communicate our feelings, our needs, and let our feelings out.

But, despite all of this poking and prodding to act like, well, ourselves, we continue

to act exactly as we think people expect us to act, parade around talking about

how original we are, whilst wearing the clothes that are "in", trying desperately to be

"original" while actually giving into the desire to have attention directed our way.

So, what's it gonna take? What is it that will draw us out of our shells, away from the 

comfort zone, and onto the path of a zen like path of "enlightenment".

All righty than, here you go, one more person telling you for the millionth time

that you are special for who you are.

Give up on that facade of "normalcy", let your hair down, pick at least one thing that

you've been holding onto like a security blanket, and let's get a move on.

Feel like singing that song playing over the speakers at the grocery store? Well, screw

whether or not you're going to be the next actor to appear on "Glee", sing it, even if you 

start out with a hum and need to work it up. Have you been secretly pining for that girl

who's been smiling at you since the beginning of the semester? Ask her out.

Let's say you've been meaning to share a secret, but waiting for that "right moment"?

That moment, yep, you know what I'm going to say, it's now. So speak up!

Go ahead, experience a bit of forgetting how nervous or shy you are for just a few minutes.

Be spontaneous!

Even if it doesn't turn out the way you expect it to, or you get a big, fat "no", you took a step.

And, you know what they say about how journey's begin.

This is not simply a bit of advice, it is exactly what the majority of us need.

Stop saying "um", "maybe", or "I'll do it later". Don't we really, honestly do enough

procrastinating. 

A quote by Buddha goes something like, "The problem with time is that we believe we have 

it."

Chase the dream, believe in yourself, oh, and in just a moment, stop reading this.

You've got sh*t to do.

Oh, and one more thing...

Send me your comments, share with me your moment of clarity, tell me all about your

first step, let me know about your moment of glory. Big or small, life changing or not,

whatever step you take is going to be that, a step.

So, go, go, go. I mean it. 

I wanna be Judged by you...

What is it about us that makes us so judgmental of those around us?

Is it that old philosophy, "If we don't understand it, we must eradicate it?", or is something deeper, more a thing of science or psychology?

To be honest, this is a subject I understand up to a point, but have a hard time wrapping my

head around on the other hand.

I was raised to view differences with a grain of salt, and to only "judge" a person based on 

whether or not they were a danger to themselves, or those around them.

But, than again, I was raised around and grew up with circumstances that made me see 

people as how they behaved and to get to know them at a deeper level. You know, the old 

"Don't judge a book by it's cover".

You see, my sister was born without ears(a result of a little know, at the time, side effect of 

the seizure medication my Mom's doctors had her on, while pregnant with my sister), stories 

of my very artistic, talented, funny, and, oh yeah, gay Uncle David, had a mother who taught 

me to meditate when I was around four years of age, a father that was heavily into 

drugs(though don't worry, he chose drugs over family and didn't live with us anymore by the 

time I was three years old), another father who struggled with alcohol abuse, my 

grandmother on my birth fathers side was blind, and, well, to be completely honest, I could 

go on and on.

So, as you see, I was around "different" people from the get go. And the thing I learned first 

and foremost from the experience was that you should be who you are.

And, from these early experiences, I became, well, sort of obsessed actually, with trying to 

understand the people around me as best as I could.

So, I guess in a way this "thought" of mine as to why we're so judgmental of differences in 

those around us is an attempt to understand the people around me once again.

Therefore, my assignment for you, my dear readers, loyal and new, is to help me answer this 

question that is blinking like a road sign in the back of my skull.

What is it about others that you often find yourself judging them for? Maybe you have the 

tendency to be wary of black men(or women), those who sport piercing or tattoo's, people 

who are of a different creed than you, lesbians, gay men, cross dressers, circus performers, 

anything really.

Ask yourself what is it about them that pokes at you and pass it on to me. Because I truly 

want to understand it from your point of view. 

Even with the things I have experienced I still make judgement's of my own. So, please don't 

take this as a judgement on you or a chance to be picked on for your beliefs. Take this as an 

opportunity to look inside yourself, understand yourself, and engage another human being in 

a conversation.

