The Pappas View

What's Your Naughty Nurse Fantasy? Read Chapter 6 of blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"...

2010-08-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Jake Dalmas explores his naughty nurse fantasy in Chapter 6 of provocative and humorous blog novel "Monogamy Sucks" entitled "My Naughty Nurse." Find out what happens. It's erotic, funny and not for the faint of heart, but well worth the read. Ever had a naughty nurse fantasy? Post your own experiences if you like.
Explore your inner Swinger or a fantasy or taboo today:
http://monogamysux.blogspot.com/
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com/

Check out Chapter 5 of Blog Novel "Monogamy Sucks" -- "900 Number Datelines -- A Real Financial Hang Up

2010-07-17T03:19:00.000-07:00

Jake Dalmas' mid-thirties lust crisis turns into a financial crisis in Chapter 5 of provocative blog fiction novel "Monogamy Sucks" entitled "900 Number Datelines -- A Real Financial Hang Up." Jake meets a phone sex addict named Nellie who nearly gets him in trouble with his boss.

Read more about it here:

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com.../
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com/

Look for Chapter 6 on July 31

Do prudes work at Gazette Newspapers in Long Beach, Calif.?

2010-07-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to write this post, but I felt I had no choice.

Do prudes work at Gazette Newspapers in Long Beach, California?

I only ask this because for the second time in the past 10 years they have refused to cover one of my book projects because it is erotic in nature. In 2001, they wouldn't review or cover my first book "Letters From Cyberspace" saying it was too erotic for their readers.

In the past week, I had pitched a story about my provocative blog novel "Monogamy Sucks" to the Gazette Newspapers editor Darcy Leigh Richardson. Today I was told by her via e-mail they are swamped with content at the moment and that she thinks my particular topic -- monogamy, sex, infidelity, erotica -- "wouldn't be appropriate for our readership."

Really? Does her readership deal with monogamy, marriage, sex? Have they read "Sex in the City" or "American Psycho?" -- great books with far more provocative content than is contained on my blogs -- http://monogamysux.blogspot.com or http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com.

So far a number of other media outlets have had no problem with my blog's content -- including the Wire Service -- Wireless Flash, radio stations in Australia, Montreal and San Diego.

What's up with Gazette Newspapers?

It is sad, strange and even a little funny when publications censor themselves.

If Gazette Newspapers doesn't think it is an interesting story to cover then that is fine. But turning me down because of my blog's controversial content seems to fly in the face of what a newspaper's mission should be -- to inform, not to judge.

George Pappas
Writer of blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"
gmpwrite@gmail.com

Hook up with DeAnna Lorraine: Blog Talk Radio interview about blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-07-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I did an interview with "Hook up! with DeAnna Lorraine" on Blog Talk Radio about my blog novel "Monogamy Sucks." Sexy and intriguing discussion with DeAnna about the issues of monogamy, cheating and why so many people are having trouble with monogamy.

Here's a link to the interview. My interview starts about 43 minutes into the hour show.

Does Monogamy Really Suck? + Wild Secrets from Women

MP3 of Australian Radio Interview about blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-07-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have posted the MP3 of my June 30 interview with the "Overnight with Mike Jeffreys" radio show -- http://www.2ue.com.au -- based in Sydney, Australia about my blog fiction novel "Monogamy Sucks." We covered a lot of intriguing issues about monogamy, infidelity, sexual hypocrisy, what men really think about during sex, and swinging. Very interesting conversation.

You can listen it to below:

Montreal interview about blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-07-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had an interesting 30-minute interview on Montreal radio program "Passion" (CJAD, 800 am http://www.cjad.com/shows/19153) about my blog novel "Monogamy Sucks."

The show, which is one of top rated radio programs in Montreal, is hosted by Dr. Laurie Betito, noted psychologist and sex therapist. Dr. Laurie asked probing and thoughtful questions and I enjoyed our conversation. I will post more details when they are available.

Let Freedom Swing: Check out Chapter 4 of blog fiction novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-07-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Let freedom Swing.

Jake Dalmas continues his pursuit of erotic happiness in Chapter 4 of the provocative blog fiction novel "Monogamy Sucks." In this chapter entitled "The Squirter," Jake has an unusual encounter with a much older woman. It also explores a rare female phenomenon that is not talked about much.

Check it out here:

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com

Look for Chapter 5 on July 17.

Have a happy and free Fourth...

Australian Interview about blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-06-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

This morning had an interesting 15 minute interview with the "Overnight with Mike Jeffreys" radio show -- http://www.2ue.com.au -- based in Sydney, Australia about my blog fiction novel "Monogamy Sucks." We covered a lot of intriguing issues about monogamy, infidelity, sexual hypocrisy, what men really think about during sex, and swinging. Very interesting conversation. Will post link to interview when it becomes available.

"Monogamy Sucks" -- background, press release, contact info

2010-06-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have posted contact information and the press release for blog fiction novel Monogamy Sucks. on my blog.

Look for the next chapter of my novel -- chapter 4 on July 3...

You can read the first three chapters on my two blogs:

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com

Here's my contact information for the media or for anyone else interested in finding out more about my book.

George Pappas
gmpwrite@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: gpwriter
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/gpwriter
Blog:
http://thepappasview.blogspot.com

PRESS RELEASE:

Blog Novel Monogamy Sucks Explores the Limits of Monogamy and One Man’s Journey into the Provocative World of Swinging and Alternative Sex

The Future of Publishing? More than 12 years in the Making, Long Beach, Calif. Author George Pappas Launches his Fiction Novel One Chapter at a Time on His Blogs

Long Beach, Calif., June 30, 2010 – One of the more interesting erotic novels of the summer season, Monogamy Sucks, can’t be found in a bookstore or on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, but instead is being unveiled on two blogs one chapter at a time.

Long Beach, Calif. author George Pappas’ provocative book project reflects the changing times in the publishing industry and society. More than 12 years in the making, his fiction novel, Monogamy Sucks, is an exploration of a Long Beach man’s mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing bizarre, but intriguing journey into the world of swinging and alternative sex.

In May and June 2010, Pappas launched the first three chapters of his novel on his two blogs.

Each month Pappas will introduce a new chapter or two on his blogs --

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com or http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com

-- with the goal of eventually bringing out his entire book in print and digital form.

This novel is especially timely considering the recent spate of public sex scandals, including golfer Tiger Woods, TV personality Jesse James, and too many other celebrities and politicians to mention.

Studies suggest that around 30–40 percent of dating relationships and 18–20 percent of marriages are marked by at least one incident of sexual infidelity, according to the publication “Close encounters: Communication in Relationships.” Some researchers say there's a 50–50 chance today that one partner will have an affair during a marriage. It is estimated that roughly 30 to 60 percent of all married individuals (in the United States) will engage in infidelity at some point during their marriage as referenced on the Truth About Deception Web site.

“It seems like the perfect time to put my book out there,” said Pappas, a long-time Belmont Shore resident and journalism graduate from California State University, Long Beach. “Monogamy is also very much in the news with the details of a new public sex scandal being revealed every week or so these days. I figured a blog would be an effective platform for my novel in that it is easy to access and read, but also it is an interactive experience for the reader as they can experience and comment on the novel as it progresses.”

As with the rest of the entertainment industry, the Internet will completely transform the publishing business in the coming years, Pappas stressed.

“Writers should embrace the immediacy of the Internet as a beneficial means to expose their work and develop their own audiences rather than wait around to be discovered by an agent or publisher,” Pappas said. “That’s the future of publishing – do it yourself -- whether the publishing industry wants to acknowledge it or not. Just look at the explosion of independent filmmaking in recent years. The next best selling writer or literary star more than likely will be found on the Internet and not only in the usual places such as writer workshops or universities.”

Pappas said to think of his work Monogamy Sucks as an edgy male version of Sex in the City written from the point of view of an inept, inexperienced swinger.

“There is one major difference,” Pappas explained. “My novel’s protagonist Jake Dalmas is not interested in finding love like Carrie Bradshaw was, but instead he is obsessed with finding great sex with no strings, no commitments, no relationship stress, and most of all — no monogamy. Call this a ‘Bizarre Sex in the City’ that swings and will give woman intriguing insight into how men – not that many will readily admit it -- really think about sex and relationships. It is frank, funny and above all – painfully honest.”

Pappas said he has been working on his novel off and on since 1998 and has tried to stay true to his experiences in the swing world, and to the stories of others he met along the way, but he emphasizes that this is a work of fiction as opposed to non-fiction, a memoir or an autobiography.

“Any passing resemblance to real life people and encounters has been changed to protect the innocent and the not so innocent,” he said. “A great deal of this book exists in the realm of my imagination with real life incidents only serving as a jumping off point so to speak. Other chapters are pure fiction with no connection to real life experiences. Either way I hope readers will be intrigued, amused, shocked, entertained and maybe even inspired by what they find in my book.”

This is the second novel for Pappas, who also works in the public relations industry as a freelance consultant and is a former daily newspaper reporter. Pappas’ first novel Letters From Cyberspace, featuring the online sexual exploits of a naïve twenty something woman from Utah, was self-published in 2001 and is available on Amazon.com.

Pappas said he plans to bring out his next book, which has a provocative celebrity angle, in the same manner he launched Monogamy Sucks -- through a dedicated blog site, a chapter at a time.

He also has started a sequel to Monogamy Sucks, and eventually is looking to turn Jake Dalmas’ erotic adventures into a trilogy of books.

“I see Jake’s journey as one that has gone largely untold in fiction,” Pappas said. “There are a lot of books out there honestly documenting female point of view when it comes to sex and relationships, which I think is a great thing, but there are too few novels portraying the male view on the subject. Furthermore, swinging has not been adequately explored in fiction as it no doubt should be. Contrary to popular belief, there is a lot more interest in swinging among the general public than people might think.”

###

Wireless Flash News Story about "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-06-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I was interviewed by Wireless Flash News about my blog novel "Monogamy Sucks." The writer -- senior editor Monica Garske -- did an excellent of capturing the spirit of my book project. I enjoyed our phone interview.

Here's a link to the story:

http://www.flashnews.com/news/wfn05100623fn28109.html

I have posted a copy of the story here:

Most Dudes Think Monogamy Sucks

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 1:46 GMT

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Wireless Flash - FlashNews) – It’s safe to say that most guys think monogamy sucks – just look at Tiger Woods and Jesse James.

That’s the idea behind George Pappas’ new erotic fiction, Monogamy Sucks, about a man who explores the world of swinging and alternative sex rather than getting stuck in one relationship.

Pappas says the novel – a “male version of Sex And The City” – reveals how guys really feel about sex and romance.

He thinks most men absolutely hate monogamy, which is why celebrity tabloids are filled with cheaters.

Pappas admits he’s not too keen on commitment himself and spent the last 12 years experiencing the flexibility of the swinger world firsthand.

Although the lifestyle is unusual, he says partner-swappers are everywhere and “could be your neighbors, bankers, and co-workers.”

He plans to get people openly talking about swinging by unveiling a new chapter of his book each month on his blogs, monogamysucks.wordpress.com and monogamysux.blogspot.com.

© Copyright 2010 Wireless Flash News Inc

Look for the next chapter of my novel -- chapter 4 on July 3...

You can read the first three chapters on my two blogs:

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com

George

My Blog Novel Experiment Continues With Chapter 3 of "Monogamy Sucks" -- "My Sex Date with a Former Hawaiian Beauty Queen"

2010-06-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

Ever been on a sex date? Intrigued by the world of swinging and alternative sex?
Bored with monogamy? Got the marriage sex boredom blues?

Check out my blog novel experiment "Monogamy Sucks," which continues today with blog postings of Chapter 3 -- "My Sex Date with a Former Hawaiian Beauty Queen." In this chapter, my novel's protagonist Jake Dalmas continues his journey toward a monogamy-free life when he travels to West Los Angeles to meet Leilani, a former Hawaiian beauty queen, for a sex date. Things don't quite work out as expected as Jake seeks to end his year long sex drought.

Here are the links to Chapters 1, 2, and 3:

http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com/
http://monogamysux.blogspot.com/

Look for Chapter 4 in early July.....

Please check out my blog novel "Monogamy Sucks"

2010-06-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting sex books of the summer season could be on a blog, and it will unfold one chapter at a time all summer long.

On May 1, 2010, I finally launched the first chapter of my unpublished fiction novel, “Monogamy Sucks,” an exploration of a Long Beach, California man’s mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing bizarre, but intriguing journey into the world of swinging and alternative sex, on my two blogs.

It only took more than 12 years. I first came up with the idea of my novel during a beach walk at Belmont Shore in Long Beach, Calif. My mission was simple and clear -- to put down in words my increasingly bizarre and interesting sex life (with a venture into the swing world) and explore my growing dissatisfaction with monogamy and relationships.

Think of this work as an edgy male version of “Sex in the City” written from the point of view of an inept, inexperienced swinger. Except my novel’s protagonist Jake Dalmas is not interested in finding love, but instead is obsessed with finding great sex with no strings, no commitments, no relationship bullshit, and most of all — no monogamy.

This novel is especially timely considering the recent spate of public sex scandals, including golfer Tiger Woods, TV personality Jesse James, and too many other celebrities and politicians to mention here.

As I wrote previously, I have been working on my novel off and on since the late 1990s and have tried to stay true to my experiences and the experiences of those I met along the way, but remember this is a work of fiction. It’s not non-fiction, a memoir or autobiographical. Any passing resemblance to real life people and encounters have been changed to protect the innocent and the not so innocent. A great deal of this book exists in the realm of my imagination with real life incidents only serving as a jumping off point so to speak. Other chapters are pure fiction with no connection to real life experiences. Either way I hope you’ll be intrigued, amused, shocked, entertained and maybe even inspired by what you find here.

