Now this, in no way, is a review of the book. This is my opinion on some of the things she said in the book, and how I personally feel about the book and her after reading it. I have to say honestly that the book was a page turner, and I found myself laughing and shaking my head at times at her views on the world. The opening of the book starts with her chronicling her life before she got into politics. It’s your typical hard working, blue collar type story, including the type of family she grew up in, her sometime struggle to obtain an education and falling in love with her husband. Really nothing you haven’t heard in every lifetime movie in the last 20 years. Well there is no rape, I guess that is the only difference between her and lifetimes movies. As the book progresses, she touches on many points where she was misrepresented by John MCain’s campaign staff, and in several instances silenced from speaking her mind about issues and situations to the press. One instance in particular, she makes reference to how she was not briefed on the press release regarding her daughters (unplanned) planned pregnancy sent out by the McCain camp. When it comes to insults on the part of Palin, they are weak and have no teeth. So if you were expected her to drop the word Asshole in the book, or even maybe call Katie Couric a Coose you will be disappointed. She insults hurt no more than a slap in the face with a silk glove.

In the book Sarah also discusses policy and government the way she sees it. Now I need to state that there is not a specific chapter where she talks about this subject, throughout the book policy and government is mentioned, so piecing together her view was not a straightforward process. To say it bluntly, the book did not offer any deep insight on any political views, no clear cut plan for anything, and no grasp of the big picture. This is not to say that she didn’t try, but I got the impression that if you asked her for a written plan on improving the economy, she would present you with a book written by Matthew Lesko (The Question Mark Guy). I didn’t really expect her to wow me with any political insight, and in allot of ways this book reinforced what I think we already knew about her. Now I don’t know if she plans to write another book about her political strategy, but if this is all she offers, then chances are you are better off watching The West Wing for hard hitting political commentary.

To sum it up, this book reads more like a fluff piece then an actual biography. The real meat and potatoes, or anything of substance, is about 100 pages. And the picture she paints of a Blue Collar way of life is a story that has been told 100 times before. There will be no surprises or anything that jumps off the page in this book. And while I admired her adversity, I could not get over the fact how little she actually understands about the world around her. And to add insult to injury, biting narcissism that is douche-chill worthy at times. And if you are looking for the Next Wizard of Oz you will be asked to pay no mind to the man behind the curtain. 

When you get on the Bus you realize you have no control over this metal Sub sandwich. True it ain’t a plane but at the same time there is something a bit uneasy about it. Like a relationship you really have no true control over it, there could be a pothole about 40 miles down the road, you could get a flat, hit a deer, or have a blowout and re-enact the day Cliff Burton played a game of smear the queer with a tour bus. With that being said you take a beat and go and let the wheels turn. As the bus rolls on you look around and realize there is allot to see, and you get the choice to sleep or can see and enjoy every bit of the trip, this is not to different from real life, you can sleep through a relationship, or keep your eyes open. Now here is where things start to get a bit crazy. The first few hours are awesome, you are totally take by the magic of the bus, then you take a look at your watch and realize for as long as you have been on this bus you somehow have traveled only about 20 miles.

This is the point you begin to weigh your options. You think wow this was fun and I was into it, but now I take a good look around me and see the junkie in the seat next to coming down from a 4 day bender. The smell of urine, sulfur, and cat crap, overtake your senses, and you realize the seat you are sitting in has not been cleaned since Welcome Back Kotter was in prime time. At this point you really hit the wall and consider getting off the bus and taking your chances hitchhiking, or riding this basted out and getting off at your said destination. So this is where I am. I’m 20 miles out of the city, I have been on this bus for a bit to long, and I am thinking about getting off this bus. At the same time I want to get to my destination without having to take my chances as a drifter and risk becoming a skin lamp…. I will say this for that lame attempt at an over played analogy. I really love taking the bus ride. I choose no other mode of transportation for going from from point A to point B. It’s crazy and amazing at the same time, and I love my metal sub sandwich… Irr I mean my girlfriend. So at the end of the day I love it all, the ride, the trip, the cat crap, and more then anything I love the fact that I want to go back.

I can say without a doubt that it has been awhile since I have submitted a blog, or a thought, or a bit of dating knowledge or anything of any value in any way what so ever. But I will say that last time I submitted something, allot has changed. I have moved into a new house, I got a new job, and had my city over run by democrats and became a rent a father. I know that is allot to omit, but let me break it down one by one. The first thing on my list is moving into a new house. Up to this point in my short life away from living at home I have only rented apartments. I will say there is a up and down side. On the upside you can meet some very cool people, and if you feel the need you can get blitzed at a neighbors house and then stumble down the stairs to your bed. On the downside, some people don’t realize it’s community living and treat everyone like an asshole, demand silence, and have there “C” word of a cat crap on your porch.

