My Blogs
Mike Porntoy
Mike Portnoy, drummer of the band Dream Theater, has recently released a statement about the bands recent decision to not go on there previously schedualed spring US tour. Ths is absolutely outrageous. Mike come on man! I missed the summer tour and was so stoked that you guys were coming back in the spring. But now I wont be seeing my favorite band in I dont know how long. If there is no summer tour next year i will most likely cry. But seriously i need Dream Theater to play in the US again soon. So Mike is so lucky that he is my idole. Or for that matter, Mike, James, John, JP, and Jordan are all my idoles. If you guys werent so fucking amazing, then I would hate Dream Theater.
Tiger’s New Game
As most of you know, Tiger Woods has been in the news a lot lately. To be completely hones, I am not sympathetic to his situation at all. What respectable man cheats on his wife? And on that note, what kind of man stoops down from his level, to a cocktail waitress? I just don’t see why he would be so stupid to do that. It’s not like his wife is ugly. She is actually quite hot…..but that’s neither here nor there. The fact is he made some huge mistakes and karma has bitten him in the ass. But don’t get me wrong. The woman involved with him is just as bad. There is no way that you sleep with Tiger Woods and not know that he is a married man. I don’t think that the girls are going to end with the ones that have already come out. I predict that many other women will be coming out and saying that they have been with him as well. This is just the beginning. The key for us as we watch the media is to not jump to conclusions. Stop and wait for the entire story to come out. Only then can we judge our beloved celebrities.
The Great Fire of Rome
Tragedies happen in every one of our lives. What defines us as people are they ways we react to them. History has repeated it’s self in many ways, one of them being disasters. Even in ancient times, tragedies ruled people’s lives. The way people dealt with them however have changed with time. Ancient Rome was a city of prosperity and power. However in 64 AD, a fire broke out and completely destroyed 10 of 14 of Rome’s districts. The outcome of the disaster was not too different of what would probably happen today.
On July 19th, 64 A.D. in the middle of the night, a fire broke out in Rome. Rome was a flourishing city of two million people, and fires were not unusual to the metropolis. But on this particular night, the summer heat acted as kindle for the blazing fire. The fire raged on for 6 days before it was finally in a controlled state. When the flames were gone the city was destroyed. 10 of Rome’s 14 districts were burnt down to the ground. And like the buildings, the peoples spirits had fallen as well.
The reaction to a disaster does not differ in time. Even back in the ancient times of flourishing Rome, the people reacted like any society of our time would. Naturally people were left without homes, food, water, or even entertainment. The population was naturally left in complete shock, and needed answers to why this catastrophe had happened to them. So they blamed it on there emperor of the time, Nero.
There were reasons why the people blamed there emperor. For example, Nero was an ambitious man who wanted to tear down a third of Rome, and construct an intricate series of palaces that would be named Neropolis. When he proposed this to the senate however, they denied the proposal keenly. This greatly angered Nero, and raised attention among the people. After the incident with Nero and the senate, the people had reason to believe that Nero had purposely burnet down the city of Rome in order to begin building his palaces. This idea was not far fetched, especially in a time of great desperation. People naturally want, or even need to blame disasters on someone else.
Another reason the people blamed Nero for the burning of there great city was because he was close to the coast in another city at the time of the fires. This place was a cooler oasis from the summer heat. Stories of Nero watching Rome burn while playing his fiddle have been passed down through time. People were unable to fight the fire, because of gangs of thugs threatening them if they did. Many reasons have surface for the reasons Rome burnt down, but there is no true evidence to point the blame. Nero has indeed gotten most of the blame throughout time, but the people are the ones who have given him this bad title. The truth cant be trusted to come out in a desperate time. People will always need to blame reason on something. It is a way of coping with the pain.
To fully put the blame on Nero for the fire of Rome would not be fair. It has been said that when he got word of the fire, he rushed back to Rome and arranged a relief effort to put out the fire. He is said to have used his own funds for these efforts. He also was said to have opened his palace doors to the public post fire, to give his people shelter and food. Nero has been said to be a bad ruler, but maybe the people were just upset and looking for someone to blame for the fire. Blaming your leader is an easy thing to do when in a time of desperation. It is important to view the fire of Rome in a neutral perspective and not put the blame on anyone. The truth of how the fire broke out will never be revealed.
If you look at the outcome of the Great Fire of Rome, you realize that it most likely was the best thing that could have possibly happened to the incredible empire. Without the fire destroying the city, Rome would have most likely never been built into the great city we know it was today. The beautiful marble pillars and buildings throughout the city were put up in order to make sure Rome would never burn down again.
