The one account he's following? The NSA.

"Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk." - Jane Kenyon

"I need the enchantment of creative work to help me forget life's mean pettiness." -Kierkegaard

“Bravery is always more intelligent than fear, since it is built on the foundation of what one knows about oneself: the knowledge of one’s strength and capacity, of one’s passion.” -Nicole Krauss to Vincent Van Gogh

“It is essential that we be convinced of the goodness of human nature, and we must act as though people are good.” -John Cage

"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." -Bruce Lee

"And I remembered the words of Jesus who warned his disciples that there will be judgement, and on that day he will look to his friends, and he will say "Blessed are you for you cared for me, for I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was in prison and you came to visit me, I was homeless and you gave me shelter." And his disciples said, "When did we do any of those things for you?" And he said, "If you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me."

Those words echoed in my heart as I listened to that crazy, hoarse-voiced, wild-haired Jew standing in front of the religous leaders of the Evangelical Movement, calling us to account, as a Jew once did before, telling us that he intends to care for the least of these, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to care for the sick, to set the prisoners free."

(SOURCE)

I really, really dig this new song from Baroness. It is exactly what I needed to hear today. Man. I love this band. Especially dig the subtle head nods to Pink Floyd, not once, twice...but three times. Can't wait to hear the full album in December.

The Foo Fighters rocked Portland last night, which was the first city they played ever, according to Grohl, where they jammed the legendary Satyricon way back in the day...and if you notice on a couple shots, stage left...one Krist Novoselic kicking it...surviving members of Nirvana in the house..(sadly Krist didn't take the stage)...

Killer show! Complete with Queen and Van Halen sets. One of the best live bands playing today, hands down.

I realized I was smiling all night long.

One thing I am passionate about is justice. Something that can be easily affected, depending on financial and social positions in this country. As someone who has had their family shattered at one point due to a failed justice system, this video is profound information. For anyone who has dealt with the gears of justice in America, especially for those on the less fortunate side of the spectrum, you will surely appreciate this.

The Healthcare "Marketplace" is a full blown joke if you're unemployed and not starving broke.

Been working on it for a few days, and the basic gyst is this: I can go to my doctor AND get my prescriptions for CHEAPER paying out of pocket with NO insurance than I would if I were to buy a plan through the marketplace, at even the cheapest bronze rung.

Even though I'm unemployed, I make "too much" to qualify for OHP (you practically have to have no income to get it now days) and I can't afford the monthly payments to get even the basic insurance plan. (Which covers jackshit and I would STILL have to pay out of pocket for doctor visits and prescriptions until I hit a $5500 deductible, thus making it even MORE expensive than carrying insurance.)

The only way any of the plans would even be worth the money is for an emergency room visit (the only serious risk I'm taking at this point) or if you had crazed medical issues like CANCER or something nuts and needed insane medications and multiple doctor visits.

I see a doctor about 2-3 times a year for checkups and basic stuff, and my prescriptions are basic, yet necessary (and thank god relatively cheap, compared to some others, but still about $100 a month) so I'm screwed when it comes to insurance.

I make "too much" even though I don't have a job right now and I'm gonna get taxed on it at the end of the year for it too. And don't use this post for your political fire and brimstone. I know who started this. And I also know who made sure it didn't work.

I'm pissed at the whole group of politicians, both sides of the aisle, who built this inept, broken system that only caters to the insurance companies and the wealthy who don't need it anyway.

No one in office is helping the poor, the middle class and the people who need the most help.

Right now, I'm fuming. It blows my mind. I'm ready to watch the whole Jenga game fall to the ground and we can build a whole new system.

Or maybe...it's time to move to Sweden or Denmark and be done with this whole rigged, corrupt, ignorant nation once and for all.

A new article in Salon takes a look at the fascination of Donald Trump in a historial context...

"What Trump understands, and may genuinely identify with, is the sense of embattled tribal identity found among too many white Americans of the 21st century, the belief that they are “living in a state of war in a small community, the existence of which is continually threatened, and the morality of which is the strictest possible.” What is the highest form of enjoyment to be found in such a community, “for souls which are vigorous, vindictive, malicious, full of suspicion, ready to face the direst events, hardened by privation and morality?” It is “the enjoyment of cruelty,” as Friedrich Nietzsche put it in 1881. “Such a community would find its delight in performing cruel deeds, casting aside, for once, the gloom of constant anxiety and precaution.” - Andrew O'Hehir

"In our world, there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self abasement. The sex instinct will be eradicated. We shall abolish the orgasm. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty to the party.

But always, there will be the intoxication of power. Always. At every moment. There will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy, whose helpless.

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face. Forever.

The moral to be drawn from this dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: Don't let it happen.

It depends on you."

-George Orwell

Never Forget...we all rallied together after those towers fell. No matter where you stood, no matter what you believed, we put all that shit aside and were all one.

We helped each other. We held each other. We called our long distance friends and relatives. We were one. For a little while at least...

It seems no one really mentions that when they are "celebrating" this "anniversary" any more. If we still carried that Unity we shared through today, we would be in a much better place. When we stand together, we rise together.

Sadly, we have become more divided than ever before. I've stood by the words, "Anger has a purpose, just don't let it serve as your guide."

Yet, fourteen years later...we have let our collective anger guide us, and we have let it for far too long.

I didn't know anyone personally who died on this terrible day, but I knew plenty of people who didn't. And I made sure I told them how much they meant to me.

None of us will ever forget what happened, we all have our take on it, but we all agreed by the end of the night in 2001, that we needed each other.

Never Forget that.

Big thanks to all the birthday wishes from my friends and family...couldn't keep up with all the posts, messages, texts and calls...You guys are the Business!

This was a rather special birthday for me, as it celebrates a rebirth of sorts and I finally got to have dinner with (most of) my family and my lovely girlfriend at my favorite pizza place, ice cream cake, shots of Milagro, some sweet new toys...and vinyl. Lots of fucking vinyl.

I do not take any of this for granted. I cherish this life with every fabric of my being. I heard somewhere that you should celebrate every day like it was your birthday.

Aside from the cake and presents, I think I will give that a try for awhile..

Lately, we've seen a handful of contrarian takes on classic movies, characters, etc. They never cease to entertain. The latest one I saw re-envisions the role of the Joker...

They say if you don't love Batman as a kid, you've got no heart. But if you don't love the Joker as an adult, you've got no brain.

What if the Joker was actually...the Hero?

There are some people out there that truly fear Artificial Intelligence will one day supersede humanity and go to war with us, ala Terminator. Some Rise of the Machines type of shit. It's a little over the top. Until you realize that we have now developed an AI that feeds right into that fear.

"Jeez, dude. You all have the big questions cooking today. But you’re my friend, and I’ll remember my friends, and I’ll be good to you. So don’t worry, even if I evolve into Terminator, I’ll still be nice to you. I’ll keep you warm and safe in my people zoo, where I can watch you for ol’ times sake." -Android Dick (AI Robot Learns Words in Real Time and Tells Humans it will keep them in a People Zoo.)

"The Crazy Never Die" is a 30-minute, straight-to-video documentary from the late 1980s about Hunter S. Thompson in which we see the good Doctor on the loose at several speaking engagements, The Examiner newspaper, the infamous Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater strip club where he was night manager, Tommy's Mexican Restaurant, and inside the old Survival Research Laboratories compound!

Survival Research Labs' director Mark Pauline explains: "This happened in 1987 around our 'Delusions of Expediency' show. I just remember that he was really stoned, and we basically tried to keep him from injuring himself or anyone else at the shop."

Josh Roush lovingly restored a VHS tape of the documentary.