Wednesday, December 9, 2015

This Week in Awesome #4

The Eye
Follow the Link see the Eye


Loteria TVC from Milford Creative Studio on Vimeo.
a wonderful short film in any language since no language is needed.


LARPS is a great web series with an engaging story that is rich with plot and characters and should become one of those classics like Dr. Horrible's Sing-along-blog




I love deadpool and I like PSY and this is just golden humor and awesome stuff all the way around


I like Ed and this is just so over the top I had to share it.

A note, the week in awesome is running more like a wednesday to tuesday week, but I will get my act together eventually. 

Friday, December 4, 2015

week in awesome but not a lot to say #3




Major mashup to get this party started.


It's Psy and rather weird in a Korean pop way



that pretty much says it all.

and on the note of wowsers. here's some epic cosplay

AO1.jpgao2.jpgao5.jpgao15.jpg
www.facebook.com/AnnaOrmeli/




and then this happened at Volvo...


and Adele released her new single and then I found this cover (hint- you might want to lower your volume)


space-pictures-that-will-actually-make-you-think


you just have to go to this webpage to appreciate how awesome this actually is.






and that's awesome according to Mike.








Sunday, November 29, 2015

This Weeks Worth of Awesome and Weird...mostly Awesome #2 later than well it should have been

To kick off my review of awesome, which is more than likely going to become more frequent than it has been (blames Fallout 4 and outdoor projects). We can start with last weeks bits of awesome. 
Starting off with the Relaunchable Rocket

I am ready for space which is to say, probably not since I am waaaay poor.
Still, I love the idea of what this presents.

Porta Estel·lar
Porta Estel·lar from Playmodes on Vimeo.
Up next is the next thing in Performance Art. I mean who wouldn't like to see this?
Unless you are me and can't get comfortable without a chair or a pillow. The outside of the fuselage video is also worth a watch.
more on this awesomeness

I love Star Wars- and I love Honest Trailers.
it's like Reese's Cups for my ego.
So this was bound to put a silly lopsided grin on my face.

#droidlivesmatter
....and while we are on the subject of Star Wars there was this bit of epicness
Star Wars Auditions - SNL

and then some music and comedy and longboards with the Force.



Now stand back!
Let's do SCIENCE! 

Now that was cool. I can see it now: a portico with flaming pillars....
well maybe not.



I love RocketJump. I like Freddie Wong, so this looks awesome, so looking forward to binge watching this.
speaking of which
it's video game showdown time.
people just keep raising the bar on what us joes can do.



and finally
this happened.
and I have to say I loved it. might even love it. I want that bunny cop.
(yes, I am a sick, sick desperately lonely man who wants a bunny cop)



and that's the past week's worth of awesome according to the bunny cop wanting man.

Friday, November 6, 2015

This Weeks Worth of Awesome and Weird...mostly Awesome #1




Welcome to my semi annual (assuming I can get around to it) Week's Worth of Awesome and Weird... mostly Awesome.





Cooper Escapes the Black Hole
insert Interstellar reference


Great Big World just released new track with lots of promise of another awesome album



And then there was this awesome, confusing fan film


How Deadpool Spent Halloween (not for the faint of heart or parents)

and then there was this

and this, I mean this was out 2 months back, but the entire album is out and I love it.

Pentatonix album at amazon or itunes

LARPS is back for season 2; again it has been out for a month but since this is my first week of A&W


Which reminds me that we just lived through a week of wickedly funny Geek & Sundry videos.
Halloweek (playlist of Awesome)


Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Rainy Tuesdays are my Moody Mondays

It's another Tuesday in September, It's raining. Comcast is at a dead crawl and as I sit here pondering over the pages of first world complaints and problems, I draw the inevitable conclusion that writing about it won't make it any better
or worse.

On the other hand, this kind of implies that, I won't have to take walking through the woods in such a fearful or serious manner. 
What I am trying to say is that, it's Tuesday and it's raining. Also State Farm called and they want to finalize my life insurance application with one more interview (I already had 3) so don't get impressed if we inconvenience you one more time, just in case you die.....


