C.R.E.A.M.

The old rap saying "Cash Rules Everything Around Me" generally rings true no matter where you are. It'd be nice if it wasn't the case, but in the capitalist society in which we live it just is. Of course, the thing is, it's that way everywhere else too. Dictatorships, communist countries...whomever has wealth controls all and that's that. I was watching a show (or re-watching, as it were) on the Knights Templar last night. These fine fellows amassed a ton of wealth before having the Kinf of France turn on them and label them heretics. See, I think where they screwed up was by not raising a massive army...the likes of which the world had never seen. With all that wealth came power and that power could have been sustained through controlled violence. It's what we do today, afterall.

Anyway, the past few days have seen me not doing too much. The weekend had a couple of nice BBQ's and some flag football, as well as some fun in the sun. Currently the wife and I are readying ourselves for the Kansas move and trying to get on top of our mounting medical bills. Man, health care is some expensive shit.

Word from tha 913

My wife and I will be Kansans after all, and to be honest, I couldn't be happier about that. I have been wanting to leave Missouri for several years now and even though this isn't much of a move away, it's something. Previously, there was a cloud of uncertainty surrounding our move to Leawood as the apartments we were interested in had some incorrect rumors about them. Upon extensive research, we've found them to be quite nice and safer than what we were led to believe. So, armed with that knowledge, we can finally begin packing for our trek (albeit short) out west.

I also stopped in by Lifetime fitness the other day and WOW...that is, without a doubt, the nicest and most complete gym experience I have EVER seen anywhere. Not even in movies or MTV Cribs episodes have I ever seen a more awesome place to work up a sweat. Hopefully, we can find it in our budget to become members as we would spend A LOT of time there. It's exactly what my wife and I need to get back in shape and stay that way.

Run To The Hills

This weekend was nice. Got to watch some movies ("Alpha Dog" and "Hannibal Rising", of which both were good), got to relax and detail my car (even though it's raining today), and generally chill out. Father's Day came and went with us doing the BBQ thing, and next weekend we have flag football in the Northland. Hellz yeah. My friend Bryan got promoted to manager of his own store, so he has now moved to Omaha, NE. That kind of sucks in the sense that he won't be here hanging with the rest of the crew...but, it's good for him. It's a promotion, a raise in pay, and a chance for him to gain some valuable independence. Hopefully he finds happiness in the Land of the Huskers.

The wife and I are still currently contemplating our move to Kansas. We just cannot decide what will be the best move for us as the place we live at now is supposedly much "safer" albeit farther from our jobs. I've put in emails to the apartment staff and police department inquiring about the state of affairs at this complex we're set to move to, so we'll see. Meanwhile, a pleasant war in the form of us getting caught up on our bills with the help of my family is steadily gaining ground. I'm getting my website updated slowly but surely, and it will certainly be ready before the KCAC Rivermarket Regional show goes up.

Safeguarding

With the recent abduction and subsequent killing of a teenage girl in our area, all the parents here are on full alert. Witness exhibit A...my wife and I going to the park with her parents and some of their friends from church. The couple from church were completely freaked out about having their children playing on a toy set not thirty-five feet from where we were sitting. We had them in plain view for the duration, although admittedly the toy's immense size did leave a few angles blocked from complete view. However, I just thought this was so over the top.

Don't get me wrong...the girl's plight is horrible, as is the thought of losing your own child (and if I had kids I might act the same way this couple did), but at some point don't we have to let people live their life and stop coddling them? I mean, I work in an industry where we design toys for kid's meals and it's well beyond ridiculous the amount of "dumbing down" we have to do to toys to make them safe to every single type of possible injury. We are so concerned that a child might harm themselves with a toy that we have become sissified. The very same threats have always been there...abduction is nothing new, kids choking on toys, etc. It's just nowadays, we place kids in a protective bubble so stifling it's amazing and we neatly package it as "protecting their best interests" or "making progress where previous attempts failed".

