The title is a reference to a FNM song called Land of Sunshine, whose lyrics are quite philosophical due to sayings from Chinese fortune cookies and samples of a Scientology questionnaire. This article is about the iconic guitarist whose mind’s inner workings never fail to astonish me. For many years, I thought that he should have written a memoir. Honestly, his observations on Facebook are on par with the insights of another metal legend – Mick Mars (from Mötley Crüe). Coincidentally, Jim Martin wrote an instrumental titled Woodpecker from Mars. In short, he is nothing short of a sage. Faith No More without him is just not as appealing to me. The classic line-up wrote a song called We Care a Lot. Here is a list of Jim’s most amusing musings where you get the impression that he cares a lot…
The idea of “getting rich” has overcome the idea of “a way of life”. That is why McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, et al are the choices of convenience. It is why we are becoming so large and dependant.
I have been thinking – one must stay abreast of and try to understand modern cultural trends in order to maintain a valid point of reference. There are no absolutes unless you retreat into the jungle.
A few years ago, people cavorted and had cocktails. Good times. Now they are considered to have suffered from alcoholism.
Water on Mars. Life on Mars. The true interest is how it may complicate human habitation. Earthlings are so arrogant.
“Protect me from myself or I will sue you” – This is the golden era, the alleviation of personal responsibility. The masses are groomed to accept a more “controlled” life. Yet, life is perhaps more dangerous now. I remember when I became aware: the twinkie defense. Those who behave badly are now rewarded.
Put a monkey on top of your ballistic missile and shazam! – you are a space explorer.
The places which I used to go to get away from it – the boonies, the out of the way places, the sticks, the bush, the far away byways…they are all full of police now. There are lots of police everywhere ready to check my papers.
Halloween is fun. Pumpkins, witches, monsters – a confrontation of our own mortality. The idea of death as a horrible miscreant is indulged. The truth is, death unexpected more often than not wears a friendly familiar face.
The curtain has officially been pulled back a number of times in an effort to, quote unquote, educate. We all know that bottled water has been shown to be less desireable than regular tap water under most circumstances. Certainly under the circumstances we are used to here in the bay area. We have been sold a package.
Any woodsman or military could kill everyone on your block with a slingshot and a piece of wire. Only fools and dead men leave women and children unguarded. An ancient lesson forgotten in our selfish and complacent little society. Enjoy your cartoons, pizza and donuts.
Desire created the civilized world; necessity refined it. Greed has already destroyed it several times. Despite our pitifully puny concerns, zero hour approaches. The Doomsday Clock advances silently and relentlessly without judgement.
Slowly a new mentality has evolved. The great liberation of personal responsibility has won over many voters. Sad but true.
Plastic is a product of petroleum. It is reasonable to think some of the oil could be recovered. Remember the tire fire in Tracy, California that released thousands of gallons per hour as it burned. The implications are extreme.
The hallmark of our selfish progressive consumer society – the plastic water bottle. You’ve been sold on it as something good for you, good for your family, good for your dog, as well as encouraged to consume 8 bottles a day. Plastic water bottles are now the most heinous, dirtiest, most polluting single item on the planet.
Some days ago while driving and listening to the news channel on the am radio, I experienced an epiphany. I realized Christmas was not for me, not even for kids, not anyone’s kids. The gross expenditure of capital is used as a gauge to measure the health of the world economy.
In a free society, we can choose to be “bad” if we are bored enough, or “good” if we are bright enough to see beyond today. Psychologists and children call being bad “free expression.”
However, since “bad” is subjective, one who chooses to be “bad” is the epitome of a conformist. Do not allow apathy and resignation to make your decisions.
It is unforgivable to pigeonhole people; it is the thinking of a tyrant.
Every day, you are lied to. Every day, you are taught to be a consumer. Every day, you are bombarded with propaganda. Turn off the TV.
In movies, apprehension causes the character to walk backwards; the result, invariably, is surprise. Beware of walking backwards through life and experiencing things by lamenting over them after they have passed away.
The normally acceptable benchmark is that you may be filmed or photographed whenever you are in public view, and by any person with a camera. In light of recent news, it is becoming clear that the theory this exposure may have become a form of assault is being introduced to the common citizen.
Drama is an indulgence that no one can afford.
For many, the greatest disappointment in a crisis is the lack of drastic action by the authorities.
At the exact moment that we deviate from the one true way is the same moment which we begin to formulate the explanation for our misery.
The generation who learned their standard of justice and moral behavior from television and media programming is now officially here. Cultural diversity is under attack, history is re-written, the government backed media has quietly gained control. In the land of television and consumer agony, It is the lies we tell that shape our misery.