Each month I will introduce a new chapter or two on my two book blogs with the goal of eventually bringing out my entire book in print and digital form.

Here are the links to my blogs

http://monogamysux.blogspot.com/
http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com/

Look for Chapter three in mid June.

Please enjoy this work in the spirit it has been offered — with an open mind, an adventurous soul and a good sense of humor.

Members of the media and others who are interested in contacting me about my ongoing book project, feel free to reach me at gmpwrite@gmail.com

My favorite music of the past Decade 2000-09

2010-01-16T00:46:00.001-08:00

Music is truly an obsession of mine. It fuels my creative ventures, my life more than I can describe in words.

Lately I've been noticing with a great deal of interest music, lifestyle and mainstream publications, web sites, blogs weighing in with their best records of the past decade.

I thought i would also join in and list in no particular order the CDs that inspired me this past decade and helped me get through one of the worst decades in my life. I won't go into that in this post, except to say that I no longer take life for granted anymore. However, music means more to me than it ever has.

Here are my fave recordings of the 2000s. These are limited to the actual CDs I own and realize there are some I may have left out.

GP

My favorite records of 2000-2009

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost is Born, Wilco, Wilco
Seachange, Beck
In Rainbows, Kid A, Hail to the Thief, Radiohead
Love & Theft, Modern Times, Together Through Life, Bob Dylan
The Rising, Magic, The Pete Seeger Sessions, Bruce Springsteen
White Blood Cells, Elephant, Get Behind Me Satan, White Stripes
I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Lifted, Bright Eyes
Read English/Speak Spanish, Desaparecidos
All That You Leave Behind, U2
Illinois, Sufjan Stevens
The Greatest, Cat Power
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, The Boxer, The National
Transcendental Blues, Jerusalem, Townes, Steve Earle
The Wind, Warren Zevon
Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Kraus
Fever to Tell, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
Love, The Beatles
Revival, John Fogarty
Children of Men Soundtrack
Entourage Soundtrack
Hustle and Flow Soundtrack
LCD Soundsystem
Gorillaz, Demon Days, Gorillaz
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, War Against the Mystics, Flaming Lips
Yonder is the Clock, Felice Brothers
The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, Kanye West
Stay Positive, Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady
Whatever People Say I am, That's What I am Not, Artic Monkeys
Sing, Sing Death House, the Distillers
Veni Vidi Vicious, The Hives
Rabbit Fur Coat, Jenny Lewis
Black Cadillac, Roseanne Cash
Funeral, Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
Gold, Love is Hell, Part 1 & 2, Easy Tiger, Ryan Adams
Arular, Kala, MIA
Be, Common
Kill the Moonlight, Gimme Fiction, Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks
Dear Science, TV on the Radio
Murray Street, Rather Ripped, Sonic Youth
St. Elsewhere, The Odd Couple, Gnarls Barkley
Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins
In Search Of, N.E.R.D
Marshall Mathers Project, 8 Mile, Eminem
Chronic 2001, Dr. Dre
Stankonia, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Outkast
Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2, Billy Bragg and Wilco
Figure 8, From a Basement on a Hill, New Moon, Elliott Smith
Sophtware Slump, Grandaddy
Under Construction, Missy Elliott
American Gangster Soundtrack, Jay Z
Rounds, Four Tet
Original Pirate Material, The Streets
Phrenology, The Roots
Don't Give Up on Me, Solomon Burke
Blood Money, Alice, Tom Waits
A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay
Decoration Day, Dirty South, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, Drive-By Truckers
You Forgot it in People, Broken Social Scene
Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne
Transatlanticism, Plans, Narrow Stairs, Death Cab for Cutie
Up the Bracket, The Libertines
Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent
Van Lear Rose, Loretta Lynn
Hobosapiens, John Cale
Franz Ferdinand
Cee-Lo Green...is the Soul Machine
American Idiot, Green Day
Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse
More Adventurous, Rilo Kiley
Z, Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket
Chavez Ravine, Ry Cooder
Toxicity, Mezmerize, Hyptonize, System of a Down
This is Buck 65
Souljacker, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, eels
Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Ever
Conor Oberst
Dig! Lazarus Dig!, Nick Cave
Let's Stay Friends, Les Savy Fav
Vampire Weekend
Real Animal, Alejandro Escovedo
Harps & Angels, Randy Newman
Third, Portishead
Mudcrutch
Sigur Ros
St. Anger, Death Magnetic, Metallica
Electric Dirt, Levon Helm
Highway Companion, Tom Petty
3121, Prince

A blog & Poem: Trick or Treat?

2009-11-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

I wrote this poem a couple years ago as I sat in a Starbucks in Belmont Shore...watching the parade of Halloween revelers pass by.

It seemed appropriate this year, too.

I got me thinking about Halloween again....and how I have grown to dislike it...

It has become commercialized like all or most holidays and just another excuse to party...

In this poem, I decided to use Halloween as a jumping off point so to speak for my other concerns about our society.

GP

***

TRICK OR TREAT?

Trick or treat?

Neither is what they seem.

The scary things don't hide in closets
but in our hearts and souls
as we confront our lost dreams
our twisted hopes,
our love turned turned so bitter inside.

Left alone in the darkness of our imaginations.
We are the bogeyman and the bogeyman is us.

Tricked for treats?
Treated to dirty tricks?

The scary stuff?
Your best friend
letting you down over again
Your lover hurting you because they can.

Treats and trickery on All Hallows' Eve.

The real horrors of human nature
to contemplate.

There are zombies, vampires and monsters
everywhere you look tonight.

They are always there.

You work for them.
You try to love them.
You struggle to understand them.
You call them family.
You regard them as good friends
and trusted allies
who are selling you out all the while
with handshakes and smiles.

Trick or treat?

Neither is what they seem.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

Signs of the Economic Times in Belmont Shore, CA

2009-10-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

There are signs of the Great Recession everywhere you look these days in Belmont Shore (Long Beach), Calif. During the 15 or so years I have lived on and off in Belmont Shore, I have never seen so many apartment rental, leasing and home sale signs. While walking through my neighborhood for the past five months, I have tried to capture this change through pictures. Yet amidst the numerous rental and for sale signs there are indications of hope and renewal with new bars and restaurants popping up on the Shore. Like all economic downturns -- this is painful, but also offers new opportunities.

You can check out my photo essay on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2038238&id=1371962471&ref=mf

GP

RE: Ruminations on the aftermath of Apollo 11: A Child of the Future

2009-07-20T23:38:00.000-07:00

On the 40th year anniversary of the first Moon landing, I am still very much in awe of the Apollo 11 mission and what was accomplished.
But I am also saddened that in the ensuing years we didn't build on our Moon explorations.
It seems to me at times that we have lost our wonder and joy of exploration of worlds beyond our own. Space exploration it seems has become mundane to us or too costly.
We'd rather spend billions on weapons than space missions.

We are easily landlocked and lost in petty differences and have times turned our hearts and souls away from the promise of the universe...the stars.

I wrote this following poem about this feeling of lost mystery in our space journeys.
Seems appropriate on this historic day.

GP
--

A CHILD OF THE FUTURE

I am a child of
future shock.

I was stillborn with electronic eyes,
one of the TV lot.
Raised in suburban rot.
Never knowing quite what I've got.

I am infected with a spirit eating disease
for which it seems there is no cure.
Puzzled by an emptiness,
a boredom that haunts.

Once I dreamed along with the astronauts.
The world,
the universe seemed endless
and the possibilities limitless
like the stars.

Now, the astronauts are gone,
just memories floating in the
spaces
of my mind.

Leaving me to deal with
the shock
of a future
where it seems the stars
have dropped from the sky
and disappeared from our eyes.

It is then I realize,
I am beyond shock,
beyond tears.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

MANAGED CARE -- 2 Poems about the sham of healthcare or Why we need healthcare reform NOW

2009-07-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

Will President Obama and Congress have the guts to pass REAL healthcare reform with a public insurance option? I remain hopeful, but I have my doubts. So many others have tried before and failed.

Healthcare should not be a partisan issue -- it reaches all of us regardless of our political views. Disease and illness shows no favorites

Half measures and half-hearted attempts to reform healthcare will leave us with a continued broken system and escalating healthcare costs that takes us beyond the brink of moral and economic bankruptcy.

That will be NO change that we can't believe in.

A public health insurance option is the best way to force insurance companies to lower rates.
Some half-baked co-op non-profit option by the GOP won't work.

Sorry, GOP and blue dog democrats -- we need a sweeping FDR like solution to our health problem involving the government.

It is up to us to hold President Obama, the Democrats and Republicans accountable for delivering healthcare reform that makes a difference. That means a plan where everyone can receive real healthcare services regardless of their insurance or financial situation. Forty-sx million uninsured and many more underinsured in this country deserve better.

The movie "Sicko"....left me with such outrage....at our health system choking on greed while so many of us suffer....
You can't put a price on health, on life...on suffering...on healing...it so crazy..beyond words...
This movie shows healthcare in this country for the sham it is..
While in countries...that are supposed be our inferior (what a joke?!) they take care of their cititzens with no regard to cost. There is no turning back the sick, the injured...the poor...who need care...because of cost...because of greed.

In the late 1990s, I worked as publicist for a firm that specialized in healthcare PR...and now I am realize the tales we were spinning....especially in supporting huge insurance and healthcare institutions...

Why does this country -- especially the politicians -- still think it is OK to profit off people's heath and illness? It is a disgrace.

Now, is the time to truly CHANGE it. Our health and future as a country depends on it.

I wrote these poems a while back about my feelings about our so called modern healthcare system.

GP

*******************************

MANAGED CARE?

Modern medicine
is on the operating table
suffering from heart failure.

Is it too late
to resuscitate?
or has medicine sealed its fate
with rampant greed and lies?

Managed Care.
One of the most insidious phrases
in the English language.
A contradiction in terms.

Care
managed
is no care at all.

Just an excuse to steal hope from
our lives
as the value of each one of
our breaths,
our heartbeats
is measured on a
balance sheet.

Doctor,
take my temperature
my blood is boiling
and spilling over.
My heart is about to burst.

This is one cardiac arrest
you won't be able to manage.

A CHECK UP?

Doctor, I am in need of a check up,
but who checks on you?

What does M.D. really mean?
More dollars?

What does HMO stand for?
How much owed?

Does your stethoscope only hear
the sound of cash registers clanging
instead of hearts beating?

Doctor, you're backed by slick public relations machines
and riding in the back of stretch limousines.

When did the Hippocratic Oath
become only a means to greed?

When did you take a scalpel to the heart of medicine
and let it bleed....
green?

Doctor, doctor,
do you have what I need?

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

A Poem for Father's Day: My Father's Photos

2009-06-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's Day and I've been thinking a lot about my father's life. One thing (among many) I've learned from him is how you have to seize your dreams.

He was a great photographer and yet never pursued it. He took the safe route as an accountant for the IRS,

In some ways I am grateful...but then I wonder...

Six and half years ago, when he was just about to get on with his life -- after years of a horrible marriage -- he was hit with an aneurysm that he has never fully recovered from. Even after all this time he is not the same man. It is like a stranger invaded his body. So in a way a large part of him has died -- his former self and personality -- but he is still alive.

I wrote this poem for him a while back to celebrate his talent and sacrifice.

GP

***

MY FATHER'S PHOTOS

My father
was an
accountant
for the
government.

Every day of his working life
he dealt with
cold
hard
figures
and
unbending
numbers.

But I believe deep in his
heart
he wanted
to be a photographer.

His love took seed
during his stint in the Navy.
He served as a photographer on an aircraft carrier
lovingly documenting
plane landings,
life at sea
and the exotic places they visited:
Japan,
Philippines,
Taiwan and
Hawaii.

Later he showed
the same care in documenting
our family's lives with thousand upon thousands
of photos.

Every step we took from the cradle,
every birthday,
every occasion,
my father was there
capturing snapshots.

The documents of our past,
the photos
now sit in boxes in
the closet of my father's den room
like forgotten artifacts
collecting dust.

The other day
I pulled one of the boxes out
and looked at the photos.
Faces of my youth
stared back at me
shot with such care and love.

I wondered why my dad shelved
our photos.
I asked him but he wouldn't say.

He's retired now
but still the photos sit untouched in the boxes.
I even bought him a photo album
but he just put it in one of the boxes.

I think the photos
remind him he put aside his true love
to crunch numbers.
They represent a picture of sadness and regrets.

His dream is languishing
piled in cardboard boxes
captured in pictures of our family's past.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

A poem about the death of Dr. George Tiller & Religious Intolerance: Holy War?

2009-06-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

I don't care whether you support abortion or not, but there's no justification for cowardly murder of Dr. George Tiller.

How can someone defend the rights of the unborn with murder? That shows no logic and reason.

Fortunately, abortion is still legal in this country despite an insidious domestic TERRORIST campaign that has gone on for years.

Yes, terrorism.

How can this campaign by the lunatic fringe of the anti-abortion movement be described as anything else.

If someone of Arab descent had done something like this against our government or individual officials, they would be branded as terrorists by the government and the media.

The definition of terrorism is as follows:

ter⋅ror⋅ism–noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

These all fit the ongoing violent attacks on women's health physicians, nurses and clinics. The Obama Administration needs to aggressively enforce the law established during the Clinton's Administration making violent threats of intimidation, vandalism and attacks on abortion providers and clinics a felony.

Sure, anti-abortion activists can protest peacefully, but that is not what I am referring to. That kind of protest is protected under the constitution. Violent protest is not.

Yet this problem of religious intolerance is much wider than this issue.

As it is early Sunday morning or the Sabbath, I thought I'd share a poem about my disgust with the misuse of God and religion all over this precious globe we call Earth. So many commit unholy acts in the name of so called holy missions.

What can be holy about killing in the name of God? How can this ever be justified period? But using religion to justify such acts is the height of hypocrisy...and I mean ALL RELIGIONS.

