One Tin Soldier Rode Away…

I am shocked and saddened to learn that Tom Laughlin has passed away.  Even though he was 82, his death was unexpected.  For those of you who do not know who he is, I consider him to be the grandfather of the Independent Film.  He is the one who took on Warner Bros. and then distributed his own films which are still among the highest selling films of all time.  I am referring to the “Billy Jack” Trilogy.  These films inspired an entire generation to look within themselves and to try to make a difference in the world.  The release of “Billy Jack” also signaled the birth of a whole new way of marketing film–and it changed the industry whether some recognize this or not.  The world of Independent Film owes this man much more than people realize.  So it is here I will pay my tribute. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than to close with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswm7lHp7oY

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, his wife of 60 years, Delores, and his children and grandchildren.

Here is a copy of the obituary as well:Obituary – Tom Laughlin (1)

Methinks I Read Too Much Dorothy Parker Tonight…

* Methinks I read too much Dorothy Parker tonight–but damn I love her work!*
8 Lines of Reunion BS

There was a day when I could walk
and heart ruled not the head
and then the words came tumbling out
that you were back instead.

Of love we will not dare to talk
so climb back to her bed
Honestly for years I thought
that you were actually dead.

Affluenza + Defense = I Smell It Hitting the Fan in Texas

Yes everyone, here I go again…I am PISSED…Majorly PISSED that any judge in my state could get duped the way this one did.  Could someone explain to me what judge in their right mind would let ANYONE go who went out, got drunk, and plowed into 4 pedestrians, killing them?  One of the friends in his truck can no longer move or speak.  The other was severely injured…THIS means 6 people got hurt–not including family members who are devastated by their losses.

I will be surprised as hell if the verdict isn’t set aside. I don’t want to hear this bullshit from the defense attorney that the judge gave the best “possible sentence” given the defense used.  Well wait until you hear what the expert who testified for this kid said! This is a doozy!  However, let’s go back to where it all began and go step by step so that everyone understands why this case REALLY pisses me off as a mother…Look at Brianna Mitchell’s mother (Marla Mitchell) and Eric Boyles in this clip below. Please explain to me how ANY competent judge can let this slide like this when this kid has had problems BEFORE this after seeing how heartbroken they are, and will be until the day they die?  And what about that youth pastor‘s family?  His name was Brian Jennings. These were living, breathing human beings that had a future ahead of them and they deserve a hell of a lot better than what they got in court this week!

Now here is the clincher…The defense says HE IS A VICTIM…Bullshit! This Affluenza Defense is no more valid than the Twinkie Defense. This kid should be doing time like everyone else would be!  If the parents didn’t hold him accountable for his actions before now in all these years, the judge should have grown a damned  pair and said, “Well it’s time you learned what real consequences are! You took FOUR lives, Ethan Couch! FOUR LIVES!  You are old enough to KNOW right and wrong. Ignorance of law is certainly no excuse or reason for you! FOUR people will never see their families again! Four people will never hug their family members, share another Christmas or Thanksgiving with their families.  This defense called “Affluenza” simply means that you were a spoiled brat that got away with far too much! Well not this time!  I’ll be damned if I let you walk out of here and kill anyone else on my watch! Not only that, you destroyed your OWN family with your stupid actions! Are you proud now? Do you think this is funny or cool? Well try this one Ethan Couch–!”  Then he would have received a minimum of 20 years flat-time!  Not that it would bring the victims back but this kid would finally know what it’s like to get his ass handed back to him on a freaking platter!

I personally want to know why in the state of Texas, which today needs a serious wake up call, that there is obviously two standards of justice here? One for this kid and another for those not as “affluent”?  I’m wondering if race would have made a difference if the income and proposals were the same? Somehow I am left with reason to doubt that and I once had faith in the justice system of this state.

Anyway here is the clip.  http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/justice/texas-teen-dwi-wreck/

Here are the 4 victims who died and the one who remains paralyzed.

