Monday, February 28, 2011

...and the winner is...

So I had a conversation last night after the Academy Awards - the person I was talking to ask me which was my favorite speech?  I said to them matter of factly, "Well it has been said yet..." 

There was silence on the other end of the phone. 

I continued, "Well the film hasn't been made yet (I did stifle the words, 'a very important picture', like Auntie Norma Desmond would say) and I haven't gone up there to accept the award..." 

Strange only one of us laughed - and it wasn't me...

Two true facts for those of you who aren't in the know - one I am a theatre arts person (COULD NOT TELL BY MY PERSONALITY RIGHT?) and two I went to the Academy Awards way back in the 90's when Cuba Gooding Jr. won for Jerry Maguire...  I made a promise to myself I would return and at least be nominated for something...  Granted I placed it only a few years later but hey if David Seidler, writing the King's Speech, at 73 can win an award - I got some time....

So I thought about it and I wondered if I was nominated and should I have won - considering all the things going on in my world... what would I say... 

"Wow!  This is amazing... incredible, wonderful... but there are somethings I would like to point out to you all...  Yes, everyone thanks the cast, crew and production teams and granted I am right there with you - with out all of you - this wouldn't be possible...  Thank You... 

But there are people out there who you all don't know that truly won this award tonight... Who are they you ask?  Well they are the people who have been my family and friends in what seems like forever... 

You have them don't you?  The people that you just click with, cry with, laugh with...  who strangely are more your family than what the definition is...  They show kindness, bawdiness and they are the funniest people around...  They can sit around a table and in minutes rally to a cause, dispel any rumor and gossip more rigorously they anyone you know...  You know them right?  Because I hope we all have them in our lives...  Mine break into teams...

There are "the muses", my rag tag bunch of beauties who give me inspiration daily, there are "the co-conspirators" whose mission while secret have never failed me and our loyalty and trust are a lesson for the ages, then there are "the ones" - those who I would go into the fire for...  but together they make an impressive array of mentors whom I learn from and treasure.


There are also, "those people" - the ones who doubted and wronged me.  Without you as well, this wouldn't be possible.  Your mistake was to make a judgement call too quickly...  and while you are on the periphery of my life - it is important to acknowledge your presence - and to remind people to rise up and above their critics and blaze trails those stunted people could never ever do. 

Of course I am thanking my long suffering family - putting up with me for all these years... and then to the two people who made this all possible, my mother and father - they prove to me daily that my mother should be made a saint and the nickname "The Riddler" is most apt for my Dad... "
And in true Parano style as the music swelled, I would trip as I walked off the stage...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Ocean Floor

Water - not the normal thing this fire sign talks about...  But I'm not talking about the Atlantic or the Pacific...  I'm talking about the waters that lie within all of us.. You know the channels and currents of our mind, and the waters that make each of us - well us...

In the oceans that are me, I know that it is pretty much setup like our earth... Plateaus and canals that are the most accessible, but then there is the deep water...  The darker places... literally the core of what our minds ocean function on...  Some people simply allow there oceans to remain undisturbed - moving and flowing to their own natural rhythm.  Others are all about turbulent waters... kicking up storm after emotional storm...

I mean how do you determine your emotional state?  Do you notice rough seas or storm clouds... or is it like a tidal wave from nowhere?  Is it the acknowledgement of the issues at hand - or are there things that lie below the surface waters that are growing out all the other issues that bubble to the top?  More importantly, are we dealing with just symptoms, like storms passing, and not causes?  I mean with what seems like the Prozaic nation that we have become - have we lost our ability to delve into the deep waters of our own psyche or is it just easier to skim the surface and skim through life?  

I think from my other posts, you can guess my stance on the issue...

What lies beneath the surface is what truly interests me...  You see, I think that at the core of the myriad of issues we face there are the biggies, the primal ones that breath life in or fester and grow out into an array of situations, responses and reactions.  The only way to ever see what they are however is to take the plunge...

It might be the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.  For me I look into myself usually sitting by a barely dawn lit sunny window, when the dogs are sleeping and there is peace in the house...  These are the only waters I don't fear to tread...  Like a diver, submersion is breath taking and scary and for a minute or two I panic in the unnaturalness of it all... but then I am in my world...

I am taking the plunge as it were into the deep waters a lot these days...  Swimming literally in oceans of synapse and feelings and emotions...  Looking around inside of me to see what is down there...  What is at my core?  Am I missing something? You know what I found? 

You read it here a lot.

The first few minutes are the scariest thing you have ever felt - because in our world emotions are frowned upon usually - and diving deep into a sea of feelings takes some bravery - but then all of a sudden there is peace, understanding and knowledge...

Dive my friends, dive...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

hai moũsai

Oh look, didn't think I could do anything in Greek now did ya? 

Brand New Dave - Brand New Skills....

Would it be more impressive if I typed, αἱ μοῦσαι... WOW! Right, and he's not even Greek is what you're thinking...  Let's just say, for a variety of reasons, I feel certain affinities toward Greek culture as a whole and have always appreciated their mythology, epic poetry and well their food...

So the hai moũsai or the Muses have long been a favorite...  I kinda like the idea that these ladies rove the earth inspiring people to do great things... and that got me thinking - as I ponder Greek culture a lot - well basically where are they?  Why haven't I seen them of late?  Have I ever seen them?  And then it hit me, (NO I'm not going for the cheap and easy shot of the Olivia Newton John Xanadu joke...) I believe they have been hiding in plain site...  For real...  Hmmm, did a muse inspire that thought?  This game could be played for days...

