See
December 27, 2013, 2:47 pm

I've seen it all haven't seen a thing don't know what the new day will bring. I ve lived my life walking on the line between the devil and the spiritual divine. So is it me or what I see that creates the frustration in me. Just let it go the standard phrase but when you heart bleeds you cant walk away. I've seen the darkness I've seen the light but until we find the middle I will carry on the fight. I look at you as you look at me don't we all want common ground to set us free to stop the hate and misery to crawl from the cave to finally see.....jon

When Raven brought the light......T
December 27, 2013, 2:44 pm

ight through darkness, Raven unleashes the light. what we see, what we do, what we experience, all from mystery, and mischief... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ December is a very busy month! Weather you celebrate Pancha Ganapati, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Bodhi Day, Malkh, Winter Solstice, Christmas(or the many others) or try to incorporate all these, it is a time of being with family and community in celebration. December 21st is the Winter Solstice, a time that marks the bringing of the light. We gain incrementally sunlight from this time forward. The question for each of us personally is, 'how do we bring the light'? We each have such beautiful gifts to share with the world, let us share these gifts and bring our light to the world. 7th generation tip of the day: Bring your heart out today, take a gander at her. What does she want to share-ask her. Bring it forth to the world. Your love gift goes farther than you know. Quantum Physics teaches that the whorl of a subatomic particle in your fingertip effects distant galaxies. Just imagine what our heart gift can do! Happy Holidays everyone! peace be with you, muwin

Who will carry the torch?
December 6, 2013, 4:33 pm

I like millions of others around the world are saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela but I wonder if one of his last thoughts were who is going to pick up the torch and carry it??? Cant we all fill the void carry the torch??? This takes nothing away from this incredible man but after all I have read he would want others to carry the torch after his passing. In the end I guess its up to you and me otherwise we diminish the legacy he left behind......Jon

T
December 6, 2013, 4:23 pm

spiritual leaders gathered from all faiths. they looked at Decembers calendar, they were distracted after a while with story, song and dance. January came, they didn't seem to notice the harried world, cramming stores, flipping off others drivers, fighting in sales lines. and stealing toys carefully examined by elders shopping for their grandchildren. they are meeting still, in a time and place, beyond time and place.... ----------------------------------------------------------------- I have noted that over the years this time of year has progressively pissed me off! Am I becoming more the proverbial Scrooge? So much hassle, so many worried faces, so many rude people! When I listen to the Elders speak, they talk of simpler times, not times crafted by Hallmark, and Corporate America. Take care of yourself over the holiday season here are some helpful hints: -meditate, meditate,meditate -keep things simple -be love, be joy(there is no greater gift we can give people than to bring unconditional love every day, all year) -Listen to another-for many this season is not happy. Simply listen and be with them, our very presence, sometimes what I like to call,'the vigil of the unconditioned',is very powerful -take the time to enjoy what you enjoy! If it is listening to festive music go for it,if it is dance,writing,yoga,qigong=whatever it is to give you your ,'vigil of the unconditioned' with yourself -for goodness sake laugh, have fun all year. may you have a song in your heart and a smile on your face, T

T
December 4, 2013, 5:14 pm

My very in breath, dust from stars, it is no wonder with intention each cell vibrates. My very out breath, everything that has died in the cosmos. The pauses between elliptical bridges spanning the creative never ending cycle of this life, that life, that life, this life.... -------------------------------------------------------------------- in all the body/mind/spirit arts of the world the key element is the breath. this most basic function of our clay bodies, is also the most profound. in breath-sunrise out breath-sunset in breath-at birth out breath-at death we can go on for entire volumes about the cosmic and symbolic attributes of the breath. today we won't(thank God that gabby gus, jason goes on and on...haha). what important is to use this vehicle to ride your life in. when we do, ahh the scenery is lovely on the FREE-way. peace be with you, muwin

noj
December 1, 2013, 6:23 pm

Hey this kind of shit runs thru my mind don’t know why? Scratch my head just cant understand the lack of complexity of the human brand. Reduced to shallow conversation, fulfilling personal needs its all about me its all about me. Is this a product of the new golden age or are we so shallow we choose to look the other way. When did we lose the compassion, looking out for others in need, being true to yourself knowing there’s no perfection within the human seed. But perfections not the goal the goal to be the best you can be within the complex balance that will take this human race to where it needs to be.

T
December 1, 2013, 6:20 pm

tiny flower bit by frost, how I mourn thee. 'Do not mourn', she whispers, 'my radiance from radiance shined for awhile. I feel my children around me, nestled in shells, they to shall blush with love, when the time is right'. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- every day we die, every day we are born, to recognize this is to understand this ride through the cosmos we are on. yesterday is a phantom tomorrow a dream, to live this very moment is to see life and death converging to the still point, to the touchpoint of calligraphy of this life and all others.... LOVE, the cosmic cueball

T
December 1, 2013, 6:17 pm

9 of 390 Why this ad? Caring.com - Assisted Living Costs - Searching for Assisted Living Costs can be hard. We'll show you pricing for top facilities near you. Print all In new window in a spiders web.... Inbox x simply show that you are aware, the ground we walk, the air we breathe, the myriad beings, all in the web of Indra. how can I walk one step without seeing infinite beauty.... ----------------------------------------------------------------- the Navejo(Dine) say in their prayers: Beauty In front of me Beauty Behind me Beauty to the right and left Beauty Underneath and Above Beauty all around me. When we live in such a way we surrender to the universe, and the universe surrenders to us.... 7th generation tip of the day: make sure to bump your receivers before they hit the flats you have five yards to....(oh bother ,sorry about that switched to the football channel lol). Here is the channel, Be Beauty see beauty! peace be with you, clueless cuebal

T is back
July 2, 2013, 10:45 pm

Melissa looked out from her cardboard box, her sister was already in prayer. her friend was on the telephone line looking down at her. 'this kid isn't going to make it', thought Raven. he took a golden ring from his feathers and looked at it. 'don't know why this translates as food, but good bye my pretty', he dropped it to Melissa just as her sister folded up her prayer rug. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50,000(upwards) men, women and children will die of starvation today, as they did yesterday and will again tomorrow. in this world of abundance, we must pause to think about all of the impediments that make such a tragedy happen daily. 7 generations philosophy teaches us that every act we do must benefit all beings 7 generations from now. no matter what culture,religion, or race we belong to 7 generations is a sensible approach. time is ticking for the 7th generation from now I can feel it and I do not care for the world we have made for them.let us take a moment to reflect and think about this and bring substantive change for ourselves,families,and culture we live in,,,,,,,T.......We had to shut down the fan Journal to much spamm if you want to commment go the Facebook and type in Jon Whitney you can find us there.....thanks

Check out the tunes
June 26, 2013, 5:18 am

http://jonwhitneyis.wix.com/shadow-screamers Hey fans if you want to check out some great tunes of ours click the address above.Still in the process of revamping the site

please bear with us
June 25, 2013, 4:16 pm

Sorry about having to shut down the Fan Comments Page we were deleting dozens of spam jam every day if you see this site and want to comment I have a facebook page now where the spamers are not allowed. So if you want to comment please feel free to go to my page at https://www.facebook.com/jon.whitney.96 also our downloads page is down too but we have some tunes on myspace you can access it on the bottom of the home page.We are in the process of revamping the site so please bear with me in the meantime T will be posting again soon and we all benefit from his unique mind.....jon

Jon
June 24, 2013, 11:31 pm

Well upon reflecting on my choice to shut down this site I cant bring myself to do it. That said it was not the first or last stupid thing I have done or will do again im sure. We are going to revamp the site and we are connected to facebook. T has been writing up a storm and I want him to start posting again!!! I have written a few new songs and they will go up soon. I am re-energized and am ready to make another push....... A man who stops getting up will loose site of the path that lays before him.........

the pearl at the bottom of the sea....
October 3, 2012, 7:00 am

There is a monster that lurks in each of us. It does not allow for the opening of our ears but lets a gushing vile stream exit without check(our mouth). We all have thoughts some good/some bad but particularly in the west we struggle with the difficulty of truly listening.Why wouldn't we? In a John Wayne get up and grab at no matter what the cost,soundbite culture who has time to listen? We must do, right? We must get, right? This is the very nature of our discontent, as what we grab, never satisfies, what we accomplish is not enough. To borrow a Sufi expression, we must search fearlessly for the pearl at the bottom of the sea. Ahimsa starts with looking in,who am i? where am i going? why ground myself on a cultural wheel that is so obviously broken? Ahimsa starts within/without. Our examination of ourselves in other words leads to selfless non violent action. I have been stressed for time lately-more on the other thoughts about Ahimsa soon....peace be with you,T

this gentle ground....
October 2, 2012, 6:48 am

Humbled again....it's okay, what better fantage point than the ground to see the splenor of the unfolding day....peace be with you,T

come to the orchard in spring....
September 30, 2012, 10:37 am

let everyone you see, hear, feel be that one so dear to your heart. let every sound from every beings mouth be the lute you so long to hear.let every touch be as if from a lover, in those gentle times when we truly know you are loved. let everything you see be seen through eyes gifted by God.....in new england this time of year it is hard not to be intoxicated.the colors are astounding! take this AHHHH! moment-spread it to all beings you come in contact with and those you don't-this is truly a living breathing practice of Ahimsa....peace be with you,T

SHADOW SCREAMERS THE BAND IS OFFICIALLY DEAD BUT THE GOOD NEW IS!!
September 26, 2012, 8:06 pm

T WILL KEEP POSTING IN THE BAND JOURNAL FOR HIS COUNTLESS FANS!!!!!!!!! Hi I am Jon the creator of the Band and along with my good friend Art who did all the work THIS SITE!!!!!!!!!. I feel liberated doing this I gave it a good shot and T was there for support but I just could not make it happen so everything on this site EXCEPT!!!!! the BAND JOURNAL and of course the FAN JOURNAL is going to be removed and I am moving on. The site will be up until January AND YOU CAN LOOK FOREWORD TO MANY MORE POSTS FROM T…… and then if T wants it to continue it is his choice. AGAIN T WILL CONTUNUE TO POST AND GIVE YOU ENCRIDIBLE INSIGHT INTO OUR REALITY SO DO NOT ABANDON HIM PLEASE……I need to do this to let go so that I like T can move on ask t about the book he is trying to get published please………..My best to everyone and thanks for checking out the site………….jon

please read....
September 26, 2012, 7:20 am

Jon's post, ' pure love' is wonderful and beautiful! Sorry I posted over it please scroll down and read it.peace be with you,T

Water....
September 25, 2012, 6:55 am

Hi Jon, thank you for the great post yesterday! Scandinavian researchers have developed a straw that you can stick into very polluted water that provides fresh water to the one drinking it! I wonder if Smokey's packet has this? Water is very much a real crisis and will continue to be more so.It is amazing to me that Native Prophesy predicted this countless ages ago.peace be with you,T

pure love??????????
September 25, 2012, 2:24 am

Imagine what a world it would be if we all used such simple words as All inclusive, leave your bigotry and sterotypes at the door, sexual orentation is not a choice, give to others first especially women and children, dont judjge lest ye be judged ,lift up dont tear down an inquisitive mind,feel anger, love, hate, passion, understanding, awareness, add your own but.......using this incredible gift we have been given use these words to make a step foreword discarding the negative but realizing that being human beings we all will feel both the positive and negative yet the purest soul is one who can seperate the two and look with clear eyes and open mind choosing to live with understanding..............

Please check this out for the band.........thanks
September 24, 2012, 3:01 pm

Hey please check out"Smokey Robinson and the Miracle packet". Its a program he started to get packets that purify water to people in desperate need of safe drinking water............ reacting to contenplation can lead your soul on a new destination an imprint left behind that will make you proud and all the while your mind will be headed to new and inspiring destinations..............

First Direct Action Day in Regards to Ahimsa....
September 24, 2012, 7:07 am

Action:Try one day a week getting away from screens. This is the beginning step of what I call a Negativity Fast.If you have a family practice this together as research shows that when we do something together it is mutually supportive.Try first a weekend day as school and work demand so much screen time these days. In order to do this, like with any addiction, we must first think of activities to fill down time, below are some suggestions;if you have a family dig out board games and cards.find that book you have wanted to read a long time.schedule a hike to a place you have not been before(if at a familiar place, try to note what you have never noticed before).make the day a mini meditation retreat.attend the yoga,tai chi,qigong class you have wanted to do but did'nt have the time.write a long handwritten letter to someone you love(remember how you enjoy recieving these via snail mail?).spend the entire day outdoors and watch the stages of the day,relax,meditate,eat organic locally grown food.go to a farmers market-talk to them about food(where it is grown,how it is grown,etc...).:there are endless possibilities to the day.In this action phase we start to pull away from the buzz of the techno world and realize-hopefully that there is so much more than what we see on the screens.Make sure to journal your experience.peace be with you,T

lazy 2....
September 22, 2012, 10:16 am

Military/industrial/corporate complex, the issue go on and on. We also have to have a seriuos soul searching netionwide to ask and go to the root of,'why do so many hate us world wide?'i hope you know what i am entering is just the very tip of the iceberg-but the important point is,'let us roll up our sleeves for serious work for the worlds progeny 7 generations from now. there is no more time for laziness.' peace,T

lazy....
September 22, 2012, 9:04 am

Just yesterday in our local paper there was an article by a Local Professor that stated,'America should not give up the right of Free Speech, If we do we lose our freedom'(paraphrased by me).Of course we agree upon this and it is one of the fundamental rights that we at times enjoy in this country(I say it this way, as it is not always the case-for more dig in the journal). To me this is the lazy way out of recent events. Of course we should have free speech, that is a given, however, what about the increasing ignorance and intolerance we are developing? What about school systems that systematically have dropped analytical thinking and teacher/student dialogue and replaced it with standard based testing? What about the continued rise of conservative right thinking that denigrates our civil rights, free speech,and political debates? We have so many issues to deal with, we must roll up our sleeves and have serious discussions, not sound bite's for political gains. Back on Ahimsa tomorrow. Peace be with you,T

mirror
September 21, 2012, 6:45 pm

I urge every adult to look in the mirror not when you are getting ready, or to check if you have food on your teeth. Look when the day is done and the light is low relax and let your mind open up. breath slow breaths and see what reflection comes back to you. Sounds crazy but I found out alot about myself doing this.....what do you find........

the core and T needs your support
September 19, 2012, 11:32 am

.Hey T fans I will no longer be able to keep this site up so in January of next year we are going to shut down. I have noticed that countless fans have enjoyed Ts writings as they should.I have urged T to make Cds of them and sell them on this site so that maybe he can pay to keep the site up and gain exposure. I say this knowing that you can take what you want from his writings free of charge and if that is who you are then go ahead and contradict what his words are saying to you if you can live with yourself then you dont get it. I guess T will see who is really absorbing his incredible outlook on life,living, learning and love etc.........jon............I have a post below it aint T its me and I aint chainging I have to live inside my own mind.......If you care help T get going!!!!!!!! .....................Jesus should spend time in hell along with all religions perhaps they will see there the common thread weaving thru lack of rhyme or reason as pertains to human beings. How sick to see some poisoned minds distort the pure core that all of man kinds faiths so boldly tout do they think I am stupid???? am I wrong or are most of them firmly grounded in the token phrases like love one and all and have compassion for all things living??? For the life of me I just don't see it and believe me I have fucking tried. So as my anger boils deep inside while I watch as the black Shepperd's lead the sheep believers bending all the golden rules any way they choose to perceive them. Why if are we the ones who tout our brilliant minds and abilities??? why are so many millions easily lead into hatred and condemnation of those who believe differently? What is it you are craving is it just to save your fucking soul really???? really???? fucking good for you! you win!!!!!!! I have no fear I will accept where I go when I pass, because no matter what the cost I could not live with myself if I chose to bend to what I can plainly see is the biggest impediment to our development if we do not go back to the core. I will never accept what I have seen unfold before me time and time and time and time again.In my mind we have so much more to give and live and love and enjoy if this fucking world would truly......... each and every human being clinging to their religions would say enough is enough and using this so called brilliant mind get back to the core and to love all those who live with love for all no matter faith, religion, god,etc................. jon

Building the foundation....
September 19, 2012, 7:25 am

1)The first principle in our discussion of education must be an examination of Ahimsa or non-violence. To teach children in America this principle is progressively becoming difficult. Look around you what do you see? You cannot turn on the tv without seeing violence within minutes or seconds. In fact violence is perhaps the biggest commodity(unfortunately)America sells to the world.A)Violence to the self-an examination of tv,magazines,news, constantly reinforces that you are not good enough,that you need something from the outside to make you palatable to other human beings. Buy this, buy that. On top of this we have a food industry that sells salt and sugar to such an extent that children become addicted, and then are labeled and marginalized when they become obese. We shall examine ways in the upcoming entries on how to pull away from this violence.We have trained our children to look at screens as opposed to direct communication.Over 90 percent of human direct communication is through the non-verbal, if we take away this component, we do grave violence to ourselvesd in that we become something we are not-soundbites! We become the screens we worship as opposed to the direct and meaningful communication between two people.I shall present challenges shortly to this soon through what I call a negativity fast.We do violence by being uncomfortable with the language of God-Silence. I have met so many students over the years that feel so uncomfortable with silence. They do not feel comfortable in nature when it is to quite, they do not like social gatherings if it becomes quite.Is it any wonder look at the screens blaring,addicting our youth to the next soundbite and if you don't get it quick enough-well you are just not with it!According to the media.All for today, you may be asking what has this got to do with understanding other cultures and building dialogue? There are no simple solutions, in order to have a build well you must first have a solid foundation, not a soundbite lost in minutes in psyberspace. Peace be with you,T

back soon....
September 18, 2012, 7:22 am

Lots of changes going on right now, be back soon, continued prayers for the people of the world to love one another.Peace,T

children of God....
September 14, 2012, 7:28 am

It is with a heavy heart that I write today.We would like to give condolences to the families that lost their loved ones at the U.S Consulate in Libya. In times like these one is struck dumb with helplessness.How are we to change the picture of discontnet? How is it that we can change being more embracive of all cultures all religions? We would like to apologize to all Muslims of the world for the callousness of those that would spread hate and misunderstanding.It must be understood by everyone on this small planet that,'Every Prophet sought out companions.A wall standing alone is useless,but put three or four walls together,and they'll support a roof and keep the grain dry and safe.'-from,'Of Being Woven',by Jelaluddin Rumi(my favorite Poet).These words are powerful in that they ask for the support of all. We are all children of God and the various expressions through faith and Religion are to be honored and treasured.We can no longer sit idly by and allow bullies to spread lies and misinformation(as with the horrible video recently). It does not do the world and her people any good and causes friction, hatred, and seperateness. My aim in the next couple of days is to outline a program that I feel would give people a better understanding of the people of the world. America is a very young country, I have been embarressed by her child like arrogance towards the world. We must grow up as a nation morally and spiritually and stop allowing zealots to dominate the news and create hatred and misinformation to the world. My first approach tomorrow will be through the schools and programs I feel are necessary for the above stated goal. We are all children of God; Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist,Jew,all and every tradition. Their different approaches point to the love that permeates the Cosmos,all every one should be honored, and we as children of God need to enter into meaningful and loving dialogue....peace be with you,T

part 4....
September 13, 2012, 7:15 am

They talked until the morning light. The boy had used a convincing idea that the Tiger could not depute for a plan they co-conspired. They boy argued that if he could convince the wealthy to open their gates and spread their wealth back to the village, the Tiger could go back to his ancient ways(ever watchful of the human condition-mind you)as the Tiger admitted that he did not like human flesh. So the next morning this emmaciated boy made his way to the richest house, that of the head of the village. He argued for two days the economics of not caring for his own. He said that the leader and his children and perhaps grandchildren could live on in this greedy way but eventually the economy would collapse, the village would die, or worse yet for his progeny a uprising may occur jeoprodizing his family. The village leader had never heard of such a cogent argument especially regarding the source, this poor beggar from the forest. The leader thought about how much he missed the village and the market that now laid in ruins. He thought about the people he had seen daily throughout his life that had been eaten by the ravenous Tiger and how he missed them. He thought about his sacred duty and how he had abnegated his responsibility for power and wealth. He thought about how he had forsaken the teaching of Indra's Jeweled web. The leader relented and the boy gave the news to the Tiger.'We shall see', grinned the Tiger,'I will not attack for three nights, if things have not changed I will be ravenous and shall eat many of your poor'. The leader implemented a plan that made sense for the wealthy and the village and withing two days the market was bustling again and trade was brisk in the village. On the last night the Tiger looked one last time at the village before he slowly turned towards the forest. By one account the boy was seen riding his back as they disappeared in the darkness never to be seen again....peace be with you T

To Life!
September 10, 2012, 7:14 am

Before I continue on with the story I would like to take today to share a little with you. But first, thank you for all your kind words, it means a lot to me. Today is a special day for me as it marks 30 years of clean time. It amazes me how swiftly time has passed and all the various changes. Below is a list of things that may be helpful to enjoy sobriety weather you have an addiction or not; Meetings(social gatherings)they allow one to share your shard of humanity and to practice the almost lost art of listening.BE the sacred texts-try them on and apply them to your life(I have enjoyed trying to be the Beatitudes,Bhagavad Gita,Manduka Upanishad,Dharmapadda for many years). Try to ease the suffering of one being in the morning and one in the afternoon and hopefull throughout your day(do it selflessly like the left hand helping the injured right).Pray, meditate, pranayama, qigong, tai chi, yoga,chant. Make these practicesthe fabric of your life. Be creative! Spend time in nature! Fast occasionally! Eat simple,organic, vegetarian and local. Exercise your body!Be LOVE in all and everything you do. Smile, laugh, have fun for goodness sake-when did we get so serious!Know that you are connected to all in the cosmos, so never alone.Live simply, do not accumulate when numberless beings suffer(fasting really helps with this-it allows you to identify with all those that are hungry,cold, tired,etc...).Give of your time, money and resources.You are not leaving with all this stuff! Be LOVE again, and yet again....peace be with you T

part3
September 7, 2012, 7:18 am

He laid his trap carefully, with himself as bait. He took his sole possession, the Tulwar his father had given him before he died and cut his arm, so the Tiger would smell fresh blood. The Tiger crept from the darkness of the forest, the boy was alert and attentive to every sound. If he had not been an expert he would have not heard the grass sway just slightly to the wind.The boy feighned sleep but the Tiger was smart, he walked around the almost invisible perimeter of the trap. Finally seizing up the situation he sat on his haunches and looked directly at the boys half opened eyes.'Just what were you hoping to accomplish today', asked the Tiger be-musedly,' didn't you know that as you sat in your tree perch observing me, I was observing you?'The boy wasn't even surprised,'yes ancient one, I know who you are,I have watched you many days now since I entered this village. I know who you are, the same one that destroyed my village,leaving me an orphan'. The Tiger smiled, 'yes I have destroyed many villages in my wake and with it many people, many beings, but don't you see this is what the people want, really?That the rich hole up on their estates and find new modern ways of commerce, it leaves this,eh...,provincial life behind. I actually do a service that you should thank me for, I clean up the mess, so no one can dispute. Their actions are so focused on me, that they have no time to boycott, to petition the wealthy. They are so-concerned for their very lives;death, hunger, feeding their children, they have no time for activities usually sought in relative prosperity. Me I just snack on the trail you human beings leave behind, and as you can see, I have done very well indeed!' The Tiger licked a paw and smiled and then stroked his ever growing belly.(more tomorrow)

part 2....
September 4, 2012, 7:06 am

There was a child, no one knew from where that lived on the outskirts of the village. He observed each night the Tiger and his movement. He watched the horrid destruction of life and then the Tiger slink back into the shadows of the forest with blood stained lips. He also observed as he begged for food in the day, the rich pay scant attention to all the others of the village. In fact he watched over time as the merchants went from mingling in the market, to sending out servants to do their bidding so as not to be disturbed or asked for anything. The boy devised a plan. He came from a a part of the forest where they had out of necessity to capture rougue Tigers such as this and then the men would carry the captured feline many miles deep in the forest away from human contact(they took their vows of Ahimsa very seriously).So he had set a trap just as his uncles and father had done many times before. He used himself as bait. Night time settled over the forest, brilliant orange faded to purple and then to the veil of darkness of night. He watched as the village became well lit, so as to futilely detect movement. He waited for a long time, and as he did he thought of how the vast majority suffered with poverty, while the rich secluded themselves in their lush estates. He thought of how their homes were impervious to the real dangers of poverty(not just the tiger)hunger,disease,lack of hope.The boy could see hope leave peoples eyes as the poverty deepened,like life leave upon the last breaths.Being an adherant to Ahimsa he did not seek retribution, what he sought was a way for all to coexist and for the wealth to be spread more evenly....(more tomorrow)peace,T

The Tiger and the Village (part 1)
August 31, 2012, 7:11 am

There was a great Tiger that ravaged the forests. He had become hungry for human beings. He came to the village on the edge of the forest in the dead of night and grabbed people that had gone to relieve themselves, always on the perimeter.Other than this the village had enjoyed great prosperity. They saw the Tiger-though stealing members away as a minor nuisance-'let the hunters take care of that one', the Elders said. Due to circumstances of flooding the market with their wares, months later the village went through a steep down turn. The wealthy merchants guarded their houses and made sure the poor could not enter their estates. The Tiger continued to eat the poor that had no private bathrooms and had to use the communal bathrooms. Some of the wealthy said,'let the Tiger eat, then there will be less mouths to feed.We will wait this out until the upturn occurs for our wares'. The Tiger ravaged, the wealthy became richer, outsourcing their labor for their fabrics to a distant village.(more later)Peace be with you,T

raiment of the soul....
August 30, 2012, 7:00 am

little goldfinch on the sunflower, you have awakened the day! my slow ponderous steps to the car,find the pace of the day as i smile, with you,the sunflower,the sun,the vast blue sky....Bells Theorum of the interconnection of all,as well as Indra's web-being are being proven by Zeiglers team! it truly is exciting to be a mendicant at this time. many of us on our spiritual journey have been labeled this or that(some have called me Guru(not meant as a compliment!),space cowboy,addicted to bliss-whatever).my slow steady practice has seen what these men have proven, what the ancients have said all along. i believe with a healthy dose of 7 generations thinking, these new discoveries will take humanity(if embraced)away from the lower mind which we are currently in collectively, to a more refined and understanding mind. a mind that embraces all reality as the raiment of the soul....peace be with you,T

one ounce....
August 29, 2012, 7:18 am

every aspect of nature strives to simplicity.as the Taoists say,why bother to exert excess energy?if a job takes one ounce of pressure why do 1000 pounds.we see this everywhere in the natural world,the flora bending and twisting to be with the sun,just to where it needs to be. fauna living simple lives,natural lives with self hatred.if we could live but one day in utter simplicity, universes would begin in self discovery....peace be with you,T

T
August 28, 2012, 7:13 am

thank you all! will be back soon-a lot going on! have a blessed day! peace and love T

no more material girl and boy....
August 19, 2012, 6:11 am

it is much easier to attend to the senses, than it is to the workings of the mind.we live in a world now that is predominately material in outlook.see something you want it,feel something, gotta have it, and at all costs have a screen in front of your face.ancient sacred texts tell time and again to switch off the stimuli and go inward. not to a sense of self-hypnosis or'blanking out'. it is far from this,in fact my teachers are and were some of the most alive people i have ever met.we do not live in a material world-physics is disproving materialsm which pervaded our thought with the subsequent view of atheism for over 150 years.they are now finding it is all about consciosness which supports so much of what the vedas tell us.most of it is way over my head but i can relay in somewhat in laymans terms. more tomorrow. peace and love T ps. how is your meditation going?

Duhhhhhhh holy shit!!!! I finally get it............
August 15, 2012, 9:50 pm

I was going to write some long emotional piece on my journey trying to get T and I signed and making it but failing miserably on my part…….but then I thought who the hell wants to read that shit. The bottom line is that after 25 or so years of trying I am going to put away the guitar and music. My family and many fans have finally gotten thru to me that I have a negative outlook that does no good and effects those I love. Hey I finally get it and send out thanks to everyone who tried to make me see it. I am embarrassed to know It has taken so long to see what I should have seen long ago talk about blind self-righteous ego I want to kick myself in the head. I am going to eventually burn all my writings lyrics and melodies not because I am angry or pissed off but to let them go back to where they came from I have no right to hold them any longer and they are not mine to hold in the first place. Perhaps someone else can tap in and use them way better than I did. I have no malice, anger, resentment, or regrets it was a long strange journey but it was my journey and I am content. Now that my little story is out of the way …………………T is a gifted bassist, songwriter, arranger and also a gifted writer. Countless fans have posted over the years how much they enjoy and are enlightened and lifted by the words my brother writes. I have never asked for anything in all the years I have been running this site but I will ask you to please if you can help get T published………… He has given so much to each and everyone who comes to this site so much to take away and apply to daily life lift you up get you thinking make you a better person and yet he cannot get a publishing deal?????????????. I hope you will become active in finding a way to finally let this gifted writer and person be published……….. DON’T WE NEED A VOICE LIKE HIS NOW?????...YES WE DO!!!!!!!..... YOU KNOW IT AND I KNOW It…….. SO PLEASE SOMEONE OUT THERE HELP. and who knows if he gets established and things are going well T just might want to get the band back together and see what happens I would join in why not it’s worth it just to let it scream again with my bro……………jon

what do we wear,after we see the king has no clothes and we look down at ourselves?
August 15, 2012, 7:07 am

Time is but the thin firmament,as a construct,worn by the mind.Experience is the leaven for consciosness,showing us the nature of reality.---It has been so facinating to watch the developments in Quantum Physics and how closely the findings seem to validate Vedanta and Mystical thought from around the world.How did the ancients have it so right? Why did we go astray from these teachings? In the next several days, we will try to examine this and also offer techniques that may be helpful, please feel free to share your thoughts and share our music everywhere! Thank you,T

are we really free?
August 14, 2012, 7:16 am

So have you tried the Mother Holding the Baby Meditation? It is so powerful, that in the East they consider this type of meditation as medicine as it heals on so many levels. Now getting back to it, once you do the first part of the med.focusing on centering the breath, you then just stay with the breath-whatever comes up just let it happen without judgement. By this time you might have found a particular thought or emotion that continues to come up(through your journaling).When this happens,hold it like a mother holding her baby and allow the thought or emotion build,come to be and dissipate. When you do this long enough you will be able to see the root cause of this emotion or thought,then use the med. for this as well.Essentially in order to live a free life we must first be free! What holds us back so many times is persistent thoughts and emotions that trouble and work up the entire endocrine system, many times building unhealthy levels of cortisol.If we can learn to sit and watch the workings of the mind,we can start to see how it works and at times against us. To be free we must make an effort to hold these thoughts,find the root cause and hold them lovingly again. This is very gentle and non-violent way to heal, yet fearless in that we embrace what we normaly avoid. Is it one stop shopping-is it the one time majic elexir? No way! Just yesterday I struggled with many unwholesome feelings and had to sit and embrace them. The important thing is that this technique you have and can be used anytime you pick it up. After a long while,the mind becomes clear and freedom peeks through,like pinpricks in a dark fabric allowing light-what they call in Zen-Satori.All for now enjoy! peace and love,T

Back....
August 12, 2012, 8:39 am

Back everyone!Jon I am so glad you have the music up and it sounds amazing!If only people knew the trying circumstances we have had to work under to be in the studio and play! We are committed and this year will be very fruitfull for the Screamers! Just getting back have to run, catch up with you all later. Love T, please tell everyone about the music and have them play it for all!Thank you!

NEWS ALERT FROM DA SCREAMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 9, 2012, 4:33 am

Hey Shadow Screamers fans for the countless who have asked if T is a writer he is. He is trying to get published submission after submission and the mighty powers that be don’t have a clue apparently because he is still unpublished??????????????? Ok we both have tough skins I push the music and he pushes his writings and is more than committed to the band. That said when T gets back we are going to re-evaluate this site. We have given our all for more years then I can count and at this point we are not going to stop. However we need to figure out how to get more return for all that we give…… the latest music is as good as anything I have heard out there sure the recording needs work because it was done in one take thrown together so to speak. But the melodies, lyrics and energy are begging to be heard by a mass audience around the planet. I am not being cocky or delusional this is a fact just ask my neighbors you can usually catch them on the way over to my house to ask who the band is that is rocking on my sound system!!!!! I don’t go searching for praise they come to me. The reason I am saying this is that we are a band first and T is 100% in…….. I have no problem with T's writings because they add a unique uplifting, positive aspect to the band !!!!! . Please keep the comments coming for T but don’t lose sight of our music It is worthy of a listen…….As far as the changes to the site we will see stay tuned you will not regret it………..jon

HEY DONT FORGET ABOUT THE TUNES WE HAVE UP
August 7, 2012, 11:53 pm

HEY DONT FORGET WE HAVE NEW TRACKS ON THIS SITE http://jonwhitneyis.wix.com/shadow-screamers ITS JUST ONE CLICK AWAY!!!!!!!GIVE IT A TRY T WILL BE BACK ON NEXT WEEK.......jon

every song has a part or all of me the dark one I will stick to that T you write
August 6, 2012, 3:15 am

This is my last post other than updates on the band and events. I talked with my wife earlier and apparently my negativity is affecting my family by my posts on the site. I apologize to the fans that have had to see the shit that I write it pains me I did not see this earlier but that is me. T is away for the week with his family on a well-deserved vacation. Please check back to read his incredible, insightful, uplifting thoughts. I will only post to give updates and news on the band. Thank you for being patient with my dark posts just to see the next post from T. My last post came to me in the shower this morning I had a positive mind frame thinking about what a good day lay ahead and a Korn melody came to me from a song of theirs my 15 year old son is into and the words I wrote below came into my mind as I was hearing the melody my curse I play with melodies I hear and think of how to bend them all my waking hours… maybe I need help. The good news is that you will never have to endure this again. Again I apologize my ego got the best of me and on this site we write what is going on in our minds at the time. The good news is that T will lift you up and I will no longer bring you down…………………..here is what goes on in my mind weather I want it to or not don’t be like me………….Live and be like T and those like him they and you are the key to a better day………………………………………………………this is what slammed into my mind with the Korn melody in the shower this morning ……………..by the way it is meaningless so hate me and you will be happy that it means nothing to anyone and it is torture to me every day so guess what?????????? You win!!!!!!!!!!! ……..here you go let the celebration begin for you……………………………………………………………………….. I dive into my mind crawling thru the thick black slime to find the core of my decay. Although my eyes are blind desperate I sift thru my mind to find the core throw it away. My soul is shattered glass leaving me to piece it back slicing my fingers as try to piece it back together l I wonder why I am this way. Is this all just a game played by the kings of both Domains to stimulate their idol brains. How do they choose the souls if it is strong or weak then if they picked me for weak they both will pay. Is it fun to pick little humans and dance them like puppets on strings each dancing the puppets thru a course they think will win? But this game played by gods has one sick and demented flaw when vanity and image rule that’s when you will slaughter just to crawl up to the top for its not about the universe or this puny human race it’s about the God above and below that will control your blind devotion to needs that suit their desire to be the best they don’t care about the cost!!!!!!! it’s the game that keeps the interest.. Who is better who can capture the most souls good or bad let the dice roll………..and the battle goes on……The stark brutal reality of humanity will go away on this site OK maybe I stepped over the line and offended and pissed off………don’t fucking care the core was the truth the message was ragged and overblown but I just typed words inside my disjointed mind the reality will be a brutal real pill to swallow …….wow that was heavy I wonder what the prize is?????????? Don’t care you about those who are disturbed by my words I have explained my reality to those I love the rest of you are on your own to figure it out……… but you do have T and he holds the key if you do not know by now…… then now then you have not been using you minds to absorb his writings by reading his words and you have not dug deep enough using your mind to mine the potential……………. ………….. Hate, intolerance, greed and ignorance drive the human race oh and yes most religions are included it is well documented the one constant that does not change……………. Wow did I just say that…….yes I did sue me or dam me to hell …..……….goodbye jon

when a baby is held in loving arms....
August 4, 2012, 6:37 pm

the next part of the meditation comes from my Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.these troubling thoughts we are taught through mindfull breathing to hold as a mother holding a baby in our arms. so if it is anger you breathe in and out with that anger not trying to force it out-totally non-violent with it as it rises,comes to be then dissipates.in doing the meditation this way we learn many things,to be loving with ourselves and non-violent, and to hold onto a feeling and perhaps you might find the root cause of this feeling. once this is found-liberation, perhaps with something you have struggled with for years. try this as part of your practice and see what you think! have to run more on this later, will be gone for a week. love to you all,T

Great Post below T!!!!!!!! man do I need that!!!
August 2, 2012, 8:30 am

Don't forget our killer tunes a http://jonwhitneyis.wix.com/shadow-screamers once click away.

when we awaken....
August 2, 2012, 7:09 am

The Ojibwa say that every night we die and every morning we are reborn, so why do we fear dying? Death is a good companion. In many mystic traditions, death is kept as a constant reminder of our impermanence and also the, ' mini-deaths' we go through in life. I used to dream when I was young that at 28 I was going to most certainly die. This was a re-current dream. Though I can say by fact it did not happen-or did it. At 28 I went through some major-mini deaths.These mini-deaths were like a burden lifted, I felt more alive. This process continues to happen. As human beings we run on habit energy a lot! Part of it has to do with cultural conditioning and it also has to do with this base and how we have choosen to navigate life.This energy can be shackling it can hold us down. It can be oppressive! Below is a simple exercise for letting go of habitual energy that holds you back; Center your breath, start to lower your mind and breath below your navel. Concentrate on 5 qualities of breath;long,slow,deep,smooth,even spend five minutes here. Next allow your mind to focus just on the breath. Of course thoughts will come up, let them build come to be them watch them dissipate without judgement and then come back to focusing on the breath-do this 10-20 minutes. When you are done write in your journal what came up-do you see a pattern? Try this for a week and check what you see. Next time we will talk about embracing this friend and letting go in a caring nurturing way. Love you all,T

the fool yea thats me folks
August 2, 2012, 1:02 am

Im a fool cause I live by the golden rule, Im a fool yes I believed it, Im a fool as I see those who discard the golden rule live lifes to die for, Im a fool for thinking that I could make a change to make things better, Im a fool for looking up to those who changed this sorry race and for a moment made it better, Im a fool as I see them just fade away into the distance as we move on to the next disaster, Im a fool its not your problem I live inside a mind thats rotten, Im a fool so dont feel sorry I dont deserve to feel your sorrow , Im a fool but I am what I am I cant pretend to be something better, Im a fool for posting this dumb message, im a fool for even letting you into a fools mind...Im a fool so please dont follow these words that are so hard to swallow, yes Im a fool, im a fool, im a fool dont feel a bit of sorrow for me just make sure you dont end up a fool like me.......jon

DONT FORGET WE NOW HAVE SOME OF OUR TUNES UP!!!!!!!!!!
July 31, 2012, 10:12 am

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR TUNES AT THIS SITE ITS JUST A CLICK AWAY http://jonwhitneyis.wix.com/shadow-screamers PLEASE GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK IN THE FAN JOURNAL......jon

SORRY FOLKS YOU MISSED IT.....
July 30, 2012, 9:19 pm

Mother Teresa was the second coming of Jesus and we were to blind to see it.......Lets look at this god among humanity who lived with the poorest most destitute the scorned humans of humanity all the while giving hope,care and inspiration to those who are outcast. This Jesus Inspired countless millions to lead caring giving life's to believe in something greater then we are and despite the horror pain and misery she lived for years on end she never wavered from her spiritual beliefs. I read an article today about how the holy pampered ones in the Vatican have been unwavering on the issue of contraception in Third World Countries they say it is Gods written word that it is a sin..........Have any on these holy MEN I REPEAT MEN ever lived with the poorest the most destitute who want to obey the word of God so they have 8-10 children and those children suffer starve die because they cant take care of them or for that matter barely survive themselves?? Why is the Pope not living among the poorest after all his religion was force fed down the throats of his subjects in the third world. Does he not care is he out of touch? How can someone so out of touch with the reality hand down with an iron fist laws written by human beings hundreds of years ago and not have a clue as to the devastating effects of those very laws on modern society.Yea all the deep religious theologian's will shred me with there arguments supported by innuendo and myth.OK I get it and you will win and mankind will suffer the women and children most of all just like Jesus preached right??????? I wish I could be more succinct but as we say we write one shot put it down and move on. IF YOU WAN TO KNOW WHY I AM THE ANGRYONE I AM SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING THE WAY ONE HUMAN TREATS ANOTHER UNDER THE GUISE OF RELIGION OR POLITICS OR PERCEPTION AND ON AND ON AND I AM FUCKING TIRED OF IT SO SUE ME BY THE WAY MOTHER TERESA WAS JESUS CHRIST I KNOW IT AND I AM GOING TO HELL BUT I WILL GIVE HER PROPS SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR HOLY SELF?????????.....................Jon

II THINK I FINALLY GOT IT UP!! A SITE TO HEAR OUR TUNES ANYWAY1
July 28, 2012, 9:24 pm

It is amazing I can be on the computer.It has taken me three or four tries to get it up!! get ur minds out da gutter!!! anyway if you click on this site it will take you a site I put together using WIX its a free site where you can make your own web site!!!!Please check out some of our tunes its easy and quick then you can add it to you favorites and I will keep adding more songs!!!!! Go TO http://jonwhitneyis.wix.com/shadow-screamers I hope this works with a click......

the eyes....
July 28, 2012, 7:54 am

Perhaps the hardest words for most people to live in the New Testament are, 'Love thy enemies'. The important thing for us all to remember is that there have been such shinning stars that have lived this; Christ, Buddha, Abe Lincoln(check out what he said about caring for Confederate Soldiers),Martin Luther King, Gandhi, So many Indigenous Elders around the world. I think the key is the words that Mother Theresa said,' To see the eyes of Christ in all you see'. If you are in a different faith you can say what applies to your Faith( Buddha, Krishna,etc...). What's important if we live this way is that ignornace dissolves like the veil of night the slowly pulls back to reveal the day and we perhaps can see each other for who we really are. In a space like this, there is no room for enemy. Now lets suppose you live this way and someone really dislikes you and makes it known. Center you breath. See that perhaps the veil has not lifted from their eyes and they are not, 'seeing' you. No judgement, no blame, it is just the way it is, but very importantly we try not to reciprocate the energy they may be projecting, if we do the veil of ignorance, anger,enemy comes back to occlude our vision. These are very, very hard words today to put into practice, but I believe we must very soon. Our world has more and more people all the time.We simply cannot afford war and hatred anymore from all levels of discussions. As Jon stated yesterday it is so important for us to communicate again without screens, to sit and have a cup of tea with someone. To have lunch with someone. To talk and be with all you meet. To love and live and see the eyes of God in eveyone in every being. After all who are we to judge? Who am I to say this person is this, this person is that, as the Native Proverb says, 'Have I walked a mile in their shoes-literally?' I think Jon's posting yesterday was very powerful as it is a warning. With all the wars, famine, disease, poverty,enemies, can we really afford to disconnect from the totality of human expression through talking face to face with someone and stare and talk superficially via a medium(a screen)? Communicate, try to love and see the other as divine. Like the rose that gently unfurls to the sun this new friend you find might reveal a new universe of beauty....peace be with you,T

What happened???
July 27, 2012, 8:50 pm

pomp and circumstance instant gratification fuels our empty shells.... talking phones??? when they gonna wipe your ass? how much more do you not want to do? just a click away every fucking thing that you could ever dream... or does that app fill your empty mind with dreams for you?? when did we loose it look at the motherfuckedrs like Bill Gates and the dude that just croaked Jobs?? you think they give a shit about you???? Ted Turner humuliated them into caring by giving away half of his fortune...I dont know dont care who is to say they arent dancing with the fucking dark one.....Stevie Jobs fucking app didnt save his ass did it....I have two sons try to teach them to use the gift they were blessed with yea the brain!!!dont know if it sinks in.....pomp and circumstance....instant gratificatoin what ever happened to the human experience..............jon

fuckin A!!!!!!!
July 26, 2012, 6:23 pm

Wow!!!!!!I was listening to a couple of our tunes on our my-space site and after one of our yet to be recorded with our vision songs was over. A song by "Chevelle" came on its called "I Get It" Man it fucking knocked me off my feet I went ahead and checked out a few other tunes of theirs and son of a bitch I am surprised they are not as popular as "A Perfect Circle" or the Slip Knots lead singer side project. Give them a listen they kick ass that is what this band aspires to be. LET THERE BE NO MISTAKE AS INCREDIBLE AS T's WRITINGS ARE WE LIVE, LOVE, BLEED TO PLAY MUSIC AND WE WILL BLOW THIS WORLD AWAY WHEN WE ARE FINALLY GIVEN THE CHANCE....THINK T DOES NOT AGREE???? ASK HIM IN THE FAN JOURNAL........jon

meditation....
July 26, 2012, 7:10 am

'Hey Moe', Curly says, 'I try to think but nothing happens'.... Oh that we could all meditate as well as this Stooge! peace and love,T

he dwells in the power
July 25, 2012, 3:22 am

The Devil dewlls in power that is where the black seed is so easily laid. If you think I am just lashig out open your eyes and see the path those with the best of intentions take. Somewhere the demons lauging he loves the power that holds the best of intentions at bay. Yes its the Devil that dewells in the power that the silly human race seems to chase. So go ahead and adore as you look up to and admire those who you gave the power but when you look up to your hero keep this thought in your mind as the hero slips away the devil dwells in the power that leads the best of intentions astray.......jon

OM....
July 24, 2012, 7:19 am

listen to that sound that permeates all in the cosmos,let it vibrate you as you harmonize with her.let your mind be free and feel a small glimpse of what MIND/LOVE has created.we are only afforded a glimpse.if you harken her sound attaching her to your breastbone it does not matter,it is there anyway,if you don't she is there anyway.but try and relinquish all thought to the vibration 10-20 minutes daily and see what happens.the sound? OM.peace be with you,T

the arrow....
July 23, 2012, 7:13 am

intent is the arrow,will the pulling back, the target(life) is filled with colors,which facet of the target do you choose today?the archer spends long hours in building strength to pull the string can we assume less in our lives?.... WOW thank you, and yes Jon and I are both writers, poets, and first and formost musicians.we strongly subscribe to the old saying, ' have a smile on your face and a song in your heart', wether lyric, melody,poem or life! peace be with you,T

"The Price"....part 1
July 22, 2012, 2:58 pm

As he looked out over the crowd he smiled that smile. This was his destiny it had taken him so many years to get here. Hell yes!!!!! he deserved every minute of this as he soaked it all in .The crowd was big and into every song that his band played. His dream band!!!! After all he was the one who put this band together a great rhythum section a female singer with knock out looks, she could belt out the blues with the best of them. and he was the killer rhythm and lead guitarist!!! He never dreamed this could happen and how many people friends and family got in his way!! that he had to brush aside. This was his time to shine and nobody was going to stop him from mastering the blues after all he had wasted years dabbling in other music styles and he now knew he was meant to play the blues. It had taken some time but after lots of experimenting with a large variety of the best equipment money could buy he learned to copy most of the licks and like the smile he perfected spending hours in front of a mirror to help him sell insurance he realized that he could master the facial expressions and movements of the great players Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jonny Lang. He liked the white players because although he would never admit it he had a beef with minorities they were all the same looking for a free ride never pulling their weight and as far as the blues the white players were as good if not better than the black dudes. He had heard that the great black players played with soul and emotion but hell he didnt feel what they felt. He knew that if he copied the notes and made the right facial expressions and moves he could play with the best. The crowd he was playing for at this moment was a good example they were rocking. Yea that feel and emotion crap was over rated another way for the black man to whine about his problems. Hell he never had it easy he thought to himself as his band finnished their set and his mind drifted back to earlier days...................jon

Why???????
July 21, 2012, 1:08 am

Why ??????how can you wrap your brain around this latest slaughter of human beings this time in Colorado.Why did it take me almost 3 hours to adopt my dog my shepard, greyhound mutt she is my baby girl 7 years ago. Yet some young man can walk in off the street and by an automatic weapon and 6,000 rounds of amuntion with out some sort of evaluation??????Of his mental state?????? Yea before you gun freaks start your bullshit rationalization me and all my brothers grew up menbers of the NRA. That was before the Washingon puppets bowed down to them and their lobbist control. Shadow Screamers gives our heart felt condolences to the families and friends who are suffering needless agony with the death of loved ones. Will we try to get into the mind of this killer???? try to find out why????? Or will we let it be yet another hot story chewed on by the gouls in news rooms across this nation for a couple of weeks then move on. We can build the most incredible weapons to destroy ourselves, send man to the moon, find new ways to rape and pillage the earth countless ways to make our lives easier yet we dont have a clue as to how the human mind works and why this happens over and over again. The best tribute we can give those who were slaughtered is to make sure this does not happen again............Oh what was I talking about if forgot because that was so yesterday the gouls are on to another carcass to chew the meat off..........jon

angels in the dark
July 19, 2012, 3:04 pm

if there are rainbows in the rain are their angels in the dark. They say its calm before the storm and its darkest just before the light, If the darkness starts to swallow me pullling me to a place I dont want to be are their angles in the dark. Will they help to set me free from places this darkness carries me places I dont want to be are their angles in the dark. Do I deserve their time have I don enough for them to care for me or will I fool myself if I see angles in the dark. Battles rage between the darkness and the light since the begining of time Its the one common thread that binds us all to wrong and right. So as I look and I see in the darkness shadows moving towards me I ask my self if I will see angles in the dark....onj

random thought at 2am
July 19, 2012, 4:31 am

open your heart and it might open up your mind to the fact that love is the seed the feeds the hope in mankind.......... Ive said that life is just a game but then Ive seen loved ones die and they dont get up and play again......... Eyes that see today will never look at tomorrow the same and reflections on yesterday are subject to what might have been ............Look inside How do you see you reflections only lie when they sway from the truth............How do you live day to day do you stay locked into what you know or do you reach outside your comfort zone..................Have you ever felt the pain and isolation of not fitting in...... if their is a god then everyone should feel the stabbing pain of isolation in a crowd of friends.......... death brings out the core of a person seeing someone you love die and how those that love the person react leave you scratching your head......... jon

part 2....
July 18, 2012, 7:17 am

Congratulations America! In our short time of being a Nation, we are the first to have reached the exalted ground of being able to judge! The words that this Nation supposedly follows,' Judge not less ye be judged', do not apply as we have reached a higher state, apparently(seeing how judgemental we are!).By now you understand that the Damascus series is about America and could be anywhere(the city I choose).The characters that seemed to come out in my allotted time of five minutes before work(no time for edits-sorry)show some hope and yet some sorrow. A true Democracy is only as strong as her most disenfranchised people. Sadly we fall far from the mark, and worse we judge those who are down! We talk of wellfare cheats with people in places in this nation where there is no chance for advancement, no chance for proper education,no chance for the dignity inherent in what should be a strong Democratic Nation. We don't even take care of our Veterans, cutting funding, questioning anything that presents itself, being woefully unprepared in mental health to be able to help these veterans come back to this country(without being haunted). Truman said that(or was it Eisenhower-please correct me!) the true danger is the growing military/industrial complex.On top of that we have had the erosion of stopgaps that prevent Presidents from declaring war(think Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1 and junior).At more than 10 billion a month it is no wonder we cant afford education, national health care, dignity for all citizens equally! It is to bad that FDR did not live long enough to pass his last initiative-which looked like the Social Democracy of the Scandanavian countries. If we had national health care,if we had a unified superior education system that was the same in rich neighborhoods as poor,if we had full employement, if we stopped judging!!!!Perhaps we wouldn't need to flex our insecurity around the world, and stop blowing other nations up.Again I will say that a true Democracy is only as strong as his disenfranchised people. With this standard, we are a very, very weak democracy....(by the way when I include veterans I also include the Civile Rights Movement. It has been perhaps the greatest sadness to see Civil Rights eroding in this country for so-called national security. I would call it National Insecurity!!!!)peace be with you,T

the Beggar....(part one)
July 17, 2012, 7:10 am

While everyone was experiencing the light from the Singer as she went where Blessed ones go, the Beggar felt the light and immediately had a PTSD reaction. He had been the, 'Savior of Damascus', as one of the greatest Generals. He flashed to when the new found weapon of the cannon came several miles from the city. An army sacked city after city, Damascus was next. The General was very wise in warfare. Though the enemy had superior fire power, they lacked martial skill.He was able to defeat the maurading mass with a the ancient hammer and sickle move. As the enemy retreated they let off a salvo of cannon fire from the two that had not been captured. The General was blown in the blast several feet off the ground and lost both legs. This is what flashed through his mind as the light permeated his being. Time is cruel to old warriors. Though saluted on the street, people gradualy forgot his sacrifices for the city. He had no family, and as he could no longer work he lost his home to greedy merchants that had an eye on his place(being so close to market). He refused to beg(though this is the name the people gave him) as he moved around with his arms and the thick pad over the place where his legs had been. The Singer left him food in the night as he fitfully slept that he ate in the morning. Do not look for a silver lining here, there is none. The General gradualy became sick and died of malnutrition.The last thing he saw, which mortified him was a pathetic glance from the crowd as a doctor tried to restore his health.....

the Singer....
July 16, 2012, 7:11 am

The Singer left the Juggler and the Beggar and walked back to the main part of the market. No one looked at her. Her face had been burned very badly from wherever she came from. Children cried and old men and women groaned in seeing her face. She sang for her supper-literally. She was homeless and used her angel inflected voice every day at market. Those that thought about it threw food at her feet. No one ever saw her eat. It is said though that while she remained in Damascus the poor seemed much healthier, without the tell-tale distension of the abdomen that mockingly marks those that are starving.The people became a accustomed to her, like when she appeared from virtually nowhere.Traveling merchants would say, ' what is this sound from the Angels, I have never heard such a beautiful voice'. 'Oh that is just the Singer, you will get used to her', was a common remark. It is said that the Damascus knew prosperity and peace and those that were hungry or ill felt better by listening to her voice. She became gaunt and thin as the people took her more and more for granted. She sang on more soothingly helping, prisoners, the ill, those that were hungry, those without proper clothes, those in the throes of the last breath, smiled beyond comprhension as they seemed to see something beyond their loved ones eyes. One day she went into her ally and disappeared. It is said that at that hour in Damascus a blinding light spread in all directions. Those that felt it heard a symphony of her voice just beyond the confines of the ear.....Some of the most important lessons I learned on being a Father was learned by observing a homeless man and his crippled son in the hot Arizona sun.It is a story I shall share again later, but the point today is- why do we walk by others every day without even trying to know them? What universes we are missing! Even when an apparent angel is in our midst we take it for granted(like in today's short-short story.)Today's thought-be open to the day and what it brings. Listen to all you encounter in all various life forms. You will be surprised by what you learn! peace be with you,T

greedy fools
July 15, 2012, 1:19 am

Holy Father do those who spite you pay for sins? Im not eluding to those who say your name in vain. I mean the soul less who take advantage for their gains.They have no tie to the moral outlines that youve laid. If there is penance then why is it they never pay. I grow so weary watching them rub it in my face. .......I dont want to have to see it I dont want to ever know....... that the greediest among us seem to pay the cheapest toll...... Is this your greatist false illusion as you reel in greedy prey if it is then let me be the first...... to let them suffer.... when they lay........ their empty souls down.....their empty souls down.... I know Im not supposed to think about.......Im not supposed to think..... about the consequences of those who take it all and rub it in my face...Dont underestimate the anger from the ones who feel the pain..... We will gladly wear the blood that drips as we crush all those consumed by greedy gains...... in the end you can look down and you will see all those who pay as they kicked the weakest all aside to satisfy their selfish ways.....Holy Father you know Im watching what you do............for those who suffer....for those who suffer.... what about the greedy fools Im watching you to see......how you make them suffer....make them suffer.....those greedy fools......jon

Holy Father
July 14, 2012, 2:19 am

Holy Mother how can you lay down by his side as you lay witness to the innocent that die. Holy father why dont you stand in front of me. To help me make sense of all the inhumanity.Ive heard that you say free will was given to us all does that absolve you from all tortured souls that call. They call out to you as they are swallowed and they falLlike dark rain falling from your holy skies above. Its said that you give comfort to those who bow down on their knees. but can you tell me when you think weve had enough. Do you find pleasure some kind of dark and empty grace to know that you rule a blind and shallow human race. What is our purpose lets hear it from your holy lips dont need to hear it from humans with the holy gift.Seems all religions package the message that best fits for self promotion and the benifits it brings not for all mankind but to make them earthly kings..I am not angry I know the stories very well but every human has the right to hear you tell.The truth thru your eyes as you tell us face to face why we are all here in this place that you have graced...........jon

the juggler 2....
July 13, 2012, 7:01 am

She found a much younger Prince from a distant town and had her father remove the juggler. For the next few weeks he continued to try and work his charm with the public, but not many people stopped. One day just two people observed his act, the one they called ,'the singer', and a beggar.After his act the Singer sang a haunting melody about distant memories.After this the leggless beggar looked up at him with peircing eyes and said,'Go home my son'. The juggler indeed did slowly make his way home town by town. When he arrived he found that his wife had passed away and one of his sons had died in war. His remaining son, though very angry at his father took him in to live with his family. The juggler over the years became a patient and humble man and it is said that not a greater Grandfather could be found in all the land....when you think about this life on earth, it is the perfect learning process. here we are under varying circumstances, and the question needs to be asked,' what have we learned?' have we truly done the best we could in this short time here? are we becoming? or are we stagnant and stale;arrogant, vain,greedy,bitter,etc...all the sacred texts talk about this life as a learning process,a veritable training ground for the spirit to be the best that it can be.it throws a new perspective in this way of thinking, it allows the rust and debris of the shackles of the soul(anger,greed,vanity,hatred,etc...)to gradually be thrust in the fire.hopefully like our young swordsmith-this clay will reveal a fine and beautiful sword(soul)one ready for yet again another adventure....peace be with you,T

the Juggler (part 1)
July 12, 2012, 7:11 am

On the same day the swordsmith lost his sight,the caravan that had distracted him came into Damascus with a caarnival.By far the most anticipated act was the juggler. He had left his wife and family though middle aged to extend his audience beyond the small town he lived. He was also perhaps the most handsome man seen within hundreds of miles. He knew this and refused to travel unless he had a giant mirror(difficult to carry in a caravan) so that he could check himself many times before he went before the public(and many times throughout the day).His infidelity to his wife was legendary. Each town that they came to, the beautiful women would come close in the crowd wearing their finery. He choose one in his act, one that perhaps he would give special attention to in his private tent after the show.The man really was amazing. He could not only juggle many objects, but also had tremendous strength. Some of the objects he juggled had never been seen before in such a venue, and all the while he would smile and wink at the beautiful women that were in awe of his skill. It came to be that Damascus had the most beautiful woman withing hundreds of miles as well. Though half his age, he ended up courting her, and eventually her father a very wealthy merchant, the jugglers age, consented for the two to marry. He continued on occasion to go on the road, but found Damascus a fine city to settle again. It came to be that his strength,looks, and charm faded. His young wife became restless and fed up with his vanity....(end part one)

the sword maker....
July 11, 2012, 7:16 am

At the same that our friend was struggling with his donkey in Damascus, there was another man that struggled as well. He was the son of a famous sword maker. The son heard his entire life that he would eventually take over his father's business, a prospect he openly loathed.He trained his entire youth with infamous swordsmen and any martial artist that happened through Damascus. His fighting skills became that of legend. Along with his prowess he had an arrogant attitude. After paying scant attention to the work during the day, at night he went to find fights with anyone willing to cross swords or fists. His Father was despondent, what could he do? One day as the son was tending the furnace he happened to notice a caravan coming into town. Absent-mindedly he hit the blazing coals with a poker with a violent stroke. Coals launched from the fire and hit the son across the eyes.It was determined that he would be blind for life. For many years the young man continued to go out at night and drink, passing out on the streets,his father kindly carrying him home. One day he was litening to the fire through a terrible hangover. Suddenly he could hear something within. The fire through it's burning taught him the varying shades of heat. The fire whispered to him in his dreams at night.The fire filled his imagination in the day. He started to experiment with the metals. As he thrust them into the fire, the fire guided him. It whispered as he banged the metal and then thrust it in again. It soon became apparent to the father that his son's swords were the best he had ever seen. The son, became very humble. He listened for intent behind the sale of the swords. If an arrogant young man wanted to buy to hurt, he simply smiled and said,'my son, this sword is not for you'. He became the greatest of sword makers in Damascus......so we see that we have strength and vigor in youth, at time we want to express it, many times not understanding the spirit within. some live cocky arrogant lives to the end, brandishing white fists against the unknown at the end. others like the monks Buddhidarma encountered allow only spritual and allow the body to weaken beyond usefullness consciously.the middle way, listening to this clay, to the fire is so very important on the journey. though this clay will drop, what kind of sword did you make in the end? peace be with you,T

Still Working on easy access to our music
July 10, 2012, 2:43 pm

I invite you to go to our My Space page the icon to click is near the bottom of our Home page its easy quick and it will let your ears and mind experience what we have created. Try "Wash Away Columbus" it is an epic tune with lyrical substance. Great post T shit!!!! un dun did make me think brothar!! us is good at that!!!!! One day you will be appreciated by the global community bro........jon

a man and his donkey....
July 10, 2012, 7:16 am

There once was a man in Damascus who had a stubborn donkey. Every day as he tried to saddle him with his wares for market the donkey would sit down and bray.The people on the street at that hour laughed,'look there he is again with his donkey, when will he learn,trade that donkey you fool!' The man was very patient. He found over time that if he approached the donkey without his bags and held his head and talked to him, the donkey would settle. Later observing that this donkey loved dates he added one or two into his new morning ritual. After a very long while, his heart lept at the rising sun, he looked foreward to seeing his friend and what sort of dance they would play for the people of Damascus that day. It came to be that every morning, he rode his donkey with his bags for trade, and everyone in Damascus admired this little donkey,this little man.......We are Spiritual beings having this human existence.Some advocate denying the body and only cultivating the spirit.Some only glorify the body, denying that it will gradually wear down and fall away.Perhaps a better way is that of our friend from Damascus(the donkey representing the body), having the patience to be in both, to celebrate both, and as this passing body fades into the clay from which it came, this journey of the spirit can be fully celebrated for the joy of just a short while a being human....peace be with you,T (thank you all for your feedback in the fan journal. Jon and i are brothers and he is a remarkable man that i love dearly!).

what a weird dynamic T and I have
July 9, 2012, 12:55 pm

The dynamic between T and I must seem odd to those who visit this site. T sees the world thru eyes of light and hope while I see the world thru eyes of shadows and despair. This is not a contrived plan to market this band it is who we are. T is my brother who I am very proud to know his light will shine forever. On the other hand I will one day be swallowed by the darkness and soon be forgotten that is just the way it is and I can live with that. We both have the common goal of trying to improve the human condition and it is what we live and breath every day. The approaches are vastly different but we will never give in.so soak up the light from my gifted brother and ignor my rants and raves if it is not to your liking that is fine. I swear on my soul that every word that we put on this site is spontanious unedited and not taken off. How many other bands can say that.at least you know we are true to ourselves and we are true to you my friends...........jon the title of the entry I posted earlier was supposed to be........(Greed eats the souls of those who crave this rotten seed).........there goes the darkness again cant help it I have been trying to see more light for most of the years I have been here and will never stop.....jon

crave tgreed eats up the souls of those who his rotten seed
July 9, 2012, 9:21 am

Obama wants to extend the Bush tax cuts for those earning less than 200,000 dollars wich by the way includes 98% of Americans. The richest have gotten richer since bush junior took the first oath then any time in this countries history.We are told that they need the tax cuts to keep producing jobs to turn the economy around. Really this has not worked for over a decade trickle down has never worked. I am amazed that so many still listen to the rehtoric or is it that they dont want an intilligent black man put in an impossible situation and working this country out of it in the top spot. Yet for eight years (bush jr) the most incompetent ignorant human to ever hold the office driving the middle class into the ground was a good choice??????? I am at a loss for words to explain this and the reality is the middle class and poor are the biggest loosers. Romney is licking his chops just hoping we are once again blind sheep.......jon

if you only new I would not wish that on you T is the light
July 9, 2012, 2:37 am

I will never ask for your forgivness I will gladly pay for all my sins. I see there is darkness when I leave this life so tell me how it all began. Im happy that so few see what waits when they leave this shell but I deserve to understand why Im going to darkness you owe me that as I have dwelled in your little word of your perfection are you pissed off so you enjoy my angst. That a mere mortal could see thru your guise that so many will embrace.I have no battle to fight with you I only do what comes to me I only base my feelings on the facts that lay before me.I have studied you so many years and my conclusions are the base of looking at how mankind has so calously taken out of contex all the morals you embrace, I am not a fool and wont be decieved by the bright light that you shine on every one but me its only darkness that I find it looks back at me in mirrors and my son has seen it too if it fucks with him you fuck with me and in the end I will hold you true to the words I have heard a thousand times before but when my child is wondering if there is a darkness outside his door then I will give my shell and let my soul be free dont expect me to be kind for I can handel what is meant for me but if it touches on my son then all bets are off and those who hold these keys look behind you and it will be me......look behind you it willl be me.....JON

peace what would you really give.......try me
July 8, 2012, 10:19 pm

our common threads were all different no two alike by design why why we choose to pick out those who were told are less and taught to hate by bent minds that we believe. why is this concept thats so simple to see so blindy distorted buy those who so blindly perclaim that we are the species that lives on top of the chain. I get so god dam angry and if you hate me let it be but I would die for the prospect that we as humans could live in fucking peace that we could live in peace not destroying for our mindless needs that we all could live in peace I would rip out my heat for everyone to see if we as human beings could just learn to all live in peace..............onj

I am the anti T step inside my head and you will slit your throat. I love T.
July 8, 2012, 12:18 am

Holy Father will you spare the rod tonite.. holy Mother will you wash sin from my life.. brothers and sisters will you always stand by me as we all travel thru this life that we will breath...Holy Father will you understand that I am me..... Holy Mother will you fill the aching need...brothers and sisters will we stand here side by side when we are faced with the complications of a life..... Holy Father will you take out your rage on me for the life thats not the life that you percieved;;;; Holy Mother will you stand up for the child as Holy Father lets out the anger in denial.....I dont want to talk about it ..I dont want to talk about it..... I never want to talk about... never want to talk about .... denial......Holy Father will you spare the rod tonite....Holy Father you can never make it right...I dont want to talk about it .....I dont want to talk about it.....Holy Father,,,you will never feel the pain....feel the pain ...feel the pain............jon

in your hand....
July 6, 2012, 8:14 am

The mystic is not as much concerned about laws and prohibitions as she is with ones relationship with God. Seeing the divine in all things,she lives the words of the Mystical Rabbi who said, the ways to God(various traditions and faiths) are like the fingers of your hand, God is the palm of your hand, they all lead to God. peace,T

how to say hello....
July 3, 2012, 7:18 am

The Aboriginal people in Australia say the same sentence to a person when they are first born and then again at the moment of death,' We love you and support your journey'. This is a very deep recognition of the souls journey, that all people could live and honor and respect themselves and all others this way! Of course these same people honor each other throughout their lives as well, as it is considered so sacred to come here and live this journey in human form-but for a while. 'I love you and support your journey!' T

purely human beings....
July 2, 2012, 7:22 am

if we think we are seperate, we will live seperate lives. the illusion of being alone denies the fact that we live on an intricately woven web of interconnection.we talk so much about using so called, ' intellect', and the, 'rational mind', tell me-what is so rational about destroying your own home?the essence really of life, is to live in purity(now here i am not talking about some fundamentalist/puritan denial)i am talking simply about human beings being purely human. much like a deer is purely deer, or a dung beatle is purely a dung beatle. we have rationalized ourselves almost into oblivion. take a look around,what do you see? degrading environment, homeless, people without health care, in this age of'hey look at me' with our technology, we still can't figure out how to feed everyone. when i talk about Traditional values and ways, you must keep in mind, these are not romantic notions of escapism. they are a reality. if we do not embrace 7 generation thinking, if we do not embrace the intricate web of Indira, if we do not see everyone and everything as family. we are already doomed. we are like the self-looping nightmare. the only difference is, inevitably this nightmare will have a horrid, brutal, and true end. having said this, like all prophesies(which have been remarkably accurate) told around the indigenous world-there is always possibility. it is this possibility that we must vitally cling to and build with our various threads of hope. after all a string is easy to break, bind it with millions of others and it becomes impossible to snap....may you live in pure human being-nessT

relationship....
June 28, 2012, 7:13 am

there are three things that are essential to life;breath,food(water and shelter),and relastionship. most people in the west think that this means family and friends.indigenous people around the world extend that relationship to a truer sense. they extend relationship to all in,'oneness'.they understand the relationship and interdependence with everything in the cosmos;minerals, plants,swimmers,crawlers,flyers,four leggeds, two leggeds, the air,water,stars,planets,everything.if we live this way and perhaps offer a prayer(in whatever way you do)giving thanks, i think we would make a lot of headway in getting out of our heads and into vital relationship.then decisions like today about health care are no brainers. in fact the health of all individuals in the world would be considered top priority(not just one nation). we always have to remember,'the pain of one is the pain of all, and with compassion see how we may help and offer relationship....peace be to all in the cosmos,T

each web,each day....
June 26, 2012, 7:16 am

this morning millions of dew soaked webs are strewn on the fields of summer green! each drop, eack jewel of indira's web,awakens this moment, this day.....peace be with you,T

Only in Amerika
June 22, 2012, 8:07 am

Wow Michael Jordan makes it clear to the world he has no problem with children in China making his 200 dollar tennis shoes and he is adored buy millions. Labron James makes an ego boneheaded decision at 26 years old is humuliated and humbled looks in the mirror and learns and acts to improve himself as a person and tone down his ego and he is still villified and evil. Hey all you Jordan fans with children send them over to China they can go to work today eaning a dollar or two a day and as an extra bonus you can watch your hero with his big smile every day in one of his commercials buy the way your kids are going to have to work 200 hours so you can buy your heroes shoes wear them with pride for your hero........jon

Walk with your Mother....
June 22, 2012, 5:47 am

The other day I shared the start of a meditation that combines Buddhist walking meditation and Native Wisdom. It is one that I have enjoyed teaching over the years. First it is important to calm and center the breath just below the navel. Think of those five qualities of breath; long,slow deep, smooth,and even. Make sure you are in a place of nature(or you can even do this in-doors). Align your breath, mind,and footsteps walking slowly-perhaps one round of breath for two steps(that slow). With your attention, imagine kissing Mother Earth with your feet. Simple Right? A steady practise is energizing and wonderful! There is a certain reciprocity to this kind of meditation. We give LOVE to Mother Earth and she gives back abundantly(as always!), as opposed to our constant preoccupation of thinking of our 'wants' which has led to so much pollution of;water,air,earth,mind. Please enjoy this simple practise. Though simple, it is very profound. Peace be with you,T

where scummy souls go??????? dont care but I will watch the show
June 21, 2012, 1:08 am

I take comfort in knowing that when you live with a shallow soul. Taking all that you can get at the expense of loved ones,friends and any one else. You shall get it back ten fold when your lame spirit leaves the comfort of this earthly shell..... imagine the suprise on the scummy faces....... now that my friends is priceless I am no saint or perfect soul but I know I am not going where the users go so smile while and take while you can..... yea thats me mr negative.......jon

Honoring Mother Earth....
June 20, 2012, 7:18 am

'If Human Beings would only walk, focusing each breath as a kiss on the skin of Mother Earth, there would be no pollution, war, famine, poverty.After all, would you pile sewage,start wars, watch your own Mother suffer?- Native Wisdom-

Happy Spiritual Being Day!
June 18, 2012, 7:16 am

I always like to say when asked to speak in Ceremony, that every great man has a woman in his heart, and every great woman has a man in heart.This does not mean a specific person(though it does in celebration of our mothers and fathers and ancestors)it also means that we hold male/female energy within us.This is perfectly articulated on the Medicine Wheel. Not only that, but every man(this is a belated Father's day blog if you will)also holds the mineral people, the plant people, the winged's, the crawlers, the swimmer's, four legged's, two legged's, Mother Earth, Father Sky, all in the universe.This is not some archaic thought relegated to,' Native Speak'(as a Traditional Clan Member this is how I believe)but it also has good science behind it. Coarsing through our veins are male/female hormones in all of us. Our makeup truly proves that we are of this universe and are indeed,'star people'.We contain within this ,'Clay Body (as my Irish heritage says) all in the universe. The nuances we hold as well. The nuances of Religion or Faith for instance-this is why Gandhi at time would say,' I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian, I am Buddhist, etc....' He recognized on a very deep and I would say Mystical level that all paths lead to God. if we recognize the one, we recognize the all. If we deny the one, we deny the all(my words).So Fathers and Mothers have a sacred duty, they must train their children(or other youth if they don't have children) to be the best possible, 'Human-Being' they can be. Loving all, praying for all, finding ways in our myriad articulations as humans how to work together without the oppressive stance of what I term, 'Monoculturalism' (have written copiously on this subject on this site).If we take this sacred resonsibility seriously, the world, and I would argue the universe would be a better place for all beings.Love even from this tiny blue marbel is a power so strong it cannot help but permeate in all directions across with our intention back and with LOVE(the Great Creator). Happy ,'Spiritual Being Day' everyone(don't worry you will not have to get a hallmark card for this one-just practice LOVE :)). peace and love be with you, T

Thank you Frances Williams Preston, 1928-2012
June 16, 2012, 1:01 pm

Shadow Screamers would like to give a heart felt thank you to Frances Williams Preston. To be honest I never heard of her until I read about her in the paper today. She passed away Wednesday and I think every songwriter around the world owes her a nod of gratitude and respect. She opened a southern regional office in Nashville working for BMI in 1958 and rose to president and chief executive of BMI in a male dominated industry. Kris Kristofferson an excellent songwriter in his own right called her the "Songwriters Guardian Angel". Take a moment all of you songwriters around the world and honor her with a moment of silence and gratitude. In an industry of sharks and greedy people she was a huge part in paving the way to protect those who write the songs so that they would get proper compensation for their creations...........with love and respect Shadow Screamers........

open to interpitation
June 15, 2012, 11:10 pm

You know when I look at humanity I am not as positive and uplifting as T. I wish I could be and lord knows we need more Ts out there than me.I do not do what I do as some preconcieved bad boy image I have always been this way and really cant rationalize it. I was driving today and as my thoughts wandered this came into my mind..............Everyone passes on there are a million different ways but when your soul leaves the shell it's in Its how you lived your life that will pave the way ............ojn

Update from Screamers
June 13, 2012, 11:06 am

Hey Shadow Screamers fans. If you type in Shadow Screamers on your web home page our music and some live video clips of us will come up. You can just click on what ever you want and enjoy. I am still working with Art our web savior on getting easy access on our site to everything until then its a way to hear what we have going. T will be back on the site soon he has computer issues and as we all know it takes time to get the computers up and running.........jon

child beaten in plain sight and there is mindless debate?????????
June 12, 2012, 12:49 pm

Todays topic is on the piece of shit step father seen in his back yard beating his step son while playing catch apparently because the kid was having trouble not catching every ball this lowest of humanity threw at him. FUCKING GUESS WHAT POLITICALLY CORRECT AMERIKA WHAT BLOWS MY MIND IS THAT THIS PIECE OF SHIT WAS DOING THIS WHERE HE COULD BE SEEN. Having been the product of abuse both T and I know that the worst happens when you are inside with no prying eyes. THIS PIECE OF SHIT SHOULD BE IN JAIL AND NEVER BE ALLOVWED TO SEE THE CHILD AGAIN WAKE THE FUCK UP THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG DEBATE THIS CHILD IS BEING ABUSED AND WILL END UP DEAD IF WE AS HUMAN BEINGS DONT STEP IN .There I said it and I am clean not because of some manly WHITEY god who will lead me into eternial bliss I dont give a fuck about that ok its on the books. I say what I say because its the right thing to do no religion required...............JON

passive agressive
June 11, 2012, 6:44 pm

T will be back on Tom in a few days until then you are stuck with me. My topic today is Passive Agressive over the last couple of weeks I have witnessed this personaly and it is dusgusting in my mind. I have been put in my place many times for saying what people did not want to hear and I have been worng on a few occasions and I accept that. the passive agressive person in my mind is the lowest of the low because they manipulate family, friends, co workers etc with a preconcieved mind game that leaves no trail so to speak and no accountability. This kind of manipulation is the act of a coward and spinless individual all you haters bring it on I dont care but at least with me you know where I stand I am going to tell you what I think and there is no grey area you like me or hate me and I will admit I am not always right. The insedious genious of the passive agressive mind is that they never face accountability thus the coward label I bestow upon them is justified because if they were held accountable they would crumble or turn it back on you. I have two boys I am trying to raise with my wife and I try my best to give them insight into how to live an honest caring life. I have fucked up more times then I can count and I am far from a saint but the one thing that I hold close to me is that I say what I feel and good or bad I am trying to stay the course of being the best person I can be. AGAIN I AM NOT PERFECT AND I WILL NEVER BE BUT I AM NOT GOING TO BE PASSIVE AGRESSIVE TO MANULIPATE SOMONE INTO WHAT I BELIEVE OR FOR SOME PERVERTED GAME IN MY MIND WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY. Look around you I bet each and every one of you knows more than one person who is passive agressive and is smiling while the situation they created unfolds before you............right or wrong I am speakin from what I see what do you see.............jon

the shadows that creep when others sleep
June 11, 2012, 3:27 am

im looking out are you lookig in thru the shaded shadows that surround this hollow place that holds me trapped inside. I want to run and embrace the joy that is so easy for you to feel but the the shadows always hold me back from the joy that seperates what I think and what is real. Is it in my mind a self made fool embracing the pity I place on myself so I have something to hold close. I look at the beauty around me as it soaks onto my mind but the shadows block the sense of joy that I can see comming from your eyes. I do not work to be this way it is like living in a hell the joy is as close as you are beside me but I can never seem to feel the joy that your eyes reveal. Many monents of my life I have often wondered why I am left standing on the outside longing to take that step inside out of the shadows. Yet its the shadows that surround me like some kind of comfort that binds me close to this empty feeling that breaths inside me and never seems to end its the shadows or is it me? .....jno

perception 4
June 5, 2012, 10:08 pm

I was in a store today looking for some cheap T-shirts to replenish my swank wardrobe and I came across a Bob Marley t-shirt with a killer picture of this mystic man. but then as I was checking out the shirt I saw he was token on a spliff and the caption below the picture was " Bob Marley was able to get so high he could reach the Sky" I am writing this because I have just finished an excellent biography on one of my idols Bob Marley for anyone interested the title of the book is ( the untold story Bob Marley) written by Chris Salewicz. The perception of Bob Marley is that he was a stoned out dude who did some reggae music and its cool to get stoned and wear his T-shirts with millions of those who have a blind perception of this man. Bob Marley was a poor child abandoned by his white father and raised by his mother when she could and when she could not by his relatives or on his own in Kingstown and the country side of Jamaica the rest of the time. It is documented that at ten years old Bob could read palms and that his readings were mostly reality for the person whose palm he read. I am not going to go into the details of this mystics whole life if you are interested, and we all should be........ then get the book and read it!!!!!!!!! Bob was a Rastafarian not because he could get wasted on herb and veg out it was the religion that drew him in the core beliefs like every human being has a right to be free and live without oppression, every human being should have the same rights, to respect all human beings no matter their religion or beliefs. Yet as I looked at this fucking T-shirt I had to shake my head his image now with too many blind young and old people is one of a stoned out dreadlock dude with some cool tunes. Bob Marley lived to give back to humanity and to bring awareness to the social cesspool that was Jamaica and so many other parts of the world at that time and look around its still here. This man was an avid soccer player and athlete, ate the best mother nature allows us to grow and respected her and lived a pure life. When he was on tour he would go to the working people and the children to spread his message of peace and hope he lived the words that he wrote. How many other artists can say the same????????? The man was almost assonated by the CIA for gods sake because of the threat that they thought this man posed yet Bob Marley kept on never knowing if there was a bullet with his name on it. There was never security when he was traveling and playing concerts and wanted to go to the places where the working people were and the children he so loved and gave his heart and soul to. Here he was wandering thru the streets of the city his band was performing at looking to connect with the children and the common man on his own time because he was one with the incredible words he wrote. I have to run but I hope I have changed those who think this man and his incredible dedication to what he believed were not of a man who got stoned and chilled while writing a some incredible music. But of a mystic that come along on the journey of the human race to bring love awareness and dedication to the belief that if we stand up and fight for the rights that we all deserve we can veer from the embarrassing path that we are and have been on for way to long for a supposed superior species…..I love you and respect you Mr. Bob Marley how do you perceive him and how are you going to carry on his message???????????????????????......................jon

Trying to figure it out
May 26, 2012, 3:18 pm

I have always heard that everyone at some point in time has a moment, experience, realization etc. that changes the core of the way they look at life not only here but after we pass. I had such a moment a couple of weeks ago and it has changed not only my perception of the world around me but causes me to think about what might happen if we do indeed continue our journey on a different plane.I do know that the shell that contains who we are on this planet has more to it then just skin and bones the human spirit is a real enity and anyone who has lost a dear close friend,relative, lover if they are honest will say that that person is still with them on some level. T has been enlightened to this fact for many years and although I wanted to buy in so to speak to be honest (that is what this site is about) I did have a tinge of lingering doubt. I now know what he has known and although I did not recieve it in a way that I would have wanted to, none the less I did get the message. We as humans from the time we are born in most cultures are discouraged from looking for and seeing things that to a young pure mind sees.T has mentioned this as the third eye that all children have before it is closed by society. I liken it to predjudice having worked with young children they are born to see everyone the same yet at a certin age they start looking at color or handicapped, gay, straight etc. in a different and often more negative way. How does this happen???again it has to do with those who they look up to learn from and how they look at the world i.e. the parents and family. I dont know where this entry is going or why I am even putting up this entry but I guess the best thing I can come up with is take a step back and look around not at the reality of everyday life but think back and see if you can pick out a moment where you said Did I really see that, or hey I was just thinking about you and you called, or saying the same thing at the same time as a close friend these are tiny examples and I can go on and get more intense but the point is these things would not happen if we were just flesh and bones we are more then that. Perhaps T can dive more into what I have scratched the surface of as for me I am still trying to figure it out myself.............Jon

a modern discourse on LOVE....
May 23, 2012, 7:23 am

there is no love i know of that has blinders to different groups and people that don't see my particular way. there is no love i know of that divides-asking others to be less than,and feeling,'right', all the time. there is no love that i know of that is,'sticky,or clingy'.there is no love that i know of that brandishes love as a weapon. there is no love i know that says,'mine, yours,those people,etc...'.LOVE as all the great traditions teach is truly a narrow path. this might sound confusing but think of it as a reverse triangle resting on its nose. if i chose the infinite LOVE that permeates the universe(the narrow path)look what happens to the triangle-it spreads outward. now in talking about love,i would take the base line off the triangle. then do you see what happens,everything in the universe is held. the extension of my love connecting to LOVE holds the universe.like the sun that shines on everything, this LOVE is and does.it is such a narrow path,because as humans it is so very difficult to live this way, especially in this age of,'screens'-we are so distracted,vacilating from sinner to saint in seconds without ever questioning ourselves and what life truly is about.as Gandhi pursued truth in my very imperfect way i have been trying to really understand LOVE.for me it is the driving force,the creative force which everything resides.try this; connect to your heart,think about a time when you had truly unconditional love for another human,animal,plant.sit with this-let this love fill your heart.for the rest of the day picture everything you see as this love.through traffic jams,long store lines,angry boss,and happy,sad people that you see. see what happens today.peace,T

perfume in the air....
May 18, 2012, 7:14 am

lilacs perfume the air, with finery to match. the last of the apple blossoms fall one by one in the soft breeze. each moment i am changing, taking off putting on my finery. oh that i might do it so gracefully....nature knows exactly what to do. an apple blossom explodes, the deer drinks from a cool stream, the lilacs perfume the air. i feel that human beings confuse things so dreadfully! i was talking with a person who studied the Tao one time. he said the idea of wu wei is to just do nothing, so this is what he practiced. many people that study the east don't understand the context or the language or the term for that matter. he unduly put pressure on those around him to support him while he just sat and meditated. obviously others grew resentful.we all have to eat, clean, work, raise children, be in the world-but we can do this with the grace of naturalness, like our friends that we see every day(the deer, the sun, the moon, lilacs,etc...).if we live in this state of wu wei-we can do these things with an uncluttered mind-wasting no energy. just being. the human condition is a difficult one, again our own cleverness at times gets us into trouble(especially when we think so!)....peace be with you,T

shedding....
May 17, 2012, 7:22 am

our lives have many garments,each to be worn.they wear and tear replaced by a new garment,ever becoming, ever becoming....this is a modified borrowed quote from the Psalms.i was just remebering the other day, another life,long ago now. how different things seemed than today. what a different persepective! Jon's post's have been thought provoking and wonderful!if we take each stage of life as a shedding, we can see that perhaps the pearl within can be revealed. as Jesus said, the road is narrow. it is also very difficult. i think this is why Toaism, some sects of Buddhism, and early Christianity called their religion,'The Way', alluding to a path of discovery, of refinement.those of you that have been here awhile know that i like the analogy to of spanish steel. metal thrust into the fire many times and worked with after time becomes a masterpiece. we can all do this, we can all shine our interior to the world. if we could put our screens down for an hour each day, and use this hour for prayer, meditation, the moving wholistic arts, i for one believe this world would be a better place. we have raced the world, making incredible inventions, making life easier. in our cleverness we have invited in trouble as well; obesity, heart problems, diabetes, etc, etc.we can change but the path can be hard, it can be narrow. let us begin with but a mere hour each day. love to you all,T

Perception part 2
May 14, 2012, 5:49 pm

I went on our band web site today and while checking the Fan Journal I saw that Tori made a positive comment... from the bottom of our hearts believe me a positive comment from a fan is always uplifting for T and myself and we appreciate every one . At the end of the comment she noted that she was a long time fan this is awesome!!!!!!!!!However........it got me to thinking about (Perception) and I realize that I am guilty again as charged!!!!!!! I posted an entry about perception a few days ago and I realize looking back I am sure that I have alienated some long time fans a few months ago because of my (perception)......... Let me explain A few months ago I posted a comment that basically said that many of our long time fans (BASED ON MY PERCEPTION) were just comming back to the site to enjoy and benifit from the incredible entries T has posted over the years. Getting what they needed and then not spreading the word about this band.( At the time I was frustrated that even though we have one of the best band sites on the net and our music needs to be heard we still have not managed to reach a much higher level of success).......... As I read Toris entry I realized that my ranting on this post from a few months ago came back to slam me right between the eyes!!!!!!!!!!! My perception of some of our long time FANS!!!!!!!!!back then was............. Hey some of you are just using the site for your own needs taking the inspired words from T not spreading the word about the band with a bull horn yelling out telling your family, friends and anyone who would not think you are crazy! about this band you found on the internet.............. in other words in your busy world you would take time you dont have to help make us famous??????.......... In looking back on it I concluded that once again I inserted my foot in my mouth!!!! That is one thing that I do more than I care to admit and one of the things I seem to be an expert at........ As a result I am sure that many long time fans said after reading my post. ........WHO the hell does he think he is??????? judging Me when he does not even know me or weather or not I have passed the word on about this band its not my job last time I checked....... Frankly I would not blame them if they never came back and I am sure some did not. This brings us back to PERCEPTION......... I did so many things wrong with my entry baised on my (Perception) of our long term fan base!!!!!!!! T and I love playing our music, songwritng and performing live and we would love nothing more than to be successful with songs that stand the test of time and are loved by generations of fans around the world that is our goal!!!!!!!!!!!............ However the main thing we want to try to achieve thru our music and the writing we do in the Band Journal (frankly T is incredible and has no peer) is to hope that what we do might help in some small way to improve the human condition for everyone who checks out the sight..........We are not nieve or egocentric and realize not everyone wants to read the journal or hear our music in fact some may hate it...... but we want to help if we can on a bigger scale ....... YET HERE I WAS!!!! whining about some long time fans based on my PERCEPTION only because I was frustrated at my lack of making our goals happen. I undermined and contradicted what the hell I say we stand for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I apologize to any of our long time fans who were offended. I hope you still check in on T's entries I do know for a fact that his words can give inspiration and knowledge to anyone who reads them and that is what i lost sight of............. Our main goal other than bieng able to do this on a larger scale make an actual living and hopefully be validated by our peers is simple ...........its all about helping out everyone who might gain something from what we have to offer wether its the music, the words the web site or any other aspect........... IT IS NOT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. sorry T and those long time fans who I offended I lost sight of that fact for a minute and as I said in the first entry on PERCEPTION......... I can vouch for the fact that it does have an impact and it is not positive in my case ........ you only want positive when you are trying to make an impression while reaching for your dreams....................................jon

Perception sorry bout the spelling my spell check is for French love France but?
May 11, 2012, 2:35 pm

I have been lucky enough to take up space on this marble we live on spinning thru space and time for more years then I will disclose but in my journey sometimes I reflect on my perception of what I see and feel as I wander thru time. The key word is perception this past week I had one perception of someone who is as close to me as anyone I have ever known. It leads me to believe that how we percieve those around us is one of the most important components of the human make up. I can remember my younger days in construction with long hair wearing a bandana and walking in to a gas station or 7-eleven random dudes would call me Chief not sure if it was a dig against me and did not care but to me It was a compliment as I cherish the small part of me with Native American blood above all the other ethnic blood mixed in. Perception??? how do you go about your day do you look at somone and percieve them to be what you think they are because of the way they look or talk or act? Lets go to a deeper level how do you persieve your family and extended family how do you percieve them as individuals is it based on inuendo, jealousy, dislike for the way that person may live their life or a petty dispute that may have happened years ago? In a way I guess you could say that when you choose to persieve someone in your mind baised on how you think they should act and live their life you might as well be playing God at least the God that I grew up learning about his way or the highway to Hell so to speak...........OK Getting back to the person who Is so close to me and brought on this entry....... there was no jealousy, or inuendo or dislike it was in the end a simple case of my perception of what I thought he was thinking (PERCEPTION) while not taking the time to talk to him and get his thoughts on what I percieved........... that was my mistake!!!!!!! Call me crazy you wont be the first but I think that how we percieve everyone in our lifes can have a great impact on the quality and depth of our lives. Who knows the person you might think is a bum,freak, terriost, and in these times does not have your political views and then add on your neighbors, relatives, friends the list is endless as far as the availibality for your perception but a word of caution I would give you as far as making a personal perception........ the one you make judjment on just might be one of the best people you will ever meet. Perception maybe it means nothing but I am going to change mine and not be so quick come to my own conclusion without talking to the person first who I am judging on my perception.............. noj

carpets of gold....
May 11, 2012, 7:20 am

carpets of dandelions hide the gold finch.in and out through the grasses she goes. fat clouds pose in the endless blue sky.here i stand a spiritual weathervane.if i hold to tomorrow or yesterday my feet recieve not.if i hold on to these bookends of time i withhold the freedom of this endless moment....when we look out of the window what do we see? even in cold dark cities, a possibility for this moment resides.how is it that human beings trap themselves so? like Bo Lozoff says-with an this attitude of trapped,'we all do time',like a prisoner. i have felt myself trapped this way many times.it astounds me how reilient we as humans can be. after a day or two of,'poor me's',a moment so indescibable happens that it is indelibley imprints itself on my heart.we have relatively few moments to enjoy on this beautiful planet we live(compared to a rock).let us dive between the tall grass as the goldfinch and be with the golden carpet of the dandelions. when you live this way-you then see so clearly injustice and what steps you may take-more on that another day.peaceT

on the edge of the forest....
May 10, 2012, 7:23 am

there once was an old woman that lived in a clearing deep in the forest. travelers would note that her little cottage would glow with golden light. in her house the day through as she did her work as well as the work outside she would talk to God. she talked as if they were the dearest of friends enjoying tea together. one day a priest walked by. seeing the glow, he said to himself.'this must indeed by a house of a holy person.'the woman invited the priest in and he asked her about the glow.'it just sort of showed up one day',she said with the shyness of one that see's infrequent visitors.'i expected nothing, it just happened'. the priest had a long discussion with her about the way she prayed. hearing her answer he was mortified and switched her entire way to formuliac prayers. they had dinner and she dutifully followed the Priest's words. about a year later he walked by the same clearing and recognized the spot. this time it was cold and dark. on being invited in he saw an ancient woman that could barely move to the door. she told him she suffered no sickness, she just dutifully followed his words and practiced his prayers. seeing the nature of the matter, he got down on his knees and begged forgiveness,'please,oh please,'he begged with tears running down his face,'forget everything i taught you and go back to your way'. within weeks the golden glow emerged again, and the woman appeared to lose the visage of the old sickly woman and looked healthy and well the rest of her days.------------i love this story.it comes to us in different ways across most of the religious traditions of the world.the most important point for me is to undersatnd that each of us is an individual and we have a personal dialogue with the divine, that is sacred, that is worthy of all the golds of a fall forest.....peace and love to youT

gold and where to find it T
May 8, 2012, 9:48 am

Where is the gold? Where is that treasure that we hide at times,elusive as the sight of a hummingbirds stillness? Some go on journeys for Teachers and distant ways to uncover the myriad levels of cultural conditioning to find the pearl at the bottom of the sea. Others stay at home,and are such a pearl,lightly polishing their beauty with the actions and deeds of the day. We don't have to find the gold to be the gold.It resides within. Many that have followed teachers will inevitably be disappointed in one way or another,as they experience the frailty of even the ex halted. They are human as well. It reminds me of a story. A Zen Master was assaulted by ruffians on a street corner. He was badly beaten. One of his students that happened to catch the tail end of the beating rushed to his Master. The Master was crying. Taken aback the student asked incredulously, 'but Master, why do you cry?' 'Because it hurts you idiot!' So our Teachers, the Wisdom holders are human as well. In pointing to the moon,we must all remember that they are reminding us of our direction,our path-not theirs. They remind us that the gold is right here all along,we must just allow it to come forth,like the delicate flowers emerging through the ground in Spring. I have met some(like my Wife,such an amazing person!),that don't seem to need to travel and learn and become and then allow that trail to become dusty before picking up the scent of another,'becoming'. They are just there,with the gold,inside and out for the world to see! Quick tricks to catch your Leprechaun: smile-and the cosmos will smile back meditate,be still so you can hear the coins rubbing together help someone-don't be solitary-share the wealth! LOVE! Yourself and all others Trust-don't worry the gold is there(this sneaky Leprechaun won't leave) Be! Just be the wonderful poem that you are. Well time to go practice,lost sight of that 'wee' one yesterday better get a glimpse 'o' the gold today! peace be with you, T

just a cup away from hatred....
May 4, 2012, 1:38 pm

i am Christian,i am Native,i am Hindu, i am Toaist,i am Shinto,i am Buddhist,i am Muslim,i am Hebrew,i am Celt,Druid,Wise Woman, Moari,Aboriginal,all Indigenous peoples throughout the world. I am the stone you pick up and all its relatives past, present and future, I am all animals, plants, water, air,and every being this world has ever seen or been witness to or ever will. I am the song of the Pleadies and their long reverant history, all stars, all galaxies, our sun and moon. i am dust that has travelled through space and time to meet you another travelor with the same, 'i am'. let us drop any sense of 'you', 'me', 'us','them'.let us sit here for just a short while looking over our steaming tea smiling at each other and remembering....

Learn this mans name Mr. Chen he is what we all should be
May 2, 2012, 9:01 pm

Mr. Chen (I hope I am spellig your name right) you are the definition of a true hero. It is amzing that you with no sight have educated yourself and used that to expose the human rights violations that are a part of every day life in China. Meanwhile I sit here and write songs and put up entries into the journal about the human condition or lack of, and I have to admit I sometimes feel like I actually have validity and that I am fighting the fight. But When I look at this man It brings me down to earth as I realize that I may spout off our site has been shut down many times...but this man is doing so with the real threat of torture, death or worse the death of his family. Man it makes me feel like a wimp.........jon

gentle rain....
May 1, 2012, 6:51 am

gentle rain, gentle rain, that i might find one drop to bask in....in many traditions the Elders speak of letting wisdom soak in like rain.to find and be wisdom we mustsoak in it like the daffodils and tulips in spring rain.it is no wonder they are so splendid in spring, they know what to do, they know exactly what to do. that we may find one raindrop to bask in, and let wisdom unfold us like the many petaled lotus....peace be with you,T

clay or compost....
April 30, 2012, 6:44 am

i want to be blown in the air by the wind. i want parts of me to spread here and far away, to the sea, other galaxies. i want this soul to see this clay become the compost it is....when we really start to become available we notice something quite extraordinary! our inner states do not hang on to the little things we used to hold as monumental before.it is as if clear sight is given.i make the association with the fasting and vision questing i do. when you are out there away from the buzz of humanity and the schedules of life, you start to realize that the little things don't really matter, and you feel the deep interconnection of all.we try so desperately hard to hold this clay form. it has become over our life our,'habit energy' and why not, this form is the clay we were born with. yet, in the end we truly will not carry anything with us and our bodies truly will become compost.now many times when talking like this many misconstrue what is being said. in the west this led to a of splitting the body from the soul. our body receives through sensory stimulation important messages that help navigating the world and help this embodied soul to understand the world she/he lives in.the body/mind/soul should be viewed as intricately connected and each and all at the same time cared for. in fact i strongly encourage yoga, qigong, tai chi and the like-as it is easier to understand the connection through movement of the three. when we breath deeply and align our breath with our movement, we truly feel into time and space outside our bodies and inside as well.so the first boon if you will of 'availability' is letting go of the small stuff to better,'feel' with our integrated self our world and this wonderful clay we inhabit. it has been said that one conscious moment is worth more than years of dead living. so what could be better than the blessing of this boon? peace be with you, T

Jeff Beck at Lonnie Scotts
April 29, 2012, 1:53 pm

okay so there are few times when i will recommend a music dvd(other than the classics). you simply must get Jeff Beck's live at Ronnie Scott's, it will be one of the best gifts to yourself in a long,long time.at this venerable venue, Jeff plays rock, jazz,rockabilliy,blues,fusion with incredible virtousity that we have all come to enjoy in his playing. his band is astounding! he has a young woman bass player named Tal that is an inspiration as well as Vinnie and Jason. again i don't usually recommend these as oftentimes they can be disappointing. not so in this case-run quickly and get a copy one of the best of it's genre in a long,long time. peaceT

robins nest....
April 29, 2012, 9:25 am

every year i take my hair upon clipping to the compost. every year, i find strands in robins nests. we are interconnected,there is no longer any doubt. quantum physicists have found this to be true with their relentless testing and feeling into the nature of reality. this is very liberating to me. it shows to me, the universe is one enormous family! peace,T

molding clay....
April 29, 2012, 9:11 am

just checking in. we have some exciting things happening this year so please stay tuned!availability-big topic! when i teach my classes i bring this topic up a lot.in Qigong we use visualization and breath to help in healing our mind/body/spirit. what happens if we can't get there? what happens if there is so much clutter in our minds we can't even focus on the exercise? first we have to recognize the blockage(body/mind/spirit). once this has been done then we have to do the extremly difficult work of leeting that blockage go. some may be,'old friends'. they may have been doing what they thought was protection(like the way my muscles used to be around the break in my back). it is then that we have to go in compassionately, thank them for what they have done for us and then encourage them to let go. this can work on body issues, mind issues, spirit issues. the crucial question we must ask is,' is this pattern holding us back'. if it is then we work on letting go. it is very difficult work but once you do, you find that indeed you are more, 'available' for qigong, yoga, walking outdoors, life! this mortal clay we are embodied in can through diligent work be changed, shaped into patterns of health instead of destruction. will my broken back change-not hardly, however the muscles around the back can loosen and allow for the flow of qi to be felt around the mingmen point, etc... more on this soon. have a wonderful sunday all!peaceT

hi
April 29, 2012, 8:58 am

hi everyone

A blade of grass
April 28, 2012, 4:21 pm

'when will i rise?' 'you have felt and done this before' 'but this is all new. what if i have forgotten?'. 'it doesn't matter, what you really know will happen, weather your concerns, anxiety, or troubles are present or not'. this discussion lasted the day. in the cool night, he asked the moon as well, who only smiled soothing silver light. through the fecund soil through the angst and tiredness of a sleepless night, the blade of grass sprang to meet the mornings golden light..........................................j 'when will i rise?' 'you have felt and done this before' 'but this is all new. what if i have forgotten?'. 'it doesn't matter, what you really know will happen, weather your concerns, anxiety, or troubles are present or not'. this discussion lasted the day. in the cool night, he asked the moon as well, who only smiled soothing silver light. through the fecund soil through the angst and tiredness of a sleepless night, the blade of grass sprang to meet the mornings golden light.... ------------------------------------------------------------------ Can we be available to this moment? What holds us back? Are we anxious,scared, worried that what we really know will not happen? Each moment we have in this life so precious!!!! The grass knows what to do, the deer knows to drink at the stream. These times are so fraught with worry, concern, anger. Can we take a moment each day to be who we really are? meditate pray yoga qigong tai chi walking in the wilds breathing, loving just a few suggestions, but these are only suggestions. What will you do with your practice? I know I have been talking a lot in classes about availability-how do you get to the point of availability? We don't get there by thinking,by analyzing. We get there by subtly working through our mind/body/spirit and letting go. You might have noticed that in class i ask to,'go into that joint on the in breath, on the out breath, let go of the tension or anxiety around the body part'. I know this is hard! Surrounding my long time broken back were rock hard muscles.It was so hard for me initially to let go of the fear these muscles had developed around the spine for what they had thought was protection. They were very kind and compassionate for feeling this way and I had to go in there to tell them so-like a friend that you realize after years may be actually be detrimental in one way or other. My muscles around the spine were to locked up-once i learned to thank them and let go of the fear they contained,it has been so very liberating to experience the Mingmen, the Microcosmic circuit,etc... The same process can work for anger, or spirit fear we may be holding. The key really is to recognize your familiar pattern body/mind/spirit, then ask the crucial question-IS IT HOLDING YOU BACK? If it is, a compassionate dialogue with this old friend may be prudent. For me i had to trust my Teachers and breath in and out of the old friend to let it go. Once we are available? well that is a topic for another day.,Peace be with you my friends....T

cat scratch teddie
April 24, 2012, 3:20 pm

I happened across Ted Nugent a few days ago ranting at some gun convention about Obama, Hillary and the Right Wing Supreme court members leading America to hell and it baffled me. Ted Nugent has managed to take one hit Catch Scratch Fever? and make a career out of it so I have to give hime credit. But having seen Ted over the years in the media I wonder is this guy hanging with George Bush ?Romney? anyone in the Republican Party like best buddies? I would like to do an experiment and lock Ted the Romney boys, Nute, in a room for 24 hours and see what happens with his chums. Then it hit me Ted has apparently made a good anount of money thru his one hit and I guess the hunting business he created and I give him credit but that is the key the money and of course the guns. I wonder where Ted was during the Bush years when our rights were systamitically being taken away and so was our freedom of speech. It is a fact that the Bush administration was monorting South Florida for quote "Radical" groups. That just so happens to be where I lived at the time and on our web site I was extremely vocal and acidic towards Bush as was T but in a different more T like tone . The point is for the first four years of the Bush administration this site was shut down countless times something that never happened before Bush and after he was re-elected it slowly started to happen less frequently now we dont have any problems.......... coincidence??? Yet here Ted is spouting off and using violent enuendo that is to say the least over the top yet he is not harrassed or bothered and is able to keep on saying what he believes? I dont think Ted is a pussy like Dennis Miller who has gone off the deep end however I wonder if you asked the traditional Native American bow hunters about Teds choice of weapons for hunting game they might call him a pussy for using a cross bow to hunt game. Anyway he is allowed to speak his mind under this apparently (in his opinion) "End of the World and Freedom as we know it" threat of an adminsitration that he believes is the enemy ????????............really Ted???????????????? I just wish were given the same curtisey under the previous Administration and buy the way how did Bushes ass taste you must have kissed more then a few times I hope Romney is making sure he is wearing clean underwear for your sake Teddie...............That is the difference between me and T I had to get that last perverted dig in...... as Jimi Hendrix once said "I am what I am thank God!!!!! I am hip with most of that statement ..........love you Jimi....................jon

the way it should be?
April 19, 2012, 11:51 pm

A note to what remains of our fan base it has been as crazy couple of years like so many in these tough economic times. T has written a book with his son and it is being looked at by a legit publishing company. I have re-located to Southern California due to the jov situation. We are gearing up to make another run with the music I am mixing down some tunes that T and I recorded in my living room a couple of years ago and I am going to send them out to perspective record companies. The whole business has changed as you all know and we are trying to adapt. I guess we need to sign up on twitter and Facebook to get more of a fan base. If you like what we are about and our music then we will gladly accept any input that will help us generate a bigger fan base we need help and we live for our fans because they are the most important aspect of the music business.The fan journal is open and easy to access so if you have any ideas or even if you have a poem or positive ideas that will help somone please feel free to make a comment. This site is solely designed to make people think and hopefully give everyone some positive information on how to make you life better. That is what T gives you as for me I try to give some positive thoughts and ideas but I can also tend to be a little more acidic and intolerant of the abuse that is so common and directed towards those that dont have it all yet live good positive lifes. Help us if you so desire and in the end we are all helping each other.Call me crazy but Is that not the way it should be? eceap jon

T
April 18, 2012, 7:22 pm

drink the sun like amber mead on the way each cell a universe! stars move the night through can you hear their song? distant melody fades with the crimson young sun. drink the sun like amber mead.... ---------------------------------------we are a universe and the universe is around us. each moment can be brought to being with the blessing of awareness. this is why ancient cultures started their days with the new rising sun. to come from nights small death, to the grandeur of this days rising and to be fully aware in it, with it..... be today! peace,T

thanks for the comment
April 17, 2012, 11:26 pm

To the person who asked in the fan journal about the writings there are two of us T the insightful deep poet writer and me who is the opposite who does not know how to spell and has a darker view of the human condition. Please tell a friend we are going to put up new music in the next few days we are musucians first but I wanted this site to be a place where you can come and get some great insight, perspective, origional music and bitting commentary. Its not for everyone but our mission is to do all we can to improve the human condition thru our music lyrics poems and hopefully if we do get to a place where we are popular and heard round the world. We will us whatever fame is to better humanity as far as what impact we can have that is why we are still jammin since 1989. Jon

T
April 17, 2012, 11:08 pm

drink the sun like amber mead on the way each cell a universe! stars move the night through can you hear their song? distant melody fades with the crimson young sun. drink the sun like amber mead.... ----------------------------------------------------- we are a universe and the universe is around us. each moment can be brought to being with the blessing of awareness. this is why ancient cultures started their days with the new rising sun. to come from nights small death, to the grandeur of this days rising and to be fully aware in it, with it..... be today! peace, T

I am posting some of T's writings as we are getting our groove back on so tell a friend new music soon to come
April 11, 2012, 12:21 am

we talk to much. we watch screens to much. we gossip and drool and try to vie for the next soundbite. where will this lead us? wisdom? i think not, after all a gnat has well-the attention span of a.... in ancient China-no one really knows when-people started to do standing meditation. their inspiration was the trees. trees are still-yet particularly this times of year are so internally active(sap running). yet they stand in silence. this stillness i feel is the meeting place, the stillpoint if you will of our creativty. it is the meeting point of; silence, posture, still mind,awareness(inward,outward). we all have days when this is tough-when the mental manure just does not stop. if we keep, 'try' mind alive, nurtured than these moments too will pass. i have been talking a lot about silence lately-she is my dear lover. she is delicious in her kind kisses on a weary mind, she is the gentle lover in the time of storm. if we could just stand and then mindfully walk for a day in the forest-away from the buzz of screens. perhaps this manure will turn to flowers. in our stillness if we are lucky, we might just hear that rare voice within.... peace be with you, T

T
April 11, 2012, 12:11 am

what can be said about March snow? cold kiss from the sky, to warm fecund lips of soil. this winter was mild, no so the human condition. oh, to find a mountain without conversation from rabid sound bite mouths. oh, to find a mountain to eat my poor soup amidst the clouds feeling each flake of March snow kiss fecund waiting m i n d..........................................................................T

T
April 9, 2012, 12:28 am

so winter is behind us, and we bring out that dance within called spring. what joy the longer days bring! if we truly wake from the little death(sleep) with an open-SPRING-heart perhaps we to can be like the drops of moisture on the daffodils in snow. have a SPRING day! peace be with you, T

Wow we still have problems getting to the web site this is a poem fromT
April 8, 2012, 2:19 pm

Wow after all these years we still hit the nerve of some assholes I guess its because some morons dont want to hear the truth they would rather with their feeble minds and sheep like mentality live in the lies. Below is another great poem from T this site is going to be up and running again at full force soon nothing is going to stop what this band stands for and our never-ending quest to one day be heard and with that use our position to focus on all that needs work in the human condition fuck all the fame shit we live to make a better planet that is the goal of Shadow Screamers and a few idiots are not going to stop us EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! tulips break the tender green ground. maybe this year i will pluck the weeds. a cold rain falls, as I eat a poor soup. who knows the number of returnings i shall watch? poor soup, cold rain. the tulips grow faster than my old thoughts vanish.... Written by T

a piece fromT
April 7, 2012, 9:16 pm

there are some, golden in the light. there are some tarnished in fright. who is to say the meaning of this or that, better to listen to the stars at night.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i met a man one time that was perfectly content being who he was. he was a dishwasher out west. what was striking is his authenticity-he was who he was, no more, no less. now he happened to be older and had a life of authentic living that he shared with me. hormones and youth blocked my young ears. today in my 50's i still contemplate the words of this, ' stranger at the door'. we can live our lives in fears and worries, we can think ourselves quite important. let me be, to the songs of the night and my imagination free. peace be with you my friends, jason

MONEY OUT-ISSUES IN....
November 17, 2011, 6:50 am

the Occupy Wallstreet movement i think would have greater success if they could attack one of the huge issues that affects all business and politics in america.today i talk about political funding.individual corporations may make donations to candidates and parties,AS IF THEY WERE AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON!this naturally sets up a power embalance and ensures that the candidate must,'scratch the back'in upcoming years the corporations that donated to their campagign.for many years i have thought the simplest solution is this:establish a gov.agency(off the bat i know you Repubs.will hate this)that raises money equally for each candidate.so let's suppose you want to run for the Presidency.you would be entitled 200,000 dollars (WHATEVER THE AMOUNT DETERMINED IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO ACCEPT ANYTHING ABOVE THIS NUMBER.the number i throw out to day is merely hypothetical) as a flat rate.the same for repubs,dems,greens,indies etc...on top of this,as part of community service(which we talk endlessly about to teens-but as adults don'e live up to)for media-THEY MUST LAWFULLY GIVE THE SAME AIR TIME AND PRINT SPACE TO EACH AND EVERY CANDIDATE!okay so why is this a big issue?it cuts to the very core of what the occupy wallstreet movement is about-Corporate Greed.the Bush administration proved that unchecked lining of the pockets of politicians leads to hellish formulations of policy,ie-two wars,trashed education system,trashed economy.trashed civil liberties,trashed environmental laws.by tackling the way people get into politics ie...funding-the slate would be clean,and then each candidate would have to rely on what they did during Lincoln's time-THE ISSUES AND INDIVIDUAL WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE ISSUES THAT BEST MEET THE NEEDS OF AMERICAN PEOPLE IN TOTALITY AS OPPOSED TO THE WEALTHIEST.i am convinced that a simple solution such as this would be in the best interest of the country.MONEY OUT-ISSUES IN.this could be the Mantra for modern and future elections and politics. we must think and solve this issue,or we will continue to be right back here in several years wondering why things are so difficult for the average citizen,and worse for the poor.Namaste,T

fasting....
November 9, 2011, 7:29 am

fast until there is nothing but you left-i have been thinking a lot about fasting lately.this might be because i just ended one and have made a committment to continue throughout the year.i would like folks if you would to type in,'Negativity Fasts'(only if you are interested)in the search section of the band journal.over the years there has been a lot posted on this theme.times are tough,it is easy to feel discouraged.let us all help one another....peace,T

are you listening?
November 3, 2011, 6:45 am

the walls are closing in on greed.people around the world have had enough.wake up wealthy,and start spreading for the common good.you did not get there alone-it is your civic and ethical duty to spread your wealth in appreciation.peace,T

why we have three ears....
October 31, 2011, 8:13 am

there is no greater battle than the one within.spend the day listening.listen until the cannons and gunshots,screaming,wants,desires,passions,thoughts and imagery subside.keep listening until your mind tries to coax you out of serenity.keep listening until you hear the faint murmer of your heart.keep listening until everything and nothing is heard.Namaste,T

inner smile....
October 26, 2011, 8:37 am

thank you for the comment! i have found that sometimes basic and simple practices are the most useful.Thich Nhat Hahn says that the most basic peace practice is a smile. smiling does so many things.for one it takes less muscular activity in the face(thereby reducing tension and stress).it also sends subtle messages through the mind/body.when we smile we relax,we don't tense.this message goes not only to the face but the entire body-including the inner body(organs and such).in fact there is a basic Qigong you can practice called,'the inner smile'-here is one variation; find a comfortable sitting position.relax your shoulders,elbows arms,body but at the same time a slight pull on top of the spine and slight pull on the base of the spine(to keep the spine somewhat errect-not ramrod straight-just enough)tuch the chin slightly in.touch the tip of the tongue on the upper palate behind the teeth(this will generate saliva-which is good to swallow in your meditation according to chinese medicine-digestion starts with the mouth and saliva and also filled with Qi).take a moment to find your breath and then slowly bring it down to your lower abdominal area-just below the navel.when you breathe in this area moves away from the spine-when you breathe out the belly moves back towards the spine. take three slow breaths here.now with the intention of bringing your loving kindness inward,visualize your liver(if you can imagine color,think green),smile and then on the inhale and exhale concentrating on the liver-smile to your liver-then go to the heart(red,then stomach/spleen(yellow)-then lungs(white)-then kidneys(deep blue)-for each organ do three to nine breaths with this concentration.very easy practice but really works on bringing love and serenity inwards,so that way we can easily manifest it outward to our world.if you have a hard time visulaizing just smile and say,'inhaling smile to my liver,exhaling smile to my liver,etc...'so that it becomes a mindfulness meditation.remember where the mind goes the Qi and intention will follow. you don't have to be an expert at visualization. hope this helps.Namaste,T

simple practices....
October 22, 2011, 8:36 am

here are some Ahimsa practices that can be included daily;smile(even when it is difficult),random acts of kindness(let the right hand not be aware of what the left is doing-in other words just do-something as simple as smiling and openeing the door for someone),meditate twice daily(just five minutes and then work up from there),treat every person you meet as divinity looking back at you,try to fast from words and thoughts that bring anger,confusion,fear,be the love you would want to experience yourself.just some simple thoughts that may be helpful.Namaste,T

non-violence,continued use....
October 20, 2011, 11:35 am

you know Jon,it is interesting,when you look at the journal entries in the past-we had predicted that an uprising would occur.i think we are just seeing the start of it.what i am so excited about is that Occupy Wallstreet has been non-violent which we strongly endorse here. Jon and I have sat in the blazing sun,marched in the bitter cold,been rained on,etc,etc...all in non-violent protests.there is not a more powerful tool to use for social change.unless dramatic changes happen in social democracy-we the people will continue to protest. more on this later-have to go teach-to barely scrape by.Namaste,T

down here on the ground....
October 17, 2011, 10:14 am

just finished with a deeply Spiritual practice i do every year-it was very powerful. in these times i think it so important that no matter what your faith,religion,or spiritual practice that we all ground ourselves in the practice.human beings are moving faster and faster.some feel as if blown about as with the wind.please,please take the time to ground yourself and let your Mother support you! Namaste,T

the change needs to come(yes NEEDS)....
October 13, 2011, 12:34 pm

it is time for this so-called dream to take the next evolutionary step- one that most rational gov. make. social democracy.without such a system,we will forever be tied to a rich vs.poor paradigmn.social democracy has so much continued growth potential,but the primary tenants stay the same-people first,gov. second.that means cradle to grave health care coverage. it means in a country like this with tremendous resources-no one hungers,no one is without a home.going further,if set up in such a fashion,all drugs would be legal(thereby taking the strret crime out),prescription drugs-free.domestic violence and sexual assault centers fully funded with a trmendous effort to end such crimes against humanity.the growth potential is endless as long as you keep individual freedoms and welfare first and foremost.anything after that is brainstorming about issues that continue to plague societies,not re-election bids and all the squandered money for such efforts.just some breif thoughts as i prepare for another class-be back soon with more thoughts on Ahimsa.Namaste,T

HEY WORLD ITS TIME TO TAKE IT BACK!!!!!!
October 12, 2011, 5:44 pm

TAKE BACK AMERICA AND THE WORLD ITS TIME FOR THE BILLIONS WHO WORK IN THE TRENCHES DAY BY DAY TO STAND UP AND UNITE ITS TIME TO TAKE BACK YOUR INDEPENDENCE, SELF-WORTH, YOUR DIGNIYTY AND SELF-RESPECT IN OTHER WORDS JUST TO BE TREATED LIKE A HUMAN BEING….NO MORE RICH GETTING RICHER NO MORE BEING CONTROLED BY THE SYSTEM NO MORE LIVING IN COMPLAYENCY AS THOSE WHO HAVE IT ALL KEEP TAKING IT ALL NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE……………JON

FUCK THE RICH
October 12, 2011, 2:42 pm

The time is now for revolution in this country how many more years are we going to be forced fed the rethoric that the rich cant pay their share brecasue it will stall the economy? Ten years people ten years of them getting richer THEY ARE LAUGHING IN YOUR FACE MIDDLE AMERICA BECAUSE YOU ARE LIKE SHEEP. I CANT BELIEVE WE HAVE BOUGHT INTO THIS BULLSHIT RETHORIC THAT HAS BEEN FORCE FED TO ME FOR MY 54 YEARS. I AM NOT GOING TO STAND FOR IT NEVER HAVE IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AT OUR SITE!!!!!!! HELL YOU JUST MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING………. BUT NOW ALL BETS ARE OFF I SAY TODAY WE NEED A REVOLUTION THE RICH WILL NO LONGER CONTROL THE SYSTEM I DON’T CARE HOW IT HAPPENS IF YOU PLAY WITH FIRE YOU GET BURNED SO BE IT. TO TAKE A LINE WHICH I WILL CHANGE FROM A BEATLES SONG FUCK THE RICH AND FOR ONCE PAY THE POOR LET THE CARDS LAY WHERE THEY FALL STAND UP AMERICA AND STAND UP FOR THE CORE YES YOU MIDDLE CLASS……JON

was Jackie Gleason right?....
October 10, 2011, 8:20 am

very good Jon! i liked that last entry a lot.will be on later.tried to write something today-but just not feelin' it.sometimes i think Jackie Gleason might have been right about friends-they will call when your up-but the phone is silent when your down.interesting and sad.thank God i have you bro.peace and love,T

faded shadows
October 8, 2011, 2:42 pm

My shadows growing longer as the days they pass away no one knows how many you’ve been given or when it all is taken away. Reflecting on the life I’ve lead I’ve faltered in so many ways so as the shadow keeps growing longer do I just reflect or move ahead. I’ve wasted so many minutes they are more precious than the tokens of wealth and gold for in the end when your shadow fades nothing is left but the impact you hold on those who lived beside you and those you chose as friends and what you did to impact humanity no act of kindness is a wasted moment. I see my shadow growing longer and the self centered need to find my place so that after my shadow fades I will not be forgotten but that I made a difference before my shadow faded away………jon

We are proud of the" Occupy Wall Street" Movement and will do all we can to help!!!
October 6, 2011, 7:18 pm

Shadow Screamers would like commend the� Occupy Wall Street� movement for standing up and saying enough is enough. We have been trying for years to figure out how to get middle class America to stand up and protest and finally it is happening!!!!!!!!!! I could not be prouder of this movement for it is the start I hope for an overhaul of the whole system in this country that makes the rich richer and the rest of us get the pennies from the trickledown effect. As soon as I am back on my feet and back to normal I am going to do all I can do to align this band with this organization and all others that are standing up and saying, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH WE WANT THE CURRENT SYSTEM TORN DOWN SO THAT EVERYONE IS ON AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD AND EVERYONE PAYS THEIR FAIR SHARE NO LOOPHOLES. IF THE RICH DON’T LIKE IT THEN MAYBE WE WILL HAVE A REVOLUTION THERE WILL BE NO CHOICE LET THE CARDS FALL WHERE THEY MAY BUT YOU GREEDY LITTLE PIGS SHOULD TAKE NOTE…………THE REVOLUTION IS JUST STARTING YOU BETTER GET ON BOARD NOW OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES DOWN THE ROAD………………JON

Occupy Wall Street....
October 4, 2011, 12:11 pm

great to see the,'Occupy Wall Street' movement,and we applaud all that take part.i see it as a non-violent protest to bring awareness to the inequities of the bank bailouts,and the rich continuing to live off the middle class and poor(tax breaks,etc...).if the issue is not addressed at some point intelligently and meaningfully(the inequities)we will see more and more marches,protests,and soon work strikes.more on this later-good work all!Namaste,T

leave immediately....
October 1, 2011, 10:03 am

an old Rabbi once said that the paths to God are like the hand-each finger leads to the palm which is God.if we keep this in mind,we can be free from seperate-ness,we can be free from hatred,we can be free from judgement.the Dalai Lama once said that there should be as many religions as there are people on earth- as even within the same religion we are each individuals and offer our unique way to prayer,devotion,etc...it has not been religion that has killed so many over thousands of years-it has been people,reading EGO into texts that talk UNION.if you are in a Church or Temple,Ashram,or any place where someone talks about-seperate,or hatred in myriad forms,you have the right to leave immediately.you have the right to understand that God loves us all.those that teach hatred,us against them mentality, fight the language of the Mystics-LOVE....Namaste,T

so what we waiting for??????
September 30, 2011, 12:24 pm

THERE IS NO EASY SOLUTION WE MUST ALL BITE THE BULLET AND JOIN TOGETHER. I SAY AGAIN THERE IS NO EASY SOLUTION WE MUST ALL STAND AND JOINT TOGETHER. WHY IS IT THAT WE THE HUMANN SPECIFS ALWAYS LOOKS FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO solve OUR PROBLEMES? DONT WE ALL HAVE BRAINS, TONGS, THE GIFT OF SPEECH? WHY ARE WE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THE DIRTY WORK PUT IN THE TIME LAST TIME I CHECKED MILLIONS AND MILLIONS ARE OUT OF WORK SO WHY DONT WE STAND UP? FUCK THE GOVERNMENT AND ALL THAT STEMS FROM IT WE HAVE A VOICE AND WE HOLD THE POWER SO WHAT THE HELL IS HOLDING US BACK????? I CANT LEAD YOU BY THE HAND STAND UP AND TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS YOU WILL FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELVE AND YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!jon

the LOVE we seek....
September 29, 2011, 7:00 am

the more i think about it,LOVE really is a frequency that permeates the cosmos.a friend(scientist)told me that a subtle vibration can be heard across the cosmos,whose frequency is OM.now this is really important as OM for many people in the world is the word for God.it has also permeated across the religious landscape;AMEN being a derivation from Christianity-Ameen from Judaisism(i would like to wish my brothers and sisters well on Rosh Hashanah).if this is true than the ambiant sounding is that of LOVE of God(in whatever way you choose to express the name).so our study of Ahimsa would be to bring the frequency of our heart in alignment with this great LOVE-this great frequency.we can do this by being kind not only to friends and family but also enemies(as Jesus said)and also all beings throughout time and space.if we are truly kind to all we see the frequency and vibrations of the heart become transformed.perhaps things just don't upset us as much.perhaps we become more patient.perhaps we take more pause in our day-to just do nothing but enjoy this present moment.perhaps we can feel and experience samadhi.perhaps we can become the LOVE we seek....Namaste,T

AMERIKAN PIGGIES YOUR TIME GONNA COME PART ONE!
September 28, 2011, 6:15 pm

Looking down these empty streets as far as I can see are the dreams of the working class who tried to live the American dream but all of the buildings and all the houses lost now belong to the wealthiest they feed like greedy pigs at the feeding trough. Yet we all stand by idle letting greedy pigs just have their way I shake my head and wonder why? It does not have to be this way when so many have died to protect I don’t believe we have true freedom for power corrupts that

radio frequency-LOVE....
September 26, 2011, 7:30 am

Jon,another outstanding post! if we think of frequency,what waves are we sending?everyone seems to have fovorite songs that they remember the first time they ever heard played. perhaps they were in love and the song became a couples,'song'.perhaps there was a pivotal moment,like Jon talks about when a gift was given, and the response has been years and years of creativity(Jon truly is incredibly gifted not only as a guitar player/singer,but as a song writer as well).can we equally remember the frequency of LOVE? when was the moment when you felt completely held in anothers unconditional LOVE?as a student of Ahimsa, i constantly think of those things,as the can be pivotal,they can be an integrating thread that helps to hold the tapestry of life together. we have talked about for several days things that you can do to start slowing the mind,to be more receptive to the frequency of LOVE throughout the cosmos. if you do this and still the demanding,'ego',you will see that your frequency of LOVE coming through all in the cosmos,will be a'radio tower'transmitting this LOVE to all beings around you.... Namaste,T

thanks grand father
September 24, 2011, 1:57 pm

The best gift I have ever been given was a transistor radio by my grand father when I was four or five years old I can remember listening to it as I went to bed at night. It was for me an escape into a world that maybe one day I would be a part of the melodies, the voices, the instrumentation, they all consumed me and in a way formed the person I am today. A I thank my long deceased grand father who I really never knew I have been listening to music of all varieties for almost 50 years and I have to tell you I just finally picked up Adeles new cd and I am floored this young woman has more talent at her age then anyone I have ever heard. Of course this is my opinion and as you can see my dream of making waves in the industry are still as far away as they always have been but I do know talent and this girl has it. So I guess my point is if you enjoy real talent please check her out I hope she has a long and fruitful career and does not get hooked up in the trappings. As for this band we are still plugging away and we will be who we are and maybe just maybe we will one day achieve a level of success that allows us to get together and for once take it to the level we are capable of......until then Adele you are and amazing young talent and best wishes for you and your future..............jon

all for one?
September 22, 2011, 9:09 pm

There has Never been meaningful change to the humane condition without sacrifice. There will never be any meaningful change to the humane condition unless those who take up sace doing absoulutly nothing but take up space decide to sacrifice. So what is holding this great human experiment back? Oh I see nobody wants to sacrafice! Ok so I will say it again there can never be meaningful change with this worthless, self absorbedhuman race unless there is a commitment to sacrafice. I am not talking about cutting out the insides of the percieved heathebn on a stone alter lifting the guts up to some god..... I am talking about this human race who loves to pat ourselbes on te back We are all in this together and we will either perish or move on as the huaman race together...,,,,noj

when a wave hits....
September 21, 2011, 7:46 am

let us suppose you have done this for a day-pretty disturbing eh?were you surprised by the repition of thought?were you surprised by the subtle ways your ego draws you in to delusion?very deep practice we experienced yesterday(please continue!).now our next step follows well the principle of Ahimsa.first start your day with a meditation-perhaps first off just being aware of the breath;you can say to yourself,'breathing in,i know i am breathing in(on inhalation),breathing out i know i am breathing out(on exhalation).when a thought other than breath awareness comes up-please! allow it to come and go(there are basically three phases to thoughts;coming to be,being,and dissipating-we can be active in not letting the thought flourish by not watering the seed of the thought)when it goes come back to the breath.an analogy i love to use is to allow the mind to be like the still pond in fall.now this still pond does not reach up and try to hold the passing clouds still,it simply allows the clouds to pass.after your meditation-extend this practice by walking meditation.mindfully step with one foot on inhale and the other foot exhale(very slow!),then take two steps on inhale two on exhale(all the while doing breath awareness meditation)gradually add breaths to the inhale and exhale-then go about your day. try to be awre of your breath the entire day,or just to be mindfull of what is happening in your life. when a thought comes that is distant from what you are doing-same thing just let it come and go and then back to mindfullness of breath or the moment. simple practice and as you can see no violence. more tomorrow,have a beautiful day!Namaste,T

when a turtle sleeps....
September 20, 2011, 10:45 am

watch your mind for a day.this can be one of the most powerful-self-realization activities you can possibly do.write down what comes up.watch patterns of thought.see what triggers negative or harmful emotions.write them down. do this for anywhere from one day to a week. tomorrow we shall talk about the next step. Ahimsa practice is not easy.in many ways it is the hardest work you shall ever do. remember that my view of Ahimsa starts with me(the individual),when i understand myself better and can be at peace and harmony within,i am so much more available to the world-for peace,for non-violence. can i still do peace work while i am working on myself-absolutely.just watch yourself-look closely at your thoughts,your words,your actions. more tomorrow.Namaste,T

write about the violence of hunger....
September 17, 2011, 8:53 am

Jon You are so right! When I worked in schools, it was a common fact that one in five children you saw came from an impoverished home.more so in backwoods areas like Maine,Florida,Miss,Alabama,etc,etc.the curious thing is that we can't seem to have an intelligent,compassionate conversation about it.just the other day i was filling up gas in my wife's car(she ahas a Democrat sticker),this big fella came over and asked me if i should change my bumper sticker(he initially was looking for a verbal fight-or more)-'can't get any more of a mess,time for the Republicans to sit in the seat again'.i propmptly informed him that this was my wife's car and that i was way left of the Democrats,but what a country it is that we can talk rationally about our differing views. he looked at me a moment,and that was all that it took.he wholheartedly agreed and then started to tell me about his views and asked me what i thought of this and that.he even told me about a blatant harrassment case and how he felt the perpetrators were so wrong.in the end he thanked me for listening!i wish there were more friends out there, that upon seeing what they perceive to be an enemy,they understand he/she is just a regular guy with a different point of veiw.now getting back to the children, Gandhi said the worst violence is poverty and hunger.that we live in a country with so much money, yet so many children go to bed hungry astounds me.Ahimsa message today-talk to your Congres-people, talk to your Senators-write them a letter-let them know that this is not acceptable.great thoughts today Jon,it is so sad that so many children are hungry,and so many are homeless.Namaste,T

Lookie here we dun should be proud amerika
September 16, 2011, 2:46 pm

Well T the latest study out appears to show that more people are living at or below the poverty level then have been for decades. The bright news is that only 20% of children are living below the poverty line hell that not bad in the greatest kuntry in the world because we can boast that the richest in this country have gotten richer in the last ten years than ever before in this great (slaughtered the indigenous tribes, was happy to adopt slavery, loves to start worthless wars) KUNTRY. And the only bad part is that tens of millions of children the most venerable, exploited, abused section of this great KUNTRY are going to school, coming home from school and going to bed hungry no big deal RIGHT AMERIKA.I have to say that I have been a pussy crying that hey Shadow Screamers has been trying to help for years thru our web site, concerts, working in our communities and recently thinking FUCK IT WHY BOTHER!!!!!! Well I am sitting here typing these words and I HAVE BEEN ACTING LIKE A SELF ABSORBED ASSHOLE!! If I we don’t keep up the work then we are doing then we are no better than the millions and millions in this Kuntry that don’t give a shit If I do that then I will lose the core of who I am and the last thing on earth I would want to be is one of the millions who are doing very well but don’t care. They are the lowest form of life on the planet hell I would rather hang out with a cockroach. So what about you who check in are you going to stand by? Everyone who is doing ok or better has opportunities everywhere to help it’s not hard to do all you have to do is make the choice........or move on but like my last entry there are consequences for the actions we take on life I am no angel I learned this the hard way. But the consequences of ignoring this pandemic of suffering families in this country if you are doing well yet have no compassion then for you I will say that hopefully what goes around comes around and in this case make it ten times worse........by the way I am holding myself and my family to the same standard as anyone else......Jon

Sorry Amerika Camelot was only for the white rich scum
September 16, 2011, 2:01 am

Golly gee wiz looks like Jackie O the number one bimbo first lady did not like Martin Luther King. Gee I wonder where she got that from maybe her husband? I love that that dick head played the game but thought he was above it but got his brains spread all over his brain dead wife. If you play with the bad boys you have to realize that it aint a game even though you are banging Marlyn Monroe on the front lawn while your brain dead wife is reading bed time stories to the spoiled little kiddes.......What a crock of shit Camelot my ass they deserve all that they have gotten the family gained its wealth because their daddy was a super scum bag you can buy almost anything with dirty money but their comes a time when you have to pay ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,jno

note to a friend....
September 14, 2011, 10:45 am

very sad news today-a very dear friend of mine has passed on.it has always been facinating to me-peoples lives,peoples stories. in this grand adventure we are on,i always feel blessed(in the true sense of the word)when someone shares their story with me.i had such an opportunity with my friend before she passed on. she led a very rich and wonderful life,filled with so many stories of tolerance,compassion,and LOVE.my friend i hold you in my heart.namaste,T

turn off....
September 12, 2011, 7:02 am

left/right,right/left;fingers pointing without light into the dark night.no road,no direction,no division-brilliant light for the world to see----as humans we are so hung up on our conditioning.in the last 50 or so years in America this problem has gotten to the point where we have mechanical devises,that broadcast around the clock-what we should think,and how we should think.let us fast for a moment from as much technology as we can.let the,'natural mind'come forth,without the violence of electrical images shooting at you.take a walk in a forest or garden-breathe in and out with the blue sky.find that what you hold onto so vehemntly is only a passing image.your consciousness is so much more vast than this box you have prepared for yourself.no road,no direction-single pointed mind finding who we are/what we are.Namaste,T

Salutations for LOVE....
September 11, 2011, 10:13 am

today i am planning to do 108 Sun Salutations in memory of the victims of 911 and all acts of terrorism before and since.i hope each of us can offer prayers,meditate,offer a kind word-gesture to all.as Jesus said love one another.peace,T

dream part one?
September 8, 2011, 8:24 pm

looking down the empty streets of mindless brainless drones I am embarased by the ignorance held like some wierd distorted crown. All of those in power spread their fear because they know that the sheep will follow blindly as they let their free will go. Oh it is so easy to see how mankind always falls and that we will nrver rise up to the heights for we seem to love the sudden fall. All that we have built up and all we can concieve will be gone when you wake up anf realize that it all was just a dream...................onj time ran out

envy....
September 8, 2011, 11:35 am

let us suppose for a moment that we are envious.we see a person or group of people that we would like to be like.first off we must examine what it is that we are envious of?is it their material wealth?is it that because of this they can travel and enjoy a life of luxury?or is it that they seem to live in a way that we would aspire to?first off when we are envious we set aside our existence in this moment,and step into the realm of fantasy of dreaming-or we step into actual anger towards them saying things like;'there is no justice when a person like that lives in such a way',or perhaps worse thoughts. as we examined yesterday anger can be very destructive if visited frequently.what the Sages have told us throughout the ages turns to be true.cortisol and other fight or flight chemicals invade the brain and can create quite a bit of actual damage to the brain.more importantly it puts a dusty/filmy surface over the natural state of the mind.it surrounds it superficially with thoughts that are not wholesome or revealing to the true nature of our reality.the close cousin of anger is envy.when we are envious we as stated above live outside ourselves,depriving this moment and our natural awareness and reality.envy and anger then are destructive to the path of Ahimsa.it creates a violence of the mind/body/spirit and perhaps most importantly there is a time factor involved. if it is true what the Yogis say,that we are alloted only a certain amount of breaths in this life,how many have we spent on our anger on our envy?as i get older,i start to realize that a lot of this time,a lot of these breaths are wasted if i am angry if i am envious-it creates a violence-in the loss of breaths devoted to self-discovery.is anger ever justified?most definately.anger can be a powerful and judicious tool under the right circumstances. it is important finally that when we are envious we seek,'outside ourselves'for things.when we seek inside-we find that we have found will bring us to a sense of well-being,happiness,adn perhaps wisdom....namaste,T

its a laugh a minute with you humans
September 7, 2011, 8:18 pm

Oh great wise one it is you who with your wisdom can predict the future !!!!pPease tell us who will lead this great country out of this depression it is obvious the person who is in office cant lead us we gave him a chance but he has done nothing!!!!!!! Things are a million times worse now then they were when president bush left office!!!!! So please oh wise one tell us who will lead us from this great depression???? My children I am gkoing to bestow upon you yet another of my greatist gifts from the state that I love so much! I mean when you have sheep who follow blindly and can be manipulated like silly putty I always go the the state of Texsas these white privilaged men actually think they have a connection with me. I cant resist its to easy so my children I will give you govenor perry yea thats it i will give amerika this dude he will win and bring america back to the top of the heap hell he talks to me and it will be fun to see how far i can get this dude to go in the name of god! hahahahahahha man if it werent for the ignorant beings that populate this world I would be bored out of my mind............. that wont happen with your species its a laugh a minute............onj

great song yet again Jon(hearing a bass line again!)
September 6, 2011, 12:02 pm

man-i am always blown away by the way you put down stuff Jon that i immediately hear as a song.what you wrote,i think would make a great,great son bro!!!!so back to Ahimsa-there is nothing more destructive than anger and hatred.my favorite superhero is the Hulk,and i often wonder if this is what Stan Lee was articulating-when we become incredibly anger or filled with hatred,we literally become monsters.in Buddhist thought it is sometimes suggested to think of the time you saw someone who is out of control with their anger.note how ugly their face becomes,note how as the blood goes to the face the face itself distorts and looks hideous in a way.now realizing we have all attained this look/this monster-we make a vow to not be this.how? going along with Ahimsa we don't want to be violent with our anger by trying to push it away or more dangerously subdue it.Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that we embrace this anger like a Mother holding a child.As you breathe in and out with your anger,start to notice as it starts to fade(all emotional states like all phenomena are impermanent-they will pass),as your breath slows look deeply at it-perhaps you were angry because a loved one hurt you,said something or did something that was hard to hear or unfair.once you see the root of this anger you now effectively are at the seed of the anger in the Store Conciousness(unconscious mind).in this way,if that person or persons does the same thing,we can identify the hurt and not water this seed so it becomes anger.now following non-violence we have not veered from this stance,and equally we have not evaded the issue.in fact what we have done is extremely brave,we have gone into the nature of this momentary discontent with the tools of our breath,our mind,and willingness to see how this state of mind can remain un-sated(or at least understand the nature). once we have done this we can see that our emotions and thoughts really are like waves;they formulate,come to be,and then dissipate.in understanding this we have a certain amount of liberation. liberation from the feeling of being,'stuck',in an unwholesome state of mind. i truly hope this is helpful for you all today.Namaste,T

the distance
September 5, 2011, 3:07 pm

in the distance I see what might be........ in the distance I stumble because I dont look down....... in the distance I am on top of the world....... in the distance I loose the path that leads to dreams of grandure......for I am spending to much time looking ahead as I stumble around.......in the distance I can be anything that I want to be......but it is the distance that seems to hold me down........for in the distance are the dreams that we all hold.....but it is the distance that can bring the best of us to our knees...........for the hardest journey to what we hope to be is in the distance in sight but somtimes so far out of reach..........jon

first act of violence....
September 5, 2011, 8:55 am

be the one you long to be,love the one that resides beyond the ego-we all at times wish to be something different.in fact it is the greatest first act of violence,to not be what our heart tells us.from this,the world is jaundiced.our perception lies behind anger,hatred,pesimism.it takes between 40-90 days to develop a new habit.let us work towards Ahimsa one day at a time.more on this tomorrow-have a great day.peace,T

Cosmic Law....
September 1, 2011, 7:04 am

as human beings we are very fortunate in that we have many decisions we can make.we can choose for instance to go on a quest to examine the nature of reality,or we can choose to live this life out not being aware and listening to the lie of the EGO. we can choose to eat what we would like and(in the west-for most)when we want.today i would like to examine the sacredness of all beings.on this cosmic web we find ourselves on,we see that all is related and inter-related.every being in the cosmos has a purpose and a dignity inherent.as humans at times we have struggled with this.some have erradicated species as they have seen predators(for instance)as a threat to the livestock they raise.so we see in this country the virtual extinction of wolves in many states.any time you take something from the web-you diminish the web in ways that you cannot see or sometimes predict.we have seen this in countless permeatations as farmers have gotten rid of said animal only to be plagued by other life that the predators ate.i have seen in vision and in my life the sacredness of all beings.when i was a young man i was exposed to the Cosmic Law of Ahimsa and it led me to become a vegatarian.lucky for me i stumbled across a food coop,that taught Gandhian principles and i began my journey into trying to undersatnd the depth of this Cosmic Law.after over 30 years of examining i find that the call for vegarianism is intensifying.it is not only the kindness to other beings,but also will help us if we are going to make it as a species.reading,'Diet for a Small Planet',will educate on a deep level the enviornmental loss of eating meat.do we still kill? yes,daily! we breathe,we step,we eat,so much life every day on the micro level.we drive cars and kill animals.we drive cars and send deadly gas into the enviornment,etc...what is helpful,is to get a piece of paper and write out a continum of harm and non-harm.find yourself on it.if you choose(which i pray)to pick up Ahimsa,see what you can do to bring the 'hash mark'closer to non-violence.perhaps vegetarianism,and then shopping locally at farmers markets for produce,driving less,car-pooling,watching the use of insecticides and grass and weed killers,etc,etc... we all being born human kill beings.once we become aware of the sacredness of life can choose how much we indeed do kill-evry bringing the hash mark on the continum closer to non-violence.you will never totally get there,but in your striving you will find something quite extra-ordinary.life is very sacred as are all beings.when you find this(very different from intellectual understanding),when you really,'see'this your life will inevitably seek and become more harmonious,more natural law based,more in tune with all in the cosmos....peaceT

old principle,new eyes....
August 31, 2011, 6:52 am

we can no longer take from nature at the incredidible velocity we are currently at.our beloved Mother,has finite resources and only so much that can be dumped on her before there is no return.in the next several weeks i will be writing again about one of the guiding principles in my life-Ahimsa.i know i have written copiously on the subject before,but Ahimsa is a cosmic principle that is always there.it finds you in relationship with it.like classic literature,when you examine this oceanic principle,you find each time that you are in a different place(given your experiences and life circumstances)it finds you,informs you,gently leads you towards a wisdom that was known long before human beings or anything else was alive in the universe.more on this principle tomorrow.Namaste,T

how do you breathe?....
August 27, 2011, 7:44 am

with every breath we breathe we have a beginning and an end.it is said that we are allowed a certain amount of breaths in this life.Yogi's know the number almost exactly.the last thing we shall do is exhale-the first we did was to inhale.what do we do between? it is said that consciousness is the key to how we live our lives.though the rig veda and other Yogic knowledge professes this(for a very long time)-it is not idle speculation.in fact in the field of Qunatum Physics they have now made some remarkable discoveries that back this knowledge up.can we create a world that knows harmony for the human species? it has to be an individual choice and a collective. when individual people go on the journey,eventually more are around to be prescent for others. the real problem and why we see so much hatred,disease,famine,is the priority we have established.we have decided collectively to allow the ego to be the pre-dominate force.with it hatred,anger,and a mind that thinks only of it's individual self.this is why,when a Gandhi comes along it is so remarkable and special.one person led to many-soon an entire nation was acting together(to get the English out using the principle of Ahimsa-which I will be talking about a lot-like I do).the first thing we can do is to understand how to calm the vicious storm of the ego.to use the breath in such a way as to release that which would control,punish,hurt,the world and ourselves.more on this tomorrow.today please care for your breath.as the Tibetas do(easy meditation)breath in with the blue sky,breath out with the blue sky.peace,T

what a crock of shit man
August 22, 2011, 8:15 pm

This kuntry is so predictable looks like King is gonna get his little statue in the epicenter of white supremacy ie Washington DC and I have not heard didly shit about it until this week. What a fucking joke the sleaze media is goana grab onto this story like a hooker sucks a rich white man’s dick. Nobody gives a shit sorry King but that is the reality you gave your life and I deeply respect you for that but dude the more things change the more they stay the same I wrote those lyrics years ago and I have not seen a fucking thing to change my opinion. I will respect you on the overdue day you deserved to be honored with all the white honkies but I aint buying that we have changed as a society the scum that hold prejudice has just gone underground cause the little pansies aint got the guts to let the world know what they are. I have seen it over and over again if you are honest so have you or you are one of the fucking pansies who hide in your fucking closet of prejudice ................jon

Wow this girl is mind blowing............
August 16, 2011, 2:04 pm

I just heard another tune from Adel the young new incredible talent. If you love music and can appreciate a true brillant young talent this girl has in my humble opinion. If whe is writing these tunes it does not get any better voice lyrics and my personal fave melody. She is perfornimg at a level way beyond her years if she is writing these tunes. I have not been blown away by a talent like this for a long, long time you go girl I am knocked over and lovin every minute of it..........jon

the core
August 15, 2011, 3:20 pm

Hey T I have been thinking about the ripping I gave long term vewiers of this site ( sorry fan does not apply if you just take Ts words to feel better about yourself and go back to your little self centered world). We have lost many but I would not take back anything I said if your skin is that thin which in the majority of the country it is the fine.I think it is a small example of the attitude most have in the mighty usa which is take for me and my family and walk with blinders on as not to see any one else with problems thus you dont have to give. We are the most self-indulgent, self-centered greedy self-rightous country on the planet and you know what so be it it is what it is. T and I are not going to change what we are trying to do we are who we are not perfect especially me but we hold true to the core of this site. If you dont know what I am talking about then read the band journal I am not going to spell it out for the lazy if its too much trouble then just get back in the me first line and keep on moving on. This band will survive and we will still try to make a difference and we will not have blinders on. It is a crazy notion I know as we were written off years ago but the one thing I learned grokwing up in a violent disfunctunay family was that you stay true to who you are and your princilples not because of a fear of some god or hell but just because it is the right thing to do. I am far from a saint and I will never be free from sin but in the end I can look back and say nobody every took away the core of who I am..................jon

over two hundred years late....
August 15, 2011, 7:08 am

too many dirty dishes-these lyrics by Albert Collins,say a lot about our current politicians running.makes me wonder if that one story,that one who would ride above all the din will ever happen?what is needed is a bright,articulate person(like Obama)that has come from poverty and still understands the way of having nothing.Winona LaDuke really comes to mind-it would be great to see a woman president that is also Native American. she would serve well,and isn't it about time that the indigenous people of this country had a President to represent?i have always said that a true democracy is only as strong as the most disenfranchised population within that countries borders.we are woefully lacking!was gone this weekend,more tomorrow.peace,T

Ground hog day and other stuff
August 14, 2011, 2:05 pm

Well here we go again seems Mr. Perry the white gouverner of Texas has thrown his cowboy hat into the Republican ring.Dont know much about him other then he has a close Relationship with God. Man what is it about Texas god must love that state cause he sure talks to alot of white upperclass dudes that call Texas their home. This dude seems to have lots of appeal and it seems he might be a threat to Obama. I see that Obama is finally getting back out to the people and trying to connect something he sould have done months ago he has dissapointed me becasue he seems so detached and unaware of the situation millions are suffering with. Any person with a brain and not an agenda knows that he was throw in front of a freight train out of control with no possibility of stopping it in the short term. But if he seems more conected to those suffering at least they would know he is pulling for them. Thats my opinion but what do I know...... I must say its gonna be fun watchin the Repugniants fightin for that nomination never saw so many whacked out people fighting for the ultimate position in American politics who needs you-tube this is gonna be funny.........jon

stumbling on part one
August 10, 2011, 4:49 pm

Years ago I wrote a song I cant remember the how it goes but one of the lines was "The more things change the more they stay the same". Not sure if I lifted it from somone but now more then ever it seems to apply to the human condition. There are children starving in Somilia we have tried over the last ten years on this web site to bring light to the latest country suffering and starving on the planet but we are a small voice ( even smaller now after I pissed off the long time fans with some comments a while back but I will take nothing back this site is what it is no editing here) Moving on I see the riots in London there is aleays unrest on this planet just happens in different locations. I guess my point is that you would think we could move past this but here we are again and again and again. I believe what happened in London can happen very easily here in Amerika there is an undercurrent of intense discontent with the millions and millions of us who have been left behind yet the rich get richer and the political machine just keep humming the same tune. I am not for violence but that is me we are at the breaking point so we should watch carfully how they handle this situation so that it does not happen over here.As Far as starving children we know that we have to give those who have nothing ways to sustain themselves not band aids that as we all know is the only long term fix.Yet here we go again stumbling on........jno

listen to the pulse....(thank you Jon for helping me to get back on the journal!)
August 10, 2011, 6:49 am

i picked a sunflower from my garden this morning in the rain.what sun it brought to my heart! nature is always giving to us,the problem being a human being is that we at times are to caught up in our heads to see it. spend time outdoors,unplug from your various contraptions.give yourself time to feel the natural pulse that radiates your heart,as opposed to the electronic buzz that invades and dominates our culture. i see more and more people walking(for health)attached to their cell phones.i always think,'what is the point'? now people have told me,'i am mutitasking',well guess what?science has proven that human beings suck at mutitasking.it is a myth built by the business community suggesting that if you do more than one thing(poorly according to the research)you can justify and possibly amplify your work position.well it is a myth-untrue. why not give your attention to one thing.by doing so,the moment is lived in,breathed in.so you walk for health,for goodness sake leave the damn cell phone home-listen to this pulse that permeates the cosmos.peace,T

Will we ever change as a species?
August 7, 2011, 4:08 pm

If there is a God I hope he takes care of thoes who just lost their lives and their families in Afganistan and for that matter all the others who have and will loose their life to make this planet less hostile towads ourselves. I have a hard time with any enity that would let this human specied slaughter each other over and over again maybe we need to solve the killing with our greatest asset the human mind and inherent compassion that every child is born with..........jon

Finally T II am linked up that doesnt mean I still dont hate it but we have to move with this techo shit
August 7, 2011, 1:15 pm

Hey T just sent you an e-mail could not get on for quite awhile also lost all my info on the computer a few weeks ago.Keep on moving towards our destination I will do the same despite the odds......this world needs a voice like ours now more then every my brother.......jon

Dennis Miller for president?
August 6, 2011, 3:27 pm

I saw Dennis Miller last night on the Jay Leno Show. Years ago he was an intilligent non politcial comedian with an intillect. Fast forward to today he started his stand up rutine blastin Nancy Palosi as an Ignorant dumb bitch basically then went on from there and he bombed it is pathetic when a comedian has to beg for laughs I was laughing my ass off. The dude voted for Mcain-Palin because Mcain served yet I guess he has no problem with Palin takin over when Mcain has a heart attack? I did notice that he was way overweight and white?hmmmmm who does that sound like fellow rupuginants He bashed Obama saying that he has plenty of time to make rainbows and pots of gold and Georgie junior had nothing to do with the state of this cuntry?I bet he gives junior a blow job every year when he gets a free ride being rich and enjoying the junior tax breaks.Listen I give nobody in Washington a free pass they all can kiss my ass but Millers thinking is self serving self rightous and totally self indulgent.......... hey he should run for office!!!!!!!!!!jon

to be me.............T having computer probs will get the band journal site to you and call tomorrow
August 3, 2011, 6:31 pm

I did not chose to be the man I am I hope these words dont seem insincere. for I am the product of the many layers that brought me to this place I fear. I will take the blame as you unleaseh your anger out on who you think I am. but the truth is that I have never found comfort in the world that ravolves around perceptions I still dont understand. What do you want from me why are you so concerned dont want that white hot light on me I choose to walk alone down dark corridors that give me the space inside to breath.my world was never planned there is no hidden quest just want to wade thru anther day without the consequence of living how you think I should. For its a blind man who thinks his way is right when no two humans are born the same. So I amble on thru the deep dark nights and embrace the sunny days as my mind wanders on in an empty vacume I stumble on my way. for its the only way that I know to go why cant we just let me be there is no happy ending for the dies been cast as I am what I was meant to be.......................