These people will never hug their loved ones again. Their lives were cut horribly short by one spoiled brat–Oh–it’s called “Affluenza”–so must I be politically correct? L-R: Brian Jennings, Brianna Mitchell, Hollie Boyles and Shelby Boyles (her daughter). They all stopped to help Brianna change a flat tire.

This kid was riding with Couch, but is actually, in sense a fifth victim. He is paralyzed and communicates via blinking his eyes.

I truly hope this verdict is set aside for the sake of the families and that justice is actually served. This was NOT by any means, a fair ruling. The whole defense of “Affluenza” itself was a stupid one. Even the expert who testified says now that he wishes that he had never used that term.  This is not a diagnosis that is recognized by experts anyway. I’m going to add a few more links that a reader might find of interest on this subject, but I am closing with this: Do not drink and drive. No family deserves what these families got in any way, shape or form.  Thank you.

Another link of interest:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/affluenza-slammed-as-defense-for-wealthy-texas-teens-fatal-dwi-wreck/

And still another:  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/rich-kid-who-killed-four-spared-jail/story-e6frf7jo-1226781114284

How Times Have Changed…

In 2014, the 3oth Anniversary of Live Aid will be celebrated, I’m sure.  1984 was a self-defining Christmas for me and for a lot of my generation because we were forced for the first time in our hedonistic generation’s existence to think about someone else in another part of the globe. The artists had the guts to put this in our faces and to this day I still respect them for it.

In recent years we’ve seen so much focus on the self among our own youth that somewhere along the road, they didn’t find that same sense of purpose–yet. It appears to me that we are so focused on ourselves and pissed about what our government is doing in this country that we’ve lost sight of ONE fact.  WE CAN CHANGE THINGS–ONE PERSON AT A TIME.  However we must start with ourselves. We can and must  lead the way for a younger generation.  We cannot leave this up to others because it is not their job to do our job. It is up to us to impart a sense of what is good and what is right into our children, our grandchildren and in a few more years–maybe our great-grandchildren.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the video. I hope it renews the fire in your soul that we had back when were younger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE

 

They started it all…

 

Just to Make Things Clear…

As writers we cannot wear our hearts on our  sleeves even though we must write from them.  That is one thing that is great about “free-thinking” We address what we need to and do it in such a way that no matter how we put it,  we are gonna get flamed…Has anyone prepared their swimming pool for me yet? You know, those “special instructions” involve putting a thin layer of flammable liquid over the surface?

Here is what I am ranting about…Why is it that the media seems to think it is entitled to tell us how we should think for feel about an issue? That is not reporting–and it isn’t worthy of being called journalism.  I remember when the news used to be THE NEWS and not a lot of  reporters sharing their  opinion. They start with about 20 seconds of story–the rest is an editorial. This really gets old. I hate it when people editorialize instead of wanting me to reach my conclusion.

I remember some years back some were saying, “You should not wear white after Labor Day.” I don’t know what sparked it or what the point of that would be but IF I refused to wear white to either of my weddings, why in the blue blazing hell would I wear white after Labor Day or on any other day for that matter?  Look, I don’t care what other people do, but don’t tell me what to wear on any day of the week, even if I do detest wearing white.

I really figure as long as I don’t run the streets stark naked, no one will be traumatized or drop dead from a heart attack. Goodnight!

 

A Question Most Who Engage in this Will NOT Answer…

Why is it when a celebrity dies, there is some sort of envy that they were ever famous?  Better yet why do people feel the need to bring attention to themselves by slamming the fans who are grieving or putting posts up about who or what they feel focus should be on? Seriously…People need to get off of that self-elevating crap  because that is exactly what it is. It is not about anyone who died, it is about anyone who wants to bring attention to themselves by bashing those who are expressing sympathy for the celebrities‘ families and such.

