Is ISIS really a threat to the United States?...

Coming this April...

Climbing Maya returns in April...

Never Kill and Eat Your Children...

Should we love our country? It's the Monday Morning Show for February 23, 2015...

Freedom for our press. Freedom from dirty fuel. Freedom on the PCT. It's the Monday Morning Show for February 16, 2015...

How to say "I Love You"...

The final, bloody episode...

Just a hint...

Welcome new members of the NRA...

Heaven Enough, coming soon from Limitless Publishing...

America, where anyone with a gun is a hero...

Jackemoff Forest returns for some Christmas magic...

Don't piss off Santa Claus!...

The Wrong Magic...

Today is the day! The Wrong Magic is now available in paperback and for the Kindle!

Eric Garner, the torture report, and the responsibility we all must bear...

The Monday Morning Show on putting oil company ads into context...

The Wrong Magic is coming soon...

Don't forget to order your paperback copy early for just $12.70!
http://widopublishing.com/the-wrong-magic-by-ken-la-salle/

Jackemoff Forest wishes you a Thanksgiving...

The only commercial you need this Thanksgiving...

The Monday Morning Show featuring Arnold Abbott...

indian paintbrush... Trailer #2...

indian paintbrush... trailer #1...

The Monday Morning Show on Veterans Day...

It gives me the creeps...

It disturbs me greatly that there is a large group of Americans out there who think electing politicians who hate government is okay. They think allowing foreign corporations to funnel billions into our political system to get what they want is okay. They think letting politicians lie and cheat and deceive America to get votes is okay. They think that politicians rigging voting machines so they register the votes as theirs is okay. They're fine with politicians giving away the country to the uber-rich and they think the country would be just fine if they could just test the poor for drug use, keep starving children from eating, let corporations pollute all they want and make as many children as sick as they want, fill our jails with innocent people, and put just one more black man out of a job. If it wasn't for that, the country would be just fine.

I find that truly disturbing.

Mid-Term Elections and what's going on with my writing on The Monday Morning Show!...

Episode 5... Jackemoff Forest...

John Boner presents the Republican Mid-Term Election Strategy...

The Monday Morning Show for October 27, 2014...

Puppies: Best in Stew... Trailer #4...

Puppies: Best in Stew... trailer #3...

Puppies: Best in Stew... a trailertini...

Puppies wags its tail... um, trail... um, Trailer!...

To a Dreamer - the trailer...

It's the Monday Morning Show for October 6, 2014!...

It's the Monday Morning Show for September 29, 2014...

It's the Monday Morning Show for September 29th, 2014! Join me as I talk about young people changing the world and the old people who are trying to stop them. Young people are on the streets in Honk Kong and in Colorado while we're busy wondering if our iPhone's going to bend.

The Monday Morning Show for September 22, 2014!...

The Islamic State invades Jackemoff Forest!...

Facks News reacts to Obama's handling of the Islamic State?...

Just another sign of corporations having too much power…

So, I was out on my morning jog this morning when I passed by a local concrete foundry pumping out tons of toxic smoke. The smoke was so bad, I had to stop jogging because I was coughing so hard. I was coughing so hard, I nearly threw up!

The smell was pretty bad where I lived, a couple of miles away, too.

Vicky suggested I call the AQMD (the Air Quality Management District) to register a complaint, which I did. What I didn’t expect, though, was the lesson I received in just how powerful corporations are in relation to how much they can pollute.

Here’s what I found out.

In order for the AQMD to even speak with the foundry and ask them to please cut down on their smog, they need to have six different homes on the same block all register complaints within the same hour. Then, they have to remain at their home for an AQMD representative to come to their home and verify the smell. This AQMD could take as much as three hours to get there, by which time the wind could shift and the smell could move on.

Can you imagine how difficult that would be to pull off? Six residents from six different homes all have to call at about the same time. Then, they can’t leave their home. They have to wait there – not go to work – and hope everyone else stays put as well. They have to wait for hours, all in the hopes that the wind doesn’t shift!