So renting a large house feels very satisfying, and may I say gives me a sense of pride. Also living in Colorado, there is something called the “Make my day law” and since I’m not one to argue with the law, I will not think twice to pop a cap in a burglars ass, be it of the feline brand or not. The second thing is that I got a new job. I decided that it was time to see what else was out there. The job I found was a night job. All and all it’s not really that bad. I get a weird sense of things at night. Everything is quiet, and when it’s quiet you can let ideas and thoughts flow a bit easier. I figured since winter is coming and I will be working at night and sleeping in the day, I figured I will call this blog tales of a vampire. I guess you can call it irony, but I think I am trying to be cat catchy.

And the last point I want to bring up is the Democratic Nation Convention that took place last week. I did go downtown, I did try to spot a political figure, or a member of the press, but no dice. It seemed that if you lived in Denver you were not allowed to attend any function at said Democratic Convention. The thing that made me go crazy was how many cops were downtown. They prowled the 16^th street mall in packs of 10 or more, decked out in full riot gear and giving the old stick eye to anyone of middle Eastern decent, or for that matter anyone with a shade of skin darker then off white. And by stink eye I mean ready to blast someone with there taser or gun filled with rubber bullets. I am not saying that it wasn’t awesome, but really I got the impression that people who lived here were really not welcome. Also Bryan Williams blasted Denver on NBC, by saying that it’s good to see reporters getting out on the tough streets of Downtown Denver.

While I walked downtown I noticed how clean the city looked and how there were no homeless people. As I walked I had a vision in my head of Denver, and if this was how the city was originally suppose to look. With clean streets, in perfect view of the Rockies, with city goes walking the streets, happy, and with smug looks on their faces. With gangs of roaming law enforcement types making sure the colored people don’t step out of line. People from all over the United States coming to our little city and commenting how cute it is that, us, simple country folk, built a city with tall buildings and land marks. How even though we don’t have a Dunken Donuts, we still have Starbucks. And how some day we hope to be like New York or L.A. with it’s fast city life and movie stars. No I think for the time being I will take Colfax with it’s loose woman and Wash Park with it’s……Umm…..loose woman.

All that aside, I do realize that every church has a figurehead, a leader or president for said religion. There have been many throughout history, but no one even comes close to the Pope. He is flashy, has his own city, and drives around in a bullet proof Mercedes. One thing that prompted me to write this was the fact that the new Pope was virtually an unknown, then all of the sudden, a poof of smoke and this guy is a Rockstar. I will agree that his over-the-top attire fit’s the role of entertainer very well. As I watched CNN and saw the Pope plain land, I was reminded of the Beatles coming to America. The crowd was going crazy, young girls were crying and jumping up and down, and the media was all over it. From what I heard the Pope is bringing back all his old outfits, which have not been seen since before Pope John Paul II. This of course includes the Pope shoes made by Gucci and the robe designed by Versachi.

As I watched I thought, Wow, this Pope won’t let a few child molestation charges, by priests, stop him, or the fact that the church knew about the holocaust, no this guy had a spring in his step, and a twinkle in his eye. I started to think that going to school and getting an education was a waste. Had I just gone to seminary and given my life to the church, I could have become Pope. True I would have to give up the flesh, but that is what the young boys are for. All jokes aside, I think we need to knock the Pope down a few pegs. This is someone who is draped in gaudy wears, and is worshiped like a deity. Now I don’t know the bible as well as others, but I believe one of the Ten Commandments does say something along the lines of not worshiping false idols. I respect tradition, but since the church has been under fire the last 10 years, they need to be a bit humble and not go flashing there poster boy to the world.

In the end it’s about the connection with God, not the connection of God to one man, to a collection of people. I am not Catholic, but I can say honestly I would not want this man to represent everything that I stand for. A leader should be someone who is on the same level as the people he leads, and do whatever he can for the good of his people. And if the Pope is just a symbol of his church, I think I will take the wax statue of Jesus over this guy. At least I know he suffered and has seen the rough times.

