I think it's time to take a good look inward.

 What's shakin' Party People?

    At the time of this writing. I sit on a perch high above my own world. I come here time to time and try to see where I have gone wrong. I also look for ways that I share the mistakes of those whom I care for. If I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I look for the same mistakes that I made with people I don't care for at all.

    This is a difficult place to be, it's uncomfortable, it's agonizing, the fear of the pain it will bring far outweighs the benefit of facing it. In short, It's like being a Fat Guy who knows he needs to exercise but just doesn't want to. Normally my fat ass doesn't hurt anyone unless you're sitting next to me on the plane. It's strange isn't it? My life with all it's issues can exist just fine until I have to interact with someone else. That's more true than false the more I think about it. The same could be said about how I speak, how I feel, and more importantly how I act.

    You remember the kid in your neighborhood that grew up in a house with completely different set of rules than you did? Like their parents let the curse or choose what they wanted for dinner, They seemed liked they could do whatever they wanted while you lived in a version of prison with some G.I. Joe's to play with? They would be at your house to play and would do something that's normal at their house but is a hell worthy trespass in your house. Then you stuck in the middle of two worlds, both real, both have value, yet you're not sure which one to believe in. That's kind of how I feel when I pop in to look at my Facebook feed.

    If what I'm about to talk about makes no sense, I'd suggest that you go see the Netflix Doc, "The Social Dilemma". Watching this film seemed to put a finger on what I felt was going wrong in my life.  I felt disconnected in my own world, I still do to a certain extent. I feel separated from my friends and family, I feel like I have to feel the same way they do on an issue or they won't like me anymore. In turn I have avoided talking to people who were friends because of views they had that I didn't share. So by no means am I innocent in this scenario. I think we're all villains, we're also all victims. We are the kind of victim that no one feels sorry for because we did this to ourselves. I mean you can feel bad for a person who discovered why they became an addict, as we all should. However , once they make a choice not to work on themselves, then I think it's best I save my sympathy for someone where it isn't a waste. For any young idealist reading this word jumble, I'd say to be cautious of a precious thing like a loving heart, there are thieves who will take it just so you don't have it. I'm getting off the subject that I wanted to talk about, sorry about that.

    In a few days, we will have a country divided , isolated, and furious. They have been watching what has been going on in their world, they watch the news, they have their finger on the pulse of what this world is all about. If that were true.....why didn't their guy win? How could this world be on the wrong side of history? It's obvious isn't it?

    We are wrong. We're wrong on how we perceive the world, and we are defiantly completely wrong on how we think other people see the world. Notice I didn't say "You", I said "We". 

    In times of struggle, humanity has always banded together to defeat an adversary, in this case , the adversary has already divided us so we can't use the very evolutionary tool that has given us the power to survive. Yet we must. We must survive. If any of you out there thinks if America collapses, it'll only effect us, you have another thing coming. We must survive, we must work to bridge the divide in all of us and it starts right at home by looking in the mirror and making a choice.

    That's what I'm trying to do anyways. I started by looking how I'm using Facebook and YouTube. I found I was wasting too much time on Facebook and I was building resentment of my friends who I felt were changing for the worst. I replaced the time on Facebook with time on YouTube. That took even more time and attention from my life that I totally could have used on my own well being. It's going to take some time, so why not start on rebuilding now?

    All I know is that no matter who you backed on November 3rd, I'll do my best to be there for you it doesn't go your way.

    Till next time Party People, keep on a chooglin!

    

Compassion and Acceptance, the Lie we Tell Ourselves

Morning Party People,

    I'm writing this through blogger instead of Facebook because I feel this is less of a jerk move. I mean you had to click on this to read it right? It's not like I'm putting a funny background that catches your eye just so I can slide my opinion into your brain much like a jerk who walks by singing the Brady Bunch theme song.

    I read a post about the death of that man by the cops who had their knee on his his neck. It was a very angry post. Why wouldn't it be? It's a horrible thing to have happened, it highlights so many things wrong with the world and the people in it. Then I see a post calling for compassion for everyone involved, including the police. That's when it hit me.

