Use Your Brain

Does your intellectualism stem from independent, original thought or from buying into the teachings, ideals, propaganda and agenda of others?

Remember: No man is an island.
Don't be too quick to embrace or reject, (even if the information comes from the most highly educated and learned). Error and fallacy has little respect for educational boundaries.

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Unsinkable

When we make boastful claims that we are unsinkable/unstoppable/untouchable, it might not even be our fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh voyage when we go down… our fall might even happen on our maiden voyage.

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Why Can't You Get Along?

"Why can't we all just get along?"*
1) First, the complex detailed answer: anger, pride, envy, lust, greed, ego, self-centered, gluttony, wrath, covetous, arrogance, hypocritical, lack of esteem, mental problems, grudge, desire, jealous, etc, etc, etc.
2) Last, the simple answer: Sin.

*Popular line used extensively in books, films, and TV.

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Corrupt Government

I'm not a fan of SMALL government.
---Small government just shows how corrupt people can be.

I'm not a fan of BIG government.
---Big government just shows how corrupt people can be.

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False History

Be especially aware of revisionist history. It has a questionable agenda to justify current popular thought, philosophy, and political-correctness by rewriting history to give the impression that history backs-up and approves of areas that were never accepted until recently.

As parents, be sure and scrutinize your child's textbooks... questioning and/or correcting those 'new perspectives' on the history which you were once taught.

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Love

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." -- Defined by first century Jewish intellectual "Saul of Tarsus."

Love is not based upon how other people treat you, it is entirely defined by how you treat and regard your fellow man. Some people agree with the above quote as long as they apply it to others, but when it comes to practicing it personally, it becomes less regarded or valued.

The "Wizard of Oz" didn't really define love correctly when he told the Tinman, "love is not based by how much you love, but by how much you are loved." Some of the most popular people have been the least loving... we can't use the love of others as a yardstick for how well we are succeeding at being lovable!

Whitney Houston defined love incorrectly when she sang, "the greatest love of all is learning to love yourself." It is not the love of one's self but the love we give out to others which is what counts. When our thoughts and actions are given to other people, the love for ourselves falls into place and doesn't become such a high priority.

Now reread the above definition of love. Don't expect other people to give you this type of love... but do your part by giving it away to those around you.

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Live at the Gilmore

I normally have no trouble multitasking by watching TV, listening to music or radio, and playing other media while I work on another project. Well, there's one TV show which has the most irritating dialogue I've ever heard! I am unable to concentrate on anything else while it's on. The conversations are delivered at such a rapid pace, staccato, grating, high-speed no-breaths-taken nauseating delivery that I have to turn it off in order to get anything done.

Maybe the 'Gilmore Girls' has some other merits to it (I'm sure it does), but it's writers haven't done a very good job of listening to real-world conversations between people… at least none that I've been around.

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Who Do You Destroy?

The intentional degrading of others is a form of murder, though it's rarely referred to this way. Though the perpetrator might never think of destroying the physical body of their adversary, they never-the-less set out to destroy what's on the inside of that person. By attacking the person's psyche; their confidence; their self esteem; their thoughts and their decision making, they are having the very core of their inner being destroyed. The person has not been sent to the grave... and yet their identity has been fractured and died in part!

This is one form of murder where the guilty is never jailed and seldom punished.

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Make it Count

Looking back on many of the greatest people in my lifetime...
I notice very few (if any) of them had fame or fortune. They might not have been 'tabloid worthy' or filled a stadium by their presence, but in those areas which really count... nurturing, providing, caring, having compassion, feeling empathy, and affecting lives for the better on a personal level... they stand head and shoulders above those who's main reward has been making headlines.

Make sure you show those in your own little world that you appreciate them!

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Drawing the Line

Where do you draw the line? At what point does your tolerance end and your wrath begin? What is that one thing which causes your open mind to become closed?

Don't say you have no line.

Every one of us has some areas which we are offended by, whether it is murder, child abuse, racism, unfaithfulness, torture, bullying (current media target), pedophilia, lying, cheating, etc, etc.

