Reality Shows

From the onset of the Reality Show boom, I recognized their disgusting nature. I immediately spotted the blatant themes of greed and selfishness. Those who do not mind being exploited by the show's producers and those who display shameful conduct and attitudes for the sake of money or publicity do not receive either my attention or sympathy.
However, there are those, such as the criminals caught on reality show's like The First 48 who are having their dignity taken from them without their consent. This is WRONG!!! Punishment for breaking the law is incarceration, probation or whatever punishment a judge or jury determines will fit the crime. To strip one of his or her dignity simply for the sake of television ratings that amount to profits is disgusting, shameful, and exploitation at its worst.
Airing the story of these criminals goes way beyond humiliation of the accused. The family of these criminals must now bear the burden of public shame and humiliation so that John Q. American can be entertained and television moguls like Rupert Murdoch can further line their pockets at the expense of others. I do not object to shows like America's Most Wanted, that air the crimes of uncaught perpetrators. Once caught, there is no need for anyone to profit from their activities
I will continue my boycott of exploitative, reality shows that fill the public's thirst for watching the failings and shame of others. I would rather be up-built by the programs I watch.

Queens Village vs Monied 'Burbs

When comparing Q.V, an "industrious metropolis" to say, Nashua, NH, a "Monied Burb", I notice immediately the ratio of Whites to Blacks and other races. The monied burbs are predominantly white, whereas 46% of the population of Queens Village is Black, 25% is Hispanic and 33% is White. Whereas the Burbs have a "highly educated" status, nearly a quarter of the population of QV lacks a high school diploma and over half lack a college degree. The median income in the monied burbs is somewhat higher.

The Home Depot Waltz

When I saw you this morning with tears in your eyes,
I knew what had to be done.
The coldness crept into our lives through the cracks
so I bought a new caulking gun.

Since the day that you left I can honestly say,
my life is increasingly sadder.
There's only one thing that can lift me up...
a fiberglass extension ladder.

They're singing the Home Depot Waltz,
Past the hand tools, the nuts, and the bolts.
They dance down the aisle, look upward and smile,
And price: Some new ceiling tile

All the pictures and things that remind me of you,
I tossed in my new garbage can.
The way that life spins round and round makes me think...
of getting that new ceiling fan.

The house is so dark and so cold since you left;
I'm overcome with desperation.
What I need to brighten and warm up my life
is a mag-light and new insulation.

They're singing the Home Depot Waltz,
Get some Spackle to patch up the walls.
A gallon of lacquer, perhaps a weedwacker,
and a rake... To use in the fall.

I'm not the same fella that I used to be,
I've become older and wiser.
now the grass ain't so green on this side of the fence...
it's time to go buy fertilizer.

My credit card's maxed I don't know what to do,
I've gone broke after only one week.
but just one more stop is what I have to make...
Cause my lawnmower's starting to squeak.

They're singing the Home Depot Waltz,
Get a handsaw and 3 two by fours.
A gas powered edger, a twelve-foot tape measure,
And paint... To use for the door.

School Counselors and Shrinks

With some 50% of all psychologists specializing in either the Clinical or Counseling divisions, it is no small wonder that before my eighteenth birthday I had already had intimate dealings with both. By the time I entered high school, my mother’s depression had snowballed into full-blown schizophrenia. It was then that I was introduced to the world of Clinical psychologists. They were now at work trying to figure out what was causing her mental illness. Was it related to her Thyroid operation? Was it related to the grapefruit-sized tumor removed from the base of her skull? Was it due to her husband’s constant verbal and emotional abuse? Was it heredity, seeing that both her mother and eldest son were mentally ill? Sadly, thirty years later, the cause of my mother’s illness remains a mystery. While I was attending high school, my mother was turned over to the wonderful world of psychiatry, complete with its barbaric shock-treatments and mind-numbing drugs.
For an adolescent like me, this was emotionally overwhelming. I began to hate my father, blaming him for my mom’s condition. I thus began rebelling against his authority, and then all authority. I started drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and fighting (not necessarily in that order). My grades reflected my attitude, and I started getting into serious trouble in school. It was then that I was introduced to a Counseling psychologist at my high school. It was in her office that my tears poured out, and it was there that I voiced my anguish and unloaded my burdens. The counselor’s advice now seems trite and elementary to me. To a dysfunctional, fifteen year old kid, however, her counsel struck a deep chord, and made a world of difference. I was convinced that I needed to keep separate the things going on at home and the things in my own life. I learned that my mother’s problems, my father’s problems, and my brother’s problems were not my problems. I had to go on and work toward my goals without letting my family issues impede my progress. My goal ever since has been to protect my own sanity. Years later, I sought the help of a different counseling psychologist to help me deal with the loss of my father. Those sessions were short-lived, however, because I never truly felt comfortable with that particular psychologist.

How Ya Dooin'?

You got the nerve to ask me how I'm dooin';
You say I look like somethin' that the wind just blew in.
The things you say. they really got me stewin'

I'm tired of the garbage that your mouth keeps spewin',
Why don't you go crawl back into the womb you grew in
And ask your mother hey mamma how you dooin'?


The bible says that god will only let a few in,
What makes you so damn certain that he will let you in.
And if he did.. would you say "how you dooin'?"

I think we should pray...
Pray for the day...
When no one will say.... HOW YOU DOOIN'.

Your bookie said to you that your horse was a shoe in,
It finished in last place and now you are a-ruein'.
All of a sudden you feel trouble brewin'.

Now you find that your investments aint a-crewin'.
You're left with nothin' so you sit home boo-hoo hoooin"
So how'd you like it. if I said, "how YOU dooin'?".

You weren't careful with the girl you were a-screwin',
Now there's a newborn baby that you are goo goooin'.
For palimony... and custody she's suein".

I think we should pray...
Pray for the day...
When no one will say.... HOW YOU DOOIN'.

Just like a heard of cattle when they are a mooin',
They know that in a minute you'll be bar-b-que-in'.
Their hips and shoulders they know that you'll be chewin'



Back in Paris all the French are parlevouin',
In South America the rebels are a coup-in'.
In New York City... they all say, "how you dooin'?"

I think we should pray...
Pray for the day...
When no one will sav.... HOW YOU DOOIN'.

Can You Hear Me Cryin' Out

Can you hear me cryin' out?
Even though I make no sound.
All the darkness, it inhibits my world.
The brightness makes me burn and burn.

I'm running away but to where I can't say.
I live for a laugh but it's miles away.

Wake up to start a new day.
They're all strangers to me.
Put on my mask so that I can be a free,
But hoping comes so difficultly.

I'm running away but to where I can't say.
I live for a laugh but it's miles away.

My mind is running out of juice.
Tries to cry but it's no use.
All my love, it's being enclosed,
By someone I don't even know.

I'm running away but to where I can't say.
I live for a laugh but it's miles away.

Can You Here me cryin' out?

Trouble in Paradise

I...... I hear your motor running
I...... I see trouble's coming.
Trouble comes in several ways, in different shapes and sizes.
It last for days and often stays and never compromises

I...... I know that you're real cunning
I...... know its for me your gunning.
I hear the cries and realize your prophesied demise
I stare bug-eyed, no where to hide, and become paralyzed.

There's trouble in Paradise, (beware of talkin' snakes)
There's trouble in paradise, (its all for Heaven''s sake)

I..... I feel your body burning.
I..... know its for me your yearning

It stands you up it sits you down it bends you over backwards.
Demands your time, will tantalize, will likely leave you mangled.

There's trouble in Paradise, (Look out for talking snakes)
There's trouble in Paradise, (It's all for heavens' sake)

There's trouble in Paradise!