Misguided and self serving relief efforts staged by celebrities put more money and power into the hands of tyrants. The starving masses are “inconvenient.”
Everybody is so talented nowadays that the only people who I care to honor as deserving real distinction are those who remain in obscurity.
Beer is the white man’s coconut.
A decent person, when confronted, has a tendency to retreat to a position that is easily explained (defended). Prepare yourself, and stand up to the siege.
With fuel on the verge of topping 4 dollars, who thinks the unemployment numbers will drop? Furthermore, who is prepared to pay 5 dollars for a cup of coffee?
The human voice is meant for healing and singing. When we use it for communication, we tend to circle around with less meaningful and less spiritual conversation.
We have become incredibly self indulgent. We place ourselves above the others; the vicious, the crude, the brutal. This is the turning point. We are now above the rest of humanity.
With the unrelenting upward pressure on fuel prices, I am again considering socialism as the target objective. Bring the citizens to their knees and make them ask the government for relief.
Pride is easiest to swallow as soon as the opportunity. Humility provides becomes unavoidable. The difficulty increases exponentially thereafter.
Knowledge is a gift rooted in understanding. When one holds it, he may try to pass it to others. The ability to accept this gift is limited by the ability to understand its profound depths.
The stupidity is mind numbing day in and day out. This is no revelation, this is a point of clarity.
We live linearly. One thing follows another incrementally no matter how fractional.
The planet has reached capacity. It’s about herd management. You are part of the herd.
The paradox of life – the things which we complain about are valuable; without them, the things we enjoy would not be as sweet.
Think of your pride as a turd. Think of Humility as Chocolate. Your pride is encased in humility. To your horror, denial causes your pride to swell. Humility cracks and falls off creating a pile of humiliation. You are now left with a turd to deal with and droppings are smeared all over your face.
If you say you do not know the best way, everyone will tell you. If you say you do know, everyone will tell you how wrong you are.
Everything costs something. The question comes to mind – “Is it worth it?”
Recycling is part of the marketing. Truth is much of it is shipped to Asia to be burned.
The things that allow so many to live at the same time make each individual vulnerable.
Do not worry; Obama is a passing fad like Saturday Night Fever and Angel Flights. Like a worn-out doll, he will be forgotten when the Chinese Candidate is announced. Hope and change is gone. Everyone working together is gone. Your president hates you. He always did think you were an idiot, and you are. Your President bailed out the banks and large corporations with your money.
That which we are totally dependant on has allowed us to grow to unmanageable multitudes. Those who study such things point to war as a way of exterminating excessive people, thus lessening the competition. As you can see, we must kill many more to ease the pressures on the “limited” resources we must fight for. It is you who wants this to happen. Hillary Clinton does it for you.
It is suggested bottled water is unnecessary. It is suggested bottled water users have been duped with promises of safe “healthy” drinking water. It has been alluded that bottled water may be the biggest consumer scam of all time.
After 20 something years of intense popularity, the authorities are pointing out the problems of bottled water. Anything from contamination to tooth decay, carbon footprint and on to the great floating garbage raft in the pacific – the unnecessary and relatively large monetary consequences to individuals who subscribe to the church of bottled water.
My grandparents were immigrants as well. Lawfully became US citizens. There was a lot of pride in having the ability to vote.
Democracy falls when the voters discover they can vote themselves entitlements from the public treasury. It is always followed by tyranny.
With over 500 Public Agencies supporting over 1.6 million public employees, with health benefits approaching 6 billion dollars annually and retirement benefits approaching 11 billion annually (all funded by the California taxpayer), how can Gerry Brown say the only thing left to cut is Public Safety and Education?
Californians did not vote for “change” at the mid-terms like the rest of the country. We kept the old guard and resurrected a dead body. They used the housekeeper in the worse possible way; they showed she would do anything for money and paid her less. I heard other reps say “California is beyond our help. They deserve what the get.”
I heard rumblings of increasing the age of retirement benefits and renegotiations of agreements of state employees. Well, it has to go to the voters. Gerry thinks if he shows you the boogie man, he can manipulate your vote. His sales ploy is increased taxes and cut spending. History shows once the Taxes increase the politicians find a way to spend it.
The unfortunate reality is the over $1.6 trillion of taxpayer funds were used as a political power grab, providing our leaders the ability to reward their constituents via payback for loyalty.
Does the fact that inflation is now cresting the horizon or the potential downgrading of the country’s credit rating have anything to do with it? Does he think you forgot? Does he think you do not notice his finger pointing? Does he think you are paying attention?
