Holy Crap!!!

Salutations Peeps,

Has it really been almost a year since we've spoken? I was shamed into this posting by a dear friend and I thank her a thousand times over for reminding me that sometimes we all just need to be heard. So, without further ado. The Murt is back! A lot has happened in the last year peeps; we have been experiencing the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression, we got ourselves a new president and for once he doesn't suck. Truth be told I was gonna vote for Hillary, just kidding...Ralph, where are you, come back...hello, is this thing on? Our new pres can actually speak without fumbling through countless vats of innuendo and minutiae and that my friends is a step in the right direction.
In the last year we have all (I'm sure) experienced great triumphs and lowly defeats but the common glue that binds is that we are all still here. The Murt himself has been through so much it boggles the mind. The kids live in SC, I got a great new job, I fell in love, and I'm living day to day. The Ducks won the Holiday Bowl and then embarrassed themselves on national TV on opening night. As usual, the Thanksgiving Day Party was a huge success and greeted me with a huge hangover the following day. As much as things change, they always stay the same. I've started and quit smoking more times than I can count, have made a bunch of new friends and said goodbye to a few old one's. How are things in your lives peeps? Can you let me know where you are, what you're up to?
On a sad note, Patrick Swayze died last night and I was disheartened to read that the only accolade given to him from the local fish-wrap was that he starred in Dirty Dancing. What??? Dirty Freakin' Dancing, are you serious? How about Red Dawn, Roadhouse, or even Ghost for God's sake!
Because this is all so fresh and renewed I'm gonna cut things short and I promise I won't stop writing. I need to knock some of the rust of the fingers and more than a little off the mind but as usual, I'll leave you with a quote.

Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Ps, to my friend who reminded me that I need to Murt-out...I'll red-neck with you and yours anytime!!

Hodge Podge

Well, I have pulled a Murt; that is to say I have set a schedule for myself and have defied all of my rules and regulations for that schedule by promptly tossing the schedule, i.e. I haven't added any new content to this blog in a long ass time. Fall is upon us peeps and though we have been enjoying sunny skies and warm days the leaves are falling fast which means the seasonal transition is upon us. Yep, its time to get cozy with your housemates whoever they may be so make sure you follow Murt's guide to making it through winter without homicide:

1. Brush your teeth! Simple enough it seems but you would be surprised how many of us wish to have a good morning smooch or a late night tongue lashing with yesterdays clam-bake and Corona's on the breath. Feel free to throw in some floss once in awhile to remind us you aren't sporting Gary Oldman's Chiclets from True Romance.

2. Wash your hair. One can live with another in relatively close proximity and not notice the traditional B.O. but nothing gets the olfactory senses churning for the phantom wafts of fumunduh than a greasy head. Greasy head can only mean one thing and that is greasy everything else so do your roomie a favor and wash the lettuce, frequently.

3. Decide early on a TV schedule. Many a huffy morning/afternoon/evening can be spent watching someone else's horrid picks for Top Shows! More than one person has fantasized slipping a mickey to their partner when being forced to watch re-runs on the Game Show channel. Seriously? The f***in' Game Show Channel! I'd rather slam my nuts in a waffle iron.

4. Have Sex!!!! This is not strategery people; this is for the future of the human race. I watched that movie Kingdom of Men last year and I am convinced all the cell phones that we carry near our crotch as we're driving (dude you know you lay that shit on vibrate) has deformed our lil' swimmers and we are at risk of the end for humanity [save the humans]. Besides, having sex is a way to ease tension and boredom. There's a reason why you know so many people with birthdays in August through October. If you can't tap it, whack it!

5. Engage your mind. Find a creative outlet for those Oregon-Type winters when it is hovering just above freezing and refuses to snow but is more than happy to pelt your ass with hurricane force winds and horizontal rain. During this time, stay TV free lest you wind up violating rule #3. During this time you should write letters. To this day, there is nothing I love more than receiving a letter in the mail from a peep.

6. Daydream. You got nothing else to do so practice making your life better by daydreaming. Start small and add layers of financial wealth and altruism. The best thing about any type of dreaming is you can make it whatever you want! I always have had a set of especially lavish daydreams that I save for the worst of days; I like the Italian coast near La Spezia with brilliant sun, a fantastic view of the ocean, a cocktail in my hand, and this gorgeous woman...the rest is for me you perv!

So, whatever you do this fall/winter, make yourself happy. Find time to work on you and I'll find time to work on me but make sure you follow the above rules, especially number 4! Later peeps, I love and miss you all.

