An Uncompleted Path of Diversion

I was going to begin this one with the broad topic of children's programming. I actually was finishing the post where I took a stab or two at that yellow, bucktooth sponge and ask the rhetorical question, 'Why should we trust a 7 year old and a monkey with shoes to guide us through the jungle?'

But... Life is filled with sudden turns and twists that the silver screens and authors of fiction only strive to create realistically. I received news that my grandfather, who came out of surgery with a thumbs up now has taken the turn for the worst. I'm not a big fan with blending too much of my personal life into the blog (take notice of the absence of names), so I'll do what I do when I get those strange urges to randomly type about nonsense.... I'll type about nonsense. That's just the forewarning.


I picked a safe topic with the next name on the MPULGS....Mister Pedro's Uncompleted List of Great Storytellers. Today, I wanted to put a spotlight on Jack White (III). Jack White is best known for his work in The White Stripes. He never fails to amaze me every time I listen to Get Behind Me Satan (by The Stripes).  It's not my favorite album of the group but the lyrics along with Jack White's voice carrying them gives 'storytelling' another defintion. With tracks like ' White Moon' and 'I'm Lonely, But I ain't that Lonely Yet', he takes (the willing) audience member to a place that he painted with unique tones. Although Mr. White accomplished alot with The Stripes, He's had success with other projects of his such as The Raconteurs. Watching his live performances of 'Blue Veins' showcases his ability to tweak that guitar's sound in a solo to tell a story that is so packed with emotion, words would only touch the surface. Example:

Beautiful. Speaking of the Raconteurs and storytelling, The next example is proof enough why Jack White is today's addition to the MPULGS. I strongly encourage treating yourself to this next performance. This song gave me goosebumps during the first listen (with the release of the Consolers of the Lonely). Without any further build up, 

All credit goes to the original artist(s). 

Until next time,
MP

(NOTE: I was messaged by several readers about the problem with commenting and I have fixed it. I apologize for that inconvinence. Comments are welcomed and encouraged... and will be read. )

Thank you for reading.

4 AM Double Heart Stoppers

Father's Day has arrived. It has been a day of reflection, so far. I haven't did much of what I had planned but I had time to just look around to see just what 'I' am a part of. The realization slowly fell on me this morning as I was asking 'Who left scissors on the couch?'. I know who did it. I consider it a part of my wide array of father skills... and this one in particular is the honing specialty. My daughter came to the couch with a pouty look and fought mumbling under her breath (because who really enjoys being in the wrong...really?). She picked up the scissors and placed them in a different area. i gave her a mini lecture which sounded about the same as it always did. That's when the relization fully hit me. At that moment...

For most of my life, I have been fighting the norm, a routine. For the longest time, I have did my best to avoid routine because I dreaded the responsibility and the time it took to find one that works. When I became a father, it was an inner struggle... When I became a full fledged step-father, it became a war within. It was the immature resistance that fought against a routine. I recall a moment when I came home a few years back. after being out with my step father, bar hopping our livers into a crippled state. It was 4 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday and it wasn't a normal thing for me to do... so antics were bound to follow. I decided that 4 in the morning was a great time to cook warm up bacon cheeseburgers and hotdogs. But that wasn't good enough. I decided to make a monster sandwich while stumbling around the kitchen (attempting to stay as quiet as possible). My 5 year old (at the time) walked into the kitchen and stood directly behing me. I turned around, guilty that he caught me under the influence of alcohol.

"Hey, Buddy," was all I managed to get out. I asked him why was he up and directly behind me.
His response was that he was there to watch me and "make sure I don't get into trouble". That was a slap to the face and a knee to the midsection. It took the air out of me and brought tears to my eyes.

Jump forward to this morning... I found myself caught in a routine. It wasn't so much telling her this for the second time, it was more of the fact that this was an example. It was a part of the routine. As sporadic as I think it is at times, it is not. That's just the fib I tell myself. The truth is that I am in a routine and I am comfortable and happy. Being a father of five is a challenge. The role of a step father is tough but the truth is that they are mine. Parts of my personality can be seen in each of them. Their brashness reminds me of my toughness, while growing up. Their kinship to their siblings reminds me of my heart when it came to my brother. I may be considered the leader, but I'd be staring at a dead end if it was not for them. For my children, I love you dearly.