But I digress, after all, I can smile when it's raining. What could possibly go wrong? I mean other than the phone call about me dying.


I am throwing in the epic sunset just to throw you off your expectations since I suspect that you are here to find out how the woman inside me feels about all this. Well, she says grow up, life is seldom as simple as a sunset at sea and did you clean your room this morning and kiss your mother goodbye?
You had to ask.
It's days like these that I realize that I have listened to far too much music when almost every sentence I write is a song lyric and when I must stop to question my existence or just the mere stupidity of it all, a wierd al track will start playing in my head while I try to be serious about my life.
I am alone.
I understand it (mostly).
I try to accept it (except it bothers me).
I want to be with someone else who also doesn't want to alone.
It won't happen.
At least, I am almost never alone in my dreams.
Then I wake up in my empty bed, the remains of a poem rattling around in my head
I might have to rhyme something with dead, but will just endeavor to make this all a joke instead.

BUT I DIGRESS
It is Tuesday.
(blame it all on Loki)
or
Satan
or
Raymond.
no wait, everyone loves Raymond, except for me.
Which could explain my self-inflicted loneliness.

I do resent when friends and family offer up trite explanations (usually on Facebook) as to how this is really my fault (as if I didn't know it) or that it is so easily solved (although this usually means I need to move to another universe).

 I am now tempted to quote some REM and Dave Matthews, but I won't.
It is my fault, but only so much as to admit that I blame myself for blaming myself so much. That taking responsibility for my actions and subsequent isolation is more a result to my mishandling of social affairs rather than a direct attempt to sabotage a sense of happiness over any real empirical understanding of what I was really going to feel today.
Instead, I play Clash of Clans & Fallout Shelter & Titan Empires & Star Wars Commander and stay in bed effectively until 10 am.


 Then  it's time for work and you know pretty much the rest of the day is spent waiting on on that awesome Comcast upload speed. 
So, instead of finding that deeper part of my soul where in self discovery and enlightenment hide inside of, I goof off and work in between the tedium of my work life knowing that there are better places for me to be, better things for me to be doing.
Because I am so good at my job, I solve every hurdle thrown my way in a matter of minutes instead of taking all day to solve them.
I won't get a job at Comcast or ATT this way, however.

Although, I should sell myself short on the possibility that my job is not that unlike another IT crowds job (that was a reference)
Here, let me help you visualize this,
Insert, anyone of my coworkers.
(kidding)
no one will accept a I.D. 10T error anyway.
Life would be awesome if I had a cool yet grumpy socially awkward coworker to commiserate - I mean collaborate all this with.

A few final thoughts



Life is.
and 
sometimes you don't have to be humanity's last hope 
or a 
teenager
without a friend in the world
save for a 
moody old man
to get it.


and
that is life or tuesdays
according to Mike.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

The Post where I "Usher" in some confessions

Right now it might help me if I was a Catholic.
On the other hand (and with apologies to the Catholics- at large), it is probably a good thing that I am not Catholic.
Herein this blog, I am going to write about things that I will not talk about, even with friends.
Since, almost no one ever really comments on Life According to Mike. I expect I won't hear much on my "confessions."
DISCLAIMER!!!! 
Don't take this as something you will see in me on a daily basis or anything that you can find elsewhere in my writing or web pages (I mean it is there, but very hard to see) Also, I am not gay, just weird/strange. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay. 
Also I am not a Pervert or a sociopath (I care) or a Psychopath or a Creeper (if you start to feel this way I recommend you go back to Twitter and look for something to preoccupy yourself with)
But I digress.

This is an awesome and wonderful game.
It made me think and realize a few things about myself that I am now going to write about.


 If I could rewind time back to the moment where my father's sperm got confused in my mother's womb and made me a male, I would throttle it into realizing that if I had to live life all over again- I would have been female. 
  1. NO, I do not have a woman living inside me (as in transgender identity).
    It is harder to define than that. I only feel this way at certain times.
    Like when my Great Nephew, Connor was born. I knew I had been cheated of childbirth. I didn't really understand what that meant, but I knew it had to mean something because I felt such a loss.
    Or the fact that I tend to take to video games that have a woman character as the central character hero. Damn you Tomb Raider (and also my brother who told me to play it!).