But the simple fact is, you know Snow White had seven drawfs why can't Dave have nine muses?  In fact why can't we all have nine muses...

I consulted the wikipedia for some handy notes as to how I should identify them, I mean after all they have these otherworldly abilities, how could I figure that out - when in doubt go to the some what inaccurate but oft available wiki...  According to the wiki I found, "In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa's Iconologia (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize the depiction of Muses in sculptures or paintings, who could be distinguished by certain props, together with which they became emblems readily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the art with which they had become bound. Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Erato (love/erotic poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Euterpe (lyric poetry) carries a flute, the aulos; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) often is seen with a pensive expression; Terpsichore (choral dance and song) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre; Thalia (comedy) often is seen with a comic mask; and Urania (astronomy) carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe"

Well clearly that was the 1500's - so I took the liberty (again inspired) bringing these ladies up to speed in 2011...  So clearly Calliope would carry an Ipad, Clio a Kindle, Erato drop the lyre keep the roses, Euterpe would probably have a digital music device, Melpomene (I think I know a few of her) would be wearing some sorta of unhappy messaged shirt, Polyhymnia just looks pensive, Terpsichore would dance about, Thalia would be wearing the happy messaging shirt and Urania would have a GPS.

Ok so clearly, I know how to identify them...   So for the last few weeks, (Strange did one of them inspire me to do this blog?) I have been thinking about all of you out there who inspire me and then violia it hit me, you are my muses...

Now first off I am honored, I really am...  The fact that you changed your names and identities to keep me guessing had me going for a while...  But after long and careful observation I deduced the nine of you...  So over the next few weeks I will begin calling you out, with enough descriptors that you'll know that I know which muse you are... again, inspiration...  and share a tale of each of you... Stayed tuned...

If you think you are one of my muses, comment on this post....  we all know that I know who does what... remember the anonymous incident of last week, and without giving your name, test the waters and see if I can guess who you are...

On a serious note, I want to thank all of you for all the inspirations that you have bestowed on me.... 

Monday, February 21, 2011

Dear Ground Hog...

MEMO

TO: Ground Hog

FR: Dave

RE: Forecast

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I thought we had an agreement... you forecasted an early spring.  So happy was I at that forecast, I took to the airwaves myself, at least on Facebook, and posted that I was keeping you to your word... Let's review, shall we, I said;
NOTE TO GROUND HOG: I am an animal lover and desperately want to believe your forecast for an early spring... However, with the current winter mess we are all dealing with - I would like to remind you that angry people like myself know where you live and will have no problem reminding you of your forecast, one way or another, should you be wrong... Just a little reminder.
Now I know you don't possess thumbs, so traversing the internet might be tough, but there is touch screen technology even my dog knows how to use...  He randomly calls people all the time...  considering you forecast the weather - a much more technical job - I highly recommend catching up with all the technological advances...  perhaps an Ipad?

To further jog your memory various people responded to to the post with equally telling comments;

"..animal lover also!!! I'll be right there with you !!!!!!!!!" 
 "Rumor has it the little rodent entered the witness relocation program shortly afte making his statement.", 

 "FYI my dog is an excellent rodent finder and while I've never been a violent person......I'll hold the fat thing down while you beat it ;-)"
So consider this your last warning...  I think I, like all my friends and family, have been more than reasonable.  We are willing to overlook this, shall we say, hiccup in your forecast, but NO MORE MY FRIEND...

I don't need to remind you, who we are, what we are and most importantly a majority of us come from the "heartland", New Jersey....  Think long and hard next time you predict the weather oh not so truthful rodent... and if I were you I would pray that not one more ounce of snows comes our way...

All the best,

Dave

Thursday, February 17, 2011

William Wallace on a Wednesday Night

"Ay, fight and you may die, run and you’ll live. At least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives…. but they’ll never take our FREEDOM!!!"

People who know me , know that when I am quiet it's usually not good... I really strive to express myself and be heard... Yes, I can yammer and more importantly I can blather on, but in all the words I throw at people (I freely admit I do this) I strive to be heard... don't we all...

Last night I made a breakthrough... There has been something I have been yearning to say to someone very close to me... Very difficult were the words I needed to say... But I knew I had to say them... I was driving home from Long Island late last night, and that person happened to call me... and at the start the conversation was topical - I literally found my inner William Wallace... Hey I am part Scottish... and I summoned up a lot of might, a lot of courage and found the resolve to move forward with a conversation I needed to have...

The "enemy" that has kept me at bay for all this time was my great adviscary, fear. Fear of expressing myself in such a personal way and communicating a difficult topic and being heard and understood, with NO OTHER VOICE BUT MY OWN - no presumptions or no interpretations...

Now I know that the recipient of my new found might didn't expect to have this convo... but at the end of the day, I finally got to say what I needed to...

I took the risk that Wallace references in his quote, and decided to was more important for me to say what I needed to, then not and risk being heard or not...

And I was on, my friends - there is a magical ability when we humans go for broke... I have to say that I thought my argument was sound and the conviction in my heart got translated to my voice in the most clear way I know how...

I urged this person to rage with me, rise up and take flight... Because I see that issues we share in common were holding this person back too... I knew that I needed to tell them this and I knew that I had been late in bringing that information to the table... and that was holding me back...

I am a fire sign and the conversation was on fire... I can tell you this - I have never been more pleased that I got to say what I needed to and how freeing it was for me...

"In the Year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland - starving and outnumbered - charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets; they fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom."