I take no sides...I favor no religion.....I only take the side of the kind and the generous...and those who truly try to improve the lives of those around them..

Remember we are all in this thing together...and no one human is God...no matter how powerful we may think we are

GP

****************************************************

HOLY WAR?

In the name of God,
you
bomb abortion clinics,
shoot doctors,
murder nurses
to protect fetuses
not yet alive.

In the name of God,
you
bomb passenger trains,
down airplanes,
destroy buildings
torch villages,
toss bodies
of innocents
into ditches,
rob souls,
wage
war
after
war.

Using the God's word
like a club,
bludgeoning all your perceived foes,
vanquishing your so-called enemies.

Where's God's forgiveness and compassion in your actions?

You're killing the spirit of God
in the name of religion.

You're killing God
in the name of
smug,
twisted,
spiritual
perversion.

You're killing God
in the name of blind intolerance.

Your war is a holy war
anything but holy,
waged against everyone
except your own
deadened soul.

You're conducting
a modern day
crucifixion
of our souls and dreams
in the name of God.

What's holy about that?

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

A Poem about writing: Dream Security

2009-05-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Writing for me staves off despair,
spits back at death,
reconnects me with life's joys like nothing else.

As time goes on, I care less about what people think about my writing.
I have do it like breathing, like dreaming.
When I go too long without writing, I feel like something inside of me is dying...
It is my dream to obtain the writer's life, but it is never easy....
You have to listen to your own soul and follow your instincts while even those close to you (and others that pretend to be) fail to understand...

GP

***********

DREAM SECURITY

You must put a lid
on your hopes
and dreams.

Hide them away from
even those you trust
as they will try to
pry open your soul
and peer inside
with jaundiced,
bitter eyes
twisted up by
society's lies
and false expectations.

They will take out
their frustrations
and disappointments on you.
Thinly disguised rage over
having to conform
so completely
burying their secret imaginations
and hidden passions.

They won't be satisfied
until doubt creeps in
transforming your heart
also into a black pit of rage
and despair.

The only antidote to such a fate
is
wild laughter
and a strong dose of joy.

They may even think you're
a little crazy.

But what's crazier?

Chasing your dreams
or chasing an early death?

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

Cheney Please Go Away: The Demise of Fear Mongering...

2009-05-24T02:18:00.000-07:00

Why won't Dick Cheney please go away?

I have heard enough of his twisted fear mongering to last a lifetime.

Yet night after night on TV there is Cheney -- a nightmare out of our recent past -- defending the indefensible -- torture and his administration's destructive foreign policy. He even has the gall to to brag about his sorry record of protecting our country?!!

Tell that to the victims of 9/11. Remember that was on your watch...D-I-C-K!!!

And Cheney even has the audacity to attack our current president's admirable effort to close the horror that is Gitmo. Even previous and current Defense Secretary Gates recently described Gitmo as a "taint"on America's image around the world.

Al Gore said recently he at least waited two years before attacking Bush's lame policies. Obama hasn't even been in office for six months and Cheney is already attacking him.

Funny the GOP would have called this treason if it was done to bush by Gore right after 9/11 or early in the Bush presidency. Such hypocrites

The fear card is dead, Cheney. Rejected in last two elections . . . and will be again in 2010.

Return to your bunker Cheney. You will not missed. The country has moved on.

Or as one our country's wise founders Ben Franklin said: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

Here are a couple of past poems I wrote about the toxic contradiction that is Dick Cheney.

GP

***

VP OF NOTHING

Mr. Cheney, VP of nothing.
Convinced you’re cloaked and absolved from blame.
Secrecy is your life’s blood and your
ultimate game.
Weren’t prepared for all the heat and pain.
Still you hold on to your tired line
to the bitter end.

CHENEY’S BUNKER

Clinging to
an illusion of
safety
when there’s no safe
place
unless you want to
live in a bunker.

Cheney lives in
a bunker.
He has a bunker mentality.
But who would want to
live in a bunker with Cheney?

In fact, Cheney resembles
an actor who played a man
who tried to hide his family
in a bunker
in a Twilight Zone episode during
the threat of a nuclear attack.

His neighbors broke down
the bunker down in a panic
clinging to an illusion of safety
hence the downfall of a bunker
mentality.

George Pappas
Copyrigh 2009

HOME OF THE BRAVE? -- A Blog & Poem about the murder of Matthew Shepard

2009-05-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

Currently, Congress is considering legislation that would expand the hate crimes law protection to include those attacks involving sexual orientation and gender identity. It is inspired by a University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard who was tortured and subsequently murdered near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 because he was gay. His story and following court case received attention around the country and world.

Contrary to what the foolish Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) recently claimed from the floor of Congress, Shepard WAS murdered because he was a gay man. It was not a robbery. That was the cover story. This came out in testimony during the subsequent court case. You can look it up. Shepard was virtually stalked, targeted, attacked and left to die alone.

President Barack Obama issued a statement in support of what is commonly called the Matthew Shepard Act on April 28, 2009:

"This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance — legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action."

The bill passed the House on a vote of 249-175 the day after Obama's statement. Now, the bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate. I hope it passes as all our citizens deserve equal protection under the law regardless of color, gender, cultural background, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.

About a year after Shepard's murder, I wrote a poem about my disgust with his murder, this country's hypocrisy and prejudice toward gays and gay rights, but also the sensationalistic media coverage and court case that followed. I thought forgotten in the media hype and attention was the loss of a human being that had his whole life ahead of him.
That was the real tragedy for me.

I hope now something positive can come out of his family's loss and pain. Call your Senators and make sure that President Obama knows that we will be holding him to his campaign promise to get this bill passed and signed into law.

GP

****

HOME OF THE BRAVE?

Home of the brave?
Home of the cowards and early graves.
Land of the free?
Land of the intolerant creed.

Homophobic rage
spills over into senseless deeds.
A modern day lynching.
Crushing blows at the
spirit of those deemed different.

His young body
was left
broken,
beaten,
hanging
lifeless on a fence in Wyoming.

His only crime was his sexuality.
He stuck his head too far out of the closet and they chopped it off.
He was left twisting in an ill wind of fear and ignorance.
Now, his life is a political football
and a hot potato.

Lost in the debate is the horror
of a young man robbed of his future
and a chance to dream big dreams.

Hate breaks more than our hearts.
It destroys all we dream about.
Killing hope
as surely as a rope
put around the neck of justice

That’s just our humanity hanging there
on a fence
lifeless
dying over and over again.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009, 1999

BORED WITH BOREDOM

2009-04-24T02:10:00.000-07:00

I am dumbfounded by those who so easily get bored with their lives with so much adventure, so much mystery in the world.
They become so jaded, so emotionally dead, so cut off that they miss the real thrill and passion of being alive.

It is far too easy to become jaded and bored in southern California and to forget the stunning beauty -- the oceans, mountains, forests -- all around us.

There's a teeming, spontaneous existence, an energy in the places and people in the air that is also easy to miss

When there's too much to take for granted, too much to deal with people turn hard . . . probably same as with all big cities.

I wrote this following poem about some people in L.A. who have lost touch with the possibilities beyond the jaded, the mundane and predictable.

This affliction of ennui as the French call it or boredom as we call it . . . is something I never have the time or inclination to experience.

GP

****

BORED WITH BOREDOM

You are
bored
with each breath you take.

Bored with
strife,
hype,
time,
light,
fire,
life,
and boredom.

This boredom
is boring a hole
through your soul.

Even worse,
your boredom is blinding you to what
is really going on.

You remain oblivious to
another side of life,
wild and uncontrollable,
burning and thriving
beyond the
cracking sidewalks,
crumbling buildings,
arching, pompous skyscrapers,
crowded suffocating freeways,
concrete tombs,
apartment penitentiaries,
sprawling suburbs,
lusty,
reeking
bar rooms,
throbbing concert stages,
multiplex movie theaters showing the same loud empty bombastic
film endlessly,
crashing waves,
dirty sand,
challenging mountain peaks shrouded in smog
and teeming
sweltering valleys.

There's a wild existence
marked by an eternity,
impossible to fully understand.
Universes unexplored,
collapsing into each other
like black holes right before our very eyes.

This hidden world
can easily be dismissed
with a bored stare
and restless jaded yawn.

Your boredom is like
an early death
as you sigh
and
take another wasted breath.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

THE RESURRECTION? (EASTER 2009)

2009-04-12T02:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter Sunday. Not being deeply religious I've never been one to celebrate this holiday.
That doesn't mean I haven't thought about its real meaning or lack of meaning depending on your perspective.

I wrote this following poem as I sat on the beach in Belmont Shore, Calif. on Easter Sunday last year....the day got me thinking about religion and all the abuses done in its name in the context of Easter..and the so called fable of resurrection

I wondered what would Jesus think if he was resurrected today...and faced with all the hypocrisy, intolerance and heartbreak in a world that uses holiness as an excuse to commit such brutal and unholy acts...

GP

*****************

THE RESURRECTION? (EASTER 2009)

If Jesus was resurrected today
what would he find?

A divided world killing itself
over religion and holy scriptures.

Cruelty beyond comprehension.

Greed run rampant.
Moneychangers who haven't only taken over the temple,
but the world.

An utter disregard for the poor.

His name being used for all sorts
of soul crushing endeavors.

Soon after his return,
I have no doubt Jesus would want to remain dead
for another 2,000 years.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

A MARGIN CALL ON OUR LIVES...

2009-03-28T02:33:00.000-07:00

In the past year, our economic system has faced the ultimate of margin calls after years of rampant and reckless greed and stupidity.

Now, we all know... to twist a phrase by Gordon Gekko from the great movie "Wall Street" that greed is "not" good. It carries with it horrible economic consequences that we are only beginning to understand. And this time not only in America, but all over the world, which is the major difference between this great economic calamity and the Great Depression.

I must say President Obama and his team have done a remarkable job dealing with an economic nightmare like none of us have seen in our lifetimes. Remember Obama has only been in office in a little over two months and look what he has tried to do -- stimulate the economy, create plans to save the banks and the housing market, and set up regulations so this doesn't happen again.

And he still is pushing his budget plan to wisely invest in healthcare reform, new energy initiatives and education for the future. I have to wonder when does this guy sleep?

This week the lame fools from the GOP -- the Party of No New Ideas -- presented their lame alternative budget plan. It was more of the same -- drastic tax cuts for the rich and no new spending on anything to help stimulate and save the economy from collapse and ruin. (I shudder to think where we would be if McCain and Palin had been elected. )

We've been down that dark and greedy road these last eight years and even before that in 1980s and early 1990s. The trickle down theory is dead. RIP.

Here's a poem about the failure of the religion of greed.

***

A MARGIN CALL ON YOUR LIFE

This is a margin call on your life.
Can’t pay it back.
Can’t make it right.
Failed by your religion of greed.
Everything you touched has
gone to seed.

Another Ponzi
scheme,
another stolen dream
on Main street.
Left with another bail out of Wall Street

Everyone still reeling
trying to figure out
what all it means
as we lose our financial means

This is a margin call on your life
for a debt you can’t make right.
Yet you demand bonuses for your
failure all the same without a hint of shame.

Shallow goons
pontificating about nothing
offering nothing.

Each day reaching a new low
never imagined
holding on to ashes of a life
of corruption and lies.
Can’t dream anymore.
All my dreams are bankrupt.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

Life is Too Big for Ideology -- A New President, A New Beginning

2009-01-19T01:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow will mark a new remarkable beginning and renewal in the history of our country with the inauguration of Barack Obama, our first African American president.

Beyond the historical significance of Obama's rise, it will also mark an end to the divisiveness, political ideology and rhetoric that has taken this country to the brink of disaster. The Bush Years are over. Thank God. Now, we can all take a collective sigh of relief while realizing the tough road ahead as Obama indicated yesterday at his inauguration concert.

Obama faces a daunting job of reviving a collapsing economy (worst since the Great Depression), ending the war in Iraq, restoring our tattered reputation around the world and restoring dignity and respect to the office of the presidency. Yet Obama is the right man at the right time to help us overcome this bleak economy and bring this country together after so many years of partisanship and divisiveness.

He's already started to move past recent crippling ideology in his cabinet selections and with his willingness to reach out to Republicans in Congress as he readies his agenda to turn the country around.

Here's a poem I wrote a few years ago about what I think about the perils of ideology. I am very hopeful that Obama and his team will avoid the ideological dead ends and battles the Bush Administration so reveled in.

GP

*******************************************
LIFE IS TOO BIG FOR IDEOLOGY

Life is too big for empty ideology.

Spirit robbing
bureaucrats
think they know what is in our hearts.

I've never known an ism,
a breathing ideology
or a racial slur.

Just human beings
frail,
broken,
feisty,
hoping,
yearning
and fighting
for some space
and peace of mind.

It is something no ideology
ever conceived
can seem to provide.

George Pappas
Copyright 2009

A REAL LAME DUCK -- BUSH CAN DUCK SHOES, BUT NOT RESPONSIBILITY

2008-12-30T02:02:00.000-08:00

In several weeks, President Bush's horrible reign of incompetence will be over. However, the White House PR effort to spin history is in full effect.

Well, we know now that Bush can duck thrown shoes pretty well....but he can't duck responsibility for what he and his cronies have done...

He can't go away fast enough...his administration's PR effort to whitewash his eight horrible years...is pathetic. He is one of the the worst of lame ducks in history doing little or nothing as the economy continues to collapse. Bush is very reminiscent of another Republican -- Herbert Hoover -- in the midst of the Great Depression.

Historians will be brutal in detailing Bush's years of arrogance, hypocrisy, corruption, callousness, false piety, incompetence, deceitfulness....subversion of our democratic ideals...

here's a couple poems about that...Thank God...it is almost over.

