Knock Knock...who’s there?...Orange....Orange who?

I am so happy that the Dutch are in the World Cup final game this Sunday vs.Spain... I just love that sea of Orange....
They have popularized an already popular color...and as Americans.... so many things we love are orange...I am still trying to figure out how the Netherlands got associated with Orange...it’s even in their National Anthem....Were they vitamin C deficient?
I am going to google it....(google has become a verb) and get back to you on that.. ok...I’m back on that...

The answer: Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty -- the House of Oranje-Nassau -- dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.

But....here are some of the more popular things we associate with the color orange.... off the top of my head...I’m certain there are more......

A Clockwork Orange....I still don’t understand the movie
The Syracuse Orangemen- great university and b ball and lacrosse teams
Orange Crush...a great popular soda of mine...growing up
Orange Crush...the Great Denver Bronco defense...back when.. And their fans...
O.J. Simpson...sorry...I couldn’t help it...

Pumpkins and Halloween and Candy Corn.....my favorite holiday...

Orange Juice.. Tropicana...expensive ...but great marketing...
The Orange Bowl... stadium....classic games...Miami and Nebraska
Tennessee Volunteers..
The old Tampa Bay Buccaneers...it was a joke...really
Bob’s Barricades.... that s.o.b... must be filthy rich by now
Orange cones...I was a soccer dad....I had a ton of them
Orange sprinkles...very tasty....
Humorette...great ice cream treat...
Florida....full of them... the Sunshine State
Duck a l’orange...expensive..but tasty
Orange beef..great Chinese cuisine..hot as hell
Orange Sunshine...don’t ask mom....please (LSD)
Orange sherbet....and sorbet...oh la la
Some Nasty school zone crossing guards...
Carrots....still hanging with peas...Forest and Jenny
Carrot top....what happened to him?
Redheads....they are really orange heads/carrot tops...still makes my knees weak
Felons jailwear....just an observation....no personal experience..yet

Come to think of it....If you have anything orange in your wardrobe...you are either...someone looking for attention or you are a freak of sorts...or you are rooting for the Dutch on Sunday....enjoy the game

Oh... here’s the first verse..from the Dutch National Anthem. they may want to skip... mentioning Spain on Sunday....lol

William of Nassau, scion
Of a Dutch and ancient line,
I dedicate undying
Faith to this land of mine.
A prince I am, undaunted,
Of Orange, ever free,
To the king of Spain I've granted
A lifelong loyalty (only if they win)
....rayray

Boy..... Talk about getting your wireless crossed....

Even Alexander Graham Bell would probably be stunned...... how crossed.... his wires have gotten.... if he were to reemerge in this 21st century..... and try to make a phone call.
If you kind of scratch your head... and don’t quite understand any of the following terms/technology below..... then... welcome to the Club... of... I hope it works, but I have no idea exactly what has happened.

Skype, wireless router, VOIP, Cable, digital phone, cellular technology, how to use a phone card, satellite communication,
Bandwidth, DSL, texting, sexting, iPod, iPad, Blackberry, instant message, chat function. HD, HDMI, login, logon...... Dr. Evil.... just checking to see if you’re reading.

What started out as 2 cups on a string, has evolved into such an array of communication possibilities, that even Ma Bell would be saying wtf
(What the fuck)

So.....Here’s a quick telecommunications history lesson for Dummies.....Including myself....btw...(by the way)

Once upon a time there was a Telephone company...they put up big brown wood poles with wires suspended from pole to pole and connected the United States.... one town at a time.. The wires carried information.... The Poles got ugly, and the splinters... from those damn things could kill a horse...so they buried the wires...The Telephone company owned the wires they put in the ground. They even crossed the ocean with the wires so the immigrant Americans could phone home.

If you got stuck...you probably called Mable, the operator, and asked for help....she even knew your name...1 ringydingy, 2 ringy dingies...

Then... the TV (television) got invented...and we watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show...we plugged the TV into the electric outlet for power...another set of wires owned by the Electric company... I think they shared the same trenches...but I’m not sure....

About this time... computers were being invented to help us process information at higher speeds...and the military and government were using the computer networks to pass information from computer to computer...this was later known as the Internet...

Then a new set of entrepreneurs wanted to increase the variety of shows that could be produced and make them available for a subscription fee...
This was Cable TV... they needed the same wires...so they leased them from the Telephone Company. Then Fiber optics came along which carried information at a much higher speed...I think the speed is Warp II... into the trenches they go...

So they buried these new wires together in Bands...and now the telephone, cable and electrical company were safely in the flower bed together.

Oh..i forgot Marconi...he was involved with wireless communication.

Are you confused yet...?

