To The Metal

It’s not too often in this life that I meet a person who I look up to and respect from the moment I earn the great honor of working with them and calling them a friend.

Gene Lawrence was one of those guys. His friends called him the ‘Big Show’ and everything about the guy was big. His heart, his talent, and the amount of respect I will always have for him.

I first met him when I was 18, and took a computer tech job at the local library system. He had been promoted, and I filled his place. I actually did that twice, following in the footsteps of an absolutely awesome person.

I will always remember the friendship and working relationship I had with him, and cherish the valuable lessons I learned which still guide me to this day.

God Bless You, Gene, and your family.

Heaven’s got a one heck of a badass on its hands now.

http://www.myspace.com/genebigshowlawrence

His angel rode along on the final trip home

Myspace always has these surveys going around, very rarely do I find one that is cool enough to repost here… This happens to be one of them. Feel free to give it a shot and post it on your blog, or your MySpace.

Put your iPod/iTunes on shuffle.
– Press forward for each question.
– Use the song title as the answer to the question.

How am I feeling today?:
Trashed and Scattered – Avenged Sevenfold

Will I get far in life?:
Blowin’ Sky High – Berlin

How do my friends see me?:
Homeward – VNV Nation

Where will I get Married?:
No Attention – Soundgarden

What is the story of my life?:
Avarice – Disturbed

What was highschool like?:
Demonizer – Judas Priest

How can I get ahead in life?:
Inbetween Days – The Cure

What is the best thing about me?:
Hello Lonely – Theory of a Deadman

How is today going to be?:
Holy Water – Soundgarden

What is in store for this weekend?:
Santa Monica – Theory of a Deadman

What song describes my parents?:
Epicentre – VNV Nation

To describe my grandparents?
Electronaut – VNV Nation

How is my life going?
Just Say Yes – The Cure

What song will they play at my funeral?:
Judas Rising – Judas Priest

How does the world see me?
Fall Apart – 10 Second Drop

Will I have a happy life?:
Sacred Life – Disturbed

What do my friends really think of me?:
Burn It Down – Avenged Sevenfold

Do people secretly lust after me?:
Seasons to Cycles – 10 Years

How can I make myself happy?:
Blow up the Outside World – Soundgarden

What should I do with my life?:
Pretty Noose – Soundgarden

Will I ever have children?:
Somewhere – Soundgarden

What is some good advice for me?:
My Wave – Soundgarden

How will I be remembered?:
The Hand That Feeds – Nine Inch Nails

What is my signature dancing song?:
Love Is Not Enough – Nine Inch Nails

What do I think my current theme song is?:
Let Me Drown – Soundgarden

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?:
The Tear – 10 Second Drop

What type of girls do you like?:
With Teeth – Nine Inch Nails

Yea American Idol is annoying me. Not complaining too much as Daughtry is still on board and well out of the bottom 3… But the bottom 3 is just getting absurd. Last night they voted off Bucky, who had a definite southern-rock flavor to his vocals and a natural talent which stood out on the show. He was chosen instead of Paris or Ace… Ace has the typical boy-band voice…meaning he really can’t sing that well and just has a look that will likely sell.

I find it annoying because I expect the competition on the show to be feirce, I expect everyone to have something unique and vibrant to their vocals which encourage everyone to do better. When they keep someone around like Ace with his half-assed vocals, the quality of the entire show takes a dive.

My prediction is the endgame will be between Chris Daughtry and Kelly Pickler, I’d just rather that the weakest links get voted off regardless of how pretty they are.

Today was the official start of Spring for me. I usually quantify that special day by one of two things, I go hiking or I get to sleep with the windows open. After a long, annoying winter, both are things I absolutely dream of.

So today I took a jaunt up to what’s popularly referred to as “Pinwheel’s Vista” on the Appalachian Trail in Vernon, NJ. It’s a decent grind up to the top, good season opener for me and the view at the end of the line is well worth the sweat and mosquitoes.