I can now add to that quote - that in 2011, this patriotic part Scot learned how to speak out like and found his inner warrior poet - and more important on a Wednesday night on a long drive home I won some more the elusive freedoms I seek...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Red Hot Poker

So I had lunch today at a favorite Chinese restaurant… no stranger to what I like, I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai (yes, I know that is NOT authentic Chinese cuisine) sans the MSG and salt (I haven’t worked out this hard to be taken down by a chicken dish) and was pleasantly surprised when we got to the fortune cookie portion of the meal… 
My fortune read – Strike While The Iron is Hot…  For the first time in a while I concurred with my fortune…
I think it is high time that we all strike while the iron is hot, cause who knows when that chance will come again.  For me, I wish sometimes I could go back in time and strike what is now just a very cool slab of metal. 
If I could, I would go back and seize opportunities I let slip away, say I’m sorry more to people, laugh more and above all else live more.  The paradox of course is, if we could do that would our lives be the same…  Can you imagine the ability to edit life, like I edit this post?  We would all be infallible – perfect – gleefully rewriting history…  But thankfully we can’t, because bumps, bruises and wounded egos are what makes us – well – us…
Underneath all the blather and stories that I write – I think you all are starting to sense the theme of this blog…   It's a little bit about redemption and it is definately about change... Most importantly this blog is about hope and renewal and forging ahead… 
I wake up every morning now, excited to move ahead more and relish the victories of this journey I am on. 
But in the spirit of this post, and not wanting to miss an instant, I want to thank you all as well for coming on the journey with me.  Together what would have been a lonely road is filled with the brightest and the best and mark my words – we will all make history…  Stay tuned!

Monday, February 14, 2011

To the one...

"Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us ...
Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits ...

No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves ... Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men ...

My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once ...

Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

Ever thine, Ever mine, Ever ours."

— Ludwig van Beethoven (The Letters of Beethoven)

Charming as Barbara and Oliver Rose... War of the Roses 2011

So its not hard to imagine that War of the Roses is a favorite movie of mine....  OK it's dark comedy, but at its core - I feel - shows in exaggerated sense the depth to which two people will descend in the name of love or to avenge it...

But have you looked around lately - for me every where I go there are Barbara and Oliver Roses' abounding...  People who in the name of love do the craziest things...   It is as if generations who saw this movie were silently, subliminally programmed to become those two, years later...

Now love to me is a complex and dense emotion...  It goes to the very core of everything that we hold dear... and for me it gives me great pause at both the wonderful and chilling effects it can have...

So today, Valentine's Day, I ran into a Barbara and Oliver Rose at a great cafe on the Upper West Side...  Like always, I ordered the Pesto Scramble (simply the best eggs you could EVER have) and while I was checking email and drinking coffee there entered a very well dressed couple...

The woman was in her mid thirties, impeccably dressed with big dark Channel sun glasses on... Wondering why I am so up on eye fashion these days?  No wonder... the word Channel appeared on the side of her glasses...  Any how, she sat down immediately to my right...   With her processed hair and very pouty lips she looked like she was about to be interviewed in Vogue.  Wearing quite form fitting black from head to toe, she gave off a vibe of a fashion ninja - ready to strike at any time - perhaps her sun glasses were her weapon of choice. In comes this guy who matched her in every way...  you could tell they were a couple... 

Sporting a very trendy grey suit and quite sleek hair - he too looked like he was ready for some action - this time in the board room...  He kept checking his phone and/or his watch and every so often checked himself out in a reflective surface of choice...  He was, like her, just a little over done - betraying a false sense of confidence that only his waxer could call out...

For at least a good 3 minutes nothing was said as they sat there... mind you there are no menus on the table and they are simply staring at each other...  when they weren't admiring their personal glorious view.  It was like watching cats size each other up...  To his great dismay, he could never see her eyes for the sunglasses obscured them...  but boy could he see himself in their reflection...

Finally Barbara 2 blurted out, "You can at least get me some coffee..."  It was as if she threw a throwing star at him and silently he rose and went to the counter...  While he was ordering she pulled out of her purse a mirror and began to check her lips...  I thought it strange she just didn't use one of the other surfaces she was already admiring herself in - but perhaps she needed to pull out the big guns... 

Some loud electro-pop-synthesized ringtone blared out of her pocket - loud enough to make me jump and her to quickly fold the mirror...  She looked at her phone, then looked at Oliver 2 and said, "Tell them to make it quick, our appointment is in 15 minutes..."  Again Ollie 2 went back to his stare down of the wait staff to get the coffees...

Thankfully my eggs arrived... it gave me a prop to further investigate the goings on of the table to the right of me...

Oliver returned with coffee and cake in hand...  With out warning - like a good ninja should - Barbara 2's attack was calculated precisely between stirring milk into her coffee and grabbing a forkful of cake...

"You know this is all your fault..." she hissed, "we wouldn't even have this stupid appointment if you would have listened to me..."

"Listen to you?  Listen?  That is the last thing you do when I talk is listen..."  he retorted as a tiny sugar explosion erupted with his response...  It was like the granules of sugar were little pieces of him - collateral damage from Babs 2's first blow...

After coming to grips with the sugar situation, he continued his attack, "I mean really, its all about blame for you?  What about the big picture..."

At this point I have to say as good as the eggs were, this free entertainment was becoming quickly the thing to watch....

"Let's face facts, this is the big picture, it's Valentine's Day and we are going to a couples counselor...  not my idea of romance..." Good point, I thought...  I did get a little nervous that more sugar would pour out of his psychic wounds...

You could tell this was a fight they had before, after gulping down some coffee he said, "I think that it's the most romantic thing we could do... save our marriage..."