GP

*****************************

IT'S YOUR PROBLEM

It's your problem.
I am not responsible.
I am only running the country.

Lost a city.
So sorry.

Lost a son or daughter.
My condolences.

Costly wars, hurricanes,
terrorist attacks.

Oh well.

Just fodder so I have more
fictions about freedom &
Democracy to sell.

It's your problem.
Isn't that clear.

The buck stops anywhere but here.

It's your problem.
Got no safety net.
Can't count on our help.

You're on your own

Your government is out on loan
to line the pockets
of everyone I know.

You're on your own.

*********************************

WHO'S THAT ON MY TELEPHONE LINE?

Who's that on my telephone line?
A government spy?

Snooping in my records and files
saying it's all justified
using that tired
terrorism line.

What you do in my name is already
a crime before you tapped my telephone line.

A collect call.

This is Al Queda calling

We never imagined we'd have so much
success turning America against itself.

With all this spying we don't have to do a thing.

Got you living scared
and questioning and turning
against your own values.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

A Poem About Christmas Heartbreak and Greed on Black Friday

2008-12-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

I greatly enjoy the Christmas season. I always have since childhood, and not for the presents, but for the chance to give to those around me.

That's why I so despise Christmas greed. Black Friday is a day that truly disgusts me. The idiots that line up in front of Best Buy and other retailers -- even sleeping in tents -- need to get a fucking life! Come on. Is it really worth it to sleep in the cold for a cheaper HD TV set?

Haven't we learned anything from the recent economic crisis? Less is more. It is time to cut back and reduce spending. Uncontrolled spending in Washington and around the country (and globally, too) is how we got into this mess.

But the worst news from this year's Black Friday is that a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death in a stampede by overzealous and greedy shoppers.

It was the Blackest of Fridays for his family.
What were the shoppers thinking?
What was Wal-Mart thinking by allowing something like that to happen?

Is this the true Christmas Spirit in action?

However, it is not the first time for Wal-Mart, though.

A few years ago, I read a ridiculous story about how a woman in Florida was nearly trampled to death at another Wal-Mart as people fought to get an opportunity to buy a $29 DVD player. It happened during the Christmas season, too, which seemed fitting to me..The story struck me then as the epitome of stupidity and greed...

Later it was discovered the woman was faking and had done this a number of times in an attempt to sue for damages. It didn't change the story all that much for me. It was still about naked greed, which the recent more deadly Wal-Mart incident drove home for me.

Merry Christmas? Good will to all men? Apparently not.

The whole ugly incident inspired this following poem..

GP

******************
DVD NIGHTMARE

The other day
a woman was
trampled
by a crowd of
Christmas shoppers
at a Wal-Mart.

They were making
a mad
dash to buy
$29 DVD players.

Consumed
by
consumer lust
no one stopped to
help her.

So much for the
Christmas spirit.

This was real life
entertainment.

When the crowd
cleared
the woman was found
laying unconscious
on top of a DVD player.

A Wal-Mart spokesman
said he hoped
the trampled woman
would continue
to be a customer
after she recovered
from her injuries.

Maybe next time
she'll lose her life
over a TV.

All in the name
of rabid consumerism.

File this under the horror section
in your local reality store.

Later it was discovered
the woman may have intended to
fake the whole thing as she done previously,
but this time things went horribly awry.

Sometimes justice does come to those who wait.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

"Oh! Obama!" -- A You Tube Video Victory Celebration

2008-11-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

It has been quite an historic week with Barack Obama's amazing ascent to the U.S. Presidency. I think many of us are still stunned that it actually happened, but in one night the real possibility offered by America became so apparent for all to see. Barack's unlikely journey is more than inspirational. It is the great American success story. His rise from humble circumstances will inspire and galvanize countless future leaders in this country and around the world for years to come.

His impact on African Americans can't be measured. Watching Jesse Jackson with tears flowing down his face at Barack's acceptance speech was very moving. Jackson ran for the presidency in 1984 and now he was seeing his dream come true and also his mentor's dream -- Martin Luther King Jr. Jackson witnessed history when he saw King shot down in Memphis more than forty years ago. This week like the rest of us he witnessed history again, but this time it was the culmination of his dream and that of so many other African Americans. No longer would the presidency be locked out to people of color. Obama truly fulfilled King's wish and dream of a man being judged by the content of his character not by the color of his skin.

Living under eight years of misery brought about by the inept, callous, indifferent, greedy, ignorant, reckless Bush Administration is over. We will once again have a president who is thoughtful and who understands the problems we face. It won't easy to clean up the horrible mess the Bush legacy has left this country. But Obama seems the right man at the right time to pull it off. We need to all give him the support he needs regardless of our political views.

In celebration of his historic presidential victory, my songwriting friend Bruce Baert and I have created a YouTube video celebration "Oh! Obama! that had its debut today.

You can watch it at the beginning of the post
or here's a link -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8VlkGjpZo

Video was directed by Los Angeles songwriter Bruce Baert, who wrote the lyrics. I produced the song and video and added some lyrics as did Bruce's mother Dorothy Baert. Storyteller Productions in Long Beach, Calif. helped us edit the video. Adding their talents to this project were Los Angeles guitarist and singer Emerson Kris and vocalist Ronna Jones. We recorded the song at Virlouise Studios in Anaheim, Calif.

This video and song truly captures the wonder of Obama's journey. It is story we can all take pride in and inspiration from in our own lives as we seek to regain America's place in the world as a force of true liberty, freedom, justice and opportunity.

Or as our song so aptly puts it..."As always we'll be victorious by Dawn's Early Light."

George Pappas

***
There is more information about this project below

“Oh Obama!” Tribute Song and YouTube Video Seek to Relieve Voters from Long Campaign & Help Americans Revel in Change, Unity and Bottle their American Spirit & Celebrate--From Election Day to Inauguration Day

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – November 8, 2008, – As a lifelong registered Non-Partisan Party member, Los Angeles area songwriter Bruce Baert was and is one of those “independent voters” both political parties court. But Baert, like millions of Americans, grew to admire Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s ideas, ideals, and leadership. Banking on Obama to win the Presidency and make history, Baert was so inspired he said he “had” to write this catchy tribute song about Obama’s rise. He says the “song lyrics combined with the YouTube video are classy, unique, smart, tempered, interesting and engaging--Just like Barack Obama.”
The song debuts on Election Day, the video featuring the song launches this week.

Baert, (pronounced “Bear-t”), said: “Americans may wake up after this 21-month election marathon with a 2008 Election Hangover...I want my song to alleviate that and bottle the enthusiasm into an American celebration that begins now and ends on Inauguration Day: Tuesday, Jan., 20, 2009, the day after MLK Day is observed honoring MLK’s would-be 80th Birthday, and the day before so much official hard work begins.” Baert, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, adds: “There will be some serious work ahead to tackle…Barack’s acceptance line should be: ‘We can only get better from here!’”

Some lyrics include:
Oh he came from Hawaii with his heart upon his sleeve,
He’s goin’ to the White House, the top job in D.C.
The man with the funny name, they said he shouldn’t try,
“Fear” so taught, eight Bush Years bad, Obama’s Battle Cry.
Oh! Obama! Our Nation turns to thee
Already making history, along with Hillary.
Oh! Obama! You’ll be the first to be,
Only in the USA; In the Land of Liberty!

“When someone just gives our song a listen, they will love the words, the tune, the musicianship and singing. It doesn’t get overly political or at all negative, and only mentions Obama, not others. We try to stay above the fray, but enjoy this new time,” Baert said. “Oh! Obama!” is like nothing else out there. It is to the 1848 folksy old standard “Oh! Susanna!” Perhaps ironically, “Oh! Susanna!” was originally sometimes performed by minstrels, a racist tradition, but a product of its time. Baert is a resident of the nearby Los Angeles suburb Whittier, which is former President Richard Nixon’s hometown.

Millions of Americans are weary of the almost two-year U.S. Presidential campaign, yet are excited about the change and fresh start of an Obama Administration. “Doesn’t that sound good? An Obama Administration,” Baert added. This song/video is free online, and it is a non-profit production.

“Who knows? Maybe the Obama-Biden Campaign will play our anthem-like song or maybe Jay Leno or David Letterman,” Baert said.

Baert has a rare hat-trick of election process experience: He has worked as a clerk at and for his local L.A. County precincts as a poll worker, or “paid volunteer” ---for many general elections. He worked as a newspaper reporter writing about some local elections. Finally, he has covered for that newspaper immediate results released at and from the County Registrar’s Office. His mother, Dorothy Baert, passed on to him that tradition, working as a Judge and Inspector at her local voting precinct for tiny, medium and large turnout elections, being cited by the Registrar’s Office for 40 years of service. Dorothy, along with Bruce’s Journalism and college friend George Pappas, wrote additional lyrics for “Oh! Obama!”

“This election is the most polarized we’ve all seen in our lives, man have I argued with people, and they with me,” Baert said, adding: “But Republican or Democrat or another party, they all care, and that’s good and what’s important. This election isn’t just history, it’s Uber-history.”

Please note:
• MP3 and/or CD available upon request, and are online. Video on YouTube and DVDs available upon request
• Baert and/or others are available for interviews.
• Please see attached tribute song lyrics, and also attached original “Oh! Susanna!” song lyrics (for comparison.)

###

For more information:
Publicist: George Pappas
Office: (562) 439-2575 Mobile: (562) 857-5680, Email: gmpwrite@gmail.com

OH! OBAMA! -- AN OBAMA VICTORY CELEBRATION IN SONG

2008-11-03T01:00:00.000-08:00

This has been one of the most interesting and important elections of my lifetime. It seems there is so much more at stake after eight long miserable years of living with the misguided policies of the Bush Administration. However, I am very hopeful we will get it right this time with the election of Barack Obama.

Obama has inspired me like no political figure in many years. It is not just his galvanizing speeches and spirited approach, but I believe Obama also shows the intelligence, temperament, fortitude, graciousness and determination to help bring our country back from the brink.

My friend Los Angeles songwriter Bruce Baert has been similarly inspired. However, he wanted to do more to show his support for Obama than pulling the lever in the voting booth or working as a volunteer in this historic election. He decided to add his voice to Obama's growing list of supporters in a unique fashion.

Baert has created a new election tribute song "Oh! Obama!" It is based on the traditional song "Oh, Susanna" with all new lyrics that include Baert's prediction for Obama's victory. The lyrics are clever, classy and timely. I have posted the lyrics at the end of this post.

The track also features stellar performances from L.A. based artists -- guitarist and singer Emerson Kris and vocalist Ronna Jones.

Baert is a former Hillary Clinton supporter that became inspired by Obama in recent months.

Bruce's previous projects have included the tribute songs and videos "Paul McCartney is 64" and "The Crocodile Hunter Tribute."

Here are links to them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-DPWR2cdLc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUbVI8jELY8

We are also working on a video for the song "Oh! Obama!" that we will launch on You Tube after the election if Obama wins.

And this time we hope it is not only wishful thinking.

George Pappas

********

Copyright 3/07, 10/08 Bruce Baert, © with Library of Congress
Lyrics by Bruce Baert
Additional Lyrics by Dorothy Baert, George Pappas
Vocal Performances by Ronna Jones, Emerson Kris
Guitar Performance by Emerson Kris
Recorded at Virlouise Studios, Anaheim, Calif.
Based on “Oh! Susanna!” by Stephen Foster (pub. 1848)

“Oh! Obama!”

Oh he came from Hawaii with his heart upon his sleeve,
He’s goin’ to the White House, the top job in D.C.
The man with the funny name they said he shouldn’t try,
“Fear” so taught, eight Bush Years bad, Obama’s Battle Cry.

Chorus #1:

Oh! Obama! Our Nation turns to thee,
Already making history, along with Hillary

Wall Street bailout, six-year war, economy downhill,
Americans have a dream in sight, we’ll make it up that hill.
“Yes” we need Change, new ideas, think outside the box,
End divisiveness, Red agin’ Blue, CNN ‘gainst FOX.

Chorus #2:

Oh! Obama! We face a serious plight,
“As” Always we’ll be victorious by Dawn’s Early Light.

He’s a-headin’ for that honor, Country bestowed on he,
Let’s pray he learns from Lincoln, FDR, and Kennedy.
And if we get fooled again, then I’ll surely cry,
For those who fought with honor, our Democracy must survive

Chorus #3:

Oh! Obama! You’ll be the first to be…
Only in the USA; In-the-Land-of-Liberty! Yee-haw!!!

Repeat Chorus #1 and #3
End/FADE OUT

ELECTION TIME -- a Poem

2008-10-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

This has been a long and unpredictable election season. I would have never predicted what has happened, but I couldn't be more pleased. The Bush Years....eight years of misery, cynicism and greed are almost over.

Still, I have no idea how the candidates can endure this constant political warfare.

So as the election nears, I thought I'd post a poem about the emptiness of the election process and what it brings us ultimately.

I hope this time with the election of Barack Obama it will different and that we will finally have someone in the White House again who gives a damn about where this country is heading and wants to do something about it.

Let's certainly hope so.

GP

*****************************************

ELECTION TIME

Am I just a figment of your populist imagination?

Another blurred face in the crowd?

Another voice drowned
out
by the political process?

You aim your TV commercials at my heart
and attempt to inspire my imagination
with flaccid speeches.

Hoping to hook us again
into believing you'll finally make a difference in our lives.

Until after election time,
when we realize we are left like
jilted lovers
with broken hearts
wondering how you rendered us so powerless.

Our pleas
and rage
die in a vacuum
of political expediency.

Washington listens to its own heartbeats
as we wonder what could have been
and live and die in the shadows of our failed dreams.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

A PAPPAS VIEW PREDICTION -- Obama Will be Our Next President

2008-10-19T02:47:00.001-07:00

In 15 days, we get a chance to take our country back from the cynical, the fearful, the shortsighted, the vengeful, and the greedy ... after eight years of misery.