I'll say it again… where do you draw the line?

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Drink me. Eat me.

It never ceases to amaze at how diversified people's tastes are! Just when you think that "everyone likes (fill in the blank)", that's when you meet someone who absolutely can't stand it. This seems to be true of every facet of life, whether entertainment, music, weather, fashion, or anything else you can think of. It's especially true of food. There seems to be no universal 'everybody loves it' type of food. I've even met people who don't like water! sigh

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Con Job

Convict: To prove, declare, pronounce, convince, judge. To make aware of one's guilt.
Convicted: Found guilty. Made aware of guilt.
Conviction: Strong belief. Being firmly convinced. Certain.

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Religion? "That's Just Your Opinion!"

There seems to be some confusion about what is an opinion; what is a belief; what is faith; what is a fact; and what constitutes a fallacy. This is especially true when dealing with matters of spiritual concerns. It's quite common when sharing a belief to receive the response "that's just your opinion." Unless you have personally created what you believe to be true, then this response is just as wrong as what your created belief might be.

Beliefs
No matter what religion or anti-religion you might practice and believe in, if you are merely adhering to the accepted and established doctrines of that religion, then you are simply confirming and living your belief. This is separated from what your personal opinion is since you are agreeing to what the religion's doctrines are. It is the opinion of that particular religion and it's founder(s) since they claim their teachings are correct and true. You did not create this belief, somebody else did.

This is why the devout Buddhist can claim, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Buddha."
The practicing Muslim can state, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Muhammad."
This is how the dedicated Christian can maintain, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Jesus."
(Insert your religion here)
Etc, etc.

Opinions
But the person who has developed their own set of beliefs, even if it means combining the teachings from various religions, cannot make this claim. They have stepped outside the box of what is established and have set-up a standard which goes head-to-head with what religious founders claim to be true. They have established a set of beliefs for themselves which has no spiritual backing or authentication beyond their claim that "this is what I believe." In this case it's perfectly acceptable to respond, "that's just your opinion!" Unfortunately the vast majority of people living in the west are adherents of baking their own little smorgasbord of beliefs (often oppositional) into this form of spirituality.

Faith
The water muddles even further when breaking down spiritual teachings into what is true and what is a fallacy. This is especially true when dealing with any matter about the afterlife, since this area has no real means of verification. It becomes even more difficult when factoring in the equation that there could (as some religions claim) be spirits of deception which purposely send out false signals about what is true pertaining to life after death. The afterlife is naturally one of the most important areas of any religion or belief since it deals with the one common area which every person has to deal with... every person born has to die! Though our worlds might be drastically different, and we might share very little in common with one another, the one guarantee we all share is that some day we will personally meet death.

With afterlife we are dealing with the one area where religions are guaranteed not to agree with one another, and yet there's no real means of having proof beyond the claims of it's founder. When it comes to our life after death (or lack of) not all religions can be equally true, especially if their teachings conflict with one another. This area cannot be reasoned or explained away, if they don't agree then it means there has to be more than one incorrect view. The reasonable way to view the afterlife is two ways: (1) Either all religions are wrong, or (2) one religion is correct and the rest are wrong.

Fallacy
There is a third perspective which is inconceivable so it is not really an option, and that is (3) all religions are correct. You can never have conflicting, oppositional teachings which are all correct. If this were true then we could eliminate the sciences from our educational institutions since any conclusion is as valid as another. Again it is unfortunate that in our melting-pot, accept anything culture, it is this third 'all religions are the same' option which the majority of people erroneously believe.

Fact
(1) Religion is based upon two parts... belief and faith. We also practice belief and faith in many other areas of our life... it is perfectly natural and part of residing in this physical universe.
(2) Whether you accept or reject a particular religion, that is your personal decision.
(3) When you adhere to the doctrines of that religion (or non religion), it is not your own created theology, therefore it is not your opinion, it is the opinion and theology of your religion.
(4) Not all religions are equal. They all can't be correct and they all don't contribute to society in the same way.