Now at this point I have to say witnessing this at point blank range and on the face of his statement he seemed sincere... It was like he pushed the big red button and the nuclear option was used...  but Barbara 2 was no slouch...  She came back with her own nuclear weapon and its uranium was made of deadly combination of anger and high drama...

"I don't know if I want to save our marriage...", I waited for old fashion organ music to play, but sadly it didn't happen...

At this point, I believe the owners were glad its a cash and carry establishment...  Barbara slammed the table into Oliver as she rose...  Her scorn was like a heat lamp melting the pan au chocolates in the near by case... 

Spinning around on her expensive heels, she said, "Hurry up" and mockingly "We have to go S A V E our marriage..." and out the door she went...  I am positive there was love in that statement - but perhaps buried way down deep inside...

Oliver removed the marble table from his chest, slowly got up, and with anger and hurt in his eyes followed her out...  These moments seemed almost too real for him as he fumbled to open the door... From the plate glass window I watched them disappear into the city, bickering and yelling as they made their way to what hopefully is salvation...

Now I know this isn't the most romantic story, especially on Valentine's day... But there is a lesson to be learned... I implore you all, whether it is the love of your life sitting next to you as you read this - or its someone you have loved and lost, or if you are thinking that you are out of love with someone - DO NOT BECOME BARBARA AND OLIVER ROSE...  Seriously, we are all better than that... 

As the waitress was clearing my plate, she looked at me and smiled...  She said, "Talk about awkward..."  I said, "No, not all - they were charming as Barbara and Oliver Rose..."

Happy Valentine's Day kids...

All You Need is Love...

So I am blessed with a wonderful and diverse tapestry of friends...  Whether we survived a show together, we worked in the movie theatre or for the last decade plus survived a campaign together each of you has a special place in my heart...  As you can guess from this blog, I feel very safe in expressing my ideas...

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine, Idida...  Now some of you immediately know who she is...  Wonderful, charasmatic and funny as all get out - and through the years a friend in the best senses of the word...  We haven't talked in a while and I needed to get her take on a situation...  Like a true friend she was there for me in an instant... 

The interesting thing about Idida is that she is enrolled in seminary school above all the other things that she is doing. And after I got some of her thoughts on the subject at hand, we drifted, like friends do, to other bits and pieces of conversation...  Among them we got to talking about emotional issues and that led to a conversation about acceptance and love... 

She couldn't have said it better, that amongst all other things you truly have to love yourself too...   As a person who is slowly learning how to do that - it brought a smile immediately to my face...  Now we weren't talking the overboard, self absorbed variety - we were talking about being at peace with yourself and appreciating it...

So today, amoung the loves of your life, take a moment to recognize that loving yourself, even a little, is probably one of the greatest Valentines you can get...

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gatsby's Green Light

So my favorite book of all time is The Great Gatsby, it has been since I first read it 25 years ago.  I can say that was the first book that ever spoke to me... and throughout time it has always come back ever present in my life.  My favorite quote is from the end...  because to me it is really where I have been sometimes in life or more appropriately how I understand this adopted verse...


"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

I, like Gatsby or Fitzgerald, believe that the future will have to be better - even sometimes when our hopes and dreams are behind us... we still press on - still strive. But the Daisy's of my world aren't always human, they are the dreams and experiences I want in my life as well.

I have placed a green light on my being now for the last year...  Trying to, calling for people and experiences that I yearn for.  I have to say it does work and more importantly it takes work to accomplish this.  You see even the green light is fickle, and what you call and what arrives sometimes are two different sides of the same dream and its up to you on how to interpret what comes to you.

Now I know this all has an air of metaphysics.  Sort of the belief that we have the unspoken ability to call things to us or away from us.  I believe we do have that ability.  Ever notice the thing you most want is the hardest to get, yet when you don't want it - it is available in abandon? 

I think there is a message within this ability about balance... We all should strive to balance what we want versus what we need...

Some people, most of us in fact (I use to be one of them), don't have that ability all the time and an inequity occurs. 

I have watched with almost puzzled amazement people and how the quash their dreams.  I think I was amazed because I did this too.


One friend of mine is gifted in music, yet she let the world beat her down and not only has abandoned her craft but has basically reviled it as a way of dealing with the trauma.  Another friend of mine in plain words is simply beaten down.  Dangerously close to submitting to a world that has drawn him into a corner - a million miles where he should or wanted to be.  How many of you out there "give up" something for the greater good but in your heart of hearts knows that what you long to do?  Or more importantly have to do...

Now as we all "grow up" we make these sacrifices - some more than others - to appease the situation of our life.  But shouldn't there be a balance?

So I came up with an idea - that I would like to put out there...  I think we should all challenge ourselves - starting today...  What is something that you have always longed to do or use to do and stopped that had real meaning in your life?  Is there one thing that you can start working towards today that will appease the inner needs that you have?  Basically I am asking you to turn on your green light and call for something and see what happens...

I mean let's face facts - you have proof that it works - you are reading this after all aren't you?  This is one of my green lights - I have called and for whatever reason - you have read...  That is pretty amazing...   So what do you say?  Are you willing to walk with me on this little journey?  Can you find it in you to call upon change?  I hope so... 

Till then know this... This not so little boat still beats on against the current - and will for as long as he has breath in his body...

