Today (and yesterday and the day before) I've been a little over emotional. So to avoid humilitating people in my life i'm gonna refrain from writing anything of substance for fear I may explode. So instead, today I'm going to "analyze" if you will a song that i really like.

Imagine

Sang by both The Beatles (or some say just Paul McCartney) and A Perfect Circle (APC)

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

In the beatle's version, this is a very uplifting message, saying "Carpe Diem" live for today, imagine there was nothing after this...so take advantage. However, in the (significantly) much darker version by APC it leaves you feeling empty and alone. No heaven? So what are we here for then? What's our life's purpose? You know...all that blah blah.

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Now how could anyone possibly twist this verse? You'd be amazed. Beatles: World Peace! What every Ms America contenstant ever wanted! What would a world be like where people didn't fight over things like what god to worship, or where their imaginary border is. That would be fantastic! APC: imagine a world where there was nothing worth believing in. Nothing worth wanting to fighting for. It would be a world of apathy. It's always the American dream to believe in something so strongly that you'd die for it. So without beliefs like that...where are we?

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

This is by far the most distrubing and twisted verse in my opinion. The Beatles are crooning about how great it would be if everyone shared everything and no one ever died of hunger. No one ever killed over money. However, listening to APC's version, the first imagine that comes to my mind is a concentration camp and the return of Nazism. The basis of Nazism is exactly as this verse says. No possessions, and sharing everything. No one works for themselves, but instead for the greater good and the government provides you with all you need. *I have recently been corrected that it's Communism and not Nazi-ism. I knew when i wrote that it just didn't sound right, but eh...sorry for the mix up*

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

This doesn't need much twisting, bc it says the same thing regardless. It's just a matter of what you're joining exactly.

Anyway, i think any singer who can twist such a positive song into what i've described above is someone pretty amazing. And Maynard would be it. Feedback on my interpretation is welcome. Now, if only life was as easy to analyze, I'd have it made.

Does anyone else do this? Right before you go to bed, you think of something great to write down, be it a song idea, book idea, or blog idea, and you think "oh, i'll write that down tomorrow" and then when you wake up you remember you had a great idea...but you can't remember what it is? That happens to me all the time! So next weekend is Pansy Brunch, and a reuniting of the old Rafters gang. I'm so excited! Nothing thrills me more than karaoke in a smokey, red neck bar! Also AXE initiation is next weekend, so it'll be just one big weekend of seeing a lot of people I haven't seen in a year or more. So last night, i got a smack in the face by the technological age. I was watching some Top 40 program and Nelly and Tim McGraw got on to perform "live". Well, so their singing this slow song, and i thought, what a perfect chance for someone to light a lighter. And you look into the crowd, and there are tons of creepy blue luminescence caused not by lighters, but cell phones! People had flipped open their cell phones and where using that to signal whatever it is we signal when a slow song is being played at a concert. Well, it was quite interesting really, and it makes me wonder what my parents think about this. When did we switch from lighters to cell phones? Lighters seem like such a staple! And don't tell me that kids are still smokin' be it cigarettes or pot, b/c i've been to concerts myself and i know. Well, anyway, i was just watching the Morning Show, and saw something relatively amusing. This woman was supposed to sing the national anthem at a hockey game. Only she couldn't remember the words. So she left the ice, and i assume looked at the words again, and then stepped back on the ice, only to slip and bust her ass. All i can say is karma baby. That's what ya get for not knowing your own National Anthem. Well, that's about all i got for today. Not nearly as clever as what i had in mind last night, as stated earlier, i can't remember what it was. But i do know it was great! Doh!

