The last few weeks have been a bit trying for me and that of my moral beliefs. At every turn in the media I am being bombarded with news of how much our country sucks because of foreign policy and yet, all the foreigners was automatic citizenship.
I firmly believe we all have the right to be equal and free being able to pursue a better life but now I have to ask at what cost?
Monday will mark a cornerstone point in our nation where all illegal immigrants are encouraged to ditch work and rally to grind the nation to a halt. I have to ask the simple question.. If you want to be American so badly then why try and do something to destroy its economy for a day. Wouldn't it simply be better to peacefully assemble over a weekend or a holiday and show some pride in the USA?
I've seen people rally with the Mexican flag flying over an upsidedown AMERICAN flag. I've heard our Star Spangled Banner has been rewritten and recorded in Spanish with dnewer lyrics. All of these things point to a group of people trying to divide a current nation and start a new one and that is not the american way..
My heart bleeds for all immigrants who came for a better life and worked their asses off to become American the right way. They worked, learned English and learned the HISTORY of how we became such a great nation..
Freedom is not a sense of entiltement as we see before us today but something to be earned, worked to preserve and most of all cherished. I have grown up a citizen of this country from birthright as my ancestors have since the early 1600's so I feel I've earned my right as an American to be pissed off about this.
I challenge any person to walk into a neighbors home sit down and start making demands of your host. Illegals are no different here..You have broken into our home and decided to make demands you have no right to and have not done anything to earn .. least of all our respect.
There is a reason they are called Illegal Aliens. Because they came here Illegal and broke the current laws of immigration. They took jobs and didn't pay one once of tax they everyone of our LEGAL citizens pay. They want free healthcare, education and social benefits which are all things my family and I have worked for generations to support...and they demand it .. now they say theword Illegal immigrant is racist. ... Since when ....
I have a great idea ..instant citizenship to any immigrant who joins our military and proves to us that they want to be here and are willing to sacrifice for the american dream. The way it currently stands I can assure you that if we went to conflict with any one of these peoples countries they would not stand up for the usa ..they would fight for their own soil ...
My mother in law is of British national origin and to this day remains that way. She came to our country on a work visa and ended up getting married. The one difference I see in her as an alien of our nation is that she cherishes what we have and she respects it. To this day when our national anthem plays she stands and faces the flag with pride... She doesn't demand we play god save the queen .. That is what respect and love of our country is all about....
Sorry for the rant..but I'm tired of being taken advantage of ...
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Blogging
In all my travels across the net one of my favorite past times has certainly become reading peoples blogs. It has opened up a new medium into learning things about people who we would not normally have access too. It has allowed me to meet people with similar interests,passions and stories as mine. It has helped open up my eyes to more diverse views than my own and created some great friendships.
Blogging is in no way a good means to hide out from the rest of the world but it certainly makes it easier to vent your frustrations at the world in a non-violent way. In some instances it has become a warning sign for those who DO have violent tendencies and unfortunately for society, not always caught in time .. For instance recently a young man killed and mutilated a young girl with the intent of cannibalizing her.
Think about how many times we see neighbors, friends or co-workers on the evening news in shock stating that they would have never imagined he could do something like this. In the case of Bruce Schwartz all the signs were there.. Right in his blog!! Yet he still fell between the cracks and a young girl paid dearly for it with her life. In Boston recently a man committed suicide on a bus as the police approached to arrest him on suspicion of murder. Seems he combed the internet looking for sex offenders to kill and did so before taking his own life all by using the sex offender registry to target his victims. While I have no remorse for the sex offender I do have to admit it is a shame when something designed to keep us informed is used in such a poor manner .. Why? It affects all the people who really need to know that information ...
In the case of my blog I usually use it to be creative or vent but in a lot of cases I keep the real personal stuff to myself. Not because it is bad or could get me in trouble but like all human beings I have my fair share of scars to bear and I guess I have my own fears of how others could perceive me. In fact my own daughter reads this blog so where do you draw the line on personal thoughts and saying things that could possibly hurt others. So you walk a fine line and blog about the things that matter a little less or maybe just annoy us all while keeping the harder stuff to ourselves... In essence I am only emotionally naked to a very very short list of people...
When I visit my peers sites I most certainly see everything from creativity to venting about everyday issues. I'd love to let them all know that I admire them tremendously for allowing their personalities to shine through with little obstruction. In doing so I've learned more and more that in the end we all bleed red, we all want to be loved, give love and just be the best we can ...................