    We lie when we talk about compassion and acceptance. We strove for a world of acceptance but we were only talking about people we like, not the people we hate. We wanted a world of compassion but in the end we only cared about people we choose to care about, not the ones we didn't. We are liars. 

    As a society we looked at the horrible things the previous generations did and said," Not us, we'll never be our parents. We wont do to others what had been to us."

    The cause is different, the energy is still the same.

    I think it's great that the odds of a Mother of Father rejecting their kid for coming out is far less than it was 20 years ago. I think it's great that we show more mercy for people with disabilities or mental issues than we ever have before in my lifetime. I also don't think any of that matters when we treat someone who has a different view on immigration or healthcare like someone who was gay or disabled from 30 years ago. We didn't solve our tribal view, we just shifted our view on our tribe. We learned little on how to live with other tribes.

    For the record, I'm not where I want to be when it comes to these things. I am no saint, I have an easier time being around certain people than others and I am not the nicest person to everyone I meet. So please don't think I'm writing this as I look down from my ivory tower, I'm in the same mob as you and I'm writing this because I'm scared of what we'll do and who we will become afterwards.

    Till next time Party People, Keep on a Chooglin'

What should we do, how should it be done, and who will we do it to?

Morning Party People,

    It's 1 AM and I can't sleep, it was times like these years ago that I would pack up my laptop and go to a Denny's off HWY 60 and Rural in Tempe. I would pop in my headphones and try to get a different view on my thoughts. 

    I don't have a Moon Over My Hammy on deck but 2 out of 3 ain't bad as they say. So like a lot of people, I find myself too much into my own thoughts and feelings. I don't like this feeling, I don't trust it. As much as my heart is a part of me, it's gotten me into some really bad spots in my life. Isn't our emotions the source of everything good in this world? Parhaps, or it's just the inspiration, the starting point for all we accomplish. I'm starting to think it's the actions we take that make this world go round.

    Am I being to litteral? Are we not being literal enough? I think this lockdown had put up a mirror up to our faces and not everyone likes what they see.

    I find myself getting angrier and angrier as they days go on, not so much with myself, mostly at everyone on my timeline. Everyone has a point, everyone has an opinion and it seems like everyone feels like they're right. It's as if because the spectacle of a public beating, a breaking of will is no longer a possibilty therefore we laugh at it. There are consequences though, bullying, doxing , smearing someone's reputation or their ability to create income. soon we can go after their dreams, their loved ones, we can get them to hurt themselves so we don't have to. All of these things have been done in isolated cases, more will come. I think of it like the Old West, the less law there is, mixed with a well armed public, tended to lead to a lot of murder.

    Here's a random thought, how important is it that I'm right? How important is it that you are? Are we willing to sacrifice our morals and values to be right? I bet most of us would never think we would do such a thing, to give up on our morals and values. Oh but those two are so fluid! The can bend and break so eaily given the right motivation, coersion, or situation. You want to hear a confession about my morals and values? You want to know when I let them go and I became a hypocrite?

    The truth is, I never choose to betray my morals and values, those were broken when I wasn't paying attention. Like most people, they were betrayed while I was focusing on being right, being free, being safe.

    I know I'm projecting my journey on the general public, that doesn't mean I'm too far off. I hate to see anyone make the same mistakes that I have.

    I think I'm having a harder time wanting to empathize with other people, or the world as it were. I see the world as a chaotic relationship with a person who doesn't love themselves enough to stop going on benders and making a mess of their lives. Do I try to show the world that someone loves them?  It could work... it might work...oh wait, that usually doesn't work. The fact of the matter is that you can't love anyone more than they love themselves. It's like pouring a gallon jug into an 8 oz glass. They'll get the 8 oz of love, but anything else is a waste and should be used elsewhere.

    As far as this lockdown goes, I have no answers. I don't think were out of it yet, but then again, I don't know if it's as bad as they say it is. I do know that we still haven't gone back to the way it was before 9/11 as far as travel or our rights go. That's the only reason I'm very cautious about this pandemic and the opportinity it can be for those with the "Best Intentions".

