I am back- Mawhahahahahahah

So!

I know it's been like.... well a few months anyway, since I've blogged. By the way, I enjoy the fact that we can make nouns into verbs so easily- it's very classy.... though really "Blog" "Blogged" and "Blogging" are not really the most attractive words, and it kind of makes me think of sloshing through a bog of thought- which might be like what reading my blog posts is like. Be sure to put a rubber boot on your brain- other wise your brain's sock might get soggy- and socks are never the same after getting sogged with bog.


Slightly more on topic: These past few months have been pretty busy what with learning valuable life lessons and such. Also Economics. I've learned some economics. Now, I want to tell you guys a story about a man with a lime, but I don't think I'll have time tonight, so, please everyone remind me to tell you in my NEXT blog post- which might be better anyway as the lime-man epic may still be unfolding, and it's best to tell a story all in one go I think. Oh- and all of you international readers of my ridiculously famous Public Internal Dialog can send me reminders in your native tongues if you'd like- except for the french. French tongues kind of gross me out. I'm sorry, but spit was not meant to be exchanged in that manner and if it was, then God wouldn't have given us individual mouths, but rather a large communal tank of spit attached to hoses which then extended down our throats and stirred with turbine engines. (Some people question my logic on that one, but you know, I feel like it's a matter of faith. You can't think about faith logically- and if you try to apply logic to what I believe I will be *forced* to act out in an irrational fit. Note however that this does not prevent me from shooting your beliefs down- but that's because my beliefs are correct, and yours aren't, and I have a LOT of circular thinking to PROVE it.)

But this raises the question about how politics should apply to society.   ...... okay, now that I think about it.... that question really isn't raised at all. But we'll pretend it is, because I don't really know how to use segways when writing.

So, a lot of people get caught up on this whole taxation issue. Like "holy crap, I have a lot of taxes, I wish I didn't have so many taxes" or "holy crap, there are a few people with a whole lot of money. I wish we could tax them more", or even "holy crap, my school sucks- I wish more tax money was applied ensuring that I get a quality eduction!".  Well, first of all, I would like to know when it became acceptable to start phrases off with praising the divine quality of deification. But also, I feel like there is a fundamental problem with this whole taxing situation- it just kind of seems.... so dependent on money and stuff. I don't really like money. I mean if someone is going to give me money, that's really nice and everything, but I never feel like the feeling of receiving money can offset all the bad stuff that comes with the idea of money.

First of all, the entire concept of money is to find a way to quantify "Utility" which is basically a politically correct way of saying "Happiness". To me, I feel like Happiness is one of those things that really shouldn't BE quantified. I appreciate Economics, and I understand a lot of the concepts, and I realize that through calculating Utility and applying some principles we can make better decisions..... if we can agree with the definition of "better decisions". That's what it all boils down to. Ultimately the problem with money is that it tempts us to simplify life down to one number and one goal. "Ohhhhh, wow you made a million dollars? Well damn, I guess you win the game"... "I have to get a job so that I can make money".


Now, I'm not against people working obviously- I think that people need to work in order to achieve a wholeness- but I don't think someone needs to Work for Money to be whole person. So why is it that everyone *needs* to make money so badly?

Well, First, most people like food. I find it laughable, but I would not be surprised if the majority of the country winced at the thought of going a day without food. Never-the-less, food is pretty important if you plan on surviving in a material sense-- we'll lump water in with food. I change my stance slightly on water- I obviously don't advocate for people to stop drinking water even for a day "just to try it out" or "gain a higher appreciation".

Onwards with the rant: The second reason we need money is housing. Query: why is housing so expensive? I mean we have a lot of land don't we? My opinion: This is a direct result of taxes. Now, I'm in support of most taxes, but not property tax, and I'll explain why in a bit.

The third reason we might need money is to better someone else's life- I believe that the three most common cases where this actually happens are: 1) Raising Children, 2) Supporting Elderly Parents, 3) Getting Dates Drunk  3) Buying Gifts for Love Interests. The second is a noble cause, and although I think our society goes a little over board with the whole "Live until y'can't live none more" mentality, I can't imagine myself ever advocating for anything other than the traditional "children must support their parents in old age- after all they owe it to them". But what about numbers 1 and 3? Well, it's pretty much expected by society (and biologists, psychiatrists, and most stand-up comedians) that we're going to want to have sex and have kids. Thus it is suspected that we lock ourselves into these responsibilities- where we need money to support people. And it's pretty well implied that the more money you have, the better support your can provide, and therefore the more money you get the better a life you can provide for your family. There is no real problem with this- except for the millions of people who can't provide for their families at all. Those people will always want money- and most of them will struggle to no end for it. This struggle could be almost completely avoided if society didn't push people into *needing* a love interest and eventually having children.

Let's jump back to Housing for a second. Alright, so we have a lot of Land in the United States. The inconvenient thing about land is how different it is- and how those differences compute to a price. Obviously land is going to be more expensive in New York City and less expensive in the Montana country side. This is probably because Hannah Montana has ruined the name of a great state with her token Over-Optimistic-Soon-To-Be-Used-Up-Druggy-And-Everyone-Knows-It-Teen-Pop-Sensation-Mentality..... it also probably has a lot to do with the fact that NO ONE wants to live in Montana anyway. Still, we have enough land for everyone to own some land somewhere. Yet I would argue that no one *actually* owns land in the United Stats. People *rent* land from the government- and pay the government rent in the form of property tax. This is just gross. GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSS (like frogs on the play ground). It's even worse when you consider it is practically a crime to be homeless.... it's almost as if... the government were just trying to force us into a system where they could get money from us. Ooooooh wait. That makes a little bit of sense haha.