Kev
Blogging is in no way a good means to hide out from the rest of the world but it certainly makes it easier to vent your frustrations at the world in a non-violent way. In some instances it has become a warning sign for those who DO have violent tendencies and unfortunately for society, not always caught in time .. For instance recently a young man killed and mutilated a young girl with the intent of cannibalizing her.
Think about how many times we see neighbors, friends or co-workers on the evening news in shock stating that they would have never imagined he could do something like this. In the case of Bruce Schwartz all the signs were there.. Right in his blog!! Yet he still fell between the cracks and a young girl paid dearly for it with her life. In Boston recently a man committed suicide on a bus as the police approached to arrest him on suspicion of murder. Seems he combed the internet looking for sex offenders to kill and did so before taking his own life all by using the sex offender registry to target his victims. While I have no remorse for the sex offender I do have to admit it is a shame when something designed to keep us informed is used in such a poor manner .. Why? It affects all the people who really need to know that information ...
In the case of my blog I usually use it to be creative or vent but in a lot of cases I keep the real personal stuff to myself. Not because it is bad or could get me in trouble but like all human beings I have my fair share of scars to bear and I guess I have my own fears of how others could perceive me. In fact my own daughter reads this blog so where do you draw the line on personal thoughts and saying things that could possibly hurt others. So you walk a fine line and blog about the things that matter a little less or maybe just annoy us all while keeping the harder stuff to ourselves... In essence I am only emotionally naked to a very very short list of people...
When I visit my peers sites I most certainly see everything from creativity to venting about everyday issues. I'd love to let them all know that I admire them tremendously for allowing their personalities to shine through with little obstruction. In doing so I've learned more and more that in the end we all bleed red, we all want to be loved, give love and just be the best we can ...................
Kev
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Guitars, Music and Me
People who know me are aware I play guitar and run an online BB fan site for them. What they probably do not know is the history of what got me to where I am (Not that there is much to tell)
My earliest memories of getting interested in pop music was around 1972 or so and mostly by A.M. radio. I remember hits like"Billy don't be a hero" Cats in the Cradle" when they were new music. It was around this time I actually bought my first cassette tape and probably what I consider to be my earliest influence into being musically driven. That artist was Jim Croce and I got it because of the song "Bad bad Leroy Brown". I must have been around 7 years of age at the time but his music even to this day really sticks with me.
In 1975 around the age of 9 my mother decided that "WE" were going to take organ lessons. I took to the keyboards with relative ease and I guess to some extent enjoyed it but it would become the foundation for my love of music and the desire to play. By 1976 I was getting pretty good at the keys and would get chosen to do public recitals for the store that we got our lessons from.. I loved the idea of playing in front of people even at that age...
At the age of 10 it is tough to get a child to do anything and I supposed to some extent I was no different. My mom would regularly have to push me to get my practice time in and I've since come to learn that if it needs to be pushed then it isn't enjoyed. Mom had started taking to secretly taping my practice time and playing it back to show me what needed to be improved upon ..it was this act that would push me clear of music for the next yr and a half....
Late in Oct 1976 a friend and I were hanging at my house watching a show on TV called the Paul Lynde Special and it wouldn't become apparent how much of an affect that show would have on me for quite some time. The show was based around a holiday Halloween special and had various skits and characters from other shows but the one thing that kicked my ass that night was my introduction to Rock and Roll.
Kiss debuted live on that show that evening in support of the Destroyer album, I was immediately blown away by the intensity of the music and the visual aspects of the band. While it wasn't right away this influenced me in a musical sense it certainly started me off as a fan. By 1977/78 Kiss had released Alive 2 and it was that album that finally pulled me into the guitar world. For Christmas that year I received my "Memphis" Strat and an Amp, I was well on my way!!
Dealing with keyboard lessons for close to 2 years gave me an idea of what I was in for or at least so I thought in taking guitar lessons. The thing I had not counted on was having to build up callouses and the pain endured learning to play. For whatever reason I was not introduced into "light" gage strings and I have to admit there were many times where it wasn't a pleasant experience.
I took all of 6 lessons that year and learned that I was terribly bored after all when are we gonna get to the good stuff...Rock and Roll .. not the fundamentals of site reading dammit... I messed with the guitar on and off with my own familiarity for a few years and finally Rhoads came into the picture.. Again I was blown away by the intensity of the music and the playing.. His playing would have a huge impact on me in years to come.
By the time I was 17 with 6 lessons under my belt and a whole lot of learning on my own I was playing locally with friends I had made in high school I'd have to say that jamming with other people, learning songs and specifically "Guitar for the practicing musician" were the things that had the biggest impact on my playing level. I had always been lucky enough even to this day to have a natural ability to play the guitar but the biggest lesson I can hand to anyone who wants to get better is to go play with people. Play with people who are better than you.. you will most certainly feel intimidated and out gunned..but the one thing that gave me was drive and knowledge.