So, today i saw an old man on a moped. So i've decided that when i become old, i would like to drive a moped as well. I mean hell, old people drive slow anyway, might as well own a vehicle that can't go fast in the first place. Speaking of old people and driving, i've been working on a theory for a while about why old people shouldn't be allowed to drive. Okay, so why are you not allowed to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Well, simple enough, slower reaction time, reduced coordination and motor skills, possibly blurred vision and occasional memory lapses. Sounds like a good reason to not drive. However, what happens when you get old. Well, you can't react to things as fast b/c your body simple won't move that fast. Continuing on with the body not agreeing with the rest of you, you lose coordination and motor skills as well. I mean, when was the last time you watched an old person "get their groove on" and actual look good doing it? Blurred vision...how many old people do you know with 20/20 vision. And don't even get me started on memory lapses. So in theory...being old is like being drunk with out the benefits. So then why is it illegal to drive under the influence, but 80 year old grandpas on mopeds can drive no questions asked. Well, that's easy. B/c drunks don't lobby. Sad though it is, targeting old people would make a lot of politicians unemployed. So today was my mock trial for marijuana. I can't put anything up about it yet, but tomorrow i'll reveal my stupidity. Sometimes i still feel like in college. B/c i go to work, and i take tests, and i'm lectured to, and work "classwork" problems for 8 hours a day. the only difference is i actually sleep at night and can relax when i come home. Oh and the tests don't rip me a new asshole.

Well, since it's been almost a year since my last post, i figured i might wanna get on that. Lucky for me, i (should) actually have time to do this now that i'm not in my own personal hell known as rose-hulman. So....what have i been up to for the last year exactly? Well let me tell ya! I graduated from Rose and actually did it with a 3.0. Pfft to all those who said i couldn't do it. Just goes to show you now matter how much you dick around freshman year, it is still possible to salvage a little bit of dignity. So, sadly, I was without employment, so I had to live at home with my mom and dad in SC. So for 6 months i wasn't a misplaced southerner! :-) It was actually kinda nice b/c i got to relax and enjoy a (relatively) warm winter. And at that time i got a dog too. Maybe i'll put a pic up at some time. But i'm sure most of you have heard me gush about him. I had forgotten how much i missed being in the south. So then around Christmas i got the best present ever, a JOB! And not just any job...but the job i had been obsessing about for 9 months. So I moved to Fort Wayne, IN in the middle of Jan in the sleet and ridiculously cold weather. And the whole time i'm thinking "holy shit, what did i just do?!" Well, to top off my wonderful moving experience, all my shit from Terre Haute got stolen. Just the Haute's way of stickin' it to me one last time. Ah well, it's just posessions, and thankfully I have friends and family who love me a lot so they took care of me. So i've been working at my job for 3 months now and i still like it a lot. I get to mess with drugs all day and play in the chemistry lab. For those who don't know I work in the Drug Unit as a forensic scientist for the Indiana State Police. No, i don't see dead bodies or get to wear a tank top to work like they do on CSI. But to me, my job is still as awesomely cool. Anyway, people at work are nice, and in general i'm happy with the choices i've made. Sadly (or happily, depends on your point of view) my life isn't nearly as exciting as it was when i was in college, but hopefully i'll still be able to come up with some funny stories. So the other day i was driving to work, and something struck me as very funny. This mini van pulls up next to me, and i look over and there's this kid who can't be anymore than 16. And to make matters worse, this mini van had a handicap license plate. I just thought "poor kid, stuck with his mom's car". I remember those days. For a very short time i pimped around in my mom's burgundy Ford Aerostar (you know everyone had one of those). Then i got to trade it in for the gray Pontiac Bonneville that has seen it's better day. Needless to say, i'm very thankful to have my Honda. So on Tuesday i have my first mock trial for work. It's on marijuana. I did a fake case and now i'm going to "testify" about this case to the questions of the worst case scenario defense attorney. Ya know, you see on TV all these slick, slimy, pain in the ass defense attorneys, and truth be told, they actually do exist. Hopefully I won't have any run-ins with any of them though. But i'm sure i will. So i'm reading a book called America by Stephen Coonts (as far as i know, no relation to Dean R Coontz the Stephen King type writer). It's very government conspiracy meets angry Russian Terrorists. Right now the Russian terrorists have stolen an impressive american submarine (conveniently called America) and have fired Tomahawk missles at the White House, Pentagon, and AOL. These missles happened to have a huge electromagnetic pulsing device on it, so basically all the things that run on computer chips, electricity, etc. are without power. Which is basically everything. Oh yeah, and since they took out AOL, the internet is shit. Interesting concept, but i'm pretty sure it's not very original. Well, sadly i don't have any funny stories to share at this time, but hopefully i'll come up with something soon. So i'll leave you with an interesting thought. Don't think about it too hard.

I'm not a vegetarian b/c i love animals, but b/c i hate vegetables.