“Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.”- Astrid Alauda

I know things are sucking for a lot of people lately. Stress is running rampant. Things are ugly and you feel beyond tired. I understand, and I really feel for you. So that’s why I’m giving you permission to take a break.

No, seriously. Just put everything down and walk a way for a bit. Take any kind of break you need; be it mental, emotional, social, or physical. Sadly, the cause of your stress isn’t going to magically go away. (I’m not that talented.) But, despite your fears it isn’t going to get worse either unless you ignore it for an extended period of time.

What are you waiting on? Oh, maybe you don’t know how to de-stress. I don’t know what exactly will work for you, but I’ll share some of my stress busters.

Music is probably my most used one. I’ll put on a specific playlist and sing till my throat hurts. I focus solely on the music and lyrics. Everything else slides away and I relax.

Watching a movie or reading a book is also a good way to relax. I do think that it should be something you haven’t seen or read before. Because, if you have the stress will creep back in during a boring part.

Sex is often another recommended way to deal with stress. Let’s face it sometimes that just isn’t feasible. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to find a fuck buddy when you are stressed. I mean come on, everyone knows that is for extreme cases of boredom or drunkenness*. But, hell if you have access, ya might as well take advantage of it.

Finally, my second best way to deal with stress is to meditate and go to your happy place. Everyone should have a happy place, and they should make it super fucking slamming.

Until next time, “Oh but it’s okay to breathe your worries away when everything and everyone tries to lead you astray. Hold your own, hold your ground, hold to light when you’re down and always believe that there’s a way back home.”**
autumn

*- Please note, Autumn does not condone casual sex in the cases of boredom or drunkenness. After all her father reads this blog.

**- The until next time is lyrics from Hold by Axium.

“We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today.  I don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great.  If you’re hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time.”- Art Buchwald

So stories are pouring in at Join the Impact, and once they have final counts and everything I will share with you the outcome. The cities that have posted their totals so far are impressive. Seattle alone had an estimation of between five and six thousand. I hope that people look at that to see how united we are over this topic.

Meanwhile, I started learning to play the guitar today and have a new found appreciation for even the crappy music. I mean really, I can’t even get the damned thing tuned properly so far. I’m heading off to try again. Wish me luck.

Until next time, see you thought I was kidding about the dying cat sounds coming from my house.
autumn

“Music is the only thing in this world, with the exception of sneezing and looking at the sunset, that takes you to a place that’s above the mundane. Everything else is just bullshit.”- Stephan Jenkins

I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Jenkins on that statement. There are several things that can elevate a person. Although, music is definitely on the top of the list for me. It is occasionally the only thing that works.

I haven’t been this excited about music in a while. There are tons of upcoming albums, that I can’t wait to hear. My first musical obsession, Third Eye Blind is releasing an EP next Tuesday and is following that up with a full length next year. AFI is currently in the studio recording and they hope to have that album out relatively soon. December is going to bring us new All-American Rejects and Fall out Boy.

Oh and next week, will rock my face off. Nickleback is releasing Dark Horse, Dido gives us safe trip home, and *Squee* David Cook releases his self-titled. If you go to David Cook’s website you can listen to it before it is released Tuesday. Like I have a million times, I’m just saying. There was also something about another David, having released something Tuesday, but I didn’t really pay attention. You’ll have to ask Ethan about that. I distinctly remember something about Idol loser…

Finally if you hear the sounds of cats dying painful deaths next week, don’t be alarmed. I’m just learning to play the guitar.

Until next time, yaaaay new music.
autumn

“It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in.”- Earl of Chesterfield

I really don’t have anything to talk about today. I know that is shocking, considering normally I can bullshit my way through at least a paragraph. But not tonight, I mean really I have nothing. I sat and started at the blank screen for at least an hour.

The truth is (Why do people say that? It leads one to believe everything else you spout is lies…) that I’ve had a migraine since the last post. I get them fairly frequently, so that’s not really a big shocker. But, by the time I could handle staring at the computer screen, Shameless came over. I spent some time with him, and then we went to meet Ethan. Considering I don’t see Ethan as much anymore and since he isn’t going to be in town but a day or two, I wasn’t going to blow him off to come up with a blog post.

So yup, this is what you get. Hey, at least I haven’t lost NaBloPoMo yet.