By jamming with people above my level it gave me the chance to see more established people play and learn from it. It helped me evolve and challenge my limits.. All on 6 lessons .. LOL.
More later...
My earliest memories of getting interested in pop music was around 1972 or so and mostly by A.M. radio. I remember hits like"Billy don't be a hero" Cats in the Cradle" when they were new music. It was around this time I actually bought my first cassette tape and probably what I consider to be my earliest influence into being musically driven. That artist was Jim Croce and I got it because of the song "Bad bad Leroy Brown". I must have been around 7 years of age at the time but his music even to this day really sticks with me.
In 1975 around the age of 9 my mother decided that "WE" were going to take organ lessons. I took to the keyboards with relative ease and I guess to some extent enjoyed it but it would become the foundation for my love of music and the desire to play. By 1976 I was getting pretty good at the keys and would get chosen to do public recitals for the store that we got our lessons from.. I loved the idea of playing in front of people even at that age...
At the age of 10 it is tough to get a child to do anything and I supposed to some extent I was no different. My mom would regularly have to push me to get my practice time in and I've since come to learn that if it needs to be pushed then it isn't enjoyed. Mom had started taking to secretly taping my practice time and playing it back to show me what needed to be improved upon ..it was this act that would push me clear of music for the next yr and a half....
Late in Oct 1976 a friend and I were hanging at my house watching a show on TV called the Paul Lynde Special and it wouldn't become apparent how much of an affect that show would have on me for quite some time. The show was based around a holiday Halloween special and had various skits and characters from other shows but the one thing that kicked my ass that night was my introduction to Rock and Roll.
Kiss debuted live on that show that evening in support of the Destroyer album, I was immediately blown away by the intensity of the music and the visual aspects of the band. While it wasn't right away this influenced me in a musical sense it certainly started me off as a fan. By 1977/78 Kiss had released Alive 2 and it was that album that finally pulled me into the guitar world. For Christmas that year I received my "Memphis" Strat and an Amp, I was well on my way!!
Dealing with keyboard lessons for close to 2 years gave me an idea of what I was in for or at least so I thought in taking guitar lessons. The thing I had not counted on was having to build up callouses and the pain endured learning to play. For whatever reason I was not introduced into "light" gage strings and I have to admit there were many times where it wasn't a pleasant experience.
I took all of 6 lessons that year and learned that I was terribly bored after all when are we gonna get to the good stuff...Rock and Roll .. not the fundamentals of site reading dammit... I messed with the guitar on and off with my own familiarity for a few years and finally Rhoads came into the picture.. Again I was blown away by the intensity of the music and the playing.. His playing would have a huge impact on me in years to come.
By the time I was 17 with 6 lessons under my belt and a whole lot of learning on my own I was playing locally with friends I had made in high school I'd have to say that jamming with other people, learning songs and specifically "Guitar for the practicing musician" were the things that had the biggest impact on my playing level. I had always been lucky enough even to this day to have a natural ability to play the guitar but the biggest lesson I can hand to anyone who wants to get better is to go play with people. Play with people who are better than you.. you will most certainly feel intimidated and out gunned..but the one thing that gave me was drive and knowledge.
By jamming with people above my level it gave me the chance to see more established people play and learn from it. It helped me evolve and challenge my limits.. All on 6 lessons .. LOL.
More later...
Monday, April 10, 2006
Wow, cobwebs
Seems to be a lot of dust and cobwebs in here huh .. Been a while since I've logged in and actually written something. Life has been busy and hectic for the last several weeks. So for those nice enough to stop and read or even post a comment for that matter I apologize. I have not ignored reading your blogs, I've been following them and haven't made much time for comments or opinions.. I do thoroughly enjoy reading all your blogs..
So I mentioned things being hectic, as most here would know I run an on-line forum with my buddy Sully (link to the right). A few weeks ago we undertook the effort of moving all our UBB over to a new software called VBulletin. I'm really liking the new layout of the forum and the tools that are available to us. The learning curve has been a pain in the ass and the swap has created a boatload of work as far as registrations and old membership issues. Slowly those things are getting worked out but it always amazes me how much time it consumes ..
2nd on the list of hectic is work. Apparently the bigwigs up top have admitted to dropping the ball on what our customer orders were going to be. Basically this translates into ..Hey guys we fucked up so you need to work more hours while we are golfing...So lately I have been coming into work by 6am and getting an extra hour a day. I'm not used to getting up at 5am so I must say this is wearing thin on my old body...