As a side note, it is Father's Day and I wish an awesome one to all Fathers who have paved the way to their sons for a role that has it's own hardships. Also, Father figures deserve a round (of applause...) because it's a tough role to step into when the label 'father' doesn't seem to fit. This also goes for the mothers who have to take on the role.

Side, Side note... for the (lack of fathers)... These people know who they are... and don't ever believe that 'it's never too late' because if you wait around without participating in a child's life... it will be. The lack of participation in a child's life is about as useful as all these periods ... ... ... that I'm randomly laying around this blog ... ... ...

Until next time,
MP

Thank you for reading.

2nd Intermission ... 30% more heat

Another quickie out of boredom. I was reading over some of my blogs from myspace and got a kick out of some it. Poor Myspace, Anyways, It got me thinking about the random things I did back then and found this.((Warning: a dirty word is used... it rhymes with ... itch. ))

My first and only Youtube video. It doesn't make me giggle like it once did but it's still quirky. Smallville... Wow. What happened to that show? ... (I know, I know)


Random jump to another topic, my children gave me my father's day presents early. I'll write more about it next time in the post that is entirely dedicated to Father's Day. The early gift-giving served a bit of irony to me... I'm proud of their impatience.

Until tommorow,
MP

Intermission Based on Instincts

Random Quote of the Day by the great Son House:

"Don't never follow your first mind, cause that's the one that's wrong. 'Cause the Devil beats God to you every time."

-Son House (1970, London)

I Caught a Raconteur

I am getting a kick out of the 'Stats' button of this blog. It's eye-opening when I look at the numbers. I was going to update my profile but I figured that every bit of information about me can be found right here and (sometimes) between the lines. The other reason why I couldn't type anything in the 'Profile' section was the mind-boggling question of 'Category of Blog'. After ten minutes of staring at the screen, I decided that some things haven't changed... I despise the definite qualities of life (at times).

Father's Day is on the way and I am going to celebrate it with a bang. In actuality, I'm going to celebrate with Food, Pool, Movies, and Horsing around with the kids because (besides the pool) that's probably what you'll find us doing most of the time. I'm going to dedicate a portion of the day to a person that served as both mother and father to me... My mother. (No, No! She's not some strange hybrid or Tim Curry super-fan).

As a single mother (for the most part), she laid down a foundation for the man that I am today (and still growing, of course). She did the best any mother could have done and better. She had critics as all parents do. You don't think so? Speak to another parent or two about discipline and feel your eyebrows move. But the fact remains... Mom, I'm changing it up... Happy Mother's Day Part II. You deserve a bigger and better celebration that I've ever scrapped up (or forgotten about). I'm still going to write another post about Father's Day, because there's plenty. Maybe in the next couple of days.

For now, I'm feeling as random as ever. Storytellers. Great storytellers (that are too good for complete sentences). MPULGS....Mister Pedro's Uncompleted List of Great Storytellers. MPULGS.... is a bit too much, but we'll ramble on. I'm just going to throw a name out there today and numbered lists aren't going to do these names justice, so they're going to be in random order. Keep in mind, this is all opinion. There is no specified category because some stories have no boundaries to paper or sounds. 

The first storyteller that I'll honor is none other than:

Graham Masterton

The British author wrote a wide selection of horror stories and 'The House That Jack Built' was the book that convinced me he was a great storyteller. Sure, there are some works of his that will have you scratching your head but it's horror... and it's in written form (which gives the audience more room to digest it than to watch in on screen). Masterton convinced me within the first seven pages of this book that no one is safre and there are far more worse things than death. The set up to the set up to the set up is tied to excellence. Masterton receives an well-deserved nod for being able to connect with his audience and bringing them along with his ideas. Side note, Masterton did  write a number of 'sex instruction' books and those had no part in putting him on the list. ...Guranteed... I promise. 

That's all for now, Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated to the highest. 

MP

The Day that Things Made a Bit More Sense...La...La...La...La

I had a slow start this morning as it took just a bit longer for my daily dose(ages) of coffee to hit me. I put the Ipod on shuffle to make work a bit more interesting and one of my favorite songs of all time came on.