I meant to make this prediction a week or so ago, but I've been too busy to post this blog.

I am confident Barack Obama will be our next president ... barring a horrible event I will not even mention or think about.

In all of the debates, Obama has come across as cool, calm, knowledgeable, smart, visionary and above all, presidential.

By stark contrast, McCain has appeared erratic, cantankerous, disrespectful, angry, frustrated, shortsighted, tired and lacking in ideas or vision. McBush as I like to call him is quick to fall back on his checkered past in Congress and on his war experience.

However, McCain has no real solutions for getting us out of this economic mess or our foreign entanglements. In fact, his lame policies would only continue Bush' s debacle. He doesn't have a firm grasp of the economy, which is all the public is thinking about right now.

Even his campaign's latest hail mary ploy -- appealing to Joe the Plumber backfired. Joe would benefit under a Obama's tax plan not McCain's.

McCain's health plan is a joke and won't do anything to change the existing broken system. He will also tax benefits which makes no sense.
Obama offers a health plan that promise universal health care to everyone. It will not fine small businesses -- that's another McCain lie.

Also it was so obvious in the last debate that all McCain has left is to attack Obama for past associations with Bill Ayers and ACORN. It is so pathetic. Obama explained his association with both well. They are non issues. I mean McCain has had troubling associations with Nixon stooge G. Gordon Liddy, who plotted his own terrorist acts and went to jail, and Oliver North who sponsored the Contra terrorists in El Salvador who tortured and killed thousands.

Obama will also seek policies to develop alternative energy and to get us out a wasteful and costly war in Iraq. He is offering new ideas and a fresh perspective.

McCain represents where we've already been. Obama represents where we want to go. He reminds me of the promise of Bill Clinton in 1992.

I hope Obama can help our country regain its economic power and repair our tattered standing around the world. I believe Obama is as Colin Powell described him this morning as a "transformational figure" who can bring this country together after years of contentious, partisan battles that have accomplished nothing.

McCain's temperament, and his anger issues are troublesome to say the least. We've seen what off the cuff cowboy diplomacy can do. The definition of a maverick is one who is masterless and roams on their own heeding no counsel.

Is this the kind of person we want running our country in what may be one of the most pivotal times in our history?

The challenge for Obama is immense. I have no illusions about that, but he is more than up to the job. Today Powell endorsed him and so did a number of newspapers that have rarely if ever supported a Democratic candidate -- L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, New York Times...the list goes on.

But I knew it earlier this year during his primary battles with Hillary Clinton. He offers a fresh perspective, a more inclusive approach and he just plain inspired me like no politician has in many years. People may have thought they wanted to have a beer with George W. Bush, but is that who you want running your country -- your fun beer buddy. I don't think so. Didn't work out so well.

I want someone like Obama who is thoughtful, calm, intelligent and willing to work with others to get things done on our behalf. Not someone who is stuck in divisive ideology and beholden to corporate interests like Bush and his cronies.

Only time will tell what kind of president Barack Obama will be, but this is an opportunity to change our country in such a fundamental way from the business as usual in Washington.

This is not only the change we need...it is the kind of change that America was created for.

George Pappas

MONEY...and the failings of the U.S. Economy

2008-10-02T01:52:00.001-07:00

Our country is facing its worst economic crisis since the depression. Even my own bank Washington Mutual had to be bailed out by JP Morgan Chase and who even knows if that will last. I am hesisitant to put my money in the bank for the first time in my life.

With a serious recession looming, and the idiots in Congress grandstanding over bailing out (or rescuing?) the corporate stooges and thieves while the rest of us go without, I thought I would post a poem about something on a lot people' s minds (mine included) these days -- money. The power we give this necessary tool to rule our lives is incredibly sad at times. We worship billionaires and millionaires while also loathing them at the same time.

Yet we give money -- a man made creation -- its power through defining its worth and the worth of the people who have obtained it.

Still, even money has its limits -- it can't fend off death ultimately or buy true happiness or piece of mind.

Or maybe the Beatles had it right after all ... money can't buy you love ...

GP

***

MONEY

Money is irrelevant
until you don't have any
and the threat of bankruptcy looms.

Then it become a twisted obsession
choking off creativity.

Money is not creative.
It can be earned creatively
or you can buy
creative ventures and
creative freedom with money.

But money is an empty tool
except for the power and significance
we place on money.

Broke, busted and bankrupt
are a few of the ways we talk about
our money problems.

Rich, well off, well heeled
all refer those successful with money.
Their lives are supposed to be rich
with experiences and opportunities.
Yet money has not given these people more life,
wisdom, intelligence or prowess.

We do that through hyping the power of money.

The economics of language confounds us,
haunt us, and defines us.
No denying that.

Empty pockets remain empty pockets.
That hunger gives money its real power.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

A View From the Santa Barbara Pier

2008-09-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Santa Barbara, Calif., is one of my favorite places. It is a literal paradise. Every few months I try to escape there to get away and focus on my writing and life.

I wrote this poem a long time ago while sitting on the Santa Barbara pier, but as with all joyful and beautiful places in this world even life intrudes.

GP

***

A VIEW FROM THE SANTA BARBARA PIER

Shadows and sunlight
flicker on the ocean surface,
creating strange dark figures.

An impressionist painting of oceanic bodies and faces.

The scene hints of something mysterious and
inexplicable underneath the calm ocean surface.
A nature ancient and unchanging.

Nothing it seems could break into this
prehistoric silence,
this portal into a past world.

Not the fleet of fishing and merchant boats
floating and clinging to the ocean
like forlorn lovers
or
the seagulls and pigeons
armies of feathers,
scavengers,
searching for food.

A jet skier,
in all his water splashing glory,
finally breaks the spell,
creating waves
with each aggressive throttle burst.

His machine's engine
howls
at the past,
at the calm,
at the majestic beauty
of the ocean and mountains
and drowns out the
steady quiet
of waves embracing the beach
and lapping and brushing against my soul.

Life is a lot like that jet skier,
disturbing my illusionary calm,
splashing my dreams,
churning me into turmoil
and engulfing me in waves of regret.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

THIS ECONOMY IS SET ON STUPID

2008-09-21T01:17:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, while I was visiting Santa Barbara, I saw a homeless man holding up a sign with the phrase "This Economy is Set on Stupid."

This week we truly found out just how prescient his message was as we watched in disbelief as our country's economic situation rapidly deteriorated into the worst near collapse since the depression.
How could this happen?
Very simple -- greed, rampant greed.
These past 8 years the Bush Administration was worse than drunken sailors on leave -- spending out of control...all the while unraveling the government oversight functions and safeguards and encouraging the banks to hand out loans to anyone regardless if they could handle the financial terms.
Didn't we learn anything from the depression? How could we remove bank regulations...and let Wall Street run rampant?

And now the government is handing out corporate bailouts while the rest of us do without.

Everywhere you look....unemployment, gas prices, layoffs...homelessness are on the rise....
everything but our incomes....

GP

***

THIS ECONOMY IS SET ON STUPID

The homeless and wayward
are everywhere in Santa Barbara

They walk across streets wearing blankets
creating tents on the sidewalks
to escape from the cold.

One homeless man held a sign that
read "Please help. This economy is set
on stupid."

The dark side of life never far from view
on the picturesque beaches.
Human forms huddled under blankets
in front of fashionable stores.

The city father's gentrification effort is not
complete.
They can't sweep these broken people under
the proverbial rug.

With gentrification comes alienation
and economic decimation.

Yes...the man was right.
This economy is set on stupid.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

WHY DID THEY BOMB AMERICA?

2008-09-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a famous poet got into trouble for writing a poem in response to 9/11 asking who bombed America? He seemed to implicate the Israelis and maybe some others.

However, I was more interested in Why they bombed America? What triggered such an attack? Was it really our freedom or way of life as the government claimed?
Or was it more to the point....our foreign policy? Our nasty habit of messing in the affairs of other countries?

Of course, that doesn't excuse or condone the vicious and cruel acts of Martyrs, Inc. Ultimately, al qaeda accomplished nothing but causing more war, bloodshed, hatred and fear.
It is really up the rest of us to expose them for what they really are -- opportunistic thugs not holy warriors.

Seven years later, unfortunately I don't think our leaders have learned anything. And yet they stand on the ashes of those who died on 9/11 and since and make solemn speeches signifying anything but understanding. The GOP reached a recent low point recently when they showed graphic images of the attacks as a political ploy at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Still, I wonder why in hopes that we will someday learn from all of this pain, rage and heartbreak.

GP

*****************************************

WHY DID THEY BOMB AMERICA?

It matters less…
Who bombed America?
Who knew?
Who knew to stay away on the that fateful day?
Who laughed while filming it?

Those are all troubling questions to be sure.

But the real important questions
Is
WHY?

It is the only question that truly matters in the end.

Why?

This question is a shot into the heart of our blind notions of security, safety and strength.

Why?
Why do we still kill in the name of religion?
Why do we still justify revenge?
Why do we take such pride and joy in killing?
Why are we so quick to turn to violence as a means to solve our
complicated problems?
Why are we so divided and entrenched in ancient Holy Wars?

Thousands of years of so called civilization
obliterated
with numerous atrocities.

Where is God in our actions?

Who?
The faces
are always the same.

Torn and
twisted
without pity,
without hope.
Feeding on rage.
Choking on hatred

They are us
and we are them.

Why?

Brothers under the skin
but always apart.
Divided by the pettiness
and the cruelty
that has infected our souls.

Why?

The answer mocks us.

What has changed since the Crucifixion?
We still without hesitation kill the holy part in us
in the name of God.

Why?

The silence is deafening.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

BURIED UNDER MOUNTAINS OF RUBBLE

2008-09-11T01:09:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago, I sat on the beach at Belmont Shore in Long Beach, Calif and wrote the following poem. I was in shock struggling to take in the events of 9/11. I felt numb, furious, hurt and vulnerable as the rest of the country. For weeks, all I could write about was 9/11 and its aftermath.

Now, I am no longer shocked by what happened, but I haven't forgotten that pain and hurt and even more importantly, the souls who were lost that day....

This is what I struggled to write on 9/11/2001 ... a day where a lot in this country lost their sense of security and invulnerability of living in America.
That's when we joined the rest of the world...and realized no place is safe..

GP

**************

BURIED UNDER MOUNTAINS OF RUBBLE

No peace anywhere.
Wracked with rage.
Torn apart from fear
escalating into constant wars.

Surely, this unending sorrow
can't be all we are living for?

Under mountains rubble
so many lost dreams.

Under mountains of rubble
struggling to define what civilization means.

Under mountains of rubble
when does the healing begin?

They are rattling their sabres.
It's revenge we savor.
Dust and blood
clouds our eyes
and chokes our hearts
but eye for an eye
leaves us blind every time.

We can't lose our
hearts and compassion
under the rubble of
our shattered hopes.

Under mountains of rubble
so many lost lives,
lost futures
buried.

Under mountains of rubble
lies our love and understanding.

Under mountains of rubble
when does the healing begin?

Will we create new mountains of rubble
in a never ending cycle of retribution?

Who will rescue of our tattered notions
of peace on Earth
buried
under
mountains of rubble?

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

Collateral Damage?

2008-09-09T01:29:00.000-07:00

Lost in all the recent weeks of election coverage was another tragedy in Afghanistan involving the bombing of civilians.

An Afghan government commission has said 90 civilians, including 60 children and 15 women, died in Aug. 22 U.S. bombings, a finding that the U.N. backed in its own initial report.

But a U.S. investigation released soon afterward said only up to seven civilians and 35 militants were killed in the operation in the western province of Herat.

Later they conceded it was much high of a death toll. Give me a break.

They call it collateral damage...military and political speak for dead civilians caught in the crossfire..I despise that term since it doesn't accurately describe the real devastating loss of war...

I was reminded that I wrote a poem about the ridiculous notion of collateral damage in reference to the Kosovo bombings in the late 1990s.....

Seems very timely now..

GP

***
STRAY MISSILES

When missiles go astray
and innocent lives
happen to get in the way,
they call it an accident,
an unfortunate circumstance of war,
collateral damage,
a necessary risk.

What is accidental about:
torn limbs?
bodies mangled and twisted
beyond recognition?
shell shocked eyes staring silent?
hollow faces?
lifeless fingers clinging
to fading life?
bombed out homes?
shattered hopes?
fractured lives?
dreams blown apart?

It's then you realize
ideals,
ideas,
words,
apologies
are not enough
to mend
the hearts and minds
of those caught in the crossfire,
their futures exploded
and strewn across the cold ground
like bomb fragments,
giving new meaning to the word
accidental.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

THEIR GREATEST HITS OF FEAR AND LOATHING -- GOP CONVENTION AND SARAH PALIN

2008-09-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight at the GOP Convention I heard more of the same fear, ignorance and lies that have divided this country for the past eight years.

Everyone was impressed with VP candidate Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. However, if you listened closely all you heard was the same fear and hate mongering that has come to represent the Bush Years. Her speech was rife with bile and lies.

Palin couldn't get own record right let alone Barack Obama's. She supported Senator Ted Stevens' "Bridge to Nowhere" before being so called against it. Isn't that what got John Kerry in trouble in 2004 (not to mention Hilary Clinton during the primary campaign) -- his being for the Iraq War before being against it.

Palin characterized Obama's economic plan as intending to raise taxes and expand government. This from the same party that has run our debt to record deficits and decimated our economy, particularly the prospects of the middle class these Republicans profess to care about. What a joke. All their tax cuts favored the rich. It doesn't take an inexperienced governor from Alaska to figure that out. According to some recent reports, Palin also raised taxes as governor in Alaska and left a debt as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

Worst thing about her speech? She offered no new solutions and wrapped her and her party in the flag with such sanctimonous fervor...that it was scary....like a Dick Cheney speech.

