MyOpinions.Net

whatever

Originally when I made this log of my thoughts it was designed to be used as a way for me to get some of the data the computer lab at FSU so that I could print. If my Canon i80 wasn't out of ink then the print head was screwed up, and I haven't tried it since I moved from FSU. Not only that I had a helluva time finding cups ppd's for it for my laptop, which was (and still is) FreeBSD.

So I figured that since I have this logging utility, and I have thoughts that vary from day to day. If I am feeling in the mood then I will post here instead of on gayspace. I hope to one day move to a different web logging utility , either wordpress or drupal (yes I know it is a web logging utility perse but I could use for other things as well).

Work has been enjoyable, albeit a little stressful at times. You forget how many rely on the internet until all of a sudden a fiber line gets cut that you don't about. It reminded me of the time on Kaua'i when some idiot in Honolulu cut the Fiber coming to Kaua'i, that was fun. However, I was able to draw on my cisco experience to force our gateway out of the other internet connection we had. It is a good thing that we linked some of T1's between sites.

But it is time to pay some bills and then get some more work done, deadlines make life interesting.

I did take the time today, the first time in a long time, to bust out my sax. I need to order some polishing clothes and give it some TLC every 2 weeks, to keep it in working order. Check the gallery, I should have a pic up of it up there somewhere.

America's Cultured Industry

I would have to say that there is a "culture industry" in America today. Everything points to the mass media being the dominant culture in America. Basically it all comes down to this herd mentality that most if not all Americans have. The desire to be on the in crowd, be in style, and have the latest fads, make it a "culture industry". The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Looking at the music industry, the example given about Britney Spears, and all those others that have come after her, and the one she copies from earlier, is one instance. Play to all the teens who will spend their parents money to buy the CD's, then also go out and want to look like their idol. They will buy clothing, makeup, accessories all to be like Britney. It is a synergistic part of the marketing world in today's society. It can be changed, but it will be a long hard road.

The rich people know what will sell and so make sure that it gets out there to get sold. Unfortunately in today's world that means that it will most likely mass produced. With each new artist coming out it is almost like we have heard it before. Unless the group has been around from the inception of the genre they are not really considered to be original. Their lyrics might be original, but unless they are going outside the box to find their own niche in the world, they are just copying what someone else has already done.

Review: Mindi Abair's "Come As You Are"

With the advent of Minidi's new cd "Come As You Are" we see a woman who has grown into her music, and not afraid of experimenting with something different. As with her last album, "It Just Happens That Way", the first song starts off with how the rest of the CD will go. This time around she choose to go slow, making it feel like a lazy Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer.

She sings for us three times, each with a beautiful voice that captures the heavens and ruptures the walls around our hearts. A cross between Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears, Mindi's voice is powerful, and sweet. Singing ballads reminiscent of the pop love songs from boybands to the girls. She keeps her voice in a range that doesn't make you want to cringe in fear.

Her voice aside, her primary strength is still with her saxophone skills. Each note is skillfully played out to its unfortunate conclusion, because all you want is more of her. By the end of the cd you are left wanting to sit back and relax, and put it on for another listen. But just as "Cyan" comes to a close and you expect it to be over until the next time... Mindi comes rocking back out with a hidden "jam" session on the cd. As "Cyan" is only labeled at about three and half minutes, its full length is ten minutes. Here you get to Minid, and her band just let loose, and play.

Overall "Come As You Are" is a beautiful collection of Mindi's work showing off what I believe is a softer side of her musical genius. If "It Just Happens That Way" was fast paced, and action packed, "Come As You Are" is its opposite, laid back, and loving. I would have to recommend not only "Come As You Are" but her first album to anyone wanting to listen to who will undoubtedly become a Jazz Goddess.

Sex In High School

Should kids (yes teenagers are kids!!!!) be having sex in high school?

No. I don't care if it "feels good", "others are doing it" or what not. Procreation is what sex is for. But kids today are using it as another tool for neglecting their bodies.

