Thinking Out Loud - Parking Authority

I watch reality tv from time to time, I don't even know why. I let myself fall into the zombification of people for some reason. Maybe it's relaxing to watch something that's completely mindless and involves no thought sometimes. Even when watching a show so minimal as this I can't help but think of all the things that make a show like this possible, or not only how this could be a show but how it's actually on the air. TV publishing aside, parking authority rustles my jimmies in a way unlike anything else. Where does someone get off giving a $300+ ticket for something like parking in a handicap zone? Granted those spots should be left open for people with disabilities, but seriously? We're talking about a care being six or seven feet too far in one direction. There's murderers who never see the inside of a jail cell for some bullshit loophole or evidence seized "illegally". Even for someone who ran late on their meter or payed the wrong one. That's still going to run you about a  $30 ticket, even though that's a relatively small amount that's more than two hours of work for most people. Two hours of work that's gone just like that, there's a multitude of infinitely better ways to spend $30 than giving it to some stupid parking authority. I may seem pretty outspoken about this, that is because where I currently live requires a permit to park outside of my house for more than two hours at a time and it seems to be patrolled regularly. Now this would be good if there was people constantly taking up space where I would otherwise park my car. The solution seems simple enough, get a permit right? I obviously live where I live so it shouldn't be hard. Except for the fact that this particular permit issuing authority is in stealth mode. My house is considered to be in the "downtown core" of my city. City Hall seems like it would be the obvious place to go, but not only is it not, they don't know where to direct me, nor do they even recognize my house as an area to give parking permits too. Funny to think that this is the City Hall of the city that has been giving me tickets this whole time. Now, after talking to many of my neighbors (those that actually seem to care about this, because the permit is only required for half of the block) I found that I can get a permit from the building where they store the snowplows, of all places. After traversing through this compound I managed to find the office and it was easy from there, but I digress. Now when you think about someone being ticketed you think there is something being enforced, but why is money involved? For something so minimal, so trivial as where a car is parked. I guess those people who actually give the tickets have to be paid somehow, which is probably why they're so loose with their ticket book. There was actually one guy who had personally given me several tickets over the course of a few months and I knew it was the same guy because of the issuer number on the ticket.Now I don't mean to be cruel, but when you see the same car parked in and around one area for a period of time any logical thinking person will be able to deduce that the owner of said vehicle lives there. Living there, implying the need for a ticket is unnecessary. Even when I had the permit, if I forgot to put it on there I would be ticketed. And this is after the same guy will have seen the permit hanging from my mirror and he still writes a ticket. Words cannot express the anger I felt at the time. I have since come to peace with these events, but I will never view parking authority personnel as anyone contributing to society. 

Thinking Out Loud - Student Loans

University. We're all aware of the costs of school. Those who don't have wealthy parents or those who's parents haven't been saving since before they were born aren't left with many options. Which of course leads them, like so many before them, to the dreaded student loans. Why is something so apparently necessary as school seem almost unattainable  financially? That is something that is a subject all on it's own, a future blog for a future time. I'll be focusing on the way student loans seem to trap people into a way of life. A way of life that keeps them stuck constantly paying back what they owe. What kind of student honestly has the income to start off with a high monthly payment. Believe it or not it works out to the giver of the loans advantage this way. Lower monthly payments will mean a longer period of payment. We're talking tens of years. Which equals more interest being payed out. It works like this, your everyday person like you or me decides to go to school. They have to take out a loan obviously. After the troublesome years of school they're ready to start their life and join the workforce, but wait. They're not ready to start because you can't start to live your own life when you're in debt tens of thousands of dollars. So someone isn't living their own life. They don't have the freedom to not work if they don't want to. They can't even decide how to spend the entirety of their paycheck. These people aren't working for themselves because they don't have the freedom to stop. These people are working to the benefit of the loaners. This is called slavery. It's different from actually taking people and forcing them to work because this way the illusion of freedom is maintained. I'm sure at some point there was nice people with good intentions of loaning people money so they could start their lives, but these days have come and gone. With tuition prices at the levels they are now one has to wonder if there's something more sinister going on involving those who regulate tuition costs and those who give out student loans.Let's say there's not and that we're all living in the perfect world and that the people in power are not abusing it to control the population, but ask yourself this:

