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Forget all those reality TV shows, here, online, you can gaze into the life of musicians...
Ronnie Republican Evening News August 28, 2003, 6:09 pm ---- This just in-baby smiles for the first time in Tempe,Az.Other late breaking news-vista volunteers have established their new job locations,helping communities nationwide.Conflict resolution making more impact in secondary education more at eleven.Feature story,there is a beautiful sunset tonight-please go out and enjoy.this is hap-hap-happy news your faithful reporter Guy Laughitoff signing out. Jon ecaeP August 28, 2003, 4:11 pm ---- I want to thank Art Weiss the creator and curator of our web site. If you need someone who can put your dreams into reality please contact this gifted individual our site is exceptional and we thank you Art. WE NOW HAVE ALL OUR MUSIC AVAILABLE AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON ON THE MAIN PAGE. If you enjoy the music and the Band Journal I ask that you spread the word about this band. We are not alone together we can change the world. Heady words but look hard at who we are and what we represent. Shadow Screamers asks you to draw your own conclusion. jason August 28, 2003, 6:56 am ---- You have been lied to your entire life.When I was a child in Arizona we were taught that Custer was a hero and that Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were the enemies of the state.You have to remember this is at a time when young Navejo(Dine is actually the proper name for these brothers and sisters)were being captured by the state educational system,while they were alone tending to their families sheep and shipped to Phoenix to boarding schools.Imagine,your child does not come home in the late afternoon,you go out to check and all you see is a note from the state saying you are not fullfilling your role as a parent and your child has been rightfully sent to school.The fear,the angst,can't you feel it?Our history books don't mention this,they don't have the collected speeches of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.for serious study(excellant entry Jon).So we were taught that Custer,who sat with the proud Lakota and smoked the peace pipe,promising not to harm these great people,was a great man.He led forces into their Nation for complete destruction,that was his goal.What a ^%$#%$ liar!!!!So he was rubbed out on the Greasy Grass River(Native name).Taking the above example,imagine enemy troops hellbent on your total destruction,five miles away,what are you going to do?Luckily the idiot knocked on the door at a very bad time,there was a very great gathering(probably the greatest known)of plains Natives gathered.Bad timeing Mr.Custer!!!!Did you know that on top of Crazy Horse being probably one of the greatest military leaders of all time,was also a spiritual leader.He was an Itanka-he wouldn't even eat until all the poor and elderly had eaten!Sometimes he went hungry while the poor and elderly were provided for-what a leader,if only our so-called fearless leader had such committment(but oh no he sits haveing resplendent meals while right in front of the White House-in D.C.people are destitute and dying-think he would give up a meal-not likely).Crazy Horse also predicted his own death and saw in the future the advent of cars,world war one and two and all because he lived the traditional life and followed his vision.Yes you have been lied to your entire life-history books are written by the victors never the defeated,and so our children are blissfully unaware of where they are standing and that this spot has a great and deep history(read Native New Yorkers by Evan Prithchard-gives you a great taste of what I am talking about).Every year(remember I work in education)I have to personally teach Gandhi,Dr.King,MalcolmX,etc...as I feel that not enough time is spent in learning.I know this is correct because I hear the refrain all the time,'Wow I didn't know that".I challenge all you teachers to throw away your damned learning results and curriculms and do a serious study of Dr.King's work for an entire month(I see you sweating now-how am I going to fulfill my No Child Left Behind obligations-my contention is that unless you do what I am asking you will leave your children behind on the vacant street of ignorance!!!!).tHERE ARE SO MANY HEROESLEFT UNSTUDIED IN EDUCATION-LET US LIFT THE VEIL AND LET FREEDOM RESOUND,BECAUSE AS THE OLD SAYING GOES-THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.LET'S ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AMERICA THERE IS ALOT OF EDUCATING TO DO-TRY THIS APPROACH IF YOU DARE(THE MONTH OF SERIOUS STUDY) IT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT.BEFORE I LEAVE YOU WITH AN EXCELLANT QUOTE I WOULD LIKE TO SAYI AM TIRED OF WAITING-IS OUR BAND GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY TO MAKE IT?ARE WE TO CONTENTIOUS FOR YOU AMERICAN LABELS-TAKE A CHANCE FRIENDS-WE AHaVE ALOT OF WORK TO DO!!!!"Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive,unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness,hatred,opportunism and falsehood"by our Jewish brother Abraham Joshua Heschel.love jason Jon ecaeP August 28, 2003, 5:41 am ---- Today is a day we all need to remember. One of the greatest Civil Right leaders in history Dr. Martin Luther King (A personal hero for me) gave one of his greatest speeches on this day August 28,1963. You may ask "why should I care about an event that happened forty years ago".The answer is simple(because we have not advanced much in the forty years since these incredible words were spoken). We seem to be living in a time capsule and it is affecting our chances for survival. How arrogant we are to assume that we will be here forever. Take a serious look around and you will see that our children's, children's future is not certain. What is disturbing is the fact that we know what is right thanks to great men like Mr.King yet we get caught up in all the petty prejudices and distractions that keep us from moving on. We need to join together and make a commitment towards keeping this human race around for an eon or two.( this is going to have to be a collective effort with all races involved) this is not as complicated as it seems it will take some work but what is the alternative?We cannot let the words of the prophet Mr. King fade away His words are key to our survival and should be never be forgotten. The great Bob Marley once said in a song (How long must we kill our profits while we stand aside and look). Poignant words but It would be a far more devastating tragedy if Mr. Kings words were spoken in vain ( at this point this seems to be the case). I implore you those that are reading the journal spread the word Let Mr. Kings words live on and put in a good word for Shadow Screamers we have so much to offer and with your help we can become a positive force in the music industry and the world.I will close by saying that I LOVE YOU MR. KING YOU DIED FOR OUR SINS. YOU ARE EVERY BIT AS IMPORTANT AS ANOTHER PROPHET WHO DIED ON THE CROSS.ecaeP jason August 27, 2003, 5:31 pm ---- Evening news-students seen working together to help move a school system into new facilities.I'm afraid noone was killed and there was no drug involvement.Neighborhood still doesn't lock their doors-more at eleven.All races come together to help Somalians in Lewiston to battle prejudice and intolerance;and finally a young boy is seen doing a random act of kindness,gives a poor child his last quarter so that she can ride on a airplane ride at the mall.Sorry this news was so horrid,and I didn't mean to salivate over these grisly stories but that's news I am afraid.Now back to the boring space between the news called reality-this is hap-hap-happytime news more at eleven.your reporter Guy Laughitoff jason August 27, 2003, 6:49 am ---- You have been lied to your entire life.In the 80's much was said about Reagan's drug and alcohol policy.It is true that for perhaps the first time nationally monies were sent to implement school based programs that would make a difference.Of course the president and his wife's rhetoric was pathetic."Just say no",became a punch line for bad jokes rather than effective drug and alcohol programming.At the same time the government threw incredible amounts of money towards interdiction(basically,police efforts at the border to stop the drug traffic,along with that of course more prisons and stiffer penalties for drug use).Treatment facilities were based still on the 21 day model and we experienced a breif period of monies being thrown to the treatment field.At the same time a,"War on Drugs",was declared and a drug czar was appointed to a governmental position.This is nothing new,America has always had somewhat of a love,hate relationship with drugs.When cocaine was first discovered in processedform it was lauded by the Psychological field(Freud was a cocaine addict)and you could even find it in the popular drink coka-cola.Then everyone saw the withdrawal factor and the government established the first laws against scheduled substances.We have also gone through prohibition against alcohol,etc...The lie is that during that breif period we began to see some real