Guitar playing..
Man I'd been getting lazy for a while as the closest I'd get to picking up a guitar was moving it room to room in its case. The one thing that always seems to inspire me to play guitar is new equipment or toys. This weekend Line6 released the latest update to their flagship Vetta amp and I've been waiting this one with little patience. Sat the new update was released and I downloaded it and installed it right away. For those of you who either don't know what a vetta is or you are just a complete tone snob (I'll touch on that some other time) I'll explain.
A Vetta is a software driven amplifier that has "modeling" technology. Basically line6 acquired all different big time amps and recorded and analyzed their frequency and resonance curves. They designed the software to react like the original amplifier. Is it dead on tube tone? Certainly not but it definitely sounds good and eats the crap out of any solid state amplifier. The positive to this amp is that instead of being locked to one tone or several different amps you end up with a much wider range of amps to play through as well as stomp boxes and such.
The new release fixed several things that either users wanted fixed or added and the new update so far seems to be worth the wait. Anything that gets me to pull a guitar out of a case and play is a good thing isn't it? What I haven't done is spent time with one specific guitar in ages. (Sounds like part of the family huh)
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am very dedicated to charvel superstrats as my guitar of choice, but like many guitar players I have at least one Les Paul in my arsenal. She is a 1993 Sunburst Custom that my wife had bought me for our anniversary in 94. I haven't paid much attention to that guitar in a very time other than to try a new setup in it but funny enough it ended up stock again..
Yesterday I pulled the old Paul out and fired up the new Vetta firmware and as I played I remembered what I actually loved about that Les Paul. There are specific guitar we all own or love that until we pick them up we tend to forget what it is we moss about them .. I guess it's like throwing on a well worn in pair of jeans that just seem to fit well ...
Anyway that's enough for now.. gotta get back to work .. Be cool everyone, I'm watching ..
Kev
So I mentioned things being hectic, as most here would know I run an on-line forum with my buddy Sully (link to the right). A few weeks ago we undertook the effort of moving all our UBB over to a new software called VBulletin. I'm really liking the new layout of the forum and the tools that are available to us. The learning curve has been a pain in the ass and the swap has created a boatload of work as far as registrations and old membership issues. Slowly those things are getting worked out but it always amazes me how much time it consumes ..
2nd on the list of hectic is work. Apparently the bigwigs up top have admitted to dropping the ball on what our customer orders were going to be. Basically this translates into ..Hey guys we fucked up so you need to work more hours while we are golfing...So lately I have been coming into work by 6am and getting an extra hour a day. I'm not used to getting up at 5am so I must say this is wearing thin on my old body...
Guitar playing..
Man I'd been getting lazy for a while as the closest I'd get to picking up a guitar was moving it room to room in its case. The one thing that always seems to inspire me to play guitar is new equipment or toys. This weekend Line6 released the latest update to their flagship Vetta amp and I've been waiting this one with little patience. Sat the new update was released and I downloaded it and installed it right away. For those of you who either don't know what a vetta is or you are just a complete tone snob (I'll touch on that some other time) I'll explain.
A Vetta is a software driven amplifier that has "modeling" technology. Basically line6 acquired all different big time amps and recorded and analyzed their frequency and resonance curves. They designed the software to react like the original amplifier. Is it dead on tube tone? Certainly not but it definitely sounds good and eats the crap out of any solid state amplifier. The positive to this amp is that instead of being locked to one tone or several different amps you end up with a much wider range of amps to play through as well as stomp boxes and such.
The new release fixed several things that either users wanted fixed or added and the new update so far seems to be worth the wait. Anything that gets me to pull a guitar out of a case and play is a good thing isn't it? What I haven't done is spent time with one specific guitar in ages. (Sounds like part of the family huh)
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am very dedicated to charvel superstrats as my guitar of choice, but like many guitar players I have at least one Les Paul in my arsenal. She is a 1993 Sunburst Custom that my wife had bought me for our anniversary in 94. I haven't paid much attention to that guitar in a very time other than to try a new setup in it but funny enough it ended up stock again..
Yesterday I pulled the old Paul out and fired up the new Vetta firmware and as I played I remembered what I actually loved about that Les Paul. There are specific guitar we all own or love that until we pick them up we tend to forget what it is we moss about them .. I guess it's like throwing on a well worn in pair of jeans that just seem to fit well ...
Anyway that's enough for now.. gotta get back to work .. Be cool everyone, I'm watching ..
Kev
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