The Walking Phone ZOMBIES: Did I miss a meeting on being an adult?

Smart Phones are awesome!
It's like having a computer, a cd player, a camera and a phone in my pocket!
I love having music to listen to...but not too loud so that I can't hear someone else's footsteps or a car. Unless of course it's a Prius. Which is also a reason to keep my phone in my pocket and my head up and eyes alert. I don't want to get smashed by a Prius. That would totally suck. And since I am already compromising my hearing with my ear buds, I feel it necessary to constantly check my surroundings using my eyeballs. My eyeballs are also awesome. They keep me from running into things all the time. All the time! In fact it's pretty much guaranteed that if I use them, I won't run into stuff.
SO far, so good. Right?

But when I look around, all I see are people walking with their eyes locked into their phone screens, with their heads bent. Texting. 

And I have to ask myself:  Did I miss a meeting on being an adult?

It's like a multi player game of side-walk-chicken. I admit, people's peripheral vision has become very sharp in the process. But the fact that everyone is looking down with their heads slightly bent is kinda Twilight-Zoney. It's weird. I see parents using their own children as seeing eye dogs!  WTF? And it is something I cannot get use to. I saw a lady near the Bart station walking while typing on her ipad. This particular Bart station has a history of muggings. I think any metropolitan train station has a history of muggings. So when I saw a lady almost get hit by a car while walking with her ipad, I noticed something strange. She barely even acknowledged the car who skidded to a stop in front of her. She just walked out into the street without looking up. It was a cross walk, but you still need to look. She kept walking to the other side of the street and I noticed the driver was on his phone, shaking his head. Probably telling the person on the phone what just happened; some stupid lady walking and typing on her ipad (almost getting hit by someone driving and talking on the phone.) I am pretty sure I heard Darwin laughing somewhere beyond the clouds. I wasn't laughing, though. I was a block away when all this happened. I was actually in a state of disbelief. I have read about muggings in this area, but I never knew WHY muggers chose this area. That lady was SO distracted that not only did she almost get hit by a car, but... she didn't see A BLACK MAN was approaching her on foot. Luckily for her, it was me. And she didn't even see me until I said something to her. I said very articulately, " Hey...you might want to pay attention to your surroundings in this area. There have been muggings and phone snatches. " I said this as I was walking, so as not to startle her. I should have screamed BOO! But I didn't. If she had dropped her ipad, I would have felt bad. And probably arrested for attempted robbery. You know how it is. Being black. It would have been a tactical error on my part to make her drop her ipad for any reason. I just wanted to help, really. She was a sitting duck out there. A robber has an advantage of surprise if you don't see him/her casing you from a block away.
I hope she understood. I really do.

I'm not trying to be a do-gooder, nor am I attempting to win an award for outstanding citizen. I just see a bunch of people who are REALLY spacin' out big time, man. If the consequence of spacing out is a concussion or a robbery or both, then that's a problem. Even the news is starting to issue broadcast warnings for people to start paying attention to their surroundings.

I have yelled, " Hey,  get out of the street!" to more adults than children. People are meandering into the street on their phones. I see them do it right in front of me. Their phone rings; they answer. They politely walk away from people on the sidewalk so that they don't disturb them (which is a courteous gesture), but they walk right into the street. Without looking. The nearest and most convenient place of privacy. And they stand there and talk and gesticulate. And then all of a sudden, as if out of no where: SCREEEEETCH!! HONK!!! BEEEEEEP!!

(blink blink)

(Sigh...)

I don't know what the remedy to this phenomenon is. People don't appreciate being reprimanded in public for anything. Especially if they are actually doing something stupid. Like talking on the phone in the middle of the street. Children aren't allowed to do this. Because it is dangerous. Most people tend to ignore my warning until a car comes. So I don't really know what the solution is here.
I just have to see it all the time.

What I do know is this: So far... in the history of our existence here on earth, there has never been a time when everyone on the planet has had a satellite communication device. So I understand it's kind of a new thing. I am sure that in the future, people will eventually adapt. Until then...it's looking pretty awkward out there. A dumbing down effect is in order. Since the dot com venture capitalist game started in the 90s, people have become addicted to technology. We are adults. We are all guilty. We were all told things when we were young that apply to this very topic.
" If you sit too close to the TV, you're gonna go blind and stupid! "

So...people. 

Beware of the walking phone zombies. 

Be aware.

Your friendly cyberhood 

Uncle Samurai

What you might not know about American History: The Soul of Rock 'N Roll

The history of American music is fascinating. It is a small percent of world history, but amazing nonetheless.