Until next time, that was a whole lot of nothing.
autumn

“What this world needs is a new kind of army- an army of the kind.”- Cleveland Amory

Wow, just wow. The DF community, the Buzznet community, and only the Gods know who else have donated enough money to pay back those who bailed Mark and his co-worker out of jail. I am pretty sure, they said the amount was raised in less than 10 hours.

That is just fucking amazing to me. I am so proud of everyone who donated. His estimated amount doesn’t even include those who are mailing checks and money orders. That said, you can still donate to go toward future legal fees. But if that isn’t your cup of tea, why not consider donating to the Human Rights Campaign or The American Civil Liberties Union.

The election built my hope of this country. The aftermath of negativity and the passing of anti-gay propositions tore most of the hope down. But, witnessing this… I can’t even explain. This shows me that we can do what needs to be done. All we need is determination and compassion.

Until next time, I’m offering my hand to anyone who needs it.
autumn

“There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

I took an “Autumn’s Day” today. I didn’t watch the news. I haven’t read my blogs. I didn’t reply to emails. I just didn’t… and because I didn’t, I did more today than in a long time.

I kept commitments, but didn’t stress over them. I spoke to the coffee guy with more words than yes, please, and thank you. I taught my class to Bella, and enjoyed her company. I followed that up with a visit to a nice little tex-mex restaurant that had good food, a margarita which was pretty much a tequila slushie, and fun conversation. I capped off the night with Shameless talking about relationships, prop 8, and David Cook.

Today reminded me how much I need stress free days, and conversation that exists outside of email and my own head. I need to get out more and be social. I need to balance myself more. So, I will.

Until next time, any one up for tequila slushies?
autumn

“Madness need not be all breakdown.  It may also be break-through.”- R.D. Laing, The Politics of Experience

It’s official. I have lost what little bit of a mind I had left. I’ve done something very scary, and I may not live through it. You see children, Auntie Autumn has given herself to way to many projects at once. I am continuing my tradition of participating in National Novel Writing Month. In and of itself that is crazy enough; however, I am also starting a new tradition this year. I will be participating in National Blog Posting Month. Yup, I will be writing a novel and posting on this blog everyday for one month. If that is still not enough for you… well fuck you. Heh, actually I will also be posting on my personal blog Autumn’s Flame. So be prepared for delirious filled blog posts and randomness.

In order to kick off the randomness, I took a look at our google referrals to see what brought you here in the first place. Being the kind generous soul that I am, I will either answer your questions or point you in the right direction. For clarity I will surround each google search term with a star.

*I say ha you say ho*
We’ll actually I say stupid whore, but I suppose I can shorten it just this one time for you.

*Explain- Every human being of whatever station, whatever origin deserves respect*
::blinks:: I really don’t know how to explain that to you without being disrespectful. But, oh how tempting it is.

*Averett Graduation University Ceremony Pickets*
Phelps is at it again, isn’t he? Didn’t he already do that in 2005 or 2006?

*Well sometimes enjoy*
Enjoy what? Long walks on the beach? Sunrises on a misty morning? A Vodka Martini? I’m all about enjoying, but don’t leave me hanging.

*Ally Sheedy waist hips*
I’m assuming she has them unless there was a horrible accident that I didn’t know about.

*Ally Sheedy forum*
Did you find that forum? Was there an accident? How bad was it? Oh Gods why?

*Stories about Sodomites*
Be thankful I answered this and not the boys… Otherwise the stories would never end, and several of you would be scarred for life.

*What does tempt Karma, meanie*
You will not tempt Karma by calling me a meanie. I have found that Karma is tempted by long walks on the beach, misty sunrises and vodka martinis… wait no that’s not right.

*Come the rapture we’ll have the earths to ourselves*
That we will, and oh the glorious things we’ll do.

*Micheal Saevage*
is an asshole… I’m sure that’s what you meant to say, and I agree. But just for future reference it’s Michael Savage.

*try to talk my way out of it*
No it’s ok I’ll forgive you for googling him just this once. Really only this once though.

*We’ll he found how to quit you.*
And you’re an evil asshole. Prick

*emo ally sheedy*
I would be emo too if I lost my hips and waist.