Here is my solution:
1) No contraceptives given to kids in high school;
2) No condoms given to kids in high school;
3) Sex Education in school should include abortion, and the emotional aspects of having sex.

My reason for no contraceptives, if they have sex, there are 2 choices available, have the child, or get an abortion. Both will emotionally tramatic for the girl. She should have learned how to say no! The reason for no condoms, well, think about it no way to really protect yourself from getting pregnant, granted parents will buy it for them, but then parents aren't doing a real good job parenting are they. As for sex education everyone should know about abortion, and what it does. I am not Pro-Life, or Pro-Choice, I don't care, It is a viable alternative for human erasure. POPULATION CONTROL.

On a side note to those above, STD's and AID's are also contractable. Whoever gets them without knowing their partner deserves to get them. Yes I am a cruel, heartless person, but this world is to liberal, and to conservative. I am in the middle, on alot of topics, but I am myself when it comes this sex stuff.

NO this has nothing to with whether or not I have had sex during highschool, if I did would it make a difference, if I didn't would it make a difference? NOPE. Sex during college is different, the kids are now adults, and can make their own stupid decisions.

Rape is a special case, AND does not include a girl who is intoxicated having sex, then blaming the guy. Those laws are wrong, they put the responsibility on the guy, what about the girl. If a guy is intoxicated and has sex, he is responsible? Not all by himself he isn't, the girl is also responsible. Lets get more equality, oh wait, all the women don't be equal in that way. TO all those who think like that I give my finger, and say grow up. It is mutual responsibility, if she consented, and later regrets it, to bad.

This might be unintelligible, but it is how I view things, I may expand on some of these topics later on if there is enough cause to do so.

Saxoholic

I have a one track mind when it comes to my jazz music, the saxophone. While I primarily enjoy listening to artists that use the alto, but I will listen to any saxophonist. My playing of the alto sax is probably the main cause of why I am so insistent on buying sax albums. I will listen to the jazz artists and have listened to Keiko Matsui, and Yanni. Currently my favorites are Mindi Abair and Dave Koz. There is something about the saxophone though that allows more freedom for the musician. It is probably the same thing for those that play the trumpet.

I am a bit crazy about my jazz music though. I can get into any kind of jazz, heck, I'll listen to classical, country, R&B, Pop, and most other genres. I don't really care for rap, but I won't go out of my way to not listen to it. Anything with a saxophone though instantly gets stored in my head so that later I can go find it and listen to it again.

I've owned two saxophones in my life, and I love them both, even with the first one needing to be restored. But that is what happens with old saxophones. The one event I am looking for to with certainty is September 14th. The release date of Mindi's new album, I just hope that Borders doesn't run out before I get there. They should make a Saxoholics Anonymous for people like me. Although there isn't really anything wrong with loving the saxophone, it does tend to keep ones musical
tastes in a certain range.

The saxophone can play the melody, harmony, and has the best wailing features in the world. Take for instance the ability to dualtone the saxophone, it sounds better than it does on a trumpet. There is also the vibrato, hard to learn and do, but fun none the less. There are alot of other fun little sax tricks that make it a fun instrument i.e. the ability to growl through the horn and still maintain the notes.

2 Days no update

I did again, I didn't keep it updated as often as I want to, It Just Happens That Way. So does life. And Mindi Abair I have to come realize is one of my favorite and most respected Saxophonist's that I have in my collection. She ranks right up there with Dave Koz, John Coltrane (who is in a league of his own), Kenny G (His live performances are my faves), David Sanborn, Jeff Kashiwa, and a few others I can't think of right now. She is gifted with making you want to become more of the song than you though possible. She just gets right on up there, and paints the picture in your mind, using a what I consider to be a unique blend of "Pop, Smooth Jazz, and a little bit of Rock" (Jazz Reviews Interview with Mindi Abair). Needless to say I love her music, and the one song that stuck out in my mind Instantly as being my favourite on the album was As Good As It Gets, but I find it hard to believe that this will be as good as it gets from Mindi.

