My 33%

Thirty-three years.

Soon as the year ends up, I will sit back and realize that I've been on this spinning globe for thirty-three years. 

 

When I sit back and think about it, it's not that long of a time. Ten years ago, I was just entering my last year at UF. My eyes were full of wonder, optimism  and hope for what my future would held. Twenty years ago, the 90s were well underway and I was an awkward thirteen-year old ready to leave the bastion of safety that was middle school and travel into uncharted territory that was high school. Finally, thirty-years ago, I was a clean blank slate coming into my own. A happy trouble making three year old, playing in the NJ town of Elizabeth, attending a daycare center, without a care in the world. 

The past thirty-three years of my last have taught me a great deal.  Good lessons to live by and to strive to, and some bad ones that I am still paying for. Not once in my thirty-three years of life have I ever wanted a redo, to go back to make things right what once went wrong. Well that last part was more Quantum Leap, but you get the picture. With every year that passes, I do not hear the gears of the hands of time counting down. I hear the beautiful chimes of the grandfather clock, signal another year and another reason to move forward. 

Age thirty-three is going to be a good damn year.

The Story of The Henchman - Author's Note

Picture taken from: Jimmy Wellington

I do not want everyone to think that I have not been working on my supposed short story of "The Henchman" or have given up on this blog. The answer to that is Nope, I am still writing, rough drafting and noting. Just with everything that is going on in my life, needed to focus a bit on those external distractions before moving on to something more personal and rewarding to myself. Now while I am still working on the first chapter, I want to give a bit of a background not about the story but about the titles that I have decided to go with. 

When I started writing the first chapter, I wanted to make sure I gave it a title that quickly described what the chapter and mood of the story would be about. So at first I was going to go with popular English Lit titles that I had read in the past and use that as title chapters, that didn't work out as well as I thought. So as I was scratching my head here at the office the song "Fear the Reaper" came on, and that's when it hit me. Instead of going with popular English Lit titles I would go with classic songs (all genres). Here are all the titles that I have decided to go with:

Chapter 1: Unforgettable
Chapter 2: Echoes
Chapter 3: Darkness on the Edge of Town
Chapter 4: Diary of a Madman
Chapter 5: The Man Who Sold the World
Chapter 6: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Chapter 7: Fear the Reaper
Chapter 8: You Can't Always Get What you Want
Chapter 9: Hero
Epilogue:   Life Goes On

Again I cannot wait to clean and write the final draft for Chapter 1: Unforgettable, but at least you see where I am going with the story.

Thank you for sticking around and hope to have something up soon.

Prologue: The Henchman

Image taken from the movie The Dark Knight

A story.
A simple idea.
That’s how it all began...

For a long time, the Henchmen have stood by and watched. Always lurking in the shadows, fighting for a scrap of glory and honor. They always remained silent, following their orders, a soldier through and through. They survive in a society where they are nothing more than third class citizens. Their fate chosen by others, forced to stay in the gutters. Their motto, “Make do, or die!”

For years they have served both good and bad. For years their lives had been sacrificed for such unworthy causes. Discarded into the fire, as if they were scraps of paper.

No one dared questioned the Quorum.
To defy them, to defy their laws, meant your death.
You would be erased, swatted away from existence, as if you were a gnat.

And so our story begins.
Not with a hero, not with a villain, but with a Henchman
For his story starts in the most unlikely of ways..

Comment by the me the guy attempting to write an interesting novel:

"For the past few months, I had been kicking around in my head an idea for a story. Which basically revolves around a Henchman who works for a bad guy (I of course would have more depth to the story than that). My thinking about this story is that for a long long time now when stories, movies, and TV shows want to tell a story t's either about the Hero or the Villain. I wanted to tell the story about the person in the behind the Villain and the Hero...the Henchman. With this story I am going to step out of my comfort zone and dabble into writing a dark comedy. Right now I thought I might as well post a Prologue of sorts and give this story (be it short story, or full grown novel) a coming out party. From time to time, I will update the blog with the story of the Henchman. As I have a few stories in my head, but want to work them out on paper before publishing the. Until then...sit back enjoy the on going ramblings that is the Daily Gregisms..."

Moment of Random Thought: Political Ads Suck!

Picture provided from the movie Campaign

I debated with myself for a while.

Debated if I should have made up a story about all the craziness that seems to behind this year's crop of political ads and place it under  “The Underground” tagline, write it as I have plan to do so now, or not even write anything at all. However, for all the times that I’ve kept my thoughts and opinions to myself. I thought I would share my thoughts this one time,and air my frustration and overall sadness with the recent bombardment of political ads on television and radio.

I was once a student of Political Science (Poli Sci is what we kids call it). After bouncing around from major to major, I stumbled by chance into this major. The classes came easy to me. I wasn’t forced to remember a set of equations, break down a sentence, or construct something with my own bare-hands.  To me Political Science was about how people followed rules and order. Basically finding order in a sea chaos, but in learning that you also find how trivial the whole process become and how individuals (in all parties) use it to control a subdued population. And that wherein lies my frustration over political ads. What benefit do these ads truly have?  Other than to rile up a misinformed public, who are apparently too lazy to do any meaningful research on their own, and get them to vote their way. Amazing that in this time of human development people are still so easily fooled and that the notion of self-thought is almost non-existent.