  2. If you look at my World of Warcraft account, I have more female characters then I have male. It's true in borderlands, Fallout, Skyrim etc.
    I can sometimes persuade myself that I would rather look at the woman's but rather than the man's ass but at least I know I am just lying to myself.
    The rest of this will come off as corny, trite and somewhat sexist but here it is. I would probably be bisexual (mostly because I believe- without any concrete proof or empirical evidence that few people understand what it really means to be this way- including me), That I wouldn't be "girly" in western standards of behavior and still would end up being a nerd.
    I hope I would have more sense that my male alter ego and avoid cookie dough and Dr. Pepper (and food in general as a means of comfort) and not be overweight.
    and
    What does this have to do with this game, you are probably asking yourself right now?
    Maybe nothing, but more likely that I get the emotion that Max is feeling/living and that for the time I am in the game, I forget my own sense of gender and take on hers.
    (I did warn you that it would sound sexist/trite/corny)
    But as I became Max and spent time being this girl that thought that has been with me for most of my life kept creeping back into my subconscious.
  3. The Last of Us.

    I identified more with Ellie than Joel, partly- I suspect because I am not a father nor probably ever will be. I am, however- or rather have been lost and unwanted. I understand the identity of not knowing what is going on behind the scenes yet knowing that it has something to do with me or rather having something to do with the idea that I represent.

    This game has stayed with me, for weeks (since I finished it). I got Joel, I can even understand his decisions at the end of the game, but if someone had to ask me who I felt I was in the game, it would be Ellie. What is more, I knew pretty much what Ellie was going to do each time she had a pivotal moment in the game. I didn't always see or know what Joel was going to do. 
  4. The last time a game made me feel like this was 
    Beyond Good and Evil.
    I probably played this game all the way through at least 4 times. I stalled on playing it when I got it on xbox live arcade- but I will go back now- if only to see if the feeling is the same way.
  5. Does this mean, I know women or how women think?
    Nope, not at all, My brain is wired like a man's, I have been sufficiently programmed to be all man and masculinity- it does not stop me from wanting to find some middle ground or at least some connection. Thankfully there are still the video games.


  6. Then there is Romance....or the lack of it.        Not surprisingly, I do blame Disney and the very filtered Fairy Tales and fiction that I               grew up reading. As a faithful student of the ideal, I just assumed that nature would                 follow a set course and I would get my turn at love- true love. I could be Wesley and get              my Buttercup. It didn't happen.
  7. Instead, I grew up and became the Beast. So far, there has been no Belle, plenty of Gaston's and Maurice's and others, a few Rumplestiltskin's and a fair number of evil queens, bad fairies, idiot townspeople, a donkey called donkey, a ogre or three, some blind mice, a ginger bread man, a dragon and lots of lonely nights of self-imposed exile but no Belle has ever walked into my life. As far as I know, I have never walked into her's either.
  8. What happened? How did I end up this lonely monstrous being who yearns for and yet is so very, very bad at romance, love or sex- yes even sex (including bad sex) has been out of reach. The Experts weigh in.

 Mom: Well- if you just lost all that weight...
Dad: Well, son, if you found another woman who was- um, well closer to your weight, then....
The Aunt: If you would stop pretending to be gay... 


The Girl you secretly love but are friends with: Oh, (insert your name) Mike, You are so funny, there's nothing wrong with you...I mean I am just not into hairy men who act so...beastly. 
Your Sister(s): You will find someone, just quit being such a loser and stop playing video games, women don't want men who play games. 

Your Brother: Hey Bro- you just need to get laid. (f*** all that romance sh**.
 Your Friend(s): You are a great guy but you have no confidence...I mean no pickup lines...I mean you need to learn to lie better. The Evil Queen: (you know she's out there somewhere) Romance is dead, blame AIDS, Blame TV, Blame Sexism, Blame Feminism, well blame something...I mean this is really you're fault anyway- you should have been born a woman.