WOW I AM HUMBLED
August 2, 2011, 6:51 pm

Just when this last year has humilated me to the core and I was sure it cant get worse. Well Sceamers haters you can stand up and rejoice!!!!!!!!!!FUCK YEA I CAN TAKE IT FUCKING GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!! because my oldest son who just turned twenty and I got into a conversation about the state of the world. WELL HE AND THOSE WHO HE HANGS OUT WITH THINK ITS HOPELESS THEIR FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY?????BY THE WAY THEY HAVE NEVER CHECKED OUT MY SITE AND DONT CARE FOR OUR MUSIC.So I guess I will eat crow kick me in the balls I deserve It I have never preached the site or my beliefs on them other then my respect for those who have made a difference in humanity but son of a bitch I am goin to stop on this site and see if I can make these kids realize that the only solution is to stand up and try to make things better It did not work for Shadow Screamers but If I just give in then I WILL GO TO WALLMART BUY A GUN AND PUT IT TO MY HEAD I am to vain to disfigure my face at least the face I saw the last time I looked into a mirror a few days ago.............GOD DAM IT I AM FUCKING PISSED OFF AND I GUESS I AM TO BLAME SO SHADOW HATERS JUMP FOR JOY YOU WIN TODAY.............BY THE WAY I WILL NOT AM NOT GOING AWAY LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS PRETTY BUT I DONT WANT THE ALTERNATIVE YET............ONJ

better the rough draft not sure what it is actually????
August 2, 2011, 5:48 pm

No things are not getting any better as the rich promise pennies will trickle down to the little sheep that follw blindy like lemmings jumping off to drown. Its all on you if you choose to keep on the path where the rich laugh as they drop pennies for you to catch. So fuck yourself you dont complain to me when countries with more guts then ours said enough is enough and took control back from the scum that hold the wealth of this blind kuntry. We been preachin for almost twenty years but those who want change are discarded like the last year so go fuck yourself you can all burn in hell cause you aint got the spine to stand up with us and join the movement to give universal equality. If you just stand by then you can kiss my ass and if you are a taker then you can suffer the rath cause I for one have seen more the enough if these words scare you then you better turn around for anger is an emotion that will bring your lame ass down> someday this apathetic stupind kuntry will wake up and realize that to make change for the better you cant sit by and just pray for a world where you can live the life that we should have without the price to pay....................onj

paper bag full of holes
July 28, 2011, 4:08 pm

Trying to catch dreams with a paper bag full of holes made by the empty promises that I still hold. never thought to let them go so I keep moving on chasing dreams with a paper bag full of holes. dig into my soul to see where I might have gone wrong but I am to close to the deception to uncover what I know deep inside is wrong. Catching dreams with a paper bag full of holes seems the only ones I catch are the ones that I have held since I was old enough to know that dreams only come true for the ones that stay on course following the path that leads to the fullifment of the dream. I too often wander with no set course in my mind blindly missing the path that would lead me to what I have so long desired. In retrospect I guess I am stumbling of my own accord I have my mind and I know what it is that I am reaching for but as for now I am catching dreams with a paper bag full of holes..........jon

I will never let you down
July 12, 2011, 11:44 am

Why is it the fears that trap those things in you those dreams lying deep inside of youthe things you know that you can do. but fearr it aleays holds you back from what miight have been ,as doors close on most all of those dreams you thoght were yours to hold and keep the fear it holds the keys to set you free..I used to slam frear in the face but now as years lay lines on my aging face, questions ramble thru my mind in these the most uncetian of times.Should have seen the changing tide but sometimes your busy life just seems to hide as it keeps you from looking side to side as opportunitys just slowly passes on by.So as I pick myseld up once again with the help of those who believe I can I get the strenght to push on again for there is too much to loose and so much to win. So when those problems get you down keep on fighting and dont let fear knock yuo down just call me and I will be around because I would never let you down no matter how far youve fallen in these crazy times I will never let you down....... No I will never let you down......njo

sorry I am back and just asking
July 11, 2011, 11:18 pm

Where did it begin? who tells us when it is the end? A Blinded old Holly white man who thinks he knows the truth? Why not look into your own heart is the truth inside of you? they say all hearts are pure when they come uopn this earth so when exactly does the heart go astray? or is it what you are taught that blurs the truth? each human heart was graced with purity upon birth right? Who is going to ask the questions that nobody wants to hear as we walk like sheep to the drum of those holy men that fill us with fear. Old man in Rome has no clue how the human race survives as he reads from passages written by those who had designs on earthly power.Let go of these demons for they dont care for your deep spritual soul they just repeat the passges of those before them blindly holding to an outdaated mold. Do these outdated writings have any relevance to what is happening now can? How they cling to faded images of what was and was all about nothing more then holding power?..........Wake up use your mind...or follow...........by the way how is that following thing working for ya?????????? have another kid and keep on believeing in the past...........the past but then again that pope does have a fancy gold hat and somone to wipe his ass and take care of his every need? ..........ojn

dear god
July 11, 2011, 10:35 pm

used to believe in your miracles and your sacred holy grace but as my knees beed with the blisters of the man who fell so fra from your grace and as I am crawling on the burning ground does that make you stronger in your faith??? I look to the sky but its empty like the heart that cant explain this human race.I dont blame you for your inadequices for who in hell could ever think they could control this human race of idiots and self centered trolls that rule as the holy god looks down and give the sinners all they can take..... I think I just saw the holy god drewl.Is it because you think you know no more then me in your blind slef rightous dream have you lost sight of the dream???? Well god the one thing that I have taken from my time inside your dream is that you will never make me fall becuase I never bought into your holy dream and I dont care if I have fallen from your self rightous holy place. For God the things that I have learned from living all these years is that life is what you make...... of it........ life is what you makeof it ......life is what you make of it..... So send me down to your sinners hell or cast me into an empty space but nothing that you will ever do can change the mind Ive made for it is my mind and I wont bow down so move on and leave me alone.......leave me alone with all your holy grace.......leave me alone in this empty space......leave me alone.....and move on to those who embrace your empty grace.......your empty grace.........jon

sad,strange,but there are solutions if we ony would embrace....
June 1, 2011, 10:14 am

very strange air lately.horrible storms that have killed so many.so much unrest and anger and posturing. we truly are coming to a point in our history as a species that we must admit we have done things very wrong and seek forgiveness and then follow up with MEANINGFUL CHANGE-not just catch words.starnge air-you can't help but feel it,almost on a cellular level.peace,T

fasting....(pulling the blanket from our lantern)
May 26, 2011, 6:42 am

so the blanket and all it entails! we have been given this remarkable,miraculous life to do what we can,to bring forth our best nature to further the cause of our species and to grow spiritualy.how have you done?do you feel blocked?do you feel you were meant for something bigger yet it is hard to get there-hard to know what you are suppossed to do?we have been lied to and anethetized out entire life.constant media,constant screens in your face trying to assure you,trying to divert you from your appt. with life.in coming back to this series, i would have to say my number one recommendation for pulling the blanket from our lantern(heart),would be to first go into a fasting stage. unless you absolutely have to-fast from screens for an entire week.no e-mails(unless you have to),no computers(unless you have to),and no tv.try it for a week.don't read the newspaper,or listen to any news(unless you have to). give yourself some time(ample time)in nature.meditate,read in a contemplative way,walk slowly,enjoy all nature around you.in taking a fast from screens-we start to listen more,we arn't so distracted and diverted.we begin to hear our heart and our passion take form.this is just the start-more on this later.peace be with you,T

rain,rain....
May 23, 2011, 1:38 pm

sorry i have not been on in a couple of days.it has been raining into our second week now-downright depressing! will be back shortly(so sorry to hear of the loss of life with tornado's this year-our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected).peace,T

I do not pretend to be perfect but this site is who we are..Will you join us?????
May 19, 2011, 1:50 pm

For those who may think I am insenitive and crude as far as my attitude towards the fair weather fans… let me spell it out for you. I along with T have been committed to running this site for over ten years and as a result of our unwavering commitment to truth and the betterment of all humanity. The bottom line is we have and still are suffering for our commitment. This decision to run this site has come with great personal cost and sacrifice along with unending harassment from the previous administration. What I want from this moment on is a fan base that like us is willing to make that kind of commitment. I did know what I was getting into but I will never waver from our commitment and I know T feels the same way…….. So is it too much to ask that of our fans??????? If it is then please move on we only want human beings that are committed to making a difference each and every day. That said I am no Angel and I have as many faults or more then the next person but in this one area of my life I will bleed and suffer any consequence for my actions on this site because however delusional I may be I think that there is unlimited potential for the human race. That said we will never reach our potential by occasionally checking in to an incredible site like this just to feel better about ourselves that is the easy way out. There is no easy way to stand up and say enough is enough!!!!!! I will not take any more…… I would like to see some comments good or bad about these words because in this bands world our commitment is put into action every day and I will stake my life on that statement ………………….So stand up and join us or move on to another safer site that is your right……………….Jon

one government....
May 19, 2011, 11:57 am

Jon, great to see you back here! you are so right,you and I are always been close-we have been all our lives! taking a break from the series i am writing to talk about some very troubling concerns.last year in Brazil there were 600 square miles of rainforest destroyed,up from 100 the year before.so the very air we breathe is in jeopardy-especially if it continues.now the next major issue is a looming food and water crisis(which by the way was predicted long ago in Native prophesy).this is going to be very difficult in the years to come.i feel(and i really do)that it is time to have one world government-based on social democracy to equally distribute food,water,shelter,and health care to all people of this planet.this is radical i realize it,but it is time to procgress past the point of petty provinial nationalism and embrace humanity collectively.as stated before,it does not mean we would lose the flavor of who we are-far from it.it simply means,the business of gov.handled by rational people from around the world that would look at equal distribution of resources.in saying this we must,must also stop populating so quickly.perhaps China's solution is the best-one child,one family-please correct me if I am wrong but they are working towards a zero population growth.anyways,have to run-lots to think about-probably a lot to get pissed off at me about.but do we really have an alternative? peace,T

walking
May 17, 2011, 6:24 pm

I push away the days……… I never clutch the sorrow………. because the empty eyes are more than one mans lonely mind can take………. So blow me away……….. in the end there is no tomorrow….. for I am just a figment of a blind misguided mind…….. So touch yourself but never let them feel your sorrow……. for they can never take the empty space that belongs to you……………….. hold it tight and never let them see what moves inside you……….. in the end no one can know how deep you feel the pain……. So push it all away and walk the lonely life I follow…..if I had answers I would gladly hand them on to you………..but in the end we all are somewhat what we choose as we collect the pieces of the life were walking thru……………….onj

Hey T love ya thanks for pickin up the slack man
May 17, 2011, 2:16 pm

I am back and from this point Shadow Screamers is no more………….That is to say we are not the same band as we were……. From this point on give us the disenchanted, the underprivileged the underclass those who struggle like us just to keep food on the table the bills paid and trying to live some kind of normal existence. I am back and I am better than ever if you think I am egocentric kiss my ass because if you can’t believe in yourself then good luck trying to sell yourself. For those who wonder if T and I are not on the same page we are connected in a way that time and distance will never alter that will never change. I do not want fair weather fans checking this site out just to feel better about themselves I want those of you who are fucking tired of the same old bullshit and want change but are willing to get off your ass and become a part of the solution all the others can kiss my ass and go on to another band site there are millions who do and say nothing…….. This is who we are and after ten years of walking the walk I want to send this message to the billions across the planet and say we have the music we are committed and if you want change join us. We have a fan journal we will gladly accept any positive input together we can make a better world and for those who hate us you too can speak that is your right and we will never remove it from the site…….Who the fuck else does this in this pre-Madonna bullshit industry we are trying to navigate thru………………….JON

Love ya T I am back thanks for pickin up the slack brother
May 17, 2011, 2:12 pm

I am back and from this point Shadow Screamers is no more………….That is to say we are not the same band as we were……. From this point on give us the disenchanted, the underprivileged the underclass those who struggle like us just to keep food on the table the bills paid and trying to live some kind of normal existence. I am back and I am better than ever if you think I am egocentric kiss my ass because if you can’t believe in yourself then good luck trying to sell yourself. For those who wonder if T and I are not on the same page we are connected in a way that time and distance will never alter that will never change. I do not want fair weather fans checking this site out just to feel better about themselves I want those of you who are fucking tired of the same old bullshit and want change but are willing to get off your ass and become a part of the solution all the others can kiss my ass and go on to another band site there are millions who do and say nothing…….. This is who we are and after ten years of walking the walk I want to send this message to the billions across the planet and say we have the music we are committed and if you want change join us. We have a fan journal we will gladly accept any positive input together we can make a better world and for those who hate us you too can speak that is your right and we will never remove it from the site…….Who the fuck else does this in this pre-Madonna bullshit industry we are trying to navigate thru………………….JON

flowers in the field....
May 16, 2011, 10:39 am

so knowing that we are all related makes it so much more enjoyable to be here on this Sacred Mother. for one,we realize we are never alone.even the most severe hermit relies on the surroundings and beings around her/him.yesterday we talked about cultural taechings.every group of people on Earth through long travel and then building relationship with the land they settled-developed their own cultural mores and languages.these are very important as they arise from oue'relationship' to mother earth and all species.one of the most trajic things that happens to a group of people is to lose their language.the effects are devastating(check on this site for agroup of writings on what I refer to as 'Monoculturalism'-yes i understand i have borrowed liberally from it's Biology meaning-but you will see how it is applied).my Clan Mother when she prays outdoors always elicits a very unusual response.when she speaks aloud,it is like all of nature stops to hear what she is saying.when she is done,you hear the activity begin again.part of this is beacause as a child she was not allowed to speak her own language in her own land(they were trying to eliminate the'Indian from the Indian',according to the policy of the day).she was encouraged by her family to speak in nature-so she did.having this relationship is something we can consciously do,as long as we enter with respect and love our natural surroundings.as far as culture is concerned i advocate learning where you come from and celebrate your tradition-it is important for you to understand you.in doing this you will find more respect,understanding,and admiration of others and their traditions.it is important in this stance to realize that though we are all related,our experiences(oollectively)have put a different flavor a different essence to the group of people we claim heritage to.in showing the mutual respect for others we have the traditional Native American stance of,'seeing the beauty of all the flowers in the feild'.so todays message and blanket to be thrown off from our lantern,is to listen to who we are. we do not have to subscribe to Monoculturalism and it's strangling aspects.Gandhi after all was Hindu.that he could see the beauty in all,never detracted from who he was as a Hindu,it strengthened who and what he was.have a wonderful day.peace,T

flowers in the feild....
May 16, 2011, 10:38 am

so knowing that we are all related makes it so much more enjoyable to be here on this Sacred Mother. for one,we realize we are never alone.even the most severe hermit relies on the surroundings and beings around her/him.yesterday we talked about cultural taechings.every group of people on Earth through long travel and then building relationship with the land they settled-developed their own cultural mores and languages.these are very important as they arise from oue'relationship' to mother earth and all species.one of the most trajic things that happens to a group of people is to lose their language.the effects are devastating(check on this site for agroup of writings on what I refer to as 'Monoculturalism'-yes i understand i have borrowed liberally from it's Biology meaning-but you will see how it is applied).my Clan Mother when she prays outdoors always elicits a very unusual response.when she speaks aloud,it is like all of nature stops to hear what she is saying.when she is done,you hear the activity begin again.part of this is beacause as a child she was not allowed to speak her own language in her own land(they were trying to eliminate the'Indian from the Indian',according to the policy of the day).she was encouraged by her family to speak in nature-so she did.having this relationship is something we can consciously do,as long as we enter with respect and love our natural surroundings.as far as culture is concerned i advocate learning where you come from and celebrate your tradition-it is important for you to understand you.in doing this you will find more respect,understanding,and admiration of others and their traditions.it is important in this stance to realize that though we are all related,our experiences(oollectively)have put a different flavor a different essence to the group of people we claim heritage to.in showing the mutual respect for others we have the traditional Native American stance of,'seeing the beauty of all the flowers in the feild'.so todays message and blanket to be thrown off from our lantern,is to listen to who we are. we do not have to subscribe to Monoculturalism and it's strangling aspects.Gandhi after all was Hindu.that he could see the beauty in all,never detracted from who he was as a Hindu,it strengthened who and what he was.have a wonderful day.peace,T

the journeywork of stars....
May 15, 2011, 6:38 am

i can think of no greater lie we have been told than the one that says,'this group,that group is different from us'.yes there may be cultural distinctions(which are important to keep-more on this laster)and there may be genetic markers saying this person is this or that race of people,but underneath it all the genetics do not lie.we all-every one of us came from Africa and we are all related.now on the cosmic level.after the big bang it took along time for the particles and dust to swirl and formulate stars,planets,species,etc...we are all part of this star dust.in fact when our Native American brothers and sisters say,'we are all related(all species)',they really mean it.as Whitman said,'we are the journey work of the stars'.how can this help us to pull the blanket from the latern of our heart? first off,it is a fundamental truth that goes beyond cultural conditioning.now matter what anyone says-no matter what the lie-we are simply brothers and sisters,as such we should treat ourselves as such.more on this tomorrow....peace,T

blankets on our lanterns....
May 14, 2011, 8:04 am

'be a lantern for the world'.these words could very easily be both Jesus and Buddha's.what does it mean?we carry so much judgment for ourselves and others.in fact this thick blanket occludes our lantern,it dampens it to such an effect that noone can see a light.only the dark forbidding narrow passage of,'ours not yours','mine not yours'.if we are truly a special species here on Mother Earth, why do we not have the common sense of the rest of the animal kingdom? why do we try and exterminate entire groups of our own species either literally or figuratively in our minds? why do we celebrate when someone falls,and are elated when our personal heroes justify themselves? why do we continually spread trash on the very land that sustains us(rivers,streams,lands,oceans,air)?i would like to in this next series examine ways that we can start,'pulling the blanket(s) off from our hearts'. i would like to examine the effectiveness not only for our personal lives, but for the world.to be a lantern,does not mean exclusion.look to the sun for your inspiration;saints,sinners,all beings,there is no,'this is there's but not yours',the sun simply shines.let us examine how we can do this in the next couple of days....peace,T

a day like others.....
May 10, 2011, 5:53 am

when i was born a new class of nuclear subs were released.as i sit here and ponder another year gone by,i wonder about the direction of humanity.at this point we have had many messengers from God-we have not listened.we have been warned by Elders-we have not listened.we have observed warning sighns from our brothers and sisters and the very Mother-we have not listened.just when will we open our ears,minds,and hearts?it is my wish on this day(as every day)my birthday-that mankind can learn to listen with the above three.that we can adhere to the words given us by messengers.that we can live in peace and work towards world harmony.from nuclear subs. to organic gardens.i truly wish we could make those weapons into ploughs.peace,T

when a Master steps through the door....
May 9, 2011, 6:56 am

It is with great saddness that i report,one of my Teachers has passed away(i have lost two of my beloved Teachers).Jonna Zorya was a deep and fearless Teacher that worked hard at de-mystifying the Internal Martial Arts.Her approach was somewhat similar to William C.C Chen, in that she wanted to show the structural dynmaics of the Internal Arts and how they are used for maximum effectiveness for combat.She at times could be controversial,but i really,really enjoyed her ferocity and her warmth and compassion.Again she was fearless and i feel helped the arts immeasurably by her teaching and her way. I will miss you dearly Joanna!It is always tough losing your Teachers-so much they unselfishly shared. Rest in peace Joanna and Al. peace,T

your mother
May 8, 2011, 6:36 am

look to the ocean as her.look to the tulip just starting to open as her.look to a stranger as her(as the Dalai Lama says-they may have been in a formewr life).look to the mountains as her.look to the streams,the animals,the insects,the flyers,the swimmers as her.look to your own mother as her,that gave you birth in this life.look to the earth,the very clay of which you arose.and finally look to this universe you live as her,the very dust of planets stars,whirling,settling,forming into who we are.i am a child of this universe,to her i give thanks....peace,T

energy....
April 26, 2011, 11:14 am

today is the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.it is feared that residual radiation is still locked in forests in Russia that could send it back out in the enviornment-still a major issue.i have said this many times before here-but i truly believe that solar energy is the way,and we need to fund the research!!!!just this last week i went up to the res.and passed a windfarm-man those things are ugly and loud!the hill they are on was so pisturesque before-now those monstrosities block the view.again if we would have continued Carter's initiative-just think where we would be today.perhaps my dream of little strips to gather solar energy around the windows would be a reality now.get the funding together!!!!peace,Tps..our thoughts and prayers go to all the victims of Chernoyl and Japan.

are you a Tourist?....
April 24, 2011, 4:29 pm

imagine that you are walking along the beach with a group of people.the sun is setting,the skies filled with orange and red.it is late in july and the beach roses still send their beautiful fragrance along the saline wind.sand pipers walk the beachline and a gull calls overhead.now imagine that you hear,see,feel,none of this as you are busy arguing with the group over who should be in the honored position at the front of the group.it is time to leave,still beautiful as the purples spread over the horizon,still arguing you climb onto a bus and ride home.instead of enjoying the beautiful countryside,rolling hills,the first star,and the lazy moon winking to the last fading light of the sun-you spend the entire ride over the honored seat now on the bus.what is wrong with this picture?we spend so much time in our ego's playing out endless agenda's,we miss an eternity of moments.how can this be?how could we miss an eternity.Satre said if we truly lived in complete awareness for the day-we could spend the rest of our lives processing a single day!imagine a lifetime and you will see where i am going with this.if we truly lay aside the ego-if we truly die to the moment right here,right now,we surrender into inexplicable and nurturing LOVE.the universe surrenders to the still mind said Lao Tsu.if you continue to run agenda's and allow the ego to rule your life,than beautiful moments,beautiful living will still elude you.be the tourist who opens his/her heart to the experience,the one that is truly available to all beings,all locations on this tiny planet.if not perhaps the smelly,loud bus arguing about,'your place'will suit you.i think not,it is more about an agenda of that grasping part of ourselves-not who we really are....peace,T

when a garden flourishes....
April 23, 2011, 8:06 am

what is it you truly give for love?Fyodor Dosteyvesky said,'Love is painful'.we have romantic notions of love in this culture.we assume that we are to find that one true love and settle down to a fairyland,'ever after'.in america we are very immature in our thoughts of love.true love is to die many,many times.like a snake shedding skin,we must give up notions,desires,wants that we thought were part of 'love' that is oft splashed on the silver screen.true love is a reciprocol relationship,in which you are always leeting go.letting go of being right or wrong,letting go of clinging or holding someone against their will(some that would read this would say i am talking about abuse-well yes,but not the overt kind you are thinking).if we are possessive,if we cling,if we hold with words or notions or prevent our beloved from expressing him/herself-this is not love.love is letting go of the ego,so that our partner can be.what we feel as hurt in our love is this process of aging into the wisdom of our love.fights,words,the crisis's that inevitable happen when two share a life together long enough all hurt as we adjust to a re-birth of who we really are in love. when we finally feel this non-clingy love-we find that it is gentle,that it is accomadating,that it is deeply nurishing even in times of intense pain.it comes down to ego again.so many divorces and break ups because we just can't let go. let us be a love that is nurturing and nurishing for our love and loved ones.then let us spread it to the world....peace,T

have you had your shower after taxes yet?
April 22, 2011, 8:21 am

you know i got thinking about that poem i wrote the other day(tomorrows flowers)and how much it reminds me of so many that we throw away in this society.the problem is that we don't allow the fecund ground for their flower to be.a study was done on the happiest people on earth and also the most long lived.in almost every country that lives a long time and is happy,they care for the extended family.not nursing homes-they are cared for in the loving,nurturing enviornment of the home.now in order to turn the times on this in america there are many things that would have to change. first off we need to stop deluding ourselves that capatilism is the way.the way the current manifestation(of capatalism)works is that the rich become outragiously more wealthy,and the middle and lower classes of america become poorer.under such a system,how can one stay at home to care for aging elders or others in need?in the countries studied-there is national health care coverage and also liberal extended leave time.now people always bring up taxes,and yes Social Democracies do pay a lot of taxes,but so what?are you really going to be the next american dream! the odds are as good as winning the lottery,and if you do,at who's expense?the thing about taxes in Social Democracies is that you know where your tax money is going.wouldn't you feel good if you knew your hard earned money was going towards a safety net for you,your family,and all others?people rant and rave and bellow-'they can't raise our taxes give us a break',yes-under the current system they are right.this money goes to feed a fat political system,financial system,and wars that none of us want.the structure itself must change.to know exactly where the money is going is a wonderful thing-education,health care,extended leave policies-all very good.to me,at tax time i feel i must take undue showers as i feel filthy!who knows where my tax money is going?is it paying for unlawfully detained political prisoners?is it paying for a smart bomb destined to wipe out innocent men,women,and children for the sake of one so-called target.is it supplying funds for other covert ops,in places we really should not be in?i leave after signing my tax statement home to the shower! we simply must change with the rest of the Happiest places on Earth for out childrens,children....peace,T

tomorrows flowers....
April 20, 2011, 9:50 am

again the spring-the tuilps break the warming greound,the crows carry sticks one by one to build their nest.again the spring-where did i go the long winters dream?silence,on reserve,bringing energy deep within.again the spring-blue sky,sun kissed fields,i measure my steps to the compost pile,yesterdays refuse,tomorrows flowers....Peace,T

just one chance....
April 19, 2011, 7:06 am

i was reviewing some fan comments when we put out Washing away Columbus and the other stuff we put out in that time period.man that stuff just needs to be heard.i am excited that you are writing again!they always say that art is prolific in oppressive times.with all the same old same old-the economy in the dumpster,right wingers putting a stranglehold on-well everything-IT IS TIME FOR ART!!!!not the crap you hear on the radio.i always felt Jon that if we got one chance to talk with Bono,or Radiohead,or Neil Young-just one chance-we could get in.anywho runnin' like crazy trying to scratch out a livin'.peace,T

hard times....
April 15, 2011, 9:40 am

man-just wish i could catch a break!i know we all feel this now.hopefully,we can climb up out of here!peace,T

ego....
April 14, 2011, 11:33 am

i always feel that we could be closer to the goal of caring for all,but we must contend with a huge impediment-individual and collective ego.individually we have been taught in this culture to,'buck up,pick yourself up by your bootstraps,etc'.we are taught to,'get and take regardless the consequence'.this makes a perfect setting for a nation of type A personality-John Wayne types.no wonder there is so much violence and hatred. collectively we are brash,rude,and treat the world like it all belongs to america.if we continue both-we will continue to sink lower and lower.to abandon both we shall rise to the full glory of who we could collectively be.individually people work on themselves-there are many stories of those that have changed-but this isn't enough. the foundational outlook must change. this is what i believe Jon is asking us to do. to change from the brash young brat on the global scene-to a member of the world community that can offer true wisdom,much by the horrendous mistakes we have made.it is kind of ironic in a way to think like this,because the foundation of healthy thought was actually here-before 500 years ago.Native thought offers so much to who and what we can become-again.but again individual and collective ego must be worked on at the same time.'let go',see what can truly happen when we do....peace,T

free cookies....
April 13, 2011, 9:58 am

it is hard to stay positive about Obama with the financial advisors he hired. at first i thought,'what!really!'.then shit,here we go again. not one person has been brought to trial for the massive collapse of the financial system. in fact ceo's top exec's have still not had to pay back anything.we must always,always remember,that the money they took and flaunted is money that came from someone going homeless,or from pension accounts. these are the new breeds of industrail magnets that like those that built the industrial revolution in america,made their money off the backs,blood and bones of minorities and poor america. Obama gets a F for this as well as some of his educational reform insight.if I were you-i would fire the lot of them and start new-at the same time make good on your campaign pledge and HOLD ALL THAT BROUGHT THE COLLAPSE ACCOUNTABLE! of course we all know how it all started-the lousy of an excuse president and actor ronald reagan. it is because of reagans de-regulation policies that we undermined laws that were put into place since ww2-namely regulation of the market. america needs stranglehole regulation,so that the greedy(who also are part of the presidential cabinet)can't get their hands in the till again.having those folks there is kind of like asking a theif to guard your store while you go on vacation. might have had a good vacation,but what was left when you got back?peace,T

why?
April 12, 2011, 7:05 am

I understand the call Jon-serious reform needs to happen.Unions are being undermined,health care reforms,civil rights,etc,etc.Obama is like the person responsible for sticking his finger in the dyke to keep it from collapsing.it is happening to fast,and the right is attacking from to many directions. i can't for the life of me see how anyone could get indoctrinated into this world view?do you think because you wear a business suite and trump all the reforms that are intended for the betterment of the populace that Trump and his ilk will care for you?not a chance. makes me want to stop in Washington county(second poorest in america)when i see these people in obvious abject poverty with their right wing banners out.i want to say to them-do you really think they care about you?about your plight? amazing-impossible for me to understand....peace,T

the old plum tree....
April 11, 2011, 11:08 am

this is national poetry month-please pick up your favorite book of poetry and read and maybe recite to people.an old Irish saying goes,'always have a twinkle in your eye and a song in your heart'.-today the sparrow hawk roosts on the old plum tree.chicadee's dart,in and out,mindful of life,of death-peace,T

social democracy-in my mind the only way....
April 7, 2011, 5:15 pm

it has been a facinating study to see the political disturbance over the years of my life.the sad part for now is that the stakes are so very high.when they talk about truncating the social security system,cutting more and more programs, i can't help but feel for the most vulnerable of our populations.the elderly on fixed incomes,the mentally ill on fixed incomes,the rising cost of health care and prescription medications. that we still give breaks on taxes to the wealthiest americans is absolutely criminal.reagan(the worst presdient in us history-with bush a very close second;reagan gets the status of number one as he was responsible for the beginning of the demise-through 'trickle down theory(which has never worked and never will yet we still are doing it in 2011),cut backs on civil rights,cut back on research into green technology(remember his first act?taking the solar panels down Carter had put up at the White House,etc,etc...).we are a very weak country,as we do not care for the most vulnerable.if we were strong we would be like the Itanka' of the Lakota Sioux;willing to forgo their own meals until everyone;men,woman,children,elderly,etc...had eaten.when there wasn't enough,the Itanka's wouldn't eat.now can you imagine Glen Beck or Trump doing this? not on your life! it comes down to a very simple formula-if you are wealthy,you have a sacred responsibility to care for others-not just your family-everyone!for many of these old wealth folks,it is a given that they owe as their money was built on the backs of others.so many have called Obama a Social Democrat which he has denied.i simply ask why? i would be proud to be called such-there really is no other way.if we don't embrace this mentality soon-we shall continue to fall and at some point the coutless poor and disenfranchised will rise against the advocates of the trickle down(which seems to be permantly broken).as we continue Lent,i ask those republicans that resist social democracy,'what do you think Jesus and the early Church was'? the early church collected all wealth for the betterment of the collective group.when one became Christian(or in the early church,followed simply,'the way')they gave all their possesions. Jesus asked the same as he saw material wealth as an impediment to our journey here. it is right there in the book you weild as a weapon.there is no escaping this,so don't insult my intelligence by telling me that God wants you to have this wealth,while so many are hungry,tired,lonely,scared,and kicked to the side.let us embrace the collective and tackle the real issues that plague us-disease,green energy,the environment. after all as the northern Cree say,'in the end,when we have destroyed everything,will we be able to eat our money'?peace,T

Hi Jon
April 6, 2011, 2:40 pm

Jon, so happy to read what you wrote today! Wish I could have been there to help-so glad Ron was there! I called a couple of times and the phone was not ringing through? Started to worry,so glad you have moved in and hope everyone is settling into the new house. Call me,you are right,there is a lot to talk about.Been taking out my bass a lot-seems like I never leave the thing-feel strong as ever on it. Talk to you soon bro.-tell everyone I say hello.peace,T

those tiny thin strips around window panes....
April 5, 2011, 6:48 am

radiation is leaking into the sea from the nuclear reactor in Japan. so far they have been able to just put up oil-spill barriers.i am no scientist,but it would seem to me this is no solution as the radiation(i would assume would diffuse through the water and not have the 'gross material'pickup of oil).i have always been astounded that we have not made the transition collectively to solar power.i know i sound like a broken record here.but with all the technolgical advances-couldn't we build small collection strips around windows that would gather for storage cells in the house.i forsee the day this might happen-that we don't even need the panels-just strips(eventually almost invisible,around windows-they gather so much energy!).if we prioitize it can happen. Carter made some advancements with this by having panels put up on the White House(which was a very strong and clear message for research).of course we know what happened next-the worst thing to happen to the White House(well bush 2 and reagan are neck in neck for bringing this country down)-reagan promptly tore the panels down and went for 'big-oil',big coal etc....meanwhile don't forget about the relief efforts in Japan-they will be underway for a very long time.out. peace,T

atoms on the needle point-angels givin' glue....
April 2, 2011, 7:05 am

they have found that the very atoms re-generated in our bodies occur at a faster rate than previously thought.if we are changing all the time,would'nt we forget or become something different?yes,and no.each 24 hours we have an opportunity to live this new day,this new way.our gentle and shy soul,guides from within.peace,T

down here on the ground....
March 31, 2011, 6:37 am

there are times when the ground rushes up to meet your face.'dust off',they say,'keep moving'.towards what? do we encounter good will,love for all beings?do we lead our lives nobely?the human species is the most arogant and self serving that has ever been(on this planet).as we continue to spiral in degradation-sometimes it is hard to get motivated.look around you,what do you see? if we could for a moment surrender to the ground as it rushes up to us,perhaps what we do and how we do it,would really matter-not just to the,'bloomin' human race,but all beings.lately the ground is rushing up to my face-stop the ego T-surrender and embrace.peace,T

tired....
March 29, 2011, 6:37 am

so how is the climate in the rest of the states out there?ours is dismal with a gov.that is a piece of work that's for sure.i guess the thing that always amazes me, is our short attention span in the states.not long after bush and his croonies presided over the greatest rape of the financila system,as well as loss of civil and human rights,we elect an entire crew in that seem to want and rape even more.they are attacking(reps.)the environmental laws-some having been in place for 40 years.they will tell you a good story,'oh this just makes it possible to stimulate the economy by making laws more business friendly'.the human species must remember above anything else-we can no longer fool ourselves by destroying where we live.to do so puts a world of hurt on our children and our childrens,children.today in Maine is business day.this allows business a chance to talk about what concerns they are dealing with the most.don't get me wrong-dialouge is always good.by why in this state do we not have ,'union day',a 'social work day',a'teacher day?' weall know the answer-they are attacking pensions again here.that means folks will have to work longer.it is so tiring.a recent scientist(can't remember his name)has been quoted as saying that we are doing untold damage to future generations by our polluting-sound familiar?we have been saying it for years and years here.tired today-just plain tired.peace,T

radiation and economy....
March 28, 2011, 6:43 am

this morning the state of Mass. has released findings of radiation in rain water that has come from Japan.they say at this point that it is in no way a health problem. it is very important in this time to include in your diet;miso soup,seaweed,nettle tea,etc...these are natural detoxers(talk to your Dr. first)that help not only with radiation but also with spring cleansing. meanwhile in Japan the cleanup will be happening for a very long time. continued thoughts and prayers for them. our thoughts and prayers also go to Greece and Ireland.they both have suffered horribly with the worldwide recession and it will take a long time for them to get back on their feet.peace,T

stillness....
March 25, 2011, 7:32 am

been very busy teaching all over the place.so much is going on in the world. i offer this thought again by Lao Tzu, 'To the mind that is still,the whole universe surrenders.'This is very profound and is now being somewhat quantified by Physists.Consciousness is the underlying principle.the secret is to go beyond the ego through silence and stillness.Ekhardt said,'silence is the language of God'.will be back soon-gone for the weekend-hope to talk with you Jon sun. or mon.peace,T

draft talk again....
March 22, 2011, 6:46 am

the situation in Libya(war) coupled with Japan(environment) is really scary.there has been talk about the draft of late again.meanwhile people(in Maine lately)have been understanding that we have to keep making sacrifices with wages and benefits and yet we are spread way to thin across the world spending bilions and billions dollars.Sen. Collins was giving a speech the other day and had to stop because of protesters.it seems in Maine we are saying,'stop spending money(on war efforts) when we desperatly need it,and by the way can you do something about your out of control Gov. in your own state?' not a fan of either of our rep. senators,in the end they just do their parties bidding.draft,are you serious?peace,T

what about????????
March 21, 2011, 8:37 pm

What about life how do you feel today will you grasp it with both hands or push it all away….. What about love are their conditions in your mind or will you be pure in the love that you define…… and what about hate will it shatter who you are or will you accept that hatred will hold you back from who you are……. and what about free will your right to question all that is…….. will you stand aside in slience as they take this precious gift…………got to go………..noj

when the last note is played....
March 19, 2011, 9:59 am

t'will be the dawn 'a' the new day, before the dreges of night are worn.t'will be the midday sun,shinin' on er'thing that brings this heart to home.t'will be the afternoon glow,golds o'er fields that i will know surrender.t'will be the the moonlight when i truly,truly remember. oh sacred sun,so strong and forgiving,gi' me but this day to sail this flight(o'my mind).oh sacred moon,silver light,to hide in the shadows till dawn breaks light.there is but darkness just before dawn,you see it on faces, when trust be gone.there is but light when we realize the sun,and shine so neatly for every moment and everyone....peace,T

the saga
March 18, 2011, 8:21 pm

If I reach out to you as I struggle for my last breath will you reach for me or will I sink into the cold wet darkness. Is that what I have been chasing all these years thinking I might be worth something but in the end sinking into the darkness. What is god what is life how convenient that nobody knows as pretentious forms of religion try to spell it out in twisted logic. You may die today a hero in ten years you will be a distant memory for this thing called life moves on. If I reached out to you struggling for my last breath would it even matter if you saved me? life is random no rhyme no reason yet so many of us get caught up in the perception of some kind of order there is no order that I can see. You are born onto this planet and you will die the space between is hyped up in visions of self importance but in the end you will dissipate with your decaying bones soon to be forgotten as another is born and the relentless saga continues…..jon

St Patrick's Day(one of my favorite holidays)....
March 17, 2011, 6:20 am

Happy St.Patricks Day all.Take some time and enjoy the lively music and culture.It's good to take a day and just have some fun(while honoring and celebrating).Keep sending thoughts,prayers,and whatever you can to Japan.peace,T

am I reaching?
March 15, 2011, 3:47 pm

As I gaze into the distant sky my mind fills with endless possibilities but they are out of reach or is it that I don’t reach……………jon

Lent 2011
March 15, 2011, 6:45 am

40 days to try and be alone.40 days to fast from the dark.40 days to go through acres of shit strewn before me.40 days to listen/be disgusted/then forgive. 40 days to try and re-create this vessel.40 days of dying. peace,T

the wheel....
March 14, 2011, 8:53 am

put aside your doubts,they will only have you chasing them like a rat on a wheel. put away your fear,it will only paralize you and place you back on the wheel. put aside your anger,it will only trouble your sleep and place you back on the wheel. put aside your hatred, it will only show the world your intolerance and place you back on the wheel. be with these feelings and carefully sit with them. watch them come and go, and find their true nature. it is then that the wheel rusts and breaks, and through LOVE you are set free....peace,T

Priorities and the Amerikan Dream part one
March 9, 2011, 12:31 am

It’s been said many times but still seems we can’t understand the importance of good student counselors along with music and sports programs in High School. There is a county out here and who knows how many across the country that are cutting out these programs from High School? Is our future i.e. The next generation not worth the investment? You want more teenage suicides, drop outs, criminal activity and vandalism because these kids have no outlet and even more bizarre nobody to talk to for guidance or help???? Yea Amerika this the Amerikan dream isn’t it………….. I am going to do more on the Amerikan Dream this questionable phrase seems to be slamming into my brain lately. Leaving me wondering if it is a ruse perpetuated by those who have the power and money to make us feel like everyone has a chance if you work hard and do the right things. I aint buying it and my right to question cannot be taken away from me right George Junior you tried……………jon

direct....
March 7, 2011, 9:10 am

why is the call there? why do we feel that something fundamental is missing in our lives?why in nature do we feel more relaxed,at peace,at one with ourselves?nature is who we are,what we have created in the material world is un-natural.Cicero,Plato,Aurelias talked about this, so the subject is not new.the problem is equated with comfort vs. necessity.in ancient times, humankind relied on their own hands.bartering gave a direct relationship between humankind's need to provide and to meet the needs of families. as with our current times, when we have seen power shift to merchant and the financial, we have seen an excess of reliance on material,on comfort. i was in a discussion with a friend of mine,and we both lamented the fact, that we could not do 1/4 of the things around the house our fathers could.raised in the Great Depression, they were forced to make do.our father can do basic plumbing,electrical,carpentry,etc... my friend and i need to call in people to help.the direct relationship with hands and service,allows for one to truly take part in what is happening,what we are using,what we are consuming.it also makes one feel great when a problem has been solved.getting back to natural environs.there are places in the world, where this direct experience of making and bartering still exhist.in fact millions and millions still live this way. i am not arguing that we don't need modern medicine or this or that.but do we need to be so,'comforted'? do we need to be lazy intellectually? do we need to have others solve our problems so many times? the other day i talked about winds changing,look around at the world-what do you see?better yet, turn off the screens and learn one thing in nature you can do, that will help you and your family.perhaps it is as simple as chopping wood.how do you feel when you are done? Jon is so right about comments-keep them coming;positive,negative,use your voice! peace,T

beauty and the beast...........
March 6, 2011, 8:51 pm

The fan the other day has his or her right to comment that is the core of this site. As far as the get a life I guess that I do have a life raising a family trying to survive and to speak out for those who do not have a voice to offer my perspective and out music. We have said countless times on this site that we are simply one perspective and that to be connected you have to look at many perspectives. At least the person who made the comment did stop by our site so they apparently went outside their box or comfort zone. I think we all need to do this so that we can understand all points of view there is more access for better or worse to connect to those who inhabit this planet than ever before. So I applaud my opinion for reaching out and exploring another view that is the beauty the beast is no searching………..ramble on jon T I will call early this week we have company coming to our humble abode

thank you....
March 6, 2011, 3:28 pm

thank you for the support everyone! Jon speaks his mind and I am glad that he does,as the reality underneath what he points to is important,and he has penetrating insight.as far as music is concerned,we shall get something new up at some point.we have both just been through some major life transitions.sometimes these transitions can workout for the best,we certainly hope so for Shadowscreamers,and all of you out there.again thank you for the support.peace,T

absorbed
March 5, 2011, 8:03 pm

Hey screamers fans if there are any I could have gone dark are you kidding me I have always been on the fringe. Don’t underestimate the unheard we are under the current of the shit that goes on day by day. Anyone with me or have you already been absorbed by those who think for you………..no time to go further maybe you can use your mind ……….and complete the thought………………jon

WOW MOVIE STARS ARE SO SMART.........
March 4, 2011, 12:39 pm

I saw a commercial last night the new Larry king dude was interviewing matt damon? I guess from the commercial damon was hitting hard on Obama. Trust me I am not completely happy with Obama but I hope this rich pampered movie actor??? Is not in it for the long haul. Really despite the horrible conditions these actors have to go thru while they make their movies get real man the dude is pulling down what 10-20 million for a few months of what millions of Americans are doing EVERY FUCKING DAY FOR THEIR WHOLE LIVES THAT IS REALTIY MOTHER FUNKING MOVE BOY!!!!!! If this dude did his homework he would realize that Obama is being hit by body punches every day it seems. Obama may not be living up to his potential but movie boy I guarantee you this he is better on his worst day then most of the dudes who have occupied the office since I was a boy and I am 54 years old. Get off your Hollywood horse and step into the reality of the real America dude by the way you have a voice because you are a STAR use it wisely for gods sake………JON

winds....
March 3, 2011, 6:41 am

winds are changing,you can feel it in the air.it is not just the typical march winds.spiritualy there is a lot afoot.be mindful,stay grounded everyone.peace,T

stress....
March 2, 2011, 10:02 am

that is so funny you should say that Jon! I have found the same thing lately.just the other day i did something for someone(that you just normally do)and the person looked at me as if to say,'okay,what's the angle?'no angle,just being kind that is all.have you noted how stressed out everyone is?people on the roads,in stores,etc...just plain stressed.i have seen in my classes that people come so stressed.some it takes half way through class to kind of let the stress go. makes me wonder what the hell we are doing collectively.so much pressure! the solution is in sight,but sadly we have the right out there now trying to finnish what bush started(they are now going after unions!).sad state of affairs.please relax all.we have a lot of material here,teaching relaxation and meditation.just search on the band journal.peace,T

empty shell..................?
March 1, 2011, 3:45 pm

I wonder how deeply this never-ending recession is changing society in ways that will tear us down not build us up. I have recently been praised in social situations by people I don’t know for doing what everyone should be doing when something happens and you mess up or lend a hand nothing out of the ordinary. I hope that we are not heading down a dark path as a society morphing into a me against the world and fuck the moral compass, compassion, acceptance, understanding that as human beings separates us from the rest of the species that inhabit this planet. Things are tough for millions of Americans this band included but we cannot give up the principals and beliefs that define us as human beings I have been brought to my knees with a good dose of humble pie these last months and I have been luckier than most I will not argue but in the end I will not give up the one thing that nobody can ever take away from me and that is myself respect and the morals and values that I have been given over the years. Once I do that I am just an empty shell a puppet on a string moving in blind unison with those who have given up their most precious gift………………onj

60%
March 1, 2011, 6:23 am

hey Jon-really been wiped out lately with sickness-be back on soon.after an entire winter of feeling great-this flu crap is getting tiring!anyhow,great thoughts yesterday-things are very tough out there!i know in the mental health field for instance,places are advertising positions,but then tell you after the interview,that there is no money yet-they are awaiting funding!bummer way to end interviews!be back on soon.peace,T

stand or fall amerika...........
February 28, 2011, 2:25 pm

I must say having your little perfect world which you mapped out and we doing all the things a “good soldier� does only to have it ripped from you with nothing other than you did a good job and could you please for humanities sake make the transition as smooth as possible!!!!While all along losing everything oblivious……..is quite a lesson in humility. I did have an easier route these last few years as far as enjoying the benefits of our hard work and dedication to what we believed….. but to forcibly be thrown into a see you later attitude while you are loosing everything? Well in my case it just means its time to regroup and keep on going!!!!!! Perhaps it is the thousands of rejections with this band I have recieived… or perhaps its blind stupidity whatever the case I am going to keep on keeping on when I stop doing that then bury me dead or alive I don’t care because I WILL NEVER GIVE UP CALL ME STUPID, NIEAVE WHATEVER BUT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME OR THE LAST TIME I HAVE HAD TO STAND AND I WILL STAND OR DIE…………SO WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHICH POSITION DO YOU TAKE??????? WILL YOU STAND WITH ME?????????....jon

american caste system
February 27, 2011, 12:21 pm

okay,so our State exemplifies what I was talking about yesterday.our illustrious rotund Gov. is staging(yes you read this correctly-staging)town hall meetings state wide to support the changes he wants to make.first off,no one is invited unless you are on his e-mail list and the event itself is not staged until two days before(letting supporters know).he then demands all questions in writing before the event.lastly, when questions are asked-any abberations are simply not answered.okay so what does this sound like to you?like junior boy bush and his cowboy sidekick bad bart cheney! now this gov.is trying to lobby the gov. at the annual gov.'s meeting to change qualifications for medicaid and maincare, and he wants the government to stay out of how he would use resources.okay so basically he wants his fat boy croonies to get wealthy off not only what is entitled to the dis-enfranchised, but also the woods,streams,oceans and other natural resources.one can easily imagine, this Gov,clear-cutting national forests and not giving medicaid and maincare to those desperatly in need.so who does this sound like again-you guessed it-junior boy.for the life of me,i can't see how we became so stupide in this country!many that support these idiots are poor white folks,and i always want to ask,'okay so what is bush or a lepage going to do for you?'yes you can be bitter and fall for the firy rehtoric,about States rights,and the gov.staying out of our business,but what will that leave you personaly?as you eek out an existance,do you think these fat cats really care about you?i don't see glen beck,bush or cheney releasing their personal money to you.i don't see them helping you in any substantive way.they want to help themselves and the highest Caste of america-YOU DON'T RATE.this is the true story,we are just plainly,to stupid to not realize it.WAKE UPPPPPPP!!!!

american caste system....
February 26, 2011, 11:00 am

hi Jon-yeah,caught the darned flu.what a drag!teaching out and about as I am(all over the place),I am so keenly aware of the unemployment rate.i don't know about other states but Maine is hurting,so many layed off or for the short term or permantly.on top of this republicans in almost every state want to slash and burn the budget-including the importnat services which help the unemployed or dis-empowered.i have to note,that every time i see one of these guys(so many are)they are fat white guys.hmmm,they don't look like they are hungry or without services.in fact you could say that the upper classes in our american caste system are fat off the lives of the lower castes.Glen and Rush are perfect examples(and they abound)of these fatties, that spit hatred and then go back to their imported steaks,fine wines,etc...i don't understand for the life of me why we are not having unrest and demonstrations in the street.oh,wait a minute,we have answered this before on this site.people are so busy working their second or third jobs(without health insurance)or waiting in Gov, offices to see if they can be covered for a while longer(as the job market is bleak)that no one has time.it is the basic Maslow's hiearchy of needs.when you are hungry,don't make enough money to cover expences,without health care coverage-you have no time to demonstrate.you fatties shoul be ashamed ,trying to revoke the national health care policy.what is capatalism going to solve this?or trickle down theory?nope the fatties can't even release crumbs-they are to busy stuffing their fat,overprivelaged faces.if i sound angry-i am.hit the styreets americans-this nonsense must simply stop.by the way-Obamacare as you call it doesn't go far enough in my mind.it should be modeled after the nations that follow Social Democracy.cradle to grave coverage that includes-EVERYTHING,FROM JOINT REPLACEMENTS AND EXPENSIVE SURGERIES TO PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES.how do we pay for it?well first off if we would stop blowing up other countries,spreading the wealth,and moving to a full-fledged social democracy.wouldn't you be happy being a doctor,lawyer,politician,street sweeper,if everyone made the same money?it kind of leaves you to a profession you really love-as oppossed to just going for the money-think about it.peace,T

Drift away
February 25, 2011, 12:37 pm

Cast away out on the ocean, in my search for inner peace, I’m surrounded by emotions that hold me down and won’t let me be. Cast away into the silence where those shattered spirits roam, I’m still looking for the pieces to make me whole so I can be free. Gotta make it on my own there’s no-one to lead me home it’s the same for you as for me we grasp at stars to sift out the dreams………..jon

GOD WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES
February 23, 2011, 10:54 am

Picture this……. Ronnie and Nancy Regan riding horses across their big ranch in So. Cal as usual oblivious to the plight of those who are not rich and white. TEAR DOWN THAT WALL MR GORBACHEV I DEMAND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!…….His ever trusty wife Nancy says Ronnie you are talking to a tree??????you aren’t President anymore we now are living like the rest of America in comfortable retirement! Ronnie looks at Nancy and says momma your right isn’t America the best country in the world look at how we are living to know that all those other Americans who are retired are living the same way brings peace to my heart!!……….WOW GOD YOU HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU DO WITH DICK CHANEY AFTER ALL RONNIE WAS A DIMWIT BUT DICKEY???THAT DUDE IS PURE EVIL MAN…………I AM BACK AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK “IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE� AND “FAMILY GUY�, “SOUTH PARK� AND MANY OTHERS FOR RE-ENFORCING MY RIGHTS TO SPEAK THE TRUTH AS I SEE IT!!!!! LOOK BACK AT THIS BAND FANS……..BECAUSE IN THE BAND JOURNAL YOU WILL SEE WE HAVE ALWAYS SPOKE OUR MIND AND MOSTLY THE TRUTH…… IF YOU CANT HANDEL IT THEN MOVE ON TO SOMETHING SAFER BECAUSE I AM NOT GOING TO CHANGE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HEY SOMONE HAS TO DO IT IF YOU HATE ME THAT IS FINE WITH ME…….BUT DON’T EVER DISCARD T……….. HE IS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT, KIND, INTILLIGENT, COMPASSONATE HUMAN BEINGS ON THIS PLANET AND WHAT HE HAS WRITTEN IN THIS JOURNAL IS THE STUFF OF GREATNESS IN THE LITERARY FIELD…………….jon

sweeping....
February 22, 2011, 6:33 am

-crazy wind blows.mind swept,new day.- how often do we allow our minds to be dominated by repitative thought patterns.each day like a tread mill,the mind looping same thoughts.there is a freedom,when you let go.in Native thought,March winds have a way of sweeping away,to prepare for the coming spring.spring is a re-birth.a time of,'newness'.do we want to be stuck on our treadmills?or do we want to step off and enjoy the grand outdoors,in the splendor of a new day?peace,T

angles....
February 17, 2011, 7:59 am

singed wings again.how many times must i tell myself not to fly to close to the flame?yet there you are in the night,and here i am again intoxicated by your radiance.ever tightning circles,playing,dancing with sure death.you whisper something,i can't quite hear what you are saying.circle turns to straight line.intoxicated,curious,my flight no longer wavers.into the flame....peace,T(sorry i have been off a couple days.had the flu,still feeling quite weak.peace be with you all.)

Stick to what u best at man nothin worse then a fake playaaa
February 15, 2011, 4:59 pm

Nothing irritates me more than a pop singer writer who thinks they can write a serious protest song especially when the person is good at the type of music they are doing. I was listening to pop radio this morning and John Mayer’s song “ Waitin for a change� came on as I was listening to the lyrics I had to laugh after all if his generation prescribed to his attitude then the people of Egypt would still be ruled by Mubarak. Apparently it was the younger generation with twitter, face book and other various tools the internet provides that got the whole ball rolling because they were not going to sit back as Mayer proclaims in his song and wait. I commend them and all who joined and helped to put together this mostly peaceful revolution and although they still have a long way to go and this is the most volatile area in the world. I bow down to them with respect because they had the balls to say fuck the waitin for a change bullshit we want change and we want it now. Meanwhile back in Amerika the fucking rich white still sit back and push Jonny and his cute little song with all the other bullshit that the craft to make you think it all ok……..yes that’s right young AMerika just sit back and wait hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah and the rich get richer and the power and the diamonds and on and on keep waitin………….jon

american caste system(continued....)
February 14, 2011, 7:22 am

worse than any atrocity that you can think of,man vs. man,is the damage we have done to the natural world.entire species have been wiped out and each year the list grows longer and longer due to human activity.many would question why i would put this in this series of the American Caste System.it is quite simple really.we are destroying the very relation that sustains us.the underpinnings to this go back a long way(in humankinds estimation,anyways).some had to do with the Western world following,'hook line and sinker',the Theology of Augustine,who as he grew older became bitter and devisive in his theology.when original sin was created it immediately set up a devisive and warped way in which we view the world.born into sin,we effectively became seperate from the devine.the devine seperate from us.there was something horribly wrong with us and we must work towards doing what we can to find wholeness in our brokenness.and then the theory developed that some never will and will and are predetermined to be ,'fallen'.heaven is in the sky and earth is lowly.many unwholesome spin off's continued and are still occuring.if man is fallen,then his supposed guardianship of the earth-is even less than.so by hard work,determination,picking ourselves up from our bootstraps(as well as of course,being saved),we could change our fate,and it didn't /doesn't matter how we get there.the current Plutonomy of the financial power works this way-and many will tell you that this is the way,"God wants it",that,Capitalism is holy,etc...they could not be further from the mark.early Christians lived in what could be considered a Social Democracy.they lived that eurpopean model that frighten the finance industry.more on this later,for today it is important to realize that there were other paradigmns to this model.The Eastern Church,The Celtic Church,and Native American Churchs offered and offer a saner approach in ways of dealing with nature.first off the ,'sin',is simply not following the words-follow God with all your heart and soul.turning away,not thinking of.so this is different than-you are a sinner even at conception.the Theology's of these branches see the divine in everything.there are poems,canticles,breastplates,that devote themselves not only to divinity,but the divinity in rock,wind,ocean,etc....put simply,if we feel that life is a vast web of interconnection,than everything needs to be on this web.we have no right in God's creation to remove a strand.if we do we tamper with a side of ourselves,that wants to be in dominion over everything-to be our own God.so if this is the case,than everything is at our desposal.we can use what we want,when we want for our own benefit.in doing so,we have destroyed many beings and changed the landscape of all that was before the ,'blip'of mankind came along.simply put,before we completely destroy our world for our childrens children,we must live by Greener Theologies.Theologies and concepts that have us respect,and protect all beings on this plant;plant,mineral,swimmers,flyers,four leggeds,and two leggeds.more important than words,however,is to 'live' in such a way as to bring peace and harmony to all beings on this planet.to take and take only tatters the web.scientists don't even know the impact of some species that have been exterminated before they could study them.prey/predator-symbiotic relationships-partners in nature,all this has a consequence if we pull one of the integral threads.the caste of the planet has suffered more than any damage we have done to ourselves.being so,it may very well end up being our own demise.exercise;find time each day to be in nature-without any electric or battery operated devise.spend time listening and seeing.you will find many interesting things when you do this.i leave it to you to find them.be green! peace,T

all....
February 13, 2011, 11:11 am

Jon has posted very powerful words about Eygpt.Non-Violent protestation is the most powerful way to make change for so many ways outlined by Dr.King and Gandhi.What I would like to present today is that not only is it the most effective and peaceful way to bring about change for humans,but also for all beings.Let us take the example of a violent protest.This form not only kills and maims humans,but it is also hurts all beings within the enviorns of the protest.Bombs,gas,fire,anger,etc...destroy the very earth and all creatures around.Let me ask a very basic and simple question?What gives us the right to do this? What gives us the right to harm beings and ourselves?I tell you,when you kill something,anything consciously,you die internally a little bit.To remove one being from the web of life is to seperate,cut,the connections that this being has in the world.Who has the right to do this? I am convinced that we have allowed all Theologies in all traditions to be warped by material,and division.When this happens,we no longer are related,no longer a piece of an integrated whole.We become seperate.We defile everything that we see and relate with,for personal pleasure and wants(not needs).In order to dispel this delusion of ,'seperate',we must give up any and all notions of seperation.Man is no more superior than other beings,as all have the spark of the divine within.So when we non-violently protest,we not only fight injustice,but we also say in a unified way,'we' not 'I'.crunched for time today,this is not as polished as i would like-more later.Thank you Eygpt!peace,T

money god part one
February 11, 2011, 9:11 pm

Was told by a seer that I had vicious demons crawling thru little crevices in my spirit trying to find the key. She said that for a price she could rip them from my deepest soul and set me free. But when the price was paid seems the quest was not quite yet complete and so know I’m left wondering if I am left with the box half open with not a clue to find the key to setting these demons free dissipating into the darkness ………………… is it god the holy father or is it money that we seek lay down and pray before it but it should be shame that slaps you back to reality He sits in isolated chambers surrounded by gleaming opulence only the richest can conceive. Far removed from the reality that is the struggling human condition of the people that he leads. Yet he stands on his golden pulpit in his monotone voice he spews his pre-ordained decrees all the while holding back those who might one day live like human beings? makes no sense to me………..Is it god the holy father or is it the power that we seek. As so many times it has happened in the path of humanity in a country across the sea there where the rich who slowly strangled those who did not have the connections to get a piece of the golden dream. But These discarded people rose together and became one when they decided that they had finally had enough as they mainly stood united in huge numbers in peaceful protest they stood firm and we see now that it is possible but who rules the scene is it god or is it gold that created the fallen regime………………jon

they will hate you-love them anyway
February 9, 2011, 7:13 am

they will hate you-love them anyways.they will curse you,mock you-love them anyways.they will be rude,unforgiving,and harsh-love them anyway.they won't listen,and you will feel alone-love them anyway.human beings are driven by ego wants and desires.it is hard to be a psiritual person in a world of material.talked to a friend that feels all alone and forgotten.i understood her pain.a spiritual person,writer,artist-all relagated to the fringes to the outside.perhaps the hardest thing about living this way,is to be alone and feel the lonliness-love them anyway.our path,is a path to help this weary world.all we have is our love and action....peace,T (Jon,i have been trying to find a time to call with the time difference and when i am not tied up-will try this weekend.love you bro-excited about the band!)

pick it up and move on its all we got man.......
February 8, 2011, 8:47 pm

Hey Screamers fans I have just gotten to the point where I can start again. The last change and band dismantiling was hittng me more then I realized so I am guilty of wimping out for the last few months. T I will keep trying to calling you when I can we have bad reception in our new home but a two year plan with AT. I will put together a band out here and keep the band going I am feeling the impulse the last couple of days and it is truly all I have to offer so I will get the fuck up off my whineeeey ass and do what I have always done time and time and time and time on and on again………jon

HEY ronnie GO FUCK YOURSELF ON YOUR 100th BD
February 6, 2011, 1:52 pm

Hey everyone been adjusting to the relocation this is big Ronnie regan country I guess the old geezer would have been one hundred years old today so all the rich whiteys are celebrating I checked out a channel covering the nonsense and saw one black dude out of a crowd of hundreds? Poor dude probably was in the wrong place Ronnie had no clue about minorities, the mentally ill and the poor after all this is the same dude who started the whole trickledown theory. By the way AMERIKA the rich have been getting richer ever since. KUDOS TO EGYPT THIS BANDD SUPPORTS THIS UPRISING ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SO WHEN ARE THE DISSENFANCHSISED IN THIS CONTRY GOING TO GET TOGETHER AND PROTEST THERE ARE MILLIONS OF US AND BELIEVE ME BOTH T AND ME HAVE LOST WAY MORE THEN WE HAVE GAINED DURING THIS DEPRESSION JUST LIKE MILLIONS OF OTHERS……………JON

to snowshoe after a storm....
February 6, 2011, 8:30 am

blue sky,diamond fields,each step a new begginning.peace,T

death....
February 5, 2011, 7:04 am

in America we are so worried about getting old and dying,we have established entire industries that take the worry away(superficially and temporarily).creams,operations,augmentations,medications and supplements,etc...it is a muti-billion dollar industry.to my knowledge we are the only species so obsessed with the natural process of aging,and dying.yet we are also born with a consciousness that can discern,'mini-deaths',like divorce,loss of a job,loss of an identity,etc...every Ground Hog Day we watch the spiritual classic by the same name starring Bill Murray.there is one line that is a pure jem."I have died so many times,there is no 'me' left"-beautiful!This is our capacity,our inheritance,to not fight about change,but to be with change.when we truly allow ourselves to be change,the sad,mad,glad,scared waves that accompany it,reveal something quite extraordinary.we find that this mini-death has allowed part of that massive construct called ego to die.in the process we find something sublime.like the Phoenix, we are reborn into something new,something not so caught in the particulars of striving and wanting-but simply being.please watch this movie.it is a fun way to see deeply into a spiritual truth.peace,jason

american caste system(tomorrow,how it affects the environment)
February 4, 2011, 6:45 am

if i tell you,that you are wrong and must change,i have lost my humanity.right/wrong are concepts that we superimpose over our belief system that disallows us to change and grow.true change comes from within,moments of teaching that are indelibly printed on the heart mind.a couple years back, i wrote a short story here about a Prince that escaped to a monastery from the law.after years working as a blacksmith,one day as the sky was blue and a slight zephyr blew,he openly laughed, having a deep satori.in fact these moments happen all the time as long as we turn off the discriminating,'right/wrong' mind and allow ourselves to be open.to truly listen.in creating caste's in america, the right/wrong process of the mind was and is switched fully on.'they are this,they are that,so it doesn't matter what we do to them'or,'if we do this,noone will really know'.the basis for such a warped persective is to fundamentally see a group of people as,'less than'.in this view,if anything threatens to equal the playing field,new strategies must develop to inhibit the rising castes growth.i ask every american young and old to truly search your heart and find what this,'right/wrong' mindset has done in your life.if you are honest you will find in your examination that it has crippled you from truly becoming,'your best you'.individually and collectively this is tragic.our point hopefully on this path is to grow.with so many,'stunted',we continue to perpetuate the american caste system, and allow our,'lesser selves' to dominate. equality for all is freedom. freedom is ripe with satori.it is a breeding ground,the prime growth factor for true change individually and collectively.let us all search our hearts.peace,T

diamond fields(more on the american caste system soon)
February 3, 2011, 6:33 am

thoughts bounce the walls,like an endless cave,whispering.snow deep,bitter cold.what can we do?out onto the fields of diamonds-silence.a reprieve from bouncing thoughts.only the steady rythm of breath,of peace.peace,T

?
January 31, 2011, 2:49 pm

hey Jon,was the site down? couldn't get on for a bit.tough times bro,tough times.talk to you soon.peace,T

finding the moon....
January 30, 2011, 6:31 am

this is the time for dwelling close to the heart,when others care not to hear your name.this is the time for hibernation and fasting,as the world worls frenetically around you.this is the time for tiny drops to disrupt the still pond,and the veil of complaceny is drawn.this is the time for mountains to walk and tigers to fill with earths tendriled claw,silent;moving without movement.i slept a long time-each event i saw was like watching some old movie slightly remembered.now the veil is drawn and i cannot imagine that the moon could be so bright....peace,T

Great Entry Jon(can you e-mail me your new phone number-or call me?)
January 29, 2011, 8:29 am

Jon, you hit on so many important issues.You are definitely right,people are so pissed off.I see it everywhere;on the roads,in stores,etc...You always hear about the Great Depression and how people seemed to care for one another.How badly we have missed this message.In a sense our anger is righteous.The Ponzi schemes-financial crash,two wars,eight years of hell,and Obama-well let's just say he has not delivered as much as expected(in fairness to him,how could anyone.the closer you get to the White House the more doors of opportunity shut down,as you find who really runs the contry!).So we have this galvanizing of left and right and everyone seems wrong!Whatever happened to common decency?To civility?What ever happened to trusting someone when you shook their hand and gave you their word about something?We have ingraciated ourselves to much to,'clutter talk',10 second soundbites,technology.I know this won't be popular, but many youth have said,if the,'Social Network' doesn't get best movie of the year, than Hollywood has lost touch.Lost touch with what? Lost touch with how out of touch we are by celebrating a movie that shows how incompetant we have become in communication skills?We are angry,distracted,and over-ridden by complacency.I just wonder what it would be like if people actually extended themselves out of their being,out of love?My brother Jon and I start there.He is selfless and giving,listen to his words everyone.By listening to the right and the left he makes decisions for himself with information guided by such searching.Thank you Jon! As for the other guy in the situation,we have seen that before haven't we Jon?Like the time we saw the animal fur activists kicking over homeless people to throw paint on celebrities.If only one of them would have stopped and gave a helping hand....peace,T

You have it between your ears no for gods sake use the dam thing man
January 27, 2011, 12:10 pm

In reflecting on my encounter with the dude at the gas station the other day ( check my entry below) what strikes me, saddens and frankly pisses me off is the fact that way to many idiots from all parties, and groups in today’s volatile climate are making spontaneous judgments and stupid statements without knowing anything about what or who they are talking about. In my case the dude saw an earpiece in my ear and immediately assumed that I wore the dam thing twenty four seven then he asked me how much TV I watched?? Looking at this chubby dude and myself I am tall and thin ( at 53 years old I have to work at staying this way) I was wondering how he could make the assumption that I was a couch potato? ( by the way computer geeks just because you are sitting at a computer it does not make you a genius or smarter and most important BETTER than anyone else, sorry to burst your bubble) The core of this bizarre and idiotic behavior is that apparently these people are frustrated and pissed off and venting which is fine but for god’s sake before you go spouting off at least take the time know more about who or what you are venting your frustration at. I listen to Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh and the Christian right media among many other forms of media not because I want to but at least when I spout off I have a background of where these idiots are coming from. This band is not perfect as we have said many times but god dam how the hell are we going to advance as a species if we don’t use our brains and easy access to learn more about all the shit and shitheads that piss you off????????????jon

to the greenie moron
January 25, 2011, 5:34 pm

Man I don’t know what it is but I attract the weirdo’s no matter where I am. I stopped to gas up my car on my way to pick up my 14 year old son who was getting out early today. I had my stupid ear piece in for my phone because I was waiting for a call from my son on where to pick him up. The dude in front of me putting gas in his car asked me how many hours I wore the ear piece a day? I am dressed in old sandals, stained shorts and old Hendrix t shirt and this dude thinks I am a yuppie I guess??? I told the greenie or what ever the idiot was( who in all honestly did not give a fuck about me he was just venting) that the only reason I was using the ear piece was because it is a $260 dollar fine if you are caught not using the ear piece while driving in California. He then proceeded to tell me that it was better to pay the fine then remove the tumor I was going to get. He then asked me how much T.V. I watched???? Again I am dressed like a 53 year old hippie??? I told him not much and at that point went about my business it was only after I left that I realized that I should have asked him how many times he beats off during the week because obviously he has no life and other then a plastic doll what shelf respecting woman would go near this idiot . Anyway I do attract the weirdo’s no matter where I am but next time I am going to have a comeback for the morons like this who seem to always come up to me out of the crowd. So come weird asses make my day I am going to make you think and demean you next time. I don’t look for this foolish shit but I am going to be ready next time…………..jon

american caste systemIV....
January 25, 2011, 6:51 am

if we search our souls collectively we shall see the blemish of a conqueror.blood,tears,violence,dis-empowerenment of entire peoples.it would make sense to me to have every President from now on to address the sorrow of this fact and the subsequent ripples that I have been discussing lately.but words only go so far.yes,this would be hugely symbolic,but action,true action is required.it is amazing to me,that america being supposedly a great country of inovation has still not figured out how to educate her people in a standard and unified way,or how to care for her people(health care cradle to grave).many countries have standard education.anywhere you go in these countries-the education is the same.in america we still have what i call a ,'dodge city' mentality.each little fiefdom has their say about what goes on,and the rich places get disproportunate amount of funding.there has got to be a better way to educate our youth.i will delve into this further later.all for now,crushed for time today.peace,T

american caste system III
January 24, 2011, 7:35 am

when you are with an Elder and see the prejudice towards them it is appalling.when you have experienced this first hand,it is troubling and dis-empowering.it is hard for me to understand how such pervasive attitudes still exhist in 2011,but sadly it is reality.you have heard me mention many times that a democracy is only as strong as it's most dis-empowered constituency.on this,america is very weak.no universal health care,poor education in the poorest sections of america,high and disproportionate arrest rates of minorities for trumped up charges,and poor economies in the poor sections of america(obviously)in my estimation among industrial nations our nation has a D- rating.if one person is incarcerated for bogus charges,think of what you are doing to this individual,to their families.many on trumped up drug charges have a federal rap when they get out-can't find work,can't vote and the family is left with the stigma attached.i mentioned yesterday that in order to make a dent in the american caste system-deep thought and allocation for sustainable economies need to occur.temporary fixes are just feel good touches-gone as soon as the cameras have rolled out and the benefactor leave the area-most of the time for good.in order for people to have signifigant change in their lives they must be empowered to make the necessary changes, for change.in yesterdays example,let us assume for a utopian moment that the us. stopped incarcerating minorities in the current unfair and unethical way.let us suppose that that money is then released to communities for planning for the future,tackling the hefty issues outlined-education,sustainable economy,jobs,etc...let us then assume that big daddy stays out(the gov.).i fully believe that under a consensus modality that meaningful change could and would occur.in doing so the vibrancy of said communities would help influence other communities in what could be assumed as a,'trickle up'type reaction. Reagan's ,'trickle down' theory has been used many,many times with disasterous effects as it is usually just a modality to keep the rich, rich and the poor,poor.a 'trickle up' theory would establish something quite extraordinary-it would help the baseline of the american economy grow strong.in this strength all would inherit the benefits.it would not be a 'either/or'mentality, it would be a 'us/us' paradigmn.healthy communities mean more spending which in turn lends itself to the a healthy and sustained economy.the deficit would slowly be remedied as the borrowing would necessarily stop.i firmly believe that we must look at this deeply.the time of attacking the Civil Rights movement must end and the ugly face of the caste system in america truly must stop. another great saving would be to cut back on our war's but i shall leave that for another day. today think,'trickle up',and how this could really reduce our debt and allow for the economics of full recovery and full empowernment.this would indeed take our D- rating to a B+ or A rating-a rating we aspire to be,don't we?peace,T

the american caste system II....
January 23, 2011, 6:59 am

before he died Martin Luther King had been working on poverty.an issue that looked at the issue regardless of color.he was also against the war in Vietnam and as stated many times,these two issues might have been why he was killed.afterwards in the backlash of the Civil Rights movement,the right went to town galvanizing poor whites with the rhetoric of,'tough on crimes and anti-drug'.during the Reagan admin.the,'war on drugs was born'.the effect of this,'war'in the long run was to stereotype Blacks,Natives,and Latino's,and to incarcerate them at an enormously high rate.today i present two fundamental ways that show that it is cost in-effective for such treatment(more on why it is morally wrong later).1)to incarcerate someone as a federal prisoner burdens the economy.it is very expensive to house a prisoner.if the criminal justice system dealt with Blacks,Natives and Latino's the same as they dealt with whites for the same offences,tax payers would save billions.yes you read that correctly-billions! billions of dollars that could be re-allocated to prevention efforts,education,and economic development in the poorest sections of america(understanding of course, that no decision is made without the constituency in these areas as part of the funding allocation and decision about where to spend the monies).2)when you keep workers from the workforce(sociologists have found that employers will hire a white with past criminal charges faster than a Black without any charges-is that warped!),you burden taxpayers buy making people reliant on the system and taking tax-payers effectively out of the system.a good example is the reservations.geographically isolated with no business for work any where near.where are my Brothers and Sisters to work?How can they take part?the release of these billions would allow for Native owned business to have seed money and allow for a steady workplace without having to leave the reservation.this is important so cultural identity stays in tact,unlike the many efforst the U.S has made to try and make the,'red man-white',by removinghim/her from the reservation to 'blend into the cuture'.i attack this fiscally first as sometimes unfortunately it is the only argument the right might hear.the other reason is that it makes good sense.rather than incarcerating and demoralizing an individual at an incredible price tag to society,if we followed the same protocol as with whites,again billions would be saved.we would also start to work on the caste system made by such unfair and inhumane tactics launched by those that chose to not listen to the message of equality.more tomorrow,have a wonderful day.peace,T

the american caste system I....
January 22, 2011, 9:26 am

Michelle Alexander in her excellant new book,'The New Jim Crow:Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness', makes the point that the caste system here in America is still incideous and works in many covert ways. In fact she says the new direction for Civil Rights will be to address the caste system that still exhists in America. No new words for fans here.Jon and I have talked about this for years,using information by studies and also facts and personal experiences. 75 percent of those incarcerated for drug violations are Black or Latino.What she fails to register in what I have read so far is the disproportionate amount of Native Americans that are also incarcerated.The war on drugs was an effort by Ronald Reagan to galvanize the poor white constituency through tough talk.Tough on drugs,tough on Crime.It worked and was carried to remarkable efficency in the incarceration of minorities.It was a backlash of conservative whites for the Civil Rights advances they did not agree with(like Reagan).I mentioned a moment ago about covert activities.As Michelle adequatly points out,most prisons are not observable,they are removed from the mainstream.When federal prisoners are released this huge demographic goes back to the poor areas they were raised in, unable to find work and remarkably unable to vote!We are one of the only western countries that does not allow ex-cons to vote.In many countries,prisoners are encouraged to vote even in prison(as Michelle points out).They are seen as perspective citizens that will take part once again in the mainstream once released.This all points to such a hideous system,that is so well constructed,that even the regular population of the us doesn't even know it is happening! First people of color are placed in areas where there is not much economically happening-reservations,inner cities,etc...,then in those areas you install the worst education systems,then when someone uses drugs(it is important to note that minorities in america by number do not use more than other populations-this is a big mistake of the media and i might add prejudicial to continually show people of color using-as the gangsta's,etc...)they are arrested and sentenced far greater than whites.This is intolerable and needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner.It has becoem easier for the right to demand less welfare,for instance and tougher crime laws.In doing this it seriously negates the dire necessity of well planned and sustained economic developmental plans.To add insult to injury-then the right will point to certain few minorities that have picked themselves up by their bootstraps-and why can't you do that as well? It behooves every american to stay in inner cities and out on the reservation for some time to see what is really happening.The above stated lends us to spending more and more on establishing democracy elswhere(with a bat over our shoulders)and spending less and less on those,'troubled areas that need cleaning up'.If people could see what Jon and I have seen,what we lived,there would be massive amounts spent on organic economic development built by communities for the communities.Education would be bolstered to be the same in every school in america and top notch. I will develop this more tomorrow-have to run.But I am planning this year to take Michelles words very,very seriously.It is time to end the caste warfare in this country and to tell people the truth.If we then still hang onto this system with racist overtones,then we collectively have no one to blame but ourselves for what we accrue as damage;econimically,and spiritually-more tomorrow.peace,T

human think way to much of themselves....
January 21, 2011, 8:34 am

walking slowly through the deep snow,breath measured,it feels as if at times that i am touching something so primordial.snowshoeing beyond the sounds of man,you are there like a deer or moose,in the elements.unlike our brothers and sisters we don't have to scrape through the ice for water or through the snow for food-or reach up into the trees.i like to leave a lot up from my organic garden in the winter.i still see brussel sprouts,broccoli,and kale,peeking up from the snow.each morning the deer come and nibble.i hope this helps them in some small way.in the compost pile the crows come.they get loud and call,if i am late getting out there with fresh compost.it is a reciprocol relationship.we feed them.they keep the rats away. i like living as close as i can to nature.humans are way to loud,we take up way to much space,and we don't think enough about relationship with all beings.little things can be done to foster this more.just a little time in nature everyday for instance.buying from a farmers market.raising your own organic produce.turning off everything when you step into nature.a cell phone,music,our loudness is shocking to everything-to all beings.Jon great news,can't wait to hear how it goes.go see my bro everyone-he is amazing!!!!peace,T

diamonds on paper....
January 20, 2011, 6:44 am

Last night I had a student in class that has been to India and China several times.She in fact has traveled all over the world.Now getting to class was a challenge with ice and snow etc...Afterwards I went through a little of the,'poor me's'.Damn I thought,'I have spent my life teaching the equality between all peoples,taught about world cultures,spent my entire adult life studying( world culture,martial arts,yogic practices,music,etc...)and I have only been to Canada,and Mexico(nothing wrong with that I love both countries!I mean I have never been to Europe,the East,Africa,etc...).Currently I can't travel at all.Then this morning happened.The storm moved out and by the time I get home last night,the trails of clouds revealed a beautiful full moon.This morning as I got my wifes car ready and shoveled the porch an incredible sunrise appeared.Almost every color of the spectrum spilled across the sky and was reflected on the pure white snow.I stopped mesmerized by this exquisite moment.Soon the sun sent a shaft of light like a finger towards God and the colors seemed to herald this message of light,of love.Now the sun has risen and the colors are not so intense.Looks like we shall see blue sky,the sun slanted this time of year,sending long shadows across the white unmarred foolscrap of yet another storm.In Native Spirituality there is the thought that once you have found balance,every place you are is the center,is sacred.The ,'poor me's' have gone.As I look across the meadows and the long blue shadows stretching across the snow, I can't help but think of my shadow.The side of me that strives for the negative-that looks for the demise of the pristine quality of this 'pregnant now'.The sun, shines.It doesn't care about sinners,or saints, it just shines.To be this sun,to be this light! As I snowshoe later, deciding where I want to go on the unmarred landscape,brilliant diamonds spread before me,I will think of this light and how I can strive to be more like it.Have a beautiful day all!peace,T

gaining ground with diplomacy as opposed to lunacy.
January 19, 2011, 6:39 am

yeah Jon and he(Cheney) also said he felt President Obama was not being,'tough enough'in international affairs.Hilary Clinton of course laughed this off on Good Morning America.one needs to ask,'tough enough'?what you mean like picking unprevoked wars,starting a global wide financial meltdown,that thankfully due to measures by President Obama has prevented a worldwide depression.do you mean tough,like Clinton giving us needed respect back after the disaster you and georgie ran for 8 years? Obama should be allowed 4 more years as he has accomplished so much-leave it to pea brained,nhat attention spanned americans to undermine this by electing in the old white guard repubs.again.honestly,i can just see other countries face palming over the mis-terms.on another note,man do i miss playing music with you bro.there is nothing i have heard that matches our intensity.i really,really,really miss that badly! peace,T

health care-should be automatic-cradle to grave
January 18, 2011, 1:59 pm

one of the things Dr.King was obviously concerned about was poverty.i am sure that he would be shocked today if he still saw the same decrepencies between the rich and poor, that are actually getting worse since he was with us.there are so many homeless,and unemployed,without a chance for health care.you get sick when you are poor in america-tough-seems to be the attitude.now the 'right' would have you believe that so many did not want the health care reform,yet they offered nothing to the table,when so many have been quoted saying something needs to be done.lets face it folks we have muti-tiered issues here.the division between rich and poor,the undercurrent of racism,the abject poverty of many minorities such as Jon and my Native brothers and sisters.no health care for the poor and the working poor.in europe they work less and have health care,less crime,and attitudes that are more embrassive(in general)to those in need.our priorities in america first and foremost must be to look after the poor-jobs,health care,and communities to live in that are supported.now before i am attacked as a bleeding heart liberal(i am so lets get that out of the way),it must be discerned why this is a priority.first off, in the long run, it will cost a society much more to keep them in poverty.cheap food that helps create diabetes2 puts a drain on the health care system that already exhists.this country needs to invest in preventative care for it's citizens 0-100.this means-how to care for oneself body,mind,spirit.food prices need to come down.if the rich are the only ones that can afford organic produce and quality foods,then we continue to collectively hurt ourselves.health care must be looked at-it is not going away.i suggest that we look deeply into the social democracy modalities that are very successful.good health care means less worry and a healthier populace.if we would stop attacking other countries and pulled back military expenditures, i am sure we would have enough for health care and the failing educational system.must run now but i will be back to these issues later.they are crucially important.Dr.King was certainlt going in the right direction not only for civil rights but also the care of the total populace as opposed to just the affluent.more soon-peace,T

how can someone snub the NAACP?
January 17, 2011, 7:21 am

so the new gov. in our our state(Maine) has made national news again! this time for telling the NAACP to,'kiss his butt',when asked why he snubbed them on Martin Luther King day for the gathering and lunch(something all previous Gov.'s attended,and if they could not make it they sent reps.-this guy is so stupid he didn't even do that!).so he has told Obama to go to hell and now snubbs the NAACP!amazing. this idiot-Paul LePage won by a big majority despite people's warnings,and so what do we get?this guy! he is everything that is so wrong with the reb. party-greed,uncaring,self-interested,using all resources no matter what and what cost-then blaming liberals for the wake he stirrs.i wonder if we will get to the point where we actually produce real mature adult males anymore or is that something of the distant past?happy Martin Luther King Day all-i wish there was more to celebrate,but the devisions and hatred and outright racism are so very visible-what a disappointment you are america! Jon could you give me a call?talk to you soon.peace,T

this country is not free(as long as we keep these attitudes alive)
January 14, 2011, 7:20 am

I agree Jon, we will keep rolling ahead.The very disapointing thing is that this country has so much possibility.The way it started,however,has left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche of america.Slavery,Genocide(of Natives),forced labor of Asians and Hispanic peoples-none of this was ever atoned for.In fact when you and I were in school it was glamorized-Custer was considered a hero,and Slavery well that was something we simply got past.My question is-have we?I think not! When I look at the pressure put on President Obama and all the rumors about him being this or that because of his name,I can only come to the conclusion that the thin veil that seperates overt racism has been lifted.Look around you what do you see?Name five repubs.-quickly off the top of your head-now see who they are.Establishment white dudes.If we live in the delusion that this is the way, and that like the Reagan admin.,'Daddy Knows best',than we can never mature to what we aspire to be;a country of muti-cultural thinkers that work together and bring the best forward for a future to be.The reason that France and Sweden and the Scandanavian countries kick our butt and are looking at us in the rear view mirror is that we have not matured past the,gun-slinging-take what you can get and the hell with the rest mentality. The countries mentioned care for all citizens in their countries from cradle to grave.I am not sure if america will ever get there.Getting back to recist attitudes.It is so delusional,in that demographics are changing quickly.Whites are the minority-how much longer can this delusion of White daddy knows best last?We must come together, but first we must examine how this country really works,more on this later.peace,T

???????
January 13, 2011, 7:41 am

okay so that is really weird and frustrating.i was just entering a long blog on the military/industrial complex and the influence on america when my computer simply and completely shut down?there were no indicators,no diagnostics,and plenty of energy.truth we know hurts those in power.i just find it weird now?used to happen all the time with bush.wait a minute,who just took over the house,hmmm,very strange?sadly out of time-should have cut and pasted like you always tell me to do Jon-sorry!peace,T

debate-lost art?
January 12, 2011, 8:44 am

hey Jon,i found the band journal key and posted without checking what you had written. you are so right about the divisvness in this country. we all need to decide to be civil and to bring back the fine art of debate. let us all remember that after the great debates that Lincoln had, those that he opposed became part of his staff!what a smart man!i can't help but think that the degradation of political speak is directly caused by the shambles we call education in this country.instead of testing and standard based crap, we should focus on how we can create-Lincolns!i mean c'mon,here you have an almost entirely self taught man, that could whip any of these standard based products we have as politicians today. let us develop the person and not the mass, let us bring back critical thinking and veer away from fast food education. meanwhile the rest of us-let us please just be civil and listen to one another. it has been so sad in the aftermath of this tragedy to hear the finger pointing back and forth. let us heal, let us heal and take responsibility-which is so very crucial.then maybe people won't even need to tune into a Limbaugh,or Beck as they will be seen for who who they are.peace,T

YOU DECIDE
January 11, 2011, 2:21 pm

WHAT WILL BE THE COURSE OF YOUR NEVER ENDING SPIRIT….. YOU DECIDE YOU DECIDE….. WILL YOU CHOOSE THE PATH OF HATRED OR WILL YOU SEE THE GOLDEN LIGHT…… YOU DECIDE YOU DECIDE….FOR THERE IS NO PUPATEER THAT PLAYS YOU LIKE A PUPPET ON A STRING…… YOU DECIDE YOU DECIDE……… SO DON’T GIVE ME FALSE DELUSIONS OF WHAT OTHERS PLANT IN YOUR BRAIN……. YOU DECIDE YOU DECIDE….. THOSE WHO FORCE THE HATRED ARE NOTHING MORE THEN ANGRY FOOLS AND I BELIVE THAT IN THE END THEY WILL BE HANGING FROM THE ROPE THEY CHOOSE BUT THEIR WILL BE NO CONSOLATION THERE WILL BE NO PEACE IN SIGHT UNTIL YOU DECIDE YOU DECIDE……..NOJ

Hope what fucking Hope
January 11, 2011, 11:27 am

Sorry T but the right extreme and left extreme are already building up the vile rhetoric and the worthless out of touch congress will soon get back to business as usual nobody really gives a shit but son of a bitch needless butchering sure gives the media a hard on don’t it. Nobody even comments on this site anymore you had some great postings while I was in complete turmoil being forced to move 3000 miles like so many millions of Americans. This country really has no chance as long as all most people care about are how many friends they have on face book, listening to their favorite demented talk personality or news program and generally only caring about what is happening in their own world………….jon

so sad....
January 11, 2011, 8:03 am

our prayers go out to the victims and families in the senseless shooting in Tuscon,Az. over the weekend.i feel that the call for responsible news reporting and political dialogue must be heeded.having scope sights of people on a websites-talking about shooting and killing just leads to more of the ingrained violence that is part of the american psychology.it is time for resposible and mature words. it is time to heal and to talk as human beings.again our prayers go out.peace,T

OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO THOSE GUNNED DOWN IN TUCSON
January 10, 2011, 3:52 pm

I was pissed off in my rant the other day and in light of the recent senseless shooting in Tucson Arizona where six innocent human beings were needlessly slaughtered along with the distinguished Senator gravely injured I apologize. I wrote the rant because now the Republicans control the house of representatives they have pledged to appeal the Health Care Bill meanwhile the new speaker is a heavy smoker and does not apologize and intend to quit these are his own words. What if this man is one of the 40 million uninsured people millions of children I might add. How is he going to get the health care he will eventually need when he develops the well documented health consequences of lifelong smoking??????????????This man does not care he has the best health care on the planet that is my point I do not hate the man but I do not believe he has the slightest idea along with the countless others on both sides in congress about how much suffering the average person is going thru right now. I hope this stupid tragedy stops the hateful, insinuating, condoning innuendo that shit heads like Sarah Palin who put an actual gun sight on a map of America highlighting Arizona and other states when the re-elections were going on those were obviously aimed at democrats running for election. And The democrats are not much better it is time in this country not to raise arms like the moronic wealthy Tea Party so often suggests it is time for stupid KUNTRY AS I HAVE SAID HUNDREDS OF TIME AS HAS T……….IT IS GOD DAM TIME FOR US TO STAND UP JOIN TOGETHER AND TAKE THIS COUNTRY BACK THRU PROTEST MARCHING IN PEACE BUT WITH IRRPRESSIBLE DETERMINATION, CONVICTION, TOLERENCE AND INDOMIDIBLE SPIRIT…………OTHERWISE WE WILL LOOSE WHAT LITTLE LEFT WE SUPPOSEDLY STAND FOR…………………..noj

hey you want nice sugary bullshit check the top 100 on the billboard and suck up their pansy shit
January 6, 2011, 10:38 pm

Change is constant they say I say fuck that myth look around you dumb assed fucking kuntry we are headed right back to the junior years I just hope the new smoking cigarettes speaker of the house get lung cancer and suffers in incredible pain being denied insurance begging to no avail but we know that this republican piece of shit is set for life so what the fuck does he care. I still would love to the piece of shit suffer I would be the first to piss on his fucking grave. You mother fucking pansies that think I am bitter and angry you bet your fucking ass never has there been a more ignorant, misinformed, self-absorbed kuntry on the planet and I could give a fuck if the whole think falls apart tomorrow the strong will survive and the fucking weak little rich shits will suffer and I will be laughing and kicking them in the balls and cunt as I walk on by………….jon

toll booth pt 1
December 9, 2010, 9:39 pm

If I had knowledge that had incredible potential yet not knowing if sharing it would do humanity any good….. would I? If I stepped outside who I am and changed everything about me for the positive not knowing the impact it might make would I? If I just sat here on my fat lethargic lazy ass and in doing so changed the world in a positive direction would I even bother to do that?So What happens If life passes in an instant and you are only interested in you but karma catches you like some toll both in the middle of nowhere you have nothing in your pockets to pay the price and the only alternative is your soul as empty and pitiful as that may be............ojn

I have faith but T and I need to get back to who we are
November 30, 2010, 9:52 pm

I have faith in all the screamers fans across the planet we all have faith in something some have faith in god some have faith in the possible some have faith in self destruction others have faith just to hold on. We have been on this site for years now and the reason we keep it up is faith. Most would have given up by now but that is not our course we are here for a reason look back thru the journal there is something there for everyone I am not boasting I am stating fact so take a leap of faith and go back in the band journal find something that inspires you and pass it on I have faith in this band and the thousands of fans who check us out every year take a leap……………jon

deep dark secrets part 1
November 30, 2010, 1:26 pm

I’m a liar full of contradictions a salve to my addictions as I wander in this condition I’m full of half hearted convictions Feel it seep into your soul block the endless steady droll of the world that I have made to take the cowards shelter I know what’s right is wrong but it’s in the moment I belong instead of just passing them along in the shady grays of dawn that mark another empty day. There is no deeper loneliness then the silent black middle night when fractured images roll thru my mind teasing the dead tired soul close to but never in reach of silent slumber I am the maker of my own bizarre prison crafting the walls oh so carefully not realizing I know nothing about building walls of strength but I build excellent walls of delusion then when they come crashing down I give the startled glare of a deer caught in the headlights mesmerized by the impending danger not realizing I am in the wrong place at the wrong time and though I have been here before I am blind enough to wisper to myself why did this happen, why did this happen......onj

almost done.
November 16, 2010, 8:37 am

on the last section of this project i am doing, hopefull done soon. sorry i have been off for awhile. Jon lets catch up soon.peace,T

purpose
November 15, 2010, 5:42 pm

I wonder where I lost my way subtle little changes in the path I thought I had laid. Is it the distance or the obstacles that make we weave like a drunken sailor as I stagger on day after day. I know I am made of substance that is better than this but here I am again looking for the path scratching my head with not a clue? I am not one to give up so I will keep moving forward knowing that I like you have a purpose and we cannot let life’s difficult moments take away our dignity and purpose.

Please a prayer and some help if you can
November 5, 2010, 4:30 pm

Please say a prayer for Haiti and those incredible people who despite being ravaged over and over again the last ten years still stand tall and persevere. I wish I was half the person so many thousands are on this country which despite impossible odds still survives with dignity, honor, and faith. As yet another natural disaster is heading there way……….jon

Good luck dudes with your grandiouse plans
November 4, 2010, 9:54 pm

IT always amazes me when minorities run for the republican party like these morons really believe that most republicans and Tea Partiers could give a fuck about them they are just tokens to make the party seem compassionate. Both the Black candidate and the Cuban Candidate won and are heading to Washington with their grandiose ideas and agendas hey I am happy for them but Little do they know they aint going to get anything done that they promised as both ran mean spirited campaigns as most politicians do these days but if they really think they are going to make a difference in Florida they are sadly mistaken. Florida also elected and Governor who ran a medical company that was hit with the biggest Medicare malpractice suite in the history of this country????? Of course he never was convicted or punished because apparently he had no idea the company he was running was involved in this rip off of seniors Gee I wonder how he is going to run Florida???. Now he is the Governor of the state with the biggest population of seniors in the country. Frankly I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this state they deserve exactly who they voted for and we will continue to be number two in foreclosures in the country, have over 12 percent unemployment and underfunded education for the children. And no plan to build an employment base See ya later sunshine state………..jon

you cant kill me I been dead for years man
November 3, 2010, 6:08 pm

Jesus fuckin Christ god must be a fuckin bigot to the first degree Haiti a nation that has suffered more misery in the last ten years then any country on this fuckin planet now has a cholera dilemma and a fucking hurricane headed its way. How the fuck can you believe in divine intervention when the dickhead who is supposed to be in control is completely absent and incompetent? Come on you fuckin stupid human race when are we going to drop the idiotic notion that there is some dude????why can’t it be a woman??? Who rules this totally out of control planet. Oh I get it the dude has a good and bad side a disturbed personality that needs major intervention how else can you explain the bizarre inequities in the human condition. Or how about the fact that the whole concept was invented by the human race to control and gain power for self gratification?????????????jon kill me if you want I really don’t give a fuck I am so tired of this ignorant human race…………

you deserve what you get amerika.........
November 1, 2010, 9:55 pm

So where does this stupid fucking kuntry go on Tuesday????? Back to the past I was going to vote but I am moving to California because my wife and I have no choice and I could give a fuck about Florida. I also want the republicans or the Tea Party or whatever those assholes want to call themselves I want them to take back control of the House. Why because maybe even as ignorant as most Amerikans are on the realities of political scene even those morons will see that Obama is dealing with a party that wants to get him out of office at your dumb assed expense. Does the average Amerikan even know how much this man has accomplished??????? Fuck no we are the dumbest kuntry on the planet as far as knowing what the hell is going on so let the kuntry go to hell I could care less because we are going to make it and the rest of you dumb fuckers who have bought into the fear bullshit that is crammed down your throat by multi millionaires who spew hate and fear deserve what the fuck you get……………..jon

ain't that done did palin purty-fixin to vote that a way
November 1, 2010, 7:39 am

i agree Jon! those that are falling for the garbage,'vote republican for fiscal responsibility'-well God bless ya,but please, please go to your Dr. and get checked out for ADD or ADHD or perhaps even your intelligence(maybe the constant adds have taken IQ points away?).a quick and cursory glance shows exactly what the republican party has done for you in the last decade.question-where did Clinton's record surplus go?didn't think you could answer that georgie and palin.for years i have been a Green Party member as i like to be way left of the dems.now i feel they don't go far enough and look towards Social Democracy.the proof is in the pudding-exactly where are the happiest places on earth? yup,Scandanavia countries that boast social democracy. i would love to see a,'party of the planet earth',where country no longer exhists and resources worldwide are pooled. it truly is the only way we can make it,i believe. have to run-again if you fell for the bs-good luck,and pull your belt in tighter.peace,T

FUCK MAN I AINT DONE I AM JUST STARTING AMERIKA
October 28, 2010, 8:32 pm

So those who are asking me why am I so fucking pissed off I ask you why are you sitting there hoping something will happen which it won’t and why are you letting the rich in this Kuntry play you like a fucking flute getting richer and having the gall to come up with absurd little political groups like the Tea Party???? Do you not realize that most of those fuckheads earn 200 grand or more and they are only interested in keeping Dick head junior bushes tax cuts so they can profit even more of the sad sack middle class??????????? Why don’t we start our own party?????? The party of the middle class who has had enough of the fucking rich getting richer and those in power taking more and more control which benefits the rich. When are we going to say fuck this enough is enough and we are not going to fucking take this anymore……COME ON YOU FUCKERS WHO CHECK OUT THE SITE GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK USE THIS SITE TO VENT AND UNITE GOD DAM IT…………………..IT OUR FUCKING TIME ITS OUR FUCKING TIME LETS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT AND RISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!UP………………JON WHITNEY

YOU WITH ME MIDDLE AMERIKA???????????
October 27, 2010, 12:21 pm

Every year in Fort Lauderdale they have a huge boat show with mega yachts and boats for the idle rich. I have never been there even if I wanted a boat I can’t afford it. Seems this year business is up they are expecting a big year???????? Oh it’s so good to see the fucking rich are enjoying their ill begotten wealth. Meanwhile I was reading the editorials last week and some dim wit ( i.e. the dumb assed majority of this stupid cuntry was saying that the 2 percent of the rich were mostly small business owners and that taking away their tax break for the ultra rich was going to destroy the economy because they would stop hiring???????) I thought to myself how fucking dumb is this asshole????? Does he really think that most small businesses make multi millions????? Why does the pizza guy up the street work seven days a week? How about the dry cleaner? They guy that does your lawn????? HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE WE IN THIS PIECE OF SHIT KUNTRY??????????? WHEN THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH WE ARE GOING TO TAKE THIS KUNTRY BACK AND WE DON’T CARE HOW WE DO IT WE ARE TIRED OF THE DISPARITY THE OPRFESSION THE DISENTIGTATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS!!!!!!!!!!! WHO THE FUCK IS WITH ME??????????????? I am probably going to have to sell my fucking house to a dude from china because he can pay cash and I am going to lose 50 to 60 thousand dollars more than the hundred thousand or way more then I have already lost because he has the cash????? it’s not his fault he is just taking advantage of this KUNTRYS STUPIDITY….. SO MY QUESTION IS?????? WHEN THE FUCK IS THE MIDLE CLASS IN THIS KUNTRY GOING TO STAND UP AND SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ANY YOU FUCKERS OUT THERE GOT THE BALLS TO STAND WITH ME?????????????????????? LETS STAND TOGETHER AND RIP THIS KUNTRY A NEW ASSHOLE LETS TAKE BACK WHAT THE RICH HAVE STOLEN RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES………………….JON WHITNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

move over males!
October 25, 2010, 7:53 am

everyone please read the message below by my brother, and it fits right in with the entry i had put up recently on the revision of history. even look at the word as a feminist friend and i discussed once,' his-tory'. hmmm, nothing gender nuetral about that one. the real story of our species is a story of male and female as we have surfed through the cosmos on this tiny blue marbel(not just one gender as history would have it).Jon's story is very real and very alarming under the revision and ,'Daddy knows best mentality that seems to be having a upsurge'. I agree Jon, you and i are lucky to be with strong, independant women in our lives-models for generations to come. now let us see what,Daddy thinking has done for us. well, do I need to say anything really? just look around! women make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men, wars, violence, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, oppression. we have said it before many times-move over males in leadership roles, you have #@$%#$ up things bad enough in your reign. i personally would love to see the resurgence of matri-linear cultures. in these cultures, everyone is valued, including non-human brothers and sisters. it really is the only way we can make it collectively-unless we adopt worldwide Social Democracy with no country, no state-just the collective good and pooling of,'common resources for all'.(like a Star Trek system). great entry Jon-please everyone skip my drivel and read below. peace,T

UPDATE!!!!!!!
October 24, 2010, 6:33 pm

Sorry I have not been on the site lately but my family is living the American dream and I don’t have much time to devote to such frivolous things as this web site as I have been told many times. Anyway our Amerikan dreams goes as follows my wife spent 28 years at basically the same company with a few incarnations working hard giving all her time and energy and I won’t lie she was well paid but in Amerika she was never paid as much as her male equals????? She is coming up on her 55 birthday and as such when she reached that milestone she was entitled to a share of the profits when the company she has been slaving for all these years goes public. As luck or sleazy business practice would have it my wife was laid off three months ago before her 55th birthday therefore she is not eligible to collect any of the money she would have otherwise received for her loyalty????Buy the way her region that she runs is first in productivity for the nationwide company she works for. Oh well good by retirement plan. We did receive a severance agreement which helps I can’t deny but now we are forced to sell our house in South Florida one of the worst real-estate areas in the country thus we are going to have to give this house away to get rid of it and move on so once again good bye retirement plan. We are moving to California and my wife has found another job and there is work for me to but we like millions of American are going to downsize. I want to say that we have had many good years as a result of hard work so we have been lucky but I think it is time for the women in this country to close their legs and bring the assholes to their Knees who are taking advantage of their skills dedication and hard work. Now for all the Macho dudes who say I am a pussy that men should rule and get more than women I say quit sucking on yo mommas tit what the hell are you afraid of???????? I made a choice to live with a independent, strong, bright woman because the last thing that I need is a partner looking to me for everything ever moment of the day with their needy bullshit …………………….I don’t have time for that…………………jon

gettin' away with murder....
October 14, 2010, 6:39 am

anyone that thinks that there is not revisions being done in history is sadly mistaken. the current shows like Glen Beck, etc... are just a re-hash of post-McCarthy backlash of the conservative right, ala John Birch society. last night they had a Princeton History prof. mince these type of shows to the core. now the sad thing is that so many are buying into it. they talk about conspiracy and how the left is re-writing history, smoke screen all! they are using a psychological defence(basic I might add)called projecting. i feel so embarresed that these shows even exists. and how about this Glen? McCarthy, Goldwater, Reagan, Bush1, Bush 2 conspiracy since you love them so. you know the one most recent(bush2)that spent us into debt when a progressive had built us to the highest surpluss since before WW2(Clinton)and then an illegal war/two actually, and all those war crimes that your ilk is seeemingly getting away with. now theres your conspiracy you friggin' moron.a title for my progressive show on the subject would read something like," How the Conservatives killed,raped,stole, America, and millions of idiots believed and still believe in them(sub title-How racist whitey gets away with everything!). could you run that show for us,hmmmm, didn't think so...peace,T

thank you Stevie
October 12, 2010, 1:28 pm

Just broke out Inner Visions by the one and only Mr. Stevie Wonder and for all those who don’t open ears to anything but what is safe and familiar please put this into whatever form of music you listen to and you will see a true genius at his very best. Thank you Mr. Wonder for setting the bar into the stratosphere I won’t reach the top but I am a better musician because of you………..jon

words
October 11, 2010, 1:48 pm

Let the words fall……fall like the emptiness they leave behind forgotten in the time it takes to breath in the air that flows into your preconceived path…. too much thought is put into the words in the end they are forgotten, manipulated, misconstrued, stolen, re-invented, misplaced like the keys that you had in your hand yesterday but now they might as well be on the moon. Let the words fall they have no meaning to the majority because the mind is wasted on the human race spending so much time on self indulgence… me first …hate… greed… ignorance….stupidity….self righteousness…..blindness to reality hell words in this current rendition of the human experience are worthless………………………..jon

jesus to god part one.............
October 6, 2010, 3:08 pm

Hey father why do you forsake me again? Son it is for the betterment of humanity you see they are blind enough to believe that I control there universe so I feel it is necessary to give them the ultimate example of love and that is for you to suffer incredible pain then they will realize that it is worth following me into eternity after all what better statement to make son. But father what of all the other humans who have their own beliefs this will not affect them on any level I have taken care of that my so for I have created hell and for those who do not follow what I sacrifice for them are doomed to eternal hell! But father is this not extreme and how can you expect decent human beings who are not taught about your holy ways to understand????????That does not matter my son for throughout the universe I cannot save every being but this is the best way to save the most who will follow my word albeit I Have no control over how my word is distorted it is the best way my son. But Father what of the pain and suffering I will endure??????? Every cause must have sacrifice my son and you are the chosen one…………….JON

tough times...
October 6, 2010, 6:50 am

these are tough times no doubt. it is interesting to note that when Bush was in office this site was flying. we had so much involvement. where is everyone now? have they moved on-worthy of a song thats for sure. not sure what is going to happen in the next couple of years-we were promised stability, that ain't happening(though, who could control the mix of events-really,as Jon Stewart says?). troubling times, times where a band like ours makes sense as opposeed to the next U2, or Stones album, which features the same old, same old stuff....peace,T

the gun
October 5, 2010, 12:39 pm

The broad I married all those years ago dont give a fuck abut dates either does fucking Glen Beck he fuckassed AMERIKA anyway maybe I will put a gun to the head of this fucking site or should it point at me who the fuck cares hhahahahahahahahahahahahaahJON

being small....
October 5, 2010, 8:09 am

one thing you realize as you get older is that you are tiny, you are frail,you will become ill,you will die. as you get older you see the things you have tried to do, only to see a sense of failure along the way. this is not bad, as it brings a sense of being humble. when we establish being humble our hearts open more to kindness. the world is a strange place, you can work for years,'doing good', as soon as you are gone, you are forgotten like last winters storm. it has served me well to see the transitory nature of human relationship this year. it has allowed me to realize even more how tiny,tiny,tiny i am in the vast cosmos. in realizing such, you then see that your heart,thoguh broken, can indeed hold the cosmos. to be a simple monk and see things pass by!it moves to swiftly-humankind, best at times to just watch and help out in any tiny way you can.all spiritual disciplines at the core realize this, 'smallness',individual man tries to hide from what he/she considers hideous so false fronts arise;degrees,titles,community leaders,internet,screens,screens,screens.no need to hide, you are tiny!within you tiny nature you hold the cosmos in a cup....peace,T

T
October 5, 2010, 7:59 am

test

let it pass man let it pass.........
October 4, 2010, 2:30 pm

What is the point???? its stabbing me in my fuckin eyeball why do I or anyone else have the right to function while others more worthy but by some cruel fucking circumstance are left drooling on themselves………. vibrant minds that might hold the key to helping this fucked up self centered society yet they are locked inside an uncooperative body with no means to communicate? Call me a pissed off idiot who should be counting his blessings but there are no blessings to count until everyone has a chance to live life In some sort of dignity………. OH WHO THE FUCK AM I KIDDING I AM GUILTY AS ANYONE FUCK THIS LITTLE BIT OF CONSCIENCE THAT IS NIPPING AT MY BRAIN SOON ENOUGH IT WILL PASS AS THINGS WILL GO BACK TO NORMAL……….JON

jesus
October 4, 2010, 11:30 am

Jesus fucked me yes I know because the bible let it be so. A pedophiles dream scattered across the globe with nobody watching for the sanctiny of the church was the foremost goal and the little secrets were hidden behind the holy grail for who would think to look there????????? as the warped little men who wear the funny hats passed those who were the most despicable around like some fucking perverted little shell game. Yes jesus fucked me yes I know for in my distant memorie something tells me so................onj

thought for food..............................
September 30, 2010, 8:39 pm

I put the message at the top of the page because on the way home from my sons football practice today he mention something about riding on the short bus. I did not understand what he meant so he had to explain it to me first and foremost I had to make sure that he was not making fun of handicapped people this is not acceptable under any circumstance. But apparently the term refers to those who are handicapped who ride as we all know on shorter buses. The thought immediately passed thru my mind that maybe we (THE SUPPOSED NORMAL ONES) are the ones who have no idea how to run things on this planet and those that are on the short bus might very well be way more adept at concept of simple humanity, dignity, compassion, understanding and on and on as the slow bus passes by are you laughing or looking down on them maybe you ought to look at yourself……………….………..onj

REALLY???????DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THE SHIT YOU SPEW HUMANITY???????
September 28, 2010, 11:27 am

I will never cease to be amazed at how easily we!!!!!!!!!!! {The supposed greatest collection of intelligence in the little universe that religions paint us into} can be so easily lead by innuendo, false information, hate, fear, stupidity, greed, lust, power should I go on don’t have time…………yet we still blindly cling to the notion that we have any business even existing in the universe and the natural flow of time and evolution in the natural order of the very universe we claim title to??????????????????jon

to hold
September 27, 2010, 6:41 pm

As I slowly……. as I slowly drift to the ground picking up speed as reality starts dragging me down Once was holy but no man ecapes his own destiny now thoughts are scattered like leaves at the mercy of a fresh fall breeze Once was holy but now I tread on thin ice that cracks below me cant tell the distance or the direction that my life should lead Stumbling blindly as I look for signs that clear the haze inside my aching head………. the truth it lies beneath the footsteps that I hesitate to take as the fears and insecurities hold me like chains draggin down my wounded soul pressing on because deep inside I know that it is all I hold this precious soul and if that is lost then you have nothing left to hold..........jion

the new reality
September 27, 2010, 2:41 pm

Tell her no tell her no softy tell her I can’t go on anymore I have grasped at empty air to many times only to see hope disappear As my eyes wide open I see that there’s no sense of what this world should be What this world should be yet we will never be in this self serving world Call me weak call me a coward the words just fall like rain drops off of me Pry into my mind to save me but who’s mind should you be looking into to for you to see as Desperation crawls around us but we keep our eyes just above the reality so easy for you and me to focus on our own reality but there is no honor in the fight if there is no hand to pick up those in need to those in need who are callously discarded buy the new reality…………….. the new reality

more stuff I am going to get T the key to add again so bear with us I aint T I am just me.........
September 24, 2010, 8:04 pm

Yesterday I cast away the shadows that covered today locked into the silence like a virgin sacrificed on the holiest day. I grasp the hand that reaches out but I am just a man holding on to broken fragments that cause me to question the very existence of man. Seems we don’t think about consequence we just do what the heart says is right and they say if you follow your heart it works out in the end but then again I never had a conversation with a heart so who is leading who? As the preacher cast the deep dark shadows that cover his flock of blind sheep. This Jesus man says to burn a holy book he says the devil hides and breeds inside the words. His blind interpretation of what another man wrote I guess he holds the key into which book we all should look. hatred is the common thread that is intertwined in this holy mans strange beliefs who is he to hand out condemnation like he actually has a clue as to what lies at the core of every religion. Looking for his two minutes of fame oblivious to the desecration and hatred he might stir he might as well piss on the shrine man. Yet this zealot manages to gather a few sheep and the media who follow a story like lemmings to the sea for a chance to get the next scoop .

RANTING OLD SCHOOL CHECK BACK IN DA JOURNAL MAN CHECK BACK IN DA JOURNAL MAN.................
September 24, 2010, 1:11 pm

I apologize for my rant yesterday it was anger spilling out after being totally ripped off on a house repair. I wonder if this country has lost track of the ideals that everybody seems to spew but the reality is its every man woman child for themselves in this country as far as I can tell we can take the TEA PARTY being a prime example who are they? Apparently mostly white middle to upper middle class people who want to continue to cash in on the Bush jr. bonanza of tax cuts. I would urge every American to do their research and look before they leap at the polls this fall………In my case the person I was dealing with I have known for many years he went out on his own and being the trusting idiot I am I let him do a repair trusting that he would uphold the values that he spewed. Needless to say he has taken liberties to way overcharge me. I will pay the bill and he can live his life as he chooses but my point is that this is not an ISOLATED INCIDENT THIS FUCKING KUNTRY IS A ME FIRST FUCK YOU GET OUT OF MY WAY KUNTRY THE REPUBLICANS WITH THEIR CONTRACT FOR THE RICH THE POOR ARE TO FUCKING STUPID TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON YEA AMERIKA AMERIKA GOD IS LAUGHING AT YOUR DUMASSES CAUSE HE SEES THEIR AINT NO BRITHER HOOD NO COMMON GOOD IT MINE A FUCK YOU IF YOU STAND IN FRONT ON ME…………………HEY DON’T LIKE WHAT I AN SAYING THAT IS WHAT THE FAN JOURNAL IS FOR LET ME HEAR ONE WORD ONE FUCKING WORD THAT WILL TELL ME I AM WRONG…………………..JON

AGAIN
September 23, 2010, 2:44 pm

This blind dumb assed world deservers to burn in hell I aint talking bout the younger generations its them old muther fuckers that have raised the bell fromm Hell What the fuck do you sorry pitiful assholes want you fucking would not know it if it slamed you in your fucking whiney crybaby faces STAND THE FUCK UP MAN THE TEA PARTY CAN KISS MY FUCKING ASS DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY ARE THE SOLUTION???? SURE BOTH PARTIES SUCK ASS SO LETS START AGAIN MAN LETS START WITH A CLEAN SLATE OR WE ARE GOING TO BE SUCKIN THE SAME AIR THAT HAS PUT US IN THE REALITY THAT WE FACE AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN.............JON

money sucking fool
September 16, 2010, 3:30 pm

Life’s the gentle flower that we hold between our hands love it is the essence of the very core of man. Snuffed out in an instant looking back we tend to see the best parts of that life as we pay homage to what we can’t believe. Listless is the lonely heart looking for solace in the wind but the wind blows past the judgments that separate those who search within. Jumbled thoughts they spill from me as I gaze into my dream dark shadows pass behind me as I stand on the edge of reality. For what is real and who to trust when the world seems caught up in greed as the pillars that once would dominate crumble form the greed disease. So how much is it worth to you to trade your precious soul as it crawls away looking back in disgust at the selfish reasons that you hold. Those reasons are so dear to you like the people you used to love but it amazes me how fast things change when you tell yourself its right. Its right to step on everyone its right to push aside anything that gets in your way as you curl up into your ball of excess and slimy greed. So tell me man where does it end or are you already there but to blind to taste it to callous to see its you who has squandered one empty soul for the money sucking fools..........noj

ouch that hurt man!
September 7, 2010, 11:24 am

What the fuck was I thinkin yesterday I am an Idiot I don’t want to ride on the train this dumb moron is only doing what I do because it is the right thing to do case closed don’t want no free ticket on any fucking train IAM A FUCKING MORON FOR MY ENTRY YESTERDAY AND I AM GOING TO POST THIS THEN PUNCH MYSELF IN THE FACE FOR MY IGNORANT ENTRY………………………..jon

the train to?????????
September 6, 2010, 3:57 pm

You know what I say fuck eternity we are here for a speck of time in the scheme of things so why are we so fucking egocentric to think that we have any place in eternity?? And when we pass I hear great tales of bliss thru eternity if you jump thru certain hoops while you are kissing ass to the one you have chosen to follow. But I think personally that eternity is a long ride and I cant sign on to that kind of commitment then you add in the fact that maybe you are not the chosen one and to make matters worse either is your particular religion then what you gonna do???????? I want to be the best person I can be and hopefully make a positive impact on a fraction of the people that I meet. Then and only then can I say that I might get to hop on board the eternity train for a few stops enjoy the ride share some stories and watch as it pulls away knowing that I did the best that I could and asked for nothing in return other then a chance to take a ride on that train…………………………jon

the hands of eternity
August 28, 2010, 7:13 pm

Lonely tears don’t cry for me for lonely tears fall like rain on the fields of broken dreams Save your tears for the impossible task of a world that lives in human harmony Funny how absurd the thought that we could ever reach the heights that were so easily taught Rising to the challenge yet we still can’t stand up like drunken alcoholics we hold on to the shit that ties us in knots Save me from myself deserving greed…. perhaps that is the core of this lost mass of humanity…….. lost humanity Sturdy soldiers sent into the path for they are the righteous only to find out that when bodies are torn apart the pieces fall into the madness that creeps, Like the dark shadows that pave the way to another waste of the day where they are brushed aside so that the guilty minds that sent them their can sleep. So take all of your tired soldiers every country that thinks its better to kill then to reach out for some compromise that wont bleed Or get swallowed up into the same game that the human race has perpetuated into the hands of eternity the hands of eternity…………onj

final symphony part 1
August 27, 2010, 2:40 pm

This will be my final symphony don’t shed one tear don’t she one tear for me complications running thru an open mind make it impossible to compromise. So sell your soul your very being for something that you can hold in your hand to show off for those whose impression you so desperately seek. Angels fly but they don’t fly near me I don’t live on the dark side so I sit here wondering what the hell is wrong with me. Cant they come just close enough to hear me breath or maybe so I can reach out and touch on of their wings. I wander in silent symphonies stumbling through life just trying to get enough air to breathe as masked images push me from side to side impeding my direction like a drunken fool stumbling out of the confines of normalcy……….jon

positive reflection
August 25, 2010, 11:00 pm

Looking at the things gone wrong the mirrors image is where I belong. You can’t run from the reflection when it’s your image that you see. I will never blame another for its on me I had to stand but cant seem to find my feet. In the end its my life so many times I’ve stumbled but then who doesn’t take a fall.We get up and walk on as our ego slowly crawls back to us. Strength is born from the lessons that we learn taking the good ones and the bad ones to better reflect where we stand. Life is constant motion a wise man never sits still unless caught in silent contemplation no better way to take stalk of dreams unfulfilled. Can’t be too hard on myself dwelling in silent self pity nobody likes a self absorbed person who wears life’s troubles on their sleeve. So looking at the things gone wrong I will push aside this negativity and fill my soul with positive reflections of the world I want to see...........

lemon drop
August 24, 2010, 10:51 am

Hi how are you today? I am fine too….. because today I feel like a lemon drop on the tong of a pretty lama getting tickled as my friend Mrs. lama licks me into oblivion it’s a special feeling don’t you like to feel special too???the best part is that I get to go to her tummy and tickle it with my lemony goodness isn’t that special it’s a happy day when we feel special isn’t it………jon

do i jump?????????
August 23, 2010, 9:10 pm

I am madness I am sanity pick the road and follow it man just get the fuck off your ass and pick the road. Otherwise you are letting the insane morons run the asylum and then we are nothing but what we could have been or what the hell we as the human race can achieve to be.........I look into the mirror and see insantiy with a pinch of reality its that little bit that tiny little bit that keeps me from jumping man that keeps me from jumping..................ojn

just wait dumb assed Amerika
August 23, 2010, 12:45 pm

funny little men who hold power like their balls between their hands. playin for thier own satisfaction like a little fuckin kid just playin in the sand.Dumb ass sheep follow like lemmings to the sea so self rightous in what they think is right that the dumb fucks never see. Silly stupid human race running in circles with nary a trace of what is best with things that never should be caught up in the webs of ignorance that the dumb assed sheep believe. Just wait and see as we see the fallout from the lastet elections push us back to the same fucking place that got us into the common mans misery.........jon

I say fuck everyone until they get of their ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 22, 2010, 8:17 pm

Hey I wrote that shit below and I am proud of it!!!!!!!!! for this is Amerika and I can say whatever I want since junior ran his term?????( what a proud moment for this kuntry hey) it does ring true no what the fuck we gonna do bout it hey Amerika........jon

fields of shit man................
August 22, 2010, 8:11 pm

wonder what the fuck I am taking up space for? How bout you??????? or is your self impotant self rightous ass so secure that you actually believe you have a purpose??? Dont kid yourself mother fucker the world is a cesspool full of wasted ideas that swirl like balls of shit slowly breaking up then moving on into the ceptic field only to be forgotten and all the while the piles of shit keep building up only to be slowly dissipated no matter how good the pile was or is or could be..........

Survive??????????here is my take
August 20, 2010, 2:02 pm

I was listening to NPR this morning and a woman came on the show who apparently has a beef with the Muslim religion. She named several various popular religions and stated that they unlike the Muslim religion basically her choice of religions did not have a culture of “us against the world� and “we will use violence if we have to so that we can prove this� attitude. My first thought was that this poor person was extremely limited on her knowledge of the various religions she had mentioned thru the course of history as the record clearly states that all of them at one time or another did and many still do pursue a if you aint with us you are burning in hell baby mentality. I am generalizing of course but no one can deny that with way to many religions it is a my way or the highway culture which is not helpful in my opinion to leading mankind to a place where everyone is created equal regardless of belief. I am writing this because I just had a weird concept pop into my head. What is the common denominator with most religions?????? They have a supreme being be it God, Allah, Jesus, Mohammad and untold others who have supposedly laid down the structure for those who follow an these beings are the guiding force in all aspects of that person who is a believer . I wonder what would happen if all religions across the planet put their gods on the back burner for awhile and re-assessed the viability, the positive impact, the compassion, the love without restrictions, the aspect of all children on this planet are created equal and it our duty to help them not with conditions of my way or burn but with the only condition being I am a compassionate human being and it is my duty to help any other human because that is the only way we are going to survive…………….Jon

my take baby
August 18, 2010, 9:53 am

Hmmmmm let’s see Europeans came to this part of the world ( North and South Amerika) and in the name of religion and greed. Slaughtered millions of indigenous peoples stole their land, built their fucking churches, countless places of worship where ever they wanted without so much as a thought as to whether or not it would offend the very people who had lost everything. Yet here we are Amerika the land of the free the home of the brave freedom of religion and all the other bullshit they spew. Telling one religion that they can’t build a community center near ground zero because it will offend those who lost loved ones?????? Call me crazy but it seems kind of hypocritical on so many levels. Frankly if I lived in that neighborhood and this gave me a job opportunity you bet your sweet ass I would be in line for a job man!!!!! I am so fucking tired of the rich out of touch upper class in this country dictating what is and is not right based on nothing more than their own perverted self-centered beliefs. I feel sorry for all those who lost loved ones during 9/11 but come on man don’t we have more important things to worry about right now this is an opportunity to show the world that this fucking country actually stands behind all the bullshit rhetoric that we spew across the world for one thing is painfully clear Amerika the world is watching and in many cases those who are watching are way more up to date on the issues then the millions of morons in this country that are spoon fed Fox News, Bill Oriley, Rush Limbaugh, Beck and the other idiots spewing their vile hatred…………….jon

proud to be just a working class fool
August 17, 2010, 9:28 am

The first emotion I felt when the bottom dropped out on our employment situation was one of defiance how the fuck could they do this?????This is bullshit!!!!!!!!! we are better off and who the hell needs them anyway!!!!!! things are going to turn around and we will be better off. Then as the days pass and the preverbal last day edges closer your mind has time to think about the reality of the situation. those once strong feelings of this is just a momentary blip on our financial situation we are going to kick ass!!!!!!! turn to sleepless nights waking up in a cold sweat wondering how the hell we arrived in this situation in the first place. One kid in college the other entering eighth grade and financial responsibilities to other family members and the once strong as steel we are invincible stance is peeled away like some cheap veneer on a kitchen countertop displaying a venerable where do we go from here I have let my family down core. I am now in the same boat as T who gave 18 years of blood sweat and tears to the educational system in Maine helping countless kids cope with life’s greatest challenges. No I am only talking about the uncertain reality of losing a paycheck I have not done anything close to his healing a community but now we are in the same boat as far as financial opportunities. Our story is not unique in this country and across the world so why don’t some of the thousands of fans we have here and across the planet chime in the fan journal is there for you I know there are many stories out there so think of this as a place to vent it will cost you nothing but the time it takes to make an entry and trust me you will feel better getting it off your chest. This band will never die because unlike any other band we are and always have had our pulse on the working class and frankly that will never change……………….jon

remember the origional vision???????
August 16, 2010, 10:18 am

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! where do I begin…………… 3 out of four of the core screamers family are unemployed. The more disturbing fact is that this is the same scenario carried out across Amerika and yet our countries agenda seems to be stopping a Muslim center near ground zero and stopping gay marriage? Along with keeping the tax breaks for the rich and a multitude of other secondary issues that have nothing to do with bringing this country back from one of the worst recessions in its history. Call me crazy but IS IT NOT TIME to stand up and say enough is enough? This is something THIS BAND HASA BEEN SPEWING to empty minds and ears for years now!!!!!!!!!!! yet here we are???????? I know you say fuck you Jon now you are affected you are crying like a little baby who needs mommies tit to suck on for comfort. I say to you my friend not so fast for this band has a long history of trying to motivate the complacent masses in this country in good times and bad because we are consistent and if you think I am full of shit then I dare you mother fucker to go back one year….. two…… how about five…….. how about eight…… do I hear ten?????????? Yes that’s right man go back in the dam band journal and see if we have ever wavered!!!!!!!!!! I fucking dare ya then let’s put all this polarization bullshit aside and fucking stand together and make this country a vision of the potential, the ingenuity the passion the compassion the hope the freedom the respect they never say never attitude that has gotten us this far ( not that the system was, is, or will be perfect) but seriously let’s get back to the original vision…………..noj

its on man......
August 15, 2010, 7:07 pm

i know someone who has worked for over 25 years for the same company and who has the top division in the country and has done such a good job of building a team that the corporate brain trust has decided to eliminate this persons job. I am an asshole for not being more compassonate for the millions who are suffering this same bullshit scene around the country but tune into this site because I am going to rant baby and I suggest T does the same thing its time amerika to stand up and say enough is enough...........by the way I am not an Obama hater rich whitey on the other hand watch yo fuckin ass man............jon

A more cohesive take on the band n where we are headed
August 2, 2010, 9:35 am

I picked up my guitar for the first time in weeks today. I have to admit that since the day Bobby and I split and we stopped playing out on Tuesday nights it has been tougher than I ever thought it would be. At this point I need to put another band together. I have to say it seems strange to call me and bobby a band because it was just the two of us, but countless times people would say that we sounded like a band which I am very proud of. However I need to get T down before I put together another band but he is in the process of writing a book and he needs to put all his spare time into that project and we will see what happens when he gets it done. I am hoping it will be a best seller T certainly has the talent. In the meantime I am looking for a songwriting partner who is mainly a good composer able to transpose the many melodies, and to help finish some of the I have lyrics to go with them that I have rumbling thru my brain waiting to be heard. So I guess you could say that once again Shadow Screamers is in transition. I hope our fans will travel with us on this new chapter and I promise I am going to be more active on the site and T will chime in when his busy schedule allows and his computer frustrations are fixed. There will also be new music posted as that is the main purpose and reason for our existence as a band. After all it has to be about the music blended with some lyrics that we hope will make you think and start to look at the world in a different way……………..jon

UPDATE 101
July 31, 2010, 2:29 pm

BIG CHANGES ARE GOING ON WITH SHADOW SCREAMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First I am thinking about changing the name IT IS ABOUT TIME I DID THIS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now on to what is happening………….. Bobby the talented but troubled drummer I have been working with for the last two years is not longer with the band. And I am happy to say that……. T is putting all his efforts towards writing a book which I hope will blow up the best sellers list and set him for life!!!!! he has done so much for countless people and hopefully the book will be his payoff. However I cannot wait on the sideline and so I am hopefully going to work with another songwriter that I have known for awhile and together we can hopefully get the multitude of ideas I have had swirling round my brain consolidated into a mixture of what he does and what I do. SO BY ALL MEANS KEEP ON CHECKING INTO THIS CRAZY BAND TO BE NAMED LATER AND IN THE MEAN TIME KEEP ON FUCKING ROCKING NEVER LET THOSE MINDLESS PUPPETS WHO DOMINATE THE MEDIA TELL YOU WHAT THEY THINK BECAUSE IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE TELA-PROMPTER WHAT DO YOU HAVE …………………JON

I WONDER PART 1
July 28, 2010, 2:05 pm

1 I wonder……………… A BALCK MAN WAS ECLECTED TO THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN AMERIKA IN A TIME WHEN THE RICH WHITE POWERS THAT BE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN FOUR YEARS TO BRING AROUND THIS COUNTRY …….CAUGHT UP IN THE DEEP DEPTHS OF BLIND GREED, DECEPTIVE MANIPULATON, UNDER-REGULATION SPREADING FALSE FEAR WHICH IN TURN LEAD TO THE WATERING DOWN OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS A CORNER STONE OF THIS NATION……. WHICH BY THE WAY ALMOST NO ONE MENTIONE……… AND ALL THE WHILE STANDING BY WHILE RICH WHITE AMERIKA WAS TAKING MORE THAN WE COULD POSSIBLE AFFAORD TO PAY…………… AND IN SO DOING WAS SETTING UP THE TOKEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE FOR AN EPIC FALL FROM GRACE……… I WONDER WHY WE ARE STANIDING BY LETTING THE RICH WHITE MUTHERFUCKERS WHO RULE THIS NATION GET AWAY AGAIN AND AGAIN WITH THE SAME PLAN OF RICH WHITE DOMINATION I WONDER YES I WONDER………………….JON

funny but this band has been pointing this shit out for years and years man and the world i ready for a new voice........SHADOW SCREAMERS!!!!
July 25, 2010, 7:39 pm

So I see on Dateline tonight they are doing an hour long piece on the apparent poverty in Amerika something this band has been ranting about from the earliest days of this journal its been years and years. then last week we had yet another in a long endless list of racial bullshit that this cuntry ignores but it is like a fucking rip-current man just ask the untold thousands that have been sucked into it. My point is that this band has been standing up and along with many other issues standing up and making a stand..... meanwhile our music is being downloaded like crazy across the planet yet we cant break into the next level???? is'nt their someone out there with the fucking balls to take a chance on this band and give us what we need to be heard????? check us out I ask for nothing other then an honest chance to take this band to the next level I promise I will give my blood sweat and tears to make it happen.........jon

what?????????
July 24, 2010, 9:26 pm

grasp a moment hold it in your hand then watch as it slips into the pile that you have so carefully stacked up as the days pass. nobody knows only those who think might care but only if they are searching for the truth discarding what hurts and holding on to what comforts an tired mind, a tired mind tired mind so it is I leave you with this tired mind...........jon

If you thought I wascrzy then den how bout now mfuckars
July 24, 2010, 1:47 pm

I taste the blood as the knife gently lays open the skin on my tongue like a filet for anxious hungry tongues …………..tension is released as it spreads open the wound and then the blood seeps into my mouth……. blood has a funny taste earthy not overpowering…… yet it has no distinct taste ……maybe because it holds the key…………. I shake my head in silent discouragement for after 52 years of silent reflection I don’t have a clue as to the key that shows me what I can do to facilitate change………. so I blindly stumble and fall blind to a solution but ripped apart by the reality that permeates a world with so much potential yet no clue how to make it……………..noj

My opinion on how to sift thru the bullshit media
July 24, 2010, 12:02 pm

Grasp the concept embraced the dream while shallow minds chase sallow dreams………. Forget those who say it can’t be and loose those who will not see for open minds will always hold the key…….. will you be blind guided by words from silly puppets that spew words creating false realities all the while dragging you into what they want what they believe in the end it is you and you alone who has the mind yes the mind to sift thru the bullshit and find the truth for the truth always lies in wait for those who take the time to find it…………………….