So Satellites came into the picture to bounce these wireless signals around the globe.
New telephone companies emerged who could use these wireless devices..to make calls too....so a new gazillion dollar business emerged..
Cellular Telephones... they used those really big towers they put on Uncle Joes Farm....

Let me summarize....telephone> TV> Cable> Internet> wireless Cell phones > computers....

All of the above got connected and interconnected and the company with the most money basically controls the world...
That’s Comcast!!!.

So there you have it.. ..and... wasn’t that easy to understand?

Oh.... pardon me... I have to go....My computer is ringing....rayray

"A Generation lost in Space"

Back in 1971, nearly 40 years ago, Don Mclean, an American song writer, wrote a classic Ballad/song…called... American Pie…I am not sure about other ballads he wrote, but during that summer, it seemed like that was the only song on the Radio….it talked about life in general…and the day "The Music died”…referring to the Tragic plane crash, in 1959, that ended the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper…it stunned a generation… …particularly the generation of young Americans, who grew up in the 50’s rock era, with Dick Clark and the American Bandstand phenomena… which ushered in the 1960’s…

They were rock and roll idols whose influence touched an entire generation …a golden age, an idyllic time… the first generation, of many American families...the children of immigrants, born of soldiers, who first discovered sex, love and music and great enjoyable times…the 1971 song came off the heels of the flower children who had migrated to San Francisco, the heart of the countercultural movement of the 60’s…desperately searching for answers for a new way to live a life…. and was sandwiched between the anti war effort, Watergate, and the fall to disgrace of Richard Nixon and finally…. the end to the Vietnam war...
It was an incredibly turbulent time. After the deaths of JFK, RFK, and MLK, we began to lose sight of these noble ideals … many of which, died on the vine… and were lost on these courageous souls who quietly slipped into mainstream society, to become the future of business, law, trades, politics and occupied all the professions imaginable.... to help them build a family, a future and the hope for a fulfilled life…..who became known as... the baby boomers.
The refrain, below…which….for anyone older than 50, has become indelibly imprinted in their mind…. maybe more so…. than even some Beatles songs….and goes like this…..

"We started singing,
bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
And singin, thisll be the day that I die.
thisll be the day that I die".

Interestingly enough….….what has always stuck out for me …were these other words…..

Oh, and there we were.. all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again

40 years later…many of these 60 million American baby boomers, who embraced this ballad... are today’s parents and grandparents….and these words have become hauntingly real again for many….
We indeed, have again become a generation Lost in space with a distinct feeling that there is no time left to start over……

For many of these souls, life has become greatly unfulfilled, with personal connections to others deeply fractured and very distant, the divorce rate is at an all-time high……the ideals attached to the 60’s have become largely abandoned…and age has crept up and immobilized many people…
Those who have achieved financial success, have learned that the accumulation of wealth alone… has not been the savior of a happy life nor become the monument by which success is measured.….

And... For those who have depleted their assets, or have fallen on tough times…as many are experiencing... as I write this piece..…. the specter of a good retirement has also become a mirage, an illusion…
There is very little trust in our systems and empowerment seems like something we read about in self help book, heard at some corporate meeting…. or was discussed on Oprah…somewhere along the way.

Many of the ideals and beliefs in the things we thought we wanted at the beginning of that golden age, have somehow been lost in our current lives and we just don’t know what to do…there is a empty feeling that we are missing something.. And…. that unfinished business remains… Sadly… some feel incapable of acquiring the skills necessary to make changes and that there life span feels shortened.

The Age of Aquarius, that spiritual awakening, with a nameplate we had hoped to fashion on our breasts, has become a flop, has little meaning, and has been minimized by society in general….as a pipe dream.

Many have grasped at the golden ring on the merry-go-round…and have largely....come up empty handed…..many of the core beliefs have failed us…

The good news is….that the answers to what we seek today are as achievable now…. As the dreams we envisioned then....

A generation lost…simply, means that we have lost our bearings...our GPS system is still there… but it got rusted shut...just like the Tin man… …until Dorothy happened along with the oil can….The tin man had all he needed to succeed….especially...as we have come to learn.... because he had a heart…
Heart… is what we have lost…the heart is our north star….all the guidance we need is within us….Just as the mariners used the stars to navigate to a new world safely…we have to go back to what makes us human…to use our mind but follow our heart...rayray

Independence Day 2010, or is it "In Depends today"

I remember the Bi-Centennial celebration on July 4th 1976.. as if it were just the other day........I was living in NY/Long Island... There were ships of all nations docked into NY Harbor, fireworks galore, feasts, barbecue’s and there was extreme pride... in what we had accomplished as a Country... in the 200 years since the original 13 colonies, signed their Declaration of Independence, proclaiming that there comes a time in Human history, when you must break the bonds of tyranny....... Establishing the underpinnings...of their own United States of America.... a land of immigrant souls, slaves and Native Americans.
The basic tenets of our newly formed society were to create a place on earth to live a decent life...but with intention of laying foundations for a government... committed... to the common welfare and well being of every American.