Murt

Topic of the day: Favorite winter time activity.

Quote of the Day:

"My way of joking is to tell the truth. It is the funniest joke in the world."
- George Bernard Shaw

What Happened to Death Metal???

I have been thinking a lot lately about the death of big-haired, loud crackling voices, and serious references to our old pal NATAS (Satan). Where in the hell have the bands disappeared too; I know many are now playing state fairs and casinos around the country but we could really use an injection of serious new-era death metal in this country. This is a collective shout to my peeps for the listing of all great bands of raunchy rock. I'll get the list going: Dio, Iron Maiden, Ozzy (young not old), Dokken, DRI, Suicidal Tendencies, The Dead Kennedys, Def Leppard (again, I'm thinking Pyromania not Pour Some Sugar on Me), Ministry, Black Flag...any to add peeps; REACTION, I want to hear from you!!!

Though of the day: Where is all the angst in this country and where are the bands that remind us of that angst?

Quote of the day: "A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk?', and I say 'No that's trendy!”
Billie Joe Armstrong

Fall is here and so is football

Peeps,

It has been some time since my last post. We are edging closer and closer to a new presidential election; how do you feel about that? Both candidates from our flawed system seem to be the same old same as usual, pining on about the latest geo-political buzzwords and empty promises. Thank the almighty for college football!!! Yes, peeps, this last weekend was the start of the college football season. The leaves are beginning to change, there is a crisp to the air, and the Oregon Ducks have lost another qurterback to a career ending knee injury; at least they still embarrassed those damn Huskies from Washington! College football season evokes many emotions for yours truly as it is the beginning of Fall. I love fall and all it has to bring but fall also means the beginning of school for me and the kids and that therefore means more tests, pressure, and questioning "what in the hell am I doing anyway?" Fall also represents the slow demise of the natural world as we edge closer to winter and then the eventual re-birth of spring...whoa, depressing, eh? Things on the ol' property are good and the chickens are cranking out more eggs than we can deal with. I'm hopeful that the sugar-spice pumpkins will be ready for Thanksgiving and a real pumpkin pie. As you may have noticed, I try and post every message with a web-image of something pertinent to the topic or at least something that evokes memory for us all. I'd love to hear comments on the pics. I will try and get back into the swing of regular postings now that I am headed towards another school quarter. If the Gods are with me I will be done with my Master's degree by next summer. I love and miss you all.
~Murt

Topic of the day: Best fall memories when you were a kid.

Quote of the day: "Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein."
Joe Theismann, former quarterback

Procrastination

Well, I have done it again; I have made my week come down to three days left for a bevy of papers, presentations, and finals. As a father of two that commutes 45+ minutes each way everyday and currently juggles his schedule around THE EX, I am finding less and less time to focus in the areas I should; shoulds will kill ya right??? I have procrastinated a presentation paper for the County Administrator and Commissioners down to the last second and find myself bogged down by meetings and the schedule to pick up the kids. Is anyone else out there feeling pressure? This is in no way to create some downer topic this morning peeps but let's get in to the politicking shall we.

We ALL know (yeah even you non-believers can feel it) that this good ol' US of A is in a bit of a jam; we are facing the bankruptcy of our Federal Government by 2030. The pressures on the American Family have never been greater than they are today. It is near impossible to sustain a cohesive family unit without both partners working full-time which places our children in daycare or alternative education settings that create separation anxieties, behavioral and learning disabilities, despondence, and the continued fracture of the all important bond between parent and child. I am sticking with the parenting aspect only because I have to get my two at lunch today and drop them off with grandma in hopes that my 2 1/2 year old doesn't go out of his mind in what will most likely become an hour commute back home to the country tonight. Thankfully I am one of the lucky one's; I have family and the best partner in the world to cover my back when I am stretched to thin. However, there in lies the rub, I am alwaysstretched too thin.

Our local governments here in Oregon face on average a 40% turnover rate within the next 4 years of their workforce. Because of a steady decline in available Federal General Fund dollars there have been few opportunities for the re-supply of able young talent to fill the workforce gene pool; this creates stagnation and the potential for catastrophic loss of mentoring talent from those that have led from the front. Without the ability to re-up our government workforce, social programs will be the first to feel dramatic effects which in turn will place even more pressure on our children, schools, and communities. Trust me peeps what lies beneath will make the most recent economic downturn look like a bump in the road.