 Gaston: Be Gaston...no wait, I am Gaston, you're the beast, Belle is mine, go back to your hole, Disney lied, I get the girl in this fairy tale- just look at the evidence.







Me: Dammit, should have left this out of that blog.

Advice, mostly stinks and isn't helpful. 
Believe in love or don't/ (I still believe- even though I am fairly sure I will always be the beast in the high castle with his books (thousands and thousands of books)
I know what I want.

Finally (although this is by no means all)
I am a writer (I have empirical evidence to back this up)
and it is through my own pen that I can create reality to suit my needs and desires.
I can write myself as a woman (I only have to believe it and it is true)
If you haven't read Inkheart then forget all that I just wrote and go back to TMZ.






Was this ever about USHER or Confessions?
No, i just needed to say what I said and make a small spectacle of it.
For her part, I think Max would understand me.
I understand her and we are just fiction and truth
after all.
(take a selfie and ask yourself that same question)


and that is life according to Max (I mean Mike).


Sunday, August 30, 2015

A Few Good Men (and Women)

Last night, I took my mother to the Rule High School 1960 Class Reunion.
I did not go to Rule, in fact, until my mother opened the Knox County Museum of Education, I did not even know that there was a school called Rule. I was woefully ignorant of all the schools in this our hometown of Knoxville. I attended Sunnyview (in North Knox County) and Doyle High School (in South Knox County). Outside of those two schools, I was only ever aware of other schools because my mother taught at them or we played them in football at Doyle. I missed a lot of things about Knoxville back then (the late 1980s).
Last night, I met, ate and was entertained and educated by some of the very best people to ever come out of this small southern town. A few of these men and women went on to fame and fortune (like so many schools over the years) but what what stands out here is that most of the people there last night settled for being the good and the few.
What I mean is there are scholars, educators, inventors, writers, doctors, and other careers that we consider to engender success but being among the few and good means far more than being famous or wealthy- neither of which make you a good person.
Last night, this wonderful group of men and women made my mother an honorary graduate of Rule High School which made for one the best moments in my mother's life. She has had honors and titles bestowed upon her over the years, her name is on a wall of Fame amongst other similar honors; but it was this simple action of good people that has made her so very proud and grateful and happy.
That is what I mean.
It's too bad that there are only a few people out there that strive for what is truly good in this life. it would make the world a much better place if more of us put aside our own ambitions or plans for personal success or wealth and took the time to make a woman feel wanted, loved and accepted.
I leave you with that thought.
Take the time, be part of something that makes the difference for just one person, because in the end, I am willing to bet, it will make the difference for many others and that includes you as well.

and that is life according to Mike.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

I've got a Dream

I've got a dream
Well, Mike, what is it?

And there it is.
I cannot define it exactly.
I feel like if I quantify it, I will lose what it is- as if the dream is as substantial as a waking dream truly is. When you dream it, you swear that you are going to remember every detail but when you try to tell someone the details bleed away and all you have left over is that idea that led you to dare to dream this dream anyway.

I want to write.
I want to travel.
I want to make money doing both.
BUT
I want to enjoy it too.
And I want to do other stuff too.
videos, internet, movies, games, cons, etc.
I want to believe that I can take all that and turn it into a career, just don't ask me to condense it into a tidy one to two word title.
I will freeze up and all that I was thinking and what I was about to say comes out like a high school boy asking the cute girl to dance for the first time.

Do you have a dream?
Do you feel the need to explain it to others?

I do.
So what to do about that dream?
I am going to accept that I have one and act on the last part I remember. 
Although I suspect I won't be singing and dancing unless otherwise motivated.

well that too.
and that's life according to Mike (and Kevin).


