You Got What You Deserved

You have a few young kids, and they're out of control and driving you crazy.  You'll break your back working for the money to support them.  You'll be consumed with worry for them.  You brought them into the world to suffer, so you got what you deserved.
You are a mentally-sound adult, you have access to money, you eat meat, you're fat, you have no plans to ever stop eating meat, and no one will ever love you: at least not the way you want them to.  You got what you deserved.
Your only biological son killed himself.  You were counting on him to take care of you in your old age, and now there's no one.  You brought him into this world to suffer, so you got what you deserved.
You're a mentally-sound adult, you have access to money, you love meat, you make bacon jokes, you ate too much meat, and you got cancer as a result.  You got what you deserved.
 

Death World

Any faithful reader of this blog will agree that I've gone on, at length, about how cruel it is for a person to bring animals or people into this world.  This time, I'll focus on one reason.  The existence of death alone is reason enough to not bring someone into this world.
If one doesn't die young, then one will have to deal with the deaths of beloved pets, friends, relatives, spouses, significant others, famous people they're fans of, etc.  Having to deal with the deaths of others has obviously shattered people's lives.  Some never recover from it.  And, compounding the situation, more deaths will follow; it's guaranteed.
I can still recall when, as a kid, I first began to grasp the concept of death.  It blew my little mind.  It was traumatic.  All this will just fade to black? I thought.  I won't wake up anymore?  I won't think anymore?  I won't see or hear anything anymore?
Perhaps this is part of the reason why metal is my favorite sort of music.  There is a subgenre of it called "death metal."  Obviously, death metal doesn't dance around the subject of death.  It's right there: in your face, in the name.  Metal lyrics tend to be more honest than what you'll find in other sorts of music.  For instance, as far as I know, there isn't a subgenre of metal called "love metal."  As far as I'm concerned, most love songs are garbage.  Is love between a man and a woman (or a gay couple) real?  Sometimes.  Or, in most cases, is it really lust that will fade?  How many pop stars have released songs where they're singing about how they'll love one person forever?  Meanwhile, they're getting more ass than a toilet seat.

Kurt Cobain's Suicide Note

(I, not Cobain, am responsible for highlighting (bold) words.)
"To Boddah
Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.
All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guity beyond words about these things.
For example when we're back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn't affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can't fool you, any one of you. It simply isn't fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I'm having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I've tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it's not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they're gone. I'm too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.
On our last 3 tours, I've had a much better appreciation for all the people I've known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don't you just enjoy it? I don't know!
I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become.
I have it good, very good, and I'm grateful, but since the age of seven, I've become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I'm too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away.
Peace, love, empathy.
Kurt Cobain
Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your alter.
Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.
For her life, which will be so much happier without me.

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!"

Kreator

This song isn't on this album, but this is one of my favorite album covers.

Love Us Or Hate Us (Kreator song)

Don't try to tell us what is right for us
We don't give a fuck anyway
Don't try to steal imagination from us
Things we believe, we will never betray

Those who have the power to
Suck us dry, throw us away
Those who never could create
Destroy the music of today
Those devoid of any feeling
Those who make the compromise
Betray themselves to make a deal
Sell their soul at any price

Sounds without feeling, energy of agressions
From money hungry brains and not from the heart
Fortune, fame and glory are their obsessions
Salesman, deaf to music, blind to art,

No honesty, just sterility a cautious sound they make
Without creativity it's still the same
As another age when they took the words
Of truth and put them to a flame

No more
Love us or hate us
No more
Love us or hate us

Some have eyes and still can't see
Their plastic noise is anything but music to me
Mechanized and computerized
Switch off your brain and make sounds that dehumanize

No more
Love us or hate us
No more
Love us or hate us

Don't try to take our dreams away from us
We will never be like you
Love us or hate us, it doesn't matter to me
We don't want to be a part of this sick society

Those who have a passion to
Will never change our way of life
We may not think the way you do
But we know that we are right
Those who want to form a world
Of friends and monotony
Will have to do it without us
'Cause we always be free