Our “leaders” are actually our employees. It is our responsibility to guide them.
Loneliness comes into stark relief when falling from a ladder.
Social status, high regard, and influence are earned by a few through hard work, luck, or genius. For some it is just reward, for others it is difficult and annoying.
While talk may be able to confuse the truth, it is incapable of altering it.
Our current patterns confirm our CEO’s belief that it is necessary to assert and expand authority because we the people are not enlightened enough to know what is in our best interests.
The polarity in this country is illustrated by wealth. Some think of it as providing freedom from uncertainty; others think of it as merely something to fritter away.
I can’t agree with you unless I can understand you. You are “working class”; what exactly are the “serious flaws” that are “very very unfair” and that you have been subjected to by the U.S. government?
The vast brutalities inflicted by the Japanese on their conquered and colonized peoples of China, Korea, the Philippines, and throughout their “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” was a hideously depraved horror. They were willing to fight to the death to defend it.
It is convenient for you to feel helpless; it alleviates you of responsibility.
I keep my eye to the bushes because that is where trouble hides, waiting for an opportunity.
By far the single best way to improve your appearance and improve your life is to listen. Just when you feel you must make a point, it is the right time to remain quiet.
We seem to be programmed to think of horror and death in a detached way, perhaps a primordial survival trait that keeps us isolated from our own mortality. Hitler’s insight and inhuman treatment of human beings is a visible study; carefully and painstakingly documented, therefore easily accessible and easy to substantiate.
Every day there is denial, excuses, selfishness and whining. Reasons are given to explain nonsense. History is rewritten. Where there is only beauty, ugliness is described.
When I look around and see the children, and see the happiness their freshness brings and I wonder what is so captivating about youth. then I consider the ability to ignore death; for youth need not give it anything yet.
The misery of prolonged illness is one of the honing stones of wisdom. I don’t think being a woman trapped in a man’s body counts.
Someone in denial may seek abuse as penance.
Failure is a self serving state of mind. However it serves the self, it remains a thing of the imagination.
Only the last man alive gets to say the final word about the future of the planet.
The only really good thing about this Facebook is the time stamp.
All sensitivity training has been commandeered – Hillary shipped it off to Afghanistan.
Your leaders are not very smart anymore. The CDC is playing word games with Ebola. They proclaim it can be transmitted only through direct contact with an infected person and it is not airborne. This flyer from the CDC website says it can be spread just as the common cold, flu, and HIV. The virus remains present in the body for 3 months after contracting the disease.
Some day people will be arrested for sneezing on groceries.
Haven’t you heard? Your civil rights are in jeopardy. Did hear about the fish and game guy who is being crucified for hunting in Idaho?
It is best not to mess with the puddle when you don’t really know how deep the water is.
With increasing rapidity, we are losing our individuality. We are absorbed into the “global village” as Earth’s leaders encourage us to become one mind. The individual is isolated to it’s cell, so agrees to be monitored and controlled with greater detail. Incremental loss is acceptable as long as it isn’t “me” and “I” can still get to Starbucks. Sheer numbers completely reliant on mass production for survival and a meaningful existence accelerate the degradation of our basic natural resources essential for life. Technology is the only thing that can save us now.
I was watching the “World at War” series that came out in the sixties. One of the first steps to seizing total control over the German populace was eliminating the unions. Hitler went on to restrict civil liberties and raise prices of food and fuel making the people dependant on the government. Some people who lived it said it all happened without them really knowing. It was described as “a leaking faucet.”
I heard on the government propaganda channel today that the different chemicals produced inside the human body in response to emotions (stress, fear, love, etc.) are regulated by individual DNA. This was actually offered as an explanation of the different responses of individuals to. This is a step toward in alleviating us from responsibility of certain stressful events.
Big-spending politicians and their government employee unions count on taxpayers having short memories to trick them into accepting more tax burden e.g. look at the 1.25% sales tax increase which political elites pushed in 1991 to deal with a budget gap. A half-cent was supposed to be temporary but when it came time to expire, the Legislature, it placed it on the ballot promoting it as necessary for public safety.
Jerry Brown squeezes the middle class even more. This is not about fixing roads, we already paid for that many times. Sacramento has lost touch with the voting public.
Voters, by then used to paying the higher tax, swallowed the hook and we continue to pay the entire 1.25% increase that was initiated almost twenty-five years ago. The most important thing for voters to remember is if they agree to any temporary tax, it may as well be considered as permanent. Among those is the federal telephone tax established to pay for the Spanish American War, which remained in place for 108 years after the war ended.