In fact, Palin never mentioned Bush at all as if we had forgotten the damage he and his cronies had done these past years.

Can we afford another four years of ignorance, stubborness, and malice exhibited by these fools that currently occupy the White House as our guests. They treat us as unworthy, blind idiots who don't know any better.
They even treat the the other branches of our government with such contempt.

And now the ticket of McCain and Palin want to give us four more years of the same....Will we ever learn as the GOP keeps rolling out their greatest hits of fear and loathing?

I hope so ....here is a poem about the lowlights...of the Bush Years....that won't go away

GP

********************

YOUR GREATEST HITS OF FEAR AND LOATHING

Is there something you're hiding
behind your perfect smile?
As your facade crumbles
so does our self respect.

You're not a comedian
but you are laughable all the same.
No one is laughing
as you roll out your greatest hits

"9/11 changed us forever."
"Freedom from terror."
"We fight them there so we won't
have to fight them here."
"He was a dictator that threatened
our security."
"We're helping the Iraqis escape tyranny."

In the end, all your excuses and declarations
amount to nothing at all except more misery, pain
and shame.

You turned freedom into a punch line of
a cruel and twisted joke.
And the joke is on all of us.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

BUSH'S FADED LEGACY

2008-09-01T19:34:00.001-07:00

Apparently, President Bush is speaking at the Republican Convention on Tuesday night in St. Paul via satellite. Just what does he have say about his faded legacy?

The GOP is probably not happy as they want to distance themselves from Bush as much as possible. Good luck with that. McCain is nearly a carbon copy of Bush when it comes to his policies

As we slowly but surely come to the close to one of the worst presidential administrations in recent memory (it even rivals Nixon which I thought was by far the worst), Bush and his cronies will still try to spin their legacy -- all to no avail. His idiotic war in Iraq, failed economic policies and misguided response to 9/11 will ultimately be his legacy.

Like McCain, Bush doesn't get it. He works for us not corporate interests and rich contributors.

And just think of all of the lives that could have been saved if we had only talked to and not bombed Saddam. Now, McCain wants to demonize Iran in a similar fashion. Here's hoping he won't be in the White House except as a visiting member of congress.

Thankfully Bush will be gone in January...but his failed legacy won't.

GP

******************

FADED LEGACY

No one wants to be forgotten
even after things turn rotten.

Holding on to that familiar misery
becomes second nature.
Clapping for yourself
and your fading dreams
but no one is listening anymore.
Don't know what you do it for.

Thought you could turn your little battles
into a private war
All meaning eludes you
All understanding defies you
Never realized all the damage you've done

Looking to history that won't record
your deeds
with the affection you believe.
Under siege
by your legacy of lies
no matter how you try
you can hide from your failed schemes.

No one can tell you anything.
Stubborn to history's bitter end.
You can only break.
Never will bend,
but some hearts will never mend
no matter how much political capital you spend.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

Obama's amazing speech, Katrina three years ago

2008-08-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Democratic presidential nomination acceptance speech in Denver by Barack Obama was remarkable. He showed why he is the nominee with a visionary and tough performance about what he will do to turn around this country. He is truly an inspiration.

Three years ago today Hurricane Katrina made landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi border, and it soon became apparent what happens when the federal government is unprepared or indifferent in time of need.

With the advance of Tropical Storm Gustav across the Caribbean Sea this week - it presents an opportunity to consider how Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain would have handled the Katrina disaster. I believe Barack would have been on the ground within hours and would have marshaled the government's resources to save lives. Barack even mentioned the government's tepid response to Katrina in his speech. He wouldn't have made excuses, but instead took the action that was needed. Lame fools wouldn't have been in charge of FEMA either.

I can still vividly remember the embarrassment and rage I felt as I watched the events unfold on my TV screen the horrible suffering in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

These were fellow Americans, human beings neglected and forgotten, left to wilter away in the hot, humid sun. Many dying or being preyed upon.

And where was the government?...where was FEMA? Those are the questions that haunted a lot of us.

They were nowhere to be found...making excuses...passing the blame...passing the buck...

yeah..."Good job...Brownie"...you saved NO ONE....

New Orleans is still dying a slow death today...a great city and its people neglected...by fools that have turned our heritage and great culture into a cesspool of rage and disappointment...

we're in this thing together...when will we (and the politicians!!) ever get that point...

This city has given us so much...so much great music and great culture...

and yet we can just let it die? we can just turn our backs and ignore it??

I don't think Obama will let that happen....

In the meantime...here's my feelings about this tragedy...in a poem..

GP

*************************

POLITICIANS MAKING EXCUSES

No relief.
No one had our backs.
No safety net.

Now, we know we're
truly on our own.

Listening to politicians making excuses
as we fester and burn
our homes washed away.

Our lives in ruins.
Got no hope.

Our dreams reduced to devastation.
Scenes of a third world country
in the heart of America.

And still politicians making excuses.

Our hearts in ruins.

Living like animals in the Superdome.
No room.
No air conditioning in the suffocating heat.
No water.
No food.
No hope.

A sweltering hellish nightmare.

And still politicians are making excuses
as our city lies in ruins.

Now, we know.

We're truly
on our own.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

WORSE THAN APATHY -- Comments on the Obama Presidential Run and the start of the Democratic Convention

2008-08-24T04:33:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow will mark the start of the Democratic National Convention where we soon witness political history as the first African-American candidate, Barack Obama, will secure the Democratic nomination. He has run a superb campaign so far and his recent addition of Senator Joe Biden was another wise move.

Despite the recent polls, Obama has a strong chance of securing the presidency as he's faced with John McCain alias McBush who embraces the failed policies of the current president.

Obama's message has been one of hope and change, but I think it is a lot deeper than that. His speech on race relations a couple months ago was one of the most remarkable speeches I've ever heard a presidential candidate give. It was honest, understanding and open about our country's sorry human rights track record without sounding bitter or entrenched in the past. Still, Obama's candidacy has been met with intense hostility and disrespect by the Clintons. The Republican slime machine has already starting slinging a lot more ugly slime and dirt on Obama and his aspirations.

I can't remember the last time I've been inspired by a political candidate like Obama.
But in the end, Obama's message of hope and looking for something beyond business of usual will win out I believe.

Still, it troubles me that someone trying to change our troubled country in a positive manner could met with so much hostility.

I hope his speech on Thursday night starts to change people's minds about Obama and just how important this election is after eight horrible and damaging years of the Bush Administration.

This poem reflects some of disappointment in the politics of hate and my hope that we can get past it. This year marked the 40th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in L.A. He was another candidate trying to change things for the better in a dark time.

Let's hope we learned our lessons from the past.

Watch the convention, think about our future...and vote...

GP

************************

WORSE THAN APATHY

History weighs us
down with despair.
Suspicious of hope.
Pretending not to care,
living by rote.

So many trials and
tribulations
that lead nowhere.

Half baked solutions
with nothing
real to share.

You call it politics.

Just another excuse
to do nothing at all.

Worse than apathy.
It is resignation
and an early death.

Is there anything worse
than dying inside
before you've actually died?

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

A Hometown Refugee -- The Plight of Homeless Vets

2008-08-22T01:14:00.000-07:00

Been thinking a lot about our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan lately and wondering what will happen to them when they finally come home.

Will they be taken care of and appreciated or will they be forgotten and marginalized like the Vietnam veterans were?

The signs are already heartbreaking. Just this week they found mold in another veteran's hospital.

Recently, it was found nearly one in five, or about 300,000, soldiers who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan has post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression -- illnesses that could cost the U.S. as much as $6.2 billion over two years in care, lost productivity and lost lives through suicide, according to a RAND report. This is tragic.

The wounds of war are not always visible and stay with soldiers for the rest of their lives.

One day while driving to work a few years ago, I saw one of our brave veterans at the side of a freeway off ramp homeless and begging for food.

And I wondered what kind of society turns its back on its soldiers that fought for our so called freedom?

That question haunted me and sparked this poem...

GP

*************************

A HOMETOWN REFUGEE

He's lost.
A refugee of this country.

Forgotten,
dumped
and discarded
at freeway exits
like trash.

His grizzled
broken face
is
expressionless
as he holds up a cardboard sign
which reads HOMELESS VET NEEDS HELP.

He has a million mile stare,
gazing beyond the passing cars,
the freeway and concrete
into a world only he knows.

It's a place
beyond sadness,
beyond anger.

His is a soul obliterated
beyond recognition.

His tattered clothes
hang loosely from his bony frame.

He's waiting,
hoping,
searching
for some sign of charity.

On patrol,
he springs into action,
deceptively quick,
grabbing meager
offerings from the drivers
waiting at the stoplight.

His reconnaissance continues throughout the day.

There are no cameras documenting his plight
as with the refugees in far away lands.

Where's CNN and all the
other cable and TV channels?

Here's a refugee
in a country
he once defended.

A defender of our broken shame
even if he no longer has a home to defend.

Just what does the
ultimate sacrifice
mean to him now?

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

The Close of "Children of Men" Movie: a Musical Revelation -- Bring on the Lucie, John Lennon

2008-08-17T02:34:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this post last year to Dave Marsh and Lee Ballinger at Rock and Rap Confidential -- a great, honest and compelling online music publication:

www.rockrap.com

I thought I would also post it on my blog. Seems appropriate.

…..

Recently, I experienced a musical revelation at the end of an excellent recent movie, "Children of Men."

As the movie closes and the credits start to roll, a slide guitar signals the start of a raw song I thought I had never heard before. I recognize John Lennon's voice ringing out ... so timely it stuns me ... "we don't care what flag you're waving ... we don't even want to know your name ... we don't care where you are from or where you are going ... all we know is that you came ... you're making all of our decisions ... we just have one request of you ... free the people right now...."

It is all the rage and heartbreak I've been feeling over our Iraq
debacle and so many foolish mistakes this government has made in our name now and in the past. However, at the same time this is a call to stop the killing in Darfur, in the Congo and all over the world.

Later I discovered I had heard the song -- "Bring on the Lucie" -- before in a different version on the album “Mind Games.” Not sure why the song didn't hit me the same before.

But the version on the Children of Men soundtrack is a rehearsal take full of passion and rage that the Mind Games version mutes with slicker production and back up singers.

When he shouts out "so while you're jerking off each other … you better keep this thought in mind … your time has come … you better know it … maybe you can't just read the signs."

It is for me a howl at this administration and all the others that forget they work for us not the corporations and the special interests.

The clincher is the final lines of the song..."well...you were caught
with your hands in the kill … but you still got to swallow your
pill as you slip and slide down the hill on the blood of the people you killed … stop the killing now!”

How can this song be any more timely? Written more thirty years ago and we are still experiencing the same heartbreaking problems by the descendants of the same people who tried to crush John Lennon and deport him in the early 1970s, but ideas are hard to kill.

I played the end of this DVD over and over to listen to this
song … before I got the soundtrack.

Then it hit me -- the movie is about a society that discovers the value of life the hard way by completely losing the ability to reproduce.

While in this current world...people can't call genocide "genocide" even in Darfur where so many have lost their lives and life is cheap.

But it is Lennon's biting lyrics and this raw version's slide
guitar that haunted me for weeks as I probably drove my neighbors
crazy ... playing this song over and over as it fed my own writing … my own musings about our current situation of paranoia, hatred, death, war and fear.

In fact, I sometimes wonder if the fear has become us in wake of such 9/11 paranoia.

Yet Lennon's shout from the past once again shows me not only his
greatness, but how important it is not to cave into to despair and to
realize that through voicing our rage, our concerns, there is a first
step toward resolution or as I try to always remind myself … in
action ... there truly is resolution.

John Lennon never forgot that.

Stop the killing ... indeed.

GP

WAR IS A CANCER

2008-08-12T02:17:00.001-07:00

Witnessed a strange thing this week.

Our foolish president speaking out…for peace?! and against Russia’s misguided invasion of Georgia.

Bush is right of course in this case, but he’s also a hypocrite.

How can this country lecture Russia to pull back in their invasion of a sovereign country after what we did in Iraq?

Iraq was also a sovereign country when we sent our troops in. How is that any different?

Just shows how America has lost its moral authority around the world....with our bungled foriegn policy.

So now another dangerous war breaks out in different country….but it seems all the same to me….

It is familiar path that we as a civilization have traveled far too many times in our history….the same virulent strain of violence, rage, hatred, nationalism, ignorance…

When will we ever learn? as Pete Seeger sang so many years ago...

We are still waiting for that answer...as the body counts rise and the heartbreak continues...all over the world…

I wrote this poem about war that keeps comes back like cancer…slowly killing off our hopes and dreams…

Let's hope this latest war ends quickly and the cease fire holds...but unfortunately... I have my doubts...

GP

***************************

WAR IS A CANCER

War is a cancer
eating away
at our humanity.

We try to deny it
We try to eradicate it
We try to cure it.
Just when we think war is in remission
it keeps coming back
more virulent and deadly than before
to kill
our hopes
our dreams
our hearts and souls.

War is a recurring disease
eating away
our so called veneer of civilization.

War is a spreading affliction
stripping away
our compassion
our justice
our kindness
leaving us
empty
devoid
of any lasting emotions
but greed, fear and hatred.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

The Passing of a Soul Man -- Isaac Hayes

2008-08-11T01:11:00.000-07:00

Another influential figure from my childhood -- songwriter and musician Isaac Hayes -- is gone. I especially loved his soundtrack for the movie Shaft in the early 1970s. My parents played the soundtrack on 8-track?! as we went on a family vacation driving from L.A. to Utah to San Francisco and Mt. Shasta. The funky guitar and bass, soulful horns and piano moved me more than I can write. It was really my first introduction to the power of soul music.

