The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

I am primitive. I live in the jungle. Race, colour, creed, gender...are all unimportant. I ignore them. I hunger for my own. I thirst for knowledge. I hunt the uninformed. I have things to tell them. I am neither right nor wrong. I just am. I am primitive. I live in the jungle. I step with purpose. The only laws are those of nature. I learned long ago from my ancestors that we do right because it is right. I do not search for the creator. I accept it's existence. I teach the younger and respect the elders. I am primitive. I live in the jungle. I live among the civilised and watch them mistreat each other. I do not understand it. I live without greed. My needs are simple and few. Wanting is a drug. The civilised use it. I watch the civilised kill their own merely to gain the material. I am content in the jungle. Are they? I am primitive. I live in the jungle. My jungle is neither trees nor caves. It is concrete, steel and suburbs. Farms are a memory. The civilised follow the machine...

So my sentencing date was pretty much 'much ado about nothing'. I got there @ 8:20am for my 8:30am sentencing...and of course, it was a typo on my form. No one else was there til 9:00am! LOL Another hour goes by, pretty much everyone piddling about...the one clerk was on the phone checking into purchasing a car for her daughter, the other clerk was doing some filing and the court reporter didn't even show til about 9:30! The judge then asked to see both lawyers in chambers...WTF? I knew then that something was up. My lawyer came out about 10-15 minutes later with an odd look on her face and the ADA pretty much bolted. My lawyer then informed me that my trial had been declared a mistrial! So as it stands, to my knowledge and understanding, the last trial pretty much has been rendered moot. So, a date has been tentatively set for a retrial (here we go again!)...but I have to wonder IF the DA will even continue to attempt to prosecute me. It seems to me that it would be a stup...

OK, it's Sunday. Countdown to Friday begins NOW! What's the importance of this Friday, aside from it being the start of a new weekend? Well, in case you're unfamiliar with my legal mess, let me put it in a nut shell for ya. Back in November 2007, I had a heart attack. Life had been a bitch for some months personally and financially but everything was finally coming together...and then the heart attack. Being a generally resilient guy, I bounced back pretty quickly and was ready to get back on my feet...along with my new $80k hospital bill dogging me. I'd been working in the MH/MR field (mental health/mental retardation) for over 20 years and had spent the last 3 years self-employed (using an employer of record, as per the state's regs). I was ready to get back to work and sort out my finances. Things were coming together. Well, on my 2nd day back to work, I was attacked by a teenage client. He landed a really good punch to my right eye and as my back was against the...

Les Paul died today at age 94. For those of you who have lived under a rock in a cave your entire lives, Les Paul was possibly the greatest guitarist who ever lived. He was also responsible in part for almost every bit of music you've ever listened to. How you may ask? He pretty much invented multitrack recording. Without Les Paul and his whacky, wizardous, ideas, music would not be what it is today. Last night, I dreamt that a friend and I were dueting on Les Paul/Mary Ford songs. All morning long, I was humming old Les Paul songs. Mind you, this itself isn't unheard of...but its not where my mind has been lately. At work, around 1:00pm EST, while humming one of the guitar parts to "Waiting For The Sunrise", I received a text message that Les Paul had died of complications from pneumonia. I was greatly saddened by this. Not so much because he passed away...the man had a long, rich, meaningful life. He'll be remembered for thousands of years. No, I was saddened be...

OK, this has long been an issue that I care strongly about. Health Care should not be an "issue", it should be a basic human right. Anyone that wants to argue THAT with me, please feel free. If you've ever suffered a major health issue, or had a loved one with a life long disorder, then you already know how expensive it is. Healthy people, while the majority, have no idea how lucky they are...nor do they realize how quickly all that can change. Sooooo... According to the 2008 US Census, there are 304,059,724 people living in the US. That's just over 304 million. I'm using that figure as the basis for my equation. If the government were to institute a fractional sales tax, across the board, it would add up like this: At 50 cents per day (minimum), that would add up to $152,029,862 raised per day or $55,490,899,630.00 per year. Yes, that's in excess of $55 billion. And thats a very minimum number. With a fractional, NATIONAL sales tax included in the price of ev...

Yeah, like I really needed yet another web presence! LOL But as I've always got something on my mind, something to say and a love for writing, I figured it was time to create a blog...why? Because I like the word blog, OK? LOL So, as this blogscape grows, you'll find me rambling on about the sorts of things I care about...or just happen to catch my fancy that day. Stick around kids...it's about to get interesting! LOL