And this won’t even get them definite action. The foundry could ignore the request. When I asked the AQMD rep what the requirements were for them to take definite action, such as a fine or a court order or anything, she just shook her head and said, “Well, let’s try to get this first. This is hard enough.”

Meanwhile, the foundry owners sit back and laugh at us little people. They’ve made us powerless.

And the sad truth is, so many of us defend our corporate overlords despite all that. And, in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.

Consistency...

"Remember the Maine!"... 1890's Spanish/American War
"Remember the Gulf of Tonkin!"... 1960's War in Vietnam
"Remember 9/11!"... 2000's War in Iraq
"Remember... some people who were killed by some scary brown people with weird beliefs..."... Next Week.

The Monday Morning Show for August 25, 2014...

I am a terrorist...

Last Ditch - the trailer...

Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World... a Trailerilla...

Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World presents... a Trailerita...

Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World gets a Trailertini...

Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World... trailerette...

So, you want to be a copywriter...

So, you want to be a technical writer...

Dreaming With Open Eyes - the director's cut!...

Dreaming With Open Eyes, Trailer #1...

Jackemoff Forest returns...

Official Democratic Party Commercial???...

Is Gun Ownership UnAmerican?...

Jackemoff Forest, episode two...

The official Republican Party commercial?

5 Brief Minutes: For Sale...

Write Write Write is Paint Paint Paint... with words...

Let's all go to Jackemoff Forest...

5 Brief Minutes on Signs...

Radio de'Olde returns with The Narrator's Secret...

My Side: Amber Alerts...

Radio de'Olde Episode 69: Pandering...

)

Married Once Before…

For the first time ever, I’m not really sure where to post a blog entry. Does this have to do with my writing and is, therefore, eligible for the Ken La Salle blog?... Yes, but… Does this have to do with Vicky and should, therefore, go on the One Path blog?... Yes, but…

So, with this in mind, welcome to My Side.

Here’s the thing. I’m starting work on my next book, which is a book on the 1970’s. I decided to use this opportunity to clean out my steamer trunk, which I packed full of goodies until sometime around 1990. I thought this trunk would be full of things from my childhood…

Then, I found it was mostly full of stuff from high school, which means I may have to write a book about the 80’s at some point.

I also found it was full of stuff from she who must remain nameless, from my first wedding, from my first marriage. Crap. I thought I’d gotten rid of that stuff years ago.

But no.

And I was faced with a definite quandary.

One thing you may not know about me is that I have picked up the fragments of my life so many times it gets annoying. Hell, most people these days think I fell to the Earth sometime in 2004. After picking up the fragments of my life so many times… I’m kind of tired of it. I’m tired of not having a history, of not knowing people from before 1995 or so, of that lack of continuity that comes from constantly restarting my life.

I was thinking about this when I looked down at all this stuff from my past life, from my past marriage. My wedding album. A photo album from when the girl and I were first together. Random photographs.

I didn’t want to lose all of that again. Hell, I lost it once already.

So, as strange as it might sound, I decided to preserve it. I decided that as I was throwing things away – and, believe me, I threw away a LOT – there would be some photos that remained. Some that wouldn’t be gone forever. There would be some continuity.

Yes, I’m married to Vicky now and I love her very much. But I’m a little tired of denying who I was prior to 2004. I’m tired of playing up my first wife as a fluke, as a tragic mistake.

We loved each other. I have pictures to prove it. Yes, it ended tragically, but that doesn’t mean that’s all it was. There was more to it than that. And I’ve decided to remember that. That’s the least I can do.

Perhaps I’ll post a few of those pictures in the coming days.

Maybe it’s time I go public with some of the history I’ve been so quick to write about but so reticent to share.

History shouldn’t be forgotten. And that doesn’t make me a bad husband to Vicky.

It just makes me honest.

So Dream Something, featuring DV Berkom...

This month's episode of So Dream Something features spy thriller sensation, DV Berkom.
DV speaks about her writing career and managing in the midst of a changing market. I hope you enjoy it. I know I did.