"What do you get for pretending the danger's not real?" - Pink Floyd, Sheep

Thinking Out Loud - Why Romney is the Unlikely Better Choice

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming election lately, as I'm sure most everyone is. People are always ripping on Obama about how he's destroying the economy and how he's doing such a bad job. First off, anyone who actually follows this regularly and has been for not just this election but many elections in the past will know the economy was going to be bad this term no matter who was in office and Obama actually has done a lot of good things economically. What people never seem to bring up though, which I find funny seeing as this is what I would consider horrible governing, is the fact that he's signed bills like NDAA after saying he doesn't support it and how he bailed out all those companies during the economic collapse. Honestly, if a multi-million dollar corporation is running themselves in an unsustainable, greedy way when they fall apart they deserve it. That's how capitalism works. And what kind of message does it send when a corporation that runs itself into the ground doesn't suffer the consequences, not the CEO and executives obviously they're fine, but the company actually is bailed out by the american tax-payer. Would you willingly give your money to a corporate bigwig because he greedily ran his company into the ground? I think not. Now that being said I don't feel Romney is a better choice than Obama, but if Obama is re-elected it's going to be four more years of corporate control just like it always has been. With Romney in charge it's possible, however slightly, that we will have elected a man so bad that he runs the country into the ground. We're past the point of moving forward. All there is left for us now is to wipe the chalkboard clean and start again. I feel that is not only the best option, but the only feasible option for long-term growth. So if you happen to be voting this election, don't vote for Obama who will promise change and bring mediocrity and staleness, vote Romney. A vote for Romney is a vote for a new start, because before we can take two steps forward we need to take a step back. A big step back. People will finally realize just how bad things are and maybe, just maybe, actually do something about. 

I mean seriously, look at this guy. Looks like the end of capitalism to me. 

Blog Direction

For those of you who have yet to grasp the theme of this blog I feel as though I should clear it up, seeing as I have done little to show direction. There is no theme per-say, save for all things I feel worthy of writing about which could be anything from politics, to music, to my thoughts on the state of corporate control we live in today, and even my ideologies on governmental operations. That being said there is a sort of theme although I reserve the right to sway form that as much as I deem acceptable. Anyways, have a good day everyone. And here's a picture of John Lennon playing guitar with Che Guevara for good measure. 

A Musical Revolutionary - John Frusciante

John Frusciante. This man is a musical genius. There's something to be said about someone who can span as many genres as successfully and push boundaries the way this guy can. From his amazing work with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to his solo work and collaborations, to his newest push of the boundary - his two new albums released this year (Letur-Lefr - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LtmMvWqWk4 and PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL7o6FF77v4) which, in my opinion re-define music and lay way to an entirely untapped genre. They say the mark of a true musician is their ability to hide their influences. Bands like Airbourne, for example, clearly don't grasp this concept. These two albums by J Fru are groundbreaking. I have never heard musical fusion like this. It's truly incredible when someone today, the day of dull, repetitive, boring music, can still create fresh music like this. I'd say he's doing far better post-Chili's than the Chili's are doing post-John, all while remaining nearly on the down low. It's funny to think that this guy, at one point deep into his drug addiction, could barely form a sentence or stay on topic in an interview. But he managed to pull out, get clean, re-join the chili's (before leaving them again of course) and pull them out of the downward direction they were heading into phenomenal success once again.  All while pushing the limits of music in his own solo work in the background. It's unsure what he has planned for the future, but from what I've heard since he's left RHCP I can say with certainty that he's going in a good direction. So here's to the savior of new music, John Frusciante.

  

Thinking Out Loud - Dragon's Den

I'm sure most people reading this will be familiar with the show "Dragon's Den." For those who do not it is simply a show where entrepreneurs showcase products and ideas in front of the "dragons" - a group of overly wealthy CEO's and investors. Hoping for them to buy into their company, that is not what I am writing this about though. This is about how sad and pathetic it is that we as a society actually view something like this as entertainment. The fact that these corporate fat cats are idolized in this way is pathetic. These are people who can shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars as investments while not being sure of a return (although this is all they do they are pretty good at it, the fact that they have that kind of bank balance to go without it says it all). Now I don't know about you but, I consider this is demeaning. The fact that numbers like five hundred-thousand can be thrown around like this and the saddening thing is they won't just get their money back most of the time, they will actually see a return in an exponential way. What's worse is the power some of these people have can sometimes turn a product that would otherwise be unwise to invest in and turn it into a profitable investment just by themselves being a part of it. They can take something that might otherwise not be able to be sold and invest the product into their own company simultaneously buying a product from themselves/their company and selling it to themselves/their company. They take power in an entrepreneur's company and make it profitable just by their existing corporate power in turn making their new investment profitable just like that, benefiting themselves two ways. Now think of any other situation where something like this can happen, or think of you yourself being able to buy something form yourself and doubly benefiting from it. It's not possible is it? You won't even benefit in on way. These "dragons" have amassed a  wealth that has brought them to a point where they can make money just because they already have so much. Possibly the worst thing about this show is the fact that they actually do very little to make this kind of money, they sit there in their little den as people walk right in willing to be exploited and let this happen just so they can get their share of the wealth. Now, everyday people and entrepreneurs have to make money too, the small business owner with a good idea who just doesn't have the money to get his company up and going. They have mouths to feed, a family to look after, bills to pay just like anyone else, I'm not going to argue that but, isn't it sad that these things aren't possible without someone higher up in the global pyramid profiting off your need to live?