Basically here's what this entire thing boils down to (the tl;dr version):
The people on top really like not having to work. But in order for them to not have to work, they need people to work for them. They don't want their families to have to work either, so they encourage the people working for them to have families. Since the average person would probably just rather chill out and mess around with a hobby or talk with friends, the people on top need to motivate the bottom of society to work- so they charge us rent so that we need *at least* that much cash- and then they drill it into our minds that we need to have a family and kids. This obviously ensures them future workers, while also, conveniently dedicating the current generation to a life of servitude. Of course there are always those crazies that reject society- but it's pretty easy to get them hooked on alcohol, cigarettes and hard drugs. Cigs and booze give the people on top insane tax profits- so it's not like this segment of society is really dodging the bullet anyway. Hard Drugs are thrown in the mix to give legitimacy to the fear of the lower class. If the lower class was full of honest, hard working people who just hung out and had a good time then no one would buy in to society the way they do- but if we can get people scared to death of the slums then people will try REALLY hard to NOT get sucked into the slums.

Suggested solutions:
1) Don't get hooked on Drugs.
2) DON'T GET HOOKED ON DRUGS.
3) Don't become an alcoholic or a smoker- in fact, try to avoid relying on anything that the government charges a tax on.
4) Donate generously to schools- tutor kids and try to improve 3rd party sources of education- then vote to reduce property tax
5) Don't have kids. Lol j/k j/k....... but seriously.

Mrs. Charles Bliss

Now, I've had several changes of mind and spirit over the past few years- particularly since I've come to AriZona (or as I sometimes call it: "State AlphaOmega"). One of these revelations was Jesus. Now, Jesus is cool and everything, but Jesus has one short coming: He was a man.

Bah, I can hear the hate mail now (actually I can't, since no one ever sends me any... well there was this one time, but that was more against my theater company than anything else), but let me say my bit, and then you can comment if you wish. Now Jesus was a man, but he was also an idea. In fact, every man and woman is a collection of ideas- Jesus was unique in the fact that he had only One Idea, on which He based His entire life (Christian Capitalization is lame btw, so let's nip that in the bud now.)

So here's Jesus as I see him:
Jesus was born in a crappy barn
Jesus was teased as a kid
Jesus was mistreated as an adult
Jesus only had 12 friends- unless you count all the people that he basically had to feed and heal to even get their attention
Jesus got nailed to a cross (when his only crime was being the first decent person any one had ever seen)
Jesus said and I quote "Eh, whateves" (alright, that's not an actual quote)

The part that I think most people miss is that at ANY point in this entire span of time, Jesus could have destroyed every single atom that made up any of these jerks. So why didn't he? Because the entire Idea of Jesus is Forgiveness.

Alright, so people might be like "Yo, Max wtf, why you talkin' bout Jesus all the time?" and I will say this: because if anyone understands this point, they aren't really exercising it.
I can't really say that my Jesus is the same as the Mormon, or the Methodist Jesus, or the Catholic or the Muslim Jesus, because no one really seems willing to forgive ANYONE for ANYTHING ((And this disgusts me)).

I am willing to wager you, that YOU are clouded by hate- mentally and spiritually. You probably have things that you've never forgiven yourself for, and things you've never forgiven other people for-- and why? Is it really worth it to spend your 100 years (tops) that you're on this earth in such a negative space? No. I don't think so. So why don't we all grow up, and forgive ourselves right now? Why don't we all grow up and forgive our neighbors?

As I see it, there are two logical answers to the above questions: "Yeah, you're right, I guess we should do that!" and "Fear.". Well, as far as Fear is concerned: Honestly what do you have to be afraid of? Worst thing that can happen is death, and that's coming eventually anyway.

Now, let me say this: You are not who you want to be. You are not an Astronaut. You are not a Super Hero. You are not who you said you were going to be 10 years ago, and You are not fooling anyone. I know that you're bullshitting through life and so do you. But let's not be negative about it, because there..... is.... *drum roll*..... A- WAY- OUT- MAN! And it's forgiveness.

Forgive yourself for not being an Astronaut- Forgive yourself for not being Batman- not being an executive, and not looking like the cool kid on the block. Fear and Regret are not family values- and they are not values of any other kind either. Fear and Regret are bullshit- because DEEP down under all of that stuff that you are wearing: All of the fancy frills you wear to attract people of the other gender- All of the substances you use to make you feel complacent in the world- All of the small talk you use to open conversations- Underneath all of that there is a HUMAN SOUL- and THAT is something to be valued. THAT is what we are here to express- and if you don't then no one else will. And if you don't then you are an object of Fear and Regret.

So, personally, I am not here to say "Believe in Jesus" or "Don't Believe in Jesus" or "Go to Church" or whatever else you might think I'm here to say. I'm basically here to say "Try forgiving yourself, and everyone else and see if that doesn't make your world run a bit smoother."

(Also, Mrs. Charles Bliss is a character from the Spoon River Anthology- Look it up, I dare you.)

Introduction of: The Point System! BAM!

Hello to my many and wonderful and culturally diverse fans,

I realize that it has been so very long since I last wrote, and since it is 3:30 AM on a night before a day that we should be having school but aren't- Thank you Mr. WWII- I thought it would be the perfect time to make a new post. The question is: What will the post be about? Yes. You see it's quite a crapshoot at this point isn't it- so much has happened in the past few days that I'll have to drop some things in order to keep this post at a reasonable length. I'll take a stab though..... I'll do it in a topic order, trying to group things under some sort of common result or theme. ((((Side note: you can play games with my blog posts, and in fact I invite you to- come up with a dance or drink that you take a shot-----errrr, I mean "sip" of in between paragraphs, or try reading the sentences backwards and see if you get the general jist, or if you're totally lost. Just a thought...))))