My Side: Advertising...

A look at the 2014 Coca Cola Super Bowl ad - and more about advertising - in this month's My Side...

This month, I spend 5 Brief MInutes discussing ASMR...

As an atheist, I sometimes wonder...

Sometimes it seems that the only thing Christians and Muslims can agree on is how much they hate anyone who won’t pick a side in their hatred of each other…

And now some Bible Stories...

Kids Today...

This month, My Side looks at those damned kids today... and the people who endlessly complain about them...

The Day We Said Goodbye, Trailer #2...

This month, I tell you all about Swearing on the Bible in 5 Brief Minutes...

Ever wonder where all of your plastic goes?...

Radio de'Olde, episode 19.2...

My Side: Health care...

5 Brief Minutes on HEAD...

Just a note on ObamaCare...

So, let's see...

The Repugs got mad at Obama because the Affordable Care Act forced insurance companies to stop selling junk policies.

Then, Obama said insurers could continue to sell junk policies for a year.

And now, the Repugs are mad at him for that.

Clearly, the Repugs don't know the meaning of the word "unreasonable"...

Radio de'Olde Episode -4(3)...

Here, then, is Radio de'Olde, Episode -4(3): "ASMR not. ASMR too."

This, of course, is my way of taking the recent artform of ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)... and adding absolutely nothing to it.

A little blatant stealing, er, sharing from P&T...

A Lack of Evidence...

5 Brief Minutes about The 10 Commandments...

Atrocity 1897342573.0...

Have you heard the recent atrocity?

Apparently, a boy scout leader destroyed a natural rock monument in Utah that was thousands of years old.

No. Seriously. Here’s a link to the video.

The whole thing went viral with a kind of chorus of “How terrible! What kind of person destroys such natural beauty? What a monster!” Because, certainly nobody else ever does anything like that, right? Nobody else ever destroys natural beauty, right?

Wrong.

We all do.

We’re no better than said scout leader because we all gobble up natural resources in our constant consumeristic dream of more more more!

We allow death on a wide scale for a little oil.

We permit slave labor for a nicer phone.

We enjoy our sweet, fruity drinks that destroy entire ecosystems.

And we drive our cars and enjoy all the conveniences of plastic bags and disposable everything and wonder what kind of person fucks up a rock.

You do.

I do.

We all do.

We’re no better.

So, if you thought that was the case… just stop.

Radio de'Olde returns!...

In Somnia...

October brings another new My Side. This time, we tackle an issue near and dear to my complete inability to sleep...

"Aww" at the ballpark...

My Side returns this month with a look at compassion and sports, two things that probably don't go together in any context but I'll shoehorn them if it maims me!

The end of radio...

It's Radio de'Olde!

The Sound of Obsolescence

What should happen to George Zimmerman?...

Though this is not a scheduled post, I felt this would fit well here.

What should happen to George Zimmerman now that he's gotten away with killing a child?

Here are just a few of my thoughts...
http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2013/07/what-should-happen-to-george-zimmerman/

Only about a month away!

Launching on my YouTube channel on August 1^st is the return of one of my oldest IPs: MY SIDE. My Side was a column I wrote in high school and college where I would often flex my creative muscles in making an opinion piece that was funny as well as informative... sometimes. At its best, My Side combined surrealism with whatever the hell I wanted to say that week. Now that a few years… okay, a few lifetimes have passed, it’s time for My Side once again. Look for Episode 1: The Sound of Obsolescence, coming in August.

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for this and other exclusive web series coming this year!

.... big news...

……………………… hello?

……………………. Sure is quiet around here.

Time to dust off the counters. Check the lightbulbs.

Things are going to get busy around here…

My Side is returning! August 2013!

http://www.youtube.com/user/theKenLaSalle

Bookends

About ten years ago, I made a decision that dramatically altered the course of my life. Had I not left Rosa, today would be very different. I might be with her. I might have a child with her. I might be without her for very different reasons.