The fire was a blessing to he outcome of Rome.
Phil’s 70th Birthday
On the night of March 13h 2010, there was a concert held at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The show was a benefit concert for Haiti, Mardi Gras, and a celebration of Phil Lesh’s 70th Birthday all rolled into one. the concert was absolutely incredible. the band Further, founded by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead, playe 3 amazing sets. special guests included Jackie Green, and Chris Robinson.
I AM WAITING
I am waiting
for a day when being a musician
Means actually being capable
of playing an instrument
And not just talking
behind a computerized beat
And I am waiting
for a larger than life band
Like those of our past
to blow our minds
with merely the power
of rock and roll
and I am waiting
for Mick Jagger to realize
that it is no longer 1972
and tight pants are not appealing for his age
I am waiting for a utopia
I am waiting
For a day when every religion
Stops claiming that only they
Are the true religion
I am aggravatingly waiting
For religions to sit back
And look at the destruction
That they truly cause
I am waiting for a utopia
I am waiting
For a Politician that I can truly trust
And not despise
And I am aggravatingly waiting
For more strong people
To stand up for our rights
I am waiting
For a politician
That can’t be bought
And I am waiting
For politicians
To stop persuading peoples opinions
On the opposite side of politics
I am waiting for a utopia
I am waiting
For a bay area sports team
To rise to the top
I am waiting
For athletes to be honest
And stop using steroids
And I am hesitantly waiting
For the Giants to blow peoples away
By making it to the playoffs
I am waiting for a utopia
Our World As We Know It
Our world is heading into our own Brave New World. Although we are not to the extreme of Huxley’s vision of the world we were heading into, we still show some signs of continuing down the path. Our own United States Military has a space shuttle that we can use to go into space. In science we can genetically modify plants, flies, and even human beings. Our economy in the United States has been on a steady decline for several years. Our politicians in the United States are taking more power by starting universal health care; and on top of this all, our global population is sky rocketing at a rate that will soon reach earths holding capacity.
The new health care program in the United States gives more power to the government. What is socialized medicine? Well, depending on where you look up the definition, you might just get a different answer each time. In general, socialized medicine is a system of healthcare that the government provides for its people. The government is supposed to provide for its people of course, but there is a problem when the government controls too much. So where is the government supposed to draw the line and stay out of peoples lives. In the novel A Brave New World, the government controlled everything. Even the class you would be placed in society. Our government is far from that, but whose to say that the government wont start controlling other things. They control health care now, why not control other things.
Scientists can control many things in our modern world. One of these things is genetic modification. They can alter the genetic makeup of an organism to create a “better” product. These genetic alternations usually are done with plants, or fruit, but the fact is we can do it with humans too. What will happen in a society where our human population has been genetically bread to be the best? Our society would be destroyed. The fact is already we are close to Huxley’s vision of a genetically altered society. To alter humans to that degree would put us pretty much directly into that vision. It did not work in the novel A Brave New World, and something tells me it sure as hell would not work in our real life society.
The United States military has recently announced that they have a space shuttle that can go into outer space. The thought of any military having a space shuttle gives me an eerie sci-fi feeling. What will a military need a space shuttle for? Well the sound of it reminds me of some sort of a brave new world. Weather or not it is Huxley’s vision of what he believed the world would come to; it brings up a lot of questions. Are we going to be heading into society where wars will no longer be fought on earths surface? Does the government know valuable information about space or our planet that we don’t know? Of course no one can answerer these questions until the time comes when or if these things happen, but non the less people should still question this potentially dangerous situation.
The United States economy has been on a steady decline for some time now. With a declining economy, many people have been losing their jobs, their homes, and many of their possessions. On top of the United States economy doing poorly, the entire global population has been steadily increasing. This is not a good thing. Scientists believe that the earth will reach its holding capacity in the near future. So what happens when it does? I believe society will be on the brink of war everywhere. The entire world will have a delicate scarcity of resources, which will create many problems. People will have no place to live, simply because there will be no room. Food will also be very scarce, so people will starve. Earth will no longer be an oasis for humans to live.
So where exactly are we heading as a World. The answerer lies in an even smaller place. I’m not talking about Countries, or even the towns we live in. No, the answerer lies in us. We as humans are the only ones who can save ourselves from continuing down this traitorous path to destruction. But we must see the evil, and fault in each of our lives. Without acknowledgement from ourselves, there will be nothing to change. Search inside and see ask yourself what kind of place will you want to live in. There you will find the truth.
