To All My Friends...

After today I am starting to look back at my life and examine all the mistakes I have made. Its hard for a man to admit when he is wrong and even harder to confront himself. Over the last month I have put on a fake smile and pretended that everything was ok but when in reality I have put myself in a hole. From the outside I am a blessed person but on the inside I keep alot hidden. I have really great family and I'm lucky to have supportive friends that care about me. With out all of them I don't know how I would make it through the hard times. Currently I am try to put my life back together and I'm doing it one day at a time. Some days are easier than other but I keep pushing forward. I really don't care if some people think I'm just being emotional. Writing for me has always been a release. Ive been to bottled up and tense lately that I need I really couldn't take it anymore. I will not be beat by the things I have no control over. I can only learn from my mistakes and try to live a better life. I miss the life I use to have and the people that were in it but that's all part of life. I look back and find comfort in the memories and move on in life. I just really wanted to say thank you to everyone that has been here for me lately. I cant even begin to explain how much that means to me. I truly do love you all.-Mike-

Die Young

Well they just said that the social security funds will run out in 2037. This is pretty shitty since I will only be 54. So what happens when I have to retire? Will I be able to retire. We all know our future looks very bleak and no one seems to be doing anything about it. So basically we are on our own. I honestly feel pretty shafted since I have been paying social security since Ive had a job and I wont see any of that when I retire. Why should I have to keep paying this money? I feel like I should be able to keep that money since it will never be paid back to me. Now I kinda wanna die young. Canada here I come!

Food For Thought

So I keep hearing about all of these endangered species and how soon none will be left for future generations to see. Well call me a moron but I figure that if we were to eat endangered species then they would never become extinct. Think about it if we eat them then there becomes a reason to breed them and make sure there are enough to go around. Call me patriotic but if the Bald Eagle is endangered then we should start eating them. It could be the new 4th of July tradition. Endangered species problem solved!

Most Racist Thing Ive Ever Heard....

So this morning I get in the car ready to start another day. I turn on the radio and it happened to be on 93.7 The Arrow. Of course Walton & Johnson are on the air running their mouth about useless crap. This morning really surprised me and truly showed their racist nature. "Supposedly" there is a bill being passed around congress to pay out a settlement to the families of African-American slaves. Granted if this is a real bill I do not agree with it but Walton & Johnson took it to far by saying quote "The way Africa is now I think we did them a favor by bringing them over here" Then they went on to talk about how we shouldn't have to pay them for slavery and then with another racist quote "I want a slave if were going to have to pay for it, might as well do the crime". If that isn't racist i don't know what is. Something to think about? I think so.

The Way of The Monkey....

Sometimes in life you find you can only be so cool but never this cool.

Free At Last?....

So there is something I thought about a long time ago and lately I have thought about it some more. When I hear about people being sentenced to 2 or 3 consecutive life sentences in prison, it made me wonder. What if a person is sentenced to life and while locked up he suffers a heart attack. Lets say this person is clinically dead. For five minutes this person that is serving life in prison lies dead. The EMT's show up to work on him and with a miracle they bring this person back to life. Since this person was serving a life sentence and he technically died, is that considered time served? Maybe its just me but I find that to be a pondering question. Could this person appeal the remaining time in prison and if so would the jury be bias and look at his past crime and keep his punishment towards him? Sometime to think about......

The Road of Life...

As you drive down the road of life you will see many different sights. You can experience something new around every corner. You will also find that no road is with out bumps. No ride in life is fun when your doing it on your own. Together you can share the joys or the ride. There will be occasions when you hit a pot hole and you may even get a flat tire. Together you can fix the problems and get back on the road. When you run out of fuel, just refill. When you love something you don't leave it behind. You keep it running and rolling down the road. Turn up the music and roll the windows down. Feel the breeze in your hair and enjoy the ride.

Damn It All To Hell.....