Baby-Boomers are retiring at a dramatic pace and living longer to boot; social security and medicare have long been the greatest draw on our nation's economy and the need for radical change is eminent. If we do not make an about face and change our ways immediately we will surpass the Great Depression in ways never imagined. We must begin to lead from the front; get involved today and start asking your local government what their short and long-term planning decisions are in order to handle the increases in population (especially the west), the increased needs that will be faced by continued immigration and gentrification that occurs in re-developing areas, and for those of you in the SW, what are your communities doing to plan for the inevitable water crisis facing Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona? Did you know that Grand Cooley Dam at its current pace of water decline is facing complete dry-up within the next fifteen years?

We cannot stand by in this country with an attitude of apathy; you can and do make a difference. The problems that are facing our country and world have been handed down through the generations and are landing smack-dab on the doorstep of Generations X and Y. These problems will not go away and we must stand strong and face them or our children will be left with the aftermath of what we said we didn't have the strength or courage to face.

It is not all doom and gloom peeps. I have witnessed amazing things over the past couple of years. People are re-thinking waste and their role in creating a sustainable community; there has been a wonderful increase in regional and localized co-op farming. Why, yours truly, with the help of his beautiful partner Miss "A" have started a young farm on miss "A's" property; we call it Cherish Farms and are hopeful to begin expanding our fledgling free-range chicken (eggs only, no meat) business to include organic unpasteurized goat milk production in the next few years. We have a beautiful garden that provides a large crop of vegetables and fruits for our consumption as well as extended family and friends. We compost, turn out the lights and un-plug appliances, things never thought of even a couple years ago; most importantly we talk about the world and what is going on. We all must increase participation and communication, we can do this.

I have been in the Lion's Den over the past several weeks and I know from an insiders (albeit regional) point of view what we are facing but Murt's never give up; I'm Scotch-Irish, I don't know how to quit. I will post some links to a variety of websites I want you all to take the time to visit and think about. This is not a lesson in liberal propaganda or a pie-in-the-sky ploy to get you to "drop out" and start communal farming; rather, this is a message of hope for my kids, my nephew Kee(and big "ups" to Brady and Jackson as well), Liam, and all the others that will take care of us when we can no longer take care of ourselves. We are all stretched too thin but we can and must begin the process of change.

I love you all...
Murt

Topic of the day: Pressure!!!

Quote of the Day: " Man is tormented by no greater anxiety than to find someone quickly to whom he can hand over that great gift of freedom with which the ill-fated creature is born." Fyodor Dostoevsky

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Ahhh yes, Family Dynamics

Families are strange entities; we all have one or at the very least had one but aren't always sure we want to remain a part of the clan. I spent this weekend with someone else's family and truly enjoyed myself. It's nice when you can step outside your own family dynamic and act the part of observer. Several times over the weekend I found myself doing the ol' overlay, you know, the part where you find yourself comparing the dynamics of the temporary world you are in to your own. We are all so much alike it's scary. I love to observe people they never fail to surprise, amuse, and sometimes sadden me. The group I was with stayed up until almost 1 a.m. playing cards, something I haven't done for years and the beauty involved was that although the politicking about he said this..she reacted this way etc. was there, I could sit back, listen and enjoy myself. So, without further ado, thank you to the Glen Eden Beach crew, I had a wonderful time and only wish I had a camera to upload the beautiful days we had.
This weekend I also got to do something I really enjoy but seem to never do and that's peruse the trash and treasures of a coastal community. The great thing about small tourist towns is that they have such an eclectic variety of the travelers that came before them. My partner and I scoured many an "antique" store wile struggling though bouts of laughter to maintain our hushed voices. For some reason we have a deep psychological understanding between the two of us that when entering a coastal trash heap establishment one must speak in their most hushed and muted tones; it's as if we are afraid to let anyone else into the conversation of the exciting world we have happened upon. Three cheers to random black and white photos of the unnamed and forgotten. I guarantee you can have more fun on a Sunday afternoon reminiscing about bygone eras and possible picture scenarios than you can doing just about anything else; well, except maybe for watching football.
To all my peeps, I wish you a good day, happy travels, and implore you to reach out to your family sometime soon and remember we're a lot more the same than we are different.

Topic of the day: Family Dynamics; let it all hang out!

Quote of the day:

"America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up."
Oscar Wilde

a not so Capitol Idea: I do not thnk that Dwarfs will find this idea 'Cheeky'

a not so Capitol Idea: I do not thnk that Dwarfs will find this idea 'Cheeky'