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Jesus was not a Socialist and Neither is Obama

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.” ― Stephen Colbert


So these MEMEs are making their rounds on the Interwebs basically targeting Republicans who are firing back with their various definitions of Socialism as defined by the Nazis (a socialist party), the Russians (also got Socialist in the Titles), the Marxists (who are actually communists -which is similar but not the same), Darth Vader (because I threw it in) and Obama (who isn't a socialist although the Republicans insist he is...and muslim- because that makes sense somewhere)!
case in point #1: Social Jesus Meme is a lie
which has been copy pasted to several other blogs because.... well hell, obviously the opposition doesn't want to improve on this obviously well researched and carefully thought out essay which actually has no actual references except to some translation of the Bible and something some guy said- I say some guy because I have never heard of him (he's a preacher who wrote some book(s)).
Where does all this stem from you might ask?
Where did it all get started?
Who knows. I do know that back before Romney had the temerity to hatch a plan that would become the infamous "Obamacare" scenario, that Americans debated socialized medicine systems like what they have in Canada or other civilized countries and came up with countless reasons why America could never allow that to happen here.
Ironically many of those arguments ended with the very possibility as a Lie and being Immoral thing to force on our society.

Here is my laugh on all of this. Jesus is not a Socialist and neither is Obama.
let the screamers start screaming.
So to start this debate (or finish it) let's define socialism by its actual root rather than the Fox News (Glenn Beck/Bill O'Reilly) definition of tanks and red flags and obnoxious dictators.


Socialism is a social and economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy, as well as a political theory and movement that aims at the establishment of such a system.
Socialism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Full Definition of SOCIALISM

1
:  any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2
a :  a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
b :  a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3
:  a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done


Ironically,
Much of this stems from our Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson.
Who was troubled by what he found in the translations of the Bible of his day and sought out the real Jesus as he believed him to be. In the end, he would conclude that his version of Jesus was authentic enough for himself after Jesus had been stripped of the "propaganda and aggrandizement from the Church."
Yet, even Jefferson would be misunderstood and misquoted.
Jefferson would be accused of stripping away the divinity of Jesus and reducing him to being a really good social worker.

Thomas Jefferson and his Bible

Now take a look at the definition of Social Work.

Social work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and subjective well-being of individuals, families, couples, groups, and communities through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, crisis intervention, and teaching for the benefit of those affected by social disadvantages such as poverty, mental and physical illness or disability, and social injustice, including violations of their civil liberties and human rights. The profession is dedicated to the pursuit of social justice and the well-being of oppressed and marginalized individuals and communities. The social work profession is broad.


A person who practices social work is called a social worker. In the UK, the title "Social Worker" is protected by law (under s.61 Care Standards Act 2000) and only those who have undergone approved training at university either through a bachelor's or master's degree in Social Work and are registered with the appropriate professional regulatory body (the Health and Care Professions Council in England, the Scottish Social Services Council in Scotland, the Care Council for Wales, or the Northern Ireland Social Care Council) may practice social work and be called a social worker. To do so otherwise is a criminal offence. Student social workers typically undergo a systematic set of training and qualifications that are distinct from those of social care workers or care assistants, who may undertake a social work role but not necessarily have the qualifications or professional skills of a qualified social worker. Currently, there are no formal qualifications or training to practice as a social care assistant, care worker, or carer, but mostly ancillary staff are accountable to a qualified member of staff, such as a social worker.
Jesus: The Great Social Worker

I can see a difference between Socialism and Social work and Socialized Medicine. What happens in this country is the moment the Syllable "Soc' escapes your mouth than all the rest of the US seems to hears in Socialism -the great failure because- of course, capitalism has been such a great success andis the very foundation of Democracy (which is worth writing another blog on why this is such an incredible lie) but I digress.

Jesus is Jesus and what little we have of his words and actions has been translated and interpreted so many times that it really takes a leap of faith to find enough to believe in.
However, what little has remained is golden in that regardless of translation and interpretation, what Jesus said and did and taught shines through the ages.
A good way to live striving for a perfection that we as humans can only dream to achieve.
(my definition)
Yes, some of it is socialist in concept, some of it is socially minded, if you ask me, I am going to say it's Christian to be this way and the Socialists and the rest can stuff that in the definitions and limitations they want to place on Jesus.
Why can't that be enough?