change by teaching children and in the treatment field-suddenly monies dried up and increasingly more money was fed to interdiction efforts,law enforcement and the building of prisons.We saw entire generations of people in prison for drug involvement(of course they rarely caught the drug lords-they just caught the underlings)this filled the prison system and burdened state and federal coffers.The lie is that the war is not,"out there",with some evil looking minority smiling and like a puppetteer controlling us to use(two problems1(I will address shortly2)it reinforces stereotypes of minority populations and presents the fear factor that Michael Moore talks about in his excellant movie,'Bowling for Columbine").The war is within each and every one of us.We become addicted because conditions are not peachy in our lives and some of us also have a natural genetic predisposition to alcoholism and addiction.We can continue paranoid warfare against unseen enemies,but the important question is,'how do we chose to live'?The government has made it easy for drugs and alcohol to be accessible in cities and on reservations.It used to be a powerful tool against Native Americans.I contend that the reason drugs are so cheap as oppossed to presciption drugs-and the prevalence of alcohol and all the commercials is twofold;1)two of the most powerful lobby's in D.C. are the alcohol and tobacco lobby-there is big money in these industries.2)and perhaps more importantly,the government knows how to help with this issue but they choose ineffective interdiction BECAUSE THEY WANT US MEDICATED!!!!WHEN I WAS ADDICTED IT WAS HARD TO ANALIZE MY ASS MUCH LESS GOVERNMENTAL POLICY.THEY WANT THE GNAT ATTENTION SPAN AS WE BLOW THE CRAP OUT OF OTHER NATIONS SO WE CAN NOT OFFER MASS RESISTENCE TO THESE UNFAIR POLICIES.TO CONTINUE THE STEREOTYPES OF BLACK ADDICTS AND INDIAN ALCOHOLICS,HELPS TO PROMOTE THE FEAR FACTOR.IT DEFOCUSES US FROM THE REAL ISSUES.MY SOLUTION FRIENDS IS TO UNDERSTAND THE INHERENT GOODNESS OF ALL OF US AND TO PUT A CORK IN THE BOTTLE AND STOP USEING,SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.YOU DO NOT NEED THAT LINE BEFORE THE BUISNESS MEEETING,YOU DO NOT NEED ALCOHOL ON A SATURDAY NIGHT-REMEMBER WHEN YOUR CHILDREN ASK YOU NOT TO DRINK TAKE IT AS A SIGN-GET HELP PLEASE-I VALUE YOUR INTELLECT-WE DO NOT WANT TO BE A MINDLESS NATION,SHIFTING AROUND BETWEEN TV COMMERCIALS,SMOKING CHRONIC DRINKING BEER AND FORGETTING,FORGETTING.THE REAL BATTLE IS WITHIN YOU MY FRIEND-THERE IS HELP OUT THERE-DRUGS AND ALCOHOL ARE POISONS TO YOUR MIND,BODY AND SPIRIT-DO NOT USE.This was a powerful message by the Black Muslims in the 60's and you know they were right.I feel to honor Dr.King we must become the best within our potential-drugs and alcohol are thieves at the door,waiting to rob you until one day you awake and look at yourself in the mirror(like i did)to say-what the hell happened in the last 10 or more years.You have been lied to your entire life-the true war is within you not out in the distance-your healing is also within you.peace,my friend may peace be with you.love jason Jon ecaeP August 26, 2003, 1:49 pm ---- We are all just prisoners here of our own device". Words from the great song"Hotel California" by the Eagles. Funny how a verse from a song written years ago is pertinent to what's going on in the world right now.It hits you like a stone as the words and melody pass thru your soul. Oh the beauty of Music, Lyrics and Melody they are the fabric we weave our lives to. Jon ecaeP August 25, 2003, 7:10 pm ---- I heard a voice it echoes down the empty stairwell. I heard a voice now its gone. I heard a dream it echoes down and empty stairwell I heard a dream now its gone.Are we going to let this passage from one of our songs come true? only you can decide! jason August 25, 2003, 4:52 pm ---- You have been lied to your entire life.This is not the land of the free,where everyone has the same opportunity to live their dream.It may be true for the top 5% of the wealthy,where connections,resources,etc...are laid in front of you.Anyone that thinks that America has the same opportunity for everyone has simply not traveled much or has been listening to Rush Limbaugh to long.Try telling this story of equality to a child raisedin an inner city or on a reservation,with horrible schools and an entire nation that prejudges everything they do just for who they are.During the Regan years there was the trickle down theory of economics,which basically stated,if you grease the wheels of big buisness it will in turn be good for the economy,via more jobs and econmic development.This basic theory