Category: Thought and Opinion

Life, Thought and Opinion

A Royal Dilemma

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a bad week and are now in damage control. Photos of a topless Kate Middleton have been appearing in various magazines and newspapers all over the world.

The royal couple’s lawyers are scheduled to appear in court in Paris to cut off any further publication of the photos and are even planning to sue those responsible for damages.

Although this is clearly an invasion of privacy, it still makes me wonder why it happened in the first place.

Does anyone else remember how aggressive the paparazzi was/is with the royal family? How Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson’s unflattering photos appeared a billion times in magazines and newspapers over the years with claims ranging from drug abuse to infidelity?

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the relationship between the royals and the press is similar to that of a wounded gazelle and a pack of starving hyenas. These mongrels will do anything, ANYTHING to get a photograph of a king, a prince, or a duchess engaged in “common” activities. You know, horrible things, like swimming. The promise of fame and fortune for just one compromising pic is more than enough incentive for them to find the future King and Queen in their moment of “weakness”.

Unfortunately though, sometimes during the quest to obtain the golden ring, bad things happen. As evidenced by the crash that killed Princess Diana fifteen years ago. For me, it’s especially troubling because this whole three-ring circus event surrounding the photos only reminds me of that fateful day. How high speed car chases and lives lost do not matter: only that one elusive photograph does.

This is not to say that I believe the press is totally at fault here. On the contrary, the Duke and Duchess should both have known better. How could they not have known that the paparazzi would be spying on them while they vacationed? Especially for Prince William, who no doubt knows how malicious the press can be by witnessing first hand what they did to his mother for years.

And you mean to say that as Kate reached around to remove her top and expose her breasts, she never once had the slightest thought that she may be being photographed?

Which leads one to wonder if the Duke and Duchess already knew that they may be photographed and decided to throw chum into shark infested waters anyway. I mean let’s be honest: It’s nice to have a royal family to talk about, but it sure gets old when all there is to discuss for the most part are royal births, marriages and deaths.

Sometimes, something as simple as showing a boob can generate enough press to keep things fresh and relevant in between those life events.

Life, Thought and Opinion

A Day I’ll Never Forget

“Dude, did you see on CNN? – A plane just flew into the World Trade Center…..Weird”

That’s the first thing I’ll always remember when I think back to September 11, 2001.  I was sitting at my computer in a Microsoft Windows 2000 course when I noticed the email from my buddy that come across my screen.

“That’s strange”, I thought as I entered “www.cnn.com” into the web browser and pressed enter. I had to see what he was talking about. But nothing happened. It was as if the Internet was down. I received a timed-out message. Could it be that everyone was checking out the news story at the exact same time as me?

The instructor was oblivious to the events that were occurring and kept on with his instruction. Meanwhile, cell phones started to ring in the classroom. Another plane hit the other tower. A plane just crashed into the Pentagon. Something was wrong.

We began hearing rumors of a plane being shot down in Pennsylvania. Another airliner headed to Chicago and the Sears Tower. Yet another one claimed there were planes headed to Los Angeles too. What the hell was going on?

We tried to listen to the teacher talk about this new Windows operating system but eventually it was pointless. It was obvious our hearts were 90 minutes away in downtown Manhattan as hell was breaking loose.

Then… the Towers started to fall.

I remember my daughter was not even a month old at the time, and the priest from church was planning to pay a visit to our home that Friday to welcome her into the world. Obviously, that would never happen.

It’s sometimes hard to believe that it’s been eleven years. And I still have an empty feeling inside when I think about all the lives were needlessly lost.

I suppose it’s the same way my grandparents felt on December 7, 1941 and November 22, 1963. You think the world is ending but in reality, maybe it’s something bigger reminding us all just how short and precious life really is.

Never forget.

Thought and Opinion

James Wood For Congress

You non-political junkies may be bored to tears with this latest post, but I encourage you to read it anyway. The future of our country is literally at stake.

It’s the time again. Time for the greatest nation in the world to go to the ballot box and elect a president and members of Congress. Ones that will represent us for the next two, four or six years. Partisan zombies who willingly do whatever the “R” or “D” say have already set up shop with their lobbiest friends and have begun the process of barraging us with radio and television advertisements in an effort to sway our vote.

Their mission? A promise of hard work to make America better?… Nope.  An honest look will tell you that their only goal is to hold on to their cushy jobs for another few years and then repeat the cycle all over again.

For the next few months, not a single thing will get done in Congress (by either party) out of fear of reprisal by the electorate. Everyone is out “Rah-Rah’ing” for Obama and Romney but no one seems to understand or care that NOTHING is getting done.