I Don't Believe in Love

 
(a Queensryche song)

I awoke on impact
Under surveillance from the camera eye
Searching high and low
The criminal mind found at the scene of the crime
Handcuffed and blind, I didn't do it
She said she loved me
I guess I never knew
But do we ever, ever really know?
She said she'd meet me on the other side
But I knew right then, I'd never find her
I don't believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don't believe in love
It's never worth the pain that you feel
No more nightmares, I've seen them all
From the day I was born, they've haunted my every move
Every open hand's there to push and shove
No time for love it doesn't matter
She made a difference
I guess she had a way
Of making every night seem bright as day
Now I walk in shadows, never see the light
She must have lied 'cause she never said goodbye
I don't believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don't believe in love
I'll just pretend she never was real
I don't believe in love
I need to forget her face, I see it still
I don't believe in love
It's never worth the pain that you feel
No chance for contact
There's no raison d'etre
My only hope is one day I'll forget
The pain of knowing what can never be
With or without love it's all the same to me
I don't believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don't believe in love
I'll just pretend she never was real
I don't believe in love
I need to forget her face, I see it still
I don't believe in love
It's never worth the pain that you feel

Jack & Berkeley

Jack & Berkeley are my friends.  They are also my friend's cats.  I love them.  They make life better.  Pets can extend the lives of people who take care of them.  Petting, and cuddling with, them has therapeutic value.
Berkeley is more outgoing than Jack.  It took me a while to get to know Jack.  Every time I visited my friend's house, for the longest time, he would hide from me the whole time I was there.  Eventually, he came around.  He scares easily.   We continue to have breakthroughs.  Just as I had done several times before, I spent the night on my friend's couch in his house.  But, this time, Jack slept on top of my lower legs.  Jack's a big cat; he's overweight.  But even though I was uncomfortable, I was happy to have him there.
Berkeley is cute too.  One time, he lied on the couch in a way that made a perfect pillow for me.  I just had to put my head (gently) toward the couch, and it would land on Berkeley.  He didn't mind being my pillow for a while. 
It's a shame people love their pets so much, but eat meat, and, by doing so, show they don't care about the animals they're eating.  If only people could imagine their cat or dog in place of the chicken, cow, pig, or turkey that had his of her life taken so they could eat whatever they want for lunch.  We're in control.  Humans are the strong, and animals are the weak.  Animals love it when we treat them well.  It's a real shame that we treat so many of them so cruelly.

A Letter from a Parakeet to Her Human Warden

How would you like to live like this?

Why do you keep me in this cage?  I don't understand you.  You tell me you love me.  I don't believe you.  I don't believe you at all.  You say you love your kids too, but you don't imprison them in cages.  You say you love your husband, but he doesn't have to live in a cage.  Why me?  What did I ever do to you?  I've never hurt any person or animal.  I've never stolen anything.  I've never robbed a bank.  I'm not a terrorist.  I don't understand why I'm locked in this cage.
Are you jealous of me?  Are you jealous of my ability to fly?  Is this your response to that jealousy?  To imprison me in a cage so I can't fly?  It's not my fault I can fly.  I was born to have this advantage.  And I guess you were born to have the ability to take it away from me.
I want to be free.  I want to fly.  I want out of this cage.  If you really loved me, you wouldn't keep me in this cage.  Polly want a cracker?  No.  Polly wants to be free: free to spread her wings and fly.

The Bald Vegan adds-"If you have a pet bird, that bird is dependent on you.  Perhaps he or she has spent his or her entire life being dependent on humans to be fed.  So, if by some miracle, what you've read here has moved you, and you want to free your pet bird, that might not be the right thing to do.  On the other hand, it might be the right thing to do.  You should do some research into the matter before setting the bird(s) free: to see if it's the right thing to do.  Find out how they would fare in the wild before doing it.  Please don't buy any more birds that you'll imprison in cages.  You know you wouldn't want to live that way, so why force an animal to live like that?  Sting sang, 'If you love somebody, set them free.'  If, after doing ample research, you've determined that your bird inmates would thrive in the wild, then set them free.  Ideally, you'd leave the cage by an open window, with the cage door open, so the bird can make his or her own choice whether to remain  free or return."     