I'm not a very political person. They say vote or keep your mouth shut. Well we all know that I am a very opinionated person. I don't vote because the options always suck. Sure I don't agree with everything our current president is doing but anything is better than four more years of this Republican bullshit. But I'm just saying. I sware I need to get into politics. There are so many stupid things that can easily be fixed but we have there morons in the media that brainwash the weaker links in our society. With idiots like Bill O'Riley and jackasses like Walton & Johnson on the air it feeds the minds of the weak and blind sheep of America. Can you believe that these nimrods are actually comparing Obama to Hitler? The president says he wants gun control and all of a sudden these backwoods militia supporters start to flip out and think the world is coming to an end. Hasn't every president supported gun control? Obama wants these big business to stop paying their heads massive bonuses and pensions and all of a sudden this is Socialism? Its the American business that have ruined this economy. Its ridiculous to pay a single person that much money. Some of these executives are making more than 10 people will make in their entire life time. Everyone keeps talking about the immigrants that keep coming into America and taking up all the free health care and jobs. I still would like to know what jobs these immigrants are taking away. And lets stop beating around the bush by calling them immigrants and call them what they really are, Mexicans! If it wasn't for them who would be cooking your food? Who would be mowing the lawn your ass is to lazy to cut? Who would be cleaning up after us? Who would watch our children while we work or go out and party the night away? Americans use Mexicans for all that they can and then they turn around and act like the "immigrants" are a drain on the society. Wake up people this country was made by immigrants! Lets change this up a little bit and lets talk about our soldiers. God Bless our boys and girls out there fighting for our country. How about we start to give these people a little bit of respect. It pisses me off that during times of war we are all about supporting the troops but as soon as the war is over it seems like no one cares. First off, If you are a military personal but you are under the age of 21 I strongly believe you should be able to drink. I think it should be a written law that if you a legal military ID carrying individual then you should be able to drink. It makes no sense. You can go out and die for your country but you can't drink up until your 21. I know that's a small thing in a pond of problems but I think it should at least be stated. Secondly, a large majority of these soldiers that are protecting this country are from the Black and Latino community. Many of these people join the military to benefit from the medical support and to assist with the financial woes of college. It really pisses me off to see these soldiers coming back from war injured and then they are denied the care they deserve. They are out there fighting a war with no end in sight or even a reason to be there but I'm not even going to go into that. All I can say is support your troops. They are out there doing what many don't have the guts to do. I know this is getting to be a long blog but there are alot of thing that need to be said. Want to talk health care? I will just say it. The American health care system is against us. The government is a huge reason the health care is the way it is. Canada and Europe both have free health care. Everyone starts their argument that they have a higher cost of living and higher taxes. All of these arguments have been shown to be untrue. America is a business country. If you aren't in the big business then you don't matter to them. It is Business that runs this country not the government. Big business floods money into the pockets of the politicians and that is what keeps this country in the shits. It is the pharmaceutical industries that pay the politicians to keep us from buying the same medications from a different country for more than half the price. Medical Practitioners like the rest of the country are money hungry people. Insurance companies pay them off to let us die. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep us alive and make more money off of us? The problems of this country will never go away. We are set in our careless greedy ways are it is near impossible to want to change. I know I will probably get emails from people telling me I should leave America if I hate it so much or some will call me a traitor to my country but guess what? Blow me! Its these people that I was talking about in the beginning. These blind fools that think our government cares about us. They listen to the media and believe everything they here. We shall go blind into this world as sheep and as lemmings we shall fall to our deaths. God Bless You America, I pray that one day you shall open your eyes and question authority.

In The End...

As we go through life we will fight many battles, we will lose many wars. People will come into our lives and like a ghost quickly disappear. We will all experience joy and we will all see the grim realities of pain. We will gain and we will lose. Some days it will rain, some days the sun will shine bright. We enter this world starting out on the ground and we leave it being put back into the earth. We will argue and disagree. We will make up and make love and do it all over again. Its the little things in life that can effect us and the big things that can kill us. In life we are like dough. As each person passes us they make a mark in our life. No matter how big or small we all get marked. Some we will remember and others will fade away. You spend your whole life trying to fit in. Some make it and some don't. In the end it doesn't matter. Because in the end, no one cares.

A Word To The Wise...

Keep your head up. Sooner or later you will bump into something.