*Sodomite movies*
Shhh just google male on male. I don’t need this to turn into an adult site. If you want recommendations email Ethan and TheShamelessOne.

*who wrote sing sing a song*
Joe Raposo. See who needs Google when you have me. Unless you need me to recommend movies…

*quit sending email forwards*
Sorry Ethan… I’ll try

*I’m dreaming of a caucasian holiday*
Really? Because, I’m dreaming of chlorine in the gene pool.

*Sing a Song*
Which one? The Joe Raposo one? Fine… Sing, sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong. Sing of good things not bad. Sing of happy not sad.

There you have it. All your questions have been answered. Now if you don’t mind, my novel is calling me.

Until next time, errr… um tomorrow.
autumn

I watched a rerun of the X-Files last night and one particular scene got me wondering. I came into the episode late so I am not sure what caused the animosity between the two characters but a woman was at a funeral for her brother and a man wandered in to pay his respects and the woman threw a fit. It makes me wonder why people can’t allow other people, who aren’t hurting anyone else, to just exist.

Why are we so worried about what other people do with their own lives? Why can’t we just exist inside our own lives and let others exist in their’s and be happy with that? I don’t mean we should not pay attention to the world around us. I am not suggesting we should confine ourselves to bubbles and stick our heads in the proverbial sand. I am saying that we need to not be so concerned with the personal lives of people who are not part of our personal lives. It is one thing to be concerned about a friend or relative but it is another to trouble ourselves with the behaviors of people who are no more than our acquaintances. Or, more importantly, people who aren’t even that much.

It’s not just about being angry that someone we (we being me or you or Joe Smith) don’t like has come to a funeral to pay respects to someone we (we being Joe Smith and the person he doesn’t like) both love. It’s about Pro-life fanatics and Truth.com. It’s about the National Enquirer and TMZ and all of the other tabloid magazines at the newsstand and on television inundating us with the intoxicated antics of Paris and Lindsey and Britney or with Love and Mischa’s cellulite. It’s about The Real World and Big Brother.

Interfering with lives that aren’t ours to interfere with is not a new concept; people have been doing it for centuries. But just because people have been doing it for centuries doesn’t mean we should still be doing it. We are enlightened, industrialized, rational, logical human beings. We are also the only members of the animal kingdom who indulge in the pain and suffering of our fellow creatures. Other animals inflict pain on each other in their fight for domination of the pride or pack or murder but they do it to survive. Humans are possibly the most animalistic of animals (by colloquial definition of the word “animal”) because we not only inflict pain on each other for our own enjoyment but we enjoy watching other people inflict pain upon each other (or in the case of Parindsney, upon themselves). We relish it, thrive on it, live for it.

This is a short rant today because, like I said, this has been going on for as long as man has been walking erect. Complaining about it isn’t going to make it change. The best I can do is try to lead by example and change the channel when the Truth.com commercials come on because they are no better in their approach than the tobacco corporations they are speaking out against. I will live my life in my way and not allow the way I choose to live to interfere with the way others around me have chosen to live. I will make a concentrated effort to not give a flying fig about which gutter Parindsney found herself floundering in this morning or about what the cast of the Real World: the Moon is going to do for their collective job or which one of them is sleeping with which other one this week. And hopefully, through my example (or these words) I will be able to inspire at least one other person to exist solely within his own life as well.

Until next time, I will be minding my own business -
Crimson

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.” ~James Matthew Barrie

So, um, hi there! It looks like I have officially broken my resolutions again. I am so super slamming at that. I’m not going to make excuses or try to talk my way out of it. I’m not even going to try to charm you all into forgiving me. I mean after all intelligent, beautiful, understanding readers such as yourself would never fall for something that cheap… heh.

Anyways, lets get back on track. There are three things that I want to talk about today. One having to do with a special meaning of today, and another is a little bit of religion news (that’s fitting since it’s Sunday). I’ll will get to those in just one minute.