Im back for better or worse................
July 23, 2010, 11:29 am

What was will never be ….wasted moments on the sidewalk of empty dreams I offer my condolences to those who are lost in the dream but I can’t forgive the ignorance that permeates the clutter of humanity. Just a glimpse a moment captured in time shaken but not stirred as I lay to waste the best of minds. Tell me now don’t hesitate for if you have to think then it lays to spoil the thoughts you bend to put into the box of acceptance and then what are you left with??????Squandered moments scattered behind the footsteps that lead to what might have been. Wasted hours stacked up like piles of wood to keep you warm on the coldest of nights while in the deep darkness as you blindly stumble down the path that you know so well clinging to thoughts that comfort you as you run them thru your mind over and over again in the world of what was but will never be……………noj

I bid you farewell for a bit what a dope I have been
June 15, 2010, 3:57 pm

I am not going to be contributing to the site for awhile not that it matters anyway but if T wants to someday come back it will be up to him. I have given my all for way to many embarrassing years and I frankly at this point only and idot would not say fuck it!!!!!!!!! as I am in the same place I was when I started this site. I tried and the silence has been defining so even an idiot would know better than to carry it as long as I have so with embarrassment for my delirious ego I bid you farewell for awhile……… just call me the idiot savant………………………..noj

Green Warrior4part 1
June 15, 2010, 6:51 am

empowerment.this is the last tenant and it might sound strange to environmentalists out their-as mankind would seem to have been to empowered.we have taken-in a wrong reading of sacred texts-dominance over the world.this simply must stop.we must understand that the only plausible way that we are going to make it,is to empower all other species-so that none are lost by our doing to the world.you may ask,'how do you empower other species?'the easiest way for mankind to do this is to live traceless.this is an old Native'Way'.many that came to northern america assumed that the indigenous people were savage or not to developed.what they missed and so essential to the conversation here-is that they lived the 7th generation philosophy,which is,'live in such a way as to empower generations 7 from now'.this is heavy duty and asks so much of us.this year listening to so many graduation speakers,it disturbed me that so little was said about the environment.it is to bad that the students that were so involved with enviornment were not allowed to speak-they are awesome!i hold nothing against the students-they merely reflect our culture.a good litmus test and swing the other way will be when we start seeing speeches that talk about the enviornment.so again the best way to look at this principle is to empower all species.in order to do this we must develop and sustain a new,'Cosmology'as Richard Rohr says.more on this tomorrow-have to run.peace,T

gig?
June 14, 2010, 7:07 pm

well graduation went well for my son and also for the school i work at.hard to imagine-last child graduated!how did the gig go Jon?peace,T

nobody gives a shit but here is my 2 cents worth
June 14, 2010, 4:13 pm

Time is a frieght train slamin into my brain I guess I am the only one with the time to take this from the mondane...... guess I need to find a life hey...............jon

Graduation....
June 11, 2010, 6:26 am

hey all-sorry i have not been on.my youngest is graduating this weekend,so i have been attending all the functions and having a great time with the fam.-at the same time i am wrapping up 22 years of education-frazzled, tired,happy/sad.be back soon.peace,T

thank you!
June 4, 2010, 10:48 am

thank you all-very busy,just trying to finish off my year in public ed.talk to you soon.peace,T

sometimes 1
June 2, 2010, 10:30 pm

Sometimes mellow is the darkness in the pouring rain sometimes I am angry at the things I am too lazy to change yea sometimes I wonder……. sometimes I wonder……….. sometimes I reach to grasp the things I know I will never hold sometimes I want to taste the victory of success that lies outside the reach of one who is not so bold…… yea sometimes………sometimes I tire of the wasted time I spend inside the dream turning in circles like a dog chasing the tail of selfish needs and sometimes I want to grab it all and throw it all away but sometimes it slips thru the hands that would not know how to hold it anyway……… sometimes yea……. sometimes…….sometimes the lies cascade down upon my guilty mind as sometimes I have a hard time deflecting all the truths that I ignore……… the subtle whispers they spell out directions to the one who chooses to be blind……. yea sometimes ………sometimes…………..jon

yes!
June 2, 2010, 6:55 am

hey Jon,i am excited about this new direction.you so deserve a venue that will appreciate all that you do.i support you one million percent my bro!peace,T

After a year and a half its time to move on
June 1, 2010, 8:43 am

As I mentioned in the journal a couple of days ago we are not doing the open mic at South Shores and Bobby the drummer has decided to leave the band so I am currently looking for a new drummer I am going to an open mic on Thursday night I will give details on where and when and I look forward to the challenge of finding new players to help carry on the legacy of this up and coming band………jon

away from me
May 30, 2010, 1:35 pm

I can feel that demon seed crawling deep inside my brain I want to dig deep with the tools of self awareness that will tear that shit loose and let it flow, let it flow away from me. I can feel that seed of hate as it slithers deep inside my brain but I can’t find the tools to dig it out so that shit will flow away, flow away from me. I can feel the seed of indifference as it slithers thru my brain escaping the thoughts that I know will make it flow make it flow away from me, I feel the heavy weight of insecurities as they tell lies to the person I want to be no matter how hard I try I can’t seem to make the break that lets them flow away from me, away from me .I can taste my desires, so close I can almost lick them but as I look around I slap my face with the reality that my own ineptitude gives them all the time they need to never flow away, flow away from the person I want to be. I am left standing no closer than I was all those years ago to the goals I set out to achieve because I always choose the wrong path to let life’s obstcle3s flow away from me, flow away from me……………….jno

ramble on jon ramble on
May 28, 2010, 8:15 pm

We don’t take the time before we blurt out the words that complicate the scene that we are trying not to repeat. And we don’t stand on solid ground as we move those silent words around and everything seems to change as nothing changes while we fall, we fall. Into pits of commonplace it is no secret that we love to waste the things we do so well as we fall back into the wells of silent misery, those silent wells of misery. No we don’t take the time to choose words that separate and lead us to the place where we can be breath in the open air take me back to where we lived when we were free thoughts ran thru our open minds like gazelles across the Serengeti breathing in the air unspoiled by the footprint of humanity but who am I am what is my reality as these words channel from my wandering mind onto this open space .Sometimes I can’t turn it off and the ramble goes on eventually overstaying its welcome and as I hurry these jumbled thoughts along I wonder once again what is this strange bond I have with the written word and the thoughts that clutter my mind sorry you have to look at it but I need let it out……….your loving band member jon

Jon Built that place-literally!
May 27, 2010, 9:32 am

just a little history here.Jon is not kidding.the manager's affect is so strange.even when i was down there-we killed and she would constantly say,'turn it down'.not sure what that is about.that place was built on the blood,and sweat of my Brother and Shadowscreamers.i say-good nigh and good luck,unless they get a new manager! Jon,you are moving in the right direction bro!peace,T

turning the page............
May 27, 2010, 7:38 am

After a year and a half at South Shores Doing the open mic with my good friends Penny and Kiran we are taking a break. When we first started the place was not serving food on Tuesday nights even though they are a restaurant and the only patrons who were in the place were a handful of locals. Last Tuesday night like so many before since we built up Tuesday nights the place was packed so we are leaving at the top of our game. With Bobby the drummer deciding to move on this is good timing for me as I can move on to other open mic's to find a new drummer and other players to fill out the band. I am really excited to inject some new blood into the band things were getting to complacent and I do share some of the blame for that. I must scratch my head over the attitude of the bar manager who seemed to take us for granted and had some kind of weird perception that my two piece band was to loud it seems strange that I could be too loud when most of the time our fans in the audience complained that we were not loud enough??? I don’t know how we could possibly be louder then a five piece band blasting out classic rock n roll??????anyway I am proud of what we have done and the many new fans we have added to our base over the last year and a half. I wish South Shores luck in these tough times and I can’t wait to get started playing for new fans in another venue so keep checking back this page has turned and I am moving on to write new pages in the story of Shadow Screamers I hope you will come along for the ride……………jon

Awesome
May 26, 2010, 7:13 am

Jon,that is wonderful! What everyone needs to know here is that my brother Jon is an outstanding solo performer.Excellent singer,guitar player,song writer-OUTSTANDING!You must check him out.We were just talking this weekend about his fingerpicking-which always,always captivates me!Awesome Jon!peace,T

outside
May 25, 2010, 11:18 pm

I am a loner dancing deep into the night it s not the course I chose but it fits me like a sheath fits the sharpest knife, I am a loner but it’s not the place I want to be as the comfort it grows deeper as I let go of the need. Have always lived way on the outside only those who live there see that no matter how you try it is always meant to be, I am living on the outside why can’t I step into the dream of all those who live the life that those on the outside only dream. Why was I cast way on the outside for it is my darkest memory and you can’t ever taste the meaning unless you have lived outside the dream…………jon

the whisper
May 24, 2010, 7:44 pm

That whisper it tickles my imagination as words flow thru my hands what if could wash away disagreements like sand castles on the beach, what if we listened? No don’t nod your head like you are absorbing every word while you are going over the to do list in your mind. What if we said what we really mean instead of trying to appease everyone with false comments that lift the moment but are as shallow as the most self absorbed ego maniac, what if we always did what was right no matter how inconvenient no matter there is no recognition, no glory no gain, what if we always spoke the truth no matter what the consequence no matter how much it would heat the one who needs to hear it no matter how much it would negatively affect you, what if we treated everyone as an equal no matter the appearance the degree of intelligence the social skills the ability to exist the whisper it tickles my imagination……………onj

venting
May 23, 2010, 2:15 pm

We need to reach down deep into the throat of complacency and status- quo and rip out all the false promises all the inept bullshit, all the name calling, the polarization, the rich clutching to greed like a starving boy holding the last piece of bread the lazy looking for a free ride as they utter it’s not my fault you owe me, the bigots hiding behind that slimy dripping smile, the self righteous with no room for tolerance pushing their self centered holy bullshit, the mindless dreamers sputtering their puffy clouds of rainbows and unicorns, the ego infested politicians who after years of spewing bullshit actually believe it, I can go on and on but I am out of time……………..jon

Change a friend part 1
May 21, 2010, 9:16 pm

You can change your mind leave your conscience to the wind but you can’t change a friend no you can’t change a friend, you can change your thoughts and pretend over and over again but there is still no way that you can change a friend, you can change your life make yourself new all over again but if your core never changes there is nothing you can do to ever change a friend. Why do you even bother we all stand alone in the end judged on our own merits there is no need for false pretense because you can’t change a friend no you can’t change a friend………….jon

moving on
May 20, 2010, 2:02 pm

Sad to say but I am looking for a new drummer I am not going to go into specifics T will know what I am talking about but Bobby and I are no longer on the same page as far as the future of the band. I wish Bobby the best and Hope he finds what he is looking for and this is not to say he will never jam with me during again the next couple of weeks at South Shores tavern but I have made my decision and as I look and see that we are five months into the year and yet we still can’t seem to get any kind of steady practice schedule going it is time for me to move on as time is the enemy of this band…………jon

Integrity4....
May 20, 2010, 6:26 am

Jon has written some great material here,so I won't take up much space.The last section on Integrity is to live it.it seems a word that ha lost relevance and meaning in our culture.for our environment it is crucial to bring back.we need development of Green technology,we need less people on the planet-more birth control,we need people to stop thinking they alone are God's-we share this planet with myriad beings no better,no less than any other species.we need to be as the indigenous people around the world and live in harmony and balance.now need is a strong word-but i shall leave it to stand.we are in critical times now-need is the word-if we are going to make it.next writing on the Green Warrior will be the fourth and last principle-Empowernment....peace,T

Fallen son
May 19, 2010, 3:35 pm

Is it because it reminds you of yourself that you hate the things you see? does your quick judgment hold to a distance the guilt the truth will bleed. You run from consequences like a madman chasing dreams as you deftly push aside all the ties that lead to you not me. What is it that reminds you of the things you hate to see is it guilt or conscience that rules your mind of self serving needs. You are blind but only when it is convenient for you for its so easy to cast the blame on others so hard to see reality. Fallen angels pass you by that they look at you with pity makes you hate what you’ve become as you have tried to cast to many false illusions but in the end the mirror reflects the fallen son…………jon

think
May 18, 2010, 1:27 pm

Think devour the concept dig deep into the cells that feed, think when questions slam into your mind at breakneck speed, think before you do but as your doing set your mind free, think it’s gotten us into the this mess and it is the means to sow the seed, think but never linger let your mind keep moving on, think it’s what separates the species form those that do and those that just get along, to think it sounds so simple but it’s now in desperate need, think it’s something you can do and nobody can tell you what you see, so think look for the answers don let them tell you what can be for if you think you own the world and who knows you might just hold a key………just think…………..jon

I am
May 17, 2010, 8:17 am

I am a wonderer drifting thru time and space collecting snaps shots as I move from place to place, I am a mystic cast my sprit to the wind as I gaze thru all the questions that burn so deep within, I am a poet who can’t write a rhyme but my spirit lays before you in between these hollow lines, I am a dreamer chasing shadows in the rain looking for the bright side of a world that’s so untamed, I am nothing just a fragile empty shell if you press to hard I will crumble to the ground into thoughts too weak to dwell, I am forgotten as those distant memories that lay in the fringe of what is and what will be as the days grind away, I am humble for I have traveled down that road and faced the scorn of those who judge before they know, I am patient or a man who’s gone insane as I circle high expectations that I cast out again and again, I am bleeding but I never feel the pain for I am to numb to know the difference of what’s real and what’s the game. I am love but then I never truly feel those deep sensations that mike those precious moments real, I am a hero but then I never truly faced the circumstance that defines those who stand and those who fall from grace. I am an enigma as I sweep thru my own mind I don’t know who it is that hides behind those blinds…………..jon

Green Warrior integrity 3....
May 17, 2010, 7:09 am

keeping your word even though no one is watching.being who you say you are.living life with vitality and love.in context here,living in such a way as to benefit all beings seven generations from now.sorry i have not been on in awhile-busy! Jon has put up what i consider great material for new songs.peace,T

Green Warrior integrity 3....
May 17, 2010, 7:09 am

keeping your word even though no one is watching.being who you say you are.living life with vitality and love.in context here,living in such a way as to benefit all beings seven generations from now.sorry i have not been on in awhile-busy! Jon has put up what i consider great material for new songs.peace,T

where do we find ourselves part 1
May 16, 2010, 10:11 am

So where do we find ourselves oil flowing like a raging river as we stand by with our finger up our ass scratching our head like a fucking monkey wondering how to get the banana out a the jar. So where do we find ourselves motherfucker parks a car in the flow of humanity hoping it will blow apart our way of life scattering our dreams like the body parts the cleanup crew has to scrape up of the sidewalk. So where do we find ourselves hate is the badge that so many proudly wear some dumb bitch from Alaska spewing hate thru her pretty little mouth as she sucks the dick of rich white amerika. Like a hooker hoping to get and extra ten bucks. So where do we find ourselves caught between the lies we have come to believe because it’s so easy to bury your ignorant head in the sand.So Where do we find ourselves………….jon

stab myself 1.............
May 15, 2010, 3:23 pm

I want to stab myself I want the knife to cut so deep as hell has no fury like a blind man chasing sheep. I want to cut myself just to let it bleed don’t want no fucking pity don’t want your sympathy, I want to stab myself don’t pretend that you care for me as nothing rings as hollow as your faking empaty. I want to stab myself just to feel the pain validation sows the seeds of a mind on the edge of insane. I want to stab myself just to watch it bleed let all the mangled thoughts seep from deep inside my mind onto these mean and empty streets…………. I want to stab myself……………jon

the box
May 14, 2010, 8:29 am

Locked in a box of my own crafty design smothered buy the sounds echo deep within my mind. To tell a tale to make the peace while all the while the insecurity burns inside of me. I lay before you pieces of me as they lie there naked for all the world to see. Desperate for acceptance but those callous winds prevail as I stay locked into this box of my own crafty design………….jon

Update on the band
May 13, 2010, 8:46 am

We arrived at Bobbies house Tuesday night at 6:40pm and he was still sleeping so needless to say we were late getting to South Shores Tavern so we had to hustle to get set up and ready to play at 8pm. This was an important night for me because it was the first time my 18 year old son and some of his friends were coming to see us play. I have been telling my son about the high energy and show we put on and now I had to step up and do it. Bobby and I had not practiced for over a week and I was nervous as to how we would sound. We started into the set and as luck would have it the sound was incredible this makes it so much easier to perform so with that advantage we put on one of the best shows we have done in months I wish we had taken the time to set up and record it because I believe it was as good as we can sound. I am still living on the high of pulling off a good performance for my son and his friends I did not want him to think his dad was full of shit and delusional about this band and how good we can be. I have to run but I will post more later the site is blowing up with fans downloading the music we appreciate this and let’s hope we can finally get this thing going so we can shake up this planet with the force that is Shadow Screamers……..jon

Yes!
May 10, 2010, 8:03 am

Jon that is fantastic.it is amazing the energy we generate in such a short amount of time.can't wait for extended time!can't wait to hear!peace,T

Integrity2(Green Warrior)....
May 10, 2010, 8:02 am

integrity is being who you say you are-taking full accountability for your actions.it is not making excuses(we are way beyond this point-making excuses environmentally).in doing this we take into account where we are,what we have done,and then move forward to heal.heal we must,our very Earth calls for us,she dreams us as Green Warriors so that we may stop the insanity.to live a life of integrity the Green Warrior way,we must walk as if every step is kissing our great Mother.each action must benefit beings seven generations from now.this is not a prison sentence,in fact a life lived this simply is a life of freedom.a life lived this way is a life of good conscience.a life lived this way is the full fillment of mankind as we are hoped to be.a life this way is a life lived for the benefit of all....peace,T

Update!!!!!!!
May 9, 2010, 11:08 am

I laid down some vocals over the CD that was recorded when T was down last year. It is a live performance and because the original vocals were too far back in the mix to be heard I can record over them and I am still going to count this as live. The instruments are well mixed and the performance is not bad either considering it was at South Shores tavern and as I remember T the drummer and I had only had a handful of practices before we recorded this I think it is amazing. Ask any serious performer to do what we did and they will tell you it is no piece of cake. I think I will be able to have something up in the next week or so and then I am going to remove all the songs we have up now and just have the new stuff. Fans across the world have been downloading the music at a good clip the last couple of weeks and I hope this will continue and grow as the new stuff is released. Tell a friend about this band and come on back and check in with us again and again we are doing this for you our loyal fans the best fans on the planet we LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!jon

Integrity....
May 8, 2010, 7:21 am

to have Integrity means to have a code that you live by.it is a way of living that shows not only respect for others but yourself as well.the Green Warrior has the Integrity to respect all beings.he/she is a warrior of consciousness that leads to physical acts that do not harm(enough has been done on that note)but actually benefits tha planet-seven generations from now.in fact the major code that makes integrity is this seventh generation thinking.he/she tries to be in such a way that is traceless.no physical reminders when he/she is gone from this winking of time(our short span on earth-lives).to do this one must really think before acting.one must purchase only when necessary and only that which will benefit.this has become very difficult.everything seems wrapped in plastic or styro-foam or other not friendly items. our family tries to buy used as much as possible including all the clothes i wear.i have a big organic garden in the summer.there will be three other writings on integrity.but for today just think about that concept if you would-make every action an action that will benefit,not harm seven generations from now.this is a very heavy,heavy statement.one not to be taken lightly and a philosophy that does not exclude personal sacrifice.it is a thought and way of life that allows for being traceless.... peace,T

New stuff man
May 5, 2010, 11:46 am

Screamers Fans last night was awesome we had one of our better performances according to the people who were at South Shores I thought we nailed it and I guess we did. I mentioned we would be recording this weekend but I have called this off. Bobby and I were supposed to rehearse today as we discussed last night (it is the last chance to get together before we hit the recording studio) however the practice did not happen??????????????????????????? so as we need more rehearsal time I have decided we will record at a later date. Bobby did give me a CD that Shawn who is a friend of the band a talented in many areas anyway he recorded a live set at South Shores when T was down and I am going to use this!!! it has some killer stuff on it and my vocal is way in the background so I can record a new vocal over it and I am telling you this is going to kick ass!!!!!!!!!! T is amazing with what he is doing on b ass. I want to do this because we need to sell ourselves as a three piece and once people hear this they will see the potential and this will lead to T coming down here and then we can send this band into orbit baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11…………….ojn

hey Jon
May 5, 2010, 7:12 am

hey Jon,sorry I have not been here in a couple of days-very busy.not done with the series yet only half way through.i have spent many years thinking and formulating the Green Warrior philosophy as you know.i like to have key words to build this philosophy around currently they are:ahimsa,to listen,integrity and empowerment.these words are chosen as they subsume all others like;respect,compassion,cooperation,truth,justice,etc...i will be writing more on them soon.peace,T ps.how did the gig go last night?

whats up?????????
May 4, 2010, 12:57 pm

We are at South Shores tonight hope some people show up the broad who runs the entertainment thinks we are to loud but so be it I am used to playing mindless games in life as well as with the band. T finished his series and if someone wants to add a comment then feel free. Right now I don’t know it seems if we don’t post every day things drop off but we need input as to what you want to see we can cover it all as far as the Band Journal I would love to do a piece by Tom Brokejaw on the recent oil spill (for those who don’t know just type Tom Brokejaw into the box at the top of the page and you will see) This band is going to be recording in the next week and I hope when we put up the songs we will get some input from the fans. This is such a crazy time in Amerikan history we have a British oil company sucking out oil from our supposed soil? And they fucked up as dumb americka says drill baby drill we are outsourcing to other countries. Hey Palin where the fuck are you bitch???????I guess she can’t see the United Kingdom from Alaskaaa……give me some feedback man………………jon

listen 4....
April 30, 2010, 8:51 am

the most recent disaster is a classic example of not listening.many of us Green Warriors decried the expansion of off shore drilling giving specific reasons why it is dangerous to the environment.we see one of them now.over 5,000 gallons daily spill into the Gulf.this is a horrible disaster.it will have effects for a long,long time.I ask today that every one here spend a moment,a day of grieving for the environment as so many beings will perish by this and the after effects.after this day of grieving,get to action.write your Senators and Congressmen and Women and ask them to immediately stop off-shore drilling,to dismantle the rigs and put money into Green Energy. President Carter was a great example of a Green Warrior who listened.he put solar panels on the White House(to be dismantled by reagan).if the country would have listened to his initiatives back then,think how far we would be in the development of green energy?a great example is the southwest.c'mon it is painfully obvious isn't it? solar panels placed in the southwest with all that sunshine,could charge the entire nation.some will decry-no way not with current technology,but that is my point.if we keep developing the technology we will have more efficient units,and storage capabilities.we will also go smaller and smaller so as not to be an eye-soar for the environment.last weekend as I came over a hill from the reservation,i saw on one of my favorite vistas,wind turbines clogging the scenery. now this may have to be inevitable for awhile, until they can work things smaller,but man what an eye-sore!if the initiative was funded back in Carter's time,we would have clean energy with micro units so as not to clutter nature any more than we do(man does that enough!).so this is the last writing of to listen.to unify body,mind,spirit and listen from wholeness.to listen carefully to nature and all beings,to listen to what is being said and to understand changes that need to take place. all of this and more is so very important in developing the Green Warrior....peace,T

Green Warrior-principle two,to listen3
April 29, 2010, 7:52 am

so if not unified you cannot hear with the totality of your human experience.in doing so we start to separate nature,calling this un-important and that not necessary.one of things that Indigenous people around the world realize is that everything in the cosmos is on the web of life.if you remove one thing,than the web is in dis-equilibrium and must establish a new balance.this new balance places others at risk and in danger.just look at the record around the world as one species became extinct and the negative effect it had on the environment in that area.on the addition side,when we plant a species in an a different geo-location we get things like the pernicious invasive species issue that is happening in every state in america.now when we think our environment is un-important than we pollute rivers,oceans,the earth,etc...in our self-righteous attitude we don't see a problem.WE ARE THE ONLY SPECIES THAT EFFECTIVELY DESTROYS ITSELF BY DESTROYING OUR OWN ENVIRONMENT.SO WHERE IS OUR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS NOW? you can think your superior but others know that you are simply delusional.so a very,very important principle for the Green Warrior is to listen in wholeness,understanding that one is connected to all things and by understanding this must work to preserve all beings and that includes plants,minerals,flyers,swimmers,insects,and our very Mother Earth.more tomorrow....peace,T

to listen 2
April 28, 2010, 6:37 am

starting after the dark ages,western man decided to turn towards materialistic thought.of course one of most famous being Rene Descartes.before that time,all the great religions and indigenous thought was on the, 'complete man',the man that is integrated;body,mind,spirit.the deliterious effects have been astounding.man started to separate his/her experience,in doing so we learned not to listen from the completeness the integrated whole.in doing so we have maintained a conqueror attitude towards nature and others human beings-actually the first major shift towards this was 25,000 years ago from the hunter gatherer to agricultural cultures.so in order to really listen and understand our world we need the complete ear.this completeness is accomplished by non separation-to bring back the unified ear of the body,mind,spirit of man.why is this major for the Green Warrior?more on that tomorrow-have to run,students are walking through the door.peace,T

Green Warrior-principle two,to listen
April 26, 2010, 6:38 am

we were born with two ears,yet we hardly ever listen.next time you drive somewhere with your windows open,write down what you hear.many might not hear the birds of spring,or the sounds of your particular landscape.the next principle of the Green Warrior is to,'Listen'.we must consider the deeper aspects of listening.we must listen internally first of all.so many talk,talk,talk without filtering anything-looking for that next pithy line or to make their point,or to be right.listening provides the space to hear each thought,one by one.it allows us to see perhaps the tangible side of,'fasting of the mind',as the Taoists say.by listening we understand ourselves a little better and understand the battle that must necessarily take place inwardly to achieve freedom.now when we listen to others-if we have listened well within,we take the time for others to explore what they need to verbally.we start to see the body language associated with expressed thought through word.we start to see the essence if you will of what is being said and a slight glance at this moment of the person saying it.a good listener is worth their weight in gold as they allow humanity their space,their thought process towards their own liberation.you will see in upcoming days how this ties in with the environment.this is an initial foray into the vast ocean of our next principle-to listen....Namaste,T

Ahimsa 4....
April 24, 2010, 7:26 am

my Clan Mother see's the Creator(God)in everything.the sticky green leaves of spring,the tulips spreading their multi-hued smile.in the summer,the spirits sparkling off the lake in the sun,the explosion of growth.in the fall the slowing down,and the reds and golds of the foliage.in winter the diamond like essence of sun hitting deep snow and the introspection that winter brings.if we indeed see God in everything,then we see the great web and our place upon it.to wipe out one of the members of that web would disrupt-challenge the equilibrium of the web.it alters and changes in ways we can't see or predict.it is a very important aspect of ahimsa and to be a Green Warrior to have this ability to see divinity in everything.when we do,we are then challenged to stand up,to protest non-violently against the violence that would jeopardize a species.if we truly see this way we call within our hearts,'On Earth as it is in Heaven'.so the Green Warrior contemplates so deeply the principle of ahimsa that he/she becomes an ocean of compassion.she/he leads by example and with LOVE.part of this is educating,protesting,helping to establish legislation,and most importantly BEING.when one is AHIMSA then every action is a lesson an example for all to see and learn by.it is not lecturing,shame,or using guilt.doing so would undermine ahimsa as it would be a violent act.one uses the freedom of LOVE to just be,the compassion that spreads is like a tiny stone dropped in a still pond.ripples endlessly outward from the oceanic reservoir of stillness....Namaste,T

HAPPY 40th EARTH DAY and other stuff
April 22, 2010, 10:58 am

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!!To all our fans T is away in Northern Maine visiting our his tribe he will come back fresh in both mind and spirit as I know he enjoys his visits up there. I have never visited but I can’t wait to one day do a sweat in the sweat lodge with my bro and his friends among the tribe. T is doing his green warrior series and it’s funny how it coincides with earth day there are many great ideas and ideologies that my brother presents if you want to visit may Earth day entries from past years just type in Earth Day at the top of this page in the search box and low and behold they shall appear. If you enjoy this site please spread the news to your friends and family we need all the support we can get. Thanks to the fans who have left messages in the fan post. Everyone is so busy nowadays just trying to survive we appreciate you taking the time to not only check out the site but post. Our fans are our greatest asset. I think I finally have found a producer to help us get some song together he has heard us live several times and know what we are looking for in our sound. It will be great to work with someone who know our music how we perform and how to get the best out of the recordings. I will keep you posted as things progress and put up the new music as soon as it is available. Until then pass the word and please today do one thing for this beautiful planet even if it is just finding a space in nature and meditating for a couple of minutes taking in the life that surrounds you it will rekindle your love and respect for this truly incredible planet we all share…………………jon

back soon....
April 22, 2010, 7:07 am

off to the reservation,be back in a couple of days.i will start ahimsa4 then and then move forward in the Green Warrior series(to the next principle)-each principle will have four sections.so glad Tues.went so well Jon-things are happening! to to you soon!peace,T

Ahimsa 3....
April 21, 2010, 7:21 am

our business is really freedom.with ahimsa we realize there are no limitations to this freedom.we simply apply the principle and allow it to flourish in body/mind/spirit.Gandhi understood this very well.he understood that any great truth must essentially come from the freedom of non-violence.why?when we are free from violence,than the subtlety of the mind is in play.it is a mind that is open and free from restriction.the mind that is caught in violence is restricted and necessarily inflexible.experiment:think of something that really angers you.dwell on it for a moment or two.note on a piece of paper how your body reacts.note also what happens to your mind and emotions.now try another experiment.think back to a time when you felt very relaxed and free.what happens to the mind?what happens to the body?very different isn't it?you perhaps are wondering where i am going with this?the mind is a vast landscape.when imperiled with anger and violence it creates the fight or flight reflex.it sends dangerous chemicals to the mind(cortisol-adrenaline)this in turn prompts action that you may regret later,which in turn adds to the initial emotion.our minds create our worlds through our thoughts as the Buddha said.when we practice diligently ahimsa,the mind is free to create a world that is free from danger for Mother Earth and for our collective species.this mind engages in activism in a non-violent way because it's see's through this flexibility-compassion.when compassionate then you enter the deep source which is-LOVE.this LOVE see's the Lotus in a Sea of Fire and helps so that all beings may live in a way that is not harmful and in harmony.we can no longer,'vibe out' individually(though good for personal practice)we must be communities that dwell in this flexible,loving mind that will take action that is necessary for our world.so the individual becomes the collective,the collective becomes the individual.ahimsa is the way to freedom.we must nourish this with every thought and gesture.in doing so we release our serves and hopefully some day the world into the vast sea of LOVE.a LOVE like this does not think the ant is any less important than the human being.this LOVE see's the web of Indira and seeing such interconnectedness makes sure that all beings may enjoy their progeny as we wish to enjoy ours.we can go very far on this first principle as a Green Warrior.given thought,there is infinite possibility.so much more than my inadequate words can convey.for this,i realize as a simple man i am not up to the task.see where your mind leads you with this principle.this LOVE is greater than any word I could ever tap-tap-tap on this keyboard with my clumsy hands....Namaste,T

Ahimsa 2....
April 20, 2010, 7:11 am

we must walk on the Earth gently.picture this,'every step you make,imagine kissing her with your feet'.in doing so you immediately feel the reverence.she gives to you continually even though on a daily basis we hurt her.given this another step towards ahimsa is to think about your life.what do you use on a daily basis?what are the things you throw away?how can you change this?we are entering the greatest issue our species will ever have-it subsumes all others.war,disease,violence towards each other.everything won't matter if we don't stop the violence towards our Mother as we simply will have nowhere to live anymore.so extending this love and reverence for the earth,we can picture as the Tibetans say,'everyone you meet might have been your father or mother in a former life'or as the Christians say,'be kind to everyone as they carry Christ within'.you can take a page from the Hindu book and say Namaste and see the divinity in all you see,etc,etc....in doing this simple practice we choose not to focus on hostility towards our species and focus on the most important issue which is the environment.Ahimsa can apply to everything you do including your thoughts.in Native country we watch our thoughts.sometimes when a turkey buzzard flies overhead you may hear an Elder say,'watch your thoughts'as it is felt that this friend can manifest them.it is a constant reminder that we must watch our thought process as our thoughts certainly have a duality.the same process that brought the greatest inventions known to man,also started wars and violence.be careful of your thoughts.again a steady practice of meditation can be helpful here.the Qigong masters say,'think the good thought and heal'.by doing the exercises and using our positive imagination we can actually change cells at a molecular level.imagine if we all thought the good thought about our Sacred Mother....Namaste,T

Green Warrior(revisting)....
April 19, 2010, 7:07 am

i want to thank you all for your encouragement and commitment to the environment! the Green Warrior series can be found by simply typing the title into the search engine and you will find them.i do,however want to say so much more so i will start a new series.Jon no worries-you and i have been into this band for the long haul.that we don't talk because of schedule at times,really doesn't matter-there is no space between us my Brother.i am encouraged by the developments and look forward to when i can get down there full time in my rightful place as Bass player with Shadowscreamers.-------In order to examine a Green Warrior we must first define terms.In the context of this title,Warrior does not mean one that takes life,but gives it.In the long history of Spiritual Warriors the Green Warrior will take a place.A place that will be with us as a human species from this time forth.Green of course is a generic term for caring for the environment. So a Green Warrior is one that gives thought,imagination,action,deed,meditation and prayer with the Earth.A Warrior of peace and compassion,yet one that is not afraid to do battle in court,on the political scene,or non-violent protestation.Before I get to the first tenant why non-violence? The numberless beings and the Earth we represent need a voice an advocate.Man simply put does things to the environment.What does the environment do-give! So we take a page from her book and give in a non-violent way.We also do it,so all can see the opposite of what man does to the environment so that all can see this violence and understand the blatant injustice.So the first Sacred principle is Ahimsa,non-violence.Our protestations are non-violent,our legal battles are non-violent.There is a sense of collectiveness in this principle but at the same time an individual component.We must by all means monitor closely our lives and the way that we waste and hurt the environment.This is not some hippie craze or new age outpouring imposed upon everyone.No our violence collectively to the environment has made it impossible to continue such a path.If we do not change very quickly the point of non-return will be upon us.We are at 390 parts per mil of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.If we reach 450 or more-game over,we have reached a point of not returning to what we currently enjoy.This week,and many afterwords we will provide ideas and ways to get involved,but it really comes down to the steady gaze of Ahimsa in all that we do.Our conversations,our actions,our thoughts all must come from a mind that embraces as opposed to the mind that separates.Our first task is to slow this crazy monkey mind(as the East calls our frenetic minds)and allow the mind to settle.This can be done with meditation and spending time in the wilderness.To allow yourself the to be part of the symphony of nature.This thread had grown so I will end for today,more on Ahimsa tomorrow.Again,we start here as it is a potent way for us to re-connect to what is really important in life.Our very lives and the inter-connectedness we have have to all else in the cosmos.Yes nature does have violent moments,on our earth and in the cosmos.It is man,however that alone carries an intent of violence towards other beings and the planet.A star fades and conditions have been set forth for this inevitability.A volcano occurs and we realize that the Earth moves and shifts and at times when conditions are right releases such action.The natural forces do not say,'mankind,hmmm,what assholes,lets wipe them out of this location!'If a motion is set an action will occur.Man on the other hand says,'Bears in Santa Fe,not on your life,let's shoot them.'Or wiping out entire species for our greed and material wants.We of Shadowscreamers realize that a world will not be possible soon for all progeny.We implement the first principle for everyone's edification to study and be,so a future on this tiny planet may be possible....Peace,T

bring it back T the fans have spoken............
April 18, 2010, 8:00 pm

Well T it looks like the fans have spoken and I feel the same way when time permits please bring back the Green Warrior series…… It was always this bands hope and aspiration on this site as well as with the band’s music to generate thought, compassion, knowledge, open dialog, input from our fans and to work tirelessly for the advancement of the human race and well being of the creatures and environments that we share this beautiful planet with. IT has always been our hope to incite conversation and ideas with our greatest asset and that is our fans. I am meeting with a producer this week sorry T I did not call this weekend it was a way busy one but I think things are finally going to start to move in the right direction for this band and I will give 110% towards that goal. We still have light years to go but I can’t help but smile to know that there are many others who are willing to help us and join us on this journey……………………….jon

the Earth....
April 17, 2010, 6:52 am

great points Jon.hey Jon,i wonder if i should bring back the Green Warrior series,as Earth Day is next week-what do you think?i was the faculty adviser for the group(actually just two amazing young women)that put on Earth Week at the school.we had to do it a week early as school vacation is next week.we have written so very much about the environment over the years here Jon.people need to be very mindful and understand that it is not just New Agers and the left speaking.the scientific community is well-freaked out by the dicoveries they have had in recent years,from polar ice cap melt to increased heavy metals in rivers and oceans(and the notorious,'hot spots')we are not well.Jon's post eludes to the 390 parts per mil of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.this has risen dramatically in the last 15 years.if we reach 450 parts per mil-we are at a non-turning back point. we simply must change or allow cataclysmic change to well-make a future that is dismal for our progeny.Jon how about if we bring back some of that and also add new stuff to it-what do you think?love you bro,T

Shit Bertha them commercials is the truth look how fancy they are!
April 16, 2010, 1:46 pm

I am humored by the reaction to the Volcano eruption in Iceland which is disrupting airline travel throughout Europe nobody likes to be unconvinced right? No I have not gone crazy but you can bet that thousands of those who are being inconvinced due to a Natural occurrence have no problem with the human race pouring billions of tons of poison into the atmosphere every year since the Industrial Revolution. This Volcano eruption will dissipate and be absorbed naturally by Mother Earth but how about what we are doing??? Our pollution is not a natural occurrence and Nature was not designed to absorb the filth we force on her. Eventually we are going to suffer consequences that cannot be absorbed by Mother Nature I am not a scientist but anyone with a grain of intelligence can see as this latest eruption proves too much of a bad thing is not good for the human race as far as Nature is concerned. By the way I just love the new ads by the oil industry and coal industry man those fuckers know how to produce some nice shit with all the fancy techniques that are available to the propaganda market these days. I give them credit for the fine tuned lies that they are duping so many idiots in this country with but man come on its like they have never made a mistake well except for the Tanker that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia recently ripping a two mile long and hundred yard gash through this extremely fragile ecosystem and natural wonder. Then we have the coal dudes who literally blow apart mountains in the Appalachians to get at the coal then put back the rock and left over crap which does not sustain natural re- growth. But give it to them they have them fancy high tech commercials and who would not want to believe the shit right………..jon

you are right Jon-again!
April 15, 2010, 6:41 am

you are so right my bro! there are many things the Catholic Church could do for the betterment of mankind;1)allow married and also woman Priests2)OPEN THE VAULTS AND GIVE BACK ALL THE STUFF YOU STOLE.didn't the early Christians share everything in common-hmmm,i will answer that question-yes!it was by definition a Social Democracy!3)allow protection for sex.the world is way over populated-these antiquated concepts simply need to go.4)instead of focusing so much attention on abortion,why not help to stop warfare and care for the folks that are here right now.5)admit when you are wrong and fully compensate those that have been affected.having said this you can never fully compensate for what you have done with sexual abuse as authorities.give over every Priest that abused to the law-stop hiding stuff and admit.if you were down to one member afterwards at least you would have tried to do the right thing.go back to your Mystical roots.stop the ridiculous hierarchy and listen to the sages of old,starting with Jesus and through the Desert Fathers and Mothers.none of this is in order;actually full admission is the first-have to run,more on this later.....peace,T

crazy world part 2
April 14, 2010, 12:16 pm

Man T after the Catholic church tried to dismiss the recent outrage over sex abuse by saying it’s just gossip then they tried to use the old we are being treated like those who suffer anti-Semitism. When those two bogus excuses were pushed aside they now are bringing out the they were gay card? and I Quote from Cardinal Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone “Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and pedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia, he said.�??????????????? I guess the sicko priests who molested girls didn’t realize they were gay until later or maybe they just didn’t understand what being gay means???????? not to mention the whole excuse is bullshit if it was not so heinous and sick this preying on children you would have to laugh at this instution which is so fucking far out of touch. At least they are consistent go poppa pope I hope you’re not gay and a little altar boy bends over in front of you then we might see you move fast for once you decrepit old man chasing that little boy with your gay urges hey. What a crazy fucking world man……………jon

great one Jon!
April 14, 2010, 6:44 am

hey Jon I didn't want to post over yesterday's thread-it was great(I love Chappell,the man is brilliant!).our current problem is not only greedy,opinionated republicans but also their prejudice as well.i am convinced that whatever Obama tries he will be met with angry white fat dudes whose best interest is really their own pockets.i read an article recently about a person that looks for structural change in the environment.he does a lot of traveling to Northern Europe.Direct quote,'it is amazing to see the how far we have fallen behind in the last 9 years,as far as cities looking dumpy,the inattention to the environment,the un-employement rate,etc,etc...'Okay so the problem is that these self same greedy republicans will tell you,'well we don't want social democracy like them fellas in Sweden,etc...'what they are really saying is they DO NOT WANT TO SHARE THEIR WEALTH'.so what is so wrong with Northern Europe,hmmm lets see;in every poll they are among the top five in happiness in the world,cradle to grave social welfare system,national health care,AND THEY ARE PROSPEROUS AS WELL!!!!this is what these idiots don't want you to know-it would be to threatening to the status quo.it is not that i am partisan,it is that i have watched,studied,read long enough to realize that the republican party and many dem's only want the status quo.with every change comes fear,if we are to really make it,we must change this antiquated system.i fully believe as stated before that social democracy is the only way we are going to make it.don't listen to fundamentalists(many that is)they will tell you the repub.party is the only way-you know the racist,money grubbing,watch the Nation go down the tube and enjoy their Hummer party-ya you know that one.my question to all you good Christians out there.what does this have to do with Jesus(they should be seperated/church and state,but you guys are the ones bringing up the co-joining all the time,well answer the question-what has this got to do with Christ(your party that is?i can go point by point all day with you!).peace,T

what a crazy assed world we live in man
April 12, 2010, 9:45 pm

Dave Chapelle did a skit on his “brilliant comedy show� a few years back. The premise of the skit was a black man who was blind and had grown up to be one of the leaders of the KKK. This was hilarious because nobody in the demented white folks KKK clan knew he was black because he wore the same silly white suit those cowards wear and thus nobody could tell!!!! In my mind it was a brilliant piece of work because it was a subtle way of showing the true reason for the perpetuation of bigotry and that is the passing from generation to generation of bigotry from father to son mother to daughter etc. Anyway I always wondered where Chapelle picked up the idea for this comedy sketch and then yesterday it hit me!!!!!He must have gotten the idea from the Republican National Committee Chairman “Michael Steele� Hey Michael do you know you are a black man?????????? Dude you know what party all the white bigoted assholes moved to when Democratic president Lynden Johnson signed the Civil rights Bill in 1964l????????? Those dudes ran to the republican party like rats from a sinking ship man. So How stupid does this Steele dude have to be to not realize that the republican party could give a shit about him or any minorities!!! He must not realize he is the poster boy for the word TOKEN???????? But then again maybe I am underestimating this dude he might just adhere to the old adage�keep your friends close and your enemies closer� I don’t think the dude is that smart…….. man this is one crazy ass world…………. who would have ever thought…………………..jon

interior excavating....
April 12, 2010, 9:16 am

i concur with Jon and our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and the country of Poland. i have had to do some interior excavating recently.back to the poet winds. should be on more,hope all is well with everyone.peace,T

what we could be man...........
April 10, 2010, 6:42 pm

I would like to extend our condolences from Shadow Screamers to the President of Poland his wife and all the others many who did not survive the plane crash this morning. I have to admit I did not know much about the man or his politics but from what I have seen so far he had the country headed in the right direction and I hope and pray that he has helped to pave the way for future generations. This human race has so much potential as President Lech Kaczynski from what I know showed. If we can one day pull together all the potential, inspiration, possibility, ideas, intelligence, love, inspiration and on and on if one day we could pull that all together and forget about all the other petty bullshit that seems to have a stralgle hold on our destiny then and only then.......... what a race the human race would be... what a race the human race would be……………..jon

achieve
April 9, 2010, 2:03 pm

I built up this castle to isolate what I chose to see yet as I stare into the silent desolation I wonder what became of me. I knew all the answers but it was the questions I did not see to me they seemed so simple but then on further observation I realized that blind eyes will never see. So I sit here contemplating planted deeply in the unknown and as I reach around for answers I’m left to ponder what went wrong……. I am left to ponder what went wrong………. So let this be a lesson or if you choose just let it be…………….. either way I hope your searching because it’s the only way great things can be achieved……..jon

I love how we play that song!
April 9, 2010, 8:24 am

oh man,they are in for a treat Jon.i love the version we do for that song(i love playing the bass line as well).Shot in the Dark is a killer tune and needs to be heard again.folks you are in for a treat-Jon and Bobbie are gonna knock your friggin socks off!peace,T

its getting near the time is comming man
April 8, 2010, 9:30 pm

Man what a practice session we had today!!!!!!!!!! I am thinking about taking my P.A. again to South Shores on Tuesday night and setting it up just for us, the sound right now is killin and we can definitely use this to our advantage. We worked out “Unchain my Heart� today and it is gonna kill on Tuesday but we will miss T and his Harmonica definitely. I also want to give “Shot in the Dark� a go it is upbeat and we can definitely handle it at this point and the good thing is that if the crowd is just kicking back then we will lay back too but we are still gonna give this song justice it needs to be heard. I hope we can practice on Monday that will set us up perfectly for Tuesday Night!!!!!!!!!!! things are going to start moving in a more positive direction for the band we have worked hard and it is time we started spreading out and turning on South Florida to the sound that is Shadow Screamers……………jon

we have to hop on that train man..............
April 8, 2010, 10:15 am

Well I am heading over to Bobbies to rehearse that was the plan we made Tuesday night when I dropped him off from the gig. I am anxious to add some new material to the set one cover “Unchain my Heart� by Ray Charles T does some killer harmonica work on this tune. The other two tunes are “Shot in the Dark� and right now I can’t remember the name of the other original but I guess I will have to figure this out when we start performing it live. I want to do these tunes next Tuesday night being that it is an open mike it is the perfect format to try out new material and we are going to do these tunes what is the worst that can happen??? Better not go there………………. but hey if you lose your edge and stay in the safe zone the music industry will pass you by and we are already running as fast as we can after that train picking up little scraps stumbling and bumbling along just trying to jump on board. hell I don’t care I will stand in the way back just get us on that train and then look the hell out everybody because once we get a break the sky is the limit for this band. I will give an update later today to let the fans know how everything went the site stats jumped up yesterday I guess it was all the cards we handed out to our new fans Tuesday night, hopefully they will tell a friend or two and keep on coming back…….jon

nice!
April 7, 2010, 6:46 pm

that is awesome Jon!it must have been great using another sound system for a change to as the pod has seen some mileage!Jon,and I have discussed things fans-not out of here-just lurking in the corner-chomping at the bit-until it is my turn again to lay the groove.sounds like a great gig.how was thursday night there?peace,T

somtimes you have to just keep on plugging away
April 7, 2010, 9:43 am

We are working with Kerins P.A. system now on Tuesday nights open mike with Shadow Screamers opening up and closing the show. The P.A is bigger and better than mine but last night during the first set our sound was thin and after three or four songs just when we were getting the crowd into it the sound started to break up and crackle. This is probably the worst thing that can happen to a performer because it can destroy the song the momentum and sometimes piss off the audience. We tried to go on but had to bail out of the first set to check out the system as things did not get better. Kerin and Jeff an excellent drummer and good guy worked on the P.A. and figured out the problem it was a couple of bad chords. We did not get back on to the stage until the end of the night as usual because we close out the evening. By then the sound problems had been solved and the sound was killer I had let Kerin use my guitar while he did his set and it was dialed in. As I have said many times before when you just have two players like we do the sound has to be full and in your face and it was. There was still a good crowd some younger people were there and as we lit into our last set I could see that they were digging it. Nothing gets you going like a good crowd so I was jumping around and letting it loose like I have not done in a few weeks and the crowd loved it a couple of young dudes came up to the stage and bowed to us a few times and that to me is the ultimate compliment and I thank them it does not get much better than that. As a professional musician I believe you have to work thru all the problems and situations that inevitably crop up I did not due this last week as I stated in my entry but this for me is very rare. I consider it a privilege to perform and that we are obligated to give those who take the time to come and see us 110% on every song. Last night I knew before we even went up on stage to close out the evening I was not going to let anything stop us from a kick ass set as long as the sound was good and it was and we killed. Thanks to all the fans old and new (we handed out quite a few business cards) all I can say is pass the word about this band and our web site and feel free to come on back next week and bring a friend or two we will make it worth their time and yours I promise......jon

moving on fans
April 4, 2010, 7:24 pm

I am going to pick up a bass player that is my main goal after hearing several bands at the open mike and T is up in Maine so life has to go on hopefully he will add his comments when he is able, but I can no longer wait and see because I am after all these years starting to realize the bizarre reality and impossibility of my ever making it in the first place even with t on board and the incredible talent that surrounds us by the way this has not happened unfortunately and would be ideal but it aint gonna happen! So while I can still give it my all I have to move on . Any bass player in the area please feel free to come to South Shores Tavern on Tuesday night and check us out we can make this happen I am going to put on a show after my embarrassment from last week I promise and I am going to move on from here the best that I can……………jon

boy did I blow it.........
April 1, 2010, 11:57 am

When I crash and burn I don’t go halfway I do it with the best of them and Tuesday night at South Sores Tavern I did quite a job. I had decided to use my Marshall amp again for my guitar but I did not have time to mike it through the system. I have been playing thru our P.A. system which spreads out the guitar and gives a much bigger sound and being that the band right now is just guitar, voice and drums we need as much sound as possible to compensate. We have been complimented constantly about our full sound. As we started our set I knew that I had blown it and the sound was thin this made me a little insecure so I was distracted trying to figure out how to make it better and this never happened. So to tell the Truth I was in a pissy mood . To make matters worse I heard from someone off the stage in between songs who said that there were a few people in the audience who had come to see us because they thought that we had been playing to loud on Tuesday nights even though we start at 8pm and the gig is over by eleven and as I said THE BAND IS JUST ME AN ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC GUITAR MY VOICE AND BOBBIES ELECTRONIC DRUMS HOW MUCH FUCKING SOUND CAN WE BE MAKING??????Something in me snapped and I said to myself FUCK IT so I stepped back from the mike wandered around the stage singing the next song to a pole which holds up the stage turning my back to the audience and basically making a fool of myself. In my defense we have helped to take Tuesday night from a dead zone and have made it one of the most profitable nights of the week. Asking nothing in return using my P.A. most of the time to do this open mike with us as the headliners and now they are telling me to turn down??????? I have been at South shores other nights of the week when they have had full bands that were so loud that I ended up leaving because my ears were bleeding???????? Anyway after a few more songs I just said the hell with it and we left the stage in my mind it was the last straw nothing was working very unprofessional and diva like I must say. Needless to say we did not make any new fans that night but before I left later on for the evening one guy came up to me and while looking me in the eyes said how much he has enjoyed the band and our music over the last few months he has been coming to see us. I could tell that he was not bullshitting he really meant it and for a performer it is the best kind of compliment and priceless and frankly amongst the embarrassment of the evening it made what was left of the night. I manned up the next day and called everyone to apologize and we will return next Tuesday and we are going to kick ass if they want us to turn down then we will nothing is going to stop this train baby……….jon

dont believe my last 2 posts happen then take your head out of da sand n shove it up your ass...
March 30, 2010, 2:16 pm

Mommy why does Sally go to the doctor all the time from her bad heart problem but I hardly ever see a doctor? I have the same problem? Well honey Sally’s parents probably have a good health insurance plan and your father and I can’t afford one. Does that mean I am going to die Mommy I don’t want to die. Well honey I hope that now Mr. Obama signed that paper that says every child deserves health care no matter how sick they are I hope and pray that you to will get to see a doctor just as much as Sally. But Mommy aren’t we the best country in the world I don’t understand why we don’t take care of all the kids………….jon

hate 101
March 29, 2010, 3:49 pm

Someone at school said they hated me today daddy I don’t even know this boy so why would he say that to me? Well son are you different than this boy? Yes daddy but what does that have to do with it? Well son if I told you over and over again to hate something or someone who was different then you do you think you would hate them to? I sure would dad because I know you are always right so I would hate them because I want to be just like you when I grow up Daddy…………………njo

the universe on your fork....
March 27, 2010, 6:58 am

oftentimes in the summer i will rest on my hoe,looking towards the distant hills in wonder.i have a large organic garden in the summer and feel so very grateful to have this opportunity.it always amazes me that when i plant one bean,i get such a yield!do i do the same? a kind word,a kind gesture,is that food enough for the day for others?oh,to be the tiny bean and yield so very much for all! we live in an interconnected,interpenetrating universe.when we eat we not only eat the produce but also;the sun,the rain,the soil,the compost which is comprised of many other beings-if not grown in your backyard we also eat oil and gas sweat and blood and ours and others consciousness.we also eat stardust that came to formulate this world,this galaxy.it is no wonder that traditions around the world pray before eating-the ENTIRE UNIVERSE is on your fork,how Sacred! when i eat i feel so very grateful to have this opportunity.how sad i feel that 40,000 will again not have this opportunity today and will die today because of it.i say a prayer for them;my prayer,my tears and saliva mix.the universe is within me-i am within the universe. peace be with you,T

We might have found a legitimate producer
March 26, 2010, 9:13 am

There are going to be some changes in the Shadow Screamers band. We have a guy interested In us who supposedly an produce I talked to him on Tuesday night and he had some good ideas. Penny our manager and I are going to meet with him in the next week or so to see what we can work out. I will keep everyone updated as other things are going on to so tune back in and keep us on your favorites you never know what is going to happen or be said with this band but it all comes from the heart…….jon

Are you fucking kidding me?????????????
March 25, 2010, 8:58 am

Let me try to understand this……. The same people who watched the Bush Administration give Osama Bin Laden a free pass escaping into the hills of Afghanistan, started a war which sent almost 5,000 men and women soldiers to their deaths and Iraq will return to the way they have been living for the last couple of thousand years after we leave if you look at the history of this county, Made the rich in Amerika richer than ever before with their tax breaks and perks meanwhile the working class lost big time, systematically started stripping our civil rights (this site was shut down hundreds of times during his reign never was before and has not been since he left office that my friends is a fact go back at look at what we were saying). Gave the banks and wall street a free pass to rape and pillage Amierika but the democrats also share some guilt with this. Flew over one of the worst humanitarian disasters in Amerikan history to party in L.A. then mismanaged the rebuilding and relief in biblically inadequate proportions. Let alkeida rebuild and get stronger because we did not go full force into Afghanistan and eradicate them when we had the world behind us after 9-11. Destroyed our image around the world and sold us to China. These same idiots are now threatening and acting out in violence against Democrat Senators for passing a Health care bill( which by the way still has over two hundred amendments and revisions to be voted on many presented by Republicans?) Hey moron Amerika this is only a start this is not the final bill. This proves to me that per capita we are the most ignorant, misinformed, bigoted, self-centered country on the planet anyone that can provide me with a rational argument that I am off base the fan journal is open for rational arguments. I am not Democrat or Republican I am for anyone who is the best qualified, intelligent (sorry junior bush) and understands and stands up for the middle and lower class the real and undisputed backbone of this fucking country. One more thing hey John McCain why don’t you and your fucking millionaire wife figure out how many houses you have( a question you could not answer during the presidential campaign) before you go telling real hard working Americans what the fuck you think is best for them that goes for all the other rich white assholes in congress from each party……………..jon

lots of stuff!
March 24, 2010, 7:50 am

you know what pisses me off Jon? the republicans were given plenty and ample time to respond or create their own policy.so what did they do? they waited until the 11th hour and then said,'oh well,let's go back to the drawing board'.that is totally in-exusable! sorry McCain the people are pissed(or should be with you)you bitter old man! okay on to the pope-first off,this dude should not be the pope(very political process).one of the dudes that was next in line was way cool.he was going to lead the church back to contemplative practice and inter-religious dialogue.this guy looks like he put the gag order on the most in-excusable crime in history(the knowing abuse of children by people in power).then he has the audacity after the letter to do the weekly Homily on forgiveness and non judging.okay good message but not when you don't take responsibility for your actions with something so heinous.so as a Catholic(still don't know how i was led here)i would recommend the following:the pope needs to step down and let that cool dude step in-the allowing of married priests(this would widen the pool of clergy)-the allowing of women priests-the allowing of gay marriage-open the coffers and pay all that stolen shit to abuse survivors-work way more on stopping war than abortion efforts(what about young we are sending to war)-let women speak for themselves(i am so tired of these old white dudes saying what is right for women)-have to run sadly and there is so much more to write on this.i did not support rat-head in the first place.dudes the Church must reform we are talking about a million people leaving in europe due to the latest scandal-wake up dudes!!!!peace,T

one more thing about my comment below this one
March 23, 2010, 9:35 am

I forgot to mention that the scumbags that perpetrated these heinous acts and the scum that covered it up and moved them around need to be prosecuted to the FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!jon

my letter to the pope
March 23, 2010, 9:25 am

Hey Poppa Pope nice letter but when are you going to take full responsibility???????? face it dude every country where your religion is established has had pedophiles preying on young innocent human beings for ever so why don’t you just spend some of the untold billions you have locked up in the Vatican to do a legitimate investigation and then open up the greedy little hands that hold this ill begotten wealth and give each and every victim restitution. This will not in the ease the pain, humiliation, agony of these horrendous acts but it is better the just ignoring your responsibility you were not involved with the problem hopefully but you are the man in charge now and like they say the buck stops here dude so just do the right thing man……………jon

navigation
March 22, 2010, 8:28 am

Just to set the record straight my family is lucky enough to have a pretty good health care plan it is not cheap but without it we would have been in serious financial trouble more than once. Years ago when I was working for myself I never carried health insurance because I could not afford it I was lucky I never needed it now those who are self-employed will have an opportunity to have health insurance if they are not so lucky and need it they will not lose everything. If my premiums do go up then we will bite the bullet and pay them because nobody in this country should not be covered we are the only industrialized country on the planet that did not have universal health care until now. Just my two cents worth I know there are millions of stories out there from people who were not as lucky as I was and am now they are closer to having one less thing to worry about as they navigate through life’s ups and downs…………jon

Modern day Slavery
March 21, 2010, 12:37 pm

I was fucking shocked to pick up the paper this morning and read an article on modern day slavery. Let me give you some numbers 14,000 to 17,000 foreign nationals are brought into the United States every year and forced into slavery. 200,000 American children are at risk for trafficking in the sex industry. 32 billion is the estimate in total yearly profits. 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and 70% of them are females. 50% are transitional victims who are children. 1 million children are exploited by the global commercial sex trade every year. 12- 14 is the average age of entry into prostitution………I am disgusted in myself for not having a clue about this and further by the fact that I don’t know what the hell to do about it but I need to do something how can I look into a mirror if I dont………….jon

my bad fans
March 20, 2010, 8:51 am

My bad when I said yesterday we had hundreds of fans across the planet I was wrong I just checked our web stats and so far this year we have had almost 3,000 visits to the site and almost 17,000 hits not bad for an out of date band………jon

Thank you for the wake up call
March 19, 2010, 1:01 pm

Thank you “Get Real� for your comment we appreciate all those who choose to take the time to post and we will never delete any comment. I would like to say that if you are local I invite you to come see us live at South Shores Tavern this Tuesday night and take in the show. This will give you an opportunity to see us and the crowd reaction then you will be able to make an honest judgment as to whether or not our music is relevant. If you are not local I promise you that I will record the next couple of practices and post them so that maybe the hundreds of fans across the planet can vote weather we are relevant with our current sound. I am not afraid to put it all on the line and let the fans decide after all if this does not work out then it will be a much needed wake up call for this band and our current direction…………..jon

please don't be a troll....
March 19, 2010, 9:29 am

Get Real-thank you brother or sister!your input like everyone else is valued here. now having checked out what you have relegated to,'outdated' have you read deep into the journal? if you have not, give it a chance. you might have a limited scope in music as well.my encouragement to you is to broaden your scope. try not so hard to be a faceless troll on the internet and understand people's work and where they come from before making a comment in the future.i say this for your benefit-you are better than a troll-so be it.peace,T

last nights jam and other stuff
March 17, 2010, 9:40 am

Well Last night at South Shores Tavern was not one of our better nights as far as Shadow Screamers performance. Everyone I talked to said we sounded good but when you are in a band and have played the same venue as many times as Bobby and I have the last couple of years you know when you are having an off night. So even though most of the people listening thought we sounded great Bobby and me never got into that space where we are almost one living breathing unit. I tried to talk to Bobby to see what the problem might be but he was tight lipped so I hope everything is ok for him. Bobby and I tend to keep things to ourselves which may seem hard to believe considering how much time we spend together but we are two completely different personalities it is the music that bonds us in complete harmony when we are in the groove. Outside of the music we have different lives and interests and I guess when you think about it this probably happens all the time with bands this is not to say I would not do anything possible to help Bobby if he needed it and I know he would do the same for me but when we are not practicing or playing we basically do our own things. However when we are on tour I am sure we will spend more time together as we travel it’s not like we don’t like each other it's just now with him living 35 minutes away I m not able to just drop in and hang our schedules just won’t allow for this when we are together we are either practicing or we are doing a gig. Speaking of practicing I am going to record our next practice and put up some of the music so we can let you our fans across the planet judge how we sound so stay tuned and come on back. On a different and exciting note T is once again adding his voice with his schedule I don’t know how but I sure as hell am glad that he is so please by all means check out his entries they are worth the time………….jon

YES WE CAN........YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!
March 15, 2010, 9:23 am

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW WHEN A FEW STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THE IMPOSBIBLE LET US NOT FORGET THAT WE CAN STILL ACCOMPLISH THE IMPOSSIBLE TODAY IF WE CHOOSE TO STAND UP.....................Bloody Sunday, Selma, Alabama, (March 7, 1965) Back to Online Encyclopedia Index Between 1961 and 1964, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had led a voting registration campaign in Selma, the seat of Dallas County, Alabama, a small town with a record of consistent resistance to black voting. When SNCC’s efforts were frustrated by stiff resistance from the county law enforcement officials, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) were persuaded by local activists to make Selma’s intransigence to black voting a national concern. SCLC also hoped to use the momentum of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to win federal protection for a voting rights statute. During January and February, 1965, King and SCLC led a series of demonstrations to the Dallas County courthouse. On February 17, protester Jimmy Lee Jackson was fatally shot by an Alabama state trooper. In response, a protest march from Selma to Montgomery was scheduled for March 7. Six hundred marchers assembled in Selma on Sunday, March 7, and, led by SNCC and SCLC, crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River en route to Montgomery. Just short of the bridge, they found their way blocked by Alabama State troopers and local police who ordered them to turn around. When the protesters refused, the officers shot teargas and waded into the crowd, beating the nonviolent protesters with billy clubs and ultimately hospitalizing over fifty people. “Bloody Sunday� was televised around the world. Martin Luther King called for civil rights supporters to come to Selma for a second march. When members of Congress pressured him to restrain the march until a court could rule on whether the protesters deserved federal protection, King found himself torn between their requests for patience and demands of the movement activists pouring into Selma. King, still conflicted, led the second protest on March 9 but turned it around at the same bridge. King’s actions exacerbated the tension between SCLC and the more militant SNCC, who were pushing for more radical tactics that would move from nonviolent protest to win reforms to active opposition to racist institutions. On March 21, the final successful march began with federal protection, and on August 6, 1965, the federal Voting Rights Act was passed, completing the process that King had hoped for. Yet Bloody Sunday was about more than winning a federal act; it highlighted the political pressures King was negotiating at the time, between movement radicalism and federal calls for restraint, as well as the tensions between SCLC and SNCC.................................I also want to apologize to Bobby for a bad practice Saturday I over indulged and we were not able to get into a groove my bad and it wont happen again........jon

Shaman of Sound 4
March 14, 2010, 7:12 am

if you are worried about flight,than your flight will be worried.having done the requisite hours of practicing scales chords,solo playing,band playing.to get to the next level,the Shaman of Sound must let go while soloing.to have the honor of a solo is to have the opportunity to send a maiden piece into the universe. what you create is a new work of art.it is you beneath the veneer of the craft of musicianship. to be you,you cannot be thinking about chords to substitute,notes to play that will be a good counterpoint to the line you just threw to the universe.to be a Shaman of Sound you must transcend theory and indeed knowledge.you must be the instrument and in doing so the mechanics are an extension of your soul.how do you get there a young musician might ask?as stated above,like any craft you must first learn your instrument and also your relationship to the instrument on both a soul level and a mechanical level.let me give you an example.for me the bass has always felt like Mother Earth and the guitar Father Sky. so when we play,in a very spiritual sense Jon and i through our uncanny relationship are connecting heaven and earth-it just feels this way to me,like Native drummers that connect the drum(earth)with high soaring vocals(heaven/sky).now on the mechanical level,for a big guy i have somewhat small fingers.i do not have gi-normous hands like Jimi and Jaco did.so i have to make do and understand my strengths and limitations.doing so,once i have learned my scales,chords and played enough with enough people i have a pretty in depth view of my instrument and my relationship to it.so i remember way back,consciously breaking myself from thinking about chords and scales. the way to do this is to listen very deeply to the music.feel the soul of this creative piece as it extends into the universe.doing so,then you can,'feel' into the piece and allow yourself to be free within it-as you in relationship to the piece.this is very deep stuff to consider,but i feel necessary in order to be a Shaman of Sound.as i listen to modern music and what the industry and economy have done to it(more on that later)i do not hear that truly soul voice springing forth from the radio/cd.this must change to break our sound/soul from mediocrity. must run-more later.Jon wonderful post and yes,you are right we literally have albums worth of material....peace,T

Not while I am breathing..........
March 12, 2010, 2:05 pm

I want to thank the fans who have posted in the fan journal from the bottom of my heart it does take some effort but if we did not have the sign in we would be inundated with spam a sad bit of cyber reality but from the bottom of my heart it makes my day. I understand the one comment to enjoy where you are because it is progress but truth be told I have been in the same place for a few years now. This is my fault because I could not sell water to a desert country it is not who I am and I have not been able to find the missing piece that can get us to the next level. All T and I want is to be able to tour and make records the rest of the bullshit we could care less about as long as we can support ourselves and live a comfortable existence then the rest will be given back to help others. And we will spend every spare waking moment while on tour giving time to the benefit of humanity visiting homeless shelters, children’s hospitals, Schools anywhere and everywhere we can use whatever fame is???? to help the progression of the human species. Today I have time to write because Bobby and I were supposed to practice today but I have not heard from him so he must be working however a phone call would have been good because I want to add new material and expand our set list. T and I have literally dozens and dozens of tunes that are just waiting to be laid down and many are better than anything that we have up on the site. This is extremely frustrating because now that I know that people like what we are doing our music is validated and I cannot wait to show the fans just how versatile and intense some of our music is. No matter what your occupation you can never stand pat in complacency or you will surely be consumed by apathy and indifference and those two words will never be associated with this band as long as I am still breathing…………….jon

whoops!
March 11, 2010, 11:37 am

sorry bro just posted over your post.fans please check out Jon's entry today.peace,T

great song!
March 11, 2010, 11:35 am

thank you,thank you! and yes Windows is a killer tune.i love the way we play that song.we are not on the ground as you say-we are prepared to take off and fly that is for sure.thank you for the feedback! peace,T

Hey we rocked according to the fans who saw us.........
March 11, 2010, 11:05 am

I don’t think there is a drug on the planet that can give you the Same high as a killer gig for me. I am not going into details but I do know one or two things about drugs thru the years (something I am not proud of and is not a problem now) but Tuesday night at South Shores was a killer high. When we pulled up to the gig it looked like it was going to be another so-so night not many people and with the tough times in South Florida we did not expect much. As we were setting up people started coming in and by the time we went on stage we had one of the biggest crowds we have had in years.. Bobby and I had some issues we were dealing with as you always do when you are in a band which is like being in a family but we resolved them before the night started and we ripped into our set and judging by the crowd response we did very well. Several other musicians got up and played and the open mike was a definite success. Bobby and me close out the evening with a set and we KILLED!!!!!!!!!!! I can say this with confidence because the crowd that was there wanted us to keep playing all night. As I have said may times before I only put into the journal what I think has happened thru the course of the evening and if you go back you will see several entries where I thought we sucked but Tuesday night we fucking rocked…………….jon

Learning to fly..............
March 8, 2010, 4:47 pm

We got to the gig on Saturday about an hour before we were to go on. This gave me time to meet the organizers and most importantly to meet with the sound guys. This is high up on my list of things to do when you are playing at an unfamiliar gig with someone else handling the sound. You can put on the greatest show of your life but if the sound is not happening it can destroy everything. I usually offer to buy them refreshments and chat with them not to kiss ass but to let them know that they are in many ways the most important part of any good show. We don’t often work with stage monitors which they had set up so it was a nice bonus to hear ourselves on the stage. I had some problems with my guitar and amp which pissed me off because I made a point to set up my system earlier in the day to make sure everything was sounding good this is not to hard because I just use my guitar, my Martin amp and sonic waves of sound that are created by my manipulating and pounding on my poor guitar I break lots of strings. I fixed the glitch and we lit into the set playing for about forty five minutes and by all accounts the sound was better than we could have asked for and the crowd response was awesome!!!!!!. We played mostly originals with a few covers mixed in and I think we got the best response from our original material this is a great compliment being that we were playing at a church fair and I was not sure how the crowd would react to City of the Angels and Morning Sentinel. After the set several members of the other bands came up and gave us compliments and this was like the icing on the cake. This gig proved to me once again that we can play any venue under any circumstance and pull it off if we work hard and put our minds into it. Have to run but please read Ts latest entry below on his series it is great having him post again I am sure that everyone agrees we just need to find a way to get him down here so that we can really fly……………..Jon

Shaman of Sound 3....
March 8, 2010, 8:41 am

you might be curious in this series why i don't mention at all technique. technique is for you to find my friend.there are thousands of websites devoted to learning how to play-that many more books devoted to this topic.in many ways technique is the easiest. like in martial arts,you can learn a strike,a throw,but do you know the underlying principles of the system?so our examination in this series is more about the principles that MIGHT lead to a Shaman of Sound.i say this because i know many players that are so caught up on the latest new technique they forget something quite obvious but vitally important-their voice.Miles Davis could not play as fast of as Wynton but for the love of life i would hang on each of his notes like like a rare gift-treasured forever! Wynton-just doesn't have the same feeling with his music.so our topic today and i am so glad Miles sort of sprung up-is silence.to be a Shaman of Sound you must relish and be comfortable with silence.the safest way to do this is meditation. find two brief times(initially)in your day to meditate.why? Miles really understood that it was the silence between the notes that made the music.a well-measured phrase has space and silence to juxtapose notes that spring from a mind that is not afraid to be still.it takes courage my friends!many want to fill their solos with as many notes as possible-kind of like a close out sale where you can buy all you want in a certain amount of time for a certain amount of money.thinking this way will only busy up your music.it will feel like a solid brick traveling in space as opposed to a melodic line that drifts in and out of the different levels of consciousness. so today-find time to be still and learn gradually to be comfortable in stillness.there are many techniques for meditation here on this site over the years or search your own.what you do in life will have meaning if it comes from you my friend.so your meditation must be your practice,more on this series tomorrow-have a great day! peace,T

Shaman of Sound 2....
March 7, 2010, 8:12 am

so how does one approach this aspect of music?how does one become a Shaman of Sound?at the bare minimum one must first stop talking so much and listen.listen to barely audible noises like water retracting from mud.an insect walking.a hummingbird from twenty paces.incorporate into your instrument this very soft sound.listen to the very audible-trucks passing highways,shaking windows.bombs exploding,etc...incorporate this into your instrument.listen very carefully to your own emotions,incorporate a broken heart,sadness,anger,etc...into your play on your instrument.listen,listen,until you one day become....a listener-more on this multiple part series,tomorrow.peace,T

Shaman of Sound....
March 6, 2010, 9:55 am

there was a lively debate on youtube under Jimi's version of Johnny B. Good at Berkeley which in my estimation is the greatest version of all time and arguably one of the greatest r&b live performances ever.now the debate was weather Hendrix played the way he did just because of the acid(i know age old argument)? Michael 1 I believe is closer to the issue in calling Jimi a Shaman of music with his genetic makeup and his ability to touch upon the un-knowable within those Wonderful Traditions.the other thing to consider ontop of this almost Shaman approach to playing is that Jimi was very sensitive in an incredibly sensitive time period in U.S history.when he did machine gun at the fillmore for instance(arguably the greatest performance on any instrument of all time)Chicago,Detroit were in trouble as people went to the street against the vast injustices this country opperated under for so long.The vietnam war and protests were peeking in intensity.so what makes Jimi's performance stellar and how does it relate to this.he was doing a sort of auditory protest.the sounds of bombs exploding,machine guns,people screaming and crying as well as his potent lyrics(which are always under-rated,don't know why).maybe Michael 1 is correct as I have long suspected the same things weather you want to call it musical shamanism or whatever-Jimi had the ability to touch on the times and express it directly on his guitar and through sound.this auditory protest is usually given over to the trite and demeaning aspect of drug use at the time.what is forgotten is the copious hours of practice,Jimi's playing on the Chitlin circuit with the likes of Little Richard and the Isley Brothers,etc...he used to even sleep with his guitar at times.this unusal connectedness with an instrument,his sensitivity and his ability to part the veil to the ,'beyond' made Jimi who he was.to totally deflate the drug argument.there were many that did drugs in the 60's,many more than Jimi-CAN THEY PLAY LIKE JIMI-NO $%#^&*( WAY!!!!i will write more on this tomorrow-must run.i will say that of all the players out there today,my brother Jon is the only one that plays with the sensitivity i have yearned to hear since Jimi's passing!peace,T

common ground
March 5, 2010, 4:27 pm

Why can’t we as a society seek common ground? Is the divide too far and wide to conquer, has ignorance and intolerance driven the dagger of immovability to deep? What is it about this curious species called humanity that sends us on a continual path of self destruction while we hold all the cards? Intelligence, imagination, love, speech, compassion, reason, tolerance, free will just to name a few……….. Are we not the most intelligent life form on the planet ? do we not hold the keys to a better future in our hands? Nature rules and dictates the conditions that we live in yet with our help we are turning the natural balance against us. Why are we still in a slumber is there not a time when we can embrace the writing on the wall?????? Why is it that we are unable to and join together as we have so many times before and work towards a world where we all can enjoy the riches that lay waiting yet wasting away on the plane of common ground…………Jon

food....
March 5, 2010, 6:34 am

okay so i was listening to NPR yesterday and they had a speaker(will look up his name)talking about the worldwide agricultural crisis.it was so liberating hearing him speak and confirming the many things we have written about over the years;the 'hooking up' of the indigenous world to supposedly make their lives better when in actuality it has made it much,much worse(what i have been calling here-to steal a biology term-Monoculturalism).he also talked about the so called,'green revolution' which has actually hurt indigenous farmers and forced them out of business as huge agricultural farms have taken over.my pessimism of Bill Gates was again confirmed.he and the agricultural evil empire(del-santo)developed drought resistant corn supposedly for free-when actually both make profits out of the endeavor.these crops by the way-CANNOT WORK UNDER ALL CONDITIONS IN FACT THEY DON'T WORK AT ALL UNLESS THERE IS A DROUGHT! so imagine being a poor farmer receiving this seed and then a normal year happens-she/he will get no yield-thereby being dependent on big agriculture to provide food at four times the cost!he also spoke eloquently about another issue i have talked about for years.our seed deposits are molding and decaying.by relying on one or two varieties we put ourselves at signifigant risk of a disaster! we will and must turn to indeginous farmers for heirloom seeds.must run-but more on this later.WE MUST YELL FROM THE ENTIRE GLOBE TO CHANGE THE PICTURE.or we are in big,big trouble folks.peace,T

Hey T Great entry below mine you are right on about the little white piggies and there self -indulgent party.........
March 4, 2010, 9:33 pm

Hey T its good to get pissed off now and then with so much at stake and the bullshit that is being spewed........jon

here we go again....
March 4, 2010, 6:38 am

That was wonderful Jon-great story and resolution.It made my day! Okay now onto something darker.Yesterday the Republicans have said they will try anything to stop this Health Care reform-calling it toxic.We talked the other day about forming your view.my view has been formed watching self interested fat white politicians-labeled Republicans destroy-yes destroy Democracy and this great country.They claim in the latest to speak for the people.Excuse me gentleman,even in my small world I have many,many contacts-with their subsequent contacts.soon the small develops into the large if you follow.Okay-everyone wants Health Care reform you fat bloated trogoladites!!!!hOW DARE YOU SPEAK FOR THE PEOPLE WHEN YOU AS FAT-ASSED POLITICIANS WILL NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HEALTH CARE! HOW MANY OF YOU WILL HAVE TO BRING CHANGE TO THE COUNTER AS ELDERLY AND MAKE A DECISION WHICH MEDICINE TO BUY THIS MONTH(AS I HAVE SEEN WITH MY OWN EYES).THE COUN TLESS POOR WITHOUT HEALTH CARE WORKING 1,2,3 DEAD END JOBS WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND BARELY MAKING ENDS MEET.I AM SO TIRED OF THE HYPOCRACY AND BULLSHIT.now forming my view throughout my life i am fed up with rep.and dem's-so i veered to the green's but even they don't go far enough.i am looking for a party that looks at sustainability of this species-so we can actually make it.Social Democracy is the best bet in my mind-pissed off today at those dudes!!!!peace,T

tolerance
March 3, 2010, 2:14 pm

Well last night was interesting but not for the reasons I expected it to be. Bobby and me started out the first set after a two week layoff and picked up right where we left off. We blazed thru ten songs and judging by the crowd response we did a good job. It amazes me that Bobby can do the things he chooses to do yet we still are connected and his energy is right there. As we were playing Shawn who T knows was setting up his stuff for his performance so he was up and down off the stage doing his thing but it was not much of a distraction as he was scurrying about. Shawn has some issues I am not sure what but he definitely is struggling with some mental issues which is ok I have know him for a couple of years and he has a good core so what can you say. Last night though he seemed to be angry and he made some comments venting at me which is ok because again I understand he has issues however he started going off on another musician friend of mine to the point where I thought there was going to be punches thrown so I stepped in and got them to cool off. Unfortunately Shawn could never find peace he kept up with his negative comments and disruptive behavior. He ended up getting the act that was playing before we had our last set to say they could not deal with the negative energy so they packed up and called it a night. As bobby and me were getting up on stage Shawn announced that he was going to play lead guitar with us he is a good metal guitarist but not to good at sitting in on original music. I let him play with us he was only loud enough for us to hear and I did not want the night to end in another battle. We ripped into the set and after two songs Shawn realized that it was not working to put it mildly and if his intention was to fluster me or freak me out that was not working either so he stopped and left the stage. Meanwhile we ripped into another song and finished a scorching set. I say this with confidence because the audience at that point was several musicians and they took the time to thank us for the set and the performance this is the ultimate compliment for a fellow musician. In one more bizarre twist Shawn was recording the whole thing with his video recorder so maybe we will have some new video to put up on the site. He said he was going to check it out so I guess the moral of this tale is tolerance are we listening in Washington???????jon

important to listen....
March 2, 2010, 6:17 am

the above needs to be re-iterated.many ask how we stay so well informed.simple,always listening.Jon has laid down the gauntlet for upcoming generations-it is very important to study multiple views before coming to your own conclusions.it doesn't just stop at politics,this is good advice for any endeavor! among my friends i have ultra liberals(like myself),moderates,ultra-conservatives,etc,etc....it is always good to hear their view and why they think the way they do.does it radically alter my view-sometimes.most of the time it is a respectful listening and understanding.on a different note entirely-i have a couple of tunes,that i would like to work on-Jon you want to work on it via e-mail?peace to you all,T

can you feel time?
February 28, 2010, 6:55 am

slow pendulum,heart beat vibration.can we feel time?what would it be like for an immortal to become mortal.there would probably be an instant where the time of this short travel would be felt,a time of great pain.can we feel time?we see this face in the mirror every day-not much change,yet those that have not seen us for years,see it so easily.time can we feel it,the slow pendulum that is a mere wink to a boulder.we move,we eat,we talk,we shit-what do we REALLY DO! that is one question everyone must answer.times crush is felt when your heart enjoys what you do and there is so little of it(time)peace,T....

your/my breath....
February 27, 2010, 12:23 pm

what is the difference between your breath and mine?a universe will set us apart in life,yet as we lay dying,the same out breath and noise will occur.your breath is moisture,creating clouds and weather systems.your breath is billowed thought across membranes in the ear.your breath is the coo of a mother to a child,and the rant of a murderer.what is the difference between your breath and mine?in the end we shall mimic the cosmos,breathing out,to create yet again!peace,T

Open Apology....
February 26, 2010, 9:26 am

You may wonder why I have not posted as much as of late. For this I apologize to everyone and foremost my brother Jon.Most of the time,I would consider myself an optimist.There are times,however of late this has not been so.Though the great wheel has not changed much-I am seeing outside of this.After all who am I to be negative to be a pessimist? In doing so,I fight my own nature.This post today serves as a general apology.More posts of my traditional nature will be upcoming.I hope you enjoy them?peace,T

solo....
February 25, 2010, 10:39 am

Jon that is fantastic! For those that don't know,Jon easily does solo performances with the same fire,passion,and great playing and energy he does with other players.We had a humble start Jon and I,playing so many years ago for quarters in San.Fran. Jon on guitar,me on harmonica.The heart and soul of this band is my bro-Jon!peace,T

we are who we choose to be
February 24, 2010, 9:03 pm

I was on my way to pick up Bobbie last night for our Tuesday night gig at South Shores Tavern Bobby called me before I got to his house to tell me that he was not going to make the gig. Apparently he was in Orlando or Miami in other words he might as well have been on the moon he was not going to make the gig. Having known Bobbie for awhile now I was not surprised and really not even mad that he did not take the time to call me earlier in the day to let me know so that I could make other plans but That is who Bobby is he lives for the moment in his own world. I decided to do the gig by myself so I headed off to South Shores set up the P.A. and played a few tunes and it went really well I was even able to jam with some of the other musicians who were there for the open mike. In the end it turned out to be a great night and It gave me a boost of confidence to be able to play solo it had been awhile since my last solo gig. This will surely happen again with Bobby because that is who he chooses to be but Shadow Screamers is going to keep moving ahead and who knows maybe one day I will move on and not look back at who is left behind because that is who I will choose to be……..jon

time is wasted?????
February 23, 2010, 4:00 pm

So who is gonna stand?????? who will fall????? These are the days of incredible potential laid before us in this most divided of countries the united states of amerika. How and why did we let it go this far???? We are to blame and we are responsible for the mess we have laid before our children’s feet. Yet we can make things better we can meet on common ground yet we still don’t know who will stand and who will fall……..jno

dreams
February 22, 2010, 8:19 pm

gazing thru hazy windows as they shatter like my broken past I fly upon the wings of angels letting go of thoughts I cannot grasp. wisdom, insight, a peace in my heart evade me as I desperately try to make sense of this disconnected world I live in. Am I that far off the pace or did I never find the point where I should start. Time is a speck in my mind as yesterday crawls away and tomorrow slams into the creeping dawn full of endless possibilities, potential lies naked before my eyes tempting me with visions of grandeur and conquest fulfilling all the empty promise that I fabricate in my dreams over and over again…………jon

valid
February 21, 2010, 3:09 pm

I am just a cog in the wheel of humanity but none the less I do exist and I do have a voice. I am a cog in the wheel of humanity but my opinion is valid in that I have taken the time to use my mind and voice it. Are you taking the time?????????noj

times will be tougher,how do we prepare?
February 21, 2010, 2:34 pm

can you withstand what is upon you?can you flow and not break with the dire times?times across this planet are tough.how do you prepare yourself for these fast moving times?there is much that you can do that we will examine here soon.by all means add,on the Fan Journal.things by all accounts will be tougher in the upcoming years,let us discuss this openly.more soon.peace,T

great song Mayer
February 20, 2010, 11:33 am

In the past on this web site I have trashed John Mayer the heartthrob pop singer for some of his songs but I just heard a tune of his for the first time I think it’s called “Heartbreak Warfare�. I think it is an excellent piece as a song writer myself it has all that you could ask for great lyrics, excellent melody and structure, good solo and it fits his voice perfectly. I am bringing this up because as boisterous and outspoken as I am on this site I always try to keep an open mind. I do listen to other perspectives and try not to judge completely for or against all the issues and people that I am confronted in this journey of exploration called life. I am far from perfect and a work in progress but as I said yesterday we all need to step back and loosen the reigns that hold us firmly to what shaped our lives and convictions. So many of the important issues we are facing as parents, workers, citizens are not nearly as black and white as those who have a self serving agenda will have us believe. if we take the time to step back and say I need to dig a little deeper while opening our incredible minds to other perspectives then maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle on many of the issues that so strongly divide this country. This is just my personal opinion what is yours?????????jon

Prevention and National Health Care Policies a MUST!
February 20, 2010, 9:23 am

Hi Jon I heard the same thing.Dianne usually has a thought provoking show as well as her nighttime counterpart Terry Gross(Fresh Air).Terry is perhaps my favorite interviewer.This brings up such a serious issue.We are predicting diabetes type 2 off the charts.This in turn will be extremely expensive for the future generations with health care cost and expenses.Of course we know the republicans view of that.I cannot understand how people cannot easily connect the dots to an impending death knell to our economy and health care costs.We all know the real reason why we have not implemented preventative planning for youth and national health care-greed.Just watch those fat white republican males hear on word of either and they are sending paper to block faster than they grab donuts and twinkies.Reversing the death rate-great job everyone!I should also say that I am sick and tired of Obama getting all the heat.Are we really that stupid,REALLY!We had eight years of someone raping democracy in America and leaving such a mess for the next person-that if it were me,I would probably start my mornings in a fetal position-WONDERING WHERE TO START!!!!Again if you search back on this Band Journal you would know from it's inception we have championed preventative medicine and plans for youth(which includes healthy diets and exercise).Jon great vid. on youtube! Love it! Very,very important topic today! peace,T

just a shadow
February 19, 2010, 1:30 pm

I was listening to NPR radio last week and Diane Rheam was doing a show on Mrs. Obama's new campaign to curb the rampant child obesity problem in American today. It has become so bad in fact that statistics appear to show that the next generation of young Americans will be the first generation in many decades that will have a shorter life expectancy then their parents. I was thinking to myself that there will surely not be any opposition or criticism on this topic after all who would object? Well sure enough they found a man who according to his data did object stating that the program would not work and that it would create more ostracizing and animosity toward overweight people and would not help their health in the long run. He stated that this was a campaign against overweight people and that his results did not show any possibility of improvement? It is a fact that childhood diabetes is on the ALARMIMG rise in young people as well as other health related issues due to obesity and it is a fact that Mrs. Obama stated that her program was not about the weight scale ( meaning singling out obese people) but that the goal was to educate and increase healthy activities. I soon realized that the dude who was objecting was obviously a Right wing plant to try and discredit Obama. We are in an extremely frustrating time in Amerika because the far right and left are trying to dictate and bend every issue their way and they have millions of blind misinformed puppets who will hang on to every non factual word these extremists speak. We the supposed greatest country in the world are alarmingly ignorant, intolerant, judgmental, misinformed, prejudiced, and unwilling to find middle ground and until this changes we are just a shadow of what our potential would lead us to be. This is one man’s opinion what do you think????????????jon

What more can you ask for?
February 6, 2010, 12:58 pm

I have gotten some good compliments on our performances the last couple of Tuesday nights at South Shores Tavern in Lake Worth. Fans who have been coming to see us for years say we sound better than we ever have. This is very encouraging for me because as I have stated in the journal I think we have made some good progress with the extra effort we have been putting into our rehearsals. This makes me think that maybe I am not crazy and it is paying off because this year my resolution was to be more aggressive and honest in analyzing my performances and because of this I have seen many areas where I can improve and make the songs better. It is great to hear from some of our harshest critics that we are making progress and I will continue to work hard and I know Bobby feels the same way. Our manager thinks this new approach has also give us more versatility in getting gigs and I look forward to playing to a new audience and winning them over. I am also committed to making more comments on the world that we live in and I know t will add his invaluable comments when time allows this is an exciting time in American history and we all can be a part of it but we have to stand up and be heard that is why we have the fan journal when you post rest assured that people from around the world are reading what you have to say this is a fact. I am also going to expand to Face book so along with our web site and my-space we will have a broad potential to gain a bigger fan base. Come along with us on this journey you don’t have to agree with anything or everything we say or do but I can guarantee that your voice will be heard weather you have something positive or negative to say……..what more can you ask for?..........jon

dog shit and humans common ground?????????
February 4, 2010, 10:36 pm

Every day when I walk my dog she reaches a spot as we are walking which is never the same but something triggers her bowels as she is sniffing away and she takes a shit. As soon as she is done she steps away and goes on her merry way leaving me to pick up the shit and dispose of it meanwhile she has not a care in the world. I was thinking today that human beings are a lot like dogs in that we create piles of shit in a figurative sense and then walk away leaving the mess for someone else to clean up. Mankind has a long history of this strange phenomena taking over land and the people who live on it for nothing more than personal gain. Almost all cultures are guilty but the earthquake in Haiti has me wondering why France is not leading the efforts to help in Haiti as they struggle to rise above this catastrophic setback . I don’t hate the French as so many stupid Americans do most never setting foot in the country (I have been to Paris once and I would go back In a second if I had the chance). But given the history they should step up and lead the way to recovery along with the Church that was initially along for the ride to supposedly purify those heathen souls so that God could just keep adding them up in his saved souls Colum……….. I guess it’s a numbers thing. The point is that some day we need to stop making the piles of shit ( recent examples are Iraq, and Darfur to name a few) and concentrate on improving the human condition in these countries not force but with education, sustainable tools to become self sufficient, tolerance, and compassion…….gotta run I hope I don’t step in a pile……………..jon

what ever happened one
February 1, 2010, 3:21 pm

Whatever happened to respectability, humility, compatibility, honesty, dependability, responsibility, reliability, , accessibility, Whatever happened to compassion, truth, consequence, admission, love with no conditions, hate without suspicion, the delusion of segregation, a silent moment, realizing a mistake, take it like a man, thirst for knowledge, independence, doing what is right, standing up for what’s wrong, standing up at all, power to the people, using our minds, tasting nature, being who we are supposed to be......noj

mad man or idiot i have to keep on moving on..........
January 30, 2010, 7:42 pm

Man there is nothing better than loosing myself in a good rehearsal. Bobbies one room studio is at times the perfect place for my P.A. system and our little band as we move willingly back to basics with just a voice, guitar and drums no special effects or enhancement just us and that is when we play and I close my eyes and let the music absorb into every pour every piece of who I am is lost in the moment of yet another song after song after song, son of a bitch the shit sounds good!!!!!!!!! I am going to record this and let you be the judge I am either a mad man or a waaana be genius but that don’t mean shit to me all I know is that we have a voice that deserves to be heard and I will keep on pushing against all odds we will be heard, I will be heard I, we will be heard if not by you now then one day you will hear it and day mark my words you will listen………. you will listen and I will open my arms and embrace you……….. this is bigger than me……. this is bigger then you………. it is the dust of humanity feeding me and leading me to where we both will meet with open minds and open hearts and the world will be a better place……..jon

drill baby drill and other dumb shit ideas from the republican and a couple of tokens party
January 29, 2010, 9:21 am

I have to make a couple of more comments on the new honkie governor of Virginia and his rebuttal to Obama’s speech the other night who proudly bragged that his state was going to be the first on the eastern seaboard to start drilling for oil off its coast. California has been drillinng for oil off the coast for as long as I can remember you can see the rigs from Long beach up the coast past Malibu. Over the years having lived in California for many years and visiting as often as I can I have been to beaches from San Diego to San Francisco( we are talking hundreds of miles here distance between the two cities here) and it is a fact that every beach I have visited has oil deposits on them………….. every single one folks. The most recent beach was a secluded beach in Big Sur California my buddy and I were hiking along and noticed a black residue on the rocks so I got out my car keys and scraped the rocks and sure enough it was an oil spill this is hundreds of miles from the rigs. Now the oil companies brag about new technology and blah blah blah but the fact is oil is going to leak somewhere in the chain. I wonder what is going to happen when the oil lands on the beaches of the states to the north and south of Virginia?????man are they going to be pissed. He also mentioned coal and as much as that industry wants you to believe in clean burning coal it is not possible because even if you can burn the coal 100% clean you will have millions of tons of toxic residue left over what do we do with this???? Bury it in landfills so it can seep into our water supply??????Not to mention the fact that in many cases they extract the coal by literally leveling hills to get at the coal and who will pay the medical bills for the injured and those with black lung disease in one of the most dangerous industries to work for. The same party who does not want a national health care bill??????Now is the perfect time to embrace new energy technologies bite the bullet now and we can work our way to independence and create millions of jobs and security because even if they do get all the oil off our shores it will take at least ten years just to start and the oil will only be enough to supply us for what 6 months a year????? Yea drill baby drill that is the Republican solution man let’s just go back to juniors policies look where that got us. That piece of shit is sittin on his ranch in Texas just havin a good old time bein a cowboy not a care in the world and pretending to know how to help in Haiti thank god Clinton is there to lead junior by the hand……….jon

will the tokens please get in position and smile for whitey............
January 28, 2010, 3:53 pm

I apologize for not posting the last few days I am not living up to my New Year’s resolution to keep this site active. I watched the State of the Union Speech last night and Obama did what I though was a good job conveying his message but so far those are empty words and he needs to step it up a bit or he is not going to be re-elected. I watched the Republican response and it was classic tokenism by the whitey party I mean if you look at the members in Congress they are mostly all white dudes who don’t give a shit about minorities lets be real and honest here, not much racial mix but when the governor who by the way just started serving 11 days ago and who must be a fast learner because he now knows everything about government and what is best for all of us. Well bless my soul but the Republican party just happens to have strategically placed behind him just a smiling away and a clappin a black girl and an oriental dude?????Who the fuck do they think they are kidding???????? Is it you?????? Obama is not a savior but he is the best option America has at the moment and if this stupid county buys into the kinder gentler Republican bullshit then guess what????????? we deserve what we get. I am going to be posting more so please come on back and feel free to add a comment in the fan journal and tell a friend about this band……….jon

How much was that enema?????????
January 21, 2010, 9:48 am

Well this is one crazy fucking world congrats to the democrats for fucking up a sure thing your ineptness as a political party is amazing. Hey and for all you who voted for change in Massachusett's you sure went radical by electing a white well to do pretty boy!!!!!!!! now that is change we can believe in! like that has never happened before like ground hog day over and over and over !!!! I guess the dude does not have much of a voting record but he did vote against a bill that would have granted paid leave to state workers volunteering for disaster relief with the American Red Cross after the terrorists Attacks on 9/11. Yet he did support a bill using public money to build a new golf course?????? Hey I can see the logic in that after all where the hell is he gong to do all his business with rich white honkies!!!!!!!!!!! The golf course is like an office for these dudes man. Its as if the public sentiment in the state of Massachutes is hey we have our health insurance fuck the rest of the country make your state get its own! Time will tell if this is the end of a health care bill passing and who knows maybe this guy will turn out to be competent and not a right Palin radical but for just a little reminder of what is at stake for millions and millions of Americans. A good friend of mine with no insurance just spent three days in the hospital with swine flue....... the cost?.............$ 17,000 dollars.... I guess he must have ordered the gold dust enema and the full body massage by Sarah Palin.................jon

Excuse me God but what is the return policy on Karma?????
January 20, 2010, 9:04 am

I have been thinking about all the extremists like Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Jerry Farwell etc. and I am not letting the far left off the hook either but I have not heard much about them other then they are out there and just as bad. You have to wonder where they come up with the extreme crap they spew they must all have staffs who gather information about people and the world around us along with passages from the bible (in the preachers case) and then edit and skew it into something new that conforms to their supposed views and of course stirs up controversy. Then they spew their hate and zero tolerance to ignorant masses who suck this vile shit up never really bothering to actually read and look deeper into the issues or topics following along like so many little sheep. I have come to the conclusion that the only purpose for this is not personal conviction and belief but more to gain a bigger audience or a bigger church or to be on TV to get bigger and bigger until they are so deep into the pile of shit (money, power, control) they have created they actually begin to take themselves seriously. All they while they divide, enrage ,segregate and generally cause pain and suffering that they will never be held accountable for??? Jason has often talked about Karma on this site and although I am not the firmest believer, if some day all the bad karma these people have created during their lives comes back to them I want a front row seat to see every single bit of it returned………. in slow motion so I can enjoy every single moment……………..jon

WHAT IF MR. KING SAID LETS JUST WAIT FOR CHANGE????????????
January 18, 2010, 4:02 pm

I was out in Big Sur California last week with a friend one day we decided to do the seventeen mile drive near Carmel. Lots of houses up for sale but not bad and the mansions we passed one after the other mile after mile makes you wonder where the hell all the money comes from and why it never seems to trickle down ( sorry ronnnie regan and junior bush) any way we stopped and were hiking a trail and ran across a professional speaker who was around our age we got to talking about a variety of interesting subjects and he had some great ideas. He has a web site and I will post it for those who want to expand the mind. At one point we were reminiscing about the sixties and I said I was confused as to why more people young and old are not standing up and demanding health care for all, The redistribution of the wealth to all America and on and on and his take was that now in today’s world nobody thinks it will do any good???? I guess John Mayers crappy song “waiting on a change� is pulsating thru a complacent country. Sad……what if Martin Luther King did not stand up I mean Fucking America Billy Holiday was singing “Strange fruit on the Trees� which was in reference to the hanging of black men in the south at the time? How many people said to Mr. King that it was useless and that nobody could make a difference?????????We can all now see how this man with thousands of others changed the dirty, bloody, segregated course this country had been cruising on for hundreds of years and made it happen……..this band can only do so much and we will never stop fighting for equality and prosperity for all human beings……………… want to join us?????????jon

Short history lesson on Haiti and RESPECT TO MR. KING ON HIS B-DAY
January 18, 2010, 1:38 pm

Haiti has a rich history linked to America but The French claimed Haiti and turned it into a very lucrative coffee and sugar producer. Of course they imported 100,000s of thousands of slaves to do the work often times working them to death. Apparently the brutality was pretty severe but when the Haitians got wind of the French Revolution they revolted and took over the island and once Napoleon lost Haiti and its prosperity he decide to Give up more land which was the Louisiana purchase so in a way the Haitian revolution was instrumental in doubling the size of America. To compensate the French the demanded the Haitians pay compensation to the tune of Billions in today’s currency. This of course set the country back and it took decades to pay off THEY NEVER REALLY RECOVERED. Anyway check out goggle if you are interested in learning more. SHADOW SCREAMERS WANTS TO SEND A MESSAGE OF LOVE AND RESPECT TO DR MARTIN LUTHER KING ON HIS BIRTHDAY HE WOULD BE IN HAITI RIGHT NOW DOING WHAT HE COULD TO HELP IF HE WAS ALIVE AND BRING PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE PLANET TOGETHER AS HE DID WHEN HE WAS ALIVE. If you type in Mr King at the top of the page you will get many entries and tributes from the band over the years dedicated to this great man. Have to run but I am going to go after dick heads like Rush lumbo in my nest entry…………………………….jon

Pat isn't evn worth listening to....
January 17, 2010, 7:20 am

You know what I can't understand Jon?Why would anyone make a comment like that after a disaster?Does anyone ever monitor that idiot Pat Robertson's mouth.Christian,you have got to be kidding!Pat is not anything but a very frustrated,lonely man,who seems to adore fame no matter how briefly and no matter what capacity.The media should not publish anything these hate mongers say.That I hold them responsible for.How are your friends from Haiti doing Jon?They must be so worried about family and friends....peace,T

SURE YOU HAVE IT BAD BUT HAVE YOU HEARD BOUT HAITI????????
January 16, 2010, 8:10 pm

Having lived in South Florida the last sixteen years Haiti is a country we hear about often unfortunately its usually after the latest corrupt government scandal or natural disaster or the horrendous poverty. Three major hurricanes have hit Haiti in the last couple of years alone chipping away at very fragile day to day existence. Eighty percent of the population live below the poverty line. They have very little infrastructure lots of deforestation caused by the need of firewood clean water is hard to come by and the problems go on and on. Now some voices In America like Rush Limbaugh the hate monger say we already give them money thru our taxes so we don’t need to send more. Others I am sure are saying they got themselves into this situation they will never change so why should I give my hard earned money when I am having a hard time getting by. These are questions that are going to be asked and I guess people have a right to ask them as we are working back to being a free speech country our band site was shut down constantly during the bush years. Call me crazy but I think if we are all going to survive on this planet those with the most have a deep responsibility to help bring up those with the least to tolerable living conditions giving them the means to move forward in a self sustaining system. I know this seems like a pipe dream and unrealistic but look at how we have acted the last eight years and what did it get us???? Do you know the Haiti does not get the same treatment as most other countries in the Caribbean and South America especially under bush but hell he blew off New Orleans. I have had many Haitian friends over the years and they are no different than any other human beings trying to survive in this uncertain climate except for them it is every day 365 for many years. Maybe the psycho Jesus preacher?????? Pat Robertson who quote said that Haitians had sold their soul to the devil and until they bowed down to his god they pretty much deserve what they get????????????THIS IS ONE MOTHERFUCKING CRAZY WORLD MAN BECAUSE MILLIONS OF DUMB FUCKS LISTEN TO HIM AND LIMBAUGH AND THE IDIOTS ON THE LEFT……………… I was away when the earthquake hit and have not had time until now to make a post I hope it makes sense and spurs some compassionate thought……………jon

Haiti....
January 13, 2010, 8:42 am

Please,please help Haiti! The Earthquake is still sending out devastating vibrations and they need help bad.Please keep an eye out for organizations that are helping.Our condolences go out to all in Haiti.I have a friend that does relief work in the Dominican Republic,he says they feel the after shock there! Help where you can!peace,T

PASSION-WHERE IS IT?
January 10, 2010, 10:04 am

WHERE IS THE PASSION!!!! I WATCHED RITCHIE HAVENS AT WOODSTOCK AND HAVE SEEN THAT THE PASSION SEEMS MISSING IN MODERN MUSIC.two bands come close to the 60's,'Rage Against the Machine'and an undiscovered band called,'Shadowscreamers'-look them up,wait a minute,that's right you are on their website right now!Look at the quality and depth of the music and band journals-you will be amazed!peace,T

60's....
January 9, 2010, 7:51 am

watched a fun movie yesterday called,'Taking Woodstock'.it always amazes me the passion,the drive,the beauty of the 60's.it is not for nostalgia.this incredibly brave,strong,outspoken generation has so many kernals of wisdom to glean.man,Jon i wish we could get our chance.i just don't see anyone out their that captures that energy like us-sorry folks but it is very true!!!!....peace,T

jobs....
January 6, 2010, 6:35 am

okay so i heard yesterday that less than 45 percent of people are happy with their jobs in America(those lucky enough to have jobs).it is the worst percentage since they started taking stats.some reasons listed;more companies are having their employers pay into Health Care(simple solution-National Health Care-NOW!!!!),companies are having their employers do more and more and being held accountable for all you do and expected to do.i have to run sadly-more on this tomorrow-but it ain't good.peace,T

the great songwriters....
January 3, 2010, 12:20 pm

we have a tradition in our family of watching,'The Fiddler On The Roof'New Years Eve. the following day we watched,'The Sound of Music'.i have to ask a simple question and it pertains to music.what ever happened to the truly great film scores and great songwriters?Rogers and Hamerstein,John Williams,Walter Scharf-these folks-pure genius!!!!song after song is outstanding and classic.it is so wonderful to watch as a musician a movie with a great score.it keeps you stimulated and inspires.i mean-wow-every song classic.as a culture we do not pay homage enough to these song smiths. Walter did my favorite rendition of Dickens,' A Christmas Carol'-Mr.Magoos.songs,how can we not have a song in our heart?peace,T

the ride....
January 2, 2010, 8:58 am

a friend of mine had her Teacher coming to America to stay at her house.he is a very important Tibetan Lama and my friend was freaked out because there were three scheduled,'down days'.without her knowledge the people that were responsible for his Talks(he was to speak at Bowdoin,Bates,Colby Colleges and at two of Maine's Universities) had also booked tickets for Six Flags on one of the down days.my friend was freaking out,'suppose he thinks this is an insult','what happens if he thinks less of me',etc,etc.... she worried for months before his visit.on the night before the Lama came my friend had not slept a wink!well the talks at the Colleges and Universities went very well and as it turns out,in all the Lamas travels he had never been on a Roller Coaster.on the day they went the Lama gleefully bought a hat and led the group with great excitement to the first ride.i will never forget the smiles of the Lama from the pictures my friend showed me.it was one of the high points of his visit-he loved it.now the Lama comes from a tradition that honors change with the realization that everything in life is impermanent.he embraced the moment and in doing so fundamentally changed the moment for the group.they said they were like happy giddy children as the Lama led them from one ride to the other.i hope you all,all our friends here 'Embrace Change' this year.it is happening anyways, we can either fret and worry like my friend,or take a page from the Lama's book and ride life's Roller Coaster ride-embracing....Happy New Year All!peace,T

we are what we are segment one the saga continues...................
December 31, 2009, 9:01 pm

Bobby and I set up Tuesday night like every other Tuesday night at South Shores Tavern the last few months but we were not aware that things would never be the same. As the night started Penny who runs the open mike with her boyfriend Kirin told us to play four songs with one cover. Usually we play six songs to start out the evening then close out the evening with a few songs the crowd always wants to hear more but we have to shut it down at 11pm. Anyway we started playing and ran into a few technical problems which disrupted the flow of the music but we pulled off a good short set and I was looking forward to getting back up on stage later to lay it out we never did. The next band that came up was a cover band and a good one at that and they played quite a few songs and then another band came up and played quite a few songs and it was as this point that I realized that we the band Shadow Screamers were taking a back seat at this point just supplying the sound, and maybe Penny and Kirin wanted to go into a cover band thing. I would not be bothered by this if I just came and plugged in to play like everyone else but I supply the P.A. system and the sound mixing and we play some killer shit when we get the chance yet we get nothing other than the chance to play ten or more songs during the evening. I also pay for our drinks again this is what I have agreed to with the condition that we play several of our original songs in front of the crowd that night that is our pay and I am not being egotistical in saying that we always get the crowd going and they enjoy our songs and performance this s has happened every time. Anyway I have to have a talk with Penny to see which way she wants to go granted playing the cover tunes is an option and we might have worn out our welcome as all things come to an end. I just wish I had been told what was going on Shadow Screamers is not a cover band never will be so maybe it’s time to move on. The next day I went over to Bobbies to practice in his back yard we started around 12pm and I guess we sounded pretty good because at the end of our session people were in back yards in the streets and actually parked along the street to hear what the fuck we were playing. Bobbie lives in a blue collar neighborhood and it makes sense that they would love us because that is who we are we are a band that stands for all mankind but especially the working class they are who we are……………..Jon

tick on a dog's ass....
December 29, 2009, 7:43 am

if i were a tick on a dogs as(maybe i am)what would my perspective be? we think we are all that and a bag of potato chips being human-are we all that? don't get me wrong,we are very fortunate to live this mystical life,but do we have the right to have such a dangerous attitude? do we have the right to think that everything revolves around us-like we are the sun of the species solar system? with this attitude comes neglect,abuse,and violence.just read your history(for American-please read Howard Zinn's,'History of the United States'-everything else is filtered)peace,T

mystery....
December 28, 2009, 5:53 am

fresh dirt,like that on my grave.the balance with creativity is the balance of life/death.we watch and breathe past notions.the very dust,kicked up by Christ.the moisture re-circulated among oceans,rivers,lakes,airstream.to be in the bone marrow of creativity you must be a modern Shiva.now saying this all above-do you know the switch between?can you feel death/life streaming into,out of yourself?there is a mystery here-not new,just a mystery....peace,T

Good Point Jon....
December 27, 2009, 11:46 am

Jon that was a powerful post yesterday and really got me thinking. I think you nailed it with how low bar we are in this current age. We frequently hear the term renaissance man or woman-can they stack up to DiVinci,Michelangelo? Jon and I had a great conversation the other day about attention span.Heck people can't even get through a tune now without changing it to something different on their i-pod.'The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men'-DaVinci-The great artists and humanitarians stayed with something-clung tenaciously even though it might have hurt them personally to do so.In Vick's case-with all his millions-nope does not qualify. at least he should have been humble about it and brought attention to others much,much greater in human spirit than himself-the examples Jon mentioned for instance.you wonder actually where we are going with this.in a thousand years will someone win an award as an innovator for just waking up in the morning(of course this pre-supposes we make it that long)?Above see the quote I put in the wrong place-regarding the Vick situation-quoted by DaVinci.Peace, T

Hey Vick step on in and check this out dude.....
December 26, 2009, 9:28 am

I read a quote from Michael Vick the overrated over paid football player who was convicted and served time for running a dog fighting ring. Of all the things this spoiled athlete could do with his money and fame like maybe helping the multitudes of poor inner city kids in Atlanta, visiting children’s hospitals or countless other positive endeavors this piece of shit choose to train dogs to fight and when they did not perform the dogs were tortured and many were weighted down with bricks and thrown into ponds to drown or simply hung from trees????? Anyway it seems the Philadelphia Eagles who put greed above honor and signed him gave him some bogus courage award for his comeback from the dog fighting conviction. Now what really pisses me off is that Vick was overheard saying and I quote “ I’ve overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can handle or bear� after receiving the award????????? What the fuck planet is this asshole living on??? It is obvious that he has not learned a thing he is still the self centered moron he was before this all happened. So I am going to spell it out for Mr. Vick you did not suffer asshole you committed a heinous crime and paid the price for your information Nelson Mandela is a man who overcame more than one single individual can handle or bear as did Gandhi and Martin Luther king and countless others you Mr. Vick are just a heartless spoiled little brat who takes no responsibility for anything you do because you are special little football player…….. what a dork I would love to put him in a cage with a dozen hungry tortured pit bulls that he mistreated close the door lock it and walk away…………….jon

excitement!
December 24, 2009, 7:31 am

well a lot has happened thus far this year,so i apologize to you Jon for being somewhat sporadic the last couple of months.on top of having a Son as a Senior i also have an advisor group that are seniors this year-at the High School i work(what a lot of work-on top of everything else!).things are looking very,very bleak for next year.Maine like most poor states lags way behind once there is a recession.once America starts pulling out,the poor states will still be hurting for years to come.as the Chinese say,through chaos comes change.perhaps it will be a great thing!i have many new ideas for the band.you must remember i work with teens so get an idea of the current stuff out there(even up here in Maine,where we still communicate through dixie cups and string,ha,ha).Jon i have some ideas that will branch out with what you and i were doing a couple years back.the venues would have to be a little different,but i think we could rock it.i want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season! peace and love to you all! T

DISGUSTED!!!!
December 18, 2009, 7:37 am

Thank you Jon,yeah he is a great guy. Can't believe my youngest is 18! Your sons are great guys as well!We are very fortunate!Having a problem getting onto myspace? this techno. crap drives me crazy!!!!so the climate change conference in Copenhagen is winding down without any sort of resolution. I FOR ONE AM DISGUSTED! this really shows that money rules the day.i mean here we are with the best of scientific research that says-we must do something-NOW and we can't even get a draft!i am amazed that,that many people are together and are not rolling up their sleeves to do some serious work.here is a recommendation for what it is worth.there has been a lot of posturing from the Americans saying we really can't commit until we get Congress approval-@#$% Congress!!!!it is way beyond that.let us dissect shall we.each congressman/woman represents a sending state.that state probably has powerful conflicting interests to changing from the status quo.if we wait for them-we wait for them just to protect their vote for their next time in office. with the Blackwater issues looming,the non look at Gov. health care(single pay-Obama didn't even have it on the table),Afganistan,Public Education. i think we made a serious mistake. Hillary Clinton seems to be the only one on Capital -ill(hmmm,this was a mis-spelling but i think i will let it stand.Capital ill instead of Capital Hill,hmmm,yes i like that) that has any $#@@$! She was against having Blackwater be part of Iraq/Afganistan,her and her Husbands Health care much better than the crap that is being slung now.the waste of a war when we languish at home.i am fed up with the status quo!!!!so getting back to climate change,forget Congress forget the Senate,a President should just act here.why not Georgie did with Darth Vader-hmmmm,what was the result of that,oh yeah that's right they were not even held to any sort of accountablility! this is not just posturing on my part.our world is in serious trouble-WE MUST ACT NOW,DON'T WAIT FOR POLITICAL CRAP-ARE YOU TO STUPID TO NOT HERE YOUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN GASPING FOR BREATH?MY VOTE-NO CONGRESS NO SENATE,MOVE ALL THESE SO CALLED LEADERS ASIDE AND LET THE EXPERTS AND SCIENTISTS MAKE THE RECOMENDATIONS AND THEN AN INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL ENFORCE!!!!oh,and for those of you that say,'well you know the Earth has her natural...'SHUT UP,SHUT UP,SHUT UP!!!WE are way beyond that moron!!!!let me break it down for you dummy,just so you can get the picture.tomorrow invite three or four chain smokers to your house and jut let them have at it.okay first hour-yeah,kinda tough,second hour hmmm this isn't to pleasant-24/48 hours later? do you see the trash we are putting into the atmosphere? do you think that is just going to go away?by the way,how do you lungs feel after this little experiment?let us be peace,T

the truth lies in the pools of sweat
December 16, 2009, 9:26 am

The gig last night at South Shores Tavern went well I thought our sound was better than it has been in awhile. It’s amazing how much better we sound when we rehearse two to three times a week. Bobby and I had a good conversation last night as I drove him back to his place. We both agree that we need to move on Beyond South Shores we have done so many killer gigs there but the results have been mediocre at best as far as getting ahead,we don’t seem to be getting anywhere sure we are providing great entertainment for the people who come to see us but the truth is that we have not advanced in any way and so instead of just bitching and crying about it we are going to start checking out other options. Every time we play we get comments mostly from other musicians saying that they are impressed with the sound a two piece can make without a bass player of course we will never be complete without T but I know that we can play in many places in this area with just the two of us and doing our original music. I got the card of yet another bass player last night who heard us and is interested in possibly joining us he is involved with another band but they are on a hiatus so this may work out if he has the dedication and energy that is required to perform with us. I have seen so many acts during the open mic's we do and also checking out the scene and there is no doubt that few if any can match the energy and passion that Bobby and I put out every time we get up on the stage. This is not ego this is the way we play both of us feel that every time we step on stage it is a privilege and an honor and we pay our respects by giving everything we have. When you have to change shirts after every set because you are dripping with sweat I think that confirms the point I am making. Anyway stay tuned fans we are going to make strides this coming year and we are going to be a force……………jon

moving ahead one step at a time
December 15, 2009, 10:38 am

Bobbie and I had a great practice jam yesterday we are working on some new stuff. Last week there were some people in the audience at South Shores who do open mic's a Penny thinks they can help us out. I want her to peruse this because we did a great show according to our regular fans and we need to get out beyond South Shores Tavern and keep building our fan base. We also need to challenge ourselves more if am feeling too complacent at the moment. There has to be places down here where a two piece can play and we need to find them. The new bass player we were trying out is not working out it is really hard to find someone who knows they are going to have to step aside when T agents down here and to make things even harder we are not going to change our approach to being an originals band doing a few covers but like I said we can kill with the two piece to if you don’t believe me then by all means come by and check us out Tonight at South Shores Tavern in downtown Lake Worth they have a web site at www.southshorestavern.com ………….jon

spine what spine??????
December 14, 2009, 7:14 pm

I hope I have made those who stumble onto our site think after reading all the entries and also the last few entries in the band journal. T is struggling for the same thing for if we do not get the human race to question and think then pull the shithead human race out da oven because we are done. If you want to say something they do it’s called the fan journal we are looking for minds rip me apart don’t give a shit at least I got the balls to say what so many other mother fuckers want to say but they aint got the balls or if it is a woman aint got the spine for that matter either do the wimpy men so let’s agree to agree it’s the spine that is missing in most humans………………..jon

false pretense
December 13, 2009, 5:25 pm

God aint no savior no place to hide your sins because when you look into the fucking mirror who the hell is to blame you or him???I aint no fucking angel I think the devil lives within maybe that is why I have so much trouble stumbling thru mankind’s false pretense……….jon

merry christmas dad
December 13, 2009, 2:55 pm

I see you slam my brother thru the wall controlling all the pieces you see fall not knowing that you can’t collect them all for broken memories cut deep as the madness falls like a cloak on the innocent as they fall into the distorted memories of those who once believed in the man . How could you think you could ever control it so much wasted time so many wasted dreams life’s spent casting nets to live up to your-self centered dreams. I want nothing but to be nothing like you this is not hate but your actions speak the truth in volumes that nobody in their right mind would pursue. So stand alone in the end it I will stand by your grave with forgiveness in my heart or maybe you will stand next mine but I will never know what you hold in that heart. I will never know what you hold in our heart………..jon

None white enought for ya Palin??????
December 12, 2009, 12:34 pm

One more word on Sarah Palin it always baffles me that someone like her is so against abortion and womens rights( when she was mayor of women town in Alaska she made women who had been raped have to pay for their own rape kits talk about compounding humiliation and trauma for the victim). The question I ask is That this broad is against abortions under any circumstances then why the hell was she so shellfish that she had a baby at her age when statistics show there is a huge dramatic increase in birth defects. All the while there are millions of orphan children across the planet who are looking for a family who the fuck does she think is going to take care of them if freaks like her don’t help and adopt them???? Guess there were not any white pretty ones for Sarah??????

you go girl!!!!!!!!!
December 10, 2009, 6:36 pm

God bless Sarah Palin first she is an expert on foreign affairs because she can see Russia now she is an expert on global warming because she is living in Alaskaaaaaaaa god dam I have to move up there apparently it is the vortex of world enlightenment I just hope the bitch doesn’t go out and slaughter a polar bear so she can make a rug to fuck the dim whit husband on and have yet another special needs child that we are going to have to pay for………………jon

what the fuck???????
December 10, 2009, 4:13 pm

Tuesday night was ok our only night playing out . However I am betting bored with the lack of progress in general. Some fans said we sounded better then we have in quite awhile but I was not of the same opinion. It seems I have lost perspective as the reality of the whole situation settles in. Inside my mind the dew never drops I cast my net but its empty and lost for I am not who I am and you are who you pretend to be so why don’t you tell me for promise is the death of those who bleed and deceit is what is bread by the indifference of self serving needs hell I say what runs thru this fucking mind there is no tomorrow only lost vacant time cast like a shadow into the dawn I drag up my mind to face another dawn with temptation crawling and the holy who will bleed but I fight to just be me I fight to just be me…………hahhahahhhahahahhahahahhaahh onj

archives....
December 6, 2009, 7:06 am

man,i don't know sometimes! have been trying to go onto our myspace and it says i need an update.well i do all the various clicks etc... and the damn thing still won't let me on!!!!sometimes i wonder if i was born in the wrong century.this technology,certainly perplexes my frail mind! my son was going through the archives the other day and was deeply moved by the depth of thought and what we have written over the years.Jon and i take pride in our,'no excuses,no take back,shoot from the hip'style writing.in looking at the archives,i would have to say it has served us well.it is quite a collection for those that are interested.find time,take a month-any month and read through.you will not be disappointed!peace,T

new pages.........
December 5, 2009, 11:32 pm

I am over it so look for one more entry On the Bush admistration and we are going to move on. We have way more important things to move on to and those of you who decide to keep following the band I can promise you that you will not be let down.......jon

Had that feeling
December 2, 2009, 1:53 pm

Sometimes you just feel like it’s gonna be a good jam. Last night was one of our best performances in weeks I paid particular attention to my voice which was breaking up last week and it seemed to work. We opened the night with playing for over an hour straight and we only did three cover tunes yet the crowd was very responsive the whole time. We needed this hopefully the band is back on track it was just me and Bobby last night and I wonder if this is the best way to go until T is able to come down. I have heard many times that people do not miss the bass we will never be as good as we can be without T but I take pride in filling out the sound although the people at Taylor guitars would be appalled at the way I beat their acoustic electric guitar but hey I don’t give a shit I don’t see any endorsements and I buy em to play em and this guitar can rock when I use a heavy hand. Our manager Penny was handing out our business cards and one woman took offense to the American flag over the mouth she even asked Penny if we were cop killers or anti- American. I was never able to talk to the woman but at least the logo is creating thought however bizarre? this is America and we are all supposed to be able to speak freely. Bobby’s singer from his other band showed up and they did some tunes the dude is a good singer and the female singer in the band was not their but she is as I stated previously a real talent if she sticks to what she does best. I guess they are moving so I asked Bobby if he would move with them and he said no but with Bobby I have learned that anything can happen he is struggling but not doing much to change his situation so who knows. I guess the other band does covers but they are starting to write originals which is good because you can only go so far as a cover band. But then again look at me and how far I have gotten? Maybe when T comes down anyway we proved we can play other gigs last night so I am going to push Penny to get us some other opportunities if we work together I know we can expand our base. Have to run but I am going to put up a post that I promised below just have not had time so come on back and check us out you never know what the hell is going to happen…………..jon

spite? why the fuck not amerika............
November 29, 2009, 8:23 pm

I have been thinking about a new entry for Monday it involves dickey chaney georgie bush and many more giving thanks it is going to be mean sprirted and they can all kiss my fucking ass........jon

Tom Brokejaw
November 20, 2009, 10:57 am

Tom Brokejaw here with my first interview with President George Bush Junior since he left office we are meeting at his huge ranch in Texas………Hello Mr. President how have things been going for you since you left Washington?????? Ya know Tom I thought that being President was tough but let me tell ya you aint seen tough tell you Tangled with a Mesquite Tree trying to trim the dam thing them thorns will give ya scratches! And thank god them security boys are their when I sometimes fall out a that tree they are good catchers!.......But Mr. President are you not concerned with the way America is heading huge unemployment, two wars, Financial meltdowns, the average American struggling just to survive?????? Hell Tom that aint my fault I was the great decider these problems started when they elected that their Obama he had no experience and look at what has happened!!!!!! Ok Mr. President??????????? it seems like you might have been a little out of the loop while you were in office because these things were going on during your eight years in Office?......... Dam Tom there you go again make in me the escape goat Hell Look how bad things were when I got into office!............ As I recall Mr. President you spent the most time of any president in history on vacation until 9/11 Happened?........ then instead of getting Osama you invaded Iraq and now we are once again in a quagmire in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda is building again? Tom I don’t want ta talk bout this negative stuff how bout me getin my own library????? Its gonna be the best one ever!!!!!! But Mr. President you are not know to be an avid reader of intellectual material? What the hell you Talking bout Tom I read lots by that author Zane Grey he wrote all them cowboy books and anyone knows cowboys are rebels and them stories bout no responsibilities riding the range with not a care bout anyone but me Hell that is how everyone should feel Tommy Boy……………This is Tom Borkejaw signing off thank god I do not have to deal with this moron again……..JON

New outlook.......
November 20, 2009, 6:22 am

Cant wait to get to some new tunes this weekend. It will be good to do some new material Tuesday night.As whith anything if you do not challange yourself then the chances of seeing any kind of substantial improvement are slim.With the new bass player it will open me up to do more lead guitar work which I am looking foreword to but I need to get back on the scales and blister up the fingers.......jon

Boy that was dumb!!!!!!!!
November 19, 2009, 3:32 pm

I made an embarrassing mistake today. I was talking to friend and Bobby called on the phone at the same time I did not answer but I guess that he connected to my phone and heard me talking about him as I was venting my frustration over the last three weeks saying some not to flattering things about Bobby. He called me back and told me he had heard a bit of it and was upset. Anyway I went over to his house and we had a good face to face talk and let it all hang out which we needed to do, then we got into a jam and it went very well nothing settles the air like a good practice. I was particularly happy with his rhythmus to my new song up on the site it sounds way better with drums and when T adds bass it will kill. Anyway I learned a couple of lessons today…….. do not talk behind someone’s back…..and never leave the god dam phone on……..

Yea we sucked last night but?
November 18, 2009, 10:37 am

Well I am back sorry for the angst in the last couple of entries but life goes on. Last night as South Shores Tavern was not one of our better performances this is to be expected when we don’t practice for three weeks. We also had sound problems my voice was distorted so all in all I can safely say we sucked. The one bright spot was I think we have found a bass player he did a great job because he just practiced listening to a cd of some of our songs. He will fill in until T hopefully comes down we will see. In the meantime we can now learn some more material add some cover tunes and our manager Penny assures me that we can get some other gigs. Bobby is back on track but I have made it clear that we cannot have any more lapses because time is slipping away and I have no more patience left in me for more disappointment………….jon

at least the tan is gonna kill
November 16, 2009, 6:10 pm

Hey T i am droppin out this site for a spell fuck man mindless peeps moved on to shitter and twitter if you kids want they can look into it but I am out this site is dead dude.this is the new mindless internet which we never fit into anyway so who knows dude if I sitll have a drummer and by some blind act of faith you can actully come down here then we will see but as it looks now I am fucking tired of this bullshit dude. talk to you in the future as for the one or two loyal fans sorry but I can only carry on for so long I will still post new shit but really who the fuck cares ohhh poor jonny hey hahahahahahahaa the devil is in my pocket and hell is where I can finally get a good sun tan........jon

songs up
November 16, 2009, 12:47 pm

New song is up that I was talking about a couple days ago. Not sure at this point I have lost all objectivity but at least the god dam thing is out of my fucking head and I can move on. I recorded it in my living room this morning just me and the guitar who knows maybe someday I will have the band together to record this and all the other stuff we have just sitting collecting dust. Meanwhile its off into the mundane existence of a man on the edge looking over to much a coward to jump but to curious not to look down and wonder……….jon

Time will tell.......
November 15, 2009, 6:50 pm

I am at a crossroads with Bobby our drummer. Three weeks and one practice he blows it off time and time again unless he needs money. if I don’t call him I would never hear from him it’s not like we are close but when we are on stage for whatever cosmic reason we are in total sync that said we are slipping because as a musician you need to rehearse and I am getting fucking tired of playing the same dam songs on Tuesday night. As I stated I have written a new tune which I wanted to try out this Tuesday but fuck that however I am going to get a rough version up hopefully Monday. As far as Bobby he is forty years old going on sixteen he will tell you this himself but at some point you have to fucking grow up, we all have our own shit to wade thru last week I wanted to blow my brains out I wonder what the fuck I am doing with this music every fucking day there is not support it is me against the world but yet I keep going and take care of the shit I have to take care of. I battle with demons ever fucking day of my life so I have no sympathy. I will find out this week if it is the end for Bobby and if so there are a million fucking drummers out there he wont be easy to replace but at this point we are sinking anyway so what the fuck other choice do I have Tuesday nights have gone from a great experience to when the fuck will it be over I still give everything and so does Bobby but we are not making any progress and that is going to kill this band in the end……..jon

To Live Simply....
November 15, 2009, 2:01 pm

How do you live a simple life? Is it the clothes you wear? Is it the way you talk,express yourself? Is it the things you do? There are many guides for living simply.In this ever complex world please consider this; material possessions are an illusion,don't let them control you food is a gift,eat well,give thanks consider what you wear-where did it come from? consider your investments or who you do business with-where is the money going? exercise get sleep stay hydrated love and be loved smile often,laugh often however you see beyond yourself,whatever that is,give thanks. help others experience life,especially in the wilds,where you can be in silence. simple sketch i know-enjoy peace,

finnished the song I was talking about below
November 13, 2009, 3:00 pm

I finnished the the rest of the song last night. But I wont be able to record it until Monday it will be just me and my guitar.......jon

New song on the way soon
November 12, 2009, 3:39 pm

I wrote the beginning lyric and melody of this song after several days of severe insomnia the kind where you are close to blowing your brains out in frustration and delusion. The last day before I was able to get a few hours of sleep was Tuesday morning. That night at the open mike we do at South Shores Tavern ( I drank lots of red bull to get thru) I was talking to my friend Chaka an excellent reggae songwriter and singer and he told me that when you are beyond exhausted it’s the best time for inspiration. It is a terrible price to pay but I hope this song below is going to be heard. I came up with the opening lyrics and melody Tuesday morning and I finished most of it last night but I still am working out melodies for the bridge and chorus. I am going to get an acoustic version of this up on the site because I believe in the song. The title is either going to be “Broken River� or Disregarding Natures Holy Dance� to our fans feel free to give me your opinion on which one I should pick in the fan journal if you are so inclined anyway here are the lyrics…………………...I lay my hand in the broken river but the waters long run dry, I reach my hand to touch the leaves before me but I can see too many trees have died, I breath the air but it doesn’t feel pure now there’s a taste that tells me that the time has gone by. When we cared for the life all around us but selfish needs became more precious than life. Who’s to say that we alone are the wise ones whose to say that we belong here at all because so much of what is living around us was here before mankind ever learned how to crawl. So what about us drives our self destruction when we can plainly see things are not the same, we set a course for our own deconstruction and in the end we have to take the blame. So tell me now how do you feel or does lack of conscience help you push it back, when the places that you used to go are overburdened by this human attack. We pave the roads with no remorse with not a care for what will change as we head onto the new frontier we choose to ignore what we’ve laid to waste. I used to watch the snowy mountains glimmer in the early morning sun, but now the mountains they lay bare now the air to thin because of what we’ve done. I used to marvel in the mystic deserts but now the scares they run so deep, as we tear apart the fragile balance on the wheels that make us feel so free. I’ve put my hand upon the mighty redwoods and heard the stories that they love to tell as I feel them flow right thru me I wonder if we will kill them off as well. I love to dive into the clear blue ocean but some day’s they won’t let you swim at all, and the reefs that give life to countless species are exploited until there’s nothing from what weve caused. So as I gaze out at this world around me the guilt it flows up thru my very soul, its time I stand and put a lot more effort in doing what I can to break this strangle hold, that we have on nature all round us it’s time that we all choose to come clean, if not for you then for the next generations for they will suffer much more then you and me…. Time can heal but we must stand and not give up an inch, we have to change the way we live it won’t be easy but it’s our only chance, we all are guilty and we will pay for disregarding natures holy dance…for disregarding natures holy dance…………….jon

Damit this is what I meant to say I screwed up!!!!!!again!
November 12, 2009, 9:50 am

I apologize for not posting this yesterday. Shadow Screamers does not agree with the war junior bush started in Iraq but we will always support those who serve this country including two of our brothers and our father. Soldiers should never again suffer the pain, humiliation, resentment and eventually being abandoned by the system that those serving in Vietnam "who were just doing their jobs" were subject to when they returned home.....jon

My bad Vets!
November 12, 2009, 9:47 am

I apologize for not posting this yesterday. Shadow Screamers does not agree with the war junior bush started in Iraq but we will always support those who serve this country including two of our brothers and our father. Soldiers should never again suffer the pain and humiliation and resentment that those serving in Vietnam who were just doing their jobs were subject to when they returned home.....jon abandoned

friend
November 11, 2009, 1:50 pm

The Shadows disappear from the book of light, they settle in the minds of those two weak to fight ,the battles that we wage between the wrong and right…….. the shadows disappear….the shadows disappear….the valley of the souls is full with those who break the golden rule, caught up in games of who owns who, but in the end who is the fool….. but in the end who is the fool……..Oh where to stand temptation waits, it lures you with false hopes that take, a piece of you that you can’t replace…… a piece of you that you can’t replace…….. the shadows disappear......So tell me now don’t hesitate for if you know don’t contemplate……… in weighing out the size that fits ……you drop the core of what truth is…….. You drop the core of what truth is……To stand unbending thru the storm the roots you have must be firm and strong so feed them well don’t hesitate to lean on a friend to keep your faith….lean on a friend to keep your faith

gay and lesbian marriage....
November 9, 2009, 8:47 am

so in Maine citizens vetoed the gay/lesbian marriage law. how sad! sadder still it was the Catholic Church and other denominations that defeated the bill.they claimed that it helped to preserve family values and marriage. i did not choose to be heterosexual,like those that are gay did not choose to be gay,it is who we are.when a gay or lesbian finds a partner they want to live with the rest of their lives,why not allow marriage?there is a recognition like with heterosexuals that that is what will happen anyways.love is love. now what i really resent is the business of using Jesus.by all accounts Jesus of Nazareth was one of the great social reformers.do you actually think that a man who invited in prostitutes,tax collectors,thieves(all very marginalized citizens of the time period)would not include gay and lesbians?given the social conventions of the time period it would have been taboo to declare yourself gay or lesbian.you don't read about it in the New Testament because it was either deleted by the writers or possibly Jesus never had contact(though i tend to believe the former). my view being a Catholic is that the Christ figure is universal-a cosmic Christ as the Hindu's and Saints have said.the Cosmic Christ is a universal figure of love and manifestation of God's love.it can be equated around the world and seen and used as the Cosmic manifestation of God's love(however you see a God or God's). seen this way,yes indeed the Sacred Buffalo Calf Woman indeed existed,as did all cultural 'Sacred Beings'that have come and taught

Can you hear?....
November 7, 2009, 5:20 pm

when you think of your daily life,it can resemble a symphony.perhaps a slight melody held in and embraced by silence(waking)then the other instruments come in to support(morning).later in the day,perhaps a contrapuntal line weaving and wending around the melody with full orchestration.variation on the themes(late afternoon),then something quite extraordinary happens.the orchestration finally pulls away and we are back to the simple melody surrounded by silence(night)-then silence(sleep). how do we make this symphony each and every day? first off me must be open to love.not clinging or holding onto or conditional but simply love. in many ways we do not 'fall in love'as much as open to love.think in your own life.that special someone came into your life via circumstances.you started to talk.gradually you found doors and walls and barriers coming down or opening.finally something quite extraordinary happened-you found that it was you and this person naked.no pretense,no wall,no barrier you were naked in being.you were open. if we can find our lives to be this way-open-we find that we hear various strains and variations of melody.we might perceive contrapuntal lines.we might sense,feel ourselves and what presents open. if we listen,truly listen to life,to ourselves this way,our life can become the first paragraph of today's entry. enjoy the music of the day! peace, T

crawling part. 1
November 4, 2009, 8:50 pm

Crawling thru the grey black darkness of another empty night, full moon casting shadows on faceless strangers as they stagger on thru life. I ponder in the middle contemplating which way to go to many steps taken in wrong directions seems I’m blind to what I should know.. mistakes lie unforsaken full of empty promise as they glow like the stars that shine in darkness but tonight they are blurred by slivers of light. stillness shatters perceptions of what I do and who I know and ebbs and tides flow thru my mind like the ocean breeze that blows the waters of my existence piling up the bits and pieces of who I am. I collect them and sort them out casting some aside but holding on to others long after they have lost their purpose and meaning yet somehow I can’t let them go as I crawl thru the grey black darkness of another empty night…….jon

enemies
November 4, 2009, 12:48 pm

The enemies inside me are crawling thru my brain planting seeds of discontent like shadows in the rain. the shadow knows no more then you so ask but don’t refrain to feel the pain that seeps inside the listless empty veins. they pump the blood that feeds the fire that burns like a candle in the winds of constant change as I look to see my empty selfish dreams Fall as I sing the next refrain. Crawling like an angel thru the passage of the darkness to the light if I look back once too often will I ever wrong the rights. As the enemies inside me blur the line of wht I know is wrong and right a fallen angel gathers in the dusk that turns to night. And the enemies inside my brain are laughing with delight as they plant the seeds of discontent as day turns into night…………..jon

yet another good night!!!!!
November 4, 2009, 10:55 am

Last night was a good night at South Shores Tavern lots of good positive feedback on our performance. The last set was off the charts as far as energy and delivery left lots of sweat on the stage and the crowd wanting more you can’t ask for much more than that as a performer. Had some good talent show up this week at the open mic we are building a good following and it is the place to be in Lake Worth Florida on Tuesday night. Thanks for the recent comments in the fan journal we do think this is a unique site and if you go back into the archives you will see there is plenty for everyone who takes the time. Cant wait for T to join us down here but until then come and check us out on TUESDAY NIGHTS at South Shores Tavern www.southshorestavern.com and by all means bring a friend or two……..jon

down week man
October 31, 2009, 11:05 pm

been a down week for the band and I will leave it at that.Bones are getting weary and my mind is wondering what the fuck I am doing so at this point the only thing to do is to hit the tavern on tuesday and see what happens.I just hope the fucking egos of the open mic musucains are left at the door for once and we can just have unpretntious fun that would be nicey dont you think i do....jon

Stand
October 27, 2009, 10:22 am

If you are not sure where you stand then you need to re-evaluate where you are. If you are not sure where to stand then you need to re-examine who you are, If you are afraid to stand then it is time to examine why you are. Never before has it been more important for the human race to stand up and say enough is enough. What lessons have we not learned? what mistakes have we not made? Why do we still blur the lines between right and wrong, why does apathy still creep into so many healthy minds, why are we the cure, the cause, the reason, and the solution for all our self inflicted ailments? When are we going to stand together?????????jon

disgusted....
October 24, 2009, 10:41 am

okay so I might mess this up-please correct. 350 is the magic number that we should not exceed(represents 350 parts per million of co2 in the air?-i believe correct me if this is off base). we are currently at 390! we have talked endlessly on this site about impending disaster if we do not change.the news is even worse.in the last the last several years there has been a 20 percent decrease in the amount of Americans that feel global warming is caused by humans-20 PERCENT! okay so that means that the above stat-390-beyond the point of return if we don't do something quick-COLLECTIVELY AND WORLDWIDE-we have made our bed(of filth)and will lay in the impending,continued disaster. how utterly stupid we collectively are! how pompous and arrogant the human species is! i know this is hollow as few take up on it-but write your reps,get involved help efforts for green economy,blah,blah,blah. how can i keep saying this,when i know how collectively stupid we are-20 FUCKING PERCENT!YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME! peace out for as long as we can enjoy that is, T

open windows
October 23, 2009, 10:30 pm

An open window only lets in the psooibilities your mind is ready to recieve, the rest is up to you. An open window is opportunity whose only limits are the confines of self doubt, and fear of failure. An open window can close as fast as it opens slammed shut by careless greed and self centered aspirations........jon

We can make it better
October 19, 2009, 9:15 am

I just want to calrify that this band is not all gloom and doom. If you look back thru the thousands of band entries over the years there are hundreds of positive and informative entries. Saturday is National Make a Difference Day and there are millions across this country who will participate and millions more who do something positive every day under the radar of self promotion. They do it simply because it is the right thing to do and they make that choice becasue they choose to step up for humanity on their own terms. Shadow Screamers does believe in humanity and that one day the playing field for every human being will be on more equal footing.Join us and so many others who work towards this goal it is my belief that the rewards will be immesurable for all of us.........jon

when do we the common man and woman say FUCK YOU????
October 18, 2009, 5:07 pm

I wonder does man strive for true resolution. I pray for all the dreams that we just hold at bay. I know there is no real solution just some half baked effort shoved at compromise towards a better day. when the sun shines I look to heaven but that don’t mean that I believe that way. in the den of all mans good intentions I hope we grab enough to pave the way. for nothing learned can be just recreated until we commit to live that way. And if we never move to learn these lessons then we will pay the price we always pay. Why does the circle stay unbroken as fallen angels block the way when will the common stand and not budge as they say fuck you and stop letting those who have and hold power direct the way…………jon

bass of choice by T
October 18, 2009, 11:59 am

Another Squire Bass(Squire I would recommend your basses anywhere-want to sponser us?) Different kind of post today. So this former student of mine comes in with a bass wrapped in a tapestry.He says,'hey man,are you interested in this?'What he is holding is the Squire Standard Jazz Bass(this one has frets-which I need,as right now I just have my main axe the fretless jazz bass by squire)-he wants a nominal fee for it as he doesn't need it. 'Yes'! I exclaim,very enthusiastically! So now I have the perfect compliment to my fretless.Anyone that has ever played these will tell you that Fender Jazz basses are way overpriced and this bass sounds just as good(I think better-maybe as I am biased and pissed that Fender charges so much for their parent company bass). Jon and Bobbie saw how well my main Squire performed and this one is the fretted counterpart.I am so happy,and both basses for under 400$ ! The band is really gathering momentum and I can feel the tours and what not next Summer.Man,I am pumped.Jon,since I got these basses so cheap I think I will trade in my six string for the active control 5 string by Squire-the reviews once again are stellar for this bass.Then all is covered from my end.It feels good to have resolution as my main axe for so many years needs alot of work done on it.More money than what I have spent on these Squires! Anywho,have a great day all! peace, T

passing thought????
October 17, 2009, 5:28 pm

Calcutta, Bangladesh, Darfur, any Indian reservation in the Midwest, the countless children who wake up hungry in Amerika to name a scant few areas of our in-humanity……. Is this Gods little joke?????? our obvious call to action????? Or is the ultimate entity just curious watching our response and evaluating whether we deserve the classification of human beings. To many lights in the universe to pay too much attention to such a primitive planet. Perhaps we are just a passing thought stumbled on now and then. The supreme one gong over notes to see some sort of progression but then realizing he is reading the same notes over and over again. He pauses then moves on and we become yet again just a passing thought. Left on our own to move forward or keep the status quo calming in self-righteous indignation that we and we alone have conquered our humanity. But reality shows us we have barley stepped out of the cave of in-humanity…………jon

wild horses and dead children....
October 17, 2009, 9:48 am

'i am riding on a wild out of control horse', yelled the man. 'Where are you going', yelled a bystander as the man and horse sped by. 'i don't know ask the horse',screamed the man.... ----------------------------------------- this old Zen story says a lot about decisions made this week.we have despoiled our planet so badly and still careen out of control with our greed.this week the Obama administration like bush before him rejected the Kyoto accord,saying that it has no conditions for developing countries. okay i have a real problem with this.first off when the accord was written,the massive expansion of some developing countries had not hit peak yet.second of all,it is an accord-what you choose to ratify can be changed and amended.no one is holding a gun over you(get the no so subtle hint here America).i firmly believe the accord was written with developed nations in mind first,as then this mentorship would then set the paradigmn for responsible use of the worlds resources-to be stewards and caretakers,not takers and despoilers! this is very,very,very bad and shame on you yet again America.it sets us back six paces before the accord was written.that there is no alternative that has been meaningfully written to be frank scares the living shit out of me.with this kind of thinking there is no hope for our childrens children-NONE! MR.Obama c'mon! Education,War,Kyoto-looks to me like business as usual.I EXPECT MORE-WHY-BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU WERE THE VOICE OF CHANGE.Jon and I leave no one off the hook(most importantly ourselves either!).You have to pick it up for goodness sake the decisions made recently are,'business as usual'which means protecting corporate america. PLEASE BE THE CHANGE YOU PROMISED!!!! this being said,I know it can happen-you are the brightest President(most intelligent) we have had in a long,long time!!!! peace, jason

every working class family has a story
October 16, 2009, 10:27 am

My neighbor and friend Dave is 84 years old he has a daughter in her forties whith three kids and a husband. Several years ago she developed cancer and was operated on in Miami( South Florida is not known for great health care I personally watched one of my closest friends die a horrible death due to the negligence of a piece of shit doctor and inadequate system). Anyway my friends daughters doctor botched the operation on her intestines where the cancer was and made things worse. Desperate my friend Dave searched for the best cancer facility he could find and it turns out the facility is in Houston Texas. From all accounts they have done incredible things and given her the opportunity to live. Personally I don’t know how this woman does it between painful infections, chemo, colostomy bag she is way tougher than me. The reason I am writing this is because her husband’s company just changed insurance companies to one that the Houston facility and doctors don’t accept. She know has trouble even getting the chemo therapy that she needs the co-payments are way more and everyone in the medical profession wants the fucking money or hit the fucking road. If each and every one of us does a little digging every family has a story to tell. No I am not talking about those who can afffored the best care I am talking about a huge chunk of Hard working Americans ( Millions and Millions) who are being let down by this supposed greatest country on earth. Hell who the fuck could look in a mirror and spew that line and actually believe it. The rich of course right bush junior you sure made the rich way richer while you sucked their corporate dicks……………..jon

why?????
October 14, 2009, 5:59 pm

Sometimes I wonder why I have been given this space I live in……..Why me???? What gives me the right to live with no valid contribution after fifty plus years of blind intentions. Is there not some kind of celestial evaluation that pulls aside those who think they might be as opposed to those who think the shit they spew don’t stink???I appear to be caught between the lines of observation and ignorance. So many stinkers selling shit like the promise of sight to a blind man. And if you lick the corporate ass you will get to pull your ego from the bullshit that blinds reality like the game you play because it fil's our needs

the Sun....
October 14, 2009, 9:58 am

the sun holds many mysteries. there was a Lakota Sioux Medicine Man that lived to 108.he said his secret was to greet the sun each day with prayers and sage and then to wipe the sunlight on all parts of his body particularly the troubled areas(in the early morning when the sunlight and qi is very powerflull). in Zen Buddhism and Indigenous thought around the world-the sun is our heart.it is connected to everything just as our heart is. i have had many interesting encounters with the sun-fasting,after sweatlodge,after sauna. the sun holds profound mysteries. please consider this blog carefully and find out for yourself.... peace, T

R.C.A.M annual report....
October 13, 2009, 7:31 am

For many years we have given over our biggest garden to R.C.A.M a rural Ministry that provides fresh organic fruit and veggies to the Soup Kitchens and poor of Maine. This year Wanda(the wonderful rep.from R.C.A.M)told me they will not need our land or others as they were able to cut a deal for many acres from a local farmer right by their main office in Greene.This will cut down on travel and exppences.I was very happy for Wanda as they have worked very hard for this deal,but sad at the same time. Every year people from all over the U.S have come to work our garden.They have all been wonderful,and obviously thoughtful and purposeful people.I will miss the greatly! My thought is to continue and reserve sections of the gardens for R.C.A.M as their work is so important. Usually there is a team after harvest to pluck weeds and till,etc....it is a lot of work! This year that team was me.I have mentioned before on the site the www.transformetrics.com site and I encourage you all to visit.It is because of these natural ways of working out that I have so much energy to work.Yesterday,I worked until fivepm.doing backbreaking work.Yeah okay so I was a little stiff(what do you want with someone two days older than water,ha,ha),but I had so much energy! Anywho,sad to see them go,but will keep up the relationship-Jon and I have a commitment to the poor and dis-enfranchised. peace, T

Well I said it now we have to do it
October 10, 2009, 2:09 pm

Hittin the road for a couple of days will be out of touch, next week is gonna be big. We will kill Tuesday night at South Shores Tavern and then Thursday we are auditioning at the Famous Tobacco Road an institution in South Florida for decades that actually supports original music. Wish us well fans and those down here try to come on out and support us please I know we are going to get a paying gig out of this audition I promise........jon

clarification
October 10, 2009, 8:05 am

Not to blow my own horn T but Bobby came up with the title Decadence of Greed and he wanted me to write the lyrics I am going to finish this one and Bobby also came up with the killer rhythm that drives the song and I put it to melody. It was fun working with him on this and I can’t wait until we can all slam it down together…………………..jon

decadence of greed
October 9, 2009, 3:26 pm

BOBBY WROTE A TITLE TO A SONG ON A PIECE OF PAPER A WHILE A GO AND I JUST FOUND IT RIGHT NOW SO I WROTE DOWN SOME LYRICS WE HAVE SOME MUSIC TO GO WITH IT SO WE IS GONNA FINNISH THIS ONE IT WILL BE BOBBIES FIRST COLLOBORATION WITH SCREAMERS................................ She it gently gather the naked eye it never sees…… but as it builds it chokes out almost all our purity The cycles never ending in fact so plain to see Those selfish minds they use it………. the decadence of greed Collected in your castle the more you have the more you need As escalation it consumes you look down on those who bleed But is your life so empty that these trinkets fill you needs I can tell you where it leads you to the………… decadence of greed Every castle has it dungeon and there is no guarantee For there is nothing quite as fickle as the………… decadence of greed So grab it like a mad man but what you have wont set you free And if your world turns over you’ll see it vanish like a dream We all deserve to live in comfort but the plan can’t always be So many never get the chance to have the little things they need this is not the only reason there are so many more to see but beneath mans many problems lies the……………….. decadence of greed.........jon

wispers 1
October 7, 2009, 8:48 pm

Whispers echo down long halls where angels fear and heaven ignores the passing decadence that drips down dew laden walls. Whispers gently call but no one hears choosing to tune out and indulge in self satisfaction let someone else carry the weight I have mine work for yours. Whispers call as they echo down deserted streets strewn with indifference and apathy crowded with hollow bodies and empty stares. Whispers echo down from the sky like rain on a parched desert floor sucked up by greedy hungry life as the echoes of truth that build up are washed away down the rivers of hate and despair. Wipers never stop it is life as it should be it is reality any civilization would strive to see it is who we pretend to be as we choose not to listen……….jon

Open the lines
October 7, 2009, 12:09 pm

Last night at South Shores Tavern had was epic on many levels. Bobby and I started off the evening and I was fighting to get up to speed as I had slept only a few hours the last couple of nights insomnia runs in the family unfortunately and frankly I did not know how I was going to do it. Bobby told me there were another couple of bands at the open mike and that pumped me up because we did not want to get up staged by another band it’s not ego but pride in what we are doing. Our first set went very well even though Penny our new manager came up to me after the second song and told me to step it up. I love this woman because she is a great person but she knows when to push and get what she wants its exactly what we need. As far as I am concerned any good manager has to be aggressive that’s how things get done in this super competitive world of trying to make it in the music business. The next band that came up had a girl singer who sounds like Janice Joplin and can sing anything they did all cover tunes and it was awesome I am not jealous of another good band we do what we do and it is totally original and I have confidence in every song we play. As the second band was playing I noticed that Bobby was spending time with another band and as I have stated over the last couple of days Bobby is playing with another band but has not told me yet It’s not that I care if he does I just think he should tell me so I can be up to date in case he decides to move on I will be ready to move on to. Well the second band finished and Bobby and his new band got up the male singer is very good with a powerful voice and can sing just about anything they also had a girl who was very casual and looked like she was just up for an open mike karaoke I was truthfully expecting to hear an ok voice but then this girl started singing and my jaw hit the floor this girl sounds like a cross between Billy Holliday and Erika Badu she blew me away with her unique voice and power. Both bands played cover tunes and sounded excellent again why should I be jealous the girls and some of the band members have real talent. Bobby and I were getting ready to play again and I was a little perturbed because here was Bobby working with this other band which he did not tell me about and it was obvious as I had just heard them play. Again we encourage Bobby to play with other bands because he is on hard times but to not tell me was kinda weird like he was sneaking around just tell me so I know what is going on in case we have conflicting gigs. I got up on stage and was ready to start and ended up waiting for Bobby with dead air time because he was talking to his other band instead of doing our set knowing it was our time to play and dead air is a killer at any gig. I finally got his attention but by then I was pissed so as we tore into the last set I went a little overboard with my performance the energy was full blown but I was moving around quite a bit and at times turning my back to the audience and giving Bobby a glaring look or two. The set was well received but it was not our best and I let emotions get the better of me this is not acceptable when I say we analyze truthfully every performance I am not jiving anyone. On the way home Bobby and I had a good talk and air out everything and I have confidence he is totally committed to Shadow Screamers but he can play other gigs if they don’t interfere with our schedule in any relations ship communication is essential and moving forward we both will try to keep the lines open for everything………….jon

Hey T this is what I meant
October 6, 2009, 12:45 pm

T the post yesterday was when I found out bobby is jamming with another band this is as you know not a problem as we are in limbo as a real band and he is struggling financially. But I was just bummed because he has not told me anything about it I heard something and put two and two together. I am just waiting for him to tell me some day so that if he gets a gig on Tuesday night with the other band I won’t be left looking like a fool playing by Myself at South Shores Tavern on Tuesday Night…….jon

come clean dude just let me know................
October 5, 2009, 5:13 pm

When you are in a band it is my belief that you have to be like a family no secrets hell the truth it just opens up the exploration of new opportunities and plan b for those who remain behind and whatever else if you are suddenly left with one less player, It can feel it like a cold shower on a icy morning especially when there only two now…………………..someone is not being up front face to face still no coming clean. We hold no one back this band is in limbo until and if T finally comes down hell what the fuck would I do the dam thing?????I hope not……….. other options are available for a good player who is struggling financially but again all I want is the truth………. maybe it is too much to ask……I have given all I have and then much more and It will be bitter pill to swallow if I am left with empty explanations when the door opens and the dude walks out and I am left to cover for two……………what the fuck life and this dumb assed band still goes on and on and on and on and on?.......................jon

One in three children
October 4, 2009, 9:46 am

one in three children go to school hungry in America.... one in three children go to school hungry one in three children go to school hungry one in three children go to school hungry one in three children go to school hungry, today like every day 40,000 people in the world will starve to death;men,women,and children. there is an old Cree saying that goes like this,'When you have ruined the enviornment(rough para-phrasing)will you be able to eat your money'? now this may seem incongruent but not really.we are destroying our world and millions go hungry each day.it is time to take serious measures or there simply will not be future generations.I will be back on Green Warriors again soon.... peace, jason

wasted minds
October 3, 2009, 8:02 pm

dont know do you? where are the answers???? are you looking???? or just making blind excuses based on what you think you know or something you might have heard never validating just spewing the words....... when did our minds beocme lazy? when did we loose sight of the signs.......why are we choosing to be blinded by those who control our feeble minds....... can you really blame them power is like god and this god is fucking blind as those who so many look up to control our feeble minds, they control out feeble minds what a waste of the human mind what a waste of the human mind

Look at what the rich have done for us
October 3, 2009, 12:48 pm

we must certainly write our reps.to support health care reform.this may be contentious but it is what i believe;we should look to Canada,France,England,Sweden for reform.i believe the only true answer in the long term is social democracy as Sweden enjoys,why? let us look at facts shall we? -Sweden,year in and year out is in the top five of the happiest places on Earth -they take care of their people,cradle to grave -people don't have to work three jobs just to afford a Doctor/Dentist visit -when you lose a job the gov.pays you until you get back on your feet i could go on and on here,but suffice to say,the only real answer for human beings is social democracy. look around you,what do you see here in America? year in and year out the top five percent haul in over 95 percent of the wealth! THEY ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT YOU HAPPINESS OR WELL-BEING.THEIR ONLY CONCERN IS TO GET RICHER AND LEAVE YOU,YES YOU OUT OF THE LOOP IN THE GOOD OLE' BOYS CLUB.THEY HAVE POWERFUL LOBBIES WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO DEFEAT ANYTHING THAT SMELLS OF HEALTH CARE REFORM OR SOCIAL DEMOCRACY.WHY?IT WOULD THREATEN THEIR FAT CAT WAY OF LIFE!!!! in America it is important to realize this.meanwhile what have these fat-cats done for us-PLENTY; ROBBED YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN CREATED WARFARE ALL OVER THE WORLD DESTROYED THE ENVIORNMENT ALMOST TO THE BRINK OF NO RETURN KILLED OFF LANGUAGES AND CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD BY SELLING THE AMERICAN DREAM.... gee,on looking at the above list why am i whinning,look at all the wonderful things they have done just for you and i.... stop the stupidity-write letters/protest!!!! peace, T

enough already
October 2, 2009, 8:34 am

Well enough of me bitchin and moaning the last couple of days nobody wants to read that. Today I am going over to Bobbies to work on a couple of new cover tunes and some new originals. The cover tunes are Pain Lies on the Riverside buy the group Live I don’t know what happened to them they are a killer band. The other tune is Sex on Fire by the Kings of Leon both song are high energy and fun to play perfect for our band. T is gonna love Pain lies on the riverside it has a killer bass line that he will have a blast playing with. So it is another day and life goes on and I am back on track and over feeling sorry for myself the band lives on………….jon

our time is near i hope
October 1, 2009, 10:22 am

Sometimes I wonder why at my age I am still perusing the musical dream when most sane people would have moved on years ago. This band has incredible potential but T is in Maine and we are here trying to keep things going the best a singer guitarist and drummer can. We have tried adding a temp bass player but who wants to put time and energy into something short term? Then you have experiences like Tuesday Night at South Shores where it should be a fun night but then along comes aone ego maniac (read entry below) who has no regard for anyone but himself and who single handily spoils the evening and I wonder why the hell am I putting up with this shit. Thank God we finally have a real manager who I can talk to and who reinvigorates me to keep going with her positive attitude and energy. Penny is going to be a big part of this band and its success and when T finally gets down here we can move past the limitations of a two piece band. We will always have a place in our hearts for South Shores Tavern but if we are to grow our fan base we need to branch out in every direction and prove each and every night that we are a band whose time has come……………jon

Sunflower seed??thank god it was not a ham and cheese on rye or I really would have lost it!
September 30, 2009, 11:00 am