1) Through a set of spiritual experiences and having been injected with of several flashy, hollywood,  Personality Inept Growth Steroids (PIGS for short and also known as movies) I came to the realization that I can probably do anything.
2) Due to several realizations of the state of the world and a couple realizations of all the flaws I have in myself- for which I have no one else to blame, I now know that probably won't do anything.
3) After reading a few books, talking to a few people and thinking about a few things, I have decided that I will try regardless.

Now, I don't know if anyone actually thinks that this happen, and I'm worried most people probably don't and will write me off as a nut.... But hear me out: I swear I've gotten my ass kicked by Jesus (sorry, sorry, I know that it's possible people will take offense to that kind of language, but I'm willing to bet that you're the same side that wants to hear what I have to say; So: you will have to meet me halfway here... but I'll try to tone it down-- just for you). Anyway.... I know a lot of skeptics say that it's bull-er... "cow crap", and you hear the *Crazy Leftist Punk Rockers* say that it's the media trying to mind-er.... well "mind-control" you- and seriously, who's to blame the punk rockers? I mean... most of the people on TV who claim to have been "found by Jesus" (cue Mr. Gump: "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.").... anyway, these clowns earn their living by: 1) ordering the military to bomb other countries (.... because Congress doesn't do that anymore....?) and then 2) wearing Flag Pins..... so right, I can't really blame the Punk Rockers for grouping me with a bunch of idiots when I come out and say "I've found Jesus". But it's true.
And, by the way, the reaction I expect from people on this is the same one fueling ignorance towards Eastern Cultures- why would you be a Muslim and pray five times a day when you can be a Christian and have Christmas? Anyway, we'll call this [Point A]- which I will expand more about it in a Facebook Note Section that is described later (see end of this post if you are dying of curiosity).
Anyway, my main idea to get across here is this: I finally realized that every time I felt messed up or have felt blue, or felt guilty or something like that I thought of : the church that I went to when I was little, and the things my Grandma taught me- and most of the things she taught me, I've also read in the bible, so it's a pretty solid bet to think that she learned them from that book-- and, so getting back on topic-- when I was blue I would think about these things, and then say "well, that sounds really good but religion is lame and believing in God is silly." and somehow I could come to that conclusion and then in the same breath come up with a reason to justify the behavior that I knew was right... but through some kind of non-religious (secular) means. For example I would say that vigilante justice is wrong because *ahem* "the slippery slope of morality can't be well tracked by the common man"- where the bible says that it's pretty much just wrong. Well.... the two aren't really mutually exclusive are they? Anyway, that's [Point B].
Now, I suddenly realized this, or at least the jist of this, in the most cliche way imaginable: Friends were over, we did some stupid stuff with a substance or two (ironically it was all legal, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!..... hmmmm wrong choice of phrasing I suppose.... anyway....).... I wound up vomiting all over my bathroom. Just everywhere, covered with puke. It was horrible. I had eaten KFC. The mashed potatoes. I don't care who I'm telling this story to: It's an important detail. It was bad. And all of a sudden I thought "Jesus probably wouldn't approve of this", and I was just like .... "I probably shouldn't approve of this either." and then I just thought "damn." And then it hit me. Basically I realized that I had been having a debate with Jesus for 20 years of my life over His existence. Whenever I was in a situation where I KNEW Jesus had the correct answer I would voice it and site the bible right? and then people would be like "Do you believe in Jesus?" and I -.... still can't believe it....- I was big headed and ballsy enough to say "I believe in the *teachings of Jesus*", like some high brow cultured clown that is too busy to give a straight answer. But it's true- I didn't actually believe in Jesus, so at least I wasn't a liar while I was at it *cough cough* Peter *cough cough* (just kidding Peter, you made up for it later- only poking fun.). Anyway, what this all boils down to is, I realized that just about 7 years of my life all came to a point on that night- and about 40% of that point landed in the toilet with the other 60% on the floor next to me forming some interesting puddles. I decided right then and there "It's too hard having a debate with Jesus. If I keep this up I'll probably have to start going to meetings in my 50s and wonder where my life went to.". So that's the story of Jesus kicking my ass. Pretty run of the mill, but people tend to skimp on the details- it's a real shame because #1 of story telling is that details make the narrative. You can't reach the audience unless they can relate to the details- thus the mashed potatoes. The sad thing is, the KFC potatoes are HORRIBLE, but I just hadn't had any mashed potatoes in sooooo long..... I thought they were passable.
So there's the spiritual experience I mentioned- movies? Well there are a lot of them, and I mentioned some of the good ones in a previous post, but I might choose to analyze them sometime, so I'll put this as a [Point C].

Now as far as the Realizations: I have realized that the world is in pretty bad shape. This is very very bad. Kids think that teenagers are the coolest thing ever and that TEENAGERS have all the answers. Obviously wrong. Teenagers think that adults are the dumbest things ever, and they, like the kids, believe that they and other teenagers have all the answers. Obviously wrong. Adults pretty much don't even know any more and they give up. Obviously USELESS. So who has all the answers. Well no one, but it would make me feel better if someone pretended to know SOMETHING- right? I mean..... basically.... what you're telling me.... (and I'm talking to all of you- you know where the comment box is!!!).... basically YOU are telling ME that WE have NO ONE to even ask questions to? Sure, the religious people are going to say "You can ask God!!!! lol"-- alright, I gave you the whole Jesus thing, and I'm down, so I'm open minded to you. How about this, if God will answer YOU, any question that you have then I'll legitimately give YOU a chance. You don't have to try to prove it through any Math or Science, or work a level 7 divine spell or anything like that. I want YOU to pray to God, or Heavenly Father, or Jesus or anyone you can think of, and ask for some ideas on how the HECK we can wake up a world that is FULL of apathetic JERKS. If you can come up with some good ideas by praying, then let me know. I will support you -In Those Tasks- fully, and if they work out- then you'll gain my Respect (note the capital R.... I'm obviously not fooling around here. Respect is supposed to be something of value.... remember that? Maybe it was before our time.). Once you have my Respect, then we can talk about your views on God -- as brothers (which is the only appropriate atmosphere to approach the subject in if you ask me).