I lost Rosa in March of 2000 and three years later I tried to undo what I had done, but that was not possible. I call this “Bookends” because I began this blog shortly after the events of March 2003, as a way of coping with life without Rosa and this seems to be the perfect place to express what I’m feeling ten years after losing her. Those who read this blog have probably – undeniably – noticed my frequency tapering off. It may not always be so but, certainly for now at least, real life seems to possess far more of my time than blogging will allow.

Still, this seemed important to address.

Let me begin by saying that I’ve been incredibly lucky in the last ten years. I’ve enjoyed success. I’ve traveled. I found a lovely woman who I love very much. If not for Vicky, I doubt I’d be the person I am today. Having her in my life helped restore much of what I lost when I lost Rosa and I am grateful for that.

So, on to Rosa…

So many people have expressed the thought over the years that I must have somehow gotten over Rosa, as if it’s all so clear and easily worked out. Let me tell you. It’s messier than that by far. Hardly a day goes by without a thought of Rosa – what she’s doing, how she is, how things might have turned out better. We promised we’d remain friends and, let me tell you, were we wrong!

Finding Vicky did not fill the hole Rosa left. It just helped make life a bit more bearable. The Rosa-shaped hole is still there in my heart; I’ve just become adept at ignoring it. Sometimes, I wish she were in my life but then I consider what that would entail and what complications it would include and I shake my head and wish her well and resign myself to the reality of history. She will always be gone, for better or for worse.

Rosa said my love was like a freight train and Vicky has said that’s fine by her. Vicky appreciates it and that’s a relief after all the times Rosa rejected it. Vicky’s not perfect by any stretch and I don’t want to suggest that, but she loves me and I know it. She’s no Rosa but Rosa’s no Vicky, either. One doesn’t have to be better than the other.

For 15 years, I was lucky enough to have Rosa in my life. I hope I’m lucky enough to get 15 with Vicky, or 16, or 20, or 30… I’ll take as many as I can get.

If this somehow finds its way to Rosa, I would just want her to know that nothing absolves me from the guilt of what I did any more than absolution is yours. We were both horribly wrong and will never regain what we lost. My only hope is that you end up as lucky as I have.

On my first entry, I said that there was much to tell and that would tell it. I hope I’ve done so to your satisfaction. Now, much remains to be lived and I will live it. When I think of it, I’ll try to write now and again.

Releasing the hounds…

I’m sure there are those out there who think corporations are only looking out for your best interests. I’m sure there are those who believe corporations never hurt anyone and do a fine job regulating themselves. I’m sure there’s a person right now who is certain that any reasonable person who tells them otherwise is lying.

That person is insane.

Today, the Supreme Court with a short-sightedness not seen since perhaps Dred Scot let corporate influence in government go completely unfettered. Corporations can now buy whatever candidate they want and buy the votes as well. The depths to which this extends is unfathomable. It began with a case in Santa Clara and today found its most expensive conclusion.

Of course, huge corporations have already done untold damage. Look at health care. Look at Wall Street. Look at the banks that are “too big to fail”. With unfettered access to any politician, that is just the tip of the ice berg.

You’ll hear people say that it’s a case of civil rights, freedom of speech. But you won’t hear them admit what a lie that is. Corporations are not citizens and do not need to employ citizens. As a result of this ruling, our politics are now endangered by foreign interests as well as the evil bastards we grow at home. In that face of unlimited money and power, what can we do?

Well, there is one thing. I’m not saying it’s much – at this point, I don’t know what would be enough – but Alan Grayson has created a petition (at www.savedemocracy.net) to get some basic legislation passed through Congress to put some small regulations in place. You can find that here.

It won’t make things right but it may make things slightly less nightmarish. In the meantime, keep active and educated and we’ll do what we can.

Voodoo Christians…

Something I’ve wanted to mention for a while now has sprung its ugly head once again, this time in the form of Pat Robertson. I’m sure there are those who would still call him “Reverend”, though “Voodoo Priest” is more fitting.