Last night I was in danger of eating my words from my entry yesterday. Bobby and I started off the open mike last night and although we did a good set and it was well received it was not up to our standards so it was not acceptable. As it turns out that was going to change over the course to the evening. Shadow Screamers provides the P.A for the open mike and I let other musicians use my guitar and amp so I have to get up on stage sometimes and help the performers get set up this has to take place quickly as the worst thing you can have is dead space during the night. Last night as I was trying to set up a guy with his guitar and my amp another guitarist who knows better decided he wanted to doodle on his guitar and because his amp and he were right next to me it was hard for me to do my job while he was playing so I asked him if he could stop for a minute as he could plainly see I needed to hear just the guy I was setting up to make it easier to get a good sound. He ignored me so I reached over and turned off his amp and then with the quiet was able to get the next performer set up. Well the look the dude gave me if looks could kill anyway I again explained that I just needed quiet on the stage so I could do my job then he could doodle to his heart’s content. Frankly I could give a shit what the dude thought and all he had to do was turn his amp back on. Later in the evening the same dude was on stage playing with some other guys and I noticed he was sitting on my amp it is not uncommon to sit on a guitar amp But I do not know the dude well enough for him to take that liberty and common sense and courtesy tell you to respect other people’s property if he was tired he should have sat on his amp. They finished their set and as Bobby and I got up on stage to finish out the evening I walked over to the dude and to my surprise noticed that he had poured a bunch of sunflower seeds on the top of my amp and as he was sitting there playing he was using my 1300 dollar Marshall amp as his little picnic table? At this point I lost it and was ready to kill the dude this to me was the ultimate in disrespect and although it takes a lot to get me going this dude hit the jackpot. Bobby came over and talked some sense into me and the guitar dude with a queer little smirk on his face was asking me what was the big deal knowing exactly what the deal was. By the way this same dude does not let anyone touch his guitar and amp yet he treats other peoples equipment like shit?????go figure. In looking back I guess the dude was trying to upset me and spoil our last set but as I said I don’t know this dude from shit and he sure as hell don’t know who the hell I am so as he left the stage Bobbie and I tore into a three song set to close out the evening that by all accounts from our manager Penny and everyone else who was there……………. was one of our best performances EVER!!!!!!!!!!! Even Bobby was wondering how the set would sound and now he knows no matter what kind of childish games go on or how pissed off I get when I step in front of that mike it’s all about the music and giving everything to those who come to see us…………….jon

we will back it up tonight
September 29, 2009, 11:01 am

Hey thanks for the comments in the Fan Journal we love to hear from each and every one of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good or bad we leave it all up. Bobbie and I are back at South Shores Tavern tonight and I have a feeling it is going to be a kick ass show as that is all we know how to do!! We are still looking for a temp bass player until T gets his ass down here in a few months. Right now it is best that just Bobby and I get up on stage because after more than a year of intense rehearsing weather its in Bobbies boiling hot back yard with no shade or his little one room apartment the sweat has translated into an intense groove that has made it very difficult to play with unless the players put in hours of hard practice. If we were doing cover tunes only it would be one thing but as we do mostly tightly orchestrated origionals anyone we play with has to put in the time to learn the songs and the grooves.It may seem to some that I am an overconfident, egotisitical musucian but that is not the case and I am willing to put it one the line so if you live in the area and have time to come see us tonight I will prove everything that I boast about by getting up on stage with Bobbie and giving you a kick as performance hell I will even buy you a drink what more can you ask for?...............jon

bigger than me
September 28, 2009, 2:32 pm

Tell me no and don’t say the words I want to push away…. the truth it lies in lines that are scattered by the blind lies of reality…….. while making perfect sense to me they become scattered shadows cast by the ones who don’t believe….. but what is belief yet another empty speculation on empty facts that hold the truth with you…….. but leave me empty …..oh so empty… I am madness locked in a perfect circle I am genius locked inside a broken brain as it slams against the wall of perception that dictates the endless games that I play ……matters that exist in your world don’t mean shit to me the world is nothing more nothing less the what you choose to believe……. you choose to believe….I cast out empty assumptions of what I think it could be but in the end you move on like me grasping for another hand to pull me up……… another hand to pull me up……. as I hold your hand to pull you up even though we don’t see eye to eye in this land of uncertainly ………will you do the same for me no questions asked no sides to choose just you helping melllllllll????????. Will you do the same for me??????? Deep inside it does not matter because your decision is so much bigger than me………… so much bigger than me……….jon

Harvest....
September 28, 2009, 10:21 am

the fields are tilled, the harvest in, where did growth go? what of my harvest? this molded clay holding for but awhile will soon rest under the thick coat of hoarfrost. i tell you i hear springtime underneath my feet, like the whisper of a child. this growth this sun,and moon that resides within my chest, awaiting the simplest slight zephyr of spring.... ------------------------------ we die each day,if we did not how could we grow?many hold to thoughts and patterns of behavior,can you not see this against the very laws of nature?look around you what do you see?the still pond in fall does not reach up and grasp the clouds that float by.it merely mirrors passing phenomena,retaining it's,'such-ness'. we must surely die each day to live.in doing so the transformation?endless!!!! peace, T

Heavy Frost
September 27, 2009, 9:47 am

heavy frost.... last night a heavy frost tomatoes covered hanging plants in the sun room. my breath rises in prayer, as i walk the frosted wheat ground.... ------------------------------ seasons changing,do we take the time to notice?it has been said that this is the most unaware generation of the great outdoors,yet the Green movement flourishes with this same generation.one of the greatest things we can ever do to truly understand the Sacred Web of life is to be in it.that means turning off the i-pod,cell phone,computer,tv,and stepping into nature.much of my poetry is derived from direct experience being outdoors.i know no greater teacher than nature and my experience as part of her.more than books could ever teach,simply breathing and observation.i am convinced that the great systems of healing and movement were built this way;qigong,yoga,tai chi,etc...all understood by deep experience and contact with nature.... peace, T

lookin
September 25, 2009, 9:49 pm

Son of a bitch if we did not KICK FUCKING ASS AGAIN TODAY!!!!!!!!!! i AM SORRY THAT OUR FANS CANT HEAR THE SHIT WE BEEN LAYIN DOWN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS I am my own worst critic but I promise you we are so fucking close I can taste it!!!!!!!!! and It wont be long before you can taste it toooo!!!!@!!!!!!!!! maybe i am mad......... maybe i need a push......... you tell me........ why do I keep callin you a fool I have all the credintials

from us to you our gift we hope you like it
September 24, 2009, 3:18 pm

Stopped by Bobbies today for an hour and a half just to get in a quick jam. He has one baby speaker unit the size of a small box with three inputs which he plugs his electronic drums into. I plugged my Martin acoustic guitar and one vocal mike into his baby unit and and it sounded great!!!!!! I was pressed against the wall which is wood paneling the perfect surface to project off and we just started jamming.We pride ourselves on being able to jam under almost any circumstance obviously if the whole system crashed it is over!!!!! but give us next to nothing and we will make it sound good I consider it a privelage to play regardless if it is before a larfge crowd or one person and I can back it up if ya want proof then come on down next Tuesday night at South Shores Tavern and I will by you a beer and entertain you with our incredible drummer and me. We are getting better and better with every session as I am expanding my vocals and guitar work and Bobby is as busy as ever beating the hell out of his skins!!!!!!!!! of course it would help if T was down here sweating bcukets with us...... but you know what????????? I will put us up against any combo like ours across this planet!!!!! we will kick ass and come out on TOP!!!!!!!!! this is not becasue we are the best musucians, songwriters, performers across the board but when you put us up on any stage and give us thirty minuets giving us an honest chance to entertain you............... I promise and the facts are clear with every show we do as we leave each and every one with the fans wanting more!!!!!!!!!!!!..................MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE SWEAT BUCKETS OF PASSION, ENERGY, INTENSITY WITH A HAND FULL OF GUT WRENCHING SOUL SO THAT WE CAN GIVE EACH AND EVERY FAN WHO SHOWS UP A PERSONAL HEART FELT GIFT........... OUR MUSIC......... FROM US TO YOU ..............jon

Tuesday night results are in at South Shores Tavern
September 23, 2009, 6:22 pm

Last night after we had set up and I was looking over the set list I started getting nervous. It had been a week since Bobby and me had played and some of the songs in the set we had not played for weeks I had that moment of panic in my mind visualizing where you are playing the song and forget several chord changes or the lyrics and worst of all when you are so out of sync you can’t finish the dam song. These thoughts quickly faded once we started the first song and as it turned out we had a great first set and we closed out the evening with some of the best audience response we have had in awhile. We have worked hard this last year and a half to get the material down and you have to trust yourself and your band mate in situations like that. We are both looking forward to learning some new tunes this week and expanding the set list. The Tuesday night open mike is a great time for us to just get up on the stage and let loose with no other responsibility then to set up the stage and jam. We start the evening with six or seven songs then whoever signs up to get on stage does their thing last night a girl singer got up and did killer versions of Janice Joplin and Mellissa Etheridge songs as well as some others and we wish her the best she is VEARY talented. Penny our new manager has lots of energy, great ideas, and knows how to get things done, we are just starting out but in the next few months as we put things together I am extremely confident that she will be able to handle the business aspects and together we will finally be able to get the great music and vision this band has to a much wider audience SO STAY TUNED. One other note the shit I posted yesterday called “Sand� came to me as I was listening to a song on the radio the last couple of days this one did not pan out but as a writer I often use someone’s melody to construct the lyrics to my songs then I use my own melodies and combine the lyrics that I have written and there you have it good or bad. I don’t think I will use Sand but you can’t expect to hit a home run every time you write a lyric……………jon

sand
September 22, 2009, 8:39 am

I used to cry a river of pity for me until I saw a starving child in the streets and she smiled at me, yes she smiled at me. I used to think that I knew more then you could teach me until I opened up my eyes just to see and found I don’t know a thing, no I don’t know a thing. I used to tell myself that I could do it alone but when life slammed me down I reached for someone to hold, an open heart to lift me , to lift me from misery. I sometimes get complacent just living to be until I see how far somebody can reach it stokes the fire inside me, it stokes desire in me. I turn the page while walking thru the days so far to go but am I going the right way. Im older now but still so insecure as I hold onto fears that closed so many doors. I've got to change or I'll be left behind with no one to blame as I pass by my prime it haunts me nights like a restless dream that fades away before the ending scene. So now I capture moments like shells in the sand they may not be perfect but they make up who I am as I walk thru the sand, as I walk thru the sand…………jon

souls not for sale
September 21, 2009, 9:29 am

The entry I put up a few days ago about rappers was a spur of the moment angry response to what I see as the prepackaged image and eletist attltudes of not only a couple of super famous rappers but across the board in the music industry and I will not apologize or take it back it could have been taken off our page but with this band what you see is what you get. Have I said some dumb things over the years? Sure I have!!! we all do but I don’t take them back because I SAID THEM AND MEANT THEM AT THE TIME SO OBVIOUSLY I CANT TAKE THEM BACK IF I AM TRUE TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!! Look back thru the band journal and you will see this is true. T and I are opposite dynamics because that is who we are as people for him to pretend to be like me or for me to pretend to be him would not be fair to our fans much less to ourselves. When we do finally climb up the ladder enough to make an honest living doing this thing we love called music I will promise you that we will never change who we are to satisfy some image that may make us a few more dollars while selling our souls in the process………..jon

Conditions....
September 20, 2009, 2:19 pm

What can you say about love? Is it possessive, is it clingy? Indeed such a love is not at all possible,in fact if it has these two elements it is not love at all.True love allows for independence.It allows the,'such-ness' of another to be. I don't,'need your love'.If I need your love than perhaps elements of my happiness have not been met and I strive,therefore to need and be clingy. Look at your 'love' carefully.How do you Love? What way do you show it? When I say to my brother Jon(guitarist,singer,songwriter in our band)that I love him it is without condition.My happiness is not contingent on his love back.I simply love him for who he is and what he is-no condition attached. Equally I can say this about other,'loves' in my life.They might have different ingredients within that love such as;son,daughter,wife,mother,father,etc...,but the important thing to remember is that there is no possessive nature to this love and I do not cling to the love to establish my happiness. Conditions are tricky and the glue that helps to establish ignorance. Conditions are deadly,they have wreaked more havoc on this world by establishing this glue of ignorance. Define your happiness! You will never have it with the conditions you set for someone else! peace, T

Are their and real rappers out tha
September 18, 2009, 10:15 am

Let me get this straight Kajon West was on Joe Leno’s first show the other night apologizing for intimidating a 17 year old girl Taylor Swift at some awards show recently after she had just received an award? You mean to tell me this dork did not have a clue that it would totally ruin Taylors evening besides the fact that it was a childish act from someone who seems to make a career out of crying like a little baby whenever he does not get an award at these stupid affairs???? I thought it was real funny when Jay asked West what his mother would think I guess she died recently the dude almost started crying???????? Funny stuff. Don’t get me wrong he has an incredible sense for POP RAP catchy beats and fluffy lyrics but when can we say good bye to this spoiled Idiot????? Meanwhile later in the show he did a tune with J-Z and Rhiannon I’m thinking as tough as J-Z appears on his new commercials its pretty funny why the fuck did he not go and beat the fuck out of the pussy Chris Brown after he beat up Rhianna?????? J-Z you are smart spewing your pop rap raking in the dough selling it to wiggers all across the country. I mean after all what you got to rap about??? Whether or not to fuck Bieoance before or after lunch and how to spend the ten grand wad in your wallet????? where the hell is Biggy Small and Tupac when you need them?????jon

sacred stone
September 17, 2009, 2:26 pm

I look inside my mind and I don’t got no tools to direct this angry man who feeds on what he don’t find in these endless circles. I am mother fucker ho don’t know pain form bliss but I keep marching despite the thoughts inside the waves of madness that slam me against what those outside looking in think is bliss. the fucking world is blind the fucking word is blind take a look around take a look around deception rules mankinds fucking mind. Blind shadows steer us like sheep to the slaughter as they who hold the sacred stone brainwash the mindless and punish those who can grasp what is happening beating them down beating those mother fuckers down…………….. where the fuck do you stand or has your ass already been beaten down…………jon

As A Catholic I am angry!!!!
September 17, 2009, 12:26 pm

Okay so I am irritated! I am a Irish/Native Catholic in line with Merton and Black Elk.Today at Mass I had to suffer through another collection and outright barrage against the same sex bill that was passed in Maine(The Catholic Church with others have forced a referendum). Let me ask you a question,'let us suppose you are a Mother or Father and your son and daughter has told you,they are gay/lesbian.Let us now suppose that they have fallen in love and they wish to spend the rest of their lives together and get married-question is,don't you want that for your son or daughter"?Don't you want your children to be happy and well loved(little known fact,gay/lesbians have a lower divorce rate-Evangelicals have the highest!). Gay/lesbians have been around since time began-it is who they are,not a choice to be made.Do you discriminate against me for having Native heritage(wait a minute history says yes-probably not a good example but you see what I am getting at-I can't change who I am-I am,and by the way feel damn good about it). The various Christian churches quote from scripture.I refute this!First of did Jesus ever say anything specific to gay/lesbians?No!!!!Are you telling me,the one who walked with prostitutes,beggars,tax collectors,the destitute,etc....would specifically pick a group to disciminate against-seems like it would be hypocritical doesn't it?LOVE is LOVE.Like the sun,it shines equally to all . I am tired of this! They are even doing a second collection so they can have money to support this dicrimination! I resent that while 40,000 children will die today from starvation,we are collecting money to marginalize a group of human beings that are already marginalized.Doesn't it make more sense to put our money to good use-like feeding the poor(I don't want to put down Catholic Charity per say-there are so many,many great efforts here).WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IS SPECIFIC TO MAINE.Let us do a second collection for the hungry,the poor,the homeless. Let us put in the effort to bring peace to the world as opposed to the endless campaiging for PRO-LIFE.Why would you bring a child into the world with so much anger and hatred-shouldn't we work on this first? Finally,let us seperate Church and State.I don't come to Church to listen to politics and the Nights of Columbus(tell me how you think this makes Natives feel when they hear this name-better choice of name dudes).Well not finally as I read what I have just written-what about married Priests again and WOMEN PRIESTS?The Irish Catholic Church had it right in my mind for a long time.Contraceptions-use them for goodness sake,we have such over-population problems as it is.Telling third world countries to not use condems is watching-LITERALLY-children starving to death!!!! Please be LOVE not hate.... peace,T

T where the fuck are you man
September 16, 2009, 10:10 am

Last night at South Shores tavern was a mix of extreme highs and mind boggling lows. We have a bass player (actually a guitar player converted to bass) who is stepping in for T until he gets the fuck down here hopefully. We rehearsed on Monday with the intern bass player and worked out four songs enough so that he could do an ok job for our gig last night. We played the four songs to start the open mike evening and the performance was ok he held his ground barely. We took a break because he claimed he was tired and let other performers come up and he immediately jumped up on stage to play bass this was fine with me because the other act needed a bass player after they finished their songs the new bass player kept on saying he needed a break so Bobby and I got back up and did some of the many other songs we have been rehearsing for the last year as we started playing the bass player who had just claimed he was exhausted took it upon himself to jump back up on stage and try to play to songs he had never rehearsed before???????????????????As you can expect he was a dead weight anchor that dragged down the songs because he did not know them did not know the changes or the structure that Bobbly and I have worked so hard on this last year.. It amazes me how musicians who are mediocre at best think they can jump up and fill in without ever rehearsing the song????? As we were ending our set he announced to the crowd that he had heard our stuff and though that it was worthy of his participation and that he had four songs of his own that we were going to work on and that we were going to add them soon??????? Bobby and I have heard his stuff and frankly it does not match what we are doing the songs are not compatible I will be nice and leave it at that. Again it always amazes me how someone can get up on stage and be completely out of touch with the reality that they are embarrassing themselves and the rest of the players on the stage maybe it is the open mike syndrome where everyone is a star and the audience is always polite but frankly I take offense that someone who is supposed to be a serious musician not only jumps into a situation that is way above his head but then proceeds to over play bumbling thru missed chord changes completely out of sync and not have a clue?????First I want to say I am not the greatest guitar player who ever lived we are not extremely complicated but we have worked very hard as a two piece to get the grooves extremely tight and every time we play everyone stops and listens and digs our sets. I consider myself a professional musician. I am going to have a talk with the bass player he is a great guy and is helping us out but at some point I have to step up and say hey I am better then this embarrassment that was displayed. In the end Bobby and I went back up by ourselves just the two of us to play one more song to end the night that turned into four songs BECAUSE THE CROWD WOULD NOT LET US LEAVE THE STAGE!!!!! that was the highlight of the night and it is the honest truth I am not an ego maniac I am just obsessed with giving those who take the time to come to see us the best possible show and we leave everything on the stage especially pools of sweat I will not settle for anything less………..Stay tuned for more hopefully we can get thru to this bass player and he can bridge the gap and realize we don’t want to be just another open mike band………….jon

the swordsman....
September 15, 2009, 11:04 am

What is it to be a 'man',a 'woman'? Throughout pop literature terms and ideas are are thrust about,never connecting to the essential question,'who are you,where are you going'. This Spiritual question is as old as time throughout the worlds traditions. Who are you? Are you a title? In this aspect I feel we have lost so much ground in the post-modern era.A title is a very materialistic way in looking at a human being.Are you just the title of Dr.,Groundskeeper,Plumber,Teacher,Lawyer.If you are,what happens when things fall apart?More so,what happens in defining yourself and being yourself in the full breadth of your ,'humanness'. In allowing titles define us,I can see how the era of no-accountability has occured.It is felt that if you admit to a mistake,then somehow your title will be tarnished,that you will no longer play with the elite of the ,'title' you have stuck yourself with and as. This goes against everything in nature. When we learn to walk,we stumble,we fall,until the legs strengthen and the body/mind understands the movements defines as,'walking'. In school,on the field of play-many mistakes to become,learned or a great athlete.In making mistakes we learn.Adjusting,adapting we learn how to really extend'ourselves'within an activity. I have found in this era,few adults that admit they are wrong and accept the consequences of their actions with grace and honesty. If we can only liken ourselves to the making of a fine sword,perhaps we can go beyond title's,material. the craftsmen makes many mistakes on his/her journey in becoming a master. taking rough metal they shape with fire and patience. the metal comes in and out of the fire,gradually shaped,gradually refined, until finally a fine sword is thrust in the coolness of water. if we can be the swrodsman, or the metal, or both perhaps at some distal point we to can become spanish steel or a master.the never ending journey leads to wisdom. peace, T

about the band and other stuff
September 10, 2009, 9:53 am

We had a great Jam on Tuesday night it had been almost two weeks since Bobby and me had jammed and we let out lots of energy with an intense performance that was spot on!!!!!! The rain came in for a little while which left us scrambling to get our equipment under cover this however did not stop the show because we just moved back as far as we could under the mini half shell and just kept on cranking the songs. We are still trying to work Peter the temp bass player into the band but it is going to take some time and until we get connected as a three piece it is better that Bobby and I play alone until he is ready. I keep hearing that I have the intensity of Eddie Veder the lead singer from Pearl Jam this is a great compliment for me because they kick ass ,and we are going to add a Pearl Jam song to the set list as well as some newer covers. It seems like we are walking thru wet cement as far as the progress of the band goes but we will keep on moving forward and getting better every week. Penny our new and improved manager is bringing lots of positive energy to the band and if our fans can just bear with us I promise you I will never disappoint you for without you we are nothing. I am going to bring back Tom Brokejaw again after listening to Obama's speech last night in spite of the fact that the asshole hick Republican from South Carolina joe Wilson kept jeering Obama like some grade school immature spoiled little boy. I also find it interesting that the Republicans chose a rich surgeon to give the GOPs televised response gee let’s see now do ya think a rich old white boy from Louisiana is gonna go along with a National Health Care System when he is sitting in the lap of luxury with the current system which let’s face it leaves millions of minority children out in the cold and favors whitey??????stay tuned I am ready to bring out the acid pen like I did when junior bush was the president if you don’t know about Tom Brokejaw just go to the top of the Band Journal and type in Tom Brokejaw and you can check it out if you want there are plenty of entries from the bush years………jon

Green Warrior 7 part 2.... Forgiveness;
September 8, 2009, 8:46 am

love is the most powerful energy in the universe!Indeed it holds everything we see in balance in harmony,that perhaps we don't understand but is there-that is the mystery! Hafiz said,'My only regret is that I did not kiss you enough'. This morning as I watched the mist rise from the streams,rivers,and lakes, and myriad forms emerge from the gentle sfumato. An Eagle called as it circled the endless blue sky, my eyes turned upwards and beyond. Everything,everything kissed with my eyes,my heart,my being. If we kiss like this 24 hours a day(yes even in sleep),perhaps as we die we may have no regrets.We can turn to that secret lover and say,yes i have indeed kissed you enough. The Green Warrior aspires to this heart,this mind.Within this mind is forgiveness. Let me ask you a question,'If you set on a journey to change something with anger,hatred,a grudge,do you not taint this change with this toxic energy'?You may say and do wonderful things,but this toxic energy will manifest in one way or another. Look around you,what do you see?religious wars,famine,hatred.The ones that start it believe they are right and that God is on their side.This toxic energy kills myriad beings and pollutes the world for a long time with hatred. To forgive is to let go.It is to let the toxins release from the soul.It is the raiku cup spilling,to be empty with the greatest force/energy in the universe-LOVE. My Elders have taught me this.They have been beaten,abused,forced on reservations,watched members of their families killed,yet they look at the world with the eyes of forgiveness!Seems impossible!They are very wise,they have learned that if they hold their hatred they to become victims-they choose the role and the love of the survivor.THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY DON'T FIGHT INJUSTICE,THEY DO INDEED.With the voice of reason,of love,of wisdom. We,all of us can take a page or chapter from their collective book. Green Warriors forgive(and forgive themselves)so that they can go onto the journey of transformation of self of world with LOVE.... peace, T

Green Warrior 7....
September 6, 2009, 3:17 pm

Integrity: It is true as the saying goes,that true integrity is what you do even when no one is looking.It is hoped at this point,that your actions are like the right hand that cares for the left when injured-it just does,without fanfare,without commentary. Green warriors have Integrity.Within this there is a passionate pursuit of Truth. Truth can be very daunting.It can leave one exposed,naked.The end result-fearless,just look at one that made it his goal to pursue truth his entire life-Gandhi! A Green Warrior I would like to celebrate today is Janine Benyus the re-founder of Biomimicry.Re-founder?Yes even she says so.To look at the ways ancient humankind lived,there was a healthy mimicing of nature.This field studies nature to find solutions to humankind's problems. They study for instance how to make non toxic glues by studying barnackles for instance.they study how to make natural ropes by observing spider webs.In fact they fit perfectly as Green Warriors in that they practice stillness and observation,knowing that nature is far superior to man in problem solving and wisdom. I feel that her work is the only way of the future if we indeed are going to make it. we have defiled Mother Earth to such an extent that we must surrender our notion of superiority and understand that nature is far wiser. We are but a blip on collective time on this tiny blue marbel in space.To think that we could possibly hold the answers to the world is arrogant and downright stupid. Natives and Taoists are two ancient cultures that didn't leave much of a footprint,yet built amazing advances in literally all fields of study.What did they do?How did they do it?Stillness and observation!they constantly went(and go-we are still here!)and go to nature for answers to problems. It takes a lot of Integrity to admit you are wrong.Collectively as a species I await this admonition.It is then that we can dash all notions of being,'more than',and join innumerable other beings back on the web-Indira's web.More on this later.... peace, T

Why thank you fans
September 4, 2009, 11:39 am

Thanks for the comments and as far as “Goodbye Saigon� I truly believe that when we have the proper recording and a justified killer producer to work out the ideas for that song it will be signature song for the Vietnam era. I was too young to fight in that war but I watched every night on the evening news and read about it in Life magazine and as a result it is very personal for me and for T. We believe the intense scope of the song and the intensity of our delivery if captured correctly will make a deep and strong emotional connection for all those brave men and women who served this country during that time. Remember folks these service personal were spit on when they returned home from duty and had to be hidden from sight when they landed on our shores so that they would not be subject to harassment and hatred. Also remember that they were drafted most did not elect to join the military their number came up in the draft lottery that is of course unless you were a privileged little boy like for instance george bush junior of dick chaney they were given a pass because of Mommy and Daddies connections and also because they were white ,minorities served in disproportionate numbers during that war……….jon

Green Warrior 6....
September 3, 2009, 8:04 am

So back to our educational system and what we can do collectively and individually. First off,I made some rather broad statements about the violence of the system.It goes beyond this,this was also the system that abused children and kept an entire populace froM their own culture-the Native Schools. I personally know Elders that were abused horribly under this system. If that is education,I would like to know what warfare is? I also mentioned that are system is predicated on the underpinnings of our Puritanical beginnings in conquest of this continent. It is still evident to this day.Look around you,see the bullying of the fundamentals.The same ones that refute evolution and actually have so-called Intelligent Design in public education around the country. Here are some solutions that would make sense to me; -Go back to separation of Church and State.This would not allow bullying from fundamentals and also stem the tide of ridiculous notions that make this nation look like a generation of idiots. -Get rid of all Standardized testing!Wow,another bold statement,hear me out.Standardized testing has allowed for us to teach to the test.Many states learning results,etc...are predicated on having students do well on the tests.What is the problem with this?It does not allow for thinking and discussions in class.It puts all educational pedagogy under a microscope,cold,so-called rational,so-called research backed.Okay,here is the problem with research,it is flawed in the soft sciences(in particular) by the ones doing the research.They are showing pedagogy that helps to perform on tests,this is the design,this is what they are after,no other discussion of pedagogy is entertained.What is the violence here?It is violent to not have a human being ask questions and ponder,it is how we evolved for goodness sake.Our quick wit and resourcefulness helped expand our brain pan to what it currently is. -Have a mixture of pedagogy.Bring back the Platonian model as part of the collective tool bag.Entertain questions,let students chew on bits of information and knowledge,LET THEM FOSTER CRITICAL THINKING AGAIN! -Dispel the cultural myth of the Nerd.Because of the violence of the system we have had a severe backlash from students from the 60's onward towards knowledge and those that would dare be smart.Our system has done this,it is a form of cross-generational rebellion.To dispel the myth,certain methods dating from Plato's time should be introduced.Make education fun,and knowledge meaningful!I listened to a Prof.From Michigan talk about why many Asian cultures excel at Math.He said that we tend to teach vertically,whereas in these parts of Asia they are taught that Math is more like a sphere that involves all parts of your life.They are taught this early,so children see early on the relevance of MATH.In doing this,the concept of nerd is dispelled. -Social Democracy like Sweden enjoys.Huh????If we have a national health care policy,cradle to grave services,children that are well fed,gov.day care,etc... than our students and parents do not need to worry as much.Always remember a disturbing fact one fourth to one third of our children go to school HUNGRY EVERY DAY!!!!It is hard to study when you are hungry,your parents are stressed because of working two jobs,you live in a neighborhood like a war zone without an sustainable economy.etc... These are just a few thoughts for today that I have pondered after over 20 years in education.More tomorrow. peace, T

Two words I hate to hear Rain out
September 2, 2009, 9:46 am

We were rained out last night at South Shores Tavern never stopped raining the whole night and since the gig is outside in an open area there was no chance we were going to perform. It’s a bummer because both Bobby and me are ready to tear it up this band is one of pure emotion and energy and we have been a bit pent up the last couple of weeks. The whole night was no a total loss our new manager Patty and her boyfriend kieran met us and we had a productive meeting I really like the ideas and energy she brings to the table. I am still confused about why Pat left the band still have not heard from him directly but the band must go on and we wish him the best it is going to be a daunting task with not much immediate benefit for the manager but if everyone works together and does their part then everyone will reap the benefits. Our intern bass players wife has health issues right now so we are a little behind but with this band family comes first so we will be patient and hopefully his wife will return to good health. I will keep everyone updated as things progress and I think they are going to with the new team so check back in and keep up with this up and coming band……..jon

Green Warrior 5 ,Seventh Generation Living....
September 1, 2009, 9:10 am

You have an opportunity to buy coffee or tea. You notice that all they have are styrofoam cups at this store,you do not have yours,what do you do?Walk! Better to wait for the office or home than having that cup sit in a landfill for a long,long time.Seventh Generation living means these kinds of choices daily. It means buying a car,if you need one,that is friendly for the enviornment. Big America does not cut it anymore.We deplete the enviornment more than any country on Earth due to our,'Big Living'.Buying that Hummer,supersizing everything throwing away,etc... To be a Green Warrior means to;recycle,reduce,re-use-the old Mantra that is more important now as ever.Do you need more clothes,makeup,fancy cars,stuff that will sit in a landfill. Go through your house.Carry a notebook and pencil.Mark down each item in your house that either is Seventh Generation or not(will be harmful to future generations or not),be prepared for shock! This is not an exercise in guilt,this is an exercise for awareness. Now after completing,what have you used or not used in the last two years?If you have not used something for the last two to three years,it is time to send it to someone who will(re-use).Some neighborhoods have collections on the street.Other places you must physically take material to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. After you do this how do you feel? Now here is another component.Before buying anything else,make sure your need it,not want it(huge difference!).Try to live a more Zen existence;sparse,good Feng Shuai.You will find living this way,that your mind actually becomes more free. We will continue more on this later.Don't have as much time to write.See you soon! peace, T

the same?
August 31, 2009, 4:54 pm

Well it s been another crazy week for shadow Screamers lots has happened but I am proud that we lay it all down as it happens and we don’t hide from the critics. We are who we are and I have to say that any of you mother fuckers that live in South Florida who have been whining for a show!!!!!!!!! well get your fucking ass out to www.southshorestavern.com tomorrow night I will personally deliver a kick ass show!!!!!!!!! This is a promise because it is time once again for me to prove that we are the best unsigned band in the country or fuck that in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!all you motherfuckers who check in across the world guess what I will hand out cards to everyone present and I will have them post maybe one or two will but they will without my asking tell you what you should already know we are what you have been looking for just give us a fucking chance and you will never be the same…………Jon

when Superman has a bad day....
August 31, 2009, 8:22 am

We all need heroes! In these times of relativistic ethics it becomes very clear that we need a story of truth,of justice,of beyond- the frail confines of human ego. I am a very confusing guy.I read classical literature form around the world,yet I love to read comic books and watch the movies based on them.This is a habit that has not diminished since childhood. What are we looking for in these movies, in these comic books? We are trying to find a legend,a myth.It is as old as man.It stretches back to ancient campfires,when our ancestors told myths and stories to elevate man's existence and to articulate two fundamental truths;that humankind is born self-aware,that humankind has the capacity to go beyond the individual frail ego for the betterment or all. In order to be a legend,a hero,three things must be in place;action,ethics,and a need to better the human condition. There are many that write many,many words but never act. There are many that seem to have strong ethics and values but change when circumstance changes.Their ethics,after all,were relative to the situation and political winds-what was in it for them.A true hero holds ethics and values even when it is dangerous to do so.Her goal is the betterment of humanity.He lives the creed of the ,'Seventh Generation' ,each act benifitting our children's,children. How can we become a hero? Sometimes it is circumstance. Gandhi was thrown off the train in South Africa,this spurred him to a movement whose energy ripples down to us today.Dr.King lived in the oppressive South,as a result he was forged into the fearless advocate of all humanity. We all need heroes. Saw one in action once. He was a homeless man feeding his family from a dumpster.His crippled son accidently hurt himself on the steel within the dumpster.The look of compassion in his eyes as he cared for his child and feed his family haunts me to this day.This was not a matter of choice.It was acting in the most humiliating of circumstance.My hero acted well! It is a choice to live the three qualities of a hero.We each can do this,each and every day.Is it difficult?YES!!!!Standing up for what is right is very difficult.Many say,'oh well someone else will notice this and do something about it'.A hero acts,every time. We live the pages of our lives sometimes contrary to our very self-awareness,in a dream,in a trance. To be self-aware,to live these three qualities is the height of human existence.It is the story shared around the collective symbolic campfire. We can all be heroes it is a choice each and every day. Today I celebrate the hero within you. peace, T

Last to know
August 30, 2009, 3:19 pm

Well Screamers fans looks like we have a new manager for the band Pat has decided he wants to move on I have not heard this from him but Bobby the drummer informed me yesterday they both work together and he apparently told Bobby. I would have preferred to hear it from Pat himself but everyone handles these things in different ways. I left yet another message with Pat yesterday and no response so I am moving forward and now Penny will take over she has been dying to manage us and I mentioned this to Pat a couple of weeks ago telling him that she wanted to join the team and that I thought it would be a good thing. He could head the team and he could delegate some responsibility to her as he is busy with just trying to make it day to day like we all are. I left it up to him and he said he was ok what that yet this is what I get?? so maybe I did not handle this right but I did lay it all out there and by the way I have to do what is right for the band I thought I was up front with everybody. We will move on and I think Penny will be a great addition and I wish the best for Pat but the fact is there are only two irreplaceable components in this band and that would be T and me I will give the shirt off my back for every other member and have but the bottom line is until proven otherwise it is T and Me against the world. That said I will give Patty everything we have and all the support I can give and I think she will shine so tune back in as the soap opera continues down here in South Florida this week will be pivotal for the band for yet another reason hopefully it will all work out I have done all that I can……….jon

the path
August 29, 2009, 9:20 pm

Our condolences go out to the Kennedy family for the loss of Ted Kennedy who love him or hate him despite his privileged status has for most thru his political career has been a voice for the underprivileged and disenfranchised in America. It is my hope that someone else who is of privileged status will stand up to take his spot and then recruit another and another and then another and so on…….. then maybe we can start down the right path… the path we should have chosen long ago …jon

as promised here it is
August 27, 2009, 8:19 pm

Green Warrior 4,nonviolence 3.... Non-Violence: I attribute much of our violence to our education system. Outlandish!How could I say such a thing? First off you must understand that Public Education is a giant factory.The sole purpose is not to produce well adjusted men/women for life as the rhetoric would say.What they are trying to produce,generally(there are some exceptions,that have to fly under the radar-more on that later)is good widgett and wadgett producers.The sole existence of American Education is to not have you think about what you are doing but to rotely do it! We cannot,says PE(from now on I will abbreviate-what can I say I am a product of the system)have people thinking to much or we may upset the apple cart so to speak. Our dreamers languish.I have sadly seen many with very high IQ's not be successful by PE's standard as they could not wrap their head around such a cruel,unjust,and well,downright stupid system. Yesterday I talked about Descartes.Not only was it destructive to follow his thought but we also followed the cold analysis of Freud while throwing out Jung.Ideally as with all yin/yang combos both would have been important to embrace! In doing so we effectively threw out the 'dreamer',the seer',the ones that peer beyond the veil. What are the dangers of this,what is the violence? Look around you,what do you see?Disenfranchised hulks of potential languishing in the widgett/wadgett world.Dreams are relegated to the occult.Original thoughts are disemboweled on utterance.We are conformist and there lays the violence.If we throw out part of who and what we are,we have killed part of who and what we are. What's more,conformist to who,to what?Dangerous question isn't it?Look around you,what do you see?What you see is the violence of PE and our puritanical underpinnings that have trapped man/woman in a glass cup in the hot sun frying in mediocrity. How to break imprisonment? More on that tomorrow. peace, jason

running late
August 27, 2009, 9:04 am

We were running late Tuesday night so I did not get the sound right while I was setting up the sound system for the evening. I decided to start the show anyway and this was a Classic mistake. I should have taken the few extra minutes to get it right because I spent the rest of the night trying to get our normal kick ass sound but it never happened. To make matters worse some nights when you are performing the band is just not able to get into the usual dependable tight groove making it seem like we are distracted. Our band relies on high energy, tight grooves hold nothing back lay it all out performances to get our music across to the audience. We have been compared to Dave Mathews and Eddie Veder of Pearl Jam and I respect those bands and their performance abilities and am honored to mentioned in the same breath as them. Despite me feeling like the band was not at its best some of the fans who have been coming to see us said we put on a great show but I know we can do much better and we will!!!!!!! next Tuesday night at www.southshorestavern.com This was also the first performance with our new bass player Peter. He will be filling in for T until next summer when T finally joins us for good. Those who do not know the story can look back in the journal and see that we have a unique and unconventional approach to making it in the record industry but all that is going to change and you will be hearing from us a lot this year. Peter is a laid back guy who also sings and plays rhythm guitar so there will be a place for him when T steps in on bass. We are rehearsing two to three times a week so it will not be long before we have enough music together to start playing other gigs throughout South Florida we have two people who are interested in managing us and they are going to take care of all the bookings and other things which will free me up to just concentrate on the Band that is what I know best and I guarantee you are going to see a kick ass band rising from the South ready to take on the world……….jon

our gift to you "strong"
August 25, 2009, 9:15 am

These next few entries from T are our gift to "Proud to be Strong" from the fan Comments page and those like him.We hope that in reading them it will open up one of your most valuable assets we have as human beings.......YOUR MIND.....love jon

Green Warrior 3-nonviolence 2....
August 25, 2009, 9:11 am

We made a conscious turn with the Descartian split to separate mind and body.In doing this,it seems we jumped into objectification.A rock a tree were no longer part of a living breathing reality,part of Indira's web,but seen as just objects,things. Of course this was not helped with Religion.Religion over time became more rigid and controlled and anthropomorphic.In doing so,the 'things' became expendable as they were viewed as not having a soul. In a nutshell,the above has done more damage to our enviornment than perhaps anything else in human history.It taught us again to objectify,view the world as less than,and to be violent.A cursory glance at history shows the extent and damage of the violence;the Inquisition,Destruction of the,'New World",WW1,WW2,Stalin,Hitler,the effects of the industrial revolution,etc,etc.... To turn back the tide,a fundamental attitude must be in place.We must abandon the whole,'better than,less than'paradigmn.It has caused nothing but violence to other human beings and all beings and also air,earth,water,etc... The Indigenous attitude of life being like a web,is more in keeping with the principle of Seven Generations and non-violence. If we view all beings as a part of this web,we see that each has it's place.Nothing is greater or less than.Everything is on the web and connected in ways that our limited understanding can possibly know.Pet Peave for me.Scientists sometimes will find out after a species has become extinct due to man's encroachment how important that species was to the environment.AT THAT POINT,IT IS TO LATE!!!! So the first understanding of non-violence is this realization that everything is interconnected and interdependant.Everything belongs on the web of life and we have no right to take a species off this web.In the long run,this will make a future possible.If we persist in our current fundamental thought pattern,we will continue to destroy and won't make it. Before I end today(I will be writing about these two principles for several days before I move on to the next set of principles or guidelines for the,'Green Warrior")it is important to understand that the web approach fits into the ,Seven Generation and non-violence principles.To have the web outlook,we carefully see how we are affecting our world so our children's children can have a world to live in.We also see that violence is no longer part of the equation and the higher realms of consciousness are to replace this damage;LOVE,compassion,care,truth,justice,etc.... Have a wonderful day! peace, T

Green Warrior 2...
August 22, 2009, 11:12 am

Non-Violence: There are many ways that we are violent.We may talk badly about someone or belittle and berate them(violence of speech).We may have other violent actions-not being mindful of waste,or what we eat,or what and where we buy things,or flipping someone off on the highway,or violent and aggressive behavior(violence of body and action).We may also have thoughts that rage in our heads all the day through(violence of mind). We are born as human beings. Given this we have the capacity to change,be self aware,and to reach very high planes of consciousness. If we are violent to one,we are violent to all. If we are peaceful to one we are peaceful to all. We live in an interrelated and inderdependent web of life.If we affect or stir the web to the right,the left will feel it as well.Our body,mind,speech,actions are very,very important. There will come a day,when non-violence is the only way,as collectively our violence to the world has come to the brink of destroying it.Pollution,war,disease,oppression and our anthropomorphic outlook have been destructive to the point of almost no return.Notice how I said almost. We must examine each of us the violence in our lives.How do you live,breath,and be this toxic dark side of the human psyche? Do you invest in companies that keep children in sweat shops?Do you invest in companies that pollute and destroy;water,air,earth,animals,minerals,plants,etc...Do you hate?Does this hatred rule your waking consciousness?Do you love yourself?Do you eat in a way that takes valuable resources from our planet?Example:If you have a steak dinner for four people,it is the same as driving a Hummer on the highway for three hours,while leaving all the lights and appliances in your house running at the same time!This is the amount of valuable resources we are wasting in selecting beef for our table. If you want to live on the side of the continuum(we are all on it as discussed yesterday)of non-violence it is important to journal your days,Just how was your day spent;body,mind,spirit-speech,thought,action? The mind is difficult.We have been raised in a culture that stresses a very active mind,a striving mind,a mind that would have us conquer on various battlefields as we are supposed to be,'strong,tough,and get what you want when you want to get it'. I feel that it is much tougher to understand your mind.As stated by many Meditation teachers,'Meditation is not easy work'! To understand the mind we must be still to understand it.This presents the greatest challenge for post-modern man.We are raised in a culture of constantly doing and endless activity.We find it very difficult to be still.Yet when we experience stillness we long for it.It is like a faint whisper of a pleasant childhood memory that we wish to remember but cannot quite grasp. We have all experienced moments of stillness.Perhaps it was in a place in nature,where everything seems to be at peace for you. We can bring that peace within,but it is hard,yet gratifying work-Meditation. We will examine this more tomorrow as a way to not only understand our mind/body/spirit but also as a way of getting a little closer on the non-violence side of the continuum. For today if you would like,start a journal.Write down thoughts,actions,investments,and your way of life that may contribute to harming generations-seven generations from now.THIS NATIVE THOUGHT HOLDS US ALL INTO ACCOUNTABILITY.We can only strive to become ever more mindful of what we are doing,what we are thinking and how we speak.In becoming more non-violent an interesting by product occurs-FREEDOM!More on this tomorrow,have a wonderful day. peace, T

update
August 21, 2009, 8:52 pm

Have been out of town the last couple of days but we are jamming with a bass player tommorrow night who we hope will fill in for T while he is finnishing up the last year of commitments in Maine. Please take the time to read T's entry below he is the blood that pours thru the heart of Shadow Screamers..........jon

Green Warrior....
August 21, 2009, 8:45 pm

In order for the Human Species to make it,and make it without bringing down all other beings we must adopt the idea of the,'Spiritual Warrior'.Given the times and the importance of our ever diminishing enviornment the movement I have proposed many years back is that of the,'Green Warrior'. Now what pray tell is a 'Green Warrior'?Before we get fixated on images of thin people wielding broccoli as weapons,it is important once again to state that this is a Spiritual title.This is not to say that Spiritual Warriors can't kick butt.A cursory glance at Chinese,Tibetan,Native,Warriors around the world have been inherently Spiritual,but only fought when absolutely necessary,and when necessary fought well. This is not the topic of today. Green Warriors live by the principle of,'seven generations',meaning the number one tenant is to live in such a way that every action will be not only non-destructive,but helpful to generations seven generations from now.A very tall order! Can we do this perfectly? I think not! What is important to remember in this discussion is that there is a continuum .For instance if we choose another basic life tenant or guiding principle of the Green Warrior-Ahimsa(or non-violence) we can see this clearly.Even to become a vegan,and carefully select clothes,food,lifestyle,vocation to not hurt beings we still do.Walking the Earth,breathing the air,digesting food,there are countless deaths with every activity. What we can say is that we choose to live on the continuum side of non-violence as opposed to the side that aligns more with a violence.No one is perfect!In fact what turns people off the most to self proclaimed Green Warriors-two things; 1)self-righteous attitude 2)offering solutions that no one can afford but the rich(you remember the smug smiles from some actors telling us to drive a certain car to protect the enviornment.Problem is,no one could afford them but the rich.This led to a hilarious episode of South Park where actors were driving their cars with smug(lol). Being self-righteous is like some smoker's that recently quite.Up on the soapbox,giving sermons and turning people off. I have found that what Gandhi taught is very important here-lead by example not sermons.Example; A young mother brought a child to Gandhi, 'What am I to do Gandhi-gi(sorry wrong spelling please correct),my son eats a lot of sugar and he is wild.How can I get him to stop?" Gandhi abruptly ended the conversation by saying,'Come back in two weeks'. The mother distraught and angry,stormed from the room. Two weeks later she came back,her son's problem worse than ever. 'Please help',is all she could mutter. Gandhi said,'When you first approached me,I myself still ate sugar,so I was in no position to help you or your child.I have now stopped eating sugar,let us now talk'. Wow,oceans are being said here.You see he did not in his exalted status(which he did not like-he always said he was just a man)preach about ways to stop,even if at the time if he knew them!He had to first experience what it was like to be totally off sugar in order to experientially talk about it. That we could all do the same! So to re-cap before ending today- the first two precepts or tenants or principles to live by for the Green Warrior; 1)Living for the benefit for all beings,seven generations from now. 2)Ahimsa or non-violence. We shall examine these more carefully tomorrow. Have a wonderful day! peace, T

flowers in the field 4....
August 19, 2009, 8:12 am

With a multi-faceted expression of the human experience,we indeed collectively become stronger. True conformity can be dull.Imagine a world where everyone talks the same,dresses the same,listens to the same music,has the same culture. Very boring! In re-capturing your heritage,you give new breath to it.Your perspective is this generations perspective.If you have been away and joined the conformity of post-modern man,you will indeed enjoy the simplicity and understanding of life taught by your Elders. I mentioned the other day that I had attended the Highland Games with my family.Scotch/Irish is another facet of who Jon and I are.What I notice(the same at Gatherings on the Res.)is that people are striving for the lessons through the mists of time.They seem unsatisfied with the technological world and it's trappings.They want to identify,they want a place that can be less harried,less hastled,less unforgiving. This is not to paint some romantic picture of a people or peoples.We all struggle with the dark side of human existence.I have seen with my own eyes,so-called Spiritual leaders do things that well,were not Spiritual.I used to take great offence and immediately write folks off for even the smallest of offences as I considered there position greater than their individual action.Who the hell was I to judge anyone! To embark on a path to find ones heritage,you will run into,well,humans!Subject to the same dark side we all have.Sometimes you luck out and find someone that really,'walks the walk'(I have found that with my Clan Mother/Godmother). To be romantic about something, separates the experience.It places a notion or ideal about something on a pedestal.It does not allow the reality of what is truly going on right here and now.It is a fixed notion in a reality that only knows change as a fundamental rule. To find you,within your heritage,you must have the courage to drop any romantic notion and see what the journey brings in it's full human condition.You must understand change in a culture and within you. This is the last of writings on this topic,soon I will re-launch into a series on Green Warriors. Identity and finding it is so utterly crucial in finding oneself. Once you understand where your people have come from,and where you fit within that culture,you are then free to be yourself as a representative of this generation of that heritage.In doing so,one crucial element.Gandhi was Hindu.Within his heritage he branched out to understand and love all peoples and cultures.Fanatic and fundamentalism have no place in this world.If we are truly going to make it,hatred will not guide us there.Understanding ourselves,understanding our people,and then understanding the vast array of flowers in the field(cultures from around the world)allows for a multi-perspective view of the human condition.It goes beyond Mono-culturalism and it's imperialistic trappings. It allows for the flowers in the field to simply be,enjoying the same sunshine as everyone.The sun is a great teacher.It does not discriminate,it simply shines,giving life.... peace, T

here we go again
August 19, 2009, 8:09 am

There is only one place to be in South Florida on Tuesday night its at www.southshorestavern.com Once again we laid it down and left the crowd wanting more.If you live in South Florida by all means come check us out we will give everything we have and leave nothing on the stage but puddles of sweat. We are looking at a bass player this week to fill in for T so things are moving along fans. We do it all for you and for the love of the music........jon

flowers in the field 3....
August 18, 2009, 10:50 am

So what are the dangers of Mono-culturalism? First off I must confess that I have stolen this Biology term to be used as a sociological construct.Mono-culture in Biology refers to using one strain of seed(usually)to plant.Over the years agri-buisness has aggressively used genetic technology to find seed that is resistant to weeds,pests,mold,etc...and then used this seed to the exclusion of heirloom seeds. What they have found has been totally unexpected! Nature with her natural selection has produced over millions of years heirloom seeds(man made tern)that resist and adapt naturally.What some researchers have found is that nature with her incredible adherence to change(one of the big natural laws)has found ways around the genetic engioneering.In truth,the old seeds will adapt to insects,and infection.Many have gone back to heirloom seeds and found with the combination of organic gardening the yield id healthier and more nutritious. Now my use in sociology,applies to Western culture being thrust to global cultures at an alarming rate.Many languages have evaporated with the advent of mono-culture.I mentioned before the Coke,and other trappings.We send this out 24 hours a day.So a traditional community will suddenly feel they can't get along without,rifles,or snowmobiles,or coffee,or western music,etc...The children gravitate towards the modern,and then many leave to the cities,only to find abject poverty and misery,despite the claims of,'the Dream'. Many are now finding it is to late.Elders have died without the transmission of stories and language,leaving a gap in the collective consciousness of humanity.What is the danger? For one,we lose our identity when we lose our language and customs.To become the next generation of Post-Modern man/woman means that a shedding of thousands of years has been done in one generation(in some cases)of how a particular culture understands the world.To steal another term,this time from Buddhism,the concept of,'Interbeing'tends to get lost. By this I mean,the deep understanding that all reality is connected and interpenetrating.The ideal of Indira's web gets lost.With this loss,the new generation of neophyte'moderns' looks at the Earth and her blessings as 'moderns'around the world do,something for 'my needs'.The world is now viewed as less than the collective good of human wants(notice how I said wants and not needs-big difference).This is hugely anthropomorphic.The assumption is that we can devastate land,waterways,rivers,mountains,etc...as they are not important.What has now become important is human want. We will simply not make it with this thought process. There are movements afoot that are trying to change this outlook,like the way we now see the'melting pot' as antiquated. I like to call the movement,'Green Warriors',not in a macho sense of the word.What I mean by Green Warrior is more Spiritual in nature.It is like the Itanka in the Lakota worldview of leadership.Itanka's oftentimes would not eat until everyone was fed,the old,the sick,the young,etc....If there was not enough to go around,they would go hungry.WOW!iMAGINE OUR LEADERSHIP GOING WITH THIS IDEAL!!!! A Nation is only as strong as it's most disenfranchised members. If we have poor,this is not a rich country. If we have mother's having to decide between a needed surgery and food for their children,we are not a rich country. If we have hundreds of thousands that are homeless and hungry every day,we are not a rich nation. Richness,the term most be re-defined.Under the Itanka-Green Warrior paradigm the hallmark of being rich,is to make sure two leggeds,four leggeds,flyers,swimmers,insects,plant,and mineral are well nourished and take their place on the great web of Indira.To be rich means that everyone is provided for but beyond that anthropomorhic thought patterns no longer exist.So the river is healthy,the mountain,wild crops flourish,all animal brothers and sisters are healthy.There are no hungry,there are no homeless. Many have come to read our site over the years and read what I have talked about(on www.shadowscreamers.com)today you see the enormous work left ahead of us. To visualize how important I offer two images; It is 2300 There was another war as invading coastal(what used to be coastal-since the icecaps have melted they have no home)communities fought inland communities for land ownership. The fight still rages for clean water,the gov. now controls all fresh water with unequal distribution(sound familiar?). Entire mountaintops have been levelled for minerals and forests continue to dissapear. Summers have few days were people can go outside as air quality is so low. on and on(it can be much darker than this,disease,famine,flooding,intense storms,etc...) or It has come to pass that there are no nations anymore.The collective of humanity now makes sure that everyone has adequate food,shelter,and health care. There are no more wars. Forests under new management plans flourish. Organic produce and a multitude of seed variety is now planted. Air quality is slowly reversing. Clean water is evenly distributed. Human beings are now considered just as part of the vast web of this tiny planet. Dramatic?Perhaps so,but soon our worst nightmares will be collectively upon us.It is true,many of us might not be alive to experience such drastic and devastating times.But is it about you and your wants? The last tenant I see for Green Warriors I will discuss today is the idea that we MUST take responsibility for every action with the long view of seven generations from now.Heavy! With this kind of Love in Action we can at least make a future possible for our children's children.... peace be with you, T_

flowers in the field 2....
August 17, 2009, 3:46 pm

flowers in the field 2.... So our natural resources are diminishing,there soon will be global struggles for clean water and also land as coastlines disappear. How then can I talk of lineage and understanding ones heritage? There are clues within the cultural mileau around the world,through story and myth.These stories and teaching lessons embody certain ethics and values of a culture.Around the world,indigenous people have warned since time began about the dangers of greed,enviornmental disater,etc... These stories and ways are very relevant to these times.It is indeed sobering to hear them and understand that they don't pertain specifically to distant times,but right here,right now. Your lineage holds certain keys to understanding the world and how to preserve resources for the future.Much more than our copious books and so-called knowledge that does not give the,'real time'of how simply to be. We need,'real time' to make sure our children's children have a future.To live from i-pod,to blackberry,to cell phone,distances one from the natural enviornment occuring right here and right now. I suggest that you find your lineage.Go to the root,the stories,the myths.Read them,meditate on them.What are they really saying?What can be gleaned?How do I live my life within them? Within language,there are keys that can't be easily translated that have to do with a people and their cultural and land relevance.These are important to invest in,to understand,to relate with. As stated yesterday,the optimum is for the flower in the field modality.Each culture thriving,and then sharing collective wisdom for the betterment of the human species.Rich cultural exchange and dialogue should be of top priority within the educational system's and the world. This depletes and diminishes the 'melting pot' theory as cultural groups are free to be and yet share with others-the flower in the field paradigm. We are running into huge issues that must be dealt with on a global basis.To turn to story and myth from our collective cultures teaches us to live responsibly on Mother Earth.We can all use this.Without it,we are destined for disaster..... peace, T

flowers in the field....
August 16, 2009, 10:18 am

America throughout it's history has been considered a 'melting pot'.People from all over the world have come from violence and oppression and found solace once they saw the Statue of Liberty and became citizens. For many people this also meant dropping language and customs to acquire the'American Dream',which boils down to what I call a Monoculturalism that is English speaking.What are the dangers of this?Many had to leave their places of birth,this commentary is not about that.By all means,if this country has served as a beacon for freedom from oppression,one can never underestimate the value of this in terms of individual freedom,cultural freedom,and the protection of life. What is important to remember is that we were all born in a specific time and a specific place that has or had a culture predicated on a groups survival and well-being.Language was built on this place,creation stories-built on this place.I always like to say that it is important for you to speak your Native language so that,'Mother Earth' herself can know you.It is of course intricately tied to your people. We must remember our heritage,it is truly who and what we are.The melting pot theory did not work.It washed the language,dress,ceremony,and customs of groups of people to become a homogenous blend of pop cultural trappings-what I call,that is being served to the world 24-7,Monoculturalism.It is the new imperialism!It is dangerous in that it does not even take over by the usual manner of oppression.It starts when that first case of Coke crosses the mountain pass,or the first contact with music ,dress and material,loudly imposes itself to groups of people . If we lose our culture,we lose our identity. Yesterday I was at the Maine Highland Games.Jon and I not only have Native ancestory,but also Welsh,and Scotch-Irish(McDonald Clan and Mayo from county Mayo).As usual when I heard the Pipers a tear welled in my eyes.Walking the games and seeing the Celtic arts,so wonderfully displayed brought out that sense of wanting again(this happens every time I m on the reservation as well).Sometimes this can be hard on mixed lineage folks like us,as we are always seperate from the full-bloods so to speak.I have found though that over the years,perhaps folks like us can bring something important back to our various traditions.One important thing,'don't lose your culture-don't lose your language'! I will write more on this tomorrow,but for today,remember one thing vitally important.You are beautiful! The culture you come from depends on you to pass it on to your children.The melting pot theory that lasted so long in this country was wrong,you need your heritage!!!! The way that we get along among various cultures in the U.S can perhaps be built and seen more like a vast field with many beautiful flowers,all enjoying the field and each other,all very,very important. To the individual,to the collective.More tomorrow.... peace,T

be love,be life....
August 15, 2009, 10:38 am

be love,be life.... Gone today,be back tomorrow Live life, like moments have been stolen. see life like a child open life(each day) like that book you eagerly awaited. be life filled with love, be life.... peace be with you, T

Looking to the sea.... Life is often very odd
August 14, 2009, 12:09 pm

Some may wonder why I am up in Maine while the rest of the band is in Florida?As stated before there are very personal reasons that have nothing to do with the relationship of the band,but more to do with life's situations. When I go down to play,often it is so hard to come back to what I must do here.I have to really practice what I preach so to speak about mundane and sacred.This is not to say up here is mundane or less satisfying,far from it!It is just the side of me that really is vocational that I have a hard time letting go after such incredible times. I am a musician,a writer,a poet. That being said for my vocational side it actually goes farther than that.On our site recently a Fan asked what inspires us.I wrote something I hope that made sense,but being the above fundamentally you never really ,'switch off'.It is not like my other job,where I get in the car and go home.To be a poet,musician,writer,the muse is always working on some level either consciously or subconsciously.Being so,it is hard to switch gears and go from full expression,to long periods of dormancy. I should count myself lucky even to have an opportunity at all.Close to 40,000 people will starve to death today.Every minute of every day women are being raped and abused in America.Across the world,many must suffer abject poverty and oppression-many are losing their lives right now as I tap this message out today. Let me say that again.As I type this out,I am fully aware that thousands are losing their lives to poverty,violence,oppression,and intolerance(A DEEP BREATH AND PRAYER GO OUT AS I FEEL THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS!). I guess this is also something that drives me crazy about waiting.Jon and I have a long,long history of Civil and Human Rights action and writing.I feel that our Band could be helpful much in the way that many socially conscious bands have helped the world situation. In the darkest hours of the former abusive administration,people from all over the world flocked to our site.We spoke out! For that I am very glad,as after a long while,others seemed to as well(we started talking about the dangers of Bush back when he was a Gov.in Texas). What will you get with the full picture of Shadowscreamers across the musical landscape.You will not only get music that is meaningful and filled with passion,but also voices of compassion.I have worked a long time helping people,in this time I have developed ideas that I feel might be helpful in numerous areas(not holding back,Jon and I have shared on the Band Journal for years).It will be wonderful to see how we can be helpful in what way. I personally believe that with celebrity comes responsibility. If we are ever to make it as a species on Earth,certain measures must be implemented for the overall good and implemented right now.There is no longer any speculation about global warming.We see FEMA and other organizations meeting with coastal communities to set up plans for the massive storms-not speculative,they WILL COME! With this responsibility in far reaching categories of the human condition(and all other beings)music can also provide healing balm.I have seen this with my own eyes over and over again. I will never forget playing in Compton after a tragedy on Campus.At first the student gov.President didn't think we should go on.We all finally collectively decided to play-music seemed just the thing for that moment in time.I still have the poster that was given us from that moment. Bob Marley with his music not only talked about social issues but lived a life of being such a strong Human Rights advocate,and his music courses through our collective veins with the insatiable rhythm of blood,sweat,love and life. I sort of grieve today. I am but a lonely writer here in Maine,looking to sea for the ship that soon will come in.The elements have been built over time for this to be a great year-I watch and read eagerly Jon's post as the ship pulls closer and closer.... peace, T

I promise
August 13, 2009, 11:23 am

When I step on stage I go from a withdrawn stay away from the focus of attention “wallflower� mode to…… I am lucky to be able to perform in front of a audience and I will try to honor those great performers who have laid it down before me, thus I will leave nothing behind as I leave the stage just as they did giving every ounce of energy. Tuesday night was another banner night for Shadow Screamers because even without T on Bass Bobby and Me killed!!!!! as we laid it all out there for the crowd that seems to appear every time we take the stage. I close my eyes thru most of the performance mainly because the sweat pouring down my face burns my eyes but when we start playing it seems that the usual background noise in bars always drops off I am not boasting but this happens every time? Anyway We unleashed a fury of pure intensity not letting up for one second and the result was overwhelming applause from the crowd on song after original song. We are building something on Tuesday night at www.southshorestavern.com so if you live in the area come on by I will buy you a drink and I can promise you that you will get a high energy honest balls to the wall performance from us………..jon

I can't stop listening....
August 12, 2009, 10:06 am

Okay, so I am listening to our live performance every time I get into the car. This was recorded at South Shore Tavern a couple of weeks ago. It is truly a mystery! There is some stuff on there that kind of blows me away,given that we had not been together in quite some time. It has been a long search to find the elements needed for our sound,and the basics are there.Many have commented that they hear horns and other instruments for our songs.This has always been in our mind as well.Jon and I ultimately see a Dave Mathews sort of instrumentation,only different(different sounds,songs,instruments,etc...).My son is also very talented at doing mixing,so eventually his expertise will be included. The uncanny thing about the live performance(I don't have the studio stuff yet-soon!)is the communication that is going on.As a Social Worker/Substance Abuse Counselor we talk in the field all the time about the importance of non-verbal communication.In fact it is 75-85 percent of human communication.With music,non-verbal communication is also apparent.Sometimes it is not even the sound,but the feel of you counterparts that explodes out through your fingertips.It is part of the plug in to the body/electric I have written about. Anyone that hears this stuff and the studio material must realize that it all was done in one take.This alone should have people beating down our doors.The time is fast approaching a permanent fixture on the musical landscape called Shadowscreamers.We had set backs,we have had personal tragedy.The time now seems clear for us to take the stage that we really deserve with this kind of music and musicianship.Am I boastful?Perhaps,but you see people have always loved our sound that has led to opportunities that almost made,'the show'.In retrospect,I feel the elements of the basics were not in place yet. They are now. Well have to go,so that means driving and listening again to this Live stuff. Before I go,I must ask a favor.As stated above this year has been marked with hardship and personal tragedy(which kept me off personally myspace and our www.shadowscreamers.com for almost a year).We are now ready-please spread the word. Dave Mathews,Wilco,R.E.M,Radiohead,we await word,let us know when and where my friends. peace, jason

Love in Action.
August 12, 2009, 10:04 am

'Your work is to find your work and then to put all of your heart into it'.-The Buddha Do you love your work? Is it Love in action? So many people go through life,in a mechanized way,living for the weekends to escape the workweek and the tediousness of their job.Monday morning rolls around with dread,in fact it is not until Wed.that some feel a lift from the demands of work. If we can put Love into everything we do,than we eliminate the stress of work and our hatred of it.It goes back to the discussion before about sacred and profane moments of life. Does that mean we have to love our boss?Well in a collective sense as a member of our species yes,does not mean we have to like him or her. I think it is particularly difficult in hard economic times.Some in leadership roles,will be great mentors,helping the workplace get along well in times of hardship.Others see it as a way of further power and control.They make more impossible demands and know they can get away with it as people can't find work anywhere else. In putting love into action on the work site,we simply be who we are.If we nurture stillness within,then the myriad ripples of life do not capture us,upset us,even when horribly mistreated. So a telephone call may be a time to share this love in action. Holding a door open for someone with a smile. Talking with someone in need. Sitting at a meeting and listening,taking what you can from it. Smiling even when you know your boss would love to have you gone. Why would we do something so difficult.First off we can't let a person of ill-intentions affect who and what we are.If we allow work to bleed into all parts of our lives,it can disrupt the flow,it can get us caught. A mentor years ago,when I was a young mental health counselor taught me to get in my car and let things go.His contention was that rumination throughout the evening hours can eventually lead to sleep problems,possibly insomnia-why would I carry this when the day was done.Here is a story to illustrate this: Long go two monks left the monastery to do visit another monastery far away.At that time there were strict prohibitions for male monks interacting with females. The two monks came to a river with a swift current.There they found a young maiden,finding it difficult to ford the river.The first monk ignored her and made the difficult walk to the other side.The second older monk,picked up the maiden and carried her across. They walked for miles in silence. The young monk ruminated,getting angrier by the moment. Finally they stopped to rest. The young monk could not contain himself any longer, 'You know we are prohibited from having contact with women,why did you carry her across that river'? The old monk looked at the young,'I dropped that young woman across the river ten miles ago,why do you still carry her'. Zing,Zap there it is.How often do we carry and not let go.How often do we forget love in action? It is true perhaps you are not in the job that is you,but as you search and conduct interviews,does that mean that the valuable time of your life must be abandoned in the meantime? I have worked in hostile work enviornments before,I know how soul-sucking they can be.In retrospect,I see that even in these truly difficult times,perhaps I was still carrying something,someone across the river. To let go is to love. To love is to have stillness. To love is to have stillness inform and be all action. peace be with you.T

Action in stillness,stillness in action.
August 11, 2009, 7:08 am

This Taiji and Taoist axiom relates to all aspects of our lives when we are present to the pregnant moment. All things in the universe arise from stillness.In the wuji or the beginning posture of Taiji of the primordial before the universe,'banged' out there was stillness.Like the pause between out breath,there was and is stillness. In the cosmic sense we are experiencing the out breath-the outward creation that seemingly has no end. Our creation our very births are our micro out breaths. To create stillness in action we must foster and nurture;awareness,and stillness-allowing the mind to settle and the body to,'song'(in Chinese)-deeply relax. When we settle the mind and really become aware of our body/mind/spirit we start to notice something quite extraordinary,we start to see after awhile the nature of our movement of mind of body of spirit.In doing so we become connected to the depth and breadth of this pregnant moment. What we don't want is non-attentional movement.Mechanical lives,being asleep has allowed us to become something we are not-unnatural. We have slipped into this sleep state and the consequence has been destruction of our planet,countless beings,other brothers and sisters,our very lives! When we sleep to the moment,careless choices are made.Choices that have deep running consequences to everything around us. When we are awake,we become aware of every footstep and how it either caresses or harms Mother Earth. Being aware fosters the universal wuji.It allows the stillness to reside in action,and action to reside in stillness. We have all seen Spiritual Masters that really,'walk the walk'. What was so striking about these individuals? -they are in the moment -childlike simplicity(not being dull-there is a huge difference.childlike here means aware fully of the pregnant moment,so everything that they encounter is like a child viewing an event the first time,everything no matter how many times seen is new,as everything in natures law is always changing). -a warm smile that is genuine -intentional movement in space through stillness -a good sense of humor -wordless wisdom Of course there are many other characteristics but the ones above are striking in comparison to typical asleep consciousness(while awake that is). As musicians,if we foster this notion(stillness in action,action in stillness)our music becomes alive.The notes played are felt to the very marrow of the listener. The music itself becomes the body/electric stimulating the past/present/future within the moment. Classic literature and art has this same quality.The three dimensional aspect of time is felt.In being felt,there is a deep stillness even in the midst of the motion.So the writing of the book,the strokes of the painter,the movement of tools over sculptured medium is experienced in this moment;past,present,and future.The themes themselves are ancient.As ancient as human beings sitting around a fire and telling the myths that animate this very Sacred existence. If we play unaware,unawakened the music itself will be unaware,unawakened.It will rest in the collective dustbin a curio ultimately forgotten. If we play awake,music,art has a way of being timeless. You have heard this.Some albums you play sound as fresh now as when they were created maybe 10,20,30 or more years ago. Just the other day I walked into a store and what were they playing? 'Night in Tunesia',played by Dizzie Gillespie.The high melody at breakneck speed filled with intensity,filled with life ,had me,well,beboping to the aisle I searched,smiling all the way! Our very lives can have this sense.Do we create a poem each day with our very lives,or do create memories soon forgotten like trash put out on the curb. This is choice my friend! To have a poem,singing from your heart you have lived the stillness in motion,the motion in stillness, each day forging a greater compendium of your life's work, day by day, hour by hour, moment by m o m e n t.... peace be with you, T

Peace and justice.
August 9, 2009, 9:31 am

We can never afford to take a day off.Around the world,around our country,injustices are done on a daily basis. In America approximately one in three woman will be sexually assaulted in her life. In America one in four children go to school hungry. Millions of single parents in America must work two jobs or more to cover health care. Anger runs deep on the highways and in the streets.Violence in America is a national shame,claiming thousands and thousands of lives with shootings beatings and neglect. A nation is only as strong as it's most disadvantaged. Strength of a Nation can never be measured by wealth.Wealth is deceptive in that ,yes a country like America might be wealthy,but less than five percent of the populace control the real wealth. As I grow older I see the advantages of Social Democracies such as Sweden.As a Green Party member,I lament that we cannot have such a system in America.Fox news and other grossly exaggerated news programs,try to protect from such a Democracy. What they are actually trying to protect is the wealth of the real stakeholders in America. Starving children in Pine Ridge or Compton or Appalacia don't matter to them.Harsh?Yes,but let us look at the facts.If they spent one tenth the amount of time on social issues that they do on bashing Democrats,perhaps some fundamental awareness would occur.They are not interested. The entire system in America is not based on people being uplifted,but oppressed by huge multi-national conglomerates that are incredibly powerful and control the climate and power of the world.Don't think so? Why is it that the former administration left the White House with their heads relatively high.They perhaps committed more crimes than any administration in American history-where are all the court cases?Where are the international war crime and human rights charges and court cases? It disturbs me that they got off free of charge.To be quite frank it teaches future generations a dangerous lesson-grab whatever you can,it is yours for the taking. We must be vigilant at all times in regards to Peace and Justice. I for one remember fully the offenses committed by the former administration.It would be a good message to send our children and the world to hold them accountable. Meanwhile,hundreds of thousands in America will go to bed hungry tonight,hundreds of thousands without a home.It is getting cold at night,can't you hear the cries.... peace,T

Are we all doing time?
August 8, 2009, 11:11 am

In his outstanding book by this title(actually more definitive-'We are all doing time') ,Bo Lozoff makes the contention that our lives are equated with inmates in prison.Our minds are so full of the past and the future,it is like we are caged,unable to see the full pregnancy of the moment. So many people complain about responsibility and chores around the home or this or that.A long time ago I learned a different way to do the so called mundane tasks. Before this,however,what is Sacred,what is mundane?How can we distinguish moments?In doing so have we not become the relentless second hand,marching off in sequenced moments.At least the second hand is passive,it does what it was made to do,doesn't complain,doesn't celebrate,it just does. As human beings we tend to judge an analyze moments in time.We suspend on a silver platter moments that seem worthy to us.We might call those moments-Sacred,or happy,or this or that.Other moments are like reeking trash we take to the curb and would like to soon forget. The curious thing about this,is that as we celebrate 40,000 people are dying today of starvation.As we react sadly to moments,some are reaching their highest achievements and are elated. If we separate the sacred and the mundane we miss a very important appointment-our lives! Some have different ways of dealing with this.Carl Jung when hearing good news would say,'oh that's to bad',on hearing bad news,would celebrate.He was dramaticlly articulating a deep Taoist thought-everything is changing,At the height of Yin,Yang will soon follow.As we have examined before emotions are like waves,coming and going all the time,to settle back into the sea. What I learned years ago was at a Buddhist/Native Retreat.The practice was soji.Soji is work practice.While doing it,you continue your meditation;either a Mantra,Gatha,or following the breath.So scrubbing toilets you meditate,sweeping the floor- meditate,etc... In living a life this way,you start to see that mundane is just another of the myriad constructs of the ego.By saying,'mundane' we effectively select our prison and then ruminate and latch on to unwholesome mind states.We become prisoners. Some of the Tibetans in prison said that they were still free.This is because they were free and accessible to the pregnant now. We can live this appointment called life,as long as we show up. This is a moment to moment decision. Sacred and mundane,just moments to be lived or imprisoned by.... peace be with you, T

Proud
August 7, 2009, 9:12 am

I am extremely proud of my band this morning especially T who with barely four practices under his belt with Bobby and me performed the impossible and did an outstanding job on our studio recording session. I spent three and a half hours yesterday at Sunflower Studios with Cliff ( Bobby and Pat our new manager showed up to hear the final mixes to) mixing down the 10 songs that we laid down in one session before T headed back to Maine. I was pleasantly surprised with the results because every song was done live with no overdubs a couple in one take. This means that with Bobby in one room me in another and T in the control room we laid down song after song until we finally burned out we started the session at 4pm and I think we stopped for good around midnight. Anyone who has ever played in a band knows how difficult it is to record music and for us to only have four practices to get that many songs down is just crazy I don’t know of many bands in the world that could pull that off under the same circumstances. What our fans hear the next few days as we release the music is certainly not perfect as far as production goes but you will feel the passion and energy in every track I must also thank Cliff and AJ for doing a stellar job of capturing each song getting the best sound and providing the perfect down to earth atmosphere this band thrives in. Please check back as the songs are posted and feel free to comment we appreciate any comments in the Fan journal good or bad. These are exciting times for the band and we would love to have each and every fan out there along on the journey. Please read Ts latest entry below this site is like no other we are blessed to have T everyone can gain something positive by taking the time to step into the mind of this extraordinary human being…………………jon

Sacred sound!
August 7, 2009, 8:43 am

What is it we are really striving for as musicians? In India entire Spiritual practices have evolved around the playing of music.Throughout the world,traditions have celebrated, studied, and honored sacred music and musicians. Each morning as the sun rises,Mantras,Chants,and music can be heard by the collective ear from around the world.If we open we can hear this sound.Like a John Cage piece,contrapuntal lines weave sacred space connecting the vibration of collective heart to the universe.Micro to macro and macro to micro. I have written lately about the body/electric to steal as it where one of Whitman's lines.It might be assumed that I refer solely to,'electrified'music.Though this is included,it does not encompass all threads of the collective music tapestry. Here,I intend to elaborate the electric or intrinsic energy of the universe and our connection to it once we have established an open mind/open heart.The Qi or Prana(intrinsic energy)is here all the time.It can be accessed once we establish the body/mind/spirit connection. By being the body/electric we serve as a conduit.Energy gathers,stores and then plays from our mind/heart across the strings(or whatever instrument we play). It is deeply symbolic as expression.It is profound communication.It is very sacred! So how does one attain this state of body/electric?How does one open body/mind/spirit directly to muse? I find like all participation events,the participants of music can be very ritual in this regard. Some might have a special pick,others a special drumstick,or picture they bring on stage-all good,and necessary! Another ritual that can be included to open up is to meditate before going on stage.Many times this is what I will do and some times smudge down the participants,instruments and the space. By allowing the mind to be unencombered by the ego and his/her demands we are free to access the pregnancy of the present moment.If I am thinking of the past(ruminating)I might miss the opportunity to be open to this moment.Likewise if I think of the future(planning)I have also missed this moment. To be sound,we must be sound. Not just a collection of scales and notes(it is assumed those have already been tackled,if not,to late,don't worry-be sound).The pregnant moment and our mindfulness of it allows our entire being to be sound,to be the body/electric connected by collective wisdom and the cosmos. The mind/body/spirit can't help but react to this,thus we see smile and contortions of facial tissue that shows emotive response.Sometimes it is like spontaneous Qigong,no thought about it,it just is. On playbacks you might note mistakes or this or that.Once you reach a certain level,to me this is unimportant.What is important is the striving to be,'one',to be the body/electric.It also serves as a great philosophical lessen.Like the Dine(Navejo) rug that has one mistake woven in,our music mistakes mimic our very lives.We are going to make mistakes,this is how we learn and grow,and understand the deeper value of humility. Perhaps you would like to add meditation in as part of your ritual.Perhaps you would like to as a band(meditation in a group is very powerful!).Perhaps Yoga,or Qigong,Taiji,or Chanting. Whatever you decide,be open to this pregnant moment.Her power and essence can be felt even in recordings,to be enjoyed like the warmth of song and legend around the campfire;collectively part of something sacred in the human condition and experience.... peace be with you, T

The Medicine Wheel
August 5, 2009, 8:39 am

There is an intricate connection to our body/mind/spirit. In the west we have been dominated by the Descartian split,that basically separated the body and mind.After decades of research scientists are finding what the ancients knew all along-there is a deep and profound connection. I like to use the Native Medicine Wheel as a perfect example of what is termed in Psychology as a bio/psycho/social construct.The depth of the Medicine Wheel is immense.In fact I listened to an Elder speak for two days on the subject and at the end of the second day,looked at us and said,'I have barely scratched the surface'. The Medicine Wheel has five components to our human existence;mental,spiritual,physical,emotional,and social. Like the yin/yang symbol,the wheel is always moving,unlike a static picture.There is never an end to the Medicine Wheel Why is it important?It does not need to be an exotic construct to be important or relevant,It simply is a way of looking at the totality of life with a sense of harmony and flow.It fully celebrates two of the great truths of life discussed yesterday;change and impermanence. Associated with each of these five realms of being human,are seasons,directions,animals,plants,minerals,and also stages of life within each realm. When we are born we start in the East the season of Spring,new life,Spiritual.Does that mean as we get older and move towards the South and youth that we forget Spiritual?Not at all! All the lessons of each of the directions are carried within at all times.In fact one of the beauties of the Medicine Wheel is that as you make the rounds of the Wheel you become ever more in tune with life and micro and macro connections. You in a sense live into life,as opposed to the mechanical life denying of post-modern man,that would have us dye our hair,get implants,take unnatural supplements,and run in fear of age and aging. I will not go into complexity here today,time today does not permit,but let us say that our lives are important enough to be examined,to be contemplated,to be steeped in her rich and myriad lessons. The Wheel provides this. There are so many connections,before I go today,one little one; you play a killer concert as a musician-what made it killer? -it was Spiritual,you connected with the body/electric -it was physical,sweat poured,endorphins released -it was mental,pushing you beyond comfort zones -it was emotional as you felt your heart splay onto the strings,microphone,drum head,horn,etc... -it was social,you had a group of fellow human beings that were absorbed in what you were doing and shared this common event that at times can transcend time/space thereby becoming a,'happening',where everyone was carried but for a short while on the cosmic body/electric. Just a short example of connection that perhaps musicians and those that are fond of music may enjoy. peace be with you, T

Time is a Shadow
August 4, 2009, 8:46 am

Many times when we think about time,we naturally associate it with events. Being social animals the human being remembers events important to the individual and to the collective social grouping. How perfect is our memory? When we think about events we tend to think of the time/event like a snapshot in our head.Like most pictures,this 'snapshot' is subject to interpretation.For instance there is a camp my family used to frequent when I was a child.Most in our family viewing pictures would tell you,'good times!' For me,this was not the case.Ridicule,chastisement,and mockery are what I remember there.Not being the handsome popular child of the family,I couldn't wait to get out of the crush of the microscopic view of relatives. Do we really remember the snapshot of time/event,or is it a mere shadowing of what the mind would like to see? Even fresh events are subject.Police will tell you that at the scene of an accident in full view ,with many witnesses, might have several interpretations. Given this,how do we compose our lives? If we understand that time/event may be flawed by our ego perspective,how do we view the Shadow of time? I think it important that the stream of time must be lived first of all. When we drop the ever present demand of ego we can more fully live the present moment. The Buddha in his life was asked many philosophical questions about everything from time-space-the afterlife,etc...Many times he would not answer questions,as most scholars of the day(like today)were more in tune with re-affirming their thoughts and theories than trying to understand a subtle truth.For the Buddha the present moment was pregnant with possibility,but one needs to be mindful to understand the opportunity of the ever present,'now'. Most of us are not.We live the present moment to often in the past(ruminating)or in the future(planning).Precious moments slip from our lives,like the drop by drop of a candle,burning slowly to the wick. Is there a way to view time other than a shadow?I think it depends on your mindfulness.Even that snapshot that caught a moment,when viewing can be but a mere shadow.So perhaps,our mindfulness of the moment of viewing can be enjoyed given what the snapshot is-a shadow.Can we enjoy,oh yes we can!Humans love nostalgia! We can smile and love like any other moment enjoying this moment called-rememberance.To enjoy the moment,take what it is and limit the embellishment.Being of Irish heritage(some of our heritage)this is tough personally for me.The blarney in me is to strong.Knowing the human embrace of myth,I can go on and on about the time/event shadow making a legend so to speak in my own mind.But it does not feel satisfying. It does not touch on the ultimate reality of this moment,filled with possibility,streamed with past,present and future,within it's delicate self. If I can touch the fullness,time no longer is a shadow.It no longer plays like standard myths of the making of my ego.It simply is,like the waves in the ocean,eventually settling back into the sea.... peace be with you, T

T's post from my-space
August 3, 2009, 10:44 am

There is something so elemental to yard work. Yesterday I stacked wood.I always say a little prayer for wood before use,after all it came from a tree and lost it's life.I thank it for helping us to stay warm during the long winter months up here(at times we can have-20to 40 below weather). The season is gradually changing to late summer.The Chinese I believe are correct in marking it thusly in temperate four season places.There is a distinct change from the surging young summer when we can barely keep up with lawns and weeds in the gardens and late summer when the grass browns and the weeds try their best to produce seeds(to procreate).The circada's start with their melancholic shrill and you can see the insect world and squirrels and chipmunks hit a frenetic pace to store for the long winter months. In human beings we have been taught to disconnect from change and season. Everything we do is about a premeditated schedule from a clock that has a merciless second hand.Stores are uniform throughout the country;Wall-Mart,Target,Lowe's,home Depot,Best Buy,etc...Everything to create a mechanized world with a sense of the constant. The delusion of this is that everything in life is change.The season,flora and fauna change.The way we greet the day changes every day.The very cells in all living organisms change. The sold market value is fear. Fear of getting old.Fear of change.Fear of life met on her own terms.Marketers realize this so they package products that would have us run from the essential reality of change. If we want the same,we never grow. This ever moving world steeps us in life's only constants;change and impermanence. As a musician we can be the Shamans,the Zen Masters of this continuation-if we pick up this life elixir. The way I play is different than five years ago.The sound of voice and the way fingers move-different. To embrace change we can show the world that,'it is okay kiddo,life changes.Embrace and ride, the mystery'. I believe the greats throughout time understood this.Often mistaken as brooding in nature,famous musicians and artists,writers,etc...were not necessarily brooding.The essential quality was to capture a moment in time that elaborated the mystery of life in a moment. This nearly drove Monet crazy in his haystack series.He tried desperately to capture that one moment in time.Inevitably he felt that he failed and what he produced was garbage.Fortunately for us they are masterpieces! In striving,his perspective changed the way we think on viewing nature.It allowed us to see the mystery but for a moment a subject(the haystack)in the change of a day or days. He showed us this mystery of change,a constant reminder that we so need as we go about our lives to a relentless second hand that seemingly knows no quarter. It is our job as musicians to be equally diligent in our striving. It is our job to catch the body/electric the current of life force-qi and allow her to procede from our fingertips-voice to your ear.It is our job to show and be mystery. For me the striving is all important. It allows for continuing on and forward,not necessarily in the linear post-modern western view of time.To me it is an examination and being in the circular time of indigenous time. A time that embraces past/present/future in her full relevance. In doing so,melody becomes myth. Rythmic structure becomes embedded onto the DNA and the unconscious mind. This enables the mind to be into the mystery,not as casual observer,but part of. This is dance in concert,this is movement and ecstasy in concert.It is the connect to the very same body/electric the musicians are connected to. It is the wood smoke of hundreds and thousands of generations sitting around the fire in the night,when the unconscious overtakes the cruel penchant,'to know' of the conscious mind. After all mystery by her definition is unknowable. If we strive,we just might connect with this as muscian's; rythm, body/electric, circular time, unconscious, dna, woodsmoke, a story to be told ,a song to be sung for your children's,children.... peace be with you, T

7 screaming days
July 30, 2009, 8:44 pm

T flew out at 8am this morning headed back to Maine to rejoin his family. It was the fastest seven days of my life but we accomplished everything that we set out to do so in the near future you will see new music and video up on this site. I have promised this before and then it fell through but this time we have everything recorded so it is just a matter of mixing it down and mastering it so that we can get it in the right format to put up on the site. When T flew down last Thursday we had not jammed together in over a year and he had only rehearsed with Bobby our new drummer three times. I am proud of what we accomplished in that short amount of time with only four rehearsals to work out ten songs we still managed to pull it off. I am not saying that we are at this point the tightest band in the world but I think our fans will enjoy the outcome of our efforts. in the coming days there is going to be plenty of activity on this site and on our my-space page and we look forward to you joining us on this musical journey………..jon

live recording or gig-mini Vision Quest?
July 29, 2009, 11:24 am

interesting thing about the studio.you know that you are in an artificial construct.you know the sound from your live experience is hard to replicate,yet listening to the playbacks last night it had that live feel.now Jon,Bobbie and I are used to playing within close proximity of each other.here we were seperated in diferent rooms(over the years we have recorded many ways,all together in one room,seperate,of course also with overdubs etc...).after the adjustment that every band must go through,we seemed to have that organic feel.Jon and Bobbie critique as they should the sound and playing.i typicaly listen for vibe-feel-time(not to say i can't be critical,if the sound is not right,it drives me crazy).there is such an energy with this band,more than with any i have ever played with-same with Jon,same with Bobbie.we leave everything out there.we always talk after playing and feel not only physically but mentally and spiritually tired-in a good way.in many ways i equate music with a mini-Vision Quest.all the essentials are there.typical of Campbelian theory(based on the ancients)there is a gatekeeper-usually a manager or owner of the club or studio.there is the gate-setting up the boundry between the physical manifestation of this world and the spiritual(when you play)and then there is the experience out beyond-individually(player)yet collectively(with the band-sometimes we go out in a group to fast-seperate in remote areas yet together in the experince).then there is the crossing back over the gate(breaking down),followed by the processing of the experience-the drive home or conversations with the band the following day.so given this comparison,you might ask,'what was brought back"?(typically in a vision quest,the quester brings back from the Spirit).i have thought a lot about this,and it is really the experience,however breif,of being a conduit,an expression of Spirit,a full embodied-body/electric.does it always happen?no(we all have off nights don't we?).yet on most nights,Shadowscreamers is switched on,opening to to spirit,opening to the embodiment of the body/electric.our recording session was done in a 'live'feel.it will be presented by our manager as such.is it brave or stupid to risk a project not overly produced?i think it cannot be defined in these terms.after all what is bravery-under what circumstance?is it constant over time.what is stupidity?can you,do you show this mind all the time(i think not!).to me it is the organic feel of the spirit moving through as musicians open body/heart/mind.if captured on tape it can provide a provacative glance into the peace,dignity,love,and feel of human being trying through wood/steel and electronics to go beyond just for a moment the gate ,beyond the constructs that bind and inhibit spirit.after all,what we are talking about here is freedom,don't we all deserve to taste this elixer of equanimity?couple notes;thank you goes out to Cliff at Sunflower Studio in Hollywood,Florida,also A.J and the wonderful atmosphere this studio has.Cliff is a wonderful person i encourage musicians to look him up for recording-great,great vibe!!!!peace be with you all!love,T

the body electric....
July 28, 2009, 1:19 pm

it was amazing last night at South Shores Tavern.it was funny,we were just there to do video coverage,which went great!the funny thing is,once we started playing musicians started showing up.there is definately a buzz in the music community about our,'play'and what we play.it was great to be there again and everyone was so nice.we would like to thank Karine for the setup last night and Shawn for the recording. it is amazing in such a short period of time what we have been able to acomplish!i also met Pat our manager for the first time and he is great!Shadowscreamers should be on Summer tours next year-so be looking.meanwhile the band will play out the year in various locations in Southern Florida.things are lining up!one last word-when the muse moves through the fingertips and the electric buzz from sky church decends,it feels as if you are simply a conduit of potentiality.it is remarkable to feel this body-electric.peace brothers and sisters,T

come along for the ride
July 27, 2009, 1:01 pm

It has been intense these last few days since T dropped in. We have been practicing 6-8 hours a day and as a result we have 10 songs that we are going to record and do live video for. Cramming all this in six days as opposed to the month I originally allocated has forced us to move at double time. This morning I finally confirmed South Shores Tavern for our live video shoot tonight which will take place between 7-10pm and we will be recording at Sunflower Recording Studios with my old friend Cliff Wednesday from 4pm until whenever. I booked eight hours so that we can do ten songs live in one take just the three of us....... unfortunately its all we have time to do right now. Over the years I have done several recordings with Cliff his studio is nestled in and old Block of buildings in Hollywood Florida. Cliff has a laid back attitude his studio has a great laid back vibe and he has a gift for producing great recordings so I think our fans will be happy with the new material . Have to run and take care of some more business but please come on back the next few days and check out the new material and this site we will be posting after each of the gigs we are doing the next couple of days. These are exciting times so come along for the ride and stay for the experience that only this band can offer……….jon

without a net....
July 27, 2009, 9:24 am

there is a vibe in Sothern Florida that seems to be easy to connect with.i can understand why Jaco loved it.though the summers are hot and humid,the ocean and her mystery are right here for you.towards evening it cools slightly and when not raining,i have witnessed spectacular sunsets.the other night we rehearsed behind Bobbies,the sunset was amazing.it seems that we take for granted at times the natural enviornment we live.a solid education of Thoreau,Zen and mystical poetry,can remedy this.better yet, get away and experience the natural world on your own terms without others words.your experience then becomes the poem.i always enjoy practicing qigong,taji,bagua,and hsing-i on Jon's deck by the pool.it looks out over a pond.usually there are birds and earthbound creatures we don't have in Maine.lizards,snakes,skinny squirrels,cranes.i enjoy being with them and they seem interested by my strange movement.the music,ahhh,the music!!!!we are tight!one of the features of Shadowscreamers that really makes us a different band is that the songs are dense with a polyrythmic structure.sometimes when i am listening(while playing)i wish the rythmic structure itself could be transposed as it is truly wonderful.Jon and I have never told any drummer or player what to play.we always feel that a pro.drummer will know and feel the groove.this is different than many bands we have all collectively been in.Jon,Bobbie,and I have experienced bands that wanted no derivation of the notes or rythmic structure.nothing against cover bands,but i just can't go back there,and i know Jon and Bobbie feel the same.Shadowscreamers has always been about personal and collective freedom.the music itself when viewed in this light,is this sense.as a writer,i experience a lot of freedom when i sit down to mar the white landscape of paper or a blank computer screen.it is wonderful and in many ways filled with wonder and mystery.by definition,however,it is kind of like birth and death,something that you individualy go through.with music you have the individual within the collective/the collective within the individual.this is an interesting interplay,as new soundscapes are created and explored.in an original band it allows for expression from the body/mind/spirit that either captures or falls to the ground.kind of like a tightrope without a net.sometimes in the midst of the action of song,it seems that the net, the wire,and the measured steps trying to find balance were never necessary.the only requiremnt-an open heart/mind,and the ability to unfold wings....peace be with you,T

the mystery of the muse....
July 25, 2009, 10:59 am

well here we are and we are sounding damn good.there is so much to sound that must be considered for bands.the right mix,the right dynamics,the inevitable use of electronics etc...down here playing outside is a tricky proposition as you never know when a thunderstorm may pass.we are getting a killer sound as a three piece.all three of us in our formulative years were inspired by the great power trios;Jimi Hendrix and the Experience,Rush,Z.Z Tops,etc...it is demanding as a three piece as you must be tight and ready to listen carefully.we have performed as a two piece before and it is even more intense regarding the responsibility of the sound.one of the things we talk about frequently is the energy that the crowd picks up on.we tend to put it out there;body,mind,spirit,exhausting yet very spiritual.to say anything well in any medium means that the locks of the heart/mind must be opened.the written word,music,dance,theatre,all have this sense of Spirit when something has been said well(doesn't mean that it has to be pretty).ah the muse that chases the tails of us mortals.that she never tires of expression is the ultimate in seeing the vast mystery of-SPIRIT.peace,T

keeping the mind and body active....
July 24, 2009, 8:04 am

well here I am in Southern Florida and the sun is shinning!so different from the Northeast-where we have been plagued by rain most of the summer.it is funny as a musician how much you forget in a year.many times when i practice at home i do solo bass stuff just to keep these old fingers moving.now i am knee deep in our songbook(which i may say is extensive!).some come back immediately,some need a little work(on my part).Jon and Bobbie have developed an impeccable groove and it is a joy playing.we are on it folks!!!!health note to everyone-learn something new each day.people that i have studied and known that lived long lives,kept there minds active.T.T Liang for instance learned a totally different martial art in his seventies(he is a Master of Taiji).when asked he said that we should always endeavor to learn new things as the mind stays active.crossword puzzles,math equations,learning a new hobby,martial arts,qigong,yoga,etc...it is good to keep the body and mind active so some of these have the added benefit of doing both.as for Shadowscreamers,off we go reaching new heights,have waited a long time for this!peace,T

I told you we would post every day and we will so come on back and tell a friend
July 23, 2009, 11:15 pm

I picked up T at Fort Lauderdale airport around 3:30 pm and we headed straight to Bobbies house after we stopped at Marathon Music Center to buy some bass and guitar strings. Marathon Music is a mom and pop place not huge but they have everything you need and they are real nice people. It’s my first time in but I am going to give them my business I aint gonna make em rich but I will spread the word. Now as far as the first jam together in over a year Shadow Screamers is a little rusty but by the end of the first couple of hours we started to settle into a groove. Bobbie and I have been jamming together so long that it was a little strange at frist hearing Ts bass being a two piece we have been trying to fill all the holes and now we need to lay back a little and let T move in. I have to admit I was a little cocky to think we would just pick up where we left off but even though we are playing mostly the easier material it is still tight and very rhythmic so a mistake really stands out. The bottom line is that it is exciting to have T down and a manager who actually believes in what we are doing. I know that the way we are putting this together is far from the perfect scenario but I believe we have the talent, the material, the music and the genuine interest to use our music for the betterment of humanity ………….enough so that we will find a deserved place in the popular music scene………..jon

we are ready
July 22, 2009, 10:35 pm

Well I don’t know what to tell you Bobby and I did a four song set last night at South Shores Tavern and as usual we kicked ass. How can I be so fucking arrogant you say???? Well I am no genius but the fact is there were more people at the place when we finished playing then when we started and it is a curious thing we have noticed that when we start playing everyone seems to stop what they are doing and they focus on us to the point that when we finish our set they always ask for more .We have a definite presence and I am proud of that so watch out this week because when we throw T into the mix all bets are off ……jon

Its getting close
July 21, 2009, 9:40 am

Talked to T today and he is getting ready to fly in Thursday I will pick him up at the airport and we will go straight to Bobbies to lay down our first rehearsal. Bobbie lives in a one room studio with no kitchen so it will be tight squeezing in but its free and his neighbor Joe doesn’t care when we jam. Speaking of Joe he is a video whiz so I am hoping we can get some live video on the web of us rehearsing in the back yard it would be cool to post it on our site so fans can see what we are up to. It is imperative that we get a quality video and recording of our live performances while T is down because Pat our new manager is going to use that along with our press kit to sell Shadow Screamers our goal is to land an opening gig on a tour next summer. In the meantime while T is back up in Maine we I am going to hire a replacement bass player so that we can play as many gigs as possible over the winter it is kind of a crazy approach but Shadow Screamers can no longer sustain itself as a two piece band. So sit back and enjoy the ride for the next couple of weeks because there is going to be lots of activity from the band on this site and I can promise you will be impressed……….jon

Mark this day fans
July 19, 2009, 11:20 am

Well Shadow Screamers fans mark July 18 2009 in Screamers lore because this was the day we had our first official meeting with our new manager Pat. The purpose of the meeting last night was to lay out our plan for the next two weeks as we prepare to have T come down from Maine for seven days . we are going to record not only a live video but some new studio tracks so that we can take these and Pat can book gigs for us in the area. I cant tell you how excited I am to Have Pat and his wife on our team they went out one night last week to check out the scene and came back with what we need to have in our package and half a dozen places we can play when we get the whole package together. We are looking at every aspect of the band the thought even came up about changing the name?? I am not sure about this how do the fans feel? Let us know. I am going to post every day for the next couple of weeks and T will be posting also so you can come along with us on this journey and I promise it will be entertaining and from the heart as you know we hold nothing back what you see is what you get and you are going to be getting lots of Shadow Screamers from now on………..jon

island in a sea of fire....
July 17, 2009, 8:17 am

when you look at the current economic times and the hardships of the world,let's face it-difficult!where do we get inspiration from?how can we find ourselves ready to experience life yet another day?even in the best of times inspiration is and can be helpful.the human experince dictates that inspiration is as varied as each individual.the vast field of wildflowers we are still capture the rays of the same sun,soil,rain,but in their own way.sometimes i like to hear kick ass rock,other times classical or world music or jazz,or,or,etc...sometimes i like funny,collecting jokes or cartoons or watching a funny movie.humor has a way of the cosmic,'aha'.it shakes one out of ego-centered reality for just a moment to mental states into the reality of 'sun'-the shine on all(neglecting none).there are many stories of people terminally ill that went into remission.doesn't happen for everyone,and researchers are perplexed in understanding the vehicle of this change(for those that are in remission with agent-humor).i don't know anything about that(the research)but what i do know is a smile a laugh can change a shitty day sometimes instantly.sometimes it is important to read inspiration(i am a big fan of this modality).reading Dr.King,Gandhi,sayings of the Buddha,the Gospels,Sufi,poems,short stories,fiction,non-fiction,etc...they all seem to have their place with me and hit me at random times for inspiration.currently i am reading heavily into our Scotch/Irish tradition(Mother's name is Mayo,from County Mayo,Ireland.a lot of interplay and marriage with the MacDonald Clan of the Highlands of Scotland).i guess this post today in my usual rambling sort of way is to search for what inspires you.what is it that moves you?what is it that gives you momentary pause from the weight of the world?what is it that allows you to pick up this day and go forward through the good times,through the bad?i care for you.please share what moves you,what makes you find the island in a sea of fire....peace,T

soft wind
July 16, 2009, 1:40 pm

Sometimes I breath to taste tomorrow but she don’t give secrets away, for wondering to much can swallow precious time that slips away, I am put here for a reason but the reasons blind to me, so I try to capture pieces of my life in the hope that I can see, incomplete but there’s a journey that I know will see and end, I guess it’s on your imprint that you judge just who you’ve been. Shallow imprints don’t impress me but I’m afraid that’s where I tread, if I passed away tomorrow would a soft wind make them spread, I know that one day this does happen for time wears deep imprints thin but will the name I’ve made linger or will they dance off in the softest wind………jon

Dont count us out yet fans
July 15, 2009, 12:17 pm

Just talked to T and it looks like we can salvage seven days later this month from the unexpected circumstances that caused us to delay his visit(read entry below) It is certainly going to be a challenge to get a product together in such an insane short amount of time but I am up to the task and I will get some new stuff to post on the site as far as music goes. Hopeful we can also get a video of our live performance to put up on utube. I am meeting with a girl singer songwriter who has seen us a couple of times and wants to works with us tomorrow so we will see where that goes we need a female voice in the band and it will push us in new directions but we will have to put off and collaboration until after T comes down. Right now Bobby and I can stand with any two piece in the world and it will only take T a couple of days to plug in but any more is too much to ask so in the future we will see about the expansion of shadow screamers…………. jon

luv ya bro
July 13, 2009, 2:56 pm

Well it’s been a tough couple of weeks for T his mother in law who he was very close to in her eighties took a turn for the worse and passed away last week. T was supposed to come down here at the same time but once his mother in law started her journey into whatever lies after this life our main priority was for him to be there for his family. One of my best friends who is in prison taught me that ( more on him later) maybe tomorrow. Anyway we were going to do some recording both live and in the studio but family always comes first and so as of now we need to see how things play out. This site which was once vibrant and worthy has been neglected lately but I at this moment am going to re-commit myself to making this a relevant site once again. You can twitter- tweet- whatever but if you check out this site what you will get is the honest as it happens truth I have never taken back a word I have typed on this site and believe me I am far from proud of some of the stuff I have spewed. Please say a prayer for T and his family and tell a friend about this site we are moving ahead and we have a purpose and we invite each and every one of you to come along for the journey. Life and death are a part of our existence and this band will emerge stronger and I promise you we will finally have new stuff up in the near future......... it is our time……..jon

i grieve ....
July 7, 2009, 6:49 am

there is a veil at times,revealed between realities.in long hours of waiting,it seems that time can be relentless.slow,ponderous,each second ticked off like waiting for the firing line for the accused.we are all alone coming into this world(the experience)we are all alone going beyond.how does times move in this space between?does it move like so many soldiers as in our life-waiting to take and steal,tender moments?does it finally take a back seat,and move beyond movement?i remember as a child hallucinating with very high fevers.it seemed the soul was loosed to traverse beyond physics.the Medicine people tell me this was the training ground,to understand the thin veil that seperates,time as a relentless partishioner.traveling in such a way,fear seems to dissapear,i hope i remember this when the door starts to open from this world to the next.i grieve today,sleepless nights,waiting,watching the damn cold second hand march and taunt and scream existential whispers into that rational side that would hear such foolishness.i grieve and listen more closely to whispers beyond sound,taste,touch,memory.whispers that are LOVE,whispers that ferry in the broad boat of everything,everything,your beautiful life,everything....peace,T

removing dirt from the eye....
July 1, 2009, 7:33 am

i agree so much with what you have written Jon.i am so glad that you have brought here the struggle that Iran faces!what a complex world we live in!so many events,so many things in our lives to distract and take away.to always come back to'truths'is so important.Gandhi spent his whole life pursuing truth.he did not ride on the woven,rich garment of approval/disapproval,he simply pursued the truth tirelessly.as Rebbe Nachman says if you,'work at not needing approval from anyone,you will be free to be who you really are'.this is the essence of what the Mystics have told us from all tradions and faiths-to be the truth,is to be free.to be free,the universe unfolds(it is anyways but you do not have dirt and debris to occlude your vision-you can see!).peace to you all,T

SAHDOW SCREAMERS STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE PROTESTS AND CONDEMS AND IS ANGRY OVER THE BRUTAL MURDER OF INNOCENT PORTESTERS IN IRAN
June 24, 2009, 2:57 pm

First I want to stand up and shout out our support for those in Iran who are standing up and in some brutal and tragic cases gunned down in cold blood as they protest in the streets over the latest bogus National election. We Played South Shores Tavern last night and the third song in was Redemption Song from Bob Marley and I dedicated it to Neda the young woman gunned down in cold blood and all those who are brave enough to protest against a brutal regime. South Shores is pretty red neck so of course there were a couple of dudes who did not agree but what the fuck do I care if they are to ignorant to realize this is a nation that is moving toward democracy and equality without it being jammed down their throats by some psychotic moronic cowboy from Texas then they can kiss my ass. The night was slow because we had severe thunderstorm warnings in effect most of the night which keeps people in but not this band we kicked ass despite the rain. I know this because a few of the people who were listening made it a point to come up and tell me on their own that we KICKED ASS and people don’t applaud after every original song if they don’t dig it. For those of you who don’t know T is coming down next month for ten days and we are going to record and do some live video which will be posted on this site we are going to blog every day and I guess we need to twit or tweet can anyone give us a handle on how to go about this? Just blog us on the fan journal if not we will figure it out this next month is going to be big for us and it is going to give us the material to send to bands like Dave Mathews who we would love to be the opening act for next summer anyway we will finally have a product to promote ourselves with and this site will regain its former glory and this band will finally get our deserved chance to be heard across this planet………….jon

do you really know?....
June 20, 2009, 5:35 am

what time is it really? do you know?out beyond responsibility,personal expense,safety-what time is it really?the Shamans chide us all for our alleged knowledge of what we perceive to be time.do we really know?there are veils between dimensions-parted by ones that travel hard/difficult paths.several years ago,some of the most unspoiled(by western thought)people came out of the Andies to warm us of impending doom(enviornment).they have seen this for a very,very long time.before science backed it up,before puzzling antedotes.it was there in collective consciousness riding a wave between worlds and dimensions.we think we know the world.how much do you really see?we think we understand-what is it you truly see?Zen Priests and Shamans at times have harsh modalities to wake people up.this is needed as delusion is rampant and so deep in the conscious/unconscious mind.we all like sleep-it is restorative.many,however,sleep all the time....peace,T

what a bore
June 19, 2009, 4:01 pm

What a bore this site is !!!!!!!!!!!no insight just complaining about how busy we are blah blah blah we have lost what once drew people to us. With that said T is coming down the 7th of July to the 30th of July he will have no expenses and no responsibilities thus no excuses and I to will have no excuses let’s see what happens……….noj

again....
June 13, 2009, 7:50 am

well we are gearing up to take southern Florida by storm.keep in touch this should be heavy!!!!you can also look foreward to more writing and music,etc...spread the word the Phoenix of Shadowscreamers is rising again....peace,T

Nightmare
June 1, 2009, 2:00 pm

My heart goes out to the two girls in my sons sixth grade class who passed over the weekend from Carbon Monoxide poisoning this as we know is every parents nightmare, in a perfect world nobody dies at that young of an age. I do not put my head in the sand my heart bleeds for the countless thousands of children across this planet that die, starve, are abused or discarded every day I guess you have to build up some sort of self-serving immunity otherwise you will go insane. But I do find that guilt lingers just outside the deep sorrow I feel for these kids and their families. It’s funny how when it hits your little bubble of a perfect world it somehow resonates with a little more depth but as T’s so adequately says in his song � Every Child is Sacred� we as human beings must never forget this …………….jon

update
May 31, 2009, 5:38 pm

Being in a band is never dull even though I can never seem to play with more than one other player at a time until this summer when I bring T down. As a member you cannot help but be drawn into each life of those who you are trying to connect with as musicians. I am not famous but the most important thing I need from players is to connect on a mental level where you are breathing in and the other players are breathing out………We are hoping to put a three piece together this summer right now its Bobby the drummer and me and I have to say we are killing when we play out but underneath the veneer this thing could blow apart at any time there are serious issues lurking don’t get me wrong I am no angel but I would hate to be saying to T when he comes down lookie at me trying to put it together again with yet another setback and only you and me.……..Stay tuned if you want more drama and a more intense in-depth view from within this band let me know. I have never changed a thing I have said on this site and believe me some of the shit I have written I would love to take back but if you say you are real then you can’t pretend…. leave that for reality shows and the 6 pm news……….jon

Sorry Junior you cant rape National Forests anymore
May 29, 2009, 9:43 am

Congratulations on the Obama administration ordering a one year moratorium on most road building and other development on over 50 million acres of remote pristine National Forests. Junior bush pushed aside the 2001 Clinton â€"era ban against new road construction he and his experts argue that it is necessary to open up these areas to fight wildfires and log small trees that could? Serve as fuel for catastrophic fires. This all sounds good we can surely trust Logging companies and at the time an anti environmental administration to do the right thing. The funny thing is that fires are a natural and necessary part of every healthy forest the burned areas create new fertile meadows for animals to feed, fallen trees create new homes and the fires instigate new healthy tree growth, I am no expert but I know these facts to be true. when are we as human beings going to realize that Mother Nature created all we see and was doing very well without our help thru millennia before we got here and started fucking everything up for our own self serving purposes. I guess the Obama plan is to have a year to come up with a better plan without causing further damage……… I hope Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is up to the task…………….jon

Waiting for T
May 27, 2009, 10:14 am

Well Bobbie and I got back on track last night at South Shores Tavern we had not rehearsed in almost two weeks but we got right back into it. A couple of my neighbors came out with some of their friends( Thanks Carl and Karen here is a shout out) to support us which is always good and I think we gave them their money’s worth. We are in a holding pattern until T gets down here in a few weeks but we have done a good job of securing a spot to play out and we will be expanding to other venues once we are a three piece. We had a sax player come up and jam with us and he seems interested in playing with us he is a good player and he listens and did not play over everything which was cool. I hope to use him on some recordings this summer if I can put it all together we have always wanted a sax in the band. We are working on getting a video up on You-Tube of our live performances so keep an eye out I will have something up at the latest by this weekend.But as far as new material going up it will have to wait until T comes down…………….jon

Just a thought dont burn me man or maybe do............
May 26, 2009, 12:43 pm

I am beginning to wonder if religion is controlled by God or Satin interesting thought hey? Latest example the out of touch perverted Catholic church which basically condemns condoms????Gee I wonder how many cases of aids and disease have resulted in this insane logic since Papa Pope who has never had the pleasure of tasting a woman made this declaration? This brings me to the point that with God apparently sitting on his ass and admiring all he has created the devil has stepped in and created the current religions across the planet to fight amongst themselves. It is the perfect plan we humans after all love a senseless battle with in defense of OUR PERSONAL REGIGION………I don’t believe in the devil and am on the fence with god but really what the fuck is going on here it looks like the human race has a lot in common with sheep all they need is someone to lead them on…………jon

when they don't even respond anymore....
May 23, 2009, 7:42 am

Jon,glad you took some time away.i find at times it is helpfull! gives kind of a fresh perspective on things.we will talk this weekend if we can connect.man,oh,man i am hearing stuff in my head that i need to talk to you about.it is so frustrating to do something you are not,and then be tortured by these thoughts.i am not complaining Great Spirit! without you i am mere dust-i thank you for this vision!now i just have to figure out a way to actualize what i am hearing.this bass,i keep tellin' ya,I LOVE IT!!!!they tell us we are stupid,worse yet are the ones that don't listen anymore-I DON'T CARE!!!!DREAMS AND VISION ARE MUCH TO IMPORTANT TO BE DOWNPLAYED BY THE STATUS QUO!!!!DREAMS ARE THE ELIXER OF MORTALS-WHAT YOU DO WITH DETERMINED ACTION,well that is what legends are made of.follow your dreams everyone-please follow your dreams.peace,T

car wreck anyone?
May 22, 2009, 4:26 pm

Been off the site for a couple of weeks and I must say it has been liberating after five years of trying to keep it going thanks T for keeping up the input the site is better when you post. Now I need to figure out how to get T down here and pay for recording etc this summer call me T we need to talk about the next move. Sure does suck knowing there is an asshole in Texas who walked away from the mess he created but never has to worry cause he has a golden spoon up his ass he is a GRADE A PIECE OF TEXSAS SHIT THAT JUNIOR Boy bush …….anyway we were supposed to have a gig tonight but the power is out at the place and Bobby the drum man seems in a funk so what the hell it is what it is and now a days I seem to just go thru the motions I mean really this band was always a car wreck just waiting to happen so stay tuned cause everyone loves to stop and stare at a wreck…………jon

writing scores....
May 22, 2009, 7:30 am

so there has been so much to talk about.first and foremost is time.i sit in boring meetings at times and suddenly there will be this incredible music going through my head(original).the sad part is there is no time in my life to write it down! was not the best music writer as I started so late in my life,meaning the note by note writing on scoresheets.i have no problem hearing the music but then writing it down-uggh.it is really frustrating to be trapped this way-looking out the window as the speaker goes on and on,and you could give a shit less what they are talking about.on a bright note,i am getting killer tones out of my new bass-i absolutely love it!more later,peace,T

ab-1?
May 16, 2009, 7:14 am

i have been toying with the notion of an acoustic bass.i used to play standup in the jazz and classical world but had to give it up when i settled into social work.my research has shown that the ab-1 from Taylor guitars has the best almost replicable sound.this is the same company that made your guitar Jon.they are very,very pricey.if I got one,i would want a fretless five string-the sound i guess is amazing-anyone here play one?peace,T

Water Element(Happy Mothers Day)
May 10, 2009, 6:43 am

we travers the Earth expecting to be a raging river.how about a daily drop of rain?to see and talk without doing,is to plow the field without first harnessing the horse.the discipline of LOVE is a discipline of the inner and outer,the micro/macro cosmic relationship.our LOVE needs a gentle drop each day.those around us need that gentle drop from us.today is Mothers Day. a day of thanfullness for that drop each day she provides us.to be a Mother is to be that drop-in the world we males have so much to learn from this.even if you come from a family that is so troubled,that your Mother was never there for you.you are here,and a relationship with the 'Mother Principle'can still be nourished.our Mother-all of ours-Mother Earth gives each and every day to us.how lucky we are.last night it rained.the tulips out front are opening to the first rays of the sun.how thankful they are for that drop of rain.Happy Mothers Day!peace,T....

Earth....
May 2, 2009, 7:17 am

Earth Element:i have long considered the bass to be 'earth elemental'.as we listen to the subterrainian sound of the bass,we can feel as if tectonic plates are moving.we can feel like the Bear ambling along.we can feel her presence(Mother Earth)and be with her as we strum the strings and contact this moment right here,right now on this tiny planet in a vast universe.it is not that bass doesn't touch the realms of flight.in a solo,you can feel as if you are the fiery Phoenix arising from the ash,burned down to the ground to rise like all burned matter does,and though impermanant has the essence of Spirit which must necessarily take flight(does not have to follow the rules of embodied physics).the Earth,the Earth MAN! CAN YOU FEEL HER?CAN YOU WALK IN BALANCE AND HARMONY-each step being a kiss on her gentle skin? the bass/earth(like the Bear),the guitar/fire,air(like the Eagle).when we play(Jon and I)i like to think about this,the merging bringing energies together-like in hsing-i practice.once beyond the form/the structure;well,that is beyond the beyond,worthy of another discussion on another day....peace,T

last word
May 1, 2009, 5:39 pm

When the wind dies down and the shallow water’s swell…… those who believe in their god better hope they don’t burn in hell….. self righteous assholes one and all who dip into the pool of Godly denial………. your day will come your day will come just keep riding your ignorance, intolerance, hatred, false justification, blind loyalty want me to go on?????hell I aint got the time. ….. and I will wave as you pass on by……. not because I am any better then you who the fuck am I who the fuck are you but if hypocrisy could be captured In one word that word would be RELIGION……..…………….njo

T Calling T need you bro............
April 29, 2009, 1:50 pm

Last night at South Shores was interesting to say the least Mark who hosts the open mike could not make it so we covered for him. Not one of our better nights as far as performance the groove was moving too fast for most of the night at one point I stopped Window in its tracks because I could not feel the high energy groove that Bobby was laying down. This was not professional to stop it abruptly as Bobby pointed out and if it happens again I will end the tune in a cohesive manner. Despite the train wreck we were riding on you have to finnish. Can’t wait for T to come down this summer he aint gonna let me or Bobby escalate the time and I am going to be closely watching the time when we rehearse this Saturday. We were hosting an open mike and a guy came up and played to some recorded tracks in the Iron Maiden mode he was good but a little more than self-absorbed so when the crowd was getting restless as they were not into the music he had chosen we had to cut the performance off. We managed to do a better job with the second set the tempo was still too fast but we managed to pull off a good set. I deeply miss T on bass because he is the ambassador of time he will keep us honest and there will be no lapses which brings comfort to my soul not to mention that with him taking over as the groove man keeping Bobby in check I will be able to shred and I promise you shred I will……………….jon

But this was supposed to be the big time?
April 24, 2009, 9:40 am

We arrived at Little Munich with high expectations before 7pm but as we were unloading we soon realized that we could not audition to the people in their golden years who were filling the seats for dinner. I talked to the owner and we agreed that we should wait for the dinner crowd to finish before we went on. While we were waiting we went down the street to South Shores Tavern our Tuesday night gig and the place was packed apparently it was Biker night and the band was very good playing classic rock and roll I have to admit we were both a little envious of the crowd but the reality is we have chosen to do our original music and this crowd wanted to hear Lenard Skinnard baby. We went back to our audition and finally went on at 9pm I had concerns with the sound because the place has tile floors and not much to absorb the sound if Bobby had been using an acoustic drum set instead of the electronic one we would not have been able to play. The place was empty the people we asked to show up never showed and I guess the place does not get much of a crowd. We did and hour and a half straight and I have to tell you we have never sounded better the sound was perfect taking into account the bad acoustics we did not blow anyone away with high volume and my voice has never sounded better but once again the place was almost empty. I could tell Bobby was totally bummed and I was down myself and to make matters worse as we were loading I got a call from the guy who booked us. He asked me if I had been paid the deal was according to him that we get $100 for our efforts we were supposed to play for two hours but the waitresses were starting to close up so we stopped and we would not have taken the money anyway. In his defense the guy that booked us works the area as a solo artist and he stands to lose if the bar owners take advantage which is an all to common problem with professional musicians. But when he started screaming over the phone for me to get the money then hanging up I was a little taken back this was all I needed after this bummer of an evening. I went back in and told the owner to just tell him that we were square when he called to ask. I do care if I hurt the guys chances of making money but threats? Aint gonna bother me. We headed back to South Shores Tavern I was starving and much to my surprise the place was still packed but this time with college students I was tempted to take out the equipment and rock the crowd they love our alternative rock but you can’t play past 10:30pm outside at South Shores and it was 11pm. Being in a band you have to deal with personalities I have my issues and Bobby has his so as I was taking him home his total self absorption and my crass tendencies got the better us and I dropped him off without saying a goodbye. When I got home finally around 1am my pound dog who greets me every time with a smile and waiting for a scratch or pet……… well she never even came out to see daddy…….. now that cut deep……… the rest of the evening? Hell that was just like some many before……………. welcome to the big time…………..jon

just a tune up
April 22, 2009, 4:35 pm

Last night was interesting we started off killin but I made the mistake of doing a cover tune we are trying to fit in for Thursdays gig we have to mix it up and we don’t do many covers and frankly I blew it but hey we will try if it means playing out we need to put more effort into learning covers. Apparently we had a superstar guitarist with us last night it was an open mike and he came up and played his guitar along with pre-recorded material and it sounded pretty good and when we complimented him he thought the same and then some saying he was great. I guess it’s good to be cocky but if you are going to shred metal guitar you had better killin I could not do it and unfortunately either could he at least not to the degree that he proclaimed but at least he has a positive attitude. We did rebound and as usual once we figured out the sound being that we are using some one else’s P.A. system I think we sounded pretty decent but certainly not up to our usual standard and that is my fault. Thursday will be a big test for us we are using my sound system and I think I have put together a couple of good sets probably not as many cover tunes as they may want but hey we can add more I am hoping they are blown away by the energy and performance I will let you know how it turns out…..jon

Sorry I dont know any other way
April 20, 2009, 12:44 pm

Today running thru the back of my mind is the question why? Why do I keep Shadow Screamers going? This week shows promise we have a paying audition at a bar in Lake Worth on Thursday night along with our usual Tuesday night gig at South Shores Tavern but still I wonder why? For those who don’t know about the band T our bass player is living in Maine and I am here in Florida with Bobbie the drummer. On the bright side I am going to get the band together this summer and will do all I can financially and as the leader of the band to hopefully get some killer recordings and a few gigs that would expose the band to a wider audience in So. Florida. But let’s face it bands face incredible odds when they have all the players together full time to put in the time necessary on all aspects of the industry we do not. In thinking about the situation I guess at this point I am relying on the songs and the music along with our musical ability to perform them at the highest level( when we are together that is) to overcome the odds. I think this kind of thought pattern is healthy and by no means do I have any intention of letting it go but by the same token if Shadow Screamers cannot advance to a higher level after this summer’s offerings. I am going to be under increasing pressure to just put the whole thing on standby both financially and as a performer and move in another direction whatever that is………jon

To little to late but at least their is acknowledgement
April 17, 2009, 9:54 am

The current pope is expected to acknowledge the role of the roman catholic church in forcing at least 150,000 Native Canadian Indians into residential schools who's mission was to eradicate native culture and make them more like whitey. This also happend in the lower Americas. Thousands of those who were forced from their families into the schools between the ages of 7 and 16 were sexually and physically abused by those who ran the schools.By the way the roman catholic church ran most of the schools. I say its about time pappa p.............jon

Helpful hint for readers
April 16, 2009, 10:44 am

Hey Screamers fans if you want over 250 of Ts entries to pop up for your mental, spiritual,insightful, enjoyment just type the word peace in the search box at the top of the band comments page and enjoy!

we got your highs and we got your lows
April 15, 2009, 9:43 am

Last night was a night of extreme highs and mind numbing lows at South Shores Tavern. The regular person heading the open mike was not there so he had a friend Pete running it. Pete plays guitar and bass he said he has been playing bass for well over twenty years so when he asked if he could join us and play some songs we said sure just to be polite since he was running the show. It always amazes me that bass players think they can come up on stage and play our originals in a professional manner without ever hearing the tunes the first rule is you have to listen to what is going on around you and just as important lay back when you are lost and Pete god bless him is not a good listener and never laid back he just kept plowing thru totally out of sync. Bobbie and I started off by ourselves with a blistering six song set the first highlight and we ended with the best version of “Windows� we have ever done I even mentioned in the ecstasy of the moment to the few people who were there that we kicked ass on the song which probably was a little arrogant then Pete joined us on bass and things went south in a hurry. Again it amazes me that after six songs seeing that we have a complex and in time rhythm along with breaks and changes going for each song he did not get how hard it is to just walk up with no rehearsal and think he could play in a professional manner. After stumbling thru two tunes and loosing every bit of momentum Bobby and I had established with the audience (which the bass player was oblivious to) I decided to do two of our blues tunes hoping that he could play them adequately. After I went thru a verse and chorus of the two songs and I felt he could hold the rhythm with Bobbie I was able to go off on lead guitar and that was the other highlight the heavier strings I am using give me a whole different sound and I can bend and pound on them and my poor T 5 Taylor to my hearts delight. At one point I closed my eyes and I felt like I could feel the presence of Stevie Ray Vaughn looking down ( no I am not comparing myself to Stevie) I guess he probably felt sorry for me but even Bobby could not help but make a positive comment about the leads. After the two blues songs we bumbled thru some more songs with the bass player until it became to embarrassing once again the bass player was oblivious but Bobby and I had had enough and we ended our evening. The lowest point of the night was after Bobbie and I played ninety percent of the evening during which because he asked I bought Pete the bass player a couple of expensive drinks he wanted. Later I heard him talking to the waitress telling her that he was not going to be able to spend all of his thirty dollar bar tab? Never offering to by us a drink? and he was happy about the 50 dollars on top of the bar tab for hosting the night? Now to some I might be nit picking but if we had not shown up and bailed him out he would not have been able to fill the evening by himself yet not even a word of thanks from Pete? call me crazy but I know Shadow Screamers is better then that I mean FUCK I just want a little respect by the way the waitress was great but once again the Bar dude acted like we were not even there. I am going to re-evaluate South Shores Tavern I was called by the bar and asked to play last night and play we did and I think we deserve a little better treatment what we got. One thing I forgot to mention is that before we even started one of Pete’s speakers blew so Bobby and his electronic drums and my Vocals were only coming thru one speaker something that is hard to pull off but we did it .................jon

Yet another year coaching kids in Rec. Baseball I sent this e-mail to the league president today
April 14, 2009, 1:54 pm

Sorry to bother you with this last night after our game was shortened in the top of the Sixth inning due to the Ten run rule which denied our team the Mets of their last bat, we took the marlins coaches for their word that this was the rule. I noticed that the Marlins disappeared quickly not taking part in the post game talks every coach has with the team after every game I have ever been involved in. One of the parents from our team took it upon herself to talk to Lou your associate who had just finished his game on the other field and he informed her that there was not a 10 run rule? Realistically we probably would not have scored ten runs but if they did knowingly use deceit to win a game and save a pitchers pitch count for another game (my guess) this goes against all that they teach us every year in the video we are supposed to watch before the season starts. It bothers me not because we could win the game but the kids (as well as the parents and coaches that support and work with them) deserved to bat one more time as we started the inning well before the 9pm deadline. This is no reflection on you and the others who give so much and deal with so many unnecessary headaches during the season. In closing it never ceases to amaze me that year after year a few coaches use deceit, yelling and screaming, intimidation and general immaturity just to have the best record? This game is about, for and played by the kids to hopefully learn positive life lessons they can carry with them to be successful. We have to realize as teachers on the field that when things like this happen they are keenly aware of what is going on......jon

time to make the....
April 11, 2009, 7:24 am

well it has been a demanding week.sometimes i find myself looking out at the verdant fields,coming alive with the tender shoots of grass as i am in a meeting.they tell me that i don't quite fit in and they make my work experience rather difficult.i wonder if i ever really,'fit in'to the educational experience?i remember being in school doing the same thing-staring out the windows,composing poetry.in school i was drugged up or drunk-anything just to pass the incredibly slow second hand that seemed to beat like a broken drum(been clean now for almost 27 years).of course i do not advocate kids being stoned or wasted-so lets be clear-THIS IS NOT THE INTENTION TO BE MISREAD HERE.IN FACT I AGREE WITH MALCOLM X THAT TO DO DRUGS AND ALCOHOL IS A GOV. PLOY TO KEEP THE MASSES FROM QUESTIONING.THAT IS WHY ALCOHOL IN SOME AREAS IS VERY CHEAP,THAT IS WHY THE FEDS.HAVE A STANCE TOWARDS DRUGS BUT NEVER SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THE REAL ISSUE(I advocate frsh air-when you find some,organic locally grown food,meditation,exercise,and plenty of healthy sleep)!my point is that we loose people every day in education.it is a 'my way or the highway' mentality.why not scrap the entire dysfunctional system and start with something new,alive,vibrant,an educational system that is demanding,yet enjoyable,preparing for the future,but also allowing for creativity and the development of free thinking.after all,we always hear about the 'founding fathers'-were they not free thinkers?-dudes that somewhat thought outside the box?Franklin was a hippie before the word-i am convinced.bathing and then opening the windows to dry in the nude-outspoken,clever,free thinking-gotta love the long wild hair!Jefferson had a learning disability so they surmise-yet look at most of his thought process,very creative-so outside the box for the time(i do not bring full glory to the founding fathers that is for sure-a cursory glance at their Native policies and towards slavery-leave much to be desired,as well as the unlawful invasion and subjugation of people).the current system is a factory line producing doughnut makers-boring people without much insight or creativity(it is not-i repeat not the students fault).whats worse-teachers that think outside the box are chased out of education.so i sat in yet another boring fruitless meeting staring out the window,lamenting my loss as a teen and subsequent generations afterwards....

deep??????
April 9, 2009, 1:46 pm

Digging deep into the dark, damp shadows of my mind over-run with displaced memories that don’t serve me well…… they were purposely tossed into a dark corner where the broom never sweeps and the trash is never taken out……. how convenient that the mind can move forward while consciously misplacing the shadows of the past……that was then but the present is now the past so why dwell on things that can’t be re-born why grasp at a vanishing memory that scatters as fast as it is executed…….evaluation is an art form if you can be honest to yourself but who the hell is going to put their ass on the line that separates the good from the holy...and better yet who decides???????????njo

Last nights gig perception vs reality..........
April 8, 2009, 9:16 am

Perception……. Last night the crowd was going to be big we had the best slot for the Tuesday night open mike and it was a popular event……..Reality…….we played for over an hour to one person and the people working at the place the one person we played to was a standup comic and very funny he went on after us and the empty seats……………Perception……….the person who handles the open mike does all the booking at Koffeeokee and also books other clubs in the area so we will surely get some gigs out of our performance……Reality……The woman who does the booking only handles the entertainment at Koffeeokee and she only books copy bands on the weekends there so the only chance for our original band is to maybe be an opening act to see if the crowd will go for original music………Perception…….we close out the night to a handful of people who showed up later and leave them screaming for more…….Reality……..We start off with �Shelter� a kick ass tune and we do a good job of performing it however the crowd is indifferent and unresponsive…….Reality…… we crash and burn after that song mostly due to me as I turn away from the small crowd and proceed to bungle thru in pent up anger the remaining two songs letting the disappointment of yet another night get the best of me� Not Very Professional�………………Perception……..the other day I thought we had made some progress and things were looking up for the band……..Reality………. we are back to square one headed back to South Shores Tavern it’s like I am Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day reliving the same reality over and over again…………In evaluating the evening this morning there were positive things that came out of the night. The owner of the coffee shop and the other people that work for him love our music and performance in fact the owner wants us to play his birthday party March 15th but I guess the woman who books the entertainment has already booked the talent for the party so we will see what happens. The other positive to take away is that we have to try new venues to expand our exposure and possibilities you never know unless you try and as painful as it is at least we are trying……………jon

Could be a big night fans
April 7, 2009, 8:35 am

Well Screamers fans tonight could prove to be a big night for us as I mentioned the other day we are doing an open mike getting to play three songs at Kokffeokee in Del Ray beach. More importantly we have been invited to go in early before everything starts to jam by ourselves for at least an hour this gives us time to impress the person who runs the open mike and the owners of the place. If I have my information right the person who handles the open mike also does other bookings in the area. Del Ray is a perfect fit for the band there is always something going on musically and people come from everywhere to check out the scene. A bonus is that we have been given the best time slot for the open mike the place should be packed and we will not disappoint .The other bonus is that because we will be set up and ready to go after the early jam we will have our sound zeroed in and the rest will be up to us…….Wish us luck fans with a little luck all the hard work we have put in over the last few months will pay off paving the way for when T comes down this summer then look out world here we come……….jon

Jolene
April 5, 2009, 8:52 pm

Hey Jolene am I a profit or a man, the lines I’m drawing seem to close me in making it hard to play my hand, each year I sense the time I waste as time just blows on past, so fast can’t see the silver lining that hangs outside my grasp. Swallows find their way back home but I wander in focused disarray, caught in the grasp of dies I've cast no chance to break away. So I keep wandering, wondering taking all they let me keep they say that life’s a journey but you decide how deep, its times like these I fight to surface just so I can breath........noj

One song aint much unless you know what to do with it..............
April 5, 2009, 4:17 pm

We did an open mike last night at KoffeeOkee in Del Ray beach go to http://www.koffeeokee.com to check it out. We did one song City of the Angels as each act was allowed only one song. Apparently from the crowd response and input from the owner and the person running the open mike along with several others who spoke to me we killed. This was extremely hard to pull off because Bobby had to set up his kit and be ready to go I just plugged into the P.A. no sound check all in the span of just a couple of minutes but we did it!!!!!!!!!!. The gig was set up by our new manager Pat who is a new member of our family this past week he has proven he is willing to put in time and effort to get this band to the next and has not asked for a cent in return ...... more on him later. We have been invited to come back to Koffeeokee this Tuesday night they have an open mike again in which each act we will be given 15 minutes to play but the best part is that I was told we can come in early and set up and jam for a hour before everyone else so they can check us out. The crowd is a mix between young and older and plentiful which is perfect and the person who runs the open mike also books other clubs and events so it is up to us to show we are ready to hit South Florida like a tornado. The way I have been able to keep my sanity on this long journey is to never get to high or to low otherwise I would have quit years ago but as of right now for the first time since I have been performing in South Florida I have a growing sense that maybe this time we have the pieces in place to finally get this party started......Of curse we will have to do it without T until the summer but Pat also gave me the number of a key board player who has a small studio and rehearsal space and he is interested in checking us out..............more later.........ecaep jon

to listen....
April 4, 2009, 6:53 am

sounds surround us.in some cases it has become to much,to the point of pollution.our species tends to put more emphasis on disharmony than the Feng Shuai of being human.anyways sound is around and can help us to deliver uniqueness to our playing style.Jimi once said that some of his feedback sounds he learned while being a paratrooper in the Army.the sound of air moving past his ears taught him valuable lessons.musicians are a funny sort of breed,slightly cocky,arrogant,and egotistic(many that is).i find that like most human beings they also don't listen well.many times on a bandstand you will see a frustrated percussionist,vocalist,soloist-whatever frustrated by an inattentive band or particular member of a band.the secret is the listening.it behooves every musician and every human being to have a crash course in listening.here are some suggestions;1)go out into a park or field in the early morning,take several slow breaths to slow the mind and drop the dross,bring a notebook,set a time-five minutes,ten minutes,etc...now simply listen-don't write,simply listen.after the exercise(time alloted)write down everything you heard.2)next time you are talking with someone,practise minimilism-let your friend do the talking,only talk when absolutely necessary.focus on what they are saying and what they are not saying(body language).3)spend two times a day in meditation-talk about hearing a freight train!many people new to meditation have a hard time dealing with the crazy monkey mind(as Buddhist's,Taoist's,and Hindu's say).be patient,if your meditation time begins with one mindfull breath good enough!gradually build.4)next time on the bandstand listen very carefully to what others are saying through their instruments.learn the language of you brother or sister-what do they say,how do they say it?listen so carefully that you understand that in this symphony of life ,you and your bandmates are just a microcosm of the great macrocosm being played throughout the universe.distill that LOVE.when it is time to solo say what you are.not someone else.i tire of replica's playing licks from other great musician's-BE YOU,YOU ARE BEAUTIFULL!!!!BE THE LISTENING YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM.there is no greater teacher than listening,reading a story,hearing sounds,looking at paintings or sculpture,smelling the first flowers of spring-all related to listening-if you broaden the term.for musicians out there-listen with all you heart,you will find gems with each note,a babies cry,a birdsong,a slight zephyr,a story told,your brother or sister sharing their heart on the bandstand right next to you....peace,T

what a f---in day
April 3, 2009, 12:59 am

What a fucking day…….. anyone out there feel the same way??????? reality sidesteps reality and becomes even more bizarre…… let the circus come to town on steroids and blow your mind then abruptly leave you with mindless indiscretions…… don’t that put a bad taste in your mouth……. Those goddam clowns they pick and prod as they circle performing their brand of mindless madness…….. say do you live outside the bubble???? Comprehension is a word you can try to grasp but you better be ready to get kicked in the head if you start to decipher the code………….Oh by the way what you think and feel don’t mean shit on this day or for that matter any other day because it is what a fucking day …. ……….ojn

Read the entry below this one to get the whole jest..
April 2, 2009, 10:55 am

Have been out of town for two days as for the gig on Monday night I pulled up to Bobbies place on the way to the gig and he was there so we loaded up and headed out. It was a little nerve racking not being able to contact Bobby to let him know of the sudden gig and thus I would be doing a solo gig but we made it together. The gig itself was strange we were treated like lepers by the bar maid and waiter don’t know why because we put on a two hour sweat drenched show that the crowd enjoyed .Let it be known we are not like the Blues Brothers in the Classic Movie racking up a two hundred dollar bar bill and then trying to stiff the bar maid I pay for the few drinks and occasional meals we get and by the way we also play for free fight now as we work our way into the scene .We are truly living the Vida Loca………………jon

We play both kinds of music solo acoustic or the other kind the drummer shows up........
March 30, 2009, 11:50 am

First off excellent entry yesterday T…AND HEY FANS…….for thousands more of his insightful comments simply type T into the search box at the top of the band comments page and enjoy the mind expansion……. . I have good news…… and bad news……. the good news is we are jamming at South Shores Tavern tonight and we have the stage to ourselves all night!!!!! The bad news is that I have been trying for two days to get a hold of my drummer to let him know we are playing tonight . This may not seem like a big deal but we have a chance to work our way out of the open mike thing on Tuesday nights and establish our own SCREAMERS NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!However if my drummers is not a part of it then it will loose some sonic impact and I will just be another solo acoustic act with a maybe he will show up drummer…….I am going to play tonight with or without but it sure would be easier if I knew………….jon

gentle sfumato....
March 28, 2009, 6:34 am

when we look at each day,we decern a pattern.we come to be yet again,emerging from the womb of the 'little death'.as we awaken and slowly move into waking consciousness,there are several ways we can do this.1;we can look at life like the old dunkin doughnuts commercial,'time to make the doughnuts'and mechanically go about our day.2;we can make lists and have life become such.3;we can pull the covers up and say-well maybe tomorrow-maybe tomorrow.4;we can try to find that one thing that animates and motivates us yet another day.if we go with,'begginner mind',like a young child,there are so many possibilities for that one thing to get us moving.have you ever followed a very young child for a day?they have life's marrow within their tiny hands,eyes,nose,feet.everything a new adventure,everything filled with wonder!following a child can be very healing.if we remember this state if we let go of the dross of the mind accumulated by years of pain and dissappointment,and fixed notions about reality,we start to see something rather extraordinary.we see life for what it really is,as opposed to a projection of beliefs we have built up.right now as i peer out the window,a gentle mist surrounds the fields,the stark bare trees seem to come forward as the mist dissipates-as if marching.the grass is still yet vibrant green where it peaks out from brownish snow.the fields are brown and dead stalks of tall grass laden with drops from the nights cool breath.it is amazing actually to see such beauty.it is as if the tail end of the in breath of winter is upon us before the life giving out breath of spring and summer.we await this transition,the muddy boots,the rain,the brown snow,the swollen rivers,the restless mind from not quite being able to enjoy the fruits of nature outdoors-a tease so to speak before the great abundance.so i awake and see this beauty before me,beside me,behind me(as the Dine say).regardless of sadness,disapponintment,dealing with insincere people-it is all good-we each walk our walk-it is up to each of us how we choose to do it....peace,T

sometimes part 2?
March 26, 2009, 9:36 am

Sometimes I wonder, sometimes I just walk on by, sometimes I turn my head and sometimes I just want to cry. Sometimes the voices are hollow, sometimes the silence is sublime, sometimes I have trouble just judging the distance, sometimes anger consumes me, sometimes Iove brings me to my knees, sometimes I know nothing at all, sometimes I just want to be, sometimes I lay my soul on the stage, sometimes I am somewhere else, sometimes I wonder.......jno

Man you got balls dude cept they are in your head rolling around
March 25, 2009, 10:55 am

I was listening to NPR yesterday and they had a respected Born again Christian Minister on who had written several books selling 50 million copies around the world on the second coming of Christ and consequences for those who do not take Christ as their Savior, As well as a look into what it would be like to be stuck living on an earth that is going to showcase pain, suffering and misery for those not forgiven. Towards the end of the interview he mentioned that he once met the Dali Lama and as they shook hands this minister asked the Dali Lama if he wanted to take a few minutes to talk about Christ the savior (commonly known as pushing your religion on someone else) The Dali Lama took it with grace and dignity but you have to wonder how someone who is a pillar in one religion be so callous as to try to sell his beliefs to one of the most respected spiritual men on the planet with his own deep personal beliefs…jon

aint got shit
March 25, 2009, 12:04 am

Bullet to the brain or just another ground hog day??????? son of a bitch we left every god dam ounce of energy on the stage tonight and killed song after song keep in mind I am my own worst critic yet I still judges tonight’s performance in the top five all time for this fucking band I am truly living ground hog day same shit was happening last year with T I guess I am Bill Murray in ground hog day and if the truth be told if we had the right shit maybe hey there is a thought maybe we aint got shit…………..onj

remorse pt 1
March 24, 2009, 1:22 pm

What was I searching for that I could not find at home as I stare back at myself I expose my selfish core……….. how dare one who appears to have it all take it upon himself to construct his destructing role knowing all the while……….. remorse is an angry child that is hard to grab and hold on to if you don’t try to grasp it……….. justification is your best friend as you brush indiscretions aside like leaves on the narrow path winding my way foreword vision centered on my own shellfish needs…I am less then who I should be I am centered in a place that is only fair to me able to brush off the remorse and guilt each time as my conscience gently lays it on my chest………….noj

when i use crayons....
March 21, 2009, 7:17 am

a good friend of mine recently wrote a series of articles on his site about thinking for yourself(www.rosstraining.com-Ross is an amazing guy and I truly recommend his work to everyone here interested in Physical Culture).our educational system is geared these days to conformity,ask any teacher that has been in the 'game'for over ten years.they will tell you the same thing,students are trained not to critically think.it used to be before chimpy boy-george bush got into office that students could receive A for instruction and figure out Z.this is the ultimate in pedagogy.students are not trained in this manner anymore-everything needs to be spelled out-even top ten students.it is not students fault it is the system.in the music world-same thing!i have recently run into many basses that are 'signature series'.the intent here is to put someones name on the bass and then you can jack up the price by 500-100 dollars,STUPIDITY-IF THE BUYER FALLS FOR THIS!!!!i mean c'mon didn't Jaco just pick up a stock 62 Fender Jazz and start playin'?he didn't have the James Jameson signature series-he had a stock model-right off the rack.it was his fingers that did the talkin'!!!!we must at all means break away from narrow boxes and crates of mentality-if not we become intellectually weak and well-DULL!!!!experiment my friend-get out there and use that beautiful brain of yours,breathe some fresh air,eat some healthy food,sleep well,and go outside the box!!!!generally gov. wants us to be dullards-easyier to handle.if you are intersted check out my buddies site,he is a good man,and definately in the physical culture world-thinks outside the confines of narrow mind(read his blog if you go there).speakin' of which,have flirted with slappin'-just not my cup 'o tea.everyone does it,thus i consciously avoided it for years.coming back to it-just not enjoyable for me,rather play what i hear.anywho get out and color with your crayons outside the lines today.peace,love,T....

corners
March 20, 2009, 3:52 pm

Looking at the corners of a wall where do they lead you???? Where do they end ?in the silence of another wasted day ?or do you follow some hidden path emerging vindicated in your worldly pursuits praising those corners as they stroke your inner aspirations ………..looking at the corners of a wall does it lead you to insanity? or to divinity? hell what do I know I can only see the corners and they spin in my head like a wheel of fortune gone astray in a world not seeing the corners in the wall and where they may lead……..ojn

Rambling news
March 20, 2009, 8:22 am

Well frankly it’s been a down week for us not playing on Tuesday Night we were not able to video tape our performance so that we can use it to get more gigs. We need to be playing out two to three times a week building on our local following. The other step is to finally get more new stuff up on the site T is coming down this summer and we will record some new material but in the mean time I will put up more stuff like Rasta man that bobby and I record and as soon as I get our live demo together it is going up on you-tube for all to see. I think everyone will be impressed with how much sound just a drummer and guitar player can generate. I switched to heavier strings this week on my guitar and what a difference it makes as far as adding more sonic intensity. I got the idea after listening to Stevie Ray again "live" he used way heavy gauge strings and we all know how incredible his sound was, besides the fact that he is one of our greatest blues treasures sorry Clapton. I hope Stevie is not forgotten don’t hear him much on classic Rock radio these days and I implore all to check out this great guitarist. Well there is my plug moving on we are going to meet with our perspective manager on Saturday I want him to run with our video demos and get some gigs we also need to map out a plan of action as far as the progression of the band. This is an exciting time hope you all want to join us things are going to happen this year……..jon

DAM WHY CANT IT FALL ON MONDAY
March 17, 2009, 9:06 am

Well it looks like we have been bumped from tonight’s gig at South Shores Tavern www.southshorestavern.com by of all things Saint Patrick’s day…… Bummer man they have an Irish band playing tonight and rightly so!!!! However……. Over the last few weeks we have had a steady influx of people checking us out and we have not disappointed and thus more people are showing up each week so it sucks that we will lose a week and the opportunity to once again lay it on the line with our brand of in your face intensity that this band thrives on. We will pick it back up next week with a vengeance so if you live in the area by all means come check us out. Fear not fans for all is not lost in Shadow Screamers land on Sunday we met with Pat who is interested in promoting the band and hopefully he will become our manager this would HUGE!!!! He will be able to take that part of the business and run with it and that leaves us to concentrate on what we do best and that is the music. The one thing we have always missed is a manager/ promoter so if Pat wants to take that role and run with it well I know with what we have to offer we will be getting more gigs and opportunities then ever before it will also force us to put together a video performance demo along with some studio recordings so I promise fans across the world you will be seeing new material up soon and you can judge for yourself weather I am delusional in my assessment of the band. I also want to start using our incredible logo in the form of T-shirts, stickers etc LETS FACE IT WHO WOULD NOT BE PROUD TO WEAR A SHIRT WITH OUR LOGO ON IT FOR A REASONABLE PRICE?????????keep tuned in you don’t want to miss a second of the Resurrection of this one of a kind band………..jon

'want mind'-man i am a friggin'idiot!!!!....
March 15, 2009, 7:01 am

sometimes,'want mind'gets in the way of what is before you.this applies to just about everything in life.for a recent example in my lifebook,yesterdays page was geared towards finding a bass with punch.now i suppose i can let myself off the hook and saying i was trying to find punch for our band.this is not entirely true!i sat in a shop yesterday with overpriced basses saying to myself,'oh yes this one would....and that one would....'.upon leaving i was busy scheming trying to see how i could talk money from my wife that we don't have.got home and looked in the corner-there sat my Hohner six string.last year it provided just the right punch-but being a four string player for years it takes study and determination and ,well,new strings.much less expensive than a thousand dollar bass-i felt embarrassed for putting on the,'i want mind'.i apologize to all readers here as this is something i have written about many times-the'want mind'and living simply.you see we are all guilty of it!please accept my humble apologies everyone!i did not walk out with a new bass-i walked out with determination to really have a handle on this beautiful instrument.and it really is for me,the neck is similar to my old war-horse Ibanez Musician in that for a six string the neck is narrower than others(big guy-small hands-maybe a circus midget in a former life like Austin Powers says?)anywho sorry everyone!Jon and Bobbie get ready cause there is an explosion gonna happen in Florida this year-the return of the full compliment of SCREAMERS!peace,love and harmony,T....

education and dreams of Fender Jazzes....
March 14, 2009, 6:53 am

'i step into march wind.robins nests,yet to be built.step by step i inch towards the compost pile'.march up here can be brutal,the wind can be relentless.there are days of 50 degree weather followed by 10 degree.there is mudd all over the place-hard to keep your house clean-and everyone has cabin fever.students are restless,teachers are restless,well-it just plain sucks.first strike for Obama and it is in regards to education.longer years and days do not work my friend.teachers incentive pay does not work either.this was a very frustrating first foray into education.it is hard to imagine that these un-imaginative notions were the first up!how about first off making education equal across the board for teachers and students,so teachers in Compton,or Pine Ridge don't have to buy texts for students as there is no budget.how about the same opportunities for kids in South Central and Washington county Maine as kids get in the rich schools in Conn.but wait a minute let us scratch further,how about economic insentives and sustainable economies in these areas first,and then opportunities so that students have goals within their communities to strive for?it is all so interrelated!to simply have standard-run of the mill solutions is to be frankly-very disappointing.this was the first attempt and you have through your actions stated that at least leaders in education will have a voice-the idiot george never gave a voice at all to education,he just watched it wither.so F for your first effort but A for your thought process.JON I HAVE BEEN WATCHING WITH MUCH INTEREST WHAT IS GOING ON WITH OUR BAND.I AM SO PUMPED-GREAT JOB MY BRO!!!!today i am going to a music shop to check out'punchy bass's.looking for that Fender Jazz sound but can't afford one-i will see what i can come up with-i am so excited!!!!THIS COMES AFTER A VERY,VERY,VERY,VERY(STOP BEING SO DRAMATIC T)DEMORALIZING WEEK!!!!MAN I CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK DOWN!!!!!!!peace,love,T....ps-i can't get onto the band journal all the time so at times i go onto the fan journal-speaking of which thanks for the comment 'fan' Jon and I definately have alot of faith in our music and the message!!!!

