OOW Studios

No, I am not talking about simulated breast milk; which, for the record, is not that good for kids.  It’s kind of like giving Diet Coke to your infant.  Not a good idea.  But, then again, my mother was a leader in La Leche League so I may be biased.  Kids need what we men are thankful that God gave to women.  I hope that was vague enough.

Back to my train of thought before it was so easily derailed.  Formula, ah yes.

Formula.  A recipe for something powerful.  I used to see FORMULA written on the sides of early 90’s Pontiac Firebirds in high school and think, “that car probably hauls ass!”  The word seems to evoke a successful and possibly secret concoction, as if the GM engineers spent years pining away at what they could do to be able to slap that word on the side of one of their vehicles.  In truth, it was just a big V-8 with some fancy ground effects and maybe an exhaust kit.  It was like finding out Santa Claus was fake all over again.

In Tucson, Kyra and I used to cook all the time and I was amazed at how different flavors seemed to work together to create a taste sensation.  I will admit I was usually the one without faith.  ”You want me to put that into the pot?”  In the end, it was always a perfect combination that worked well and tasted great.

I see this patten in life.  There are things that we can add to our lives that will create happiness, success, health and well-being.  There IS a formula.  These things exist and we can choose how we embrace them.  Do we want the logo on a sports car for the world to see?  Or, do we want the pot of soup, jumbled and chaotic, that tastes fucking delicious?

I realize now that I have chased superficial happiness in the past.  I was the DB driving around in a Pontiac FORMULA Firebird.  But, I just traded that bitch in on a set of Farberware.  

Greg

I had an interesting experience at Guitar Center today.  But, first…

FLASHBACK – 1 month ago…

I went to Guitar Center and was thinking about buying a guitar.  After years of telling myself that learning to play guitar was either too hard or that I did not have the dexterity, I decided to chart my own course.  So, I went to the local guitar bazaar and took a look at what they had to offer.  But, when I was given a recommendation and handed a guitar by a sales rep, I must have looked like a virgin about to have sex for the first time.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Sure, I had fooled around and played a guitar here and there, but there was this feeling within me where I felt like a phoney.

CUT TO:  Today

I went to Guitar Center.  Only today, I sat down with a Taylor, a Martin and a Gibson and was able to sense their individualities and their different strengths and weaknesses.  Now, I am in no way a skilled guitarist.  In fact, if you called me a hack, I would be honored.  That being said, today I felt as if I was progressing towards my goal and that sense of accomplishment was real satisfying.  I was able to hold the guitars, play some chords and actually interact with the instrument.  Simply amazing.

Greg

I ask you this, what can we do for ourselves in the absence of our world?  Let me quantify this question.  First, let us assume that our world is made up of our creature comforts, our pleasures, our vices, our instruments of distraction.  In short, ‘our world’ gets in the way of experiencing ‘the world’.

So, by design, if we take away the elements of our world and tear down the walls of our comfort, what is at the core?  When we are alone with our own mind, without distraction, can we be at peace or are we struggling to bear the eerie silence.  Do we crave distraction?

I pondered this thought as I was drinking coffee at a local breakfast joint here in town.  I have gone about a month without a television, without an online game, without any of the countless items that became who I was.  For me, the process has been amazing and is continually evolving.

So, now, I ask…

In the absence of our world, what can we do for ourselves?  I say simply, “much.”

When did guns replace the age-old ritual of schoolyard brawls? I can remember (I am only 32) when fights would be scheduled at the local park and the only thing you had to worry about was making sure that the fighters remained one on one. Blood was shed and youthful honor was maintained, but noone lost their life over an insult.

Are our schools doing such a bad job, have the kids evolved, or are they being influenced by cultural factors. Shit, I don’t have an answer, but I can tell you this; This does not happen near as much outside of the U.S. Perhaps, I will have to educate my kids in a gun-free school zone in Munich. He may be able to drink at 15, but at least he won’t have to carry heat to recess.

Herein begins the spreading of our ideas through the careful use of 5 vowels and 21 consonants. We will be using linking verbs on occassion. Additionally, the presence of adverbial clauses and prepositional phrases will certainly be felt in a matter of time. Grammar is our mantra and we will obey its dogma. Please feel free to comment accordingly and with proper sentence structure.