About a year ago I was in a really bad place, emotionally, and really one the outs of a very bad relationship. I had just moved out of my place, I was in debt, and was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The year prior, I was consumed in a relationship that was born to fail. I was with someone who was needy, insecure, and had really low self esteem. As a result of this I had been dragged through the mud and actually contemplated taking my own life. Once that thought popped into my head I knew I had to seek help, or change something. I started reading everything I could regarding mental health and wellness. Once I was done with that I started reading books regarding relationship dynamics, then when I was done with that, I moved to human behavior and human relationships. By the time I was done reading I was in a much better place mentally and was a shoulder to lean on if anyone needed it.

So hala, here is my answer to your question. I don’t personally know the guy you were with, but from what you have said before it sounds to me that this guy really needed allot of your attention at all times. I can only imagine that he was very possessive, very controlling, and almost always things revolved around him and what he wanted to do. When you weren’t doing things for him, you were outside of his circle and on his bad side. When he had gotten his fill, he was done with you and accused you of being clingy right after he demanded all of your time. I can only imagine that you are left with questions and wondering what happened. In my opinion, a good relationship comes down to a constant flow of ups and downs. The best example of this is illustrated in the picture below.

You will see that there is a gradual increase and decrease, it’s constant but there is always movement and change, and as soon as it dips, it begins to go up again. I like using this example because it represents how we as people change, and thrive on constant progression to be happy. Below is a series of plateaus in a row.

 What this shows is a low point, a huge spike, a period of no change, and then a sudden drop, and bottoming out and period of no change once again. As you can see this is much more erratic and doesn’t represent constant change, it represents sudden change and periods of no progression. Now to apply this to your situation, you did say that the guy demanded allot of your time and was almost to the point of being clingy. This is the plateau that I am talking about. During these periods the emotion would spike and stay at a high unchanging point, and then very suddenly drop and he would be distant until there was another spike.

I can only imagine this is not an easy person to deal with, let alone be in a relationship with. However I do feel this is not all on him. Sometimes we enable our partners, or people we are in relationships with, to do things that are counter productive or destructive to ourselves to maintain a relationship. This requires that both parties take an active roll in this. I think you might have let him overstep his bounds, and that opted him to take you for granted and to compensate you let him almost walk all over you to keep the relationship a float. I will say that it’s not the first time someone in a relationship has done this, so it’s ok. I will tell you that the relationship was almost destined to fail. The reason being that allot of clingy people wear thin on the other person and the relationship, and almost always are in the business of self sabotage. I have seen it with my own friends and relationships and to date it has been a 100% failure rate.

Right now things are still confusing, as they should be, but give it a little bit of time and you will have that moment of clarity about the relationship you were in. I think the best idea for you would be to get out and meet some new people, get into a new activity, and in your case start over. Above all else the most important thing is getting back to who you are, rather then waste your time and energy wondering what happened. Like I said he would have sabotaged the relationship in one way or the other, and you would have been in the same spot or worse. Everything takes time, and sooner then later you will find that guy who won’t ask you to sacrifice what is important to you to make him happen, and will, excuse the pun, be on the same wave length as you. I hope this helps.

-Ty

I realize that what’s spinning on your ipod and the current mood of your friend on myspace is more important then say the next president, but giving power to someone is a big deal. Since no one stepped up to the plate the last time around, we now have a president who has ravaged our economy and gave the green light to a war that has not only soiled our world relations, but sent young men and woman off to die. I know when it comes to politics people get really heated about the issues, but not knowing what you are saying yes to is just as bad as not doing anything at all. This is not a call to arms, but it makes me sad that we would much rather vote for someone who thinks they can sing rather then the next leader of the free world. What made America so great is that we didn’t want to do what we were told and we asked to many questions. We didn’t like how we were being treated so we did something about it pushed back. Because trust me, in 30 years it’s not going to matter who won American Idol or which celebrity was dating who, what will matter is how our way of life was, and what we have to pass on.

So now that I understand the history, I looked at what it means today, and realized it has nothing to do with past traditions so basically I wasted 30 minutes of my time. The way I view it today is, that one day where no matter how much you love someone, you have to show them that. The week prior you could have confessed your love for that person, and bought them a new car. Though if you don’t have anything come February 14 you get the shun and the potential for your “love” to use it against you later on down the road. Now I thought maybe I was crazy or just filled with so much rage that I couldn’t think strait, but my girlfriend back up what I thought. She agreed that 364 days of the year I love her, and she knows that. I show here with my words, thoughts, and emotions, and setting aside one day where everyone is trying to do the same thing, really means less to her then someone who shows there love year round.