And then there is Obama.
The man's actions (those that this congress lets him own) speak for themselves. if you can take all the grime and gloss that the media and the political propaganda smear on him off, he is mostly a good man struggling to do the right thing as so many of us are. He is mortal and not Jesus. As to whether he is a good Christian (I will take him at his word on that)- that is between him and God and not anyone else.
I would still vote for him again save that I believe a third term would kill him.
This country is crazy.

and that is Life (and Socialism) according to Mike.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

On living in the Land of the Free that also used to be the home of the Brave

So here we are on the Sunday the Episcopal church celebrates the 4th of July. Together we celebrate our freedoms- the ones so often taken for granted, so often disregarded when it comes down to our individual safety and the ones so often forgotten when they belong to someone or something that is not what we see as being American.
The Fanfare of the Common Man by Aaron Copeland is a piece of music written in 1942 inspired in part by a speech by then Vice President Henry A. Wallace proclaim the dawning of the "Century of the common man" and as a calling to the people of the USA as we entered into WWII. A war that was all about freedom from tyranny and oppression. (this may be debated, but I am going with this idea).
This past week, we Americans have seen an end to marriage inequality and a freedom granted to a different group of citizens who were in so many ways ignored and pushed out of sharing in the "Century of the Common Man." Now homosexuals or gays or LBGT can marry without someone denying them this basic human right.  We saw that a transgender could be accepted by most people as being a normal human being and probably as her chosen sex.
This past week we have seen a new dawning of what might be the beginning of racial equality in this country as the slow however heartfelt rejection of a symbol (regardless of counter argument) of racism and hate is being removed from place of public display. It is just a piece of cloth but it is still a flag that carries much negative implications and themes (many of which stem from modern misrepresentations of it original purpose). The confederate "Battle" flag is going out of the public eye. I doubt that the products that also carry the flag will last much longer than it. It had a good run. The American thing to do here, is to recognize it's significance and honor its removal without assigning the negativity that is being assigned to it. We should let it retire, but it has not gone that well, as the war between those that would keep it and those who would destroy it rages on. The flag has come down, at least not to be burned but only because a few have some insight to what would happen if it went that far. We are, sadly, not acting like the Americans, I wanted us to be, but we are acting and progress is being made in finding a new world that might actually escape this ages long hate that plagues our sense of collective freedom.
We have seen that a good plan can survive the seemingly endless rampage and assault of those against it, despite the evidence that it will make life better for many, many Americans. I speak of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare (ironically should have been called Romneycare but that's another story). The media and the far right cannot seem to remember that there are many of their own supporters who would benefit from having it, if only they would give them a chance to believe it will, instead of the constant barrage of propaganda that is spewed out that over it.

Which leaves us with the end of my original sentence. We are not living in the home of the Brave. It might have been once, it may have just been a hope or a dream that our forefathers or some composer like Copeland had about a better version of US. We are left in the terrible wake of yet another shooting in which the lines of FEAR reign supreme over this country. We should all be mourning the loss of these good people who live and died in the service of God. We should all be for stopping and asking what could have stopped this from happening?
My answers are thus:
1) We, as Americans, need to end the cycle of Fear. We could if we only would stop the media from capitalizing of every incident while giving it their own individual twist. We should stop giving the white supremacists any attention in the media.
2) We should remember that while this incident is a race crime against Blacks, it is also a hate/fear crime against anyone who does not fit into the world view of a select group of extremists who are only to willing to kill for what they believe in. I am not black but I am human and as a human and as an American, I know, I feel that this is more than just another massacre of black people, that this is going to become so much more that what we have ever anticipated as a fight for freedom.
3) This is NOT about the Second Amendment to the Constitution which has nothing to do with what was done (however it did make it easier for this white man to do it). This is not about the right to bear arms or as the modern interpretation goes guns (pistols mostly), it is not even about who should or should not have access to them (especially since it's basically open access anyway). This is not about the Government taking your guns away (even though the Weapon Industry will have another few hundred sales - if not thousands- because they will say it really is). This is not even about violence, it was violent, it was evil incarnate, it is about fear. Fear motivated this man as it motivates most (if not all) hate groups. yep, ironically hatred and violence needs that fear to feed it, impower it, inform it, forgive it, sustain it, etc.
4) This is about being responsible Americans who should know better. We could try to start being the Americans we have always claimed we are. You know the ones, the responsible, humans who look out for their neighbors, are hospitable to all men, that reach out a helping hand to anyone without judgement because most of our ancestors were from almost identical situations, oppression, walks of life as those who come to our shores now,
5) That Christians should stop and remember what it is to say and be and practice Christianity (as convoluted as it has become in some places) We do not forget the poor or grow impatient with them, we remember the downtrodden because Jesus remembered them, we forgive the sinners because we are forgiven, we love one another regardless of race, wealth (or lack thereof), sex, gender preference or pretty much anything else because we are all Children of God.
6) if you want to keep on believing that we are the best country on the planet Earth, we actually have to be the best country and that doesn't mean sports, or more nukes or more guns or more money. It means realizing that civilized people should practice what is in our declaration of independence, our constitution and ALL of our amendments not just some.