There is no Perpetual Motion Machine. Therefore, there is no machine that is a Zero Emissions Vehicle.
Obamacare never helped improve access, it only makes sure insurance companies and hospitals get paid.
Don’t forget about the insurance companies and the attorneys. They have done much to shape the current climate of mind. It is now good business practice to avoid responsibility.
The only way that anything works is because someone believes.
The U.S. of A was the glue holding the world together. Because of our currently impotent foreign policies, the U.S. is unceremoniously pushed aside by imperialist Chinese and Russian interests. A line has been drawn, our weakling administration has been told not to cross it.
Awful things happen when people go haywire. In this country, they say mass shootings and it could have been prevented. What are they saying about France? Those people have not a chance to defend themselves. They said the police couldn’t find their guns when the comic book killers slaughtered them. This terrorist business has been indulged long enough. Everyone is paying attention. Will you blame a video or a comic book if there is a problem here? Blame your representatives and employees who are ridiculing you everyday.
Anyone remember how we were enslaved by plastic? It was a substitute for paper products. It would save trees. We have created a monster, because we have been sold the idea that we can delegate responsibility. That is the lie they are selling you. That is the lie you traded your soul for.
The creators of this country had the foresight to guarantee the populace would have the power to eclipse the current administration in the event they fail to act appropriately on the North American continent.
Google and snoops are wonderful things, but you have to wonder. Since all your knowledge comes from them, how much propaganda is passing as fact? An entire generation accepts the spin that’s been spun over and over. We all know that Russia, China and every other country are masters of the Internet. They have America as a captive audience. the asset you have is people who lived before all this. Put your phone down. Find someone born before 1965 and talk to them longer than a minute. This Is your last hope. Don’t wait, these people are all beginning to suffer from Alzheimer’s.
This country fought for independence at the penalty of death. They risked it all because they didn’t want a big government dictating how they would live and do business. This administration has taught people like you to hate people like that. He’s telling all the unwashed they never had a chance and the risk takers and innovators didn’t do it anyway, someone else did. Then there is time to denigrate a candidate, the negative and divisive rhetoric is central to the message that the current POTUS has for the people, separating himself from the rest of us. He did what he was supposed to do. I can tell you I’ll vote a rock before Hillary.
The 2016 U.S. Presidential elections are currently distilled down to a boisterous business man who is not a professional politician, an old socialist in a shabby suit, and a woman in poor health with a blatant disregard for the truth, and with a vested interest in the continued deception of you.
Social media plays a part in psychopathy. Every user has a virtual support group ready to justify every self centered revelation, no matter how trivial.
In California, no amount of gun control will ever be enough.
We have several decades now, in the United States, that point to a clear trend: violent crime is much lower than it was decades ago, and there are a lot more armed citizens walking the streets today than ever before. Despite the anti-gun lobby screaming warnings of blood running in the streets, we have seen the exact opposite.
Hillary Clinton has been running for President for almost three decades. Now that she’s running again, there is a media frenzy to protect her from the countless scandals which define her career. I’m not convinced she is “evil”, She is as greedy as a suckling pig. She is outside her strengths here; a variety talk show would maximize her talent.
The U.S.A. system of organization is based on thousands of years of collective experience. The unsatisfactory results we are churning through are due primarily to career politicians. Fortunately, the people who have been in charge of CA for the last 30 years are so old they are about ready to be forced to give it up. I wonder what people are thinking when they vote for the same unsatisfactory representation over and over again. I wonder what the big picture is for legislation that creates more crime yet does very little to reduce it.
Hillary didn’t shatter anything. The country was ready to vote in condoleeza rice way back when, but she didn’t want the job. Hillary’s ruthless capacity to use power in destructive ways may be beyond anything we’ve seen in the Obama White House. Unlike Obama, Hillary won’t let ideology get in the way of her goals. Clinton isn’t a simple politician. She’s a powerful political robot with little if any character beyond the value of deciding what is politically expedient.
Donald Trump’s position on 2nd amendment policy would quickly make this country the safest sovereign nation in the known universe. More people die in transportation accidents.
Editor’s note: In the above photo, you will see the drummer and bassist wearing clothes which moshers will associate with James Hetfield. The drummer is wearing a Mr. Bubble T-shirt whereas Jim is wearing an F.S.U. top. The acronym is not a band but a saying which can only be read in fine print because of the cussing. However, the keyboardist is wearing an L7 shirt – not a band that Hetfield has promoted on his chest.
Pop Cult Master 