SXSW 2009 Recap

Ok folks here it is. This is my personal recap on SXSW 2009. This is only my second visit to SXSW and I must say it was more than overwhelming. With one month prior to SXSW I began my epic search for official band listings and parties. This is just my own personal view but buying a badge or a wrist band is kinda pointless. The best thing about SXSW is the free parties, the great music and the interesting people. The bad part is that everything is going on at the same time. Here is my personal word to the wise. Don't waste time watching a band that is from your hometown. Why watch them at SXSW when you can see them play the local venues every weekend. I went through all of the bands on the SXSW website and downloaded all of the free mp3's. Trust me there is alot of music there! So anyways, I spent all of this time checking out bands on the Internet, RSVPing for parties and talking to people about events on Twitter. Finally the day has come. Its Thursday morning and I'm packing up the truck and leaving Houston. We arrive in Austin and its a beautiful steaming hot Texas day. We are RSVP'ed for about 10-15 different parties each day but the only bad thing is they are all going on at the same time and they are not all close to each other. We reminds me to tell ya to bring some comfortable shoes! Every party has a huge line so ya gotta be patient. Also ya gotta understand that some people sweat more than others so expect some bad B.O. You can only do and see so much. All of the planning I had done prior had pretty much all gone out of the window. Going to SXSW is kinda like jumping into cold water. Its a big shock there is so many exciting sights and sounds. There is a band playing on almost any stage they can find. Drinks can get expensive so we tried to spend most of our time at the parties with the free booze. This ended up being our downfall. I will honestly say I was a little disappointed in myself for only catching about 5 bands the whole week. I cant believe with thousands of bands playing and I only really caught a few. I got to watch Peter, Bjorn and John, Kanye West, Jada Kiss, Natalie Portmans Shaved Head and Crystal Antlers. There were a few others but I didn't really give them a listen because I was to busy at at bar loading up on the free drinks. I gotta say the free food was nice too! So pretty much SXSW is more about planning then actually doing. I had a great time but wish I saw much more. Some of the best parties we went to were the Fort Fader, Pure Volume, Village Voice and The Texas Nite Club Party. Yes all these parties had free booze! I love Austin. It is the most beautiful city in Texas but after SXSW I was somewhat happy to be leaving. I had a blast even though I didn't see everything I wanted to. I didn't do much networking this time and I didn't pass out a single business card but I had fun and I got out of Houston for a few days and I cant wait to do it again next year. This year seemed to be the year of skin tight jeans, white sunglasses, guys in short shorts, suspenders, colorful shoes and retro hair. I'm kinda anxious to see what next year hold. I wish I could share some fun and exciting news about this visit but it was more like normal visit to Austin for me. A drunken party that lasted for 4 days. In the end all I have to show for it is a bad full of CD's, condoms, stickers, magazines and posters. But it was awesome! See ya again in 2010 SXSW!!!

Lessons From SXSW 2009

Later I will upload all my pix from SXSW and do a nice recap of SXSW in my perspective. But right now I will share some thing that I learned from my experience from SXSW.
First, be ready to walk! I swore it felt like we walked from Houston to Austin this weekend. Parking is kinda hectic in Austin. Things get even more messed up when they shut down the streets for big events. Like any city, big events are a time for them to capitalize on tourist and charge a ridiculous amount of money for parking. I found that if you go early the price is cheaper. We arrived downtown around 1130am and I payed $10. When we went back to the car at 6pm it was $15. We even saw some garages and lots charging $20! So in the end get some super cushy shoe insoles because after 4 days of walking the hilly Austin streets your gonna be exhausted.
Secondly, Stock up on Pepto Bismol. SXSW is a hectic time. You are so busy running around you barely have enough time to see the bands you want to see let alone grab a bite to eat. All over down town are street cart vendors selling a large array of foods. Austin is very popular with pizza and cupcakes, and when you mix that with all the free booze you can expect an upset stomach. Either way you had fun getting sick. I advise everyone to try the different pizza shops and truck all over town. You will be blown away.
Thirdly, Aspirin. Loads of it. Texas is hot and walking around all over town on the blacktop is overwhelming. Loud music, heat and tons of free drinks it is easy to get carried away and the next thing you know your in a deep sleep setting yourself up with a hangover from hell. Try to force yourself to drink at least one bottle of water and two aspirin. This is the only way to make it through the week. Plus the aspirin will help with the pain in your feet from all that walking.
Fourth, dress for the occasion. Look I understand that you may be in a band or really like the fashions of the emo pop punk indie bands but some of that stuff is just to much. It was hovering over 80 degrees this year and it was hot! I saw some people wearing them skin tight jeans and jackets from the 70's just sweating their asses off. I understand being true to your passions but do it with in reason. Some time people just try to hard. But who am I to judge? Maybe next year I will show up in some ass less chaps, a pink thong on backwards, combat boots, suspenders and

a propeller cap. Because that's how I roll. Oh snap! I cant forget them shutter shades!
Lastly, bring you some wet naps and antibacterial hand gel. This is an event full of porta potties and sticky sweaty people. So lather up because its gonna be a gross week but who cares you will be drunk!!!
I had a blast Austin, I will see ya all next year for SXSW 2010!