(((Note: I originally typed up a section here which I was going to call "My Mormon Experience"-- for those of you who don't know I almost became a Mormon about a Year ago. I still talk to a lot of Mormons and think a lot of them are good people- some of them use questionable means however.-- anyway, I actually am not going to post it here, because It Is HUGE... but really good... so I'm going to say [Point D], and you can look it up later)))

Anyway, back to the world being a huge wasteland. Dreary Subject, so instead let's ease into it, shall we? Okay..... Let's have a flash back -- Imagine a Time Montage of everyone walking backwards at warp speeds for 2 years -- BAM! Here we are. This is the *last week* in the Political debates between Obama and McCain. Obama is a pretty good speaker, but there is one thing that the Republicans have that the Dems can't touch. What is it???.... it's.... it can't be..... *The Founding Fathers*!!!!....... Now come on. You saw it I know you did. EVERY TIME McCain brought up the Founding Fathers, Obama down right CHANGED the subject to Bush. How open of him-- though I suppose techniqually we can't put it past him, considering "Change" was one of his greatest phrases "Change your Mind" or "Change the Subject" can't really be considered out of the equation.... Now you know as well as I do: I think Obama has a chance. I think that he throws around a lot of good words, and he's stirred people up that couldn't give a crap about politics before he was around- he's stirred up the Pot Smokers and the Anarchists, and the Street Rabble, and the highschool kids..... but.... so far... He's not good at his job. If you think "Obama is an awesome president", then I should slap you. He has potential, but so far he really hasn't done anything that I can clap about (.... well cash for clunkers was a pretty good idea.... I will clap for that). Anyway, I certainly can't clap for his campaign etiquette-- [Point E]. So, anyway.... founding fathers-- let me put it this way: no one is going to stand up and say "Ben Franklin is overrated", because he is... well.... freaking *BEN FRANKLIN*- holy crap, that's like: "Huh, let's think of awesome historical Figures... let's see here, we have Robespierre, Caesar... Aristotle... oh yeah! Ben Franklin!"-- and that's him. Easily a #4 in anyone's book of awesome historical characters.
So Here's a question for you: The founding fathers.... were... Human.... right? Because I feel like everyone kind of looks at the Founding Fathers in this kind of Awe, with their mouths half open and with some kind of microwaved food dripping down from their chin. Yes. The Founding Fathers were made out of the same Flesh and Bone you and I have surrounding our little beady eyes and hunched over backs (because we haven't been forced to sit up straight since we were seven). They were here. And now we are here. And no one sees a problem with this? I'm sorry, but are we SERIOUSLY this.... lazy?- or are we just dumb? Or are we just filled with too much Doubt?... or.....?..... I mean honestly, What the hell is going on here? Why are Ben Franklin and George Washington still the ones that we look up to? That's like having a Diving Record for 250 years that no one has the balls to break- it's like "Damn, let's step our Game up". When's the last time you asked a kid who they looked up to? Probably never. Or, actually, if some of the people I think are reading this are *actually ARE reading this*- maybe they ask kids they know. I can't lie: I generally don't ask kids many questions-- So I can't say for sure what a kid would say, but I could probably group kids into three categories based on the three answers I assume are most common, which are : 1) "Family", 2) "Pop Media", 3) "Nobody". Now, obviously the second is unhealthy 90% of the time- Pop Stars are scandalous people. The Third choice might be okay, but is probably going to be rough [Point F]. The first is decent, - Family is an important thing - but let's just assume that on average only about a third of all the people in the US are choosing the first option. The other 2/3rds are also going to have families. Scary? Yeah. That's what we're dealing with. How about someone steps up and becomes a fucking Hero for once? Can we afford to have a Revolution every 250 years? Because if so, it might not be a bad idea. But let's try to keep this one not-so-bloody, agreed? If you don't agree, then post a comment and we can figure out if I'm missing something. If you do agree, then let's work on this [Point G].----- And that's why it feels like the world is insurmountable. But remember, that's only section two..... Sooooooooo.....: Do a dance! Take a Swig! a Shot- a Sip- or a Swallow, because there IS hope..... Heeeeeeeere comes SECTION THREE:........ BRACE YOURSELVES.......

BAM! (told you to brace yourself). Here's the Hopeful Message: I really really don't give a crap. "Huh.... what a funny thing for *someone who says he's against Apathy* to say" Says the audience. And I'd have to agree with you if I didn't understand my reasoning... but I do understand my reasoning- so let's talk about it.
The Two Factors we've talked about so far are this: #1==We need to do something. #2==We can't do anything. Hmmmm.... sounds like a sticky situation. Well, why can't we do anything? Well, I think it's because society tells us we can't.
((((Note: The following part in quotation marks is a pretty intense rant. For your own Safety, I recommend that you read the following as if the Gopher from Winnie the Pooh is telling you it-- Still try to take it seriously.... but in a Gopher voice. That should be just the correct level of seriousness that we need. Alright, continuing on.....))))
"Society tells us we need to stick to a pattern, doesn't it? Society tells us we need to go to school. Society tells us we need to get a job. Society tells us we either need to have a few crazy years at college where we try every drug in the book OR we need to be nerds who never get laid OR we need to be bible thumpers. Now, isn't it interesting that Society doesn't mention that there are other options? Isn't it odd that society doesn't tell us that we can be open thinkers and have our own opinions? Sure, the media doesn't *say* we can't-- it never directly says "Think like us or we'll destroy you", and that's because the media knows better than to make empty bluffs. Instead the Media says "Wear these Jeans or you won't be a Skateboarder"-- and all of a sudden even if those Jeans are Horrible for skating in..... all of these kids suddenly start buying these Jeans, and pretend like they know how to skate- and all of a sudden if you don't have these Jeans, you lose a bunch of friends. Pretty soon you're dashing in 20 directions trying to do things that the Media hints at. Pretty soon you're not forming opinions. Pretty soon you're not thinking very much at all. Pretty soon you stop caring about problems other people are having. Pretty soon you're a pawn. WELL FUCK THAT. Common Consumers can call me insane, and I won't deny it. I understand that some people like those Jeans *and* like skating. I understand that some people don't *like* to think about politics. I understand all of that- but that doesn't mean that I'm not disgusted by it. Common retort: "Well you disgust me too"-- HOLY CRAP, you have an OPINION? THANK GOD. Here's the deal folks: I'm fine if you have an opinion- I'm fine if your opinion contrasts, conflicts, or destroys my opinion. I am ecstatic if you choose to express that opinion. BUT I would really REALLY like it IF in addition to your opinion, you had a... *gasp*..... if you HAD A PLAN.