I have come down with some flu/cold thingie, so I am going to keep this a little short, since I still have to go read some stuff for class tomorrow.

Tropical Storm Frances

I know I said I would keep this updated but I am lazy, I think updated after the party the other night, just not since. I have been oline uploading photos to the gallery, and chatting on IRC. I know I don't have life, well I do, just not much of one.

With Frances coming in there is no school tomorrow, Not what I mind not having class, I just want get the learning out of the way. There is a Pleasantville screening tomorrow night, but I am going to watch the dvd I have. Makes it easier, and I can get some exercise done tomorrow hopefully, the gym is open until around 7:00pm tomorrow night. and the screening is at 7:30pm so I might still go watch it. Who knows we'll see how it goes.

So far Frances has just been a rain shower. Not too big for us up here.

Parties

I went to a Pimps & Hoes party tonight, for my roomies friends birthday. It was fun! I met alot of people, and managed to thouroughly disgust myself. Most women around here smoke, I don't mean weed, I mean cigs. They are disgusting. I dislike smoking, and do not do it myself. SO I try to find others who don't. I don't mind when people do, but it is an instantaneous turn off for me if I see a girl smoking.

Weed is another problem entirely, I don't smoke it, and as long as one doesn't have to smoke it everyday, I don't mind it. Its smoke smell is better than cig, so I really don't mind it.

Okay, needless to say, I had a fun time at the party last night, came home around 4am and went to sleep. Woke up and wrote this.

K, thnx, Bye

Lyricism

While I'm sitting here wondering what to type, and knowing it should be about music, I feel compelled to talk about lyrics. Now most of the music that I listen to is lyric-less, mainly because it is jazz. But I do listen to other songs that have lyrics. If a song has lyrics, it is usually because even though the artist is expressing him/herself through the music, they feel that lyrics will be a little bit more effective in conveying what they need to say.

When I write my music, I tend to find that I write the lyrics first, usually a result of the way I am feeling at the time. Quite recently, in a phenomenon that hasn't happened to me in around 4-5 years, I have been able to write poetry. The last song that I was working on started as lyrics. Of course at the time I didn't know it, but it took me about 2-3 weeks to get the final lyrics down. During that course of writing those lyrics though I managed to come up with a tune that would go with it. My music writing abilities however, only tends to encompass the saxophone, and every now and then the piano. However the song was a more slack key guitar (Hawaiian style music) indicative of having been created on the ukulele. It never materialized, and so I am stuck with its tune in my head, perhaps one day it will find its way to the world, or perhaps not.

I like reading the lyrics as well, because in them one can find the sadness of a persons life, or the happiness. On the other hand, there are songs in which the author really has had no relationship to the words, and they are just singing the song. Lyrics make up a big part of music, and although they are often not heard correctly, they do convey the sense of what the singer is trying to let the listener know about.

Life, Debt, and Religion

Apparently the association of debt doesn't mean much to me... though for school I am starting to sink into it more and more. Not too much of a problem, as I will most likely be able to find a good job after I graduate in either the Criminal Justice, or the Computer Science Fields. If worse comes to worse I might just end up publishing all my poetry, which others have said are real good. I tend to doubt that about my own writing, but oh well, that is just me.

"The drunkin stupor that is depression is just a ripple on the lake that is hell" - Me

Yes, I come up with quite poetic stuff every now and then. Mostly related to love, and it has most likely all been said before, but I want to say it again.There is nothing wrong with that. If there is, I don't care. I have a tendency to not care about alot of things. If you meet me you will understand. I am a laid back kinda guy. Taoist to cut to the point of my belief system. I do still have some of the good Christian morals that I was brought up with, and I believe that Chivalry isn't dead, and neither is being a gentleman. To those who say that chivalry is dead, no wonder there are so many fucked up relationships out there, it is because of assholes like you all of us real men are branded shitheads! Get off your "all I want is to get laid" attitudes, that isn't what life is about. If it is you are sad, pathetic loser. Of course, I mean this in the nicest way possible! *coughs*