It tells the forgotten stories that didn't quite make it into our lessons at school.
Stories that speak of people surviving the process of manifest destiny.
First hand accounts. Information that was edited out of our own national history, to benefit the wealthy and those that seek control. Stories that allow you to really see the cause and effect of these peoples actions as they happened. And why some things are the way they are today. Some things. Not all things.

And as we grow older and more curious, we begin to wonder who some of these people were. How they endured. And information slowly becomes available by the few who take time to do the research. And we discover old stories that fit like a missing puzzle into this vast jig sawed portrait of American history. And we learn a little bit more each day about our past, as we continue to add more pieces. Which enables us to really think about who we are and what we are doing with our future.

And a lot of that missing information is available to anyone with a computer.
Anyone who is curious enough to seek it may now find it with a simple push of a button. And in an era of information and modern technology, some of us are becoming curious as to what actually happened in the last 200 years. Who are these people? And what stories lie hidden in their songs?

Here is a book with a list of some of these people if you are curious:

The Soul of Rock 'N Roll: A History of African Americans in Rock Music

A.L.A. W.A.T. U. S.O.D.

What is up with America, now? It seems like Mike Judge is a prophet. His movie Idiocracy is right on point.
Is it just me?
Because...

I see a nation of individuality
with finger tip convenience for you and me
information screams availability
the rich use it for the things they need
they post pictures of the food they eat
and our attention span will never be
focused on our fraudulent society

Every moment is spent with your phone some way
With your eyes locked tight on your screen display
You need a GPS to drive a mile away
who keeps cryin' 'bout the teacher's pay
yeah no one listens to them anyway
cuz everybody's gotta text to make
while the need for education just fades away

They keep you distracted disabled and numb
They manifest reasons we need all these guns
A shell game of blame in a world which is run
By the folks who work hard each day
As they believe they should all get payed
To keep us guessing in a way that we all just stay dumb

As long as we all just stay dumb

and it's A.L.A.. W.A.T. U. S.O.D. now

Every headline speaks to your hostility
until you lose your mind and all your empathy
every glass is full of negativity
The middle class doesn't whine to be
Between a rock and all the irony
So far away from that money tree
But a little too close to the poverty

Every day is spent with your phone some way
With your eyes locked tight on your screen display
You need a GPS to walk a side walk straight
and who was cryin' about the teacher's pay
no one listens to them anyway
cuz everybody's gotta text to make
while the need for education just drifts away

They want you distracted disabled and numb
They manifest reasons we need all these guns
A shell game of blame in a world which is run
By the folks who work hard each day
As they believe they should all get payed
To keep us guessing in a way that we all just stay dumb

As long as we all just stay dumb

and it's A.L.A.. W.A.T. U. S.O.D. now

The United States Of Scapegoats

Every 4 years we elect a scapegoat. It's like we need a ball to toss back and forth over the net that sits between our 2 political parties. Comedian Lewis Black has put it best: What's worse than a Republican or Democrat? The 2 of them "working" together.
And that always alleviates a major percentage of the population from responsibility of blame. Convenient, sure. But that allows U.S. citizens to sidestep the required humility that is needed to grow as a nation of individuals. Why? Because of our uncanny ability to argue. Because of our ability to use anecdotes and sarcasm to avoid thinking on a scale that includes 7 billion people. Because most everyone is broke and scrambling to survive, resulting in a desperate anger which can be manipulated by the wealthy. Because a 2 party system is a perfect arena for this continuum. Because our attention span can't handle anything more than 140 words. Because we simply don't realize the true power of what "99%" actually means. Because we have figured out that instead of tolerance and patience, a quick FUCK YOU backed by a kill shot is always going to be the solution.
We know all this shit, yet for some reason we still can't seem to do anything except wait for someone to become a martyr/sacrifice for our inability to take individual responsibility for our future.
I don't have any answers either. And I am just as guilty as everybody.

In fact all I am really saying is that I wrote a song about this on going epidemic (which has been a part of human existence since the Roman Empire) because just like you...I really don't want to be the next martyr/sacrificial lamb either.Who in their right mind would dare try and resolve a nation of people who's religion is money? That's what the fuck Jesus was tryna tell you greedy dipshit politican/bankers in the first fucking place. And I am buddhist and can see this clearly. WTF?!
So while some of you are waiting for that particular person to arrive with the magic solution...here is a song you can bug out to.