For example: If you have an opinion concerning how slow the buses are- don't just complain, because no one wants to listen to YOU complain (seriously. NO ONE cares-- (See Section 2)), but I DO want to hear you out IF you have a plan on how to make the buses better. This extends to everything- if you want better ice cream, then you should figure out how to make better ice cream (oooooh, look, it makes sense because of if-then statements!). If you want a better Church, then you should make your Church better, or if those in the church won't let you, then you should Build your own Church [also Point D]. And that's why I say that even though you and I probably won't be able to do ANYTHING to change this world- If we want change, then WE have to try to make it happen." (By the way, Gandhi said something similar and I think he was a pretty smart guy. So BAM!)

And that's what I think.


Oh, BTW: I am basically going to start putting in "Points" which will be places where I have more to say, but it would detract from the normal flow of my rambling and make my blog 5 times as long -- two things that no one wants to see. So I'll be posting more about each of  these "Points" at my leisure in the Note section of my facebook. Now I realize that logically, there are 3 kinds of people who could possibly be viewing my blog: 1) Those people who know me very well and read my blog and Facebook regularly, 2) Those people who read my Facebook regularly, but have only recently discovered my blog, or vise-versa, 3) People who don't know me at all and just happen to be reading my blog. Well awesome. I welcome all of you, and if you happen to be the latter a part of group number 2 or if you're a member of group number 3, then I invite you to add me on Facebook: Maxwell Thomas MacKenzie (if it's a weird picture, that doesn't mean it's not me).

Ultimately I hope to write all of the Points as notes in my Facebook, and have them be mini-filler in between my blog posts:::: Thus a Happy Medium is Formed.

Backitty Back Back Back

Hi All,

So today is votin' day here in the States (have to clarify for all of my international readers). Sad to say: I really haven't kept up on politics since Obama got elected. From what I've heard though, it's going to be a huge bash against Democrats, so the question is will it be like Ninja Assassination or more like SHOVE A GRANADE DOWN YOUR THROAT AND CHOKE ON THE PIN?

.... well I really don't know how either of those would look in the political arena, but the imagry of both is kind of appealing.

So I'm registered to vote, and I think I know where to go, etc. The question is, if I go and vote, what am I voting for? And I mean that in every sense possible.

I don't really like saying that individuals are helpless, or that they can't do anything- but in voting it really seems like that's the case. I know I complain a lot about the system, and so does everyone else but maybe if I lay out some plain thoughts we can come up with some solutions (again, I always welcome feedback in the form of comments....)

So let's play a game called: Find solutions to our Nation's Heaping Pile of Problems beeeeeeefour 2AM!
1) Alright, so as I see it, there are two kinds of voters: a) those who always vote for the same party, c) Those who vote against who ever is in power. (b was full of rational people, who were systematically conditioned out of society). Now I am actually able to recognize both the pros and the cons of this situation. The Cons: all of the problems we have in our society. The Pros: At least we don't have to think about politics.
 "But Max, you don't know what's going on in politics, so how can you critize others who also don't know?"
-valid point grass hopper, I have taught you well. Here's the thing: Like a grass hopper, I don't have an informed opinion, SO like a grass hopper, I shouldn't be allowed to vote, and like me, most people should NOT be voting.
2) We only have two parties. Now a lot of people say it's important that we only have two parties. Just for fun, let's try to come up with a metaphore where anything works well having only two options. Cars only have 2 options: Gas and Break. Oh, except for the fact that they have a stearing wheel which actually comes in VERY HANDY. A book can be opened or closed, but generally there are several pages in that book, and you get to choose which one you want to read. Even water can't narrow down it's physical state to only two options (though, actually I think that might not have anything to do with politics... ah well, I'll leave that in there. And this too, just for kicks)(...... and this for good messure.)
Anyway, looking for imagry again, I feel like a 2 party system taking on all of the nation's problems is kind of like trying to use the same tools to do eye surgery, repair a faucet, replace a tire, and demolish a building AT THE SAME TIME.

.... I have lost my train of thought. It doesn't help that I am now analyzing the phrase "I have lost my train of thought". .... so I have a train.... made out of thoughts.... trains are usually pretty big.... so those are some pretty big thoughts.... and I lost it.... even though they are big.... and pretty conspicuous... considering it's a train... made out of inmaterial material.....

Anyway, It's past two now, and although I have found no solid answers while writing this, it is fair to say that both the system and the voters are messed up at this point. Problem is, there does not seem to be any real action being taken to fix either. Although everyone reading this might strangle me for saying this, it seems like the Tea Baggers have the only logical and reasonable thing to say at this point: Repeal the 17th Amendment. Now, God help us if the only logical idea for change is supported only by a group of people who call them selves "Tea Baggers", and I don't know if I agree with anything else they have to say (Considering they have only been around since after Obama was elected), but after seeing what I have seen of people from the United States, I can't really justify them having as much power as they do. Further, I think Special Intrest groups are a cancer to the government, and if the government is our head that means we have brain cancer. Yippy.