This is just a test

<!--cde865937ff84e5eb7946221890930b6-->

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Get Stupid - or the aftermath of Anonymous



Ok - so I am a kid in a candy store sometimes...  I just love knowing that I have a new toy to play with... Take for instance the identity of my unnamed frenemy whom so kindly decided to dip their toes in the murky water of blog posts...  LET ME REMIND YOU I KNOW WHO YOU ARE...  There I said it, I know that your act of cowardice, coupled with the lack of insight as to how the web works makes for a delicious combination of awkwardness and embarrassment... and boy I can't wait to see you live...  I can only hope the rest of your cabal of our friends are with you when I do the big reveal...  Forget Extreme Home Makeover...  this might be one for the records... or maybe I will wait and watch from a distance as you try to lay ground work to cover your tracks...

Last night, over a fab dinner, I had a conversation about this very topic... My dinner companion asked me why didn't I just delete the message and move on...  wasn't I breathing life into a situation that didn't need it...  All valid points, might I add...  And the other burning question, "Why are you doing this - what's the point?"

Let me get to that..  So the video I attached to this is "Get Stupid" by Madonna...  If you ever need to understand why I am doing this little blog... the video might say it all...  "You have got to say what's on your mind..."  More importantly, sometimes silence is not so golden... look at what happens when we are not informed or silent...

Now you all know that I am NO stranger to controversy, working in politics and all...  In fact when this little anonymous issue came up a friend called me and was amazed to watch me "blow them up..."  A family member referred to it as "that's what I call a beat down..."  All of you who posted something on Facebook get my thanks for coming to my aid... But what's important here is that they, like 99% of you recognize that there isn't every going to be a problem posting your opinion about my opinion, except when people like (oh I almost slipped and gave the name up... LOL) that person just chooses to say something with out taking ownership for it...

Now that we got this out of the way once and for all, my blog will continue unfettered...

Friday, February 11, 2011

Dear Anonymous

Hello there everyone...  Today at 4:24 p.m. I received the following email from a new friend: ANONYMOUS.  It said:

poem sucks
By Anonymous on The Goddess of Love - A Poem at 4:24 PM
Now I am fine with someone not liking what I wrote.  I welcome any comment...  But what makes me laugh is that whomever this is didn't have the ability to sign their insightful missive...  In fact they thought it was easier to register their distaste for it in a simple and "anonymous" fashion.

Well perhaps you underestimate someone like me...  You see anything you post on this blog, is logged in to a server, which I have access too...  More importantly, I know a lot more about "Anonymous" then they would like me too, you know IP Address, method of how they found the blog and oh yeah their identity.

I guess people forget that opposition research is a speciality of mine.  So to the ANONYMOUI of the world, remember who you are dealing with.  Should you every decided to post again in that manner, be prepared for me to reveal who you are and why you feel the need to give such meaningful comments.  You know being frank and honest where you can't be.  I think that it also might be a twinge embarrassing.

So, I can only hope for an apology right?  I plan to deal with you directly - maybe not right now, maybe never but please know that I know.  Internet terrorism like this is ridiculous at best.  If you have something to say good or bad - just say it, own it and leave your name...

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Goddess of Love - A Poem



The Goddess of Love
By David Parano

You know who you are
The one who has my eye
The most vivid spector in the lot
Tangible in technicolor

We often meet in secret
Away from the whole world
Just you and I
Two loners in the night

There is so much truth in your eyes
Terrible and real all at the same time
Forbidden glaces still linger
As our stares define what we are

All I am seeking is the truth
The elusive words that fortify my feelings
Words that transmute to feelings
And feelings to flights of fantasy

You should know where I stand
Amongst the mystery and angst
Patiently awaiting the moments
Til perhaps you're mine

Our love is undeniable
Every present in my mind
Now all I need is you to acknowledge
What the fates predicted so long ago

So I wait for you here
Ever looking for you to materialize
As I constantly pray to her
The Goddess of Love

Excursion to the Valley of the Hangry Himbos

According to the Urban Dictionary a himbo is a "male bimbo"  An example of the term usage is, "He is such a himbo, can't talk to save his life, but what a body!"  Likewise, hangry (I love this word) is described as, "When you are so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.  An amalgam of hungry and angry invented to describe that feeling when you get when you are out at a restaurant and have been waiting over an hour to get the meal that you have ordered."

Now personally I am always on the verge of being hangry.  I can admit it here.  This Brand New Dave can easily get hangry 20 hours out of the day.  But more importantly, I have railed against said himbos.  Secretly, or not so secretly, passing snippy comments myself about them and their intelligence.  If you were to harness the energy I expended to mock this group you might light a small city for a few seconds - they basically made me mad because I believe all people have more to offer than pretty exteriors but sometimes I was proven wrong with this group...

Well I was taught a lesson today.  You see today, I was mistaken for a Himbo.  And boy was I hangry.

Impossible you say! (I know, not the hangry part - LOL) Well I agree with that.  Forget the body image issues, I mean come on - I am in ok shape these days - but no way could I rise to Himbo status. I mean Dimbo (I know a stretch) yes, Himbo, no.  It might actually become a goal after my experience - and perhaps I might have found my next political cause - "Himbos are people too..." or "Have you hugged your himbo today?"  I have never been treated like an object - in any sense of the word.

Well granted, I was in Himbo attire - A short sleeve shirt and gym shorts, and yes it was 16 degrees out today... (and ok all you 'moms' out there I had a jacket on too - but not zipped) I simply was coming from the gym right to a food source...  I was shopping in Whole Foods, apparently the lair of said Himbos and I was talking about my workout (I just cringed writing that - LOL), but I'm getting ahead of myself...

