Stripped

Come with me
Into the trees
We'll lay on the grass
And let the hours pass

Take my hand
Come back to the land
Let's get away
Just for one day

Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone

Metropolis
Has nothing on this
You're breathing in fumes
I taste when we kiss

Take my hand
Come back to the land
Where everything's ours
For a few hours

Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone
Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you
Make decisions
Without your television
Let me hear you speaking
Just for me

Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you speaking
Just for me

Let me see you
Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you crying
Just for me

Originally posted on 8/25/05

-Depeche Mode (Martin Lee Gore)

Where Else?

Sylvia: Thanks, for being here for me Andy.

Andy: Where else am I gonna be?

-NYPD Blue

Wounds

It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, (protecting its sanity), covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But, it is never gone.

-Rose F. Kennedy

Cautious Optimism

Deep within the stealthy confines of my vocabulary is the word optimism. A term whose correct usage, though I understand, regrettably have had scant occasion to use.

Playing out various doomsday scenarios in my head for … well forever, I've known few other coping mechanisms than that provided by thinking “what if …” Preoccupied with deflecting the potential disaster lying in wait in every dark crevice, I have found an eerie comfort within my all too familiar construct of ‘a miserable existence.’

"It's all about the contingency plan," I’d chant to my friends. I always have a contingency plan, that way if my first set of plans falls through, I avoid disappointment. This mantra serves as a chilling testament to my anticipation of impending failure and potential disaster lurking around every bend.

In an effort to avert destructive self-fulfilling prophecies and to live my life as sanely as I can, I am sublimating my destructive and maladaptive thoughts into productive behaviors. I’m trying to let things just happen and the chips fall where they may. For better OR worse. I now find myself in the refreshingly rewarding pursuit of cautious optimism, a healthy dose of exuberance tempered by prudent pragmatism.

Imagine that, seeing the glass as half-full and for the first time,

unpolluted.

Precious

Precious and fragile things
Need special handling ...

I pray you learn to trust
Have faith in both of us
And keep room in your hearts for two...

-Depeche Mode (Martin Lee Gore)

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

I'm just a soul who's intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

-The Animals (Benjamin / Marcus / Caldwell)

Crazy

I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so PLEASANT about that place
Even your emotions had an echo in so much space

And when you're out there,without care
Yeah I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much

Does that make me Crazy?
Does that make me Crazy?
Does that make me Crazy?
Possibly...

-Gnarls Barkley (B. Burton / T. Callaway / G. Reverberi / G. Reverberi)

Evil

I have grown quite tiresome of my solitary pursuit of lesser evils.

Living in Oblivion

You can’t hide the pain,
I can see it scrawled on your empty face.
And I feel the hurt,
It’s in the words you say, they make me want to...

Scream out to the world,
For taking life for granted and I know.
You are by my side when
I turn to hear you cry,

I am so afraid of living in oblivion
I am so afraid of living in oblivion

Am I so blind?
With my eyes turned to a different time or hour.
At the end of the day,
When we both run down and our hopes are heavy...

Tell me what you will,
’cause I’ve got to know the truth inside of you.
Can you hear what I say,
When I hold you and you scorn the day? ...

So I ask again,
Am I so alone and full of pride?
To never speak out...
This is my world, this is my world...

Can you hear my scream?
It’s for everyone, for everyone...

-Anything Box (Claude S.)

Kickstart My Heart

Thanks Ricky Bobby. I needed that.

Nostalgia

Something about twilight in autumn makes me hearken back to my days as a teenager. Days when I lamented the passing of the carefree summer days and eagerly anticipated the weekend and all the promises it held. Now, as I wallow in my self imposed exile, I mourn the human contact imparted by the work week.

Regret

Regret for the past is a waste of spirit.

-NYPD Blue

Picasso Moment

There are instances in my life when I am captivated by a level of elation that transcends time and space. As they move me to tears, these coveted moments temporarily curb my omnipresent cynisim and re-instill my faith in life and humanity. These preciously rare and fleeting flashes of incomparable brilliance linger forevermore in my memory. Precisely one year ago, I was fortunate enough to bask in the most exquisite and bewitching of these “Picasso Moments”.

Cards on the Table

Nicole: You keep it on the table right in front of you, don’t you Baldwin?

Baldwin: Seems to go easier that way.

-NYPD Blue

Disappointment

Those, for whom we care the most, often fall short of our expectations.

Procrastination

It has taken me an inordinately long time to discern that procrastination is financially detrimental.

Skin

When you live in other people’s skin what’s humanly possible, doesn’t matter.

-NYPD Blue

Soul

These are the times that try men's souls.

-Thomas Paine

Truth

Always tell the truth; then you don't have to remember anything.

-Mark Twain

Rage

No you see I wouldn’t kill someone I like, no. I eh, the only person I killed was my mother.

-NYPD Blue

A Little Too Old for the Club

Every man has to settle down, eventually. You know why you gotta settle down eventually? Because you don't want to be the old guy in the club. You know what I'm talking about. Every club you go into, there's always some old guy. He ain't really old, just a little too old to be in the club.

-Chris Rock

Insecurity

There's nothing quite as effective as sitting alone at an empty table in an elaborate Iranian wedding, to make one feel like a total, complete, and utter failure.