Okay, I'm not a fan of controversy nor do I try to push people's buttons but, I've come to certain conclusions about a few ideas that can be viewed as well "wrong" or insensitive. One of those ideas is about our staff-wielding homie, Moses. So as the story goes (I say story because that is what it is), Moses was out with the flock and came upon Mount Horeb. As he looked up he saw a strange sight. In the distance a bush seemed to be on fire. Yet the bush didn't burn up, nor did the fire die down any. Curiosity drew him in closer, and God called out to him from this bush. They had their little conversation where stuff like the ten commandments came about. OK, fine. It's a great tale but it just doesn't seem right. I mean I would be crazy to not question this just like how I question many other theories not having anything to do with religion.
On one of those rare nice spring days in Buffalo, NY, a friend and I sat on the porch and did our usual sophomore in college routine. We lit the all natural. Rambling random thoughts, jumping from topic to topic, we stumbled upon religion (not the first time, this has happened). We probed and prodded our minds till Mr. Moses and his burning bush story came up. Juggling that issue in our minds for a minute, we seemingly have this "Eureka Moment" simultaneously. "Moses smoked weed"... OK, pause...Crazy? Oh yeah, but It just seemed to make a lot of sense. Substituting our "Burning Bush" for his "Burning Bush" the story took on a whole new and realistic light. Moses talked to God while smoking weed; a valid argument to me. I'm not saying he went up on the mountain and rolled a spliff (though, who knows), but maybe a field with marijuana was burning and he happened to inhale some. I'm not saying Moses was a stoner, it could've been as innocent as breathing but it makes way more sense (to me). Drugs were used in many religious rituals worldwide. They calmed or excited their users into a state were they felt closer to their god(s). Why not Moses? I mean read the ten commandments, they sound like some peace loving , hippie shit. "Thou shall not kill" "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor" Hippie shit 100%.
I honestly doubt we're the first people to put two and two together about this story, it seems too obvious now. But I haven't heard it before. This is not a pro-marijuana entry or anything of the sort. Though it is an example of free thinking and hypothesizing. Questions with seemingly obvious answers should still be asked and religion should be at the forefront of this questioning. “There's a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled. Religion is the best device used to mislead them.” - Michael Moore
- The Mad Musician
Song for Post: "Get up, Stand up"- Bob Marley
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
We TRIPPED into it all...
Chaos gives new life, and little more than a half century ago, things were about as chaotic as ever. Politics were deeply enthralled in foreign matters such as war. The Vietnam War was in full effect and taking a toll on US Soldiers, not because they were poorly trained, had insufficient resources or inferior weapons, but because many of our soldiers were stoned. Opium, heroine, LSD and marijuana really got their starts during this time and drug use/abuse by soldiers has been well documented. After the war was over and we gave "Peace a Chance", our soldiers came back : some as junkies, others needing it to cope with the insane amounts of death and carnage they bared witness to. Drug use quickly spread from just our troops to the general population. Here marks the rise of Frank Lucas (American Gangster), the Italian Mafia (Goodfellas) and the Cuban/Miami Connect (Scarface). Drugs were growing ever-popular by the day, and those who had the balls and resources to import these products were becoming unimaginably wealthy in a short period of time.
It didn't take long before this widespread drug use took it's effect on society, for good and for bad. Everyone knows the bad-- Crime, corruption, disease, addiction, but the good is what some may overlook or refuse to even acknowledge. Individual expression took a shot in the arm, so to speak, and the arts were directly affected by it. Music evolved into a whole new sound and with the steady advancements in technology, new genres were born and they older ones were given a much needed breathe of fresh air. Drugs aided musicians to focus acutely and express exactly what they felt. From the Beatles to Pink Floyd, from the Rolling stones to Jimi Hendrix, musicians were at the forefront of the new era. An era were politics were secondary and the people (the individual) came first.
We fast forward thru the experimental hardtimes of the 60's to the LSD plagued- groovy years of the 70's to the cocaine-driven party times of the 80's, we stagger into my generation-- a potent cocktail of pills and thrills. My generation listened to music, watched cartoons/TV shows, wore fashion and used technology created by the minds from the tripped out past generations. Hell, many of those same hippies and party-people are our parents! We have it good, the best of the best weed is available, the purest coke is only a call away, for like any business, people began to specialize and technology is improving exponentially. But we also have it tough, for drug laws created by the government makes the consequences of drug use extremely difficult to overcome, some drugs are becoming "too good", too potent, and we maybe should ask ourselves "how high do we really need to get?" When did weed become not enough? Should it be an everyday thing? Or just every now and then to take the edge off (or put the edge on, lol)? Should marijuana really be legalized? I know how I feel, but how do you?
-The Mad Musician
It didn't take long before this widespread drug use took it's effect on society, for good and for bad. Everyone knows the bad-- Crime, corruption, disease, addiction, but the good is what some may overlook or refuse to even acknowledge. Individual expression took a shot in the arm, so to speak, and the arts were directly affected by it. Music evolved into a whole new sound and with the steady advancements in technology, new genres were born and they older ones were given a much needed breathe of fresh air. Drugs aided musicians to focus acutely and express exactly what they felt. From the Beatles to Pink Floyd, from the Rolling stones to Jimi Hendrix, musicians were at the forefront of the new era. An era were politics were secondary and the people (the individual) came first.
We fast forward thru the experimental hardtimes of the 60's to the LSD plagued- groovy years of the 70's to the cocaine-driven party times of the 80's, we stagger into my generation-- a potent cocktail of pills and thrills. My generation listened to music, watched cartoons/TV shows, wore fashion and used technology created by the minds from the tripped out past generations. Hell, many of those same hippies and party-people are our parents! We have it good, the best of the best weed is available, the purest coke is only a call away, for like any business, people began to specialize and technology is improving exponentially. But we also have it tough, for drug laws created by the government makes the consequences of drug use extremely difficult to overcome, some drugs are becoming "too good", too potent, and we maybe should ask ourselves "how high do we really need to get?" When did weed become not enough? Should it be an everyday thing? Or just every now and then to take the edge off (or put the edge on, lol)? Should marijuana really be legalized? I know how I feel, but how do you?
-The Mad Musician
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The World's Envy
MUSIC- [myoo-zik] –noun
| 1. | an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. Heard by countless. Listened to by many. Appreciated by few. Understood by little. LIFE for who it chooses. Many claim to have a love for music, and they damn sure probably do, but for those who have no purpose (absolutely, no purpose) on this earth but to exude, enlighten, and embody it for all its worth, should be interminably humbled and ever-satisfied. To have an understanding of music, be it as a musician or an instinctual listener, is to intuitively realize the purpose and reason for the placement of each note. For the musician's mind is a funny thing. A funny thing that is envied but also revered. Talent is embedded, predetermined, already encoded; itching for the right sequence of events and experiences to reveal itself. Once the host discovers their raw talent, it is up to them to be disciplined enough to nurture and develop it, in order to reap the rewards. Some do and some don't, it's contingent on the individual. Then there is the extremely rare 0.0001% of us that I like to call savants, you may know them as Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Armstrong, Parker, Davis, Hendrix, Santana, and of course, Marley. They are all without a doubt legends and things seemed to come so easy to them, it wasn't like second nature-- it was nature. This blog is an oozing orifice into my mind, discharging mostly my thoughts on music and perhaps some other random views. Hope you enjoy and return for more. Bookmark it. -The Mad Musician |
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