You see, I was at the breakfast bar after my workout, quite hungry and in a rush...  Now I tend to make friends in places I frequent and Whole Foods has a few...  One cashier and I have struck up a friendship over healthy eating and working out...  She tells me great stories about her husband and kids and the misadventures of all that and her exercise routine, et al.  I tend to try to go to her if I see her, just for the pleasantries and the fact she is more than able to handle my order...  With recycled carton in hand I see her and approach her line... This is where the fun begins...

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a furry pouf moving at high speed.  As I turn to glance I see the pouf is attached to a head and a body and she clearly is trying to get in front of me in line.  She has a shopping cart full of stuff and clearly knows the inconvenience of letting me with my two items go ahead of her.  With bedazzled cell phone in hand and talking in a high drone of a voice she successfully pulls ahead of me and gets in line. Whomever she was talking to the conversation was a vapid discussion at best - name dropping designers and bemoaning the woe to this seasons look.  In other words she really had nothing to say. It is notable that her safari through Neiman Marcus Last Call was a success based on the number of mis-matched pelts she sported.  I mean she actually epitomized lions, and tigers and bears - truly oh my.

Our crazed cougar revealed herself some more when she began to talk about all the "younger" guys who are "after" her.  How its so much more fun than being married to "him" and in fact every time she said "him" she glanced around as if "he" would pop out of the woodwork or something. 

Now my cashier friend is a professional.  She was just doing her job - when the cougar starts going into her sexploits of late.  Now, I think part of this whole exercise is the apparent shock value of this "frank" conversation and its reverse voyeurism, with the person desperate to reveal there "business" to the world... This next piece is my favorite, she actually, while holding a package of sausage, begins to give excessive gory details of her, as she put it, "stud's" nocturnal activities.  The cashier looked at me, I looked at her and we began to chat over the droning pouf and her studly sausage...

Well that did not make our local temptress happy at all, in fact she starts telling her vapid friend, "Don't you think its rude when people distract people from their jobs.  I mean really..."

Now I ignored it, thinking that any minute she would pull out a container of cottage cheese from the cart and talk about someone they hated's thighs...  But she was talking, oddly in absentia, to me...  I just continued talking...  She finally had enough and looked at me and said, "Can you stop talking to her, she needs to (here's the punch line) focus on me."  Now, I am hangry but not stupid and say "ok".  My cashier friend smiles at me and she just keeps moving.

The woman then goes back to her cell phone conversation, and pretends or not, that I have fallen stone deaf as she continues.  "Oh I know...  If I don't stick up for me, who will...  I'm mean he's just some himbo.  It's winter and he's wearing shorts... Yeah, probably dumb as a rock..."

Well I'm not gonna let this one get in the way of my ever cooling breakfast.  I decided to just pretend that I didn't hear it and move on.  If she needs me to be the dumb himbo so be it - just let me eat my eggs...

Her $413.18 order is rung up.  In fact she comments to her friend something about shoes and the prices...  All the while she's on the phone she never once breaks out her purse to get her cash or credit card ready...  She actually plops this rather large, animal print (surprise!) purse down in the cart - opens it like the arc of the covenant, and proceeds to fish around looking for her wallet.  From my view it looked like a faux diamond mine in there with various items equally bedazzled as her ever present cell phone...  Bling is still apparently in...

Finally out rolls the Onyx Am Ex...  How do I know it's the Onyx Am Ex you ask?  She tells her friend of course, she'll put in on the Onyx Am Ex and ex husband "him" (yes see looked around again) will just have to pay for it, ha ha ha! 

Now this one looks like she's experienced with a credit card...  she clearly knows how to use them...  But princess puts the credit card the wrong way in the swipe and keeps doing it for at least 15 times.  And every time she does it she sighs, pouts and makes the froggy face before her next try.  She finally says, "This is not working!"

I decide to have some fun.  I say to her, "You need to slide your card the other way..."  I thought she was about it say, "It speaks", but she frowned, she looks and does it - and it works...  She doesn't even say thank you.  She just continues to blather on with her friend and even says, "look at that this himbo knows something..."

For the first time in my life, I think I had it with stupidity of that magnitude... but cold eggs are worse.  I didn't need to worry about a snappy retort cause let's face it, if it didn't have a designer label or bling or shining object she could care less...  But more importantly, I could care less.  You see I think she simply is beyond repair, or when repair happens it ain't gonna be pretty.

I watched the faux animal lovin' pouf march out of the store...  Still talking, still complaining and in character almost get hit by a delivery truck (guess who I was routing for) as she and her privileged little self made it to her expensive SUV. 

My cashier friend and I said nothing, but as I was paying, properly with a debit card, she looked, smiled and said "not bad for a himbo"

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

When the going gets tough - Exteriors 2



First off you gotta love the 80's right? 

Well I thought it was about time to take a detour from Dave's deep introspection and focus a little more on the exterior...  Fear not true believers this isn't a dark road with emotional secrets...  Its just a little motivation for me to keep me going... 

Now I am proud to say I am working out harder than I ever been and Dana Wynne from 24/7 Fitness deserves all the applause...  Thanks to her I have learned so much and in such a short bit of time...  Doing circle sit ups (I will leave it to your imagination is a treat - NOT!)

My goals are extremely attainable these days and I am so grateful for that...  Again to give you an idea of before and after - check this out...

BEFORE (While I apparently detoured to Pepperidge Farm)


and today... (I clearly left the borders of the Farm - LOL)



So I just want to throw it out there - if you every need to believe if you can do this or not - simply use me as an example...  Within a few weeks I started to see big changes and I just hung on with all my might...  I have never felt this good - ever!  The only trick I know is that you have to be ready for it - or it doesn't work...  Also I humbly recommend going to a gym and finding a class, a trainer, a professional to get you started... 