Helpful Advice
When looking into any religion, it's extremely important to thoroughly research every aspect of it's founder. Just as not all religions are equal, not all founders of the religion are equal... there's a huge discrepancy between one and the other. You should look into their teachings and how they lived out those teachings. You must scrutinize every facet of their lifestyle. Look into their humanity, their prejudices, their appetites, their strengths, their weaknesses, and any facet which shows hypocrisy in them. Look into the miracles and amazing things which they performed. Ask whether their miracles were for their own comfort or for the benefit of others. Check into whether they fulfilled all the prophecies regarding their coming. Look into their claims... both those about God and those about themselves. In general, look at their birth, their life, and their death.

Make your belief and your faith mean something. Make it count.

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A simple spiritual rule as demonstrated by Christ...

When we dwell on our self we naturally pull away from God and His ways. When we turn our focus on others, then we are able to be drawn to God. There is no such thing as a self-focused person who is residing in the perfect will of God. By putting self on our own personal pedestal and throne, we have no room for anyone else (including God) to have no other purpose except to meet our needs.

No authentic 'holy person' can reside in a monastery or on a mountaintop... their seclusion prevents them from truly being holy.

Jesus stamped his disapproval on the majority of holy men which this world has to offer.

Don't be taken-in by any spiritual teacher who's life and teaching doesn't verify what Christ taught and demonstrated!

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Genetics 101: Carnival of Lost Souls

If there's one thing to be learned from the life of Michael Jackson is that we now have a choice of what race we desire to be. Many people change genders to correct what nature mistakenly provided. Surely the day is coming when we can choose whatever species we should have been born into. Dolphin, eagle, dog, or jackass... step right up and take your pick!

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Tempo Variations

Etched In Stone
I'm 2/3's of the way to completing the score for Etched In Stone. So far this has been the most difficult composition to put to sheet music… because of it's many sporadic tempo changes. The tempo changes eight times within a 3:20 structured piece! I've also learned that the parent software which I use for bringing all the pieces together is having a hard time handling the load. Little did I know when I penned this back in 2002 what a headache it would bring me. LOL

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Spiritual Blessings

People who focus on the material normally see physical wealth as a sign of being blessed by God. This fallacy is so prevalent that it was brought up in Christ's teachings on various occasions with direct and harsh words. Christ taught that to be truly blessed by God is to be rich in spiritual blessings, not the physical! We must remember that physical wealth does not bring us close to God but offers a deterrent which naturally pulls us away from God. When a pastor preaches the 'prosperity doctrine' so prevalent on television, we must assume they are sowing seeds of the false teachers which Christ warned about. We should put into question their other teachings as well.

When we look at the person who is authentically spiritual and close to Christ, that is the person who we must proclaim, "they have been truly blessed!"

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Who's Lap is It For?

I got my first computer in the mid-80s. There weren't many portable computers around at the time. In my mind I created what I considered to be an ideal portable... it was quite similar to a tablet form factor. When laptops hit the market and flourished, I was surprised with their clumsy design... they are an open-and-shut book which you hold sideways! It never has been a good design, not from day one, and still isn't.

The design of a typical laptop is a compromise design. It's not all that great on your lap, on a table, held in bed, opened on an airplane, sitting in class, or any other place it might go. It is somewhat portable, but not ideally portable. A tablet is much more similar to carrying around a pad of paper, which can go anywhere with ease. That is the reason why warehouses and medical centers have been using tablet format devices for 20 years, as opposed to impractical laptop designs.

My biggest surprise is that it's taken this many years for tablets to finally find their place. But actually, it makes sense, since the input of text has always been important and an onscreen keyboard has never compared to a physical keyboard. Technology advances will keep giving us better and better alternatives to the laptop keyboard, and with each improvement, the laptop will get more and more impractical to carry around.

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Do You Round Down or Round Up?

Sales people thrive on customers who round prices down instead of rounding them up. It's easier to sell the $19,999 car when referring to it as $19,000. To people who round prices up, this is a $20,000 car! By the time you add taxes, duties, and all the other fees, you have a car costing far more than $19,999.