But as I mentioned there is a shame factor involved with this. As a guy I could care less if I get anything on Valentines Day, or if anyone even mentions it. I know I love or care for things, and I show my love and gratitude towards them all the time. I don’t need to set aside a day to say I love you more this day, but tomorrow I will return to loving you like I did the day before yesterday. Now I don’t want to point out woman as the blowhards of this holiday, but let’s be realistic. As a guy I don’t need a new diamond necklace, I don’t need a bear holding a heart, or a box of candy to get the point across to me. But woman seem to won this holiday. And the monotone guy on the radio agrees that if you don’t have something for your lady, she will be pissed. Now understand she won’t say so, she will slowly beat you down till you will want to die. Now my lady is the exception to the rule, but the only way this is going to stop is if we change tradition. If we can do away with Christmas, then we can do away with this waste of a Holiday.

Also we need to realize that there is a dark side to this holiday. The dark side being, that all the single and lonely people are getting the snub on this day. And trust me, a sympathy card from your mom or a co-worker is not the same thing. So ladies realize that your man is going to love you despite a day saying so, and it will take allot of stress off of him, and will prevent you from having that special dinner with about 4000 other people. So let’s just retire this holiday and call it good. Couples will not fight over what the other person was not obligated to get them, single people will not feel especially lonely on February, and we can go back to saying how we really feel rather then shell out 4 bucks for a card written by someone else. So if you must make February 14 the day you say something nice to someone else, or say 10 nice things about your significant other. You will get the same effect as an over priced teddy bear would produce, and it will be from the heart, which trumps anything that can be bought. Or we do like the Romans and take the day to get it on.

Now here is where I am going to lose my cool. Years prior to this, Kanye has thrown a man tantrum over the fact that he didn’t win a Grammy for his music. Stop the presses!! Kanye is not satisfied with his fame, his money, his notoriety, his fans, his praise that every music critic with a pulse gives him, support from Mtv, BET, Rolling Stone, Vibe, Source, XXL, and of course his own view of himself. So last night he stopped the music to praise his mom for popping him out. Not to say that the man doesn’t make some catchy tunes, but 20 years from now we are not going to remember this guy. Chances are we will be talking about the newest rapper called Lil’ JizzyMc. Jezzerton who is the greatest rapper ever, and samples the Beatles, The Who, or anything he can get his hands on. God forbid the guy pick up a guitar and actually fall under the category of musician not rap artist. The whole night was not a wash, the highlight for me came when Jazz legend Herbie Hancock won for album of the year. That’s right, a man who writes his own music, can play an instrument well, and doesn’t thank his mom for birthing him so he could make great music that he feels everyone should like. So here’s to you Herbie. Who says Jazz is dead.

After the fold of my last band, I started my search for greener pastures. In my search I had gotten a few calls from some already established bands looking to add a guitarist. In the few bands that I jammed with, it was made very clear that I would be playing what someone else was writing, and if I wanted to add something, I needed to look else where. To say the least it frustrated me, and help me put into perspective what allot of musicians in Denver fall into. It has many names, but I like to call it being a pre-Madonna. Yes the terrible stigma of thinking you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The bands that I played with all felt that they were the only band in the world doing what they were doing, but traveling around the country you know that for every one band in Denver, there are 20 more doing the same thing in another cities around the country. Frustrated I turned to want ads on Craig’s list.

Hitting the online want ads, I felt good that I would meet some cool people who were like minded. At first it seemed like I was on the right track. I met a really cool person guy who now I would consider to be my best friend. We wrote some music, but it didn’t really go anywhere. During that time I also met my now former bass player. He introduced me to some people he knew, and one thing led to another, and bam we were a band. Up until last night things were going really well, and from what I thought we were planning to record and expose the fruits of our labor to the public. After I got the text, yes that’s right text, I was pissed, not only because he was dropping out, but because it was done via text. After I got off the phone with the singer, I thought long and hard about why he was having cold feet.

Laying in bed, I remember that the three bands that my former Bass player was in, he quit. I never asked him why, but I did ask the former band members he played with, and they all said he quit within a few months of joining because they said he didn’t like what the band was doing. When thinking about this, everything began to come to light. He mentioned that he wanted to play a certain type of music. I don’t like to define what music fit’s into what, but I am open to playing whatever is brought to the table. I was finally able to get a hold of my former Bass player, and yes my suspicions were, in fact, confirmed. I chalked it up to creative differences, and said goodbye. Once I was done talking I really wasn’t that surprised, and he sounded like another Denver musician who was to big for there britches. I wish him well, but I have met about 300 of these people in Denver, and to my recollect there are no record execs breaking down the door for these people. It’s hard not to have sour grapes about the whole thing, but when you thrive in a music scene that is fickler then most, you get used to it.