Over the course of time however, the common welfare, has become so diluted. The word has been thinned out by judgment...that people in need... have been de-valued, are blamed for their circumstance and labeled as worthless leeches.

Evidence of this... resides in the word we now commonly recognize as “welfare” in our American vocabulary. We have flipped flopped its true meaning to become indicative... of people who are poverty stricken and on the “dole” (an old British word), and dependent on a government handout.
What once was a noble ideal, that there is a greater good... and to have compassion for our brethren...is now the folly of Senators, whose only commitment is to their own greater good...achieve their own political ambitions and feast on their own fortune, while they idly watch their brethren fry.....

I’m sure that over this weekend National holiday... there will be a host of Congressional bbq’s in and around Washington DC... where they will be sipping mint juleps and eating fancy food....
I hope that they can take a moment... as the pass by the BBQ pit.... pause and realize that there are fellow Americans who are hungry and frying out there, just like the wiener they are about to consume....rayray

"When the cupboard is bare...morality won't matter"

Desperate people... with no resources... will take desperate actions...and... as humans, there are some basics... which we all need...in order to survive....Food, water, shelter and money.But when money runs out.... and when people can’t afford those essentials...there won’t be many choices left.
When the cupboard is bare, you might as well toss morality out the window. It won’t matter one iota. Law... as we know it... will be suspended.
This is the environment we have created in our country and we are getting dangerously close to a brink of some very serious situations.

You can look at the Great depression and more recently, at the city of New Orleans... just after Hurricane Katrina.... to see that it doesn’t take long for any human being to do what is necessary to survive...including resorting to theft and violence.
When people are left on rooftops, hungry, thirsty, sick, cold and broke...What would you expect?

Here’s a look from Americas rooftop as a much fiercer, mega tsunami approaches....
20-30 Million unemployed Americans... many millions of them will be running out of unemployment benefits shortly.
Cities and States will be cutting back on government funded “Medicaid” type benefits for its beneficiaries.
Cities and States will be doing massive layoffs as they cut back on non-essential and some essential services, including fire and police and teachers.
Our esteemed 100 person Senate, the hallmark of our American Democracy... is divided along political platforms and filibustering all attempts to help continue these crucial flows of funds, while they politically position themselves for re-elections...

Their intent is clear. That is.. to solidify the positions of the rich and powerful in our country...and let everyone else wither and die...
However....What they are underestimating is that they are playing with fire...and they just don’t see it...They are ignoring the potential consequence of these decisions.
I am afraid to even utter it, but I see theft, violence and urban warfare becoming commonplace...with our country becoming its own battleground. Humans will do whatever it takes to survive; morality will be disregarded in short shrift.

Not surprisingly... I predict... that much of this violent reaction will be directed at the wealthier Americans. The gap has gotten so wide between the haves and have not’s. It is estimated that less that 1% of People have more than 90% of the rest combined!
In the depression, bank robbery was commonplace...and many Bonnie and Clyde’s... popped up all over the country.
Don’t be surprised now...we may see some new folk hero’s emerge...Robinhood’s in every town.

If things continue as they are.... people with money will not be safe...no matter who they are or where they live.
Personal, armed security guards and attack dogs will become the new house guests...Don’t carry cash.
Electronic hacking into bank accounts will continue to rise as technological theft becomes commonplace as well.
Kidnapping of children and the elderly may become targets.
Gated communities will not offer protection.
When you combine all of this with diminishing police protection from municipalities strapped for cash...this is not a pretty picture.

While the rich and powerful can manipulate the military and the government...there is power in numbers that even the powerful can’t withstand....

I wish that all of this was just the fodder for a Stephen King novel, but it’s not ...it’s what happens when you put a human being under this type of stress ...when the cupboard is bare and morality doesn’t matter anymore....rayray

For the love of Country and the "Beautiful game"

For those of you... who happened to be watching the miraculous “extra time” victory this past Wednesday... by Our United States Men’s National Soccer team, which kept them alive in the World cup...and if.. you had tears in your eyes for the first time ever watching a Soccer game, then guess what...... you felt that same vibration that’s runs so deep in other countries around the world...who love the “beautiful game” as it is called.. You were infected...

This wasn’t The Lakers, or The Saints, or The RedSox....that represent a particular city or state, this was OUR Team representing OUR country.