    Tell next time Party People, keep on a chooglin'

Hypocrisy, Unfriending, and understanding the need for Evil..all in 48 Hours =D

What's shakin' Party People?

        I've never been a fan of cutting people out of one's life. I think it's something people do too quickly and I find it to be a horrible way to deal with one's problems. I think if that's a big tool in one's skill set, that it will lead to a life of being a weird cat-person who gets pissed off at everything. You know, the kind of person who looks like they're 64 years old when they're really only 45. Over the last 48 hours I've had to examine my feelings on this.
        I think it's a bad idea to cut people out of one's life that are close to you. I know there are totally exceptions. Like if you have a family member for is physically abusive or is constantly lying and stealing from you. I can understand that. If it's something that is philosophical in nature, political in nature, or even just a different world view, then we enter into tricky territory. Then we enter the game of Post-Modern Magic Football, that's the game where you keep moving the goal posts in every situation in life so you feel you're always winning, or feel like someone is always cheating you. Either way, it's built off of perception and not reality....so you know that's got to be good for everyone right?
        Well this week I'm going back on my views of this and I've unfriended a few people in the Denver Comedy Scene .Why? My thoughts, feeling, and perceptions is that these people will cling to their ideals to avoid making a choice of what is right,wrong, or in the gray area of the dreaded in between. In other words, they are not adults who can be trusted.
        You ever wonder why honor is important? Why it was created? Why it's a concept that has endured for centuries? If you've never had to use it, you wouldn't know. It's a form of value in one's word, thoughts and intentions.
        There is a reason why one's word means something. If I say "I give you my word" and then lie to you, then my word no longer has any value. Other people will not trust me and thus my value in that community has gone down.
         The dust up in the scene this week had to do with one comic making a statement about another comic in a way that can be very damaging to one's career. The fact that this statement that I believe to be a falsehood was said in a secret group didn't make things any better. While these things did not involve me directly, they involved one of my friends and a regular on my show. So what do I do?
         I make a choice not to do business with people who make statements that are untrue about another as well as the people who condone such actions. This sucks because this means they're are a lot of rooms and shows that I wont be trying to get on. That means less exposure as well as money. Some things are more important than others.

         The other reason I unfriended people this week is because they say stupid self-righteous bullshit and the fact that I barely know them means I don't have to give two shits whether they live or die. One in  particular had the provocative thought of not supporting an artist who is a shit person because their work is so good. What a big umbrella to through so many tough questions under! No need to think about this on a case per case basis! John Lennon and Bill Cosby can both be cancelled!
         There are plenty of reasons to love and hate many people. The whole statement of that person felt like a virtue signal to me, of which I choose to respond accordingly. "If you don't believe the way I believe then you can unfriend me now!"
        If you insist ....future cat-person.

Till next time Party People,
Keep on a Chooglin!

Could the answer be that we're all right and wrong at the same time?

What's shakin Party People!

I'm up early on a Thursday morning and I'm trying to fix the worlds problems from my studio. Keep in mind, when I say "Fix the World" I mean I'm just trying to find a way to make it do what I tell it to do.

The topic of censorship has been coming up a lot in stand up comedy and rather than have a thoughtful discussion with a way to move forward as a society, a lot of us have chosen to pick a side and show up to the war with merch. Meaning in the argument there are a few valid points, and with those points come many selfish self serving interpretations that suit many a selfish needs.

In my opinion, censorship is trying to ruin comedy but it's making it better by accident. I think anytime you try to control thought and expression it comes back with even more force and meaning. We've already seen this in every decade going back to the 50's when it comes to music and film.

Censorship has evolved along with our technology in the way of demonetizing and search engine results. These tactics are effective in this day and age but I wonder if they will have the same influence in the next few years. At this point I think YouTube is begging for someone to come along and knock them off their perch. The same can be said for Google. Keep in mind that 20 years ago, the power and influence they wield was then possessed by the 24 Hour news cycles, 15 years prior to that it was the 3 major networks, before that the newspapers and so on. In the end , it always backfires.

