Laura Collins 1967-2007

She was one of the kindest souls I ever met... here is a favorite of mine, from our “guitar and hands” series...
I am so lucky to have known you, it was an honor...

Not so LONELY Los Lonely Boys ?

©2007 photo by Conner Boillat

The bane of my existence that calls itself a newspaper, aka The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, put the UNPAID attendance for Los Lonely Muchachos Jazz Festival appearance at 20,000 humans last night. (It was closer to 25K, and was a FREE concert...)

It had been over 4 solid months that I had been downtown since the Sphere Sound® move in January, and this event was what I lovingly refer to as SUPER-SIZE DRUNKFEST !

You see, we have annual East End Festivals in our city, which amount to the poor man's Octoberfest, a few times a year...Basically, the same crowd attends, drinks beer, gets tanked and impairs the proverbial hearing further with PA's blasting noise...Was this deja-vu all over again ????

Speaking of noise, the sound was a subsonic mess, the stage setup between two buildings, creating the “echo valley of death”...Needless to say, but worth noting, a commrade of mine once said ”you pay peanuts, you get monkeys,” and that phrase has stuck with me ever since...It did not resemble music, but just a huge noise-field of jumbled and blurred frequencies...Got the picture ? It's a shame, because Los Lonely Boys are worth seeing and hearing, and this deal from staging to sound was pathetic...

Outside of that, the distraction from obnoxious
cell phoner users, to people yelling and yacking during the performance raise the NOISE floor to easily 120db...{permanent hearing damage can arrive at 80db.} I saw several attendees who had had one-too-many, physically PUSHING, er, JAMMING the earpiece of the phone against the ear and SHOVING a finger in the other ear, trying to call ANYONE who might listen to drunken babbling. The outcome was a screaming rant...What the hell is with these morons ???

Then there was the rotund thirty-something female who pushed me, or should I say
“chest-thumped” me as I went by, because I was trying to leave the sardine can of 20,000 or so...(I had a few choice words for “Chubby”...)
All said and done, my nephew and I stayed on until the encore song, we had a lot of laughs in what I will call a “couple hours of comedy and noise...”

Don't you get it ?

The Mercury City Gazette
June 2007  

It's all about you...

And I have HAD it with you...

If I had a shred of hope for the future of our country, it's been completely smoked...

Yes, I am typing about, among other related themes, the recent vote that supports Mr. Bush and his misguided, moronic and deadly plan for so-called “victory...” will you all wake-up goddammit ?

Are you, yes, (insert your name here) _____ that brain dead ? Does anyone care ?

From my own personal experience, most of the humans I know at minimum are politically unaware, they don't realize the danger we are in, NOT from that wonderful phrase “the terrorists,” but from politicians who can't stand up on two feet and make the CHANGES you cannot. (if you were willing and capable) Let me rephrase that, Status Quo is the rule...

We are very much in danger from that person in the mirror, you only have yourself to blame. You are responsible for NOT being responsible. I'm talking about you - (insert your name) ________.

You have put off proactive behavior, and it's you (insert name) ________ who are too busy, or shall I say, apathetic, lazy, or ill-informed. Perhaps it's because it's UNPLEASANT ? Awww, I'm sorry, but life is full of that, with terrible twists and turns, with daily stomach-turning events... But it's okay, you go on with your merry little fairy tale, because that's EASY. Take that path, because it requires NO DISCIPLINE.

Sorry, I cannot be bought, and even though I have HAD it, I won't give up until last breath, although
the depression from you (insert name)  __________  might kill me first !

Save the planet ? Hope ?
More people watch American Idol than vote ?

You (insert name) _______  can't even get out of your own way...