I say it's bullshit. The world has become lazy in it's parenting. Take for example the couple from last night. If they were so concerned about their children's possible abduction (from one of the safest suburbs in the area), instead of limiting them usage of this big toy why not get up off your butt and go play with them? Why not frolic in the park with them and be, oh I don't know, a PARENT!? Why is it the child has to suffer because people are too stupid or lazy to raise their kids? It's just like the safety precautions we follow with our toys we design. When I was a child I could have easily choked on a toy gun or accessory from a G.I. Joe figure or Transformer. But I didn't. And do you know why? Because my parents were smart enough to instill in me the good sense not to do that sort of thing. They also watched me and paid enough attention to me until the could sufficiently trust me to play on my own.

They did not let the TV babysit me, nor did they look to invent lawsuits for get rich quick schemes (like suing a fast food restaurant for your kid choking on a toy part when you, the parent, weren't paying attention). We always say the WW2 generation was so tough (and they were), then we say my generation was tough as kids, but this new generation is learning to be sheltered from everything. They cannot play with certain toys because toys have been redesigned because of lawsuits. They cannot go play down the street or across the neighborhood because of abductions. These threats have always been present, but we as a whole did a better job of raising our kids earlier than we do now.

We have to do better, because if we don't, not only will this generation become used to being sheltered and coddled, but what will future generations turn out like?

To The Rescue

My parents were in town this week, which is always a welcome occurrence. They live on the East Coast, so anytime they can make their way up here I love spending time with them. This particular trip they have managed to help my wife and I out in a BIG way as we were really getting hammered by bills in general. We had debt and the usual expenditures per month as normal people do, but man...you add medical bills on top of that and it's just flat on. Oh, and as you could imagine...brain cancer is expensive! Eh, anyway, I am profoundly grateful for all the help they give us when they can.

From what I understand, my folks are going to acquiesce to my request of finding me a Honda to purchase and take my Sebring as a trade-in. It's not that I don't like my Sebring, quite the contrary in fact, it's simply the car is paid for and there's no reason to put more money into in when they can turn around and sell it with minimal work for a profit. Plus, I loved owning my Prelude I had before this Chrysler and I would love the chance to rock the big H once again. With any luck, they'll find a nice Civic or Accord for me as those tend to me my favorites amongst their line.

...and you thought Blackholes were only in space.

No dear friends, it's true...there is one on good old terra firma, and it is called "Missouri". It sucks all that is sees into it's spinning vortex of gravity, and it has become one of the most difficult things to escape. :) As I mentioned before, it seems my wife and I may end up staying in Missouri afterall depending on what happens with a few upcoming details. Oh well, I suppose it could always be worse...we could have this same problem yet live in Utah.

Other than the fun that comes with housing and finding a place to call "home", I have an art show to get work for, t-shirt designs to attend to for a client, and my website update to finish. Hell, there isn't much left to do...all I really have left is just a couple of pages and some minor details. I guess I need to just buckle down and push it toward the finish line.

I'd like to welcome Melissa Cook back to the program! She was a good friend of mine in college and through the magic™ of MySpace she has once again managed to find me. How very interesting in a world made smaller every day. The internet is awesome, so thank you Mr. Gore for inventing it.

Gaming in the Virtual World

Work continues on the game my friend Patrick and I are building, but it is a slow process. We're building an online free MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) called Apoc:2029. It will be a lot like Mad Max (The Road Warrior) meets Rifts. If you do not know what Rifts is, well then, chances are you don't know RPG's either. Think futuristic D&D. Anyway, I have been a player of the popular Urban Dead MMORPG for a couple years now and decided awhile back to create my own game. Since it's browser based, these games do not require a lot of graphical needs (which in turn does not require a lot of bandwidth either, which is a very good thing). Eventually I'll need to build a dedicated server to host the game itself (if it gets big), but that's another task for another day. Right now, we're merely trying to get all the coding work done on the project to get it ready for beta testing!

Complications

So it would seem there may be issues with us moving to Leawood and becoming Kansans after all. The primary concern at this point for my wife and I is that where she currently works as a temp may in fact hire her permanent. This would be outstanding as we would love to get her placed somewhere in a permanent capacity anyway. However, the location of her job is in Lee's Summit where we live now, so her working local would really negate any gas saving advantage we would gain from moving to Leawood. I would have a shorter commute, however she would inherit my current drive.