The Day the Whole World Went Away// artist: Nine Inch Nails. This is the song that started my fan-domanium (Is that a word?) of everything Trent Reznor had a part of. Listening to this song today reminded me of how much power music has had in my life. Rewind it back years before parenthood became the pair of shoes I now step proudly in, I stayed away from Nine Inch Nails, solely based on my arrogant view of music. I had two or three artists I really listen to, and spouted vile garbage about any band that wasn't one of the two or three. A good friend of mine (one who has more impact on my life than I ever imagined that person would have) was a huge fan of NIN and listened to it around me on occasion and I would gripe about how 'over-rated' Nine Inch Nails were and how only 'depressed goth children' and 'middle age neo-hippies' listened to NIN. Judging by those names alone, showed how immature and ignorant I was. It was a period where I was absolutely full of myself and the only people that could stand to be around me should be commended for their effort because I was a difficult person to be around. Fast forward a couple of years, through some important life lessons and enter the 'Head of the Household" role (not to mention a new job) For the sake of fond memories, I had a Nine Inch Nails album on my Zune and I was walking around in the back office of my job wasting time on a break, bored out of my mind. I hit Shuffle (The shuffle button is getting it's name around today, eh) and on came this song.

[The Live Version]

When the lyrics exited the headphones and into my ears, I was affected on an emotional and physical level. My eyes got teary and I was moved to the realization that my life (at that moment in time) had moved up to a brand new level and the immature part of me did not know how to digest it... So I just stood there for that moment and took it all in and that song seemed like the perfect piece of a soundtrack (if my life had one). Since then, I came to respect the artist and my musical taste has grew greatly. From the opening note, to the haunting words to the 'quietness'. The song then explodes in soundwaves bouncing around that tell a deeper story that is too much for words. That's my interpretation of it. That's the greatest fact about music: every person has a different interpretation (no matter how similar, it's still an unique  experience to each).

On to something random, Father's Day is on the way. I like to consider that day a second birthday, because of all the awesomeness that surrounds it. I have an idea for a Father's Day Blog that I'm sure will make out in the open soon. Oh, and speaking of random, I have two more pieces of random business to perform today. First, My random note of appreciation to an intriguing  writer with a great mind, Big Dusty. Check his out his blog by clicking H...E...R...E. For you, man. I hope one day, we could collaborate on a project together. [inside info] You still remember that 'New Family' script? Yep, Independent Film Pre-Production at it's most independent...ist. [end inside info]

And the last piece of random shameless plugging, Here's the part of the blog where an image will remain with you until tomorrow. Ready? Good.

For that annoying zombie apocalypse problem or even for a cute Christmas card for the folks.



If that didn't have you asking questions or muttering curse words after the phrase, "What the...", then you may need a cup of joe.

That does it for this one. Thanks for the readership. Feel free to comment.

MP

L.I.E. to Bert and Ernie

I've noticed something about children's programming. I'm watching PBS-spawned channel Sprout (because that's the pinnacle of my day), and i couldn't help but to notice how wooden the child actors are on the mid-show segments. 'Aw, Pedro, They're kids... Give them a break...'.

It just baffles me that just about every children's network has the most nervous little actors and actresses but I have personally seen some of the best acting from children on screen in some pretty controversial roles. Take 'L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway)' for example. Alright, that kid's a bit older, but take a look at about any Larry Clark Film. While the youngest talent doesn't get the most screen time (there are child labor laws still), they're still believeable as heck. I find it funny that a 7-8 year old 'drinking malt liquor' and cursing about how much he 'slings' is more believable than a child learning about how many teeth a lion has.

(Side note, I know that the Malt liquor kids weren't really drinking, but they convinced me enough to write this blog.)