Pay no attention to the fool on the hill trying to hide his disguise
Haze and smoke behind the mirrors as the years burn red in your eyes
Pass that buck like a flame and we'll know who to blame next time
Ask that man in the hot seat sweatin' through the cracks of his mind

We got a scapegoat now, we knew he'd turn up somehow
So take your problems on down for the man with the two horned crown
We got him now! We got him now yeah...we got a scapegoat now
We got him now yeah!

Bend right over til your back starts to break from the weight in your arms
Send your burdens to the top because they never seem to do him harm
He was made to take a punch we just never had a hunch who he was
See him wobble back and forth at the podium of promises

We got a scapegoat now, we knew he'd turn up somehow
So take your problems on down for the man with the two horned crown
We got him now! We got him now yeah...we got a scapegoat now
We got him now yeah!

Hold your laughter at the bank til you're sure that you're walking away
Spend your money on a steak while you talk about the good old days
Who could have guessed at the price that you're payin' for your gasoline
But you'll never have to think twice if you don't have a clue what it means

To have a scapegoat now, we knew he'd turn up somehow
So take your problems on down for the man with the two horned crown
We got him now! We got him now yeah...we got a scapegoat now
We got him now yeah!

Lars Ulrich from Metallica is BLACK??

That Metal Show vs The Black Power Metal Show

Watch this...

    
  Then watch this...



 Then let us know what you think HERE

It's Not So Bad

(Along The Way)

The Black Rock Congress

Author and songwriter Jeffrey Othello (Author of The SOUL OF ROCK'N ROLL: History of African Americans in Rock Music) felt that the next generation of Ethnic Rockers needed a Positive and Professional Base to learn about the music/entertainment business.

His hope is that THE BLACK ROCK CONGRESS will grow into a community of Artists who will continually share their experience, ideas and wisdom world wide.

J. Othello

Your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

My Friend - Jimi Hendrix cover by Uncle Samurai

Po' tree: Rekindled

She left her heart on a sleeve somewhere

In a house full of mirrors with gold ladened stairs

No police reports filed just conventional grief

And that elegant loathing of new disbelief

Is it pain that keeps teaching the lessons we learn

In a world just as hot as the coal we have burned

As she sees herself passing in honest reflection

The bar window glass housing all introspection

Regrets can seem cheap and a waste of your time

If life is a lemon then squeeze out that lime

And drink to your future in good moderation

But don't stay too long at the old thinking station

Money and paper are both made of trees

That she swings from each day on the value trapeze

Making ends meet just enough for the soul

Is not complicated and never grows old

She tucks a large bill in a homeless mans hand

As she walks away hoping he might understand

That a gift from the heart saves a mind lost in grief

Yes it works for the giver and those who receive

At home she is greeted by mans best friend

Her smile gets that tail up and wagging again

No comparison there to a pets loyalty

A companion with nothing but pure honesty

Each wag of that tail might be counting the loss

Of the life she just left and intentionally tossed

No more lies and false greed, no more cold hearted stares

From that cruel mindless self centered rich millionaire

And the words from her childhood echo so clearly

Once told by her grandmother spoken so dearly

"A rich man will own any poor girl who's willing

To trade her own soul for the heart that he's killing"

But gone is that sweater she clung to in grief

And the years that she spent with her heart on his sleeve

The mind is a spark and the soul is the flame

and your life is rekindled again just the same

Your friendly Cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

Common Sense

Common Sense... by mooselethridge

It's not the fact you don't hear me or that we don't get along
Maybe we don't speak that clearly maybe our conscience is gone
Maybe this voice sounds familiar
Cuz it's been with us since the day we were born

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell you what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone

You've got a brand new opinion that you have found on the screen
You can't control your suspicion you don't know what to believe

And if this voice sounds familiar
Then you might understand exactly what I mean

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell you what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone

We've got so many distractions we might need blinders to see
We synchronize our reactions with all this technology
And if this voice sounds familiar
Then you might understand exactly what I mean

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell you what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone

Your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

It's Going Down: Riots or Revolution?

Riots or Revolution? What seems to be the difference between the two? The London riots caught our attention fast and the response was a split decision, as I recall. So let's try and find the instruction manual for Riots and Revolutions. Don't worry, I'll wait...

While we are waiting for the rule book...

I will mention that what happened in Egypt was called a revolution. Why? Well...because after years and years of tyranny and oppression, the people finally said, "ENOUGH" and went down to the town square and stood there in protest with demands. They were unified and seemed organized. They were not violent about it, really. Although there was much violence reported. Things were smashed and blown up, some people died...but they were persistent enough to get the change they were asking for: Revolution.