And then there is the "other thing". Apparently upon further research the apartment complex we were planning on moving to has an unusually high rate of crime for it's location, as well as upkeep and potential mold problems. Screw that noise...where we live now is quiet and well kept, so why mess with that? I'm not really sure what we'll do at this point...for the moment it depends heavily on what happens with her job and the offer. Missouri is such an interesting place...it's like one part Field & Stream and one part Escape From New York.

Art Showings!

I am proud to announce I will have two of my illustrations showing the the Kansas City Artist Coalition's Rivermarket Regional show! I have applied before with some of my canvas works in years past, but this will be my first time showing with them. They have a couple of very nice galleries located in the Rivermarket area of downtown KC. They produce a booklet showcasing the collected works from the show, and of course there is the opportunity for not only exposure but sales as well. In addition to all that, there is a $2,000 first prize as it is a professionally juried showing. The show will run from July 13th to August 17th at the KCAC gallery on Wyandotte.

Coming up as well will be an art showing of some of my canvas works at the WG Wood Products showroom owned by my brother, Mike. We will be promoting a "Ladies Night" wood making event for the business, and so Mike wanted to have a nice open house showcasing my work as the backdrop. I'm always up for free exposure, so out to the wood working business I go. Check out his site, . I'll get back to this showing and post the actual date and time when that becomes available.

Officially Kansans

That's right campers, my escape from the Show Me state has been many years in the making and will finally come to fruition next month! Sure, it's not moving far in terms of distance, but it's far away in terms of finally accomplishing a goal. I was born in Missouri, and have lived there my whole life save for summers in Houston, TX and one year of living in Melbourne, FL. While I would say Missouri as a whole is "OK", I would never list it atop my personal list of places I'd most like to live. One might argue Kansas wouldn't make that list either, but the area of Kansas my wife and I will be moving to might actually.

Soon we will be able to call Leawood, Kansas our home which to me is really, really kick ass. The area we're moving to is four miles from my work, and not only saves me a ton of gas, but allows me to completely bypass the Kansas City "Iron Triangle" of traffic. Hell...yeah. Plus, Leawood is very nice...second only to the newer portions of Overland Park or perhaps Shawnee I would think in the area. It's not the announcement of a move to Florida or Texas as my wife and I would like (yet), but it's certainly a step in the right direction!

United...yeah, right.

I got into a conversation with my Father-In-Law about the United States position in the world relative to the UN. Both him and I came to the agreement that the UN is a joke. America is the long arm of the law so to speak, always the first to act directly whereas the UN tries sanctions and embargoes that rarely do much. Sure, the concept of a unified, United Nations front is a great thing...if it actually worked. The UN needs to be completely overhauled. It needs a governing body of representatives from each and every country with one vote apiece, and then it's own massive standing army. The UN Peacekeeping force should represent the mightiest army in the world because it is in the best interest of the "united nations" to have an army greater than what any single member can stand up to. This truly keeps the "peace".

Should nations like China or South Korea refuse to go along with what the other countries in the UN vote for, they must answer to whatever demands the UN council devises or face the wrath of the Peacekeeper force mobilizing and knocking said nations off their high horses. As it is, we (meaning the US) generally have to wait for the UN to take a stand or voice their opinion, or simply act because we know they will not. We generally bring our closest friends to the party (like England, Australia, Israel, etc.) and go into places like Afghanistan or Iraq and begin doing what must be done to provide global safety. However, this paints us in to a corner and forces us to be the world's sheriff.

People of nations we intrude into to do this work then in turn hate America sometimes because we are viewed as meddling and intrusive. Instead of that anger being directed at a united group of all the world's nations, America generally gets singled out as the main (and largest) protagonist. Why is it our job to be Team America: World Police? Shouldn't it be this governing body? If another nation invaded America and told us what type of government they were installing, how to live and what to believe, would we not be as upset and rebellious? Would we not rise up and count ourselves amongst the insurgent groups attempting to gain control back? Yet we do the things we do in places like Iraq and Vietnam when in reality it shouldn't just be "our" job.