This part is for those who feel the need to engage in such behavior in social media:  Look, if you don’t want celebrity status that is your choice. You chose your life path, and you are simply jealous of their recognition so you try to bring some to yourself by bashing them. They earned their status and whatever else came their way. If you are jealous of that, it is you that has the problem, not the celebrity (or late celebrity).  It doesn’t garner you much respect either. Either way, the fans identify with the celebrity they are grieving because they come into their homes or into the theaters and are visible to them. If they are musicians, they hear their words that touch their lives daily.

YOU want them to grieve the invisible–the ones they don’t see, but yet you seem to have a connection with. This is especially true when people post about troops that died on a celebrity death thread. That doesn’t mean the fans feel no regret for the loss of anyone–especially a soldier, sailor, airman, etc…But you have no right to tell anyone how they should feel or how they should express grief–let alone WHO they should grieve at any given time. You have no right to try to lay a guilt trip on them for your own pleasure either.

IF you want to grieve someone, put up your own tributes and leave the fans of the celebrities alone. You don’t help yourself by bashing them, belittling or bullying them either.  They are entitled to what they feel as are you.

For those wondering what the heck I am talking about, THIS appeared on FB the other day:

This is one example of what people will create to bring attention to themselves and cause crap…The chances are, the person who created this didn’t know who Paul Walker or Roger Rodas were, but used this to bash fans with because he/she had nothing better to do with his/her time.

And just so everyone is aware, I have seen condolences posted toward both families on twitter, FaceBook and elsewhere…This behavior is inexcusable and immature–period.

The bottom line is that when anyone dies, they leave friends, family, co-workers and in the case of celebrities, a lot of fans and colleagues behind.  They are entitled to grieve in any way they see fit and if the people making such posts have a problem with that, they need to find another way to channel their negative energy or simply get quiet.

Then again, I am sure they will continue to engage in such behavior because it is far easier to bully a group from behind a keyboard than it is to say it to their faces, isn’t it?

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• I care that Paul Walker died. Sue me. (anarchamra.wordpress.com)

We Spend Our Lives Doing TWO things: Becoming and Dying…

I know this sounds bleak in a title, but it really isn’t. It isn’t fatalistic either.  Is it just possible that we spend so much time trying to work on others that we forget where our focus really SHOULD be? I think so. That is why I opt for brutal honesty. I know I can’t change a damned thing about the past or the future because those are two things I cannot control, but I can control how I react when put in a certain spot.

I nearly got killed tonight. No kidding. Some bonehead decided to slam his brake when NOTHING was in front of his vehicle. My son was driving and we were going the speed limit (75 mph). He swerved to the right and fish-tailed.  “Ease up on the brake and stay calm.” Shit! I don’t know how that came out of my mouth, but it did. He swerved again to the right and fish-tailed again, then over corrected. This resulted in being spun around across the freeway and landing in the median. He tried to start the car and it wouldn’t start. “Brian, put it in park.” Once he did, it ran fine. No damage to the vehicle and more importantly none to us or my dog!

I don’t know HOW I managed to stay calm during that crap, but I was shook up when it was over. I said, “Let’s get the hell out of this ditch and go home!” and we did.  It was a miracle that he didn’t hit another vehicle, and more importantly, that we are alive.  He was laughing a few minutes later, and made a comment about reliving “Too Fast and Too Furious”…

I looked at him and said, “Brian, that is not funny to me.”  I think he was just grateful that we were alive and that is how he handled being shook up.

Either way it could have turned out very differently.  Brian and I are working hard on improving from within, and then this happens. It just goes to show that in an instant, the world can be changed for our loved ones. When we got to Kevin’s house (my other son), I gave him his birthday presents and hugged my daughter-in-law and my son. I held onto my grandson for a bit as well.  Let’s just say it gave me a new perspective on things this time of year, but  in the end, are we not all born to die?

Better yet, didn’t Beckett describe it best?, “…We are all born astride a grave…”?

I’d rather die working on the person I’m trying to become, than to regret the person who is now dead that is my past being,  OR  meet my future being who might be a bit more cranky than this particular incarnation of me in the present…

And how was your weekend?