No ones judging you here.

As Requested...

Nineteen Eighty requested a doodle and I thought, heck why not? Here is a recent doodle directly from the pages of my sketch book...

Skip the Bulls*&t

Have you ever really examined what makes you happy? How about sitting down and writing a list on a notepad, on your computer, heck even on your I-Pod? Come on, get to work, stay on task here people

Now cross off all the crap you wrote down hoping to impress anyone who might come across your list or anything you wrote hoping that if someone did read your list they wouldn’t think you’re greedy or weird, example; the love of my parents, a roof over my head, food in my stomach. In other words, all the “given” things that make us all “happy”. This is not an acceptance speech for when you win “Mr. Universe” or “Mrs. America”.

Okay, now that we’re getting closer to how we really feel how about writing down a color that makes you happy, a movie, a song, something someone in your life does, etc.

After you’ve taken the time to write down these things really examine them and why you wrote them down. Did you write the color blue because it’s “always” been your favorite color or did you write it down because the color blue really does make you happy, like right now? Do this with everything on your list, try to discover if it’s something that really makes you happy or is just on your list out of routine.

Alrighty, now be prepared to really surprise yourself with some of your choices and don’t finish writing your list. Continue to ad to it or cross things out a day at a time, see what stays and what is only temporary. It’s amazing how much you’ll discover about the things that really make you happy as opposed to things that just make you temporarily happy.

Enjoy and don’t forget to have a GREAT DAY. You deserve it and it’s free of charge, from me to you.

Child Abuse

Imagine for a moment that you're back in middle school gym class. You're outside and it's a beautiful day, sun shining, birds chirping.
It's field day and you're supposed to be throwing the discus, jumping hurdles, and running across the green grass of the field with your fellow students, in a 100 meter dash.
Instead, you're lying on the blacktop just outside the gym auditorium, in front of your gym teacher, getting kicked again and again in your ribs, back, and face by 2 laughing bullies. All you can think is "God, please make them stop", as your ribs & back are screaming in pain, blood dribbles out of your nostrils into pools on the hot ground, and bruises are already starting to form all over your body.
And, let's say that this is a normal day for you, getting your ass kicked that is.
It was days like these that made up most of my late elementary, middle school, and early high school years.
I've been punched in the stomach just coming into the boys locker room in gym class, by a boy with a cast from his fist all the way up his forearm, just because he thought is was funny and was curious to see if he would feel the punch through his cast. It knocked the wind out of me, almost made me throw-up, and caused me to double over in pain. But, his cast was fine, didn't hurt him at all.
That gym class experience I wrote about above is a true experience that I went through in the 7th grade, and it really did happen just a mere 5 or 6 feet away from where my gym teacher stood, whistle around his neck, glancing down every 30 seconds or so to watch.
In high school I was robbed again and again by a group of 3 boys who waited for me at both ends of a street I had to walk down to get to the shopping center to eat lunch, and they stole everything from my mothers wristwatch(a gift from her grandmother that she'd let me borrow so I could keep track of time during lunch, because she couldn't afford to buy me one) to any amount of money I had on me to buy my lunch with. That was a daily experience for me.
And, I repeatedly told school officials(teachers, principals, deans, etc)what was going on, that I was being beaten up or robbed, and they did little to nothing to stop it or punish the other kids involved. That's not to say that those bullies weren't sometimes sent home with notes to their parents or didn't get in-school suspension sometimes. But, when they saw me the next time, they were more than happy to make me paying for my tattling on them.
To be honest, going to school was a mostly terrible experience for me. I hated going there knowing I was either going to have the crap beat out of me to amuse some bully or be robbed.
Now, you ask, "Why didn't you just fight back?"
Well, fighting back was a bad idea for 3 main reasons:

1. If by an off chance the bully was alone, fighting back ended with me getting suspended or reprimanded, and reminded said bully to bring his friends back for revenge the next time he saw me.
2. As stated above, there was rarely just one bully. There was usually at least 2 or 3 of them. So, fighting back would have led to more bruises and more blood loss for me, than if I just took it and got it over with.
3. Bullies aren't typically pocket protector wearing, movie nerd types. They're usually big, mean, and enjoy what they're doing to you.