Liberals and Democrats refuse to budge on such things as cutting entitlements and Conservatives and Republicans refuse to budge on having the millionaires pay more. Meanwhile, the stock market has been rising and falling for months, the housing market is a complete wreck, gas prices are once again through the roof and unemployment is still hovering around 8% which, ironically is the same approval rating for Congress. When will these people understand that being an elected official who represents the people of the United States is a privilege and not a life time career?

Therefore, I am announcing my candidacy as an Independent for US Congress.

Unfortunately, I can’t promise you a chicken in every pot but here are the four oaths I will work tirelessly to do if elected:

First and for most: Every day on the floor of the House I will make a motion to pass a Constitutional amendment to impose term-limits on ALL members of Congress. This is my only reason for seeking this office.

I, like many of you, am disgusted with what’s happening in Washington. Our elected officials are not doing the will of the people and quite frankly, they really have no need to.  An incumbents re-election chances are around 75-80%. Pretty good odds considering that they really don’t do much. What you have to understand is that for a typical member of Congress, the first day of a new session is actually the first day their re-election campaign begins.

Second, I will NOT seek re-election. My term in Congress will only be two-years. I promise to do everything in my power every single day to make the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution be to allow for members of Congress and the United States Senate to be re-elected to office only one time.

Examples to make my point:

Strom Thurmond (R): 47 years as Senator
Robert Byrd (D):  52 years as Senator
Charles Rangel (D): 40 years as Congressman
Bill Young (R): 40 years as Congressman

This member for life bullshit has got to stop. Our country depends on it. Back when pitchforks and torches were all the rage and our country was built on the backs of hard-working men and women we needed someone to do the will of the people for as long as possible. That is no longer the case.

Thirdly, for all other votes (you know, important ones like renaming french fries “Freedom Fries”) I will meet with individuals throughout my district every weekend detailing the upcoming weeks agenda and will vote strictly as my district suggests regardless of my personal convictions. I represent THEM. They do not represent ME.

Finally, I will not accept donations or gifts and will only meet with citizens of my district. This will remove any chance of lobbiest influence.

I promise to earn every single penny of the $348,000 I will make over those two years (you did know that’s how much each member of Congress makes didn’t you? Makes you feel so much better about the jobs they’re doing now doesn’t it?).

I do not care if I am a member of any sub-committee or if I am alienated by the current democrat and republican members. I do not want anything more than what I am proposing here

Lets begin the dialogue. For the good of our country. I am ready…. are YOU?

I’m James Wood and I approve this message…

Thought and Opinion

The Dream of Mark Abrahamian (1966-2012)
Mark Abrahamian (1966-2012)

I’ve never met him, but somehow I know him.

Mark Abrahamian, the guitarist for the band Starship, passed away over the weekend, following a concert in Nebraska.  He was doing the thing he loved to do most: playing music for people.

I never had the pleasure of hearing Mark shred on his Les Paul, but found many similarities about myself while reading his biography on his website:

Born February 23, 1966, Mark Abrahamian was taught to play guitar at the age of 10 after being prompted by his mother to “pick something to do this summer”. Mark chose the guitar and was encouraged by her to practice for 15 minutes each day. However, inspired by Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, Mark was soon practicing on his own within a few months.

The turning point in Mark’s life came in the Seventh Grade when he heard Edward Van Halen’s song entitled Eruption from the album Van Halen..

“I went home and didn’t leave my room until the Ninth Grade.”

For the next few years Mark practiced for hours on end taking the guitar very seriously. He even modified his Dads record player by filing down the gear that drove the turn table so it would play at half speed, so he could take the riffs off the record. It wasn’t long before he was playing for his friends at parties as well as local bands.

When he was seventeen, Mark applied and went to GIT (The Musicians Institute). Being the youngest in his class, “I lived , breathed, ate and slept music.” It was during this period that he discovered such players as John Mclaughlin, Al De Meola, Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Discovering different types of music was a big part of his development as a guitar player. Jazz, Funk, Blues and classical all intrigued and inspired him.

Like Mark, I too became inspired to pick up a guitar when I saw Ace Frehley is his KISS make-up. And Van Halen’s “Eruption” became the Holy Grail for me to someday learn how to play. Although I never went to GIT, there was a period of time where I too “lived, breathed, ate and slept music”.

The thing that inspires me the most about Mark’s story is that he made his dream come true. Mark shared the stage with many of the great artists and bands who’s music defined a generation: Starship, Survivor, Loverboy, Toto, AC/DC, Night Ranger and many others. He will surely be missed.