Final Thoughts:
It's sad that the only issue I know enough about to vote on concerns weed. It's sad that our nation is able to launch a rocket to the moon but apparently can't balance a check book. It's sad that people are able to destroy the lives of 20 or 30 generations to come just because they feel like they need to move up another bar in the International Dick Messuring Contest which is Capitalism. It's also sad that my version of Internet Explorer doesn't have those red squiggly lines under all of the words I misspell (sorry about that btw). And finally it's sad that I wasn't able to find any real solutions in the hour that I tried. But there you have it, the state of our world: Sorry. Damn Depressing if you ask me.

So, if we want to get this world moving again, I guess we had all better put a HELL of a lot more TIME into thinking about this issue- and let's keep an open mind. Let's use all the tools at our disposal and not just these two broken parties that people wave around like proud banners of unity. There is nothing to be proud of when you belong to either of these collections of fools. Whatever happened to brain storming? Whatever happened Concept maps? And most of all what the FUCK happened to people forming their own opinions? Because between you and me, things seem awfully "copy-paste" everywhere I look-- so unless you can give me a good reason why a self proclaiming "Democracy" is comprised of two self mutilating and violent sects of hive-minds, you should do the following:
1) Write out what you think the biggest problem is with our country 
2) Under that, write what we as a group need to do to fix #1,
3) Under that, write what you and I as individuals can do to make #2 happen.
4) Then, you should let everyone know what those three things are. Post it on Facebook, talk to people you know: Teachers, Parents, Friends, Enemies, Jesus, Musicians, Dogs, Cats-- Everyone
5) Everytime someone makes a good point relating to your idea, write it down, and then THINK about it later.
6) REPEAT

BAM!

(Note, I meant to post this on the 26th, but apparently I never hit submit xD, sorry for the wait)

Hi,

Not enough people say hi I don't think, so I decided to start a trend. I think in a perfect world everyone on the street would say hi, or "I hope you're doing well today" or something like that to every other person on the street. Maybe everyone could have their own greeting that they would say, and since everyone would always say something, you could get away with saying some pretty awesome things like "Hey, I really hope your Mom's doing well". You may say "Then of course you'd have the people who's mom's have died, and they might get offended", but I kind of feel like we already have that base covered with the Jews that complain about get wished a Happy Christmas. I mean, even if the wish doesn't entirely apply to you, you shouldn't be offended that someone has taken the time to give you something out of a good intention. And that's kind of what I wanted to talk about today. HOWEVER I also realize that I didn't post anything yesterday and I kind of wanted to, so here's what I'll do: Today I am going to post things in *THREE SEGMENTS*-- Segment 1 will be yesterday, and Segment 2 will be today, and Segment 3 will be the overflow philosophic thought/cheesy jokes which will come to me along the way. I tell you this ahead of time so that you can plan your adventure accordingly, like a build your own adventure-- but more like a blog post. Then read Segment 4 to tie everything together.

1) So, yesterday I gave a speech in my Public Speaking class. We had to give a Narrative Speech (so a story), with a moral at the end. I actually think I pretty well nailed this assignment and was able to do so by reformating a story I typed up about 5 years ago on AIM. Now the thing about AIM is that you have to type in pieces- well i mean you don't have to, but you can. Which is different from other genres of writing obviously because the other person can absorb pieces at a time and even interrupt thoughts by getting a word in edgewise. In different situations this can be either a good or a bad thing (also depending on your perspective) : In a formal debate, exchanges are monitored to make sure that they fit within a specific amount of time, during which the other side can't say Squat (or any other word for that matter). This is because sensible people have points that take longer than two grunts and a swear word to express. At the same time, you can build..........................................suspense by dragging out stories/ putting time between responses (see what I did there?). So it's very interesting to look at the ways different kinds of communication affect what you say. I suddenly feel like giving poets a lot of credit all of a sudden because I finally understand the simple fact that normal writing is so damn limited.

2) Today I was in Taco Bell, and over heard a debate about if the sign "If you don't Dig the Food, Then we'll Eat the Bill!" was to be taken literally or not. This might make you sad, but at the time it made me very happy. It made me happy because it was the only discussion I had heard today where both sides actually were using logic to try to figure out the answer. The argument went beyond "I heard it on TV" and then "Oh, okay". Now here's a question for you, and I welcome feed back (InterPersonal communication-- Just one of many benefits to be found on mtmpid.blogspot.com!) : Do you think that the internet has ruined arguments? If someone wonders how far it is from here to Tokyo, you can just look it up on your phone- or at the very least when you get home. On the other hand, if you didn't have access to the internet, the argument wouldn't just cease to be. It used to be that question would arise and if the people involved didn't have the answer right off the bat, or if there was a difference in opinion, the involved parties would give logical arguments to support their case and then try to figure things out: "Well, I know that the earth spins this fast, and there are 24 time zones, and Tokyo is in time zone x, and we are in time zone y, so I would think Tokyo is about z miles away"....... now we use google. Now, here's the ACTUAL question I wanted to ask (fooled you- mawhahahaha) : Does it matter that we don't need to exercise logical thinking as often? Also, what do you think of memorizing facts? If you know that you can look up facts on the internet at any given time, does it matter is it beneficial to have them memorized? I don't mean random trivia, I mean things like, the approximate order of US presidents or how many Km are in a Mile. 

3) I guess what it all boils down to is this old question: If a tree falls in the forest... yadda yadda yadda. But seriously, let's look into this question a little more seriously then everyone takes it. Say you're the most elegant poet in the world, but you never write. Can you actually be considered a poet? Let's say you are a pretty intelligent person but you never use your brain. Are you actually intelligent at all?

