MOT: Moment of Truth

March 25, 2009, 8:21 am

As I was leaving to meet a couple buddies at Matchbox in Chinatown I told Taylor “It’s 7:50 you don’t have that much time until you need to be asleep…”

Then I thought about how ludicrous the statement was and retracted it immediately:

“Well I am not going to be here, so I guess you can go to sleep whenever you please-”

I’ve never heard her laugh so hard.

“Remember it has not  been easy for you to get up in the morning. Please take that into consideration when deciding when to go to bed”

Moment of Truth: I hope honesty in these moments that mean very little (a bed time ) will gain me credibility for the conversations that mean much (white after labor day, crack smoking, and boys… all equally toxic in my opinion).

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Just another photo

March 22, 2009, 4:56 pm

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A Photo I Like

March 21, 2009, 9:46 am

Have a great day ~

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Fortes fortuna adiuvat: Five Things Friday

March 20, 2009, 9:30 am

It’s a beautiful day in the Nations Capitol, so here are five quick links to things I found interesting/beautiful/ugly/funny/profound/or yo-mamma

1. What I’ve been listening to this week: Bob Marley “No Woman, No Cry”

2. If you want a good laugh, check out Shaq on twitter. He’s sends out tweets to meet fans at diners, gives away tickets and is all around hilarious. Tell him PrettyMike sent you.

3. I’ve spent a great deal of time this week thinking about this quote from Abraham Lincoln, which seems prophetic. “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ”

4. A photo took on St. Patty’s Day which I like:

5. While it reversed it’s position, I was deeply disappointed in the Obama administrations proposal to have private insurance care for veterans wounded in service of our Country.

Fortune Favors the Bold!

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Censoring Your Chil—- I- P–nt–s

March 18, 2009, 8:47 am

When I was a child, Saturday cartoons were permanently ruined when my Grandmother heard He-Man was really calling the Devil when inciting the Power of Grey Skull. At the time I remember equating it to Pop-eye eating his spinach, or Mickey Mouse snorting cocaine before besting evil doers… ok I didn’t know about Mickey until I saw it on E! as an adult.

These days one wrong Google search can lead a child or adult down a road that unexplained may lead to misconceptions about the human body, relationships, puppies, guppies, sails, nails…well you’ve been on the internet so you know?

The benefit of instant access to knowledge and entertainment can be easily overshadowed when considering everything and everyone who also has instant access to us as well.

At this point in time there is no denial of access, kids will always find away to communicate the taboo, see what they are not suppose to, go where not allowed and test the boundaries of life. My feeling is that our greatest weapon is communication, if you are not uncomfortable addressing uncomfortable issues they will feel comfortable asking your opinion about issues, situations and temptations in which they are unsure.

The past few months I’ve been paying close attention to how I communicate. In doing so I began paying especially close attention to what others were saying, and more importantly what they were not saying. I realized how much we assume in communication, at least for myself I realized that a great deal of my frustration used to come from making an assumption about how someone would act because I was too uncomfortable to speak about it directly.

Since then I’ve been practicing Timing and Tone i.e. when I broach difficult conversations and the tone in which I bring up the subject matter.

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Crisis Compartmentalizing Es Muy-Bueno

March 16, 2009, 11:55 am

Everywhere you look the news seems grim, here at PrettyMike WorldWide HQ we have had to start lighting our Cigars with Fifties instead of Hundreds, and instead of drinking The Macallan “Fine and Rare Collection,” 1926,  we have been reduced to swilling Remy Martin’s venerable Louis XIII’s Black Pearl like peasants… but times are tough all over and servants can’t clean a country house if it’s been foreclosed so we must put on a brave face and now make do with extraordinary instead of exquisite.

To that end, I’ve come up with a few keys to staying happy during times of crisis no matter what that crisis maybe.

While crisis requires considerable thought and consideration, it is easy to wear yourself out physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally by indulging the crisis 24/7.

Give yourself a set amount of time to deal with your issue everyday as much time as you need according to the severity of your crisis, however, once that time has run out each day it’s imperative to free yourself from the situation and do something stress free.

An unencumbered heart and mind is key to making the necessary rationale decisions to move out of crisis into victory.