-Ty

I do understand that when I read something like an e-mail or a blog, I don’t know who these people are. They create a voice from the piece that gives the reader an idea of who they are. Writers have been doing this for years, but really I think this is something different. When I write, I try to have the closest voice to who I am. If I give advice, it’s usually the advice I would give to someone if they met me on the street. I think people are starting to get lost in the anonymity of the image that they create for themselves. First it started with Chat rooms, and then e-mail, and then Friendster, then My Space, then AIM, then text. We have progressed to the point where picking up the phone is taboo. Now, I do have personal experience in this because I had an ex who freaked out on me via text. I picked up the phone to call her, put she refused to answer, when it went to voice mail I got a text message that said she would only talk to me via text. To that I responded with “when you’re grown up go ahead and give me call”. And yeah that was the last thing I said to her.

For me, just like many other adolescent boys, I had to take my fair share of bumps and bruises in the ways of talking with woman. With every awkward approach that I made, the more I became versed in the way of woman, or at least approaching them. I did play a few games of phone tag with girls when I was younger, but the bulk of conversation was done with said girl right in front of me. No way would I ever consider having a long drawn out conversation with someone via text. Words can be powerful, but really what effect can abbreviating “laugh out loud” with “lol” really have. I think this is the least of my worries about this issue. One huge factor is people going so far as to not answer the phone and talk with someone. This brings me back to my ex. Now in no way was she a teen, in fact she was 26 year old woman. In the end it came down to the fact that she acted like she was 16, but I digress. The point is, over the phone, you still have to be able to carry a conversation, and it does require some form of interaction on the part of the talkers.

Also I notice that people are getting depressed over the fact that they are broken up over a text. Really as a society are we that starved for affection and attention that we will take any form interaction. I don’t know if I’m alone, but can you really beat human contact. I have always looked at human contact as the best way to really understand someone. I’m sure back in the day people used to write letters to there loved ones, but each letter would end with the hope that they would see them soon. They never confessed there undying love and said they only wanted minimal contact with that person. At some point we as a society need to take thing back about 15 years. We need to take it to a time when online communication was just starting to really take off. To the time when text messages were sent via a pager, with the assistance of an operator typing it in. To a time when a cell phone was considered a luxury, and only was used by businessman.

This was the time that people were forced to meet up at an agreed upon place, when teens and kids would meet up after school and hang out and talk to one another, and if you were going to be broken up with, it was done face to face or a friend would tell another friend to do it for them. That was how it used to be. So I figure at this rate within 15 years we won’t communicate at all, and all relationships will take place via text. There will be occasional contact for sex and maybe a good laugh, but that will be all. The club scene will die, dating services will fold and the only thing that will exist will be phone services that match people up via text. There will still be My Space so people can air there dirty laundry, but with the invention of You Tube, all confessions and breakups will be taped and posted.

It’s only happened a few times, but I have gone into a bar and seen men and woman, by themselves, going to town on there phone. I figure if you go to a bar alone and decide to carry on a text conversation with someone, what’s the point of even leaving the house. If it’s just for the atmosphere, then turn your stereo up and pour yourself a Cosmo. The kicker is I did go up to the girl and started up a conversation with her. At first she seemed more interested in texting then talking, but I got her attention and we ended up having a conversation. During our conversation she picked up her phone mid sentence, I stopped and asked her if maybe I should go. I began to get up and she grabbed my arm and sat me down. She said sorry and picked up right away I was not cool with her interrupting me to answer a text. We talked a bit and ended up getting her phone number. I told her I have a habit of calling people and talking to them, she laughed and we said good night.

She found the encounter refreshing and was surprised that I would take the initiative to come up and talk to her. To me it was nothing, it is a bar, and that’s what a bar is for, if you didn’t come with someone then you have to expect someone is going to see you in the corner and have enough nerve to talk to you. I will say I do text, but it’s in moderation, as it should be. All the books I have read on how to have a strong speaking voice would be in vain if I didn’t practice it. So I urge anyone who reads this to put the damn phone down, stop communicating solely through AIM and My Space and practice talking to someone face to face. It would be a bit hypocritical of me if I didn’t mention that I do use this blog to communicate, but I practice what I preach and go out on the weekends and week and don’t check My Space or really talk on the phone or text. If I am it’s usually to set up something or meet somewhere. So stop wasting your time creating new abbreviations and get out and swim in the social scene that is the world. I mean wtf?