95% of guitarists are lucky to be gigging regularly (most never leave the garage). Fewer still get the opportunity to be the opening act for one of their favorite bands. And then there are those rare exceptions when players get to actually perform with their heroes and become part of the dream. That was Mark Abrahamian.

Mark made it to the “big leagues” as I like to call them. Imagine, growing up listening to your favorite bands and one day being in that band yourself. How cool it must be to walk on stage and see that band’s name on the drum head and know you are a part of it; part of the music you always loved. Mark was constantly reminded every day that he “made it”.

If I can take anything away from Mark’s untimely passing it’s this: Whether you’re performing in the garage or on the big stage always remember to live, love and laugh.

Dreams do come true.

RIP Mark.

1980's, Music, Thought and Opinion

My Metal Method Story

It was sometime in the summer of 1985. I was a young, skinny, pimply faced teenager who had just started taking guitar lessons at the local music store. My Mom had rented me a Gibson Explorer with the only stipulation being, I take weekly lessons. Now a junior metal-head and armed with a black guitar, there was no stopping me.

I’ll admit, those first few months of learning how to play were rough. I had to endure my siblings berating me for playing “the same thing over and over” and to this day still have nightmares about muddling my way through a Mel Bay lesson book and painfully maneuvering my left hand in a futile attempt to form a “G” chord properly.

Fortunately though, my teacher always saved the best part of every lesson for last. Towards the end of each session, he would take a recording of any song I brought in from home and we (or should I say, “HE”) would figure out the chords to it for me. He was one of those little weasels who could figure out any song and lead on the guitar just by listening to it on the stereo. So songs by Bon Jovi, The Scorpions, AC/DC and Quiet Riot were all quickly added to my repertoire. My arsenal of music was slowly beginning to grow, and I was on my way to becoming the metal head I wanted to be.

But still, it felt like something was missing.

One day, I was at my local music store performing my ritual of staring at the expensive Gibson Les Paul guitars hanging on the wall when I happened to pick up my very first  guitar magazine. As a new player (and well before the advent of the Internet), those magazines were like the Bible. As I perused through the pages of gospel, I suddenly stopped when the face pictured in this post caught my eye. It was a picture of Doug Marks and an advertisement for his Metal Method guitar lessons.

These were lessons that were geared towards teaching how to play “METAL”, which was right up my alley. So, over the next few years I supplemented my weekly guitar lessons by purchasing all eight of the initial lessons and immersing myself in playing chords and leads geared towards the style of music I wanted to play. It was wonderful.

The thing I loved the most about Metal Method was the fact that there was always something you could use to make you better. And it wasn’t something that you had to rush to figure out; you could take your time with it. I’ll never forget the first time I learned how to play the two-handed tapping method that Eddie Van Halen made famous. If you listen to Eddie do it, you say to yourself: “This is impossible”. But the fact is, as long as you have the desire to play it, you can do it.

I’ve come a long way since the day I first picked up that tattered magazine. Today, I actually own one of the Les Pauls I spent years gawking at on the rack. And Metal Method is still going strong; continuing to make countless guitarists better players.

Even I, someone who now plays “G” chords with ease, recently checked out some of the updated lessons and still benefited from them. But I suppose that’s the real power and joy you get out of being a musician, no matter how long you’ve been playing.

You truly never stop learning.

You can read my Guitar World interview with Doug Marks from Metal Method Here.

Childhood Memories, Thought and Opinion

To The Moon: The Passing of Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)

I still remember some of the oddball things I used to think about while growing up; one of them being the day I was born. I always liked to brag about which celebrities shared the same birthday as me (October 5th).

Among the lucky ones were Larry Fine (The Three Stooges), Michael Andretti (the Indy Car driver) and Brian Johnson (lead vocalist for the band AC/DC). It was as if somehow, me coming into this world on the same day as these icons put me on an different level of cool.

But, the bragging rights I had for my actual birthday couldn’t compare to what I could shout from the rooftops about the year I was born. It was 1969 and I was roughly seventy-five days away from entering this world when Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the lunar surface and said:

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

I’ll never forget the day I discovered that the first man to ever walk on the moon did so in the same year as my birth. For not only was it cool to be born in the same year as that monumental event, but it also made the date easy to remember on high school exams. If I ever needed to know in a pinch just how many years ago it took place, all I had to do was think about how old I was.

Neil Armstrong was a test pilot, an aerospace engineer, a university professor and a United States Naval Aviator. Those achievements alone are enough to inspire everyone, both and old, to reach for their dreams. But there will always be that one thing that Mr. Armstrong did during his lifetime that was the ultimate in cool.