After the horrible devastation in Haiti, Pat Robertson said it happened because Haiti had a deal with the devil. Now, ignoring for a minute the logistics – anyone in his scenario would likely be dead already, the country has changed governments more than once since then, a nation cannot make deals with a fictional character – this is just another indication in a recent turn in a subsection of Christianity I like to call “Voodoo Christianity”.

Another example is the trend of some right-wing preachers “praying” for someone’s death, usually someone they don’t like. Obama, for instance. They basically throw the Bible out with the bath water and start claiming to have special powers or some inside information and it makes me wonder just how stupid those Christians who follow them are. I mean, sure, you believe there’s a man in the sky – one mark against your sanity – but then you throw away all the teachings your religion is based on to follow some lunatic who can’t be described any more generously than “fucking psycho”.

And for those Christians who think they hold no responsibility, I call bullshit. You are responsible for the acts of anyone who calls themselves Christian for this is how your religion is ultimately judged. Do you want to be in the same circle as the voodoo priests, the right wing whackos, and lunatic nut-jobs? Tend your own garden, people. You’ve always had some weeds in there; you don’t need hemlock as well.

A word for non-believers…

This Christmas season, I’d like to remind you that if you shouldn’t be so smug about not believing in Santa Claus if you also believe in God.

After all, what kind of fool would believe in a spooky old man with a long white beard who lives “up there” and always watches us and judges us…? Oh, religious folk.

It’s all make believe, folks. None of it has anything to do with reality. So, face it. If you believe in God, it’s just Santa by another name.

Merry Santanas…

The joy of giving gift… cards…

Used to be you’d sweat over just the right gift to give some…

Okay, maybe it wasn’t. Used to be you’d buy people you didn’t care about gifts you didn’t care about. That said, at least they were gifts. Now, we live in the age of the gift card and, even better, the online gift card. Basically, we give money. If we don’t care, we give money.

Not bad for not caring, actually.

Still, I find it fascinating that this is how we’ve come to define an expression of love and caring for those we, well, love and care about… cash.

You give me $25. I give you $10. But I gave you the $10 with a card and you didn’t even sign your name on the gift card in the “FROM” spot. Is it a wash? Is that how we determine who cares about us?

People back in the 1960’s were bitching about how meaningless Christmas had become. Now, we don’t have to bitch about that… it’s pretty damned obvious.

Dems in ’10… no, not really...

It seems like every day, the Democrats do something else to shoot their chances in 2010 in the foot.

They’ve fucked up health care reform. They’ve fucked up financial reform. They’ve vacated the moral high ground, leaving Gitmo and the black sites and illegal surveillance intact. They still haven’t ended the wars. And, oh yes, they are a bunch of pussies.

When people ask me why I’m not a Democrat, these are just a few of the reasons…

I understand how hard it is to find work, folks, but a public servant's first job should not be preserving their job...

Climate change hasn’t…

I love the new Repugnican meme that says all the science on climate change is a lie… wait a sec… that’s not new. They’ve been saying that all along.

But what they constantly forget is that even if all science was a lie, you couldn’t refute the fact that we’re running out of fossil fuels and need alternatives… wait a sec… if they think all science is a lie, they probably think that math is, too.

Basically, these people are fucking nuts.

Knock yourself out...

There's something insanely lovable about this song... or is it the other way 'round?

If only the poor could quit being so… poor…

American charity. Two words that rank up there with Republican Christian and Military Intelligence. American’s are so charitable they’ve actually forced one church to stop feeding the homeless because it… attracts homeless people!

God forbid.

But there it is, at a church in Phoenix, Americans behaving so charitably they’re forcing a church to stop providing free breakfasts to the homeless. This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. After all, people protest equal right because it violates their “right” to be bigots (cough – Prop 8 – cough). And they scream and carry on when someone tries to provide health care for all, calling that a “death panel”. And, after all, this is the country where the rights of corporations are placed above the individual. I suppose our national motto should be “Fuck off! I’ve got mine!”