I wish I had the
wisdom of the ages and could somehow verbalize a truth that would make
yesterday's horrific events in Virginia sensible. However, it is
impossible to find logic in the irrational - we cannot make sense out
of the unreasonable. And surely death of such magnitude, particularly
the demise of so many, so young and with so much promise is without
reason.
As is always the case, the media has jumped all over the
"why." They know there is just no easy answer...there is no "why" to
explain mental illness of this sort. Logically, we turn our attention
to where we can place blame.
How could no one have seen this man's troubled mind simmering to boil? How could the police have waited so long between the two incidents? Why didn't the school shut down and warn students & faculty?
There
are answers to all of these questions surely. Some are valid, others
not so much. The fact remains that they do little to assuage how sense
of loss and the feeling of helplessness that everyone is left with.
You don't have to be a student at Virgina Tech to feel this. You don't
have to be a parent or friend. It is akin to the feelings we all had
after the September 11th attacks. Helpless. It is like looking into
someone else's casket - it inevitably saddens us because it reminds us
of our own mortality..."weep not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for
thee."
There are those - especially in the media - who are
insisting on answers and explanations about some of these questions
because they somehow feel that there will be some sense of safety and
assurance in the answers. Sorry, folks. There is no answer for mental
illness. There is no answer for mindless, senseless violence. Again
like the terrorist attacks, we will never be able to fully guard
ourselves against the unthinkable and unimaginable.
All we are
left with is the one thing that we can best use to thwart the isolation
and disenfranchisement that gives safe harbor to so many disturbed
minds -- each other. We can communicate, we can reach out to friends
and strangers. Say something, say nothing - just touch each other.
When a man becomes an island he loses that sense of humanity that
effectively preempts most of us from doing such mostrous acts.
Gathering collectively,be it via e-mail, phone or in person gives us
back that sense of community and that ability to feel one another.
We
were ill-equipped to preclude Monday's events from occurring. We have
both a mental health system and a law enforcement system that are both
overburdened. The only effective weapon we have is an army of people
willing to communicate their feelings and thoughts with each other.
No pics to share (yet, I'll update later), but its been another interesting weekend.
Helped
a Northern Cali friend do some photo and video shooting for his website
Friday. Its a tough job, holding lights, running a camera and
generally tending to the needs of some extremely beautiful models all day - but hey, I'm always willing to do the dirty work, LOL!
Arisara
If you get the chance, say "Hi & Happy Thai New Year" to Arisara!
She's a new model from Thailand. She's beautiful, but more
importantly, she's just a super person! A little on the shy side, she
is also very smart, very sweet and extremely down-to-earth. Add to
that a bright personality and mega-watt smile and you have Arisara!
(I'm going to link to a couple of the other models from yesterday, but I need to warn you that their profiles may contain mature content.)
Evelyn Lin
Evelyn Lin
is a quickly up and coming star in the world of Adult Entertainment.
We were talking about all the e-mails and fans she has been getting.
Its amazing just how fast a name can spread worldwide. Her website is just getting up and running and is already getting hits from countries whose names I can't even spell! And deservedly so.
Its been awhile since I've met someone so young who is as focused on
success, as professional and disciplined in her career and just has all
the right attitudes. I have a feeling that this incarnation may only
be the tip of the iceberg for Evelyn. She'll be garnering attention in
more and newer forums soon enough.
Lystra
And if you are into the world of 'alt-modelling' or fetish modeling, you may already know Lystra. ( I won't link to her page cuz its private). She has worked with notable photogs such as Lithium Picnic and Bob Coulter of crazybabes.com fame. She is uniquely pretty, fun and just an interesting personality to meet.
Lystra (with Apnea) by Lithium Picnic
I can definitely can think of worse ways to spend Friday the Thirteenth!
And then tonight - an about face and it was all about the kids again! My nephew's Cubscout Troop went to Irwindale Speedway for a night at the races. More pics of the races coming later!
Today was my finall day of "Daddy-duty," as my
bro returns from Orlando tomorrow. So I went out in style and took the
little critters to Disneyland. Manny has definitely brainwashed these two...besides LeggoLand, Disney is their favorite place on earth!
We went on a few quick rides and did the bumper cars that Zoe loves so much. I should also mention that as an experienced hang-glider, California Soaring is as close to the real thing as they come!
Then chaos hit. This is what the little ones looked like early in the day:
But after the heat got to them and the kids insisted on visiting the water-rides
We decided to change into the alternate clothing and hit the waterfalls - I knew they'd go for that...and this is what ensued...
Yeah, Uncle JAG got a little moist, also! (and bonus points to anyone who can tell me where we got the idea for the tee-shirts!)
All in all, a perfect day all-around! But frankly, I'm totally okay with going back to just being an Uncle!
Cubscouts, Pinewood Derbies and why I love my nephew!
Yep, you knew I was going to have to throw a quick blog up about the
Cub Scout Pack meeting last night that I mentioned in my last
blog! Hey, its my world, right?
My
brother is actually the denleader...I'm just a (frequent)
subsitute. I wasn't really too into the idea of
taking his place Monday until he told me that they were getting ready
for the annual Pinewood Derby Races!
What boy doesn't have fond memories of Pinewood Derby Racing?
I was psyched! This was gonna be a blast. You
wouldn't believe how major this thing has become! Their are
websites to help
you build your car, there are sites to help you plan the actual races - even sites
directing you to OTHER websites about Pinewood
Derbies, LOL!
Alex and I got a bit of a head start on our car by
surfing the internet just to get an idea of how this is all
done. It was a good idea, as we came to the meeting with
designs in hand and an idea of what we wanted our car to look
like. I'm glad we did because the biggest obstacle for the
other kids seemed to be just creating some abstract concept in their
head. I have to say, it was poorly done by the
Pack. They sat 50 young kids with no clue down, threw the
necessary tools at them and said "Go to it!"
Mass mayhem
ensued. Having our design already set allowed Alex to go
around and help out the other kids in his den - which made me one VERY
PROUD Uncle!
I don't think you can teach a kid of 8 years to think so
altruistically...either they do or don't. And I'm so happy to
see my Alex using his knowledge not just to build a great car, but to
help all those other confused friends of his. It was a bunch
of fun and the kids seemd to really enjoy it after they got over the
initial shock and confusion.
So, with my big brother out of town on business, I got to play Surrogate Dad this weekend
- and it continues tomorrow.
We started the weekend out Saturday with Alex's Little League game
and a trip to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in
Pasadena with Dad before his flight. Then Sunday, Mom,
his sister Zoe, Alex & I went on a trip to the Mt. Baldy Trout Pools to go fishing
with his Cub Scout Den. I think this place is where the
saying "easy as catching fish
in a barrel" originated - as thats pretty much what it
is...two small man-made "ponds" stocked to the rim with
trout. Not a ton of skill involved, LOL!
It
ends Monday might with a Cub Scout Pack meeting...getting
ready for the big Pine Wood
Derby Car races next month!
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Manny has definitely brainwashed these two...besides LeggoLand, Disney is their favorite place on earth! 
(
What boy doesn't have fond memories of Pinewood Derby Racing?
I was psyched! This was gonna be a blast. You
wouldn't believe how major this thing has become! Their are
websites to 