At the time, I had no idea who Isaac Hayes was. I just loved the music which just mesmerized me. I still can't believe my parents bought that soundtrack. They were hardly music enthusiasts. I can't remember much soul being played around my house growing up in Orange County, Calif. (Earth, Wind and Fire was the only other exception.)

Later I found out he co-wrote all those great hits with David Porter for Sam & Dave at Stax Records -- "Soul Man," "Hold On I'm Coming," "I Thank You," and "You Don't Know Like I Know" and many others.

His "Hot Buttered Soul" record in 1969 and Shaft soundtrack in 1972 changed soul music with its long experimental songs and Hayes' low voiced rapping style of singing.

In fact, a lot articles on his passing have stated that Hayes created the foundation for what later became disco and for the popularity of Barry White. I don't think is entirely true. Although he was an influence on White and the best of disco (Donna Summer, Bee Gees), Hayes' music had a funky, soulfulness that both truly lacked. His real influence was felt in the emergence of rap and hip hop. His influence is everywhere in rap from Ice Cube, Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre to Jay Z and Kanye West and too many others to mention.

Before his death, Hayes even joked about it. Hayes recalled telling a record executive who asked him what he had done lately to turn on the radio..and you'll hear his latest work....in a recent hip hop hit...

That will his latest legacy -- the influence he had on other musicians....and artists....

I will remember Isaac Hayes for his musical accomplishments not for his South Park character of Chef. Although I have to admit it was funny and clever.

RIP ... Isaac Hayes.

As he sang in the "Theme from Shaft", he was a "bad mother......" He will be missed.

GP

8-8-08 -- The Bonds of Superstition: It ain't the way

2008-08-10T01:34:00.000-07:00

Now, like many who watched last night's opening Olympics ceremonies in China, I was impressed. It was a very beautiful and breathtaking display. It should be a great Olympics, but that doesn't encourage me to ignore the Chinese government's many human rights violations through the years or how it denies its people politcal and free speech freedoms many of us take for granted in this country.

Also I was puzzled by the people in China and around the world who believe that the date -- 8/8/08 -- would bring good fortune to the festivities. Some I heard even got married on the date for the same reason. Sounds like superstition to me.

More often than not I am baffled by the motivation of so called sane and rational
people. they even reduce marriage and love down to some superstitious game...Where's reason and rational thought?

last summer couples rushed to Vegas and other places to get married on 7/07/07 for luck..
seemed strange to me...so foolish that I had to write about it...

what were these people thinking? or were they? I also wonder how many of these couples are still together ...not too many I would guess...

it is like Stevie Wonder sang in his great song, "Superstition," "when you believe in things you don't understand/then you suffer/Supersition ain't the way...

I updated a poem I wrote then about 7/7/07 to fit the new date of superstitious nonsense.

GP

*****************************************

8/8/08 -- The Bonds of Superstition

The lemmings.
The culturally controlled
rushed out to get married
on 8/8/08
convinced it would bring
them luck.

Luck?

It is never wise to be superstitious
about anything let alone
marriage.

All the luck in the world
can't save a bad marriage.

I wonder how many of these
people will still be together
by 8/8/09?

Only time will tell.
Luck has nothing to do with it.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

John Edwards' Affair -- Monogamy Boredom Strikes Again?

2008-08-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

What's worse?

That John Edwards had an affair? or that he lied about it throughout his presidential campaign?

He has effectively ended his political career regardless.

Still, let's face it. This is another example of how difficult monogamy is to deal with. Temptation is always there whether we want to admit it or not.

One of the reasons I am single is that I hate monogamy so much.

For me, monogamy is an outmoded ritual ... that chokes off the spontaneity and passion that is so important for a relationship to survive over the long run.

Rather be single than a liar.

My feelings about monogamy and its failings will be explored more in my second novel that will come out in the next year or two.

In the meantime ... here's a poem I wrote about my misgivings about monogamy.

GP

***********************
MONOGAMY IS A NOOSE

Monogamy is a noose
choking off the joys of love
and the discovery of wild passion
and lust.

Monogamy
leaves us feeling so guilty for
wanting more

We are so tortured
for desiring another
when faced with
relationship ennui.

Anyone who suggests a
way out of this predicament –
staying single,
an open relationship
or more tolerance
is met with disdain
and even called a freak of nature.

But who is the real freak?

The one who ignores the limitations
of our dead rituals and lives in unhappiness
and dishonesty?

Or the one who tries to live honestly
and explores variety and life's
pleasures without lies
and with an open heart?

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

Real life imitates art -- the flimsy FBI Anthrax Case -- The close of the Parallax View?

2008-08-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

Real life imitated art the past couple of days as I listened in amazement to the FBI paint the late Dr. Bruce Ivins as a lone crazy Anthrax killing scientist. Their proof seems pretty flimsy to me. All circumstantial. Seems that they are doing all they can to close this case as quickly as possible.

It all reminds me of the close of the great movie "The Parallax View" when an unnamed government commission announces that Warren Beatty's reporter character was the lone gunman in a political assassination although we -- the audience -- know he's a patsy -- like Dr. Ivins perhaps? or Lee Harvey Oswald? (that's a whole other story).

Just as with Alan Pakula's movie there is more than meets the eye here with this case as with so many others in the past (i.e. JFK, RFK, MLK...)

Don't buy the government's case. Ask questions. Remain skeptical. They count on our ignorant compliance every time.

GP

The Small White Crosses of Santa Barbara

2008-08-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

"Why should we hear about body bags, and deaths...I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?" – Barbara Bush

As John Lennon so accurately wrote: "War Is Not the Answer."

If you ever find yourself in Santa Barbara on a Sunday, make your way over to the pier area. There you will see an impressive and moving display put on a group of veterans against war that is comprised of rows and row of white crosses. Each one represents a brave American serviceman or servicewoman that has died in Iraq.

As you look across that beautiful beach at those endless rows of crosses, you begin to realize what has truly been lost. So many souls that will never be able to enjoy a summer day or look at such a beautiful beach. I was so moved by this display four summers ago while visiting Santa Barbara, a poem just poured out of me. It was more like a torrent.

Back then the we had lost 912 soldiers in Iraq. As of today, we have lost 4,131 soldiers and no one really knows how many Iraqis have died. They stopped their crosses at 3,000 at Santa Barbara's Arlington West, but still display is more than powerful in conveying the ultimate loss.

I have posted a video at the end of this post and included photos I shot of the display. I also posted an interesting photo I created using one of the postcards from the veterans group that puts on the display and a picture of a smiling George W. Bush. Seems appropriate.

Here's also a poem I wrote about the white crosses of Santa Barbara. Please visit there soon and give the veterans alive and dead the support and respect they deserve. You can also check out the Veterans for Peace Santa Barbara Chapter Web site for more information:

http://www.vfpsb.org/cms

Peace is the answer....

GP

********

THE SMALL WHITE CROSSES OF SANTA BARBARA

It's Sunday morning
of the rest of our lives.

Small white crosses
lined up in neat
rows in the sand.

More set up each week.

Each
representing more
than mere words can convey.

A soul extinguished.
So much lost.

Memories erected
now for spirits
struck down far too soon.

Dreams vanishing daily in the sands
another world away

Small white crosses
back home
on different sands.

Nearby volleyball players
and sunbathers
enjoy another warm Sunday
in the middle of the summer.

So many walk past
oblivious to
the small white crosses
and
the passing
of those who will never
strike a volleyball again
or enjoy the pleasures
of a summer day.

Feeling selfish.
Justifications fail me.

The sacrifice
seems more than
we can ask.

More than we can bear.

Looking across this beach
that used to bring me so much joy.
Tears well up in my eyes,
but they won’t come
only the rage
coming in waves
choking me.

A freedom
to breathe in this summer day
lost
to those of the small white crosses.

Their lives loom so much larger
than the markers.

They admonish us in the silence.

Their memories
reaching out to us
across this serene stretch of Santa Barbara beach.

The waves,
the sand
so deceptively calm.

Yet evoking
the sad lessons of war
all the same.

The small white crosses
represent
a sort of Sunday service.

Speaking to us
across the sands of time
reminding us of other losses
in other wars.

Leaving us lost in the silence
of our consciences.

Where are our tears
for the small white crosses?

912 and counting.

Each day,
each night,
each week,
the small white crosses
multiplying
in sorrow and pain.

When will it stop?
When will it ever stop?

Hollowed ground
in the sand
this Sunday
and all the Sundays to come.

The vigil will continue.
The prayers never cease.

This line of small white crosses
looms ever larger
in our imaginations.

Their voices speaking to us
in our nightmares
and our dreams.

Our anger and our sorrow doesn't seem large enough somehow.

The small white crosses
of Santa Barbara
haunt me daily
and in the wee hours of the morning
trouble me to my core.

Each one leading
to so many other
crosses
the families will bear forever.

This is my Vietnam
but what have I done to stop it?

What have I done?

Nothing at all
as the small white crosses
of Santa Barbara beach
multiply in number each Sabbath.

Ultimately,
somber reminders
of our broken
country,
our broken hearts,
our large and looming
mistakes.

Our hopes
are
buried in
the sand a world away
and here today.

No trace left
except for
the white markers
to reawaken our
heartaches for an eternity.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

Contaminated Hearts and Poisoned Waves ...

2008-08-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend as I went to my favorite stretch of beach -- Horny Corner in Belmont Shore -- I was greeted with beach closure signs. The water was too contaminated to swim in. You can see a photo of one of the signs with this post. I also posted another photo of the high tides we’ve experienced at Horny Corner this week which makes the situation only worse.

I take great inspiration from the ocean and I visit the beach every weekend (really...almost every day) so this is deeply troubling. Used to love going into the water, but now that is even a chancy proposition. Frankly, the water is filthy and contaminated and hardly inviting to swim in, as it's full of garbage, human waste and viruses.

We are killing our oceans. Don't just listen to me. See for yourself the lasting damage we are doing to the ecosystems of the ocean with our dumping of chemicals and industrial waste. Once the ocean dies...life on this planet will ultimately follow.

The same fools that laugh at global warming ... support the idiots that pollute our oceans ....

A few years ago, while visiting Huntington Beach, the beach was shut down due to a high concentration of contamination and waste.

That was the impetus for this poem...

GP

*********************
CONTAMINATED HEARTS AND POISONED WAVES

Contaminated water.
Contaminated hearts.

They polluted Surf City
and said the water was poison.

I believe it was more than a sewage spill.

It was the bile from
our contaminated hearts
and souls
which polluted the Pacific Ocean.

Poisoned waves crashing on a dirty beach.

We are the human virus
polluting the water,
polluting the beaches,
turning our oceans
into dirty cesspools
of contamination
like our cities,
our ghettos,
our suburbs,
our land,
our streets,
our sewers
our homes,
filled with waste
from our polluted bodies
flowing everywhere.

I am drowning in
polluted water
which has spilled over
from my contaminated heart.

We are the human virus
crashing on a polluted shore
contaminating all we touch.

Cowabunga, dude.
Surf is down in the sewer.

We can ride poison waves
to our dirty demise.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

My Escape From PR Firm Hell -- One Year Later

2008-07-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I felt like the figure in the famous Edvard Munch painting “The Scream.” After returning from vacation, I was unceremoniously shown the door by a horrible PR firm in Orange County. I worked for gutless, cold, heartless fools that just discarded me with no qualms …

What’s worse is that they didn't care I worked my ass off for them and their clients for more than 13 months to secure key stories in the media. I bet the media hits I worked so hard to get still adorn the walls of their lame firm in the form of slick, beautiful wall plaques. Oh well, doesn't matter now.

My departure from their lame firm has proved a blessing in disguise. I am happier than I have been in years in my career.

Once again, I am working for myself. I have my own clients. I heed my own counsel and I have come to realize it is the best (and only) path for me. Gone is the horrible stress of working for creepy untalented, fake corporate hacks that had little or no appreciation for my PR talents and attacked everything I did and said.

However, these petty fools couldn't produce the excellent results I have secured for a number of firms and clients for more than 12 years. Not if their lives depended on it.

Now, I work for myself with no foolish middlemen who lack real knowledge of the power of media relations or PR whether it is in the new or old media. It all comes down to value. If your clients fail to value your efforts, all the slick explanations in the world will never convince them. Only results and effort will.

I hold them no grudge. I forgive them the ugly. foolish and backstabbing things they did to me, but I don't forget …

This poem is a good indication what these fools put me through.

GP

*****************************************************

PR HELL, Part 1

Drained by
hypocrisy.

Making a living
instead of truly living.

Giving away my best ideas
to swine
in the service of fools.

Frustration mounts
as I chafe against
soulless discussions
about accounts of the dead.

This truly is work.
Work to stay interested
and involved.

One soulless gig
after another.
Running out of passion
and ideas.

Sometimes I feel just like
a broken down politician
that has run out of lies to spin.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

I cancelled my LA Times Subscription..with sadness

2008-07-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

After 15 or so years as an avid reader, I cancelled my L.A. Times print subscription this week. I did this with great sadness. Sure, now I read a lot my news on the Internet, but that wasn't the only reason.
The real truth?
I could no longer stand to watch my favorite newspaper die from a thousand staff (or section) cuts.

Really, the first signs that something was wrong was a few years ago when the the LA Times great Sunday Calendar section was destroyed. No longer was it an impressive magazine like newspaper section that covered everything -- movies, TV and especially music in great detail. I couldn't wait to read it. They turned it into two unsatisfying sections that limited the coverage of everything even movies. Eventually they delegated the popular music coverage to the second section and hardly covered it all. The Sunday Calendar was an event. I couldn't wait to read it.

Now, I could hardly care less. Last week I barely read it at all. Nothing interested me except for an interview or two. I also had to suffer through snobby columns such as the "Smart List." That lame column wouldn't even rated the back section of the old Calendar section. Ridiculous. Sad.