Maybe It's Just Me...

Maybe it's just me because I have been in the nightlife industry in Houston for almost 8 years but WTF? I sware there are more promoters in Houston than there are clubs. I am pretty sick and tired of all these kids that get 500 friends on Myspace, throw one party and call themselves promoters. What happened to the gorilla marketing? The long night of car flyering? Now adays kids are flooding spam and flyer's all over the Internet and even through text messages. No wonder the nightlife scene in Houston sucks now. I have taken a few months away from the scene to reflect and decide where I want to go with Street Sound Productions. Just walking into a club in Houston makes me want to vomit. The sad thing is, I still see the same people from 4yrs ago. I think its time I spend more time throwing events for mature adults. Music for Cancer Foundation is one of my biggest project I help out with. This organization is all about helping people battle cancer. I hope that you will all back me on this. I am really trying to plan art parties. I am a photographer and I would love to help other artist get their work out to the public. Maybe it's just me but Houston venues need to flush away all this underage drinking, no business sense promoters and the Miami wanna be vibes. I'm just sayin!

Twitter Thy Prez

That's right peeps. You can now follow me on Twitter. I signed up for this for SXSW and now I'm addicted to this crap. Its like cyber crack and I cant get enough. Myspace was the meth and now I'm kinda scared to see what drug Blogger becomes. No one ever said I wanted to be a junkie!

Twitter: SSP_PREZ

I Wish I Could...

The picture says it all...

Cage Fighter

I want to buy an Affliction t-shirt and tell everyone that I'm a cage fighter. If someone wants to put me to the test and I get my ass kicked it was only because I wasn't in a cage!

3 Great Places To Eat In Austin

Star Seeds Cafe - With a great diner feel this place makes some amazing food. The best part is that this place is open 24hrs. The food is very cheap and you get alot too! Like any place in Austin it is a great place to people watch. Ya gotta love that "Keep Austin Weird" motto that holds true to its residents but I love these people and I would kill to live here. Anyways, Star Seeds makes some really great food and the service is awesome too!

3101 N I H 35 Austin, TX 78722 (512) 478-7107

Threadgill's - This is one of my favorite places to eat in Austin. I love the atmosphere of the place. This is what the Hard Rock Cafe wishes they could be. There are photos and memorabilia all over the place and tons of it comes from the artist that have played there. Oh yeah! Forgot to mention that Threadgill's has concerts there too. I highly recommend the Threadgill's on the south side. The food is outstanding and everything taste very fresh and homemade. This is a must when staying in Austin

301 West Riverside Drive Austin, Texas 78704 (512) 472-9304

Home Slice Pizza - This is one of my favorite places for pizza in Austin. Its located in the trendy and Bohemian area of South Congress also known as "SoCo" As you look North you see straight up the steps of the State Capitol building. But enough about the surrounding, how about that pizza? Well this place is known for it. You can either grab a table inside or side on the side walk and order from the window. The don't have a real closing time until people stop coming. Austin is full of great pizza like Hoek's Pizza and Roppolos but I still highly recommend Home Slice Pizza

1415 S Congress Ave Austin, TX 78704 (512) 444-7437

Honorable Mentions:

Casino El Camino - Most awesome burgers ever! Yea the cook is a dick but trust me the food is worth it. He may be Austin's version of the Soup Nazi but his burgers are amazing. This place has been featured on the Food Networks, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. The burgers are all cooked to order and trust me they are big. Order up a Lonestar and enjoy!

517 E 6th St Austin, TX 78701 (512) 469-9330

Magnolia Cafe - Ahh back in "SoCo". No matter what time it is this place is always packed! This is another place featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Granted I wasn't all that impressed with this place but the food is good. The atmosphere and the staff make this a fun place too. I think I had heard so much about this place and it had been so built up to me and it made me expect so much. The food was good. I am not the biggest pancake fan but the buttermilk banana pancakes were pretty awesome even as leftovers the next day. This is also a 24hr spot so that's always a plus in the middle of a drinking session down 6th St.