It's amusing to hear the purchaser refer to the $19,000 car they just bought, even though the sales receipt shows a price far closer to $23,000!

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From Tsunami to Salami

Tsunami:
Remember... what has happened to Japan now could happen to any one of us tomorrow. It's a great time to reevaluate your life; those things you consider important; those other things you consider trivial; and a great time to reconsider conclusions you have made which your life has been based upon.
We are all only passing through... make... it count.

Salami:
Appreciation for rural-countrified malapropisms...
"Twasn't so much the shakin' goin' on but the salami which followed that did most of the damage."
--Shared by coworker about his uncle's assessment of March 11 disaster

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Tolerance or Compassion?

Which would you rather have extended to you, tolerance or compassion?
They are both somewhat similar.
Both of them suggest they will put-up with you even if they don't like you or your ways.
Neither of them indicate approval of your actions, just the leeway to allow you the freedom to have your own life... up to a point.
But compassion allows one important area that tolerance doesn't. It's real strength comes into play when tolerance has been pushed to it's limit. Compassion goes a step beyond the letter of the law when you have stepped over the line. It says "though you might have broken the law or violated my rights, I will give you another chance".

Extend compassion on others, and hope (don't expect) for the same in return.

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'The Seasons'

The Alpha & Omega Suite was begun in 2000 and completed nine years later in 2008. Though heavy on lyrics, the compositions were also written to stand on their own as an orchestrated instrumental.

After taking a two year hiatus away from the music, at the end of 2010 I returned to the compositions and started notating and scoring. The new variation on the Suite is referred to as 'the Seasons'. Each season will contain a different 'take' on the individual pieces, for instance Autumn emphasizes strings and orchestra, Winter is heavy on piano, Spring will be more hard/electric, and Summer is not determined yet.

I am randomly scoring the individual pieces separately as I feel inspired. So far the 2-1/2 parts I've completed have each taken 5 to 6 weeks of endeavor. The Psalmists Sonata, though number 12 out of the 35 pieces was the first I wrote the sheet music for. It is a piece which when first written back in 2004, was immediately 'stuck in my head' as a heavy string arrangement. These strings are also a part of the first recorded version with lyrics.

Promises Fulfilled was the first song written for the Alpha & Omega Suite... back in 2000. It has always been dear to me and became the second piece notated and scored the first month in 2011.

At the slow rate I'm putting these songs to sheet music, I probably won't complete more than six or seven songs a year. So... I'm asking you to be patient and sit back and wait as each new composition is added. Hopefully, you enjoy them as much as I do and you will feel it is worth the wait.

Let the season begin.

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Incompetency On the Rise

I went to two food places at lunch. Both of them made incompetent errors on very simple orders (drink at one place, sandwich at another). Is incompetency becoming the norm? I sure hope that doctors, nurses, dentists, mechanics, pilots and other professionals who hold our life and safety in their hands are not showing similar carelessness and lack of responsibility.

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Time for Discipline

Be wise and humble enough to know when those traits that you value are in reality a detriment and are holding you back. If peace, prosperity, and comfort bring about stagnation and complacency, it's time to reevaluate and see the way you're going is down... and do what it takes to make an about-face turn.
Rev 3:19

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Celebrating 24 years of using Macintosh computers at work!!

Celebrating 24 years of using Macintosh computers at work!!

It was in 1987 that the company's graphics department purchased 2 Macs. These were graphical-interface (GUI) marvels!! The remainder of the 30-something computers were all MS-DOS based, which meant those employees had to learn command-prompts and stare at black monitors all day!

Our little Macs frightened the IT department. They realized that if computers were to go the way of the Macs, their jobs would be far less secure and not required as much.

Naturally, those employees using the MS-DOS dinosaurs would come into the graphics department just to long and lust after our user-friendly machines. They were witnessing the wave of computer's future and they realized it.

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Give me Your Bucks

Some people are rich so they can abundantly give to the needy. If they are not freely giving to those less fortunate, then it means they truly don't understand why they have been blessed with wealth.