The Times' excellent sports section also took hits. Special events such as the Super Bowl, World Series or NBA Finals no longer received such detailed and extensive coverage. In the past, whole special sections were devoted to these events as with the Olympics.

Still, the writing has remained great with columnists like Bill Plaschke and Mark Heisler (best NBA writer in the country in my opinion) but there is a lot less of it now. Strong writers like J.A. Adande left and now are writing for ESPN.
Who is next?

Even columnist Steve Lopez wrote in a recent column of his pondering taking a buyout and leaving.

The front news sections are much thinner then they used to be. So are the California and Business sections.

These sections are devoid of strong local coverage that used to be its mainstay in years past. I have also experienced this as a publicist. There was a time when the Times was open to covering local businesses and stories. Now, it is much harder, in fact nearly impossible to get southern California clients covered by the Times. Don't know why. I could get some of my local tech clients covered in the New York Times, USA Today, Business Week easier than our hometown paper. Crazy.

Although I realize the value of journalism (as a former print journalist) and the importance of supporting journalists (who will dig out the investigative stories? bloggers? don't think so), I will get my news from the Google News and the L.A. Times Web sites for now.

It is a Brave News World for me for now on.

GP

You can find signs of hope anywhere you look

2008-07-28T01:52:00.000-07:00

I took this picture at the beach in Dana Point last September. It was during one of my long walks on the endless stretch of beach at Dana Point. I always go to that beach after a work crisis in my life. Not sure why it always works out that way. This was before my freelance PR business started to take off.

Someone had carved out their message on a large fallen tree trunk laying on the beach.
But it goes to show you can find signs of hope anywhere you look.

George Pappas

Horny Corner: One of My Favorite Places to Write

2008-07-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

On of my favorite places to write is on the beach...at a place called "Horny Corner" by the locals in Belmont Shore located in Long Beach, CA.
I can't explain why. I love to sit against the long concrete wall that separates the nearby street and homes and the sand and write. The official name of the area is Belmont Beach.

This area gives me such inspiration. Just gazing at the water glistening in the mid day sun or at dusk as I write in my daily journal, or write a poem, a song, a chapter in one of my books or an idea for future creative ideas. I love it and need it like breathing.

It is not always easy. People look on me with such suspicion as I write. Like I am some kind of freak or something. Also you have the beach denizens that are addicted to playing games -- horseshoes, throwing around a football, volleyball -- anything to avoid talking to their friends or enjoying the beauty around them.
Still, I write. I write in defiance to their suspicion or dare I say ignorance. Where do they think writers work? We work everywhere inspiration strikes us -- cafes, beaches, forests, a Starbucks, a restaurant, a hotel room, the back of a bus or taxi -- anywhere we can.

I write at Horny Corner almost every weekend -- spring, summer, fall or winter (unless it is raining). I walk down from my Belmont Shore apartment with such anticipation, such joy for the act of writing on my favorite beach.
I luv it when I have the beach to myself during the Fall, Winter and Spring. Just left with my thoughts and the sand and ocean.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be back at my beach office writing down my thoughts in my journal or in some other capacity. Look for me and you may see me there struggling with my muse on the sand.

GP

Vegas, Baby....

2008-07-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

One year ago tonight I was on a wild trip in Vegas...staying at the Palms Hotel. (By the way, I took the top two photos during my trip. The other one I got from the Internet).

I had a great time...winning at craps, visiting the Playboy Club and enjoying myself...
It was the first time I didn't want to leave this desert mirage ...after a couple days..
I loved the Palms...it is the kind of hotel made for Vegas....classy, but naughty....cool, but not snobby...I stayed in the Fantasy Suite and I am a hardly a rock star....but they made me feel like one...

Little did I know shortly after returning from vacation I would lose my job...but that is another story will deal with in the coming days on this blog...

But I must admit, through the years I have had a love and hate relationship with Vegas....

I love the fantasy...the sex, the flirting, the drinking, the gambling...the wildness....
but after a while money permeates everything in that so called desert paradise...

it is after all a city built on losers...people losing their life savings and also mob money..

Now, I like to gamble an I love playing craps, but the obsession with money in Vegas gets to me after a while..

it is a souless place...at times

the last time I was there before last summer...i was robbed and beaten in the Hard Rock Cafe parking lot...which is fitting i guess..

after a while vegas will take some part of your soul if you stay there long enough...

i wrote this poem a while back about my conflicting feelings about Vegas...baby...

GP

****

VEGAS, BABY

A town built on losers,
beckoning the ultimate win,
the ultimate sin,
another chance,
perhaps a new beginning.

Hints of the eventual reckoning
are lost
in a neon haze.

I want to live in neon.
I want to fuck in neon
in the lobby of the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel
with strains of classic rock riffs
pounding in my ears.

I live for neon lights flashing in my dreams.

I yearn to beat the odds,
beat the house,
beat the system,
but I am playing with loaded dice
and a marked deck.

Hey, I am no loser.

Just wait, I'll turn it all around.
Just one more roll.
Just one more hand.
Do you understand?

Vegas, baby, that's who I am.

I am a living, breathing embodiment
of a souless sham.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

An Ode to Charles Bukowski: BACKYARD POETRY

2008-07-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

Charles Bukowski, the real bard of L.A., is my favorite poet...

It is not only his honesty in describing the private hells we each have to go through each day . . . that inspires me

But that he could find poetry anywhere and in anything...

He punctured the pompous and pretentious especially snobby poets full of themselves who could only write for other so called clever poets, turning out convoluted, turgid insular works while ignoring the world at large and essentially real life.

I share his disdain for the snobbish, academic side of poetry.

So in tribute to Bukowski freeing poetry from the snobs . . . I offer a poem of my own called "Backyard Poetry" that is about finding poetry anywhere and everywhere even in a backyard . . . barbecue.

GP
***

BACKYARD POETRY

I despise the
poetry
of exclusion.

It's a stuffy affair
with hearts
bare,
stale,
and
devoid of any real compassion
and passion.

Because many of America's
greatest poets
have never picked up a pen
and composed a single word of poetry.
They
create stirring stanzas
with their
lips and tender kisses,
fingers and caresses,
wild crazy loves
and
adventurous lusts.

They compose poetry
in the tender way they
raise their children,
love their families
and reach out
to the wayward,
broken,
and
forsaken
among us.

They are the living embodiment
of poetry
with acts of loyalty
friendship,
hope,
love
and betrayal.

Broken
wild
verses of
poetry
burst forth
at
backyard barbecues,
family gatherings,
drunken bashes,
holiday celebrations,
in bars,
restaurants,
cafes,

and
coffee shops.

Poetry is heard everywhere
and anywhere where people talk honestly
about their lives.

Their life verses
go many times unheard
unrecognized
even to themselves.

Poetry burns brightly
in their eyes
revealing
unspoken dreams
not yet realized.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

The Guantanamo Bay Tour

2008-07-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court finally slapped the Bush Administration down for their unconstitutional conduct in Guantanamo Bay -- their blanket approach of sweeping up suspects and leaving them locked up indefinitely with no charges (on unsubstantiated rumours)...claiming national security and the fear of terrorism. All the while subjecting many prisoners -- whether guilty or not -- to torture and horrible abuses we accuse other countries of doing.

When did we become the monsters we fear? when is torture OK? We created the Geneva Conventions after one of the most destructive wars in the history of humanity -- World War II.
Now, we've become one of the worst torturers -- all in secret, in the dark.
And we call this a democracy?

Just as in the torture chambers in Iraq....
we so casually shredded human rights, and the U.S. constitution all in the name of security and the war of terror...
But who protects us from ourselves?....Who watches the torturers?....
Can we truly lecture the rest of the world about freedom and democracy?

Fear and loathing....indeed...

I wrote this poem about my growing unease with all of this

GP

***

THE GUANTANAMO BAY TOUR

Welcome to the
Guantanamo Bay Tour
in beautiful sunny Cuba.

Hope you'll be uncomfortable
during your stay.

First, we'll start with a little
light interrogation and torture.

Then we'll offer up some
tantalizing light and sleep deprivation
and maybe if you are lucky
some scintillating starvation and water boarding.

And if we get a little carried away
and you perish,
we are so sorry.

But let us remind you,
customer service means so much to us
and WE are here to please and
serve the U.S. Government.

You have the right to remain silent
as your complaints will not be heard.

Your indefinite visit is courtesy
NO CHARGE
and paid for by the U.S. Government
and the American taxpayer.

Hope your time with us will be
an enjoyable one
for us.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

WOULD THE CRUCIFIXION HAVE BEEN TELEVISED?

2008-07-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Each year the national press especially the cable and TV networks become increasingly myopic in their coverage. This is truly reflected during major news event and especially during this endless election year. They feature 24/7 coverage of one event or controversy over and over covering every angle. Sometimes that is justified as with 9/11 or the Iraq war, or JFK's assassination. Other times it is questionable as during the death of Pope John Paul. Here we are in the middle of a deadly war in Iraq and all CNN and the other channels cover is the death of the Pope. It was overkill to say the least.

One summer afternoon a while back as I sat in a Starbucks in Huntington Beach, Calif., I poured my frustration about the sorry state of the news business into an interesting and provocative poem. I was frustrated and tired of weeks of coverage of the death of JFK Jr.

This poem asks an intriguing question...

GP

***

WOULD THE CRUCIFIXION HAVE BEEN TELEVISED?

I wonder if the crucifixion
took place today
would it be televised
non-stop?

Would the plethora of TV cable channels
cover every aspect
of the death
of Christ
on the cross?

Imagine
a press briefing
with Roman officials
explaining their actions.

Think of
profiles on the apostles,
in-depth interviews
with Jesus' followers
and an exclusive interview
with Judas entitled:
"Why he betrayed Christ: Judas defends himself."

Ponder the exclusive reports
with those who claim to have witnessed God's miracles,
including an exclusive profile on the blind man
who claims Christ restored his sight.

Another profile on a follower who says to have heard Jesus' last words
or another who saw Jesus walk on water
or still another who witnessed Christ's resurrection.

That would be followed by
another exclusive interview
with Mary discussing the Immaculate Conception.

This tabloid TV culture
would no doubt turn the
the crucifixion
INTO BIG RATINGS.

All meaning ultimately
lost in the torrent of coverage
nailed relentlessly into our souls and imaginations.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

ETHNIC CLEANSING

2008-07-14T02:15:00.000-07:00

With Iraq continuing to head toward civil war (or at least an uneasy, violent peace) and fighting and killing over religious and ethnic differences, it's obvious that we (and I mean everyone around the world) continue to fail to learn from our recent mistakes.

Not too long ago such differences led to mass killing and destruction in Kosovo after years of oppressed peace in the former Yugoslavia. That's when the word "Ethnic Cleansing" returned to the political lexicon for the first time since the Nazis carried out their brutal and inhuman campaign against the Jews and many others during World War II.

My rage and disgust over the same kind of genocide reoccurring in Kosovo spilled out into this poem I wrote in the late 1990s.

It is very timely considering the genocide continuing to take place in Darfur and in other hot spots around the world

GP

***********

ETHNIC CLEANSING

Ethnic cleansing.
Sounds like some insidious new detergent.

Imagine the ad campaign.

Ethnic cleansing.
Bought and sold wherever intolerance is found.

Ethnic cleansing.

This cold phrase evokes
crazy images
of people being stuffed into
washing machines,
their lives
washed away
of any individuality,
any spark.

Ethnic cleansing.

With Ajax in one hand
and
a machine gun in the other,
soldiers
hoped
to clean the land
of anyone different from them.

But how will they cleanse
their souls
when the bullets stop
and the peace accords are signed?

They will scrub and scrub
but can't remove the blood from their hands.

This is blood that has soaked into the muddy ground,
and into our hearts and souls.

Now, those who the soldiers tried to cleanse with bullets
are trying to rub out them out
with the same indifference and rage.

So the vicious cycle
continues
until none of us can claim to be truly cleansed
as we feebly attempt
to understand the roots of
ethnic cleansing.

One thing is clear, though.
There's not enough cleanser in the world
to clean up this mess.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

Rot...a poem

2008-07-13T03:12:00.000-07:00

I wrote this poem one late night...after staring into the bathroom mirror...and thinking about with each passing day (hour, minute, second) more of my essence, my life ebbs away....

We all take for granted the time we have. We try so hard NOT to focus on our fragile mortality....we disguise and bury our fears in bravado, violence, pleasure, sex, even art...
but in the end...there we all are in front of the mirror....our slow demise apparent....and yet ignored anyway...until too late....to recognize the joys, the opportunites lost.

GP

****

ROT

A little more rot
each morning.

Days fall away
like dead skin.

Bleeding gums.
Rotted teeth.
Cavities of the soul.

Diseased heart
pumps
poison
of life and regrets.

Memories
bursting
arteries,
paralyzing hope.

Each heartbeat
an opportunity
gained and lost.

George Pappas
Copyright 2008

The Parallax View...revisited...as The Pappas View

2008-07-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

Nothing is as it seems....Your eyes can deceive you.
Those are some of the ideas explored in one of my favorite movies from the 197os by the late great director Alan Pakula -- "The Parallax View." He deftly explores the paranoia, conspiracy and coverup following an assasination similar to those of JFK and RFK. The more the reporter protagonist played by Warren Beatty tries to find out about a shady organization he thinks is behind the assasination of a politcian, the less he knows. At the close of the film, Beatty's character is ultimately set up and made a patsy and fall guy for another political assassination before he is also killed.
This title of this blog -- The Pappas View -- is a homage to this film among others. I hope to also to give an interesting and different view of politics, life, art, music, books, sex through my poetry and writing.
Although, I have posted my poetry on My Space for years, this is my first actual blog. I look forward to sharing my writing life and thoughts from time to time.

GP