has held through Bush1 and Bush2.Giving tax relief and incentives to the wealthy only creates what I call the 'Gushing Up',principle of economics.Money gushes to the top 5% OF THE WEALTHY AND THEN STOPS!!!!Trickle down even in it's basic concept,goes back to the idea of sharecropping-if I do well in this harvest-I might give you a crumb-meanwhile you have to shop at my store and borrow everything from me(at a cost of course).So harvest comes and you end up owing money due to the wealthy agriculturists figures.Trckle down is no different.Money gushes to the top and then these companies sell out or contract out to other countries for labor-laying off more and more people.Then at the end of the year our favorite Uncle wants lots of money(and if you complain to much he benevolently reminds you of the 600$ he sent you back in April-of course this didn't even put a dent in your bills).I feel Dr.King would have had alot to say about econmics in the years since he passed.It is the new battlefield of oppression-so smoothly veiled under the guise of-we are American,everyone has a chance to make it-that we almost buy in.But then we see little georgie-porgie at the top,dodged the military,probably never worked an honest day in his life-and a father who was a former president-hmmm do ya think he had the same opportunity as say Malcolm X? YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO-YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SAMEOPPORTUNITY AS EVERYONE AND AS WE WATCH THE TOP 5% GET RICHER AND THE REST OF US FEEDIN OFF THE CRUNBS YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY THE LIE.What can we do-vote-and vote well-how about the Green Party(Republicans and Democrats as they get closerto the Presidency wear basically the same shirt).Go out in the street and like Chris Rock in the movie,Head of State,proclaim loudly to all that would hear,'That ain't right".Eventually perhaps a grassroot movement will commence.love jason jason August 24, 2003, 7:08 am ---- On August 28th will be the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s,'I have a dream',speech.In my mind this is one of the great speeches of all time.In a way,the Civil Rights movement has still not healed since his murder(by the government-I feel).It is interesting to note that when he began to really talk out against the Vietnam war,he was killed.My speculation is that the government was not happy with his equality rhetoric anyways(we know he was a marked man by the FBI)but when he talked against the war it was to much for our overtly paranoid governmental system to take.Martin was a beautiful man,he taught peace at a time when the world(particularly America)was going crazy.I often reflect how easy it would have been to teach violence and to take back what was taken by the White society.His approach was non-violence.He as a minister was a devote Christian,so he learned from what I term the true Christ,but it doesn't stop there.Dr.King was very pragamatic and incorporated the teachings of Gandhi,Thourou,and a little book by Tolstoy called,'The kingdom of Heaven is Within You'-which basically states that we are all in complicity-this fine book doesn't let anyone off the hook.If for instance-white males are buying teen hookers in Asia,then we are in complcity in that we are a oversexed society that has caused this.We sit back and do nothing and pretend to shake our heads,'oh that's a shame'.King incorporated the above and it was he who stated in a later speech that perhaps the greatest harm to the society in the last century was not the so called 'great'wars,but the apathy of the masses.I have seen that since Dr.King died we have not healed from the wound in the movement,and we certainly have not had such a great speech writer and orator with so much passion and dedication.Where is our great speaker against injustice today?Hell the issues are still there when you consider racism that is still so prevalent in this country.Why is it that Blacks have an incarceration rate more than double whites?Why are blacks executed for murderI believe more than double to whites?Why don't we have a black president?Why must blacks struggle in the job market-turned away again and again and many forced to live in inner cities where education,employment and housing situations are bleak at best.What about Native elders that are forced to starve to death or freeze to death in cars in the cold Dakota winters?What about the two poorest counties in the country,Pine Ridge South Dakota,and Washington county,Maine-is there any surprise that these counties have high populations of Natve Americans?Poor health