In 1789 The French did the same thing. We have Bastille day to remember it by. The epic march to Versailles that forced the Royal Court back to Paris. Economic factors included rising bread prices after years of poor grain harvest. Another cause was the state's effective bankruptcy due to the enormous cost of previous wars, particularly the financial strain caused by the French participation in the American Revolutionary War. So, the French people decided it was time for a revolution. Things were smashed and blown up, a lot of people died...but they were persistent enough to get the change they were asking for: Revolution.

And that reminds me of one of our own American Revolutions. Not the first one that kicked out the British. But the Civil War that happened later. The one about Slavery and the succession of states from the union. I mean, it took a few hundred years to boil the pot, but when it did, we ended up having the bloodiest revolutionary war in America's history. The whole country was like an out of control riot for years. HELLA shit was smashed and blown up, HELLA people died...but they were persistent enough to get the change they were asking for: Revolution.

And so now this London thing. It's had the ingredients of a revolution. But for some reason it was not given the right amount of ingredients that a revolution requires. And many condemned the "blacks" for going as crazy as they did. Looting and pillaging without proper organization makes the military grunt with disgust. Perhaps if they had just waited for a few hundred more years, all the people would have all joined in and declared a revolution. However...Things were smashed and blown up, some died...but they were NOT persistent enough to get the change they were asking for. In fact, now their own people hate them and want to blame them for what the elite and wealthy are creating from their high ranks above.

Every generation has their version of "The Man" and it only takes a few people to damn him into submission. If they are organized. I hope the Londoners regroup and really think about what just happened. Compared to their previous civil war in 1642, there are definitely some notes worth jotting down.

It would be nice to NOT have that happen again...without proper organization and support from all who need to be involved...considering the poor and middle class out number the rich and wealthy by a huge amount.

Anyway...

And here is a song that was inspired by the London Riots. Damn the man...

Your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

It's Goin' Down by mooselethridge

No Strings

I watched the London riots from the comfort of my own home last week, here in Northern California. Which is its own perspective, I know. Every where on earth there is a class division of wealthy, rich, middle class and poor. How the wealthy and rich keep playing the sidelines on issues like this is beyond my comprehension. Every time. They just let the poor suffer until they snap. And the middle class seems to always take the brunt of this reaction. Then the rich step in afterwards and narrate the story with control of the press. Then it starts all over again.
All over the globe there is revolution. Now London. But for some strange reason this particular chain of events got lumped into another category. Wrong. It's the same thing. The only difference is that it is happening to YOU now and you are not as united as the Egyptians were. And because of this subdivision among the classes, it makes it easier to reprimand the poor for being revolutionary. I really don't see the difference between the collateral damage in London and Afghanistan. Both are being looted, bombed and pillaged by a bunch of 18 year olds for reasons that inevitably benefit some upper class regime; the wealthy corporations.

So in this song, I wanted to capture the moment where the middle class (portrayed by me) is reacting to the rioting poor in the street. Except I want to point out that we are both being played against each other by the corporations, the media and the wealthy by addressing the tactic in which they use to control us like puppets. And my question is how do they do that if there are no strings attached to anybody? Then in a moment of clarity, as I am watching footage of rioters walking down the street with televisions...it all makes sense. I look up at the satellites in orbit. I can't see them. But I know they are there.
So now I am wondering if this even matters to a group of people who are so desperate enough to loot. How can we read Robin Hood to the kids, if we are all dangling like Pinnochio? How do we change something that we cannot see? Where is the key that unlocks invisible chains? How do you ask this question without people laughing in your face(book)?
The fuck if I know either...but that's why I write songs, sometimes...so that I don't forget these questions.

Your friendly cyberhood
Uncle Samurai
No Strings by mooselethridge
Hey what the hell are you doing there?
Are you trying to manifest destiny?
Like a pawn on a chessboard now
In the hands of your so -called queen

But it has caught our attention now
We see you walkin' with that TV screen
Aint no time for intervention now
But there is something that you need to see

The rich are gettin' richer
And the poor keep on suffering
It's a theater of politics
Controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings

I know they'd still be ignoring y'all
If it weren't for this emergency
But them guards that they're deploying now
They aint payed to think of what it means
They got a rope made of blood-red tape
And they love to just let it swing
They got you hangin' like Pinnochio
So they can blame you for falling in the streets

That's how the rich keep dividing up
All the poor for the conquering
In this theater of politics
That's controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings

They got me gazing at the satellites
That they hook to your TV screen
And when you turn it on and watch tonight
You can see for yourself what I mean
But you still loot and run around
But it don't change a god damn thing
If you really want to hit 'em hard
We got to stand up in unity

Because the rich keep dividing up
All the poor for the conquering
It's just a theater of politics
That's controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings

All In Your Hands

To wind down your wheels...