Here's to our health!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Dangerous Games?

So today I was having a conversation...  discussing this very blog. 

You see many of you have asked me why take to the internet now in your life?  I mean its clear, there were significant events over the past year that have changed the way I think, but also it is my sincere hope that someone randomly might read this and find out there is some hope.  By putting it "out there", and being frank about how I feel - I hope that not only does it give perspective to some people but maybe cause some positive change (one way or another) for others.  You'd think I was posting state secrets but instead I am posting secrets from within. 

Perhaps put simply why is expressing emotions or deep thoughts such a dangerous game?

Socrates said it best, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  I needed to grow up, own up and rise up in order to begin the process of introspection.  What I have found is that the process for me and what I go through feels like a journey. 

Imagine if you will waking up in a room with no lights or windows... you fumble around in the dark for a while trying to figure where the walls are, where the light switch is, is there a door or a window.  That's what it felt like about a year ago.  For the first time in my life I put the brakes on the distractions that surround us and instead focused on the issues with in.  It wasn't easy at all.  But when I found a door out of that solitude it was like the brightest light shining into the darkest place.  And when the light hit the room, I saw my captor, myself, looking back at me in a mirror.

I have fought my way out of that room...  Scars and all I am very very proud of that.  More importantly, nobody can take that away from me.  My final act in saying good bye to that place was closing the door forever when I found the courage to walk out of it for good.

Once out of that cell, and to this very day I am hacking my way through thickets of emotions, which left unattended have grown to be pretty dense but I know how to get through them all.

All those references seemingly cause panic in some people.  The mere fact that I am publicizing them more so.  The truth of the matter is those who fear it, I fear, are locked in the very same room I use to be.  For them it is easier to keep their eyes wide shut and fool themselves into a sense of completion.  It's like they are torturing themselves, fooling themselves that their room is "ok" or safe, unaware that they have fallen into their own well laid trap, Sartre's "No Exit"comes to mind... 

INEZ: Mere chance? Then it's by chance this room is furnished as we see it. It's an accident that the sofa on the right is a livid green, and that one on the left's wine-red. Mere chance? Well, just try to shift the sofas and you'll see the difference quick enough. And that statue on the mantelpiece, do you think it's there by accident? And what about the heat here? How about that? I tell you they've thought it all out. Down to the last detail. Nothing was left to chance. This room was all set for us.

Know this I will always shatter that illusion by the very nature of who I have become.  And I am those people's mirror now reflecting back something they do not want to see.  So some people simply glaze over the wrong issues, there I said it, and sad how it isn't a shock right?

So I promise you this will not always be a dull thud of a blog, fun is on the horizon...  I just think that expressing yourself, in any venue, should only be met with an open mind and nothing else...

Friday, February 4, 2011

Little Green Men

HIT play before reading for a little mood music

So I was walking in New York city this morning, like I do every Friday morning, leaving my favorite coffee shop and was running late (what a surprise) to my 9 a.m. appointment.  Navigating the upper Westside has become my forte and as I weaved my way to 81st Street I encountered two little green men.  Now these weren't aliens - oh no that would be too simple...  These were two young men, who had to be no more than six or seven who were having quite the intense conversation.  You see, both were wearing green parka like coats and they were talking quite intensely and so engrossed in conversation it seems they just decided to stop in the only path available to cross the street. 

Now the mother of these two little green men tried to move them along as it were, but to no avail.  They simply disregarded her for a minute so intent on what I have no idea...  I noticed as I tried to get around them that they nodded at each other and simply started to move from there...  that got me thinking about the XFiles and today's post...
Scully: The answers are there, you just have to know where to look.
Mulder: That's why they put the 'I' in FBI.

That snippet of dialogue is from the very first X Files and rings very true to a lot of our life issues. No I'm not talking about the other type of little green men or vengeful tattoos, I'm talking about how if we don't investigate our own life how things might just slip right by.  But don't we all let things slip right by?


Scully: [voice over] Time passes in moments ... moments which, rushing past define the path of a life just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether the path we take in life is our own making or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed. But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?
So I have been quite introspective of late...  Could you tell...  And I have been troubled lately...  I needed to do exactly what Scully suggested and examine some of the moments in my life...  Now I think you have all seen that I have raised issues of personal awareness in this blog.  Telling you all how I feel and I have to again thank you all for the encouragement and support you have given me...  Some of you have identified with my writing and have spoken so powerfully to me about your experiences. 

I just had dinner with a friend and we were talking about life...  It was a typical dinner, fun and relaxing, lots of laughs and of course discussion of the yet unwritten saga of Dave and his many friends...  That got me thinking of course and it made me think what I would have thought of the conversation if it had occured oh say a few years back...    I then found this other XFile quote that might have summed up what I would have said if asked then...
"Life... is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable, because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So, you're stuck with this undefinable whipped-mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there's nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while, there's a peanut butter cup, or an English toffee. But they're gone too fast, the taste is fleeting. So you end up with nothing but broken bits, filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts, and if you're desperate enough to eat those, all you've got left is a... is an empty box... filled with useless, brown paper wrappers."
Pretty bleak huh?  That's how I was feeling back then...

Now things are different, and while I am making a come back, I will say this, I am better now then ever before and I only plan to keep on getting better...  I am simply seeking the truth in a very tough landscape - and I will find what I need to.. know that I am always on the hunt for understanding and to be understood.. and the truth, sometimes painful, is truly out there...

I leave you with this...

[Intro narration] There is an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history serves only those who seek to control it, those who douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember and of those who seek the truth.