OH THE POSSIBILITIES
March 13, 2009, 12:36 pm

Man Tuesday night was quite interesting and FUN!!!! At South Shores Tavern..... Bobby and I jammed a few tunes and we kicked ass again riding the groove train. Being it is an open mike we had a blues guitar player come up and do some lead work for a couple of our original blues tunes he did a good job on lead. I have to wait for T to come down before I can let my guitar bleed someone has to lay down the rhythm for Bobby to follow and I do my best to live up to this as Bobby lays down his unique frenetic dance BUT BE WARNED WHEN T GETS HERE WE WILL DOMINATE AND EXPAND!!!!!! There was also a girl there from Haiti who’s name is Cassey she came up and improvised with lyrics to a couple of songs we laid down and I was immediately drawn in. Anyone who knows this band knows that our goal is to be not a three piece but a full band with many textures and voices I am not the lead singer and will be happy to share these duties I must say as Cassy loosened up she let loose and It was inspiring I am going to get together with her and see if we can get some songs together that she can sing and then work on harmonies for the stuff we already have. I am really excited about the possibilities I gave her and her boyfriend the web site and they are going to check it out hopefully they will like what we have to say and who we are aside from that they know we can jam with anyone because they saw it first hand and you cant fake that.......ecaep......jon

new stuff happening
March 12, 2009, 4:13 pm

Great gig Tuesday night no time now but I will give an update tomorrow morning things seem to be happening and finally moving stay tuned fans.....jon

YOU WANT A PIECE O THIS????????
March 10, 2009, 2:18 pm

LOOK OUT SOUTH FLORIDA WE ARE GOING TO RIP THIS DEAD ZONE A NEW ASSHOLE TONIGHT!!!!!!!!DONT BELIEVE ME? HEAD TO SOUTH SHORES TAVERN TOKNIGHT!!!! WANT DIRECTIONS???? GO TO www.southshorestavern.com and get um fer FREE!!!!!!!!! then get your ass over there and I will buy you a beer........jon

YOU$%#@$ MARXIST HIPPIE!!!!....
March 7, 2009, 6:59 am

it has been an interesting couple of weeks-lets just leave it at that!i am encouraged by the progress of the band and Jon i was talking with another friend of mine(musician)-they are having a hard time even booking gigs up here in the northeast.i think you are right,alot of people just aren't going out.things will turn i believe however,as even in the worst of times people want to be entertained.in France they are actively pursuing this need to get away from the woes of economic depression-how?-they are supporting more venues for musicians,actors,artists to perform.we should all put pressure on the powers that be to follow this example.is this blatant self support for our station?well yes in a way,lets be honest now,but in reality when you look at the history of the arts,some of the greatest movements occured during dire times.mediocrity is bred in complacent times.when times are tough,the muse tends to land on shoulders to uplift the spirit of humanity.so what does this mean-these times suck!support artists for goodness sake-that means visual artists,stage artists,music,independant film(the mainstream already gets pampered and preened and(just watch that awful Oscar spectacle and you know what I mean!) that goes for musicians-Radiohead,I love you guys,but spread the wealth brothers!yeah it is way cool that you pulled away from the industry and did your own thing,blah,blah,blahdie,blah-but you must not loose the fact that you are so famous and rich that you could pull it off!unsigned bands-well-who cares-noone will hear of such a bold adventure as this is what we try to do every day.call us out brothers-we would like to have a piece of the collective-cool music/socio-economic lyrical awareness/movement through music/peace through music/love through music world.cain't do it though fellers-nobody has heard us big time yet.i mean have you gone back to the roots-guys.try booking yourself at a major event where you are told,'we like your stuff and we are taking a limited amount of unsigned bands for the show'.next month,'oh sorry didn't we tell you,we picked bands last year'.said nothing on their website or on the unsigned band section.c'mon blokes get off your ass and support.want to fly us to England and start there!hell Hendrix had to-no problem brothers!!!!okay so that is my rant for the day.what appears radical,is not radical at all.what is really radical is more of a socialistic perspective.the older i get the more i lean this way-fuck capitalism!!!!when the top five percent still hold the cards/when our wealthy nation uses way more resources per capita than the rest of the world/when we posture democracy and portray dictatorial power(not you Obama-i like what i have seen thus far-reaching out for connection)/letting millions starve thats right millions(simple fact one in four American children goes to school hungry-smoke that in your fat cigars wealthy CEO'S that not only spend us into depression but then take bailouts and still have your corporate privelages-i mean if that were me(never would be just saying)i would be carrying a number on my back for a long,long time.i have to say,the only future for mankind is a socialist outlook(isn't that really what the great spiritual teachers taught?)....peace/love/spread the wealth and love-T

the shell
March 6, 2009, 10:41 am

Separate the pennies as they fall down from the sky grasp at empty promise hanging like a cherry on the vine stay the course as it leads to hell wave the right to ring hells bells just let it all go so you can slip into the well that swallows all important things you choose to leave behind and you are left with nothing but the shell nothing but a shell.......jon

quick thoughts
March 5, 2009, 9:54 am

Living down the chance to be, vision collides with thoughts of imbalanced aspirations and false hoods. Living up the fantasy as though it were something I could hold close and feel pressed against my skin transfer of deep warm breaths drawing me in to their succulent passion. Embracing the unknown like a firm handshake and a trust that I will push forward moving deftly past obstacles where as one passes by eluded another springs up like daises in the desert after a sudden spring shower. Contemplating visions like a blind man seeing for the first time as explosions of brilliance overwhelm my capacity to sort thru the mind bending input that shatters my brain into a million tiny pieces of false evaluations and hidden meanings among the bits and pieces of my reality........jon

Tough times ahead
March 4, 2009, 8:56 am

Well last night was not quite as tight as last week it was chilly for South Florida with a cold breeze blowing we could have used some of the lighting that scorched T and I when it was hot as hell last year but everything is being cut back including electricity. As we pulled down the main drag in Lake Worth all the restaurants up and down the strip were mostly empty. People who vacation down here are not going out to dinner to a movie or shopping I guess like everyone else they don’t have the extra cash this is our busiest time of year I don’t know how some of these places are going to survive the long hot summer after this disastrous winter. On a lighter not even though we were not at the top of our game we still managed to rock the house we are developing a good crowd and they seem to enjoy the originals and we even have a friend saying he wants to book us gigs and manage us. This has been the other key element missing from the band besides T. Being musicians we in the group are terrible promoters so if this guy comes thru and actually does some work for us it will be easier to get T down here and then all bets are off because we will be one of the premier three piece bands in the country doing original music. I am goi9ng to video tape some of next week’s performance and put it up on You-tube so say tuned…………………..ecaep jon

Observations from last night
February 25, 2009, 5:25 pm

I am trying to find the right word for last night’s performance over all I think it was one of our best shows ever! on this night Bobby and I were locked in and our playing was tighter then I have rarely experienced as a musician other than performing with T the type of night where mentally we both were locked into the groove and it showed .I have learned When playing with just a drummer as a guitarist I just play chords and use the guitar as a percussion instrument at times banging on the strings as I play this way Bobbie and I can throw rhythms back and forth it seems to also fill out the sound now to finish the job it is imperative we get T down here so we can really get going. It was great to see Bobbies parents and bobby’s son there at South Shores along with a few friends who came to check us out. I hate to say it but when a few people clap it seems to draw the others in and last night we kept their hands clapping with vigor! this is hard to do for the whole night as we are mostly just an original band and the covers we play are really just our interpretation of the song. Anyway we haven’t gotten much positive response for quite awhile the old angry man in Bobbies neighborhood called the cops on us one night so now during the week we have to go inside at night or just jam on the weekends so for me nights like last night seem to temper the downside and occasional rejection……………jon

Logic of self-rightous insanity?
February 24, 2009, 9:40 am

Thanks Ditto for your comments in the fan journal that is exactly what we designed it for anyone who has a comment, a thought, a poem, prayer or whatever feel free to post it we appreciate it.......... I caught a piece of Nadya Suleman the mother of the octuplet's arguing with her mother on the news and I heard Nadya say she did not want her embryos frozen any longer, she would not give them up for adoption and she being pro life would not destroy them. She then went on to say that there was less than a one percent chance that all eight embryos would survive meaning that by inserting all eight of them into her womb she was aware that it was more than likely that she would be killing some of the embryos??????? Go figure the logic on that one? By the way to all fanatic right to lifers who oppose planned parenthood according to new research nearly 2 million unintended pregnancies and more than 800,000 abortions in the united states that’s right 800,000 abortions! Are prevented each year’s saving billions of dollars in tax payers money. In fact it seems every dollar spent on family planning saves 4 dollars in related costs. Think about that next time you are protesting outside harassing a young woman trying to go in and get help………jon

slums....
February 19, 2009, 6:57 am

sometimes life can be a real pain in the ass.it is hard in those moments not to feel bad for oneself-but it is all relative.for those that have seen,'Slumdog Millionaire"you got a glimpse of part of the world in abject poverty.literally millions of people stacked up in crowded cities,very,very difficult to make a living much less attain any type of goal.i think about this alot-who am i to complain as i sit in Maine,and my band is in Florida?i am well fed,and i have a roof over my head.anytime i catch myself whinning i think of the millions upon millions that will have nothing to eat today-i am tortured always by how to help in a truly meaningful way that can be sustained,as opposed to quick fixes.anywho go see the movie it is a gem!peace,T....

bridge
February 18, 2009, 10:50 am

Hope is a bridge that can only be built on trust, is a bridge that can only be built on compromise, is a bridge that can only be built on respect, is a bridge that can only be built on faith, is a bridge that can only be built on sacrifice, is a bridge that can only be built on salvation, is a bridge that can only be built on redemption, is a bridge that can only be built on compassion,is a bridge that can only be built on love, is a bridge that can only be built on tolerance, is a bridge that can only be built on forgiveness, is a bridge that can only be built on communication, is a bridge that can only be built on dreams, is a bridge that can only be built on knowledge, is a bridge that can only be built on chance, is a bridge that can only be built on virtue, is a bridge that can only be built on humility, is a bridge that can only be built on freedom, is a bridge that can only be built by us………jon

do you
February 17, 2009, 2:29 pm

Do you listen with true intent or do you whisper silent words of discontent designed to undermine the path that leads to where we play on equal footing. Would you push me aside to grasp what is not yours content on rationalizing the irrational outweighed by your need to be first. Would you stand by not bothered by the image of what is right staring you blindly in the face as you hum the worn out tune of indifference and selfishness. Can you try to be humble as you half-heartedly throw a dollar at the needs of those who have much less monetarily but are more human then you could ever hope to be. Will you have the courage to move from the sheltered walls of decadence to live in the decaying fields that lead to the abyss that is swallowing those who don’t have struggling just to survive living on the edge the razor sharp edge………jon

one armed sailor
February 15, 2009, 4:00 pm

Crawling up that lonely ladder once again whispers of commitment from the next incarnation of mouths that form the band that aint but might be……….. the whispers are as feeble as the false promises of what can never happen unless everything is laid on their doorstep in a nice neat package . Do I really care what I hear from those who are whole heartedly disconnected by choice by circumstance by silent contemplation as they clamor mindlessly for it all to somehow come together? it don’t matter we can all find a place to hide and a reason we can’t make a stand. Excuses for lack of input pile up like cords of wood ready to burn for the winter except they are green as everyone knows you have to be seasoned to burn………. I feel like a one armed sailor on a row boat aint gonna do nuthin but go in circles something I have done for years maybe it’s time to move on and find another arm………jon

We are back!!!!!!
February 11, 2009, 9:16 am

We did another open mike at South Shores Tavern last night. The guy that hosts the open mike could not make it so Shadow Screamers stepped in and hosted there was only one player who showed up he played bass and trombone ( he brought out the trombone on our version of Aint no Sunshine the old Bill Withers tune and it sounded great) he jammed with us for quite a few songs and did a good job he is older and plays just about any style but the most important thing for a player I think is to listen and not overpower especially when you are sitting in doing original music for the first time and that is what Dick did he listened. We held the crowd that was there for the whole two hour set which I think is pretty good because we currently are doing 90 percent original Screamers tunes and the covers we do are nothing like the originals so needless to say I was excited about how we performed for the evening. Not to brag but the waitresses who were working made a point unsolicited to come up to me and compliment us on the show and they made it clear they want us back. I take this as the best form of compliment because they listen to live music almost every night and for us to stand out means we have done our job well. Bobby and I closed the show with a scorching four song set of originals and it is clear that all the months of hard work practicing have paid off the sound was incredible my voice was strong and the mix was perfect. Sorry if I am carrying on but we have passed another test and now all we need to do is keep up the hard work and add more new material in preparation for T coming down this summer. I am going to bring my video recorder two weeks from now and we are going to put up our portion of the show on our you-tube link so stay tuned. Next week Bobby can’t make it so I will go it alone just to keep things going for us. This is going to be a regular thing so south Florida fans go to www.shouthshorestavern.com and get directions so that you can come out and support us we would love to see you there...............jon

that is amazing!
February 5, 2009, 3:15 pm

man there is some serious Karma going on between us.remember bumping into Bobbie at the airport and now this!that is amazing! i am so glad to hear things went well at South Shores-is it the same old gang there?sorry things have been so crazy lately Jon-hope they slow down soon.your entry brought alot of joy into my life today-thank you.can't wait to get back down!!!!peace,T

Hey somtimes you have to have a break right?
February 5, 2009, 2:24 pm

Checking out for awhile this site seems to be DEAD we are no longer relevant and that is a good thing although we as society have a long way to go we have inched up the ladder of progress …….fair enough I am still going to do my shit at South Shores on Tuesdays until I get kicked out again can you say Groundhog day mother fuckers that is what I am living…… hey I realize it’s a pipe dream never had a chance anyway. T when you get time I know you are busy but when you have time please do your thing you do so well and keep this shit going it aint over but son of a bitch I need a break from this fucking site …….jon

A Maine license plate?????
February 4, 2009, 11:45 am

Shadow Screamers made our return to the South Florida music scene last night at South Shores Tavern. It was good to play in front of an audience again we have been practicing in a back yard for months and it was time. We were well received it was an open mike so we had to share the stage I made the mistake of letting Mark who was hosting the open mike play lead guitar he is an adequate player but he did leads thru the whole song never stopping once combine that with the fact that we did all originals and he was searching to find a groove quite a bit and it was not pretty this is not to put down Mark he did his best but next time I will do a couple of blues numbers so he can jam and just leave it to Bobby and me to do our stuff. You only get one chance to make an impression and luckily we were able to play a few songs by ourselves and they went over real well can’t wait for next week! It was bitter sweet because the last time I played South Shores T was down here and we were kicking ass putting on a unique show unlike any other and I was able to do lead work as was T along with poetry, spoken word, jazzy blues, rock, Native American hell T even smudged people before the show. but now I just pay rhythm guitar because it’s just Bobby the drummer and me ironically we meet Bobby at our last gig at South Shores before T went home so we are looking forward to getting all three of us together and we will kick ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As Bobby and I headed home I was stopped at a light and noticed the car in front of me had a Maine License plate I have only seen a few of these in the 17 years I have lived here in So Florida and wouldn’t you know I see one after our first gig without T as a reminder……… for those who don’t know T is currently living in Maine waiting for the time when we can get back together this summer………jon

Sorry to hear Mike
February 3, 2009, 12:15 pm

I got an e-mail from my buddy in prison today his brother passed yesterday died of a heart Attack since Mike has been in prison these last 13 years both his parents have passed and now his brother they are a very close family Mike has not been able to go to one funeral and pay his respects. Why should I care you ask? He did the crime he has to do the time!!!!!well not all inmates stories are that cut and dry. Mike lost his only son who was 19 years old with a new wife and child, his son was gunned down in cold blood changing a flat tire on a car in a parking lot. The hit man who killed him made a mistake and killed an innocent young man Mikes son. Needless to say the scumbag hit man turned up dead a couple of months later. Mike and some friends were tried twice on murder charges and acquitted both times but the feds would not give up so they got a little piggy to squeal and Mike was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to twenty years in prison no parole. For over 13 years Mike has been a model prisoner starting in maximum security moving to medium and now he is in minimum with seven years to go. Mike has three beautiful successful daughters who have grown up without him although the stay in constant contact he asked his wife to divorce him so she could move on they are still friends. I visit Mike whenever I can he is about 4 hours north of where I live I only get a glimpse of how it is inside and it makes me uncomfortable although I am always happy to spend time with my bud. The reason I posted the senators bill on the top of this page is because Mike has served his time as many other inmates have and have followed the rules yet rapists and pedophiles get out sooner you can probably kill your wife and get out quicker then mike will but he pissed off the Government. There is a long story behind this including the mob, FBI agents on the take I will put more up in the future. But if you get a chance please call for Mike and others like him……….jon

freight train
February 2, 2009, 5:37 pm

Some days I wake up with a freight train running thru my head other days the silence is so blinding I have to pinch myself just to make sure I’m not dead. Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? Tossed sideways into the Frey is there any other way to face the day not when you travel in my mind hell I been off track following a broken compass since the day I breathed my first breath. True intent must have predisposed intention as a bedfellow but neither sleeps in my bed I just do what I do reason don’t find rhyme in my world together they blindly stumble in disjointed bumbling always a step off from each other never quite meeting up to give me peace and a place to calm the freight train running thru my head in the morning……jon

UGGHHHHH....
February 1, 2009, 7:00 am

okay so the band site from my computer was not working for a couple of days.on one occasion i had typed out somethin(long and philosophical)and lost it.in other words on that day it let me in but then on submission,the page dissapeared?what gives?anywho great entries Jon!kinda reminds me of a modern Notes from the Underground.sorry to hear about the rehearsals.it is funny as you know,in new england aparRently someone will have a problem with an aspect of your life,but they never say anything,they complain to everyone else!a little off on the simplicity series for that i apologize i will pick up again shortly-it was frustrating to have written something i felt good about dissapear,gotta remember what you told me-about saving it.see you all soon.peace,T

epilog
January 30, 2009, 4:09 pm

……Mr. Whitney I have heard enough!!!!!! There is no justification for the unprovoked killing of any species that occupies this planet we are all interconnected………who knows this poor spider might have been scurrying to protect its young yet you decide to play god and with one whack wipe this innocent creature off the face of the earth on the premise that it was a threat to your wife...... Mr. Whitney are you not endowed with a mind and reason??????Yes sir I am……Well Mr. Whitney let this be a warning to you and those like you we have to find a way to co-exist on this planet..... all life on this marble we call earth has a purpose a role if you will to play........ if you and those like you upset the delicate balance then god help us all…………god help us all………………….njo

Part two
January 30, 2009, 12:49 pm

……….Mr. Whitney I would like to point out to the jury that your testimony seems just a little over the top?....... I mean a tiny little spider attacking your wife and putting her in a life or death situation?????.....surely you must be joking for a spider is a tiny fraction the weight and size of your wife…….. we are talking miniscule proportions here how can you justify this supposed attack??????……….. And let the court know that you go way over the top when you plead that somehow it was a life or death situation??????Well your honor ……I……. I know it sounds funny but apparently you seem to have forgotten the intimidation factor………. for the record you honor there is nothing more intimidating!!!!!! than a hairy, out of control, menacing spider crawling at incredible speed across the floor towards your beautiful and helpless wife ……and in its deadly wake unleashing all kinds of dreadful fantasies and fear as to the ramifications of what might happen should this unruly, out of control best of nature reach its prey and then deliberately inserting a deadly spike into said victim so that it can selfishly suck out all the precious life of this poor I person who happens to be my wife I should be recognized as a hero………onj

Part one in a story????
January 30, 2009, 11:43 am

And what is your plea Mr. Whitney???…..Guilty as charged your honor!........A gasp comes from the seated crowd in the courtroom….......So Mr. Whitney……… you do understand the ramifications of your plea???......Yes, yes I do your honor,but just let me say in my defense my wife called out to me I was in the kitchen then from out of nowhere this huge!!!! Hairy,,, menacing, deliberate spider was crawling across the bathroom floor towards my wife!!!!! I panicked and grabbed a news paper as I rushed to the bathroom and before I knew what was happening…..I… I cornered the spider and slammed the news paper down again and again over and over hoping to crush it!!!!!!!!!!!Thank GOD I was able to kill it although the wet residue and a couple of legs on the top of my paper made my stomach turn I cant tell you how proud I feel about saving my wife from the unspeakable things that might have happened if the spider had been able to attack my wife….......jon

Can you say humble??? Why yes I think I can
January 29, 2009, 11:04 am

Well after all my bragging the last few months about rehearsing in Bobbies back yard evenings during the week last night we had a visit from a cop. The dude was nice and apologetic and mentioned that he had been listening for awhile before talking to us but that someone was complaining about the noise( or as I like to call it music). Anyway we know who complained because last Sunday I met the guy. He is older and gets around in a motorized wheel chair. I made the effort to talk to him about the music and to see if we could compromise but he blew me off in the much too common (traditional retired South Florida angry old person mold) and proceeded to tell me off and then said he would call the cops if we jammed again!!!!!( in our defense he lives three houses down from Bobby and can barely hear us). Well we did jam last night and low and behold we have been shut down weeknights unless we move into Bobbies studio apartment I know you are all jealous of the fabulous lifestyle that this band is enjoying T is on vacation in Maine man the weather is killer up there this time of year and we are here in South Florida enjoying everything but the angry old person……….jon

yes!....
January 28, 2009, 7:36 am

hey Jon this series reminds me so much of what i write of as the 'wave'.so many get caught and think this wave will be permanant.what we know is that like the five skandas of Buddhism it is all impermanant.things flow and move all the time.they now know for instance that solar rays are constatnly moving through us.as i tap-tap-tap this morning on the keyboard,literally billions of particles(of solar light) have passed through my hands.could this be the deep intuition of mystical healing-healing with light,visualization,sound?could this be the devine energy that prepares this ground of the 'pregnant now'of creativity?there is so much to life that is a mystery.if we bound ourselves with any of what you have mentioned we are caught in static time.if we flow we are part of the wave,the Cosmic Waterfall.after you wrote this i dug up an old Jimi album with 'Waterfall' on it and have listened to it a dozen times.i think you should write,'Cosmic Waterfall' as a song,it is a very important thought that is asking to take form through music.i can already hear a sinewy fretless bassline.Great Post Jon!peace,T

All I have to do now is put it all together in order
January 28, 2009, 6:45 am

I have stated in the journal many times I don’t have a topic or even the thought to write a song or thought in the Journal it just somehow channels through me and hopefully I have a pen, computer, or recorder nearby before it moves thru me and dissipates back to wherever it came from. So with that in mind. over the last two days Cosmic Waterfall below in the journal flowed thru me. This morning as I woke up the thought flowing thru me that we are all part of a bigger plan a bigger purpose a better destiny but along our journey a cosmic waterfall is flowing at us filled with every human emotion and thought undeterred. It is up to each individual to not get caught up in flow but to make it to the other side without getting caught up in an apathetic self-centered world of isolation, prejudice, hate and self entitlement but to reach out and embrace compassion, tolerance, love, trust, dignity, respect, humility, accomplishment, positive purpose so that each of us can reach our true potential. The cosmic waterfall never wavers, has no favorites, stops for no one and will flow thru eternity just a small piece along with humanity of the puzzle that is creation......jon

Cosmic Waterfall pt 2
January 27, 2009, 11:46 am

Cascading like a cosmic waterfall fears of resignation, degradation, inactivity, apathetic complacence, me not them validation, homophobic hate, with a dose of self-centered me first contemplation. Cascading like a cosmic waterfall ever flowing is the alienation, simulation, constipation, stimulation, jealousy, contempt, indignation, corrugations, religious rights and salutations to a world that is rushing by like a cosmic waterfall don’t get caught up in the currents and swept away into the depths of what might have been…just be lead by your heart and what you know is right....jon

cosmic waterfalls part one?
January 26, 2009, 9:06 am

Cascading like a cosmic waterfall thoughts of glory, triumph, responsibilities, boredom, expectations, worries, sorrows, infidelity, inhumanity, gotta sort them out can’t get overtaken by the rush of indecision that can carry you over the falls into the depths of what might have been. Cascading like a cosmic waterfall dreams of conquest, absolution, redemption, salvation, deliverance, compassion, hatred coming at me like a freight train on meth no time to sort no time to think no room for error no space to blink. Cascading like a cosmic waterfall reflection, contemplation, regret, observation, humiliation, segregation, diffusion of the human situation run while you think don’t let the waterfall pull you down escape to the places where your sanity can be found…………jon

I miss you on so many levels!
January 24, 2009, 8:15 am

what a stupid week-personally(we will catch up later)suffice to say i am disgusted(again personal life).Jon it struck me deeply your words about how you spent the time with your freind watching the INAUGUARATION.i did the same with a friend and it was powerful,moving and had so much historical meaning.sadly we had to talk to many students about watching it,as they veiwed it as boring and not having meaning.i blame the system as there was no training and teaching about the signifigance of the event,especially since(well probably shouldn't say here-talk to you later).we will as Jon says hold everyone accountable as we all should be accountable in our actions in the world. Jon i can't tell you how much I wish you were with me on the INAGUARTION.we have so much work today and i am @#$#% frustrated being here in a repressive atmosphere.i miss you and your family Jon and i love you all dearly!peace,T

what about
January 23, 2009, 7:36 pm

What about love do you need it to survive can you still breath the breath of freedom when you struggle not to fall……what about hate will it eat you up inside so many empty caverns of wasted promise deep inside……. what about truth will your conscience wipe it clean or will the little voices tell you that it all was just a dream……. what about faith do you bleed before your god as you kneel down in your worship is your mind yours to control……….. what about friendship would you stand so they don’t fall or will you scatter blindly as the shit it hits the wall……what about your own mind will you let it slip away as they whisper into your ear that your better off that way……….

who is jukin who.......
January 23, 2009, 2:35 pm

Hey T I checked out a girl singer song writer yesterday on my-space she is one of our friends she had 15,000 hits apiece on her two songs fast forward to today she has 93,000 on each of the same songs but curiously she has had only 560 or so plays today? I wonder if the dumassed record companies are dumb enough to by this shit every hit we get is legit we have paid no one. Maybe that explains the fall of the record companies they are chasing bullshit stats that you can buy anywhere.........jon

Obama Inauguration part 2
January 22, 2009, 2:05 pm

In continuing the theme of yesterday as I was reading the blogs concerning the Obama Inauguration there were a couple of negative themes that were prevalent one was the tried and true “well I did not own slaves and my parents did not own slaves and my grandparents did not own slaves so don’t hold me accountable for the past sins of this country I owe black people nothing and they need to get over it!!!!!!â€� In my opinion slavery was an institution propagated by economic necessity and most disturbingly the fact that one human being is somehow better then another. So the real question is do you or your parents and did your grandparents stand up against slavery and segregation or did they just stand by comfortable in the fact that as whites they could have access to all the tools they would need to succeed while turning a blind eye to those who had no opportunities? The second theme was the repulsive all them niâ€"ers do is sit around all day and take and take and take and this niâ€"er Obama is going to give them even more that’s why they voted for him they don’t know the issues they voted for color! While I would never venture to say that every person of color voted for Obama because he was black all those misguided white folks who still fail to give blacks credit for having a mind that is every bit as functional as any white persons I am sorry to say you are going to be disappointed over and over again hopefully now the despicable racial barrier has finally been broken. Who knows with your self-proclaimed superior white intellect you will finally grasp this fact one day if not you will be left behind………jon

Thoughts about yesterday how did you feel?
January 21, 2009, 12:00 pm

I watched the inauguration of President Obama yesterday with a good friend Thurston who happens to be black. I wanted to experience it with him and to get his perspective on the importance of this historic day for his race and his children and grandchildren. Thurston is older than I am he fought in Vietnam survived and managed to carve out a good life for himself and his family. He told me of when he first moved to West Boca Raton over twenty years ago his was the only black family on the block and of course he experienced some bigotry, prejudice and stereotyping some of which still survives today as I pointed out in a previous entry concerning a bigot dad on our sons high school football team this year. Thurston’s parents like so many other blacks their age could never have imagined a world where a black man was elected to the presidency and for me this was there day to shine and drink in the sweet taste of positive and long overdue evolution. Fast forward to last night when I was reading thru some of the blogs and comments on MSN from people all across America on the Inauguration and I have to tell you it is downright scary not only the bigotry and stereotyping but the lack of intelligence, understanding, and then the anger. I find it hard to believe that many in white America who have had it their way for hundreds of years can’t let another race celebrate one victory????One??? The reason I pointed out I was with Thurston is that most of the people who spew their hatred have never had a close relationship with a black person they go on second hand biased information and fear sure they smile and pretend in public but behind closed doors they live in the putrid stench and slimy pools of bigotry. My brother and I are overjoyed that Mr. Obama has reached The highest heights of American politics but this does not give him a free pass we will be watching very closely and we will hold him accountable because this country is in desperate shape and there is no margin for error or hesitation and from what I have seen of this man so far he would not have it any other way. As for all the closet bigots and delusional sorry assed haters on the far right and left the most amazing thing about your ignorance is that you don’t understand that his success is your success……………….jon

Gran Torino-a must see....
January 18, 2009, 8:17 am

there are few times in my life that i have been so deeply moved by a movie.yesterday i left crying at a theatre.usually when a movie finnishs there is the customary gathering of coats(in Maine anyways where it is 5 degrees right now!)and good hearted and not so good hearted bantering.yesterday there was total silence as the credits rolled and the moviegoers sat stunned to silence in their seats.indelible melodies and names spread across the white space not soon forgotton.what was so powerful about Gran Torino?first off it was a tour de force on redemption.we all cannot escape life without feeling broken at times.i like to use the analogy of the raiku vessel.like the raiku vessel our hearts and minds and bodies have little cracks that help define who and what we are as we move through this grand journey called life.Clint's charachter is obviously dangerously broken.the vessel has gone beyond a mere crack it borders on not being able to hold anything.so what happens?as frequently happens in our lives,the defining points are the ones where we have no control.situations beyond Walt's control happen to him and he is forced to have to respond.at first it is typical and there are scenes that make you laugh out loud.in the end he finds himself through the plight of a people he formerly despises(I will leave out the rest as it will ruin it for you).it also underscores the deeply racist attitudes we have in america.Walt does not know personaly the people he despises(until later),isn't this the crux of it?do we truly know the people we despise?have we ever walked a mile in their moccasins(traditional andoriginal native saying).how many times have i heard people utter things totally offensive to me and then discussing it with the perpetrator and realizing he/she has never even really met a person from the despised group.in getting to know this group Clint's character finds redemption.he finds healing.he goes inward and outward again so that the raiku vessel of his heart is no longer broken,only deeply craked so that it again can be an open vessel.now i have long loved Clint.he and Morgan Freeman are my favorite actors.in the old westerns one glance,one word would speak volumes.he was the quitessential bad ass.his later musings on screen have been powerful,sensitive,and filled with redemption,triumph,and tragedy.his use of chiaroscuro in scense with he and Morgan in'million dollar baby'are surely pure geniuos.they show the juxtaposition of determination yet ultimate tragedy that this young woman endures.it is the yin/yang articulated on screen as seen never before.heis changing through directing the way that we see and the way movies can and should be made to show life the way it truly is.the deeply racist attitudes in america are clearly shown in Gran Torino.it is an ugly reality.it is a true depiction of the pulse of an ugly America not projected to the world at large.it is the image of'the land of the free-but not you because....'i would rate this movie as a must see and brilliant.it will have me thinking,and healing,and crying,and loving even more,this ugly imperfect life we lead.the Mystery and the uncertainty rolled into one....T

the giveaway....
January 17, 2009, 6:49 am

we have grown accustomed to wealth and opulence.in this downturn many feel things are unfair as they now no longer can afford those little 'toys'.now in saying this of course i mean the total population,there are many,many that have no job,no chance of a job-lost their house and cannot feed their families.in speaking above i mean'America'in general.there is a book i would like you to read sometime called the 'Long Walk',it is an outstanding story about determination and the triumph of spirit.It talks about a groupof men that escaped the Gulags of Russia in 1939 near the Artic circle.Amazingly they made it all the way down to India.The story(true life) shows how the determined mind can operate on virtually nothing.equally i have spent many hours talking to Elders about the 'Great Depression'and literally living without anything. these times are harder and by all predictions will be harder still.it is an excellant time to embrace 'simplicity'as a way of life.first write down a list of'wants and needs'.take a look at what'want mind'has wrought on your physical space.make a thourough inventory.remember that thing you had to have that is now collecting dust?once you have done this practise a giveaway.in many cultures a sign of richness is when you give almost everything away.in Maine we just put it on the lawn with a Free sign and it disappears or take it to the Salvation Army or Goodwill,a local Thrift store,or donation to an area school system.more importantly how about time ?Jon and I would never suggest anything we have not personaly done(I believe strongly in this Ghandian value).perhaps time in soup kitchen,nursing home,local school system?they all need our help....

conjecture
January 16, 2009, 3:36 pm

I thought I was the answer I thought I was the cure until I found the truth that conjecture rules the world. I thought my mind was open that only I could see the truth will leave you empty as the promise I once gave. This is not a confession; confessions are for fools who try to seek redemption but still play by their own rules. I wish I had a reason I wish I was the light but I am not an angel no I never flew that high. So judge me but don’t hate me I never meant to hurt just living in frustration of how we’ve fallen short of what we’re worth. When I look back every thing it seems has fallen down in pieces scattering the dreams we dream. Will we capture all our needless faults and put them all beside us so we can move along. I may be bitter but I have faith in us all for in the end I know together we will never fall, together we will never fall...........o

Distance part 1
January 16, 2009, 11:19 am

Distance crowds my mind like the subway at rush hour a million thoughts traveling in a thousand different directions trying to salvage some kind of normalcy. Distance crowds my heart like a sunset fading into the darkness of another day once it’s gone its gone only to reappear in the distance on the other side, Distance follows my moods ever changing ever evolving as I press on following the pattern I have developed as I follow blinddly into the distance, Distance holds me down invisible restraints as I wonder how I will ever travel where I need to be as I look at the choices slowly fading into the distance………n

stumble
January 14, 2009, 9:26 am

Stumble and fall how far can I go down will the webs of deceit I have carefully constructed catch me or will they break under the tension of the truth. Stumble and fall as I grasp at good intentions but I have no idea, no purpose, no understanding of what it is I need to do or who I need to be. Stumble as I fall seems I’ve been here so many times before yet I never recognize the signs of familiarity that remind me of the time I so callously waste. Stumble as I fall shaking my head in acknowledgement that it brings a certain comfort ,a certain distance from the expectations laid on my doorstep……. I stumble………jon

pissing
January 13, 2009, 4:17 pm

They say they will take it all away as we look the other way mindless rats held in a cage mindless rats held in a cage. They say you will put your mind away for it has no other place in mindless worlds that they create you will put your mind away you will put your mind away. Tell what the hell I see we are pissing on our feet but we don’t question the need to ask the question that bleeds what the hell is wrong with me what the hell is right with me we just keep on pissing on our feet…… hey you try to write something in 5 minutes.....jon

reach part 1
January 13, 2009, 2:32 pm

How deep will you reach into the unknown? many fools have turned back to early and many fools have gone too far, so where is the balance? Does this question hold you back in excessive contemplation????? rose petals fall because they have no choice gravity drags them down. We fall because we fail to reach as the gravity brings us down……….. I am as guilty if not more so then most but yet I still try to reach into the unknown …… maybe this time when I reach I will reach far enough to catch a glimpse of the future I struggle for……..jno

Stay tuned
January 13, 2009, 9:36 am

NEW SHIT COMMING UP... CHECK BACK....WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOOSE?

Limbo
January 12, 2009, 3:53 pm

Leaving her after seeing her face and conversing on various levels of familiarity and intensity totally absorbed is like struggling out of quicksand for days, god dam when our eyes meet I want to take her down and fuck her consumed by the unbridled passion of deep love I have held inside for all these years does she feel the same way I wish I knew but we can’t go there as we both know the reality of the world we are living in. The biggest taboo would be our consummation of ecstasy. All these years and I can barely stand the heat you would think it would fade away but no matter how I try to wash it from my mind as I glance deep into her eyes I know she feels the same way. Days pass head spinning and I don’t have a clue so I move on in my world passing time wondering of what might have been no conformation only limbo ....jon

?
January 12, 2009, 2:11 pm

Took the new song off its only a part so why bother I will post the finnished version soon. Hope the hell its worthy dont know what the fuck I am doing but I am doing it anyway in the end there is no other course lets all sit back and see if I crash and burn........jon

thinking of you....
January 10, 2009, 6:39 am

Hi Jon,we are doing a Bear Feast today,i will keep you and the family in my thoughts and prayers as we go through the Ceremony.we have had tremendous computer problems but we seem up and running again.i would like to talk alot this upcoming year about simplicity.we are on the verge of a depression and so a very good time to practise simplicity.if you can convert to such principles then even though things get very tough perhaps things won't be quite so bad.my Clan Mother has suffered horribly in her life,yet she has always had her deep Spirit and the spirit of simplicity.this got her through when there was nothing to eat and the uninsulated homes rattled with northeast winds that bite to the bone.please as we go along add comments and your expertise on simplicity.over the years we have had many intelligent fans writing comments and please comment on my bro's new and awesome song.all for now.peace,T....

New idea
January 8, 2009, 1:26 pm

Going to try something new I am writing a new song called “ Over� I am going to put up the lyrics I have finished thus far and a recording of a part of the song will be posted for you to check out. Again the song is called “Over� I would appreciate some input from the fans good or bad to let me know what you think. Songwriting for me has no time or place or rhyme or reason this song hit me as I was scrubbing a toilet yesterday I was lucky enough to have a minute to get it down on a cheap recorder so go figure. I think the melody is good and I am proud of the lyrics tell us what you think good or bad just be honest here are some of the lyrics...... Over under construction...........Its over end the story bring the curtain down, the distance that we’ve traveled seems to bring us down, the memories they turn bitter as they fall onto the ground, the memories they turn bitter as they fall onto the ground……Its over let it go now there’s no turning back, resentment grows like weeds inside the broken cracks, we play the game we act the part but deep inside can’t find what’s lost, no we can’t find the things we’ve lost.........jon

parameters
January 6, 2009, 5:27 pm

Madness walking the razor thin line I can’t help but stick my finger into the flame not thinking of the consequences, impulse overrides reason and self justification makes me see that I am right but am I on the border or am I in the circle? I tell myself I am somewhere safe in the middle but where are the boundaries? who sets the parameters? Who or what sets the course? You ,me ,god, Satan, compassion, insanity, reason, hate, justice, condemnation, persecution who sets the parameters???????jon

reflect
January 6, 2009, 3:34 pm

Dissecting all last years moves makes we realize I need a change led astray by my own indifference not grasping the moments not holding them and realizing they are real and we do make good music. Reflection seems a rite of passage this time of year as empty promises spewed forth in the heat of the moment gradually fade as the new year seeps in. Push on the inner voice tells me the one constant through all these years of failure why do I go on? I know no other course I have no other path yet I am my own worst enemy when I need to be my own best friend. Reflecting is a rite of passage into the new year but it can cut you to the bone when you realize it is what your reality and no matter how hard you try to bend it sometimes it just snaps back into place as ridged as your lofty aspirations of grandeur……..onj

if only
January 5, 2009, 11:37 am

Im left here to try and grapple at the frayed and broken strings manipulating the puppet that I pretend is me, moving as I stumble on but is there really any other choice? To die is to swallow the bitter taste..... that dam bitter taste, empty as the sunshine that burns my skin.... is it true?? the dream might be gone.... but what a dream it was.... if only.... but what a dream it was.......if only......noj

smile....
January 3, 2009, 9:09 am

okay so i lost internet connection for three days(we were gone for two of them)frustrating!anywho-Happy New Year!today a simple suggestion,try to smile as much as possible internal and external.we know that a good smile can break tension like lightening on a humid day,the same can be said internally.you can simply think about your heart and smile gently inward to it,breathing slowly in and out.this simple method in Qigong is called the Inner Smile technique.you then can smile to all your internal organs throughout the day.they work so hard,yet we give them scant notice until something is wrong with one of them.give them a little love today-this is the first in a long series on simplicity(there is a reason why we start with ourselves)....peace,T

vapor trails
January 2, 2009, 4:45 pm

Distant vapors leave a trail of who I am spread across my personal reality. Specs of exploding emotion dissipate into the brand new dawn yet another year, yet another promise, yet another dream, yet another secrete held deep down inside. Only you can be you so as you crawl deep into your skin let it wrap around your aspirations shed thoughts of failure and keep spreading your vapor trail it will be seen it will be seen......njo

shits pouring from my brain and here it is,,,,,,,,
December 30, 2008, 6:46 pm

I stood outside I was awash inside the gathering storm I summoned all that I could give last chance to be reborn. Cascading echoes of my past they block the path I’m on when wisdom looses meaning all hope is cast into the storm. Time is but an echo never ending never born you stand you fall in rhythm within the distance you have gone. I call to you , you turn to me but leave me moving on come on lets feel together the distant comfort in the storm.....jon

New Year....
December 30, 2008, 7:08 am

LOVE the 'Other',especially those you cannot stand to be around.HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone.Will be gone for a couple days.there is alot of activity being generated here.i will be writing alot on simplicity in the upcoming year.meanwhile the band is kicking butt,gonna be a great year!....peace,T

Be you
December 29, 2008, 1:10 pm

Dig deep into the crevices that hide your inner truth feel the sting as you scrape away the apprehension of your true exposure. Bring to light against the backdrop of possible rejection who you are despite your inner conflicts of acceptance. Be who you are anything else is a lie and you are walking in a dead dream channeled into mediocrity by those who would choose who you are and who you will be……jon

does anyone know a good story?....
December 27, 2008, 6:35 am

we have been taught not to trust anymore.we have it ingrained in our pyshe to question all authority and to in essence be your own mentor.this goes counter to hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.as long as humankind has been around,stories were told around the campfire of legendary figures-of heroes.these stories were intended to teach and also inspire youth to stoke the forge and to strive hard to become the next set of ,'giant shoulders'for other generations to stand on.as a child i loved Mickey Mantle,Wilt Chamberlain,and Dick Butkiss.i would imagine in the hot Arizona sun that my stepping up to the plate would help to decide the world series-everything was left to me like Mickey.i played middle linebacker all because of Dick Butkiss.how much i enjoyed pulling mud or turf from my helmet after sacking the quarterback.i would stand up and hear the cheers on Soldier Field(in my imagination).in essence the fire isb out,the forge has become cold,and noone remembers how to tell a good story anymore.we all need mentors/heroes.these legendary folks help us to aspire to be just a little better.St. Francis,Crazy Horse teach us what it truly is to give everything for their people.if we can but just open our hearts and minds a bit and stop looking at faults(remember that all mentors/heroes were human beings-subject to exactly the faults you struggle with)we might see a story.in seeing a story perhaps the fire can be kindled.being kindled perhaps the fire can feed the forge.when the forge is fed perhaps we can re-remember how to tell a good story again.the telling of a story is always the juxtaposition of the light of fire and the darkness of night.if we remember this,than we can truly be inspired that another human being has gone beyond just a little,to become a story.a story to rest your feet on,to adjust like a young child standing on shoulders before leaping into the pool.it is about the water isn't it?when we jump into the water we shed the old to become the new....peace,T

'the other'....
December 25, 2008, 8:03 am

can we find space for the,'other'in our lives?can we see the inherent dignity and divinity in the homeless,the poor,the sick,the brokenhearted?the Gospels tell us that,'there was no room at the Inn',this refrain would meet Jesus for the remainder of his life,as with the Buddha.there are those that have no room to hear.the fullness of cultural conditioning has brimmed their hearts and minds.to provide,'room at the Inn',we must truly empty.to become humble.to see and feel the brokenness of our hearts.it is this humble heart,this raiku vessel,that contains the entire universe.please LOVE the 'other'today and everyday....peace and love,T

let us....
December 24, 2008, 9:32 am

can you live beyond fear?can you be stillness?can you be compassionate and see yourself in all things and all things in you.let us take a day of fasting and prayer,let us remember why we are here,who we are,and where we are going(i will be calling for a day of fasting and prayer soon-please stay tuned if you would like)....peace,T

Lincoln....
December 22, 2008, 10:47 am

can't help but go back to Lincoln lately.i have been reading a compilation of his speeches.it is amazing the clarity and insight into the Declaration of Independence as well as the founding,'notions'of this country.it is important to always go back to clear thought and sanity when looking ahead.there is so much abundance of both when you read his speeches.i firmly believe that the reason why he was the greatest is that he naturally had empathy for his fellow man.this was born from a life of personal hardship.when we touch the gosamer veil of sadness,of death we become and see the heart of compassion.please go back to his great words....T

Hey Obama whos the freak of a preacher???
December 19, 2008, 3:46 pm

Do we really need another Billy Graham or some other self righteous religious bigot preaching his form of bullshit to his sheep at Obama's inauguration? Apparently Osama’s pick of a preacher man to give the invocation one preacher man Rick Warren at his inauguration (what ever the hell a invocation is) anyway this dude from what I have read is a rising star in his particular religion. He has the audacity to compare gay marriage to marriage of incest , old men marring young children etc. Why the fuck cant we all just get along? If two people are committed to each other live together don’t they deserve the benefits that married people have? When you boil it down that is all gays really want I am not gay but I have known several very well they are decent human beings and it is not a choice so they don’t need to be hounded by some religious sect for who they are and what they can and can’t have. That’s my two cents worth go to http://ga4.org/campaign/rickwarren/i3nxiwu4y7m3beki? If you want to check out what I am raving about. Obama needs to get some other preacher to do whatever it is they do because guess what America the gays in this country sure weren’t voting for grandpa conservative and the dum-assed bitch from Alaska……..jon

another night another good jam
December 18, 2008, 1:39 pm

Had some of Bobbies neighbors from two blocks over stop by last night while we were jamming not to complain but to listen up close. Apparently we can be heard for a few blocks but not once in the six months we have been jamming during the week past 10:30pm have we been told to shut the hell up! Apparently young and old they don’t mind the music this is a great compliment as we are not playing Jimmy Buffet or Smooth Jazz shit and sure we aint Slip Knot but we still rock! “Window� one of our heavier songs comes to mind. T it is truly a bizarre adventure we are on trying to get things going down here without you it’s like a dog with three legs sure he can move around ok ( in our case we are still kicking ass) but just imagine how he would move with the other leg and how with you down here we can literally change the face of popular music just as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder and so many more have done……..jon

update
December 17, 2008, 12:42 pm

Hey All... I am in the process of getting the rehersal recordings tweaked please be patient. In my defense we are working in Primitive conditions crumbling back patio pavers more dirt and sand than grass no shade and the night jams need more lighting but we have not been kicked out yet for the music even though we play way past ten on weeknights. I hope to record again tonight and this Saturday during the day I am going to record a video of at least one song and put it up on our you-tube site. Hope all our fans have a safe and memorable holiday season and I hope T your spirits are better you have been there for your community during these types of tragedies for many years picking up the pieces and starting the healing process with those who suffer such heart wrenching loss, they are so lucky to have you brother......jon

sad today....
December 14, 2008, 4:29 pm

hey all,been very hard this week.sorry i have not been on much.we had two car accidents,one involving a current student and another a former student.you see these students every day in the halls,it is so hard when something trajic like this happens.not much to write about,not many words today.i am sorry....T

start again part one
December 12, 2008, 11:23 am

Deep inside my mind darkness covers the shimmering light like red hot tar burning as it covers thoughts of hope. Helpless as I’m thrown into deep darkness I struggle just to gasp a breath of air so precious but will it be my last. So much is riding on this dream but such a long way to go deep inside my mind I long to believe comforted by the light but that is slowly being taken from me. So where to turn only so many places you hope to go you can get dizzy running in empty circles as my options run razor thin and once again I feel I need to start again to start again to start again and again and again and again.....njo

I just got this e-mail..For more info please go to savedarfur.org
December 11, 2008, 12:52 pm

Sixty years ago today, the U.N. adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The nations of the world said "Never Again" in the wake of the Holocaust, pledging to stop genocide wherever and whenever it occurs. To mark this historic occasion, former Secretaries of State and Defense Madeleine Albright and William Cohen released the final Genocide Prevention Task Force report yesterday, outlining concrete recommendations to recognize and respond to emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities. The report, for which Save Darfur president Jerry Fowler was interviewed, explains why genocide and mass atrocities threaten core American national security and economic security interests as well as our core moral values. With the appointment of several high profile Darfur champions to his national security team, we have reason to hope that President-elect Obama will act on these important recommendations. We have reached this point because of the friends, activists and donors of the Save Darfur Coalition. The constituency of conscience you've built has saved lives. But there is still much to be done. Despite our reasons for hope, it will take hard work and continued engagement to turn these recommendations into realities. Two things are necessary to both end the violence in Darfur and to prevent future genocide and mass atrocities. First, our government must be better equipped to respond to and prevent such horrific situations. Additionally, we must prove to our elected leaders that the constituency of conscience embodied by the Save Darfur movement isn't going away, and cannot be ignored President-elect Obama has declared his commitment to Darfur and his intention to act. But it will take unrelenting advocacy from all of us to ensure that he acts soon, and with enough conviction to end the crisis. We have to stand with our new president, supporting him when he takes bold action and pressing him if he wavers. We must press for strong action to ensure that America can address Darfur today and prevent the next Darfur tomorrow. We must demand that our president and Congress live up to their promises. Ending the genocide in Darfur is a first, critical, step to stopping genocide everywhere.

LOVE until....
December 7, 2008, 6:46 am

sing even when it hurts to breathe.speak out even when it is dangerous to speak.walk the path with a brother or sister,even when your family dis-owns you.LOVE,UNTIL THE UNIVERSE FADES-to become yet again a new chance,a new day....T

sorry....
December 6, 2008, 7:39 am

typo as usual-should read 'empty page'.a Bear has a hard time tapping away on tiny keyboards.many times our claws land on more than one key....

the emty page....
December 6, 2008, 7:37 am

there is an ancient story(i have read many cultural variations)about a mendicant that quests for knowlege.as typical with such stories he/she finds a gatekeeper who send he/she on a long quest.on the way he/she fights many battles and picks up knowledge and fighting and strength skills.after dealing with many situations in a noble fashion he/she finds a book(or in some variation;scroll or tablet).when opened the mendicant only finds a reflection of her/hisself(or sometimes in some variations just empty pages).how true to life!!!!when i was young i tried endlessly to find the 'Golden Pearl'in whatever pursuit(martial,wisdom seeking etc...)along the way many strange and fantastical,sometimes dangerous experiences i encountered.as i get older i realize now that i do not seek so much the pyro-techniques,the fantastical,the next trip that is the next big thing!perhaps,i don't know,maybe i have just become particularly dense!now i seem to just want to refine and refine like sharpeining iron and ore into a blade.the empty page of the story necessarily reflects any and all things.one could say that the empty page contains the entire cosmos within.this is very true of you my beloved friends.each and every one of you is the empty page,the page of fullness,the page of ultimate LOVE....T

have you seen the documentary??????fuck the world until we stand
December 4, 2008, 9:27 pm

Scream bloody murder but nobody wants to hear what I can’t taste causes indifference to my ears, scream bloody murder but I’m too busy with what’s mine leave all sense of compassion like a passing highway sign, in the rear view mirror its someone else’s scream for I don’t fear their pain and it won’t touch the world I hold dear, scream bloody murder but what’s behind me is not mine so scream bloody murder but you know that I won’t hear it’s not my problem and I can’t taste you pain and fear so scream bloody murder and like falling rain it will wash away any thought of compassion as I go on my busy way………bleeding death

our shit sucks dude.....
December 4, 2008, 3:10 pm

fuck it look for T to keep writing other then that ........

Finally.......
December 3, 2008, 8:57 am

Well some new music is up sort of. My-space changed the music player and we have the old version on this site so the new songs don’t transfer. Hopefully Art will be able to move the new player over to the site very soon. The songs were recorded on a little mp3 recorder in Bobbies back yard with a few people listening the sound is not the best but it gives our fans an idea of how Bobby plays the drums and the direction the band is going as far as the new stuff. I know it is a little bit of a hassle to go the my-space site but it only takes a second so if you get a chance check it out and let us know what you think……..jon

everyday....
November 27, 2008, 6:49 am

in the true tradition of Native America,everyday is a thanksgiving day.how can you extend the warmth the love the affection that you feel on this day to every day?if you have never had it due to family situations of abuse,neglect,violence,etc...,how can you on all days be thankful?it is a very tough question!i have met Chinese Elders that survived the Cultural Revolution on barely nothing and the long fist of violence from the gov.the ones i am fortunate enough to know were able to see the beauty of spirit in everything even when times were extremly brutal.i know Elders in Native America that were abused,starved,beaten,yet they talk of forgiveness and look at each day as 24 brand new hours to be thankful for.i have known Russian Elders that survived the Stalinistic genocide,yet they had more life than most people i know.we have all been down,we have all had our ups.we have seen,and perhaps felt atrocities in our life.the ones i know that have felt such,and can extend thanksgiving to their lives have been such powerful mentors to me and all those they contact.there is so much to be thankful for;the sun,the moon,the stars,the soil,the air we breathe.and when we see this,we cannot help but to preserve it and turn back the tide of pollution and violence towards fellow beings.i am grateful you all are here.love,T....

Mingus heals the wound....
November 26, 2008, 7:39 am

yesterday i walked by the rehearsal room for the upcoming student play.this play is being directed by good friends of mine and they have allowed the students to take part in all aspects of the play,including the music!it was wonderful to hear the sound,and Matt would like me to work with them later on(the band-on improvising).anyway after my initial elation for the students and this wonderful project,i am sorry to let everyone down here and for that i apologize!i could not help but feel a twinge of envy!how I longed to,'blow my horn'again!to have the free expression that playing in my brothers band affords.we have this thing in Shadowscreamers,where everyone does their part.we do not micro manage.if you are a competent player than you have the right to express yourself via the music(in other words we don't tell you what to play).i remembered back to some extraordinary,'outings'-concerts we had,where we really stretched out.music in modern times lacks this freedom.everything seems quaint and tidy and put into little boxes-what happened to free jazz?what happened to free rock(of the Hendrix era)?oh,how i longed to 'blow my horn'!!!!i stepped into my car through the pouring rain and put on Mr.Charles Mingus.afterall what is a poor frustrated bassist to do under such circumstances?....T

cheetos,activists,and star dust awaiting new formations....
November 22, 2008, 7:32 am

i know a couple that are definately into the enviornment,in fact they will tell you so every conversation!they bore and tire others endlessly by their holier-than-thou attitude.i remember one of them asking why i had two cars,and couldn't i ride my bike to school(a paltry ten miles-without a bike lane,and even in the winter when the snow narrows the road considerably).this is from a couple that has two cars and rides to the same workplace,in their seperate cars!he also has several options for my oragnic garden to help productivity-it will ONLY COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!this is what drives activists crazy as it gives true enviornmentalists a bad name.rich folks like these that tell everyone else how to live.the real changes in the enviornment will happen when a massive uprising occurs against corporate america.without such we are putting bandaides on a compound fracture.corporate america backed by a puppet as we have had for 8 years-roll back legislation which is happening again as Jon elluded to-just check what the idiot is trying to do before he leaves office.this will make it hard for President Obama(this is the first time i have used capitolized letters in 8 years reffering to the president).now having said this(that we must demand much more-actually much less from corporate america)we also need to make wise individual choices.Jon and I over the years have listed hundreds and hundreds of brass tack things you can do on a daily basis(or given e-mail addresses toplaces that can help).i have said so many times that these are the issues of our childrens children.we have defeccated so long into the water,land,sea,and air that we are paying the price and will continue to do so at an ever increasing rate,sadly many species have already paid the biggest price for our stupidity.yet,y-know i don't see flags at half mast or mourning?i mean c'mon that is pretty f*&^%$g cold just to look at the news and say,'hmmm,wow,gee thats to bad,hey i wonder what comes on at 8:00pm".we are a very stupid species.our book knowledge and intellectual pursuits and fundamentalist thought-what has it gained us?it is time for us all to examine deeply as stated yesterday what it is to be truly human,and to be a human on the web of a vast interconnected web.without such realization,i do not see any hope for the future.now Jon could you done did send me up some deep fried twinkies,i cain't get them fingers unstained from them cheetos better eat somtin' better watchin' reality shows,shhhhh,ones comin on right now!.....

what is it to be decent?....
November 21, 2008, 8:31 pm

if we are truly honest with ourselves we will realize that we carry within us the breath of peace and the fire of hatred.without such realization we become a nation of zealots,posting and plastering our morality onto the world,regardless the cost.in this search of the fire of such loathing(which being a zealot must necessarily be)we forget the elements that truly comprise who and what we are and how we move through this life.being a zealot has cost us our integrity ,honor,and our very dignity.in despizing those from without we deny the reality of our own self destructive loathing.let us go back to the recent election.what did we find?we found in the papers many zealots that denounced the election and started to take bets on assasination attempts.this is a very thin veil of prejudice.in living in a psuedo democracy,we talk the language but have not allowed for the deep words of democratic truth to touch and be our hearts.even our idealists for instance in the heat of battle will find that this very heart programmed in propaganda will change very quickly.this is why we can never really talk justly about situations in the world without having representatives talk and be that part of the world.this is how 1.2 million civilians die in Iraq.in our own country we have listened but not heard with the breath of our heart what it is to be impoverished,to be an illegal immigrant,to be gay,to be a woman,to be other than Christian,to be other than white.in fact this has become quite delusional.we know by statistics that people of color will very soon be the majority in america,and yet look at the prejudicial attitudes.if we truly embrace what it is that resides in our hearts,we can indeed be set free.to realize,yes this is anger,yes this is hatred,yes this is love,is but to realize what a human being is.by gradually embracing we gradually realize the full magnificance of being human.what attracts us to Lincoln?yes,he was brilliant and a great speech writer and emancipator,but perhaps what we can really feel with Lincoln is the way he embraced the pain of being human.Van Gogh,the same.a cursory glance at,'Letters to Theo'will only show you the breadth and depth of this human life.having looked deeply at the heart,we can no longer embrace the shallow heart of fundamentalism.this is why so many noted Ministers are caught in scandal.their heart/dark and light has yet to be embraced.to see lust deeply for what it is,,to see hatred for what it truly is,to hold it deeply,is but to change it.by going through the fire of the ridiculousness of being human we one day realize that there is more potential more yet to be humbled by.and in this humbling we are strengthened and wisdom starts to be.we can never gain wisdom through books and learning results and no child left behind-these are all but shallow fundamentalist thought patterns.this is how we have destroyed american education.after having been immersed for two months now back in public education,i am not sure weather to take a shower or cry,at the death of true education.our dishonesty has allowed for a czar to rule,to use fundamentalist thought to kill body/mind/spirit and a full our war on the enviornment(as Jon says,just read the papers,and may i ask why you sit on your ass not doing anything-soon to click off this journal with a fuck off T?).a return to decency can only occur with a true and searching look at reality and our true nature,more on this tomorrow,for now i must take a shower in complete and utter disgust....

stop friggin snoring!!!!
November 16, 2008, 6:52 am

well that was interesting yesterday!couldn't get on to this section?i was paranoid at first and then remembered that georgie is a lame duck now.and what a lame duck he is.i am going to call all of us to the matt this morning.how could we have possibly let this guy off scott free.it to be quite frank is inexcusable.nancy pelosy,who are you to tell us that impeachment should not be considered?this is old news but frustrating and dissapointing.am i seeking vengenance-even if i was to late for that shit.it just would have been a great footnote that the sleeping giant of america finally woke up and did something(yes we all get credit for voting Obama in,but what of the deep,deep slumber beforehand?).got alot to do to get street cred.back and running on the world scene....T

if at first or second or third how many times now?
November 14, 2008, 3:36 pm

Wish us luck tonight I am going to try to record a couple of songs and also videotape at the same time with any luck it will be up soon but if you hear screams of frustration eminating from So. Florida then well you know..........jon

last push
November 13, 2008, 2:33 pm

Bobby and I are jamming again tommorrow night I am going to record it and also video tape the jam hopefully my lame ass can post it on this very site!I am starting the last push all bets are off if it dont fly then who knows maybe not fit for an angel well suited to hell so bring it on..........onj

be heard
November 12, 2008, 8:42 pm

I spin in circles nothing dictates nothing moves me in any direction yet I still walk on. Will my incessant circles get bigger to the point where I finally break free? or will I collapse into myself becoming just a collection of empty dreams and promises standing in the discard line for whatever bland reality awaits my less than meaningful existence. Sometimes I long to have a carefree and oblivious mind Without the full knowledge that if the stars don’t align and my path does not become a reality then my life will de-compose into distant memories of what might have been but due to my shortcomings shall never be.……… heard………jon

Your consolation prize!!!!
November 11, 2008, 11:37 am

For those who think Obama can quickly lead us out of the hemorrhaging that has been flowing unabated decimating the middle and lower class and our military men and women for the last eight years hopefully you have the intelligence to give the new better man some time to work out of this mess. He is not a savior the word itself is a little overrated Jesus was a savior and others like him but tell that to the children of Darfur, Haiti, The Congo and don’t forget right here in Amerika just to name a few. To those who voted for the piece of Shit from Texas four years ago even though the writing was on the wall I feel for your children as they should never suffer but as for you voters you get what you deserve, To those apathetic fools who sat on the fence while the piece of shit was re-elected never bothering to get off your lazy ass to vote you deserve what you get too again I feel for your children and let’s hope you voted this time. To the ones who voted for the right man four years ago not because he was the best choice but because he was head and shoulders above the piece of shit from Texas we are going to have to suffer with all the others but at least we know it was the right thing to do……some consolation prize aint it……………….jon

can you hear it?,,,,
November 11, 2008, 6:59 am

i had a dream last night that we were playing a tour in summer.out of the periphery of my vision i could see blinding sticks,swirling,then landing on the well worn drum heads.Jon was laying feedback bringing in the heaven-Eagle aspect,and i was plodding along with a ponderous bassline bringing in earth-Bear aspect.in essence when you play you are calling to all energies.on a good night,like with a Sweatlodge you will hear the response of the ,'Spirits-the Spirits will guide you'.i happen to be in the George Harrison camp that would suggest(this was actualy his training with the Sitar-in India music is viewed as the Sacred response to the divine)that music is very Sacred.i always feel that before you go on stage it is important to smudge because of this.a line of poetry,a song,a dance,opera,a play;how Sacred to capture our imagination!to bring the conscious and unconscious-the yin and yang of the mind together but for a moment.there are sometimes on stage where you feel a sense of Samadhi-pinpricks into the vast backdrop of reality when everything seems to come together and everything is one.if we share this essence,if all can feel this authentic presence,then by definition a healing has occured.but for a moment dis-ease has been erradicated and wholeness,unity,harmony have been established.sometimes even when i pickup my bass or harp,etc...i wonder,'am i worthy today to pick up this Sacred instrument today?"can i be a vessel of the divine today or will i be the broken chalice,to concerned about the cracks and crevices of dis-ease to be open to the pouring of the Sacred elixer.i love music with my heart and soul.listening to the GuQin,the Bagpipe,the Sitar,The Celtic Harp,The guitar,The Digiridoo,The Bass,all Percussion instruments from around the world-Opera,Folksongs from around the world,blues,jazz,funk,rock,rap,etc....ALL BEAUTIFULL!!!!I would like to thank Jon for keeping this going until my inevitable return.sj-it is not that i don't want to write,it is that i do not have time to write as of late(except on the weekends-today i write as it is a holiday).do to circumstance-we are very far behind in bills(welcome to America-eh?)so I am working during the day(where they won't allow us to go on sites-different than before-sigh)and in the evenings i must teach.hopefully soon this will change,as it is rather tiring to be quite honest.Jon and Bobbie need as much support as we can all give!!!!they are going and have started to build a considerable buzz.i can't wait to get down there again!by the way for all of you who follow this site,Jon is entirely correct,it is no easy chore playing the way we do in the scorching heat down there.within minutes you are drenched and it continues the entire three-four hours,you must be in excellant shape.i remember sweating so profusely that my bass strings were stickiy and my fingers would drag-thereby having to wipe the strings after every song.AHHH-Sacred music.sometimes at night i will go outdoors(it is getting cold up here at night)and if i listen with full attention,i can hear the subtle nuance of a Shadowscreamer song.on those nights i know the blinding sticks of Bobbie,the masterful voice and guitarwork of Jon are in full swing.i smile and simply wait my turn,again....T

I am giving it my fucking best
November 10, 2008, 4:33 pm

Hey sj I don’t know where the funk T is only he can answer that. What I want to know is where our fans who were crying when I was going to close Down the site are???????? I am busting my ass and making progress doing the best I can with what I have to work with but where the hell is everybody ??????80 hits a day and no comments?if you are missing T tell him!!!!! maybe he will respond other wise I don’t know what the hell else I can do if I am an asshole then what are you????????jon

Still working hard
November 9, 2008, 11:12 am

Another marathon session in Bobbies back yard yesterday started a 4pm and ended at 9pm it’s a little cooler down here but still in the eighties so lots of sweat after the sun went down things cooled of a little bit. We worked on three new songs Bobby had never played before and they will be up on the site soon. The recording that was done last Thursday night at the open mic did not come out well so we will try again this week. I am dying to get the new stuff up so you can hear how good Bobby is on the drums I know it will be a hit and we need some new tunes. Be sure to put the web site at the top of this page in your favorites so you can check us out live next Thursday we will only do four tunes at the open mic so it won’t take much time out of you evening and you will enjoy it I will get a better starting time for us this week and post it……….jon

Oh yes ,please pass the caviar,ahh what,what,oh i have to interview this person,excuse me has anyone seen my ascot?
November 8, 2008, 8:03 am

i am still in celebratory mode from the election.so many thoughts and images and hard work and blood,sweat and tears to make this happen.i sincerly hope that we can start a new day hear in America,in full realization of where we are at,and the steps we need to move past ignorance.i was very disappointed listening to NPR the other night,Robert'I have a pipe stuck up my ass and puffing on it'Seagal was talking to a Civil Rights activist saying this election should do away with racism(not exact words)the activist quickly pointed out the reality to this idiot.honestly they should chop that guy(i can't help but picture a pipe in his mouth,tweed jacket with leather patches on his elbows,and an ascot around his neck).why don't they get someone on NPR that hmmm,actually has been homeless or lived on the streets-instead of these pompous asses!woops,sorry,kinda went off there!anywho-we need to get very,very real in this country about many,many issues.we should celebrate the election and what it represents on one hand-but ashamed that we have had our headsup our asses for so long-like Mr.pipe smoker on NPR.quick side note-with all the changes in education-Civil Rights teams are not happening in more and more school systems up here-not happening in our school anymore.sad,so very,very sad.....

All apologies
November 7, 2008, 9:22 am

I apologize to anyone who might have tried to check out the live web cast around 10pm the starting time I posted yesterday. We did not go on last night until after 11 pm. What John and Arthur are trying to do with this open mic live webcast takes quite a bit of set up time and last night the bar was featuring Thursday night Football so they had to wait forever just to start setting up we helped out as much as we could but soon we were just getting in the way. They are going to have to change the open mic to Tuesday nights so we can get an earlier start and we won’t be competing with football. John said he recorded a Cd of our performance but he needed to tweak it a little bit so I have not heard it yet. Personally I think I we did a better job last week we will see because the recorder never lies. However If it sounds good I will put up the songs on the site so you can judge for yourself how we sound. One of the frustrating things about open mics is that you never get the sound you can with your own PA system I spent the first two songs trying to get my guitar to sound the way I wanted and I know my voice cracked at least once not very professional on my part. The open mics are a work in progress and I think it is a way to get people around the world to check out the band on the web so even though it is a long night I don’t get home until 2am I hope the benefits of the web cast and the CD recording will pay off once we get everything worked out. Please feel free to check back and see how we do next week as far as I know it will be Tuesday night. In the meantime Bobby and me need to get together over the weekend and work out some of the kinks there is always room for improvement and I am anxious to add some new songs I am going to leave the icon for Johns web site at the top of this page so you can check it out and put it in your favorites for next TUESDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!!........jon

Today I am proud to be an American ……….THANK YOU AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 5, 2008, 9:23 am

As T and I have said many times before in the Journal we grew up in a house where because of our mother who was very active in the civil rights movement we were exposed to many influential events and people. T and I have lived and breathed the principle of a better world for all colors and races if you doubt us then go back in the journal one, three, five seven or more years and you will see we are constant and unbending. These are principals we teach our children and they will teach their children an obligation that each of us who are parents need to live up to. Abraham Lincoln is as I have mentioned one of my personal heroes and it is uncanny almost surreal that the first Black man to become President of the United states is from Illinois just as Lincoln was ( the author of the emancipation proclamation) talk about poetic justice. I am not a religious man but if there is a heaven may the smiles of all those who moved humanity foreword together towards unity will light up the day. I won’t lie I shed tears when it was announced that Barack Obama was declared the winner they we tears of joy , hope, validation, and I will be honest trepidation we are a country of divisions and with sever problems that still need to be addressed this is a huge step in the right direction and it brings comfort to my heart that the incredible, selfless, perseverance that Mr. Martin Luther King and the countless others who did what was right while giving their lives can look down and shed tears of joy that what they sacrificed so much for has come to fruition…………..Today I have more hope for this country then I have had for decades………jon

My two cents what you say fans????????
November 4, 2008, 4:03 pm

The path that in my opinion our greatest President Mr. Abraham Lincoln (for many reasons to numerous to count) forged during his administration can finally take a new and well deserved positive turn today if we Finally practice what we preach AND STAND ONE NATION WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and vote the best man to fight for the common man into the Presidency. This will send a good message to the rest of the world that maybe we actually practice what the hell we preach…………..jon

UPDATE
November 3, 2008, 10:17 am

Bobby finally called last night after disappearing for a few days ( Check my entry two entries below to relate)and we are on for practice tonight CANT WAIT!!!!!. I am really looking forward to getting back on it and putting together a few killer versions of our songs for Thursday night. If everything goes well I should have the link up sometime tomorrow so that our fans across the world can check out our short set live. It has taken what seems like forever to get this latest incarnation of the band this far but if we can put everything together I think we have a chance to get T back down here and make this happen. I will keep our fans updated and by all means feel free to check back the next couple of days to get the live link to our next jam THURSDAY NIGHT AFTER 10PM at “PREMIRE BILLIARDS�…..jon

Two plants but they are one
November 2, 2008, 3:22 pm

I have two plants growing on either side of my garage in the hopes that one day they will connect and frame the garage doors. Over the seven years I have been trying my best to achieve this goal I have noticed that during the growing process I note several runaway limbs on the plant that grow incredibly fast and long but suck the energy away from the plant itself, thus the plant does not grow as fast as it would if every limb was equal and willing to share thus growing at the same pace and creating a strong beautiful uniform plant. I am all for creating a better life in this country and I applaud those who work within the system and bring others up along the way but when the pursuit of self interest takes away all the potential of those who are left behind this is not Democracy. Eight long years we have been subject to this philosophy look around and judge for yourself be honest if you hold the golden spoon or if you are in the middle….which way we should go………….jon

Drama who the hell needs it lets just f---ing jam!
November 2, 2008, 1:06 pm

Thanks T for the entry below love you to bro. I have not heard from Bobby the drummer since our successful open mic last Thursday I was hoping to rehearse this weekend in preparation for next Thursdays Open mic at “Premier Billiards�. I don’t ask for much but if we are going to have success I will have little patience for lack of commitment or communication. I have a plan to get T back down here and it involves our participation on Thursday nights building a world audience at the open mic I mentioned earlier which is broadcast live on the web. We also have the capability to broadcast our rehearsals� live on the net� as I have stated before and I am going to make it happen!!!!! I am ready to get this shit rolling but I need complete, disciplined, committed participation from all members including me. I am going to the open mic on Thursday night as I stated on the top banner with or without Bobby if it comes to that. Hopefully it won’t but if it does I know I can still pull off a solo acoustic set. Stay tuned for the DRAMA but on Thursday night please tune in I will have the link you can go because I know our fans will want to check it out. I will put it up in the next couple of days…….jon

I Love....
November 2, 2008, 5:55 am

I love my brother Jon! I just had to say it this morning.In a world of uncertainty and many times of depair and seeming hopelessness and disempowernment,we can always,always fall back on our love.Love is the animation principle.It is the power that created the stars and the tiny blade of grass.When the heart breaks beyond the narrow confines of the ego we cannot help but live a life of abundance.This abundance is from the love we share with all in the cosmos.That is alot to fit in one heart!It can!When it does the smile and laughter of spirit help and reside with ongoing creativity in this universe.It simply helps to magnify what is already there in each and every one of us and all beings....T

get up get movin'....(to the voting booth is a great start!)
November 1, 2008, 7:26 am

Wonderful Jon!!!! i was really excited to hear the news!for all those that have not seen Jon and Bobby play there is an exacting synergy between them.punctuations,fills,rythm changes right there!solid tight!this band is a band that will blow people away.how do i know?i had just a taste before i left Florida and anxiously await the return(as i take care personal obligations up here).when Jon wrote about playing the other night,i could taste it,feel it,got itchy for it,longed it!!!!this is a start my friends-look out the train is a comin'-the Shadowscreamers express!on another note please get out and exercise and eat well my friends! i have just read the stats about diabetes in america,it has doubled in the last ten years!we are way to sedentary and do not eat well.you may say,'well T that is my choice isn't it',well yes day by day it is your choice we live in a so-called free country(though the last 8 years-well hell throughout american history i would debate this,depends upon your upbringing and perspective,for instance try telling our Native brothers and sisters they are free when they could not even practise their religion freely until 1978 by law-or in Maine a prejudiced snake Gov.who will not allow gambling casinos developed and implemeted by Natives but seems to entertain any white that has a plan for a casino-doubt it?it is a fact!).anywho your choice day by day,if they are poor choices will enslave your children and childrens children with high health care costs!you will be literally allowing your poor choices to ruin the future of generations to come.harsh,yeah maybe,just look at the stats.folks-in this case they don't lie.sometimes we just need to wake up with a sudden awareness.i hope todays post at least points to a potentially devaststing problem for the individual and society....T

THE HIGH OF A LIVE AUDIENCE CANT BE BEAT
October 31, 2008, 9:26 am

Bobby and me kicked ass last night!! the stage had plenty of room the sound was good and the crowd loved it we could have played all night as we usually go at least three solid hours in rehearsals but this was an open mic night and we were happy to showcase three tunes � Nothing� ,�Morning Sentinel�, and a killer and well received version of “Rasta Man� in front of a LIVE audience! these tunes were recorded but my voice was to low in the mix to put them up on the site. However you can look forward to new tunes as we will go back in the next couple of weeks and tweak a few things. I believe the open mic is also broadcast on the web so I will get the info and put it up so that when we do it again our fans all over the world can get a taste of what we are doing. Thanks to John and Andy for setting everything up it was first class all the way and again once we get things tweaked I promise new tunes for the starving masses up on this very site. The only thing missing was T and as a fan so aptly commented in the journal his incredible bass mastery………jon

Vote Obama!!!!
October 29, 2008, 7:14 pm

VOTE,VOTE,VOTE,VOTE,VOTE,VOTE,VOTE!!!!

must whine for a second....
October 26, 2008, 10:55 am

yesterday i wrote out of frustration,there are legions of people that are improperly placed in the workforce.iam told continualy to stop whinning about it and,suck it up butter cup,and 'you are lucky to even have a job,blah,blah,blah.is that so when you know the narrow confines of opportunity slip each day?is it true that when you hold so much creative potential and you are stymied for years.i guess i has repressed creativity for years-last year the cat was out of the bag for a short while-i guess to be cruelly stuffed in again?well i will stop whinning,noone wants to hear a whinner-sorry.please get out and vote-VOTE OBAMA FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!!T

when shadows get trapped....
October 25, 2008, 12:13 pm

HELP I HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY MIND-NUMBING MEDIOCRITY.ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT SQUELCHED,ANSWERING TO THE 'MAN'YET AGAIN-HELP IT SUCKS....

an honest question
October 23, 2008, 1:06 pm

Thanks sj for the fan comment and for volunteering during this election. It seems like so long ago that the country was forced to come together after 9/11 and seemed for a shot time to be somewhat united, how drastically things have changed since then. It is almost comical how polarized on one side or the other and just how bad every aspect of middle lower class American life has become under Bush and his administration they could not have done a better job if they tried, or maybe this was their intention all along? anyone who thinks things won’t get worse under McCain-Palin just look at her extreme views which she wears like a medal on her new 100,000 dollar wardrobe I didn’t know Joe six-pac and hockey mom had clothes like that Sarah is just like them right? the hard working super mom who talks to her God which is the only one by the way? Aside from her wardrobe she is parked by her own admition on the side of the vile spitting, liberal hating, gay bashing, put women last, you will not have a abortion or I will kill you, be a Christian or you gonna burn right wing of the Republican party . We have all seen thousands of right wing freaks flock to the chick like crack-heads to a pound of crack. Just to be fair I am no fan of the far right either but at this point everyone knows that if we are ever going to become the country we think we are we are all going to have to meet in the middle and practice tolerance and understanding for each other and our differing views and beliefs. Which Candidate do you think has the better chance of realistically making that happen? Be honest……..jon

VOTE AND GET OTHERS TO-VOTE OBAMA!!!!
October 19, 2008, 7:02 am

thank you all for the feedback and yes it is good to have my schedule a little more under wraps so i can write again.lil,it is funny you should mention that as Jon and i have discussed many times that we offer two sides of the same coin-and i love the Taoist inflection!please vote all and get others to vote-in mass,in number.this is the most important election perhaps in our lifetime as it will outlay america's response to all the current events of the past repressive eight years.if mccain gets in,i don't have to tell people here that i will be vastly dissappointed,and will question very deeply the ability to live in a country that is completely full of %$#@.we talk about human rights,civil rights etc...but look at what we have done the last 8 years-and yes we-we voted chimpy and darth vader in twice-remember?it is time for america to continue the long arduous process of trying to become a democracy(which we have never been)not a sidestep into a repressive dictatorship.peace,T

YES!
October 18, 2008, 7:44 am

Jon,thank you for your entries as of late,i have really enjoyed them and they point to a very sad reality.the reality is,that if Obama loses it is solely because of deep seated racism in america.it has to,as he looks like a landslide victor.if he loses i can only conclude that we are a nation of racists.no surprise really-up here it is apple picking time,noone really gives the Jamaicans the time of day up here(the come and help pick Maines crop of apples),much like i found in Florida noone pays attention to the Guatamalans,and other cultures that do landscaping there.i have to go continually back to a comment i have made over and over again(by now everyone is probably sick of it).we are one family and our family is very,very disfunctional.that might be fine and dandy to state,but it carries serious,serious and deadly consequences as we continue to produce more of our species and rape the earth.we must heal all factions my brothers and sisters.we must understand that government,nations,etc...are and should be obsolete if we truly intend to make it on this beautyiful blue marbel.i stand with Jon in making bold and strong statements.it is to bad we cannot do it on stage right now,i tire of meaningless activity when so very much needs(yes i did say NEEDS) to get done....T

PART TWO......... READ PART ONE BELOW THIS ENTRY
October 16, 2008, 3:44 pm

I AM PERSONALLY TIRED OF AMERICKN MEDIORICITY …….I AM TIRED OF THE STATUS QUOE……..I AM TIRED OF A FEW DICTATING THE WAY THE REST SHALL LIVE…. I WILL NO LONGER STAND BY IDLE…… I AM A HUMAN BEING…… I HAVE RIGHTS AND I WILL LET THEM BE HEARD…… THIS WILL NOT BE EASY…. WE HAVE FORGOTTEN HISTORY….. DO YOU THINK IT WAS EASY FOR GAHNDI, MARTIN LUTHER KING, MALCOM X, ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO NAME A VERY FEW?????….. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE?? WHO THE HELL ARE WE????? THIS IS A TIME FOR THE SO CALLED ORDINARNY MAN AND WOMAN TO STAND UP AND FILL THE EMPTY VOID OF APATHY…… SOLIDARITY BREEDS STREGHTH WHEN WE COMBINE IN NUMBERS….SO WHAT DO YOU SAY?????ARE YOU AS PISSED OFF AS I AM???? OR ARE YOU SEEKING SHELTER IN YOUR COCCOON???????????HOARDING YOUR WEALTH AND PROSPERITY TO DEVOURE WITH YOU OWN SELF INTEREST????????.....JON

hey i just call it like i see it so kill me along side of that terrorist obammie what the fuck amerika where we headed?
October 16, 2008, 2:08 pm

Seems like the cocoon effect is quietly taking place in this country stimulated by oversaturation, overstimulation, indignation and annihilation of the senses. What do people do under these circumstances????? It is painfully evident that they withdraw into their safe space and hope for the best. well I got news for you who chose this cop out hope is a four letter word it don’t mean shit if you don’t stand up and work for it…………….onj

New rough draft for song derived from an uncomfortable conversation with a closet racist
October 16, 2008, 9:34 am

I TEACH HIM WRONG FROM RIGHT, SMILE AT THE NI--ERS BUT I TEACH HIM BLACK DONT MIX WITH WHITE, I SEE MY SON LOOK UP RIGHT AT ME, I MOULD THE CLAY I SEW THE SEEDS TO MAKE MY SON SEE JUST LIKE ME, JUST LIKE MY DADDY DID TO ME. I SCREAM AT MY SON BOY THEY AINT LIKE YOU AND ME. JUST TAKE A LOOK AROUND THEY ARE ALWAYS TAKING WHATS FREE THEY ARENT HALF AS BRIGHT AS A WHITE MAN CAN BE, THEY SUCK US DRY LIVING ON WELFARE LAZY BASTERDS SUCKING DOWN THE AMERIKAN DREAM. SHIP THEM BACK WHERE THEY CAN BE FREE HELL THEY WONT SURVIVE WHO GIVES A FUCK DONT YOU SEE SON WE ARE BETTER OFF FOR WHITE SEPERATION IS THE KEY WE ARE SUPERIOR ITS IN THE BIBLE ITS WHAT MY GOD SEES THAT'S WHY I AM TELLING YOU BOY WHITE SEPERATION IS THE KEY HOW ELSE COULD YOU EXPLAIN THE THINGS THAT I SEE....JON...SHADOW SCREAMERS IS STANDING SIDE BY SIDE WITH THURSTON HIS FAMILY AND ALL OF COLOR BY BRINGING AN UNDERGROUND ULGLY AMERIKAN TRUTH TO LIGHT.... THE MOST DANGEROUS RACIST IS THE CLOSET RACIST......

do they also sell you your tight fitting suits?....
October 15, 2008, 8:01 am

last night i was lamenting to my students,(qigong,bagua)that you just don't see Obama/Biden signs up here anywhere.i asked if the entire state was going Rebublican.it was explained to me that once the candidates were set,McCain went to China to have mass produced signs,buttons etc...Obama went with American labor unions and unfortunately the process has been slower.now the ironic thing about this is the old geezers(mccain)repeated attacks on Obama for not being pro-american or whatever he blabbers on about(honestly fellow citizens do you really want this unsound mind leading the nation,and God forbid if anything should happen,you get Gov.Barbie!).Obama is the real deal,mccain floats and drifts with the wind and bellows like some belicose side line relic football player who suggests exactly how each play should have been played,but who's history never eluded to leadership,or original thought for that matter.so Obama-american labor unions/mccain china;though all american politics has been bought and sold by big business-what does the above tell you about someone trying to do something right? peace,T

ain't the bible a scientifific pretty glossy magahzeenh?
October 13, 2008, 4:48 pm

hi Jon i am back safe and sound.it was a really good experience as usual!i was so saddened to read what you had written.it stinks that this person would say that and think that in the first place and secondly knowing you are a freind.i have been in situations when it is hard to even make sense of the situation let alone comment back as it takes us off guard.we tend to be introverts my bro and that can be hard at times as you say when your jaw is hanging in disbelief!it is appalling how prevalent this attitude is.at the last mccain rally they dropped race and to kill Obama(not mccain but his cronies i guess)disgusting and such little character.there is a vast majority of americans that need to get there noses out of the Bible as a scientific reference book and get the facts on evolution.the fact is that we are all brothers and sisters on this planet-LITERALLY!!!!you use the N word the C word the W world the ....word or phrase and you essentially are calling yourself the name!i find it hard to be tolerant of such bigotry.in schools we have a chance to widen their thought process but someone 50-60 is pretty stuck and might i add stupid to utter such things.if we can always remember the Native teaching the success of one is the success of all,the pain of one is the pain of all,it would be a much better world to live.i am sorry that happened Jon and i feel your pain.your bro,T

Lesson learned and other stuff.........
October 13, 2008, 12:09 pm

Had another brutal rehearsal on Sunday only for three hours but in the blazing sun 90 degrees in Bobbies back yard I was spent as I am sure Bobby and Frank were by the end. Still looking for the right pieces to fill out the band we need a bass player and T is in Maine so I will check my options here. The other day I expressed frustration with the fan journal hope I did not offend those who post I am not dishing you but I am dismayed that more don’t comment. I will never take off my posts the fact is that every post T and I make is made at the spur of the moment with no time to re-write good or bad like this one here. If there is anything you can count on with this band it is that we are an open book warts and all and I am deeply proud of that…………. I was sitting in a restaurant Friday night after our sons varsity football game with a good friend of mine Thurston who happens to be black along with a couple of other dudes whose sons are on the team . Thurston had to leave first but it was no long after he left that one of the dudes that I do not know personally starts dropping the N bomb. I am thinking to myself did he just not see me hug my buddy as he left yet he still decides to start on this tirade? He went on to spew that he and his son know that Niâ€"ers were dumb and if our team could get plays together that made them think they could not handle this and we could start winning games??????I am ashamed that I did not confront this person face to face I did not know what to say probably because my Jaw was on the floor I changed the subject but I kick myself in the ass for not saying something and standing up for my friend. I promise that in the future I will make it my personal obligation to mention to him or anyone else ( believe me Amerika there are millions of closet bigots out there) the next time this happens that I am uncomfortable with his raciest remarks and then change the subject.I don’t want to start a needless fight but I am an asshole for not standing up for my friend and I have been deeply bothered by this since. I am not perfect and there is loads of room for improvement it is a lifelong process and I hope one day I can say that I did the very best I could……….. in this case I did not………….jon

when the raiku vessel no longer functions....
October 11, 2008, 7:44 am

what happens when we no longer can come back to ourselves?what happens when the blessing of interiority is so far removed that life seems a constant 'panic button'?we live in such times my brothers and sisters!as i approach my fast this weekend,i go out beyond the threshhold with a heavy and sad heart.why?is it because of financial worries and the seeming collapse worldwide?is it global warming?is it the destruction of human life without reason or pause each and every day-and animal,plant,mineral life?well yes and no.yes in that it is always given that unfortunately this is occuring and will only get worse as time goes by.no-i go out with the saddened heart of one that sees the dual side of human consciousness totally mollified,totally supressed.we live in the moment as a culture,a moment that is as if the reality tv camera is upon us and the next comedic catchline is spilling from our lips.well T,don't you tell us to live in the what you dub the,'pregnant moment'?good question.their is a qualitative difference between the two.in our current status we live way lop sided.we live in the extreme example of Yang.there is no sense of balance between yin/yang,animus/anima,conscious/unconscious mind thought or action.the demise has been the loss of the interior life.we do not reflect before we open our mouths or make a decision.in essence we live with our very pulse being a panic button,the situation once,'dealt with'lost with the attention span and memory of a-well human without an attention span(we can no longer be anthropomorphic and assume that various animals have qualities that can be preumed onto our reality).so yeah,understood,why the saddened heart?this loss is the loss of the proverbial Eden.if we cannot assume or know the cause than how can we change what has horribly gone wrong(as Senator Biden appropriately said in the Vice Presidential debates).a sense of interiority must be re-established.we must allow for this gentle(sometimes not so gentle)compass to steer us back to the garden where all our brothers and sisters await us.in a sense in our striving as young intoxicated beings we have outstripped our'usefullness'as the Buddha would say.we shit into our own house everyday,no longer the ethic of cleaning the campsite better than you found it.no,it is true we literally shit,piss,and spread our smelly toxic breath to everything.if we really could nurture the interior life,we would allow the panic button pulse to gradually subside,to the pulse of our full'naturalness'to our full be-ing.you would not believe the number of advanced students who hate to read.you would not believe the number of indifferent glances that we see in public education,the glance by the way that we have created(a child is the best of who we are.that we have molded them without the interior life is unconscionable!).what happened to the sweat,the thought,the utter hatred for a classic that eventually surrendered to the love and adoration of said novel?the world of the interior must digest and make sense,to breathe to sweat before the beauty-at times-can be seen.this is the essence of the classics,they were written to disturb.i remember in high school absolutely hating 'Leaves of Grass' by Whitman.it now is my favorite book of american poetry.we must before we punish the world anymore with lobsided consciousness re-claim what we were born with.we must turn off the tv,gradually subside the panic button pulse and step out into the garden which is right outside your door.a stance as such cannot but help but make a warrior consciousness.not the beat 'em up,swearing,belching freak we have seen so much in pop culture as away to be male or female.no this outdated extreme Yang needs the balance of love and harmony,of the interior sense.strong on the inside,strong on the outside,with a slight bow to all in creation....peace to you all,T

god bless what???????
October 9, 2008, 2:18 pm

I am going to re-name this CUNTRY the Un-united don’t have a clue or a brain I only look out for myself land of the sheep who ride on the backs of the brave!!!!!!!!!!.ONE QUESTION FOR THE SEVENTY OR MORE VISITS, COUNTLESS HITS, PAGES VEIWED THAT WE GET EVERY DAY ........IS OUR FAN JOURNAL THE LAMEST???? WHY YES SKIPPY IT IS!!!!!!!!! MAYBE WE ARE THE IDIOTS FOR PUTTING FORTH AN OPEN FORUM FOR THOUGHT IN A THOUGHTLESS NATION......HOWEVER PEOPLE MUCH LIKE A DERAILED TRAIN HEADING FOR A WRECK WE ARE NOT GOING TO STOP IT IS WAY TO LATE FOR THAT....... THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS WHO DESTURBING LACK OF REBELLION FROM EVERY AMERICAN IS THAT IT DOES NOT SURPRISE ANYONE..............jon

Torn
October 7, 2008, 11:14 am

It was an ok jam last night as far as the band goes I am increasingly torn as to which way to go we need to get a much better grasp of the tunes. A few more practices will tell me if these guys are right for the band the two new members are great guys and I would love to work with them in some capacity but with the connection Bobby, T and I have and the intensity and depth of our music I cannot settle for less than then players who can fit in seamlessly with what we have established. As I mentioned above we had two people come check us out one a photographer and his 17 year old daughter an aspiring film maker. This band has always wanted to re-write the current stagnant video scene so who knows maybe this will be an opportunity to get started, as far as I know they liked what they heard because they stayed and listened until the skies let loose. I need to go out now and check out my equipment a couple of hours into the rehearsal in Bobbies back yard the skies opened up and buckets of rain poured down for quite awhile we were under a cheap covering but things still got wet Bobbies electric drums my pa, mics, foot pedals etc. but not my T-5 Taylor guitar I would shield that with my life. Hopefully things are ok because we are back at it tomorrow night………. pray for no rain……. jon

simple abundance....
October 5, 2008, 7:02 am

we are all given this tiny time here.it seems some days that it lasts forever,others that our lives slip quickly by.in fact our lives are miniscule in relationship to say the Earth or our solar system.many wonder what this journey is all about.they might ask,'why,am i here.for what purpose was i born'. Buddha said that the ultimate in life is to be useful.he also said that your work is to find your work and then put your whole heart into it.Jesus said that we must live abundantly.how do we live a life of purpose,a life filled with abundance?first off the reality states that you were born into abundance.the sun shinning each day does not differentiate who he shines on,he just shines.the full moon does not look down and say to herself,'hmm,that guy is an asshole,guess i won't send my silver rays to him'.the Earth is always giving,through harvest,water.the wind blows from the four directions.in essence your time and this abundance was given to you at birth,how do you choose to live with it and be it.now before we go farther it is a truth that many are born into poverty,dysentary,warfare,repressive regiems.it is not for us to turn away from this.TO TRULY LIVE ABUNDANTLY IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT NOT ONLY WAS I BORN INTO ABUNDANCE BUT ALSO THAT I MIGHT BE ABLE IN SOME SMALL WAY PROVIDE AND HELP AND BE WITH THE SUFFERING OF THIS WORLD.the spiritual path is not the one for running away and vibing out in the mountains as tantalizing as this might seem(believe me,i struggle daily with this,could easily be a mountain hermit.this is not to discredit this approach,in fact many spiritual hermits had done a life of service before retreating to the mountain.many others provided invaluable insight by being the mountain hermit for successive generations to honor and live by).i guess what i am talking about is Spiritual Materialism as outlined by two writers;Bo Lozoff and Trogen Trungpa.i recently read a Bo article and true to form he does not let anyone off the hook.he laments(as have i)all the retreats and money places for the rich to go and in a way escape life and it's problems.we must always remeber as unsatisfactory as it seems,our problems in life are part of the abundance.if i run from my internal pain than i miss the opportunity to embrace it,hold it,find the root of my suffering and gradually integrate this pain with my holding it to create the abundance of healing.you must remember that i talk today of my experience living in america.in america we want to run and hide from this abundance that healing provides.we want topical treatments that will take the pain away for a moment without realizing that the burn continues underneath.so we try this program or that.we go to this spiritual retreator that and learn how to,'bliss out',without living truly,totally in the pregnancy of this present moment.this pregnant moment is abundance herself.it contains all i have ever experienced as well as the possibility of the here and now .it contains my laughter,my sadness,my blood,my sweat,my tears,all the food i have ever eaten,all the water i have ever drank,all the people that made the food possible,all the products i have used,all the elements.you see this is rather abundant and rather full.in fact it contains the entire universe once we consider our thoughts and our very bodies that have the dust of far galaxies within us.it is the reality of interconnection,and interpenetration.it is the web of Indira.having realized this we understand that we are veritable containers and drinkers of this abundance.having realized this we cannot but help let others know through compassionate acts and random kindness.this makes the abundance tangible.it allows for the subtle workings of spirits or souls to bump into one another and to smile in recognition.it allows ultimately LOVE.when we live such a life we cannot accept that people starve anymore,that people are killed due to hatred,that so many die in disease and poverty.we understand that this is a break in the web,this web of abundance.so we do what we can each day to help the situation in our own small way.our method and stance is to be the good spider,who spins new web once it has been compromised.are we successful?are we truly helping?test your heart.does it still ache when you see the now graphic pictures in print or on t.v? do you feel a sense of outrage,sadness,do you wish or dream or LOVE in the horrible brokenness?if you do you are right on track.embrace it,be it,give voice to it.do you rememeber the great orators for Civil Rights and justice,do you remember the quality the inflection of their voice?do you also remember the smile,the genuine smile?you can tell the difference between a spiritual pundit and one who really walks the walk as Bo says.the true smile is deep and powerful,earned by embracing not only the beauty and blessings but by the unspeakable pain that has earned them this smile and their raiku heart....abundance to you all,T

a chance for imperfect Democracy again,will we take it?....
October 4, 2008, 7:46 am

so we have a chance back at our imperfect Democracy.the last eight years we have absorbed ourselves in a dictatorship.loss of Civil Rights,torture,impingement of the Constitution,war,financial demise,you know as well as I!with Obama and Biden at least we have the chance for imperfection again as opposed to the system that was broke down the middle and disgarded with a plucky little smile that we have had to endure with Bush AND CAN BE SEEN ON McCAINS FACE AND MOST NOTABLY ON THE GOV.BARBIE DOLL(whoops excuse me.it is Palin right?).this is perhaps one of the most important elections to date in american history.do i flare the dramatic-damn straight!why?if we choose status quo with MCCAIN/BARBIE(DAMN DID IT AGAIN,I AM SORRY PALIN-RIGHT?)we will suffer terribly in areas that CANNOT BE SUFFERED ANYMORE!!!!unbeknownst to BA--WHOOPS ALMOST DID IT AGAIN ,PALIN GLOBAL WARMING THIS TIME IS BROUGHT ON BY MAN.yes barbie we know there have been changes in earths temperature before.the last which started the last ice age.yes we liberals are better educated than people that turn to reference books that are not appropriate for science(unless you are talking about the study of religion-then you can argue the point all day long and I might agree with some of what you say-don't know,have not heard you give a lucid talk yet).this current crisis has been brought about by mankind-top scientists have been saying this for years-you know the ones that your heroes have tried to squelch ;Reagan,Bush one,Bush two.if we allow for the economic theories of the Reagan era to continue to predominate, our dollar value will be bellow most and the economic crisis will not be recession but DEPRESSION.if you want status quo we will have a hundred year war and continued loss of Civil Rights.it goes on and on and I leave the reader to connect the dots that Jon and i have thrown out copiously the last eight years.what an appropriate time for,'WE CRY FREEDOM',Jon! we have to work on that song some time the melody seems so caught in my head as of late.we have a chance at imperfection folks,perhaps it can one day lead us to a true Democracy,if not welcome back my friends to the machine of dictatorship....peace,T

Hey wait a minute
October 3, 2008, 11:39 am

T I agree one hundred percent with you and fans fear not we are not turning this site into democratic central but we will always speak out. I have one question for Mrs. No abortion under any circumstances Palin you recently decided to have another child which at your age was risky you made your decision and now we the public are going to have to foot a big part of the bill to care for your special needs child. The question is with millions of desperate children who are waiting for adoption around the world you scream no abortion but you did not choose one of them????????? Are they not good enough for you??????? If everyone thinks like you do who is crying about saving the fetus then who will take care of the children you apparently want to save but don’t stand up for????????????jon

debates....
October 2, 2008, 6:37 pm

understood!will do,on the weekends again.as you very well know circumstance took me back here(beyond both of our control)-wish it were not so.okay so please watch the debates tonight!it should be vastly entertaining.in one corner a seasoned veteran with serious credentials,in the other corner, americas slap in the face.i have thought long and hard on this election and our current status(bleak,bleaker,bleakest).people must realize that if you vote McCain you will get more of the same.if you vote Obama there has got to be a fundamental change.the streets are alive with unrest,angst and downright anger.we cannot fall prey to false images that the desperate republicans will step up to throw at us.hope you are all well,these are very tough times.i just got off the phone with my Clan sister(Native country in many places in america are the poorest of the poor)it is going to be a very rough winter.take care all,T

Hey T it aint personal just reality for the band or we will not be able to compete
October 2, 2008, 2:18 pm

Hey T to clarify we all need to step it up everyone who commits to this band. I am dealing with two new players and like you are stretched to the limit I know you are in Maine but If you can add some wisdom on the weekends as fans have asked for this would help out and as for the rest of the band the new members are checking out the site and I don’t want any doubt left in any mind as to what I expect and how hard they have to work. Call me an asshole but in order to compete we need everyone to add what they can with all they have. I don’t ask anything from anyone I will not do myself this includes chauffeur, roadie, manager, sound man, tab writer, and whatever else I am asked to do. Sorry to bitch but if we are to proceed it will be a team effort or we are wasting our time I will try to call this Sunday…….jon

?
October 1, 2008, 6:48 pm

i don't understand ,please call.T

just a pinch of luck
September 30, 2008, 11:08 am

Quick update had a pretty good jam with the new bass and keyboard players last night. Still way too early to know if it’s going to work out I need to print out all the songs and make chord charts so that everyone can follow along, right now we are a little out of sync because its new material for the new players. However once I get the study tools together though I will be able to tell if the players are committed and this requires spending time on their own to practice. The band practice is only one aspect of being in a band just like for a test everyone including me has to spend time on their own making sure that they are completely comfortable and most importantly prepared for every tune. I am also working with a video guy Joe to hopefully get up a live fed with sound of our practices on You-Tube be patient there is a lot of stuff going on that I am trying to get done on top of the normal responsibilities I and everyone else has and I am giving it my all. T mentioned below and it is true he is the bass player when he comes back down the guy I have playing bass will move to congas and rhythm guitar. Wish me luck this is an exciting time with the potential for great things but along with hard work we are going to need a little luck……jon

questions....
September 27, 2008, 7:43 am

hi everyone,thought i would adress some fan comments first.i am still here,it is just circumstance that has put me back in Maine for awhile.am i happy about this,no i am not!there are many things i am very unhappy about but due to finances-things just need to happen for my family.i have not been on as much as during the week i have no time for the internet,due to a learning curve i am on.what would i rather be doing-MUSIC,MUSIC,AND MUSIC!!!!Jon and i had a discussion about the project we did and agreed that it needs to be filled out more and that he will get the band together.make no mistake everyone,i am the bass player and co-writer with my bro-Jon of Shadowscreamers.Shadowscreamers is Jon and Jason(T) Whitney.Alabama,thank you! I agree we did some incredible things as a two piece!in many respects i believe we were ahead of our time;i mean c'mon-avant garde jazz,with slam poetry over the top,Ray Charles,and our originals that had the highs of Eagles flying to subterranean earth rythms.i for one am very proud of what we did.jon soloed the best i ever heard him solo as did i.there are a couple of regrets i hold to my vest about last year,but such is life.i think it is great that the band is formulating it will lead to some great things.all i need is a little and i am outa here so fast the cameras in the public education buildings won't even detect me leaving!i continue to practise and wait and play better than ever! there is so much to tone and the subtle nuances of music.it has always been Jon and my way to forge ahead into unknown territory.i have been working on some stuff that i can't wait to colloborate with him on.thank you for the inquiries,it means alot to us.i shall be on more shortly as hopefully this learning curve will be over.Jon-full steam ahead bro!!!!love,T

New players to jam with
September 26, 2008, 9:04 am

Bobby my drummer and I jammed with a new Bass player and keyboard player last night with T up in Maine I need to put a band together down here until we can get back together and now that Bobby and I are tight we need other players to join the band. It will take time to see if these guys will work out and are committed to doing Shadow Screamers material I am open to some original material from other players but with the back log of great material we have I want to focus most of our attention on getting those songs down so we can get out and play and more importantly record. The Bass player last night was a little busy at times meaning he plays a lot of notes and does not create a steady groove on some of the tunes this could just be nerves after all it was our first jam on material he did not know. When T and I were doing our vocal, guitar, bass only gigs earlier this year T had to be busy on the bass to fill in the space but with the incredibly tight grooves Bobby the drummer and I have developed I am looking for a bass player to hold the bottom down steady and not flashy most of the time this draws people into the music and of course there will be opportunities for the bass player to do solos but the great bands have one thing in common the rhythm section is always in the pocket and tight. It was great to jam with a keyboard player it adds another dimension to the music so we will see if these guys are dedicated as I have said before it takes commitment, dedication and lots of sweat to put out a good product and I am not going thru all this effort to just get together with the guys and screw around for fun. I have some work to do myself I took off on some leads last night and I was definitely a little rusty so it’s time for me to get back on the guitar working the scales again, we jam again on Saturday at 5pm until whenever I will keep everyone updated……jon

Little piggies
September 23, 2008, 2:15 pm

Money grabs the throat of reason, money builds up little piggy’s grabbing pennies from those who desperately need, money sucks the life out of those who sell their sorry souls yet they don’t care they think they are free , money has no life or conscience it leaves that up to you and me, see the little piggy’s run free ,the little piggy’s run free, but be wary my little piggy friends for in the end you know that little piggy’s bleed and I am going to enjoy chewing up the first bag of pork rinds…………Jon

Moving backwards
September 22, 2008, 12:05 pm

As life in Amerika weaves mere men and women into fables and folk heroes all the while these very heroes go about contradicting and lying about who they are or will be all the while relishing in false dreams of glory running thru their self absorbed minds. I will vote but I choose to disconnect a busy mind in the land of the mindless and bigoted Amerika and the propaganda machine so many cradle , a life line of ignorance. Meanwhile we as a country are still stumbling backwards, still clinging to fears and trepidations that have held us down recently for 7 plus years and in many years the last 200 years…….jon

forgiveness and love
September 21, 2008, 6:48 am

Let yourself be filled with forgiveness,let yourself touch the beauty of Love.It is hard to Love without allowing the heart to experience the openness that forgiveness brings.We are all wounded,each and every one.let the wounds go.Like the old scar on the flesh,let it bring a smile,not hatred....peace,T

note to Jon....
September 19, 2008, 5:14 pm

hey Jon-quick note back.this new job has had me on a big learning curve-taking alot of time,sorry to you and everyone here.i have not been on the internet during the week as there is no time.man,do i miss laying the bottom!can't wait until you guys record again and get out playing again!i talked to a freind of mine that said so much you can do from a distance now-it was an exciting conversation-next summer shall be ours bro!!!!love,T

A quick note to T
September 19, 2008, 10:33 am

Hey T I just sent Joshes Korg home studio unit back to you. It should be there by mid-week I wish you many great collaborations with Josh the Mixmaster and your son. I will try to catch up on Sunday as Saturday is busy with coaching in the morning then Jamming with Bobby at 4pm until whenever tomorrow afternoon. Dude we miss ya laying the bottom but I have to keep this thing going and stay focused. I have placed a few Calls with Karine at South Shores but no response yet? don’t know what is up but maybe �Light Boy� has a beef against the Screamers so maybe they don’t want us back for FUC__NG FREE........... ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!. Anyway I will start looking for another place to gig both Bobbie and I are anxious to get out and play and I don’t want him to loose focus it is to hard just getting to get to a live performance level to loose any ground at this point...........jon

We Can Still Rock ........4 hours without a break? are you kidding???????
September 18, 2008, 1:42 pm

We started at 7:30pm last night in Bobbies back yard and did not stop until 11:30pm. I kid you not…. how the time flies when you are kicking ass … Before you label me as an egocentric self absorbed musician I have to say ….Sorry doubters but the fact is we kicked ass!!!!!! I will say that we were helped by the party going on a couple of houses over. I would be full of shit if I did not say that I was listening to the party between songs so when they clapped after each song I was justified in knowing that they were without a doubt listening to every song . It was a welcome breath of fresh air and I will start recording the sessions next week we have always put everything out there warts and all and I can assure you that this will be no different.....jon

How about "pain in the ass" with lipstick............
September 15, 2008, 9:10 am

Hearing the phrase “ What is the difference between a pit-bull and a Hockey mom......Lipstick� the other night by Sarah Palin has been bothering me . I am one of three coaches on my sons baseball team this year over the years T and I have just like millions of parents across the country helped out coaching the teams our sons join . The reason that the cute ‘phrase’ bothers me is that this year once again like every year I have a couple of pit-bull parents one especially sticks out whose son is on the team. To give you an example of what I mean the first practice this man comes up to the coaches and announces his kid is going to be the catcher for the team then as practice gets going he picked out where he thinks every player is going to play. Apparently he was not listening when I told him that the league we are playing in this time of year is an instructional league its purpose is to teach all the players on each team ,kids of varying baseball skills to NUMBER ONE HAVE FUN along with learning how to play the game and the different positions so each kid plays infield and outfield if they want to try to pitch we let them. This father is on his son every second scrutinizing his every move even in the dugout this kid can get no sanctuary. Can you imagine the pressure this kid is under trying desperately to please his father but never living up to expectations no eleven year old could? We had our first game Saturday the kids arrived around 9am at the field and we practiced then had the game which went from 10am-12. After the game as I was leaving I noticed the pit bulls son was putting back on his catchers gear and the look in this young boys eyes cut right thru me it’s a look that only a coach who has worked with the kid of a pit-bull parents knows. I asked the father what was up and he said his son basically did not play up to his expectations and needed to practice more even though he had been playing baseball for three hours already without a break. By the way when I left the field the temp was 91 degrees ……….that’s right people 91 degrees and this boy was wearing full catching gear in the blazing sun hell he might still be out there if he hasn’t passed out from heat exhaustion. It’s a catchy little phrase isn’t it that pit-bull thing? This is an extreme but common example others include being loud and obnoxious in the stands every game, calling and complaining to the volunteer coach a million times because your kid is not playing enough or the position you want him to, yelling at the other kids on the team when they make a mistake, yelling at the umps or ref usually kids themselves, never volunteering or helping out just dropping you kid off like it’s a day care and on and on. Sorry folks but it makes my stomach turn to know that it goes on over and over again all over this country permeating all sports and is not gender biased....jon

Yeah 2....
September 13, 2008, 8:39 am

hey Jon glad to hear the shoulder is well.i can't help but believe that the energy being built right now with you guys and the keyboard player will garner us the attention we need to step to the next level.perhaps it would be good to have some goals in regards to next summers touring schedule.i have read fans reffering to it-we can get there definately.how is Karine doing?are you guys playing there soon?sorry it has been awhile,i forgot how intense the schedule is getting back into education!i am excited first of all that your arm is good,second of all that Bobbie is working out so well-please tell him that at the rate you guys are playing we should be back together real soon!!!!love,T

Not Bragging just happy with the results Taylor Guitars and Fender get plugs how about an endorsement?
September 12, 2008, 11:43 am

What a jam last night!!! It did not take Bobby and me long to get back the swagger after almost two weeks off. It felt good to see the sweat dripping down the front of my Taylor T-5 guitar as we jammed outside in his back yard in the South Florida heat. I am messing with a couple of new effects pedals but all told the sound was great I was especially happy with my voice after the lay off. I can’t say enough about the great sound Bobby is getting from his electric drums that we are running thru my Fender pod P.A. system. There are several stand out tunes we are doing now “Nothing�, “Rasta Man�, “Morning Sentinel�, “See�... come to mind. I don’t think I have ever played with a drummer who has a better feel for the dynamics that permeate our music and words can’t describe the high you get when you are locked in perfect rhythm blazing thru tune after tune. I was relieved to know that my healing shoulder held up fine, yea there was pain later that night but I know I did not damage anything and as the saying goes no pain no gain and we gained way more then enough to justify the pain. Bobby is headed to New York to see his son so we are off until next Friday you hate to wish time away but man the hunger is intense to get back practicing and to performing in front of a live audience......jon

Heavy heart
September 11, 2008, 10:29 am

Our Condolences to the Thousands who lost loved ones seven years ago today it’s hard to find words of comfort for this senseless act of aggression. Our hope as a band is to spread ideas of peace, compassion, tolerance and hope across the planet something we are doing however small our input is The Stats don’t lie and people from all over the world have tuned into this site. We are not blind or naive to the fact that the human race has a long way to go and there will be still be uncountable tears shed but if we don’t start heading in a new direction then the process to move the human race out of self-destruction will never materialize, and we will be nothing more then we have always been as the tears flow............... On a lighter note I am jamming with Bobby tonight for the first time since my shoulder surgery almost two weeks ago we will be in his back yard jamming to the neighborhood. I have been told to hold back but this is not who we are so I will see how long I can go. Wish us luck it is as I said earlier in the journal my intention is to find a gig by the end of this month so far South Shores Tavern has not gotten back to me but I will find someplace I mean we aint asking for money and truth be told we put on a hell of a show........jon

Look around we all know somone like my mail-lady...
September 9, 2008, 11:51 am

I met our mailwoman at Publics grocery store this morning . This woman has living with her a mother with Alzheimer’s and a son who has been diagnosed bi polar with schizophrenia something this band can relate to on a very personal level. Apparently her son went into a violent rage and beat his sister badly and now he is in jail instead of an institution where he could at least be given the proper care. The reason I am bringing this up is that this country is leaving millions of hard working people behind the mailwoman is left to take care of two major health crisis not to mention her daughter who is in her twenties , works but has no health insurance thus her mother’s paying the medical bills for her. Needless to say this woman is on the verge of losing her home. The American system has been designed the last eight years to take care of those who have and leave the millions who are working hard but struggling behind. This is no secrete to those in the trenches but to the privileged white party no matter who you bring in to run with Mr. Millionaire McCain the reality is that you are all out of touch there is absolutely no connection or understanding to those who struggle. so I ask all those who check out this site to please vote and look beyond gender or empty promises Trickledown economics don’t work and I hope Regan is burning in hell for the disaster that he first introduced on this country. Sure Obama is no savior but getting to where he is as an African American he could not help but see the disparity that is still running like a runaway train between those of color the middle and lower class and the wealthy out of touch whites in power....jon

Yes we will
September 8, 2008, 2:02 pm

Hey fans look for a live show buy the end of the month it will take some doing but I am determined to make it happen just me and Bobby but I promise it will rock so stay tuned hopefully it will be at our old stomping grounds South Shores Tavern........jon

Hey read the journal go back five years tell me we are not consistent and unwavering
September 7, 2008, 2:19 pm

Thanks for the fan who relocated to Alabama for taking the time to drop a line I would be lying if I said it did not make my day. As my song Only Human says we are just that nothing more nothing less. Shadow Screamers is going thru more trial and tribulations which seem to be the running theme of this band that said I will carry on as I am the leader not by choice but by circumstance and as always will step up with my best effort. I truly believe we have found our drummer in Bobby this dude kicks ass and is totally committed time will tell if it all works out but I can promise you if you are a fan you will be impressed. I have had a minor medical setback but I promise our fans in South Florida we will be performing out by the end of this month no matter what my wife or the doctor says because it is our time, it is our time, it is SHADOW SCREAMERS TIME TO SHINE this is no self indulgent bullshit this is (working in the trenches for twenty some years giving ….never taking always moving pushing the obstacles aside and never giving up we deserve a shot reality)WE ARE THE WORKING CLASS… WE ARE THE MINORITY….. WE ARE THE AMERICAN DREAM THAT HAS BEEN DENIED ……BUT WE WILL NOT SETTLE FOR THIS WE HAVE TOO MUCH INVESTED AND THE FIRST THING WE WILL DO WHEN WE DO MAKE THE EVERYMANS DREAM COME TRUE IS TO GIVE MOST OF IT AWAY FOR THOSE WORKING IN THE TRENCHES TO MAKE THEIR DRAM COME TRUE………. YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS I BELIEVE AND WE WILL WALK THE WALK AS WE ALWAYS HAVE………jon

sorry folks....
September 6, 2008, 6:18 am

hi everyone,Jon is right,i have been in a new job and the learning curve has been steep!have not been on as much and won't get the time for the next couple of weeks.look for some great stuff from Jon and Bobbie.they should play out soon and in a relative sense we will record again somewhat soon.the music is intense,when you listen,it is very deep.sorry for waggin' our own tails but we believe you concur....peace,T

A word please before you put the crown on his head....
September 4, 2008, 10:37 am

My first professional gig was performing at a V.A. Hospital in the Boston Mass.( one of many gigs I did for those who served) area I wanted to try out my stuff before an appreciative audience and try to bring up the spirits of those who had served this country. My first impression was that I was appalled at the conditions those brave men and women were subject to while seeking the medical care they had rightly earned. I was supposed to get a small sum of money for my performance but I did not have the heart to accept it figuring they could use it way more than I could. When my first son was born the first person I called was a good friend of mine Ray who although from Canada served two terms in the Jungles of Vietnam in the U.S. army exposed to Agent Orange time and time again. Vietnam vets who had been exposed to agent orange were suffering from health problems which the government denied. My friend died from a brain aneurism one week after his wife discovered she was pregnant with their first child and the government which included the hero senator from Arizona continued to do nothing for those suffering from health issues relating to agent orange . I posted the comment at the top of our page last night after listening to Sarah Plains speech where she all but anointed John McCain as the holy savior due to his service to this country. I commend McCain for his service so many years ago but I have seen firsthand as has my brother T who has counseled hundreds of Vets the total disconnect from the Washington bureaucracy and those thousands and thousands of vets who have been discarded like trash. I cannot stand by and let McCain have a free pass as he has been a part of the problem. John McCain was welcomed home as a hero but the reality America is that most vets wounded or not returning from Vietnam were spit on, hated, scorned and discarded and the saddest thing is that McCain is just as disconnected from the working class in America as he is from those who fought with him in Vietnam.....jon

the way it is Screamers style
September 3, 2008, 9:58 am

Ok here it is Screamers fans T is back in Maine working again so that his family has food and a place to live as it takes two incomes in America to survive, unless you don’t know how many houses you own and your wife is worth millions right Grandpaw McCain? then you have no concept of how most of Americka lives. I have just had shoulder surgery I wont go into details but they say six weeks until I can pick up a guitar again “sorry doc I already have�.... that said I will be jamming with Bobby again next week because I am not going to let anything stop the momentum that Bobby and I have gained these last couple of months...anyone in their right mind would have given up on us long ago but this band more than any other on the planet lives and breaths the struggles of the every man and woman and we will not let our voice be denied by governments, political correctness or the machine that is and was the record industry. T and I initially thought that the fan journal would spurn thought and comments maybe it has run its course.. I hope not because after eight years of fear which Shadow Screamers REFUSED to back down to you would think that finally people would stand up and say what’s on their minds.....jon

Late Summer....
August 30, 2008, 6:32 am

Again late summer. The gold finch alights from the giant sunflower. The shallows are caught in the cool mist of the night. I drop my tea for the third time in wonderment,thank you,thank you,thank you....peace,T

SEE
August 28, 2008, 3:12 pm

I put our tune "See" back on top THIS SONG IS IN LINE WITH WHAT IS FINALLY HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY.....

Celtic Harp....
August 27, 2008, 6:42 am

i hopefully will be going to a workshop and joining a circle that does Celtic Harp(to learn).it is my current challenge and i feel would add another dimension to the band.i will also try to learn some other instrumentation as Jon and i hear things from a global persepective,always have.hey Jon do you mind sending me that KORG we had another computer meltdown and want to keep recording.thanks bro!when's the next rehearsal?love,T

A little off but still rocking.......
August 26, 2008, 1:05 pm

Bobby and I had an off night last night its not that we sounded bad its just that our expectations are very high and to live up to them in the burning heat rehearsal after rehearsal is difficult but in the end we will be ready for any gig anywhere, anytime that is what we are working towards. When things aren’t gong quite right you have to keep going and by the end of the three hour set we got into a killer groove and scorched a couple of songs.� Nothing� is one tune we are killing on “Rasta Man� is another as well as “See�, Only Human, Morning Sentinel to name a few as I promised earlier I will get some of what we are doing up on the site so stay tuned. It is an exciting time (Don’t get me wrong we both miss the hell out of T) because with the addition of Bobby the songs have taken on a new sound and the beauty of it is that when T does get back down here he and I have always been locked in musically so with Bobby locked in with me it will only take a short amount of time for us to put together an incredibly tight show.......jon

It aint no cakewalk but its what we love to do.....
August 24, 2008, 2:03 pm

We started practice yesterday at about 1pm in Bobby’s back yard I suggested being that the outside temperature was in the 90s that we set up in the tall grass under a tree. This was the only way we could have made it thru three grueling hours of nonstop music. Anyone who has seen our show knows that the energy level is very high and nonstop and practice is no different I always appreciate the opportunities that I get to be free for a few hours to do what I love to do with no interruptions and once we start I don’t want to stop even as the sweat is running down my guitar and as you know T feels the same as does Bobby. Now if we can all three get together and do the work it will be earth Shattering!!!!!!WHO WANTS TO INVEST? I am my own worst critic but truth be told my voice has never sounded better and I am making great progress on the guitar. As soon as It cools down a bit and we get a few more practices under our belt I will record a session and put it up for all to hear I am still working on the video too but right now it is imperative that Bobby and I are locked in on every song. I put together a notebook for him with the songs and extra paper to take notes so we can work on starting the song, tempo, ending the song and what beats he likes. Contrary to popular belief to be a serious band it takes dedication, organization, teamwork, and a shit load of hard work and that is the approach we are taking and you will soon hear how much it has paid off.....jon

THE SHADOWSCREAMER CHALLENGE....
August 23, 2008, 7:34 am

September,children are back in school time for a Shadowscreamers challenge everyone.pick five different categories and get resources for those categories.here is the challenge this month-music,art,poetry,fiction,and dance.the challenge is to get a piece of music that you don't normally listen to and then study the following;the composer or artist,the time period when written,why they wrote music,keep a jouranl of ll this and how it moved you or didn't.now do the same with the other four categories.when we study this way we are stimulating the mental sphere of the Medicine Wheel,it also stretches us out a little past the comfort zone.Jon wrote a good example of this yesterday.in keeping his ears forever open,he found a piece of music that touched him deeply.i will be posting this month about my discoveries and then we will in subsequent months move onto the other realms of the Medicine Wheel,have fun enjoy!!!!the biggest challenge for me will be the dance category-i really suck at dancing which suprises people.i know all these complicated martial moves but never learned to dance-sir you shall remedy this!peace,T

Hey I aint to old yet......
August 22, 2008, 2:20 pm

Why Slipnot you say? jon have you lost your mind?????? The lead singer is in my top three for versatility and substance and the drummer is hands down the best I personally have heard and I have been listening to music for almost fifty years ( the best present ever given to me was a transistor radio from my grandfather when I was very very young) I love the intensity and honesty of the music Slipnot is making and I am still struggling to find my own musical place all I know is that when I put the latest song on it rocks my head and makes me think ......what better combination can you ask for?????.......jon

always great between my bro and i !!!!
August 22, 2008, 8:10 am

had a great conversation with my bro last night.shadowscreamers is really getting prepared for something very,very big.the energy is building,my fingernails are down to the nubs in anticipation my friends.you wait to see what Bobbie and Jon cook up,you will be amazed!!!!i will be back,hopefully in a relative short amount of time.meanwhile shodowscreamers is poised to take over Florida!!!!love,T

Hey T call me....
August 21, 2008, 4:04 pm

Hey T call me when you get a chance it was good talking to Josh this morning but you guys were on your way out so I guess I missed you today. You asked how the packages were going that I was sending out but I am no longer sending them out. Having the opportunity to jam with Bobby I realize that we need a drummer to put us in the best position to shop our music. This means that we have to find a way either to get you down here to record as a KILLER TRIO or I will have to find a temporary replacement to fill in we have only one shot and we need to put our best foot forward…..trust me Bobby can take us to the next level.....jon

Our condolences to the Dave Matthews
August 20, 2008, 3:20 pm

Hey Dave don’t know you…. have never met you or your band... “LOVE THE MUSIC�!!!!! anyway Shadow screamers sends our condolences for the loss of the VERY!! talented Mr. LeRoi Moore. Anyone who has ever been in a band that was committed knows that to exist you have to be like a family and thus you have just lost a part of your family. We know difficult days lie ahead but we send love and hope that the healing process will find you in a good place and his spirit will always be with you....jon

storm?
August 20, 2008, 6:31 am

hey Jon,everything okay with the storm down there,sounds like it was a big one?love,T

It took a tropical storm to shut down the Screamers
August 19, 2008, 8:16 am

I talked with Art yesterday and we are going to try to find a way to get up some video of Bobby and me jamming hopefully it will happen in the next week or so. I think the fans will be impressed with how far we have come in a short time. Had to cancel practice last night it would have been hard to jam outside in the back yard with winds gusting to 50mph and torrential rains. But we are very lucky Fay did not develop into a hurricane we have had enough of those the last few years…….jon

no way to scratch that itch....
August 17, 2008, 4:55 pm

getting the itch real bad up here!!!!tell Bobbie i said hello! damn you gotta take that shit out at South Shore!can you imagine if we would have had him while i was down there!give me a call we gotta talk!i'm itchin' up here and there ain't no way to scatch....T

We are making great progress
August 17, 2008, 12:51 pm

What a practice last night!!! We burned thru twenty-five original songs several of them two and three times apiece. As T can attest we only play one way and that is with everything we have every song so this was a great workout. Bobby and I think last night was only the fifth time we have jammed together but he is already reading me like we have been together for years. Part of being a good musician is learning to listen and he does this very well. I am calling Karine today at our old Haunt South Shores Tavern to see if we can do a two hour set some night. Even though the neighbors wanted us to play on last night we still need to get out on stage and test the waters. The guy who lives next to Bobbie has set up surveillance cameras all around the duplex there is one in the back yard which gives a perfect view of us jamming I am going to talk to Art my web-guy and Bobbies friend to see if we can get something on the site where our fans could see us jamming LIVE!!!!and hopefully get some sort of sound going too. What do you think fans is it worth it???????????jon

Whats next junior??????
August 16, 2008, 7:42 am

It’s bad enough that it will take years to undo all the damage “bush and his administration� have deliberately caused over the last eight years, but if you care about the environment you might be interested to know that the same� bush administration� is trying to impose changes that would allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether subdivisions, dams, highways and other projects would have the potential to harm the environment.( It seems to me that this would be like a bank robber being allowed to monitor the cash in the bank with no one looking over his shoulder counting the money). The fear by any reasonable person is that these proposals would gut protections for endangered animals and plants. To make matters worse environmental scientists and agencies would not be able to consider a projects contribution to global warming in their analysis. If you are disturbed by this go check out the details on the web I read this piece in the local paper we cannot let this clearly out of touch President Add this to an already disgusting and incompetent legacy.......jon

again,awesome!
August 16, 2008, 6:44 am

definately feeling the energy Jon!it is awesome,wish i was there!hey,any update on the project?crazy week,be in touch soon.love,T

Tom Brokejaw here
August 14, 2008, 9:31 pm

Tom Brokejaw here with president bush in Beijing China with an exclusive interview...Mr. president how are you enjoying the Olympic games so far?...... Well Tom I have to tell you it has been real hard to find a good Texas steak over here ..hell I saw the other day that they were sellin scorpions on a stick???? Well Mr. president why did you think it was important to come to the games when China continues to disregard the basic principles of human rights???Well Tom you know me and principals never got along cause I was a rebel so I can understand that.........Ok????? Mr. president what do you think about Russia attacking Georgia? Well Tom you know when I first heard about it I was really mad I was wondering how they were able to sneak all them tanks and equipment to Georgia and attack us!! but then Condi Rice told me there was more than one Georgia in the world and we wasn’t being attacked…. hell I was so relieved that I could care less about the other Georgia and don’t forget me and Putin are soul mates so he is just doing what I had to do to make the world a safer place….But Mr. President the world is not a safer place and it seems more innocent people are dying in increasing numbers????Well Tom I have ta tell you that I was never good with numbers what I am looking for is results and Like I said on when I landed on that Aircraft carrier years ago we are winners???????? hell just look at how many shiny medals we have won at the games we are the best!!!! But Mr. president real life is not a game???Hell Tom what do I know about real life I am just looking for the day when I can be a cowboy again on my ranch...Tom Brokejaw handing it over to you Kim Se Young I am going to breath the Beijing air and commit suicide....jon

walk the walk
August 14, 2008, 8:58 pm

What really strikes me is the shallow intentions of NINETY NINE percent of the SHALLOW music industry….. .you would think this band would get some kind of break!!!!!!!!! but the assholes we have sent material to so far have their self absorbed heads up their ASSES!!!!!!! BE FOREWORNED WITH THE ADDITION OF BOBBY THE KILLER DRUMMER YOU ASSHOLES WILL BE WONDERING WHY YOU WERE SO HIGH AND MIGHTY IN YOUR SELF ABSORBED WORLD……… TO MISS THIS INCREDIBLE BAND …… IN THE NEAR FUTURE I WILL PUT UP THE LATEST SHIT TO PROVE MY POINT…… I HAVE TALKED THE TALK AND IF I DON’T WALK THE WALK YOU CAN TELL ME TO GO F---K MYSELF ....jon

Great Point Jon!....
August 14, 2008, 7:01 am

that would be something Jon!it would also take out of the competition well grooved athlete making machines like the countries you mentioned.so many poor countries don't have the wealth and opulence to produce such great athletes.i was reading about one well known swimmer and that person's trainers and people that travel with them-sounded like the people that travel with rock or rap stars-seriously there were that many!i don't think Jim Thorpe had as many trainers,massage therapists,agents,etc....the other thing is that they say that politics don't influence the Olympics-bullshit!the modern era has shurely shown this to be inacurate.hell,the Olympics i almost qualified for(would have if my drug addiction hadn't got in the way)didn't even happen anyways-the 1980 Summer Olympics.good post Jon,very important!peace,T

Hey here is an idea
August 13, 2008, 7:56 am

What if they decided to have a world competition featuring all the countries with the best human rights records??? Guess we wouldn’t see China, Russia winning any gold medals they would not be allowed to attend and with the way this country has been run under bush juniors regime even Amerikas participation would be questionable and we would not win any god medals .... Look for another installment featuring Tom Brokejaw coming soon with recent developments involving bush junior I can’t resist......jon

YES,YES,and more YES!!!!....
August 13, 2008, 6:33 am

there is such a positive energy building:i can feel it and taste it.the last time we jammed(Bobby,Jon,and I )it was stellar.that connect is so important between a bass player and a drummer.when it happens,the lead guitarist has such a foundation to work from,and Jon leaped!,and it was amazing!!!!i feel that connection building between you two and it has not been lost up here.i am enjoying reading the updates and salivating for a timely return and label signing!peace,T

Go to plan B
August 12, 2008, 6:53 am

I always pride myself for being prepared for a gig or practice well last night I was in such a hurry I SPACED OU MY GUITAR AMP???? You always have to have a plan B and Bobby lives about 30 minutes away so going back home to get my amp was not an option. lucky for me I have a Taylor T 5 which is an acoustic-electric guitar so I just plugged into the PA not a perfect solution but hey you have to work with what you have. We hadn’t didn’t even make it thru the first song when I broke a string and guess what I forgot my extra guitar strings. It was too late to go to a music store so Bobby called a friend and luckily he offered to sell me a package of strings. Now Bobby lives in a rough neighborhood and we setup in his back yard out in the open with houses all around we raced off to get the strings and I forgot to take my guitar with me I didn’t realize it until we were at his friends house getting the strings and so I was sweating bullets as we raced back strings in tow thinking for sure someone would cop my guitar. Lucky for me everything was still there untouched so I slapped on a new string and we proceeded to jam for the next two hours shutting down at 10:30.Now one good measure of a good drummer is being able to play at low volume And Bobby does this very well he has great feel and touch on the drums. We once again did not get one compliant playing in the back yard with houses surrounding us until 10:30 pm on a week night. Part of the reason is that we know how to rock on low volume sweatin our asses off in the Florida heat but I like to think the main reason is that this music KICKS Fâ€"IN ASS......jon

Wonderful!!!!
August 11, 2008, 7:07 am

that is outstanding!!!!tell Bobby that i said hello! was at a wedding this weekend so missed this great post.will be in and out this week but will be here mind/body/spirit all the same if you know what i mean.this is great news!peace,T

any takers????
August 10, 2008, 8:19 pm

keep in touch fans I am going to record the sessions I do with Bobby and post them. I promise from deep within you will not be disappointed and as far as T coming back down we need help know anyone who wants to invest in the betterment of humanity?????? jon

WOW!!!!!!!
August 10, 2008, 12:50 pm

Hey T I got to Bobby’s about 7:30 last night and set up my PA on his back porch for my guitar I used the little crate amp. Bobby has been jamming with the CD of our songs I gave him and it did not take us long to get into a killer groove. Bobby used his electronic drum kit and I ran it through the PA and the sound was incredible! We jammed over two straight hours before a short break and boy do the songs sound great!!!! with the drums!!!!! all we are missing is the bass bro. We Can play any venue with this set up but our main priority is to get Bobbie on our next batch of songs it is the only thing we are missing .The dam record companies will not be able to deny us!!!!!! all I have to do is to figure out how we can do it maybe Bobbie and I can do tracks down here and I can send them up to you and you can add bass on your recording machine which I will send back to you this week. The B man and I are getting together three times a week and I will run the practice just like you and I did it a batch of 5 or 6 songs at a time it will not be long South Florida before Bobbie and I are jamming on the local scene in anticipation of Ts return………..More to come…….jon

Just another day
August 8, 2008, 4:48 pm

I recently got off the red eye in Fort Lauderdale from L.A. with my two sons and two of their friends the five of us went on a ten day vacation in So Cal.. what an honor to visit my home!!!!!!! Anyway as I was walking down the wide isle with guitar strapped on my back towards the baggage pick up someone bumped into me. I turned as if to say what the F!!!! you have six lanes and you can’t get by me!!!! when I realized it was Bobbie…… check back in the journal if you don’t know who it is he was to be our drummer but after being stood up several times T and I moved on. However!!! I am going to Bobbies house tomorrow night to jam and he says he is ready to commit to this band so if this happens we will have a drummer …….T and I have jammed twice with this guy both sessions over four hours straight of incredible music!!!!!!!! I am guarded but don’t forget I have worked with just a drummer way before the White Stripes who knows what will happen but I can’t pass this up.... anyway just another day in the life of a Screamer.....jon

the mobile of life....
August 8, 2008, 9:11 am

we are never truly alone.this universe is deeply connected and interconnected.living with dis-connect or that illusion leads to dis-ease(not necessarily disease,there is a noticeable difference-one can lead to the other however).it is important to feel the LOVE of the whole,especially in what appears to be our darkest hours.peace and love to all,T....

Thanks for spreading the word my friend
August 7, 2008, 9:01 pm

Thanks to the fan(hopefully many more fans) who are spreading the word about this band when you look back over the seven years or so this web site has been active that is all I have ever asked. I not a man of virtue like my brother T I can be abrasive an asshole an idiot and at times seemingly insane but I bleed with conviction that we as a human race can do better. From the bottom of my heart for you to spread the word and let me know about it gives me strength to carry on we are not alone we can do this together.......jon

life as poem....(the mysteryof movement)
August 7, 2008, 7:20 am

the mystery of movement:many pick up Yoga,Qigong,Tai Chi or other arts to heal.what inevitably happens is that you run into Spirit as it is and moves with the body as a organic inseperable whole.when this happens,then truly your life becomes a poem.movement it self is the pen,the body fine white paper and the spirit is the touch point of calligraphy....T

finally validation for the great comic book writers!....
August 6, 2008, 7:33 am

it is amazing to me how real they are making our old favorites .the comic book genere because of this,finally,i feel can have it's head high where it should be.as a child i was always impressed by how trajic,how human the stories of the Hulk,Batman,Spider Man,etc...are.you just have to see the real-within the story.Jon points out Heath Ledgers amazing performance-man are we going to miss this young incredibly talented man.my first time being extremly impressed was watching him in one of the greatest yet tragic love stories ever told,'Brokeback Mountain',to me he should have received the Oscar then.i simply love a good story-the way they are re-doing the Batman and Hulk-dare i say classic?peace,T

Can you see the real me????
August 5, 2008, 7:40 pm

Although I agree with most of the statements below I am not one to have someone put words in my mouth and I did not write them. I too love the Joker in the new bat movie for different reasons which are way darker and none of your business leave that for therapy. I am not a film buff but for me if the actor playing him had not done such a incredible job I would have fallen asleep as the scenes and movie without this dude were boring to me for the most part what with all that goody two shoes shit...mankind has a price to pay and the wheel of redemption is spinning.... Let’s see where it lands that is going to be fun.....the real jon

I AM NOTCONVINCED
August 5, 2008, 1:29 pm

THE PURITY OF HUMANITY IS THE MINDLESS CONSISTENCY TO BE MINDLESS AS THE WORLD CRUMBLES……. I LOVE THE JOKER IN THE NEW BAT MAN MOVIE HE IS MY HERO….. WHY YOU MIGHT ASK???? HE UNDERSTANDS WHAT DRIVES HUMANITY OPEN YOUR EYES DUMB ASSES…… FOR YES EVEN THE BLIND CAN NOW WAKE UP TO THE REALITY……..WE ARE ON A COURSE OF SELF DESTRUCTION AND THE CROWING MOMENT IS THAT WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELVES….. I AM NOT BITTER I AM NOT EVEN ENGAGED I DON’T GIVE A SHIT….. MADNESS WOULD EMBRACE ME IF I DID NOT ACCEPT THAT WE HAVE LEARNED NOTHING…NOTHING……NOTHING…..OK GOT THE POINT???????jon

My I suggest some reading material?????
August 5, 2008, 9:48 am

I recently had the good fortune to visit several beaches in Southern California I noticed after the first day there were some black spots on the shirt I was wearing. I thought for a little bit and came up with the conclusion it was my old friend oil. I decided to do a survey of the beaches I visited while there. Guess what ???every beach (A total of four) within a 70 mile area we visited in Southern California had oil balls which are nothing more than coagulated oil of varying sizes splattered everywhere on the beaches it was especially disappointing to see the sea life in the tide pools living among these flattened balls of oil some as big as a softball. Did I mention you have to clean the oil smears off your feet when you leave the beach if you step on any oil balls which of course is unavoidable if you are active on the beach. DID I MENTION THEY HAVE BEEN DRILLING FOR OIL OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA FOR AS LONG A I CAN REMEMBER? California has incredible diversity with its tourism not just beaches, however I can’t wait until they start drilling off the coast in South Florida where 80-90% of the people who vacation here go to the beach at some point. I am sure balls of oil everywhere won’t deter them or the economy of a state which relies heavily on tourism on its beaches. Don’t believe the propaganda there are ecological consequences when you drill to close to shore I can prove it want to see my shirt? We live in Boca Raton Florida and every time I visit another state I am taken back by how nice people are??? It is a running joke in my family and friends in fact ask T he has a couple of stories. A good example of how it is living down here is last week I took my wife to a doctor’s appointment she is using crutches. I left here there and when I came back to pick her up the waiting room was completely full with at least twenty people of all ages and gender. My wife was not ready so I went outside. She came out a few minutes later and I went to help her with the door because she was having trouble. Do you know that not one person in that waiting room offered to help a women using crutches open the door? the sad thing is I was not surprised at all. Welcome to Boca Raton Florida which when my youngest son graduates from high school I will say goodbye to the day after and never look back................. You know???? in hindsight I should have handed each of them in the waiting room a Shadow Screamers business card and suggest they go to the web site and catch up on some insightfull readings featuring T...jon

Lars and the Real Girl....
August 4, 2008, 7:14 am

i really enjoyed our conversation the other day Jon.this brings up a point,we may differ on certain things and the way we present our material,but Jon and I will always love one another.we have a very special and real connection that goes beyond time and space.we all have times of feeling tired and discouraged,to me Jon was just expressing that.while i am on the topic of family i srongly recommend the movie,'Lars and the Real Girl'.you simply must rent and watch this movie!it did not get as much acclaim in the year it came out as it went against Juno.this movie is beautiful,it has so much to teach about healing in a community and also it reinforces the African saying,'it takes an entire community to raise a child'.check it out you will see what i mean-i cried,i laughed,i was deeply touched by this brilliant screenplay and movie(casting was perfect!).peace,T....

counter-revolution....
August 2, 2008, 9:34 am

wow,had along day yesterday going up north to see family.got back to see alot of activity on this site.not sure what is happeing or will happen here,but will continue to write all the same,if okay?so toxic anger has it's roots in our store consciousness.this is the consciosness commonely reffered to as the unconscious mind.according to Buddhist psychology we can make decisions about what we would like to bring up and the conditions.important reminder,there are conditions that bring about different states of mind.for instance if i flip someone off on the road,it intensifies anger and angst in me and the other driver(it can lead to rage).alcohol and drugs also have the effect of bringing up unwholesome states of mind.many have seen the incredible angered person upon drinking and also we have seen those who cry and talk of past pain.what is important to remember from the Buddhist psychological modality is that NOTHING IS REPRESSED!so we don't try to push down unwholesome states of mind,we mindfully watch them and set the conditions for this wave to pass without undue attention or emphasis.using the flipping off someone example;let us suppose you woke up on the wrong side of the bed-bad day!-so you get in your car,and sure enough someone cuts you off while talking on their cell phone.you flip them off.you then speed up and glare at them.further up the road a bicyclist has almost veered into the road and you yell an obscenity.now my friend,you have invested heavily in your anger.rather than holding it mindfully to see the nature of your discontent,you have flipped the coin and fed your anger.there will be no finding the roots when you are burning the leaves.the apparent problem with modern culture is that we see times of contemplation as wasted time or time only for the 'spiritual adept'.in other cultures the exact opposite is the case.people are taught how to look deeply-the adepts just choose to make it part of their life in hopes of helping others.this of course is changing as 'momoculturalism'spreads and burns down all individual cultural reference to peace and sanity-serenity.so to look deeply at the nature of our dicontent we must not invest in a state of mind that is unwholesome.to sit with it,mindfully and watch this turbulent cloud and its passing.when we do,we might see what fuels this anger.perhaps it is deep sadness,depression,angst,uncertainty.when we start to bring our mindfullness to these root causes,then we have something in which to lay the table.we can see that perhaps certain nurturing or switch in focus can help with these roots.as males ,i might add, in what i consider a very macho culture,it is seen as a sign of weakness not only to cry,but to take this necessary time to look inward.after all aren't we supposed to,'suck it up buttercup'?,to pick yourself up by your bootstraps,dust off and get busy being manly men?this attitude has helped to create a spreading toxin to the world.it has helped to bring toxic anger to all the world and the subsequennt aftermath which is usually bloody,cold,and unfeeling.let us look deeply at our own toxic anger.let us divest from the unwholesome states of mind that would feed it.by doing so we are by definition a counter-revolution.we are the revolution of peace,love and harmony....peace,T ps-miss the music.

not here to disapoint the fans
August 1, 2008, 3:52 pm

I apologize to the fans for pulling the current songs but they had run their course. However I really appreciate the comments good and bad and if the fans give me some suggestions for tunes you want to hear I will put them up it is dumb of me not to let you hear what we have to offer while we figure out what to do. We are in crisis mode T is back in Maine and I am still here in Florida we are both dealing with personal problems which potentially will alter our future like so many other millions of Americans.That said as a member of the band I am who I am and will not change take me or leave me but I think I have been consistent for the last five years or so with this site which is my responsibility to keep running (Thanks mostly to Art Weiss our computer guru and friend). T and I have always tried to do everything in our power to give the fans the best we have to offer. I can put up a list of our tunes I have available to put up on the site if you can’t remember the titles. If I hear from you as far as the songs you want to hear I will once again try not to disapoint you that never was and never will be my intention.....jon

a time for peace,a time for love....
July 31, 2008, 6:51 am

take a day for yourself.learn meditation,practise in nature.lifting the needle is so gratifying.we all need a sense of serenity,a time of peace,a time of love....T

the LP andthe neddle....
July 30, 2008, 6:50 am

everything is pregnant in this moment.given such we have a choice in how and in what ways to act in each and every moment.the conditions may be set for anger,sadness,love,happiness,and they are all contained in the here and now.what we think is real and lasting is a fantasy.like all things are emotional states are impermanant.they come and go given the conditions set and how we react.to study the nature of our discontent we must study deeply our own mind.it is very hard work!we may have developed patterns over many,many years.within these patterns we might have develpoed a groove in how we react to these conditions.like the old vinyl LP we might just be skipping,skipping until we take the neddle from the LP.the needle is our thinking that this is the only way.the LP that skips is the set pattern.what we fail to realize is there are hundreds of thousands of LP's out there and that the needle playing through them finds new patterns,new music to fully enjoy life with.one of the biggest reasons why meditation is recommended so much in all Spiritual Traditions is that it lifts the needle.in this silence of suspended needle,we allow for Spirit to freely be.we don't establish or set conditions,we simply let be.no LP,no needle.what does this accomplish?it allows us to take the needed break from mind/body and soul from the relentless needle that is always setting conditions and trying as hard as it can to establish grooves in the mind.why?fear!when you look at a banquet table there are many choices.it is not possible to eat everything.the selection is usually made to the foods we are comfortable with,what we know.similarly the needle or our thinking tries to go to what is comfortable,even if that comfortable is to be miserable!all change evokes fear.we hve been trained with the neddle and the skipping LP modality-it boxes things in,tries to make sense of reality.in more of the open cultures that work very hard with the mind,there are literally hundreds of thousands of LP'S played and there is a sense of trying to understnd them as they are played;are they negative,positive or neutral.the needle(thought)keeps playing through,not stuck in a groove even in particularly distasteful music to the individual.it can take a lifetime to study our mind.it is vast and deep like the ocean or sky.by doing this difficult work we become explorers on the path, a path least likely to be taken.peace,T....

nature of our discontent....
July 29, 2008, 6:55 am

my suggestion for today-read or re-read as I am doing recently,'The Art of Happiness'by the Dalai Lama.there is so much toxic anger in the world today.we simply must stop and look deeply at the nature of our discontent.peace,T

you are free....
July 26, 2008, 6:43 am

seven acts of random kindness!challenge yourself daily with this simple humble task.it is not something you 'do to the world',it is something you do to be part of it.when we are kind we join the collective consciousness of human kind.the subtle wisper that proclaims with LOVE,'you are free'.peace,T ps.Jon,can't wait for you to get back,have alot to talk about!love,T

kindness....
July 25, 2008, 6:33 am

kindness is an energy that can oulive by far the act.there are so many circumstances where we cannot possible understand the ramifications of the act.a gentle smile here,helping a stranger there.they can perhaps change someones outlook for the day-perhaps change a course of direction that will affect the rest of their life.perhaps it can even help in a very dire circumstance.the same is true of anger.someone cuts someone off on the highway.a finger is flipped.soon the driver enraged cuts the person off on a ramp,off they go plummeting to their death.sound outrageous,not at all.shootings,cutting people off,forcefully stopping someone and then beating them to death.it happens all over America.we must not succomb to toxic anger.it is an energy that is deadly and wastes far to much energy.kindness on the other hand does not.even a kindness that involves heavy physical exertion is not taxing.it is LOVE energy.it is the type of ripple that is so sorely needed.particularly now in this time of insecurity and anger.be kind,be love....T

Integrity won't even buy you a cup of coffee....
July 24, 2008, 7:06 am

i don't know,perhaps i am really stupid!i recently got screwed on a teaching deal.the people pursued me,they wanted to pay me at the rate i get(i have alot of experience)as i felt the place we agreed and the man looked me right in the eye.good enough for me,no paper,no contract,after all a man is his word isn't he?well you know the rest they hired someone i know that has a tenth of the experience and knowledge base and is getting paid less(this person has followed me around as of late).okay,i am really stupid.i didn't sign a paper,i looked the man in the eye and shook hands,that is all i need.you are probably thinking-what a friggin idiot!well it is how i choose to live my life.as i wait for what happens with our project,i have had to piece together an income.to be quit frank,i really could have used that money!i won't call back and make a fuss,the man has shown to me his value.it saddens me that he should sell something so inherently and intrinsicly valuable-his integrity.again,i am really stupid.after all what can Integrity buy,not even a cup of coffee.false words seem to be making people very,very rich these days.i would rather eat dirt.call me stupid,it is simply how i choose to live my life.peace,T....ps.it troubles me the lack of Integrity these days.people that say they will do something and don't.people that brag about something but do something else.people that are no it alls that mask their basic insecurities with a barrage of words.people that simply do not look you square in the eye,shake your hand,and do what they say they will do.the example above is just a minor example in an ocean of lack of Integrity that we seem to be experiencing these days!

sad....
July 21, 2008, 9:13 am

it is always so sad to see the poverty my people suffer.as the rest of the country slides into recession the Tribes (many)do way worse!first off many are located in areas that are isolated and offer little economic incentive.some would say they know the situation,but do they really!have you been there,have you witnessed,have you lived among the people?i tell you we have the rare opportunity to truly be a great country one day,but we must,stop with our posturing and forcing Democracy down peoples throats for false pretenses.we push the global economy and democracy because we want servitude.we want small farmers around the world to fold.we want small enterprise to be absorbed by the large so that the richest five percent can become even more wealthy.if this last decade has taught me anything,it has indeed taught me that rampant greed steals from everyone but the richest,leaving the poor farther and farther behind.now how in the world can anyone call this a democratic process?how can anyone say freedom and justice for all.when you have nothing to eat,lofty slogans seem to vaporize in the sheer ravenous jaws of hunger....T

back to the res.....
July 18, 2008, 6:51 am

gone to the res.this weekend,been awhile since i have basked in the gentle wisdom of my Clan Mother.Jon could you call me Sunday night?need an update.have a great weekend all!peace,T....