First, I have to say something. A couple weeks ago important votes were cast. We were given the opportunity to make an important decision. We made the right one. Congratulations America, you have restored my faith in you. For you picked David Cook as your next American Idol! ::cheers, and fan-girls out::

Ok, ok that was horrible of me. I know, I should have been talking about how gay Californians were allowed the right to wed, or how the Democratic fucking primaries are still going on. Trust me, before its over with I’m sure I will. But I needed a little silliness. I’m happy about the decision made in California, but how can I talk about that without writing about all the negative backlash that followed? How can I mention that without saying that ignorant assholes are already trying to get the decision changed? I just wouldn’t have been able to. Likewise, I don’t have anything positive to say about the Democratic primaries. In fact, I am so disgusted with everything going on there, that I probably shouldn’t speak of it at all. So, I’m ignoring all of that for as long as I can. I’m taking this moment to enjoy the fact that a man whose music I love received the recognition he deserved. So HOORAY for David Cook.

Moving on, Friday the Vatican issued the statement that any Catholic women who attempted to become ordained as a priest, or anyone who ordained the women would be immediately and eternally excommunicated from the Church. Do I really need to tell you how much this pisses me off? I mean I know the reasoning behind it. Christ only had men as his Apostles. Therefore Catholicism decided, since J-dawg, only hung with the boys, that women couldn’t be spiritual leaders. I’ll never understand how a church that holds such respect and praise for one woman can ignore all the needs of other women. Granted, the only thing useful that woman did was bear a child. But, if nothing else this is reaffirming my disbelief and outrage of sexism in the church.

Finally, today is First Sale Day. It’s a day that affects all of us without most ever knowing. As a little proof, did you ever check out a book at the library? Accept a friend’s cast off of a book or CD? Shop at a used book or music store? I’m sure you have said yes to at least one of those. If not, what the hell is the matter with you? Stop reading this and go to the library right now. At any rate it’s thanks to First Sale Day that we can do this legally.

You see 100 years ago today there was a Supreme Court case. This case was Bobbs-Merrill v. Straus and became known as the first sale doctrine. This wonderful wonderful doctrine says that the owners of books or other copyrighted items have the right to dispose of them as they see fit. Which means I can sell them, donate them, lend them out, give them away to friends, rip out each page individually paper my wall, or what ever the hell I want. Guess what else? Even if there are notices saying that buyer that the item is conditionally licensed, that little doctrine is still in effect. It is still part of the Copyright laws. If you want to read about First Sale Day a little, ok a lot, more in depth go read this wonderful article at Everybody’s Libraries.

Until next time, I’ll be at the used bookstore

autumn

“Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.” – William Penn

Hello again my lovelies. I hope that Ethan’s last post didn’t cost you all to much time. At the least, I hope that it cost you less time than me. That’s why you haven’t seen me in weeks. I’ve been correcting all of my tags, and I’ve been reviewing grammar rules. I may even make Ethan proof read this so that I don’t look like a complete moron. Which is bound to have happened in some of my previous posts.

But, lets sit and discuss his post for a minute, shall we? I’m interested in hearing what you thought of his post and what you gained from it. Meanwhile, I’d like to tell you what I learned from it. Grammar aside, it is very important that you choose your words correctly.

Misspeaking can change the whole meaning of your statement.. It can make you look ignorant, racist, uncompassionate, or just a plain ass. I was having a conversation last night with someone who loved to throw the word faggot around. You have to understand that when you use that word, despite the feeling behind it brings up negative emotions.

Yes in this case that was his intent; to be insulting, to display negative feelings about something that he didn’t like. Once I objected he continued to try to justify his choice of words by making the statement that it was ok because he uses that word to �insult straight people.� And, that it was ok because he had gay friends.

Let me point out the flaws in his retorts. First off, if you feel the desire to insult someone wouldn’t it be better to point out their faults? I mean seriously if you want to piss them off just �read� them. Point out their horrid choice of dress or their lazy eye. Something that will connect to them. I don’t condone meanness or insults, but wouldn’t that be the best way to go about it?

Secondly, I have gay friends is no excuse. In that case you should hold the word with more respect because of the times your friends have had it thrust in their face. Many times they were hurt by that word, why let it breed? Taking a line from Ethan’s book… I have had friends of other ethnicities, but I don’t use the words nigger, wetback, coon, beaner, chink, haji, kyke, wop, etc.

Needless to say his arguments became more ridiculous after that, until he realized that I wouldn’t bite any of them. One that astounded me the most was �Well, I’m for free speech�. Yes so am I but I’m also intelligence, compassion and understanding.