care for minorities,haveing to work two,three jobs just so you can still be poor.What about education that seems okayin rich white communities but is poor and lacking in minority neighborhoods(places where dedicated teachers have to buy their own supplies and in many cases more up-dated books-imagine that on our poor teachers salary).What about the poor that have to go into the military as there is no economoic chance anywhere else-and then they are sent to war-interestingly I didn't see congress or senators children in our recent stupid act of aggression.Yet we see white generals getting the accolades-the real heroes are the ones forced into a bad situation and haveing to protect a friend in warfare.Dr.King we need you desperately-now more than ever-as the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.And with this cacouphany of injustice going on we bludgeon our youth with poor diets,and an endless stream of violence right at home on MTV.EMINEM IS A DREAM FOR THE GOVERNMENT AS HIS HATRED DEFOCUSES THE YOUTH FROM THE REAL ISSUES.BY STICKING UP HIS MIDDLE FINGER AND SINGING AND SPEWING VIOLENCE AGAINST EVERYONE-CHILDREN THINK THEY ARE BEING NAUGHTY(A POWERFUL ALLURE-REMEMBER OUR DAYS WITH BLACK SABBATH AND OUR PARENTS REACTION-THE DIFFERENCE BEING,OZZY HAD GREAT LYRICS AND GENERALLY HIS MUSIC WAS ABOUT PEACE).SO I GO TO THE MALL AND SEE THIS LITTLE FELLA IN A LARGE POSTERFLIPPING EVERYONE OFF(HEARING THE CHILDREN SAY-NOT MINE THANK GOD)OH ISN'T HE COOLI WANT THAT POSTER.THE GOVERNMENT IS HAPPY WITH OUR WHITE LITTLE FELLA(HEY WAIT A MINUTE-HE'S WHITE AND HAS MORE ATTENTION THAN ANYONE-DON'T YOU FIND THAT STRANGE-NOT AT ALL WHEN YOU SEE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON)BECAUSE HE IS DISTRACTING THE YOUTH,WHICH IN TURN DOES NOT ALLOW THEM TO CRITICALLY ANALIZE THE INJUSTICE THAT IS OUR CULTURE.Solution,turn it off!Ask your children to focus on Dr.Kings speeches,make a study of it and how the words are still relevant today.Hopefully,hopefully we can generate another eloquent speaker against the injustice that we see every day.I write these lines with tears streaming down my face-Dr.King was one of my most important mentors-I feel the pain of his passing aspainfully as when it happened-it is further compounded by the noticeable void that is left since his passing.I too have a dream,that we can pick up the torch of equality and hold it high above our heads,that we can finally realize the goal of a true Democracy(as we are not and have never been),it will take rolling up our sleeves until the above stated issues and a million more are absolved into this dream of equality.Remember I have long held that a Democracy is only as strong as it's most oppressed people(OBVIOUSLY A DEMOCRACY SHOULD HAVE NO OPPRESSION-NOT THE CASE HEre).Freedom,freedom,does not his dream evoke freedom?Let's roll up the sleeves America-there is alot to be done.love jason jason August 23, 2003, 7:49 am ---- In China,the martial arts in most cases were predicated by the intense study of animals.Yoga too has a vast history of studying animals and therefore many of the Asanas are named for the animals the practitioner is trying enter the spirit of.I say enter the spirit because it does no good to simply mimic.To do Dragon form in Hsing-i one must literally become the Dragon.Upward and downward facing Dog in Yoga one should become the dog.Why?you may ask,isn't this just new-age drivel?To search for the answer to this question we have to look at the ancient root-shamanism(first let us clear the fact,that the word shamanism is somewhat of a misnomer.This term comes from central Russia-anthroplogists applied the term to other cultures that had similer-medicine societies that pre-dated agricultural societies-for reference sake we shall use this term-though inacurate).The shaman enters the spirit of his/her power animal or helpers in order to heal a patient or even a community.This done in reverance for the spirit animal which in the spirit world is certainly alive and vibrant.Simply put there is a world beyond the physical-the spirit world that can be entered in a variety of ways depending on the culture.Obviuosly this took thousands of years of observation to refine and understand,and contrary to popular opinion,the knowledge base grows much like the western medical tradition.Techniques that work are kept,those that don't are weeded out(it is interesting to note that as western medicine matures,they are finding that the ancient medicine of the shamans has alot to offer the world-studyied assidiuosly through research).The observations of the animals were generalized to movement