That overwhelming feeling of joy that welled up in your throat and came to your eyes...... and may have overcome you... probably came from a place deep inside of you that had been lost or buried for so long, as we have gotten so entrenched in our personal lives, that we forgot how to feel that joy and release of pure emotion that comes from a Healthy spirit of nationalism ... which has been lost over the years because of economic, political and environmental strife or from a loss of faith in the direction you may feel our country has taken..
This was a moment to forget all the trash and enjoy the gift our Team gave us.....It was one of those cleansing moments....when we were at peace...and Soccer was the vessel to get us there.

President Clinton, who has become an ambassador for bringing the World Cup back to The US, in either 2018 or 2022, was so overwhelmed with joy that he couldn’t leave the Team locker room for 45 minutes after the game.... and had to drink hot lemon tea, just to recapture his voice.
I couldn’t return a text message nor answer a phone for an hour..
It was a special moment for me, and rivaled the feeling that many of us had... 30 years ago...when OUR USA hockey team, performed the Miracle on ice, against the Russians... at the Lake Placid Olympics, in 1980.

Saturday’s game against Ghana, promises to be more of the same...
How fitting... that this African nation, which has had so many deep roots to our National history, should be our opponent... and stand in our way.....rayray

Ego-senatorism..

Good morning....I’m taking a breather from my excitement of the World Cup, as the United States Team prepares to play a crucial match later this morning against Algeria, in their quest to advance into the next stage of the tournament, so I could continue to comment, on the issue of our United States Senate and their doggedness, to put obstacles in the way of temporarily resolving the unemployment extensions. I just can’t let this issue go.....because I believe it’s more important than oil spills, drilling and even World Cups......and I hope the issue at hand will attach to each dissenting Senator.... like a pit bull around their ankles. Did I read right?..that now they are considering Drug Testing as part of the bill? Wow...how egotistical....now that they also believe that these 20-30 million unemployed lazy fucks are drug addicts to?
Gee..... I wonder what we would find if we drug tested the Senate and the House of Representatives? These underlying beliefs... that they are better and smarter than the rest is becoming more obvious everyday....I wrote a piece a couple of months ago...and it seems more relevant today.... than it did when I wrote it....rayray


Ego and the Solar System

Some 2,300 years ago.... a Greek philosopher/ Scholar, named Aristarchus... theorized that... the Sun was actually at the center of the Solar system.... His theory was called Heliocentrism...from the Greek... Helios... or Sun and.... kentros...center....

While this seems so obvious to us now... and is what we and our children have learned in school, as a proven fact of nature.... this truth now, was only a theory then... and it took nearly 2000 years for it to be proven mathematically and to be accepted... Copernicus, Keppler and Galileo helped provide this proof....

But...During those 2000 years...in between... it was believed and widely accepted as truth..... That the Earth was the center of the Solar system... this was known as Geocentrism... again...from the Greek..Geo...for...Earth

So.... for 2,000 years...we firmly believed that the Solar System revolved around us... on Earth. We built personal belief and religions structures which supported this... and we built systems to explain how things worked. But in my view, the largest consequence of all of this... was to foster a belief.. just how special we must be, as earthlings... to be at the center of it all.

As I look at the word, Geocentric, the GEO...pops out at me as EGO....This is very interesting to me.. I see this word... as Egocentric... ego...for self... or self center.

So... just as societies took a geocentric view....that the earth was at the center of the Solar System... by extension on a personal level.. I believe we developed an egocentric view... where we also believe that we are at the center of our own universe...

The egocentric view...sees the self as... so self important.... that the world revolves around them...that their life is somehow so much more special than anyone else’s...that others just don’t know better...and....that they are smarter than the rest... and that the world is there to serve them..

This is a serious flaw in the human character and is built on the same misinformed theory that persisted for 2,000 years that the earth was at the center of the Solar system.
Just as we adopted a world view... which was later proven to be erroneous...self-centeredness is equally erroneous...
Will it take us another 2000 years to realize that egocentrism is equally flawed?Sadly....one can dissect this same philosophy and apply it at any level you wish.....Ego-racism, Ego-statehood, Ego-country, ego-religion, ego-political party. It’s all the same......

Whenever we have a belief that places ourselves at the center of any universe....you choose.... and on any level, we are fighting nature and missing the essence of life....that we are all equal....and represent only a small piece of a very large puzzle...
I don’t say this.... to demean or minimize the awesomeness of the individual, because I do believe that we as individuals are immeasurably important...and it is our life to live... and it’s all we have...
However, when we are able to look ourselves in the mirror and see ourselves in the proper perspective within our own solar system.... we should tip our hat to Aristarchus, letting him know...that the 2000 year wait... for enlightenment was not in vain