A Letter from a Dog to Humans

Please be nice to me and don't hurt me.

Please be nice to us.  Please don't ever hurt us.  Sometimes my dad comes home from wherever he goes, and he's very mean to me: even if I did nothing wrong that day.  He yells at me; sometimes he hits or kicks me, and I don't know why.  It seems like he's mad about what happened while he was "out there."  I love him so much, and I still do, no matter what he does to me.  But I love him unconditionally, no matter what, and I wish he'd love me that way too.  I never get mad at him: not even when he gives me a bath or takes me to the vet.
We trust you completely; it's been that way for hundreds of years now.  We put our lives in your hands.  We give you all we have to give: our entire bodies.  We can't give anymore.  Don't you see how wrong it is to betray our trust?  But people have made us fight each other.  People have hurt, tortured, and killed us in lab experiments.
If you're a breeder, please stop bringing more dogs into the world and spend your time doing something better.  So many of us are living in cages in shelters.  When you bring a dog into the world, and someone buys him or her, then there is a dog living in a cage in a shelter that could have been adopted if you hadn't sold that dog.  So many dogs need good homes; please don't make matters worse.
Please don't give up on your dog.  My friend, the bald vegan, was living with his ex-girlfriend years ago.  His ex-girlfriend wanted to get a dog.  The bald vegan asked her to not get a dog, becasue he was too lazy to walk a dog every day at the time, and he didn't yet know how great dogs are.  His ex-girlfriend got a dog anyway.  Just as he suspected, he was expected to walk him every day.  But the bald vegan has strong feelings about animals.  Even though he had not agreed to get a dog, he never once suggested that she get rid of him.  He believes that when you make a commitment to a pet, it should be for life: either the life of the pet or the person.  Even though the little guy bit him several times, he fell completely in love with him, and would not have wanted him to leave his home at all.  Getting a dog, then having a baby, then getting rid of your dog cause you're worried about the baby is a crappy thing to do.          

I Still Love Squirrels

I love all of them.

I've seen so many squirrels in my lifetime, and, in my way, I've loved them all.  I still watch them.  They are not boring to me.  They are cute.
I tried to feed a squirrel that had climbed up a telephone pole.  She was hanging out there, ready to shimmy across the wire to the other side, when I jiggled the bag that held whole walnuts, which, of course, I bought for my squirrel neighbors.  She hesitated.  She seemed to be quite interested in what was going on, but she remained on her lofty perch.  I decided to toss a walnut toward the pole.  I thought she might come down and get it.  She didn't, though.  Instead, she shimmied across the wire toward the east.  I picked up the nut and tossed it onto the grass in front of my windows, hoping I'd see a squirrel get it.  I didn't, though.  The next day, I went out for a job interview, and, when I returned, the nut was gone.  I'm 99.9% sure a squirrel got it, and that's all that matters.
I used to spoil the squirrels around here with whole nuts.  I think either they've forgotten me doing this, or these are some new squirrels on the block.  When I jiggle the nut bag, they don't come hopping towards me like they used to.  On the contrary, the noise seems to scare them away.
Anyway, I had my chance with another squirrel.  She was tens of feet away.  I figured I'd toss the nut in front of her, she'd notice it, then she'd get it.  I threw it badly, though.  Instead of going as far as I wanted it to, it went high.  Give me a break, I was thinking.  Odds are, it would land on the grass.  There's more grass than sidewalk in that area.  Just my luck, it landed on the sidewalk with a loud sound.  The squirrel jumped at the noise, but she recovered quickly.  I think it took at most a second, if not less than one, for her to grab a piece of the nut after it had shattered on the sidewalk.  Then she took off.  She knew she had a rare treat, and she'd better go eat or bury it before another squirrel tried to take it away from her.  