Until next time, I think the gene pool needs a little bleach,

autumn

Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday

Well, it�s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday
Whatever you do, watch what you say
If you�re easily offended well that�s okay
It�s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday

We catch up with our three cowboys one cold December night huddled around the camp fire.
How �bout we sing some holiday songs?
Yeah, hey George, you wanna lead us off?
Yeah, I got one.
Oh Chri- BLEEP -mas tree oh Chri-BLEEP-mas tree how lovely are thou branched�
Why am I getting bleeped again?
Haven�t you heard guys?
You can�t say Chri-BLEEP-mas you gotta say Holiday
I can�t say Chri-BLEEP-mas?
No you might offend somebody.
Who is offended by Chri-BLEEP-mas?
You know you might offend the BLEEP and the BLEEP and the atheists.
What?

Time to politically correct.
I�ll lead this off.
On the first day of Chri-BLEEP-mas my true love said to me�

Jimmy, are you listening?
What?
You can�t say Chri-BLEEP-mas.
Why not? You can say BLEEP on the last record.
Why can�t I say Chri-BLEEP-mas?
I didn�t make the rules.
Hey listen guys, it�s not that difficult, all you gotta do is change Chri-BLEEP-mas to Holiday.
You know, instead of saying white Chri-BLEEP-mas, you say I�m dreaming of a whi-BLEEP Holiday.
Why did I get blipped?
You�ve got to say Caucasian.
So I have to sing, I�m dreaming of a Caucasian holiday?
Sure, that won�t offend anybody.

Well, it�s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday,
Whatever you do watch what you say
If you�re easily offended well that�s okay
Why do these people have to feel that way?
How come they get offended so easily?
It�s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday
I�m just trying to come up with a song here.

Let�s sing one together, everybody ready?
George?
Ready.
Bill your ready?
I�m ready.
Jimmy? Jimmy? Jimmy?

Okay!
We three kings of BLEEEEP are bearing gifts we�ve traveled real far�.
Sorry boys, you have to say Asia now.
What?
Oh, come on just try.
We three kings of Asia are�.
That sounds like horse BLEEP
Oh lord, okay.
How �bout Little Drummer boy?
Nope, that offends short people.
And you can�t say drummer �cause that will offend real musicians.

How �bout little �hahaha- town of meddle hell.
What�s this with all the short jokes?
Hey how �bout we do Silent Night?
No, it�ll offend people who�s hard to hear and afraid of the dark.
What did he say about a shark?
SHARK? This happens every year.

Well, it�s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday,
Whatever you do watch what you say,
If you�re easily offended well that�s okay,
It�s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday.
Hohoho!
No.
I can�t say ho?
No you might offend some women.
So basically we can�t sing anything?
I think that a bunch of bull BLEEP.
Softer George it�s more effective.
(in a quieter voice)I think that a bunch of bull BLEEP.
You now what? I don�t care who we offend,
I�m gonna sing Chri-BLEEP-mas carols if I wanna sing Chri-BLEEP-mas carols.
Louder man it�s more effective.
I don�t care who we offend, I�m gonna sing Chri-BLEEP-mas carols if I wanna sing Chri-BLEEP-mas carols.
Me too.
We wish you a merry Chri-BLEEP-mas, we wish you a merry Chri-BLEEP-mas, we wish you a merry Chri-BLEEP-mas, and a happy ne-BLEEP year.
We can�t say new; it�ll offend the old folks.
And you never wanna offend them.

It’s funny…on the surface. But dig a little deeper and you will find that the world (no, really, it’s the whole world not just our little corner of it, as can be seen here) has gone completely bananas over the winter holiday. What brought this up, you ask? Mi madre (somebody better hit the SAP button and fast!) was listening to the radio this morning and the DJ’s were discussing the local Mall Santa and his overalls and “ha, ha, ha”….I’m sorry, but what on Gaia’s green Earth is offensive about a red velvet suit with fur…nevermind I just answered my own question.

I guess our local Santa has gone overboard in forgoing his red suit for a pair of overalls but Santas all across the globe are being advised that “ho, ho, ho” might, and I quote, frighten children and offend women. Santa offends women but they keep letting Fiddy make records?