Neil Armstrong was the first person to do something that no one else has ever done in the history of planet Earth. The same moon that Jesus and his Disciples taught under, the celestial body that Shakespeare wrote Sonnets to, the glowing orb that generations of lovers still hold hands and kiss beneath… Neil Armstrong was the first person there.

Now, think about it being near the end of your life and while you’re lying on your death-bed someone comes up and asks you what it was you did with it. What if you could look them in the eye and say, “I walked on the moon!”.

Godspeed Mr. Armstrong.

Childhood Memories, Life, Thought and Opinion

The Impact Of Jerry Nelson
Jerry Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012)

I remember when Jim Henson died back in 1990 it didn’t really affect me. I was, after all  twenty years old and having just recently left the confines of public school; eagerly looking forward to getting my “You can now purchase alcohol legally” card.

I was roughly nine years removed from the days of regularly watching Kermit the Frog and Ernie (who was always my favorite Muppet). So, although still tragic, I saw Henson’s untimely passing as something much too childish to think about.

Fast forward 22 years.

Jerry Nelson, another famous Muppeteer, passed away on August 23rd at the age of 78. Although having lived nearly three decades longer than Henson, his death has affected me more. I look at the list of characters he has portrayed over the course of his career; many of whom were a regular part of my life growing up in the 1970’s. Among them:

The Count and Jerry Nelson

The Count: my second favorite Sesame Street character, next to Ernie of course. I loved him.
Herry Monster: The one monster that ALWAYS scared me. Must have been that he always looked angry and had that big nose.
Sherlock Hemlock: The greatest detective.
The Amazing Mumford: Ala peanut butter sandwiches.
Mr Johnson: The  bald, blue-headed Muppet who always ate at the restaurant Grover worked at.
Floyd Pepper: the bass player for the band Electric Mayhem on The Muppet Show.

But perhaps the most sentimental Jerry Nelson character for me was Emmet Otter from the Jug Band Christmas story that played every December on HBO. A story that I will always remember sitting next to my grandmother and watching every year.

Funny, I can still hear her yelling to me from downstairs, and it always sounded like the house was on fire by the tone in her voice:

Emmet Otter and Jerry Nelson

JIMMY!!! HURRY UP AND GET DOWN HERE – EMMET OTTER IS ON!!

Perhaps it’s because I’m now a middle-aged man that I’m starting to become acutely aware of the fact that every day more and more parts of my childhood die. And even though I’ve never met Jerry, it’s hard not to look back at his passing without a sense of sadness. For in many ways, much like The Count and The Amazing Mumford, he was a part of my family.

My grandmother has been gone for 16 years now. Whenever I think about her, the first thing I think about are those cold days in December when Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas came on. And now, I’ll think about Jerry Nelson too.

Godspeed Mr. Nelson. Your work will not soon be forgotten; at least not by this 42-year-old kid.

Thought and Opinion

A Starbucks Dilemma

I’ve decided to venti a little bit about what’s going on at my local Starbucks. It’s starting to drive me crazy and I’m beginning to think that there’s some sort of grande conspiracy to make it that way. I swear, only in americano can a company get away with such silliness.

Consider this: I go into my local Starbucks every morning around 5:30 am. I am one of the first customers of the day so when I go in, there is usually no one else around and I’m able to go right to the register and order my usual.

After handing the Barista my Starbucks Gold Card (still not sure why I have to call the person who pours me plain old Gold Coast coffee a “Barista”), I spend the next fifteen seconds or so watching them pushing buttons in a futile attempt to log onto their cash register.

I swear, there is more security to get into a Starbucks cash register than there is to crack the code at the Federal Reserve Bank. Every time you place an order, they have to enter a 22 digit combination just to get the damn thing to open. I think part of the new employee orientation must include having to memorize the line: “Sorry, it’s a little slow this morning”. Ya think?

Then there’s the little issue with the vanilla powder. For those not familiar with it, vanilla powder is one of the many items you can use to decorate your coffee with (nutmeg, cinnamon and chocolate are also additives you can use). I prefer to use the vanilla because, (using coffee vernacular) it makes it taste smoother. The problem is, 99% of the time I go to reach for it, the container is EMPTY.

Now, wouldn’t you think that since this product is being used so often, it just MIGHT be popular and they’d have a latte of it?

Don’t get me wrong though, my addiction to a good cup of Joe espresso-ly forbids me from going a day without,  so I’ll suffer through.

Besides, there’s no way I’m going to settle for the coffee at work.