One thing I found absolutely deplorable was the amount of rubbish along the trail! Regulars of the trail should be ashamed of themselves, more so than the hapless losers who dropped the bags, bottles, wrappers, pens, and cigarette butts along the way. I literally filled my shopping bag (brought for that specific purpose) less than 2/3 of the way up!

I really don’t give two shits as to why people don’t pick up their garbage, but the people who respect the trail should respect the fucking trail and help clean it up. After all, all you have when you fill an open space full of inbred morons and rubbish is a subdivision minus the houses. Nobody likes to hike in a damned subdivision, do they?

I’m updating a new gallery entry as we speak with highlights from the trek, hopefully I’ll do this again next week.

Cheers!

In the ongoing fiasco in regard to our southern border, there’s been discussion of erecting a wall on the border. I’m for it, both the symbolism behind it as well as the function of hopefully slowing the illegal immigration to a manageable level.

Of course, as with any plan that actually makes sense, the idea of a wall has come under fire too. We wouldn’t possibly want to keep so many eligible voters on the wrong side of the wall if they sign another amnesty bill into law, would we?

The other night it dawned on me like a light from the heavens… Just get the wall into a spending bill. Make it a line item on some spending bill. George W Bush hasn’t even made the attempt to veto a single spending bill yet and the Government has gotten fat and happy on his watch because of it. We may as well take advantage of it to the benefit of the country… for a change.

Only other thought I have on the issue is that should amnesty be granted, there be a little detail in the small print. That detail convicts each illegal immigrant of a felony, then provides them with a suspended sentence. They won’t be able to legally vote, which should keep the politicians honest…for a day or two.

As long as there are dead people available to vote, there’ll always be a Democrat who could win an election.

I’ve got to laugh at what some people actually regard as news.

A new poll is out and it shows that 60% of Californians aren’t happy with the President and Congress. How the hell is this news? This is the state of rolling-blackouts as a solution to power shortages! The last state that had as many power outages as California was Louisiana, and that was due to a hurricane! I’m sure every Californian had the same reaction when they found out their new governor wasn’t just a left-wing kook actor! “I elected a Republi…WHAT!?” There are 49 states, a mix of red and blue, and then there’s People’s Republic of California.

In days gone by a story like this would have been big news, but in reality America is still waking up to the vast Left-wing media spin machine and I’m sure most folks who saw this today said the same thing as I…

“Duh?”

Poll shows Californians not impressed with Bush or Congress

Picked up this album off iTunes the other night, heard their single ‘no suprise’ on one of the local stations and had to pick it up. It’s straight up hard rock, which contrary to other reviews I’ve seen is NOT Nickelback. While Chad Kroeger signed Theory of a Deadman and wrote a couple songs on the album, they have a groove, attitude, and sound all their own. Below are the lyrics to the single, which I’ve heard a dozen times and it gets funnier EVERY TIME I HEAR IT.

Friday is when you left me
So I’ll drink myself to sleep
And Sunday is when I’ll wake up
Not to remember a thing

My friends are mean to me
They say I don’t break up too well
(They know)
All this crying gets to me
And no one seems to give a shit
Well I know you want to
So go on and say it
Just go on and say it
Just go on and say it

DId my income tax this morning, took me 20 minutes and cost me $40.

I owed this year. I owe every year in fact.

The reason I owe? I refuse to fork over any more of my hard earned cash than I need to.

Sure, people dance a jig of glee when they get their refund check. Who knows how much money you might have gotten if the Government actually paid interest on the money they extort. Who knows what good might have been done over the course of the year if you actually had that money in your greedy little palms.

The possibilities are endless, my friends.

This year? I had to pay .6% of my total income to the IRS in addition to what was withheld from my check.

That, and I actually know how to save money.

Piece of advise folks, keep as much of your money as you can, save what you can in the bank, and enjoy the ability to use your hard earned cash all year on things you desire, not just after April 15th.

On a side note… Watching I Heart Huckabees this morning I realized that Lilly Tomlin could be Spock’s stunt double and no amount of clevage is going to make that woman attractive to me.