Now, next time you decide to ask someone whose been a victim, "Why didn't you fight back?", think to yourself, if you were attacked by a large, vicious pack of wild dogs, how would you feel if, while laying on the ground chewed up, someone asked you, "Well, why didn't you just fight back?"
So, anyhow, I dropped out of school in the 11th grade, mostly because I was wasting my time, along with the school and my parents time, being there. And, I haven't been robbed or beat up on a daily basis sense.
But, this post is a warning and a reality check for all of you parents out there whose kids come home with a black eye, empty pockets, and/or a bloody nose. It's time to get pro-active about this. You've got to do everything in your power to make sure your child doesn't have to go through the years of it that I went through. Talk to teachers, school officials, whoever you've got to talk to in order to make it stop. Just don't do the typical parent thing and say you'll talk to the other kids parents. For us that have been bullied, we know this only leads to a bigger whooping the next day by the bully who got in trouble from their parents because of us.
I would say the best thing you can do, and no it is not too extreme, is to call the police. Whether an adult does it or another kid, this is child abuse. Those bullies need to see that they can face abuse, assault, harassment, and robbery charges for what they do.
Bullying has become somewhat of an epidemic in school, and it should be taken just as seriously as physical and emotional abuse is taken in any other case.

Sharing my artwork :-)

Here is one painting I did last week, one of the first I've ever finished on canvas.
The other is copy of Dali's "Persistence of Memory" in chalk on our drive-way.
Thanks for looking...

Quit smoking, Grab a bottle of beer...

Alcoholism is an interesting "disease". It can take the most loving, caring, wonderful people and turn them against themselves. It destroys the lives of not only those who are the abusers and the family and friends of the abuser. Alcoholism kills thousands every year through automobile accidents, liver disease, home accidents(like fires), and dozens of other "side effects" of being drunk or the adverse effects of alcohol on the body.
Everyone in this country comes down so hard on smokers and as a smoker I understand addiction and why it's so bad for me and those around me. But why don't we get a bigger spotlight on alcohol abuse and the millions of lives it has destroyed. I don't see movie studios say anything about taking alcohol out of movies, the commericials that make it look like drinking as being a great pass time, and a million other places that alcohol abuse is actually put in a positive light. Yet there have been petition to take cigarettes out of movies to keep kids from learning the habit from their favorite movie stars. It's so terribly back-asswords...
Outside of guns and the atom bomb I'd put alcohol as one of the worse inventions of man.
I've known two major alcoholics in my life and watched them struggle with the decision between family and the bottle again and again. And I can't even begin to express my frustration at all the times I've seen tears that lead to nothing and promises broken.
That's it, that's all I've got to say about it. It makes me want to scream...

My Brain Hurts

Choices, choices, choices.....
I think we have too many of them nowadays. Almost everybody I know does the whole "What do you want for dinner?", "I don't know what do you want?", conversation every time they get hungry. You can pick Chinese, Korean, American, "New Age" health food, Italian, etc, etc, etc.
And this doesn't only apply to food. My wife and I have Netflix with the out at a time option and we still have a hard time keeping up with all the movies coming out. My daughter actually started crying one time when we took her to the store with her allowance and told her to get whatever toy she wanted(within her price range of course). She started crying about halfway through looking around the toy department. She said she couldn't choose and this was enough to make her break down and cry.
In this world of a billion choices we live in it's no wonder we almost always feel overwhelmed.
Choices are great and all but sometimes the best option is to limit yourself to just a couple of "favorite" options, whether it's a new DVD you want to buy, what your going to eat for dinner, or the bazillions of other choices we make in a day, and stick with our original "gut" choice.