Here’s the thing, boys and girls, the point of Christmas, or “the Holidays,” if you prefer, is to be with loved ones, give gifts (“gifts” here does not necessarily mean toys and games and baubles and things, it also means care and comfort and time and warmth), and celebrate life. Whether you believe it to be the birth of a savior or the rebirth of the Earth, it is still a celebration of life and of love. The point is NOT to bitch and complain that the corporate office of Home Depot has banned any “religious” music from their stores at holiday time or that WalMart DOES play religious music. The point is NOT to be offended by something Santa Clauses said before there were garden hoes much less pimps and hos.

I just want to go back to when things were merry. Dinner with my whole family, carols around the piano (so what if I forced everyone to play this game with me?! It still happened), spots before my eyes (Grandma had an old 60′s model camera with real flashbulbs so I was 10 before I figured out spots were not a normal part of everyone’s Christmas), homemade cookies and candies and cocoa, snow (somewhere in all of this PC-ness, we got rid of the snow too). I hate snow but it really adds a little something extra to Christmas Eve. I miss velvet dresses and patent leather shoes and brightly colored boxes with bows and the half-hour long Chuck Jones animated Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. And I miss seeing the fat Santa (Yes, I said FAT Santa, DEAL WITH IT) at the Mall.

And she muttered as she wandered off sadly, “Happy Non-religious Day off from work to all, and to all a good night.”
Crimson

“How people treat you is their karma, how you react is yours.”- Wayne Dyer

That being said, I’m trying REALLY HARD to be good right now. I’m trying so much to reserve those snarky comments that just fall from my tongue. While, I’m writing this I want you to know that the whole time I’ll be chanting- Be nice, be nice, be nice.

Jerry Falwell died today. He was found in his office unconscious and with no pulse after he missed a morning meeting. He was 73 years old. He led a long life in which he had definite beliefs and little “give” when it came to others way of living. He was also well known for his controversial quotes. In order not to include my personal feelings I’m just going to list some of these quotes and let Falwell speak for himself.

“The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way�all of them who have tried to secularize America�I point the finger in their face and say “you helped this happen.”

“AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh’s charioteers . . . AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

“If the American Atheists Society or Saddam Hussein himself ever sent an unrestricted gift to any of my ministries, be assured I will operate on Billy Sunday’s philosophy: The Devil’s had it long enough, and quickly cash the check.”

“Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn’t have them, I’d have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need.”

“If you’re not a born-again Christian, you’re a failure as a human being.”

“Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them.”

“Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan.”

“The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews.”

In the end I just have to say, Falwell, while being far in the Christian Right and having some wild theories, never gave up in what he believed in. That is something to respect if nothing else.

Until next time, see I was nice afterall,
autumn

I know it seems like autumn is the only author here. It is not true. After her plea for help, I decided I would let the world know I am still alive. Yes, I have been silent these last few months. Truth is I’ve been busy. However, good news is that there are some articles in the works. In fact, I have possibly three new articles which are close to completion. In addition, I’m considering reviewing a movie or two. Who knows. Until next time, dear readers. . .

ethan

�Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.� ~Lamartine

Let me start of by disappointing you all and saying the world did not end. Yes you still have to pay your bills, and go to the dentist. You might want to think about calling your �friend� and apologizing for where you called them all those nasty (but true) names. I know, I know the world was ending� and you just wanted to get it off your chest. Now you are faced with the choice of taking back your nasty words or waking up to find them throwing a brick through your window. Hell, just tell them you went off your anti-psychotics. They�ll believe that�.. really.

Moving on, I�d like to send out a �Hey Bitches� to our regular readers in Elizabeth City, NC. I don�t know who you are or how you heard of us, but good job on having the taste to come back.� See boys and girls, if you come see us regularly you�ll get mad props too. I may even give out super mad props if you leave us a slamming comment.

Now that I�m through massacring the English language, I�d like to discuss something slightly more serious. It breaks my heart to have to admit this, but Ethan and the Shameless One are missing.� They were last seen frolicking with the faeries.* They were slightly drunk, and promised to come home and write soon. A few weeks have passed and sadly they haven�t graced us with their presence. To be honest, I�m very worried about them; they never slack off like this.*

So, dear readers, I�m begging you to keep your eyes open for them. Ethan could pass as Ryan Reynold�s twin, and the Shameless One, well he�s a troll.* �So between the amazing hotness of Ethan and the birth defects of the Shameless One, they should be easy to spot.* Also if looking for them isn�t your thing you could try e-mailing them; begging them to write again. Failing that, you could write me and console my great loss.