20 years ago we had an immigration crisis. Illegal aliens were crossing the border at an alarming rate. A solution had to be found… The solution?

Amnesty. Oh, and they weren’t called Illegal Aliens anymore… They were Illegal immigrants.

Today we have an immigration crisis, compounded by the unending efforts of global terrorism to plan its flag on American soil yet again. Border patrols are failing. Private citizens are taking charge. Thousands of Illegal Immigrants are flooding the streets in protest…. Oops, I mean Undocumented workers… The solution?

Well despite popular opinion, IT ISN’T FUCKING AMNESTY. Think the IRS would let me go for not paying taxes if I said I was an undocumented worker? RIGHT. How the hell are these ‘undocumented workers’ able to protest? Why not take all the buses that weren’t used by the Liberal idiots in charge of Louisiana and New Orleans to evacuate the populace, park them outside these protests, and use them to shuttle the illegals back across the border?

Freedom of speech? Right to peaceful protest? They’re rights granted to AMERICAN CITIZENS. I’d have treated the protestors who were illegals as if they were members of Al Qaeda fighting for a price reduction on the chemical compounds required to produce C4 explosive.

THIS IS NOT MEXICO. It is a sovreign nation. Any other nation in the world who had to face millions of non-citizens storming the border WOULD DECLARE WAR OVER IT.

Not America. Not a place where political pigs could grab a photo-op and welcome millions of new voters to the land of the free and home of the brave. Just like the port debacle in NJ had to do with labor unions, this amnesty garbage has to do with votes. Reagan did it in the 80’s to get votes, and you can bet your paycheck on the fact that its the same reason that it has happened again.

Why fix the problem when you can cash in and sell out?

Ideally we should hire a couple million Chinese and have them build a BIG FUCKING WALL to separate our country from Mexico. Maybe even a big moat. Worked against the Mongolians for 5 minutes, didn’t it? After we’re done building the wall, we track down every illegal alien and individual who has overstayed their VISA and give them a one way ticket back to their country of origin. While we’re doing that, we go to every single business in the United States INCLUDING FUCKING WALMART who has benefitted from illegal alien workers AND CHARGE THEM BACK-TAXES FOR EVERY ILLEGAL THEY’VE EVER EMPLOYED. Take that money and offset the income-tax for the rest of us with another tax cut.

They do jobs that Americans won’t? Bullshit. Businesses get away with murder by paying these illegal aliens pennies on the dollar and not having to provide taxes or benefits. Use inmates. Kids from juvenile hall. Stick them in a hot field for 16 hour days and watch how qucik they learn to respect freedom and law.

While politicians fight to stop the tax cuts, they happily nod at millions of hard-working invaders and the businesses who rely on them and PAY NO TAX.

Regardless of party, Politicians are dirtbags. They should have a shelf-life like the spineless chickens they are.

Since the heady days of JFK, Ronaldus Magnus, and now George W Bush, the simple economic fact that tax cuts spur growth is blatant even to the most partisan Liberal (which is why they tend to fight it so much, it benefits Americans). That being said, one of the great advantages of living mere minutes from New Jersey has been the ability to purchase clothing tax free. It is undeniable that when the shackles of taxation are removed from any facet of our economy, it will subsequently flourish.

Heard some great news on the radio this morning, starting tomorrow New York State will permanently lift the sales tax on clothing and shoes under $110, which is similar to the New Jersey statute. I still do not agree that there should be a $110 cap, but those rich bastards who want to buy 2 pairs of Levis should deal with it… oh wait… Damnit. I suppose I can just go twice. Fuckers.

The part of the report which thoroughly disgusted me, is that to compensate for the tax cut, counties are upping their sales taxes accordingly. Whatever happened to no taxation without representation? Sure, we have representatives but when the hell have they ever put the interests of the poor saps like yours truly who have elected them to office first?

There’s this misconception that Government can spend the hard earned money of the DOCUMENTED American worker better than they can. It’s the only reason bullshit like this is allowed to pass uncontested.