This week I read an article trying to state the case that comedians George Carlin and Eddie Murphy wouldn't be on the "side" of UN-PC comedy. That whole premise stinks of someone who hasn't been in comedy for a very long time. First thing is first, putting words and intention into a dead person's mouth is fucking gross. Secondly, if you were going to state a person's ideals in an article, maybe ask the person who is still alive instead of just watching a video of someone else's work and using that for your argument.  The weird thing about comedy is no matter how offensive the joke is, there are a lot of us who will always ask the question, was it funny? We're people laughing?

I'll try to be cheerful and inspirational here but life and existence is pain and suffering.  A big part of life is being able to see through the misery that comes in two forms, constant and in abundance. When we can see through all of that bullshit and laugh, to find joy in the cosmic joke of humanity, we are able to rise above the muck and see the true joy in life. That being our thoughts, our feelings, the way we have bonds of love and friendship in a reality that craves conflict and evolution. Laughter is very human, it also spits in the face of power, now matter if that power is above you or below you.

I see both sides of the debate , you won't like either, I'll just tell you now.

I see the comic who cries at how he can't say anything offensive and that his rights are being taken away from him. He's usually a young comic (0-4 years in stand-up) who hasn't figured out how to be funny yet. For the life of them they can't figure our why the baby raping jokes aren't going over.

On the other side , is a comic who doesn't think other comics should say anything offensive and is more interested in influencing the world for the better. They also are about 0-4 years into comedy and haven't found a way to be funny yet. They have a tendency to perform in their support bubbles and mistake clapter for laughter.

The point is, a great cause is an even greater distraction from creating something personal and real in their art. When that work is finally created, you're going to need that freedom of expression to get it to as many people as possible, so be careful what you wish for. Causes have a bad habit of swallowing up the individual if we're not careful.

Till next time Party People, keep on a chooglin!

I don't write as much as I used to and nowhere near as much as I should.

Evening Party People,

               It's been awhile since I've sat down and hit the keys hasn't it. I think in my ego I think perhaps one of you out there on the Internet is waiting for me to write something. Perhaps you connect with what I feel from time to time, maybe these silly blogs give you joy or perhaps just a little piece of mind.
               I bask in my ego for just a moment and realize that perhaps you aren't waiting for me to write something, I am. That part of me that's waiting is wearing a mask that has your face. It knows I crave an audience...it knows me so well. Strange that I don't at times.
               This next month is going to be a challenge, this time by choice. I'm calling it the DisJointed Challenge. In the month of April , I'm going to push my body to work out 15 times in 30 days. 5 workouts must be before work and 5 after work.
               I'm doing this because I want to see if I have what it takes to state a goal and follow through with it. I did a similar challenge of no video games in the month of February. I learned a bit about myself in that month so I'm excited about what I'll learn in April.


               My car seems to be working great now, one less excuse to not hit the open mics. I'm a little nervous about the scene, perhaps my perception of it isn't attuned to what it really is. Everyone has the best intentions of not wanting to offend anyone, which I think is a good thing. However in my view , the world doesn't always deserve to be treated nicely, no one does. That's not to say we shouldn't be nice to one another, I'm saying no one deserves to be treated nicely for no particular reason. The key word is "deserve".
               I think we as a species have forgotten how we got to this era, this time and place of our civilization. We live in a world where we don't treat people with special needs as being mentally ill. While we incarcerate way too many people, we don't don't execute people for minor crimes. Granted we love to watch a person's career and character be publicly executed, we don't hang people or behead them in a town square in America.
               While I think we have many lofty ideals about acceptance and tolerance, we forget that forgiveness is an essential part of moving past (or overcoming) our caveman dna. I think if we can't forgive , if we can't see our enemies with love and compassion, then I don't think it matters how many people are on "Our Side" , in the end we wont change a thing.
               Still stubborn, still vengeful, still clenching our first in the name of what's right, we just can't have nice things.

               Lucky for us, if we stand back a few steps from the world around us, turn the canvass and adjust our view, we can see how comical it all is. My favorite example is everyone hating Kanye for liking Trump and in the same week pretend to care about people suffering from mental illness. That's funny to me. I should save some of this for my act, just felt the need to reach out and say hello.

I hope you're doing well my friends, I really do.

Hamel never left!!!