Renewal

People all over the U.S. and, not to sound too egotistical, all over the world are talking about the U.S. economy and the big mess we're in as a country. "How are we going to get out of this?", I hear from a lot of people I've talked to about it. I thought and thought on this trying to come up with a logical answer as to how and when we'll overcome the mess that's been created.
Than a friend and I were talking yesterday and today it finally meshed together to form the logical answer, at least for me.
Maybe it's not about how we're going to survive this or how we can get out of this mess. It could be that, like a wild fire, this is our chance to almost start from scratch.
Maybe it all needs to fall apart so that we can see the framework of this place we've made for ourselves over the past few hundred years.
I find myself realizing that every civilization on the planet has gone through a sort of renewal period throughout history and America being the young country that it is has to hit this period at some point. Why not now ?
Just about every renewal I've read about involved some kind of a revolution on the part of the people.
Now we've gone through the literal Revolution but it is in this day and age that we see the reality of the most diverse group of citizens ever to come together in history. Think of the American Revolution as the birth of our nation, the Civil War as our terrible twos, and now we're coming up on being toddlers and learning to walk and talk as a nation.
So, maybe it's not how do we fix this. Maybe it's formulating a new plan for the future. Our system need a renewal.

That Darn Evil Cows Milk

I know you probably looked at the title of this post and thought 'What the heck kind of title is that?'. But, this title is appropriate for how I feel about cows milk, as I am allergic to it. I've even tried the lactose intolerant form of milk and end up with the same symptoms as if I'd had a drink of regular milk. According to my doctor that is because lactose free milk still contains a trace of lactose that can cause problems for people with a strong enough allergy to the stuff.
Having been allergic to milk since I was around 10 or 11 years old I don't really remember enough about what it tastes like for it to affect me terribly. Yet, I'm still bad about eating cheese and ice cream, which affect me sometimes more than straight milk. I suffered through the side effects for quite a few years because I love the taste of ice cream and I love a good cheese sandwich. Over the past few years though our local grocery stores(King Soopers is an especially good place for me) have started carrying soy and dairy free ice creams. I know there were places you could find dairy free "dairy products" for a while now, but you had to go to a specialty store. And to be honest quite a few soy products are still pretty pricey compared to their dairy counter-parts because they're classified a "health food". And lets face it anything truly healthy is going to cost a bit more out of pocket(health officials wonder why we all cram down junk food, maybe because these high ranking officials have high ranking wages and don't think too much about the price of "healthy food").
Recently though I found an ice cream at my local King Soopers that sells dairy free ice cream called Purely Decadent(You can find their website HERE). They have tons of dairy free ice cream flavors to choose from. Which of course for us dairy free people is a huge leap. The choices in flavors have been limited to the basics(Vanilla and Chocolate) for a while now and it's nice to see a company that realizes even dairy free people have taste buds.
So, if your lactose intolerant or can't have dairy for any other reason check them out.
I better be going though, I'm sitting here and I want to eat the newest flavor I just got which just happens to be one of my favorite flavors, Cookie Dough.

A Common Concern

Why is it that most of us have the desire to escape the places to which we were born ?
If someone is born in Seattle, Washington they want to live in New York, New York and if born in Denver, Colorado they would rather live in San Fransisco, California.
I know it's not everyone, but it seems a common thread in quite a few people I've known over the years(as well as myself).
Is it the instinctual need to migrate or the human desire to explore ? Heck, maybe its part of the whole need to "grow up" and escape our parents, make a lives for ourselves.
The funny thing being of course is that most of us, no matter how far we travel, almost always seem to return for good to those places we had to get away from so badly.
I know that a big part of the people that want to move to California or New York is the want to be closer to movie stars, musicians, the "high life", riches and fame.
There are plenty of people that move to further their careers or be closer to someone they love.
But, those urges come later. I'm talking about the urge to "run away" that hits most of us in our teen years. Maybe it's all those things I've listed, maybe it's none of those.
That's why I want to hear from you, my readers, about your experiences with this urge to "get away". Where did you go ? Why did you go ? Anything about the subject that strikes words from the anvil of your mind.