Until next time, when my fellow writers have come home,

autumn

*- Please note anything followed by a star is more than likely false information.

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” ~Jos� Narosky

A couple days ago, I broke out my old ROTC shoes and polished them. At the time my intention wasn’t to think of the military, or to begin to grieve and worry about my friends in the services. I simply took them out of the closet to show Ethan a couple tips I learned about polishing shoes.

Of course for me the simple act of polishing and the smell of the polish itself took me back. It started off with just remembering getting ready for uniform days. I then progressed into remembering drill meets, inspections, and of course my fellow ROTC brats. I remembered their plans for entering the service and the hopes and goals they set for themselves. I wonder now how many achieved their goals. I know several didn’t. At the same time I know several who had no desire to join the military did join, and from what I’ve heard are doing quite well.

I’ve always thought the military is an interesting beast. Now, I’m not talking about their purpose to serve and protect their country; despite the fact that I’m against this war, I still realize the value of our service men and women. In fact I respect them more than I respect most others. I suppose what I find odd is the fact that these men and women pretty much sacrifice their lives to do this, even when some of them don’t agree with what they end up doing. Even more than that is the love that grows for their fellow soilders, the brotherhood that is with them for life.

I don’t mean to make this sound like I’m all the way pro-military either. The military is far from perfect (then again, what isn’t?). The most glaringly obvious example is Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Before the letters pour in let me say that I understand the reasoning behind it; I just don’t agree with it. There is also the fact that a few units disapprove of allowing your religion to read Pagan on the dog tags.

Be that as it may, I don’t mean to focus on the military. I mean to focus on those who make it up. You’ll notice my quote for the entry said “In war, there are no unwounded soilders.” This quote was for one of the guys in my old study group. He spent a year or better in Iraq. When he came back he wasn’t our same old guy. He had hardened, become cynical, and somewhat bitter. I don’t blame him, I hear his stories and wonder why he isn’t harder and even less who he used to be.

Also, that quote is for someone very dear to me who has decided to join the Army. I just hope that he’ll be able to retain himself, and that this will be the opportunity that he really wanted it to be. That quote and this entry is for all of those in the military. I hope and pray that the quote is wrong and you all do come home unwounded.

Until next time, I’ll be cutting yellow ribbons,
autumn

�Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies.”~~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Sometimes music is all a person has in life. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t going to be an “emo” or “gothy” post. In reality, at one point in your life, you feel completely alone and cling to your music for relief. I know several of my friends and I have felt like that a lot in the past year.

That being said, certain songs during your life stay with you. Sometimes they bring pleasant memories, and sometimes the melody can be haunting. People have argued with me over the fact that there is no soundtrack to your life. I can’t accept that thought; music is meant to become part of you, to share the most important milestones in your life.

To test this theory, though, let’s play a little game. Think back to your first love… Remember when it was fresh, new, and you were sure it was going to last forever. Did you have a song? Maybe, not… but lets say a song from that time frame comes on the radio, are you transported back to the that time? Do you relive it a little? Then you and the first love break up, your heart is broken and you decide you will never feel complete again. What song was constantly on repeat? For me, it was Third Eye Blind’s How’s it Gonna Be. For those who are married, I’m sure that you could tell me what the 1st dance song was at your wedding. The same could be said for the 1st time you had sex, made love, had your brains fucked out while listening to music.

Naturally this applies more than just to relationships. School dances, concerts, the pissed off anthem, and the sing-a-long car rides. One of my favorite music memories though is the silly times with friends. I use to have a friend that would hang out with me next to the highway and we’d belt out songs from our favorite bands while cars drove by. Every time I hear one of those songs I can see us sitting on the hill singing the horrid renditions of it. And, while we are no longer friends it reminds me of why she was an important person in my life.

So, my darling readers, these memories are only one of the thousands of reasons why music, no matter who wrote and performed it, belongs to us. I hope you all have a soundtrack to your life, and I hope it grows more and more every day.