Politics, Thought and Opinion

An Election Exercise

It’s almost that time again folks. Next week, the GOP establishment will invade Tampa, Florida for a week-long extravaganza of tea drinking and liberal bashing. Then a week later, the Democrats will have their own love-fest in North Carolina where they will bash the conservative agenda.

Big Whoop-Dee-Do! Every four years we hear the same rhetoric by the same people.

We’ve also heard stupid gaffes made by members of both parties. From the Joe Biden (D) “Put you back in chains” comment to the doozy that Senate candidate Todd Akin (R) made about “legitimate rape”. And THESE are the people we have to choose from in order to determine who is best suited to run our country?

Folks, we are in serious trouble.

No, I’m not telling you who to vote for. That’s completely up to you. What I am asking though is for you to do your homework and to PLEASE, PLEASE not follow blindly along based on a party affiliation. I know for many of you, that’s probably hard to do. You listen all day long to whatever is spouted by your favorite political commentators. It gets ingrained in your head and then you go into that voting booth and blindly press the “D” or “R” lever.

But here’s a thought: how about instead of just exercising your right to vote this year, you do some research first? First, find the list of candidates that will be on the ballot in your area and then actually find out what they stand for. For one week turn off Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ed Schultz and Media Matters and compile a list of the issues that matter most to you and then find out where each of the candidates stands on the issue. You have two months; I know you can do it.

In the end, you probably will wind up just voting along party lines, but at the very least this exercise will leave no doubt that you voted for the right candidate and not just who Glenn Beck or Rachel Maddow told you to.

And here’s something else to think about. Want to know just how badly these guys want your vote? By the time November 6th rolls around, these two parties will have spent close to ONE BILLION dollars (most of it in TV and radio advertisements) just to elect a president that half of the country is going to HATE. Think about that for a minute. Then think about what else one billion dollars can actually do.

It’s YOUR vote, not theirs. Make it count.

1980's, Music, Thought and Opinion

My How Times Have Changed: Music

I’m getting on my soapbox.

You kids today don’t know how good you have it. Why, back when I was growing up thirty years ago….

Music was so much different. We didn’t have all these new fangled contraptions like eye-phones and you-tubes. We got our new music in one of two ways: radio or attending live concerts.

I remember we used to have to walk miles and miles (sometimes in a foot of snow in our bare feet) to the local record store to pick up a copy of our favorite artists’ new album. Then we’d spend the next few days wearing out the vinyl while absorbing the sonic nirvana.

Sharing music with our friends in those days was usually done via word of mouth. There was none of this copying files onto a CD or emailing an mp3. We’d much rather say: “Hey, so-and-so’s new album is awesome. You need to go buy it”.  And if your friend trusted your musical judgement chances are they DID go buy it!

It was an extremely rare event for someone to lend someone else their new album. Our music was sacred. If you want to hear my new music and you didn’t get your allowance yet, then come over to my house, sit in my bedroom with me and listen.

The alternative to our version of “file-sharing” was taking a portable cassette player (if we were lucky enough to own one – Who knows? maybe your Dad was a doctor or something) and copying the music coming from the speakers onto the blank tape. Sure, the sound quality went down tremendously but at least the song was there.

Most of the time though, going to concerts was the best way to hear our new music. A time when you could see four or five bands over the course of the summer for the same price it costs you to see just one of these new acts now. Don’t get me started on Ticketmaster.

And another thing….

You kids are over saturated with new music! Every time I turn on that damn local radio station they are playing the exact same six songs over and over again.

Why I remember you considered yourself LUCKY if you heard the big “hit” from the band you loved thirty years ago played in its entirety on the radio. Most of the time you caught it halfway through. I can’t tell you how many times the DJ would announce my “song” was coming up and I’d be glued to my radio (or sitting out in Mom and Dad’s car) waiting for it to come on.

And you could forget about calling them up and asking them to play it again if you missed most of it. They’d laugh you to scorn. But if they just got done playing a Katy Perry tune today and I called and asked them to do it again my gut feeling is they’d be more than happy to oblige. Either that or tell me not to worry because it’s scheduled to be played again in an hour.

And what’s with all of these artists collaborating with each other on songs? Seems like every new song title has the word “featuring” next to the artists’ name. What happened to the days when you rocked out all by yourself?

But you kids can take your Justin Bieber (Boyfriend), Nicki Minaj (Starships) and Katy Perry (Wide Awake) and stick it where the sun don’t shine.

I’ll take Survivor (Eye of The Tiger), Asia (Heat of The Moment) and Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll).

We’ll see which ones we’ll still be talking about thirty years from now when you whipper-snappers are taking care of me in the old folks home.