Green Warrior4....
July 17, 2008, 7:05 am

the other day i happened to read about some 'Freegans'that live down in Portland.for anyone that has not heard of this group,they are an anti-establishment,somewhat secretive group that eats almost entirely from food that has been thrown away.they make a point(a very valid one)that Americans throw away way to much food.in fact their house was not lacking at all in food,the larders were full .they happen to be vegan,so they are not as suceptable to the disease and bacteria that dairy and meat carry as it decomposes.the produce they showed,looked fresh and healthy,many times having to just peel off the outer layer(like with damaged cabbage)because God Forbid we should not have anything perfect at the supermarket.this movement brings up so many issues it is hard to know where to start!first off there are the 30 million people;men,women,and children that do not have enough to eat every day in america.supermarkets in some places compact the food and then send it to the dump(not even sending it to local farms for compost or animal feed!).then you get into the issue of what is being sprayed or altered in our foods to make it look so perfect.have you ever bitten into organic produce that doesn't look quite so perfect?just did yesterday,as we have shitloads of blackberries this year.many are not the best looking but man are they good!same as some organic apples,yeah they are not rosy and glossy and show some imperfection but man are they good.then you get into the enormous amounts of pure poundage this adds to the landfills.this is in many cases perfectly good food that can be used for consumption,compost,animal food,or an alternative to oil based fuel(met a guy from Chewonki-a nature based education and preservation place on the Maine coast that had a trash car.he had this thing kind of like,'back to the future' that he could put in trash to get his car moving.it burned incredibly clean-i thought this was very cleavor)!after you touch on all the points that this brings up(i have only lightly scatched the surface)you have to consider,'why are we such a throw-away society'?it is deplorable the amounts we throw away.this same group also has their clothes and houses decorated with stuff from garbage.many have perfectly good bikes that just needed a little re-conditioning before they were road ready.we throw everything away;food,material from the house that isn't so chicke anymore,wives,children,our own deep hidden thoughts about our own mortality.the list is huge and comprehensive.have been re-reading again the,'Art of Happiness'by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.it couldn't have happened at a better time after reading about the Portland Freegans.why must we have new?why must we compete to have more material?why must we be forever on the move ascending a ladder that doesn't even rest against the wall of life?why must we be so un-happy?in this series on Green Warriors I place the Freegans and of course the Dalai Lama as true examples of Green Warriors.I should also mention that the choice of words were selected carefully.in Warrior i refer to the Warriors of past movements of non-violence,Dr.King,Gandhi,Mother Thereasa,The Dalai Lama,etc...that they didn't weild the sword didn't make them less of a Warrior.many of the above were bombed,stabbed,beaten,spat on,faced injustice squarely in the face and did not blink.all this without hiding behind a weapon.indeed they were naked in the charge,the charge of LOVE(by the way in 'Beyond Rangoon'there is an excellant part in the movie where An San Sushi looks squarely into the eyes with love and compassion a soldier that is about to shoot her-i won't give it away,watch and find out what happens).suffice it to say like the movie,'Hero'suggests,a true warrior is one who realizes the only thing left to do,is to lay down the sword....T

who's clock is ticking?....
July 14, 2008, 7:57 am

find the time to communicate in natural places.away from the buzz and frenetic energy of the city.these time periods can help to heal,they can assuage and nurture(as our great mother always does).somewhere no matter where you live,there has to be a place you can get away to-most times within walking distance.find the time to get there and slow down.our clocks are artificially ticking to the coordinates of the machine.like the matrix,we can unhook and enjoy the natural rythm of just being human in a natural world....T

bring it!!!!....
July 12, 2008, 6:21 am

Jon,I agree a thousand percent on what you wrote yesterday and also in regards to Goodbye Saigon.every time we play this live we get a positive and many times emotional reaction not just from Veitnam vets. but other vets as well.it is a very powerful song created from a letter from a veteran that is no longer with us.we will continue to push this song as well as all our material as we have seen a general void in popular music.we have seen a noticable lack of substance in the lyrics and music as of late.we are both very current(though I must admit Jon is way,way more current than me.i tend at times tend to listen to nothing but classical,jazz,opera.not to be snobby,these music forms are the very best for composition and accompaniment.i am facinated by this side of music-orchestration!believe me when we get a chance to cut Saigon in the studio,Jon and i have it worked out to a masterpiece!).just yesterday i listened to a modern station.i am sad to report that after half an hour of music,i could not sing one song in my head!i couldn't even tell you what i heard or who was playing!(no it is not just my age,lol)it is about the melody-crucial for a song.many young bands need to re-study this(if they ever did!).we also need to bring back the sense of urgency that was so evident in the 60's music-in jazz,rock,etc...i do not let jazz off the hook-there is alot of crap out there today that i guess passes for jazz-i would call it a sedative,because it sure puts me to sleep-bring back the urgency of MILES,COLTRANE,HENDRIX,DYLAN,MITCHELL,PASTORIOUS,etc,etc...peace,T

vision
July 11, 2008, 1:32 pm

Vision……… every great band had it and at the risk over being presumptuous I will tell you flat out Shadow Screamers has vision and it points to a place where we will make a difference we will give more then take we will use all the knowledge we have gained from our time on this planet and when we finally get to the place where people on a massive scale will be able to stand up and listen to what this band Shadow Screamers has been saying all these years then the world will be a better place just as it was with the Beatles, U2, Peter Gabriel, and countless others. Make no mistake we have a vision that will only be limited by the inaction and indifference of those who can help us (i.e. THE RECORD INDUSTRY) to finally be heard on a large scale America is begging for a change so why cant that apply to music too??????????jon

lean green machine....
July 11, 2008, 8:54 am

hey friend no need to feel this way,the important thing is that you got right to work on it!if we are all truly honest with ourselves we would see what kind of carbon footprint we leave.this first step makes you aware and then you can make changes that will lead you to less material and more freedom.todays challenge and actually for the week;try not driving anywhere but where you NEED to go for a week,don't buy anything unless you truly NEED it.feel good suggestion;go through alot of stuff at your house,what you are not using,next time you have to go out take it to the Salvation Army or other types of repositories that take care of used stuff to either give or sell at a modest price.the Japanese Zen say that something worn once is once blessed-shopping at the Salvation Army,Goodwill,etc...when you only need to cuts down on material.what can you do when not driving?walk your neighborhood.find someplaces in your immeditae vicinity you have not explored before or in quite some time.do a home workout,or project that requires no outlay of expense.challenge yourself-see how many fun activities you can do at home without buying anything.share them with friends.many have communal gardens or their own gardens or small raised beds,take time in this verdant lifespring.putting your hands in the soil is very therapeutic!keep journaling as you watch yourself become more of a LEAN GREEN WARRIOR!....peace,T

one day we hope too........
July 10, 2008, 3:24 pm

I one day hope to make a video for “Goodbye Saigon� our epic song that’s up this month. As with many of our songs we already have it laid out in our minds I want to start the video with the opening battle scene from Oliver Stone’s brilliant movie Platoon and then incorporate some Asian music into the scenes that would be done for the opening verses what you hear in the song below is a basic musical outline of the song, that said this song tells an important story and when we have the chance to give it justice it will be a masterpiece. T and I have always believed that the video for this song if done correctly would blow the industry away more a short film then music video so Mr. Stone if you are listening we would love the opportunity to work with you in making a statement that all Vietnam vets can be proud of.....jon

Green Warrior 2....
July 10, 2008, 7:17 am

what is it to be a Green Warrior?it is to leave as little carbon footprint as possible.our original people on this continent had an ethic for traveling the Mother Earth,to try and leave no footprint(in other words no trash or damage,or for that manner in most places-no lasting structures).i have a little game for you to play.it will require a notebook and a pencil(use one laying around the house so you don't have to buy anything-don't have a notebook,write it down on scrap paper).first off,access your carbon footprint;what do you do in a day that leaves a mess for future generations(examples might include-excess driving(not work related),using styrofoam cups,not reycycling,reducing,re-using,etc...,etc...).after really being honest with yourself,i would like you to play a game.imagine that all resources are dwindling even faster than they are.make a game of how you can leave the least amount of carbon footprint in a week.write them down!it might be cancelling your gym memebership and using flexerciseworkout.com or transformetrics.com for a workout that requires no gym or equipment.it might mean carrying your mug for coffee and tea,it might mean driving way less(you figure it out),it might mean not buying anyhting extra for a week,the examples can go on and on.make a game of it,have fun with it!at the same time it is a very,very serious game.the choices we make today,effect future generations.at the end of the week,celebrate as you read your notes.reflect on the good you have done this week,meditate,workout,etc...intrinsic rewards last so much longer than anything that could be bought or sold....T

my it is so hard being rich
July 8, 2008, 10:10 am

I got this e-mail and I had to post it. To me it shows the complete disconnect between the haves and have nots not to mention the racial overtones (Bigotry) and the fact that according to this tale( believe me this is not a tale but the bible for those who believe this utter bullshit) only the rich work hard and the working class and minorities in general are apparently a bunch of sponges who merely slack off at their two and three jobs, want free handouts and can’t take care of their own homes. I do agree with the last sentence be careful who you vote for in 2008 if you like the way this country is heading the last eight years then by all means vote for grandpaw an older albeit smarter version of Bush, if not then vote for the new kid on the block what the hell it can’t get any worse. I wrote a small piece a couple of years ago which relates to what T stated this morning check it out if you are interested just type in September8, 2005 10:am and it will pop up.....jon............... OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself! ---------------------- --------------------- MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopperer thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopp er calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten n rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008!

grasshopper-no i don't mean Kwai Chang!....
July 8, 2008, 6:37 am

hey Scott is that you from TF?thanks for stoppin' in!quick note on this winter.we are the proverbial grasshopper.play,play,distract,distract until the winter is here.still don't see a plan for heating cost and reduction of food prices.the big 8,yeah we have all seen them be helpful before,right!let us hope they grow some compassion and really do something,it is gonna be tough and the storms seem to get more and more unpredictable with global warming.please write your Senators and Congresspeople-we need a plan folks-times a wastin' and we can't be the grasshopper all the time....T

quick note
July 7, 2008, 5:42 pm

Catch as catch can got some new leads thanks to Leif gonna follow them up when time permits T and me are in seperate ways dealing with pressure but then again who the hell isnt unlsess you are above to fold financially that is.I know MCain with his hundred million dollar trophie wife is suffering every day on decisions we have to make shuld I take the Hummer or the Rolls???? Dont get me wrong Obama has a lot to prove too.. but why not got with youth.....jon

democracy?.......now how much did that cost?
July 5, 2008, 7:55 am

there is much talk in the northern regions about how people will make it this Winter.with rising food costs and soaring oil prices many will be forced to tighten belts and in many cases make unsafe choices.i talked to an EMT who is also a Firefighter and they fully expect to make many more calls this winter as people revive their outdated woodstoves or burn material that is not safe or hook up a stove that is not safe.in the follow-up to the discussion yesterday,a true Democracy is only as strong as the weakest members.today i focus on the elderly.first off,let us say that we shall all get old,get sick,and die.it is a given.to live in the vast denial of this fact as we do in America is incredibly unhealthy for everyones body/spirit and mind.to make matters worse we teach the principle of denial 24 hours a day through the media.we are afraid of what is utterly natural and follows the basic tennants of cosmic law-things formulate,come to be,and then dissipate.so as we collectively deny that we should get old,we neglect those that are.we do this through the pharmasuetical companies that charge outrageous prices for medications,we do this by not developing a cradle to grave alternative health system-freely available to everyone ,that would teach Yoga,Tibetan systems,Native Systems,Tai Chi,Bagua,Hsing-i,Meditation,self massage to everyone from the time they are born until they die.we do this by not having comprehensive and universal health care coverage from cradle to grave.we do this by rampant industrialists that own the oil companies and food companies and medical companies that charge outrageous amounts of money for their product unregulated by the gov.some would say-yeah!tough cookies T that is what living in a Democracy is all about.is it? how about yesterdays example of Denmark?they are a democracy,yet everyone appears happy and there is deep concern for each and every individual living in the country by the gov.we don't care simply put!if we did something would be done right now about the looming crisis ahead.let us review the facts for the elderly;high costs for medication,high food prices,high oil prices-on a fixed income.what will this mean in the north?many have unhooked stoves,they will re-engage them,many without cleaning them properly.they will be forced to burn materials that may be unhealthy to burn,or at least be put to risk with inadaequate ventillation from an improperly hooked up stove.this will mean many houses burning or people dying in the middle of the night from the deadly killer of carbon monxide.people will be hungry,already one former student told me that cheap dog and cat food are being bought-this ain't going to be for fluffy!i tell you,especially the rich of the country-HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!taking the example of pharmasudicals-you have made money off the poor and elderly on a fixed income-how do you sleep at night.oil-how do you sleep at night knowing that you have lobbied uncesingly to shoot down any meaningful developments in sustainable energy other than oil?food-well sugar this,white flour that and you have created an enormous population of diabetes type two-along with your buddies in complicity the usda who promoted unhealthy diets for years(remember low fat-which basically gave you the green light to sugar,sugar,sugar-everything).i write this today and yesterdays post as i really,really care about people.call me an idiot,but if our gov.keeps waving the flag of Democracy saying we are the perfect example-then we should well live by these words.at present we are just a commercial spreading fabrications-we are not the real deal(Democracy)!until we can stand by the poor,the elderly,our women,people of all races and ethnicity,we are just fat pompous asses,making a mockery of what was once a beautiful notion.i suggest the gov.go back and study Native Americans of this continent again(remember,this is how they helped to develop the notion of Democracy on this soil-sort of,didn't get it right,killing those we learned from,and enslaving millions).we can only be as strong as our weakest(and by weak i do not mean physicaly,here i mean that due to circumstance,a population is left dis-enfranchised,on the fringe,without voice,without power.if you don't think this is possible,then welcome my friend,you are living the cultural denial!) members .anything other than this is just the fat cats gettin'fatter and swingin' a flag that justifies their incompetence as a gov. and a people,and the world knows it and awaits our next turn-eagerly(you see they stand to gain from us finally getting it right!)....T

livin' in......
July 4, 2008, 8:26 am

okay so in a recent poll Denmark placed as the happiest country in the world.America placed 16th,while at the same time being the richest country in the world.so,wait a minute,Denmark isn't the happiest because of material?hmmmm,head scatcher,eh?let us take a closer look-cradle to grave health care coverage,they have not started a war in a very,very long time.the people in this Democratic country seem by all accounts and idicators to be happy.what is the key to their success.i met someone a couple of summers ago from Denmark.she spoke five different languages fluently.communication in the world is very important to the Danes she said,they establish and maintain freindships with all around the world.in talks with her,she seemed very balanced,calm,and yes happy.she was raised in a very stable enviornment,happy parents,happy schools and happy community.she said that it is very evident that her country cares about relationship in the world and about the citizens.okay,hold the fort.back up a second!you mean that the government actually cares about the citizenry?you mean no matter what part of the country,what race,what ethnicity,what gender the government still cares about you?yup!so as we sit here in 2008 still being the richest country in the world on our so-called Independance day(tell that to the Native Americans)why is it that Elders will die of cold and starvation this winter across America?Why is it that another drive by is happening right now in an inner city-where there is no hope for economic security?why is it that the world has spent the better part of 8 years hating us(remember communication as a marker for happiness?)?why is it that the poor keep getting poorer and the wealthy top five percent are getting richer?why is it that the rich with all their incredible wealth still have not found their happiness?i tell you that when one becomes wealthy another suffers in this country.there is no care for the totality of the populace.look deeply into those rich in oil,business,etc...and i will show you the other side-poverty,sickness,violence,despondency.i write this today in a very strange place personaly.poorer than i have ever been and wondering about such questions.in america we also have the added,'what is wrong with him,pull yourself up by your bootstraps'.i tell you the boots are worn thin,the straps long broken,and the miles seem endless as i look across the landscape of a material wealthy country,that remains in 16th place and sinking for happiness....T

hmmm....
July 3, 2008, 7:44 pm

hmmm,not sure about the last entry,but the music is really good.we had to as all of you know take a leave while some very important issues were being taken care of.we are ready to get to the next level and we need everyone's support.must apologize for not being on as much lately.things are very,very tight here,and have had to piece together an income. more journals later,all for now-T

blame me man
July 3, 2008, 6:08 pm

Well Shadow Screamers fans I have done all I can do…. I recorded the new music T and I did ,I put the demo packages together, I sent them out to perspective independents and am I making the follow up calls….. put that together with keeping up the site and I guess if we don’t step up to the next level then I am to blame. This is not by choice but somebody has to step up to give us a chance to be heard and apparently I have all the time in the world to do this so blame me if we fail……….jon

therapeutic
July 3, 2008, 8:49 am

Having The band journal is therapeutic for me and I urge all out fans to try to keep a personal Journal This is often hard to do in a busy world but it’s easier for T and me because we made a commitment to our fans to do the Band Journal over five yers ago and counting “ if you check the Fan Journal you will see we do have way more than a few fans and they seem to enjoy it� I guess what we do in the Journal is a combination of things poetry, insight, Ideas, information spiritual insight, health tips and in my case from time to time stupidity!but everything in it is from the heart, spontaneous, unscripted and uncut. Occasionally I will look back at myself and wonder What the Hell was I thinking??? but then again I guess that is the purpose of a Journal to not only document but to also look back at what you were thinking at the time....jon

limp
July 2, 2008, 3:20 pm

As I fall from grace I taste the bitter taste of all that was a lie …..don’t want to bleed on you so as you move away don’t turn around just let me fade into the dark…….. I don’t want to be…no I don’t want to be here…. Ive never felt the comfort of my skin….. locked inside a hole catch a glimpse of daylight….. it was never my intention for who would dream of thoughts that leave a shambles of your mind…….yet I carry on for reasons blind to me now …..limp inside the smile that fades into the dark……..jon

wow,I always forget how powerful this song is!
July 2, 2008, 7:21 am

I have to really commend my brother Jon for keeping this site going in the last two weeks.Alot has been going on,that is for sure.What you see up is an epic tune dedicated to Veitnam and all war veterans.It is an extremely emotional tune and every time we play it we get a great response from veterans.When we wrote this tune we really had in mind the complete body/spirit/mind devastation that occurs from warfare.how do we know?a friend asked us to write this tune based on his brothers experience in Veitnam that is tragically no longer with us.we must consider always costs of war.not just what can be accumulated,but the real costs from real lives far away from the White House.this is a piece we are very proud of.we hope that it inspires to continue to advocate peace and harmony throughout the world.peace,T....ps.to the brother of Haida decent-thank you!

random thought
July 1, 2008, 6:57 pm

As I walk away.. I turn to say... things I hide inside... For fear cant breath.... unless you give it wings… by letting go it flies.....I never want to hear.....I don’t believe the promise..... no I don’t believe...I don’t believe at all..I turn to face...things in my mind I hate... but as I shake my head they burrow deep inside dark lies....I can’t pretend it’s me..... the one you think you’re seeing..... no I can’t live inside... I can’t live inside the lie....So let me be..... just let me slowly bleed here.. and as I wither let me pass into the night....As I walk away.... just let me fade don’t pray…. leave your hope for someone....someone who believes....jon

Nelson we were there when you were still in jail man
June 30, 2008, 8:58 pm

I was watching a special Concert for Nelson Mandela it is well deserved and long overdue!… by the way check in the music archives for a little ditty by T and me called �Moonlight Dances� oddly enough they are both related….. funny but what was written long ago when things were ignored by the world and swept under the rug is currently relevant??? talk about a boomerang effect...... yet our voice is yet to be signed ??????? go figure.....noj

bottom
June 30, 2008, 6:38 pm

who ever said it was lonley at the top can kiss my fucking ass because it dont get no lonelier from down here and to think but then again maybe its better to not......think.........jon

George Carlin was one of a kind
June 30, 2008, 12:21 pm

Our condolences to the family of George Carlin the ground breaking comedian who pushed the boundaries exploring in depth this fragile thing called humanity. This comedians comedian was always able to combine comedy with intellect and insight a rare combination in my eyes. It is people like him and John Lennon who “love me or hate me� showed me you can stand and speak out against this hypocrisy that permeates the human race. By the way I am no angel I have fallen from grace more times than I care to remember and will fall again but I will never stop saying what I think..... right or wrong because that is my right and besides somebody has to do it.....Jon

What was I thinking???
June 29, 2008, 10:03 am

Back in the early eighties I was living in Northern California just down the road from Oakland And Berkley (just a quick note the first time T and I earned money playing music we were at Berkley College ,T was playing harmonica and I was playing guitar we were sitting on campus and as the students passed by coins started piling up in front of us I think we might have made $4.25!! which compared to today’s dollar was equal to 25.00 hahaha….. it was a turning point for us)anyway during the years I lived in California I was always amazed by the price of gasoline. After all we had the Alaskan pipe line pumping millions of barrels of oil which was sent a relatively short distance down the coast to California’s refineries so in my mind gas should have been much cheaper in Cal. After all we were first in line no shipping necessary?? I came to learn that Japan was getting most of the oil at the time. SAY WAIT A MINUTE??????? I wonder if the current huge spike in gas is a coordinated effort by all parties involved in oil to break middle and lower Americans to the point where we open up every pristine area thought to have oil to exploration??? I have heard and read that Speculators are responsible, then there is the increased demand by China and India and to top it off oil production is on the decline due to the fact world reserves are diminishing. With a minuscule projected 2% of the world’s oil reserves Opec does not care what we do they are still in control but the oil companies who are seeing our pitiful reserves dwindle just might want to explore new ground to stay alive with no guarantee we would even get the oil???????nonsense I don’t know what came over me after all our environmentally friendly, no lobbying, customer comes first, honest as the day is long Oil Companies would never stoop to such low ground..... what the hell was I thinking?????????????jon

Lofty Rhetoric
June 28, 2008, 10:30 am

These are curious times for America never before in the history of this country has there been a more lethargic majority. I am not talking about lethargic as pertains to working hard trying to eek out a living we are generally a hard working bunch. I am talking about lethargic to the erosion of the quality of life for middle and lower class Americans as well as the continual erosion without representation “by the people for the people “ of the constitutional rights this country has spent over 200 years fighting for and trying to live up to. Why????? is it because people just don’t have the time? Are we all inundated with so much input we are blindly numb? Are we naive enough to believe the propaganda of the current administration? Or do we just not care? I may sound like I am preaching but for five years this band has been consistent in our protest( in this very Journal check it out in the archives) and open to any and all who will join us to stand up against the current administration which has purposely left so many behind in so many ways. I believe this is the duty of all Americans if are to live up to the lofty rhetoric we preach to the rest of the world.....jon

back soon....
June 24, 2008, 6:35 am

hi everyone,there is alot going on right now,just wanted to check in and say that we will be back!more music and writing,thank you for your kind feedback!until then please feel free to go back onto our Band Journal-punch in any month and you will find commentary,poetry,short stories,etc.we have been accused of being entertaining,you be the judge....T

please call....
June 21, 2008, 2:10 pm

Jon can you call me?not sure how to get in touch right now-T

My Apologies to the fans
June 21, 2008, 7:41 am

I apologize for the delay but I am not going to be able to put up the three tunes I promised for Saturday We are sending out to record companies until next Wednesday a personal family matter has come up. I got back home late last night a day early and I am leaving town again this morning. I promise the tunes will be up next Wednesday in the early evening. Thanks for your unending support and your patience.......jon

reciprocity....
June 21, 2008, 6:28 am

i know i have posted this many times before,but gardening accomplishes many things.first off it allows you to develop a relationship with Mother Earth more intimate than absent-mindedly wandering(believe me,I have done that before).the key here is reciprocity.what we take out,must be replenished.remember that old adage about camping-leave a site better than when you got there?this is true for gardening as well(though one can argue very cogently that Mother Earth was doing just fine before we got there.this is true,but our suggestion today is about eating which we must do,thereby having to raise something to eat!).this means to put on the Earth the nutrients necessary for deeply fecund soil.i go totally organic(a way overused term these days i realize)no pesticides or chemical fertilizers.why?remember reciprocity?if i use chemicals,i am disturbing the soil and the water tables,it becomes an onslaught and more invasive as it kills more beings.does it take more work?sure does,but the thing about it is that i can control exactly what goes in and out of my mouth.this reciprocity also in my mind tastes sweeter.it probably is my imagination but all that blood,sweat,and tears adds up to a mighty fine tasting tomato!the second thing i would like to say this morning is that gardening is very therapuetic.i was involved with the U-MASS study years ago with adult and teen psychiatric patients doing gardening.in fact a good friend of mine was the overseer of this project.what they found was truly extraordinary!folks were happier,calm,more relaxed and showed fewer symptoms of their Mental Illnesses when they were gardening.there were way fewer restraints and the therapuetic milieu was more harmonious.Mother Earth heals,this has been known in the Indigenous populations since the dawn of woman/man.the Chinese say that we stand in a very special relationship between heaven and earth.when we garden we are in that relationship in it's basic organic directness.we absorb the qi of heaven,of earth.as a sidenote,many times i will go barefoot in my garden,so the bubbling well points and the baihai are both exposed to this polarity of Sacred Energy.there is much talk lately about diversity of crops.monoculture was a very bad idea from it's inception.Nature is diversity,a walk through any stretch of open land will tell you so.by artificialy creating crops and the enviornment they live(chemicals)nature by it's own law will try to develop a relationship with this ,'foreign'invader.it will do this in a microbiotic fashion,as well as insects that will eventually,'crack the code'of a class of insectisides.it is not that it is bad,this is how everything on Earth evolved over time.the best way we can work with it is to have a diversity of crops and rotational system that mutually benifits the soil and the said crop for that year.again it is a relationship of give and take.if we come in like an invader as we have done with big agriculture we have lost the sence of reciprocity that all our relationships are based upon from the dawn of humankind and all beings for that matter.we can establish this relationship even in busy cities.there now are communal farms,there is one just up the road from me.people fromthe outlying cities come to the farm and farm together.some cities have this within their boundries-like vacant lots that have been converted for instance.another idea is to have a raised bed ontop of a building.if space is really a problem you can even have a limited taste by window gardens,miniature-it is a good place to start and to devlop the capacity to hear the heart that beats and surrounds us(Mother Earth).finally for today,the garden is a place to get fresh sunshine,enjoy friends,and to see the beauty of outdoors.it is a Sacred Place of relationship.it is a place to really learn and understand reciprocity which must be implicit in a relationship.it is a place to align the heartbeat of your soul with that of the Great Mother that continually supports and nurtures us as she plummets through the cosmos....peace,T

REAL DEAL
June 18, 2008, 11:15 pm

Who says it’s a man’s world? I saw Laura Logan (Chief foreign correspondent for CBS news) on the John Stewart show last night and she blew me away "if you want a real perspective which apparently is being suppressed by the powers that be" as far as the wars in Iraq and Afghanista go then feel free to check out what she has to say.... go to http://newsbusters.org/people/television/lara-logan this woman is the real deal.......jon

bottled water....
June 18, 2008, 6:45 am

todays helpful hint;have your water tested.try to get this done so you can see the quality of water,many times it is better quality than the bottled water that you buy.we spend billions of dollars each year on bottled water.if your water is sub-par,talk to a plumber or check on the internet or at the library for a filter that can make your water good quality drinking water.Brita makes some good quality filters and also a gallon container that filters your water from the tap that you can store in the fridge or wherever.this is way cheaper than spending so much on bottled water.demand also asks for more of something.even re-cycling the plastic from the bottles.I am deeply concerned about the amount of plastic out there for this type of consumption.also hold your water in a non plastic container,this will cut down on the emmissions of toxins that plastic produces.you can find them at many stores-a one time investment!peace,T

Tom Brokejaw here at the White House
June 17, 2008, 9:49 am

Tom Brokejaw here interviewing President Bush for one of the last times.....Hello Mr. President thanks for giving me the time....Well Tom you know my time is winding down in office so I seem to have nothing but free time on my hands flying round the world saying good bye to all the friends I’ve made across the world!!!.... Well Mr. President it would seem that that would be a pretty quick trip for you?..... What do you mean Tom?...... Well Mr. President do you know whether the dignitaries you visit are happy to see you coming or are they happy to know you are going?....Hell Tom what do I care!!!! soon enough I will be back on my big ranch doing what I love at do just being a cowboy with nobody bothering me!......Speaking of Bothering me Mr. President does it bother you that your administration put the Polar Bear on the endangered list less than a month ago yet your administration has just given the green light to explore for gas and oil in the Chukchi Sea giving the Oil companies a free pass and the right to harass Polar bears and move them if they interfere with exploration operations? You have to know that there is a good chance of some bears being harmed or killed??..........Tom I have been assured by my good friends in the industry and Uncle Dick that the oil companies will do everything in their power to keep those cuddly bears safe and did you know I never have to worry bout my family paying for gas!! Besides if we don’t start drilling for oil soon gas might go as high as $4.00 a gallon in some parts of the country!!!........First Mr. President the oil companies don’t have exactly the best environmental record and by the way did you know that oil is over $4.00 a gallon in most of the country????? You know Tom that is the one thing I love about this job I learn something new every day hell I bet I’m twice as smart as I was eight years ago Hell Tom I even know where some of the foreign countries are on a map!..........Finally Mr. President aren’t you worried about the middle and lower class in America falling father behind and being buried by debt just trying to stay alive with the basics???........... Well Tom I made the world a lot safer from the terrorists while I was in Office and I can’t do it all!!!!! the next President is gonna have to worry bout them poor people and besides if I can get my tax cuts made permanent then all that money my rich friends will get is gonna trickle down to them poor folks. Our greatest President Ronald Regan came up with that plan and it works every time!! by the way Tom did ya know he was a cowboy too!!!!......Thanks Mr. President this is Tom Brokejaw sending it back to you Abby in the news room I am going for a long walk on a short Pier......jon

an appeal to Fathers....
June 15, 2008, 9:29 am

i would like to make a special appeal to Fathers today;let us remember the Mother we stand on and honor her deeply(thereby helping our childrens, children through enviornmental concern).let us honor our biological mothers and see in every woman her face(thereby never dis-honoring and treating with respect and dignity all women).let us stand up in the truth of what it is to be a good father,to be a good steward for the future generations of all beings.let us take tough stances when something needs to be said.let us stand up for truth,honesty,and love.let us be deeply humbled by this great gift of being a Father.....peace,T

Lost a great one
June 14, 2008, 9:35 am

My condolences to the family of Tim Russert for his untimely, unexpected passing. He was in my opinion one of the best if not the best political analyst of our generation. By all accounts friend or foe he strived for integrity, honesty and impartiality in his work ( Are you listening FOX NEWS?) yet he was tough enough to ask the tough questions from the president on down the political chain which I think is especially critical in these times. I for one am going to miss not seeing him Sunday Mornings on Meet the press and my heart goes out to his family we lost a great one...jon

think globaly,act localy....
June 14, 2008, 9:16 am

okay,so we have written on recycle,reduce and re-use but it is clearly the time to do this again as we watch food and gas prices soar.today's helpful hint is geared towards traveling.it has always amazed me that many people have not traveled to historic or scenic places within their own state.they may fly all over the world for instance but never have visited the Grand Canyon(living in Arizona).now is the time to visit those locations within your own state.there might be areas right near you that you have put off for another time.now would be a great time.it helps with two things,one gas prices and not leaving as much of a carbon footprint(better yet,perhaps a bike trip to those locations)and two might help your own state in this troubling economic time period.there is so much to see in a place even if you have been there many,many times.it could be time of day,different season,differing flora and fauna that would change with this difference.a river may be more swelled or almost dry.so many variables to witness and see,and by carefully noticing,it helps to be more vigilant,and,'seeing' of what goes on around you.think global act local Gandhi said,these words are so very,very relevant!!!!peace,T

Shadows
June 13, 2008, 10:07 pm

Standing in shadows looking down, what is a life what do we know, another life taken to soon is it all part of gods dream… standing in shadows walking slow reaching behind to let it go when will I follow those who pass I’m left to wonder in due time reflecting things that just don’t last will my memory touch your wandering mind or will I fade into the past many come and more will go but will I stand out in the flow of humans flowing in the fields where dreams are never quite revealed but where we all hope we will be as I’m standing in the shadows looking down tears they just fall I cant help but keep in mind you never know when you will fall standing in shadows......jon

Devon part one
June 13, 2008, 5:59 pm

Devon ain’t to heaven cause he silt his wrists and if you kill yourself you’ll pay ….don’t matter his father rammed him and his mother had no choice but to turn the other way. Sally she’s gonna burn now it is written in stone cause that is what the holy men say… but no one wants a child……. filled with crack who is black so she terminated and now she is gonna pay . I don’t need to need to hear them , the words made up by you but I won’t bow to you or all the shit you spew.. life lives in complex layers so how can you tell me what it is that I should see I know the words and some bring hope to me but in the end life is living reality…..jon

work in progress
June 13, 2008, 5:30 pm

Devon ain’t to heaven cause he silt his wrists and if you kill yourself you will pay don’t matter his father rammed him and his mother choose to turn the other way. Sally shes gonna burn now it is written in stone cause that is what the holy men say.But no one wants a child filled with crack who is black so she terminated and now she is gonna pay ..... MOre to come have to walk the dog....jon

no time,when you are in the groove....
June 13, 2008, 6:59 am

the last couple of weeks have been demanding and unfortunately took me away from playing time.i think we are all feeling the pinch in these times.i have had to spend the time piecing together income and networking until we get signed.well last night i got playing-wow-it was incredible and exhilerating.i felt fluid and definately on top of my game!Jon and I have a very special relationship when it comes to playing,i almost felt his presence as i played last night and we were smokin'.this waiting game has been frustrating but at the same time re-grouping can have it's benefits.you realize what you really enjoy doing.the LOVE that is music seems to effortlessly flow.can't wait to get back bro-we have so many,many tunes fans have not even heard yet....T

song....
June 11, 2008, 9:34 am

great words for a song Jon-almost heard a melody-is it a work in progress?hey did the first batch go out?need to mark the calender for the initial calls and e-mails.i will be home today,give me a holler....T

lighthouse
June 10, 2008, 8:11 pm

And I see the lighthouse but wisdom is blind walk across the edge to look for things you’ll never find, I hear the beacon but all I see are wasted words, whispers of mercy but mercy only bleeds ..... she is blind to care or feel the need to step up and be for that is up to you, the lighthouse shines on fools who wander caught up in their busy dream spewing empty words as empty words fill the hunger that feeds . are you running in circles as you come round to see the empty lighthouse and what is lost how could our eyes not see how could our eyes not see.......noj

sketching the wind....
June 10, 2008, 7:29 am

hi everyone on the Fan Journal.we experienced a little delay on the project due to some things beyond our control.it is going out as of yesterday,my bro did the final touches and the winds should warmly embrace the sketches we send.speaking of such things,sketches themselves can be incredible powerful.when i think of all the great artists that sketched and then filled out their masterwoks it is very empowering!the same is true of the genious of Miles Davis.when he recorded' Kind of Blue'he just had rough sketches before entering the studio,nothing worked out-and look at the masterpiece that was created.just the other day at the funeral,what did i hear?kind of blue.this sketch fully elaborated in the studio has become part of the American fabric.i have no doubt Indies will feel the same upon listening to our material.i thank you all for your persistent support-you are all wonderful!peace out,T....

brother can you spare a dime?....
June 9, 2008, 10:43 am

there are needs and wants.i have written copiously on this before(if interested you can probably click it up?).i am realizing that i had subdued creativity for many years not playing.in many ways it kills.i need the interplay that is afforded in music.i need the constant proding that creatively my brother and i give each other day to day on stage.due to some issues beyond our control we had to come off the road for a bit.meanwhile the project we worked on goes out and on.it will be wonderful to get back to the need quotent.until then,'may I take your order please'?....T

street sweepers....
June 8, 2008, 5:40 am

silently i sweep fragments.long have i remebered the taste of experience.in this crazy wild mind the 'i' hollers and screams like a three year old waiting for the ice cream store.this'I' sweeps tasting the bittersweet remeberance of living of life....T

Yes!
June 5, 2008, 7:05 am

i concur Jon,it is an historic event!we must focus America on taking back the white house.McCain's agenda is downright scarry.Obama must win!hey,really tied up the next couple of days-talk to you this weekend-everything sounds great!peace,T

IT'S ON!!!!....
June 3, 2008, 7:20 am

hey Jon i wrote about what you talked about yesterday on our myspace.i really like Shauna's idea alot!as you stated yesterday,if people read carefully and deeply our journal they will see that we have been writing about this for a long time.now some would argue what our motives are.of course we want to get signed(Jon sent them our yesterday-YES!!!!),BUT IT GOES FAR DEEPER THAN THAT.we have an undying love of humanity and for the best for everyone and everything in our world and universe.we want to help in whatever way we can to bring LOVE,PEACE,and TRANQUILITY to human and ALL BEINGS condition(we cannot afford to be considered Anthropomorphic).it is on folks and we are here,are you?....T

What does this have to do with pizza again???????
June 1, 2008, 5:08 pm

last night as I was picking up a pizza at my local independent pizza place as I have done many times before. I was asking the owner how things were going and we got to talking about the economy and the state of things in the world as we usually do, except last night he mentioned for the first time that he was puzzled that there was no voice no groundswell of protest as has happened in America in years past when things have gone terribly wrong . The first thing I did ( I am not lying) is to hand him a Shadow Screamers business card the next thing I told him was that he was not alone there are millions who feel the same way……. THIS GOT ME TO THINKING AND GUESS WHAT??????????I am asking all of you to join Shadow Screamers!!!!!!! we have been here all along but we need the thousands of fans who check out the site to organize and use the information we readily give you and is out there for the taking and join us!!!!!!THAT’S RIGHT DON’T JUST CLICK ON TO THE SITE GET WHAT YOU WANT THEN LEAVE…. IT IS TIME FOR US ALL TO ORGANIZE(IRONICALLY IT IS EASIER THEN EVER BEFORE)AND WITH ONE COLLECTIVE MASSIVE VOICE SAY…….. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS ANYMORE� Buy the way the record companies we are sending material to in the coming weeks apparently have social agendas which is fantastic! and perfect for us!...but! we will see if they walk the walk because as far as Shadow Screamers is concerned you can go back two, three, four, five years in the band journal and see we are steady ( ok maybe I do get a little crazy now and then) and consistent with a message for all people..... as far as the music I think that it speaks for itself..... WHAT THE HELL MORE DO THEY NEED???????....jon

hard to think politics when you are hungry....
May 31, 2008, 11:01 am

it is so true and good job writing it Jon!the foodlines and food pantries are doing incredible volume,and it is not just for the un-employed,many families that have two jobs are hitting up the food banks.it is hard to think about politics when you are hungry-and i believe this is exactly where this administartion wants us.

I read an article today in the paper and this is what came out
May 31, 2008, 10:41 am

I’m sorry for the days I’ve left you hungry, empty cupboards leave stomachs bare. Shallow dreams are for the wealthy they scrape them off pools of despair. I never thought that I would stand here asking help for basic needs, as guilt it circles deep inside me standing where I thought I’d never be.... But humble are the stabs of hunger when you see them in your children’s eyes so all bets are off I will do what it takes to take the hunger from their eyes. Unfamiliar is the feeling of being one in need I am employed I do my part but it’s the bottom that I see, there is no fear like the fear that wakes you when you think of what might be, a broken down car parked next to a dumpster to scrounge around for scraps to eat.... and to think I thought I was living the American dream it came in like a Lion but the dream is leaving with a Whimper as it swallows me.....onj

we are not stupid....
May 31, 2008, 8:19 am

okay so i sat a couple of days on the pity pot,those days are over and i am back!by the way jason,what right have you to sit on the pity pot,when you look at China,Burma,Darfur?seems rather indulgent you friggin' idiot! to answer your question Candy-i have not felt so inspired as of late,but that is now changing!this is the year of the shadowscreamer and let me outline some goals and then Jon can chime in.1)get signed at any and all costs2)get doing performance based poetry3)work on a book and get it published from our copious journal4)smile and dust off,you have landed on your face several times my friend(this is me talking to myself)all one can do is rise uplike the proverbial Phoenix,dust off and smile at the beautiful day.things are very,very tough financially both personaly and in the State of Maine(even more so than most states as we are poor)but things will pick up and we must all put pressure on the gov.(via letter writing and phone calls)to get proper relief in these times.i have said before and i will say it again that the ploy of the current administration has been to deflect.by artificially depleting the economy in all relams people are to busy trying to make a living to really fight against this repugnant little meglomaniac and possey.oh,by the way those left,nice job in supporting your president when you know the current book by the former press secretary is accurate.no Condi,it is not that he did not complain at the time,what choice did he have?the real question is,why did you not question ?c'mom now!we are chasing al-quida in Afganistan and then suddenly bush says,'we are not concerned where Bin Laden is(actual words)'and you switch focus to Iraq?didn't you scratch your head and say huh?c'mon now your supposed to be bright(and I know you are)i just get tired of you and the rest of the boys slinin' shit.i would love to be a fly on the wall,listening to the National security meetings when you are probably all laughing and the little one saying,'well we are gettin' it over on them again'....Don't presume that we are so stupid and don't be shocked by the book-complicity is something all of you will have to pay for,for along,long time,peace out....

Right On!!!!
May 29, 2008, 7:07 am

awesome! when this week is over things should settle down here-will be back on more.Be Love!peace,T

update #2
May 28, 2008, 6:27 pm

I am putting the finishing touches on the promo packages we are sending out to a select few record companies. They will be shipped on Monday making their merry way to wherever it is we can get signed and move up the ladder. If I can find an e-mail address to contact these companies I will post it in our journal and perhaps our fans can let these record companies know we are deserving and ready to take the next step..... love is easy to say but hard to live up to.......jon

Thanks Fan Journal!....
May 28, 2008, 7:04 am

Hi Tim from the Fan Journal! Jon is doing the final touches on the project and then out it goes.Meanwhile he has put up some of our older material for you to enjoy.We are very excited!As we wait the return we would ask everyone to do what they can for Burma,China,and continued pressure on your congresspeople and senators for the situation in Darfur.Thanks all for your support.Jon will probably fill us in more....T

true compassion
May 27, 2008, 10:24 am

What is the first thing the people of Tibet do (after years of oppression from the ruling Chinese parties) when China is hit with a devastating earth quake? They immediately move to offer help and assistance.....Man do I have a long way to go to learn complete compassion.....jon

spilling across the universe....
May 27, 2008, 6:51 am

was practising yesterday in preperation for whatever happens,nothing is lacking.in fact i feel stronger in playing now more than ever.part of this has to do with payin' the dues.things have not been easy in this transition,so out it comes via the bass.i have always strongly advised students that are going through tough times to express themselves creatively.it really works well.as i sit and wait going through difficult emotions and feeling like in limbo,the bass calls.now when i pick it up,she responds to inner voices that need to be spilt across the soundscape of the universe.peace out all,love,T....

To the Veterans....
May 26, 2008, 7:21 am

Peace and Love to all Veterans and their families on this day and those that we remember that have made the ultimate sacrifice....T

please accept my feeble attempt....
May 24, 2008, 6:35 am

human history has not only been littered with periods of war,but also of peace.the problem of the current era in America is that we have had successive wars.when you think of WW1,WW2,Korean war,Veitnam,Grenada,Columbia,Gulf war,Iraq,Afganistan(of course i missed some and this extends back further),we have had one war after another and many that did not require such action.you are what you think,what you think creates the world.this is dangerously so with the wealthiest and most powerful nation.we have become known as bullies worldwide and the issue of freedom and justice seems very pale when you consider we jump into Iraq,but what of Darfur?much like we effeively did nothing for Rwanda.you can't wave a banner of freedom and justice and invade another country,while meanwhile allowing wholesale slaughter in another country.lately RWANDA has haunted me terribly.that the world turned their eyes.that the U.N had difficulty with formulations figuring out what a genocide was-bullshit!we must always do the right thing if we espouse such lofty principles.it doesn't matter if a country is very,very poor,or has vast economic resources,we must simply do what we can to help.we are what we think.if we chose to think peace and developing and fostering international relationships with everyone on the same footing,imagine what this would mean for the world.imagine if we put the olive branch up first as opposed to a thick,hicory stick that we intend to use as a weapon.i tell you,the time is coming where we can no longer make distinctions between this country and that for the well-being of the planet.powerful/weak will lose total meaning in a crisis of no water.powerful/weak will mean nothing when the full extent of global warming is felt.powerful/weak will mean nothing when new incurable diseases are spread worldwide.powerful/weak will mean nothing if we continue to lose our humanity and become our own angels of death.RWANDA,RWANDA,RWANDA say it a couple of times with me,allow it to seep in deeply.we can never allow this to happen again-like it is happening right now in Darfur.it is easy to be apathetic.it is easy to switch channels.it is easy to hide your head in the sand as the water in the pot becomes hotter and you gradually cook.where did your powerful,your war,your apathy get you then?it is time to really come together for change and peace and resonsible,intelligent conversations and meaningful solutions to the mess we have made.oh,and again,to the world i apologize for being an american citizen.being one,i am complicit in all actions,which includes the so called beatings we have done to the world under the guise and rouse of freedom and so-called democracy.i am really,really sorry brothers and sisters of the world! T

for future generations
May 23, 2008, 10:56 am

In less than two weeks, the Senate will vote on a piece of legislation that will finally address the global warming crisis. We're working hard to strengthen the bill to ensure that it's strong enough to address the gravity of the global warming crisis. Will you help us lobby your Senators to strengthen and pass a bill that does what's necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming? Shadow Screamers fans you can add your voice it takes just a couple of minutes if you go to www.lcv.org thanks Screamers fans........jon

tappin' my fingers in anticipation....
May 23, 2008, 7:07 am

Jon an e-mail is heading your way via this site.Man,I really,really,really can't wait for this to go out!Will be less hectic next week-catch you all soon.peace out,T....

Time
May 22, 2008, 6:34 pm

Still waiting to hear back from Bobby the new drummer on how he is comming along with the tape of songs I dropped off on Monday. We have a unique situation here but I am sure stranger things have happened in the music industry. time is a killer or your best friend it's just a matter of where you stand and how far you have to go and we have a hell of a long way to go........jon

she is amazing!....
May 21, 2008, 12:55 pm

first time i saw her was on the Chappelle show and i was mesmerized!she definately has such a great way of infusing many modalities of music and rythms into a cogent and intelligent form that is hers alone!she is amazing and i love her stuff!Jon i am so psyched you got to see her live-would love to see her live or open for her Band.another great thing about her is that she is a vegan and loves Mother Earth!i believe our value systems are very compatible.i am so excited -that must have been great!all shadowscreamer fans please check our her music!!!!peace out,T

WOW!!!!!!
May 21, 2008, 11:50 am

I went to see Erykah Badu last night (It is worth the effort to look her up on the internet if you have never heard of her). It was a great!!!! concert by a very talented songwriter, singer, performer I have rarely seen a performer and band manipulate the movement of songs the way they do and the grooves were hypnotizing combined with great lyrics and vocals. frankly I think we would be a good opening act for her as her music is for the most part not Mainstream and different than anything out there. I was really impressed with her voice one moment she sounds like Billy Holiday the great jazz singer the next she is belting it out like the Queen Aretha Franklin I don’t have any of her music but I am definitely going to pick some up. Hearing a great performer like her just energizes me and makes my hunger grow for the day when Shadow Screamers is able to go on tour and turn the world on to our music. Thanks for the show and the inspiration Erykah......jon

Track almost over....
May 20, 2008, 7:02 am

very hectic as of late,will be back on the journal soon.a friend of mine was asking-wants me to write more again,will do.track season almost over!peace,T

Update
May 19, 2008, 8:19 am

Things are coming together with our demo package I just talked to Art our web guru and good friend and he is going to do our letter head for the cover letter and bio and make up the Cd jackets for our demo Cd. All we are sending out to record companies is a cover letter, bio and Cd they say less is better and less wasted paper is better for the environment let’s face it our getting signed hinges on whether or not they like the tunes anyway. Right now we are leaning towards( The Note, Only Human, and Wash away Columbus) this gives us three different tunes which we think show our range and potential. As far as Bobby laying down the drum tracks I am not sure he can do it at this time but if not we still have a strong and unique package. We are targeting small record companies with a socially conscious agenda and we are not looking for millions of dollars just connections with managers, lawyers and to be put on a summer or fall tour with successful acts that play the same type of music we play. We are going to have a good line of merchandise sometime this year. I have noticed that people across the planet are downloading our new logo like crazy (which by the way was created by my niece Allie) fear not soon you will be able to proudly wear one of our T-shirts or hats. The untapped potential of our merchandise is also a good selling point for our band. I will keep our faithful fans up to date on our progress and we as always thank you for your unyielding support......jon

E-MAIL
May 16, 2008, 4:56 pm

Jon I sent that cover letter to you on the bands e-mail-should be there.let me know if it didn't get to you.man i can't wait for summer tour!peace,T

junior has a gold spoon for the rich
May 16, 2008, 9:48 am

You have got to give junior bush credit he has been as consistent as oblivious to the Tsunami of the growing millions of struggling hard working amerikans who are being swept away by the increasing cost of every essential needed to survive during his eight years in office. He apparently is now campaigning around the world for McCain as his recent statements at a celebration in Israel celebrating Israel’s 60th year as a state allude to. bush made an indirect comment aimed at Barrack Obama stating that Barracks decision to keep diplomacy open with our enemies was comparable to those who wanted to keep a dialog open with Hitler before WWII. junior is going to retire to his cowboy ranch in Texsassss without a care in the world unless he decides to go on a(speaking tour at elementary schools his only option and a daunting one for him). bush will leave in his wake a legacy as leader of the most incompetent, cold hearted, ruthless administration in Amerikan history and the sickest thing is this spoiled brat will not have a clue and most disturbing of all he will suffer no accountability..... god bless the rich and the silver spoon up there ass junior you have given them a gold spoon to shove right up next to the silver one.....jon

BIG YEAR!....
May 15, 2008, 6:19 am

thank you for the support everyone! i don't think we will have the time for a vote in,as we are sending the project off,but the input has been great(and by all means keep sending it)!we are running short on time and would like to get signed quickly so we can tour this summer.meanwhile the tunes will go up for purchase and look for lots more from shadowscreamers this year!....T

Thanks for the support and input from our fans
May 14, 2008, 8:53 am

Thanks for the kind words and input from the fans on the selection of the tunes. I am going to talk to Art about putting up on the site the eight songs T and I recorded while he was down here and then have the fans vote on the three tunes they think will give us the best shot. Generally the deal is record companies wont listen to any more than three songs from an artist. It is going to be a tough decision for us because if the first song does not catch the record companies ear then chances are they wont even bother to listen to the other songs.... that said this will be the year of SHADOW SCREAMERS AND WE WILL ALWAYS APPRECIATE OUR FAN BASE WE LOVE YOU TOO....JON

Mothers....
May 13, 2008, 6:55 am

why is it that we abuse women so.Jon's post got me thinking about the overall disdain there is for women around the world.it is both vexing and perplexing that people should ever develop an attitude such as this.were they not nurtured and sustained by their Mothers?even if someone had an abusive Mother,were they not sustained in utero?we owe our very lives to our Mothers and then when you look on the grander scale-Mother Earth.we could not exhist without a Mother.paternalistic cultures should remember this.the rack and ruin of the world has not been created by Matriarch societies-indeed the entire damage from war to enviornmental damage that we face has been started maintained and continued by patriach societies.i say grow up men.piss in the wind facing you as oppossed to the other way-the world is tired of getting pissed on-piss on yourselves!!!!now that wasn't a loving thought today,but a true thought.i believe that in order to make it as a species it should be mandatory not to have military service,but caring service.at a hospice,nursing home,child care facility,planting trees,etc....let us re-focus on love as opposed to hatred and war....T

Happy Mothers day and other stuff
May 11, 2008, 11:07 am

Happy Mother’s day to all the mothers across the planet in most cases they are the fabric that holds communities together and Without them the world would be in a sadder state then it is now…….. I saw the first ad of what will probably be many more in the programming of the dumb Amerikan it showed a map of the whole U.S. and said it was time to start exploring the entire country including( National parks and preserves and everything in between) for the oil, natural gas and coal reserves which according to the T.V. add were enough to supply the country for the next sixty years (A BOLD FUCKING LIE). They gave a web site which I didn’t catch if anyone has seen the commercial put it up on the site so we can all check it out and laugh and to hassle them. I am sure this is propaganda from the oil companies and endorsed by junior bush and his administration( by the way John McCain is chomping at the bit to open up nation parks to exploration) once again duping Amerika into believing we have no need to search for alternative fuel sources putting off the inevitable crash while they rake in obscene profits. Gas just hit 4.00 a gallon just north of where I live in South Florida now I hear we are looking at 5.00 a gallon before the end of summer does anyone really think finding a few more barrels of oil is going to lower the price?. We have a fraction of the world’s oil supply on some of our most pristine lands that are until now are unspoiled and yet people are stupid enough to think destroying these areas for a couple of years (Maybe) supply of oil is a good idea instead of putting the millions of dollars needed for exploration and exploitation into research for new alternatives. I can see it now A huge oil rig on top of Lincolns head at Mount Rushmore or leveling the Rocky Mountains to strip mine for copper yea that’s it Amerika.....jon

Green Revolution....
May 10, 2008, 7:21 am

okay so this site has been almost shut down many times due to speaking the truth.in a climate where everyone started to talk after the fear of retribution we at times have been lost in the midst.that is neither here nor there,what is important is revolution.yes,'i use the word revolution'.we must stop subsidizing the oil industry.their statement this past week about bio fuel stealing food for the poor is utter bullshit!there are so many factors in keeping food away from the poor.look at the situation in Burma(Myanmar).the military gov,you know the one that has kept An San Sushi from taking her rightful place as leader of that country,is keeping efforts to bring food and help to the victims.this happens in many,many situations.yes there might be a problem with too much corn going to production for bio fuel,but what about your lobbyists and politicians in your back pocket(oil industry)that shoot down any meangful initiative to steer away from fossil fuels.meanwhile as we continue to pollute sadly you will see more and more catastrophies like Burma.i listened to a scientist one time talk about that weekend hurricanes happened because of the influence of the millions of cars shooting up exhaust all week from the eastern seaboard of the U.S.today i call for a revolution,a Green Revolution,and no i am not talking about you rich snotty actors and actresses that gloat about your Hawaiian homes and cars that noone can afford but you.we need a revolution that will have everyone on board and that means the lower 80 percent of the populace.we need(yes i said need)to develop and sustain a Green collar workforce that has good salaries and universal health coverage.why?man don't you know?read Van Jones(and other posts here for a long time,i might add!)!when you are working two dead end jobs without health care coverage for you or your children it is very hard for you to think Green.your thought process is,'how do i keep this afloat without going further in debt'?we don't need snotty rich people gloating and telling us how to live-we can't afford it!!!!!what we need to hear from you gloating jackasses is how you,yes you are putting pressure on politicians to make sure they develop a Green Collar workforce and universal health care coverage,between your pedicures and acting jobs or whatever you can spend your time in service to help the poorer 80-95percent of the populace.so what have we so far 1)no subsidizing oil2)creating a Green collar workforce3)universal health care coverage4)gloating rich people stopping the gloating and pushing hard for change.so now we are on to number five.that is very simple things that we can all do to change the situation so we stop destroying our world.if you look atpast journal entries here you will find lots and lots of ideas that you can implement right now.they are simple,because lets face it folks,i amin that lower percentle myself and i am so tired of people gloating(including someone fromwork who comes from a wealthy family,so they can afford to be teachers.well he is always telling everyone how to live.i once had to hear him lecture about riding a bike to work,'dude I live ten miles from work'.he looked at me astonished,'just buy one of these three wheelers(at a cost of three thousand dollars)they will get you there fast'.you see what i mean?).the new,'NEW DEAL',is of basic survival.folkswe are simply not going to makeit if we continue staus quo.we need a revolution,a Green Revolution,whose hallmark is non-violence....T

walking
May 9, 2008, 12:05 pm

Walking by the empty dreams that lay scattered on the ground as my mind finds new places to run escaping thoughts that drag me down. Memories cast a hollow shadow caught somewhere in between I reach to touch the image but the mist distorts my reach. Crawling thru and endless dream of colors faded hues what might have been is what eats inside as I stumble from the truth. Turn away and contemplate until no thought lies within as I walk by empty dreams laying scattered on the ground…….jon

please send your thoughts and prayers....
May 8, 2008, 12:16 pm

great news,i eagerly await the cassette.should be here by Saturday(great birthday present!)!i feel this summer is gonna be a blast we are gonna hit full tilt-just need to get 'er' out.we of Shadowscreamers send our thoughts and prayers to the victims and families of Myanmar.what a horrible tragedy.the other day i was in prayer and an incredible wind picked up very hard very fast,i could not help but think it was a tangible reminder of the devastation(a spiritual sign).i pray the world reponds very quickly.40 percent of the refugees are children,of that 40 percent 50 percent are malnurished(we are talking one million people displaced!).my heart hurts today.T....

three random topics
May 8, 2008, 8:01 am

Thanks for asking about the Demo I am finishing up mixing the eighth song today and I will send T a cassette copy to listen to so he can give me feedback. I have been trying to get together with Bobby the drummer T and I jammed with twice for almost eight hours before T left and we hit it off however he is way busy so if I can’t get together and have him lay down some tracks this weekend I guess we will send out the demo with just guitar, bass and vocals which is what we were doing anyway while T was here. Truth be told we played many a good show just the two of us and hopefully Bobby can commit to the band in the future but for right now we have to move ahead as time is running out.........Shadow Screamers hopes those who can will send a donation to the Red Cross for the suffering people of Myanmar ( estimates are almost 100,000 dead and thousands more left with nothing)it seems those who control the government are not letting in foreign aid as fast as is necessary but the aid will get in eventually. Personally I believe this is a ramification of eight years under the rule of the Bush administration there is no running away from the fact that we have created an incredible amount of anger, resentment and mistrust across the planet which will take years maybe decades to rectify. So once again george bush junior is indirectly doing what he does best and that is making innocent people suffer.........I was coaching my sons baseball game last night and one of the boys was having a great game making half a dozen good plays in the field but late in the game he missed a hot grounder hit to him as it bounced over his shoulder it would have been a great play for someone twice his age to make. Wouldn’t you know that that was the only time I heard from his father ( who rarely comes to a game anyway) in the stands criticizing him for not making that one play. He did this not once but repeatedly? focusing on the one mistake and ignoring the other good plays his son made. I can tell you personally that this does effect a child and I was left to question why any grown man? would put that kind of unrealistic scrutiny on his own child? it is abuse and it cuts deep for cuts and burses heal as T and I know well but emotional pain lingers deep into adult hood, what purpose does it serve this supposed man? Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident it is played out across the nation over and over again and you are left to wonder why?............jon

can't wait for that demo!....
May 7, 2008, 6:14 am

at this point i anxiously await our project in the mail!can't wait to have it out.there are many reasons why i feel more passionate about getting,'out there' with music,now more than ever.we all have vocations in life,we all have that one thing that needs to be said in the world.i believe our music can be helpful on the World Scene.we will just scratch the surface with the demo.these indies will have an ocean to delve into with our material,and we will feel good about what we say,and how we say it-like we have.Jon is correct-had alot to care for to catch up here.getting there,ready to climb back aboard with full throttled intensity.the intensity of LOVE....T

we will return
May 6, 2008, 2:03 pm

Bear with us please..... T is back in Maine on re-connect mode and I am doing all the stuff I ignored while we were kicking ass on the stage and in rehersal..... we will get it back eventually..... meanwhile we appreciate your support and understanding.......jon

yippeee,lets load up the car honey we are goin' to wal-mart!
May 5, 2008, 7:23 am

sorry had to step away for a bit-so much going on.okay so we are about to receive our checks to supposedly help stimulate the economy.the thought seems to be behind this that we are all doing fine with our bills and mortgages and this extra money will let us scurry off to Wal-Mart and buy tons of cheap shit that will be broken by the end of the year.This will stimulate the economy as there will be a surge of consumerism that will help and supposedly(I guess)trickle down through industry to us.you know i must really be stupid.i have bills up the wazoo,my house payment is ify every month as we take a slight break from the Band and I search for work.when that check comes ,it was already spent.in fact it was spent on first hearing of this ridiculous measure to bills.this is the type of thing that one really shakes their head at and wonders,'can they really be this stupid,or is it just another shell game experience'to take our minds off for instance the billions we spend each day for the war,as we slip further into recession,schools borrow money from students,food and gas prices(directly linked)sky-rocket.you know,i am so stupid that we won't even be able to afford to go camping this summer 15-20 dollars a pop at sites(and the gas money to get there) nowadays.sorry to write this today.we are probably the only family that this is happening to(ha,ha,ha,ha-gotta laugh or you would cry all the time!)....T

there is a fungus amongus(okay so that was bad-sorry)....
April 30, 2008, 7:01 am

it is very,very important to keepour old growth habitat for so many reasons.one might not be thought of.the largest living organismon Earth is a fungus that spreads for 2,200 acres in Oregon.they are finding that fungus spreads neurotransmitters,similar to what is in our brains,across vast distances.there is a very good chance that fungus helped to evolve species on Earth,in fact after the great extinctions following massive asteroid strikes-the last being 65 million years ago,fungus being under ground helped to support and nourish new life.i strongly recommend reading Paul Stamet's,'Mycelium Running:How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World'.you will find this amazing life form has intelligence and apparant empathy.after Chernobyl they found high concentrations of cesium-137 that was spewed fromthe disaster.this is an incredibly toxic compound.the areas lost most of their radioactivity in the area as fungi absorbed this deadly compound,so as to keep alive the surrounding area.they have found the same with oil spills,etc...we all should atke our collective hats off to these subterrainean beings,they are truly remarkable and as yet still not fully understood!....T

tides
April 29, 2008, 2:32 pm

Tides dictate the rhythm of all humans spinning in perfect circles on this incredible planet. We are after all mostly water and the moon pulls the earth’s moisture and sets the tone. I am dropping the tape of eight new songs off to Bobby the man who plays drums a new member of the family... SO FAITHFULL FANS…..be patient and spread the word because this band is on the rise the moon has given us her blessing and we are going to surge into the conscience of the millions who are waiting...watching... I promise you together we can help to change the tide that has for decades been washing over humanity with waves of lost potenital and what could have been...jon

questions....
April 28, 2008, 7:04 am

to answer a couple questions from the Fan Journal(thanks everyone),had a great conversation with my bro.yesterday!the project is almost completed and will be sent out.i anticipate that we will be signed before the end of the month(either May or June).that would hopefuly set up a situation where we would be on the road for a summer tour.keep the good vibes going everyone,this is gonna be a big year for us!LOVE,T....

my salvation....
April 26, 2008, 7:46 am

no doubt about it Jon,apathy is rampant.let us consider some facts shall we.the genocide in Darfur has actually intensified-world response-look the other way like most genocides.species extinction-we are in the midst of the 6th great extinction on earth-world response,'I wonder what reality show I will watch tonight'.a murderous,lying,stealing,war criminal will leave the White House unscathed after 8 years of hell for the entire world-american response-Impeach the last President for sexual indiscetions-this murderer we leave untouched.we can go on and on about this.part of the problem is the way the American Politic has been set up.in a basically two party system(lets be real now-us Greens and others will never stand a chance in this system-ironocally that is exactly why i will stay a Green party member-someone has got to fight ,'the man'.)when difficult questions are asked a complex process of internal economic combustion occurs.this makes it difficult for the average american to ask questions because their ass is to busy trying to make money for hungry children,no health care benefits,etc...we are not a true Democracy! a true Democracy would not weild the power it does over the world and its own people like we do.we have just survived the latest of the historic economic game by the greatest shell game player ever-george w.look over here-i pillage over there/look over there,i pillage right here under your noses.i am disgusted and dissatisfied with america! we should(i never use this word but today i will)be ashamed of ourselves.as we ask stupid questions like ,do gays have the right to be married(c'mon people,why harress gays and lesbians anymore.are we not the home of the free?)or sould we give tax breaks(normaly for the ultra rich)-genocides rage on,a incredibly stupid war has become unmanageble(that obviosly should have never started),the enviornment-don't even get me started-this issue will eventually kill off stupid-kind(oops did i say that i meant humankind-well come to think of it-no difference).so i share in your frustration Jon.i have a secret though that i would like to share. you want me to break(american political system and hypocritical leaders)),you want me tired and splintered and distraught.guess what,AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN,'huh',THATS RIGHT I DIDN'T STUTTER-AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN NO HOW NO WAY.what is my secret.i am on to you and your tactic.as stated above,you would try to splinter and cause desent,to make the populace tired and hungry for their so-called american piece of the pie.well i know the pie ain't served(to most people-we are the help serving it),i know that there is a greater reality than country,false patriotism,and shell games.my secret is that i see the divine in everyone and everything.the starving child,the street sweeper,the verdant fields and the war torn cities,garbage dumps and parks filled with laughing children,birds,elk,bear,and those that would destroy habitat.it is seeing the divine in everything that allows me not to give up hope and to appeal to this essence within everyone.stuid?maybe,but you know what,sorry everyone that would try,you can't and never will steal this from me.spread my tired aching bones along the freeway of your discontent and each cell of every bone will still cry out,appealing to your better nature.this is my only salvation in a world run by an absolutely insane species....T

Am I preaching again? sorry bout that sue me already....
April 25, 2008, 12:43 pm

Some days I want to cream, some days I like to dream, some days just fall between the empty cracks that lie beneath. Some days I want to choke, some days life’s just a joke, the empty space inside it drives things you can’t see, I’ve been told I am a fool yet looking back the fool is you and I won’t hesitate to point you to the truth. No I aint no preacher ,aint no saint but a blind man can see things are not like the picture leaders paint. So where does that leave us? As we straddle the abyss of indifference waiting for a remedy to cure this cultural ill meanwhile it digs deeper like black cancer spreading thru tiny veins of apathy, indefference and stupidity……jon

hey them people sure does taste good to a hungry shark...
April 23, 2008, 4:05 pm

Mindless is the madness that creeps into my soul... brush aside all thoughts of indifference comtemplating the unjust reality of yet another 15 dead 10 more missing (chunks of flesh for the sharks no doubt) lost on a sinking boat overloaded by the smugglers greed with people desperate to escape the harsh reality of Haiti. They are picking bodies raveged by sharks from the Gulf Stream as I write this, the story is as old as all stories of suffering yet we see no sense of urgency you see bush jr. happy to end his responsibilities and head back to never never land doing what the thinks cowboys do and the idealistic promises of the new crop thursting for the power and privilage of being the leader of the free world....frankly they can all kiss my ass because we are all guilty each and every amerikan who is an adult and until we let the mindless political process stumble as it always does around in Washington we need to finally take responsibility back and put it on each and every one of us!Until then the sharks will feed on the helpless and those who are reaching for a dream that is not even close to being a reality here in Amerika.....jon

LOVE is in the air....
April 23, 2008, 7:07 am

LOVE is in the air,can you feel her.all through the fields i see the tender young blades of grass start to spring upwards from the matted brown death of last year.we had to die,didn't we?as we go through the Medicine Wheel revolving,evolving we start to see at some undefinable point how truly deep and rich this life is.the birds are nesting grabbing scaps and pieces from life of last year,perhaps dead grass,cedar bark,strands of hair.this death leads to a life of little ones peep-peeping for their mothers and fathers to feed them.how do we die each day-to be born again in the morn?we did it last night.we entered into the time of the little death-the landscape of dreams to rejuvenate and fill out our lives.how can we not dream,how can we not die?LOVE fills everything! we simply need to bend our ear closer to the great Mother to hear her voice....T

what about this fans?
April 22, 2008, 3:58 pm

Ask and you shall receive.... Bobby (our new drummer) left a message yesterday he was out of town visiting his sick father who is ok thankfully anyway,he is still in on this crazy ass-ed adventure swimming upstream against the cooperate shitheads. I have been progressing on the mix downs and things are all in all looking good I am happy to say. I think it is time that we start selling the new stuff!!!!! T and I worked and I am still working extremely hard to put it together. I am going to run the stuff by Bobby to see if he can add some percussion but look for the new stuff to download to your I-pod for the hefty price of 99 cents by the end of the month my friends....What the hell does ya say bout that fans????????????????????

BE LOVE-BE GREEN(not just one day-everyday)
April 22, 2008, 7:32 am

BE LOVE-BE GREEN! have been away for a couple of days,will catch up soon.read Jon's ENTRY BELOW-IT IS GREAT!peace,T

curious
April 21, 2008, 11:24 am

Amerika is a curious place…. on the one hand you have large groups of Amerikans (who seem more tied to their country of origin then this country), crucifying former president Jimmy Carter ( who unquestionably has done more for the human race than any former president to date) because he is trying to use diplomacy to reach out to all sides in the middle east even the extremist groups crying that he is ignoring current diplomatic policy?????? On the other hand you have a man bush jr. who pushed diplomacy and reason aside and now has the blood of countless innocent women, children and men along with the blood of over four thousand American soldiers on his hands because of his personal interests , ignorance and let’s face it black gold. This man has been pushing aside the Constitution and Bill of Rights time and time again to achieve his warped goals….. yet these same people have no qualms or conscience in fact nary a comment about this atrocity??????? I have to say Amerika is a curious country………jon

here we go again....
April 19, 2008, 8:37 am

How insidious, contemptible and out of touch is Junior and his administration? It seems the Bush administration over-reached last year when it limited states ability to extend health coverage to the children of moderate income($44,000 a year)families. It seems now the bush administration is battling multiple law suits made to the States Children’s Health Insurance program. Once again bushes policy changes amounted to a rule that should have been submitted to Congress and the comptroller general before going into effect. How many time have we seen this scenario? When the hell is this country going to stand up and say enough is enough??? How many more children have to suffer under this cold hearted regime in this the great???? country of amerika?Tom Brokejaw will be back soon for yet another interview with our fearless leader soon......jon

almost cut my hair(ha,ha,ha T is a baldy,ha,ha)....
April 19, 2008, 6:59 am

it has been a curious but good year.the affect of acclimating between two places is harder than one would imagine,especially for Bears that know one locale.i almost think it would be easier traveling alot(summer tour!)as you indeed in the process of moving.anyways i can see the ravages of the storms up here as i continue to clean out-there was a ton of snowfall!meanwhile Jon is busy mixing down our project and we will be sending it out on the Indie Winds(sounds exotic doesn't it-I love saying it-Indie Winds!)have a good friend that was in Haiti for quite some time doing relief work.as we all know the people of Haiti are very poor.he was telling me of the enviornmental damage.apparently as the trees go down in many areas the land is not suitable to grow things,so like the Rainforest of South America you then have two problems-deforestation and then land that will not grow produce well.it is time for us to really consider all countries that contain such valuable resources as International Parks.the way this would work would be to help in a grassroots sort of way to listen to all segments of said countries and then help to develop a sustainable economy-WHICH WOULD BE SUBSIDIZED BY THE WORLD COMMUNITY!WHY?simple-we breathe the air from the trees that grow in these countries.along with the vast oceans(which are becomming more polluted)they are this planets lungs.we owe it to these countries and ourselves really to invest in the future.it is simply time to think long range and sustainability without leaving any carbon footprint.the indigenous peoples of the world have shown through time how to be good stewards.it is time to follow the example.so if indeed this was an international park,the hard notion would be to stop encouraging tourism to said countries.even eco-tourism leaves its footprint.in said parks we would have to listen to people of the country telling us when it would be okay for peoples to visit,IN A TOTALLY TRACELESS WAY!.MEANWHILE THE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY WOULD HELP THE PEOPLES OF SAID COUNTRY AND SUBSIDIES WOULD ROLL INTO THE COUNTRIES ECONOMY THAT WOULD IN TURN FEED THE PEOPLE AND HELP THEM TO KEEP THINGS GREEN-SAVING THOSE LUNGS(TREES).WHAT I WRITE TODAY WILL NOT BE POPULAR I REALIZE THIS!in a way it seems hypocritical given the way i started my entry today(for that i apologize-as pro.musicians we still need to travel to play for populations-the secret is to make it as GREEN as possible!).this summer will see rising gas prices and us slip farther into recession.in Maine it just means harder times(times are generally fairly tough in a poor state).one thing we collectively can do is to take a look at your own state.there have been so many people over the years i have met that lived somewhere their entire lives but never saw an important landmark in their own state!yet they will pay thousands of dollars,leaving a huge carbon footprint to visit other parts of the world.get out and enjoy-MOTHER EARTH-no matter where you are is beautiful.please consider the above.as the world moves more and more to a global econmoy i see in the future that we must move past limiting thoughts.i recently went through some personal termoil as my license needs to be re-newed.on the paperwork it asks if you want to change parties.i came close to changing from Green Party to the Democrats so I could take part in the primaries.after going to the national Green Party website again,i just couldn't bring myself to it.i believe in the future in order for our childrens,children to make it,there will be no more country or political parties-we will all have to think the global economy,enviornment,and politic to make this a better world(meaning cleaning up the mess of many human generations).i truly believe the Green Party points a healthy finger in that direction.peace....T

Van Jones(read his work!)....
April 17, 2008, 7:11 am

Van Jones was the person resonsible for the bill that would create 'Green Collar workers'in America.You can go to the site for the Center for Human Rights he co-established(www.ellabakercenter.org).many of you that are familiar with my writing style will see masterpeices written by Van in a similar vein.he tends to see things globally and also to be inclusive-to invite all parties and segments of our culture together to solve problems.he has worked and talked extensively on eveything from Prison Reform,Class Barriers,to Racial Issues that continue to plague America.along with that he talks about the concern for the enviornment.there is no way but to establish the 'Greening'of america as the time has passed for us to live in such heavily carboned footprints of generations passed.the creation of Green Collar workers makes so much sense as it does not appeal just to the very rich who try to lecture us with snooty attitudes(as he says in the Sun Journal-there are many poor people in america that did not see an Inconvienant Truth.they have enough to worry about just having a job first,but also health care,soaring food prices,etc...you have to present an argumant for the environment that will be tangible for all people.for the poor-how can we benefit from being Green?if we create jobs that already are Green,than all people benefit and people will feel good about their contribution,just by going to work!).of course i simplify his works,and please checkout his website.we have talked extensively here on our site about the enviornment.it is time for all peoples to come together and it can be a galvanizing cause.by creating a Green Workforce,we not only help with the enviornment,but also help to get more jobs in parts of America that desperately need work.for prison reform we need to use a kinder and gentler approach,and one that does not use such vast resources.we spend 125,000 dollars a year on each teen that is incarcerated.on top of that you have all the resources that leave a carbon footprint;the cost to heat or cool the facility,food,products,etc...in the midwest(can't remember which state)they developed dorms where all people dress the way they want,they go to school and learn a trade and are treated as human beings.their recidivism rate is much lower that say California that spends 125,000 dollars a year to de-huamnize people.now it is true,there are some that need to be locked away as they present a danger to the culture I am not talking about those prisoners.when you consider the vast number of people locked up(usually people of color-Natives,Blacks,etc...)on drug charges,you will see this is an incredible burden for society and the enviornment.we can and should change this in-equitable system.so Van shows many different angles to look at the issue of Global warming and enviornmental dissaster which looms around the corner-no matter how much you would deny.i will leave you today with some very wise words.a person asked an Elder once,'Why in North America is there no existing structure from your ancient people',the Elder looked at the man and said,'We have an obligation to our childrens,children to leave no footprint for them to have to cleanup'....T

What you say Indies ya or nay ...the time is now
April 16, 2008, 7:55 am

First let me say that Nikii Stix (the bass player for the hair band Motley Crew from the late eighties early nineties) has a great new song out “Life Is Beautiful� it shows a new and fresh direction he is headed which to me is exciting. That said it seems the major record companies are so desperate now they are trying to bring back bands like Motley Crew (the members are around our age) I guess the thought is to repackage them to a new generation because I have heard the new single and endless promotion about some huge announcement the band is going to make yet the new song sounds just like the old stuff? The reason I am bringing this up is that a band called Nirvana came from nowhere in the early nineties and overnight set the musical establishment on its ear. I feel that this time around in 2008 Shadow Screamers will come from nowhere with the help of an indie lable and once again knock the majors in the record industry with their endless repackaging and bungling of talent on their complacent ear....Are you with us fans!!!!!!!!!......jon

hi....
April 16, 2008, 7:09 am

tomorrow i will post on,'Green Collar'work force and why it might accomplish many things simultaneously.very busy today-talk to you soon....T

Sun Journal this month....
April 14, 2008, 7:10 am

'Our political system has engineered public safety apartheid.Why is it acceptable that residents of West L.A have a one-in-eighty thousand chance of being murdered,whereas people in Southeast L.A have a one-in two thousand chance.Kids in this neighborhaood have a one in fifty chance of being violently assaulted before adulthood.The post traumatic disorder levels in children in gang areas are equal to that of Baghdad'.these words were spoken by Connie Rice in the latest,'Sun Journal' magazine(one of my favorites).interestingly she is cousins with Condoliza Rice but did not meet her until adulthood.Condoliza tries to protect the millionares and billionaires.Connie is a tough Civil Rights lawyer that tries to protect the underprivelaged in L.A.you can check out some of her work at www.advanceproj.org,a nonprofit committed to making public-sector institutions such as schools,transit,and law enforcement-equitable for low income residents.she has taken on the formidable L.A Police many times and won in lawsuits,but realized wisely that this did not change their policies.like a true and great mediator that she is,it wasn't until she listened to their needs(like extra money for appropriate training of the K-9 units so they could bring down the levels of bites by these dogs trained by some sadistic members of the force and get rid of the bad officers that called Blacks they released the dogs on,'Dog Bisquits'.)she fought for the money and now dog bites and sadistic cops are way,way down in L.A.in fact the list of changes is really impressive,but in the article she voices dissapointment at how slow the process is to change the force from paramilitary to community based policing,but the secret is is that she is out there every day fighting for equality through the legal system and from within organizations themselves.she has also established herself in mediating the gang situation in L.A and also has rightly talked about the situations that lead to gangs.unemployment,lack of social services,poor transportation,etc....i truly applaud her work and others that work tirelessly to change the structures of outdated systems.in fact the Apartheid situation she talks of is not harsh,it is very much a reality.this includes standardized testing in schools which immediately set up a two-tiered society.the schools that are well-to-do can afford the pre-requisites to establish successful testing and students that will take their place in the top 10 percent of the wealthy that rule and dominate this country politically and socially.the poor schools have not the resources to prepare students from such unfair practises,therefore they are left behind and trained to be relentless consumers,buying low-budget,inexpensive commodaties that fit the bill for planned obsolesence.Obama talks of real change,I hope this is some of what he is talking about.if indeed we are really,really into change,we would take outmoded institutions like our educational system and burn it to the ground to start over.there is no reason in the world why each and every student in america can't get the very best education.now that is just education,people like Connie are working hard to burn down law agencies that are outmoded and this needs to happen everywhere.what is also desperately needed is to bring the desparety between rich and poor closer together.i have heard so many fat rich white politicians talk about,essentually everyone can pick themselves up by their bootstraps.this is complete and utter bullshit and a myth of the american dream.a child born into poverty on a reservation or inner city,far removed from the real money machine and any possible economic insentive has a bleak chance of,'making it'especially when our very instituitions as Connie adroitly points out maintain this desparity.'sustainable economy',is the term i have used to bring a sense of relief to the poorest americans.the problem is,what does a sustainable economy look like?first off,there has got to be powerbrokers(in all sectors)that are willing to commit to a reality of a sustainable economy.money don't grow on trees,can't get something from nothing,so you need some seed to get things moving.not ridicules plans for giving all americans six hundred bucks,hell that ain't even enough for food and gas money for a month for one person!we are all in such debt-that money is going to fly to creditors to keep 'em off our ass!sustainable economy must be self-perpetuating and that i realize(i am not stupid or naive here)is the challenge for economists.Connie talks of epidemiologists being very helpful in L.A looking at violence as a disease.she says they have been most helpful in the situation as they are very neutral.i believe that given the right circumstance economists could be that way in working towards a sustainable economy within the poorest of the poor communities in america.don't by the way fall into the racist trap of saying,'well T if it is so bad,why don't they just move?'if you make a statement such as this,you have uttered a extremly racist statement,why?it was part of the u.s gaovernments long range plans to get Natives(using our cultures example)to assimilate into white culture.they did their best tomake it extremly hard for Natives to remain on the Reservation and to move into white culture,they even had terms for it,'get the red out of the Indian'.by doing this many lost their tribal identity and culture .when a people loses their identity they lose their culture.in doing this the gov. could take back all that-what in some cases turned out to be valuable land filled with resources that could be plundered from the Earth.a sustainable economy must first and foremost be established in a locale keeping in mind the values and norms of a given people within said area.this would mean,that you are not going to have an economy that would be based on values that are dissparent with the culture that would be part of this economy.an example would be to have my Tribe for instance make cheap plastic products that would by their making,pollute rivers,and fill up landfills with products that don't biodegrade for a very long time.it would go against our values-to be traceless-to not leave that carbon footprint.i will pick up on this theme tomorrow(time is short today)but you see there is so very much change tht is needed tomake this country finally a true democracy(which it has never been).i leave you with a thought.we are declining fast as a so-called super power.if we do not make deep and requisite changes at a profoundly fundamental level,we can expect within a very short time(relative to Earths history)of falling apart quickly,as did the Roman empire.anyone that thinks this is not so,obviously does not have their eyes open....T

matted grass....
April 11, 2008, 7:37 am

today is the day that robins busy themselves with nests.white hair from the compost colors their flight.the tulips push through with their greenery ,the matted dry grass.endless blue sky,a single cloud dances slowly.my den is cluttered and scattered with dull winter thought.its cleaning can wait for another day.it is time to leave the den,remove the plug of thought as the bear does from its intestines.tomorrow will bring more,will i be any less?....T

LOVE(all you need?)....
April 9, 2008, 7:28 am

okay so we have examined the idea that to be attached to something weighs us down(actually prohibits freedom).i was asked the other day,'how can we not be attached,especially by those we love'?it is a very good question and one that needs examination.when we go to our Doctor or if we go to a Therapist and we have a good one that we really trust,we see that they are not attached to our situation.does this mean they don't care?of course not!the difference is that in their objective status they can see more globaly a situation than we can.it is like the mouse trying to see the mountain when he has his head down all day searching for food.we love our family,but it might be time to think in terms of attachment.if we are attached,it is easy to get bogged down and asume the emotions and feelings of another.we can care and deeply LOVE someone without losing our soveirgnty or freedom.we do this by making sure that we do not own anything of someone else(in actuality we don't anyways,we just think we do).in not owning we can step back and appreicate the person in their fullness.we can be more available to them as we see them in this fullness.if we are in a constant state of falling in LOVE with those we LOVE we have nowhere to rest the relentless activity of the ego.we are in essence to,'be love'.do we worry?we are human beings,of course there are times when we worry.let me ask you something,however.you have had nights(i have to)where you tossed and turned worrying about a loved one.what happened the next day?well for me,it was hard to be available in fullness to them as i was now tired.being tired it was easyier to get caught in the emotions of the situation.in a sense i lost my freedom as did they as i now own part of their situation(in thought).some ask'well if you are not attached,you are like a robot or something going through the motions'!the freest people i have ever met were the most un-attached people i ever met.their hallmark was a childlike quality and their sense of fun(smiles on the face-genuine).so practise this today.what do you have control of?what can you change today in your life?now look at your loved ones,what control do you have?allow them to be in their situation.allow yourself to see their fullness.allow yourself to LOVE them in their totality as oppossed to what you would control.what i write of today seems very abstract and difficult.it is only as difficult as your next breath.sweep the mind,to be in the pure fullness of this pregnant moment....T

Thank you....
April 8, 2008, 5:21 pm

Jon has stepped out for a bit,and I am still in transition.I will be on more in the next couple of days.Jon will soon mix down our demo and then out to the Indie Winds.Look for this to be a big year for Shadowscreamers.Thank you for your patience-more on the LOVE series soon....T

lifestyle....
April 7, 2008, 9:55 am

Be peace,be love....T

hi....
April 6, 2008, 4:30 pm

is that you Stan?yeah there will definately be more.have been in re-adjustment mode,coming back to Maine for a bit.will be back on sometime this week.was glad to see Jon put a post up for Dr.King-he is such an inspiration to us!talk to you soon....T

It time to tell the truth!!!!!!
April 4, 2008, 2:34 pm

I was listening to the Tom Joyner show this morning on FM radio thankfully it is a nationally syndicated show which as I have mentioned before in the journal is a black perspective of life in AMerika. Today was rightfully dedicated to Martin Luther King. Some interesting questions were raised by those who were there with Martin about the FBIs role in the Assination of Mr. King and as they stated we need to open up the files and once and for all expose the truth. It is a fact that the head of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover hated Martin and as the head of one of the most powerful intelligence agencies of the time it does not take a brain surgeon to figure out how easy it would be to plan and carry out this horrendous murder. ITS TIME TO COME CLEAN AMERIKA….. and if you get a chance piss on Hoovers grave I sure will and may the son of a bitch burn in hell along with all those who perpetuate the injustice………..JON

Nothing but Love For Mr. King
April 3, 2008, 1:51 pm

Forty years have passed since one of Amerikas greatest heroes was blown away. What has Amerika accomplished in the four decades since? Hmmm? racial divides as wide as the grand canyon still exist. This country loves to ignore racial cultures that have been and guess what “Whitey Amerika� are still being oppressed. Meanwhile all these years later a man who knew his head was eventually going to be blown off stuck by his principals of what is right!he must be asking himself.....why the HELL are we still trying to decide when it is ok for Whitey Amerika to have a talk about race issues in AMERIKA? I would give my left nut to have walked beside Mr. King in his marches for equality and I will give my right nut to make sure this great mans legacy will never be watered down by wishy washey Whitey Amerika .....lets start the dialog already you spineless clueless wimps.....jon

the difficult work of LOVE(attachment).....
April 2, 2008, 8:55 am

'What is it we will see when you are gone'?Asked the students of the Master near the time of his death.'All I did was sit on the river bank handing out river water.After I am gone I trust you will notice the water'.What is it that obscures our vision?What is it that does not allow for simply seeing,thereby to see and be LOVE.Attachment!We are stuck by what culture has programmed into us.Our desires, wants,need for approval and importance began at birth and will be unrelenting until the time we die.It consumes us and puts us on a course for ever wanting and feeling that we need more.Even when we,'get' the object of our attachment,we remain unhappy.We might feel the temporary buzz of emotion,and then one day we awake and that feeling is no longer there.We say to ourselves,'How can this happen?I longer for him/her for so long and now that they are mine,I still do not feel happy'.Did you notice the way that I worded this?Using the word,'Mine'.When we are attached to something we start a complicted process of trying to re-arrange the world to our benefit.In doing so we die to what is around us.We lose sight of the forest,for the tree.In this state mental,and emotional constructs are built that would have us possess this object.We work hard to reign this piece of the universe in.We are un-relenting and doing so we catch our fullness in a box,disallowing the frequency of the fullness of LOVE which goes everwhere-muti-directional.When we attach to something,we are controlled by a set of circumstances that would reign in our freedom.Is there a way out?Certainly!We must first realize and see for what they are our attachments.Look at them carefully,study them,see how it limits you to reign something in and also the object of our attention.I tell you attachment is a form of violence.In dis-allowing freedom it prevents yours and the object of your attentions fullness as a human being.Once you realize your attachments realize them for what they are,let go your need to control or change things in your world.When we look at the distant mountain in nature we do not hold the mountain.The mountain is the mountain by its interconnectedness to her surroundings.She cannot be without the high meadows,the steppes,the flatlands that define her.In,'seeing'the mountain we see the entire landscape that is and makes a mountain possible.The same with a wildflower meadow.We see the meadow and the rich and deep color.If we focus on only one flower,we do not see the splendid variety of the meadow.The same is for our attachments.By holding on and reigning into control,we lose sight of their beauty.What's more we define our fullness by the emptiness of lost sight.So as you go about your day try to be in the present moment.If attachment comes up,'Man she is my girl-or wow I want one of those,etc....'try to just see the object of your attention in entirety.If a thought arises or label let it go by.Be the still pond.What can you possibly gain from such notions and how does it apply to change in our nation regarding the tough work of LOVE.First what you gain is your freedom,your fullness,you are happy,because there are no longer any conditions.Conditions to be set and demanded which leads eventually to dissapointment and depression.Secondly it has everything to do with this coming election and the future of our existence as human beings on this wonderful tiny blue marbel in space.By being attached to things we have destroyed what does not line up with our notion of reality.It has led to the destruction of people,cultures,the extinction of species(brothers and sisters)and our enviornment.By reigning in,we have destroyed.If we could but see the destruction we have created,like the destructive eye of Shiva that was shown to Arjuna we would each of us shudder.What has our attachment brought us.Certainly not our happiness!Look around you,people are misearble,angry,dis-satisfied with their lives.To let go into non-attachement is the way to our freedom individually and collectively.The sky is the ocean for a dove.If we clip her wings,she cannot fly.The dove within our hearts beakons for freedom.let her fly....T

you will hear from our attorney!!!!!!
April 1, 2008, 10:28 am

WE ARE REHEARSING 7-10 pm TONIGHT WITH BOBBY THE DRUM MAN THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE CAN CRANK THAT MOTHA UP UNTIL OUR EARS BLEED.....Shadow Screamers has been advised to tell children and teens to disregard the words “ears bleeding� it was obviously inserted by jon? to make him think he was Hip!….. yours in trust and if you get in a fender bender call me I know lots of doctors.... Yours Truly Richard “sue ya tell ya bleed “The Opportunist… Attorney at law� or some approximation there-in.......

the difficult work of LOVE....
March 31, 2008, 8:46 am

'It is a sobering thought that the finest act of love you can perform is not an act of service but an act of contemplation.When you serve people you help,support,comfort,alleviate pain.When you see them in their inner beauty and goodness you transform and create.'-Anthony De Mello- The work of LOVE begins with not judging others.Judging creates a filter it creates death in that you try and make something inherently dynamic,static.Whats worse,once the condemnation has occured,the sentence has to,and they are quit literaly dead to you.What Anthony is talking about here is the really hard work of LOVE.LOVE is not for the feighnt of heart,or to be wrapped up or placed on a Hallmark card.It is difficult not to judge.In fact our entire culture is predicated on judgement.We are raised in an educational system that is very linear.The system of thought is taught in such a way as to solve quickly problems,to be analytical in all phases of life.So if we come up against a neighbor we despise,our rational judgement ask's us to solve the problem by condemnation.In doing so we can stop an intuitive and contemplative process of seeing this persons inner beauty.They are the,'Dead Neighbors' now and we really don't have any tough work left to do,our life has been made simple by simply despising them.In our system of thought we are also taught personal perspective as oppossed to a more globalized perspective.Part of this has to do with the underpinnings of America,the whole,'pull yourself up by your bootstraps,wild west,john wayne',mentality.In this thought process,it is presumed from the start in every conversation,in all dialogues that you are right,and this person flapping their gums at you is an idiot and doesn't know what they are talking about.I have mentioned here today and the other day,that LOVE is very hard work.It would presume a global,transcendant perspective,beyond personal ego.By definition it has to!You have all fallen in LOVE before.Go back to that time when you fell,when the bottom floor where the ego establishes camp so to speak,has no firm grounding.It is disorientating.This is why people can't sleep,eat or are constantly preoccupied(now I am talking about real LOVE here,not lust,there is a huge difference between the two.One could say they are as distant as two galaxies on opposite sides of the universe).You have lost temporarily a sense of ego and swim in the collective shared consciousness of something beyond you.Your ego tries to swimm in the abyss,but alas the foothold is gone and are in the cyntrifical force of LOVE that would spin out all aspects of a personal perspective,it has now gone beyond and seeks unification and transcendance in the'other'.We can have a sense of this with everyone if we choose to let go of a limited constraining and constricting ego.We do this first by finding times of Contemplation.Why?We have to first understand how our mind works and to weed through the cultural conditioning.The conditioning that would say 'He isn't,she shouldn't,I can't,etc...,etc...'Essentially we have to sit in meditation and watch this framework slowly dissolve by labeling the constricting thoughts and notions and simply letting them go by-without attachment.Why?When we attach to something we atomaticaly gravitate to that notion,soon we are caught,soon we have limited ourselves.There are many ways to meditate,I have written copiously on this site about it.Check your own tradition and see how they would foster the Art of Contemplation.Okay so once you have watched the limiting notions come and go and you continue with your silence,mantra,or counting etc...you bring this into everyday reality,in none meditation times.Here you start the tough work of not labeling,judging or condeming anymore as you move about your world.Your heart becomes more open,more loving,more creative,in the creativity of this pregnant moment,which is filled with life,not death(even in death).I believe it is critical that we start this very difficult work.We have not done a very good job with one another or the world we live in.A heart that starts to open like a Lotus Flower starts to feel life again,it starts to fall in LOVE again.In this LOVE we help to create in this moment which leads to a better moment for our childrens,children....T

new life
March 30, 2008, 6:10 pm

I am excited abut the new drummer it gives new life to the band and no matter what happens Shadow Screamers will keep rocking South Florida so lay your weary heads dwon tonight knowing the band will rock on the band will rock on the band will rock on....jon

education....
March 29, 2008, 2:14 pm

let us continue our conversation about subtleties.today i was walking which i am prone to do in the afternoons.the sky was endlessly blue,birds singing,a slight breeze moved the palm fronds ever so slightly like hair across your face.suddenly right on the sidewalk a giant racial slurr on the sidewalk!i told the people in charge of maintenance in this community and i am sure they will remove it.we can assume this was done at night,away from the sun and light.people are always shocked to hear that something like this can happen in their community,but we see the thin veil removed throughout communities and racial bias rear it's ugly head.what is sorely needed in the United States is a unified approach to Civil Rights education,not just left to individual States or municiplaities.what will this accomplish?i was part of Civil Rights education for a long time-we also taught Conflict Mediation and Restorative Justice.i have seen students from very racially biased families change their outlook once they opened to sound educational approaches.some turned out to be leaders,some to the chagrin of their families,others helped to change even their families.we must have a unified approach from the top down,if not then it does not by definition garner the support as it is presumed unimportant to the educational process.i tell you it is the most important work eductaors will ever do!in the classroom setting you can really study the subtleties of racism and by doing this you can help and change the future.even terms that seem inocculace like 'picnic' take on a new meaning and most students choose not to use these terms again.in the giant scheme of things i must say again that it makes no sense for us ever to have hatred for our brother or sister.we all come from the same place in Africa,thereby literally making us all related.how can we fight?let us bring initiatives that will be nationwide and will stay as part of the educational process.i tell you the State of Maine with the Civil Rights Initiative is an excellant place to start-run by the Assistant Attorney General....T

the work of LOVE....
March 28, 2008, 11:43 am

'It means now America is getting a conscience'-Gwen Hankerson.She said this after Florida became the sixth state to apologize for slavery.We have said before with other states that it is about time and we have to say it again.The thing that is insideous about racism is that it can appear to remain dormant for awhile.People can be complacent saying,'well you know it is not so bad as.....'.This is the voice of apathy speaking and we simply have no time or patience to hear it anymore.I agree the next step according to the Black Caucus would be a bill to prohibit the display of nooses.This is an extreme symbol of racism and shows it is alive and still here.I would go on record saying that the Confederate Flag needs to be put down in all states.It is a relic of an un-enlightened time period that we do not need to bring up again.To use this flag only reinforces the subleties of racism in America.Jon and I have seen first hand this ugly appearance on American consciousness-from him being almost chased out of his own neighborhood for being dark skinned,to me seeing blatant abuse of Natives at a market store(and many other situations we have felt).it is all around and everywhere and incredibly hypocritical that we supposedly live in a country that is free.as Malcolm X said'freedom and justice for who'?we can sadly still ask the question in the 21st century and come away with a very sad and dissatisfied answer.don't get me wrong,today was needed and an important step-but we need so much more than this to truly call ourselves a Democracy.Obama is so correct in saying that the deep questions need to asked-the time is way-way overdue!there are so many frist hand stories just in my short life that alude to this form of hatred.we must,all of us get the work done each and every day.and what is this work?it is the work of LOVE.more on that tomorrow....T

available....
March 26, 2008, 8:12 am

well had a minor setback-healthwise the last couple of days so have not been on.there is always something to learn from life,isn't there?i now know through personal experience,how to help someone that suffers this malady.it is an interesting thing about the mind,there are so many choices you can make as we move this 'bag 'o' bones'through space on this tiny blue marbel.if you choose to you can use experience as a wise teacher.take the good the bad the ugly and learn from it and also understand more deeply what one goes through in this situation.you can choose to simply blindly go from one experience to another never gleaning the pearl at the bottom of the sea.Buddha said,'Life is hard' but there is a Way to be helpful in this life.Alot has to do with simplicity.Mindfullness is simplicity itself.it would have you present moment to moment in your life so that you are really here as opposed to the past or the future.if you are present how does that help. ?for one you are really there,fully and deeply as opposed to segmented.this is why in any tradition when you meet a wise person,you gravitate towards them.they are here,truly available in the moment.having this experience of 'fully human' you then understand deeply the implications and lessons of an experience.this is helpful as you now are helpful to others that might experience the same.the Buddha also said that the main point in life is,'to be usefull'.are we useful?have we spun so far into the material world that it is hard to slow down to understand,to help one another?again it comes back to simplicity.yesterday in the hospital i heard a friends story that spanned the last several years.it was a hard story,one in which he felt that noone listened anymore,that when he went to the hospital for several trips they treated him as'less than'.he brightened as he talked,the words flowed and i listened with full attention.by the time i left we laughed and joked.we can listen,we can experience life fully.we can 'BE' in the truest sense.it all depends on if you are in the moment,here right now.available....T

riseup
March 25, 2008, 4:41 pm

Rise up Rise up take hold of your Dream. Dont let them tell you that you will never achieve. The sweat will pour deep from your soul. but staisfaction comes from what your mind can control.... so rise up rise up wisper your dream for you are not alone our dreams are planted like seeds dreams are planted like seeds

breathin
March 24, 2008, 6:09 pm

I’ve been breathin all my life But I aint taking nothing in It’s hard to gauge the wrong from right I feel the truth crawling within If I’m a leper it’s your disease For you can’t stand what I believe Is it the hate on which you feed One day you will be consumed by me One day you will be consumed by me....... You wear the cloak of hate so proud But beware of golden rings They captivate your wanting mind But leave your soul bleeding within...... I hear profits spew their words Yet they don’t mean a thing to me For I been breathing all my life Yet I don’t feel a god dam thing For I been breathing all my life And I don’t feel a god dam thing...... What is right lies in your face You will never wipe away The spirit lives the spirit lives You cant take that gift away No you cant take that gift away For what is right lies in your face the spirit lives.....noj new sawng

Tibet....
March 23, 2008, 11:21 am

i am very dissappointed yet again with China's treatment of Tibet,particularly the accustaion that the demonstrations started with the Dalai Lama.The Dalai Lama has had a life-long devotion to non-violence and to implicate him in any sort of violence is just a blatant projection of the Gov.of China's blatant abuse.the world basically did not heed the unlawfull and criminal activity of the take over of Tibet,which led to the Dalai Lama escaping to India.we must as a nation be accountable for our 'blind eye'to the continuing occupation of Tibet.the Dalai Lama wrote a beautiful plan for Tibet that garnered him the Noble Peace Prize.it is important i feel to boycott not only the Olympice but also to put pressure on China to relinquish control of Tibet.you know that this is not right.i am saddened that in America our gov. picks and chooses their battles generally leading towards situations where their is an economic incentive for us to be part of the resolution.if you extend help and support this must by definition of a Democratic country extend to all nations,even the countries that have nothing to provide economically.if not we are hypocrits.Rwanda was a classic example! i ask you all to inform your Senators and Congresspeople of this dilemma and the peaceful resolution of the situation(which means giving Tibet back it's soverignty).read about the situation(i admit i am behind-as i just finnished a negativity fast,part of this meant not listening or reading the news-so get informed!)peace....T

conditioning for life....
March 22, 2008, 11:56 am

it is important to include training in all facets of life.some of the brightest,most active elders i have met have kept this concept throughout their lives.the physical,emotional,mental,social,and spiritual sides of the human being are ever growing.it is a developmental process from birth to death.we can be very logical about this training.for instance in the physical realm let us suppose that you are trying to reach a goal.first write it down on an index card and carry it everywhere you go-look at it five times throughout your day.make sure you have a date set for the goal to be accomplished.put the wording in the positive,'I will be able to do----by-----'or 'I did----by----'.then it is important to be logical about your goals.for instance if it is your goal to be able to walk five miles and you are currently at one-what is your plan?set about some logical conditioning that would support this goal.of course one site i never tire of endorsing is www.Transformetrics.com.there are many people on the forum that are very good and the publications are classics,the author and one that maintains this powerful Physical Culture forum is John Peterson and he is a class act,a man filled with integrity. so research,find exercises and plans that will fit your goals.of course this applies to all facets of life,but more on that later....T

true empowernemnt....
March 21, 2008, 8:26 am

how do you dream?it was once said by Laurence of Arabia that the truly fearful man is the one who is fully conscious of his dreams,while awake.of course this does not have to be taken in context with war,it applies to all life.in fact the great Medicine People of the world have this same quality and i might add a very keen sense of visualization.they can see before they do,and here is the all important,they trust'in what they see'.so many times in self knowledge development we allow little voices to come in that would discredit or at least marginalize what we do.now here is the trippy part,if you imagine you are in the rainforest and you are in Canada,seeing the various flora and fauna,smelling the warm fecund soil,feeling the humidity-guess what you are!your thought can travel faster than any man made mode of travel.it can travel to heal distantly(this has been reported and documented several times )it can reach out into the universe for messages of 'Power'.it can send love to those far away.when you think it itis there.no time delay for travel.it is not like newscasters from around the world that have that slight delay before they answer a question from home base.it is there immediately.i am convinced that there is so much to our subconscious mind we still don't understand and many times do not validate.part of this is due of course to the famed Decartian split.we tend now to analize and put into segments different parts of ourselves without seeing the total,or fully human experience.the key to these great people i feel is the ability once again to visualize and believe and to be fully human without seperation.what does this do?this allows for fullest potential in any given moment.there is not,'gee i wonder what i should make for dinner'or'man why did he/she say that to me today'? when in the moment,you are'fully' in the moment.no dusty cobwebs of the past or projections into the future,you are fully into this pregnant moment.okay so lets ask the question,how would this relate to say an artist?it relates again fristly that what they visualize they implicitly trust they can accomplish-the famed story of Michaelangelos's 'David'is a classic example-he could see the form,and there is no doubt he could execute the sculpting.the second principle is that as we experience the artistic moment our layers of filter let down,my son told me they have studied jazz musicians and there (i believe)front lobal parts of the brain slows,therefore no inhibition.they are in the moment,not conscious of what people might think.so they are free into the creativity of this moment.so the applicability is staggering.if we can be fully conscious of our dreams than we are reaching a potential way beyond what we formaly would have imagined.this is the stuff of legends.so the first thing in fostering this growth is to try and visualize ina ll aspects of your life before you do something.for instance visualize that meeting and its outcome,go deeply into it.visualize before you exercise or create,use as many senses as possible,vivid and rich like you are right there.the second thing is to practise meditation.find a practise that allows for silence and stillness so you can start to see how your mind works and talks.see the negative self talk watch it for several weeks and label it(in a journal).start to replace those thoughts with positive.for instance if you have a public speaking engagement and you say,'i really suck at that,why do i have to',guess what if you persist in this thinking it will have the potential for going badly.if however you replace it with a positive thought,'i have this engagement coming up,what a wonderful opportunity to practise my public speaking'and then practise in front of family or friends or a mirror-the chances are very good that this will be a very positive experience.again you must like Michaelangelo have implkicit trust,don't let the critical bull in.what has he/she ever accomplished for you in the past?i sometimes here,'well this is reality',well i ask who's.if you follow the self doubt the experience will be negative.we must as the Qigong masters say'think the good thought'if not then the advocacy of this modality would never work.alot to think about today.i truly hope you live your dreams,it is the essence of true Empowernment....T

last night....
March 19, 2008, 7:36 am

we really,really played last night.Jon definately served notice in a solo on'Washing Away Columbus'it was killa'.you may have noted that at the end of the song we have a Chicago type blues at the end.this is intentional,Natives and Blacks share a history of severe abuse on this continent,and there are many Blacks that have Native ancestory and many Natives that have Black ancestory,as we do.in this song we represent this sonicaly.the blues have a way of really touching the soul as it is universal.we have all felt down before,we have all felt what we hear when we hear the blues.it is a direct communication in the nature of human existence.Jon nailed it last night.we have been performing as a two piece down here so it leaves alot of room for percussive playing.double stops,muted notes,there is alot of stuff to be used in the arsenal of a bass player and it helps to build impeccable time.in fact i would advise all aspiring bass players to find a gig with a guitarist or another instrumentalist as it will challenge you.there is also no room for error.last night during a song,Jon's chord went bad in a song(believe me it happens)so what do you do,by all means keep playing.it was rather interesting as,he did the vocals and I kept the groove going,it worked,we pulled it off and the crowd clapped and enjoyed.ahhh,playing out,the challenges!....T

those that are fully human....
March 18, 2008, 7:08 am

every day there are people on this earth that do an amazing job to help the human condition.they are generally un-heralded as what they do is not for fame or fortune.it was said by John Main that a Saint is one that is,'fully human'.note what he is saying,not lost in romantics or mystical abilities,but fully human.in all atraditions of the world i have seen that this is true,no blinders of the self conscious ego.they see reality for what it is and are 'real'in this ever changing ever present now which is the pregnant cretive moment unfolding,ever changing.we struggle so much don't we?we blind ourselves so much don't we?to be fully human is to truly see.going back to so many daily that don't get the press and glam,they simply see a need and help.i have seen this with a fully human in my life,she is ever 'here' and being 'here' she is a lotus in a sea of fire,for many and their needs.i wish to celebrate them today....T

sleep....
March 17, 2008, 8:52 am

good nutrition,exercise and a good nights sleep are the healthy triad for a good long life.we happened to catch 60 minutes last night on sleep.so much research has been done in the last 20 years and it seems to be coming into fruition.everything from mental illness(symptoms like)to obesity it is there when people are chronically sleep deprived.now i didn't catch the entire episode so i hope they talked of the restorative side of sleep and the release of human growth hormone from the pituitary gland as you sleep.generally the episode left you wanting,as Jon says,what is the solution for sleep problems?it would be very good for them to show this side of research in a follow up.Happy Saint Patricks Day everyone! Our mother's maiden name is Mayo(as in County Mayo in Ireland),enjoy the day,sleep tonight!....T

freedom and love....
March 16, 2008, 10:07 am

we can learn so much from LOVE and Freedom.if we allow ourselves to be loved,then we feel the sense of reciprocity and the freedom to allow our hearts to flourish.allowing to love is something certainly to invest in.we invest our time for vast portions of the day to things-busy schedules,eating,work,material.do we take the time to invest in our own hearts?do we allow love and to be loved enter.yesterday i was walking and my friends the songbirds were out.they sang so sweetly.it was that time of the afternoon when the sun slanted on the trees and their bark,showing every curve,bump,and growth.the sky was perfectly blue not a cloud in sight.i walked and listened,allowing this love to enter,and of course freedom followed.it was the freedom of a heart loved and loving at the same time.there seems a duality there but the paradox is that when loved and allowed to be loved we at the same time love.if we completely let go in this silence this pregnant moment of now,the swinging door of perceptual awareness is open to see ever slightly the mystery(as the ego subsides).freedom follows love.to be loved to feel love is freedom.let us be free today,allowing ourselves to be loved and love....T

freedom....
March 13, 2008, 8:58 am

freedom! we love the sense and notion of freedom don't we!i am convinced that this years election has had such overwhelming appeal because people want a sense of re-newed freedom.restriction in the way that you function undoubtedly and by definition limits freedom.the volly of fear based media and taking away liberties has people uncomfortable and feeling that not only is everything uneasy(economy,etc...)but some of the hard work that was won by activists in the 60's has been lost.it is time to regain a sense of this freedom.freedom to speak wihout feeling a sense of retribution,speaking on the phone without the sense of wiretapping,freedom to preserve our wilderness areas without despoiling,freedom to be a beakon of light to the world-putting down what we have weilded the last 8 years the big club of democracy.we want and desire freedom,it is one of the words strongly used in the formulation of this country.restriction is well restriction.a good place to start would be this election,grassroots movements,and a total makeover of the way that media portays the news.i have fasted for awhile now from this lunacy,and you know i definately feel more relaxed,less restricted,more free....T(ps.great new song Jon!)

new acoustic song
March 12, 2008, 8:33 pm

Let me live Why don’t you let me die Will the angels care Will the angels cry For I am not I m not the chosen one You can’t escape the truth It always hunts you down explode my idol mind so I can see release the demons crawling inside me I grasp at empty straws so I can breath But in the end I drown because its me yea in the end I drown because its me what is life why do the innocent bleed when will it all make sense why does it bother me should I be blind choosing not to see as I wipe the blood of those who die needlessly you fill those empty minds with your beliefs I follow you because its easier for me I cringe at hints of violence that I see you say its right and thats good enough for me You say its right and that’s good enough for me How do you judge a life How do you know where you stand Does it mean anything What do you hold in your hands That little voice inside Its creeping up from your soul Let it tickle your mind Then let what’s right take control

PEACE IN PROGRESS....
March 12, 2008, 11:18 am

Jon and i were talking this morning and what we are advocating in what i wrote about this morning is a grassroots movement.to take part in the process and work towards change.we used a term long ago before the second bush election,'PEACE IN PROGRESS',i feel that this would be important right here and right now,if you would like type in PEACE IN PROGRESS in the search engine and you will see where we were going with this....T

keepin alive....
March 12, 2008, 8:00 am

i thank whoever posted in the fan journal(sounds like another Mainer).i am encouraged to see that this election has helped to get people back on their feet after alot of bitter disappointment for some time in the American politic and landscape of this country.frankly put we need to seriously roll up the sleeves all of us to clean up this mess.we can not afford to have a politician claim to have all the answers as we all need to collectively get back into the picture-away from apathy(we are all guilty-and i point no finger at any particular politician).many might have noted that i don't talk about politice as much,my posts are more in line with personal change and inspiration.this is not to say i am not interested,far from it.we were raised in the 60's with a fairly active mother in Civil Rights causes.we see the devastation of the forgotten ones like Native Americans,the inner cities,the migrant workers.there is an insideous issue here that we must have a frank discussion about.basically Moynihan pointed to the reality that business left the inner city along with the workers that used to come back into the city and mentor the younger genertions.i have personaly watched initiatives sunk by-okay i am going to say it without reservation-a racist Governor that could care less about the fate of Native peoples.we must get serious about not only voluteerism but sustainable economies,and they are different in different parts of the country.what i mean by this,is to figure out what works for Wahington County,Maine and Pine Ridge South Dakota and help to foster the building of said economy.we must look at the inner cities carefully and understand the multiple issues that have led to hunger,homelessness,and poor health-with no economic insentive.the issues need careful,careful examination and then-ACTION! not just a handshake and visitation but serious community building.getting everyone involved within a community for meaningful and SUSTAINABLE change.i am weary hearing about half measures and politicians slapping their own backs about an initiative that you know will have no long standing history.i write alot about personal change-because we all must!and i see many people that are disturbed but they don't get up to act.we all have the capability of action that can be felt daily.the excitment for this years election is great to see-how about ten years from now!i don't want positive change wiped out in four or eight years by another Bush clone.how do we do this?watching carefully initiatives that are being undermined or subverted.wathcing good legislation cut because of financial reasons or for the Executive office to gain more power.stay tuned in as it is really beyond you,we are really looking at our childrens children.i wrote awhile back about the necessity of having people held on trial for warcrimes in despoiling the enviornment.OUTRAGEOUS-HOW COULD I SAY SUCH A THING?it is a war,when you subvert legislation and dump pcbs and other toxic chemicals into the air,the ocean the rivers,the land you have effectively waged severe and i mean severe warfare on your childrens,children.it is time for accountability.it is time that people that would subvert to be exposed for who and what they are.it saddens me greatly that the former president was nailed so ardously for a sexual indiscretion and yet the current president is a war criminal in regards to the enviornment and human beings.warfare,the cutback of good legislation,loss of personal freedom,how did we allow this dude out of here without so much as an investigation(i mean a serious one!).yes history may remember,blah,blah how horrible he was,but what of the accountability right here,right now! how did we become so complacent? i think we all know the answer to that,but now it is time for us to roll the sleeves again.it is time to have the same sort of energy that the Depression Era folks had to all help to try and get out of a tough situation.i also beg you,literally beg you to consider what i have written about in regards to the enviornment,i hear the distant voices of children screaming,suffering for what we have brought upon them.need evidence right now?don't believe in global warming?fine just check the mercury levels in oceans,just check the pollution in rivers,just check the dramatic increase worldwide in childhood asthma and upper respiratory illness.it is time people,let us do what we need to to keep this time of activism alive for a very,very long time....T

Where you standing??? and with who???
March 11, 2008, 9:48 am

There is a woman who lives two doors down on the other side of the street from me who is a retired school teacher. I talk with her occasionally and have learned she volunteers several days each week to Hospice care ( a blessing to the terminally ill and their families, anyone who has experienced their care firsthand knows what I am talking about) anyway when the garbage men come around twice a week I see her hand out drinks to the guys wanting nothing in return just doing one of her many random act of kindness because that is who she is. The reason I bring this up is that this woman is gay she lost her partner a few years ago and lives a solitary life but hers is a life that makes a difference!!!!!!!! in so many ways!!!!!!!!! So I ask you what kind of God would make her less of a person?? what kind of God would not want this beautiful woman on his or her side????? is it your God??????? I am not gay and I know it is not a “choice� after all aren’t we all supposed to be created in GODS IMAGE???? I will take her any day over the pretenders and those who follow Gods who do not teach the lessons of compassion and tolerance for every decent human being ………………Jon

7 acts of random kindness....
March 10, 2008, 9:15 am

great song Jon!it is funny how a song you have forgotten will come across the airwaves and you get fully involved in its precense again.this is like all classic rock and music,it goes and lives beyond the generation it was written in.i was listening to,'Love Supreme',yesterday by John Coltrane.this song has so much faith,hope,and promise-like the great man that he was.the world is a ghetto when you look how mankind has mucked things up.on the other hand i have had good fortune to see ordinary people that do extraordinary things.they have gone beyond themselves to create something far greater for their community and their world.'Pay It Forward',comes to mind in regards to students-children seeing beyond themselves.i have seen many children from horrible situations light the world with their heart.i am always in awe in wonder seeing this.daily committment to help is important i feel,in everyday interactions.to be kind as you open the door for a male/or female-little acts of random kindness.in the peer helper class i taught i had the students do 7 acts of random kindness,they always groaned at first.soon they realized that they were already doing them and then extended this practise to 10-20-30 a day.we all live in complicity,the choices we make have impacts on our world.buying porn supports the objectification of women worldwide-that means your mother your sister your daughter.buying styrofoam and dumping your computer fills landfills.bringing very loud music to the wilderness hurts the ear and earth vibrations,in a similar vein,feeding animals in the wild teaches them to expect this makes them reliant on human beings for food.there are so many things each and every day that we can do to better our world.i encourage shadowscreamer friends to do 7 acts of random kindness a day,watch how soon it will expand outwards.the world needs us to be kinder more loving or what will we have left for our childrens,children?....T

well???
March 8, 2008, 6:44 pm

The world is a ghetto ……for those who don’t know it’s a line from a great 70s song which is sadly still lived today, and tomorrow, and on and on……so what are you me and any other sorry soul on this planet who has the intelligence and the drive deep within to change the course and to lift humanity out of the ghetto to do????? Looks like from where I stand not a god dam thing and I am having trouble living with that……. what about you?????????

Rasta Man....
March 8, 2008, 8:12 am

one of the beautiful things about doing a song like Rasta Man(great song and lyrics Jon!)is that you get a chance albeit briefly to step out of ordinary time.what i mean by this is that as the Rishis,the Taoist sages,the Sufi's,the Christian Mystics,Medicine People,all mystics say,is that the truth is timeless.it is in now time,past time,and time beyond what we as human beings can possibly understand.we were recording that song the other day,and I clearly saw a vision of Bob Marley while we played,he was smiling and playing along.it was a sequence of time that touched the past,the presnt and beyond.when we talk about peace,when we allow ourselves to be the test case for liberation,we touch a sense of personal and collective freedom.we have all experienced freedom in the past.there have been moments in your life where you touched the elusive veil of transcendance.truth has this quality.now before we go much farther we must define truth.what is truth?many have a relative sense of what this word means.often times in discussion we feel the truth about what we are saying as oppossed to our friend we are conversing with.on closer inspection perhaps this has more to do with ego,than the larger sense of truth.it is easy to see this,i tell people i am wrong daily.what do i mean?well,thought i was right about something-that something was the truth,as it turns out by further examination and further discovery,there is a deeper more profound way of seeing the issue i felt right about.so you learn hopefully to broaden ,to open more each day so that the mind can enter a realm beyond oneself,beyond ego.this is what we mean by truth.it transcends ego.it is not a narrow path.they sometimes use the word,'eternal',as again a truth goes in all directions of time;past,present and future.it stands through the narrow sifting of human thought and comes through strongly as something that cannot be measured or owned or yielded as a sword to diminish oneself or others(unless you are talking about dying,in a sense the truth does this,it allows the seer to die,to die in the confines of rigid egoistic thought patterns.you must die(ego)to touch the veil of transcendance-think of love.ever been in love?do you remember the feeling with your lover,when suddenly you weren't there anymore,you were burned up in the fires of something beyond the narrow confines of self.).truth is life affirming.it is something that relates the sense of universal.we are in awe of the truth as it spreads the veil to see beyond ourselves to a future of possibility.it points to the pregnant presence of silence,simplicity,stillness within which is true and unified action,pure energy.i tire of people weilding Sacred Texts like a battle weapon.they don't understnd what it is that they hold in their hands.this happens in all religions-fanatics.you have heard it said that,'the truth shall set you free'a voice of recrimination,guilt,anger,diminishing(meaning you are less than because you are a----and i am a -----).the truth sets you free because like the raiku cup whose imperfections is its beauty,we try to hold the truth looking at the confines of said cup,but the truth has no confines,let the cup fall in awe,its breaking is the wonder and the beauty of a heart that understands this presence goes beyond holding and in its'beyond holding'it empowers our spirit to be free. so it was an honor doing that song.it is an honor being here typing in my clumsy fashion to you this morning.it is a wonder to be alive today,filled with love for you....LOVE and PEACE,T

Thank God this shithead is almost out of Office
March 8, 2008, 5:50 am

Tom Brokejaw here at the White House interviewing President Bush again…….President Bush it seemed a little uncomfortable watching you the other day trying to give Senator John McCain a rousing endorsement what with the memory of that “nasty to say the least� smear campaign you waged against McCain when you both were running in the Republican Primary campaign in 2000. We all remember you saying he was unstable because of time he spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and then accusing his wife of being a drug addict and even going so far as to say Mr. McCain had fathered an illegitimate child with a black woman what is your response Mr. President?……..Well Tom you don’t know nothing bout politics do ya! my mommy and daddy taught me to surround yourself with the lowest, meanest, coldhearted, nasty, people you can find to run your campaign and look at me I am President of America!......Ok Mr. President…. Next question why does your administration continue to use water board torture even though congress has taken steps to make it illegal? Well Tom them congressmen don’t know how to stop them terrorist from atttackin America I know two things one I aint never gonna read again while I am in office cause on 9/11 I was concentratin so hard trying ta read to them grade school kids I couldn’t pay attention to nothing else and look what happened we got attacked!! and as for water board torture Hell Dickey Chaney showed me a brochure on Club Med and they do that water board torture thing as part of their spa program!!! Hell them people pay good money for it and besides what do I care what congress or them laws say you should know that by now Tom hahahahah…..Ok Mr. President one last question….When you ran for president against Al Gore in 2000 you said that Bill Clintons energy policy was a complete failure back then just 7 short years (although your two terms seem like 70 years) ago gasoline was around 1.50 a gallon yet now it is headed by most experts up to the 4.oo a gallon range that’s almost three times the price in less than ten years?......Golly gee Tom I told ya I don’t read so I can concentrate on them terrorists so I didn’t know gas was so high in fact to tell ya the truth Daddy Bush didn’t know how to shop for food in the grocery store and I don’t know a thing bout pumpin gas!! hell I got people for that, let me tell ya my theory…. it’s that dam inflation thing that’s causin this trouble Tom think of inflation as a big balloon that is expandin out a control and there is nothing we can do about it!! Hey ya know what Tom I just came up with a great idea!!maybe that inflation balloon is getting bigger from all them gasses let out from the cars everybody drives? If Americans would stop drivn so much I bet we would see that big balloon of inflation start ta get smaller and for ya know it gas would be cheap again!.................................This is Tom Brokejaw handing it back to you at the news desk Gracie I need to take a long walk to clear my head………jon

I am back and I aint going away until we stop all this nonesense
March 7, 2008, 5:46 pm

I was listening to Christian radio today the Janet Bolger show specifically, and if her reality and the millions of others who are joined in this cult is reality then count me the hell out. Examples of the extreme views gee didn’t Hitler have similar views?(I argue acceptance and tolerance and basic knowledge) they say that gays choose their lifestyle and thus are cretins and somehow less then human, those who are for a right for woman to choose are apparently going to kiss the devils ass while they burn in hell, And evolution is a satanic misguided belief? if I had a dime for every time she said the words Fear God I would have earned a good days pay. Why the hell should you fear god??? Are you a decent human being? If you are what the hell else do you have to prove? Do you need eternal damination hanging over your head to be a better person? Self absorbed in your own supposed right to kiss gods ass at the gates of heaven so you can get in and live it up for eternity???? SEEMS KIND OF PERVERTED TO ME BUT WHAT THE HELL I GUESS I HAVE MADE MY BED AND I WILL LAY IN IT……JON

the all....
March 7, 2008, 8:56 am

we all can do better.to be kinder,to love more,to enjoy life more!yesterday i took a try at singing a song,'The One'a little beyond my vocal range.it is a tough song to sing.Jon put it up anyways with my blessing as there is nothing to fear or hide,we will show you works in progress as well as the finished material.our effort is to help young musicians along the way,with our songs and musings to let everyone know we are all brothers and sisters first and foremost,and in this industry in particular.we enjoy dialogue with you keep it coming!LOVE....T

lyrics....
March 6, 2008, 5:14 pm

we have received requests to have our lyrics printed with the songs.we can do this but we have to hear from you all.let us know if you would like lyrics and i will type them in each day with the latest songs entry-Please get back to us on this!thank you....T

flip a coin....
March 6, 2008, 8:21 am

what is the stuff of legend?what makes a person great?look into the mirror,do you see,yup that is you my friend.the person staring back is your greatest ally or your greatest enemy,depends how you flip the coin.the coin of human duality,our dark side our light side.if we continually flip it to the dark side we reside in the realm of the improbable and the pessimist.if you flip to the light side you can see possibility.no judgement here,it just is.the Buddha said,'you are what you think,what you think creates the world'(your world).of course there is the deeper side of transcendance.going beyond duality,more about that another time....T

great gig!
March 5, 2008, 7:28 am

we are recording as you know.last night we played South Shores,the sound was amazing.through the rain,the sleet,the snow,and all adversity,Shadowscreamers will deliver!....T

negativity fast,will you join me?
March 4, 2008, 8:16 am

today i am on a negativity fast for the remainder of March.if you would like to join me just enter,'negativity fast' in the search engine and many entries will help you get started.why a negativity fast?we are continually inundated with negativity with the news and a culture of 'Brokenness'.this keeps us in fear,this keeps us fractured,this keeps us away from ourselves.it is important to reclaim our sense of wholeness.try a fast one day-two days and then extend it.again just type in 'negativity fast' into the search engine....peace and love,T

ahhh,the music....
March 2, 2008, 4:45 pm

keep lookin' to the site as we are 'a' recordin'! it is such a blast to play on such tunes,the other day we were doin' a sound check and Jon starts playin' this reggae tune.i'm thinkin' hmmm,love the groove,couldn't resist,'hey what song is this'.'it is a tune that i wrote to honor Bob Marley'.'right on man,i love it,let's do it'.we got plunkin' around on it,and we came up with the song that you hear.a spot of alright eh?i think it came out great for the first run down and am glad that folks enjoy it! you will see alot more new stuff up and you will also see our day by day log about the sessions and how they came about.oftentimes we hear new songs,but what about the story behind the song and how it got recorded,well keep checkin' we will show you how ours came about.and by the way,turn on your friends to the Screamers,ask them,'Have you had your Scream today'?when they say no tell em' to waltz their fingers on over to our website!peace and love,T....

Day to Day here it is
March 2, 2008, 8:20 am

Now that we have started the process of recording new material and have some rough demos up on our site (p.s. two more to come later Today )I thought we could let those who are interested in on some of the process involved with recording a project know more about what we are doing day to day. We are using a Zoom eight Channel digital recording unit we are only going to use four channels for recording Two for the Guitar too spread the sound, One for vocals, one for bass that is it. We are going to be recording way old school which is no overdubs ( these are other instruments and voices you add on to the project once the basic tracks are recorded which are usually bass, drums, and guitars in our type of project). Not having the luxury of recording the same part over and over until it’s perfect we have to perform at our highest level to get a good live recording. Yesterday I spent all afternoon getting the rough songs we have recorded from the recording unit to our web site it has been awhile since the last time I did serious recording so it was a painstakingly slow process and I got pissed off repeatedly mostly at my own incompetence. This morning I am reviewing each song and taking notes for each instrument and vocal performance, and how to improve on each of them. We look at recording music as an evolving process ( sorry Devine Creation folks) in order to get better you have to look very critically at each recording step and make adjustments. Later Today after we rehearse for our gig on Tuesday night at South Shores Tavern www.southshorestaverrn.com if the gods of recording are kind I will put up two new tunes also rough demos but what the hell we are sharing this process with our fans across the planet and the stats don’t lie we know you are out there feel free to give us input on what we are doing. ecaeP ... jon

Calling all our fans........ its time
February 29, 2008, 11:11 pm

We are what you are, no more no less, we bleed like you bleed, we breath like you breath, our tears taste of salt just like yours, our voice is the same as your voice....... we need each and every one of you who takes something or adds something to this site to stand up with your own voice and be heard. One of life’s greatest tragedies is to know the truth in your heart but to hold it inside wrapped in fear and uncertainty, we know the truth sometimes hurts and makes us uncomfortable but what are we afraid of? And more importantly what have we already lost? And how much more do we have to loose?.......jon

thinking....
February 29, 2008, 8:38 am

'You are what you think'-Buddha.let us think the good thought today,breath by breath,moment by moment.this world has enough worries and pains without us adding our two cents worth.time to as they say in Qigong,'Think the good thought',so we indeed can be what we think....T

Touch the hand .....I sure as hell cant
February 27, 2008, 8:30 pm

To Open the mind…… taking in the complicated symphony of human existence while being rock steady in our perception of all emotions all colors all personalities along with everything we live and breath without passing judgment…… is to touch the hand of god…noj

Atto second....
February 27, 2008, 8:49 am

had a great conversation with my brilliant son Leif.he was talking about recent discoveries in Physics,namely the detection of the velocity of electrons around protons and neutrons.he was saying that they had to come up with a new word for speed in regards to how fast they move.they move at an ATTO second around their orbits.an Atto second is to a second what a second is to the time it takes to traverse the entire universe!(correct me if I have this wrong Leif).you know your dad,i can barely turn on a computer.so if this is true,what they have detected,it has me thinking deeply.what of the speed of thought,of love.for instance i send a loving message to you,at your desk at that moment you feel instantly a sense of wellbeing.now there was almost no time between projection and feeling.how does this happen(believe me I have experimented thusly over the years,usually with healing energy and prayers)?i have mentioned many times dreams.just had one this morning.in waking consciousness this dream would have lasted years,but i know it was a mere seconds or minutes.i awoke at fiveam,went back to sleep until six am,the dream was just before i awoke-again the dream in waking consiousness would have been years.further,this summer on 7/7/07 we answered the call from a South American Medicine Man to send prayers of healing to the world.i happened to be teaching Qigong and Tai Chi that night,so i had the group practise the infamous Sun and Moon Qigong which sends love to all beings.as soon as we entered the circle,every person(including the skeptics)could feel the energy.it was like a vortex of love.many reported feeling a sense of well-being for a couple of weeks afterwards!so what happened,how instantaneously could these transmissions from around the world be felt?time is not what we think it is.i firmly believe that if i could picture a planet in a distant galaxy at the ends of the universe,than part of me would be there in perhaps an Atto second perhaps faster!this thought,this being there visualy would not have to travel light years and light years as our physical bodies would! it would be there.in fact that would be a cool scie-fi.explorers reaching some distant planet to discover that thought had manifested some manipulation of space long,long ago.i would watch that movie,maybe.anywho,our thoughts in the musical realm go out to the universe.our sound is very unique and we feel original.there is alot of love behind what we do,can you feel it,how long did it take? T....

