My Apologies

It has been over a month since my last entry on this blog. Things have been busy. I have a new issue of the print magazine coming out in June and I'm producing a horrorfiction zine and a comic book as well. Like I said busy. I was going to cover some of that ground, but decided against it...for now. I have something else stuck in my craw and have decided to unleash it here. My good friend, Curt Purcell, who has the excellent blog, The Groovy Age Of Horror (www.groovyageofhorror.blogspot.com) also seems to be fed up with the current state of affairs as well. I have to thank him for saying what he said and that he was sort of an inspiration for what follows this brief introduction.
Have a nice day, folks.

Don't Be A Sheep!!!
I have said this many times and I mean it. Do not, for any reason, be a sheep. Do not be a mindless follower of anything. Even Jesus encouraged his followers to question everything. Listen to what you want to listen to, read what you want to read, watch what you want to watch. We live in America and every day we are losing some of our basic rights. The First Amendment is being attacked everyday. The documentary PORN KING from Blue Underground www.blue-underground.com is a fine example of our rights being attacked. I encourage everyone to watch this film. Go to www.noumbrella.org and read about that powerful short film. Buy it, too. The government has us where they want us. Complacent sheep.
Gas prices are so high it's not even funny anymore. The government blames it on refinery overhauls and the war and that it's easier to make gas in the winter than the summer (?????). We let them walk all over us. Explore different modes of transport. Use less gas and watch them fall over themselves trying to make up the profits they lose. The oil companies are making record profits. They are gouging the average American out of their hard earned dollar.
Hollywood produces multi million dollar pieces of dreck while true innovators in cinema are being left behind to scrape for pennies and hold down day jobs. Michael Legge, Mike Watt, Chris Seaver and Rock Savage to name a few.
Don't Be A Sheep.
I say it a lot and have decided to put my statement on merchandise. My lovely wife, Martha was quick to point out that if a lot of people buy this merchandise that they are becoming a different kind of sheep, but sheep nonetheless.
I see what she's saying, but I kind of hope that it sends a different message. One where we decide that what we have is worth defending from the fat cats who control this wonderful country of ours. There is a small percentage of those people in charge. Less than one percent, but they dictate our behavior? I don't think so. When will they realize that if every person who was tired of being beaten down by the big wigs just picked up a stick and smacked someone in charge on the head that the person in charge would look like strawberry jam in a short period of time? There are so many more of us than there are of them. Why do we let them do this to us?
In the film 300 (I know, I was spouting off about independent film a minute ago, but I really liked this flick) King Leonidas realized that Xerxes was a madman. Xerxes was proclaiming himself as a god and absolute ruler over all of the world. Leonidas knew that was horseshit and was not afraid to say so. Even when he was with just three hundred of his men at Thermopylae he knew that they were doomed. He also knew that history would remember them and they would stand as an example of people who knew that something was wrong and gave their lives to prove their point.
I am not advocating murder and senseless violence. That's the government's job. What I am advocating is revolution. Revolution in everything. From the way that the public school system is failing as a whole to our democratic government being a place where people get wealthy. People who are supposed to be fighting for our inalienable rights as American citizens and that among these rights are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Life? Our young people dying in a war that we can not win. I was little when Vietnam was here, but you think we would have learned our lesson and not done it again. Liberty? Tell that to Don Imus. Don't agree with what he said? Fine, that is your right. Telling him he can't say it ...WRONG!!! The pursuit of happiness? Prices out of control, mega marts taking over the wholesome mom and pop stores of yesteryear, cars made of plastic and dangerous, no pride in work because most of the things we buy is made in other countries. Not too happy a picture, is it?
The only answer is revolution. Revolt against the things that make you grit your teeth. Stand up for things you believe in with all your heart. Make a difference in the life of a stranger by doing something against the grain. Stand up and be noticed.
Don't Be A Sheep!
If you go to www.cafepress.com/dontbeasheep you can get that slogan along with a great piece of artwork from local artist Stew Miller on it. Wear it proudly. I didn't jack up any of the prices on the stuff there to make a profit. It's all Cafe Press base rate. And a percentage of all profits are going to charity.
I can't emphasize how important all of this is. It gets hard and people, myself included, get tired of fighting such an uphill battle. Take time for yourself. Enjoy the company of your friends and family. recharge those batteries and then get back up to the front and fight.
It's the only way.
Don't Be A Sheep.