Well, I'm off to work-ish. Thanks for reading,

MP

Old Posts And New Playlists: The Mirror

I recently logged into what is now my defunct MySpace account. Wow. It was like looking through an old photo album or a scrapbook. It was immaturity (for me, at least) at it's blindest. I still recall the comment that everyone and their mother had a MySpace, now it's Facebook and the Twitter. I will continue to call it 'the Twitter' until I actually use my account. The 'the' makes it seem so impersonal, which it is at this moment. I can only take so many & and # and @. Anyway, MySpace reminded me that I had alot to learn 5 years ago. It's a reminder of how much I advanced. No longer is it about a pack of smokes and who called me that day, it's now an action filled day with children dominating an ever changing schedule (also known as 'Parenthood'). Oh, and the Blog posts! Those blog posts were so inane and disorganized, it makes this blog look like something special.

Recently, I read that your '25 Most Played' List in Itunes reveals alot about a personality. After taking a look at the first five, I was convinced. Here are the first ten:

1. "Keep Me"- The Black Keys
2. "The Way Out is Through"- Nine Inch Nails
3. "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)"- The White Stripes
4. "Stairway to Heaven [Live from the MSG]"- Led Zeppelin
5. "Grown So Ugly"- The Black Keys
6. "Sunspots"- Nine Inch Nails
7. "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature"- The Guess Who
8. "Black Dog [Live from MSG]"- Led Zeppelin
9. "Undercover of the Night"- The Rolling Stones
10. "Had to Cry Today"- Blind Faith


Have you noticed a pattern yet? The latest song I have is from 2005. New Music frightens me at times. That's not saying I do not listen to newer music, I just don't listen it to it as much.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading,
Mister Pedro
[Image is NOT my property and merely used as an attention grabber. Did it work? If so, or If not, credit is still due to http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQVaRm-BxhWf2YJDSZGaf9OcKMHSeDdlVDkqSsGupj5G28z0f8m&t]

Luke Perry, Dress Shops, and You

Thank goodness for HBO. To be more specific, thank goodness for HBO programming. The movies are nothing special, considering they'll get their 'play time' on other movie channels and DVD outlets [There's little red boxes now]. The programing is what sets HBO apart. I like to think of HBO as an outlet rather than a channel (dvd's, illegal internet pirating, a friend's house) as in 'You don't even have to own it to enjoy it'. Why am I going on about HBO near midnight? Simple Answer... OZ. I have seen every episode a few times over the course of it's run (and re-runs). When I first heard of Oz (I was about eleven or twelve at the time), it was a show of (urban) legend when the events on the show were discussed. When I finally got to the age where I could actually take it in, I was shocked. The violence and the language was the roughest terrain to get over. The method of the storytelling shocked me just as much. From that moment forth, 'mature' programming didn't necessarily mean nudity and senseless sex [Funny because Oz wasn't indifferent to those to]. I loved how they inter-weaved the stories so extensively that it felt like 2 1/2 hours passed in the hour air time. The show took a creative leap with crazy story-lines (aging pill, bombs, and prison shootings galore) that questioned if the show jumped the shark or not. There's no doubt the show went off of the rails but it was Oz. The story telling was amazing because it inter-weaved stories that would seemed like nonsense on paper. And somehow... it still made sense. I will admit that it was fun to watch the train wreck with the over the top violence near the mid point of the series, when the storytelling became more... hairy... ballsy... absolutely nuts... you can pick from one of those.

 [ That is not James Hetfield of Metallica.]

Some of the images scarred my mind such as the Aryan branding of a weaker inmate and the new definition of 'spooning'. I'm not sure if the show was meant for the purpose of shock value but it did the job. Whether Oz was considered a male soap opera or a shock fest (or even that prison show that Edie Falco spent a bit of time on), it remains one of the reasons why I thank goodness for HBO. OZ provided an escape to an imaginary prison where the criminals commit worst crimes behind bars than outside. Oh, and where there is a death about every episode. Oh, and where Luke Perry is a money laundering televangelist. Oh, and where Christopher Meloni actually plays a sexual deviant grimy enough for the subject matter of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Oh, and where the only womanly 'women' aren't women at all. They're guys... in dresses... because in Oz, the dress factory actually makes dresses that people use.

If I continue, I'll end up working my way into a sick connect the idea game that will only end up in a posted YouTube video of the twisted genius that is Oz.

Thanks for reading.

[Image is NOT my property and merely used as an attention grabber. Did it work? If so, or If not, credit is still due to http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/oz01.jpg]