For the love of GOD, stop watching television!

It's horrible for your brain. Even beyond the damaging programming, the simple technology is bad for you. I say this not for the purpose of sounding elitist, but it's SO DARN OBVIOUS to me. Every now and again when I head to the lobby of a hotel for breakfast there is a TV there tuned into CNN. Generally I try to get my breakfast and head out of the room and away from the hideous 16k tone that every TV emits, but sometimes I'm in the room long enought o catch a decent portion of the material. I don't know if you've noticed, but the programming on CNN station is complete fluff and a pacifier. For that matter the programing on every station is nothing but fragmented, useless/harmful dribble. "But it's the news!" you say. Very little of what you have ever seen under the guise of news was actually news. What you'll see on the "news" is a couple "breaking" stories about an airplane hangar in akron ohio which might be catching fire because of an electrical fire (No bearing on your life whatsoever.) or the fact that a highway in the middle of texas is increasing their speed limit by five miles an hour. ...oh but that's not it. They'll tell you reasons that you should possibly be angry about the speed limit going up by 5 miles an hour. Of course they will be happy to host complaints e-mailed by a mom in Indiana or illinois who has never been to texas or driven the 13 hours of NOTHING between El Paso and Austin. But what I've just described is the best of it. The rest of the "news" is simply scare tactics which make you feel like you need the news to keep you safe. "is your toothpaste killing you? More after these comercials." Think about all the times you've seen the ad for the news which says, "The news you need, from the team you can trust". Ok, let's pass the "news you need" part on the basis of it's extreme obsurdity and move onto the phrase "the team you trust". Let's see, why wouldn't we trust the Team? What does that phrase even mean? It's not like there's a little lie demon running about ruining unprofessional news broadcasts everywhere. What is it they have to fight to bring you news deserving of your trust? Oh yeah, they have to fight THEMSELVES and their own desire to sensationalize the news and exploit and capitalize on people's tendency towards the new, bizzare, sadistic, threatening, or mellodramatic. The "human interest" segments, or "how to" peices. Just once take a hard critical look at what they're actually saying and you'll get what I'm talking about. It's bloody rediculous.
Unfortunately, news is the least of programming evils. If you can get over the 16k tone that's harrassing your brain and the damage TV is doing to your eyes, on top of the passive habits it's instilling in your brain, you still have to deal with fragmented material. Any story you're watching which is broken up every 7 minutes by commercials is teaching your brain how to and not to take in information. In this case, your attention span is under direct attack. Do you have trouble sitting in your room and reading a book for 6 or 7 hours straight? You shouldn't. You should be able to concentrate of whatever you want for as long as you want. Afterall, it's your mind. Does your mind have a mind of it's own? Who taught it that? What outside source taught your brain habits that you don't like? TV.

I took a drive in the land of the lord...

This is not a place for negativity...I don't know why I'm writing this.
Just now I was at subway (generally my favorite chain to eat at.) I ordered my sandwich and it came together well enough. I went to pay... Now, the magnetic strip on my check card is a little tricky. Sometimes you have to swipe it a few times at different speeds to get it to work. I need to get a new one, but I haven't been home in months so I don't have a place for a new one to be mailed to. After two swipes, the very confused clerk who couldn't speak english told me my card wouldn't work. He then tried to type in the card number which took about 5 minutes because of the language problem I guess. Then the fella told me that there was no money in my account. I knew this not to be true. I said, "are you sure my account won't work? It seems like you might not be familiar with how to enter card numbers manually." He claimed he knew what he was doing and I simply didn't have any money.
Michael offered to pay for my food and I took him up on it. I walked out to the van to eat my sandwich, in which there was a hair. Both my cookies were burnt.

Hello, I'm in California

I'm in this land called california. I didn't get to make it to the beach. That's a life salad. Sometimes life will just kick you in the ass. There are worse things that could happen.

Glad to be here.

I'm on the west coast. Soon I will be in california. Later today, actually. I do love that state. It's where I will live next, unless I move to mexico or something. The last two days were a bit rainy and chilly. Seattle and Portland. I guess you can expect that sort of thing here. I did get to see my old friend Mark Anderson with whom I was in my first band ever nearly 10 years ago. That was nice. Also, I wrote a long and tricky sentence just then.
Got to talk to Kevin on the phone for a bit day before yesterday. He's back in the states living a mystery. Life's good.
-Enoch

Phenomenon #17:

Utah was a pleasure. we played in Salt lake City last night. We showed up well before load-in so we got the chance to hang out in the town a bit. I got to see my friends Jeri and Thurston and we met some really nice folks.
Check this out. A lot of girls who are decently attractive are a bit synical and sometimes downright shitty. They're hung up on themselves and they can afford to be because there are a lot of guys who want to get in girls pants.
Every girl in Utah is really kind. What's different about Utah? Well there are TONS of females in Utah. There are TONS of really attractive girls in Utah. Because there are proportionally more girls than guys, they can't afford not to be nice, or they won't score boyfriends/husbands. In Utah, it's in a girls best interest to be friendly. What a trip.

On another note:
Folks in bands have this thing about looking "cool".I think it's really unsavory. I started listening to bands at a time when I think the desire and tendency to look "cool" was at an all time low. (yes, that flannel and blue jeans thing became a style eventually, but initially it was just what folks were wearing.) Stuff you're wearing has nothing to do with music. For that matter, stuff you're wearing has nothing to do with life. Don't be LAME.

"Now I've seen some old friends sorta die or just turn into whatever must have been inside them. Whatever all of us had then in common grew up and left home. We don't think that way no more."

I'm tired.

There are big long drives between these shows and pretty much no way to squeeze in enough sleep at night.
I did eat the spiciest food ever last night, then jumped around on stage for about 40 minutes. I felt strange.

I'm the most beautiful slut in the room...

I'm wearing a lot of make-up right now. I went to a movie tonight with to of the employees of lovedrugs management company. Afterwards we went to a denny's where I had a steak and some pancakes. It was good and too expensive. Oh well, that's what money is for right? While we waited for our food some friends of these girls I was with started messing with their make-up and I offered my face as a living sacrifice.
There was something very surreal about the experience. Not the fact that I was wearing make-up in public. As many of you know, that used to be a regular occurence in my life. Here's the thing: Sitting in a denny's (or a perkins) in the middle of the night, aimlessly hanging out while a stranger put lipstick and eyeliner on my face is very much an experience from when I was 17 or so. The young folks here even have the same "let's waste some time and stay up till the sun comes up eating unhealthy food and smoking" attitude that the teens in Anderson, IN have. Is was strange, nostalgic, and fun. All in all I'm glad I had the experience.

Sir Enoch Porch

And she's laughing to stop herself crying

I spent five days in nashville. I stayed under the radar. I just spent time with a very few people. It was nice. Due to a change of plans at the last minute, I didn't get to hang out with Dave, but everything else about the week was perfect. I love my home and I love my friends. I'll be out on tour for another 3 weeks, and then back in Nashville to start a band, figure out some sort of income, get in the best shape of my life and have a great summer.

-Enoch