ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!!!!

ok, i'm with chris and oz. i think i started the most recent episodes of introspective crap. enough is enough. let's f'ing rock and roll. can't wait to get the Run-Run the Magic Bus 2006 World Tour off and running again. look out temple, here come's the shyne!!!!!!!!

taking back the power and the passion

i haven't been able to get these thoughts out of my head. this burden has decended upon me lately when i realize i do not have power over my own life. i put on a good front, but as it turns out i don't.
i have been very very fortunate to have a family that supports me when it comes to my education and what not, but i have realized that with that support i have lost the power over my life. i dont have a choice but to finish school, whether i like it or not.

bullshit.

it goes back to am i really happy and am i doing what i really want to be doing. i've said for years i wanted to teach. but what does that really mean?
i dont have to be in some school somewhere to teach. i can teach anywhere. i dont need some bullshit fucking degree to give me permission to teach. i dont need some bullshit degree to do what i love to do.
when did we all lose our power?
i think many of us lost it and dont even know it. it's taken me until now to figure it out. i'm 30 years old and i just now realized i have been powerless most of my life.
that ends now. ok, before anyone in my family who may for some unknown reason actually reads this panics, i'm not saying i'm dropping out of school tomorrow.
but that's not to say i won't tell school to fuck off and go after what i want.
i have that power now. i got it back when i realized i didnt have it. that was the major step. gain control of your life. sure there is a lot of money invested in my education so far, but what have i really learned with that education?
100 times less than ive learned by leaving campus and meeting people and getting active in life. i dont give a damn what 2+2 equals. i care about passion.

PASSION.

perhaps my all-time favorite word. passion in life, love and relationships. have passion for what you do and do what you are passionate about. take the power back and live.

My Journey Has Begun.

i've been doing alot of soul-searching lately. it's something i've never really done in the past. the standard deal, "who am i? what am i doing? am i truly happy?" that kinda thing. its amazing what begins to happen when you start to ask yourselves these questions for real and not in passing. things begin to reveal themselves when you truly listen to your heart.

an amazing thing happend to me tonight as i watched michael j. fox on inside the actor's studio (p.s. if you've never watched that show, i highly recommend.) after reliving michael's tv and movie career, the talk of course turned to parkinson's disease. he talked about many things, but one thing he said stuck with me, "I hate absolutes." it was a statement he made in passing, he was actually talking about his education growing up and how he hated math or something to that effect. but that statement hit me hard.

far too many people in this world live purely on black and white. THERE IS INDEED A GRAY AREA. you can tell yourself over and over that there isn't, but look deep, look back, think about things in the past you have done or seen done where you said, of course that happened because it had to. now think back on that same situation and realize there is another truth.

there is an amazing film that i was introduced to a few years ago through my uncle, who has become good friends with the film's maker, a man named Eric Saperston. the film is called The Journey. throughout his journey, Eric meets with the most powerful and influential people in the country. people like, Jimmy Carter, Ann Richards, Henry Winkler, Ken Kesey, Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Jerry Garcia, just to name a few.

i won't get into everything that was said, but the questions Eric posed to these people revolved around their advice to the younger generation on what success truly meant, among other things. now i have seen this film probably over 100 times. its inspiring, but tonight it hit me hard. harder than ever before.

those questions i had been asking myself had even greater meaning. i don't know where i'm headed, but as former Texas Gov. Ann Richards said in the film, "This person, this core of who you are and what your value system is, that's gonna be there no matter what. I'm only gonna be here on this earth a limited period of time and how am I gonna live it. That's all that really matters."

it's time to start living. peace and love to one and all.

check out the journey website and order a copy. i have given this film out as gifts to more people than i can remember and would give it to everyone i met if i could.
http://www.thejourneyfilm.com/index_flash.html

I'm BACK!!!

ok ok, i'm sorry, it's been forever, but in my own defense, my computer crapped out on me for about 3 days. but, i'm back now and watch out. ok, maybe not, but i am back nonetheless.
well, in the three days i was without my computer, it became VERY apparent just how much time i spent on my computer, i was losing my mind. it didnt help much that monkeyshyne didnt have a show this weekend and in fact won't have a show until the 29th. TEMPLE HERE WE COME. GET READY!!!!!!!!!!
anyways, life is pretty good. i've been able to catch up with some dear old friends i havent seen in over 10 years thanks to the miracle of myspace. forget what the news says, we aren't all pervs on myspace. that website has been a wonderful tool for finding old and new friends. i'm sick of the overreaction and generalization by the media on things like this. it makes me want to rethink my plan of being a journalist.
oh well. i hope everyone is doing great and would love to hear from you all. check out my myspace if you wish. dont remember the link, just go to the monkeyshyne myspace page and you'll see me on there. its cliff of course.
peace love and duct tape one and all.

issues, humidity and a rockin show

well, i never in my life thought i would have to go back to the houston area, yet that's where we headed on saturday for a show at G Spot. holy humidity batman. oh, speaking of batman, he got his shots in too, nailing sam houston in the nuts. not the first time he's done this. man that dude has issues.
anyways, after getting lost trying to find tomsballs, tx, we finally got to g spot. after the hell of a drive down there the guys brought down the house. it was a rockin show and the houstonites seemed to really enjoy it.
we got back to the house about 6:30 sunday morning in time enough to get some sleep then watch the world cup. holy crap zidane is a moron. nice headbutt though. that's all for now.
in the immortal words of red green, keep you stick on the ice.

a true bonding experience

what a week!!!!

five monkeyshyne shows in seven days makes for fun, yet tiring times. not gonna go through all of it, except for the wichita falls show, in which i had a chance to do some bonding, female and otherwise.

ok, before the gay jokes begin (KEITH), the otherwise refers to the one and only Run-Run the Magic Bus. yes, Run-Run, that great American piece of.... machinery that provides monkeyshyne with the "safe" transportation to and from each gig.

well, for the first time since i began working for the band, back in March, i got to drive Run-Run, all the way home from WF. and let me tell you, that was an experience.

for starters, there is no radio. a band's van with NO TUNES. which normally is ok, cuz we are all talking, making fun of each other, handing out random gay jokes and whatever else. but, last night two members of the band, who shall remain nameless, passed out RATHER quickly for reasons i bet you can guess. another member didnt even come back with us and the fourth member had an early morning drive saturday so he went to sleep.

so there i was, a red bull, some copenhagen and a rockstar energy drink. hard to get to any of those, however, as every time you take a hand of the steering wheel the van starts moving all over the road. yeah, the steering is an issue as well, along with the brakes, the a/c and of course, the smell. haha.

but, having said all that, Run-Run and i have officially bonded and i have been told i am now, more than ever, officially a part of the band. so hear's to rock and roll and black and white sweet runnin' vans.