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Bad Mood

Interesting how when someone is in a bad mood, they can quickly pull others down... and then they are the one to complain how "everyone's in such a rotten mood!"

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Etched In Stone

I am currently scoring 'Etched In Stone' and am finding how difficult it is to write notation for a song with constant tempo changes. Though this is an original song which I could sing and play with no thought or concern to tempo variations, when setting it to sheet-music I'm sure having to do much analysis to determine what exactly is taking place. I knew that the tempo changed in the middle of the bridge but now I see it changes again near the end of the bridge.

It's kind of like breathing air. We do it naturally without analyzing what is taking place, but when we start looking into it in depth we see there's all kinds of little things taking place.

Spewed Out

Better cold or hot than lukewarm.

Extremes are not always desirable, and the middle gives a better position of evaluation, BUT when it comes to those things which are at their best on either end of the spectrum, the middle is the worst of all places to be.

We sure don't want to get spit out!
In no way do we want to be like the church of Laodicea.

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Not For Sale

We all buy into a 'bill of goods' of one type or another. Whether it is beneficial or detrimental depends on what we've bought into and the extent we have jumped-in. We have to also ask: is it permanent or temporary; are it's effects going to build walls or tear them down; and does it help or hinder our self and those we come in contact with? Unfortunately we aren't always able to answer these questions when our vision is not as sharp as it could be. What are you using to sharpen your sight?

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Just Don't Get Burned

Think of all the decisions you've made based upon your personality; your quirks; your tastes; and your prejudices. I once turned-down a good job in Los Angeles, and for many years have arrived at work thirty minutes early… just because I abhor rush hour traffic. I've known people who will drive hundreds of miles out of their way just to avoid some road or region. Many people have made buying decisions based on a color, size, shape or pretty design and have purchased a lesser product because of it.

Though we might think we are well-rounded and free of dross, those little things which make us who we are show that we aren't near as much as we'd like to believe. Many internal and external factors have gone into making us who we are and influence what we do; how we think; and why we've done some of the dumb things that even we can't always explain! We are who we are… now move on.

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Television Wasteland

Modern day prophecies from the 1950s... the warnings against television's potential shallowness and sleaze have now become almost completely fulfilled by current broadcasts. It's been a steady, slow, gradual decline right from day one and at this rate it won't be too many more years for it to be unwatchable by anyone with the least bit of decency and standards.

(Uh, what channel did you say that was on?)

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This World is Not My Home

"This world is not my home, I'm only passing through" the old song proclaimed. Sometimes this is the only view one can have when reality rears it's ugly head from it's partially concealed hiding place. Positive attitudes; festivities; busy schedules; escapism entertainment; alcohol; drugs; and other blinders can only hide and conceal for so long, but eventually it surfaces and devastates some aspect of the life of every single person (some more than others)!

One thing we should continually be aware is that though we may be experiencing the best day of our life, there are many other people who's same day is filled with tragedy, devastation, and pain. Our awareness, empathy and compassion should be brought into play at appropriate times, as we are able and willing to help and assist. That is what "loving our neighbor as we do our self" is all about.

We are all only passing through. There's no 2nd chance.

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What Is Music?

If a song doesn't have the musical memorability to be "stuck in my head" then there's a good chance that I could care less whether I ever listen to it again, or not. Unfortunately, this also means there are songs that I love the music to, but the lyrics aren't worth the time of day. In those cases I would just as well hear the song as an instrumental and leave the lyrics for someone who is on the same level. Too bad most music isn't recorded in such a way that the vocal/lyric track could easily be switched off.

I also use the same criteria on my own songs. I've thrown away and discarded songs because I've classified them as 'filler'... which I'm not a big fan of. When I see famous musicians putting filler on their albums, I feel their label would rather them release drivel than spend the time to produce their best.

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Convictions to Die For

Historically, genocides happened between tribes and people groups. Future genocides will most probably happen based upon convictions and personal values differences.

If our race and culture doesn't separate us, we always find something else to hate and divide over. That is our nature.

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