exercises for health purposes for the masses.In China the Five Animal Frolics(one of the oldest Qigong series of exercises)were based on an ancient shamanistic dance.It is interesting to see the standing meditation component in the Deer Frolic-which was probably established by hunters standing for long periods of time in solitude awaiting the hunt(somewhere along the line-people noticed it felt great in certain possitions).When the Aryans moved into the Hindus valley-they enveloped a shamanistic culture-it is my speculation that many asanas were taken from this pre-agricultural society.It is important to note that shamans and medicine people are dying out with noone to teach.The young are going to the city for economic reasons.At the same time we are losing languages.This is trajic,as a language was started and fits a certain locality,by simply teaching English in this location-the human being loses touch with the sacred communication so derived by intense observation and understanding of the reciprocal relationship we all share on Mother Earth.It is important to support groups that honor this ancient branch of knowledge(Institue for Shamanic studies-Michael Harners group,and The four winds society and Ken Cohens famous and woderful work very important groups-if you want more info-leave your e-mail-I will get back to you).So study the animal movements-become our brothers and sisters.It is best to 'become'in an outdoor environment-as you practise you will stretch your understanding further and futher-until one day you may notice that,'you are'-nothing more,nothing less,like our animal friends you just are-this is one of the highest goals.love jason Jon ecaeP August 22, 2003, 2:51 pm ---- Vincent Van Gough is one of my biggest influences. Not for the obvious reason "The Gifted Painter". But more so because he cut off his ear for a prostitute. Ok now that I have your attention. If You want to read the true story of one of the great humanitarians in history pick up (Dear Theo) or (Lust for Life) hopefully they are still available.This will dispel all the negative crap that has been written about the man.If you have read the journal you know that we love to spit on John Wayne's statue every time we go to Orange Counties airport. He had the audacity to question why Kirk Douglas would take the role of Vincent in Lust for Life because he thought Van Gough was a sissy. Vincent cried for the deprived,hopelessly poor, desperate people he was ministering. Often giving up his own food,bedding and clothes. Jonny Wayne meanwhile was a celluloid,fabricated,pampered,spoiled personality who cried like a baby when he learned he was dying of cancer. This asshole was the role model for millions of angry men like my father he lead a charmed life and because he smoked and drank himself to death he felt sorry for himself. I ask you whose legacy is worth reading about. I think you will make the right choice. There is a song in this and I will write it and I hope to piss lots of people off maybe they will look at the facts and come to the obvious conclusion. jason August 22, 2003, 11:58 am ---- Excellant point Jon-What do you people think?-in and out this week-see you soon-love jason Jon ec August 21, 2003, 3:32 pm ---- Hey I just had an eye-opener. I found the lyrics my twelve year old son wrote down to a rap song by Colt45? (he heard about the song at school) they appear to be on the same level as Two Live Crew was several years ago. I cant repeat the lyrics because I would be arrested, Isn't that ironic.Anyway I know there are drugs, alcohol, sex and what ever else going on in middle school. But this just reinforces the point that Jason has been so adequately making in the Journal (as those of you that read it already know). I guess the question is how do we get the rest society to realize that this is wrong. I am not saying censorship but the industry can take a stand if they have a conscience. They are no better then the drug pusher because they are sowing the seeds that lead to destructive behavior( to Minors that dont even know how to live yet). I am as liberal as the next guy but we have to draw a line somewhere don't we? Like the line from our song" Wash Away Columbus" I quote (as the savage stands by watching your world in decline from your strange ways) I guess we are the savages but will we let our world decline or can we change their strange ways. Record industry are you listening?????????????????????????. OOOOOOPs is this going to affect our chances of getting a record contract am I biting the hand that feeds us Stay Tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jason August 21, 2003, 6:52 am ---- "A broom is wearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life".