I am reminded at times like this of a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

If.
If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
(insert woman-daughter/human-child).

And that is Episcopal Independence Day according to Mike.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

What to do when you can't win

So, here I am, at the short end of another epic family fail where what seemed like a joke to me was taken as intimidation, bullying, and being judgemental on my part to them.
In short, another no win situation carefully engineered by yours truly.
So what can you do when you have screwed the pooch.

 Well, this is definitely a viable option, but we are supposed be progressive about this and come up with a better solution. 
Or this, although I tend to feel like this when I realize how deep the hole is that I have just dug. So there you have it, Mike with a shovel at the bottom of the hole.
Well, since I lost you back at or, you might have to put out of the fire where your monitor burst into flame (figuratively) because I am trying to be wise and funny and probably not
really succeeding since as you might remember I am down at the bottom of the hole that I just dug for myself.


 But I digress, anyway, I am sorry that I cannot be this one person everyone wants me to be. I mean, I want to be this loving, considerate person, but as much as I realize that I am two people, I am or rather have to one person, kind of the ying and the yang needs to be one concept, kind of two halves are just two halves incomplete or allow them to become one person even if it means I will probably be that brother that will still be at the bottom of the hole.
 

Shakespeare via Plutonius instructs his son to be a better man, he tells him among other things, "and this above all things, to your own self be true."

 My response is: "Well that's all well and good and fine if you pops is going to kick it in the next act before your sister gets driven mad by the guy whom she thought she was in love with- who also killed your dear old dad."
But I digress.
Can I be my one self?
Not as long as I look to other people to define me.


 So how do I become the one I true am?
Probably, I quit using Facebook. 
I stop talking to people who upset and judge me.
except that pretty much covers my entire family
save for one or two people I somehow seem to get along with regardless of how bad I have been or seem to be.



 It's good to have people at your back, right now I have 2 nieces who love me regardless of how lousy or conflicted I am being or have been.
What should you do when you can't win?
Remember who you know (if you are lucky) or think (at least) you are, who you see staring back at you in the mirror.
That person who you both love and hate.
Also, remember that it's not everyone that judges you or tells you that you are this way or that. There are some people, like my nieces Lisa and Karen, who accept that you are what you are without requiring some contract that you are going to change to better suit what other people want you to become.
You are, after all, your own sense of potential, not someone else's - no matter how well intentioned they are.
I can't be that person.
I guess that's what you find while you are holding the shovel at the bottom of the pit you dug while trying to deny who you are/were/want to be while someone else keeps telling you things like:
"Why can't you be that nice person you were the last time you visited?'

I am that person, but I am also that wisecracking smartass that has problems with intimacy and kindness, that is more afraid of himself than anyone really suspects.

So, when you find yourself at the bottom of that slippery slope and you want my advice that it like this:

Be who you think you are or want to be, not who someone else thinks or wants you to be.
You will find that you are alone down in the hole, after all.


Well, at least, I will be there with you with my trusty shovel.






 And that's life according to Mike.