Rain,Rain....
February 26, 2008, 6:50 pm

well bummer news tonight-rained out at South Shores! playing outdoors presents it's obstacles,this time rain,wind and possible tornadoes up North(pray everyone is okay!).we will be back there next week stronger than ever,meanwhile we are recording and will be hitting the Indies soon!!!!T....

recording....
February 26, 2008, 12:54 pm

we would like to let you into our world.as you know we enter Band Journals faithfully everyday.this will never cease no matter how big or small we are.we just got out of a recording session.we are refining and zeroing in on the sound.come back in the next couple of days to hear new stuff as we work towards our demo.we love sharing with you the aches and pains,the joy and esctasy of what it is to be a band,so glad you are on board!one of the things i really love about this band is,well let's take today for instance.in one session we did a blues song,a reggae song and an avant garde nod to John Coltranes,'Love Supreme'.i love this sort of ecclectic mix that makes for a dynamic sound and band.well gotta go,three songs in a day-good days work....T

epoh ......look foreword and it spells hope
February 26, 2008, 9:35 am

Hope is a funny thing…..I hope that what T and I are doing as a band with the sacrifice will work out and maybe we can step up another rung on the ladder expanding our voice across the planet….. but then I think of what hope means to the persecuted across the planet and contemplate what they hope for? To have a good meal one day a week? drink a sip of clean water? Not get raped in the middle of the night even though you are a child? to maybe one day be able to go to school desperately seeking and appreciating the chance to expand your mind and opportunities? Yeah I wonder sometimes if I even deserve to have hope when so many have nothing else to cling to……JON

bee's....
February 25, 2008, 8:28 am

what about bees's?natures workhorses in regards to pollinating crops so that we may eat.several years ago in Maine we had a summer that was uncharecteristicaly cold.in fact it was so cold that the bee's didn't come to pollinate.what do you think happened to our garden that year?you guessed it,it was a horrible gardening summer.right now we are in the middle of a crises.bee's are dying or disappearing.scientists do not quite understand why.60 minutes just did a special on it last night.i already knew this info.as an aquiantance of mine is a beekeeper.she has tried to recruit people to be beekeepers for this very same reason,as there clearly is a crisis.it is speculated that the new fertilizers are causing bee's to be confused as they disrupt neuro pathways,this seems veryy plausable to me.if this happens to insects as repellants and for neutralization,why would they not expect this with bee's?it makes perfect sense to me.to give credit to scientists they need to analize the situation fully,but can't they stop this usage before they are all dead,like some parts of France?Jon and I have written as markers enviornmental damage that is increasing the pollution and dissolution of our beautiful planet.we must use ancient technologies for gardening in mass.organic ways so that we do not further catasrophies!another speculation about the bee' is the infection,mold,etc...now what would happen if all the bee's die(in some areas they are already down by 50 percent).well goodbye to billions of dollars of produce.this is another example of not understanding the complicated process of food ending up on our tables.bee's are very imporatnt for many crops like oranges,blueberiies,almonds,etc,etc,etc... the list goes on and on.without bee's there are no crops.THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!write your congresspeople and senators and demand that this become a top priority.we must find out the problem here and what can be done before the bee's are gone....T

care....
February 23, 2008, 8:06 am

today let us care for ourselves and one another.the human has given to much importance to his/herself,in doing so we seem on a desperate plunge to destroy the world and everything in it.can we touch the consciousness of the Earth?i believe we can but we must first drop the ego and all of its projections.we must get to a point of living fully in the moment,if not we are destined to project-past or future.the problem is not only not living in the now,it also makes everything around seem un-important.it leaves us with dreams and projections regrets,anger,and an attitude of ,'some day I....'there is the problem right there.do you see it?first it is that pesky 'I 'that seperates us from everything else in the universe.actually the 'I' is not even THE 'I'.the 'I' is the cosmic-larger than we can imagine 'I',the hinge of understanding the ground of being.in saying I people usually mean i,which refers to self and ego.the second point is that if you regret the past and dream the future,how do you live today?how can you possibly see the beautiful Hawk that just flew overhead,how can you see the anthill and the diligent ant?how can you experience the here,the now?it is not that we should not have plans for the future,that is important,the problem is spending every waking moment in that fanatsimal future that hasn't even manifested yet.we call this person or that person crazy are we not all crazy when we live a life in such a way?there have been hundreds of entries on this journal about caring for yourself and others,look them up.find your own way of living here and now with yourselves and others.this moment is worth it,it is really all we truly have....T

On the road
February 22, 2008, 5:44 am

Going to visit our buddy this morning in prison again. I have known Mike for 25 years (if you want to know the history and real story of this injustice type in� Prison� or “mike� in the “archives searcher� at the top of the page).T is home watching my kids. I hope they get me checked in quicker this time as the last time it took two hours to get processed in to see him being as visiting hours are from 8am-3pm and it takes me four hours to get up to the place that does not leave much time. None of the guards are in any hurry and the process is very thorough as you can imagine gotta run more later……jon

Sky Church....
February 21, 2008, 9:15 am

i can't help but agree with Jon.it is total committment on our part.we sing, we play, we sweat, we love.this cosmic unfolding we are all a part of is such an elegant dance.to dance under the stars trying to reciprocate in kind to the kindness of creativity and behind the creativity,is an honor.it is very sacred.i understand why Hendrix called playing outside,'Sky Church'....T

YOU WANT THE TRUTH HERE IT IS FANS.....
February 20, 2008, 5:08 pm

SHADOW SCREMERS LIVES BREATHES AND GIVES ONE HUNDRED PERCENT TO THOSE WHO ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND ACROSS THE PLANET….. ALWAYS HAVE… ALWAYS WILL. YOU WANT PROOF??? GO BACK IN THE BAND JOURNAL TO 2003 AND SEE WHERE WE STOOD THEN AND THEN GO AHEAD AND SEE WHERE WE STAND NOW….. T IS DOWN HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND HIS FAMILY IS IN MAINE WE ARE GIVING EVERY OUNCE OF ENERGY WE HAVE TO THIS INCREDIBLE JOURNEY….. YOU WANT COMMITMENT, YOU WANT CONSISTENCY? YOU HAVE MY WORD I BLEED THE SONGS I SING BECAUSE I KNOW THE PAIN AND EXPERIENCE FROM WHICH THEY CAME AND I WILL NEVER,NEVER ,NEVER GIVE OUR DESEVING FANS ANYTHING LESS….. I CANT SPEAK FOR T BUT I KNOW HE FEELS THE SAME WAY……WAKE UP YOU DISMALL RECORD INDUSTRY YOUR ASS IS GRASS AND ONE DAY WE WILL BE HEARD DESPITE YOUR COMPLANCEY…………..JON

the tongue....
February 20, 2008, 6:30 am

the tongue can be such a deadly and hurtful instrument.it can denigrate,lash,and release emotional content that at times is dangerous and unfullfilling for the individual and everyone around.we talk to much.we talk to much and presume that we are experts on whatever topic area we discuss.western man has a difficult time stepping back.we are raised in such a fashion that you must be,'right'at all cost.what happens when you are wrong?there is such inherent value in being wrong.first off let us state the obvious,noone is right all the time.if they think they are,they are seriously deluded.second let us suppose you are wrong,what will happen?will the sky fall?will you die?hardly!you know that to be wrong is to understand that there are more ways to look at the issue than presumed.in learning that you learned to expand, to broaden your wisdom and knowledge base.you have essentially stopped the discursive mind but for a moment and had a simple,'ahha' moment.this is extremely important.to learn is to live,to live is to learn.if we keep using our tongues as weapons we can't learn.if we use it sparingly like a fine spice or herb on our food,we make a truly important discovery.we learn how to listen better.we learn that it is okay to have the feedback loop of being wrong as it expand's us as opposed to the contraction of the brutal and oft weilded tongue.i am wrong every day.i can't help it,i am merely human.being human as with everything,there are strengths and weakneses.that is okay,let us recognize them for what they are,our strengths our weaknesses.it has done a world of hurt to our world by being the tongueslinging self righteous beings we have been.just look around at the anger,the hate,the violence,the poverty,the enviornmental degredation.let us put down this weapon,and better use our ears....T

to give....
February 19, 2008, 9:00 am

when we offer the left hand where is the right?many will have giving as a way to show perhaps how important they are,how generous,'look at me'!!!!the truest form of giving comes like our very Sacred Breath,natural relaxed,as comfortable as stretching our hands.we like to be heard don't we?now this may present itself as a paradox given our logo.what i mean is that there is a difference between being heard when your voice naturaly needs to come out,and to be heard just so you can hear your own self-importance.i have spent many hours with Elders talking.it has always struck me that there are no wasted words,no sitting impatiently barely listening so they can have their turn to get their point across.they just listen,to the words and the meaning behind the words and the all imporatant space between.i have also learned alot about true giving from my Elders.they just do it as naturally as the breath.it is part of the intricate fabric of there lives.no fanfare,no,'hey look at me ',doing this or that to help another human being,they just do.i have watched my Clan Mother give when she didn't even have anything to give anymore.we can all learn to listen better,to give better,to be taught by the space between words better.it is this silence that everything is born.when we invade this,we invade our own creative nature.in this sense our giving becomes something other than giving....T

how we step and breathe....
February 16, 2008, 9:55 am

we walk upon the Earth absent mindedly most of the time.caught in the cares and worries of our lives we live in our heads.one of the things that meditation teaches is to put our center back into our center.as we breathe abdominaly we allow the mind to also go to the center .there are many excellant reasons why we should do this.one, as we get older our heart fire tends to rise.when we are caught in our heads this amplifies,which can lead to high blood pressure,and heart problems.as we lower the breath we allow the water of the kidney and the heart fire to blend-particularly if we do meditations such as embryonic breathing.as we age we tend to lose the vital essence of the kidney(which is extremly important for everything from bone structure to sexual vitality),we in a sense use ourselves up.another reason is that as we lower the mind and breath,we tend to calm down,to relax.i have coached a variety of sports over the years.when an athlete is injured on the field,they know the first thing i will tell them when i get out there is to slow down the breath and bring it to the abdomen.this allows for the relaxing of the tissue around the injury.as we breathe high up when injured we tend to hyperventilate tightening the muscle and tissue around the injury which creates more pain-as well as thinking about what happened and the hurt-to be with the hurt from the center of our being is much different!it also allows for the gentle massaging of the internal organs.we take our organs for granted,and they work so hard for us all the time.it is good to give them a smile occasionaly and to allow them the attention they deserve.finally(for today-there actually are many more reasons)as we lower the breath and becme more calm,we become more attentive to the way we move this bag'o' bones through space.we become more caring,more compassionate in how we walk the Earth.we tend to walk with,'each step as if kissing Mother Earth'.this is the baseline for enviornmental action,how we each and every one of us moves upon this earth.when we are aware,attentive we tend to see all beings all things with the eyes of compassion,with LOVE....T

Prayers go out....
February 15, 2008, 7:16 am

Our prayers go out to the victims and families of yet another school shooting.I would like to see an entire subgroup in national education devote all of it's attention to this tragic issue in America.We must look at this situation very deeply and carefully.After the Columbine shootings I was talking about this with another educational collegue.Her solution was to plant trees,and sure enough an effort was made to do such.Now please don't get me wrong I love trees and I understand the sentiment behind this thought,but we have to simply roll up our sleeves and collectively work on this issue.This task force at the national level I am suggesting would never dis-band with ploitical winds,there are always issues to work on and ways that we can look at precursers to these tragidies.National organizations for mental health could work colloboratively with this group.In the former school I worked at we had an active Peer Helper program,conflict mediation and restorative justice program.We would often hear of a situation before it unfolded and intervene.IT WAS VERY,VERY EFFECTIVE.We simply must roll up our sleeves and get to work on this issue in a deep collective way....T

George Washington Carver....
February 14, 2008, 9:34 am

George Washington Carver was not only an amazing person but one of the premiere scientists this country has ever known.He not only saved the South economically as the bole weevil invaded decimating cotton crops and introduced peanuts as a viable alternative,but also introduced the science of foods for insudtrial use.As a vegetarian I owe alot of my food choices to Carver as he experimented with the soy bean and introduced soy mayonnaise and a host of other soy foods as well as its use for textiles,crayons,pencils,etc...It is amazing to see a scientist that is not only just researching and hidden away in a science lab,Carter also took his knowledge on the road,helping farmers throughout the South.His work has had implications that continue to drive everything from the food industry,textiles,to NASA.A profound bow and a lotus goes out to George Washington Carver and those that continue his research.Thank you,thank you,thank you,thank you!....Shadowscreamers

Listen....
February 13, 2008, 9:01 am

many people make the mistake in reading the Bhagavad Gita that it is simply a battle tale.they see that the story is just about Arjuna and his battle within himself having to go into battle agaist relatives and countrymen.though there is this element,what is truly happening is the battle within that we fight each and every day.it is a conscious choice by the writer(or writers)to use familiar people,as we are all familiar with our own particular battles.it might be for some the battle of greed,for others anger and frustration,for others gambling or other addictions.the point is that the Gita is about transformation.like the Psalms in the Bible,they are not to be viewed as literal.when you read the Psalms in Lectio Devina you realize many are about the battle within.this is of key importance as to make meaningful change we must confront the interior of our experience which then spreads out to the world.if i am paranoid as a leader for instance,i might get my country involved in a war that would drain the resources of an ever dwindling economy.or i could simply be operating out of greed,to take what is not mine or my countries.so you see the interior process is very important for all people including leaders.this is what led to in the middle ages the concept of the philosopher king.it was felt that to lead a country one would have to know a little about life-hmmm go figure!it must drive Theologians and Religious leaders around the world crazy when people read the sacred texts(in all religions)literally.in a sense it is the working of an undeveloped mind.to read a scripture as verabtum is to not understand that all sacred scripture have various means and ways of getting the message across;some passages are poetry,some prose,some the adventures of an historical figure.the important point is to interiorize the concepts,and to live in the ,'Space between the notes'as Miles Davis said.this means to listen.we have so few good listeners in this time.by listening i mean not only the outside world but the inside to.by listening better on the inside we listen better on the outside ,by listening better on the outside we listen better on the inside.the Gita is brillaint as a transformative guide and guidepost.the ultimate message of non-attachment is very important as we see that life is a series of continuing waves in all realms of human experience.they formulate come to be and then dissipate back to the sea.to listen inside and outside is to enter the sea,the space between the notes.as we progress forward with the upcoming elections i pray that we can foster better listeners.i pray that whoever takes office,they have gone to the battlefield of human experience and with the truth of Ahimsa and non attachment to action(whaich means they truly give) they can go about their business as true phiosopher kings in the truest form.....to listen,to be silent....T

Winds of Change....
February 12, 2008, 10:33 am

if we could possibly,'Turn This world around',as the lyrics to'Winds of Change suggest,no better time for such would be then right here,and right now.the present moment is what we have.to look in the past,though we have gleaned from the experience,still resides in the past.the future is the future,we can plan and make lists accordingly but it is still in the future.what about this very moment?a Zen Master once said,'the way to world peace is to have a cup of tea with a friend,and with a stranger'.of course in this context he is talking of mindfullness meditation,and to be fully aware of what you are doing in the moment,which is what makes the tea ceremony such a good meditative practise.what are the implications?if i am aware and conscious of myself in this moment,i am not far away in the past or future.i reside as it were like the steady tortoise who pays attention to each and every step.to live in such a way is to pay particular attention to the way we live our lives.so we may possibly not lash out in anger as much.we might not be so judgemental,we might want to roll up our sleeves day by day and dig out of the doldrums the current administartion has mired us in.it is important in this regard to be attentive.old paridgms stay old paradigms.voting in new could mean voting in old.we must reinforce change as it is the inevitable process of life.we must hold accountable all that are elected in to the ongoing process of change,moving like a tortoise,yet free to test the winds as the dragon.individually we could all benefit from the tortoise life,the attentive,mindfull life.there is to much living in the past in future,sadly not enough living right here and right now....T(p.s-check out the song Winds OF Change)

SEE....
February 11, 2008, 9:19 am

one of the most exciting things about the upcoming election is the obvious,the first Black and Woman candidates.it is about time!i was recently in a discussion with someone that thought we should do away with Affirmative Action.as usual he talked about one particular account where a friend was not given a job and someone he felt less qualified got the job,they happened to not be white,so he was up in arms and thought the entire system should go.even with a rational argumant giving him sobering statistics about the lack of Women,Blacks,Natives,Hispanics,Asians,etc...in power he was unrelenting.my friends one thing is for sure that we both gleaned from the friendly conversation,things do need to change! Woman need(yes I said need)to make the full dollar as oppoesed to 77cents on the dollar.we supposedly live in a country of the free and equal opportunity.let me ask you a question,if that is so,why when so many countries have elected Woman prime ministers,has it taken us this long.it is not for lacking of candidates,there are so many brilliant and competent woman out there-same amount as men,and that goes for candidates that are Black,Native,Hispanic,Asian,etc...now this is just the Presidency.As we know what is true at the top is also true down through the ranks.look at the top money makers in america,what do you notice-yup just what i was reffering to.we are living in very difficult times folks,many countries hate us(thanks evil empire B&C OIL(bush and cheney oil)),the economy is in tough shape,people can't buy or sell or make payments on their houses and the job market is horrible.we need change and we need change desperatly.i feel the only solution to this mess is Clinton Or Obama(hope this answers your question Tim).we have got to start living up to our motto of the 'Home of the free'.there are many insideous ways to shackle people and still claim that everyone has equal opportunity.i only need to point to the inner cities and the reservations and I will leave it at that-look deeply and study deeply-go there-talk to the people you will see what i am talking about.by the way speaking of see,check out our song,'See'it has alot of the elements listed in todays journal entry.peace out and let us all ,'be love' today....T

silence....
February 10, 2008, 9:58 am

within sound there is silence,within silence there is sound.i come to you in this dance with a gentle reminder of myself.lend me your ears but for a short moment.let us hold hands in this evolutionary dance and let go and not let go....silence is pregnant with possibility.all things come from silence.the secret in life is to really sit with this silence even when we are in the midst od activity and yes turmoil.there is a deepness that resides in your heart,it is silence.and the silence gives birth to insight,inspiration,creativity,and LOVE.without this sense of silence within movement we are swept away by various emotions and thoughts.we are like a rudderless ship being blown by the trade winds farther and farther out to sea.when we touch silence daily in our lives it is hard to be swept.our rudder is intact allowing for the proper surfing of lifes countless waves.also there is movement within silence.when we quite the 'crazy monkey mind' we allow our mind/body/spirit to be free,which means no blackages can be established.fear,anxiety,the endless stream of emotions create blockages within our body.it dis-allows proper movemnet of qi.i have taught qigong and tai chi for many years,i can see the reidual blockages and tension on new students.over the weeks it is encouraging to see these blockages slowly dissapear.their faces glow more,a smile easily breakes out on their faces,they are in the process of being healed by silence.let us touch this healing balm today,let us allow ourselves to be free....T

wonder why we ever let go....
February 9, 2008, 9:59 am

'we circle dance and wonder why we ever let go'.these lyrics to Broken Glass have me thinking today about the interconnection we all share.i remember once at a Zen retreat doing Zazen,i watched a little spider crawl across my field of vision.concerned that the this little grandmother might be crushed as the other meditators arose from meditation,i bowed and scooped her up in my hands.outside as i set her on the desert floor away from the activity of the monastery,suddenly i could see a web that spread across the universe.in the web everything was connected,everything.in fact there was nothing that was not on the web.it was the vast jeweled web of Indira,where each node is a being reflecting the reality of everything else.my friends we are on a circle and yes we do dance.when we let go,it is into dualistic thought that would suggest that we are isolated and alone.reality clearly suggests otherwise.recognizing this we hold hands on this circle,this web and understand that the ultimate reality of all things is connection.if we stir the web here,over there it is disturbed.so today as we go about our day let us think of connection,let us think of this dance,let us not in our minds let go,let us reflect the love inherent between you and me....T

Sun-Sentinel....
February 8, 2008, 8:22 am

if you go onto the fan journal you will see that someone posted the Sun-Sentinel article.we are on the rise and feel great about who we are and how we do it.we ask one and all to come check out this,'big sound'with important and groove shaking songs....T

YES!!!!
February 7, 2008, 8:30 am

i can't help but be encouraged by the number of Democrats that showed up yesterday.for a number of reasons this is the best thing to happen for american politics for a very long time.first the obvious,we have a woman and black candidate with a very good chance of winning the white house.second they are both damn good!it is great to see such competitiveness with two quality politicians.thirdly the vote is getting out,it is as if we can smell change on the way-at last!!!!another reason is the bringing together of the Democratic party,if things go as they should we will have a very powerful ticket with these two regardless of positioning.and of course-compassion will be back in the white house which hasn't happened for 8 long,long years.the only possible bummers would be that the conservative right wing repubs. are just waiting in the isles to see what happens and then will show up for the general election.stratagists-BEWARE,HAVE A FRIGGIN PLAN THIS TIME!DO YOUR OWN LAST MINUTE POLITICKIN.THE OTHER BUMMER WOULD BE ANOTHER THROWN ELECTION LIKE THE LAST TWO BY CORPORATE AMERICA AND THE POLITICIANS THAT LIVE IN THEIR POCKETS.WE ARE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ABOUT CHANGE AS A BAND,WE ARE TRYING TO GET A 'GET OUT THE VOTE' TOUR AND ARE EXTENDING OURSELVES TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.we must simply have a change-the times they need to be a changin'.....T

Looking down
February 6, 2008, 10:18 am

Don’t forget it is black history month!!!!!! This year is another milestone historically on the path heading in the right direction to racial equality. What do you know? an African American actually won the popular vote in some southern states and is currently running a strong camping for the democratic nomination. Don’t you know the Reverend d Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and countless others are looking down from heaven and smiling for this moment….. but I m sure they are still cautious with the knowledge that we here in America still have a long way to go…….Jon

VOTE !!!!
February 5, 2008, 9:00 am

please don't forget to vote today!it is one of the most important elections in many years and the primaries have been close and exciting to watch.i personaly believe as my wife articulated long,long ago(she is always ahead of the curve-why does she hang out with a clod like me?)that it would be unstoppable to have a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket.there are pluses and minuses either way,but i feel this nation would be going in a positive direction with these two--tons and tons of cleanup after the moron we have had for 8 years.i still am so indignant that he and Darth Vader have not been impeached.why important?-the record needs to speak throughout time.let me see-sexual indescretion and Clinton gets ousted.Bush kills thousands of innocents and launches us in a war we did not want and pillages the economy hmmm-where is the equality in this?....T

to be kind....
February 3, 2008, 2:10 pm

kindness is a palpable energy.you can feel it with a smile,opening the door for someone,the presence of kindred spirits.how oft forgotten the message of kindness.when we enter the highway,people careen around us swearing at us for merely going the speed limit!people bump into us and try to bustle without smiles in stores.it doesn't matter what spiritual tradition you subscribe to,the basic tenents are the same,to be kind to yourself and others.the Dalai Lama says to treat everyone with respect as they might have been your grandmother or mother in a former life.it does not matter if you believe in reincarnation or not,it is important to hear the message.all faiths and religions as well as anthropology confirm that we came from the same source.we are lierally brothers and sisters.to be unkind to one,is to be unkind to all.to be kind to one is to be kind to all.this palpable energy sends reverberations to all.we should also be kind to ourselves.as we do our meditation or deep breathing in the morning it is important to smile inwardly.all day long your internal organs work so very hard to keep you functioning,oh how we take them for granted!smiling inwardly helps us to smile outwardly.when we soften with love towards the inside the outside softens and our smile can literally be infectious.equally when we smile outwardly we take care of the inward in a reciprocol way.it is the micro and macro relationship.we talk alot in the spiritual world about being kind.we would do well to practise the social work tenant of always following the ethics of social work-on or off duty.can we if we subscibe to a religious viewpoint ever be off duty?if we are off duty we feel the effects,this to is palpable and not in a pleasant way.energy is energy.kindness is the energy and manifestation of love.when we truly love we are kind,when we are kind we truly love....T

calling you!!!!!!!!
February 2, 2008, 4:27 pm

I just figured it out………… we are the next in line to wake up the world…….. just like Hendrix, Bob Marley. The Beatles etc. it is our time and I will give this guarantee if you come out to see us live or buy our new music which will be up soon you will never experience anything like Shadow Screamers…… we are pushing the boundaries like all those before us….. how can you visit this site and not be inspired to make a difference??????? If you have a suggestion please let us know otherwise get to work we are all in this together and what the HELL more do you need then THIS WAKE UP CALL??????????.....jon

please....
February 1, 2008, 9:40 am

we must permanantly throw out the term,'rule of thumb'from our vocabulary.i hear alot of people using it without realizing the implications and where it came from.it came from a time period not long ago in American history that woman and children were treated as possesions.a husband could beat his wife with a stick no bigger than his thumb.this lasted until the begginning of the 1900's.the psychology of such treatment has deeply ingrained itself in american culture.for instance women still do not make the same amount as men.they are still overlooked for promotions while their male counterparts get these promotions.they still have to work extra hard to'make it'while many slacker men don't work as hard but belong to the ,'good ole boys club',which is alive and well.it makes me sick that women work so damn hard and are not treated fairly.i can list off dozens of women-to a person that fits what i have written about today.my hope is that Clinton and Obama will address this inequity head on!please don't use this expression it sickens me-thank you....T

Check out Wise Words "click icon above"
January 31, 2008, 9:36 am

There is a Great quote from Gandhi in today's Wise Words just click the icon on the top of the page to read various thoughts from inspiring people that enlighten the mind……jon

free....
January 30, 2008, 1:40 pm

the thing about living simply is well the simplicity of it.you feel unencombered and free.free from material attachments and also the karma of over-indulgence.let us examine a case study,suppose you trash your computer and buy another,rather than re-building this one or letting it be used as a spare.when it leaves your door it is destined via a twiny route to the land fill.landfills are becoming a very difficult problem.we are literaly building mountains to our self indulgence.whats worse the chemical leakage and also the time it takes to degrade.it will take a very,very long time.if you are traveling carry a mug don't buy styrofoam.carry canvas bags to the supermarket so you don't have to use either paper or plastic.limit your dwelling to quality not quantity.leave things simple with good feng shuai.you will sense and feel the freedom as the air and vibes circulate around,recycle everything you can(like the above example-hell i type on a computer at home that is close to 15 years old.when needed my friend just re-builds the blessed curse).anyways just thoughts.you owe to yourself to be free from all this crap we have around....the enviornment will thank you....T

the woodcarver....
January 29, 2008, 8:02 am

how do we sculpt away the excess?how do we allow for what we really know to happen in regards to personal life and the enviornment?think the woodcarver.the woodcarver in order to make the beautiful figurines they make leave no excess.they see what needs to be carved within the block of wood.this takes vision this takes a certain'seeing'via the use of intuition.well,first things first how do we develop that?to slow the mind!i have mentioned endlessly the benefits of meditation on this site.one of the reall tangibles of the many is the ability to see how our mind workds.the obsessive thought patterns,the wants,the anger etc...in fact it allows us to see the emotional programming from our youth.it shows how and why the false part of ourself was formulated(like-i will never....i can't....etc...).it might have been needs not met at home,abuse,emotionaly anavailable parents,living in a catastophic area,a sensitive soul reacting to the coldness of the world.when we can see repetitive thought patterns emerge in our awareness through meditation we can aknowledge and let go.for instance,'ahh,here is my old friend regret',or anger,or whatever.letting go is perhaps the single most important practise as huamn beings.when we hold we tense,physicaly,mentaly,spiritaly,socaily,emotionaly.to let go is to be free.so after a time of really looking inwards we start to see other things like,'hmmm,why did i just buy that?i don't need it'.we start to see more clearly social injustice and it's implications.understanding such hopefully we are compelled to help in whatever way we can.to see enviornmental damage is easy.i remember as a child drinking from moutain streams and rivers-no way today!i remember the glaciers being bigger,i remember the northest being in a different climate zone for growth(gardening).i remember a time when reports of childhood asthma not beings so pronounced,i remember a time when you would never think that the Polar Bear would be in trouble,i mean c'mon it is frozen up there always was,always will be right?so many events have come to be,yet we still live lives where so much chaff needs(and i say this consciously) to be sloughed off.we don't need that Hummer,we don't need those numerous cells,we don't need all this technology.you know what needs are as opposed to wants.we are through our collective emotional programming living a life of want.the problem is that want will never be enough.there won't be satisfaction,the programs established within the mind wan't allow for contentment-hell shouldn't you get more stuff and keep moving.we have moved with such programming to the brink of despair.our only hope is to be the woodcarver....

seven generations from now....
January 28, 2008, 8:21 am

well it has been an interesting day!cool almost like a fall day in the Northeast.the flora and fauna is so very different from what i am accustomed to.Jon has a plant near the side of his house that is quite remarkable,if i didn't know any better i would say it is Seymore from Little shop of Horrors.i will never get over the fact that you can fly down and totally change geography and weather in less than one day.20 below in the morning 75 in the afternoon.it will become progressively more important for people to acclimate to climate and climates as we continue to degredate the enviornment.again i advocate yoga or qigong and tai chi in the morning,allowing yourself deep breathing and slow acclimation to a new locale.what i find disturbing about this area is that people have so many hummers and other vehicles that get poor gas mileage.there is no place to go off raod-what are these people thinking.we have come back to this over and over on this journal about making personal choices that will make a future possible.i recently took flack for saying that we should start treating gross abusers of the enviornment as war criminals.I DO NOT RECANT!IT IS A WAR!WE WAR ON CHILREN UNBORN!WHAT WILL WE LEAVE THEM?WHAT RIGHT HAVE WE TO SHIT IN THEIR HOUSE SO TO SPEAK!i HAVE HEARD SO MANY PEOPLE SAY,'WELL.YOU KNOW I WILL BE DEAD BEFORE THAT HAPPENS'.WHAT A HORRIBLE ATTITUDE!SO YOU ARE BASICALLY SAYING I DON'T GIVE A SHIT BUT FOR GOOD OLE' NUMBER ONE?unreal!to live with the mentality of seven generations from now is the only way that we can possible leave a world to our progeny....T

dude,took a killer spill yesterday,dude it was narly....
January 26, 2008, 8:52 am

okay,so not one of my better days yesterday.sometimes to get caught in action is well,to get caught.we don't have to allow this to destroy a day.simply put we live life many times emotionaly ,oftentimes getting attached.the problem is that everything is a wave,it will come to be and dissipate,in a word impermanent.this is why the Chinese say to not to have extremes of emotion,for one it will change,and also it can be hard for the heart.take those that win the lottery and then die of a heart attack.this is an example.you have heard me(probably endlessly)talk about all of human realms being as the wave(emotions,physical body,mental spiritual,social),the real secret,the deep secret of life is to be able to take your board and ride them with equipoise....T

wake
January 25, 2008, 8:15 pm

Fail……reject……deny…… All words that express the perceived shortcomings of another….the words have a taste that rings familiar….. am I oblivious to the obvious? or delusional caught in my own selfish dream? I walk pressing forward scattering reality and all its consequences like so many pieces I struggle to put Back together to fit my needs and aspirations…….ojn

What! We palyed much bigger places than this before!
January 25, 2008, 1:36 pm

well i can't help but being disappointed,after weeks and weeks of people telling us we should be playing the Bamboo Room,they just turned us down.frankly the music on the site is not what we currently play or how we play it.people from the Mayor's Office(of Lake Worth),to fans,to bartenders asked us to play there and that we would kick butt-which we know we would.to tell us that the music is not compelling,frankly flies in the face of our world wide audience!i urge people to go onto the website of the Bamboo Room and demand that we play,it is a nice set up and we should be playing there.this brings up an important point.when i semi-retired from music years ago,the scene was much easier to negotiate(and we played much bigger venues than the Bamboo Room!).it was easy getting gigs,why all the hastle and go betweens now.i have always been horrible on the business side of things.even as a soial worker for years,this was my weakest point.we need management to get this stuff going,it is too frustrating dealing with it,and frankly it isn't my job.we need a team of people,as the industry sure has changed.it is no wonder the indie world complains and basicaly sets up their own thing-why deal with this mess! we are pushing ahead and we encourage people to send in requests for us to play at the Bamboo Room!....T

be......
January 25, 2008, 9:04 am

we must not shy away from what needs to be done.we must not look away as many starve and are ravaged by war.we must not look into the mirror and only see the finery we wear but the person your really are.be heard,but more importantly take a stance against socail injustice....T

Thanks
January 24, 2008, 9:07 am

If you have a minute got to http://www.whataretheywaitingfor.com/sign.php you can sign a petition that will ask the political reporters covering the elections to ask environmental questions to the Candidates running for president in 2008 as of now the topic of Global Warming has not been discussed to any extent. Here is another random act of kindness you can do for this planet and it only takes a minute to sign up I just did, Thanks for helping…... By the way great entry below T…….jon

commodity vs. balance
January 24, 2008, 8:30 am

as human beings there is so much we take for granted.the very air we breathe,the water we drink,and the food supply that Mother Earth provides.to think of life is to think of a love given abundantly.when we distrust this,when we hoard,when we forget and take things for granted,things become-well things.to be used as commodities.to be disgarded.to be wasted.i am always amazed when I journey from state to state the quality of the qi in the morning hours.it is different say in NYC,than Fort Kent ,Maine,but the energy is still there.an energy that allows us to acclimate to our new clime.i contend that if you start your day slow as with the rising sun cresting on the distant hills,than you can feel a rythm,you can feel an energy,you can get acclimated to your day.i also contend that if you start your day thusly,than perhaps you will switch the humanistic mindset from treating life as things,to thinking of abundance,of gratefullness,of a thanksgiving each and every day.there is so much pressure in life.expectations,things that people want in short order,in short time.Carl Jung once said in developing a therapuetic relationship,'What takes time,takes time'.what of this gentle unfolding of our day?of our relationship with the day?what of life itself?is it a sprint?is it something to be hastily taken and grabbed,bumping ahead in line just to get,'your due'?'Our due',has already been paid handsomely,just being here.you might say,'oh T,easy for you to say,try living in the third world,or a war torn country'.plenty of examples even in these trying circumstances of people having similar outlooks.we have a choice in life,eventually we won't even have that if we continue to live the commodity view life.to acclimate slowly today,to pull off the grid as it were,or to continue to climb the ladder on a misplaced wall.the time is coming quickly where this won't even be a choice,we,with our commodity outlook are destroying our world faster than anyone could possibly project.in fact scientists almost daily are saying they were wrong about their original projections.with this decline will come,disease,famine,climatic catastophies,war unparalleled as the vast migration of human beings leave the coast.again it would be atomatic to say,'hmm,kind of a simplistic solution and reason for this don't you think baldy'?emphatically no!our mind body and spirit has been trained in the cultural projection of limitation and life as commodity.the ancients knew the rythm of the earth,the inherent abundance,the dance of balance,the process in the spiritual life of'without limitation'.living a balanced life with nature ultimately leads to limitless development.commodity living eventually must lead to limitation.limitation of natural resources that we treat as less than,limitation of time and acclimation to our day,limitation to personal resources of times of energy,limitations finally of who we are and what we are as we plummet through space on this tiny blue marbel.i wish that the democrats could actually debate instead of fight.i wish they could take this mantel on as it is the major issue that we must deal with.yet where are the questions?where is the platform?where are the proposed solutions are beginning of ideas?i strongly believe that Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. would have taken this issue on if he were alive today(by the way,in the translation of getting down here,we missed the Holiday-we at Shadowscreamers would like to say thank you again Dr. King you are and always will be a primary inspiration for this band).it would make sense as there are going to be massive migrations as the coastline is flooded.the poor will not have the latitude of flying out in their custom lear jets.they will have to walk and suffer the prejudice and hatred of those they come into contact with.people of color around the globe will suffer horribly.it is times like these we need a visionary like Dr. King-one that sees beyond the limitations of cultural upbringing and can see the truth and reality of what life is really about-balance in all aspects of life,gratefullness,living with the natural rythm of the earth,loving all you see and all you don't....T

Obligations
January 23, 2008, 2:10 pm

Why is it we seem to have currently �lost in translation� the fact that we are not here to live life’s journey on this planet too satisfy ourselves? We have an obligation to the world community and to ourselves….in my eyes I was put here to justify my existence by the positive actions I live and breathe everyday…… that said, It took me years to figure this out and I have made some bad choices and many mistakes along the way but I can honestly say I am better person now than I was a few years ago. I hope to always be one step ahead of not fulfilling my obligation to humanity..what about you?????? how are you doing????? let us know……jon

step
January 22, 2008, 8:31 pm

If your only focus is on the distance you have to travel then you will loose track of the steps that you take along the path you have chosen.Every step opens the potential for a new experience

on it....
January 21, 2008, 9:45 am

got down last night to Florida after a zany flight with the crew from Southwest-thanks everyone!Jon had a great gig at the benefit last night-it was well attended and sounds like there were some good donations.today we are getting back on it.expect to see great things real soon!I LOVE YOU MY FAMILY AND MISS YOU ALREADY-dad.....T

song of myself(sorry Whitman couldn't resist)....
January 19, 2008, 8:31 am

Tomorrow is born of yesterdays dream,today is the rolling up of the sleeves.we dream,it is natural it is human.how many fade with time?how many become distant memories in our minds?to optimize our dreams we simply must roll up the sleeves and get the work done today to make our dreams a possibility.to live in the abstract,is to live in possibility.to roll the sleeves is the reality.we merge the two with our motivation and inspiration.to make our dreams from yesterday plausable,it is important to set meaningful goals,to go over those goals and most importantly to actualize those goals on a daily basis by rolling the sleeves and getting this tiny peice of tomorrows dream done.this is the work of the pantheon of the greats,this is where legend is born,this is where we sing the song of myself understanding that this song interpenetrates all things all reality....T

seperate
January 18, 2008, 2:55 pm

Tomorrow never borrows the whispers of what you think might be ,yesterday never swallows the hope of those who don’t believe somewhere in between the line that separates us all I stumble on in silent contemplation of the rise before the fall. Slap me down to wake me up so I might feel again for choosing not to lay down separates the boys from men seperates the boys from men....jon

THIS IS MY NIECE!!!!!!!
January 16, 2008, 6:51 pm

I want to thank my niece Allie for creating a logo that best defines this band!!!!!she is an incredibly astute and compassionate young woman who has over come the worst of obstacles. Until now I have always felt that our logo never matched the intensity of what this band is about. MAKE NO MISTAKE MY FRIENDS BECAUSE WHAT YOU SEE IN THE NEW LOGO IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL GET FROM THIS INCREDIBLE BAND!!!!!!!! ..THANK YOU ALLIE…………love uncle jon

don't look away!!!!
January 16, 2008, 6:38 am

Great work on listing the save Darfur site Jon,and the call to action!Jon and I have been part of this effort for a long time and encourage everyone to put the pressure on our gov.,as they have basically ignored the situation(relative to what they could be doing).Gandhi had tough words for this,he pondered if the world perhaps did not come to help the countries with people of color as quickly as others,these countries are oft forgotten.this is true of the world and also right here.we have forgotten Native America and the smaller tribes like ours suffer very badly.we intend to bring alot of awareness to this situation.again like Gandhi,we must use the tools that are available,like the media,as strange as they can be at times.on a different note,that new logo is such a powerful one.it knocks me out!....T

wonder
January 15, 2008, 7:01 pm

I’ve been breathing all the distance that separates what we once were, I’ve been drowning in silent reason contemplating conflicting metaphors, I stand a distant warrior as I fight to change the ill, of all the indiscretions those in power choose to wield. As I put the shattered pieces back inside my dis-jointed mind I cant help but look behind me and wonder if we will survive.....jon

Our voices can be heard after all
January 15, 2008, 11:15 am

I put up a note in the journal about the crisis in Darfur a couple of days ago and to update everyone 42,056 Save Darfur activists have already called on President Bush to secure the 24 helicopters they desperatly need and they are finally seeing some progress. The U.K. has called an urgent meeting - scheduled for tomorrow - to bring together possible helicopter donors. This meeting could get the peacekeepers one step closer to the necessary 24 helicopters. We ask our fans if they can take a minute to do another random act of kindness and ask your friends and family to send a message to President Bush before the meeting tomorrow. It only takes a minute all you have to do is go to www.savedarfur.com or go to this site http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/24helicopters/forward/ixw8d5brpimibwk? Thanks for helping out......jon

Phoenix....
January 15, 2008, 7:22 am

that new logo is killer! it is time to invest in change.our nation must rise like the Phoenix from the ashes of stupidity and fear that this administration has fostered.we are going to be investing alot of time into making sure people vote and hopefully vote wisely.this will be our operating energy until after the election when we can get to other urgent needs that have been stiffled with this admin.Shadowscreamers has a long history in this regard.we will be putting together new material and it will go up on the site and out to labels.wish us the best everyone,we have a lot of energy to foster good and positive change.let's help this bird off the ground(the Phoenix)shall we?....T

imagine
January 13, 2008, 10:02 am

Imagine if a country that supposedly stood on the principles of equality for all, freedom for all, equal rights for all, equal opportunity for all, finally!!!! well after over 200 years elected into that nations highest office a person who was not white and of means for the fist time, or how about if they elected someone to office who was not a male but a female for the first time? I wonder if it would change how this country was viewed buy the rest of the world? .....jon

the blessing of life....
January 11, 2008, 9:24 am

we take our natural resources for granted so much of the time.around the world the various Spiritual traditions have had ways of honoring the elements.in Hinduism one of the great Spiritual things you can do is have your feet and bodies touch the Sacred Ganges River.in Taoism the convergence of two streams is important to find for building a hermitage or monastery,as with Buddhists.Catholics cleanse with water as do Native,Taoists,and perhaps all traditions in the world.when you concentrate and give the enrgy to this sacred element,you are paying it the respect it deserves.in our lives we will drink thousands and thousands of gallons of water,mountains of food and volumes of air.without these basic elements we simply will perish.one practise you can do to honor is to simply give thanks before a meal.there are so many things coming together for this meal.nutrients from the soil,the sun,the wind,the rain,the changing of seasons,the movement of stars(we are all star dust-everything),the farmer,his sweat and blood,the transportation of this product to your home.in a sense this micro(our bodies)is being fed by the macro(the interconnection of all things in the cosmos).when we eat we are eating the close(nutrients from Mother Earth)and the far(dust from distant galaxies).you can also pour some spring water and then say a prayer over it.project the prayer and visualization and energy into the water(place you palm over the glass as you do this).this Spiritually charges the water-it'sefficacy has been studied and duplicated.when we do this we are not only charging the water,but we are also paying deep respect to all things in the past,present,and future that make these elements right here and right now come together(water and you).it is a way of touching deeply the ground of being,to be connected,to be here right now in this moment(as you place you palm over the water make sure you stand in wu chi so that you are receiving energy at the same time it is projecting-search the site for descriptions of how to stand in wu chi).this is truly a remarkable journey we are on.to stand right here and right now in reverance and in honor of something is to really appreciate what this life is,and what it is about.let us begin our days with an understanding that this life is a rare and beautiful thing,such a blessing....T

Here is a perfect opportunity for a random act of kindness
January 10, 2008, 11:15 am

Darfur Needs 24 Helicopters..... The U.N.-A.U. peacekeeping mission lacks the 24 helicopters it needs to succeed. Tell President Bush to lead the efforts to track down these helicopters. On December 31, a hybrid United Nations-African Union command officially took control of the peacekeeping mission for Darfur. But the mission is already in danger of failing. Few new peacekeepers have actually been deployed because of obstructions by the Sudanese regime, and world leaders aren't providing critical equipment essential to the peacekeepers' success. Right now, this peacekeeping mission does not have ANY of the 24 helicopters it needs to protect the people of Darfur. President Bush must do everything in his power to secure commitments from world leaders............Please go to http://www.savedarfur.com It only takes a minute to send a message to Bush so far he has turned a blind eye to Darfur. T talked about random acts of kindness a few entries ago in the band journal this is one small way you can perform one!!!!!! never forget you do have a voice and if we put enough of them together we will be heard. How can we boast of being the words supposed leader of human rights and yet turn a cold shoulder to this ongoing genocide???? What a legacy for the Bush administration to add the rest of the pile of shit he has accumulated the last eight years........jon

hmmmmmm.....
January 10, 2008, 8:56 am

okay so my computer would not let me on to this site for a couple of days-weird.many people have made resolutions for this year,it seems to me in the past that we have offered ideas up for this,so this is a good chance for people to go back in the journal and check it out.at this point our journal is voluminous,and we are very proud of what Spirit has allowed to come forth.spend some time,check it out,Jon and i have our own unique way of writing and trying to figure out this amazing journey we are on called life....T

Ahhh the good old days
January 9, 2008, 5:56 pm

As far back as I can remember I have always been a loner secretly waiting on the next breeze to blow me the hell out of where ever it is that I am or will be. I love too breathe the open highway watching as mirage after mirage flows as it bends reality into the distorted sky while I stand breathing in the deep heat only the desert can create. I want to bake in the isolation and the midday sun with my guitar on my back and a few clothes, water, a sleeping bag and a hammock tucked into my backpack don’t forget the baby wipes they serve as a makeshift shower in a pinch because if you stink you aint gonna get picked up...God dam I long for the open road I would cherish the isolation and the beads of unhindered sweat flowing down my smiling face.......onj

TV 24/7 now that’s the way you camp son!!!!
January 8, 2008, 9:11 am

My son and I went camping last week in Jupiter, Florida the campsites we camped at have water, power, a fire pit and a picnic table so even though we were camping in a tent we weren’t really roughing it. I noticed when we were setting up camp that a family also camping in a tent two sites over had a T.V. going and for the next two days that they were there the TV was never turned off???? Even when nobody was around or they were sleeping? The only way I can rationalize this kind of odd behavior is that they were trying to get their moneys worth for the twenty dollars a night they were spending to rent the camp site? Either that or the TV like in so many families in Amerika has become like a pacifier babies use for comfort when trying to go to sleep........ I am hoping for the first odd explanation.......jon

life is n adventure....
January 7, 2008, 9:06 am

Jon's post is excellant and reminds us all that the journey in life is never over or done.it is exciting to me that every day is a new opportunity to learn,to be wrong about something we had previously held as right. our mother used to call life an adventure,and i fully agree.with this kind of energy we can see the good and the bad as just the journey,nothing more,nothing less....T

digging deeper
January 5, 2008, 5:31 pm

My New Years Resolution is to dig deeper, peeling away the experiences, challenges, circumstances, emotions of another year passed and reflect on the year hopefully learning from my mistakes and growing into a better person. As I add this years layer to the previous 50 years most good but some bad. I hope I can continue to strive to be better person and I am lucky to have the ability to keep digging, for along the path of life’s journey many perish in untimely deaths while many others stop digging altogether. I am not saying the digging is always easy but what better goal as a human being then to be the best human being you can be as you grow while peeling away the layers of time........jno

Hey Jon?
January 3, 2008, 7:56 am

Hey Jon,are you out of town?Can't seem to get in touch with you?hope all is well and Happy New Year!....T

a gentle kiss....
January 2, 2008, 8:45 am

Happy New Year Everyone.How about a collective resolution for the year,'To walk Mother Earth,each footprint as a gentle kiss upon her skin'.with this awareness it becomes easy to make sound enviornmental choices each and every day.try it,i know you will love this practise!....T

I STAND ACCUSED AS WE ALL MUST!!!!
December 31, 2007, 8:48 am

why am i so dead serious about this issue?we cannot afford to look away anymore and i just can't believe that with this crisis,only three questions have been asked thus far of the thousands of questions asked to people running for President.we will simply exterminate ourselves if we continue on this pace and all species with us.what gives us the right for such blatant disregard?how is it we have been adorned God's of all species?we do not have such a title-it simply is non-existant.now let us take a hypothetical situation.let us suppose an invading species came to Earth and started to hunt down other species,cut down forests,and dump massive amounts of toxins in the air,land,rivers and sea?what would be our reaction?well you might say,that's someone else we have a right to the way we live.do you?if it goes against everything natural laws suggest.a species that purposely tries to exterminate should be considered collectively insane,by any and all standards.that we continue without paying respect to the issue is just part of the denial process-very common!i tell you,we must,we must be very vigilant and be held accountable for our trangressions against Mother Earth.WHEN I MENTIONED WAR CRIMES-I REALLY MEANT IT AND THEY ARE NOT JUST CRIMES AGAINST MOTHER EARTH BUT ALSO AGAINST YOUR OWN CHILDRENS CHILDREN-WAKE UP-WAKE UP-WAKE UP!!!!the time will come if it hasn't already that we cannot even with massive efforts change the tide to a very self polluted world.we owe it to our childrens children to roll up the sleeves and make and enforce enviornmental law and treat transgressions as WAR CRIMES.i see no other option for us to be able to continue as a species-and sadly all those we have exterminted and will continue to do so.at this point i would like to do something very personal,a open apology to all beings.I AM SORRY THAT I HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS NIGHTMARE!TO BE HUMAN,NO MATTER HOW GREEN WE LIVE IS TO BE STILL GUILTY UNTIL WE VOICE WITH UTMOST URGENCY WITH EVERY BREATH THAT WE MUST CHANGE AND WE MUST CHANGE NOW.FOR THIS FUTURE TRIBUNAL-I ADMIT GUILT IN LIVING IN THE MOST POLUTION GENERATING CULTURE THAT HAS EVER EXHISTED.I ADMIT GUILT FOR NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS WITH URGENCY WITH EVERY BREATH.I ADMIT GUILT FOR NOT WRITING A LETTER EACH AND EVERY DAY TO A POLITICIAN ABOUT THIS LIFE THREATENING ISSUE.PLEASE AS YOU MOVE ALONG IN THE FUTURE WITH THIS TRIBUNAL USE THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW TO PUNISH ME.THANK YOU!!!!

Catchy phrases
December 31, 2007, 8:34 am

Excellent entry below T sometimes it takes drastic measures to insure true change......And may the new year awaken those who stand on the wall of indifference as if a fire had been lit under their noncommital asses moving them into positive meaningful action instead of spewing the same rhetoric including such catchy and trendy phrases like “ why should I care what have they done for me?� ...�One person cant make a difference�... “Its not my problem� ...“ they brought this on themselves� and my favorite ...“ here have a dollar now go away!� ....... feel free to add your own favorite phrase to the list......jon

War Crimes....
December 29, 2007, 6:05 pm

i think the day is long overdue that we must establish a new war criminal tribunal.this one for the enviornment.First one up on trial-the U.S.A.in Bali,other nations were so frustrated at balking yet again to sign anything meaningful that they asked us to at least move over,so some real work could get done.this is the most pressing issue of our time period.we are polluting at a horrendous rate the thin ozone layer,as if to make it our personal sewer.look at the stats people,scientists daily are shrugging and scrathcing their heads as they realize their predictions were wrong-things(bad things)are happening faster than projected.i hold the U.S.A IN THE NEW TRIBUNAL FOR WAR CRIMES-CRIMES AGAINST MOTHER EARTH ON TWO CHARGES.1)RELEASING THE MOST GREEN HOUSE GASSES OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY2)ENCOURAGING THROUGH AGGRESSIVE DEMOCRACY TO HAVE OTHERS FOLLOW SUITE(WHAT I HAVE TERMED-MONOCULTURALISM).of course another charge would be our contempt for any accord that would benefit our planet.the first two are mearurable and quantifiable.why war crimes.usually when one thinks of war,we think in terms of lost life and the torture or disregard of certain protocols.well both of these are easy to prove and we stand guilty.given such,i feel it comensurate that we pay for all damages accrued,and that every progressive and enviornmental accord should be signed and followed.the commission would have the right to go into manufacting plants and shut them down until they meet regulations.the enviornment lost must be compensated in some way-more on this tomorrow,have to prepare dinner-but rest assure-I AM DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT THIS!!!!....T

Hey what the F you try one shot entries
December 28, 2007, 5:11 pm

Cant help but taste the smell it permeates this place we dwell as false illusions deftly craft the dream you see, peel fingers to the bone penance serves those who own all those who follow idle minds they have no place step outside this fucking dream take back what they give away stand and make a stand to day for no-one promised tomorrow... jon..Long thought short time.......

back soon....
December 28, 2007, 12:21 pm

thank you for covering the last few days Jon-still having computer issues-will be back shortly.thank you for covering the sad news from yesterday....T

dangerous and sad news
December 28, 2007, 9:03 am

Shadow Screamers is saddened by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto for those who don’t know she was the first woman to be elected as prime minister of an Islamic nation. Her two terms as Prime minister were plagued with questionable allegations of corruption (a charge that was later quashed) as well as nepotism and undermining the justice system despite this she still had a huge following in Pakistan and upon her return from exile to Pakistan earlier this year she survived and assignation attempt thus she knew she was a marked woman, in spite of this on Dec.1st she launched an election campaign to restore democracy to Pakistan this was no doubt a death sentence for her. For those who don’t think this is an important issue Pakistan has nuclear weapons and an unstable and vulnerable government and don’t forget al-Qaida with Osama is still lurking in the mountains bordering Afghanistan. Meanwhile the Bush administration finds itself with fewer options as his administrations influence on Pakistan’s internal affairs continues to decline......Jon

outside
December 26, 2007, 2:59 pm

I’ve been inside the joke some things they make you choke I’ve spun a tale to make it seem that I believe. I’ve cast a thousand stones but they keep me from home I turn the corner and run right back inside of me. Can’t escape what I don’t see live the life but spare the dream inside it’s all the same to me as I am walking nowhere in this dream. Stillness barks out in the night yet I will fight the holy fight the irony being that I cant bring myself to believe shelter beacons in the night but I am going to sleep outside for when its all laid out for me inside I still just cant believe......jon

Holiday wish
December 24, 2007, 10:42 am

Yesterday I went to a bar with a friend to watch some football while we were there the guy next to him at the bar was talking to my buddy and he made the comment that M&M the rapper should quit pertending to be white and move to Detroit with all the other Ni---rs if that who he was trying to be and that both of his white boys were in jail because of the ni---er rap culture like it was some rappers fault that his sons were in jail? Things got heated because this person in his perverted mind was insulted by my calling him to task for the outrageous comment as he insisted that he had no prejudice that he had no problem with people of any race and was ready to smack me to prove it? This is the worst kind of racism... the kind that permeates American society so many wear the smile of a Cheshire cat concealing the hatred within .... frankly at least with the KKK you knew who hated you.... my wish for the holidays is that tolerance for other races and customs and acceptance for your own mistakes i.e.( raising your own children in this case) instead of blaming another race might be a good way to ring in the new year.........jon

Be....
December 24, 2007, 8:12 am

Be the LOVE you celebrate this Holiday Season.The Raiku vessel,though cracked with fine lines on the outside,can still hold a galaxy within....T

shallow eyes
December 23, 2007, 10:23 pm

I’ve seen those shallow eyes reflecting on what’s lost, I’ve seen inside a tear of hope despite what it might cost. I wander contemplating things I can’t make be, it’s in the end that we reflect on what we live and breathe. Those shallow eyes the mirror puts it all in place as wrinkles form gets harder holding up the weight. But we move on ignoring what will one day be in the end its what you give that sets you free. Those shallow eyes are not a cage you know your free it’s what you choose and how you live that gives you inner peace..........jon

random kindness....
December 22, 2007, 8:21 am

right on bro!that was the next suggestion!in the Peer Helper Class i taught for 18 years we used the Medicine Wheel as a way to understand oneself and a Counseling baseline(the most comprehensive bio/psycho/social there is).the next day after the baseline which i started to provide yesterday is to assign 7 acts of random kindness a day.i can still hear the groans as they thought that no way could they meet this requirenment.as i was able to prove in most cases,most were doing them anyways,it is just to be conscious of them,with this consciois awareness,success breeds success. towards the end of the year many would be doing 28 and much more a day.they felt better and it had become part of their life.so what constitutes a random act of kindness.the simple things really.opening the door for someone,visiting an elderly friend,doing something kind for someone,etc...this of course extends to the big things-voluteering at a homeless shelter,shoveling snow for the elderly,etc...now here is the important part.it is very important that the attitude of helping is like the right hand helping the left when injured.no thought of,'look how i helped them-hey everyone did you see....'the greatest act of giving is when people aren't even aware.i would also add,that it has become such a partof your life,you don't even attach special thoughts to it,someone needed help you helped-that's it!the world needs this kind of awareness.we don't need to be reminded how philanthropic that Bill Gates is.if he truly was,you would never hear about it,but hundreds and thousands would benefit.now you may argue that someone with that high profile should mentor this ideal-let others speak-let the philanthropist like the rest of us.simply help the right hand with the left when injured.there is no seperation,the pain ofone is the pain of all....T(try writing in your journal 7 acts of random kindness a day)

one time?
December 21, 2007, 5:36 pm

What if every person on this planet who had the means made a New Years resolution to reach out a hand and pull someone up? Weather it be donations, volunteering, mentoring, just listening, feel free to add your own idea in the fan journal.. I wonder what the impact would be?????????? just once cant we try it?............o.....j....n

re-creating....
December 21, 2007, 8:47 am

so how do we implement or re-implement the Sacred Hoop?the first thing again to note is that like Indira's web,we are all on it.in fact the Medicine Wheel teaches that every race of mankind has a special place and special message for the rest of humanity,but how do we personally do this and help to foster the repair.first take out a journal.list all the activities and things you do in the mental/physical/spiritual/social/emotional quadrants of the wheel.be detailed,for instance in the mental realm-do you read,do you do cross-word puzzles,are you taking classes,anything that stimulates the mind.it must be noted in this realm it is also important to list the Wisdom you have accumulated.what Sacred,powerful truths have you learned.how do you see your world.try to keep things in the positive!!!!we are inundated now with the negative,every day we see the gloom and doom,it is very easy to hitchhike on this ride.this time more than any needs rational,positive thoughts that will help to re-create the Sacred Hoop for our childrens children.Once you have everything listed in each quadrant start making short and long term goals.make sure your short term goals go from easy to progressively harder and tackle the easy ones first,this gives us a sense of accomplishment.now as we see that everything is on the Hoop or Wheel make sure to include what you will do for the enviornment(like not drinking out of styrofoam cups-recycling,spending time to pick up garbage along the road-join in the activities of enviornmental groups),also see what you can list for helping the human condition.visiting a different religious faith,bring your children,foster intelligent dialoug and respect.your children will remember this!we have been very hard on Mother Earth,you could also list a very hard yet easy goal.make sure each stepv is a loving step on Mother Earth-like a prayer this is an old,old way.this is enough for today-more tomorrow-have fun with it,have LOVE with it....T

goodness
December 20, 2007, 4:52 pm

Momma??? What now!!!!!...what do you want! Momma why are you so angry?.... I’m sorry I just have a lot on my mind it’s the holidays and I just don’t know how we are going to make ends meet..Momma? do you think President Bush and the rest of the politicians in Washington know what its like to be hungry? Now you listen to me what kind of question is that? the good lord says not to judge lest ye be judged.... I hope they are looking into there hearts and doing what’s best for everyone other then that we have to rely on gods will and the goodness of other human beings that’s the key my child the goodness of others...........o....j...n

Happy Hollow Days
December 19, 2007, 12:55 pm

Tom BrokeJaw here with a couple of quick questions for President Bush.........Mr. President what do you make of the fact that the food banks across this nation are struggling to feed those in need. It seems that with every passing day this includes more and more Americans and their families who are working Hard doing all the jobs you say you have created with this incredible economy? yet these same families still need (oddly enough) assistance feeding their families due to the inadequate pay, the majority I am sure cant even pay for health insurance?.......Well Tom this is part of my two pronged approach!!!!! the first part is to take care of Americas Obesity problem! Them people are gonna loose weight if they don’t have as much food to eat and they tell me that’s a good thing!!! Pretty soon all them poor people are gonna be skinny and healthy.....The second part is to reduce health care costs!!!! if them people don’t go to a doctor cause they don’t have insurance then they wont know if they are sick or not and wont do nuthin about it !!!!!so think of the money we will save........Well Mr. President and I use the term loosely I will ask the other question later I have to run to the bathroom and puke......Golly Gee Tom you got health insurance to see a doctor cause every time I se ya you’re a runnin to the bathroom to puke you ok boy?????...........This is Tom Brokejaw sending it back to Candy at the newsroom.................jon

The Sacred Hoop....
December 16, 2007, 8:25 am

when thinking of the enviornment or all connections really i feel this is where we need to bring back the teachings of our ancestors.for Jon and I that means our Native heritage.endemic throughout all tribes of North America is the concept of the 'Sacred Hoop'.within this hoop,all things are connected.we are connected to the elements,flora and fauna,the changing seasons,the moon sun and stars,everything in creation.when we realize with this vast and deep reality where we are on this circle,we have a momentary(hopefull to last longer)satori experience(the famous,'ahha'moment).it is on the Sacred HOOP THAT WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE JUST PART OF NOT BETTER THAN!.we realize that all things in creation are here to MUTUALLY SUPPORT one another.if we take out one strand from the web,that web loses it's structural integrity.fully complete a web itself can withstand hurricanes,take out one strand and it starts to unravel.Jon mentioned trees.they have a very powerful place on the web.all day long,year in and year out they gather the fresh life giving qi of the sun,as well as air and nutrients from the soil.you can tell that they have learned the deep Spiritual lesson from the sun,as they they cast their shade on whatever or whoever rests beneath.they don't keep it from certain individuals ,they give it freely like the sun giving energy.ever touched a tree in Spring?ever felt her gurgling,sap running?ever felt when standing next to him,that a tree is alive and trying to communicate(they are-listen).these beings are so important and intelligent.in fact scientists have found that a grove of trees will communicate in a potential disaster.if an invading insect starts to eat the leaves of a tree,the others in the area will secrete a bitter taste to her leaves that is no longer tasty to the invader.now the confusion here is that when one(another species of insect or plant) is brought into this country from another part of the world,the trees,orlakes,or animals have no vocabulary to defend.this invader has not been part of the evolution of this continent.so it wipes out entire grooves of trees,or lakes ,etc...man's biggest mistake was to break the Sacred Hoop.to lift him/herself into the pantheon of god/goddess stature.this started devisiveness,this started seperation,this started our eventual demise(unless we smarten up-remember all prophesy does not have to be ironclastic,there is always a clause in there that states,'unless we ...').so the logical question is,'how to establish the Sacred Hoop?right now,this very second get out into nature and start to breathe slowly with your surroundings.spend a day watching an anthill or spider or bird build her nest.stand in meditation with the trees.allow moss to collect on your feet or ass(figuratively).spend time watching the slow movement of the season and weather patterns.if you see people slashing trees without saying a prayer or offering tobacco,go later and offer such.all creation works on the notion of reciprocity.if we don't explain to the soil,and the tree what we are doing and why with a saddened heart,we have lost a very real connection.we have also lost the greater part of our innocense.when we were children we marveled at the workings of nature.as culture tries to acclimate us to elevated status,we lose the majical workings of the natural world and her spirit.in a very real sense we deaden ourselves and start to rot from the inside out.so,once you have done this,teach everything to your children and other people.get informed about how to live in what i call a,'Traceless 'manner,as to be be in the spirit of what we truly are here to do.to be a mendicant on a journey of Love.Couple of great books to get you going about the way we did things on this continent,'The wind is my mother'by Beart Heart and 'The Sacred Tree' by a grouping of elders from all over North America.let yourself be in the Hoop.we live such segregated,devisive,pale and lifeless lives.to live in the Hoop is to be alive and to know that,'Today is a good day to live as well as die'....T

Its just a tree it aint connected to me.....
December 14, 2007, 7:27 pm

Fuck the old adage when a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? ...... Can we honestly justify our reckless and ruthless, unrelenting encroachment on our limited natural resources without a semblance of Natural balance?.... does a living tree scream in silent agony while it is being sliced in two at the base while it slowly starts its journey towards slamming onto the ground as the sap seeps like so much blood from its rings kinda makes you think????? hahahahahah who the fuck am I kidding life is reduced to the reality that you and I live and what we choose to see and what we choose with indifference to walk on by......... get my drift???? or is it easier to be blind........you tell me.......ooooonj

how bout a holiday
December 14, 2007, 5:22 pm

Death never takes a holiday....does that mean you better get your shit together???? hahahahahahhha who the fuck cares find ten people who acknowledge and care about life outside their own reality and I will retract ......and eat a healthy helping of humble pie..... but then again why must you always punish those that seek a better place for where we all live.......njo

who is kidding who
December 14, 2007, 2:51 pm

When did it start going wrong? Hell I can’t remember that far back I never asked for anything other then inner peace and a chance for my voice to be heard. It seems that my divine plan was orchestrated by a fool and I must take a major part of the blame for I always seem to be stumbling one step from misery and one step from the freedom to be me.... please don’t bother spewing your bullshit rhetoric about what I have and the blessings I should acknowledge on bended knee, blessings are a hollow shell when your shattered soul just bleeds and bleeds how much blood can you loose before you fall or fail? I have been so close but I can never grasp the ring always just one step outside my reach and I can hear the taunts as the elephant in the room constantly reminds me...... who the hell am I kidding..............jno

waves....
December 14, 2007, 7:45 am

when i get back to Florida with Jon i would like to do Paul Butterfields,'Drifting'.It seems very appropraite for how i am feeling as of late.it almost seems as if i am in a strange sort of limbo.people keep asking what i am doing and i tire from the questions so i have become somewhat of a hermit here,just my close family and select friends.some bitter disappointments have crashed on the shore.got my surf board out,but it feels tattered and worn and the sharks are just below the surface.noone can really know the pain in totality of another.even talking at times with very close friends it is hard to convey.i guess all you can do is look for the creative outputs to make this feeling a tangible reality for people.so this 18-20 year experiment with peace for high schoolers i will just have to bury into gentle compost,hopefully to become a song.everyone is just either to busy,not good listeners,or trying to make it in this horrible economy.well have whined enough today time for the old tattered surf board,here comes another wave....T

Happy Hollow Days from Shadow Screamers
December 13, 2007, 12:21 pm

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is at it again. He is backtracking on his government's agreements and attempting to block peacekeepers for Darfur......... I cant fucking believe this genocide is still going on in Darfur and here we sit with our thumb up our ass along with so many other countries who whine about their past genocides yet turn a blind eye to its never ending incarnations. If we are truly the self proclaimed greatest country on the planet then we sure as hell should be setting the example this will not be tolerated EVER AGAIN.........but it seems we are content to just wolf down mind numbing portions of indifference topped with a heavy dose of the fuck them its about me and what I got mentality......... the web site is at http://www.savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes if anyone is interested....... oh and by the way Happy Hollow-days.........jon

can't wait....
December 13, 2007, 12:11 pm

Can't wait to get back.I am ready to roll up the sleeves....T

You aint got no soul Condi
December 12, 2007, 4:43 pm

I just heard that Tony Snow the one time press puppet for the Junior bush regime wrote a scathing article on Kwanza( a one week African American holiday celebrating their heritage ,feel free to look it up) before he was hired to be the presidents press secretary. He eventually left because he wanted better economic opportunities. I guess he probably is getting a hundred thousand dollars a speech at KKK meetings rallying the troops. Makes you wonder where Condolisa Whitey was when junior decided to go with Tommy Boy........ oh yea I forgot that’s why we call her Condolisa Whitey isn’t it she may have brains but she aint got no soul man..........jon

be me
December 11, 2007, 11:23 am

Digging deep circles as I wear the old ones thin cant seem to move ahead can’t see what’s left behind, traveling in circles always leaves you more than a little blind. As possibilities pass me by cant step out and grasp the chance because traveling in circles I pass on by, left to reflect on what might have been and what will surely never be until I stop traveling in circles. I know I have to do it and in the end its left to me to keep digging deeper or to finally break out and be me.......jon

am i not Turtle enough for your Turtle club....
December 11, 2007, 8:03 am

if you want to extend your life and also enjoy it,breathe like a Turtle....T

community....
December 10, 2007, 8:33 am

had the opportunity to see Cinderalla man again last night.i am a self-admitted junky when it comes to motivation through adversity.perhaps it is because i was born crippled and suffered awkwardness throughout my early years because of it.the striking thing about that movie is not only his iron determination,but also that the entire nation was behind him.it is said that it takes an entire community to raise a chils.where did that community go?why have we left this generation bereft of the kind of support our parents enjoyed during the Great Depression and WW11?you really get a sense that the nation cared about Braddick because they new he had no time to prepare for fights,hell he came right off the docks to fight without eating much as Dempsey did.these were tough dudes,during tough times.when i talk to my parents about what got them through they always say,'we were all in it together,we helped each other the best we could'.now that is such a powerful statement!in my 20 years doing teen social work i was always amazed by the poor.the rich kids(in general)didn't seem to give in times of need to people as much.now i don't blame them,it is social conditioning.what really blew me away was the poor.though they had nothing,in some community trajedy they would always find something to give(this isn'tall tha poor-mind you).i remember so many times being deeply touched and amazed by this.it ripples back to Braddick's time.if you are poor,you can really relate to the suffering of other poor.we need community again in these litigatious times.we do a horrible dis-service to our children without such a sense of community.we only teach aloneness and isolation.in this enviornment how can we possibly trust one another?....T

days of youth
December 9, 2007, 9:10 am

The worst part is “not knowing�.... I can still remember the days of my youth, sometimes you got in trouble and your mom would say wait until your Dad gets home! Thus condemning you for hours to a plethora of possibilities about the severity and form of punishment. Praying that Dad had a good day so that he did not have the added anger it was the bad days that hurt the most. Truth is I always survived and everyone was doing the best they could, but I have noticed as we age the �not knowing and waiting� can carry an even heavier burden it can shake you to the core. I have to tell you sometimes I long for the days of my youth...........jon

qi everywhere....
December 9, 2007, 8:53 am

the energy of the universe can heal,we simply need to be better listeners.you have two holes on your head-this is not what i am talking about(though we frequently mis-use or don't use these).your very body listens and becomes attuned to the energy of the universe.call it prana,qi,intrinsic energy,ni,etc...this energy is in all things in the universe.when we stand at night and look at the stars we can become attuned to this energy.the big dipper for instance,you can imagine as a giant cup filled with purple,healing qi.let that cup spill out and fill your body with the purple qi.allow it to fill your body coming in from the top of the head and then once you feel full let it splash out on the outside of your body,protecting your aura.remember throughout to breath deeply from the abdomen,long,slow,deep,smooth,and even breaths.qi surrounds us,if we learn to listen with our body/mind/spirit we can harness this energy for a life of optimum health and well-being.i always after a practise like this give thanks to the being that was so generous filling me with qi.peace and love....T

sleep....
December 8, 2007, 12:00 pm

we have no excuse being complacent in this time period.i am constantly told that we live in the greatest country in the world.if that is so,why did we close a hospital as Jon posted several days ago for the poor?WHY ARE WE AT WAR AND WITH WHO,BUT OUR OWN FEAR AND PARANOIA AND OF COURSE GREED.we are told that things are great in race relations ,and then we see chidren with nooses!where did this come from?you know the answer,it didn't come from a void,it is cultural conditioning,through family and community.we allow for comments to be said,we allow for negative attitudes to predominate,we allow for our own soveriegnty of self to be lost.why?how?the geneticists have determined everyone came from Africa,so when you are predjudiced you are really fighting your own brother or sister quite literaly.how are we so stupid?how do people take sacred texts so far out of context for their own stupid justifications.man really isn't to far outside of the cave.it is easy to see this and before we shit in our enviornment to the point of complete deadness of planet,of mind,body and soul,will we have taken a walk or will we have just stumbled in sleep.WAKE THE &*^%$ PEOPLE!....T

Love....
December 6, 2007, 8:41 am

Love resounds throughout the universe,can you hear the sound? T

I need to get some crickets so at least I can hear them chirp after every song it would help break the silence
December 5, 2007, 11:45 am

The gig last night was tough, having a taste of playing out together with T the last couple of months and then having to go back solo while he is in Maine is difficult as I don’t look at myself as a solo performer, but I will do it until T gets back down here and truth be told it is making me a better performer. I must confess the audience has been tough and small (regardless of what Washington tells you people are cutting back on every aspect of their lives and this is effecting almost every small business in some form) I am not one to ham it up with the audience I just play I guess if I was going to make a career out of solo performing I would have to change my act and work on the between song banter ,but truth be told I have all I can do to stand there and play my music. How ironic a solo live performer with a sever case of shyness? Go figure. It is hard to gage your performance dong gigs like these so I want to thank Karine who among other things runs the line up of excellent entertainment at South Shores Tavern her words of encouragement are a great lift for me because I know her word are sincere, she would not say anything if I really sucked.................Jon

blue monk5....
December 4, 2007, 8:39 am

wind whirls across the blue snow.what is it that is buried,what is it i have forgotten?unshaved head will soon produce miniture prayer flags for my year of intent.clean,fresh,like the new snow,sloughed of a season,onto another.the birds puff and fly their zagged paths.i walk,partially frozen,open mouth,open eyes,listening through every orfice.trying to decide what is remembered,and what was forgotten under,under the blue snows....T

the sky is crying....
December 2, 2007, 8:47 am

this time of year i can't help but look out and see the materialistic side of western culture rearing it's ugly head.the streets and stores are jammed,people are over extending themselves with credit cards,people are rude and unkind to one another.this is at a time when the true meaning(if you practise the celebrations of a religion that celebrates a holiday in December)has been lost and swept aside to our materialistic ideals.many people tell us to look after those that don't have much this time of year.What about the rest of the year?do we simply put blinders on,send a check and forget the rest of the year?compassion and empathy take practise and effort.it must be practised on a daily basis.like the right hand injured,the left hand does not ask,it simply helps.that we could be so giving!i am tired of the harrassment of talking heads in all facets of life,'to be more giving this time of year".it is complete and utter bullshit!what about the 40,000 people that die daily not on Thanksgiving,Buddhas Enlightenment day,Hanukah,or Christmas?we are all in complicity and intricately tied together,weather we believe so or not.the old teaching from the Native Tradition,'the misfortune of one,is the misfortune of all',i believe would go a long way in this regard.i also feel that if Christ was looking down at what this season has become,tears would fall continuously.in fact it is supposed to snow alot tomorrow,hmmmmm....T

I wont forget Louis Armstrong
December 1, 2007, 10:15 am

Please check out the Wise Words today just click on the icon at the top of this page. Mr. Louis Armstrong had a huge influence on my life ......we cannot imagine the bigotry he went thru being black and living in Amerika during his lifetime remember he died in 1971 and was born in 1900. To show you the incredible double standard we were living in, and in some ways still live with here in Amerika......... Louis Armstrong was universally known around the world as the Ambassador this country loved to exploit this......yet at the same time people of color were still being randomly murdered , harassed, and segregated in the Deep South, talk about dark disgusting irony. How did Mr. Armstrong respond? The man decided to kill them with love, Compassion, energy and incredible music......God bless you Mr. Armstrong....jon

silence the teacher....
November 30, 2007, 9:02 am

of all the great truths in life,i value the teaching of silence.what abuse we heap on this great teacher.just last night i was guilty,letting a thought that was not nice slip out.like all things it has and will have a ripple outward.this is why my Elders have taught to be very careful what you think and say,it will manifest into the universe.it was a moment when silence would have been the 'moment and the teacher' and i ruined it.so i appologize great teacher for disrespecting the space.we do take up space don't we?this rampaging ego that really is the false-self likes to hold the space of conversations and actions laudly proclaiming,'this is my game,and my ball,play by my rules or everything goes home with me!'how repulsive,how untrue,how utterly anthropomorphic.in truth we share this space with all creation.we are no less than or more than anything else.the blade of grass,the passing deer,the sun,the moon,the wind,are they not sacred?now the way we can learn from these beings is to study the way they study the great teacher of silence.have you ever seen a deer at sunrise drinking from a stream?have you seen the way she lifts her head and listens for a long time.she does not fill the space with volumes of sound,volumes of importance.she listens,the great teacher always,always graces a lesson.what do we learn from this truth?one lesson i have learned is to be open and recptive to what is and around.to become aware of life making it's ever forward cycle of change and movement.i also learn to hear my heart.silence allows for the heart to be free,to talk without talking great mysteries that cannot be articultaed here(they will be different for each individual.if i share,i share a perception,which can color yours.this is a form of violence i care not to engagein!).i have learned that with silence,in a recetive sense,i can use these two objects on the side of my head better and hear what my brother and sister is saying and not saying.as an aside i worked for many years with another mental health worker who felt impelled to fill up groups with his/her own voice.now alot of what this person said was insightful and such,but i always felt it was a form of violence.by this person not being silent,she/he tread on the space of the students we were supposed to help.it did not allow for them to experience this great teacher(silence)so they could(as all great therapy is really about)experience thier own truths and solutions to their issues.this is the mystery and greatness of such a teacher.last night i soiled this teachers presence and for that my dear teacher i am sorry.as for the ripples,i can only take accountability and learn from my mistake....T

Tom Brokejaw here
November 30, 2007, 8:19 am

Tom Brokejaw here at the white house interviewing President Bush ........ Mr. Bush good to see you its been awhile....It sure has Tom but this job makes me work harder then I ever thought so I don’t have much time to meet with the press and I think its good to keep the people guessin what your gonna do next. Its dangerous times out there!! ....... Well Mr. President I have a couple of questions for you..... Go Ahead Tom Shoot but don’t hit me in the face like uncle Dickey did to his huntin friend hahahah....Ok???Mr President what was your reasoning for vetoing the health care bill which would have paved the way towards making health care available to the millions of children and families that currently are not covered?.........Well Tom let me tell ya I think came up with a solution to the Global Warming them wacko scientists are yappin about!....But Mr. President what does that have to do with my question????.........Tom ya see its like this we are gonna try to be the coldest administration in the history of America that way it will probably bring down the tempeerature of the earth a couple a degrees Hell Uncle Dickies cold heart alone can probably make the temperature dorp!!! ..........What a plan Mr. President I think I feel a migraine coming on but I have one more question are you concerned to see a Hospital like Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta Georgia on the verge of closing.Grady treats the poorest of the poor in fact they probably treat large numbers of the same kids who’s best chance at chance at getting Heath insurance you just vetoed????????......... Well Tom that fits in with my immigration plan and I hope it spreads across the country cause if all them hospitals close that treat the poor then them illegal aliens aint gonna have no place to go for free doctors so they will have ta go home!!!!!...........But Mr. President what about the millions of U.S Citizens young and old who will have no place to go to get medical treatment??....... Well Tom there is plently of Hospitals every where and the economy is so good I think I am gonna be called the “Job Makin President� everybodies workin so there aren’t many poor people hell I don’t think I seen one since I been in Office!!!!!!!.........This is Tom Brokejaw sending it back to you Katriana I think I need to puke...............jon

What do you mean this apple is $5.00
November 29, 2007, 9:10 am

“Arizona is poised to begin enforcing the toughest employee-sanction law in the country. The law could shut down businesses for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The governor of Arizona signed the bill but wants to exempt power plants and hospitals. The bill is due for revision.�........I heard this on NPR this morning if you are interested check out www.npr.org If it passes it will have serous repercussions for all of America because weather you are for or against illegal aliens the fact is that we have become as dependent on them as we are addicted to foreign oil and if they are forced out of the low income work place be prepared to pay way more for everything not just gas. The thing that amazes me is that people can be so adamantly opposed to a system that has been systematically entrenched into our society and refuse take the time to look at coming up with solutions to the eventual repercussions we all will face, I have yet to hear anyone come up with a possible solution to stem the tide of the even greater burden this will put on the millions and, millions of struggling families in Amerika. There is no easy answer but we have to go about this reform in a logical and timely manner who knows maybe the politicians in Washington can schedule a Conference to look into this problem hahahahah check out Wise Words to get the joke.......jon

Thank You....
November 29, 2007, 6:50 am

i left my last entry up for a couple days without posting as i feel the resources listed are so powerful and life changing! i want to take the time to thank everyone for the comments made on the fan journal and the comments on the pictures and such on our myspace,it means alot to us.if you look on the band journal you will find thoughts,poetry,short stories and political commentary.i suggest just pick a month on the search engine and read through to see what you think.For instance you could go to august 05or jan.06 or whichever month and just see what you see.everyone back in Maine is almost as excited as Jon and I about our band,it has been so encouraging and uplifting,and i want to thank each and every one of you....love,T

Tis the season
November 27, 2007, 9:20 am

Just so our fans know T is staying up in Maine until after the first of the year being it is the Holiday season it did not make sense for him to come back down for a couple of weeks only to have to return to Maine for Christmas as we all know it is a crazy time of year to travel especially using travel vouchers. This will not hinder the resurgence of the band and will give us time to attend to personal family matters which have come up life is full of curve balls it seems but we will not be detoured from our goal of making this happen. I appreciate all the recent comments and I am looking into putting up all of our tunes for sale so that our fans will be able to pick which ones they want to purchase. And yes there is going to be new music up early next year I am in the process of setting up our small studio and things are starting to come together. Peace to all and please remember those who are less fortunate during this season of self proclaimed giving... jon

check out these two websites!
November 24, 2007, 8:52 am

today i would like to point you to two very valuable resources for healing and empowernment.one is my dear friend John Peterson's site www.transformetrics.com .it is a site devoted to non-weight Physical Culture.the forum is the best i have ever seen,wonderful people and no negativity!just alot of people helping people.John's publications are very modestly priced and are in my mind the greatest contributions to Physical Culture.in particular I would recommend Miracle Seven,Pushing Yourself To Power,and Isometric Power Revolution.each one of these is a classic and if you bought just one,that is all you will need for the rest of your life in regards to Physical Culture(i am not paid to endorse this obviously,what i have written i feel to be very true and i feel this website would help the general populace(and athletes)to conquer a list of maladies-including our pervasive obesity issues).the second site is www.springforestqigong.com. as many of you know i have taught and studied qigong for many years.i know of many,many systems and teach many.when i went to Florida,i decided to,'dig a deep well'(there are over five thousand different sytems of qigong in China.in the west we want to do many and more without ever mastering or getting the full benefit of a system.digging a deep well refers to staying with a system for 120 days or more to get the benefit).now many here know that the last four years have been extremly difficult personally(for refernce just check the band journals.as Jon says,we hide nothing).i have been doing Spring Forest Qigong for over three months now solid.two weeks ago after practise i had a very thick gooey sweat come out of me(this is a toxin discharge common after accupressure of accupuncture treatments-this was different though.i have been around these systems for a very long time and i have never seen a discharge like this!).i was accidently poisoned two years ago-almost killed me.this toxic release was the residue deep within me that was released.ever since then i have felt so great!this is a very powerful yet simple Qigong.again this is not a paid endorsement.Master Chunyin Li doesn't even know me.i just learned the system after hearing so much about it(it is easy to learn).so give yourself this gift .go to these two sites and check them out.be informed.follow your intuition and listen to what people say about the systems.i can tell you that nothing is fabricated about any claims.have fun and enjoy! love,T

the sun and my heart are one....
November 23, 2007, 9:07 am

each morning we have the wonderful opportunity to arise again!if you would like there is a special time just before dawn that is the thin veil between the unconscious and conscious mind of the world and ourselves.if you awake and do prayers followed by yoga or qigong you will feel the power of what the chinese call the time of the ,'living breath'.at this time the oxegen is cleaner,the qi(prana_is fresher)and there is a special moment as the sun arises that we can be re-created yet another day.before i delve into that,it is important to know that this moment,these rays are pure love.the sun never hides things from certain people yet shines on others.it's love is not sticky or attached,it simply is.this love can transform you,change you even on a microscopic level.in turn our hearts(the sun of our body)can shine to all with love and positive energy,now why would we do this?try a little experiment.have you ever had a time in your life when you were uncertain?have you allowed the in-authentic self to dominate(that pesky ego that tries to undermine your true path),allowing your self to delve into pessimisim,and negativity?what happened?chances are you did not attain your desired result and even if you did,there was no joy.now let's suppose you change this paradigm.let's suppose that you awake with your two hearts(the sun and your heart)and allow the energy and love to permeate you at a very high level,then with this opptimism you go about your life and spread this to the world.now you might have had that moment before,what happened?chances are that even if the desired result was not attained you still had joy in the process of the journey,many of you did attain the result.you see negativity is a tangible energy that attracts it's kind.this is why the Chrokee say to gaurd your thoughts and to never voice them(negative thoughts that is),as this negative energy goes outward and can tangibly manifest.most of the pop psychology writers talk about this.it is not new,it is an ancient truth(i can think of this truth spoken on all continents of the world by various groups and spiritualities).the funny thing is that if you live in this space,people see it.they become comfortable with you,you create a space for yourself,your family and all that come in contact with this love.you are essentially becoming the sun that shines on everything and everyone.so a good practise is to wake before dawn,and in that moment just before(often marked by a loving silence)offer thanks and prayers for yourself,family and the world.as the sun arises allow it to come in through the top of your head(stand feet shoulder width apart and have your hands at your sides but palms facing forward-for more technical standing refer to Ken Cohen's,'the way of Qigong") and drink the rays with your breath at the same time.let the rays fill you up from the feet to the top of the head and then on the outside of your body.then turn and slightly hunch your back allowing the sun to hit the mingmen point across from your navel.afterwards massage your face,head,ears(check Springforest.com for a great practise).if you feel depleted in some part of your body,reach out with your hand and bring the rays to that part of your body,alternate left and right hand scooping the rays of the sun,bring it in-don't touch the skin.then remember,you can be the sun-you have one within your body.emulate this energy of love and opptimism to everyone you meet.you will find deep treasures in this practise.ultimately it is up to you to see the change and the love inherent.report back to me if you would like,i love to hear a good story,a love story,a hero story on this sacred journey we are all on....T

a hero with a thousand faces....
November 22, 2007, 8:15 am

we each have a book that we are writing.each day there is a page that we explore and draft.after our death people will revise and edit.this is a hero's adventure what you and i share on this tiny blue marbel that hurtles through space.the battles are not the enemy that lines the distant field,the enemy is what resides within.that nagging,doubting voice that discredits your story,your page today.i see so many heroes as i travel;the addict that doesn't use anymore,the person that struggles from eating disorders that is now living well,the single mom raising four children in a tough neighborhood,the Clan Mothers that kept alive the teachings in the face of certain persecution,the kind person we all know that secretly struggles with mental illness,the people healing from childhood abuse,people healing after a damaging relationship or marriage...Etc...these are but a scant example of the heroes i see every day.i am thankfull not just on this day but every day to see such stories and the pages they share with me.how is your hero journey today?are you writing a page that you would share?....T

butterflies
November 20, 2007, 12:15 pm

Wow! just checked out the site and it looks like I had better put on a good show tonight. The thing about laying it out by yourself in front of a live audience is that there is always a hint of doubt as to weather you can pull it off. Don’t get me wrong I am still going to go for it and give it everything I have I will just have to see where the pieces fall,have to go I don’t even have a set list yet......Jon

Go to South Shore Tavern tonight!
November 20, 2007, 8:08 am

hey Jon! tonight is going to be a great gig!get on down to South Shores and see my bro play an unplugged version of the Sceamers.we are headin' into studio work when i get back,can't wait!....T

trouble not night air....
November 18, 2007, 5:56 am

trouble not night air. in the absence of light there is a mystery beyond knowing.i trouble to know what i cannot see,what i cannot feel,what i do not understand,what it is that i fear.nightime air decends,laying her white hand on the brown fields.in the distance the coyotes call to the moon now unobscured by passing clouds.a different light.one that calls in the shadows.one that obscures sound in the absence of clear sight.what is this sound?what is the sound of the whirr of mind working?what of the heart that throbs and calls to the stars as surely the whales do?trouble not night air.to unknow is the greatest known we shall ever know....T

the distant mile....
November 17, 2007, 7:35 am

can we really go the distant mile?can we dissolve and just be,therfore being a wellspring of love for everyone?many people give with the thought of being known as someone who cares.the distant mile is the mile that is close.it is the mile that does not have a thought of being known.it is like the right hand caring for the left when it is injured.the right hand does not expect to be in the papers tomorrow,it just helps,right here right now.i have termed this the distant mile today,as we are so far from this generally in modern culture.it is a title that does not have to be however as it is not distant at all.it is right within your grasp of your right,your left hand....T

urgent help....
November 16, 2007, 12:43 pm

Please pray and send support to Bangladesh,thank you....T

to go inward....
November 16, 2007, 8:15 am

the deep rust colors have replaced the splendid reds and golds.the trees stand on the edge of meadows as if waiting for something.their barebone shadows cast long over the pastures and fields.they do wait.they allow the sap to go inward in preperation for winters long cold months.we too start to slow down and this is important!our culture moves faster with every passing year.no time to slow down and reflect on the lessons gathered from summer taken inward to steep and hopefully attain wisdom.this wisdom then spreads with the tender grass in spring.what happens when you don't slow?what happens when we predicate a schedule that mimics summer year round?you have seen the burnout,the fatigue,and the listless hulks that at the end of a career pass on within six months.our bodies give us subtle ques all the time.it is important not to caffeine them and go on overdrive speeding down the highway,cursing at cars with cell phones or headsets attached to the ear.you will never gather enough to prevent your withering.time is a season cloaked by perception.we see through when a pinprick(intuition)tells us this is an illusion.a construct of the false self.yet so many still speed and deny the message they get,perhaps in the thin veil between waking and sleeping.we need (and i mean need)to find times of the'tree'awaiting winter.time to allow our sap to go inward and listen.as we don't,this is why we see people stuck in the teen years,not growing.sad loss,really,as who will mentor our children?is it to tell them that the most toys at the end wins?is it to tell them that they are privelaged and they don't have to wait in line or be behind some slowpoke on the highway?is it to tell them that rather than slowly changing with your beloved wife that you just get a younger one,like changing car tires?is it to tell them not to question this illusion,this false self that withers the spirit?the tree teaches so much!soon she will even lose her deep rust colored leaves and her skeletal structure will cast longer shadows on the white/blueish snow.she will listen to the advise of her mother,she will listen to the advise of her father.she will gather her wisdom and then in that grand moment on the cusp of yet one more week of winter she explodes with the penetrating sun of spring....T

pass it on
November 14, 2007, 12:18 pm

As the holidays approach and with so many living below the poverty line. Reach out and touch someone in need you will feel like a thief as you collect the warmth that fills your soul and to feel even better pass it on year round it is a fact that poverty never sleeps ......jon

very unique....
November 14, 2007, 7:31 am

heading back to Maine for a week.it has thus far been very exciting and wonderfull.we played a kickass set last night.our sound is very unique.being a two-piece we have to fill the sound,this forces me to do some very unusual things on bass and Jon on guitar.we have been told that it creates something new and exciting and on the edge.well everyone have a good holiday,be checking back from Maine tomorrow.peace and love....T

Sey what???
November 12, 2007, 5:43 pm

Hey all...... Just wanted to put in my two cents worth but this aint no fuâ€"ing party and we aint dancing like silly mindless fools so you mother fuâ€"ers who support us need to step UP and spread the word......can you see any band on the horizon who is in greater despair yet continues to kick ass and work towards a better humanity??????????

i love to be wrong....
November 11, 2007, 11:41 am

to be wrong and admit it is a wonderfull feedback loop in which we learn from in our experiences in life.so many times I would tell Peer Helpers when i taught the class that i like to be wrong once a day and admit it.they would every time look at me with astonishment,'what adult admits when they are wrong?'many males have told me over they years that they hate to be wrong because they somehow feel lessened.in the greater culture of,'being the man!'(like in Trumps shows,etc...)they feel they are socialized to be,'right,no matter the cost'.what pressure!what missed chances to grow and modify behavior across all realms of the human experience.when we admit we are wrong we have the wonderfull opportunity to be humble,to grow,to learn,to love this imperfect situation that we call being human.it is okay,it is a wonderfull feedback loop.i can't imagine the pressure of being right all the time.how that must feel?what things you have to do to bouy up the in-authentic self.ahh,the experience of letting go.to not be so emotionally attached to being right.as i look at the greater culture,we need,yes,NEED,to tech the value of being wrong and admitting it.mentors need to show this is okay,are you listening U.S Government....T

Hero of the day!
November 9, 2007, 10:25 am

Sorry about this,should have had this up yesterday!Alicia Wing of Maine is our hero of the day.She helped a person out yesterday that was in a car accident.Other people didn't help,but Alicia had the presence of mind not to move the person(as it could have injured him further-if you want Alicia go onto the Fan Journal and fill out the details I have missed) and then dialed 911.The ambulance got to the scene and took it from there.In the meantime her calm presence helped the victim of the car crash.we thank you Alicia for this act of kindness and you are definately the Shadowscreamers hero of the day!!!!T

peace is every step....
November 8, 2007, 7:05 am

'Peace is every step'-Thich Nhat Hanh-try to take each step on Mother Earth as if the soles of your feet are kissing her.Breathe deeply in and out,step slowly,consciously.Allow your bodies movement to be a moving poem,like doing Tai Chi.When we move with intent in the light of,'Loving Kindness',we note many lotus buds exploding into blossoms.perhaps in this loving embrace of the world we will treat our Mother with more kindness,perhaps we will be better with one another....T

follow your bliss....
November 7, 2007, 7:20 am

'follow your bliss'.Joseph Campbell the great philosopher/historian uttered these simple words at the end of every lecture he taught as a college professor.i couldn't agree more.so many people get caught due to circumstance not being able to follow their bliss.i advocate the following,'FOLLOW YOUR BLISS'.now after saying that i realize how hard it is.we had to take a 18 year break from our band due to circumstance.but we are here now and are going to push this until we get where we want to be.so how do you follow your bliss?first get a journal.write down first why you would want to do what your bliss is.this seperates a vague notion from a true desire.next research as much as you can about what you want to do,if it takes schooling research classes either distance or locally.keep notes along the way daily in your journal.make short and long term goals.make sure your first goal is easy to accomplish.this has a profound psychological effect,it produces inertia,you feel as if you are moving forward.surround yourself with people in the field.surround yourself with positive people-not the ones that tell you,'well that's stupid,why...?'we all have doubts about what we do in life,we don't need someone to externalize our internal fears.MEDITATE,AND MEDITATE!this helps to free the mind.many of our greatest acheivements in science and the arts have been actualized when the conscious mind was relaxed into the subconscious(these are just a few suggestions-if you would like more e-mail us).have faith and believe in yourself!it is your bliss,your dream,and you are wonderfull! go for it!follow your bliss....T

fasting....
November 6, 2007, 6:14 am

try to fast one day a week.now when i say fast here i mean something different than food and water(though you can do that with great results too).try to set down your cell-phone,don't listen or read a newspaper.try to talk less and use some meditation to go inward,two to three times in this day(and then slowly build a habit of it).we babble to much and we gather to many soundbites throughout the day.it is no wonder we are on sensory overload.the fast above is designed to slow things down,in fact walk slower with deep breathing,feel as if your feet are kissing mother earth.when you slow down,you start to notice and enjoy things more at that i will leave you to this experiment.with love and peace,....T

still studying....
November 5, 2007, 8:59 am

as far as the next prez.I am still researching the candidates.i cannot trust in good faith anyone that is republican,they have ruled with an iron fist for quite some time now.as a Green Party member I usually vote Green if appropriate and if not Dem.what is certain is that I will vote for a radical departure from what we and the world has had to withstand under this administration.it would be so re-freshing to see a politician not so centrist orientated as they rise to the top.we need a radical departure and one not predicated under the current warped system of politic....T

studio vs.live
November 4, 2007, 7:17 am

the slow revolution of sound is measured in the studio process.unlike the spontaneous act of instant creation on stage ,in the studio things seem more clinical,analytical.it could be said that the stage is Yin and the studio Yang.the stage is the unconscious act of instant creation through the subconscious mind.the studio is very much the measured process of the conscious mind.to be a musician you must master both.one of the keys to help young musicians would be a steady course of meditation during the process.this allows for the combining of both parts of consciousness.Yoga-either Indian or Chinese is also a very big help,to give energy,break up the long hours,and to adjust the body from the constant drag of gravity that a guitar or bass puts on the body.journaling helps.writing down what worked,what didn't.you also want to make sure you do not lose your identity,collectively as a band and individually as a musician.you know how people respond to your play.of course you must sacrifice some of the antics of stage for the compositional stand of studio music,but there can be a healthy blend of both worlds.these are just some minor suggestions today.the studio and the stage has no room for monster ego's,the band comes first(without everyone what would you be?),on the same hand to play with freedom is important and necessary for a great player.have faith in yourself and combine the Yin and Yang of your music.this is what makes a great album.this is what has marked the classics through time and seperated them from the merely mediocre....T

Midnight the other side
November 2, 2007, 10:36 pm

Caught on the other side of midnight looking but not seeing but then again really not looking anyway it seems so much easier just to be..Looking in depth taxes the mind and we as a society seem content to be in this feeble state of mind not wanting to push any boundaries outside our self serving cocoons we apparently are content to just exist living on the other side of midnight.....jon

DON'T LOSE FOCUS....
November 1, 2007, 7:21 am

okay so we have really been busy with the band,but our passion for social justice will never dwindle.in fact it is a major thread in the fabric of what a Shadowscreamer is.so we are late talking about bushie not passing the health bill for children,it does not surprise me.it would seem that it is buisness as usual for him.we have to be VERY CAREFULL IN THE WANING TIME OF THIS DANGEROUS MAN.i have noted that when jackals like ronald reagan and bushie one are leaving,alot of damage can be done as the public pays more attention to the upcoming election.it would be part and parcel for this administration who Jon and I have dubbed the masters of,'the shell game'.get the attention elsewhere and then they can rape and pillage funds,and peoples minds.i long for the philosopher-king sort of politician(don't get me wrong-we need no king)but just the premise of an enlightened politician-unconcerned with election-totally concerned about what is right and decent for all people-would be so refreshing.meanwhile keep sending letters to your Senators and Congresspeople about the health care issue and any other iisssue this snake tries to usurp in the waning hours of his,well whatever this incredibly deppresing time has been....

faith....
October 30, 2007, 7:47 am

I have to have faith that when I move this physical body with intent,it will move and get stronger.I have to have faith that this emotion will soon pass-the secret is not to mistake the wave for the ocean.I have to have faith that my mind will become stronger as I broaden it,allowing it to be receptive,open.I have to have faith that my freinds will support me-they do weather I believe so or not(the sun,the moon,the stars,all the animals,the plants,mother earth,father sky-this is just a partial list,as well as my human friends that I include).I have to have faith in my Spirituality,the sustaining,animating force on this deep journey through the stars....T

mountain as Saint....
October 29, 2007, 12:46 pm

'The mountain is a Saint.'-Thomas Merton-Merton is one of my favorite writers.in his material he always talks about the deluded self and the true self within.the way to find this true self is through contemplation.all traditions in their way teach this.man,has always been and apparently always will be bent on living 'outside'of herself/himself.we look to material for satisfaction,that elusive,'out there'that will somehow,someway heal us,yet it does not come.our culture teaches us to look outside of ourselves and that we are never really,'enough'.this is the deluded self calling to itself.it only resonates as we have been lacking in mentorship in what could possibly be our true self.without the guide pointing to the sky for the moon,our deluded self looks at the pond for the moon.the mountain is a Saint as he/she knows who and what she is.she has stood for a very long time through much adversity and understands the ebb and flow of life.his lifetime is very long but not permanant.she understands techtonic plates that have pushed her into being.she also understands that eventually she will be a grain of sand on a beach.there is no deluded self with this great Saint,she is,simply.so we go to the mountain,at times not knowing why,but as we traverse her delicate skin we feel the depth of love that the true self offers.we find quite unexpectantly that we are slowing down,breathing deeper and feel as if we are transcedant in the eternal,'now'.we owe it to ourselves to get up off our chairs and go to the Sacred Mountain.no greater Saint will you ever meet....T

uni-tasker....
October 28, 2007, 11:59 am

there is a disturbing trend in popular culture to muti-task.we are asked daily in almost every field to be able to do many things well.this of course is an illusion.we see it's trailings throughout modern culture.just drive on the freeway and you will see many people so involved with conversations on their cell phones that you wonder how they drive at all.maybe I am just way to simple,or particulary dense.when I am in a car I want to see the changing topography.I want to follow my breathing so that I can be mindfully aware as I hurtle this heavy death machine through space.of course for me there is also the enviornmental side.landfills pilling up with out-moded cell-phones.the particular mineral they need for the production of batteries for the cell is mined near the highland gorillas in Africa.sadly the slaughter continues for those humble,gentle friends.i don't want to muti-task.i want when i talk to you to give you my undivided attention,without saying,'can you please wait',as i take a call on a cell phone or on call waiting(won't happen,don't own a cell and won't).simply,i desire to be a competant uni-tasker.though at times i fail because of this,'crazy monkey mind'it is no less the goal that i aspire to.i don't have to listen to what the popular culture says,especially when i know it is counterintuitive.as with the post the other day,what is important to me is to enter into stillness,into silence.so in this fertile ground i can better understand what it is i truly need....T

silence is pregnant....
October 26, 2007, 8:30 am

silence is pregnant.silence is the ground where all possibilities can be born.like our great mother in spring,silence errupts with new life when we allow her gentle precense.we talk and babble to much.how many grand buildings have we toppled with our insessant tongues.when we are silent we can hear better the inward/outward symphony.it allows for the development of all realms of human existence.like our dreams,when we allow for our minds and mouths to become silent,the subconscious can come out better to play.i find that our culture revers the reverse.we want sound and talking all the time.we have become uncomfortable with silence.it is as if we are frightened by the possibility of finding who and what we truly are.people run,as this generation of non-mentorship and horrible examples in all categories of human interaction,have taught people to eschew her(silence).people have learned to miss the gentle sage within.all prophets and saints were comfotable with silence.in all major traditions these folks were the ones that spent time in the wilderness.they sought the fecund soil of silence so they could really hear without the bantering of many loosed tongues.what did they find?powerful insights to the human condition!revelations that would change the world!a gentleness that comes like tender blades of grass in spring to flourish in the full sunlight.we can find the pearl at the bottom of the sea,as the Sufi's say,but it takes patience and faith.it takes the ability to step beyond en-coultured fear of silence.it takes no less than LOVE.if we find the time each day for silence we are rewarded a hundred times over.if we find the time for silence we find deep down in the depths of the sea,our very heart....T

CHANGES....
October 25, 2007, 4:56 pm

please be patient about new music.we are entering into the studio soon to record with our new drummer Bello.you will really like this new Shadowscreamer,he is a consumate pro.and is a wonderfull human being.we can't wait to get into the studio and kick it out!on another note,several people have noted that the new video is only 54 seconds long.this is a computer glitch and we will have to conult with our commputer guru to get this fixed(you may have noted that the mix is done by my son jwhit-a great mixmaster!).we have some big things planned,things at South Shores are great.this is the year for a scream-a SHADOWSCREAMER!!!!

did he say pink ballons jumpin jesus he needs a whoopin!!!!!
October 24, 2007, 10:32 am

New Video is up but only half of it the @##@#!@!@#@!!@@ transfer did not work correctly.. but check it out!!!!! it gives more foat-ie-ness to the beautiful pink ballon that is Shadow Screamers........ fly on angel fly on....jon

golden apples....
October 24, 2007, 7:30 am

yesterday i posted on wise words from Proverbs.the right word at the right time is perhaps man at her greatest symbolic expression.how soothing,how healing when a golden apple is presented at the proper time.equally how hurtfull can be words at certain times.they can take away,destroy.this is concurrent with the motiff of man's journey,the duality of all things.we have within us as Hindu philosophy states have the destroyer and healer within.there is a fine line that seperates them at times,so it is important to reflect to see closely the conditions before opening this rotting mouth.is this a time of the 'silver setting' or is it a time of dark clouds that would obscure meaning and intent.we must think and listen and feel for the conditions that would allow this powerful symbol to flourish.last night we had a wonderfull opportunity to spread the word of music.we had an amazing group of people at South Shore Tavern and the conditions were right to let the ,'Golden Apples'flow.there was healing,there was love,it was a 'silver setting'.this is the power of the word and music.one must see the conditions and the right word at the right time....T

great gig/great cause....
October 22, 2007, 8:59 am

violence is an energy,perceptible,tangible.the tangibility of violence spills into the material world,harming beings and all around this energy.we grieve the loss created by this energy as it usually directed to a human being,sometimes leading to death.being an energy,we must look to the root causes of this manifestation.violence does not come from a void.it's precursor in the emotional realm is anger,hatred,fear,etc...how do we work with this energy and feelings behind it.we had the wonderful opportunity to work with this last night.we played a benefit at South Shore Tavern-'Guitars Not Guns'.Ray Nelson the founder was there as was the Mayor of Lake Worth.yesterday was proclaimed,'Guitar Not Guns'day at Lake Worth.News Media were there and it was a great event.Karine of South Shores was responsible for spearheading the event and did a wonderful job.there were many bands that played and we give a gentle bow to all that were there.Guitar Not Guns gives a viable,tangible solution to the root cause of violence.they provide guitars and lessons to children that cannot afford them.this allows for the medium of creativity to flourish without taking the destructive side of the gun.feelings and emotions spill out onto strings.when the muse is evident and bouncing in breastbone cadence,people feel this.it allows for the direct conversation on a deep level(like all mediums of art).it allows our emotions and creativity to reach to people watching.a subtle vibration of the leg to the groove,smiles,cell phones lifted up,it is all part of the conversation.i like the tangibility of this program.i worked 20 years in education as a social worker/substance abuse counselor and have seen many,many initiatives come and go.very few have the tangible sense of picking up something like a guitar to refocus the root cause of violence.you will see Shadowscreamers work very actively with this organization.it was a great gig,a great cause,and we are very grateful to Karine,Ray,and The Mayor for this energy to stem the tide of the root cause of violence....T

Things are moving ahead finally
October 19, 2007, 8:25 am

Lots to talk about but little time as we have to rehearse in a couple of minutes. We are doing the Guitars Not Guns benefit check out their web site at http://www.guitarsnotguns.org/ THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!! At South Shores Tavern web site at http://www.southshorestavern.com/ we are recording on Tuesday with our new drummer just to test the waters and see what happens. So look for new material next week and it will kick ass!!!!!!! I am not an arrogant person but our fans will be surprised with what all this hard work and dedication has produced. BUT THE REALITY IS IT’S UP TO YOU OUR FANS! SO CHECK BACK IN AND GIVE US FEEDBACK WE LOVE YA NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY AS LONG AS IT IS HONEST AND NOT TO CRAZY LEAVE THAT TO ME..... jon

corn songs....
October 18, 2007, 7:24 am

Jon made a great post today in the Wise Words section by Kahlil Gibran's masterpiece,'The Prophet'.how many of us take time to listen to the wind?and more importantly to the infinate love within?i have learned beautific songs by just simply meditating with corn in the summer.the slanting rays of the sun,the wind blowing through the long green leaves of the cornstalk.they rustle and perhaps that is all one would hear if they hurried by.when you spend time with them you will find other sounds,and like all of nature they are communicating,but do we hear?i tell you that the best thing you can possibly do for yourself and humanity is to bring forth that wellspring of love.that inner voice that resides in the core of your being.the rustling that is the vibration of not only your heart but the universe.'on earth as it is in heaven',very powerful words!ones that we can choose to relate with.everything in the material world has the trace and essence of the spiritual world .it is you,it is you.the duality,eventually is transcended and you understand the gentle play of love that the Creator has manifested.once this happens,everything is a song and the universe herself is a symphony.rustling corn becomes the song of mothers-of the south.she rises from mother earth to sing in the wind and you can hear with your love this communication.a rock starts to talk in his unhurried way to you as long as you patiently hear.the trees sway and lilt and generate much energy-akin as the Chinese say to our energy system-can you hear it?bring forth the wellspring of your love.yes,there is Karma that needs working.in fact i ran into some even last weekend(this is why i know have a shaved head-monk for music).this can be worked out with a solid course of meditation.as the Spirit cleanses the song can be more readily available to the audible ear and the inward ear.you are here.right now, you are here!do you enjoy music and love!bring forth your love....T

john wayne platitudes....
October 17, 2007, 7:54 am

i find it increasingly frustrating that simple solutions are thrown at very complex problems.to me it is part of the american psyche.we want the john wayne big daddy,or daddy knows best approach to about everything.people chastise the poor and call them welfare cheats,without ever having lived or associated with people on the streets and what it is really like.we don't spend money on childrens health unless as the rethoric says they hit a certain wage requirement.has anyone talked to the working poor,the ones that are just above the cuttoff requiremnet.has anyone followed them as they come home bone weary only to face another day,very shortly with two,three jobs.we are a nation of speculators and john wayne-daddy knows best-i got the fix mentality.there is an old proverb that says when you point a finger three more are pointing back at you.rather than giving the equivalent of an arm chair quarterback anaysis of social issues,why not hit the streets?talk to the people that have been doing the work and understand how very difficult social issues are.it is very easy for a white upper class buisnessman to make a what he feels brilliant analysis of a situation with his so-called buisness acumen.try being raised on the res.or the inner city-with absolutely no economic insentive,and hundreds of years of oppression.'well you say,they simply have to pick themselves up and strive for the incredible opportunities in this true democracy'.well first off it is not a true democracy.second in the words of the brilliant Malcolm X,'freedom and justice for who'.it is easy for white america to make judgements.that is easy.how about really looking at the issues without your john wayne platitudes....T

been out of town
October 16, 2007, 2:09 pm

Just got in last night we will be live tonght at South Shores Tavern starting at 7pm. We have been out of town since Sat so we had to rehearse today to get back on our game... see you tonite!!!!!!jon

a time to fast....
October 12, 2007, 1:41 pm

well we have talked about the enviornment for years on this site.it is good to have it take front stage as it is so desperately needed.i ask you to look at the wisodm of the ancients as they knew how to live in tune with their surroundings.now history will tell you that this wasn't always the case and that may be true,but i am specificaly relating my comments to the medicine wheel today.it is said that Native Americans will teach proper care for the land.for to long we have lived in the intellectual,analytical realm.this has cost us dearly.not that you shouldn't analize-in fact it is critical that we do about the current situation with the enviornment.it is the proper use of discernment that is needed.the industrial revolution;seperation of body/spirit/mind;modern warfare,all have subjugated the very planet we live on to unspoken terror.as Gore says,even with this prospect,we also face some exciting changes and thoughts if we can only collectively embrace them.one value that i will share today that will go along way is the art of being traceless.Native thought has it that nature cannot be perfected.many anthropologists assumed that they were savage,as they couldn't invent structure-like modern buildings and things that last along time.the point they were missing was that,they would never consider building something to last a long time.it would be presumptous,and well not perfected upon,but downright ugly.i thought about this deeply in our old house.up the street there was a nice little field that overlooked the hills.well,the person that owned the land constructed this monstrosity that totally blocked the view and also dis-allowed the wind to do it's natural Feng Shuai(yes,humans it is not just for you!).this was a classic example.there are many ways that we can practise being tracless.obviously a great start is to recycle,reduse,and re-use.this prevents more landfills being built.we can also drive less,walk more,and use the natural light of our enviornment.for instance,rather than coming home and switching on lights,t.v,and radio-how about not turning anything on and grabbing a good book to read outside.how about walking after dinner.how about never using styrofoam.how about limiting plastic,how about bringing your own bag to the grocery store.how about camping and leaving the site better than you found it.how about simplifying.make a list of your needs and wants.your actual needs are hard to work with as we all need;air,water,food,shelter,and sex(for species propagation).your wants you can definately simplify.why do you need a new car?why do you need another computer,cell phone,etc....see what you can do to live very simply for a day and then gradually increase it to a week.see how you feel.one of the things i have shared before that i like to do is go on negativity fasts;no radio,t.v.,or newspapers.it is amazing how little you miss this stuff.we need help.luckily the conscious is awakening,now we need to simply embrace values that have withstood the test of time for thousands of years right here on this continent....T

my pet human....
October 11, 2007, 7:19 am

time is a whisper. is it's passing inaudible in our non-objective status?can we see the lines develop on our faces?can we see the distant hills gradually sink down only to rise again to majestic mountains with tectonic shifts?what do you do with time?what time do we have?i was recently talking to two of my favorite people about the Redwoods.they had never been.i told them that when you enter te ancient forest you feel the silence.you feel the time.you feel the changes,so many that have occured in these ancient lives.you feel like the wink of an eye to their timespan.it is good for human beings to observe this from time to time.with our anthropomorphic stance we feel that we are the shit-to speak.when you get with the ancients you realize you are truly a young,young brother or sister.now the cool thing is that you do not have to go to northern California to observe something ancient.find your spot in nature.make sure it is far enough away from people that you can really listen.find a good size rock or a boulder.in our tradition we would offer it tobacco first.then take some long slow breaths to slow the busy mind.once you feel relaxed find a comfortable posture either in standing meditation or sitting and just listen.allow life to breathe you,allow for the mind to become still.the grandfathers(stones)will speak to you.please listen to what these ancients have to say,they have lived much longer than you and have seen changes you cannot possibly imagine.we are but a blip on their collective lifespan,so listen patiently,don't expect.be flexible enough to understand that this time there might be communication or perhaps next time.when you have listened and it's time to leave give thanks to our friend.the world would move at a much slower pace if we could only hear the wisdom of the Stone People....T

great fun....
October 10, 2007, 10:57 am

thank you for your support last night.we played a killer gig,it was awesome and different since it was the early show.for all of you that were waiting for a longer show we will give you that next week.there were two bands last night.thanx again you wonderful folks at South Shore Tavern!!!!T

so very nice to have so much support....
October 8, 2007, 7:26 am

i just wanted to thank my family for your undying support,it means so much to me!i also wanted to thank all my friends and the communities of Monmouth and Winthrop for all your support.it feels great knowing that people believe in what you are doing.we will try our very best to get a label shortly.ahhh,it was so hard leaving New England this time of year(Fall is my favorite time there).the colors and weather were perfect.thank you to the Monmouth Coaching staff for allowing me to resume my coaching spot for a week and being on the staff for a great win in the rain!Great job guys-you played with alot of heart and I was so proud of you!....T

An update on the band
October 3, 2007, 11:39 am

T left this morning to head up to Maine and see his family for a few days. We had our best gig so far last night at www.Southshorestavern.com but there is still lots of work to do if we are going to make this work. I am going to make up some t-shirts with the new logo, business cards and bio etc. to get our promo package together so we can start hitting up record companies. There are a couple of interesting prospects locally so we will see. In the mean time spread the word about this band and we thank every fan for your support this thing can work we just need a couple of breaks and then look the hell out because it will be like nothing else you have seen before I promise!!!!!!! we are going to have a couple of new videos up in the near future as well as some new songs it will be just T and me but people seem to like it and it wont be long before we have a new drummer we have been approached by a couple of drummers but they are leaving town in the next few months and we need someone long term so we will keep looking if you know of a good drummer in South Florida please don’t hesitate to let them know about the band..........Thanks...jon

the essence of Bonsai....
October 1, 2007, 8:15 am

within everything in the casual universe is Wuji.the primordial Tao,the White light,God,from whatever tradition you come from this essense is the fundamental fabric.what is Wuji?Wuji is the stillness before movement.it is the stillness before big bang.it is the energy that resides deeply within all in the known universe .when we move we start to develop the duality,the yin/yang.most talk of just physical movement but it is true of all realms of being.once thoughts start to arise,we enter the duality.emotions-duality.spiritual insight-duality.the true essence of Wuji is the stillness so deep and profound that the mind,body,and soul is nurished and completed by it.wait a minute-didn/t you just say stillness-to make complete would necessarily imply movement!good observation!picture a cup.what makes a cup?is it the physical structure,or is it the space within?the cup cannot be completed if it has no space to pour refreshments.it is completed by the space.it doesn't do anything to make this.the potter doesn't make space,he creates the structure,the space-the stillness completes this object.much like our meditation.i am not trying hard,so very hard to create stillness.in fact the more i struggle,the more stillness will ellude me.to complete the,'fasting of the mind'we must create the structure,the conditions for the underlying stillness to simply be.this is like the Bonsai gardener.she/he must first enter stillness before he/she can feel the essence of this unique and beautiful being.once understood via stillness it is like the great wood carver of India,simply pruning and manipulating so the essence can be.there has never been a greater time in history to talk about the need for stillness-the connection to Wuji.it will be even more so 10 years from now.we have convinced the world(or are convincing at a faster and faster rate)that we must create more material to run and hide from the stillness.the funny thing about this is that it is here right now!it always will be.to be frightened by our true essence is a form of collective delusional behavior.we have become deeply ill,you see the signs everywhere.the underlying essence of this delusion is our fear.now the beauty of Wuji is that as we find within stillness the greatest healing we could ever truly find.the great prophets in ancient times(in Native country we still do this)understood this well.this is why they would retreat from society and fast in the wilderness.when you take away food and it's inherent time schedule you are left with much open time,much space,much stillness.under these conditions God,the Great Tao,Allah,The Creator,etc....will hold you gently like a great mother and nourish you to health and a happiness that can never be sought,IT IS TRUE HAPPINESS.so,our times call for a deep stillness.it can be the great healer along with our prayers and meditations.the bonsai is within,can you be a gardener today?....

please....
September 27, 2007, 8:19 am

right now is the time to pressure your local politicians hard for changes in enviornmental efforts.recent polls have shown growing discontent with the politicians response which actually goes back farther than the denial of the Kyoto accord.we have a history of trying to own and control.it is very much like the wheel of violence with Domestic Violence and Sexual abuse.we do this to hurt without thinking of the myriad relationships we have with other beings on this planet.now many will say,'yeah,whatever Mr.Peace Guy'.this is not a 'whatever' statement.since started this journal we have warned about the negative impact we are making for our childrens children.today's quote in the,'Wise Words' section asks a very real question.we live in opulence that the rest of the world cannot possible imagine.with this material wealth,we have been lulled into apathy.kind of like after a big dinner when people are so full they can't move and doze(by the way-please don't eat this way-bad for you-bad for the world-more on that later).this was very well articulated by Trogen Chungpa in the book,'Cutting through Spiritual Materialism'.it has been a consistent message form Native Americans throughout history.As the Cree say,'We Can't eat money',people.so all the profit all the gains at the expense of the enviornment is a horrific atrocity.i beg you all(yes you read that correctly-beg-)to read very carefully Indigenous thought on this matter and to be informed about what has been happening and the gains that good people are trying to make in regards to the enviornment.this will not go away.a couple of months ago i painted a picture of the future in 100 years or so.we always have choice each and every day.let us pray and hope that we can all awaken,roll up our collective sleeves and make,'MEANINGFUL'change.i will say for the thousandth time-for our childrens,children....T

GREAT SHOW!
September 26, 2007, 6:35 am

last nights gig was great,people really enjoyed the show.we are poised to move to the next level-concert touring.the show we have created is very unique and original.it has been difficult to find drummers down here that can match the intensity we deliver.we will not settle,so the search goes on.obviously our ideal would be to have Sean again.until that time we are providing an original sound and tightness that only a brother duo can accomplish.we again thank South Shore for the great night!....T

who am i....
September 25, 2007, 8:33 am

where are we?where are we going?what is the quality of our lives?how do we determine who we are? many people try to define themselves by titles.they say,'i am a attorney,father,brother,carpenter,poet,football player,etc..."this is not who you really are.this is just the peel of the orange.we must dig deeper.positions titles are all transitory.in fact all life is.in Buddhism they call it the five skandas and they are always moving.our thoughts our feelings our very bodies change.in fact we can't even really say we are the same person.every cell in our bodies will change in years to come.now the problem with identifying yourself with a title is that you have now become stagnant.it is like you have tried to stand up in a raging river.this is what causes many hardships and hurt.suppose for instance you have identified yourself totally as a pro. athlete and then due to an injury your career is over?what happens?we sadly see it every night in the news;drugs,alcohol,violence,prison,for the ones that have not sought the deeper answer.you are so much more than any title .this is why in many mystic traditions that the emphasis is not on personal gain.what would be the point?life is moving never stagnant.do you want the trophy that collects dust,or do you want the very marrow of life?there are pinpricks in the vast field of illusion.once the journey begins you at times can see past the field into' the greater reality'that is actually right there in front of you at all times.once connected you start to see illusion for what it is.you start to see that the great river must be ridden(it will happen anyways-you have no choice).i have examined happiness for a long time.external things can never,'give you happiness',or else all these people in Boca would be floating in esctasy.happiness is intrinsic.happiness is the great,'ahaa'of the universe,the great,'thank you'.met a man that was spiritualy almost pure once.he was a dishwasher at a restaurant in Oakland,Cal.now many would say,'discredited,T,i mean c'mon a dishwasher?'i tell you this man revealed to me many great truths.he didn't have to be a title.HE WAS.simply.unfortunately for me at the time i was at the height of my addiction and alcoholism,but i have often thought of this exchange.it wasn't to much longer before i sobered up and started to dig deeply into the spiritual realm.this was an angelic intervention,where all other attempts had failed(to the point that i ended up homeless in San Fran.).i ask you to list who you are.go past titles.if you need help ask your spiritual leader,your friends and family(don't expect a truly honest answer here-they are to close and love you)ask a dishwasher,a construction worker.most importantly put a cover on the pan and boil within.this is how we truly see....T

not enough .......how bout you??????
September 24, 2007, 4:44 pm

I see it but not enough to believe.... wayward son lives the life others perceive and ordain....... god dam these distant hollows swirling around the currents seeping thru my mind...... I don’t know a god dam thing,,,,,,,, for I see but not enough to believe jno

the energy of love....
September 22, 2007, 5:42 pm

there is an energy that is stirring in the world.you can feel it,like a pulse just barely audible.a great transformation or the converse,destruction will occur with this.we need to listen very,very carefully to our hearts now.for to long the mind and rational thought process has left it's damaging impact on the world.this is not to say that intellectual knowledge is bad.it simply must be balanced with the body and spirit.i see the positive energy in my tavels in various spiritual traditions and the resurgence of ceremony.not to say it is overwhelming.it is not.the simple fact is that many people have found that the ancients held the key for proper stuardship and co-exhistence with all beings.to see the interconnection is to live the balanced life inwardly and projecting outwordly.the energy of transformation is here we simply need to break from apathy and act in a way that will gradually undue damage,hatred,and violence.above i wrote about hatred and it's energy.the energy of LOVE is the most powerful energy there is.it is limitless in the ripples it sends through the earth and to the cosmos.Love can change,because the lover has changed.when the lover has changed with the power of love,everything in existence is drawn in and equally transformed(how could it not being that we are all interrelated?).now some will say,well hold on there T,people always kill the true LOVERS.yes this is a sad truth through the ages.hatred is repulsed and angered towards true love.True LOVE holds the mirror of perception up and forces the hater to look deeply at himself/herself.this is way to much to take.who can look at the dying,decayed branches of a tree when what they expect to see is the blooming,flowering tree.it doesn't add up.there is a space that does not fit with perception and anger and hatred fill the being.this is sad as the TRUE LOVER is the guide towards ultimate freedom,without such we are doomed to the darker side of our souls.now I hear many people say that it is simplistic to just love.why?this is not some namby-pamby rhetoric.i will tell you the last four years of my life have been extremly difficult but my LOVE has only increased.how could it not!for goodness sake people we come from the Creator and we are all brothers and sisters,how could i not truly love you?with this love bow,i feel through the soles of my feet the subtle arrow of change.now will we provide a good target?....T

Love....
September 21, 2007, 7:58 am

let us understand that this is a site of great music,fun(as seen in our latest video)and social change.recently we had someone enter our myspace that does not reflect these values and inspecting the person's site i was deeply offended.we all have freedom of speech in America,it is one of the tenants this country was built upon,but not when it hurts another person.to make derogatory comments towards other brothers and sisters is inexcusable to me and will not be tolerated on this site.please understand that weather you like us or not(that is your right)it does not give you permission to spread a doctrine of hate.we will delete such information immediately as we did yesterday.one last word.the doctrine of hate is so outdated.if we really think in this diminishing world filled with enviornmental degadation and overpopulation,that we are going to make it;hate will only further the demise.it has been said many times before and in many ways in many languages,'LOVE IS THE WAY'.it is the only way if we expect to leave anything for our childrens,children....T

to be grounded....
September 20, 2007, 12:41 pm

there are many ways and paths to being grounded.they all have reputable histories and are as relevant today as when some of these ancient practises were developed.humankind seems restless,edgy.always has,always will.the difference today is there are more people and way more distractions.before we dig into this,why be grounded?why not just endlessly float from one thing to another and never giving anything it's due?good question!we lose a piece of ourselves when we are flighty and distracted.subtle energies cannot combine to develop a wholistic unity for a situation that arises,so we feel divided,segmented.deep down we feel that something is wrong.on the physical level our very breath becomes disturbed.it rises higher into our chest which sends some peoples blood pressure higher and pulse at the same time.it also lifts the heart fire energy upwards towards the head.it is amazing that we don't lift off like Goodyear Blimps we have so many thoughts and distractions.gravity wants to do it's thing.the Qigong stance is perfect for this as it is balanced and allows for the weight of the body to be comfortable over the skeletal structure.when we tuck in the pelvis it allows for the breath to enter more strongly the dantien and opens up the chest for more oxegen.we have all felt balanced before.those times when we feel connected and at one with ourselves.stress can come and go and we don't seem to have the same reaction that we do when we are not grounded.remember those times.pick the time apart.what were you doing inside and out?how were you breathing?what circumstances could you re-create each day so you have this grounded sense?if you are religious,check out your spiritual leader and see what he or she says about the topic.i am familiar with most of these practises so i know they exhist.if you would like,learn them.if not if you would like,learn some meditation.allow for the mind to free.let the worries and anxiety fade into what they are transient and always moving.we have listed many types of meditation on this site,please look them up.it is so crucial in these troubled times to be grounded.we haven't even discuissed the metaphysical interruptions-perhaps another day....T

we love you South Shore....
September 19, 2007, 7:33 am

played last night at the South Shore Tavern.the gig went well despite the rain.i have to say that the people that work there are top notch.having played in many,many venues over the years, these folks make you feel welcome and comfortable.we have alot to say and feel that music is a plausible way to get it across.please keep checking in we have some new tunes on deck that will blow you away(if i am not being to subtle-nod to Eugene Levy-lol)....T

the art of creativity....
September 18, 2007, 8:01 am

the art of creativity is such that cannot be unduly forced.a writer can and should write everyday but this does not mean that everything will be amazing or beautiful.in a sense the art of creativity is to be human with all our fobiles,mistakes,and imperfections.can we create an enviornment where the best possible outcome can occur-definately!again,this is relevant to the person and their muse.some would have very busy,busy lives and work well under pressure.others can live in a cabin in the mountains and knock off novel after novel.this is true with all arts.the question of creativity goes deeper than the mere act of creating something.how do you live your life?how do you treat circumstances and the subtle nuances of life?do make your life a living,breathing poem? what conditions are necessary for you to create this concept?each day we have 24 new hours to do what we will with our lives.many choices!if we can move into the stream of the art of creativity,our time here on Mother Earth seems like a work of art;each day a page,each decade a chapter in this book we create.now how would you write?....T

look deeper into the journal....
September 16, 2007, 12:38 pm

i would like to give a warm welcome to all those that have joined us on our site.please look back on the journal for why we were shut down by the gov.,poetry,short stories,and socialy progressive concepts like peace in progress.we are a band that is truly concerned about the world we live.you may not agree with everything or anything but at least hear us out.have a wonderfull day. Love,T....

Apathy again???????
September 15, 2007, 1:02 pm

T and I drove up yesterday to see our friend Mike in Prison its hard to sleep the night before because I have to get up real early for the three and a half hour drive I keep waking up thinking I am going to oversleep. Mike looked great and is now in the minimum security section after years in Middle security prison where there is a much harder edge, it was a good move. Now they need to take some time off his sentence for good behavior and time served but when you are convicted of conspiracy and the Government is involved and pissed off there is no early parole. Meanwhile rapists, molesters and cold blooded murderers get out sooner? Go figure but then again look around dont you see the deft and subtle seepage of our rights weeping away????? Guess not when we are eating apathy for breakfast lunch and dinner.....jon

warm weather,subtle breeze....
September 13, 2007, 12:54 pm

warm weather,subtle breeze.in the moon of the wocosin(wind)down here in Florida,i detect a change of direction both with the band and also personaly.wind is a great cleanser.in the cold winter of the northern climes we anticipate it to clean and blanket the land with fresh white.white is not bad,contary to the dyed hair industry.gray and white hairs alow for time to show it's immutable force upon us.if we are really lucky,our bodies and faces might resemble the geography.in the badlands our elders faces become deeply cragged and lined like the badlands themselves.it comes with living very closely to mother earth.it took awhile for my body to adjust down here.it was saying to slow down and start to prepare for the cold winter winds.down here the warm southern winds still attest to the growth and rate of summer.in a nano world,where we communicate instantly and fly great distances quickly,we must attend to what our bodies say and to take the time to acclimate.today i feel it so.sweat that drips and falls to the ground,again makes a resonance of sustenance for the fecund soil.sun,blue sky,sweat,heartbeat of mother earth-felt deeply thus fully aware and present in this geo-location.i feel our band has weathered the various changes and in emerging has become like the Phoenix.ashes promote so much growth-one only needs to see western forests sadly burned but then coming back to life as some pines will only promote growth of seed after a fire.to be a phoenix right here and right now is very signifigant and symbolic.our nation the world is welcoming change.as humans we need to respond before it is to late.like the Hopi prophesies,we can through wise choice change our destiny,but without such we shall have a very difficult time ahead.i urge you to go into the warm breeze and listen to what she says.listen very attentively,she will carry a message your way,with Love....T

when we play....
September 12, 2007, 6:34 am

in Taoism you see the number three frequently.doing qigong or sequences of martial arts seem to be based on three's or divisible by three(not always the case but signifigant).this is because in Chinese cosmology(like many around the world)three represents a special relationship man has with this planet and the universe.three represents that man is between earth and heaven.in a sense we are very much a spiritual weathervane. this is why so many qigong practises allow for the gathering of qi from the bubbling well points on the bottom of our feet and the qi from heaven from the bahai point on the top of the head.in the center of our body the dantien we collect this sacred energy.this is extremly important as we are on this earth and in this body but also we are part of the greater cosmos.on a cellular level we are connected deeply with distant star dust and the energy that permeates all,what the Taoists call the Tao.as a musician,i can tap that energy and feel the response out through the fingertips or mouth through the harmonica.there is another component,however that we must discuss.in order to receive,we must be open.our hearts and minds must be open,pliable and receptive.what does this do?it allows one to see beyond the confines of a very limited ego.it connects and is compassionate to the entire universe.how could it not?if we are open we extend ourselves to a reality that is already evident,that we are connected to the entire cosmos.like Indira's web we are one of the nodes in a vast interpenetrating web that reflects everything.last night though the sound system was having trouble during the tunes we played(we will remedy this next week when we bring our own system)there was a connection.in playing Bricks-though the system did not allow the sound,i had noted that every eye was attached to what we were doing-how could it not?a raiku heart is attached and one with everything;bus driver,businessperson,construction worker,bartender,musician,etc...,are they not all in this web?our job is simply as musicians to make one aware of connection via sound.like the ancient syllabel 'ohmm' there is a quality of sound that connects with each part of the human body.oft times we understand and resonate with a particular music as it moves along our neuro-network and literally moves the organs and skeletal structure.we feel good the next day and moved when this occurs.if it is spirit charged and socially relevant we can walk away transformed and ready to make changes.this is waht we would wish to do for people with our band Shadowscreamers-to move people to change,and most importantly to take personal power in their own lives.this is very important to me my dear friends-your personal power,your personal message imbeded within your spiritual nature.who are you really?where are you going?these central spiritual questions are very important for me,for you.take a look at our lyrics,you will see.it felt great playing again last night.it helped me to realize the sacred potential of music with this humble start.after all,to be humble,to have a humble start;very important to the spiritual mendicant.we were born nude and defenseless into the world.were we not nurtured into being,into what we have become.this humble start,is worthy of our re-visitation,it helps to burn down the individual ego and like true alchemy to melt down to the basic element.the greater,'I' THAT IS THE DOOR,THE SWING AND THE INFINATE UNIVERSE BETWEEN THE TWO....T

a cup of tea....
September 11, 2007, 8:38 am

these days in september are always bittersweet for me.on the one hand,yesterday i celebrated my 25 year of being clean and sober,but then today comes with the rememberance of 9-11.jon and i after the trajedy had launched an idea called ,'song of a thousand lives'i am saddedned that this was never picked up on.it does not mean,however that this can't be picked up later and i feel it should.the world is growing smaller and smaller with instant communication and overpopulation.it is imperative that we start to understand one another,not just for these years and this decade but most importantly for the long haul.now before sceptics say,'oh here is T,doing his 'Peace Out Thing' again',please hear me out.the world politic and what i term,'Nano Sociology'(it used to be tried and true that sociologists would say that society changes every five years.in the last decade i would say that istantaneous change and subsequent selective memory of the former mileau are at nano speed).this is highly important and relavent.we can no longer count on a decade like the 50's when then society was slow changing and relative response from the outside world was propotunate to this.we are faced with many pissed off people that are tired of being poor and hungry,oppressed,etc...this will take tact from the modern politician.the current mode is outdated.in order to find our relevance on the world scene without subsequent anger,we need to dig in deeply to the peoples and gov.' around the world.we owe this to our childrens children.to foment anger,is to catch both ends of a snake simultaneously.you have one end secure as the other end bites you.i tell you that we need sustaining peace for us to make it.degrading enviornment,warfare,disproportunate economies,the searing violence of hunger and disease;all this and more need deep,deep thought and subsequent action.i feel so for the victims and the families of this day.i must remind myself constantly to in all actions in everything i do to lighten the load of another brother and sister and to have a,'cup of tea'with someone you don't necessarily agree with,as a Zen Master once said....T

thank you Jesse....
September 10, 2007, 7:27 am

THIS IS SO COOL!many thank you's are in order!first off,a heartfelt thank you to Jon and his family for taking me in while we work hard to get this Shadowscreamer resurgence off the ground.second,thank you to my family for allowing this time-it is hard to not be at home and i really appreciate the support.thank you,thank you brother Art for the incredible job on the website!thank you Josh for the support and mixes.thank you Leif for the moral support.thank you to everyone that checks in with us!!!!we are coming up with some great music and ideas and feel the time is optimum for a great songwriting performance duo-and percussionist when we find the right one!.i also have to give credit for our new logo in memory of Jesse Thompson,bro your sketch hit everyone down here as powerfully as it hit me that first time,thank you Cher for allowing me to use it!....T

tune in tune out
September 9, 2007, 5:44 pm

I ben tellin you we are gonna do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant blame you for not believing but take a look around!!!!!!!!!!! To quote the killer band "Korn" I can honestly say.... finally!!!!!!!!!!!! this site is changing...... look for another new song early next week it just the beginning..... we leave it to you to...... tune in or tune out...onj

Nothin like layin down new grooves with my bro
September 8, 2007, 3:31 pm

We Came up with a new tune today. The melody and some lyrics hit me on the way back in my van from running my dog we have the P A. set up in the living room now so T an I plugged in and laid it down. T came up with a killer bridge the musical side of the song is complete with some lyric all I need to do is add the rest of the lyrics I am hoping we cam premier it at our first gig Tuesday night At South Shores Tavern in Lake Worth...... the sets are coming together fast now and I cant explain how great it is to collaborate with my bro!!!!!!! we will surprise South Florida and the world with what we are laying down.......Jon

hello may i borrow your pet rock?..hello..anyone?....
September 7, 2007, 1:52 pm

we removed our equipment to a wide open space downstairs today and the sound is excellant! the space replicates a live situation .South Florida better be ready for a jam band,cause man we can rock....T

VITAMIN C....
September 6, 2007, 7:07 pm

forgot to mention that mix master jwhit put together the dope groove for that killa' tune.have you had your vitamin c today?....T

could you bring them here i am to lazy to get up....
September 6, 2007, 7:02 pm

so we have the new tune up.it is a song about apathy and uncharecteristic of my writing style as it has a few f-bombs.vernacular is a strange thing.for instance,how does one stay relevant without the language and symbol of identification that would articulate such a song ands sentiment.you might have seen a slight slam on mayer's,'waiting for the world to change'.nothing against mr.mayer but i don't feel that the nature of his song is what is called for at this time.apathy could be attached to such an approach.it is like the early Christians that stopped everything as they felt Christ would come immediately.one needs to strive and move forward each and every day for social justice and change.waiting on the coach is ,well waiting on the couch,mr.mayer did you serve cheetos with that song?....T

Blindness
September 6, 2007, 6:39 pm

Its up Motha f -ers!!!!!!!!!!!!! what you gonna do????? what we gonna do???????stay tuned...... this is the Resurrection not to be confused with the erection say tuned or walk in blindness.....Jon

its on baby
September 6, 2007, 9:45 am

Headed up to Arts for a meeting look for the new song later today and more changes to the site the Resurection has offically begun....jon

bummer....
September 5, 2007, 1:53 pm

p.s-we couldn't get the new stuff up.have to wait for Art on Thurs.

i done did....
September 5, 2007, 1:51 pm

we are gonna have a killa' sound here pretty quick!we checked out amps and found a good friend at the local store as well as some very excellant equipment for a moderate price.thanks for the imput on the fan jounal-i done did figure out 'bout half of done did it....T

Step one get amperage dudes
September 5, 2007, 11:12 am

T and me are heading out to check out some amps we have a gig next Tuesday nite at South Shore Tavern cant do much of a gig without amplification will stay in touch I recorded some video yesterday hope to put it up soon and still trying to get the new tune up...later....jon

digging through the dirt....
September 4, 2007, 1:41 pm

detoxing from 20 years of all out giving-without taking ADEQUATE time for self.it is interesting to watch the waves come and go and the floatsum of anger,disappointment,sadness,come up;a quick nod and holding before letting go.i can't think of a better healing balm than playing down here with my bro,meditation,qigong,and transformetrics.want to say hey to;Josh,Leif,Lisa,Jim,Tanya,Kayla,Jay,James and all other friends and fans of this band.you are all in my heart....T

to catch a harpie....
September 3, 2007, 2:01 pm

fleeting moments come and go.who can account for the hummingbird wing width of time.there are moments of passion when it would seem that the syncopation of heart with earthsound is an eternity.in essence this is why i play bass,that earth sound, subterranean vibrations,constantly kissing feet.if not remembered or fleeting as a slight glance of a passenger on a train,what of it?it is time itself that comes from the heart out through the fingertips.this is the alleged harpie caught,but a moment,but an immortal caught all the same.these moments of playing with Jon are pregnant with possibility.his eagle soar,my bear prowl drift in and out of what you know/what you don't know.you tell me,if the harpie is caught?....T

part 7
September 1, 2007, 8:58 am

i find my body is taking time to adjust to the weather.we had started the crisp nights of fall in Maine leaving-to 90degree weather down here.everything from a cellular/mind/spirit adjusts and acclimates to new enviorns.Jeremy's team trounced a team last night in football and he did great!jwhit will have his first game next week and i know he and his team will do great!wide open spaces-tight packed population.wide extremes.people are fundamentaly people and regional behavior is just adaptation to the milieu.i am hoping that what we have to offer can assume the same sort of polarity or duality.we can emphasize this and exhibit it theatrically.man/woman always has choice with every decision-riding the razors edge of dualities is the difficult part....T

Curse this crazy computer Craze!!!!!!!! Mr. Crabs from spongebob
September 1, 2007, 7:03 am

Look for a new tune from Screamers including the talents of JWhit i.e. (Willard thin Man)its unlike anything you have heard from us Comming this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I tried last night for over an hour to convert the dam thing to mp3 format and failed miserably lucky for Screamers we have Art to help out check his site on l our links page at Software Handyman . T and I made great strides yesterday we are closing in on ten tunes we can play and will add two or three more today it is great to jam with another player again think of us as the guitar base version of the White Stripes not the same kind of music but unique none the less. Give us feedback on the new tune!!!!!!!!! like I say it points us in new musical directions one of the most exciting things about music is everything you hear can be processed and expanded upon with your own interpretation.....jon

preparing part 6
August 31, 2007, 12:10 pm

This is amazing already ! I just got in yesterday from Maine and Jon and I have logged in four and a half hours of jam time. I can’t help but feel that I am gumming up the works as I have to relearn the music. Jon has been most patient and once into the song we find that groove that we have always had together. Later today we hope to put up one of our new songs that jwhit mixed it is killa’,let us know what you think! We are developing a plan for the band and wanting to launch this new outlook on our band soon. I ask for you all to spread the word. I know you are out there and there have been so many friends that have commented on the site. You just wait!

I can only go up from here
August 29, 2007, 3:31 pm

While I thank the person who commented on my voice the other day I must confess my voice sucks on most of the demos we have done. That said I will not use excuses but I can promise you that when T and I get together starting the 31st of this month you will hear a different animal emitting from my being and all I ask is that you check back in as we put up new stuff and give us feedback if you think I still suck then by all means say so and feel free to comment on the plethora of comments we have woven thru this vehicle of free speech the key being free speech at least until that to is taken away to.......Jon

dragon riding in the clouds....
August 29, 2007, 7:01 am

how is it to blessed with this life?what miniscule chances were at play to bring me into being?where have i come from?where am i going?these are some of the essential questions of life.many fall into the morass of the post-modern trap of book knowledge and the trap of sciences need to quantify everything.saying science it would seem however is a misnomer,who's science?is western science the only science?we have to say emphatically no.China,Tibet,India,and the Indigenous people around the world have had and do have very profound sciences that deal not only with the above questions but also with what could be considered;physics,biology,chemistry,etc...a cursory read of what the Rishis had discovered in ancient India leads one to believe that western science is merely cathcing up.it is amazing what the Rishis,Taoists,Tibetans,and Native Elders had discovered and that science is now quantifying.for me i have to understand personally that this gift of life is a miracle.the exploration of various practises has led me to believe that the Creator is known yet unknowable.there is comfort in this with my inquisitive mind.as close as i feel,i am still light years away from true knowing.that's cool and part of the journey.i once heard a Rabbi say,'we are here because God loves a good story'.the interplay of bliss and unhappiness and all other facets of duality can be riden on the razors edge.this is the waves in the sea notion.i am everything,i am not simply my sadness,hate,etc...this is incrediblt helpfull.i no longer feel caught.this wave will subside into the next.it is the ocean i must always remember.how did i luck out to have this life?tough question,but i like to imagine sometimes being a dragon riding in the clouds,eyes fixed on eternity,body riding the ever changing moisture of the wave,of the clouds....T

Hey Nugent Fuck off!!!!!
August 28, 2007, 7:16 pm

Is there anything more ignorant then a red neck half assed guitar player??????? Just ask Ted Nugent he is the poster boy for ignorance and half assed guitar.......I heard a sound bite from a recent concert the dumb shit performed.....by the way who the hell thinks Teddy is still relevant Cat Scratch Fever????? The song sucked way back then sure he can play a lick or two but so can a million other kids. Anyway he apparently had a couple of machine guns on stage (makes you wonder why mister tough is not in Iraq oh I’m sorry only real men and women are over there) and as the tough guy was holding them he shouted out that Obama could suck the barrel of his gun and then he went on to say the same thing about Hillary. We all know Teddy is a bigot he is retarded enough to wear confederate shirts after all he is from Texas the bigot’s heaven..... Don’t give me no shit stupid kuntry open your eyes this piece of shit is also afraid of women????? Hey Teddy I would love to meet you so I can kick your red neck ass man to man because apparently all you and your green toothed fans understand is prejudice and violence yet you never step up to the plate I.E. Iraq?????Didn’t your momma teach you that if you talk the talk boy you had better walk the walk BOY.....Jon

hey you
August 28, 2007, 11:14 am

Hey you I’m crawling thru the passages of your dripping decaying brain .......hey you step aside and let the mumbles run your life as they tell you how to behave....... hey you all that is not is real.... and all that is real is not...... but who really cares about the difference anyway... so tell me how can I fill the void that digs deeper every day while the masses are mindless of the circumstance and with no regards as to who will pay........... opulence rules for those who hold it and those who don’t are mindless in their actions as they seem to never take control....Hey you I’m crawling thru the passages of your dripping decaying mind looking for a flash of light that will lead me to the way to travel thru the darkness that permeates the blind........jon

picking fruit....
August 27, 2007, 7:28 am

i agree jwhit! Jon has a killer voice and that song is a portent of things to come.Dead Man is a great song-can't wait to add it-i know Jon will love it.so much abounds in the universe,it is simply up to the artist to pluck the slendid,ripe fruit from the tree....T

New Songs up.........
August 25, 2007, 5:10 pm

Three new Tunes up on the Home page check them out and let us know what you think.... they are actually demos we have had laying around and they are going to be re-done when T gets down here but still check them out they aint bad.....jon

last word
August 25, 2007, 11:31 am

One last word On Michael Vick I guess he admitted he helped kill some of the dogs that weren’t performing first by hanging them and then a couple were drowned when they survived the hanging. I used to body surf the Wedge at Newport Beach in Southern California it is one of the most dangerous body surfing spots in the world because on big days when waves are 15-20 feet and the water is not real deep if you get caught in the strike zone where the waves break they will pin you down on the ocean bottom and you can drown this happened to me on a couple of occasions and I did not get a good breath before I went down I came very close to drowning and I cant explain the sheer terror I felt I am sure thousands of people have almost drowned and will tell you the same thing. It is well know that dogs are intelligent ( in this case more so then the idiots who owned them) and they can also feel pain so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together those dogs suffered horrible deaths. I hope that all involved get the maximum sentence and hopefully some counseling on compassion this is not a mistake that intelligent young men make after all didn’t the serial killer Jeffery Dahmer start out by killing innocent animals???????? jon

Simply the best
August 24, 2007, 10:27 pm

Just happened to catch Tina Turners “One last Time� concert on public television. I guess she was 61 when she performed the concert and I challenge you to find a better or more energetic performance from anyone of any age. There must have been 70,000 people in the audience and they were screaming the whole time. For those of you who do not know her story this woman is amazing and deserves all the credit in the world aside from the fact that most entertainers half her age can’t even come close. It has put things in perspective for how T and I are going to approach the revisal of Shadow Screamers. Thank you Tina you are simply the best......jon

to be or not to be .............madness
August 24, 2007, 9:42 pm

Believe it or not I have a method.........................................its up to you to decide weather or not its madness.........noj

Right On!
August 24, 2007, 7:45 am

right on Jon! I LOVE HER!gone for the weekend will be back on sunday,will talk when I get back.love,T

Got the book
August 23, 2007, 6:09 pm

Just heard Time Magazine is doing a cover story on Mother Teresa about a just released book comprised of a collection of letters she had written over 60 years. Apparently at one time in her life she doubted the existence of heaven and God and felt nothing but darkness in her soul overwhelmed buy living in the misery that she was surrounded in. She sought council and eventually learned to embrace the darkness all the while she never wavered from her incredible consistent good work under the worst conditions..... If she is not a true Saint then they need to change the definition of the word..... Don’t know the title of the book but that is what the internet is for isn’t it? So Google it already and by it and then read it!!!!!!!! How can it not make you a better person to read it........jon

Once again only human
August 23, 2007, 9:31 am

One of the best things I have done as a parent is to get a dog for my two boys. Sure it is sometimes a pain in the ass because we live in a house with a pool but no back yard so the dog who weighs 70 pounds has to be walked at least three times a day through the neighborhood and fed and loved almost like another kid. But the benefits far outweigh the occasional inconvenience. My two boys are learning unconditional love caring and compassion for an animal that without those things would be helpless and in return she offers her love unconditionally. She is my ten year olds best friend they are inseparable. I am saying this in light of Michael Vicks alleged involvement in dog fighting and the brutal killings of dogs that did not perform well ( You mean to tell me Vick this “role model for young thousands of kids� couldn’t find a better way to use his millions and off-season?? how about focusing on the plethora of underprivileged kids in this Kuntry? or would he just put them in pits and have them fight for profit and sport?) Dog fighting is only one kind of widespread dog and animal abuse my vet refused to work with the dog racing circuit because he saw widespread abuse with the greyhounds that race something that hits close to home because our rescued dog is part greyhound part Shepard. I read today that other athletes are speaking out for Vick some basketball player even went to so far as to say what Vick was doing was no worse then hunting and that it was a sport so give him a break? First I am not a hunter but as we have mentioned we have some Native American blood and T visits our Tribe in Maine to help out all the time. They hunt to get enough food to survive (thanks to Uncle Sam and bogus land deals) the key is they hunt for FOOD! I don’t condone hunting for trophies while hiding behind some guide who leads you like a little boy right to the prey and does everything but shoot the animal for you. Second who the hell in their right mind would call dog fighting a sport??? maybe basketball man should get his ass beat every time he has a bad game and if he doesn’t produce over a season send him to Iraq in a humvee looking for roadside bombs....... doesn’t he play a sport? For those who say Vick is a good person and are using the� KILLER O.J.� race card . I say maybe he is generally a good person but he does have a dark side and I could give a shit what color he is if he is convicted of the crime then the son of a bitch should do the time....... These next words do not pertain to the entry about Vick I am happy with it and stand by it !!!!!! But as I have said before T and I write and post in the journal as it happens it’s a one shot deal and we never delete later so while I know I offend at times and once in awhile I think what the hell was I thinking?????? at least I have the balls to stand by it because that’s who I am........ Human.........jon

p.s.
August 23, 2007, 7:37 am

darn,forgot to mention.can't wait to get started on that new tune Jon.your story reminded me of a Paul McCartney story.apparently at times he would awake with a melody and ask'has anyone heard this',when they said no he would make a new song....

mystics....
August 23, 2007, 7:34 am

Jon's entry brings out a glaring truth.I just wish that people could examine more the mystical sides of their faiths.On close examination there is so much similarity and yet some differences.The mystics from the various traditions don't berate the others,how could they,to be connected to the Sacred Web of Indira in a very deep penetrating way leaves all ego out .There is no room but to LOVE....T

What do I know I am a pegan
August 22, 2007, 2:59 pm

As I have mentioned before I am fascinated with born again Christian stations and listen to them occasionally today on one station two women were talking about using the phrase “Come Jesus� when you have conflict such as being cut off in traffic, cut in front of in line etc. which if it works as a stress reliever for some is more then fine with me but one of the ladies said something which I thought was odd she said there is a part of them that wants to see Jesus come which means the end of the earth as we know it and those that have not accepted Jesus are destined to burn in hell for eternity but those who do will apparently live better lives far better then they are living now (maybe minus the free will) but my question is why do they want to see the end? Why are we here? To just hustle thru life to the carefree end and once it ends what about those who will never be born? Talk about mass abortion this is it! Seems kind of lame to me. Another question I have is these born again cults any better then the cult extremists from many religions who murder innocent children women and men to spread fear and gain power? After all if you are not born again you are destined to be dammed to hell for eternity this includes any man woman or child who has not accepted Jesus into their lives......That’s a pretty heavy sentence and maybe something to think about for all religions especially those that are constantly using the power of manipulation trampling over the true words and beliefs of the prophets for personal gains.........jon

New Tune
August 22, 2007, 8:21 am

I woke up at 4:30 am today to a melody that oddly enough Sting was singing? I love Stings music and know most of Stings tunes so I realized it was not a Sting song. I was lucky to have my little pocket recorder next to me so I went into the bathroom closed the door as not to wake anyone up and hummed the melody into the recorder. From my experience if I don’t get the melody down right away it is lost forever. The words to the song are below I just completed them maybe I will add another verse but I am out of time, this is going to be my next tune. By the way T and his son have been working on some new tunes using just sampling which is going to be incorporated in our new sound T is sending me a cd and I will post a sample in the near future so stay tuned...........Jon.................................... This song is called “Falling from Grace�............... I know its time I made my way home this fall from grace has dragged on to long....... I know a better man could see right thru this haze... I know I’ve asked you for forgiveness and one more chance to get back in step...... but when my words rang hollow I understand why you walked away......(Chorus) We all dream of glistening castles and to live inside the dream but circumstance will drag you down when inside you don’t believe.... I search to fill the emptiness with a smile upon my face.. All the while I know I just one step from falling grace....... You know I never tried to hurt you but careless words fall from a blind fool and the words dig deep... deeper then I ever knew........ I know the first time that I saw you a subtle glance don’t know if you knew...... that the only thing that mattered was when and where I could be with you......... They say life grows full with distractions as time walks on through sublet changes and before we know it we are strangers in our own bed .........(Chorus) How can we bring back what once was strong when we can barley catch our breath when priorities they drag us down with things wed just as soon forget. I search to fill the emptiness with a smile upon my face... and all the while I know I’m just one step from falling grace...........

preparing part 5....
August 22, 2007, 7:03 am

shaved my head yesterday.the woman was moved as we said prayers and i made the offering-she did it for free.as many know i offered my hair for Domestic violence/sexual assault/and substance abuse so we may find a way to collectively walk beyond these curses of humanity.it felt good doing it and then ritually burning the hair afterwards. a new start,a new person,born under prayer which offered goes out into the world.i have come out of the sacred sweat and am re-newed....T

Breath of fresh air
August 21, 2007, 8:47 am

I was at the beach yesterday with my boys and was lucky enough to be graced by a breath of fresh air sometimes a nice smile and good conversation can make you feel alive again............... To all our fans across the planet we have mentioned recently in the band journal that in the coming weeks T is moving down to Florida leaving his family behind and we are going to be working hard to get new music up and head in a new direction playing as a band for the first time in years. It is a big gamble and we have a limited amount of time to do this...... that said we want your input and ideas and we need you support now more then ever. If you don’t want to leave a message in the fan journal you can also reach us at jon@shadowscreamers.com we look foreword to your ideas and support. jon

LIFE....
August 21, 2007, 7:55 am

YES !!!!

lotus in a sea of fire....
August 20, 2007, 7:05 am

How do we walk the Green Mile? We have a saying in Native Country,'Watch out when the buzzard flies by,they have a way of manifesting our negative thoughts'.Sometimes to lose everything is not bad.It gives you the wonderful opportunity to see the impermanance of life.When the Dalai Lama left Tibet his comment was,'It looks like the Buddha was right about impermanance'.Now this is profound and deep thinking;they raped, killed and pillaged(China)Tibet,yet the Dalai Lama knows full well the self-fullfilling prophesy of negative thought.In fact he remains and is,'positive thought personified',not that he doesn't have bad thoughts,I am sure he does but the secret is-he doesn't get caught in them-he doesn't allow the buzzard to manifest anything! I have seen this with all of my great Spiritual teachers. My Clan Mother has gone through so much pain and hardship in her life and lives in a situation of poverty,yet she is the most positive person I know!How can this be? Again it is the Faith of the Creator(and I mean total)and not allowing for negativity to get stuck(it won't anyways as feelings always change-it is the manifestations I talk about today that can be so devastating).Recently I have given up everything I formerly knew for 18 years;teaching,coaching,working with teens and for awhile close personal contact with my family.Is it scarry-Hell yeah!!!!,but I know a secret,if I allow the negative to manifest I will be back on my knees begging for my old job back and re-establishing what I had and knew.This is bold new territory.Who knows what will happen,but you know whatever happens I will know that I have given it my all.I have stubbornly declined to play with others(though asked many,many times)as I believe in the vision of this music and the site without which I would have moved on long ago.There is a place for us in the Sacred Creative,I know this as certainly as sitting here tapping away with my two index fingers.I choose to walk the Green Mile in such a way as John Coffee-when you look closely at the movie,he does not get caught in negativity-it would surely take his gift away.Sadly for him,he simply could not shut out what people were thinking or doing in the world-this would be unrelenting and very hard to deal with.The rest of can do what we do each and every day to bring a sense of beauty in the midst of a troubled world.What one former teacher would say,'to be a lotus in a sea of fire'....

green mile
August 19, 2007, 8:28 pm

Just watched The Green Mile again for the who knows how many times I would give anything to be John Coffee I see and feel every day the pain and misery in this reality and yet I can do nothing......... we try with this band to make some little difference but in the end we do nothing.......... I would give anything to be John Coffee..... let me breath a little life in the misery that I see every day for that I would give it all..................jon

I think .......I dun did good!!!!!!!!!!
August 18, 2007, 8:36 pm

Hey!!!!!!!!!!! the gig tonight I think went well lots of thumbs up and people checking the music out...... turns out I was close to a street light which everyone knows equals stopping........ Acoustics were great projecting off the sidewalk and building and I hope I did some good for Angie and her business..... check out her web site it’s in the entry below or underneath or submerged anyway just check the entry below to latch on to some cool stuff...Jon

its the strange gigs that I love
August 18, 2007, 10:39 am

Hey I’m doing a strange gig tonight I’m playing outside a furniture store The owner is the mother of my sons best friend Amar as I have mentioned before he is like a son to me. Anyway Chris Isaak is playing one street over at Mizner Park in downtown Boca Raton so there are hopefully going to be lots of people coming and going . Its going to be interesting I get a chance to try out my new Taylor guitar and get it sweaty and broken in during a gig situation. The hope is that my playing outside on the street will attract people and they will check out the store or a least realize its there. Despite the glowing economic reviews from the isolated White House this is not the best of times to be starting a new business as only the rich seem to be making big purchases. The name of the store is Hip & Humble Home and its located at 251 N.Federal Hwy, across from Mizner Park. (561)549.0345. Going to try to get some video and who knows maybe the Boca Cops who don’t have much to do anyway will shut me down cant wait to find out.......jon

the eyes of God....
August 17, 2007, 8:49 am

it is so easy to love the ones you love,how much harder to love your enemies-Jesus- the greatest love is the love that permeates to all beings like the sun in the sky.through our love we can start to understand others views and perhaps our divergences of thinking.without such we come to a table angry and unwilling to listen.if we can only see the eyes of God in everyone we meet-Mother Theresa-....T

who is to blame
August 16, 2007, 7:54 pm

To all you cotton candy dreamers who gladly buy into the dream you have to taste a bit of darkness to truly breathe the shame... lifes darkness is a constant seems we live to dig the graves but while we are doing the digging seems we separate ourselves form those inside the grave......are we so shallow cant you feel the pain does it fall hollow like dead tear drops in the rain dead tear drops in the rain..... we are all grave diggers can you feel the pain or does the dirt you shovel wash away yourself and all your blame...yourself and all your blame.....ONJ

GRAVES
August 16, 2007, 7:02 pm

So WHAT IF I am in your face I don’t give a FUCK this aint no fucking party..... read BETWEEN the fucking lines I am so tired of apathy we have over a thousand visits A MONTH and then of thousands of hits every month SO WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU ARE YOU ??????? WHY THE FUCK DO YOU CHECK IN??????? IS IT SOMEONE ELSE????? WHAT THE FUCK....... I DON’T CARE....... SO DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO HEAD OUT WITH US AND RAISE THE BAR OF HUMANITY AND SPRED THE WORD ......FOR THOSE OF YOU MOTHERFUCKERS WHO CHOOSE NOT TO THEN CARRY ON LICKING THE ESTABLISHMENTS ASS AND DON’T EXPECT SYMPATHY FROM ME WHEN YOUR LITTLE WORLD CURMBLES...... I WILL BE THE FIRST TO RAKE THE EARTH OVER YOUR ASS AS I SPIT ON YOUR LAME ASS GRAVE....JON

and I quote.........
August 16, 2007, 4:13 pm

To all the lazy dick heads who clap like little pansies reading THIS STUFF but not acting to T words because you want this fucked up world to be a better place but sit on your lazy fucking ass doing nothing..... T has spent more then his time in the FUCKING DIRTY trenches and SO HAVE I we don’t want no FUCKING ARM CHAIR DICKWEEDS who analize criticize and wax their cocks or cunts to what they KNOW is right but whack off THEIR self righteous absorption AND do nothing,,,,,, this is about revolution SO STAND THE FUCK UP AND BE ACTIVE......OR GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!!!!!!..... And you can quote me on that JON

Take the diaper of you fucking scum
August 16, 2007, 2:59 pm

Hey T the papers I sent you to fill out to visit my good buddy and your friend Mike when you fill them out send them directly to the prison that way you can visit him with me when you come down here it will take them a few weeks to process the shit. I still can’t believe they could not find him guilty twice of killing the hit man who hit the wrong target which was his son shooting him down in cold blood. Yet the feds were involved and would not give up so in the end Mike was convicted due to a fucking SNITCH for conspiracy to commit murder.. a federal crime.... and he is serving 20 years no fucking parole no early release because he pissed off this fucking Democratic??????? Illusion of a government. Message to all you dumb ass AMerikans its gotten worse under the bush regime. DO you realize fucking pedophiles and random fucking killers get off with a fraction of the time? I have to split but you dumb assed pansies lulled into a false sense of security need to take off the diaper and learn to stand on your own fuck-heads .......jon

forgive me,everyone here for any offense....
August 16, 2007, 8:10 am

call someone that you have had a troubled relationship.ask for forgiveness. forgiveness is crucial in a culture that does not forgive....T

e-grease....
August 15, 2007, 7:19 am

elbow grease Jon! The ones I know that have so many hits/friends/whatever are doing alot of work on it.can we talk to Art about that see if he will spend time on it-our focus always should be the music....T

time to clean out that stinky skull jon
August 14, 2007, 5:52 pm

The Best tune have heard in a Long time by the Way I love Ozzies new tune I love Stone Sours new tune and to tell you the truth I love lots of the new shit and I don’t even know if this is a new tune but take a listen to "Grave Digger" by Dave Matthews it has the tri fecta, great melody, great lyrics, and great delivery what a fucking song!!! Changing the topic we are on My-Space and it seems like everyone but us has over a hundred thousand hits on their site? Wow maybe we aren’t working the site enough or we are the band with no friends???? So I say... Hey Wavy Gravy lets hear it for the band with no friends...... Inside joke T will get a laugh it comes form within a perverted mind that occupies my skull........jon

preparing part 4
August 14, 2007, 8:45 am

it has been years! I feel the nervous tension,the responsibilities,yet it is good!i feel alive again,slightly on the edge where you quite don't know what is going to happen,yet the freedom to be creative again.i have always had a very strong faith,this sustains and nourishes me always.when i finally shave my head and become like Harrison a Monk for Music(i do not in any way jest-the study of music in India is very sacred and part of Spiritual practice-when I shave my head I become clean from the entanglements that are not the creative principle and open myself to them.)I will be free to sing with the ancient syllables of the universe....T ps.awesome stuff last night Thor!

cUTTING THROUGH SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM....
August 13, 2007, 8:57 am

Jon,great entries,few have traveled in the world as much as we have in places of abject poverty,and I am convinced that there is racial bias to the designation of wealth in and around the world.THIS SIMPLY MUST STOP AND WE WILL AND HAVE JOINED OTHERS EFFORTS IN THIS REGARD.when we get started i want to start a muscians web for international work-more unvailed later.willard/thin man,our culture with all the materialistic trimminings would demand something that thank God we are not-Perfect!great poem and i think it articulates this point wisely,that people are under pressure to be perfect or at least assume what culture thinks of this concept.one of the great books i have read in this regard is Trogen Trunpa's,'Cutting through Spiritual Materialism',it really dispells the myth of needing more and more in all phases of our lives.really what is needed is radical simplicity,and like i said yesterday it can be a countercultural thing to do.by wearing my rope belt that i paid thirty cents for-i take the sword of diserenment and cut through the illusion of material making me happy.ultimately it is only from within that would make me such-everything else as the BUDDHISTS would say is Mara.God Bless,love T....

