Thoughts, Profundities,
Philosophies, and Stuff
(opinions found here
are strictly mine- unless otherwise indicated. If you don't agree,
get yer own damn website!... Kidding.... If you want to rebut,
expound, quip or pontificate, send me a brief E-mail (50 words
or less). Please identify yourself and area in which you live
and I may include it (that's the best I can do). Have fun, get
angry, be inspired or just laugh. MZ
- JULY 30, 08- Most may have noticed that the price of oil has been falling from the obscene levels it hit a couple of weeks ago. The price of gas has been inching down as well. That said, I'm hoping folks will still continue to burn less gas. Even if you believe that 3+ dollars per gallon is a reasonable price, it really ain't (shouldn't be) all about the money. It's time we finally made the move to stop burning fossil fuels. The technology is available. All we need is a commitment to begin moving in that direction. It ain't gonna be easy, and will take some time, but the time to start is now. Consumers drive the economy and can greatly affect decisions of corporate entities. However, big business with government officials in pocket, believe that they control consumers through their advertising and legislation. Currently, I believe they are correct, but things can and need to change.
- Young people think they're smarter. They probably are. Old people think they're wiser. They probably are. Some people think they're better. I believe nobody is. Some people think they're special. I believe everyone is.
- What's with this American Idol crap? And who are those supposed "experts", who judge the contest? How can anyone with any conscience invite folks on the show knowing far well that those "judges" will rip them apart. Bring back The Gong Show! At least Chuck Berris never presented himself as an expert!
From Robert in Urbana,
IL
-Media are failing
to provide Americans with the information they need to participate
in a democracy. Investigative journalism is declining along with
the range of political debate. Cheap reality shows and commercialism
are on the rise. Real debate and analysis have been trumped by
sound byte, spin, and an obsession with celebrity and unimportant
controversies like the Swiftboat Veterans and "Rathergate."
Our media system is dominated by a handful of giant corporations
that care far less about the public interest than their bottom
line.
From Rose in Chicago,
IL
Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production
deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.
Frank Zappa
-We have been and are increasingly becoming a complacent society.
As we extend our influence into the far corners of this world,
we become blind to the injustice and hypocracy in our own backyard.
Shouldn't we strive to improve ourseleves as a community? A culture?
A nation? Most of us seem content to accept the way things are
and only complain when injustice affects us directly. Perhaps
the faceless corporate entities and the monolithic, bureaucratic
political system seem far too daunting for us to take on. We are
only helpless when we agree to become pawns in those systems.
Is it too late? It is if you believe it to be, and then do nothing.
From Carole in Mount
Dora, FL
An old Cherokee teaching his grandson
about life.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One
is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment,inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority,
and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion,
and faith.This same fight is going on inside you - and
inside every other person, too."The grandson thought about
it for a minute and then asked his grandfather which wolf would
win.
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Source unknown.
From ART in FOREST PARK,
IL
-Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
From Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson
(1809-1883)
-The world looks a whole lot different once you've removed yourself from the mainstream. One does not need to follow popular thought, or choose sides. What one contributes as a free thinker will have a greater effect on society than those who acknowledge the status quo. We can best affect those who are around us- friends, neighbors and community. We need to communicate and discuss beyond the trappings of popular culture.
-There is an acute crisis in our health care system. We need to re-establish a focus on guaranteeing reasonable health care for everyone, and address the issue of overcrowding. Aging "baby-boomers" are beginning to tax the system, and the cost of insurance and meds are sky-rocketing. Doctors and especially nurses are being overburdened by the numbers game. How can we preach morality to the rest of the world when can't even effectively care for our young and aged ?
-The world is changing, just don't let it change you. Look to the best of you to find who you are, and who WE can be. Although the end may, or may not, be near, should we not live everyday like it may be our last anyway?
-Hate has but one enemy....LOVE.
- Governing powers- official or perceivied- may not, with all their power and propaganda , govern my soul !
- Terrorism is just one of the ways man has chosen to destroy himself. I will not ignore those who continue to destroy our environment, nor those who profit from the misery of others.
- So, you want to be a full-time musician. Be prepared to starve, or keep your day job and have a whole lot of patience.
- The Texas Music Revolution is happening, and everyone who is involved with, or a fan of, what is currently coming out of, and evolving within Texas, is a part of it. Although it seems it is being led by Country Music players, fans and media folk, a closer (or broader- depending on how you look at it) look reveals a much more diverse approach and involvement. I only worry that some Texans may see this as a regional phenomenon. I agrue that it is a world-wide movement, centered here.
- Truth is not an essential of free press; advertising is. What the media do not report is as, or more, significant than what they do. It would be a mistake to believe that the world is as it has been and is being documented.
- The U.S. goverment needs to take a part of the so-called surplus and subsidize the buying and maintenance of electric and hybrid automobiles, and variuos solar energy conversions, in order to move the nation away from dependency on fossil fuels. The auto and oil lobbies ain't gonna do it! (and probably wouldn't let the government)
-Awards are like opinions- everybody has one.
- The purpose of every thing is either funtional or decorative. The challenge for a well-intetioned, fashionable pragmatic is to find things that are both.
- from RUDY IN HOUSTON, TX--Love
your thoughts page. While reading your thoughts I had one of my
own:
Drilling in Alaska (protected land) will give us more oil which
will reach the consumer in 10 years, but we do not have a shortage
of oil. We are experiencing a shortage of refined gasoline, and
that has nothing to do with Alaska. Proposed tax breaks for the
coal industry, which has had increases in production and profits
in the last 5 years, is not needed. What do these two things have
in common? Hand shakes between old oil buddies that have one common
goal- $$$
- from SUZAN IN ILLINOIS
-Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things connect.
- Chief Seattle, 1854