1920 S Congress Ave Austin, TX 78704 (512) 445-0000

The Oasis - Wow this place is amazing! Well the atmosphere and the views anyways. While the food is mediocre and a little on the pricey side this is a very romantic place for a sunset dinner. Atop a high mountain over looking Lake Travis rest the Oasis. This place is huge! I believe its four stories high and a huge wooden deck great for the summer time. I would recommend this to couples looking for something romantic or friends getting together for drinks and appetizers. Either way I think everyone should make a stop here just to check it out.

6550 Comanche Trail Austin, TX 78732 (512) 266-2442

Stubb's BBQ - Almost forgot about this one. If you want some real Texas BBQ then you have to make a stop at Stubb's. Located at the corner of 8th & Red River this place is making some of the best BBQ around. Everything has that home grilled tasted and tops it off with Stubb's own famous BBQ sauce. I highly recommend this place for everyone. This place is also a concert venue. Some really big acts play here. Metallica made a special surprise performance at this years SXSW here at Stubb's. So stop by Stubb's and chow down. Ya never know who might pop in.

801 Red River St Austin, TX 78701(512) 480-8341

Top 3 Late Night Bites In Houston

Mai's - If its 2am and you are drunk and looking for a place to eat then Mai's is the spot. But warning, this place end up looking like a club once 2am rolls around because everyone is waiting in line for a seat. They have the best and freshest Vietnamese food in Houston. Second warning. The floors are super slippery so be careful when you are drunk in there. Don't worry if you fall, the police are there to kindly pick you up and give you a nice bed to sleep in for the weekend.

3403 Milam St Houston, TX 77002(713) 520-7684

Chapultepec - Mmmm there is nothing better than some awesome cheap greasy Mexican food to soak up all that booze. This place is really awesome. You pretty much never have to wait for a seat. From the outside this place looks like a rundown hole in the wall e. coli factory but once inside you will find some of the most amazing food ever. I love this place because the food is cheap and its super filling. Also the jukebox plays some very odd and interesting music.

813 Richmond Ave Houston, TX 77006(713) 522-2365

Franks Pizza - Well pretty much everyone that parties downtown in Houston knows about Franks Pizza. This places makes some super awesome pies. Yea some may say they are on the the pricey side but its kinda worth it. Sad part is that its downtown and we all know that the downtown party scene is as washed up as Roger Clemens. But if you are downtown and you want some great quick food then Franks is your place. All we need now is some better bars and cupcakes then we can pretend were in Austin!

417 Travis St Houston, TX 77002(713) 225-5656

This Is Where It Begins...

Well this is the first time I have ever joined a blogging group or started my own. I am a very opinionated person and I probably get on alot of peoples nerves but at least I'm not afraid to speak up when I feel something. I am a lover of the arts. Music is my biggest passion. I have always been influenced by great music from my family. I appreciate music from the swing era to this cluster fuck of experiments that some call music today. I also have taken a leap into acting and have taken classes to improve my skills. I had never taken any type of drama while in school but something really pushed me into the art a few years ago. I feel like movies now adays are so played out and everyone seems to be doing the same thing. I would like to add a new flair to cinema. I would one day like to write, act and direct. Another one of my passions is photography. I find it mesmerizing to see there photographs that say so much without anyone having to say a word. I love the look and texture of black and whites. I like they bring out the emotion in a scene without an added influence of color. Culinary art is another one of my hobbies. I am obsessed with the Food Network. I love to cook new and exciting dishes. I would love to travel the globe trying delectable dishes and along my travels trying local beers and spirits. I anyone knows me they know my hobby with alcohol. I have a bottle of each different beer I have consumed. So far I'm about 150 different beers down.

Now about who I am. I'm just the average person. A laid back Chicano from Houston, TX. I cant speak a lick of Spanish but embrace my Latino culture to the fullest. My parents are still together and I have two brothers that are both married with children so I am an uncle of three. I'm not married but I am in a relationship with a wonderful woman. Its good to be with a person that shares alot of the same ideas and taste in music and art.

Well this is me and this is my blog. I hope that you enjoy it. No real idea where I will take this but it will contain useful information, useless facts, random thoughts and lessons from life. Enjoy!