Boy things are starting to look good so GET THE HELL OUT!
August 12, 2007, 11:57 am

To continue the thread on Illegal immigrants I want to clarify that we need to do something about immigration we can’t just let everyone in as every race across the planet has bad elements. But we can not punish everyone across the board this is a complex issue but simply putting up a wall is not going to solve it history has proven this time and time again. This is a personal issue for T and me as I mentioned before in the journal we grew up for several years in North Phoenix Arizona and both of us had close Mexican friends who lived in the orange groves in nothing more then shacks they went to school during the week but worked the groves every weekend and school day off. Their parents worked countless hours in the groves and fields often being exposed directly to chemicals the crop dusters would spray over their heads while they worked the fields. The majority of these people were honest hard working people who were trying to give their children a better life. Now fast foreword to the news today I just read a story about New Orleans it seems now things are progressing back to a small degree of normalcy in some areas The locals there are starting to show discrimination against the Mexican workers they initially begged to come help doing the dirty work with no questions asked, one particularly display of racism comes against the taco trucks that have sprung up around the city. Seems most of the owners have the proper permits as handed out by the city government but now it seems the government has just come up with some new criteria for the Mobil taco stands operation which is impossible for them to meet such as stationary bathrooms and washing areas (hard to do when you are in a mobile business) what’s more the health inspectors have been closely monitoring them for months yet they have issued no violations? The bottom line is the local government thinks they are undermining the “Character� of New Orleans?????? As I said this is a very complex issue but we as Amerikans cannot have it both ways using people when it is convenient and cheaper for us then discarding them later........Jon

show your love like the sun,on everyone....
August 12, 2007, 7:44 am

i will never forget as long as i live seeing the planes come over our Mexican brothers and sisters in the fields of Cal. and dump thier toxic loads,WHILE THE WORKERS WERE WORKING!of course now the studies have been done and the cancer reports-i can't for the life of my see why anyone would do this to anyone else-and their were women and children out there to.fast forward years later when i worked construction in the southwest.my bosses would give me an opportunity to mess up,and the whites that worked but one mistake by a Mexican and he was gone.period.i actually had a boss tell me,'it doesn't matter,tomorrow there will be twenty others vying for his space'.i left that job as soon as i could.Rage Against The Machine has done alot to promote the cause of our brothers and sisters across the southern border.i am not sure if the axis of justice site is still up but i encourage you to check it out.one warning,don't waste your time with the forum,Serge and Tom are never on(at least when I was part of the forum)and you get alot of people just angry and unfocused.well all for now-please show your love like the sun-on everyone....T

Bushes head aint going up my ass..........
August 11, 2007, 7:43 pm

Hey Pedro thanks for the entry in the fan journal god dam it’s been what over thirty years since you and I worked together in South Phoenix???? (By the way if you were their after dark your chances of catching the sunrise were severely diminished) It was J.D. Erwin’s furniture factory. Dam how time flies........ why was it we never had a problem with weight back then oh that’s right it was a sweat shop. Who knew about air-conditioning in the work place and loading tractor trailers in 112 degree heat which is a bummer especially when you get to the top of the semi and have to get close to the aluminum ceiling which is baking in the sun I think I still have burn marks on my back. But then again the 2.50 cents an hour we worked for seemed like a fortune didn’t it!!! At least until we had to pay the bills ... Oh the good old days and I have to tell you I was always amazed at how the Immigration Nazis would storm the place every few months and ship all you illegals back to Mexico and then like some magic trick from a fancy magician you would all be back to work a week later rested and ready to handle the heat and the expectations of a hungry yet cost conscious Amerika..... may god shove Bushes head up my ass if this is not a true story....... jon

WORLD WIDE CAMPAIGN....
August 11, 2007, 7:52 am

i would like to start another world campaign here.in these troubled times,many have forgotten to smile.many can't with the obvious impediments that confront them-being imprisoned,tortured,etc...this is no psuedo hippy campaign of'hey man,lets feel good'.we know that a smile can change the way we view the day.it offers subtle chemicals to the brain to change mood and we know that it is much easier on the face then a frown.we also know according to chinese medicine that an inward smile can help change the functioning of the internal organs(a process I shall delineate tomorrow).this helps from the wear and tear of life.This helps from the constant thinking we do wich sends fire upwards to consume us and bring our very breath upwards.we alo need to smile as I believe we have lostour genuine sense of humor.i spent some time just out of interest watching the news last night(typically in the summer i go on a total news fast-i broke it last night out of curiousity-we all know where that led the cat).man you would have thought it was the end of days!i tell you there was so much doom and gloom reported that it left little hope and totally bereft of humor.we must stop this trend.it does not allow for the future.a negative thought goes inward and projects outward.We can use the same process to illuminate our lives with a smile.it is no small matter and i would argue in this time period it is countercultural for those like me that like to be on the fringe.we desperately need a smile and peace and genuine love.i want to write alot about this in the upcoming week-stay tuned and please always ,always post your thoughts-thank you to all that have recently.i love you,why wouldn't i like your opinion on things even if it is diametricaly opposite from mine-no matter-we are all in this thing together baby,and you are part of the gift also....T

You cant handle the truth
August 10, 2007, 6:05 pm

To those of you lazy dumb amerikans saying don’t let them illegals in kick them out!!!!!!!! All the while sucking off the efforts of their CHEAP labor without a care for the consequences....... do any of you that want deportation understand that word consequences?????? I didn’t think so. We have a system and the system will break down and you will suffer unless you our kids want to take these menial jobs. By the way I know because I have worked right beside illegals they are not bad people they want what you want so you can build your wall and put up fences but they will still be exploited for your benefit by corporate corruption and your need "especially under the current regime" to keep prices down....... that is the truth........JON

Youse gots till sundown ta get outa here T!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 10, 2007, 1:44 pm

Hey T what up wit dat?????????? its my job to be trite and bitter and I don’t take kindly to nobody movin in on my territoary there is only room for one of us in this here one horse town so Im a givin ya till sundown ta get the hell outa here!!!!!!!! Long as we is fightn with guns anyways cause you can kick my ass and with my plastic leg I cant out run ya neither .....You know the sad thing is the Duke or as I like to call him the Puke John Wayne the cowboy actor was the idol of the macho men of his era and yet the dialog the idiot spoke was not much more intelligent then my eloquent words..........jon

i have been a little bitter....
August 10, 2007, 11:10 am

i realize i came off as a trite bitter yesterday and for that i apologize(i get angry when i think of the needs not being met for our children).what the world needs with so many looming crisises now more than ever is LOVE.I LOVE YOU ALL....T

where are the Itanka's....
August 9, 2007, 7:02 am

the presumption by ray-gun was that communities would care for those that were formerly institutionalized.of course this happened in a random way and typical of republican politics it was left up to individual states(with limited federal funding)how they would help.of course we all know what happened.there are thousands and thousands of mentally ill homeless on the streets of every city and towns.it was argued,rightly so that some changes needed to occur and certainly there were abuses that needed to be changed,but again the republican ideal of leaving issues to states is,and was the wrong approach.okay,fast forward to today.those of us in the field of education as social workers have worked very,very hard to take off the stigma of mental illness.if we all think of our family and friends,surely you know someone that has a mental illness.it has been part of the human condition throughout human history.the work we did was to de-stigmatize so that people could get the proper care.well guess what,and this is why I am leaving education.they started to systematicaly do away with positions like mine as the new concentration is higher test scores.they don't need people like me getting in the way of this goal!i have many friends that after years of service were let go,due to so-called budgetary reasons.there are many like me that went into community based practice because we felt we could do the greatest good(as oppossed to being private therapists-nothing wrong with this and we definately,DEFINATELY need more Good THERAPISTS).we often worked as triage,getting people the help they needed(families)as well as running groups and seeing individual students.the new regs. make it hard for municipalities to not hold in their collective belts-this means cuts.typically what is cut are the so-called'non-essential services',which social workers are termed.so we know that our culture is hurting progressively more so.we know that there are millions of children that go to school hungry,abused,mentally ill,or that come from addicted homes and many that are addicted themselves.my question to you mr. politician.do you think it is easy to concentrate on your dumb-assed standardized tests when you are hungry,when you watched mom get beat up again this morning,or perhaps you,or that you are exhausted again today as he police came again while mom and dad had a party and were busted with heroin,or that you can't focus because you are tripping or wasted or that somehow everything is different(ie...mental illness)but you have not told anyone?these are just a drop in the bucket my friends that happen everday in public education.to receive platitudes from the top like'what we need are family values'from lilly-assed silver spoon fed morons that don't even know how to check out at the supermarket is not helpful.of course we all need values you idiots,but you can't impose your sense of reality on others particularly when millions are hanging on by a thread!a social work value is to meet people where they are and then be helpful in whatever way you can-linking to services,being compassionate enough to try and understand the needs and help wherever we can.now let us take a look at test grades shall we?other than isolated pockets,we still lag behind as a nation.we can want the best scores but we had better first attend to the real needs of the students we serve.contrary to popular belief not everyone is anxious to get to school and get a perfect score on a SAT,conversly many come to school because it is the only stable place with a schedule that they have perhaps ever known.we need to attend to our hungry,our ill,our disillusioned,and our hurt.to simply force feed tests without discussion is a mockery and i would also suggest pregudicial.we dole this shit out like we are upper class families with all the supports necessary.what a presumption!this assumes that we all come to school with the same needs and that the basic needs are met!how could anyone think this way?i am fond of saying to people that don't understand education,'strap 'em on (sneakers-man that is what you need as a social worker)and lets go',let us see what it is our children REALLY NEED.interestingly in the 18 years of working pubic ed.very few school board members even understood this,they rarely go into the building yet make so many important decisions-AMAZING WE SHOULD HAVE SUCH A DYSFUNCTIONAL SYSTEM-WELL ACTUALLY NOT AMAZING AT ALL WHEN I THINK OF THE LACK OF CARE THIS COUNTRY PROVIDES THOSE IN NEED,ONE ONLY NEEDS TO LOOK AT OUR NON-EXISTANT HEALTH CARE COVERAGE(ohh,exuse me,there is a system in place FOR THOSE THAT CAN AFFORD IT!).so typically i have strayed off topic and for that i apologize.let me end with a sad story.there was a man that was let out of a very appropriate institution after de-instituitionalization.he wandered the streets for years.his community based case workers had a hard time keeping up with him(and typically he was one of many,many-meaning they are all WAY OVER WORKED-TO MANY ON THE CASELOAD).there were many times when i personaly gave him a lift here and there and also got him to drink water-he would be horribly dehydrated-in the winter he would wear scanty clothes and i would worry about frostbite with him.did the community drop to help as ray-gun presumed.i am here to say that the community did not.people used to make fun of him and ignore him.so we had someone ripped out of a caring enviornment and thrown basicaly onto the streets(and believe me i understand that the system needed to be overhauled-used to work in it as Jon said yesterday).is this care?is this compassion?is this the attitude of the Itanka who will not eat until everyone is provided for?i think not.shaking my head,disgusted,i leave education....T

thought for food
August 8, 2007, 4:54 pm

I watched One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest last night and I must I say it is a brilliant movie ask T he can relate because he did an internship on a severely disturbed mental ward there is a song or two in that experience and proves once again this band lives the songs we write . What I especially liked about the movie is that it might be the first time that Hollywood portrayed a Native American in a positive light. I do have one disturbing reality though during the Ronnie Regan years when rich white people ruled the government....OOOPS sorry I guess its still the same but anyway the Great Mr. Regan who gets way more credit for bringing down the wall the he deserves (maybe Alzheimer’s was the payback) because he generally ignored minorities and was responsible for the devastation to the lower working class with his SICKO trickle down economics bullshit and along the way he kicked thousands of mentally challenged patients out on the streets with nothing no support and no regard for their lack of ability to cope in society, by the way current vets many of them were Vietnam vets so you might want to watch your ass with this administration these scumbags are even worse..........JON

Detroit DJ....
August 8, 2007, 3:42 pm

hey Jon , i just remebered,did you get back in touch with that DJ from Detroit? sounds like he is really into what we are doing....T

Thanks Allie for the quote check Allies drawing right below its cool
August 8, 2007, 1:43 pm

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you're riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief, and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake up and live... -Bob Marley-

preparing3....
August 8, 2007, 6:56 am

very emotional day yesterday!had to go in and clean out my office.memories started to pour in.all the pain,the happiness,the good times the bad,the success,the failure all flooded my eyelids.emptied my phone my computer and all personal effects.as i dropped my keys off,no sign i was even there before.this is just impermanance.all things will pass.it is interesting to watch the mind struggle through the various emotions.had an engagement to be the keynote speaker at the peace conference this year talking about restorative justice and talking circles.will do it another time and perhaps with our band in a larger context.my classes are sad that i am leaving(qigong,tai chi)that was hard last night,it will be hard tonight.there are so many things that come and go when you make a major life choice like this.it is not merely making up your mind,that is the easy part.it is all the commitments and people that you have to say goodbye to that make it hard.i am scared and nervous.Jon sent me the plane ticket and sheet music,this is very exciting.i hope like the fallen rider i can get back on the bike and ride this bogey!it's funny how when i was deciding to do this,i was inundated with creativity.the last week or so,as i have had to dis-engage the muse has pulled back.i think it has to do with the emotional response and responsibility of 'gettin' 'er done'.the fickle maidens of universal song shall come again.they don't hide behind a 'block'more a simple veil when the conditions and fertilizer is right....T

to stand like a tree....
August 7, 2007, 7:18 am

to be still.to be silent is very sacred.a tree can teach us so much about how to meet the challenges of life and yet to grow strong and supple.i remember going through the great stands of America;the Joshua trees,redwoods,and the giants.it always struk me the stillness.like the great tortoise that breaths only twice a minute,these trees have lived for a very long time practicing what they do;silence and stillness.we on the other hand are increasingly harried.we run here and there,using valuable resources and polluting as we go,minds over active,and not content unless some electrical impulse is disturbing our brain(tv,ipods,computers,etc...).we know something is wrong yet progressively mentorship has been losing ground.our elders are now the eldering as opposed to 'elders'.they have't a clue either,unless you find one like my Clan Mother.so we stumble,consume,and wonder about a better life.actually we can't literally see the forest through the trees.we can't see that what would make our lives still,calm,and peacefull stands right before us;our sisters the tree.she teaches us so much.in a hurricane the willow and bamboo tree have learned to be pliant so the are not snapped or pulled up by the roots.this teaches us that we to 'need'to be pliant,not so fixed in our notions and ideas,lest we are uprooted or simply snap.the great GAMMA once said,'after pulling on a tree,a man is simple'(he was reffering to his legendary wrestling skills-over five thousand matches and he was never defeated!).he found something early on,as the ancient Chinese did.There is an inherent wisdom of the trees.he used them to develop his root and great strength through isometric contraction.he pushed and pulled on a great tree and for him the humans he faced where like blades of grass in comparison.the ancient Chinese found that the energy of trees is similar to ours.they stand upright between heaven and earth as we do.when we stand in stillness with our tree sisters,an energy exchange is possible that helps us learn from our greater relative.we most importantly learn to be silent.many have told me that they are afraid of silence.they don't know what to do with the deafening roar that is their mind battling silence and surrender.my answer is easy.a diciplined approach to meditation.it is imperative for us to learn this as the top brain researchers suggest.we are to stressed and we are teaching our children to be stressed.it is no wonder,again we have not been eldered and mentored into the 'way of life'.you have a solution here to.find a great tree that you resonate with.it will be a tree that accepts you.in our tradition we offer a little tobacco and ask the tree if you can learn from her,then wait for a reply.it might take some time as you may have an entire battlefield to wade through;your mind.gradually you will 'feel'an answer and then simply find time each day to sit with your teacher.allow the breath to slow and become even.when thoughts come up,simply let them pass and come back to your breath.gradually over time you will find some very curious things,kernals of wisdom.i leave that to you and your teacher....T

thanks T....(preparing to play part2)
August 6, 2007, 10:02 am

very nervous.it has been so long since i stood on stage!i am busy clicking responsibilities off one by one until my departure.it was so good to see my Clan Mother,she is always filled with such Wisdom and Clarity!my dear friend T tells me it is okay to be a little nervous,and i agree! it is kind of like before competition when i was younger-football,swimming,and track-that little edge keeps you hungry like a wolf in the full-moon that hasn't eaten for a week.man,i feel like howling-ahhh,that felt good,now to go practice....T

indigo blue2....
August 6, 2007, 7:16 am

in the shadow of time we dwell,screaming out for immortality.ahh,but just indigo prints against cave walls,soon to be dried;strange colored dirt for an archeologist.we scream from shadows in the full daylight.where doth the moon move when the sun is out?scream baby scream,across the void of time and space.where were you but a moment ago,when i know the sun i see is not really there(well it was 8 minutes ago).petty trogs.winding and grinding superiority only to become the indigo paint,dried and chipped from cave walls.nonsensical to interstellar travelers as they survey the burned husk of what was what is.but let us turn on a dime shall we and see what it is we cannot see.the interconnection,the split of genetics that meagerly seperates.let us not remember this shall we (remember that is what got us into trouble before-seperation).saw a friend in a dream,trying to reach me.couldn't quite make out why i have not called.our fingers slipped from one another slowly.a story,mildly such,but still a story ripe with the pregnancy of beauty,dead with the sound of human voice.i awake and slake my thirst for something,just where is the indigo blue,where is the cave?if something/nothing,at least the print of something/nothing that was,is and will be-scream through the shadows of now the infinate....T

we dont sound like them but they kick ass.......
August 4, 2007, 6:00 pm

For my two cents give a listen to Stone Sour with the lead singer from Slip Knot and the new song “Scars� excellent melody and lyric and the other band to listen to is the dude from Tool and the song "The Pot" ( no it is not about the wacky weed) these two young men are in my view at the forefront of excellence for their musical styles and goddam can they and their bands rock. Food for thought T...........jon

Transformetrics....
August 4, 2007, 7:46 am

heading up north today,only have a moment.wanted to tell people to go to www.transformetrics.com.my good friend there John Peterson teaches the old style Physical Culture.It is very intense and very natural.it is certainly my choice for working out-he also has alot of info on diet,etc...gotta run....T

preach abstinance and open another hole just ask your daughter
August 3, 2007, 8:26 pm

Just saw a concert from James Brown before he passed away and I have to tell you his band is tighter then a woman’s ass that was raised on bullshit puritan values and is on her period meanwhile her loving husband comes into bed with a jar of Vaseline and a different idea........jon

are you a %^$#@ idiot? well,hmmm,let me think....YES!!!!
August 3, 2007, 7:51 am

man i must be the biggest idiot in the universe(well i am but don't tell anyone).i have switched to from the second most scorned profession to the number one.that right folks don't touch that dial;the number two scorned profession-Counseling,just watch people run like hell at a party when you mention thats what you do,or at least after the obligatory,'oh,that must be so fullfilling working with teens'then they get glazed and run.now number one,yes you have been waiting for a long time to hear this.number one on the all time scorned list for professions in america-an artist!!!!doesn't matter what kind!Just go toa party and watch people say,'oh,gee,what else do you do'.This is mainly because we don't sponser arts in america!we hate artists and pesky thinker types.hell,they might start questioning my use of my Hummer OR SOMETHING.you know they just think to damn much-what else do they do right?well there it is but you know i have always played the crazy fool-this is perfect for me!hey Jon,let's add Emotional Spew to the song list-reminds me of when we used to play HENDRIX'S Midnight-but this is ours,can't wait to get there bro!!!!T

Cant beat the price
August 2, 2007, 7:08 pm

To all the naysayers who hoped would never be again.................................. all I can say is grab on tight and don’t let go for you will never see and have never seen anything like us .....COMMING IN SEPTEMBER OF 07 THE REGENERATION OF SHADOW SCREAMERS....... BE A PART AND ADD YOUR VOICE WE ASK FOR NOTHING OTHER THEN YOU USING YOUR MIND......JNO

Koomba ya my lord koomba yaaaah
August 2, 2007, 4:42 pm

Well.....I just had sex with my new Taylor T5 and man it was good!!! Laying down licks to Neil Youngs Like A Hurricane and Cortez the Killer I was king of the world at least in my head my baby girl glory our pound dog didn’t seem too impressed but still in my mind I was cooking... Jason said yesterday that someone compared our music to folk music???????that’s why I put up “Emotional Spew’ its and homage to my other lover my strat and a crappy amp take a listen and you will see that we aint no folk band ( Not that there is anything wrong with that its just not who we are) and we will prove it starting on AUGUST 30th OOHH MY GOD!!!!! WHAT HAVE I DONE !!!!!! SHIT NOW WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PROVE IT????????? Or resign ourselves to playing open air markets on the weekends....jon

Up
August 1, 2007, 7:47 pm

Falling free finally separating myself... tired of living like the dirt under your fingernails accumulating as you ingest to excess all the while scratching your ass your armpits then shoving those dirty finger up you nose looking for diamonds in the rough....... falling free don’t care if I hit rock bottom because there is only up from here...jon

Humans
August 1, 2007, 2:20 pm

I hear Jesus was a savior who pushed the stone away and now his light shines deep inside those who choose to walk his way. I hear Mohamed was a holy man who lived the holy way as he preached his words of wisdom millions still follow him today, I hear that Buddha lifted spirits with compassion for those in need and so millions choose to follow in the end because they believed .So why cant we embrace all those who’ve found the common thread is peace?? And in the end why does mankind pervert the message into yours against mine and you better believe like I believe????????

Hey DIck you so deserve this you feeble old man
August 1, 2007, 12:18 pm

I happened upon Larry the “handle your interviews with Kid gloves� King last night he was interviewing “Dickey� Chaney and as the interview unfolded Larry laid out accusation after accusation to Dickey which he casually dismissed with nary a challenge from “I am a hundred years old and irrelevant Larry�?????. During the course of the interview I realized Dickey is not the devil he is just a feeble, disgusting, angry, soul-less old man and as far as that disgusting smirk on his pudgy face he always wears I guess I would have the same expression if I was the head ass licker for the devil (man I bet the devils shit really stinks) its no wonder the “Dick� always looks like he just stepped into a pile of really smelly shit.....come to think of it couldnt happen to a better guy............jon

Gimme a ticket on a airplane aint go time to take a fast train
August 1, 2007, 11:03 am

Hey T I sent out the plane ticket today along with some chord sheets of a few of the songs we will be doing while you are down here hopefully for Good! The chords will be the same but the melodies and grooves are going to change its going to be a blast can’t wait to get to work on the material the 1st of September. I would also like to add if the fans of Shadow Screamers can go to http://www.savedarfur.org and send a message to U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon to urge him to press world leaders to contribute to peace in Darfur and stand behind their obligations that would be great!!!!!!!!!! it only takes a minute and as we have said many times before there is strength in numbers and at his point we cant sit idly by any longer.......jon

off goes his head...
August 1, 2007, 7:28 am

in a sword fight if you notice the pretty girl in the audience,off goes your head.this Japanese saying teaches us alot about life.the mind and body must be in alignment so we can through mindfullness traverse fully this amazing experience OF LIFE the CREATOR HAS GRACED US WITH....t

lays
July 31, 2007, 6:41 pm

So what if I am still a dreamer with so many years behind me for in the end its what lays deep inside that sets us free... we all want what we cant be..... so if you choose to point your shallow finger and ridicule what you think I see in the end if you cant let go then you will never have the strength to be free.... reality is what it is unless you are willing to stand and if you don’t then in the end I have nothing to do with what you see.....noj

Look ahead or fall behind
July 31, 2007, 5:03 pm

Hey T we talked and I am at peace it look like its you and me against this generally self absorbed brain dead world fair enough but I am warning you who live buy lack of substance we can play with they best of them and then we will snapp their fingers don’t get it who the hell am I but just a cog in the wheel if you want to be a part of this wheel rolling then stay tuned you can search far and wide but if you cant swallow substance then move along idiot for their must be some one with intelligence to take you place if not then we will adapt........njo

hair in the robins nest 3....
July 31, 2007, 9:46 am

soon i shall shave my head.it is an old tradition in the Native Way, that when you make a major life change,you will cut your hair.last time i did this,my hair went to children suffering from cancer.i hope i have enough hair to do the same this time.as last time,i will keep it shaved for at least a year.there is something Spiritualy clean about shaving a head.most of us came to the world without much hair and naked.this naked feeling,this Spiritual Poverty is what i would endeavor to find.i like the sense of committment,i like the sense of standing for something.so i will unveil my intent here today.i will cut my hair to mark this major life change(leaving my job,my family-with their blessing-they believe,my teaching tai chi and qigong,my coaching conditioning and football,and the quite of Maine)and for an end to Domestic Violence,and Sexual Abuse.my prayers will go out to all that suffer and for more education and measures that would break the cycle of 'power and control'. love,T

teacher....
July 30, 2007, 7:04 am

'do not teach what you personaly do not follow'.plain simple,human beings would be better off with these simple words....T

sorry Jon....
July 27, 2007, 3:46 pm

wow Jon I totally spaced-sorry about that.anytime 12:30pm or after should be okay.is it okay that day?i forgot that it was a holiday weekend.since i have been feeling well,seems like it has been a marathon of activity.Mom and Dad are squared away just got back from there-looks good.give me a call if you get a chance-thanx bro.love....T

Snappy returns
July 27, 2007, 1:28 pm

hey T you need to get back to me on what time you can be at the airport on the 30th so I can book the flight it’s a busy travel time as its Labor Day weekend............Now once again it’s the Snap Snap Show Featuring Snappy and the boys from Shadow Screamers.......Hi Snappy we have a new guest for today’s show he is someone who can be witty and funny but he has to loose the skirt to be a man ...Who is that jon???? Well Snappy its Dennis Miller the Comedian.....Why him Jon???? Well Snappy I saw his recent stand up act a couple of nights ago and some of it was pretty funny but when he started ripping the Democrats( which I don’t have a problem with because any smart person knows both parties suck) but it was when he continued on about how bush was saving us from terrorists and should be admired for standing up and not backing down and that no democrat would want the job of president now because we were living in the toughest time any administration had ever had to deal with in this countries history..... That’s when I almost lost my lunch...... Gee Jon Didn’t president Lincoln guide us through our own civil war where it was common to loose 20-30 Thousand!!!!!!! Americans in a single battle and the country was fighting brother against brother and sister against sister... have it tough???? Yes Snappy but not in Millers world..... Apparently that was a cakewalk compared to now......... Jon what about Roosevelt and the Second World War ? No snappy.... according to Miller Bush has it tougher then anyone who has stolen or legally been voted into the oval office ever!!...well jon at this point can we just call him Denise??? Sure we can snappy now lets welcome Denise to the program..........HI Dennis how are you today???.......... What the Fuck is this I am way to intelligent to pander to some puppet show!!!!!!! This is an outrage!!!!!!!!......... Well Dennis before you go can you at least shake hands with snappy?????.... Oh what the fuck I know you don’t love bushes ass like I do but what the hell!!!!! How you doing snappy???..... Denise Miller screams out..... OOOOOOOOOUCH and cries like a little girl as he screams snappy broke my fingers!!!!!! I knew you were terrorists and were gonna hurt me in the end!!!!!!....... Denise stop crying we aren’t terrorists we are teaching you to be a man besides in the end history will label the idiot you cower behind the terrorist .......... and here is an idea here maybe you want to shop at our gift shop on the way out and purchase a couple of balls..........Jon

PEACE IN PROGRESS....
July 27, 2007, 8:48 am

okay,i am so excited about the coming together of our storied band again.Jon is right we came so close to landing with th biggies and were almost in the famed South African protest(against Apartheid)concert.We were sitting at the table with biggies when at the time there was no category for what we were doing.Now alternative music is happening big time.Our strength lies in our diversity.a good friend of mine(also a poet and musician)really liked the diversity of sound we get.My comment,'you just wait'.many people do not understand that the cd's to date were hurried affairs.i personally hadv one take on all the bass work,these cd's were seen at the time as demo's for the industry(it was a great tribute that the cd's played on radio stations across the country).you people just wait!meanwhile i would like you all to go to the top heading and punch in PEACE IN PROGRESS.now that we are coming togther again i want to launch these very important initiatives.WE NEED PEACE FOLKS.we definately should(i don'tlike to use this word,but have to now)have learned that democracy with an iron fist does not work.we need mediation,diplomacy and a good working knowledge of how the entire world and individual countries operate.we said right from the begginning(Jon is also right that we have been phone tapped and shut down on numerous occasions,including wiping out entire countries from access to us-overnight,gone)that to go out and beat the shit out of the world in retaliation will not work.we must understnd how and why and attack would occur,in other words the underlying discontent.if you don't get there you end up chasing paper tigers everywhere as we have for the past years.IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW WE ALL IN THIS EVER DIMINISHING WORLD(MEANING WE ARE OVERPOPULATED PEOPLE)THINK AND OPERATE AND WILL BECOME MORE CRUCIAL AS WE CONTINUE TO OVERPOPULATE!!!!Peace in progress,song of a thousand lives,THESE INITIATIVES ARE VERY,VERY IMPORTANT!please consider peace and love....T

Great entry below T now here is the yang
July 26, 2007, 11:13 am

Well kudos to “dum bush� and �killer chaney� and their inept administration..... Although they are probably looking for any positive press at this point and will do anything to get it, they do deserve a spat of credit especially bush for being able to sign the bill or legislation or does he use an X??????? because for the first time since 1997 (for you Billy Clinton haters who are jealous because he got the blow job or are pissed because you weren’t givin it to the attention lovin dude he was the last president to increase the minimum wage) WHICH BY THE WAY!!!!!! IS the longest span without raising the minimum wage since the pay floor was enacted in 1938? What did you expect from a rich whitey boy named junior and his money grubbing administration in fact all politicians are on the take some more then others but come on now when is enough enough???? Look for my latest addition to the Snap Snap Show tomorrow .....here is a hint the dude is an witty funny comic but for gods sake put on a skirt Dennis I caught his show on the tube last night I guess he was in Vegas and according to his monologue he is still buying the scare tactic???????.......jon

weaving Love....
July 26, 2007, 7:27 am

What is it to weave LOVE? The Dine or Navejo weave consciously one imerfection in their beautiful rugs.It is to show that we cannot possibly be perfect.Only the Creator is perfect,we can only strive.This is not negative but positive.It teaches us to walk,'The Good Red Road',like our Jewish brothers and sisters,to always have thanksgiving on our lips for the Creator.When we walk our imperfect lives,by striving and going beyond the 'small i'we connect with the'big I'.We see that the various emotions for instance are but waves on the shore.They come,they are,and then they dissipate.We don't want to reside in the coming and going of the impermanant wave,we would endeavor to reside in the ocean.We weave Love my friends when we understand this and also understand that it is okay to be imperfect.As Ram Dass once said,'I like to laugh at myself because there is nothing more ridiculous in the cosmos than me'.He is reffering to the ,'caught small i',the ego,the one that thinks it is perfect and permanant.He is mocking this sense of delussion that we carry.He is stating that it is okay to have the imperfection,We weave Love by being tolerant,open,compassionate,and most of all loving.Everyone wants to be loved.Our deepest threads of existence lean towards the cosmic weaving of Indira.We see the other nodes of existence,we see the other webs,we understand the interconnection,we see the Love.Now if only to remember.The Taoists say that by 9years old society has done a good job closing your Yintang or third eye,the remembering.The various Taoist practices are really just openeing our spirits and bodies to the remembering.Do you remember?Think back to those times in your life when everything seemed to come together.It might have been being in nature,or staring at the stars.This is a good start.The weaving of Love is the rug of interconnection.We all want part.Actually it doesn't really matter if you do or not,you are alsready there.Again it is just the remembering.I will keepon this thread for awhile.I would like you to remember.I would like to have you celebrate your beauty and imperfection.I would love to have you experience the deep Love that resides within us at all times....T

Take care of the kids you send to slaughter you dicks!!!!!
July 25, 2007, 6:28 pm

Congratulations and respect to Bob Dole and his wife for SHAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the current scum sucking administration (dopey)i.e. junior bush and ( killer) i.e. dickey chaney into acknowledging the pleas from those brave soldiers who have been wounded in this administrations bullshilt war on top of those who have stood up in previous wars but have been mistreated and discarded. Apparently this scummiest of administrations was not aware of the problems facing those who returned with injuries and the previous wounded war veterans until it was slammed in their face by a republican!!!! I aint one but gotta give them credit... Bob Dole who actually served this country...... not to be confused with the current pres and his vice pres who apparently ran like little girls hiding behind mommies apron to avoid the Vietnam war ......so stay tuned to this web site because in early September both junior ( little bush) and the devil (little chaney) are going to be the first guests on the Snap Snap show.... this is americka aint it???? Don’t free speech reign????? I guess we will see...... wont we?????.........jon

I know computers like Bush knows books.......
July 24, 2007, 6:14 pm

I screwed up!!!!!!!!! the song I put up today is called “Nothing� not “Moonlight Dances� as Art well knows I know just enough about the computer to get me in trouble. I am going to talk to Art the fourth member of Shadow Screamers who has put everything web related together for us and done a dam good job!!!!! to see if he can walk me through the process of uploading songs once again! so I can put up the right song next time sorry bout the mistake......jon

We are who we are
July 24, 2007, 10:32 am

Just put up Moonlight Dances on the play list this song was recorded in the early nineties as a protest to Apartheid at the time we were headed to South Africa to do a tour with other artists but just before we were supposed to leave the promoter knocked us off the tour stating we were not popular enough..... for those of you who don’t recall it was not fashionable and would set you back as a struggling artist to be speaking out against Reganism and all the other bullshit going on worldwide in the late eighties and nineties it didn’t stop us then and it will not stop us now...jon

whats in a smile....
July 24, 2007, 8:54 am

time is as elusive as a smile. how long does it last what is the quality the energy projected inwards/outwards?the smile is elusive in that we still don't quite know what the full mechanism of internal/external change is.we understand chemical reactions on some level-the heart calms,the face muscles relax.outwardly the projection certainly does not engender the fight/flight of those that observe it.so what is it? like time it is a moment/or eternity all within a given structure.if i could break apart that moment/that smile how long would it last?would it be seconds or would it be the dream you had last night in which a entire life passed while we know through science it is only minutes.so where and how did it all fit in?where and how did that one smile you observed perhaps by a master or a captivating beauty permeate your life and you relive it as if it is tangible right here and right now.can you capture a smile or time?can you put your fingers to the winds and feel and indelible print of corpreal tangibility?todays thought is about the radiance of the inward smile and how it can cure and last and permeate this life.it is very easy to practice.just inwardly shine your smile.letit luminate your interior life.it will gradually become your exterior life.now the inward smile can also be projected to various organs.for instance in the summer according to traditional chinese medicine we work on the heart as it is associated with summer and fire.so we smile inwardly at this remarkable organ that is a workhorse.by smiling we give acknowledgement to its function to its existence.without it we would not live.so you practice by closing your eyes and finding your heart.inwardly smile as you slowly breath in and out.let the breathof life breathe you.be like the steady wave on the seashore.the heart is the sun of our bodies,without which life would not be possible.being such if you can as you near dying(hopefully long fromnow)after a life of honoring the various organs you can also give a gentle thank you as you ride the breath into the beyond.now the inward smile can also be used to permeate wellbeing to your entire being,each and every individual cell much like seconds with time.in doing so we suffuse our very bodies with an unconditional love that is and steeps oue universe.somepeople when they practice hear the ancient sanskrit ohm,that is okay.you are picking up the ancient sound of this universe-now being scietificaly proven.this is why sanskrit is the most ancient and perfect language.it is fused with universal consciousness.it is by the experiment of what is and observation of,inwardly/outwaordly.so give it a shot today.play with time.play with inward smile.let your body be filled with love.like the good gardener we must be ever observant of weeds that might try to impinge our sovernty....T

This is the new Bio to be posted soon
July 24, 2007, 8:42 am

Back in the early nineties the first incarnation of Shadow Screamers then using the name of Tired Eyes was touring colleges all over California form UCLA to Berkley ‘Tired Eyes� the bands first name were mainstays on the local circuit in So Cal as they were pushing the boundaries of a new and unique sound mixed with social activism. However families and circumstances forced the brothers to split up T headed to Maine and Jon wound up in South Florida. It did not take Jon long to find a musical soul mate Shawn the man on drums and together during the mid to late nineties they played successful gig after gigs first as a two piece (long before the White Stripes) all over South Florida eventually adding a bass player Daniel they once again became a mainstay on the local circuit and it was here that the Name Shadow Screamers was born. They recorded and had good success but alas Shawn due to family circumstances moved to North Carolina. Now we find ourselves in 2007 and Shadow Screamers is poised for a Resurrection. Forget what you think you know about this band for when T arrives in South Florida on August 30th we are going to shed our skin emerging with a new sound and commitment to getting back to what we do best, making good music and raising social awareness. I invite you to join in on our journey I promise you with our ability to record new music and video capabilities to bring to life things like “Brandy the Wonder Dog� just type that into the Band journal and you will know what I am talking about also the “Snap Snap Show “again type that in the journal to get an idea so feel free to check back often and give us your input and be a part of the Resurection........jon

AWESOME NEW TUNE....
July 23, 2007, 9:56 am

Hey Jon, just got back from Mass. I am so glad that you and John just played antways!Man how many times did that happen,or just as you finnish the third set,you can't find the owner andthe next day his secretary tells you he is out of town(meanwhile you filled his/her club!).Sorry that happened,I am glad you played anyways in a kind of guerilla concert.Hey man I like the new tune on youtube-great stuff!Well gotta go,I will call today....T

Ah thats show biz!!!! all the glitz and glammer!!!!!!
July 22, 2007, 11:33 am

I got to the gig last night at 7pm and met Jon Ryczek outside the Atmosphere Coffee Lounge I knew we were in trouble because the place was closed not a good sign when you are supposed to start playing in an hour. Jon said the owner had called him an hour earlier and said he was having electrical problems but left a number to reach him which was a fax number. I think this is bar terminology for (I cant afford to pay the 200 dollars I promised the four artists for performing so I will just be a sleaze and back out at the last minute even though you have been promoting this event for over a month and you have friends and entertainers driving in from 30 â€" 40 minutes away for the show and because I just lied to you an hour ago its too late to contact most of them). Jon Ryczek was upset at being lied to and wasting all the effort to put the show together but over the years I have learned that when you get screwed by a bar owner manager whatever you can’t take it personal you have to move on. We waited until 8 pm the time I was supposed to start playing and by then it was apparent that the owner was a no show so we did what any performer would do after driving all the way to a gig we took out our acoustic guitars and started trading off playing our songs it was hot as hell because we were outside the front door to the place in a corner with not much circulation and South Florida does not cool down much at night soon my guitar was dripping with my sweat It is a great feeling and the people that were moving by as well as the ones who stayed and listened were enjoying the impromptu un-amplified show. We played for around two hours and then wouldn’t you know the first “rent a copâ€� security dude showed up and asked us what we were doing we explained the situation and he wandered off. We kept playing but before long the "Head" of the rent a cops came by to tell us to stop playing. Apparently they didn’t like the crowd collecting around to hear us Or maybe because I tend to bang my acoustic guitar pretty hard it was a danger to their hearing but then again maybe our goth death satanic lyrics were too graphic for the kids so rather then create a scene we stopped playing and put those dangerous acoustic guitars back in their cases. We went upstairs to an outside bar and had a beer and upon reviewing the night felt pretty good that instead of just packing it in we put on a pretty dam good show and as a performer that is the best feeling you can have........... Don’t get me wrong money does factor in after all you don’t put in all dedicated rehearsal time , writing songs, the expense and time of promoting the events and the cost of getting to and from the gig and to top it off purchasing the expensive equipment without the mighty dollar.... call me crazy but as a performer who gives it all and has some pretty good songs I think I am worth a buck or two.......jon

Test video up on you-tube
July 21, 2007, 10:54 am

I put up a test video on you-tube just a little while ago the url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pokwtcs_M0A again this is just me screwing around to try out the system it wont be long before my bro and I are putting up some cool shit. My gig tonight I mentioned below this entry starts at 8 pm details are below.. jon

gig tonight!!
July 21, 2007, 7:20 am

Hey Local Fans dont forget I am playing at the Atmosphere Coffee lounge at 300 South West 1st Ave. in Downtown Fort Lauderdale ( there is a poster on our myspace page) just Google map quest and its an easy find I will be on for about an hour or so kicking some ass with my acoustic its balls to the wall not some hokey slumbering lunge music. Hope to see you there....Jon

Vick you are pitiful dude
July 20, 2007, 12:16 pm

So where does it end? Michael Vick is accused of raising dogs to fight for profit and brutally killing the ones who weren’t productive and generally exploiting these helpless creatures in the worst possible way I know this is accepted in many cultures but then again so was headhunting and human sacrifice and cannibalism we moved past that now its time to move past animal cruelty. I still believe our most pressing issue is the mistreatment and exploitation of children but when a rich spoiled athlete is exposed abusing animals thus grabbing the attention of the mindless press and general public we need to address the issue and punish those responsible. I have a dog we have had her for three years sure sometimes she pisses me off when she doesn’t listen just like my kids but I don’t beat or exploit her. Our dog is an integral part of the family especially with my ten year old even though I bitch about taking care of her and picking up her shit every day I love the dog and this does not give me the right to abuse her. When I look into her eyes I see unconditional love no matter what I look like I could be deformed hideous blind deaf whatever and she would still love me.... the other day I mentioned the small things we can do as human beings to maybe make the world a little better this heinous use of animals fighting for profit although used by a small bit of the population lessons the value of life in general and it is a fact that many cereal killers started by torturing animals. Michael Vick needs to be tried just like every other Joe Blow and if convicted needs to serve his time being someone’s bitch in prison and he can kiss football goodbye after all is supposedly college educated or at least as educated as a pampered athlete can be and he has more money then god so why???? You can only assume he is not intelligent enough to value defenseless animals............ the dude is pitiful.................. go to this site if you want to petition to get Vick suspended from football ..........https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_dogfighting_nfl2/forward.....jon

burn 'em Jon
July 19, 2007, 9:03 pm

Jon, go kick some ass this weekend.Didn't want to post over your announcement.Heading to Mass.this weekend to take care of some family business,will talk to you Sunday.Just a little over a month left Bro-yehaa!!!! T ps. thank you everyone on the fan journal!

thread
July 19, 2007, 6:15 pm

I am going to Steal a few minutes to rehearse before the gig on Sat night details of where the gig is are in the band entry from me from yesterday..... I know my fingers will burn any burn is a good work out all the while deep inside I wonder where I stand on the sanity issue?????? HAHAHAAH just kidding I have always been insane not the “crap in your pants and wipe it on the cops face insane� but none the less like everything there are varying degrees of insanity yet those of us who are able to grasp the thread of sanity somehow learn to cope, accept, survive, exist....... that is my place..... So I will sign off the site and punish my fingers and my voice once again in the hope of striking some chord with people that my be heard beyond the last empty bottle of beer............ because to some degree I am insane and yet I still know how to grab that thread.......jon I am going to Steal a few minutes to rehearse before the gig on Sat night details of where the gig is are in the band entry from me from yesterday..... I know my fingers will burn any burn is a good work out all the while deep inside I wonder where I stand on the sanity issue?????? HAHAHAAH just kidding I have always been insane not the “crap in your pants and wipe it on the cops face insane� but none the less like everything there are varying degrees of insanity yet those of us who are able to grasp the thread of sanity somehow learn to cope, accept, survive, exist....... that is my place..... So I will sign off the site and punish my fingers and my voice once again in the hope of striking some chord with people that my be heard beyond the last empty bottle of beer............ because to some degree I am insane and yet I still know how to grab that thread.......jon

Gig comming up
July 19, 2007, 7:27 am

Don’t forget I am playing a solo gig with three other solo artists this Saturday night the 21st I go on at 8pm probably for an hour and I intend to kick up some dust and break a sweat. The place is the Atmosphere Coffee Lounge located on the Los Olas Riverfront at 300 southwest 1st Ave. Hope to see some local fans there this is one of the last times I will be playing solo for awhile as you might know by now Jason is due to join me on August 30th and it will not take us long to get a show ready I have some places lined up that are interested so local fans check back I am thinking of videoing and recording some of the gigs and throwing parts up on you-tube. Give us some feedback on the changes to the site and the direction we are going we would love to hear from everyone.......Jon

?
July 18, 2007, 7:02 pm

Ok!!!!!!! enough of this fucking shit those of you who apparently by the thousands every month who check out this fucking site be warned......... things are coming together and we will make an impact what the fuck is the alternative?????? SO lets all get the shaft of indifference out of our ass and join in the vision I know amerika is the dumbest educated cuntry on the planet but son of a bitch don’t you want to reach out to a more intelligent place?????

Domestic violence and Sexual Assault....
July 18, 2007, 11:25 am

Again my brothers and sisters I need to bring attention to the difficult issue of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.As we seak,the agencies that do the work are losing federal funding which means less support and less education for our children.I send a plea to the world to support these agencies and to also,'be that change you would like to see'.there is so much anger and hurt,it is time for all to model loving healthy relationships to break the cycle of power and control that are endemic of both these issues.peace out....T

Hey you can to........
July 17, 2007, 1:13 pm

Hey I am no computer whiz but I just figured out how to play our music while reading thru the journals.... Log onto the site and the minimize it then log back on to your internet home page so you have two internet home pages open then you click onto shadowscreamers.com again and you can read to your hearts content while listening to this killer music and remember the songs will change so there will always be something new just stay tuned.......Jon

thank you Jeremy....
July 17, 2007, 12:33 pm

Great post Jon! Just wanted to say thank you to a friend-THANK YOU JEREMY A.,and I have to say one more thing.Monmouth Football friggin' rocks-YEAHHHHH!....T(OR jason,or Coach Whitney,or twinkle toes)

Small things add up? or rubbish you decide
July 17, 2007, 8:39 am

I’m not a big spider fan I have killed my share in my house over the years. Every morning I take my dog for a run near the everglades at a small open park. It gets hot early here in South Florida during the summer so after a few dozen throws of a ball or stick my dog is panting with her tongue hanging out and looking for some shade so we usually walk thru a patch of trees. I was walking a few days ago when I felt a spider web across the top of my head of course my first reaction was to check for the spider that might have landed on me and probably kill it. Anyway at the same time I looked up at what was left of the web and saw the spider so I went on my merry way. The next day I was passing under the same tree and sure enough the web was rebuilt so I just knocked a piece of the web away so I could pass under without getting the web tangled in my hair again. Today I was using the same path and once again the spider had rebuilt the web this one was even stronger and bigger. It occured to me that maybe this spider who was trying to survive in its own habitat dong what it is predestined to do and harming nobody while I was the intruder who was pretty much screwing up his meal ticket.... deserved to be left alone. I bent my lazy ass over so I could go under leaving the web intact. We have said a million times on this site that even a small thing can make a difference especially when you multiply them with billions of people...... Who knows the small things might soon dwarf many of the big problems.........jon

What delete button????
July 16, 2007, 8:29 am

A million Thanks to Art for streamlining the site and doing an excellent job I might add!!! I am typing this entry while our music is playing in the background. Something you can do at work just minimize the site after you hook up to the music and of course turn it up. Things are moving swiftly for the band T is arriving on the 30th of August to start the next chapter in our experience of Shadow Screamers we will soon have up video of the process as it happens good and bad and more great!!!!! new music. I have been planning this evolution for years now after all my lame promises things are happening at a good clip we hope our fans will tag along on this journey ....as you are well aware we hide nothing warts and all... just look at some of my entries they even embarrass me sometimes but we don’t delete to manicure the truth......Jon

seeing....
July 16, 2007, 6:44 am

laying on your back watching clouds is a worthwhile occupation....T

as I lay.....(dying,thanks Mr. Faulkner)
July 13, 2007, 8:06 am

we die each and every day.in our minds and in our bodies.cells die in the brain and in our bodies.when we go to sleep we die to another day to arise with the new.when we stay asleep,however,there is a real danger of not having another death that is crucial for development and is the death of the Spirit. now when i say death i mean in the positive,not negative.for instance very real trauma sustained or belittlement,abuse etc...can slowly kill the soul.i am talking today about those,'little deaths'that are imperative for soul growth.to allow a concept you have carried to die is soul growth,for instance you may have thought that people on welfare were cheats,then suddenly you get fired and there ain't no work and you accept welfare and realize that the vast majority are just like you,'transitioning through a hard time'(contrary to the conservative rights view that would have us believe all on welfare are cheats-my question to them is ,'why was it the program was started'?and if it is such a problem why not abolish it?they won't because they know the real answer,'there are places where there is no work in this country with no prospect-inner cities,reservations to name a few.if they were really serious they would tackle those issues not the political stance of pointing fingers).so your view changed a little bit.you realized you were wrong.congartualtions!you have entered the scary place little traveled by americans,'to be wrong about something and admit it'!there is so much spiritual strength in this.so much freedom.when we admit we have been wrong we have a ,'ahha'moment.the space created is as vast as the ocean as we re no longer caught in a fixed notion and we realize that this spce is change herself!change-that is the real essence of growth.if i understand as the Buddhists say tht the five skandas are always changing than i am not fixing anything as a concrete notion.i am open for change.like the great willow or bamboo tree,hurricanes can blow but i will not be uprooted.i feel and incorporate change yet am deeply rooted in a great spiritual truth.this is the essense of what we call in Native Country(when one realizes this)a Thunderbeing.A Thunderbeing can bring enlightenment she/he can bring needed change,needed water to parched minds and souls.we look constantly for Thunderpeople,ones tht live for the people,by the people as Crazy Horse did.so die a little each day.examine those thoughts and feelings tht have held you down.examine them deeply-does something need to die?will i be more free by letting go(of hatred,jealousy,etc...)?ABSOLUTELY! please give yourself this greatest gift that you could give yourself....T

comfortable and numb
July 12, 2007, 4:42 pm

When are we going to look at the core???? Infidels tremble at the thought of the latest incarnation of religious terrorism but if you look closely at religion in general you will see that the various religions been traveling in circles for thousands of years passing the hat of indiscriminate killing ,terrorism , fear, hate ,prejudice, intolerance and on and on to each other like some hot potato..... am I fucking crazy ?is this not the truth???? why is one way of killing more despiciable then another? Is the end result not the same? And when do we stand up and say enough is enough????don’t tell me about women and children being slaughtered they have always been and apparently always will be the easiest victims to express irrational hatred, so once again forget all the diluted variations..... when are we going to look at the core????? Religion pure and simple....... oops I forgot add a pinch of mankind and then how easily the whole fucking concept RELIGION becomes perverted into what we are living today and tomorrow and yesterday and on and on.........jon

I am only the messenger
July 12, 2007, 12:05 pm

A question for EVERY AMERICAN.........do you know what day it is??????? This site has.... since its inception tirelessly worked for the betterment of the Human condition and Fifty years ago today the ‘Little Rock Nine� did something that would change the shape of America forever......If you are breathing and using up space to live in this country then I suggest if you don’t know what I am talking about get off your ass and learn about this event....Ok for those who want the easy way check out Day to Day on Public Radio Alex Chadwick is doing an excellent series on this event..... You know what Love us hate us you have to admit there is no band in the world more committed to equality and activism with the limited platform we have...... don’t believe me then look back in the journal the words have been sitting their for years and that is a fact all you have to do is grab a few add you own get off your indifferent ass and start writing you own fucking words action and on and on and on or then again lets just keep doing what you want to do................ I aint saying this band knows every day of every important event hell I dont even care what day I was born but we try to learn as much as we can about the events themselves in hopes of learning and helping to perpetuate them.....jon

Sex and the Three Stooges
July 12, 2007, 8:28 am

I Was Switching channels last night and came across Brian Ferry formerly of Roxy Music also a successful solo artist the song was �Slave to Love� live at some event the song is from one of my top ten albums Roxy Music’s “Avalon�...... if you want to get down with your partner enjoying the natural process of indulging in the (you are not guilty for enjoying sexual pleasure ignoring all the “puritanically warped interpretations many religions have put on sex� ) anyway the immensely enjoyable and natural... tasting, touching, licking, penetrating and gyrating to the rhythm while connecting with your mate, Partner, cousin “just kidding� etc experience.....I guess the point is music can set the mood for just about every human situation like right now the perfect theme for the situation that is the Bush Administration would be the Music of the Three Stooges.........jon

kick up the heels....
July 11, 2007, 9:32 am

Jon, that is going to be one rocking gig on the 21st! Hey could you please give me a call-there are some loose ends I have got to put to rest in order to get going.Most specificaly-when will I be coming down-there are alot of resons for me knowing this as I have to put some stuff to rest.I am so excited-this resurgence is going to be amazing!Fans go see this gig-garunteed to be kick-ass....T

Gig comming up
July 10, 2007, 2:09 pm

I am doing a live solo acoustic gig with some other talented artists on July 21st Thats this MONTH!!!!!!! if you want to check out a cool poster for the gig Jon Ryczek put it together and I love jamming with him its on our my space page at myspace.com/shadowscreamers check it out and if you live around here and dont want to miss a great show I promise it is going to put a charge into your mojo .....Jon

Would you like some more pancakes....
July 10, 2007, 8:10 am

'Would you like some more pancakes, pancakes'.-John Candy,SCTV- This administration serves us these fluffy cakes with syrup every friggin' day,via the Shell Game he and Dickey play(as well as all the damn sissy politicians on the hill).It is apparent that there won't be an impeachment as stupid as that is, I just pray that this admin. is held for war crimes.In a world where the adults are screaming accountability all the time,how can we model this to our children with our glaring examples or irresponsibility at the top.Nope no more pancakes for me,(though I love you John Candy and miss your wonderful Spirit!)have not had them for along,long,long time....T ps.get involved with moveon.com

numbers
July 9, 2007, 5:30 pm

We are finally moving foreword to the goals we as a band might one day achieve we are a small part of the movement and truth be told the band is only one aspect of the total concept we and so many others have in mind so if you are one to grab a ticket to live earth or any other event because it will make you seem in tune and eases your conscience then truth be told we don’t give a fuck about you click off and move on...otherwise there is strength in numbers and the numbers are growing...jon

re-evloution
July 9, 2007, 12:01 pm

First thanks to Art Weiss our web guru check “Software Handyman� icon on bottom of our home page he brought us one step closer to putting up video on You-Tube and eventually on this site ( also if you like any pics or tunes on the site better download them now because the site is also going to change very soon) finally as I promised the re- evolution of this band is crawling out of the muck of everyday life and reality that has held us down......SHADOWSCREAMERS ALERT........ To all those self righteous Right to life zealots who have no problem in sitting idly by while the hundreds of thousands of unwanted innocent children across this country are being abused killed and discarded you can certainly celebrate the cesspool of new and current Supreme Court extreme conservatives but I might offer a suggestion...... if you put down you self righteous tunnel vision banner long enough you will see that this is not the only erosion taking place in Amerika this goes for all of us dumb assed AMerikans left, right, poor, rich if you look closely recent court decisions have begun the opaque chipping away of not only civil rights but also the rights of minorities and yes you to ladies across the cuntry you may gain the right to have hundreds of thousands of unwanted children join the ranks of those already suffering without a hint of it bothering you conscience but in the end we all are going to loose if we don’t pay attention. All you have to do is travel to another country to realize how ignorant way to many amerikans are......jon

breath....
July 9, 2007, 10:04 am

I had a friend that had to take a year off from marathon running. In that year he practiced Ashtanga Yoga . When the year was done and he started running again , he told me it was if he never left .What’s more his body had healed from the years of pounding on pavement. Many of my Tai Chi students tell me similar stories . I have recorded here on this forum about a competitive weight lifter that I helped with the YI JIN JING, he gained significantly on his lifts. What do these all have in common? The use of slow controlled breathing . What does this accomplish? As we start to breathe more slowly first and most importantly, our mind slows. This allows for the ,’Crazy Monkey Mind’, that is so prevalent to stop it’s relentless pursuit of our sovereignty of self . We are no longer concerned about dinner, or the argument we might have had yesterday, or the millions of distractions that would keep us from our workout. We are here now , in the most important moment of our life(As it truly is the only one we can live. Yesterday, well is yesterday. Tomorrow is tomorrow. This moment is the very marrow of life). Secondly, as we slow our breath we enter into a different level of consciousness. It is like the thin veil between waking consciousness and sleep, very similar to deep mediation. In this state we have become one with the moment and some would say we have entered the zone. Ever observed an animal when injured or sick(they don’t have to think, they just do),they find a quit place and concentrate on their breathing . We are watching world records being broken with these breathing patterns and subsequent state of consciousness. Thirdly it allows the blood to oxygenate at a much higher frequency. This gives us our endurance and strength. Now it is important to remember that the breathing for the optimum is centered on the Dantien , that point just below your navel and inwards . It is the geo-location of the center of the body, long regarded as the place of our sacred breath by cultures throughout the world. Fill this space on your inhale and allow it to expand. On the exhale allow for the stomach to come in towards the spine . In and out, like the waves on the ocean . Let yourself be breathed by life. By doing so, the intrinsic energy of the universe will also abide and reside and build there(qi, prana, ni, etc…). Lastly the Yogis (not Berra-or maybe lol ) say that the less we breathe the more we live. It is as if we have a limited amount of breaths for this life, why waste it all so quickly ? Why not save that breath for a nice summer day, drinking a pitcher of lemonade on your rocker at 100 years of age(in great health I would add). It is important to remember that there are five qualities of breath; long, slow, deep smooth and even. So what does this have to do with our DVR’S , ISO’S, etc…Everything ! John has done the best job I have ever seen on outlining breathing patterns for not only just the IPR book but all of his books . In doing so and following this workout modality it teaches us way more than moving, ’this bag of bones’ through space . It teaches us in a very subtle way how to comport ourselves as we walk this journey in the cosmos. How does it stack up ? Read the miraculous stories you hear every day. Take a look at Big Jim’s sons and how athletic they are. More importantly let the elixer of life breathe you through these movement and notice the profound and subtle changes, each and every day. jason ps.this was posted on my good friend John Peterson's site please check out his stuff at www.transformetrics.com

do not go back to your regularly scheduled program....
July 8, 2007, 8:50 am

Many people have questioned Al Gore and his integrity in regards to global warming.They will point to the fact that he still lives in a mansion,is getting fatter,and that he is getting wealthy off the crisis.To me none of this matters.It is another way to diffuse the issue.The fact is that many people just don't want to change so they will find everything they can to bring down the messenger.Let me state the obvious to those,'DON'T FOCUS ON THE MESSENGER!DON'T LET YOUR POLITICS GET IN THE WAY!IT IS HAPPENING PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ASLEEP!YOU CONTINUE TO SHIT IN YOUR RIVERS,IN YOUR AIR,IN YOUR OCEANS,AND IN THE EARTH!WHAT DID YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH IS A EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS,INCONVENIENT!!!! You must remember that the facts that Gore shared I was already aware of ,'FROM PERSONAL OBSERVANCES!!!!'We have in Native country what we call the moccasin trail.We hear many things very quickly.We have already heard from our Inigenous brothers and sisters around the world about these facts.Now let me pose a very real scenario for those of you still asleep.You are dead.The year is 2156.Your progeny awake to the 37th day in a row where the experts are telling you not to go outdoors because of the ozone.It is Feb.in Maine and it is 70 degrees out(anyone that knows Maine should know at this time of the year it often gets to be 20 below zero with wind chills).Your progeny is having a flareup of malaria again.Not from having travelled to some exotic place.Malaria came to Maine 10 years ago.Between that and Lyme disease(another flareup)she is wracked by fever.She looks out the bay window and sees the stale greasy air.She is concerned about a friend that has developed some sort of severe toxic reaction from swimming in a lake(which by the way has utrophicated at an alarming rate-used to be a lake,now it is apond like most former lakes in Maine).He is in the hospital and there is very little they can do for him.The planets population has swelled to 11.7 billion people(not based on science-don't put me on the grill sleepers).and your progeny has heard again in the glum news that her neighborhood is being rationed from water today(that means no watering of anything today,barely flush the toilet,'orange like the fruit'is how they want our toilets now.It used to be 'mellow yellow 'in the closing of last century but there are so many toxins in the human body now that urine has taken on an unnatural orange color).For the 47th time she receives a letter in the mail from her congressman.It has as usual a standard reply with no committment.She wonders,'why didn't my grandparents fight for the enviornment?Why did they leave the Earth in such a mess.Is it true what the scientists are saying now about possible extinction?'I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS SCENARIO TODAY AS YOU MUST,MUST,MUST,MUST THINK OF NOT YOUR PETTY WANTS BUT THE'NEEDS'OF YOUR PROGENY!!!!FOR A FUTURE TO BE POSSIBLE I WILL CLOSE WITH WHAT MELISSA SAID IN HER EXCELLANT CONCERT LAST NIGHT AND WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD ON THIS SITE SINCE WE OPENED IT,'WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP,WAKE UP FOR THE LOVE OF THE PLANET AND YOUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN WAKE UP!!!!T

Melissa Ethridge's amazing performance at Live Earth....
July 7, 2007, 6:17 pm

YES MELISSA WE OF SHADOWSCREAMERS ARE AWAKE AND HAVE BEEN FOR A VERY LONG TIME AS SEEN BY OUR COPIOUS JOURNAL ENTRIES WE HAVE SHARED FOR YEARS WITH THE WORLD(many talking about global warming and the apathy that allows such and unjust wars and robbing of civil liberties) !!!I refer to Melissa Ethridge's stellar performance at Live Earth. She was so incredibly poweful everyone else paled to insignifigance! I am really glad to have taken part and heard such an amazing performance. Thank you Melissa !!!! T

ideas....
July 7, 2007, 12:53 pm

Jon , just thought of something whenyou are changing the site. For years and years we have been writing about the enviornment and the damage being done to it. Is there a way that we can create a 'Green'section reserved for that writing or statements and more importantly tips that can happen every dayin your life right now. Again we have been listing this off forever but you have to weed through tons of journal entries. Another thing,in our links section which we have always wanted to change we can have links for all aspects of humanity and the enviornment ,for the betterment of the world. Still would also like to do an Elder speak section to. Exciting stuff , just watched the Red Hot's at Live Earth- man we should be there. If they do again next year let us get there!!!! T

end result
July 7, 2007, 9:06 am

Just a quick note things are setting up for your move down T all ok on this end concerning those involved so we need to jump on it and ride this train like there is no tomorrow critics say Lots at steak here and what can you accomplish? and I ask what is their left to loose...... our minds...... spirit......purpose...essence ? Anyway I am going into the jam room to finish re-working the melody to “Only Human� by the way it’s a free download just check the downloads page to those checking out the site who haven’t heard the song its in demo form but I promise you the end result is gonna get ya.....luv jon

'Standing on the edge of the Nile'....
July 7, 2007, 8:46 am

On this day when one fifth of the world is celebrating our Earth ,and meditating on meaningful change I feel it important we send this message out. Yesterday I started with a Discussion of a possible modern Mantra , ‘Standing on the edge of the Nile ‘. Today let us see if we can understand this Mantra a little more clearly. Humankind has always considered water as Sacred . We become born again within the body of Christ when we are baptized . In India , Hindu’s make their way to the Sacred Ganges to purify in her waters. In Native tradition we stand in rivers at times to allow the noxiuos energy we have collected wash out. In our sweat lodge we use the sacred water to send steam mingled with our prayers up to the Creator . When we come out of the sweatlodge from the womb of mother earth we are reborn again onto a new day. In selecting for the Mantra,’The Nile’, it is an understanding that all sisters and brothers were born of Mother Africa . The water that is the Nile is very much like ourselves . A drop of water on the edge of the Nile cannot proclaim it is different or other than the Nile , it simply is. What’s more,all the waters as you know will wend their way down to the sea. Again no seperation, we are all part of this collective sense. Now we might have a sense of variation, like the endless variation of waves that crash upon the shore, but the wave do not stand and say, ’hey look at me, aren’t I something’, they simply are. Standing is a noun and I shall use it in an active sense . It implies movement or in our case today choice. We can stand on an edge and simply survey the beauty. We can run back from the edge in fear, or we can plunge into the waters to feel the interconnectedness of the healing waters. We stand at a critical juncture in Earth’s history. We can no longer afford apathy . Apathy contrary to popular belief is actually quite active. It allows for the fertile soil of anger, hatred, hostility, and avarice. It also allows for the continued destruction of the planet by the conscious tool of choice. For instance if I watch the concerts around the Globe today yet still use my styrofoam cup , drive my Hummer to my friends way across town and buy stock in companies that I know will hurt the environment then in my apathy tomorrow when I AM HUNGOVER,GOOD MUSIC STILL LINGERING IN MY MIND,I HAVE BY MY LIFE LED VERY CONSCIOUS AND ACTIVE CHOICES THAT DESTROY THE ENVIORNMENT. I SAY THIS AS SO MANY WILL STATE,’ Hey I am not hurting anything , or anyone I just choose not to get involved. The same can be said of violence and warfare. Currently we have as usual warfare around the globe and another genocide. Do you not feel as you lay your head down at night the screams of the children, women, and men of Darfur?’The pain of One is the pain of All’, teaches the Native proverb. Our collective unconsciousness is like a vast tentacle that picks up these messages and creates a milieu of fear and, ’man something is wrong’, can’t you feel it ? Can’t you see it ? When was the last time you had a peaceful ride without being flipped off or people right up on your bumper or swerving in front of you? This is a tangible expression of where we currently are collectively. We hurtle through space at a faster and faster velocity because we want to distance ourselves from ourselves and the collective pain that we feel around the world through violence, war, and environmental damage. God forbide anyone slows us,’we might just have to think�. There is an answer my sisters and brothers. It is to come to the edge of the Nile. Here we hold hands sister and brother, every race, culture, religion, nationality and creed. We become the deeper sense of the Medicine Wheel and the Tibetan Tanka ,and that is these colors inherent within and that represent all come together in the Creators eyes. We all wend down to the sea.It is part of this life, to return. How would you face your Creator? As a child of apathy, helping to spread the fecund soil of hatred and abuse to all and everything on the planet? Would you come as a overt abuser, feeling that I am owed what I see and I shall take it ?Or would you be one, who in looking back truly lived,’On Earth as it is In Heavan�. If we have lived such a life, we have truly come to the Nile and as is with her healing waters been a light onto the world filled with compassion, right action, right livlihood and most importantly One of Love. Look at your childs beautiful face . Look deeply into her/his eyes. Can you see the fear , the hatred, the apathy that could possibly manifest if we don’t change? Can you see beyond that ? Can you see the light that still resides,the healing waters of the Nile that would talk , interconnection as opposed to seperation? Learn from this , let them be your guide. To be childlike again is to’TRULY FEEL THE PAIN OF OTHERS AND CELEBRATE THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS’.So when we hear that the Artic ponds are drying up we don’t get lost in apathy(remember this a powerful active force)we study research and respond. Not merely by sending money, but by making positive and meaningful choices that will have benefits for our children’s children. When we see war we will stand and march and write letters and not tolerate lies and deceit. You know I have some friends that tell me that the last two elections were stolen. I always say, ’IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO STEAL , YOUR STATEMENT STILL DOES NOT LET ANY OF US OFF THE HOOK�. All of us each and every day stand on the edge of the Nile. We are all sisters and brothers on this planet, including four-leggeds, two-leggeds, flyers, swimmers, insects, minerals, Mother Earth, wind, rain and the sun-all related. Let us go the distant mile to reclaim the truth of what are lives are about and how this universe moves. In all the chaos and seeming disharmony, there is harmony. There are gentle waves of LOVE that permeate the cosmos. Let us join in with this gentle strain with our modern Mantra, ‘Standing on the edge of the Nile’. Love, T Ps. The collective unconscious also of course registers all the good work that we share and do. Today can’t you just feel the positive energy?

A nice bedtime lullaby
July 6, 2007, 8:06 pm

Just read the Headlines on MSNs web page........ Is Amerika ready for a black President?????? Why do we still give a fuck about weather the person is black , white, yellow, pink, male or female????? we can only strive and we apparently aren’t their yet to elect the person who is most qualified for the job I mean look a Junior Bush can anyone actually say he was the most qualified????? Sure he was a white rich boy from a plastic family spewing the Amerikan dream and pretending he could keep anyone safe ??????? maybe its time to drop the black, white, woman, man, rich, poor , etc. bullshit and just elect the human being who carries the sprit and vision that we so obviously lack at this point in our self-appreciating yet disintegrating lullaby of a dream pushing the superiority of the human race. Look around the dike is beginning to crack and it is showing signs of our ignorance, intolerance, superiority and if it breaks your fluffy little dream will become your worst nightmare.......jon

Ozzie eats Who??????
July 6, 2007, 3:49 pm

Hey T break out the old Screamers Cds and start listening to the stuff....and then jam along to get the chord structures slamming back into the mind. I will put some cheat sheets together and send them to ya but in the meantime you can re-acquaint yourself with the chord changes.... we both know the shit aint going to sound the same but we will keep the chords... Im thinking we neeed a sound somewhere between a Britny Spears spreads her legs with Paris Hilton while they fuck the White Stripes meets Ozzie and his Ozz-fest for some new tatoos.... splash in a dash of pixie dust and a pinch of devil worship and we dun got our sound what do you think!!!!!!!jno.....P.S. Ozzie I Love!!!!!! The new tune you are the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mushed....
July 6, 2007, 2:44 pm

Jon, can Art also break the journal into paragraphs,etc...I know when i write it is at least divided for easier reading but then gets mushed together once you enter it in.Hey also wondered if you had a chance to e-mail Gore yet-it is open-just can't send away e-mails until they figure whats wrong with my server.got a great start on a new tune today!....T

I aint shitin ya we is a gonna be re-born
July 6, 2007, 2:34 pm

THINGS TO CHANGE ON THE SITE...... 1.) Get ride of the Forum page.... 2.) The Feedback page is not working perhaps get rid of it but we did get some comments along with the assholes who spammed me..... 3.) Get rid of Events page it is way outdated!!!!!!! And maybe replace it with an “up and coming show icon or box� to advertise new gigs like the one I am playing July 21st.... 4) Get rid of Downloads page we are offering way too much music but keep song of the week and only rotate the best four or five songs we have to offer........ 5.) Add a new “song icon or box� where we can put up new versions of songs one at a time much like “song of the week� or maybe combine the two but be able to put up the new stuff as we record it..... 6.) Keep Fan comments as is but add a disclaimer that we had to add the scrambled letters to stop the spamming on the journal....... 7.) Get rid of all pics and the bio for the band maybe put if they want more info and pics of the band they have to give us their e-mail........ 8.) Keep the Band Journal just as it is....... 9.) On the home page take all the Shadow Gear and pics off the home page and set up its own page I need to look onto business cards, a limited number of T- Shirts and Stickers to have ready when we play out either sell them or give a few away at the gigs........ 10.) Instead of the Radio Station have a song playing as you log onto the site much like my-space don’t know if it is possible but it would help us in the long run just think.....as fans are checking out the site we can jam the music into their brains........ 11.) Change the phrase on top of the home page to THE RESURECTION OF SHADOWSCREAMERS.........noj

standing on the edge of the Nile....
July 6, 2007, 8:16 am

'The pain of one is the pain of all'-Native proverb. We are all standing on the edge of the Nile . Each and everyone of us on planet Earth. It is beside her or near her(relatively speaking) that we evolved into what we are today . Some went south, some went north. Some spread to the distant reaches of the globe in a collective exploration that has enriched us all. Now,however we are in trouble. We have become to book smart and analytical , while simutaneously throwing out the subconscious mind. In doing so we have become seperate,apart,different,better than,savages of death to all brothers and sisters on Earth(insects,flyers,swimmers,four-leggeds,two leggeds). In throwing out the intuitive we no longer hold the entire,'wholeness' of who and what we are. Physists are finding that we are intricately related to the stardust that was around with the creation of the universe. The very dust we kick up is the same walked by Jesus. The air we breathe is the same that dinosaurs breathed. The ancient traditions understood this,weather you are talking of Indigenous thought or Taoist thought they understood far more than anyone could possibly imagine.This is now being verified daily through mans myopic len called science(keep in mind I am not adverse to science.the problem i have is the Descartian split which seperated the western mind.Science and the intuitive no longer had a place at the same table.In indigenous thought and Taoist thought the split never occured.How could they,they would argue-are they not two sides of the same coin.In many regards our scrathing on the dust of the surface(science)has not given the relative insight that our intuitive mind has given us.Even in science,how many revelations were revealed when the rational mind was put to sleep and the unconscious found the information already stored in the collective unconscious?).We divided ourselves,weather it became a matter of pheremones early,early in our history when we were all together gathered at the Nile(in again a relative sense-please understand this is an alagorical statement-i understand pretty well the scratchers findings thus far),or one pack was starving and another wasn't and a enmenity was developed. As we spread,our warlike nature followed.We then became smarter,supposedly more rational.This did not seem to help in one important regard,it helped reinforce our hatred from one group to another,'they are this...they are that....'.All the while not realizing that we are all stardust and each of us'standing on the edge of the Nile'.Now if our purpose has been to destroy the planet and each other with all the rest of living nature(brothers and sisters),we are doing a pretty kick ass job.Somehow i hear a'lil ole Texan sayin right now,'all right'.Any animal stupid enough to destroy it's habitat and each other is destined at some point for extinction.It has to,how could it not? We continue to pollute the waters,the air,the soil,our minds,meanwhile fighting everyone that has some small difference in thought, then quite simply we are doomed.Fortunately there are still people on this globe and all over the globe that still keep the rational/intuitive together without split.There are still people that remember the(what i hope becomes a global mantra)"We are all standing on the edge of the Nile".These people will and have responded to global threats,like for instance our current U.S president.We hear dialy of the worlds disdain.Just remember brothers and sisters that happen to live elswhere than what is called U.S.A(i don't even belive in that-as a mantra sayer of,"standing on the edge of the Nile",i believe in the planet earth-NO SEPERATION BY NATIONALITY),we do not believe or trust anything this administartion says or does.They are as i have mentioned several times,the 'MASTERS OF THE SHELL GAME',but are so stupid and incompetant(and arrogant i might add)that they assumed everyone would just continue to follow like zombies-which to be entirely accurate many americans have been during this admin. or else there would be every american outside the white house right now asking for impeachment('Laura is that some kinda Georgia peach.MMMM,I Like peaches'.).Now let us take on the thorny issue of completly understanding this MANTRA of the planet earth(we are all standing on the edge of the Nile-or simply Standing on the edge of the Nile),but that i am afraid will have to wait until tomorrow. love,T....

THE RESURGENCE OF SHADOWSCREAMERS!!!!!!
July 5, 2007, 12:28 pm

T and I are beginning to work out the logistics of his coming Down to Florida for a few months to begin working on THE RESURGANCE OF SHADOWSCREAMERS and our vision. As with any major move leaving family behind and short on money it will be difficult but with the proper planning and hours of rehearsal and performing it will not take us long to put up some new music across the web and build a buzz around South Florida and beyond. What we have to offer is unique in the industry because we will be delving into so many different levels from music to sp0oken word, original video, readings of poetry with instrumental background and as always Social Activism don’t forget the hilarious concept for The Snap Snap show, ( to find out more just type in “snap snap� in the search box at the top of the band comments to get some samples) I also want to document the process we will be living thru and thus we will put up live and recorded video on the band site and You-Tube. Our new and old fans can look foreword “finally� to new music and creative input other then the band journal. This will begin to take place in mid August and form then on look out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AS Jason and I were talking about the old days we realized that we were on of the first bands to organize and( long before MTV started doing it) enlist young people to register to vote with a series of free concerts at colleges around and in L. A. back in 1989, We also put on concerts to benefit the homeless along with volunteering serving food in the shelters, we are proud to have also had a part in expanding the awerness of a young Green Party. Sure we are proud of these accomplishments but that was only a small beginning now it is time to FINNISH THE JOB......... Join us and be a part of this Resurgence any ideas and comments are always welcome in the Fan Journal keep tuning in for updates........jon

from the other bass player....
July 4, 2007, 1:23 pm

p.s loved your bass work....T

Hi....
July 4, 2007, 1:22 pm

Hey Daniel, Jon and I come from Native heritage as you know,and unlike popular myths,we are not stoic and keep to ourselves.I have had a long,long spiritual path,littered with reading from an enormous amount of sources. I don't think you will have to worry about the cult stuff because as you read you will see what resonates and what doesn't.You have probably seen by my writings on the site(T) that I have a very positive outlook on life. This is not some pretty'oh-la-de-da'new age package. I think I was natuarlly born that way,but at the same time have had many tragedies and near death experiences.For me,every waking moment,every ray of slanting sun points beyond this frail ego to something infinately more divine and loving. At times when I have felt lost on this wonderfull path,it has been a sidestep,until I found the trail again(everyones is different).I wish you Godspead and love. To me it is a miracle we are even here at all!....T(jason).

fuck the fourth
July 3, 2007, 11:23 pm

So what does this fucking insidious U.S. government do to further hold the Lakota Tribe and Native Americans in general ( by the way just because there are a few Native American gambling casinos don’t mean everyone is livin the good life) down in Nebraska and across this kuntry??? The Lakota tribe has 85 percent unemployment with a life expectancy almost half of the white mans and were forced to live upon the most barren land with no way of support but oddly enough were given the right to grow crops from an 1800s treaty to help sustain their livelihood??? Well they look at their limited options and Decided to grow industrial hemp which has 1 percent of the THC of pot it seems pot has 20% THC content therefore industrial hemp is not a useable narcotic??? Seems the fuck head government has decide to wage war against this tribe???? aint it fucking funny you can buy weed anywhere in America with no problem and it pours into our country faster then we can smoke it but you guessed it the DEA busted this tribe four times ripping up their livelihood and pressing charges???? I wonder how much coke was smuggled into the kuntry while these boys was a rippin up them worthless pot plants??? By the way Canada, Britain, China etc all export industrial hemp to this fucking kuntry........ if you want to learn more check out “Standing silent Nation� on pbs.org and look for yourself.....I say fuck the god dam fourth of July until every person in this country has a roof over their head, medical care, and has a fair chance to be part of this dream that little rich boys like Bush jam down your fucking throats...... what is even more amazing is that so many of you idiots actually believe the dream hype.......jon

I aint going that easy
July 3, 2007, 4:10 pm

Hey T I will call tomorrow grabbing a moment so.....Religion????? Born again Christians build a museum putting the dinosaurs with humans????? I heard someone on Family focus today actually say that there were dinosaurs on the arc with Noah??? T-Rex must have been well fed.... Meanwhile Male Muslims blow themselves up for eternal life and dozens of virgins in Heaven???? But what do the Muslim women get who strap a bomb to their ass and spread their body parts around????? Do they become the virgins who satisfy the males????? Talk about bad karma...Papa Pope keeps on preaching his shit but he sure as hell don’t want to face the facts hey Killers??????.... and on and on...... this human race is apparently to weak to stand alone and to greedy and self absorbed to universally accept the concept of religion...... so this is where we sit...... Hate me????? I personally don’t give a fuck I been dead for fifty years I’m just waiting for my ticket out but I ain’t going easy........Jon

Shedding skin
July 3, 2007, 2:09 pm

I was just listening to “Focus on the Family� the Christian (Born Again) program which intentionally mixes religious views with a keen interest in manipulating politics???? Something the Constitution strictly separates???? yet they seem to think that because they are the true religion???? They...... much like Bush and his administration ignore (Hey Scooter Libby looks like your lame ass just got a get out of jail free card you fucking spineless yuppie..can you say lick bushes ass for the rest of you life you little fucking wimp????)...... How can you be Born again anyway????? The correct terminology is re-programmed you are born once you have one mind one life if you feel the need and cant cope any other way you are free to choose to be born again in a (figuratively) it is your choice but the truth is at best you are just shedding skin my friend.........Jon

PSYCHED!!!!
July 3, 2007, 8:42 am

Jon could you please call me today. Thank you. Love,T....

Back
July 2, 2007, 12:06 pm

Hey!! back from Southern California and ready to take this to the next level. I will be talking to Art the web man about revamping the site and Jason ( sorry to hear about the infection bad luck seems like a leech on your back but that is going to change bro) is heading down to Florida in August so we can finally get things together I have already lined up a couple of venues for us to play and It wont take long to add a drummer or percussion. Things are going to move foreword from here on as I have promised before so stay tuned to the site. Hope everyone is having a great summer...... I was blessed to visit So Cal and one of my closest friends and his family my heart breathes freely there and in the end I will end up living their and when my time is done my kids will scatter my ashes just offshore from the Wedge the best body surfing spot on the planet may be illegal but hey its better then a fuc--ing oil slick right Bushie... look for more commentary because the mind that lives life has no choice but to let the experiences regurgitate and ferment into words and memories ........jon

&%$#@#$# E-MAIL
July 2, 2007, 7:54 am

Jon ,just had a very frustrating thing happen. Our stupid e-mail account will not let me send out. This is after writing a very eloquent letter to Al Gore in regards to our band playing in next years Green concerts if they have them. I articulated that we helped establish the Green Party in California , our work for the homeless and our tireless efforts to advocate for change in the inequality that is pervasive in America particularly under the bush admin. I also mentioned that we are Traditional Bear Clan members and we bring awareness to the plight of our people. So all this was said and my &*(&*&% e-mail is not working. Any chance you could send something? the address is goreonmsn@hotmail.com(this has been published on msn.com-'questions for Gore').thanks bro-hope y'all had a great trip....T

LOVE....
July 2, 2007, 7:20 am

SOUNDTRIBE!!!!WAY COOL SOUND!!!! MANY IDEAS BREWING FOR OUR RETURN !!!!can't wait for your return Jon....T ps.Sountribe is a jam band i think from Atlanta Georgia?

WOW !!!!
July 1, 2007, 9:45 am

callme a friggin' moron(that's okay-don't mind bein' the fool)but i had not paid attention to youtube until my sone turned me on.three people you MUST see(just do a search with thier names)Johnny Winter,Robin Trower,and Frank Marino of Mahogony Rush;DAMN !!!! THESE FELLAS COULD NOT ONLY PLAY IN THE DAY BUT ARE STILL WAILING' BETTER THAN ANY OF THE CRAP THAT IS OUT THERE!!!!It irks me that the uninformed will latch onto mediocre talent like john meyer and the Rick James ripoff-Prince! The fellas I mentioned could blow away these punks with thier amps on standby!!!!I think it interesting for our perspective that Trower plays the strat with Marshall stacks and Marino play on arguably the fastest neck in guitars the Gibson SG. i AM SO EXCITED AND ENERGIZED BY WATCHING FOOTAGE OF THESE GREATS-man they are the best and you owe it to yourself to go and buy concert dvd's and cd's of them....T

WARNING!!!!
June 30, 2007, 8:28 am

so i took a friend to a hospital.he caught me coming out of my garden where i was mulching. i had shorts on and dropped everything to take him to a hospital. being a friggin' moron i didn't change into pants and also had an abrasion on my inner thigh near the major artery that runs down your leg. by tues.and wed.night i was hallucinating with fever. after going to the dr. they put me on heavy anti's. now this could have all been avoided if i had just half a brain,so i warn you,all our greater family out there. if you go to a hospital,particularly an emergency room wear;long pants,socks and shoes,long sleeved shirts. i have a nasty staff infection that went internal,i would hate for anyone here(or anyone) to suffer the same fate.here it is Sat. and i can stilljust barely get up and get my old ass movin'.it will never cease to amaze me that we have the best medical technology in the world but our emergency rooms are filled with germ warfare. this isn't the 1800's people,isn't it friggin 2007?maybe they should give us whole body sized condoms to enter hospitals in America. meanwhile i stillawait Jon's return to see if we are gonna get this party started or what?PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUR BELOVED FANS....T

sorry....
June 29, 2007, 10:52 am

been battling a horrible staff infection that went internal-high fevers etc.be back soon,don't know when Jon comes back?

music....
June 25, 2007, 6:21 am

the candle is lit, where to illuminate? T

anyone home?
June 22, 2007, 3:17 pm

Jon, you around?....T

pissing somwhere,could anyone hear?....
June 21, 2007, 6:56 am

it is not so bad to be an outsider. it is a long and venerable tradition. Crazy Horse among an entire group of people that were individualistic was known as strange. he would leave for days into the hills, many times not eating,especially if there was little to eat. he was the best sense of leader,when food was scarce; women,children and the the elderly and infirm would eat. many times he would not allow himself food if it didn't go around. Han Shan the great poet in China wrote his poetry in nature. Oftentimes he would write it on cave walls and bark and just leave it.lucky for us, someone gathered it. he would stand on a high cliff looking down at the monks at a monastery and laugh at them.when he went into their kithcen he was considered daft,or stupid,they would hear his uproarious laughter throughout the monastery walls.the most free i ever felt in this life was wondering for two and a half years,everything i owned in a backpack.sleeping under the stars,thumb in the air to get somewhere,playing harmonica to the mountain winds in Idaho,composing poetry to sing to the craggy sandstone in monument valley as sweat poured down my back and i saw bones around me on the lonely highway.at times i didn't know if i would ever get out.but where was out there,where was here?where was going,where was coming?did it really matter?this is freedom.this is to be a crazy poet in the culture of the machine.glazed eyes(saw alot of them)distended bellies(not from starvation)what kind of strange starvation was this i pondered.somewhere deep from within,'the spirit,starvation of the spirit'.'ahh',says i as i accidently kick a cattle skull,while i turn around from pissing in the desert somewhere on Rt.10 in Arizona....T

strange and beautiful....
June 20, 2007, 7:16 am

what is it that holds us? what is that binds us so tightly we feel as if it is hard to come up for air? we live our lives in a culture that stresses the ,'dis-connect'. given such we go about our lives almost unconsciously, like a dream without,'high resolution'. dreamers are fading, why would'nt they in a culture that does not value the dream ? we have a choice to make each and every day. do we reside in the machine, or do we open the doors of perception and step into stillness. without this we are as Bo Lozoff says,'just doing time'. in this sense we are no different from prisoners,the difference is that this sentence is self imposed. i am known as a happy spirit. i try to allow this freedom to permeate my experience,yet it is amazing how many are threatened by this. it is almost like the fat merchant, rich as King Solomon that everyone gleefully celebrates when they fall down. people want to bring you down to the baseline,the pitiful morose way that we have trained our children and adults to view the world.to stand on the edge of this abyss is,well to stand on the edge. like the crazy Shaman,or perhaps crazy poet like Han Shan you give up something you finally realize you really don't miss. why should you? to be,'normal',to be listless and boring in mind and spirit? you have a choice each and every day. though you shall stand on the periphery,you realize the outside edge is what is important all along.through the years you realize the stillness that is and does permeate this vast universe we live. realizing such,strange and beautiful journeys await you....To the mind that is still,the whole univers surrenders-Lao Tzu-....T

was
June 19, 2007, 6:33 pm

The way that it was...... aint the way that it is.....we used to reach for the sky... now we stand next to near...I hear the voice but I cant stand near the fall as the words just keep on falling while blowing leaves turn brown as they disappear.... and I am no longer jaded by the life that I fear.... the life that I fear.... we are all one.. yet we are close to no-one each of us grasping for clues that hold shallow keys that lead to the way that it was....jon

fuck off mainstream amerika
June 19, 2007, 5:34 pm

Who were you to judge the shades with no concept of color..... Reveling in your inept revelations spawned by your self righteous indignation...... sucking on pieces of the fabricated puzzle as they are force fed into your lazy mind..... like babies sucking on bottles to feed the empty hole inside..... tell me who are you...... its all the same we all live in an empty world full of bullshit intentions and solutions reaching no farther then seving our own needs........... fuck the rest right? Honesty don’t mean shit on these mean streets I aint talking no back street ghetto I’m talking mainstream amerika.;..njo

between
June 18, 2007, 3:39 pm

I have the disease....... I sometimes relish in crawling just underneath its slimy skin..... False pretense and fabrication distract those who raise eyebrows at the spectacle of self destruction..... me as a one time member of Shadow Screamers at times portrays.......is this site a mirror into true insanity’s reflection or do the words fall empty into your mind?????after all in the end the vision is only as shallow or as deep as you take the time to read........... between the lines....

I plead the fifth
June 17, 2007, 1:18 pm

Hypothetically speaking if you have some dry payote you want to break off a piece and tuck it next to your gums much like the skoal dippers do with chew...... let your saliva bring it back to its moist juicy form kind of like a wet pussy you are licking that swells with anticipation and leads to the promised land!!!!!!!!! an orgasm ....you know back when passion was something that was spontaneous with you partner...don’t get me wrong you aren’t going to have a orgasm chewing peyote just a little step aside from the day to day .........hypothetically speaking of course.......jon

what????
June 16, 2007, 2:47 pm

Don’t know why or how but as I was waiting outside a sneaker store in Camden Town near London while my family was shopping in the store... I saw mushrooms in a display outside the head shop next door?????..... This was my chance if they were the real deal to make it quick..... Before the family finds out... as I was buying them the sales dude mentioned that the peyote was even better!!!!!! What the hell I said just make it quick so I can hide it in my pockets. The rest is history or reality but only if you chew the stems.........ever try driving on the wrong side of the road while traveling in a dream...... living in Alice’s world?????true of couse not I live the dream.......jon

am I a lemming??? are you
June 16, 2007, 11:32 am

I keep stumbling not quiet falling but catching a whiff of the moist earth as I catch myself before facial impact...... all implications are pointing to a fool who can’t see reality????? Why keep wasting precious time????? Move on!!!!!!........ these words that pick apart the cocoon that defines my inherent course thru this empty land I can no more change direction then the hapless lemmings following instinct and genetic impulse to an untimely end as if all the while it is set in stone.... will I eventually succumb to the rocky cliffs or will I be spared buy recognition and validation............jon

much ta do bout nothing.......
June 15, 2007, 12:20 pm

I no longer want to live inside..... Don’t want to be herded by the Shepard’s that be to where the sheep go to die a slow. Shallow. Inept life...... screaming missiles of discontent rain down on my head like a hail storm in Texas... in July. Am I really that fucking far off course???? Travel here... travel there... I’ve learned we all hold the same questions and needs and inherent kindness... there is only one human plane.... look down own those with less then you and implode on total self absorption... look eye to eye as a equal and absorb the unattained potential of this over hyped superior species....... we are told it is our right to assume the throne of intelligence and domination but lately I am seeing much to do about nothing.....jon

give me a ring....
June 15, 2007, 7:35 am

Jon, i am in my office today and will be gone all weekend,so if you want to get in touch with me?alot to talk about....T

brain
June 14, 2007, 4:33 pm

I will be the distant warrior.... I will whisper in your ear ......I will put the shattered pieces back inside the mind you fear.... hollow is the distant dawning ringing true the bells of fear...... looking at the shallow garden... what is the way seems so unclear.....voices swirl like muddy darkness... lost in the voices you won’t hear.... so you are left to just sit idol with what you have lost inside your fear........njo

Hey T great stuff someday they will get it en mass...
June 14, 2007, 3:13 pm

Just when I think I'm seeing clearly turns out I am blinder then before....... projecting false interpretations of who I just cant be......... seems its human nature that gladly feeds the image that is so removed form who we really are...... reflection focuses on the truth......... false projection is the myth....as the knife cuts thru the false satin image it exposes all your mind was lead to live but inside you never believed......jon

POST....
June 14, 2007, 8:23 am

we share a collective wound. this is the one that atsrted when we attacked Iraq. now this is in this generation,the unprovoked wars in the past add another demension to our pain.How do we heal from this?we certainly don't by having our thumbs up our asses in apathy as we have had.the only way is to show the world that we are peaceful.other than that,how would they know?to not hear in a huge collective way,how does the world know we care?right now we know the world thinks we are spoiled rotten brats that need their cheetos and cell phones,and an avalanch of material possessions.how would they know anything else when they turn on the tube and see us represented or picking up a paper.lookwe have taken a gamble on this site and suffered,both politicaly and personaly,and i would add professionaly-though that shit is gonna change real quick.i am offering folks to go on the fan journal and express your concerns about this collective wound.get busy and get active.we have given many,many sites for action-hope people are doing it(getting busy).start posting people-no need to fear-the gov. doesn't check in with us anymore as the mountain of johnny come lately dissenters have come out. so let us heal by speaking....T

when we die 3....
June 13, 2007, 11:48 am

so let us go into this pain just a little. Oftentimes it can be frightening. to think consciously of going there is so hard, yet so rewarding. oftentimes when i am teaching Qigong or Taichi we will talk about the concept of,'Song' or to relax with awareness. we know to practice the form we cannot be a jellyfish, our relaxation has to be more active. so the slight pulling at the top of the head(baihai) and the gentle tug on the base of the spine helps to keep this in focus. we know this is the optimum posture to receive the Qi from the heavens and the earth. so when we examine our pain we have this awareness of posture and then,let us suppose our chronic tension has held our shoulder stiffly or neck.we can then practice our breathing(Dan Tien-or bellybreathing)on the exhale we let go.so inhale awareness to the area,exhale relax and let go of that tension.this can be applied to psychological and existential pain. the important thing is to understand what your view of this thing called life is.if my view is that we live in an interpenetrating,interconnected universe created by a Creator,then I can understand that as this Mother hurtles through space,i too am on a journey.so think about the inspiration,the faith that you have in this living alive vastness we are part of.in this sense we can examine deeply our pain and realize the pain of the one is the pain of the all,the glory of one is the glory of all.we see that perhaps it is states of mind that have stuck us.perhaps it is a chronic state perpetrated by an abusive parent or stifling condition.when we see the condition,we see the root of our pain.we see that not all in the universe operates this way.we see that perhaps i can break the shackle of this distant pain(or not so distant),perhaps it can be let go.let go so that the life force is left unimpeded and we can flow again. thats what it's about isn't it?flow? we travers vast distances everyday across space,even when sitting on a chair. how do we flow?how do we relax enough so that our pain examined can become the ripe compost for tomorrows lusch garden?....T

to die a little2....
June 12, 2007, 8:04 am

we are all wounded. we can't in actuality not be in a world where one imperfection is woven into the proverbial Navejo rug. in essence it is this imperfection that is the shinning beauty and accomplishment of the material and spiritual world.without such,how could we acertain beauty,hatred,love,positive,negative?the duality must be defined so we can reach our spiritual hands into imperfection and hold dearly the striving for perfection.this perfection,this beauty is not to be attained.in fact by practicing wuwi we can start to see through the imperfection to the beauty of the strands.just a peek.just occasionaly.this holds us through our lying,cheating,pontificating,when we know we are half false and we will never truly reach perfection(not relative,but true,whatever that may be,i am way to stupid to define this).so we see our wounds and we watch the raiku heart develop.the cracks,the cauterizations,the breaks,the gaps.how to see the beauty?our wounds are our teachers,much as our love of tranquil moments in meditation beyond self.in looking deeply at our wounds we start to see a world that can't possibly be what our projections and hopes would be for it.that would be striving.we see this striving every day and we see the subsequent frustration by it;'i am not enough..if only i...i wish i had..',on and on.the open,wounded heart of love,sees beyond the pain and the glory.it sees that in this miniscule time we have on this mother hurtling through space that the journey is the journey.time has no signifigance as contradictory as this sounds.this moment of understanding happens in the wink of an eye and lasts and is eternity....T

when we die a little....
June 11, 2007, 6:59 pm

a government that talks of peace is a government that is oftentimes ready to pick a fight.it is always in the rhetoric,'one last enemy to vanquish to attain peace'.they treat peace like a commodity,one to be bought and sold,bartered and faught for.peace is a way.it is non-negotiable,it simply is.as such its state is one of openness of the heart and receptivity.a peaceful heart listens and keeps the channels open and walks humbly on the earth,'with the head slightly bowed',as the Zen monks say.there is no enemy to vanquish.there is no war to win.in fact winning a war is a contradiction,as war pits one against the other.a peaceful heart knows better.a peaceful heart sees that there is no you,me,enemy,good guy,just travelers searching for the deeper meaning of this state of heart....T

the enemy is at the door....
June 10, 2007, 5:42 pm

to speak of love is to miss the point.we all pontificate and try to express our experience of such a powerful,'life force' into words,but alas it is like trying to hold back the ocean with a toothpick.everything in symbol pales in comparison.all we can do is to try and open the spirit and to be layed open on the slaughterhouse floor as the Sufi's say.indeed it is an annihilation.the self and all the presupposed points of realitive compass are gone.there is no rudder on this vast ocean.we are slaughtered into something infinate.to give this mortal coil 'it's soul food' we must first give it up and all notions,thoughts,or ideas.for thousands of years the greatest minds have pondered this force only to shake their heads smiling as the fragrance of flowers and warm spring days lights the fire within.yes,love.YES,LOVE.OH TO LOVE,TO LOVE.it is the greatest surrender we shall ever know....T

to speak or remain silent....
June 10, 2007, 6:19 am

you can expect some big things this summer.as you can tell we are not afraid to speak.just wait until you hear the music to back this up.we were shut down countless times when noone was speaking out against this gov.yet we persisted.we were taught at a young age to,'speak out,even when your voice shakes'....T

tune in,and drop in.yes,yes,that is it....
June 9, 2007, 12:12 pm

maybe, just maybe this story articulates accurately the loss of majic, juxtaposed agaist the nuclear/industrial/post modern man.'The Last Unicorn',indeed teaches us to honor and hold dear those visions we had as child.i have said it before on this site,but it is definately worth stating again that the Taoists believe that once you are 9 years old the third eye closes.the practice of the Taoist arts is really to try and re-establish,'natural man' or in this case childlike wonderment.indeed the greatest masters i have studied with all had this sense of the third eye being wide open to receive the message of the beautiful universe we live.so if i draw a Dapeng,or unicorn,or thunderbeing and am tod that i am 'off task'(i pride myself in this by the way-who are you to tell me what my task is,and what realitive standard or measure do you choose to rate this so-called task?).awhile back you heard me say that every child in america should get up from their desks right now,before it is to late!this is what i am referring to.it is not that education is inherently bad,it is the modality and life blood you give it that makes the difference.if my goal with the dept.of ed. is to design a system for thoughtless,questionless,automatons-well you are acheiving your goal.and as sarcasticaly put the other day-i believe this is your goal.who wants pesky thinkers about anyway?who wants dreamers and artists and poets,hell,they just muddle things up.keeps me from my cheetos,the remote and the constant lies that bombard the rays emenating from the box that has and is capturing your soul....T

i knew you were the last....
June 8, 2007, 10:34 am

so in line with yesterdays thought, what of our dreamers? what of the young child emmersed in fantasy as the math teacher drones on and on?what of the art project by the dreamer that is not quite what the teacher had in mind and the child is failed,crushing the independance of the free-flowing imagination(not arguing that technique shouldn't be taught,so art teachers please don't think i am going there).i am talking about the purity of dream,vision,that narrow world between sleep and waking consciousness. i tell you that a culture without dreamers,is a dead culture.no fine points to argue,a culture without dreamers is a dead culture,period. in line with yesterdays thought,we are chasing these ones to the ocean front like the red bull in the ,'Last Unicorn'.where then will we be,you know you dreamed once and then were ridiculed....remember that?.....remember....it is important to choose life,not death....T

critical thinking????
June 7, 2007, 12:04 pm

what is it we truly know ? what is it we truly question? when we predicate systems that denounce the question than we reduce what we truly know/wisdom. the formula being slowly cooked into young american minds ,leaves no quotent for the reasoning mind. critical thinking dissipates when you teach to a test. when we become hedgemonic with the development of the mind , are we any different from all the worst oppressors throughout history ? again i will state, it behooves all students in the u.s.a. to get up in protest right now.maybe then the shackles of apathy will loosen , as if from a bad,bad dream....T

got my mind on my....
June 6, 2007, 6:48 am

to quote Snoop Dog , what is your gin and juice ? Mine is meditation and tai chi-what is yours?T

Be back soon
June 3, 2007, 8:27 am

I will be out of town until the 13th of this month but please return to the site often to download free music and catch Ts writings and check back into the journal for one of a kind writings from Mr. Crazy (me) and the one of a kind T he has some brilliant stuff on here..ecaeP jon

get vocal!!!!
May 31, 2007, 3:54 pm

man,that sounds great!everything is gearing up.we are gonna rock this %^$#@.Jon and I since the start of the genocide in Darfur have asked folks to get active.please step up your efforts.peace....T

sweat
May 30, 2007, 8:47 am

It is always hard to get back on the stage after a long lay off Jon from the band Vega (check out Vega on myspace) was doing a solo acoustic gig last night at the South Shores Tavern in Lake Worth and he let me do some solo acoustic tunes. I play usually with my eyes closed but when you are playing you know you have the attention of the crowd when people are listening instead of talking. Any performer who has done bars has nights when the crowd is yappy some of the best jazz players of all time in their recorded live club gigs you can hear people in the background yapping meanwhile incredible music is going on. I would not put my solo acoustic music in the jazz greats class but It felt good to know the crowd was listening while I was working up a nice sweat laying it all out on the stage......jon

anyone got a car they want to give me????
May 29, 2007, 2:46 pm

right on Jon!hey is your phone messed up?called you two or three times but no reply and sometimes the phone keeps ringin'.need to structure summer,need to hear the plan for august and beyond.talk to you soon-gotta work late the next two nights-you know,social worker-oftentimes poorer than the people we serve.transmission dead,forcing me out-the hits they just a keep on comin'....T

my two cents
May 29, 2007, 9:33 am

It is more then a little baffling as to why it has taken the Bush administration so long to respond to the genocide in Darfur but thankfully he does deserve some credit for “finally" doing something by imposing stricter sanctions on Sudan along with drafting a proposed U.N. resolution to strengthen international pressure on the Sudanese now if he can stop the daily killings of U.S. soldiers and innocent Iraqi citizens in Iraq stepping out of the big pile of shit he has made he might begin to reverse some of the damage he has caused.......jon

where immortals die....
May 28, 2007, 5:16 pm

it was a faint whisper,but definately decernable.she listened carefully.it grew louder and pulsed the earth in other-worldly rythm.what was this she asked as she flew from tree to tree.it is well known that immortals forests always lived eternal summer.the pulse was the pulse of gaia herself.this was different.this had nothing about harmony.she flew to the farthest northern tree and looked out.she gasped....T(more later)

opaque lines
May 28, 2007, 2:37 pm

Hey T didnt get to the gig last week in time to sit in but I am there tommorrow night for sure I am going to perform a new song........ As we Blur the lines between want and need is their too much time spent grasping for the apple of self- indulgence only to find the apple has a bitter taste and poisened seeds which reproduce and leave more grasping for the apples........jon

music....
May 25, 2007, 8:39 am

hey Jon ,how did the jam go?....T

real time
May 24, 2007, 11:36 am

I breathe the sun.... I know no-one....... I am an island unto myself...as I cascade my wishes and dreams against a blank and empty wall they fall like raindrops into the pit of despairing souls........ A body discovered in a river half a world away I saw the young mans father on the news just last week saying his son would be ok but no-one is ok in a world of hate... in a world of hate...... Iran soon will hold the weapons that we slaughtered Iraq for.... Sure you removed the tyrant but the world is full of tyrants its just that most tyrants don’t bleed oil...hate is the motivator and the worlds no longer blind when the image of a slaughter can be capture in real time........jon

I am sitting in tonight for a few songs
May 22, 2007, 11:54 am

Thanks to Jon Ryczek from the band “ Vega� check out their site on My-Space he has invited me to do a few songs at South Shore Tavern in Lake Worth Fl. He is doing a solo acoustic gig and I am more then happy to jam he is a great guy and it has been awhile since I performed in front of a live audience. As you read below and see T is ready to hit the road we have to take every opportunity to put the music to the test and there is no better way then before a live and discerning audience......jon

As pertains to animal cruelty
May 22, 2007, 9:20 am

Is it not sufficient for man to absorb the useful labors and lives of the inferior creation, without super adding excessive anguish, want and misery? Julius Ames, The Sprit of Humanity

help....
May 22, 2007, 9:02 am

Jon,i ain't kidding,things are deteriorating fast around here.need a plan fast....T

Love him or hate him he walks the walk you have to respect that
May 21, 2007, 7:59 am

I would like to applaud former President Jimmy Carter for having the guts to say what so many political pansies wont that Bushes foreign policy is the worst in U.S. history and for also writing a book with another perspective on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Mr. Carter has continually traveled the world since he left office as the main spokesperson for the excellent Habitat For humanity organization as well as rolling up his sleeves and working with them he has also monitored several free elections around the world and met with countless foreign leaders so I think it is safe to say he has his finger on the pulse of the world and their perception of America to a much greater extent then the man currently in office who seemingly runs to his cowboy ranch at every opportunity blind to world opinions (by the way Tony Blair doesn’t count Bush he is your puppet and will tell you anything you want to hear). So as Bush goes down as the worst sitting president by his own doings Mr. Carter who has won the noble piece prize will go down as the best ex- president for the huge positive impact he has made not only in America but around the world......jon

delicate fragrance....
May 20, 2007, 7:46 am

the mist has settled yet again.i walk the field,every step printed on fine spring grass.apple trees appear as if marching.white blossoms drop silently,one by one.-T-

Hey T
May 19, 2007, 5:05 pm

Sorry to hear about the vertigo Bro seems that toxic mishap you had over a year ago cleaning the bathroom still lingers. I firmly believe things are pointing in the right direction for you and me weather or not we can satisfy the needs that be (families etc) with our true purpose (Shadow Screamers) remains to be seen. I believe the next batch of music and the revelation among those who seek blogs will show once and for all the depth and greatness of this site and our music which will finally send us on our way satisfying those who demand monetary return for this endeavor (families) I know the thousands of fans we have across the planet will step up and support us and above all spread the word we give everything of ourselves on this site and when it finally lives up to its true potential you can say I knew them when and they arent half bad....jon

la-de-da-dah....
May 19, 2007, 9:59 am

don't mean to be a whinny whimp,but i have been suffering from severe virtigo the last two days.this follows a day when my new boss told me exactly why and how i am fucking up in about,well everything i do.i am so far beyond public education and that is why i am leaving.i can't be part of something so wrong! so whatever happens,this is my decision.thus far Jon and i have talked about getting stuff up in August,but what you all need to know is that i am not coming back.i will stand hand in hand with Rage(i understand they are getting back together?)ain't nothing being said out there since they left,there is a huge gap needing to be filled.Meyers sissy assed song,'waiting for the world to change',is the epitome of apathy.hell if we all wait,why don't we just grab our life rafts now with our cheeto stained hands as the ocean takes over the entire eastern and western seaboard due to global warming.hey maybe we can sing and hum along,'waiting for the world to change',oh la-de-da-daaa.if we really want to get down fellows we could follow it with kumbyahh-yeah that's it-hey maybe the ocean water will take off the orange from my cheeto stained hands....T- gotta lay down-sorry for the upbeat message!

polarity stuck-that's what happens when the qi doesn't move freely
May 19, 2007, 7:44 am

there is always a polarity that functions within the universe.it is the natural law .at times we are complacent at times we are hostile,at times we are apathetic.when i talk this way ,iam viewing humankind in totality not just snapshots that historians are so guilty in doing.now having said that,the problem with our current trend,and what upsets Jon and i so much is that we are in an extended period of apathy.in can be understood.when a person has needs met,we don't look as hard at injustice.that just seems the way.in america we have the cellphones,the computers,the cars,the dvd players,etc...i was told by a recent group of students that my generation cannot make judgements and use the old,'when i was your age 'argument.our conversation was in reference to indoor/outdoor time.they say thatif our generation had what they have,perhaps we would'nt have been the outdoorsy type and we would have the famed cheetos stained fingers and Arnold looking thumbs.their argument i have thought of many times before this conversation,and in many ways they are correct,however the time period itself seemed ripe with intellectul questioning.we had come from the sedate 50's trying to distance ourselves from the autrousities of ww2.we were in the Vietnam war,and the younger generation stimulated by this culture of deep questioning and looking at the inequality of social injustice ie.Civil Rights movement wanted to,nay needed to make change.unfortunately,the effort was not sustained.we slipped into an era of distancing again,and then looking at the me.what develpoed was an intensive period of Regan old school American,'Rough and Ready' get what you can type of philosophy that actually underpins the totality of the development by the oppressors that came here in developing America.fast forward to today.get up,play video games,watch t.v,the news is packaged in such a way as a subconscious afterthought.and people tend to look and say for a milisecond,'hmm,that's to bad.we don't question,we don't spend the time to think.our education system is becoming progressively more,'thoughless',it is consciously designed to not have you think.we regurgitate facts for standard tests becoming,'standard people',that don't question authority,and at times would not know how.not to get to negative folks-how do we get out of this?first off,i would recommend every child in america standing up right now in protest for what they are not getting in education-just walk right out.second we somehow need a galvanizing force to disrupt the flow od apathy and mediocity.where are our great orators?where are the great thinkers that would dare disrupt the flow of amaniacal pyschopath of our current administartion.imean c'mon people,you know what this made for t.v movie is gonna look like.president gets out of office.people retro-look.president held finally(now tht the damage has been done)accountable-though we can't trust this-look at that slimeball Regan!then president gets a naughty letter,or perhaps two or three paragraphs in a history book-youknow the ones you ain't supposed to question but spit back for the test.this is the outline-we are to blame.when you look at this side of the polarity we have dwelled to long,it is time now for action and commitment.if not it truly is,'our childrenthat will be ruined'....T

My humbleThanks to Rage aagainst the Machine
May 18, 2007, 9:23 am

Sometimes I feel like T and I are on a island its easy to loose sight of purpose when you are seemingly isolated from the mainstream family and friends but I just heard “Renegades of Funk� from one of the best bands ever “Rage Against the Machine�.... a still very popular and relevant band years after they split up I want to thank Jack and the boys for letting me know its all ok as much as I think I am hardened to years of criticism and rejection I am human and can be sucker punched now and then so I have Rage to thank for the lift and I aint stopping what I am doing. Jason and I have a wealth of material in the journal because 90 percent of what I write is inspired by a melody or song that I have heard thus when we get together this summer expect a complete change in the songs we will post on the site to top it off T’s writings are a virtual song gold mine......Jon

sorry to hear Jon....
May 17, 2007, 2:57 pm

'people are constantly trying to use you to help them create the particular illusion by which they live.you must not allow yourself to be represented as someone in whom a few of the favorite daydreams of the public have come true.you must be willing,if necessary,to become a disturbing and therefore an undesired person,one who is not wanted because he upsets the general dream.'-Thomas Merton- we must at all costs not be afraid to speak even when our voice wavers and the oppressor is within inches from our face.this general dream that Merton eludes to is the voice and instrument of apathy.we permeate and reek of this instrument,this sullied dream.i use the word consciously in that what we find sullied is our integrity and intelligence.if we never question,if we never stand up,we collectively sign up willingly or unconsciously for another Darur,Rwanda,Hollocaust,Indigenous slaughter.i would argue my dear bro,that the banner,not being used will ruin your childrens life.not standing up and speaking out has led this administration to hold and torture innocent people.can you hear that sound?not the screams of these said detainees.the thunder i refer to is deafening sound of indifference....T

True story
May 17, 2007, 2:35 pm

So this morning my wife and I were talking about donating some money to the High School football team my son plays on and in return you get a banner. I jokingly said how about a Shadow Screamers banner????......... well you would have thought I said lets get an� I love Hitler, the KKK, and by the way Darfur rocks!!! And what the hell I believe in extermination of all those who aren’t like me�......Banner??????????????? Shit I just thought I was speaking my mind in a sometimes intelligent and humanitarian way but according to my wife if word gets out to the powers that be about my ruthless, hate filled, always negative and bringing down single-handedly the human race, piece of shit web site I have created..... Then I will be guilty of destroying my sons and their son’s future and if not stopped perhaps the human race is at risk Son of a bitch I thought I was just using free speech. Please anyone who visits this site get off as fast as you can I can’t help myself and apparently I am destroying humanity one word at a time.........JON

Jerry
May 16, 2007, 1:06 pm

In the case of Jerry Farewell passing on we can only hope that reincarnation happens and jerry comes back as a young minority female abandoned by her parents and who consequently is adopted by a gay feminist female couple..... Consequently he is raped by his biological father while on a court ordered visit and bleeds to death in a dark back alley because safe abortions are illegal for the poor but then again who the fuck am I kidding “readily available abortions are available to the rich� meanwhile Jerry has to grow up with the stigma cast by religious zealots watching helplessly as his parents who supply a loving caring environment are constantly harassed by those incited self proclaimed??? Preachers,,,,,,,jon

Hey hows the fucking coat fit you piece of shit!!!!!!!!
May 16, 2007, 7:02 am

In the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet Canadian fisherman have slaughtered over a million baby seals over the past three years, although this yearly slaughter is only a minimal portion of the yearly income for these fishermen the Canadian government continues to look the other way. Protests from the American Humane society and other groups to stop this inhumanity fall on deaf ears......Here are some FUN FACTS about this yearly slaughter!!!!!!!!!!! baby seals are targeted for their skins which are sold to European and Asian fashion markets, in Canada new born seals can be slaughtered as soon as they begin to shed their fluffy white coat some as young as 12 days old, ninety percent of the seals killed most recently were three months old or younger and veterinary reports indicate that many seals were skinned while conscious AND THEY ARE ABLE TO FEEL PAIN oh to top it off the FUCKING carcasses are left to rot on the ice because there are few markets for the meat.........You can help put a stop to this mind-boggling inhumanity by not buying Canadian seafood and by going to the web site at www.protectseals.org .....jon

random
May 15, 2007, 11:44 am

With all I’ve learned I just wish to hell I knew..... So many explanations ring hollow can’t count the reasons that you skew..... as you spew your self -serving inclinations... by the way the suit fits you like the dark glove of separation.... cant mingle with those who’ve not lived up to your inherited potential don’t forget that daddy always ties the knots and deep inside it burns so you take it out on those you hate to admire....jon

we don't deserve a day....
May 15, 2007, 10:01 am

so what's up with a spineless day like Father's day?what the hell should we celebrate?a life of living with toxic chemicals,the atomic age,the enviornment dwindling almost past the point of repair,warfare,hatred,bigotry,violence towards women and children?FUCK FATHER'S DAY!!!!WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO CELEBRATE IT!friggin cookouts,and cards and golf and Hummers,WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH REALITY?well i hereby revoke my right to have such a day,just by being male.no special day,it will be observed by me trying to work towards justice.we are to spineless and do not deserve a ,'day'.shit man we have to roll up the sleeves and put in many,many years to undo the damage we have done....T ps.hey Jon-still ready for me this summer-the time is now(to pen an old jazz standard)

Hey T
May 15, 2007, 8:57 am

Jesus Christ its good to have ya back bro!!!!! I was running out of shit to say day after day and missing the contemplation of the inner recesses of your mind. Sorry about not getting back to you but things are crazy on the weekends Amar is pretty much my third son staying with us and I love it but ask any parent add one its like five.. anyway I am taking a new breath and with every new breath there is possibility. I will try you at work haven’t had success yet but if not will try this weekend the kids Baseball season is over. Things are going in the right direction for this band and we need to flow with it. I would also like to thank the fans for the comments Shadow Screamers seems to be taking the long way home but we are going to get their and anyone who wants to come along from the homeless behind the pretty stores at pier 39 in San Francisco to the elders on the reservations to the poorest of the poor and every one in between we are the common mans band because that is where you and I have always lived at times literally and always spiritually........jon

radical....
May 14, 2007, 5:19 pm

an old man and woman go into the drugstore with a tightly wrapped wad of money for her medicine.they are 12$ short,my friend makes up the difference,he says with tears in his eyes,'thank you,i don't know what we would have done and i don't know how we will afford this.'another old man buys the cheapest cat food,the store checkout person is a woman that graduated from high school where i work.one day she slipped twenty dollars in his bag.children that are toopoor for lunch but do not qualify for free or reduced lunchs come to my office continually.these are stories within one town.what about the reservation where there was nothing to eat but 900lbs of potatoes to eat for several weeks.what of the poor education.whatof the elders dying in cars in the freezing cold and what of the dumb assed BIA that will not release appropriate resources to those in need.what about the HUD ripoff,what about the conditions in the inner city with no chance to move forward and having to live in the war,while we send billions toa war that noone wants.i tell you it is time for anger.the anger must be present enough to send forth great voices.even if we shake and fall our voices should be heard.we need to fight for what is right and forget the greed that runs this country.as i write this i am looking at my neighbors three trucks(one an 07 Hummer)and two cars and there is only two drivers in the house.i see people driving in their SUV's and then complaining about gas prices-well sorry to tell you-YOU GOT NO FUCKING VOICE DUDE,NOT UNTIL YOU DRIVE SOMETHING REASONABLE!!!!i would challenge everyone on this site to find someone in need and really help.if you find or are part of a cause-go for it,but also find someone you can meet and talk with.you will find that they are not,'out there',theri condition is your condition,what seperates is the slim veil of circumstance.WE NEED TO BE HEARD AND GET RADICAL,I AM CONVINCED IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO WAKE PEOPLE THE FUCK UP!!!!T ps.thank you for the fan comments

SCREAMIN'AND CRYIN'
May 12, 2007, 11:40 am

BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN,GONNA BURN THIS BITCH!been listening alot to our old friends(they don't know us but we love them)Public Enemy.Have to tell you a funny story.was going to teach TaiChi the other night.it was friggin' hot and everyones windows were down.so i pull up to a stop sign and who do i see next to me,the head o' the school board-the same spineless whimpS that tried to oust me on the sly last year.so the PC thing to do as an employee would be to look embarressed and turn the music down and apologize for the lyrical content.i smiled and turned that sucka' up blastin' away as the lyrics screamed,'i'm gonna burn this bitch(meaning hollywood)'.i can't get any worse as far as my wantin' to get tagged by the same buero's that take nodoze and stay the night keep the fight 'o'the american dream of keepin' the whip crackin',slackin' while pretty bozs sing and sign for congress and rape women and signbills that decimate entire cities and step back and wonda' why brotha does that city burn,hollywood burn,let the lap slack,perfect flat and the privelaged few sing about the way white's know power and they sing unsong songs of power and they are power,burn that bitch down-sorry couldn't help it wanta sue me can't sue a rock or tree or truth but ya sure as hell can lock it up,send it to the sky watch it rain and collect yellow on window panes and we wonder why the penile centers are limp and the blimp o the cash be runnin away uphill to smiles to smiles that rape children in generations not seen and you rape and take and i say burn and create to the new mother sound no cellphone,no t.v just the sound 'o' us breathin',chokin' and cryin';breathin',chokin'and cryin;breathin',chokin',and cryin'????T

an interesting thing happened on the way....
May 12, 2007, 7:30 am

okay so now that i have some issues resolved,let's get down to business.first off,watched a great movie,'Freedom Writers',suggest you watch.the sad part is that the ferry(hillary)is only going to catch a few.i am ready to dig into the roots of the problem;no economics,no health care.poor schools,racist police forces,etc...while we continue to blow the fuch out the world it is time for someone to call for what really needs to get done in this nation.we must at all costs give everyone the same playing field!fuck democracy-there ain't one in america.if i have to hear one more time,'well they should just put their noses to the grindstone,get an education,blah,blah,blah"try doing that mister middle class,white conservative when you have bullets flyin atcha ,your education system sucks so bad that in high school you read at fifth grade level and there ain't nothin' to do because industry has pulled way out of the city and the reservation.it is time folks to talk about real situations and real people.i don't give a shit if,when I quit this job and Jon and i can't scrape two nickels together-my last breath will be to breath justice-it is time,it is time,we must do what is right....T

Observations of Pope Benedicts visit to Brazil
May 11, 2007, 7:39 pm

Is it gods will to force your particular moral guidelines and draconian views as written by your religion centuries ago on an increasingly spiritually diverse and evolving world of humanity? While blindly ignoring the negative ripple effects of those very views you enforce? Yes oh mighty Pope Benedict there are consequences for forcing poor families in third world countries to not use contraceptives...... can you say starving uneducated children by the thousands??? How about Overpopulation in a world starting to struggle to absorb humanities raping intrusion, how about abortion when you father has impregnated you at 12 during one of the nightly rapes?????? How about inciting hatred from Muslims by ripping on Mohammed??? sure you said it was taken out of context but then again it shows how isolated you really are in that pope mobile doesn’t it............jon

this band sucks !!!!!!!what Band??? Things are changing I promise.. Jon
May 10, 2007, 2:44 pm

I am just a shallow dreamer locked inside an empty grid..... choosing things that have been chosen so I might fit inside your head...wallow in the steps I’ve taken as they lead me to what might have been.... footprints cant escape unnoticed as they imprint while you step in place.

It all ties together trust me
May 4, 2007, 8:55 am

745,496 people have signed up for the virtual March to stop Global Warming so we say once again if you have a minute please go to http://stopglobalwarming.msn.com/ and sign up it only takes a minute and all they ask you for is your name, e-mail address,zip code and country you live in then just press enter and you are done now that is easy and it makes use of your voice, the web site has all kinds of things you can easily do to do your part in helping to stop the process........ THANKS from Shadow Screamers.......I read the other day that John Wayne the cowboy actor who played the same part in hundreds of stereotypical lame cowboy movies was furious when Marlin Brando sent some native Americans to pick up the best actor Oscar Brando had won, apparently this was Brando's way of protesting the despicable way Hollywood had portrayed and treated Native Americans ( Brando also thought it was ridiculous for actors to get the stupid award anyway) I guess John Wayne in the end couldn’t separate the fictitious fantasy world of his lame cowboy movies from real life. What a mindless cretin that pompous ass was......... anyway here is a 1909 Cree Indian warning....� Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money� .......One has to ask the question who the hell were the savages ??????????? jon

hey preacher?????
May 3, 2007, 6:27 pm

So where is your god??? Is he crying cowering in a corner as the slaughter of innocent human beings is orchestrated in perfect harmony on his fucking earth day after day year after year???? Wake up humanity slaughter happens around the world twenty four seven for as long as humans have occupied this planet so get the fuck out of your cocoon dick head humanity? Where is your fucking god???? Does he cast away the suffering like a fucking yuppie rejecting a martini because it don’t have enough olives???? Where is your god? How about that son of a bitch being held to task??? If you hold to the belief of a higher being that in the end is responsible leaving your lame ass off the hook then where the fuck is your god?????? We have brains call me crazy but this shit don’t add up???? Get the fuck off your ass and forget the god shit and just be a human being why the fuck is it so hard for this stupid human race to just treat people with humanity are you telling me you aren’t smart enough to do this????????????Ok then where is your god???????JON

Summer is comming bro
May 3, 2007, 10:42 am

Hey T I was out of town last week for four days in Vail Colorado man it was a nice did a couple of open mics and killed, did some hiking soaking up the air an beauty, plus its was a nice change from South Florida I am back and I will drop a call. I am currently auditioning percussion players I think when you are here this summer it will be easier to just do a small trio like the old days give us a beat and let the music burn hey bro? if we cant find the right person then you and I can gig as a duo the magic is there just need a little more time together ( hey aint that one of our songs?) anyway if a crappy drummer and mediocre guitarist, fair songwriter i.e. the white stripes can make it big a couple of years ago then we might be the next oddity only with better material and jamming either way it’s going to be an explosion of creativity this summer........ its been too long since you been gone bro let the gods of circumstance shine that bright light down on our starving, shadowed, creative souls and as they say the rest is history.....jon

hey Jon....
May 2, 2007, 3:18 pm

hey Jon, great stuff!any word on band stuff?not sure if you are still out of town.called three times and still haven't heard.sad stuff-explain later....T

Darfur?????????
April 30, 2007, 3:06 pm

It seems its over now the seeds lay dead discarded like so much trash for there is no use planting dead seeds in a field of weeds, the weeds of hate, unholy despair, for those who have been cowards in choosing to ignore you are sucking all the vital nutrients that will sustain the garden that we refuse to repair opting for the easy way out we turn away ...... arrogance and indifference leaves no excuse the worlds more connected then ever before yet we consciously refuse to connect?????? so swallow deep the drops of truth and ask no questions if they bother you.. We spin to hear what we want to hear but the light that guides us will never waver from the truth and in the end you will stand alone and have to answer the question? How did I make it a little better, how could I have made it a little better???????jon

moving on
April 30, 2007, 1:51 pm

I’ve never felt connected seems I’m always one step out of place as the moonlight chases shadows slowly moving thru the clouds the night seems so much darker then I would ever have allowed.... I’m caught chasing patches of light in the spaces between the clouds greedily grasping at illumination like a beggar reaching for stale bread only to peer from the darkness as crawling serpents drag me back they whisper tales of my demise wrapping around my fragile conscience strangling thoughts of what was mine..... I’ve never felt connected always one step out of place when my bones are laid to dust will I stand in someone’s memory or will I vanish like the darkness as it dissipates into the light of those moving on.......jon

run
April 28, 2007, 5:07 pm

Come and breath the silent waters mingled with the human waste stand upon your righteous temple ignoring all that’s laid to waste stand upon the sacred idol blind to the rain that falls from grace deep inside I know your bleeding loosing all that made you safe strike out in a golden fury level everything you hate but nothing here will strive to save you as your content to run in place

lesson?
April 28, 2007, 3:19 pm

Lessons told unseat the viper crawling underneath your skin.... I’ve been told to hold my conscience for the betterment of men...... shallow empty listless sorrow to blind to think what might have been... Telling tales that fall like raindrops bouncing off the soul within..... I move on as you unravel spinning in the endless spin that swallows all in contemplation to late to think it might begin again.....jon

secrets
April 27, 2007, 12:16 pm

Some secrets are too hard to hide deep inside what’s Sane..... some secrets crawl out from a rock hidden by the holy mane.... some secrets tell a tale of slaughter with no traces of whose to blame.... some secrets unveil the holy words washed off the window pane... some secrets cut beneath the bone and leave you bleeding hate.. ...While other secrets are never heard buried in the pile of waste....some secrets wish to be expelled but that is not the way...... for secrets find no common ground to save this human race......njo

a stay of execution....
April 27, 2007, 10:32 am

oh,and i can understand why comments don't happen,people have been scared shitless by the truth we have presented.i don't hold that against any fans-just look towards us getting very active again now that the cloak has been lifted....T

where were these people when....
April 27, 2007, 10:30 am

the alliances will be found,the shell games will be uncovered everything will be as we have talked about for years Jon.NOW THAT IT IS SAFE TO JUMP ON BOARD PERHAPS NOW WE CAN BE,'SAFE'TO GET OUR CAREER GOING AGAIN INSTAED OF BEING SHUt DOWN LIKE THIS SITE WAS CONTINUALLY AS WE WROTE WHAT WAS CONCEIVED AS INFLAMMATORY(by the U.S Government).it was just the truth and it will be heard-check out this months copy of the,'Sun' to know what I am talking about.man,johnny come latelys piss me off-where were they when we were getting shut down,Jon?hiding like all the other serpents waiting to see if anyone had balls and take the fall like we did.....T

I dont blame the military I blame their system
April 26, 2007, 12:33 pm

Here we sit in 2007 and every day seems to bring proof that while we have advanced technology for humanity we cant seem to grasp humanity.... One example...... Today I was listening to Bill “I can sexually harass any woman I want and just pay her off because I am rich� O’Rliey� he was discussing the Pat Tillman controversy and during the conversation the Military rep referred to the hot or killing zone in Iraq as ‘Indian Territory�?????? O’Riley was clueless to the insult so he kept bullshitting actually giving the definition of “Indian Territory� to his audience. I may be wrong but didn’t we complete the slaughter, humiliation, and confinement to lands the white man didn’t want, of the Native Americans well over a hundred years ago? What is the U.S. military system afraid of? Can’t they come up with a better slogan how about!!!! British Territory, or German Territory how about Jewish Territory or Irish don’t forget Korean and Japanese. This may be a small point to anyone who reads this but It is the collection of small points when joined together that will create a picture of the true reality, in this case the picture is clear.... stereotypes are hard to remove when your head remains in the sand.........jon

please check out savedarfur.org lost of events comming up you can help!
April 21, 2007, 11:54 am

We are so inundated with the suffering of humanity around the world� some at our own hands� that another product of the reality of this onslaught is the loss of compassion and comprehension (we simply tune it out) while I can understand and am shell-shocked myself it is time for all of us to reach deep inside and pull out an effort towards stopping the genocide in Darfur that will end the madness. This is a modern day Holocaust inexcusable because so are saying and have said never again yet the longest running show on Broadway is the constant needless savage killing of each other in the production of “Human Beings on Parade�. The funny thing is nobody wants to go this particular show yet it runs year after year after year on into infinity... apparently....noj

don't like the term but ya know?....
April 19, 2007, 6:34 am

definition of a caged rat-my life as of late....T

care to join?
April 18, 2007, 4:37 pm

In the sixties a brave few realized that it was the system that was wrong and they chose to stand and suffer the consequences of chipping away at said system eventually millions joined in and in the end they made a better life for millions of Americans...... what perplexes me as I sit here is that a blind man can see the current system is wrong more then ever, but who will stand? I can honestly say Jason and I have been standing for years so why don’t you join us??????? The system is wrong, the system is wrong????? Stand up and join us. Jon

morality
April 18, 2007, 12:34 pm

I saw the world through a southern dream the lines are drawn but they can’t be seen eyes emitting kindness cant always be believed for the eyes just as easily deceive as true intentions fall like scarecrows in the rain as those which hide the darkness hide underneath the moral plane. Idle Space comes between what is taught and what you perceive and in the end it is you who has to answer to morality........

beyond the surface....
April 18, 2007, 7:22 am

rainy day,dream away.let the sun take a holiday-jimi-my thoughts and prayers go out to all those that died,thier families and all at Virginia Tech.i must admit it was hard to respond.it seemed overwhelming(and is so)having just come back from a funeral of a good friend and hearing the news.i wish we could fundamentaly look at the issues presented in what is going on in American culture. we seem to get more violent and despondant all the time.again as Jon has stated so many times,we will touch the surface and move on to the next soundbite.we can't allow this to continue,we must look very deeply at the very nature of our dis-content....T

muse
April 17, 2007, 7:27 pm

So tell me will you hear the calling.... yeah I mean you... the idle thoughts that occupy the world that comforts you... they pick apart the bones of death to satisfy your curiosity as you shed a tear while putting it casually away selfishly moving back to you . Its happened now like a thousand times before but as the moment passes It soon becomes a part of our disjointed lore..... nothing learned as we stumble on again.. why is it we are surprised when slaughter slaps off our stupid grin of disconnect again and again yet you still look away keeping a distance keeping it far removed from you as you hope the gods shine down and give you shelter from the muse.........

Its a simple as I ,2 3,
April 17, 2007, 4:37 pm

The time in now

2
April 17, 2007, 4:36 pm

For Revolution

3
April 17, 2007, 4:35 pm

We need to begin.

near
April 17, 2007, 1:49 pm

Gazing thru the killing fields you can see the answer... so blind it’s clear yet so sublime that we don’t dare to wander near...... the truth.......answers lay scattered like misbegotten intentions caught up in tongues that speak the shadows of truth yet the killing fields hold the answers........ why do we hesitate to wander near.

clarification from yesterday
April 17, 2007, 11:47 am

I need to clarify that the comment I made yesterday naming Riley feeding off the bloody corpse was aimed at Bill O’Riley I have listened to his show many times as well as other right and left wing radio freaks but O’Riley sets himself apart because he thinks of himself as a real journalist??? While the others generally realize they are nothing more then mouths spewing shit to entertain and incite the feeble minds that buy into their crap O’Riley is oblivious. One other point O’Riley proudly proclaims over and over on his program that it is the no spin zone but here is a fact..... when Tom Foley a REPUBLICAN Senator from Florida recently resigned over inappropriate sexual conduct with minors O’Riley did a piece on him on his TV show and guess what Republican Senator Foley who’s picture was behind O’Riley the whole time was listed as a Democrat on that picture????? This happened just before the congressional elections???? O’Riley the great journalist didn’t know what party Foley was from????The truth is he is a puppet of FOX ( the Bush network) . I am listening to Billy boy right now as he feeds off the bloody carcass of this VT tragedy offering nothing more then bashing the “liberal news� and the far left along with counties that question America and criticize Amerika for obvious reasons.......All these radio and T.V. idiots are a part of the problem because they prey on the mass ignorance this country embraces look around way to many of us are to lazy to find out the truth perfectly happy to much their chips and drink their soda and beer and suck up every word these idiots spew as truth......jon

rain....
April 16, 2007, 5:11 pm

great points Jon!just got back from a dear friends funeral-very tired will respond or talk later....T

rotten flesh
April 16, 2007, 4:11 pm

Time dictates consistency and purpose while we humans seem to have no concept of positive purpose; we devise ever more hideous ways of killing ourselves ........ why???? Will I be slaughtered in a dorm, in the market place, at school, at play? In my fucking bed? in my front yard? Playing with my child? We systematically dehumanize as we breathe hate.... no checks no balances no guidelines..... sure the self-righteous Riley like chatter heads that permeate airspace throw a line to follow in their direction but they don’t hold the rope they are too good for that and are more intent on sensationalizing the moment feeding off the rotten flesh of disgust and disbelief hey you want some fucking salt with that rotten flesh humanity......... time dictates consistency...........jon

Fucking nascar?????????
April 15, 2007, 5:35 pm

This Cuntry never ceases to amaze me.... today apparently inexpiably????? NASCAR honored Jackie Robison the first black player allowed into baseball who is an American Icon and hero !!!!! With one of the cars sporting his number 42........ Call me stupid but don’t three out of four red necks that follow NASCAR long for the days when you could wear a white sheet on your lame ass head and hang a Negro or two????? what a fucking joke this lame attempt at respect is (apparently for more ratings?)... from this most bigoted of sports with their redneck fans. If you think I don’t know what the hell I am talking about I remind you that I have lived in the south for too many years and thus I live and breath the hiprocacy every day.... this is amerika the real deal I am talking about for all you dickheads with your head up your ass as you smile and say the right thing while you teach your stupid kids racial hatred..... my beef is be what you are don’t pretend assholes just wear the sheet or better yet tattoo asign on your lame ass forehead... Jon

Hey dont look at me I aint pickin up that pile
April 14, 2007, 9:36 am

The last thing I have to say about Shock jock Imas and his racist demeaning comments and subsequent justified firing is the fact that he is just a pimple on the ass of the racist elephant in the room completely ignored by Amerikan society. The crusaders looking for a bump in ratings and self-absorbed publicity and a way to momentarily ease the conscience will pop this unsightly Imas zit but the fact remains that the elephant will still be in the room ....Who the hell is cleaning up the shit I mean that must be a pretty big pile of foul smelling crap this elephant excretes yet we live in it???????? and we are more advanced then apes? they dont live in their own shit????????? Jon

next....
April 13, 2007, 8:19 am

man,very,very busy.be back soon.having so many,many thoughts about our next album.i can't wait!!!!T

heard any good jokes lately?
April 13, 2007, 7:33 am

Jason and I have been mentioning the huge racial divide in this country for years on this site (If you want to hear a great song on prejudice listen to “See� it’s a Shadow Screamers original song and you can download it off our downloads page for FREE..... it rocks!!!!) Hopefully the current dialog about racial tensions in the country will continue until progress is made but this is going to take decades and it starts with our children your own children...... Now that Imas has been canned for the moment I think it is time to also put Jesse Jackson and AL Sharpton out to pasture these are two men who had the immense honor of being tutored by Reverend Martin Luther King yet what have they done? Some good sure but they are both guilty of ethnic slurs and in many instances have caused more harm and hate then good and in the end they both have lost sight of Mr. Kings ideals we need some new blood injected into the civil rights movement but where will it come from???? Hell I aint no prophet how the hell should I know.... By the way here in Amerika land of the free and home of the brave the same young girls from Rutgers who were unwittingly thrust into this mess are now receiving death threats and hate mail yet all the rich whiteys are crying about poor Imas who apparently was earning 10 million a year catering to 2.5 million bigoted listeners?????? Open your fucking eyes Amerika we preach democracy and equality to the world but we don’t practice at home what a fucking joke we are..........jon

winner the
April 12, 2007, 1:36 pm

Amerika is one of the winners!!!!!!!!!!! ....the winner of one of the most ignorant industrialized countries in the world....... latest case in point? The infamous Imas outburst and consequent endless debate. I submit to you that we are all so frustrated trying to live the projected amerikan dream that we spew our anger “justified in this case� against stupid comments (but you are only looking at the tip of the racist iceberg that permeates Amerikan society not dealing with it) we don’t ever get to the underlying problem which is in this case that there is a huge divide between white amerika and the minorities in America which is going on as we speak. Until we follow up burst of anger at comments with an honest desire to work hard towards and end to this cancer then we will remain the most ignorant industrialized country....jon

Global warming
April 12, 2007, 8:30 am

Here is a good site on global warming it has some good info on things you can do to help and how to get active the site is at........http://stopglobalwarming.msn.com/

fragments
April 11, 2007, 12:18 pm

I am happy the Don Imus comment about the Rutgers college girl’s basket ball team has stirred tons of dialog and reaction, but in the end Imus will resurface and his radio show will thrive again because the facts are that he apparently has a huge audience who apparently want this kind of entertainment? And he earns tons of money for his employers. Along with the fact that we seem to collectively have the attention span of a pea...... in the end Imus has probably enhanced his career. That said I urge all our fans to tune into the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning show this will give you a window into the black community. It is amazing how fragmented we have become in this country and yet we carry on as if everything is ok and that we all get along and understand each other. This band has always tried to bring the world together perhaps the dialog resulting from the Imasssss hole radio idiots statement will actually lead to opening the door a crack what the hell it could be a start....noj

sorry I dont swallow ...hell I aint suckin on anything except air
April 10, 2007, 3:45 pm

I am just a humble sinner groveling on the ground for seeds the toll that I commit is thinner then one who takes a life for greed..... but I can see my indiscretions unfold as they begin to breath....... I know the price is placing values on the things that you face honestly.......... cast a stone but don’t you tell me... don’t you tell what to be... for in the inner depths of silence...... I will never swallow greed....I will never swallow greed.....jn

back from the res....
April 10, 2007, 2:48 pm

dreams are the reminder, how soon we forget.-----back from the res.poverty,sadness,the train keeps rollin',chidren wave,freeze frame they go,i go.another car,another track laid upon the red clay....T

horizon
April 10, 2007, 1:52 pm

Stone encrusted reasons fall empty in the hollow corridors absorbed by scattered indifference. I reach to hear but it is empty..... it is empty.... wallow in the mindless place that we all seem to be... catch as catch can but what you catch do you really want to keep? The significance of what I say falls on empty ears as I shake my head realizing my deepest demented fears,,,,, but then again what are fears but nothing more then what you choose not to be near.. to stand and face is to begin to work it out, to sit idly is to end in empty space no resolutions on the murky horizon........

Cant shake em
April 9, 2007, 9:43 pm

I close my eyes but can’t shake the thoughts that rumble disjointed and erratic through the inner reaches of my mind where I seldom want to go...... I try to fish them out chasing but never catching the meaning or the promise... battling myself as I struggle to let go and taste the silent ecstasy of rejuvenating slumber.... night after night I struggle in my attempts at sleep surviving on the edge of consciousness diving in for a couple of hours but never staying the course. Is something chasing me? Am I not who I am? Is my soul tortured by thoughts of inadequacies that rise in my subconscious mind..... am I insane? Am I guilty? Am I Innocent? Am I a figment of someone’s imagination? Am I in hell? Shit its 4am again and this movie plays once again in the depths of my mind as I close my eyes but cant shake the thoughts........jon

bodies
April 9, 2007, 4:48 pm

Scattered raindrops falling burning memories in my mind the key is changing lanes as fast as you are doing time..... Catch a rainbow, scatter leaves while telling me what I want to hear.... as the words are dipped into heavy syrup flowing all around me telling me that peace is near......... that peace is near....how many bodies how much peace.......how many bodies how much peace and what is the price you are willing to see and what is the price you are willing to breed, and how many bodies......onj

Snake you bet your fuckin ass Im---asss is just like the rest
April 9, 2007, 2:09 pm

I don’t know much about Imus apparently one of many SHOCK?????DJs in the morning he is in the same category as Howie Sterns morning show shock crap but when Imus calls a bunch of young African American college kids and I quote just one outtake “ Nappy headed hos “ At least be real and tell everyone you are a fucking bigot don’t try to explain it all away which is the yuppie rich mans pattern just admit you are what you are....... it is classified as a FUCKING BIGOT FUCK HEAD!!!!!! BE A MAN AND ADMIT IT!!!! The worst type of slime in this Amerikan society is the slime that puts on a front of racial equality but behind closed doors teaches their kiddies and lives a life of racism........... If you hate don’t hide it slime ball get a fucking hood and a confederate flag and maybe a tattoo on your stupid forehead otherwise you give snakes something to look up to.......Jon

A new feature!!!!! Junior bushes fun facts for Amerika
April 9, 2007, 8:11 am

Here are some interesting facts.......... under the “bush� regime we spend more on health care then any other country in the world per capita but the number of uninsured has risen by 11 percent? Due to funding cuts 263,257 veterans were denied enrollment for Veterans Administration health coverage? Our nation trails 36 “yes folks that number is 36� other countries in the mortality rate for adults ages 15 to 60 ( you can bet that a disproportionate number of these are minorities) We rank 26th in the mortality rate of cardiovascular disease ( we cant blame junior for that we are just piggies) we spend nearly four times as much of our gross domestic product for defense as Japan, Canada and Spain three countries ahead of us in most health barometers, now we know that the atrocious conditions for vets at Walter Reed Hospital are just the small tip of the iceberg it happens in V.A hospitals across the country apparently due to privatization apparently , A third of credit card debt in Amerika is linked to medical bills, CEOs fro the health industry are recording record profits, and not surprising salaries I can go on but who has the time.......jon

thread
April 7, 2007, 8:39 pm

Is there a thread that connects all of us????? If so why are we not more connected? words they scatter before me as good intentions fall like rain only to be absorbed buy self indulgence before we can reach them... to touch is to breath but we don’t touch anymore we just spew idol conversation and give a nod of the head as we unknowingly cut the thread which causes me to wonder was there a thread that connected us?jno

Where??????
April 7, 2007, 7:32 pm

Destination............ no-one can measure the distance to the end.. only fool’s grasp at a time to meet the new beginning.... seems that lately I am delivering little clues of the demons that wreak havoc inside..... Subjecting the innocent while I stumble to regain who I am but that very thought skips away like a stone across a pond of perfect reflection if only I could see the reflection if only I was able to break through this opaque reality but I keep preoccupied moving on to my destination.......noj

pigs ......we are what we choose to eat
April 7, 2007, 1:21 pm

And article By Jon Markman on the home page of MSN.com it goes like this......... Stop whining and act grateful; the sales of private jets, yachts, artwork and jewels are fueling the economy and fending off a recession. Even better, you could get rich off the rich. The superrich are different from you and me. It's not just that they have more money. It's that they spend more. Much, much, more. In fact, the superrich spend so much more of their mountains of money, according to a new line of thinking among academics, that they may provide a public service by smoothing out the little dents and valleys in the global economy. As scads of Russians, Chinese, Indians and South Americans have joined the billionaires club due to the rise of emerging markets' industrial might, worldwide recessions have become much fewer in number and far slighter in severity than in past decades. This makes sense, even if it doesn't make you feel better. For just when many average people in the United States or Europe are slowing down their consumption of goods and services due to the loss of a job or pending home foreclosure, there are an increasing number of superrich worldwide to fill in the spending gap. It's sort of a perverse fulfillment of the trickle-down theory. Rather than being resentful of the superrich, perhaps we should all be grateful. The next time you run into a superrich guy at your local Bentley dealer, give him a hug. Plutonomics The numbers are staggering and almost incomprehensible. According to research by Ajay Kapur, an analyst at Citigroup, the wealthiest 1 million people in the world account for as much spending as 60 million other households. The disparity between the bottom 99% and the top 1% has made any other class distinctions in the richest countries almost irrelevant. Welcome to the new world "plutonomy," where economic growth is powered by, and largely consumed, by the wealthy few. This is useful to know at a time of fears that a decline in U.S. home prices could sink the U.S. economy, for it only takes one new free-spending Mumbai or Moscow zillionaire to make up for tens of thousands of faltering Americans missing their mortgage payments. Fortunately, there are plenty more than that in Russia alone. The swift rise in the value of natural gas -- sometimes called "blue gold" -- as well as nickel, aluminum and titanium, has helped create at least two dozen Russian billionaires and thousands more multimillionaires who are spreading their wealth around............... You know I am not sure if this guy is joking or not with this article on the home page of MSN.com today but the reality is that most of the shit he is spewing is true and until we overthrow the system we are nothing more then pigs wallowing in the scraps they choose to give us god bless amerika........and the rest of the world....jon

oil
April 6, 2007, 8:18 pm

So who is left to look back at us objectively analyzing our reflection from the sacred waters realizing that we are blindly following a ship of fools? Numbness is like a hammer in the head for those who follow death like a slave in the name of democracy blindly ignoring the agony caught in its wake. We are the preachers but can’t control our own sheep yet we spew out false destinations that we know we will never keep for the darkness and destination is buried deep in the ground it moves us along while it spreads death as it flows from the ground......jno

serpents
April 5, 2007, 6:37 pm

Denigrate the lowly servant spit on him for your own needs ridicule the words of worship fit them to fill all your self-serving needs......... mother Mary cries in silence for children lost to mindless greed and all the demons that posses us ruling all the minds that bleed..... worshiping the smiling serpent breathing in his self-serving need fooled by idle minds to shallow to catch up to the web of greed caught in eyes of worthless possessions they focus on what glitter breeds and in the end the words of silence reflect on what is you and me.. So Mother Mary where is silence..... Will you teach me how to breathe.... or are you just like all the others sucking off the fear you seem to breed...............JON

I am back where is home?
April 5, 2007, 3:51 pm

Jesus was a desperate virgin aligned to gather all the sheep obscured by all the complications that you and I we live and breath ....... Mother Mary whispers silence for what’s left deep inside of me.... denigrate the silent circle turn and look outside of me....... cannot hear the defining thunder shaking my body to the bones all alone I sit and wonder if I will find a place called home all alone I sit and wonder if I will find a place near home....noj

just to run....
April 5, 2007, 12:04 pm

i want to run beside your wildness, parallel not possessive. the dervish spins, everything aligns.you and i were meant for this moment ,this time. i want to run beside your wildness, parallell not possessive. mountain air, snow melt, how do we ford this intense river you and i. wildness,wilderness, pine scented fires, the sky endless blue. soft hair,bright eyes,your name is the sun. let me run just for a short while. by yor side....T

o blah deee
April 2, 2007, 7:27 pm

I can see but the world is blind and I am a prophet of the pitfalls of mankind life is yesterday until you live today and tomorrow is just a dream can you steer the dream your way life’s filled with essence but the viper comes to prey to suck the life drop by drop as you fade away like a wimp your spineless ass fades away

jam back at the house....
April 2, 2007, 5:28 pm

this country needs a revolution.i remember when a Shaman came to america and he talked about everything being dead when he walked the streets of NYC.the same is definately true of our collective sense in america.went to a couple of peace gatherings recently to protest the war(the on the green campaign).as usual it was just us old hippies out there.yeah got beeped at for support etc.. but man noone joined other than us.waiting to hear from a couple of very dear freinds that have been doing the early summer concert scene,been itchin to get at our music and to hear hat is out there with the jam bands,,,,T

hendrix at woodstock....
March 30, 2007, 12:56 pm

Jon,how is the band going?Have you found a percussionist yet?I am thinking maybe a keyboardist and multi-sax player.Will be down....T

cocoon
March 29, 2007, 7:14 pm

So what is it going to take for us to break out of this cocoon??? How did we become so fucking insulated??? We brag about world connection but we are more disconnected then ever before....... what the fuck is up with that??????? All this fucking worthless information.... Spinning round the sphere yet we can’t even begin to grasp the simplicity of the solutions while the problems kill every day as we turn away because we are living in the fucking cocoon insulating ourselves........... kinda pathetic aint it?????What is your lame answer something like this???????Fuck no dude its survival of the fittest and if you don’t like it I will run your ass over with my SUV while talking mindless bull shit to my suck assed friend so that I can stay connected to mindless drivel and ignore the rest of reality........ by the way when is that Elton Johns gay friend Simon and Paula the ditz coming on I love amerikan idal........now that is worth paying attention to ..............after all it is amerika aint it......jon

Where you standin fuck head???????
March 29, 2007, 5:54 pm

Death is just a breath away.... can’t you feel the panic??????? can you feel your lungs want to explode as you are gasping for even a hint of air? Have you ever been that close? I have.......... as you gasp what are you thinking? What is thought anyway but misguided self absorption.........? Breath to live but live for more then just to breath otherwise you are wasting air .........and do us all a favor if you don’t get it then death is just a breath away.....noj

High
March 29, 2007, 5:10 pm

Who are you to preach your goodness into my unholy face... aint no devil I may have sinned but I keep pushing for the human race .... aint no saint Ive tasted sin so do you kick me out of this race to win the comfort of a belief that you hold in silent space ... I want to get high.......... high ........I want to get high ......so high...... on living for each other as you come together words begin...... and in the time spent listening are we not moveing towards the life within...... the life within...... I want to get high.... I want to get high.....njo

tears fallin ....what does it mean????
March 29, 2007, 2:18 pm

I reach for the sky but cant make my way through the tears falling down....... have we misplaced what once held us firmly standing on this the sacred ground?..... in its essence secrets are revealed and those who choose to listen peel away the veneer... what lies beneath is open to personal revelation veneer has many layers some grow tired and settle in where its comfortable some push on expanding the limits of reality and what should be but never is..... maybe its just better to only peel away a little and settle in where its comfortable because I we don’t want to make our way through the tears falling down......noj