Until next time, when this damn song isn’t stuck in my head,
autumn

“Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything”~~Floyd Dell

I suppose I should start off this entry by apologizing for the lack of updates. Life seemed to catch up with us here at beshameless. You know what life gets like this time of year, graduations, weddings, cross country road trips, vacation to foriegn lands, and moving. One or more of those is the reason for my lack of updates, and as for the guys… well, they might fall into that category or maybe they are just uber slackers.

But needless to say I’ve been out of touch, and while I’ve watched the news and read articles I haven’t done anything more than that. My muse was definitely on vacation and I have nothing witty to say about current events. It seems that I’ve been an uber slacker too.

However, there are a couple things that I did want to mention. We’ve become sellouts and joined the ranks at Myspace.� I guess you can call it selling out, although I prefer the term shameless self-promotion. You can find us at BeShameless on Myspace. You should go and add us as friends, because at the moment that I’m writing this, Tom is our only friend. And, that my dear readers make us look like major losers.

Also, I just want to tell you to expect real updates soon. I have an idea spinning around in my head, and I think Ethan is doing some research on a topic as well.

Until next time, when I’ll really entertain you,
autumn

So, I’m beginning to get into reading several blogs written by servers about their bad experiences with customers. Having been a server and bartender before myself, I sympathize with them more than most. I think people do tend to forget just how difficult of a job it really is.
I’ve had my share of bad tippers myself. I also have plenty of stories of my own I could tell. However I’ll leave that to them. I just wanna give a big shout out to people in the service industry everywhere. Whether you wait tables at a local diner or five star bistro, or even hand someone their daily coffee at Starbucks, you deserve a lot more than you’re getting.

I guess many people use the excuse, “they could get a real job, or companies could pay them more money”. Let’s face it, someone has to do it. If companies paid them more, prices would go up and everyone would lose money. Remember that whether you leave a tip or not, the server has already paid the cost of some of your meal by accepting as low as 2.13/hr. So give’m a break. They deserve it.

theshamelessone

Hello all, since this is my first post, I thought I would say hello before going off on one of my rants. Actually, I really don’t rant. I’m just really bitchy, and it seems that society, the government, and this motley crew of people I surround myself with, give me lots to bitch about.

So I went to see V for Vendetta this evening. I was thoroughly captivated. The movie is beautifully shot and Natalie Portman was amazing. I don’t want to explain too much about the movie so I don’t ruin it for anyone that hasn’t seen it, however I do need to say something of the plot. The film is a haunting prophecy of a future government (set in Britain though America could very well face the same thing) that has assumed total control in the name of God and religion. The movie is a frightening look at what could happen to any country if the wrong people came into power.

The similarities of the film to today’s issues is worth talking about. The government’s use of fear in the film is much more extreme, our own government today uses the same tactics to convince people that they are right. Has anyone noticed that the terror alert always stays at Elevated. Yellow is my favorite color, yet I feel that the blue Guarded or green low would be much more fashionable. I also don’t think I would have that panicked feeling everytime I watch more than 10 minutes of CNN. By keeping Americans in constant fear, I mean to me the news is much scarier than some bloody horror movie, it seems that we are more inept to believe what they are saying and not complain. I think all Americans are getting tired of this lifestyle gradually (as good ol’ W’s approval rating keeps plunging).

We live in the fear lifestyle. Soon we’ll have designer kevlar vests (so you can be safe but still look fabulous when you’re out on the town) or maybe everyone will just start buying tanks (I mean c’mon the housewives in their Hummer’s would’t have shit on my candy apple red M1 Abrams Battle Tank). I hope good financing is available.

In summary, it seems frivolous to live in fear. I mean, I do believe our government is doing a good job protecting us, I do however enjoy the ignorance of not knowing that the CIA thwarted a shoe bombing at my local Florsheim. I don’t want to live in fear, I want to be able to leave my home and not worry about being blown up, or shot. I think that living in fear is what is costing American’s their freedom and giving control to people who feed off of it for power. Just a little something to think about.

theshamelessone

The very 1st entry to a blog always sucks. I know it and you know it, so there will be no bullshitting you here. I just wanted to extend a welcome to anyone who stumbles across us. Also, to assure you that in the coming days, in the midst of making changes, you can be privy to our insanity.

So until next time, when my writing skills have bettered themselves,
autumn