While taking my acting class I and my classmates found one thing astonishing. Upon reaching 3rd semester it never failed to freak people out (even the ones that thought for sure it was something mundane up until they tried it). When you "acted" a part, you legit "became" a part. The more mannerisms and quirks you picked up the more you were your part- you couldn't help yourself- you thought thoughts that your character would think and you did things that your character would do because no other options even occurred to you. Now, let's apply this to real life. If you don't try to act intelligent, you will not become intelligent, and you will not remain intelligent. If you do not write poetry then you can not become or remain a poet.


When people think of phrase "practice makes perfect" they think of throwing a baseball or using the quadratic equation- the body and mind, but not the spirit. Dreams are lost because people do not think about what could be- humans have become purely reactionary. People only care about what *is* and what they want AT THAT TIME.  No one exercises their spirit- and it shows. Our lack of spirit shows in our cities, in our schools and in our homes. Love is the last reminiscent scrap of passion in our world and even that (especially that) is being cheapened each and every day.

4) So, to tie this all together (using one of 'dem conculzion thingies) :
I recommend exercising your Body, Mind, and Spirit. Personal bias says that the latter two are more important than the first, but even I work out for a bit each day (ever since I looked completely useless during a move I had recently-- pretty sad it was). To help you with this, or perhaps just on the side- you should pay attention to how communication effects your thoughts, and how your thoughts affect the way you communicate- not just what you say but how you say it: The words you use, the inflections you make and the format you put it in. You might come up with something interesting- if you do, be sure to post below (along with your responses to segment #2 ;) )

Turning Point I Do Suppose

Hello All,

And so we meet again..... If you can call this a meet up. Generally with a meet up you can interact with the other person. We can't really do that..... Unless I suppose you comment, which I am fully in support of-- in fact I would almost go so far as to say that I would appreciate it. If you need something to post about, just mention your favorite food and then *if you were that food* what your favorite movie would be. Get a little bit of role play going on in here.

Anyway, let's assume that you're not a jerk and you chose to comment, so that this is a legit interaction..... And so we meet again. I noticed, looking over it that I kind of rambled during my last post, which is kind of a shame because I think I had a lot of good points in there, but they are all sort of jumbled in with other stuff. So I'll try to keep this post concise.... but watch out for the lion.... they lash out when you least suspect it. And if you're like me and are a plate of Spaghetti watching Fight Club, then ALWAYS is when you least suspect it.

Now, on with the topic of discussion: Hindu Chakra. For those of you who are unaware of what the hell a "Chakra" is, (I haven't spend much money into researching who my Target Audience is, it could well be the majority of you), it's actually a piece of Eastern Philosophy that more or less states that you have several Spiritual "Zones" which are specialized for various things. Don't get me wrong I don't know too much about it, so I'm going to be researching into them and trying to figure the whole thing out--- Me being a Aristotelian Thinker, this might be quite a leap-- and I'll be keeping you updated (An Education in Eastern Philosophy-- Just one of many benefits to be found on mtmpid.blogspot.com!). Also, if anyone finds/knows anything about the Chakra that might be interesting, feel free to post a comment below.

Now you may be asking "How many miles is to the closest place to get a pizza?"      and to that I have to say : Not a clue, but Google Maps always helps me. BUT if instead you are asking "Max! Why the sudden interest in Hindu Chakra?" And to that I have to say : "Well, Maromub (Most Admired Reader Of My Ultimate Blog), I have surely watched waaaay too many movies where the main character has some split personality disorder. I have also taken just enough Psychology to get me into trouble. According to studies, pretty much everyone shows signs of multiple personality disorder- the question is why? I think, very seriously the answer to this "why?" is most easily described as a way of coping with the world around us- to make a literary reference: "Double-Think". No matter how much we'd like to think otherwise, our minds are riddled with contradictions.

So...... I just typed out all of my thoughts on this issue and it was like 4 pages, so I was like "Damn... that's like 4 pages.... that's like.... a lot of reading to do for Maromub." So let's sketch it out real quick:
Basically, if you accept that you have different personalities governing your brain,
but find a way to balance all of them, you can prolly be a pretty awesome person
Because you can like, have them specialized and stuff
Specialized professions is considered a requirement of civilization
And if you ask me I'd rather my mind be set up like Rome
Rather than all of those tribes that Rome went and kicked the crap out of
.... I'll just be sure to set up a Republic... and not an Empire
Because that one didn't turn out so well.

So I think I'm going to look into this whole Chakra thing and maybe start defining some personalities.
I'll keep you updated.

-Maxwell Thomaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Oh God! GAAAAAAAAAHRRRRRR

P.S. --I HATE LIONS

CONTINUED

So, if you haven't looked at the title of this post yet, I'll pause for a moment to allow you to do so....... alright, so you might notice that it's named "continued" and you might think "what a strange name for a title. I wonder why he did that?" and BAM! I have a reason: because no matter how little you all suspected it- no matter how insignificant it seemed at the time, I actually set up the topic of THIS post in my LAST post.

Yes yes, I know you're surprised- I heard the collective [gasp][/gasp] from all of you... (Coding humor when you least suspect it! Just one of many features found at mtmpid.blogspot.com!).... but it's true. In my last post I mentioned that I watched a different movie for the first time each day, every day for a week. Then i went on to only list SIX movies. [For those of you who are unfamiliar: In the Gregorian Calender there are actually 7 days in week.]

Now, I knew that I had watched a 7th movie, but what could it have been? I pondered this last night but to no avail. Finally, today at noon it came to me: Run Lola Run- an awesome German Film shot in a style I would describe as very Grudge. I think it had the chick from the 5th Element, and it must be her Actress Aura or something because I feel like she brought a kind of unnatural but intense feeling to both of those movies. In any case, this got me to wondering. One who thought everything happened for a reason might explain that lapse of thought by saying that I had to forget that movie last night, otherwise this post would not exist - or at least in this form.