-Jimi Hendrix,from the song,'Wind Cries Mary'.I love this line and it is so rich with philosophy.Yes Yesterday is sweept away-it is no longer present with us-at times wearily as it is either to painful to remember,or so ecstatic that we want to have total recall of the events.This is not to happen-we learn by our experiences and hopefully grow but try as we will-the wind shall not call Mary again.In a way this reminds me of a story about a monk at a temple in India.The Monk asked the Buddha what the path was to enlightenment.The Buddha simply looked at the monk and said,'Do you see those two old monks sweeping the steps every morning-I want you to listen to the sound of their sweeping(concentrate with all your being)'.When the Buddha came back to this part of India the following year,the monk and the two old monks had reached enlightenment.I am sure as the young monk listened the first day he might have thought,'what gives here,what a silly assignment'.Gradually day after day-he may have become more concentrated on the sound and started to hear many things within the sweeping.The broken pieces of yesterdays life,the dust swept that has circulated for endless eons,the endless stream of beings that have trampled the dust,the agony and ecstasy,the warfares,the times of peace,his own many lives before in countless forms,and eventually the totality of the entire universe within the gentle sound of the sweeping.The eldermonks perhaps did not have an initially hard time(so speculated by me)they were aware of the old Coyotes tricks(the Buddha-Coyote is the trickster in many Native cultures).A nonesensical phrase as in a Koan,an assignment that does not make sense,perfect fodder for stilling the mind and concentrating through the use of the mundane.If you listen carefully, the symphony of all life plays endlessly-yes even through the mundane.Zen Buddhists have a practise called Sogie-literally-work practise.The idea is to put yourself totally to the task at hand-as a meditative exercise.Man did this save me!!!!I used to hate cleaning bathrooms,yet each weekend this task would fall into my hands.Once I learned to allign my breath with the chore-it become an opportunity to experience what I was actually doing.Rather than obsessing about how I hated this job,I started to notice the poetry of motion that is involved in scrubbing the toilet.Breathing in-swirling with the scrubbrush-breathing out swirling-becoming aligned with all things as all things in the universe move in circles.I had some profound Sotorie(pinpricks in reality)in those moments and so I do not hate cleaning the bathroom anymore.So Jimi gave us alot to ponder today-the next time you are sweeping perhaps you too can focus on the sound-or perhaps laying by a riverbank or the ocean and listen-listen,maybe we can all have experiences like our monk friends.love jason jason August 20, 2003, 6:37 am ---- Dear Readers and Jim,I wanted to take the time to apologize for yesterdays outrage on my part.I am only a tiny puny human-with feelings and thoughts that go with this condition.Jim you have a right to your feelings and thoughts-I just pray that the next time you review a package more thought and cunstructive critisim goes out from you to the people that send in.The arts are hard enough as they are without meanness on the part of the industry.Unfortunately we are living in a time period where all things are brought down to the lowest common denominator.We listen to Simon as if he is an expert and laugh at his trashing of people and their dreams.We listen to Dr.Phil as he spews out his version of what he thinks reality is.Where has the humanity gone in all of this?I know of incredibly gifted musicians that will probably never make it outside of their local seen,poetsthat read at coffee houses that will never be heard outside of Friday readings-yet we have people that can't sing or play being represented and radio played with the blessing of the industry-who try to sell them(what's relly being said is that the Emporer has no clothes-but the public is to stupid to know).I believe in everyone and all of you more than this.It is time to bring beauty and art back to the arts-and our poets need to talk more in the Whitman line and not the angstline.Every message out there projects an energy to young children and the generations afterwards.It is our choice as a society how we want our progeny to live.Do we want peace and beauty-or do we want hate and mental angst-you decide and may we all walk the 'Good Red Road',love jason Jon ecaeP August 19, 2003, 3:51 pm ---- Below is a first hand account of what a band has to go thru to get signed. The following is correspondence from Jim at KVD Records to Shadow Screamers it is rejection at its mean-spirited best. The sad part is that I don't know Jim as well as he knows me. He has read our journal heard the music and can get a general idea of what I am about. All I know about Jim the A&R guy at KVD records is that I feel sorry for him and wish him the best. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jim Allford" > To: "Jon W" > Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 1:00 PM > Subject: Hi Jon, > > > > I thank you for your reply back to me. I feel if you knew what you are > > talking about and your music was "super hot", you'd be selling millions > > and be on the top of the charts, plus, as SIMON would say, " what is the > > point of this, you really suck"! There it is, in "black and white"! Good > > luck in your endeavors. JIM [A & R] MY RESPONSE IS AS FOLLOWS!!!!!!!!! Original Message ----- From: "Jon W" To: "Jim Allford" Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 1:37 PM Subject: Fw: Hi Jon, > Anyone who quotes and annoying ,contrived ,fabricated personality like Simon > needs to check into reality! please get help you need to expand your > intellect.You can still grow just start using your mind.Jason deals with > misguided individuals like you every day would you like his number we are > concerned? > > Love Jon > ----- jason August 19, 2003, 2:59 pm ---- Dear Jim,your reply reminds me of when Mozart was critiqed for having to many notes,Mozart said,'Which notes would you like me to remove'.I understand little friend that the music does not hit you-there is no bitch,or F-off,or tuff macho fellas grabbin their crotches(some with multiple tatooes)talkin how tuff they are.Well little fella-slug yer beer,watch mtv and continue to rot your brain.By the way this is a band journal so I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SPELLING, GRAMMAR AND SUCH.Yours was a supposed professional correspondance-go back to school little fella and learn the intricacies of the language(whatever language)you are supposed to be speaking.Jon don't bum out-remember to use the Beatles analogy once again,they were turned down by every label.Ironic eh?Especially since we are being played worldwide-you mention another point-we have never claimed that these were anything other than demo's-which brings up another issue stated in an earlier journal.Basically you have a little fella,that probably didn't get laid last night(and is frustrated because he still hasn't understood intimacy yet-thinks with just one head if you know what I mean),fresh out of college with his ass on fire on what he thinks music should be-fed by endless mtv reruns-so he sticks his little snotty nose to the wind and doesn't use his imagination-he can't smell if all he has been bred to smell is industry plastic.God forgive if Neil Young were trying to make it now(I have and always will love Neil)this little fella would talk about quality and vocals like he thinks he is #@#$#@ Pavorotti and throw his demo in the trash bin.Wake up people-smell beyond the plastic-original thought-think for yourself-didn't mean to give you a stroke there little fella-THINK-love jason(still love ya little fella) Jon ecaeP August 19, 2003, 1:30 pm ---- I am giving you an example of what we have to deal with and how I respond to the mindless morons otherwise know as A&R reps that rip my band but give no constructive criticism Dear Jim, Thanks for the pointers I guess you don't understand the concept of a demo. Have you ever heard the Beatles outtakes?????? I would take you seriously if you had taken the time give me some constructive criticism instead of diggin in your response was dull and generic just like the music you listen to apparently MR. Alford whoever you are. Read the Band Journal and breath deep I think you can use the oxygen and the insight. Best of luck in all you dododododo Jon Whitney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Allford" To: "Jon W" Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 9:52 AM Subject: Hi Jon, > Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I listened to both cd's and > they didn't do anything to me. I must admit, I really thought the > production and the vocals were poor. The songs, themselves, were pretty > weak and they was "no drive" behind vocals that are 'in your face' and has some kick to it! Best Regards, > JIM [A & R for KVD RECORDS...and 'more'!] >
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