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

One of the nice things about being comfortably in my 40s is that I get to look back with no regrets. I also get to look at kids today and bitch! LOL The kids today just seem to NOT GET rock & roll. The occasional young bands I see pretty much suck (oh sure, there ARE exceptions) and the crowds just don't know how to party. Its not just me saying that, I know a lot of bartenders, club owners, etc., who share in that same thought. Seems most of the kids today want to be in bed at a reasonable hour. WTF??? All of this brings me to thinking about the regional music scene. 25 years ago, it was HOPPING! 15 years ago, it was HOPPING! In the past 5-10 years, its been a serious downhill slide. Whats WRONG with the kids today???? Hey, we didn't have money but we still managed to create some great music. Did we have the greatest gear known to man? No! But we used what we had and used our own creativity to make it happen. While I've always loved all kinds of music; punk, blues, c...

8 years on and I still miss you. 8 years on and I still think about you. 8 years on and I still think of all the good times and bad. 8 years on and I still laugh at your jokes. 8 years on and I still tell people funny stories about us. 8 years on and I'm still mad as hell that you were taken from us. 8 years on and I still cry and get depressed. 8 years on and I still think of you on your birthday. 8 years on and I can still see your face. 8 years on and I can still hear your voice. 8 years on and I'm still trying to move on. 8 years on and you're still the annoying little bird on my ass. 8 years on and I still feel the terror. 8 years on and I still miss you.

If Jesus were here today (and who knows, He could well be!) would He be a socialist? I can already hear the religious right screaming for my crucifixion and calling me a heretic but I'm just posing a question. As Jesus said to the Apostle Peter, “What do you say I am?” Take a look at this list and see what YOU think: Jesus owned nothing. Jesus loved all people regardless of ethnicity or class. Jesus revolted against the imperial government, established religion and finance capitalism. Jesus taught that we should act as one body, one blood. Jesus taught that his kingdom is in the heart and not below the feet. Jesus taught that we should fight for Justice and 'turn the other cheek' to petty morality. Jesus was a laborer and a teacher. Jesus practiced healing and forgiveness. Sure sounds like a pinko socialist type to me! Heck, we all know that the poor CHOOSE to be poor because they're too lazy and shiftless to work. And those sick people, heck, they're all just faki...

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...

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...