Please Treat Animals Well

Now that's a horse that I would ride.

I was walking near a Wal-Mart.  I noticed a young man addressing a seagull in an impolite way.  If he had taken action against the seagull, I would like to think I would have intervened.  I would have told him to leave the seagull alone.  Or what?  He might have asked.  Or I'll knock your teeth down your throat.  He probably would have been shocked.  He likely would not have believed that a skinny, short, "old" guy would confront him like that.  But no, he just gave a disdainful look to the seagull and walked on. 
I often get offended while watching TV.  While channel surfing today, I came across a hunting program, which, of course, make me sick.  This hunter picked up a dead duck, and said to his buddy, "It landed right at my feet.  It literally hit me in the knee on the way down."  Predictably, his idiot buddy laughed.  I changed the channel in disgust. 
Duck Dynasty, I hear, is an extremely popular TV show.  I don't have cable; I've never seen it.  From what I've read, it's about hillbillies that have gotten rich by helping people kill ducks.  I'm rooting for the ducks: not the hillbillies.  I don't care how long their beards are.  If I was given power of life and death, and was forced to choose who would die, either a duck or one of the Duck Dynasty hillbillies, I would spare the lives of the ducks every time.  I don't care how long their beards are, every single duck in the world is cuter than they are.  F___ those Duck Dynasty ass_____. 
Trust me, it always feels good to treat animals well.  I don't know if I believe in karma, but I do at least sometimes.  If you're going around and dealing out death and violence, then maybe you should expect some to come back in your direction.  Don't you think things would work out better for you if you tried to be good instead of evil?
If you love all the animals, and live your life that way everyday, then I love you.  But it's not enough.  People like us need to try to change the hearts and minds of those who eat meat and don't care about animals beyond their pets.  The animals literally don't have a voice; we must speak up for them.       

Bad Groundhog Mommy

What happened to your cheek, baby?

Betsy is a bad groundhog mommy.  As far as she is concerned, her daughters can't go out while she is out.  One of my favorite groundhogs ever, Runty, cautiously approached her mother.  I saw trouble brewing.  Sure enough, she chased after Runty.  Runty ran like her life was at stake; maybe it was.  Betsy chases all of her daughters around.  I guess they're not cute enough for her anymore, and maybe she thinks they should leave the area.  It's a real shame.  Young groundhogs have so much to fear around here.  Of course, yesterday was Independence Day, which meant that idiots were setting off fireworks.  I hate that crap.  I saw the poor, scared groundhogs.  Why must we terrorize the animals of this world so much?
Sometimes the young groundhogs cry when their mommy is chasing them.  I don't blame them.  They have so much to fear.  The damn out-of-control kids around here seem to want to terrorize animals more than anything else.  Thank goodness I'm here to protect them.  I've told kids to leave animals alone twice, and I'll do it as much as I need to.  If their fathers have a problem with that, they better watch it.  I don't care how tough he thinks he is, I won't back down when it comes to protecting animals.  It's wrong for the little bastards to chase and throw rocks at wild animals.  I'll put the fear of god into cruel kids if I need to.
I feel bad for the stray cats in the area, but they scare the hell out of the young groundhogs too.  They're so cute, but they live in a world that frightens them so much.
Betsy is not the only bad groundhog mommy; Sheila was too.  I saw her attack one of her youngsters.  This is such a violent world.  Kill or be killed, they say.  I'm all for peace.  I'll attack no person or animal for no reason.  But if I need to defend myself, or another, I'm ready.  I'm in shape, and I know how to fight.  I won't start trouble, but I'll end it if I have to.
The groundhogs are smart.  I watched Betsy run to the fence which marks the end of the apartment complex.  Then she went under it and into no man's land, which is a narrow wilderness area that stands between this apt. complex and a Wal-Mart.  She'd be safe there.  I wonder if a groundhog dug that hole that goes under the fence.  They are good diggers.  I love 'em all.