If it was up to me...I would not allow ads that attack. Just stick to what you are about and what you want to do, that’s it...nothing else. I don’t want a scary voice telling me how voting for the other person will start World War 3. I don’t need a woman’s voice telling me that voting for a particular candidate will cause my child to be abducted by aliens and carried off to galaxies unknown. Finally I do not want ads that sound like a pharmaceutical drug company ads that list all the side-effects for voting.

All I want from this political season is for the politicians to have debates, be civil and keep it about the your issues. Is that too much to ask for?

Now I realized I could have gone on with a much longer tirade about the political system. How the crazy amount of money being raised for ads would be better spent elsewhere by these politicians. But I’m tired and I want to get back to writing things that make me laugh.

So on to the next one.

Hiatus Over...Adventure Time Begins

Picture source: www.iswimforoceans.com

When you have things planned out to the tee, life sure likes to come in and shake things up. That has been my story for the past few months. Just when I thought I had things figured out, a monkey wrench is thrown into the cogs and really puts me in a bind.

First I should say, it’s good to be back and writing. I forgot how therapeutic it was to put all that craziness, that is my mind, into simple words. Many times have people told me that I should be posting an entry once week and trust me I would love nothing more than to be posting something hilarious and thought provoking once a week. But sometimes I go through a period of time where there’s nothing that interest me or life has me so busy that I am unable to write or even take a simple nap. I’ve let the cobwebs settle enough in my head and it’s time to clear them out.

If I want to be a writer as much as I say I do. Well then, I need to write more, there’s no way around it.  I need to write about everything and anything. There are times when I write about something and I find myself holding back. I worry that someone’s feeling might be hurt or that I’m opening myself up to something far worse than Pandora’s box. But those are just fears, which are nothing more than barriers in my way to accomplishing my end goals. And if I plan on accomplishing any of my goals, those barriers will have to be removed at all cost.

So I raise my glass to good fortune, and ask that it leads me down a path that is worthwhile and fun.  

Being an Uncle.

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." ~ Eda LeShan

I am an uncle! 
And that's kind of a big deal!

Now I could talk about how this moment in time was so precious to me that time seem to freeze, the air stood still and the crickets stop chirping. Or that when I saw my little nephew who was just trying to adjust to his life on the outside after being paroled from my sister's birth canal. That the first thought running through my head was, "Damn that's one big ass baby!" (side note: He came in at 9pounds 13ounces...as I stated BIG! most def no where near the 14lbs baby that was pushed out earlier this month). 


Now, one assumes when holding a newborn in your arms, looking into those eyes of a new life I would be filled of this...sense to have a little one of my own. Well those warm fuzzy thoughts quickly evaporated as soon as my nephew decided to burp and release his warm fuzzy feeling in his diaper when I first held him. I'm not mad at him, he doesn't know any better. But I will remember this day and make sure he owes me one down the road.


However it does but things in perspective. Basically when we are born, we start off with a blank canvas. We have no morals, no prejudices, no sense of love, no sense of hate. We start off as just an organism that is basically trying to survive and adapt to our surroundings. It's not until you hold another human being in your hand that you realize that you basically have a part (either large or small) in how this kid will turn out to be. I know my sister and her husband are looking at their son with nothing but love in their eye and who can blame...the kid is cute. 

The Underground: Politicians launch Occupy Televison

picture taken from Mike Luckovich @ www.gocomics.com

On January 3rd a new movement began to sweep the country. Just as the Occupy Wall Street died down and people returned to monotonous life. A new movement lurked in the shadows to hog the attention, bask in the limelight and change the way Americans behave in the privacy of their own homes. Spearheaded by the likes of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and those calling themselves...Suhpah Pack, all have one agenda, to make you hate watching TV in your own home.  These protesters have taken their cause out of the streets and in to your homes. FBI, Homeland security and CDC have commented on the growing numbers of this occupation. First starting in a small time in Iowa, it has gradually spread throughout the continental US.


A Matthew Liechter stated, "The reason for the Occupy Television Movement is that Americans have for far too long watch so much TV. We want them out of their homes and being productive members of society and the only way to accomplish that end goal is to make television so unbearable that the normal viewer has no choice but to turn it off. Where the Occupy Wall Street fought against the 1%. The Occupy Television Movement wages a war against the 99%"


Jake Elwood, a thirty-six year resident of Detroit, Michigan expresses his frustration over the current ads that have flooded their airwaves, "...The ads would just not stop. Day in and day out, having to listen to the same crap over and over again. My wife and I have decided to toss the television out of the window and go back to reading books and newspaper. At least that way I don't have to hear their voices everytime I go to sleep."


As the protest spreads, other states start to ramp up their efforts to prevent the mass hysteria of these Occupy Television Movements. Georgia states that they will run 24/7 marathon of the "Dukes of Hazard" in order to combat the Occupy Television Movement. Researches still do not know of anything currently on television that can stop this movement from ruining so many families across the country. 


If you like this story, please take the time to read more items on my blog: Daily Gregisms Blog