As for me, I take long walks and look at the beauty in nature, architecture and in the faces of those I pass. I take refuge in the knowledge that I am trying to be the best person I can be each day for all humanity globally, for my neighbors locally and for posterity sake.

Be Good To Others and Yourself.

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Friday "News"

March 13, 2009, 3:36 pm

It’s Friday the 13th and this week has been full of “new”s

Full of Great Style and Imagery my new favorite reads include:

http://seventhingstowritehomeabout.blogspot.com/

and my new guide for style:

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

New Route:

Found a new way to walk Taylor “To and Fro” from school.

New Relationships:

I began trying to redefine some relationships that weren’t working and spend more time on others that are.

New Shampoo:

I’ve been using Rosemary Mint Shampoo from Aveda and could not be happier. Having used a bar of soap for years and now realize what I’ve been missing.

New Park:

I found a new dog park in which to take Clarence and Taylor. We have gotten to know several new friends in the neighborhood.

Going to Relax. See You Next Week.

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Don't Quote Me On It: The Common Denominator of Dating and Living

March 9, 2009, 9:42 pm

Talking to a friend some time ago- she said that after a series of failed relationships she was complaining to her girlfriend about each of the men and why they had been failures. After her rant, her friend simply asked “what’s the common denominator ?”.

She was-

And in fact most times. We Are.

If the idiot at the bank, store, laundry, restaurant is constantly making your life hell and causing static, chances are that idiot is you.

If all the guys you date are jerks and all the girls self centered narcissist, then maybe it’s your selection process that needs refining. It’s my humble opinion that like happiness two people can simply choose to make a life together then be happy by making the choice of togetherness the base for all future decisions.

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The Circular Logic of My Grand Hypocrisy: Toltec Troy

March 8, 2009, 11:19 am

My good friend Troy sent me a semi-gay email this week citing that I was “non-judgmental and a kind responsible advice giver”. As I was thinking about how dashingly progressive and non-judgmental I am and about how I was teaching Taylor  to be a tolerant young woman. I was suddenly terrified when I realized this position could easily back fire in the form of some young penisface who she would swear “was doing the best he could”, “living his life”, or in a position ” we could be in if we had some of the same bad experiences”… I could see her spitting my words back at me.

What I had meant for her to share with humanity, I am now realizing could be used on some young man.  Sorry universe, whoever shows up at my door have better figured out how to control his journey and keep his karma to himself or his spirit will be seeking a new shell to inhabit in short order.

Before completely abandoning my belief system I thought about my life and some of the baggage I’d been carrying around.  For people and relationships that were doing me more harm than good, people looking only to take and not give…Anton Lavey Author of the Satanic Bible calls these people social vampires and they will suck out your good will and infect you with their despair.

How are we to be empathetic, tolerant and understanding while not letting those who thrive on drama, and live in despair get us wrapped up in it?

The answer was fairly simple although may sound dramatic: When I was a Combat Water Safety Swimmer in the Marines one of the very first lessons they teach is if someone is in such a state of panic they won’t let you save them then you have to let them drown. It’s better to let one person drown than lose two.

You have to vet  people in your life, only over time and under tension is true character is revealed.

While you should always be available to lend an ear, have a shoulder to cry on or give a pat on the back- we must establish boundaries which allow us to continue on our journey.

Troy’s email really gave me a boost on a day I needed it and is even more relevant and inspiring today. He said this quote was from The Complete Idiots Guide to Toltec Wisdom and as he read it he was reminded of me:

” -The war we are engaged in is with our own mind, not with anyone outside of our self. We recognized that the only thing in life we can have any control over is ourselfs, the way we act, the way we think, the way we speak to ourselves and others, and our daily decisions. The Warrior seeks freedom to be able to move through his or her life without having to link self-worth to the beliefs, thoughts, and wishes of one’s fellow man. Along with that comes the freedom to be happy no matter what happens in life.” (Quote from Email not Book) Thanks Buddy.

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Spring

March 7, 2009, 2:41 pm

When spring arrives it seems like natural order to prune the limbs in our life that are not growing. It’s painful sure but after cutting a limb that won’t grow you make room for new limbs ready to bear beautiful flowers.

No doubt pruning unhealthy limbs in our lives is not easy, it can be scary. But have faith that what feels bare at first will soon be blooming with something more beautiful than you could have imagined.

Be good to others and yourself-

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