As a side note I'd like to point out that in fact, this post probably belongs most to my brother Bill MacKenzie -even more than to Lola or my memory lapse- for he called me earlier tonight encouraging me to write a post, and without him I would not have felt so determined to make this post tonight- trust me there were other and worse options. So hat's off to Brother Bill who made this possible. Some would comment that this particular situation proves that positive family influences, no matter how strange might keep someone on the right path.

I think you can kind of relate this situation to Run Lola Run. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie: Run Lola Run is basically a movie in which a girl runs through a day of dire risks. She is given a super power to accomplish this task- due to an incredible feat of luck called "landing a telephone off from a 180 degree flip over the shoulder turn in synch with a television show"- she can now live through the day 3 times making slightly different decisions each time. This contract with fate is not explained in full during the movie, but one can infer such a deal took place by watching the stunning implications in the movie- it really ties in well. As a result the main character is able to solve all of her problems as well as the problems of several other key characters in the movie-- who by the way, are just side characters with no influence on the plot, but due to some amazing risks the director took, become emotionally tied to the audience (or vice-versa). This amazing illustration of people who are in "legit: cruel" situations and have good intentions. To clarify, I'm saying that there are basically two concepts out there in the political realm:
1) The thought that the poor are a result of their environment
2) The thought that the poor are a result of their actions
Honestly, I think both sides must be blind to not figure this one out. How about it's both factors? It doesn't matter if it's one side more than the other? Maybe it's the slums and limited opportunities the poor have and ALSO the fact that those people don't try as hard as they should? That's not so hard to admit is it? That it's both parties fault- if every poor person tried as hard as they could we would surely have a different system by now. But on average, almost no one from any class or background tries as hard as they can. Almost everyone takes a day or two off.

So my question is, can the Rich really cast a stone on the Poor for them not trying hard enough? According to Classical and Biblical logic, the Rich can not do so. And can the Poor cast a stone on the Rich for setting the system up this way? Surely not, for that is what is to be expected. So obviously what we need is not a system that helps the Poor, or a system that helps the Rich. We need a system that helps both the Poor and the Rich. One logical-philosophical argument that supports This View- a kind of "meta-socialist meets best-case-scenario Libertarian" View- says that if this view is correct, then in a thought experiment, there must be some evidence that a Poor Person, given a second or third chance would act as responsibly and do as well as a Rich Person. For according to Aristotle, (Paraphrase): you can only judge a party on their ethics while looking at actions they took when Well Informed. The Poor are rarely given the chance to be well informed. Therefore, I am not convinced that either Political Party is looking at this "Poor/Rich" situation correctly.

Now, I may be sounding crazy right now, but I'm still being semi-serious here: To say that both Parties are out of touch is not something we should say half-heartedly. These parties do not fit the modern world and they are going absolutely insane because of it. For illustration purposes, let me lay out the options I had in front of me last election:
1) Vote McCain: Give my family reason to think that I'm "Out-of-Control Conservative" which would literally alienate me from exactly 1/2 of my family, slightly alter my self view as someone who associates with far rightest movements, and let's face it: value the spirit of a young Alaskan woman over a young black male.
2) Vote Obama: do the exact same as above; but the other side of the coin.
My Point: Like in Run Lola Run, we as Young American citizens have a strong and important mission before us. If we were given 3 chances for every decision we make, we could make the right one every time. But for us, the Young American Voters, we need 3 tries because the options are HORRIBLE.

The Republicans say we need to loosen on Gun Laws, Deport Mexicans, and Bomb everything in the Middle East, meanwhile trying to lower Taxes AND Regulations. Meanwhile expecting me to put my future in the hands of a man who is nearly four times as old as me, and a young lady who is only twice as old as me? (I feel like candidates should be like 50-55)

On the other hand the Democrats show off their package as a Stripping of several rights, which only comes as a natural result of the additional tightening of regulations, Raised Taxes and an disappointing lack of cross-continential Diplomatic Skills. I am sorry but anyone that can defend Obama's charisma after the blunders he had with all of our major allies should seek medical attention now. In addition I was asked to place my trust in a man who was so young his own party had to overcompensate by adding to the team the most ancient piece of politician they could muster up from their side. This lead to a strange parallel- each side had one old and one young character- the old dude was always white and the young one was a minority. Holy Crap is that a plee to compromise on the most Superficial level ever? I thought so too. How about the parties cut the crap right now and work on some serious issues-- MAYBE try to rescue our ECONOMY rather than playing to the "gossip needs" of the (disturbingly large) portion of our population by showcasing a young male African American and a White Country Gal from Up North-Yonder.

This is why I think Run Lola Run is a perfect representation of our World Today. We live in a world where we need THREE TRIES on every decision to make a half way decent choice. Probably because we are trying to deal with every situation in our lives in the say way our society deals with it's problems- by looking at the superficial in like we are some kind of -Awe Stricken Sheep- (I find it funny that the acronym there would be "ASS".... tee hee *giggle giggle*).....anyway, that's how we look at it, and then we go about getting into ridiculously polarized babble fights over the serious issues... just like see on TV.

I think that: WE need to step the fuck up and work on getting things done right the FIRST TIME, because we only get One shot- not Three. It may be unfair, but if we don't step up our kids are going to have it off twice as bad and they won't have anyone to blame but us.

I say: Let's not accept our two BS options. Let's do everything in our power to boycott the two IDIOTIC mascots the parties tote around. We want change, but not a change of Face: We want a Change in the way politics are run. We want politicians that know what the hell they are doing and are in office because they have a LOGICAL opinion on how to get out of this mess.

In these things I pray wholeheartedly.