Thursday, February 3, 2011

Adventures in the Houses of Glass

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS EMOTIONS NOT OFTEN EXHIBITED BY THE WRITER.  These statements may cause fear, hysteria or speculation but are intended to express the new emotional outlooks of the author.

So I have been sick the last few days, typical cold during the winter - but it leaves a lot of room to think and in my case watch the Ground Hog Day marathon (yes the same movie over and over again) at least 2 times.

A friend and I were discussing the impact of my relationships with people the other day.  What?  That isn't your typical conversation with your friends?  Don't judge me... LOL!

I was going through some of the more daunting ones, I think we all might have those who require extra work (who knows I could be one of yours) or extra understanding that makes the relationship higher on the work and less on the friend.  Now this is NOT to say that there is anything wrong with this and in fact most of us choose to do the work because we care about the person.  But sometimes don't you just wish it could just be simple?

I tend to be the giver and caretaker in my relationships.  I think I am pretty good at it too.  I have been blessed with the ability to zero in on needs and wants and work diligently to help the other person.  Only recently have I come to realize what a price this carries: You see I became so good at it that I kinda forgot about me. 

And you are wondering how can you forget about yourself?  I know a few of you who are card carrying members of the same givers club I belong to.  I don't necessarily see you at the meetings but I recognize you almost immediately.  You know who you are - you are the person that works the hardest, seemingly amazing to some, for the ability to do the most simple things and would rather "get things out of the way" for others then focus on yourself.  Whoa - now you know that I know who you are... 

We are the caregivers, the nurturers, the people who listen and act.  We are the trusted and loyal friends and sometimes to our great detriment the easiest ones to be hurt.  For the givers are quite adept at hiding any emotional turmoil and just work harder.  It is easier to sweep your emotions and hopes and desires under the rug then deal one on one because all of a sudden you become the givee.  That's a hard position to switch to.  Givers derive joy from helping and appreciation for it - actually its kind of simple.

What the people who aren't the givers don't realize is that we understand them far better then they give us credit for.  In order to be the giver you must completely understand the givee.  That's where our true power lies.

In my experience, recognizing those statements above was a monumental task.  I have been so wrapped up in giving - that I teetered on doing anything for myself.  In fact, if I did something for me sometimes I thought it was selfish.

Hmmm, not anymore.

Its like being a stranger in a strange land - when you face your emotions that you have quelled for years.  Unexpected things occur.  My Goliaths (yes there are a few) come down pretty easy once I have the courage to throw rocks at them.  For instance one or the more challenging ones came down with just a simple push - while others require a few heavier rocks. 

So in my house of glass, I am gladly throwing rocks - shattering windows and letting the air in for the first time.  It is a great feeling, exhilarating and scary all rolled into one.  Once you do it, at least in my experience, you want to continue to do more.

So let's talk about what I have found out thus far:

FEAR - Oh that's a biggie... requires a lot of rocks...  Fear is such a horrible emotion.  I understand why we need it, but the effects it has on people are incredible.  I see daily, wonderful people who are filled to the brim with fear.  They hide in plain sight, acclimating to their surrounds and work very hard to mask they are anything but what they truly are.  Now I am not saying I am fearless but I will NOT ever let it control me again.  Even if it is as simple as saying how you feel without fear of retribution - that is a huge step for anyone.

SELFISHNESS - The pitfall emotion that givers often experience.  There are those people out there who are selfish - some recognize it and own it and others well pretend they are anything but that.  Selfishness in my opinion is the emotion people get when they themselves do not deal with core issues.  It is easier to don the airs and graces of privilege then to face what causes you to be that way.  Selfish people aren't bad, but they turn a blind eye or create a cold emotional environment when they are hard pressed to face their demons and instead demand more to cover it up.  Clearly, I am on to this now...

LOATHING - I use to loathe myself.  And only recently, have I been correcting this.  I suffer from a lot of body image issues.  The fact that I am putting this out there - should prove I have identified it and have worked on it a bit.  But it's not about just going to the gym more...  You see for many years I have been hidng in a facade of my body.  It was easier for me not to handle the issue because I put so many other things before it.  Piling on was the norm and my needs were always the last thing on the checklist.  Loathing comes in so many forms - people hide who they are, hide what they want, hide for hidings sake - and all the time they loathe it...  I think I shot several bolders at this one. 

DECEPTION - You knew I had to quote something somewhere...  some of you on facebook will recognize this quote...  "I became a virtuoso of deceit. It wasn't pleasure I was after, it was knowledge. I consulted the strictest moralists to learn how to appear, philosophers to find out what to think and novelists to see what I could get away with. And, in the end, I distilled everything down to one wonderfully simple principle: win or die."  Christopher Hampton nailed it in that line from Dangerous Liasions.  In order to survive the other emotions I talked about, I had to learn how to hide it all...  Being emotionally deceptive is truly one of the lowest points in life.  In my defense, I did not have the tools required to even remotely address this - but now I do...  I have the most empathy for people who are in this same boat.  All I can do is offer you these tips; the first step is recognition and the second is owning up to it, after that it's much more managable.  I am most proud of beating this one back. 


JOY - You have to have some good in here...  I use to be afraid of being too happy.  I always thought there was a reflexive snap back and the cosmos or karma or something balanced it back to mediocrity.  Now I know that I can be happy and it is ok to be happy....  simple words but strong meanings.

So there you have it, some of the principals I have learned thus far.  So consider it fair warning, if I don't react the way I use to.  It doesn't mean I care for you any less it just means I care for myself a little more.