All In Your Hands by mooselethridge

Don't think to give up on a dream
I know what it means to lose your expectations
I've seen people who achieve
What they want and need with their determination

If someone's in your way day after day
Trying to make you pay
Leading you astray controlling things in vain
And every word you say

No stranger than man to think that you can
Change the way of this natural plan
Try to understand the limit of the land
And remember it's all in your hands

Walk proud alone or in a crowd
Thieves are lurking round and hiding in the shadows
Stand tall everyone and all
Breaking down the walls to reveal what matters

If someone's in your way day after day
Trying to make you pay
Leading you astray controlling things in vain
And every word you say

No stranger than man to think that you can
Change the way of this natural plan
Try to understand the limit of the land
And remember it's all in your hands

Stay strong and it won't be long
Lessons that you've learned will be a moment in passing
Your mind adapting to the times
Keeping you in line shall be forever lasting

If someone's in your way day after day
Trying to make you pay
Leading you astray controlling things in vain
And every word you say

No stranger than man to think that you can
Change the way of this natural plan
Try to understand the limit of the land
And remember it's all in your hands

Words and music by Musashi Lethridge

Roman Bones

Roman Bones by mooselethridge

Adorned in robes and cloaks and daggers
Drunk on wine they speak and stagger
Etched in stone to hide their swagger
All these ghosts of future hackers

Hear the moans and the groans
About a story we all know
Sticks and stones and Roman bones
All together like dominoes falling
Is that history calling?

United by the soldiers bravery
For kings to dine and food so savory
To build a nation on greed and slavery
Sounds familiar strange and crazy

Hear the moans and the groans
About a story we all know
Sticks and stones and Roman bones
All together like dominoes falling
Is that history calling?

Adorned in robes and cloaks and daggers
Drunk on wine they speak and stagger
Etched in stone to hide their swagger
All these ghosts of future hackers

Hear the moans and the groans
About a story we all know
Sticks and stones and Roman bones
All together like dominoes falling

Ya better heed warning
(Moans and groans of Roman bones)
About the dominoes falling

words and music by Musashi Lethridge

your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

Related articles -

Roman Bones Reveal...

Causes For Fall Of Roman Empire

Decline Of The Roman Empire

Will America Replay The Fall Of The Roman Empire?

The Lessons Of The Roman Empire For America Today

Give It Up To Get Back

For those who are going through the healing process...it's never an easy transition for the heart...but I hope this song helps.

your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai

Give it up To Get It Back by mooselethridge

My Own Version (of my very own song)

In a high tech music world of borrowing and sampling...copying and pasting, it gets harder and harder to tell who has written which song. One day I heard a girl say,

"...you know, that song Little Wing...by Sting..."

and I nearly yacked up my left shoe.

(I bet Jimi chuckled up a cloud of pot smoke, somewhere.)

The fact is...
if you are an "artist" you can get on a computer and download anything...splice it together and call it a song. You don't even have to know how to sing or play an instrument. And if you use music samples that are already popular and famous, the chances of people liking it instantly are high. And that's cool for the song writer, I suppose. Especially if they are alive and making publishing money. But sometimes people fail to mention their names and try to take credit for something they didn't create. And that's a strange thing to do, I think.

But anyway...
...this song was fun to write, sing and record. And it is and shall always be... my comedic approach to preventing any confusion, as to who the particular writer of this song is...

your truly
your friendly cyberhood
Uncle Samurai

My Own Version by Uncle Samurai

The Musashi Trio at Cafe Van Kleef April 30th 2011

Hey folks, my band starts gigging again at the end of this month. We are currently at the tail end of completing our cd "Sideways"

Come down to Van Kleefs and hear some new tunes from this upcoming cd of smash hits by

The Musashi Trio

My Favorite Haiku: A Lesson From Sesame street

Here is a Haiku poem I wrote this year. It is one of my favorites.

I call it

A Lesson from Sesame Street:

zero,1.2.3

4,5,6,7,8,9

10,11,12

your friendly cyberhood

Uncle Samurai